Leg device for leg type movable robot, and method of controlling leg type movable robot
First Claim
1. A leg device of a legged mobile robot having a plurality of movable legs, said leg device comprising:
- a foot sole having a foot bottom surface and side surfaces which extend continuously from the periphery of the foot bottom surface;
a first concavity having a slope which slopes toward the inside of the foot bottom surface; and
a flexible portion disposed only in said first concavity, said flexible portion (i) being composed of one layer of a material having a predetermined elasticity, (ii) being a uniform or non-uniform shape, and (iii) partially filling said first concavity.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
In a foot of a legged mobile robot, deformation of the foot is absorbed by a first concavity and the position and shape of a ground-contact portion hardly change. Accordingly, variation in a resistive force against the moment about the yaw axis can be reduced and a spinning motion can be prevented. In addition, when the foot is placed on a bump or a step, a flexible portion deforms and receives it, and a frictional retaining force is generated between the flexible portion and the bump. Thus, the foot is flexibly adapted to the road surface, and sliding caused by the bump and excessively fast motion are prevented. Accordingly, the foot can be adapted to various kinds of road surfaces such as surfaces having bumps and depressions, and the attitude stability can be increased.
62 Citations
12 Claims
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1. A leg device of a legged mobile robot having a plurality of movable legs, said leg device comprising:
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a foot sole having a foot bottom surface and side surfaces which extend continuously from the periphery of the foot bottom surface; a first concavity having a slope which slopes toward the inside of the foot bottom surface; and a flexible portion disposed only in said first concavity, said flexible portion (i) being composed of one layer of a material having a predetermined elasticity, (ii) being a uniform or non-uniform shape, and (iii) partially filling said first concavity. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. A method for controlling a legged mobile robot having a foot which is detachably attached to an end portion of a movable leg, the method comprising the steps of:
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storing information related to the foot in a memory means provided on the foot; reading out the stored information from the memory means at a time of initialization; controlling motion of the movable leg on the basis of the read-out information; and providing said foot with a flexible portion disposed only in a first concavity, said flexible portion (i) being composed of one layer of a material having a predetermined elasticity, (ii) being a uniform or non-uniform shape, and (iii) partially filling said first concavity.
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Specification