ROBOT CONTROL APPARATUS

• US 20110060460A1
• Filed: 09/28/2009
• Published: 03/10/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Oga, Junichiro, Ogawa, Hideki, Oaki, Junji
• Granted Patent: US 8,155,790 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/254
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1633 compliant, force, torque control, e.g. combined with position control
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/39353 Joint space observer
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/39355 Observer, disturbance observer
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/41374 Observe position and driving signal, predict, estimate disturbance signal
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/41387 Observe reference torque, position and feedback position, estimate contact force

Abstract

A robot control apparatus includes: a drive unit (101) driving an actuator (115) based on a torque command value; a drive torque estimation unit (107) estimating a drive torque from a joint shaft angle; an external torque calculation unit (108) calculating a difference between the estimated drive torque and the torque command value as an external torque; a Jacobian matrix calculation unit (105) calculating a Jacobian matrix based on the joint shaft angle; an external force calculation unit (109) calculating an external force from the Jacobian matrix and the external torque; and a correction amount calculation unit (110) calculating a correction amount from the external force.

Claims

1. A robot control apparatus controlling a robot having a joint shaft and a drive shaft transmitting a drive force from an actuator to the joint shaft, comprising:

an angle detection unit configured to detect an angle of the drive shaft;

a angle calculation unit configured to calculate an angle of the joint shaft from the angle of the drive shaft;

a position calculation unit configured to calculate a tip end position of the robot from the angle of the joint shaft;

a command value creation unit configured to create a position command value of the tip end position;

an error calculation unit configured to calculate an error between the tip end position and the position command value;

a difference calculation unit configured to calculate a joint angle difference from the error by inverse kinematic calculation;

a command value calculation unit configured to calculate a torque command value by integrating the joint angle difference;

a drive unit configured to drive the actuator based on the torque command value;

a drive torque estimation unit configured to estimate a drive torque for driving the actuator from the angle of the joint shaft;

an external torque calculation unit configured to calculate a difference between the estimated drive torque and the torque command value as an external torque;

a Jacobian matrix calculation unit configured to calculate a Jacobian matrix between a task coordinate system and a joint coordinate system of the robot based on the angle of the joint shaft;

an external force calculation unit configured to calculate an external force acting the tip end position from the Jacobian matrix and the external torque;

a compliance model memory configured to store a compliance model in the tip end position; and

a correction amount calculation unit configured to calculate a correction amount for the position command value corresponding to the external force using the compliance model, and configured to changes gain for the compliance model from the Jacobian matrix.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a friction coefficient memory configured to store a friction coefficient in the tip end position,

wherein the drive torque estimation unit comprises;

a drive shaft velocity calculation unit configured to calculate a velocity of the drive shaft from the angle of the joint shaft;

a friction torque calculation unit configured to calculate a friction torque from the velocity of the drive shaft and the friction coefficient;

a gravity torque calculation unit configured to calculate a gravity torque from the angle of the joint shaft;

an inertia torque calculation unit configured to calculate an inertia torque from the angle of the joint shaft; and

an adding unit configured to add up the friction torque, the gravity torque and the inertia torque for calculating the drive torque.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the inertia torque calculation unit comprises:

a velocity calculation unit configured to calculate a joint angular velocity from the angle of the joint shaft;

a acceleration calculation unit configured to calculate a joint angular acceleration from the joint angular velocity;

an inertia moment calculation unit configured to calculate an inertia moment of a link of the robot from the angle of the joint shaft; and

an inertia torque calculation unit configured to calculate an inertia torque from the joint angular acceleration and the inertia moment.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, further comprising:

a threshold value memory configured to store a minimum threshold value and a maximum threshold value for the external torque; and

a link parameter memory configured to store a link parameter of the robot,

wherein the external force calculation unit comprises;

a dead band processing unit configured to regard the external torque as 0 when the external torque is smaller than the minimum threshold value;

a saturation processing unit configured to reduce the external torque to a value of the maximum threshold value when the external torque is larger than the maximum threshold value;

a torque-force conversion unit configured to convert the external torque into an external force using the Jacobian matrix;

a coordinate conversion unit configured to convert the external force into an external force in an actual point of application using the link parameter; and

a threshold value setting unit configured to set the minimum threshold value and the maximum threshold value from the Jacobian matrix respectively.

5. (canceled)