ROBOT APPARATUS

• US 20090125145A1
• Filed: 01/21/2009
• Published: 05/14/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 10/19/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Katsuhiko Asai, Kazuo Yokoyama, Yasunao Okazaki, Yuji Adachi
• Original Assignee: Katsuhiko Asai, Kazuo Yokoyama, Yasunao Okazaki, Yuji Adachi
• Inventors: Okazaki, Yasunao, Asai, Katsuhiko, Yokoyama, Kazuo, Adachi, Yuji
• Granted Patent: US 7,778,732 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/250
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/0003 Home robots, i.e. small robots for domestic use
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/0084 comprising a plurality of manipulators
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1676 Avoiding collision or forbidden zones
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1697 Vision controlled systems

Abstract

A working robot arm and an object recognizing unit used for recognizing a moving body such as a person and an animal are prepared, and while an object recognized by the object recognizing unit is blocked by a shielding operation by the use of the robot arm or a trunk portion of a robot mechanism unit, a job is carried out by the working robot arm so that it becomes possible to actively ensure a working space of the robot mechanism unit, and consequently to continue the job safely.

Claims

1. A robot apparatus comprising:

a robot mechanism unit having a robot arm and a robot main body to which the robot arm is attached;

an object recognizing unit for recognizing any one or a plurality of objects among three types of objects of a moving object, an animal, and a person as an object to be shielded; and

a control unit for controlling the robot mechanism unit so as to carry out a work operation by using the robot arm of the robot mechanism unit, while shielding the object recognized by the object recognizing unit from entering a working space of the robot mechanism unit by using the robot arm or a trunk portion of the robot main body of the robot mechanism unit to carry out a shielding operation,

wherein the control unit controls the robot mechanism unit so as to carry out the shielding operation by changing a distance between the object to be shielded recognized by the object recognizing unit and the robot arm, in response to a relative positional relationship between the object recognized by the object recognizing unit and the working space of the robot mechanism unit.

3. The robot apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the robot mechanism unit has at least two robot arms, and the control unit controls the robot mechanism unit so that the shielding operation by the use of the robot arm or the trunk portion of the robot mechanism unit is a shielding operation by one of the two robot arms of the robot mechanism unit that carries out the work operation, or a shielding operation by the other robot arm thereof that does not carry out the work operation.

6. The robot apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the robot mechanism unit so as to change speed and flexibility of the shielding operation in response to the positional relationship between the object to be shielded recognized by the object recognizing unit and the working space of the robot mechanism unit.

7. The robot apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a predicting means for predicting an action of the object recognized by the object recognizing unit,

wherein based upon a position of the object predicted by the predicting means, the control unit controls the robot mechanism unit so as to change the position, speed, and flexibility of the shielding operation.

8. The robot apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the control unit controls the robot mechanism unit so as to change a position, speed, and flexibility of the shielding operation in accordance of a degree of danger of the robot work operation.

9. The robot apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the control unit controls the robot mechanism unit so as to change a position, speed, and flexibility of the shielding operation in accordance of a degree of danger of the robot work operation.

2. A robot apparatus comprising:

a robot mechanism unit having a robot arm, a robot main body to which the robot arm is attached, and a moving mechanism for moving the robot main body;

an object recognizing unit for recognizing any one or a plurality of objects among three types of objects of a moving object, an animal, and a person; and

a control unit for controlling the robot mechanism unit so as to carry out a work operation by using the robot arm of the robot mechanism unit, a work operation by using the moving mechanism, or a cooperative work operation between the robot arm and the moving mechanism, while shielding the object recognized by the object recognizing unit from entering a working space of the robot mechanism unit by using the robot arm or a trunk portion of the robot main body of the robot mechanism unit to carry out a shielding operation.

4. The robot apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the robot mechanism unit has at least two robot arms, and the control unit controls the robot mechanism unit so that the shielding operation by the use of the robot arm or the trunk portion of the robot mechanism unit is a shielding operation by one of the two robot arms of the robot mechanism unit that carries out the work operation, or a shielding operation by the other robot arm thereof that does not carry out the work operation.

5. The robot apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control unit controls the robot mechanism unit so that the shielding operation by the use of the robot arm or the trunk portion of the robot mechanism unit is a direction change of the robot mechanism unit carried out by a pivotal mechanism or the moving mechanism.