Apparatus and method for controlling elastic actuator

• US 20060207419A1
• Filed: 03/21/2006
• Published: 09/21/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 09/22/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Matsushita Electric Industrial Company Limited (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Okazaki, Yasunao, Asai, Katsuhiko, Yamamoto, Masaki, Adachi, Yuji
• Granted Patent: US 7,184,858 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 91/35
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/142 comprising inflatable bodies
• CPC Class Codes: F15B 11/20 controlling several interacting or sequentially-operating members
• CPC Class Codes: F15B 15/103 using inflatable bodies that contract when fluid pressure is applied, e.g. pneumatic artificial muscles or McKibben-type actuators
• CPC Class Codes: F15B 9/09 with electrical control means

Abstract

An internal pressure of a hydropneumatic drive actuator is measured by a pressure measurement device, a displacement amount of a movable mechanism is measured, a desired value and a measurement value of the displacement are inputted so that a position error is compensated by a position error compensation device, a desired value of a pressure difference of the actuator to which antagonistic driving is performed by the desired value is calculated by a desired pressure difference calculation device, outputs from the position error compensation device, the desired pressure difference calculation device, and the pressure measurement device are inputted, and a pressure difference error is compensated by pressure difference error compensation device.

Claims

1. An apparatus for controlling an elastic actuator, comprising:

an internal state measurement means for measuring an internal state of said elastic actuator, the internal state being changed by drive of said elastic actuator;

an output measurement means for measuring an output of said elastic actuator;

an output error compensation means for compensating an output error by inputting a desired value of the output of said elastic actuator and a measurement value of the output of said elastic actuator, the measurement value being measured by said output measurement means;

a desired internal state determination means for determining a desired value of the internal state of said elastic actuator from the desired value of the output of said elastic actuator and the measurement value of the output of said elastic actuator; and

an internal state error compensation means for compensating an internal state error by inputting an output from said output error compensation means, an output from said desired internal state determination means, and an output from said internal state measurement means,

the apparatus performing control such that the measurement value of said output of said elastic actuator becomes the desired value of said output based on said internal state error compensated by said internal state error compensation means.

3. The apparatus for controlling an elastic actuator according to claim 1, wherein said desired internal state determination means approximates a relationship between the output of the elastic actuator and the internal state of the elastic actuator using a polynomial, and calculates and determines the desired value of the internal state of said elastic actuator from the desired value of the output of said elastic actuator using said polynomial.

4. The apparatus for controlling an elastic actuator according to claim 1, wherein said desired internal state determination means stores the relationship between the output of said elastic actuator and the internal state of said elastic actuator in a memory in a form of a table, and determines the desired value of the internal state of said elastic actuator from the desired value of the output of said elastic actuator using said table.

5. The apparatus for controlling an elastic actuator according to claim 1, wherein said elastic actuator is a hydropneumatic drive actuator driven by a fluid pressure.

6. The apparatus for controlling an elastic actuator according to claim 5, wherein said hydropneumatic drive actuator is an elastic expansion/contraction structural member comprising a hollow elastic body, a set of sealing members for sealing said hollow elastic body in an air-tight manner, and a fluid passing member which enables fluid to be injected into and discharged from an hollow inside of said hollow elastic body.

7. The apparatus for controlling an elastic actuator according to claim 5, wherein the internal state of said elastic actuator is a fluid pressure, and said internal state measurement means for measuring said internal state of said elastic actuator is a pressure measurement means for measuring the fluid pressure.

8. The apparatus for controlling an elastic actuator according to claim 1, wherein the output of said elastic actuator is a displacement, and said output measurement means for measuring the output of said elastic actuator is a displacement measurement means for measuring the displacement.

9. The apparatus for controlling an elastic actuator according to claim 1, wherein the output of said elastic actuator is a displacement speed, and said output measurement means for measuring the output of said elastic actuator is a displacement speed measurement means for measuring the displacement speed.

10. The apparatus for controlling an elastic actuator according to claim 1, wherein the output of said elastic actuator is a force, and the output measurement means for measuring the output of said elastic actuator is a force measurement means for measuring the force.

2. An apparatus for controlling an elastic actuator, comprising:

an internal state measurement means for measuring an internal state of said elastic actuator, the internal state being changed by drive of said elastic actuator;

an output measurement means for measuring an output of said elastic actuator;

an output error compensation means for compensating an output error by inputting a desired value of the output of said elastic actuator and a measurement value of the output of said elastic actuator, the measurement value being measured by said output measurement means;

a desired internal state determination means for determining a desired value of the internal state of said elastic actuator from the desired value of the output of said elastic actuator and the measurement value of the internal state of said elastic actuator, the measurement value being measured by said internal state measurement means; and

an internal state error compensation means for compensating an internal state error by inputting an output from said output error compensation means, an output from said desired internal state determination means, and an output from said internal state measurement means,

the apparatus performing control such that the measurement value of said output of said elastic actuator becomes the desired value of said output based on said internal state error compensated by said internal state error compensation means.

11. A method for controlling an elastic actuator, comprising:

measuring an internal state of said elastic actuator with an internal state measurement means, the internal state being changed by drive of said elastic actuator;

measuring an output of said elastic actuator with an output measurement means;

compensating an output error with an output error compensation means by inputting a desired value of the output of said elastic actuator and a measurement value of the output of said elastic actuator to the output error compensation means, the measurement value being measured by said output measurement means;

determining a desired value of the internal state of said elastic actuator from the desired value of the output of said elastic actuator with a desired internal state determination means;

compensating an internal state error with said internal state error compensation means by inputting an output from said output error compensation means, an output from said desired internal state determination means, and an output from said internal state measurement means to an internal state error compensation means; and

thereby performing control such that the measurement value of said output of said elastic actuator becomes the desired value of said output of said elastic actuator.

12. A method for controlling an elastic actuator, comprising:

measuring an internal state of said elastic actuator with an internal state measurement means, the internal state being changed by drive of said elastic actuator;

measuring an output of said elastic actuator with an output measurement means;

compensating an output error with an output error compensation means by inputting a desired value of the output of said elastic actuator and a measurement value of the output of said elastic actuator to the output error compensation means, the measurement value being measured by said output measurement means;

determining a desired value of the internal state of said elastic actuator from the desired value of the output of said elastic actuator and the measurement value of the internal state of said elastic actuator with a desired internal state determination means;

compensating an internal state error with an internal state error compensation means by inputting an output from said output error compensation means, an output from said desired internal state determination means, and an output from said internal state measurement means to the internal state error compensation means; and

thereby performing control such that the measurement value of said output of said elastic actuator becomes the desired value of said output.