JP4845341B2 - Control method of joint robot - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a robot system that searches for a route including a narrow portion by a robot or performs an operation on the route.

  Conventionally, in the maintenance such as inspection, repair, etc. of the inside of a straight pipe, a bent pipe, or a container, when the pipe diameter is small, or a fluid such as a liquid to be handled is dangerous to the human body or work When it is not appropriate for an operator to enter directly, an inspection robot capable of traveling along a route is used instead of an operator. A conventional inspection robot for a pipe or the like includes a wheel and a traveling unit that drives the robot body, and moves by driving the wheel while the wheel is in contact with the inner wall of the path, or is similar to the walking action of a scale insect. Most of them perform inching movement. However, these inspection robots have a minimum radius that is not so small that they can bend, and therefore there is a problem that if there is a small curvature portion in the path, that portion cannot pass as a narrow portion.

In the wake of the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, robots and systems have been proposed and developed that can move in rubble such as buildings collapsed by earthquakes. For example, a snake-like multi-link system movement in which a crawler (caterpillar) is attached to each link has been proposed as an articulated movement system for searching in rubble (see Non-Patent Document 1). In addition, a slime-type debris exploration robot has been proposed that has a bellows-shaped body and performs a scale insect movement. In these proposals, crawlers and caterpillars provided at each link may get stuck due to scattered rubble from concrete, stone, wood, furniture, etc. It has not yet been put into practical use because it makes it difficult to move forward and backward in the body environment.
“Special Project for Mitigating Large City Earthquakes, III Disaster Relief Strategy such as Rescue of Victims 4. Development of Next Generation Disaster Prevention Fundamental Technologies such as Rescue Robots, 2002 Results Report”, Research on Non-profit Organization International Rescue System Organization, National Institute for Disaster Prevention Science and Technology and Research and Development Bureau, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, March 2003, p94-103, p142-145, p161-164

  Moreover, in the said nonpatent literature 1, although the fiberscope equipped with the telescopic arm for internal exploration and the CCD at the front-end | tip is proposed as an inspection tool for a narrow part, direction guidance is very difficult. There is no reproducibility. Although the peeper with a camera can be observed only by bending the tip, the entire tube is not bent so that only one direction is searched (p. 146 to 149 in the same document). Furthermore, in Non-Patent Document 1, a snake-shaped robot having a joint with three degrees of freedom has been proposed (p. 176 to 182 in the same document), but a concrete proposal up to the relationship between external information and internal control modes is also proposed. Is not included.

  Currently, there is a growing need for inspection and repair in narrow areas such as gas piping, water and sewage piping, and nuclear reactors. Working robots in confined areas such as gas pipes, water and sewage pipes, and nuclear reactors are not only important for normal maintenance, but also a technology that is essential for securing a lifeline in the event of a disaster such as an earthquake and should be urgently established. is there. Items required for robots that perform inspections and repairs in confined spaces include environmental resistance that can withstand use in inferior environments such as explosive atmospheres and water, and mounting methods for inspection and repair tools. For example, miniaturization and slimming for operating a robot in a narrow space, or further, wire-saving technology by using a network in the robot and easy remote operation can be mentioned.

  The present inventors have already provided a tip of the driving side arm in an articulated robot having at least a plurality of offset rotary joints in which the driving side arm and the driven side arm are rotationally driven around the offset rotary axis inclined with respect to the arm axis. The joint rotation transmission mechanism having a high reduction ratio is fixed at an inclination angle with a predetermined offset angle, and the joint rotation transmission mechanism includes a stator portion on the driving side and a rotor portion on the driven side, and the stator portion is A stator housing, a hollow rotating shaft that is rotatably fixed to the stator housing and has a cam surface formed on an outer peripheral surface thereof, and is driven by a motor. An inner peripheral surface is a cam operating surface that engages with the cam surface of the hollow rotating shaft. The rotor member is fixed to the rotor housing, and the rotor member is fixed to the rotor housing. An articulated robot comprising an output gear member that meshes with the input gear member of the stator portion and rotates at the same rotational axis as the hollow shaft, and that constitutes an offset rotary joint by fixing the driven arm of the rotor housing. It has been proposed (Japanese Patent No. 3326472). In this multi-joint robot, each joint is an offset rotary joint, and the end effector's free orientation and position in a three-dimensional space, which was difficult to realize with a conventional three-dimensional robot simply by each joint being offset-rotated. Can be selected. In addition, the combination of the movements of the arms can cause a undulating movement like a snake. For example, work in a position where the end effector must go through a complicated path (for example, behind an obstacle) until it reaches the work object. It is possible to work on an object. As in the past, for example, teaching of the work point is performed by teaching the trajectory from the start point of the end effector to the target position, and the distance between the taught work points is calculated as the control amount of the motor arranged at each joint of the articulated robot. If a trajectory is generated, a huge amount of information must be processed at each time, which increases the load on the computer and slows down the response speed. It proposes to build a network and perform inheritance control.

  Further, the present inventors have already provided a contact sensor capable of measuring the pressure distribution over the entire surface of each joint unit having a cylindrical shape in which both ends constituting the arm of the robot are cut with an offset angle, There is provided a technique that enables real-time drive control of a robot arm using a detection value from the sensor (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-287189). By constructing a pressure sensitive sheet sensor by combining row electrodes arranged in parallel and column electrodes arranged in a pincushion form, electrodes are formed over the entire surface of each joint having a cylindrical shape with both ends cut with an offset angle. It allows the intersections to be distributed. In addition, by adopting an electrode structure that covers a predetermined width for both matrices, it is possible to reduce the number of output signal terminals and reduce the burden of arithmetic processing. Further, the central processing load is reduced by executing local processing by the pressure-sensitive sheet sensor, encoder and information processing means provided for each joint and then transmitting to the CPU.

  Furthermore, the present inventors have already provided an offset rotary joint unit with a rotation correction mechanism that can be applied to a double arm mechanism such as a care assisting robot that can perform a bending operation of a two-dimensional surface with only a rotation mechanism and can cope with a high load load. This is proposed (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-25269). According to the offset rotary joint unit with the rotation correction mechanism, the first arm, the rotation correction arm that is driven to rotate about its axis, and the second arm that is driven to rotate about the axis that is oblique to the rotation correction arm. A set of offset rotary joint units is configured. The rotation correction joint mechanism unit that connects the first arm and the rotation correction arm, and the offset rotation joint mechanism unit that connects the rotation correction arm and the second arm are driven by a single motor. Thus, when the rotation correcting joint mechanism unit rotates in reverse in synchronization, the second arm can be bent with respect to the first arm in a two-dimensional plane only by the rotation mechanism.

  Therefore, in a robot system that searches for a route including a narrow portion by a robot or performs a work on the route, a route on which a hand should proceed is automatically searched, and even if a narrow portion exists due to a joint structure, the robot can pass. There is a problem to be solved.

  The object of the present invention is that guidance by various sensors allows the hand to travel in the required direction, and allows flexible work on routes including narrow passages that were impossible with conventional robots. To provide a robot system.

In order to solve the above problems, a robot system according to the present invention is a robot system that searches for a route including a narrow portion by a robot or performs an operation on the route , and a control computer that monitors and controls the operation of the robot, The robot is a multi-joint robot having a multi-joint structure in which a plurality of arms are sequentially connected to the hand by joints, and is connected to the control computer. the tip portion including equipped with search sensors, the joint compact respective computer (CPU), a communication device, it includes a joint drive motor, determine the direction to go is the hand on the basis of detection of the search sensor, the The direction and position that the hand occupied in the narrow part with the advance of the hand As connection of the arm occupies successively, the control content is sequentially inherited to the subsequent arm joints, inheritance control Bend movement of the joint is characterized in that it consists of passing the narrow portion.

  According to this robot system, the robot is a multi-joint robot constructed in a multi-joint structure by sequentially connecting a plurality of arms to the hand by joints, and since the tip including the hand has a search sensor, Based on the detection of the search sensor, the direction in which the hand should advance is determined, the joint connecting the hands is operated in accordance with the traveling direction, and the orientation of the hand is adjusted to the traveling direction. The entire robot is advanced manually or automatically by an actuating device. At this time, the arms and joints of the following multi-joint structure are operated in such a manner that the moving direction of the hand is maintained. The arm connected to the hand operates to take the same position and posture as the hand one step before, and the following arm and joint operate in the same manner, and receive the inheritance control of the bending motion as a whole. To do. Therefore, even if a narrow portion exists in the path, if the hand can pass, it can be determined whether the subsequent arms and joints (all or a part) can pass. If the narrow part is not wide enough to allow the hand to pass through, the operating torque of any joint or operating device will be excessive when trying to pass by force, so that such a case can be determined. The robot can return to the original position by performing a reverse bend motion.

  In this robot system, the arm has a hollow structure, and a part of the joint can be an offset rotary joint. By configuring the arm in a hollow structure, it is possible to accommodate the wiring necessary to operate the hand and joint inside the hollow without exposing it to the outside, and it is possible to configure the network in the robot with the wiring protected. it can. In addition, by using such a network, it is possible to reduce wiring and easily perform remote operation, and as a result, it is possible to easily carry out inheritance control of the bending motion of an articulated robot.

  In this robot system, the search sensor may be a camera that captures the periphery of the hand, a microphone that can detect the direction of the sound source, or a gas detector that can detect the concentration and flow of gas. The search sensor may be an appropriate camera such as a CCD camera, and the imaging signal can be transmitted through an optical fiber. If necessary, a light source that illuminates the surroundings can also be provided for the camera. The search direction can be manually set by displaying an image captured by the camera on a display installed at another location. It is also possible to automatically determine the search direction from the captured image data. When the search sensor is a microphone that can detect the sound source direction, the detected sound source direction is considered to be the occurrence direction of some event, and can be determined as a promising candidate for the search direction. When the search sensor is a gas detector that can detect the gas concentration and flow, the direction in which the gas concentration is high or the upstream direction of the gas flow is considered to be the direction in which the gas leakage source exists. Can be determined as a candidate.

  This robot system can be applied to a search or work for a straight pipe or a bent pipe in which the whole or a part of the internal pipe formed as the path is the narrow part. The straight pipe or the bent pipe is suitable for maintenance by the robot. In particular, when the whole or a part of the path forms a narrow portion, the robot system is suitable for passing through the narrow portion.

  Further, this robot system can be applied to a search or work for a container having an inlet portion formed as a part of the path as the narrow portion. This robot system is suitable for passing through a narrow portion when the robot is to be entered from the outside into a container having a narrow entrance portion.

  Furthermore, the robot system can be applied to search or work for a passage formed in the rubble. In the rubble, it is important to search for the existence of the route itself, and it is considered that the route has a narrow part. This robot system is suitable for searching a route and performing work regardless of whether or not it has a narrow portion.

  Since the robot system according to the present invention is configured as described above, inspection, repair, maintenance, and the like are performed in a work area including a narrow portion such as a gas pipe, a water and sewage pipe, and a reactor facility pipe. It can be done smoothly. In particular, even if the narrow portion includes a portion with a small curvature such as an elbow of a pipe, it is easy to guide, and can pass smoothly and work. Moreover, the work robot according to the present invention automatically searches for the direction in which the hand should move even in rubble caused by the collapse of a building or the like due to an earthquake. It can be performed.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a robot system according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment of a robot system according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a control block diagram for controlling the operation of the robot system shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a control flow in the control block shown in FIG. It is a flowchart which shows.

  A robot system 1 according to the present invention shown as a schematic diagram in FIG. 1 includes a plurality of arms (only a part of 13a and the like are shown) from a base 12 via a rotary joint (only 14a is shown) and an offset joint (only 15e is shown). An articulated robot (hereinafter abbreviated as “robot”) 2 connected in sequence to the hand 16, a control computer 3 for monitoring and controlling the operation of the robot 2, and the robot 2 And a network 4 connected to the control computer 3. Details of the structure of the robot 2 itself will be described later with reference to FIG. The control computer 3 is usually arranged at a position away from the robot 2, and an operator or the like monitors the detection signal from a search sensor such as the sensor 20 on the display using the control computer 3, and It is possible to instruct the direction in which 16 should travel and the moving distance.

  The search sensor can be, for example, the sensor 20 including a CCD camera, but can be arranged in a plurality of configurations other than the sensor 20. Further, the sensor 20 may be provided with a composite function. For example, it is configured to measure the size and distance of the opening of the narrow part by stereo vision, or to be configured to measure the size of the opening by image processing, the distance to the narrow part by a laser distance meter or an ultrasonic distance meter. Can do. The network 4 receives a detection signal from a search sensor such as the sensor 20 and a control signal from the control computer 3, and transmits signals between all the joints 14 and 15 and between each joint 14 and 15. Exchange is possible. Each joint 14 and 15 includes necessary components and mechanisms such as a small computer (CPU), a communication device, and a joint driving motor. Therefore, the overall operation of the robot 2 is controlled in response to a detection signal from a search sensor such as the sensor 20 and a command / operation signal from the control computer 3. 14 and 15 are performed by distributed control by playing their respective roles in cooperation with other joints.

  FIG. 2 shows a control block diagram for controlling the operation of the robot system 1. According to this control block diagram, the detection signal from the search sensor (including the sensor 20 and the sensor 21 described later) is sent to the target recognition processing unit 5. The target recognition processing unit 5 determines the direction in which the narrow portion exists and the distance to the narrow portion based on the information from the search sensor, that is, the target direction to be advanced and the target distance to be moved. The operator can instruct a forward / reverse command or a specific operation thereof in the control computer 3, and the command / operation signal is input to the forward / reverse control unit 6. Since the information related to the target distance from the target recognition processing unit 5 is input to the forward / reverse control unit 6, the forward / backward travel distance to be actually moved is determined based on both inputs and sent to the inheritance control unit 8.

  The target direction set by the target recognition processing unit 5 is sent to the hand direction control unit 7. The hand direction control unit 7 performs control so as to match the direction target direction of the hand 16. Since the sensor 20 is mechanically attached to the hand 16, the direction of the sensor 20 changes depending on the control result. Information on the change in the direction of the sensor 20 is immediately sent to the target recognition processing unit 5, and the change is made. Is reflected in the target direction. Information about the hand angle to which the hand 16 is directed is sent to the inheritance control unit 8. The inheritance control unit 8 controls the rotary joint 14 and the offset joint 15 that connect the arms 13 based on the information on the hand angle to which the hand 16 is directed and the information on the distance to be advanced from the forward / reverse control unit 6. The position and direction occupied by the hand 16 are successively inherited by the succeeding arm of each arm 13 connected to the hand 16, and so-called bend motion is controlled. The target recognition processing unit 5, the forward / reverse control unit 6, and the hand direction control unit 7 can be normally provided in the control computer 3, but the inheritance control unit 8 is provided in the control computer 3 and the joints 14, 15. It can be configured with CPUs that are distributed and arranged.

  A control flow in the control block shown in FIG. 2 is shown as a flowchart in FIG. The flowchart shown in FIG. 3 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. When control starts (step 0, abbreviated as “S0”, the same applies hereinafter), the sensor 20 or the like detects the gap and the opening diameter of the narrow portion. When the measurement is performed, the target recognition processing unit 6 performs target recognition processing for determining the target direction and target distance of the hand 16 (S1). First, it is determined whether or not the robot 2 can enter the opening diameter of the narrow portion (S2). If it is determined in S2 that the robot 2 can enter, then the forward distance is measured (S3). When the advance distance is determined, the forward / reverse control unit 6 performs forward control (S4). At the same time, the inheritance control unit 8 performs inheritance control for controlling the rotary joint 14 and the offset joint 15 so that the subsequent arm sequentially occupies the direction and position occupied by the hand 16 as the hand 16 moves forward ( S5). When the robot 2 moves forward, S1 is started again at the forward movement position, and the same control is repeated thereafter. As a result, the robot 2 performs a tortuous movement and can pass through the narrow portion even on a curved path.

  If it is determined in S2 that entry is not possible, it is determined whether the sensor 20 has searched in all directions (S6). When it is determined that all directions have been searched, it is determined that advance is impossible, and the robot 2 moves backward as a whole to search for another gap (narrow portion) (S7). If it is determined in S6 that all directions have not yet been searched, the hand direction controller 7 changes the hand angle to change the direction of the hand 16 and returns to S1 to detect a new gap and the opening diameter of the narrow portion. The target recognition process is performed based on the measurement. When the hand 16 reaches the final target or when there is an interrupt command from the worker, for example, after the inheritance control in S5, an appropriate determination can be made to leave the control loop.

  4 is a schematic diagram showing an application example of the robot used in the robot system according to the present invention, FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing another application example of the robot shown in FIG. 4, and FIGS. 6 and 7 are robots according to the present invention. FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an outline of an example of application of the system to a search or operation for a container having a narrow entrance portion, and FIG. 8 is an application of the robot shown in FIG. 4 to the search or operation of a passage formed in rubble. It is a figure which shows the outline | summary of an example.

  FIG. 4 is an image diagram of a state in which the inside of the straight pipe is inspected by the robot used in the robot system according to the present invention. In FIG. 4, the straight pipe 30 is schematically shown, and the robot system 1 is shown in a state where it has advanced to the deepest position of the straight pipe 30. In this example, the entire straight path 31 is a narrow portion 32. A robot 2 used in the robot system is a multi-joint robot configured in a multi-joint structure by sequentially connecting a plurality of arms 13a to 13j from a base 12 to a hand 16 via rotary joints 14a to 14e or offset joints 15a to 15e. It is. The rotary joints 14a to 14e are joints that rotate around the axis 17 of the robot 2, that is, only rotate around the roll axis. On the other hand, as will be described later, the offset joints 15a to 15e are joints that can change the direction of the front and rear arms. The rotary joints 14a to 14e and the offset joints 15a to 15e are alternately applied to the arms 13a to 13j and connect two adjacent arms. For such a multi-joint structure, the technology disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 3326472 or Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-25269, which has already been patented by the present applicant, can be used.

  The hand 16 of the robot 2 includes a hand base 18 that can be advanced and retracted with respect to the most distal arm 13j, a hand 19 attached to the tip of the hand base 18, and a tip end surface of the hand base 18 as one of the search sensors. And an optical fiber camera 20 provided in the camera. In the illustrated example, the hand 19 is composed of a pair of fingers that can be opened and closed. The robot 2 includes an optical fiber camera 21 as another search sensor on the most distal arm 13j. It is obvious that the search sensor may include a sensor for obtaining another type of information, and it is also obvious that another work tool may be provided instead of the hand 19.

  As the robot system 1, wiring routed into the arms 13 a to 13 j through the rotary joints 14 a to 14 e and the offset joints 15 a to 15 e is provided from the base 12 to an operation room (not shown) provided at another place. The network 4 (FIG. 1) is configured by connecting by wire or wireless. The state of the robot 2 and the information in the path 31 such as the pipe inner wall 34 are transmitted to the external control computer 3 through the network 4, and the robot 2 is searched, advanced / retreated, inspected and repaired by a command from the control computer 3. It is configured to perform necessary operations and work.

  In the robot 2, for example, the hand 16 that is the tip is manually inserted into the straight path 31 inside the straight pipe 30 through the inlet 33, and then the hand 16 and the body of the robot 2 that follows are advanced to the path 31. It is done. Based on the search result of the route 31 by the search sensors 20 and 21, the direction in which the hand 16 should travel is determined. In the case of this example, since the entire path 31 is straight, the traveling direction is determined as the straight traveling direction. Each arm 13a to 13j following the hand 16 advances in a state where the rotary joints 14a to 14e and the offset joints 15a to 15e are connected to the hand 16 in the same posture as the hand 16 is advanced. The structure does not require the inheritance control of torsional motion. The inside of the straight pipe 30 is inspected based on information detected by the optical fiber sensors 20 and 21, and the hand 16 performs necessary work such as repair on the pipe inner wall 34 and the like. Note that the operation when the robot 2 moves backward from the path 31 of the straight pipe 30 is the same as that when the robot 2 travels in the path 31 except for the traveling direction, and thus redundant description is omitted.

  FIG. 5 is an image diagram of a state in which the robot shown in FIG. 4 is applied to inspection and work inside the bent pipe. The configuration of the robot system itself shown in FIG. 5 (the robot 2 and equipment that can be provided outside) is the same as that of the robot system 1 shown in FIG. Is omitted. In the example shown in FIG. 5, the pipe to which the robot system 1 is applied is a bent pipe 40. The bent pipe 40 includes an upper straight pipe portion 43, an S-shaped bent pipe portion 44, and a lower straight pipe portion 45 connected to the inlet portion 42, and forms a bent path 41 inside. Yes. Also in this example, the entire path 41 of the bent pipe 40 forms a narrow portion, and the robot 2 performs necessary operations and operations such as search, advance / retreat, inspection, repair, etc., for example, the inner wall surface 46 of the bent pipe 40. And is configured to do.

  In the robot 2, the hand 16 that is the tip is inserted into the bent path 41 inside the bent pipe 40 through the inlet 42, and then the hand 16 is advanced along the path 41. The direction in which the hand 16 should travel is determined based on the search result of the route 41 by the search sensor including the optical fiber cameras 20 and 21. In the case of this example, the curved pipe portion 44 bent in an S shape follows the short straight path of the straight pipe portion 43 and then continues to the straight pipe portion 45 again. When the internal bending state is detected, a traveling direction in which the hand 16 should travel is determined each time based on the information. For example, when the robot 2 is manually advanced as a whole, the arms 13a to 13j following the hand 16 sequentially operate the rotary joints 14a to 14e and the offset joints 15a to 15e as the hand 16 advances. Information on the position sequentially occupied by the hand 16 with the progress of the robot 2 and the direction at the position are transmitted to the subsequent arms 13a to 13j or the joints 14 and 15 through the internal network 4, so that Each of the joints 14 and 15 is configured so that the arms 13a to 13j sequentially reach the position occupied by the hand 16 and point in the same direction as the hand 16 is pointing when reaching the position. Operate. In other words, the articulated structure performs the inheriting control of the torsional motion while being connected to the hand 16. The inside of the bent pipe 40 is inspected based on information detected by the optical fiber sensors 20 and 21, and the hand 16 performs necessary work such as repair on the inner wall surface 46 and the like. When the robot 2 moves backward from the path 41 of the bent pipe 40, except for the direction of travel, the robot 2 operates in the inheritance control of the torsional motion as in the case of traveling in the path 41. .

  6 and 7 are diagrams showing an outline of an application example in which the robot used in the robot system according to the present invention is applied to search or work for a container having an inlet portion as a narrow portion. 6 is a view showing a state in which the robot is introduced into the container in the robot system according to the present invention, and FIG. 7 is a view showing a state in which the inside of the container is being inspected by the robot shown in FIG. The configuration of the robot system itself shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 (the robot 2 and equipment that can be provided outside) is the same as that of the robot system 1 shown in FIG. The description will not be repeated. The container 50 shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 is a nuclear reactor container, and the number and size of the entrances and exits are limited as much as possible in order to eliminate leakage of radiation. In relation to the container 50, the path 51 is an observation through-hole 52 having a short length provided as an inlet and an interior 53 of the container 50 connected to the observation through-hole 52. The observation through hole 52 forms a narrow portion in the path 51, and the robot 2 is introduced into the inside 53 of the container 50 through the observation through hole 52. In this example, by the detection of the search sensors 20 and 21, information is obtained that the region of the inside 53 of the container 50 having a short length and extending directly below the observation through hole 52 is a space of the container 50. The traveling direction of the robot 2 including the hand 16 is determined to be a downward direction based on the information, and the robot 2 is introduced in a straight state even after passing through the observation through hole 52. When the robot 2 is inserted from the outside into the container 50 in which the observation through hole 52 that is the entrance is a narrow portion, the robot system 1 is suitable for passing through the narrow portion.

  When the robot 2 is introduced into the container 50 or immediately after that, the search sensors 20 and 21 detect the state of the container 50 around the observation through hole 52, for example, the position of the inner wall surface 54 of the container 50. After the introduction of the robot 2 into the container 50, the operation range of the robot 2 relative to the inner wall surface 54, that is, the reach range, position, and direction of the hand 16 are determined based on the information. Since the path 51 is largely open in a region other than the observation through-hole 52 that becomes a narrow portion, it is not always necessary to operate in the inheritance control of the twisting motion, but when the structure of the internal 53 becomes complicated, It is necessary to control the inheritance of such bend movement.

  FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing a state in which the robot used in the robot system according to the present invention is applied to search or work for a passage formed in rubble. When a building or the like collapses due to the occurrence of an earthquake, people or lifelines may be buried or left behind in the rubble (the confined person is indicated by reference numeral 65 in FIG. 8). In such cases, it is important to search for the route itself in the rubble for rescue of people and securing / repairing lifelines in the rubble, and there is a high possibility that the route will contain a narrow part. However, it is often unclear which part is specifically a narrow part. The robot system 1 according to the present invention is suitable for searching or working on a passage that may be formed in such debris. The configuration of the robot system 1 itself (the robot 2 and equipment that can be provided outside) is the same as that of the robot system 1 shown in FIG.

  In the illustrated example, the rubble 60 may not know whether there is a route from the outside or whether it has a narrow portion as it exists. Therefore, for example, the robot 2 is initially pushed into the rubble 60 by using the path 61 that can be recognized as a clue. Since the hand 16 at the tip of the robot 2 is provided with optical fiber cameras 20 and 21 as search sensors, the direction in which the hand 16 should travel is selected and determined based on the captured image. When the narrow portions 62, 63, 64 existing in the rubble 60 are detected, it is determined whether or not the passage is possible from the image or by detecting resistance when pushed forward. The search sensor detects not only the optical fiber cameras 20 and 21, but also microphones that pick up sounds such as human voices and water leaks, and the type and flow of gas leaked from the supply pipe as one of the lifelines. Obviously, it may be a gas sensor that detects heat or smoke due to fire.

  In the robot used in the robot system according to the present invention, the offset joint mechanism used has a hollow structure as compared with the conventional hinge-type joint, and therefore can accommodate the piping wiring inside. Therefore, this robot system is suitable as a system for performing work in a narrow place. Moreover, since the robot can easily seal the joint movable part, the robot can work in various gas liquid atmospheres. In addition, a lightweight articulated robot with a large generated torque per structural weight can be realized. Furthermore, it is possible to construct an original robot system characterized in that the number of connected wires can be reduced by a network in the robot. The robot using this joint can enter the inside from a narrow place and point the hand in various directions inside, thereby enabling free work in a narrow place that has not been possible in the past.

  As described above, the robot system according to the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiment. In any case, the direction in which the hand of the robot should proceed is determined based on the detection information of the search sensor. However, it is obvious that the information about the route may use information that is partly known, that is, route information that is known in advance based on the design drawing.

It is a schematic diagram which shows one Example of the robot system by this invention. FIG. 2 is a control block diagram for controlling the operation of the robot system shown in FIG. 1. It is a flowchart which shows the control flow in the control block shown in FIG. It is the schematic which shows one application example of the robot used for the robot system by this invention. It is the schematic which shows another example of application of the robot shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the outline | summary of the example of application which applied the robot system by this invention to the search or operation | work about the container which makes an entrance part a narrow part. It is a figure which shows the state which is inspecting the inside of a container with the robot shown in FIG. It is a figure which shows the outline | summary of the example of application which applied the robot shown in FIG. 4 to the search or operation | work of the channel | path currently formed in the debris.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Robot system 2 Robot 3 Control computer 4 Network 5 Target recognition processing part 6 Forward / reverse control part 7 Hand direction control part 8 Inheritance control part 13a-13j Arm 12 Base part 14a-14e Rotary joint 15a-15e Offset joint 16 Hand 17 Axis line 18 Hand base 19 Hand 20, 21 Optical fiber camera 30 Straight pipe 31 Path 32 Narrow part 33 Entrance part 34 Pipe inner wall 40 Bent pipe 41 Path 42 Entrance part 43, 45 Straight pipe part 44 Curved pipe part 46 Inner wall 50 Container (reactor) (Container) 51 path 52 through-hole for observation 53 inside of container 50 inner wall surface 60 of container 50 debris 61 path 62, 63, 64 narrow part 65 confined person

Claims (6)

In a robot system that searches for a route including a narrow portion by a robot or performs an operation on the route, a robot, a control computer that monitors and controls the operation of the robot, and a robot that is circulated inside and connected to the control computer The robot is a multi-joint robot constructed in a multi-joint structure by sequentially connecting a plurality of arms to the hand by joints, the tip including the hand includes a search sensor, and each of the joints is a CPU. , Equipped with communication device, joint drive motor ,
In the control computer, a target recognition processing unit, a forward / reverse control unit and a hand direction control unit, and a succession control unit is distributed in the control computer and the CPU arranged in each joint,
The target recognition processing unit determines a target direction to which the hand should travel and a target distance to move based on a detection signal from the search sensor, and the hand direction control unit transmits information on the target direction sent from the target recognition processing unit. The forward / backward travel distance is determined based on the information from the target recognition processing unit and the information from the control computer in the forward / backward control unit.
The inheritance control unit is based on the hand angle from the hand direction control unit and the information on the distance to be advanced from the forward / reverse control unit, the direction that the hand occupied the narrow portion with the advance of the hand The arm connecting the position to the hand is controlled so that it takes the same direction and position as the hand before one step , and the joint angle and the forward / reverse distance are set so that the subsequent arm occupies the same direction and position sequentially. A robot system comprising: sequentially inheriting to a joint of a succeeding arm and passing through the narrow portion by inheritance control of the bending motion of the joint.   The robot system according to claim 1, wherein the arm has a hollow structure, and a part of the joint is an offset rotary joint.   2. The robot system according to claim 1, wherein the search sensor is a camera that captures an image around the hand, a microphone that can detect a sound source direction, or a gas detector that can detect a gas concentration or flow.   2. The robot system according to claim 1, wherein the robot system is applied to a search or work for a straight pipe or a bent pipe in which the whole or a part of the internal pipe formed as the path is the narrow portion.   2. The robot system according to claim 1, wherein the robot system is applied to a search or work for a container having an inlet portion formed as a part of the path as the narrow portion.   The robot system according to claim 1, wherein the robot system is applied to search or work for a passage formed in rubble.

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