JPH0433588B2 - - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention Technical Field The present invention relates to a master-slave manipulator for assisting the operator in controlling the force by transmitting the force applied to the slave of the master-slave manipulator to the operator on the master side. Regarding the force sensation expression device.

BACKGROUND ART Such master-slave manipulators are required, for example, when conducting seabed exploration using a deep-sea vessel and when operating a nuclear reactor.

In a so-called unilateral type master-slave manipulator, each joint of the master is equipped with a shaft angle detector such as a potentiometer, and the slave is equipped with a shaft angle detector such as a potentiometer. A drive source is provided for driving the shaft through an angular displacement by an angle, so that the slave is moved by an operation by an operator on the master side. In such a unilateral type master-slave manipulator, the master side cannot know the external force acting on the slave, and the operator cannot know the sense of force while the slave is operating.

A master-slave manipulator that solves this problem is known as a bilateral system. In addition to the above-mentioned unilateral master/slave manipulator configuration, the configuration includes an axis angle detector that detects the axis angle of the slave.
This output is configured to drive a drive source provided on the master shaft. As a result, the external force acting on the slave due to the operation of the master is fed back to the master side, and the operator can directly feel the reaction force on the master side as a force sensation.

A new problem with this bilateral master-slave manipulator is that it has a complicated configuration. Another drawback is that the operator's sense of minute force becomes numb after prolonged operation, making it difficult to sensitively sense minute forces acting on the slave over a long period of time.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention An object of the present invention is to provide a simple structure for controlling the magnitude of external force acting on the slave in a master/slave manipulator, and to enable the operator to maintain a minute sense of force over a long period of time. An object of the present invention is to provide a force sensation expression device for a master/slave manipulator.

Means for Solving the Problems The present invention provides a plurality of manipulator shafts M1 to M
7, and a manipulator grip part 2 provided on the shaft M7 at the tip of these manipulator shafts M1 to M7, and which is operated by an operator 3; A plurality of slave manipulator axes S that individually correspond to the manipulator axes M1 to M7
1 to S7, and a slave manipulator grip part 5 provided on the shaft S7 at the tip of the slave manipulator shafts S1 to S7; Axis angle detectors M1a to M7a for the master manipulator, which respectively detect the axis angles of the axes M1 to M7, and slave manipulators, which detect the axis angles of the axes S1 to S7, respectively, for the slave manipulator. Shaft angle detectors S1a to S7a and shaft angle detector M1a for each master manipulator
~M7a, and slave manipulator shaft angle detectors S1a to S7 corresponding to the respective master manipulator shaft angle detectors M1a to M7a, respectively.
Subtraction circuit 10 that calculates the difference between the output and a
and actuators S1b to S7b that respectively drive the axes S1 to S7 of the slave manipulator S in response to the output of the subtraction circuit 10, and axes M1 to M7 other than the axes M7 and S7 of the tip end.
6. Subtraction circuit 10 corresponding to S1 to S6 individually
absolute value addition means 19 for adding the absolute values of the outputs of
21, and the output level of the absolute value addition means 19 and 21,
A first conversion circuit 22 that converts to a frequency corresponding to the level; an oscillation circuit 24 with a constant frequency higher than the frequency of the first conversion circuit 22; and a response to each output of the first conversion circuit 22 and the oscillation circuit 24. The output of the oscillation circuit 24 is converted to the first conversion circuit 2.
2 outputs at time intervals T1 and T2 corresponding to the frequency.
means 23, 24, 25 for making sounds intermittently
and absolute value means 27 for determining the absolute value of the output of the subtraction circuit 10 corresponding to the axes M7 and S7 of the tip, and a second conversion for converting the level of the output of the absolute value means into a frequency corresponding to the level. circuit 29 and means 3 for making the output of the second conversion circuit 29 into sound
0,31.

Effect According to the present invention, the operator 3 moves each axis M1 to M7 of the master manipulator M, and according to the movement of the master manipulator axes M1 to M7, the slave manipulator S Each axis S1 to S
7 moves, and the time interval T1 corresponds to the sum of the magnitudes of external forces acting on this slave manipulator S.
At T2, the constant frequency output of the oscillation circuit 24 is intermittently converted into sound. The external force acting on this slave manipulator S is
These include the reaction force when the vehicle collides with an obstacle, etc., and the force that acts from the outside when the vehicle is stationary. In this way, the magnitude of the external force acting on the slave manipulator S is determined by the master manipulator shaft angle detectors M1a to M7a, the slave manipulator shaft angle detectors S1a to S7a, and the subtraction circuit 10. The absolute value addition means 19, 21, the first conversion circuit 22, the oscillation circuit 24, and the sonification means 23, 24, 25 convert the constant frequency output of the oscillation circuit 24 into a frequency obtained by converting the sum of external forces. Corresponding time interval T
1. At T2, the sound can be heard intermittently.

Furthermore, the absolute value means 27 calculates the absolute value of the output of the subtraction circuit 10 corresponding to each axis M7, S7 at the tip of the master manipulator M and slave manipulator S.
The level of the output is converted into a frequency and made into sound, and thereby the gravity when an object is gripped by the grip part 5 of the slave manipulator S, and the slave manipulator S are The reaction force when an object is gripped by the manipulator grip part 5 is
It can be heard as a change in frequency. In this way, the present invention can be implemented in connection with the aforementioned unilateral type master-slave manipulator, and in this way, the configuration can be simplified. Moreover, since the operator can hear the sound and feel the force, the operator can operate the master over a long period of time while sensitively sensing minute changes in force. As mentioned in connection with this, the senses will not become numb.

The invention can also be implemented in conjunction with a bilateral master-slave manipulator.

Embodiment FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall structure of a unilateral master/slave manipulator according to an embodiment of the present invention. Master manipulator M is
It has a plurality of joints M1 to M7 (seven in this example) provided on the base body 1, and these axes M1 to
Of M7, axes M1, M4, and M6 are rotation joints, and axes M2, M3, and M5 are bending joints. Axis M
The grip part 2 is operated by 7. Master manipulator M is operated by operator 3. These axes M1 to M7 are interconnected by arms.

The slave manipulator S is mounted on the base body 4, has axes S1 to S7, and has axes S1, S4, S
6 is a pivot joint, with axes S2, S3, S5, S7
are bending joints, and these are connected by arms. The grip portion 5 is attached to the shaft S7.
The axes M1 to M7 of the master manipulator M and the axes S1 to S7 of the slave manipulator S correspond to each other individually. The master manipulator M and the slave manipulator S are electrically connected by a control device 6, and the slave manipulator S moves according to the operation of the master manipulator M by the operator 3.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a specific configuration of the control device 6. As shown in FIG. Each axis M1 to M7, S of master manipulator M and slave manipulator S
Seven axis control systems C1 to C7 are provided corresponding to C1 to S7. Axis control system C corresponding to axes M1 and S1
1, the output representing the master side position from the shaft angle detector M1a, such as a potentiometer, provided on the shaft M1 of the master manipulator M is:
A subtraction circuit 10 in a control circuit 9 is supplied from a line 8 . The subtraction circuit 10 is also supplied with an output from a shaft angle detector S1a provided on the shaft S1 of the slave manipulator S via a line 11. Subtraction circuit 10 subtracts the output of line 11 from the output of line 8 to derive a signal on line 12 representing the positional deviation. The output of line 12 is
It is applied from the adder circuit 13 to the hydraulic servo amplifier 14. The output of the hydraulic servo amplifier 14 is given to the servo valve 15 of the slave manipulator S, thereby driving the hydraulic actuator S1b, which is a driving source.

In the control circuit 9, the signal on line 8 is also
The signal is applied to a differentiating circuit 16 for differentiation, and its output is applied to an adding circuit 13. This provides feedforward assistance to reduce steady-state speed deviations.

When the operator 3 operates the master manipulator M, the shaft angle detector M1a detects the rotation axis angle of the shaft M1. As a result, the actuator S1b provided on the shaft S1 of the slave manipulator S is driven by an angle corresponding to the positional deviation represented by the output from the subtraction circuit 10. Axis S
The rotation axis angle detected by the shaft angle detector S1a provided in the shaft angle detector M1a described above is
It operates so that the rotation axis angle is the same as that detected by the subtraction circuit 10, that is, so that the position error output of the subtraction circuit 10 becomes zero. As a result, the slave manipulator S performs the same movement as the master manipulator M. The remaining joints are similarly configured.

Position error outputs from the axis control systems C1 to C6 are given to the first acoustic circuit 17 via lines l1 to l6. Further, the positional deviation output from the axis control system C7 for the axes M7 and S7 provided in relation to the gripping parts 2 and 5 is given to the second acoustic circuit 18 via the line 17.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a specific configuration of the first acoustic circuit 17. As shown in FIG. The position error output from the axis control system C1 via the line l1 is given to the absolute value circuit 19. This absolute value circuit 19 derives a signal representing the absolute value of the position error output via line l1 when it is positive and negative, as shown in FIG. The output from the absolute value circuit 19 is
It is applied to the dead band circuit 20. This dead band circuit 2
0 means that when the output from the absolute value circuit 19 is less than a predetermined value V1 as shown in FIG.
When this is the case, a signal having an output level corresponding to the input value is derived. Remaining lines l2~l
6 has a similar configuration. The output from the dead zone circuit 20 is given to an adder circuit 21, where the position deviation outputs of the respective axis control systems C1 to C6 are added. The reason why the dead zone circuit 20 is provided is to eliminate the influence of positional deviation caused by frictional force and gravity on each axis.

The output from the adder circuit 21 is given to a voltage/frequency conversion circuit 22 and is converted into a frequency corresponding to the output level of the adder circuit 21. The output of this voltage/frequency conversion circuit 22 is given to one input of an AND gate 23. The other input of the AND gate 23 is given an oscillation output from the oscillation circuit 24 .

FIG. 61 shows the output waveform of the voltage/frequency conversion circuit 22, and the output frequency of this circuit 22 varies over a range of, for example, 0 to 200 Hz. The output waveform of the oscillation circuit 24 is, for example, about 5 KHz, as shown in FIG. 62. AND gate 23
The output waveform of is as shown in FIG.
A frequency of 5KHz is output for time T1, and time T
It is derived at a period T with a pause of 2. This period T
corresponds to the output frequency of the voltage/frequency conversion circuit 22, T1=T2, and each value T1, T2
In this embodiment, the voltage/frequency conversion circuit 22
each equal to a half period of the output of . The output of the AND gate 23 is given to an amplifier circuit 24 and is sounded by a speaker 25. Therefore, the axis control system C
When the positional deviation in 1 to C6 is small, the output level of the adder circuit 21 is small, and therefore the output frequency of the voltage/frequency conversion circuit 22 is low, and therefore the period T of the sound output from the speaker 25 is large. As the positional deviation increases, the output frequency of the voltage/frequency conversion circuit 22 increases, and therefore the period T of the sound decreases. In this way, the operator 3 controls the axis S1 in the slave manipulator S.
The positional deviation of ~S6 can be known from the interval of sounds. This positional deviation is equivalent to each axis S1 to S6.
It can be considered as an external force acting on the Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7, as the external force increases in accordance with the magnitude of the external force acting on each axis S1 to S6, the period T becomes smaller, and thereby, the period T becomes smaller as the external force acts on each axis S1 to S6. It becomes possible for the operator 3 to know the force.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing a specific configuration of the second acoustic circuit 18. Axis S7 provided in relation to the grip part 5 in the slave manipulator S
The positional deviation between the shaft angle detector M7a of the shaft angle detector M7a of the shaft M7 and the shaft angle detector M7a of the shaft M7 provided in relation to the gripping part 2 of the master manipulator M is determined by the second acoustic The signal is applied to an absolute value circuit 27 of the circuit 18, and the output of the absolute value circuit 27 is applied to a dead band circuit 28. The configuration of the absolute value circuit 27 is similar to that of the aforementioned absolute value circuit 19, and the dead zone circuit 28 is similar to the aforementioned dead zone circuit 20.
It has a similar configuration. The output of the dead band circuit 28 is applied to a voltage/frequency conversion circuit 29 and converted into a signal whose output frequency varies within a range of, for example, 0 Hz to 15 KHz. The output from the voltage/frequency conversion circuit 29 is amplified by an amplifier circuit 30 and made into sound by a speaker 31. Therefore, as the positional deviation of the gripping part 5 on the axis S7 increases, that is, as the external force acting on the gripping part 5 increases, the output frequency of the voltage/frequency conversion circuit 29 increases, and its operation is as shown in FIG. As shown. The output waveform of the voltage/frequency conversion circuit 29 is shown in FIG.

In this way, when the operator 3 grasps the grip part 2 of the master manipulator M, the magnitude of the external force acting on the grip part 5 of the slave manipulator S is determined by the operator 3 as a change in frequency. will be heard. This allows the user to intuitively know the gripping force of the gripping portion 5.

As yet another embodiment of the present invention, an amplifier circuit 2
It is also possible to simplify the configuration by using the speakers 25, 31 in common. For this purpose, for example, the voltage/frequency conversion circuit 29
What is necessary is to give the output of

In the above embodiment, the magnitude of the external force acting on the slave manipulator is detected as the magnitude of the positional deviation, but in another embodiment of the present invention, a strain gauge may be attached to the arm of the slave manipulator S. The magnitude of the external force may be detected directly, or the external force may be detected using another structure.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of yet another embodiment of the invention. In this embodiment, one axis of a bilateral master-slave manipulator,
For example, the configuration related to M1 and S1 is shown, and the remaining axes have similar configurations. Corresponding parts of the embodiments described above are provided with the same reference numerals. In this embodiment, the master manipulator M is also provided with a motor M1b as a drive source,
It is driven by an amplifier circuit 33. Differential circuit 16
1 and 162 and adder circuits 131 and 132 are provided to perform feedforward control for speed compensation. Coefficient circuits 34 and 35 are also provided. The output of the subtraction circuit 10 is derived from line l1 as a signal representing the position deviation and therefore the external force. The other configurations are similar to those of the previous embodiment.

In such a bilateral master/slave manipulator, the master manipulator M
The operator 3 can directly obtain the reaction force that is fed back to the side as a force sensation, and the operator 3 can also perceive the magnitude of the external force on the slave manipulator S as a change in the physical characteristics of the sound. be able to. Therefore, even if the operator 3 loses his fine sense of force due to long-term operation,
Operator 3 can accurately capture the magnitude of the external force on the slave manipulator S.
It becomes possible to move it with minute changes in force.

The master/slave manipulator of the bilateral method may have a structure other than that shown in FIG. It can also be widely implemented in connection with master-slave manipulators.

Effects As described above, according to the present invention, when the operator 3 operates the master manipulator M, the slave manipulator S operates, and the shaft M at the tip end
7. Add the absolute value of the difference in the axis angles of the axes M1 to M6, S1 to S6 other than S7, and convert it into a frequency by the first conversion circuit 22, and the output of the oscillation circuit 24 of a constant frequency is The sound is made intermittently at time intervals T1 and T2 corresponding to the frequency of the output of the first conversion circuit 22, and the absolute value of the output of the subtraction circuit 10 corresponding to the axes M7 and S7 of the tip is determined and the frequency is The frequency corresponding to the external force of the shaft S7 for the slave manipulator at the tip can be obtained by converting it into sound and converting it into sound. Therefore, with a simple configuration, the magnitude of the external force on the slave manipulator S can be obtained. In addition, the axis S7 at the tip of the slave manipulator S and the other axis S1
~S6 and S6 have different acoustic characteristics as mentioned above, so they can be easily distinguished, and especially the minute force sensation of the slave manipulator shaft S7 at the tip It is easy to know, and even if the operator 3's fine sense of force is paralyzed,
The external force of the slave manipulator shaft S7 at the tip can be distinguished from the external forces of the other slave manipulator shafts S1 to S6 and can be accurately known.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the overall structure of a unilateral master/slave manipulator according to an embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the embodiment shown in Fig. 1. , FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the specific configuration of the first acoustic circuit 17, FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the absolute value circuit 19, and FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the dead band circuit 20. Figure 6 shows the first acoustic circuit 17 shown in Figure 3.
FIG. 7 is a waveform diagram to explain the operation of the axis control system C1 to C6, and FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the relationship between the magnitude of the external force of the slave and the sound output interval period T. A block diagram showing the specific electrical configuration of the second acoustic circuit 18, FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the relationship between the magnitude of the external force of the axis control system C7 and the output of the dead band circuit 28, and FIG. 10 is a voltage/frequency conversion diagram. FIG. 11, which is a diagram showing output waveforms of the circuit, is a block diagram of an example of a bilateral master/slave manipulator to which the present invention is related. 2, 5...Gripper, 3...Operator, 6...Control device, 14...Servo amplifier, 15...Servo valve, 17...First acoustic circuit, 18...Second acoustic circuit, M... ...Master manipulator, M1 to M6
...Axis, M1a to M6a ...Axis angle detector, M1
b... Drive source, S... Slave manipulator,
S1-S7...Axis, S1a-S7a...Axis angle detector, S1b-S7b...Actuator.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1 It has a plurality of manipulator shafts M1 to M7 and a manipulator grip part 2 provided on the shaft M7 at the tip of the manipulator shafts M1 to M7, a master manipulator M that is operated by the master manipulator M, and a plurality of slave manipulator axes S that individually correspond to the master manipulator axes M1 to M7.
1 to S7, and a slave manipulator grip part 5 provided on the shaft S7 at the tip of the slave manipulator shafts S1 to S7; Axis angle detectors M1a to M7a for the master manipulator, which respectively detect the axis angles of the axes M1 to M7, and slave manipulators, which detect the axis angles of the axes S1 to S7, respectively, for the slave manipulator. Shaft angle detectors S1a to S7a and shaft angle detector M1a for each master manipulator
~M7a, and slave manipulator shaft angle detectors S1a to S7 corresponding to the respective master manipulator shaft angle detectors M1a to M7a, respectively.
Subtraction circuit 10 that calculates the difference between the output and a
and actuators S1b to S7b that respectively drive the axes S1 to S7 of the slave manipulator S in response to the output of the subtraction circuit 10, and axes M1 to M7 other than the axes M7 and S7 of the tip end.
6. Subtraction circuit 10 corresponding to S1 to S6 individually
absolute value addition means 19 for adding the absolute values of the outputs of
21, a first conversion circuit 22 that converts the output level of the absolute value addition means 19, 21 into a frequency corresponding to the level, and an oscillation circuit 24 with a constant frequency higher than the frequency of the first conversion circuit 22. In response to each output of the first conversion circuit 22 and the oscillation circuit 24, the output of the oscillation circuit 24 is
Time interval T1, T2 corresponding to the frequency of the output of 2
Means 23, 24, 25 for making sounds intermittently at
and absolute value means 27 for determining the absolute value of the output of the subtraction circuit 10 corresponding to the axes M7 and S7 of the tip, and a second conversion for converting the level of the output of the absolute value means into a frequency corresponding to the level. circuit 29 and means 3 for making the output of the second conversion circuit 29 into sound
0.0, 31. A force sensation expression device for a master/slave manipulator.