Robot, and control apparatus, control method, and control program for robot

• US 8,401,702 B2
• Filed: 06/02/2009
• Issued: 03/19/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 06/06/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Okazaki, Yasunao, Ono, Atsushi, Asai, Katsuhiko
• Primary Examiner(s): Tran, Khoi
• Assistant Examiner(s): Nguyen, Bao Long T
• Application Number:
  US12/935,603
• Publication Number:
  US 20110029133A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,386 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 700/260
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 2200/32 lying
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 2203/32 for force
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 2203/42 for inclination
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 2203/72 for collision prevention
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 7/1017 Pivoting arms, e.g. crane type mechanisms
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 7/1046 Mobile bases, e.g. having wheels
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 7/1057 Supported platforms, frames or sheets for patient in lying position
• CPC Class Codes: A61G 7/1065 with electronic monitoring
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 13/085 Force or torque sensors B25J13/082, B25J13/084 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 19/0004 Braking devices brakes in general F16D
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 5/007 mounted on wheels
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/0084 comprising a plurality of manipulators
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/0087 Dual arms double SCARA arms B25J9/043
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1075 with muscles or tendons
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/142 comprising inflatable bodies

Abstract

A robot arm provided with a body unit shifting mechanism that connects a base unit and a body unit so as to be relatively shifted, and joint lock mechanisms that are capable of mechanically securing respective joints is disposed on the body unit, and a robot operation control unit controls to switch between a robot arm operation mode in which the robot arm is operated with one of the joints of the robot arm brought into a free state, and a body unit shift mode in which the body unit is shifted with the joint being brought into a locked state.

Claims

1. A robot comprising:

a base unit;

a body unit;

a body unit shifting mechanism that connects the base unit to the body unit so as to relatively shift the body unit relative to the base unit;

a robot arm that is disposed on the body unit, and has a plurality of links and joint lock mechanisms capable of respectively mechanically securing a joint coupling the plurality of links to one another and a joint coupling one of the plurality of links and the body unit;

an actuator for the robot arm, that drives the joint of the robot arm so as to drive to pivot the plurality of links;

an actuator for a waist joint, that drives the body unit through the body unit shifting mechanism so as to relatively shift relative to the base unit;

actuators for the joint lock mechanisms, that drive the joint lock mechanisms;

an external force detection device that is installed in the robot arm and detects an external force applied to the robot arm by an operator; and

a robot operation control unit that, based upon the external force detected by the external force detection device, carries out control operations of impedance control of one of the robot arm and the body unit shifting mechanism and position control of the other one of the robot arm and the body unit shifting mechanism while successively switching between the robot arm and the body unit shifting mechanism, and upon carrying out the impedance control on the body unit shifting mechanism, brings the joint lock mechanism of the robot arm into a secured state.

2. The robot according to claim 1, wherein the robot operation control unit controls while successively switching among a sequence in which the robot arm is impedance-controlled and the body unit shifting mechanism is position-controlled so as to operate the robot arm and position the robot arm relative to a job object, a sequence in which the robot arm is position-controlled and the body unit shifting mechanism is impedance-controlled so as to operate the body unit shifting mechanism to lift up the job object, and a sequence in which the robot arm is impedance-controlled and the body unit shifting mechanism is position-controlled so as to operate the robot arm and separate the robot arm from the job object.

3. The robot according to claim 1, wherein the robot operation control unit carries out an interlocking so as not to release the secured state of the joint lock mechanism in a state where the job object is being lifted.

4. The robot according to claim 1, wherein the body unit shifting mechanism is a waist mechanism that rocks the body unit substantially forward and rearward around the waist joint relative to the base unit.

5. The robot according to claim 4, wherein the waist mechanism has one end secured to the base unit and another end secured to the body unit so as to be driven by a translation driving actuator that drives the waist joint and rock the body unit substantially forward and rearward around the waist joint relative to the base unit.

6. The robot according to claim 1, wherein the joint lock mechanism is a one-way clutch mechanism.

7. The robot according to claim 6, wherein, when the joint lock mechanism is in a locked state, the robot operation control unit carries out the robot arm operation mode on one of the joints in response to an external force exerted in a movable direction of the one-way clutch mechanism, and does not carry out the robot arm operation mode in response to an external force exerted in a non-movable direction of the one-way clutch mechanism.

8. The robot according to claim 6, wherein, when the joint lock mechanism is in a locked state, the robot operation control unit carries out position control on the robot arm by using a servo rigidity lower than a servo rigidity in a non-locked state.

12. The robot according to claim 2, wherein the body unit shifting mechanism is a waist mechanism that rocks the body unit substantially forward and rearward around the waist joint relative to the base unit.

13. The robot according to claim 3, wherein the body unit shifting mechanism is a waist mechanism that rocks the body unit substantially forward and rearward around the waist joint relative to the base unit.

9. A robot control apparatus for controlling an operation of a robot comprising:

a base unit;

a body unit;

a body unit shifting mechanism that connects the base unit to the body unit so as to relatively shift the body unit relative to the base unit;

a robot arm that is disposed on the body unit, and has a plurality of links and joint lock mechanisms capable of respectively mechanically securing a joint coupling the plurality of links to one another and a joint coupling one of the plurality of links and the body unit;

an actuator for the robot arm, that drives the joint of the robot arm so as to drive to pivot the plurality of links;

an actuator for a waist joint, that drives the body unit through the body unit shifting mechanism so as to relatively shift relative to the base unit; and

actuators for the joint lock mechanisms, that drives the joint lock mechanisms,

based upon an external force detected by an external force detection device that is disposed on the robot arm and detects an external force applied to the robot arm by an operator, the control apparatus carrying out control operations of impedance control of one of the robot arm and the body unit shifting mechanism and position changed to control of the other one of the robot arm and the body unit shifting mechanism while successively switching between the robot arm and the body unit shifting mechanism, and bringing the joint lock mechanism of the robot arm into a secured state upon carrying out the impedance control on the body unit shifting mechanism.

10. A robot control method for controlling an operation of a robot comprising:

a base unit;

a body unit;

a body unit shifting mechanism that connects the base unit to the body unit so as to relatively shift the body unit relative to the base unit;

a robot arm that is disposed on the body unit, and has a plurality of links and joint lock mechanisms capable of respectively mechanically securing a joint coupling the plurality of links to one another and a joint coupling one of the plurality of links and the body unit;

an actuator for the robot arm, that drives the joint of the robot arm so as to drive to pivot the plurality of links;

an actuator for a waist joint, that drives the body unit through the body unit shifting mechanism so as to relatively shift relative to the base unit; and

actuators for the joint lock mechanisms, that drives the joint lock mechanisms;

the method comprising;

detecting an external force applied to a robot arm by an operator using an external force detection device that is disposed on the robot arm, carrying out control operations of impedance control of one of the robot arm and the body unit shifting mechanism and position control of the other one of the robot arm and the body unit shifting mechanism while successively switching between the robot arm and the body unit shifting mechanism, and bringing the joint lock mechanism of the robot arm into a secured state upon carrying out the impedance control on the body unit shifting mechanism.

11. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing thereon a robot control program for controlling an operation of a robot comprising:

a base unit;

a body unit;

a body unit shifting mechanism that connects the base unit to the body unit so as to relatively shift the body unit relative to the base unit;

a robot arm that is disposed on the body unit, and has a plurality of links and joint lock mechanisms capable of respectively mechanically securing a joint coupling the plurality of links to one another and a joint coupling one of the plurality of links and the body unit;

an actuator for the robot arm, that drives the joint of the robot arm so as to drive to pivot the plurality of links;

an actuator for a waist joint, that drives the body unit through the body unit shifting mechanism so as to relatively shift relative to the base unit; and

actuators for the joint lock mechanisms, that drives the joint lock mechanisms, the control program allowing a computer to function as a robot operation control unit that carries out, based upon an external force detected by an external force detection device disposed on the robot arm to detect an external force applied to the robot arm by an operator, control operations of impedance control of one of the robot arm and the body unit shifting mechanism and position control of the other one of the robot arm and the body unit shifting mechanism while successively switching between the robot arm and the body unit shifting mechanism, and brings the joint lock mechanism of the robot arm into a secured state upon carrying out the impedance control on the body unit shifting mechanism.