MATER HAVING REDUNDANT DEGREES OF FREEDOM

• US 20020120363A1
• Filed: 09/17/1999
• Published: 08/29/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 12/08/1998
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Intuitive Surgical Operations, Inc. (Intuitive Surgical Holdings, LLC)
• Original Assignee: Intuitive Surgical Incorporated (Intuitive Surgical Holdings, LLC)
• Inventors: DUVAL, EUGENE F., NIEMEYER, GUNTER, MADHANI, AKHIL J., SALISBURY, J. KENNETH, GUTHART, GARY S.
• Granted Patent: US 6,714,839 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/254
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2034/742 Joysticks
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/30 Surgical robots
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/35 for telesurgery
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/37 Master-slave robots A61B34/35 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/70 Manipulators specially adapted for use in surgery
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/76 Manipulators having means for providing feel, e.g. force or tactile feedback
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 3/00 Manipulators of master-slave type, i.e. both controlling unit and controlled unit perform corresponding spatial movements
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1615 characterised by special kind of manipulator, e.g. planar, scara, gantry, cantilever, space, closed chain, passive/active joints and tendon driven manipulators
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1643 redundant control
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 128/923 by comparison of patient data to other data

Abstract

The invention provides an input device for robotics surgical techniques and other applications. The input device has a handle supported by a linkage having joints with a redundant degree of freedom, with the joints being movable with at least one more degree of freedom than the handle. At least one joint of the linkage is actively driven to prevent the linkage from approaching singularities of the joint system, motion limits of the joints, or the like, and also to drive the linkage toward a freely articulative configuration. In one embodiment, a robotic master controller includes an arm assembly supporting a gimbal having such a redundant linkage, with the arm primarily positioning the gimbal in a three dimensional controller workspace and the gimbal coupling the arm to the handle with four rotational degrees of freedom. One or more additional degrees of freedom may also be provided for actuation of the handle, for example, to close the jaws of a surgical grasper.

Claims

1. An input device comprising:

a base;

a handle movable with N degrees of freedom relative to the base; and

a linkage coupling the handle to the base, the linkage having at least N+1 degrees of freedom.

2. The input device of claim 1, wherein the linkage comprises at least one driven joint, and further comprising a drive system drivingly engaging the at least one driven joint so as to drive the linkage away from a motion-inhibiting configuration of the linkage.

3. The input device of claim 2, wherein the drive system articulates the driven joint when the handle moves the linkage toward a singularity of the linkage.

4. The input device of claim 2, wherein the linkage includes a plurality of joints, and further comprising:

a sensor system sensing a configuration of the joints; and

a processor coupled to the drive system, the processor directing movement of the at least one driven joint so as to avoid the singularity.

5. A master controller for a robotic surgical system, the master controller comprising:

a platform;

a handle rotatable about three axes relative to the platform;

a linkage supporting the handle relative to the platform, the linkage having a joint system including at least one driven joint, the joint system defining four axes of rotation;

a sensor system coupled to the joint system to measure motion about at least one of the joint axes of rotation;

a drive system drivingly engaging the driven joint; and

a processor coupling the sensor system to the drive system so that the drive system actuates the driven joint to avoid a motion-inhibited configuration of the joint system.

6. The master controller of claim 5, wherein the processor is configured to move the driven joint away from at least one singularity of the joint system.

7. A control system for use with a master controller of a robotic surgical system, the master controller comprising a linkage coupling a handle to a platform so that the handle can rotate about three orientational axes, the linkage defining four axes of rotation, and a sensor system coupled to the linkage to measure articulation about the linkage axes of rotation, the control system comprising:

a drive system drivingly engaging a driven joint of the linkage; and

a processor coupling the sensor system to the drive system so that the driven joint avoids a motion inhibiting configuration of the linkage.

8. A method for inputting instructions into a robotic system, the method comprising:

moving a handle in a controller workspace by articulating a linkage, the linkage defining at least one singularity; and

driving a joint of the linkage away from the at least one singularity in response to the movement of the handle.

9. A method for inputting, the method comprising:

manually moving a handle in a controller workspace, the handle coupled to a base by a linkage so that a plurality of joints of the linkage articulate when the handle moves;

sensing articulation of the joints when the handle moves;

driving at least one of the joints in response to the sensed articulation of the joints.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the driving step moves the linkage away from a motion-inhibiting configuration of the linkage.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the driving step moves the linkage away from a singularity of the linkage.

12. The method of claim 9, wherein the driving step moves the linkage toward a freely-movable configuration of the linkage.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein the joints of the linkage in the freely movable configuration define a plurality of substantially orthogonal axes.

14. The method of claim 12, wherein the joints of the linkage in the freely movable configuration define substantially orthogonal yaw, pitch, and roll rotational axes of the handle.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein the handle moves with N degrees of freedom, wherein the joints define at least N+1 degrees of freedom.

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising calculating alternative linkage joint configurations for a position of the handle in the jointspace, wherein the at least one joint is driven along the calculated alternative joint configurations.

17. The method of claim 9, wherein the at least one driven joint is driven away from a handle motion inhibiting configuration caused by at least one member selected from the group consisting of a singularity of the linkage, a joint articulation limitation of the linkage, a workspace limitation, and interference with a hand grasping the handle.

18. The method of claim 9, further comprising allowing at least one of the joints to actuate passively when the handle moves.

19. The method of claim 18, wherein the at least one passive joint is disposed between the handle and the driven joint.