JP3270767B2 - Legged walking robot with shock absorbing mechanism - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a legged walking robot provided with a shock absorbing mechanism, and more specifically, a legged mobile robot, such as a bipedal walking, absorbs and absorbs an impact due to an external force generated when landing or the like. TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a legged walking robot provided with a mechanism for performing legging.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, various types of robots, including mobile robots, have been proposed for the purpose of reducing human labor. Has proposed a legged walking robot.

[0003]

In such a legged walking robot, a reaction force is always received from the road surface as long as the legs are in contact with the road surface. When the free leg lands, a large impact force is generated, and in some cases, it becomes a disturbance, and makes the posture of the robot unstable.
In addition, the legged walking robot proposed earlier by the present applicant has a joint for connecting the link, where the link is relatively displaced while the output of the electric motor is reduced by the speed reducer. It acts as a load on a joint drive mechanism such as a reduction gear or a bearing. Further, such a legged walking robot walks while alternately swinging two legs forward, and the swinging force (inertial force) when swinging the free leg and pushing forward is also the joint of the free leg, particularly Acts as a load on the knee joint. The load resulting from such an external force is not desirable in terms of durability for the drive mechanism of the joint, and also contributes to making the posture unstable. A legged walking robot is equipped with a control device consisting of precision electronic components such as a microcomputer, and carries cargo as needed.However, external forces such as landing impact force or inertia force are It may also affect loaded cargo and have an adverse effect.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a legged walking robot having a shock absorbing mechanism for absorbing, mitigating and reducing the shock acting on the robot when an external force such as a road surface reaction force or an inertial force is generated. Is to do.

[0005] On the other hand, it is conceivable to reduce the rigidity of the link in order to absorb such an impact, but this makes it difficult to determine the position of the robot on the coordinate axes, which causes a new problem.

Accordingly, a second object of the present invention is to provide a legged walking robot having a shock absorbing mechanism for absorbing and mitigating an impact due to an external force while minimizing the influence on position determination on the coordinate axis of the robot. Is to do.

[0007]

According to the present invention, there is provided a legged walking robot having a base and a plurality of movable legs connected to the base. The bottom plate of the base and the movable leg
Shock absorbing mechanism by fitting an elastic body between supporting members
It is formed and thus was constituted the base body and the movable leg portion so as to absorb the impact caused by external forces acting on the base body or the movable legs and freely relative displacement linked via the shock absorbing mechanism.

[0008]

Since the base and the movable leg are connected via an impact absorbing mechanism made of an elastic body, even when a large road surface reaction force acts on the movable leg at the time of landing or the like, it is relatively movable in the direction of absorbing the external force. Displacement can effectively absorb and mitigate impact.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to a bipedal walking mobile robot as an example of a robot. FIG. 1 is an explanatory skeleton diagram showing the robot 1 as a whole, and has six joints (axes) on each of the right and left legs (for convenience of understanding, each joint (axis) is electrically driven to drive it). Motors). The six joints (axes) are, in order from the top, joints (axes) 10R and 10L for turning the leg of the hip (right side is R, left side is L. The same applies hereinafter), hip pitch direction (X direction). Joints (axis) 12R and 12L, joints (axis) 14R and 14L in the same roll direction (Y direction), joints (axis) 16R and 16L in the pitch direction of the knee, and joints (axis) 18R in the pitch direction of the ankle , 18L, and joints (axes) 20R, 20L in the same roll direction. Foot portions 22R, 22L are attached to lower portions thereof, and a body portion (base) 24 is provided at the uppermost position. In the above description, the hip joint is composed of joints (axis) 10R (L), 12R (L), 14R (L), and the ankle joint is joints (axis) 18R (L), 2R.
0R (L), and the leg link is provided with six degrees of freedom for the left and right legs, respectively, and drives these 6 × 2 = 12 joints (axes) to an appropriate angle during walking. By doing so, a desired movement can be given to the entire leg, and it is possible to walk in a three-dimensional space arbitrarily. The thigh links 26R and 26L connect between the hip joint and the knee joint, and the thigh links 28R and 28L connect between the knee joint and the ankle joint.

Referring to FIG. 2 et seq., The structure described above will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 2, the torso 24 is mounted on a lumbar plate 30 corresponding to a human pelvis by appropriate means. The left and right legs are connected to each other to form a moving means of the robot. As shown in FIG. 1, since the legs including the hip joint are symmetrical, only one of the legs will be described below. Specifically, in FIG.
Is provided with a first harmonic reducer (trade name) 32, a pulley 34 is attached to an input shaft of the reducer 32, and a first electric motor 36 is connected to the pulley 34 via a belt 35. The driving force is transmitted from the motor. When the input shaft of the speed reducer 32 is turned, as is well known, relative movement occurs between the flex ring 38 and the S-side (fixed side) 40 and the D-side (drive side) 42 of the circular spline, and the first electric motor is driven. Motor 36
Rotation is reduced. S side 40 of the circular spline
Is bolted to the waist plate 30 and the D side 42 is bolted to the output member 44, so that the waist plate 30 and the output member 44 relatively rotate about the joint axis 10 in accordance with the rotation of the first electric motor 36. .

A lower part of the output member 44 is bolted to a first yoke member 50. The upper part of the first yoke member is a cavity 51 and houses the second electric motor 52 sideways. The output of the second electric motor 52 is
4 is input to a second harmonic reducer 56 located therebelow. The second harmonic reducer 56 also reduces the input rotation and boosts the power similarly to the first harmonic reducer 56, and drives the D side 58 of the circular spline. S side 60
Is bolted to the lower left side of the first yoke member 50, and the D side 58 is fixed to the upper end of the thigh link 26 located below the first yoke member 50 via the output member 62. (2) The first yoke member 50 and the thigh link 26 are relatively rotated by the operation of the electric motor 52, and the thigh link 26 is relatively rotated about the joint axis 14 (roll axis) described above. That is, the lower portion of the first yoke member 50 forms a bearing on the right side thereof, and the thigh link 2
6 is supported in cooperation with the output member 62.

As shown in FIG. 3 (a sectional view taken along the line III-III in FIG. 2), the upper part of the thigh link 26 constitutes a second yoke member 71, where the upper part is bridged by the left and right yokes. Thus, a third harmonic reducer 72 and a third electric motor 74 for inputting torque thereto are arranged in series in the lateral direction. Since the S side 76 of the circular spline of the third harmonic reduction gear 72 is connected to the second output member 62 and the D side 78 is connected to the second yoke member 71, the third electric motor When the drive member 74 is driven, a relative rotation occurs between the output member 62 and the second yoke member 71, and the thigh link 26 is connected to the axis 12.
(Pitch axis). As is apparent from the figure, the axes 10, 12, and 14 intersect at a single point in the waist while intersecting each other at right angles, and their angular positions can be calculated by conversion of an orthogonal coordinate system. A concave portion 79 is formed on the upper end side of the thigh link 26, in which a fourth electric motor 80 is housed.
Is sent to the knee joint to be described later.

A characteristic feature is that the body 24 and the waist plate 30 of the leg link are connected via the shock absorbing mechanism 200. FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of the shock absorbing mechanism 200, which shows the body 24 as shown.
The bottom plate 240 and the waist plate 30 on the leg link side are pierced at a portion having a predetermined thickness or more, a bolt 202 is inserted therethrough and fastened with a nut 206 via washers 204, 204, and the bottom plate 240 and the waist plate 30 are connected to each other. Are interconnected. A cylindrical shaft 208 is fitted to the bolt 202, an elastic body 210 made of a circular rubber or the like is fitted to the outer periphery thereof, and a circular compression spring 212 is also elastically mounted to the outer periphery thereof. . Also the bottom plate 240
Metal bushes (drive shoes) 214, 214 are fitted between the perforated surface of the waist plate 30 and the shaft 208 to prevent abrasion. In this configuration, when an external force exceeding a predetermined level acts on the leg link at the time of landing or the like, the waist plate 30 and the bottom plate 24
Since 0 is relatively displaced as indicated by the imaginary line, external force can thereby be absorbed and reduced. Here, since the waist plate 30 and the bottom plate 240 are bolted via the shaft 208 at the perforated portions of the waist plate 30 and the bottom plate 240 having a predetermined thickness or more, the relative displacement is made only in the vertical axis direction (Z-axis direction). That is, only the vertical movement is performed to absorb and reduce the impact. In other words, since there is no displacement in the X and Y axis directions, the posture of the robot does not become unstable. Further, as described later, there is no problem in calculating the position on the coordinate axis.

Next, the knee joint will be described. 5 and 6 are explanatory sectional views showing details thereof. In FIG. 5, the output sent from the electric motor 80 disposed on the thigh link 26 via the belt 82 is input to the input shaft of the fourth harmonic reducer 84 at the knee joint 16. The input motor output is then decelerated at a predetermined magnification, and the decelerated output is transmitted from the S side 86 of the circular spline to the output member 88 via a second shock absorbing mechanism 300 described later, and At 90, it is transmitted to the thigh link 26 connected thereto, while on the other hand it is transmitted from its D side 92 to the crus link 28, which is fixed to it by bolts 94, and the thigh link 26 and the crus link 2
8 are displaced relative to each other in the front-rear direction on the paper with the axis 16 as the center in FIG. That is, the thigh link 26 constitutes a bearing at the position of the knee joint at the lower end, and accommodates the upper end of the lower leg link 28 therein and rotatably supports it.

Here, the second shock absorbing mechanism 300 provided at the knee joint will be described. What is unique here is that
In the structure shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 S side of the circular spline of a harmonic reduction gear (or D side) is firmly fixed to the members adjacent thereto, reduction gear output is configured to immediately be transmitted On the other hand, in the knee joint, one of the circular splines of the reduction gear, in this case, the S side 86 is connected to the adjacent output member 88 via the pin 302. That is, as best shown in FIG. 6 (VI-VI line sectional view of FIG. 5), the pin 302 is movably accommodated in elongated hole 304, formed of rubber or the like on both sides of the pin 302 in the long hole 304 The elastic body 306 is filled. That is, the output of the S side 86 of the circular spline of the fourth harmonic reducer 84 is the pin 302, the long hole 304,
Configured to be transmitted to the output member 88 via the shock-absorbing mechanism 300 made of an elastic body 306. The S side 86
A metal bush 96 is interposed between the motor and the output member 88 to prevent wear. Here, in a state where the hardness of the elastic body 306 is appropriately set and no external force is generated, the output of the speed reducer is
While the pin 302 is located near the center position shown in FIG. 6, in other words, the thigh link 26 which is transmitted to the output member 88 without substantially deforming the elastic body 306 and is fixed thereto is connected to the other D of the circular spline. When a large road surface reaction force is applied to the lower leg link 28 at the time of landing, the pin 30 is moved relative to the lower leg link 28 driven through the side 92.
2 moves in the direction in which the external force is absorbed while deforming the elastic body 306 in the elongated hole 304, and relatively displaces the thigh link 26 and the lower leg link 28. Therefore, it is possible to absorb an external force by an amount proportional to the displacement amount of the pin 302 and reduce the impact. Also, It should be emphasized, since this relative displacement is performed about the axis of the joint 16,
That is, it hardly hinders the calculation of the positioning of the coordinate system. This will be described later.

Continuing with the description of the lower side, a fifth electric motor 98 is attached to the lower leg link 28 near the knee joint, and its output is sent to the ankle joint shown in FIG. , And the foot 22 rotates about the axis 18 (pitch axis). In addition, the foot 22 is connected to the axis 20 (roll axis) via a sixth electric motor (not shown) arranged orthogonally thereto and a sixth harmonic reducer 104 for inputting its output.
Around the center. Elastic materials 106, 106 are attached to the sole surface of the foot portion 22 in order to increase the frictional force with the road surface, and a shock absorber-like third heel portion is attached to the heel portion.
Is provided.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of FIG. 7, which shows this well. The third shock absorbing mechanism 400 is embedded in a hole formed in the foot 22 and is integrated with the foot 22. A fixed cylinder 402 and a piston 404 slidably accommodated therein are provided. That is, the lower portion of the cylinder 402 is formed to be thick, and a bottom portion 402a is provided in the lower portion. A metal bush 406 is fitted around the center thereof, and the rod 404a of the piston 404 is inserted therein. The free end of the rod 404a is expanded in a mushroom shape to form a grounded body 404b. A compression spring 408 is elastically mounted on the upper part of the piston 404 in the cylinder 402 to urge the piston 404 downward in the drawing. The cylinder 402 is filled with a working fluid such as oil. The hydraulic oil flows through an upper chamber 402b and a lower chamber 402c defined by the piston 404 through a passage 404c formed in the piston 404. The insertion passage for the piston rod 404a at the bottom 402a of the cylinder is formed liquid-tight.

In this configuration, when the foot 22 on the free leg side tries to land, first, the grounding body 404 of the piston 404
b comes into contact with the road surface and tries to drive the piston 404 upward against the spring force. At this time, the hydraulic oil is pressed and passes from the upper chamber 402b to the lower chamber 402 through the passage 404c.
Move gradually to c. The impact received by the robot 1 at the time of landing can be absorbed and reduced by the spring force and the fluid resistance. When the user subsequently leaves the bed, the piston 404 is returned to the initial position by the spring 408, and the hydraulic oil is also returned to the upper chamber 402b by the return action of the piston 404 to prepare for the next landing.
Here, the bottom portion 402a of the cylinder 402 is formed to be thick, and the piston rod 404a is configured to be inserted therethrough in a liquid-tight manner. Therefore, the moving direction of the piston rod 404a is restricted, and the landing of the robot 1 is stopped. Does not make the posture unstable.

Here, the walking control operation of the robot shown in FIG. 1 will be briefly described .
Cormorants to, each electric motor rotary encoder 110,112,114,116,118 for detecting the amount of rotation,
The output is sent to a control unit 130 (FIG. 1) located in the body 24. A six-axis force sensor 132 is provided on the foot 22 of the robot 1,
A force component in the X, Y, and Z directions transmitted to the robot 1 via the foot and a moment component around the direction are detected, and the presence or absence of landing of the foot and the magnitude and direction of the force applied to the support leg are determined. To detect. Further, a pair of inclination sensors 134 and 136 are installed on the upper part of the body part 24, and the inclination sensors 134 and 136 in the XZ and YZ planes
Detecting the tilt angular velocity against the axis. These sensor outputs are also sent to the control unit. The control unit 130 includes a microcomputer, an electric motor drive circuit, and the like. In the microcomputer, the CPU determines the drive control value of each joint from the preset walking data and the sensor output and outputs the value to the electric motor drive circuit. I do. still,
Joint axis in the hip joint and ankle joint, as described above are arranged orthogonally, and the pitch axes of three, including a knee joint robot 1
Are always in a parallel positional relationship no matter what kind of movement is performed, so that the position of each joint can be easily calculated in a rectangular coordinate system. Further, the body 24 also accommodates a battery for each electric motor and the like.

Since this embodiment is constructed as described above, the impact acting on the robot 1 at the time of landing or the like via the first to third shock absorbing mechanisms provided at the hip joint, the knee joint and the foot can be effectively reduced. And contributes to stabilization of the posture of the robot 1 and reduces the load on the reduction gears, bearings, and the like disposed at each joint, and in particular, the second shock absorption In the case of the mechanism 300, the inertial force due to swinging of the free leg can be absorbed and reduced, and the precision electronic components such as the control unit housed in the body 24 can be protected from impact. In the first shock absorbing mechanism 200, the direction of relative displacement is restricted in the Z-axis direction, and the second shock absorbing mechanism 3
Relatively displaced about the axis of the knee joint 16 even 00
As a result , the position calculation of each joint in the rectangular coordinate system is hardly affected. That is, it is conceivable to absorb the impact by reducing the stiffness of the link, in which case the actual position of each joint is likely largely differ from the calculated value. However, in the case of the embodiment described above, there is almost no deviation from the actual value.

Furthermore, an example is shown in which all of the first to third three shock absorbing mechanisms are provided, but one or two of them are provided.
One, for example, a second shock absorbing mechanism 30
It goes without saying that only 0 may be provided. The elastic body 21 of the first and second shock absorbing mechanisms 200 and 300
Although rubber is exemplified as the material 0, 306, the material is not limited to rubber, and any material having viscosity characteristics may be used. Further, in the first shock absorbing mechanism 200, the compression spring 212 is arranged around the elastic body 210. However, since the spring damper system is formed without the compression spring, the arrangement of the spring may be omitted. Although the second shock absorbing mechanism 300 is connected to the S side of the circular spline of the speed reducer, it may be connected to the D side.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of a principal part of a knee joint structure similar to FIG. 5, showing a second embodiment of the present invention. In this case, the elastic body 306a is filled so that the initial position of the pin 302 is brought closer to the clockwise end position of the elongated hole 304 in the second shock absorbing mechanism 300 arranged at the knee joint shown in FIG. . In the case of this example, the thigh link 26 and the lower leg link 28 can be relatively displaced only in the direction indicated by the arrow in the figure. Therefore, the direction in which the shock is absorbed is limited, but the moving distance of the pin 302 increases and the amount of shock absorption increases.

FIG. 10 shows a third embodiment of the present invention.
It is principal part sectional drawing of the joint structure of the knee similar to FIG. In this case, contrary to the case of the second embodiment, the initial position of the pin 302 in the second shock absorbing mechanism 300 arranged at the knee joint shown in FIG. Is filled with an elastic body 306b. The effect is the same as that of the second embodiment except that the direction of absorbing the shock is reversed.

FIG. 11 shows a fourth embodiment of the present invention.
It is principal part sectional drawing of the joint structure of the knee similar to FIG. FIG.
Referring to FIG. 1, in the present embodiment, in the second shock absorbing mechanism 300 disposed at the knee joint, an elastic body 306c having a size larger than the hole formed by the elongated hole 304 and the pin 302 is appropriately used. After being compressed by applying an appropriate preload, it is installed on both sides of the pin 302 in the elongated hole 304. Thereby, the load of the elastic body 306c after the installation is-
The characteristic of the amount of deformation is as shown by the solid line in FIG. 12 (the broken line in FIG. 12 is the characteristic when no preload is applied), and the elastic body 306c is subjected to a load greater than a predetermined value. Only deformed to absorb external force.

FIG. 13 shows a fifth embodiment of the present invention.
It is principal part sectional drawing of the joint structure of the knee similar to FIG. In this embodiment, in the second shock absorbing mechanism 300 arranged at the knee joint, the elongated hole 304d and the pin 302d are formed in a cross-sectional shape as shown, and the elastic bodies 306d arranged on both sides of the pin 302d are coiled. It was configured with a spring. The effects are the same as in the first embodiment. Incidentally, a disc spring may be used instead of the coil spring.

FIG. 14 shows a sixth embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a principal part, similar to FIG. 3, showing a structure of a joint for turning the waist leg. In this embodiment, the first shock absorbing mechanism 200 and the second shock absorbing mechanism 30 shown in the first embodiment are used.
In addition to the third and third shock absorbing mechanisms 400, a fourth shock absorbing mechanism 500 having a structure similar to that of the second shock absorbing mechanism 300 of the first embodiment is arranged at the joint for turning the waist leg.

Fourth shock absorbing mechanism 5 in this embodiment
The joint for turning the waist provided with 00 is described.
In FIG. 14, as described in the first embodiment, a first harmonic reducer (trade name) 32 is provided inside the waist plate 30, and a pulley 34 is attached to an input shaft of the reducer 32. A driving force is transmitted to the pulley 34 from a first electric motor 36 (not shown) via a belt 35. Reduction gear 3
When the input shaft 2 is turned, the flex ring 38 and the S-side (fixed side) 50 of the circular spline are well known.
4 and the D side (drive side) 42, a relative motion occurs and the first
The rotation of the electric motor 36 is reduced. Since the S side 504 of the circular spline is connected to the lumbar board 30 via the pin 510 and the output member 502, and the D side 42 is bolted to the output member 44, the S side 504 is connected to the lumbar board 30 according to the rotation of the first electric motor 36. The output member 44 rotates relative to the joint axis 10. What is characteristic here is that in the configuration of the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the S side (or D side) of the circular spline of the harmonic reducer is firmly fixed to a member adjacent thereto, and the speed is reduced. While the output of the machine is configured to be transmitted immediately, in the joint for turning the waist leg of this embodiment, one of the circular splines of the speed reducer, in this case, the S side 504 is adjacent to the output member 502. Are connected to each other via a pin 510. That is, similarly to FIG. 6 for the second shock absorbing mechanism 300 provided at the knee joint of the first embodiment, the pin 510 is movably accommodated in the elongated hole, and is provided on both sides of the pin 510 in the elongated hole. Is filled with an elastic body made of rubber or the like. That is, the output of the S side 504 of the circular spline of the first harmonic reducer 32 is transmitted to the output member 502 via the shock absorbing mechanism 500 including the pin 510, the long hole, and the elastic body. Note that a metal bush 506 is provided between the S side 504 and the output member 502 to prevent wear.
Is inserted.

Here, when the hardness of the elastic body is properly set and no external force is generated, the output of the reduction gear causes the elastic body to be almost deformed while the pin 510 is located near its initial position. The waist plate 30, which is transmitted to the output member 502 without being fixed thereto, is connected to the other D side 42 of the circular spline and the leg link below the first yoke member driven through the output member 44 to output the motor. In addition to the relative displacement by a proportional amount, when a large road surface reaction force (moment about the joint axis 10) acts on the leg link at the time of landing, the pin 510 absorbs the external force while deforming the elastic body in the elongated hole. Move in the direction
0 and the leg links below the first yoke member are relatively displaced. Therefore, the external force can be absorbed by an amount proportional to the displacement amount of the pin 510, and the impact can be reduced. Further, similarly to the second shock absorbing mechanism 300 of the first embodiment, since this relative displacement is performed about the joint axis 10, there is almost no hindrance to the calculation of the positioning of the coordinate system.

In the first embodiment, the first shock absorbing mechanism 200, the second shock absorbing mechanism 300,
In the sixth embodiment, the leg-type walking robot provided with the shock absorbing mechanism according to the present invention is constructed by adding the fourth shock absorbing mechanism 500 to the legged walking robot. It is not limited to the configuration.
Any combination of a plurality of shock absorbing mechanisms other than the above combination may be used, or only one arbitrary shock absorbing mechanism may be used.

Finally, FIG. 15, FIG. 16, and FIG. 17 show test results on the above-described shock absorbing mechanism. FIG. 15 shows a test result of the floor reaction force in the vertical direction without the shock absorbing mechanism. In this case, a vertical floor reaction force of a maximum of 250 kgf acts, which is 385% of the robot's own weight.
Is equivalent to FIG. 16 shows a test result in the case where the first shock absorbing mechanism 200 of the first embodiment of the present invention is provided. In this case, a maximum floor reaction force of 147 kgf acts on the robot in the vertical direction. 225% of FIG. 17 shows the third shock absorbing mechanism 4 shown in the first embodiment.
This is a test result when 00 is provided. In this case, a vertical floor reaction force of 134 kgf at maximum is acting, which corresponds to 204% of the robot's own weight. From the above test results, it can be confirmed that the shock absorbing mechanism according to the present invention has effectively absorbed and reduced the shock. Further, when a plurality of types of impact absorbing mechanisms are used in combination, the impact acting on the robot is more effectively absorbed and reduced.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment.
Although the description has been given of the legged walking robot of the legged walking, the invention is not limited thereto. The present invention is also applicable to an installation type robot generally called an industrial robot.
This is also applicable to a legged walking robot having more than two feet.

[0032]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, in a legged walking robot having a base and a plurality of movable legs connected thereto, a support for supporting the bottom plate of the base and the movable legs.
An impact absorbing mechanism is formed by fitting an elastic body between the holding members,
Thus since it is configured to absorb impact caused by external forces acting in freely relative displacement of the base body and the movable legs linked via the shock absorbing mechanism to the substrate or the movable legs, the robot, such as during landing It can effectively absorb and alleviate the road surface reaction force that acts greatly, and does not disturb the posture of the robot.

In the legged walking robot according to the second aspect, the relative displacement is a relative displacement in the vertical axis direction, so that the direction of the relative displacement is regulated, and It does not hinder the calculation of the position on the coordinate axes.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the base and the base are connected to each other.
The thigh link and the lower leg link are connected at the knee joint
In the legged walking robot example Bei the movable leg of the plurality of,
A plurality of long holes are drilled in the knee joint radially around the axis.
And a pin movably accommodated in the elongated hole
One of the thigh link and the lower leg link
And the other end is connected to the pin
And an elastic body is provided on both sides of the pin in the slot.
Any of by filling to form a shock absorbing mechanism, thus the femoral phosphorus <br/> click and shank link and freely coupled relative displacement via the shock absorbing mechanism of the thigh link and the crus link
Since it is configured to absorb impact caused by external forces acting on either also act impact by an external force such as an inertial force by the movable legs swinging of the road surface reaction force or the free leg acting greatly, such as during landing It can be effectively absorbed and relaxed and does not break the posture of the robot.

[0035] In the legged walking robot according to claim 4, wherein, since the relative displacement of said thigh link and the crus link was configured to be a relative displacement about the axis of the knee <br/> joint The calculation of the position of the joint on the coordinate axis is not hindered.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, a shock absorbing mechanism comprising a cylinder fixed to the movable leg and a piston slidably housed inside the cylinder is provided at the tip of the movable leg, and allowed ground free end of the piston rod during landing against the piston to the working fluid to slide in the cylinder, since it is configured so as to absorb the impact by an external force acting on the robot during landing, large road surface during landing Even if a reaction force acts, the impact can be effectively absorbed and mitigated, and the posture of the robot is not lost.

In the legged walking robot according to the sixth aspect, the means for regulating the sliding direction of the piston is provided in the cylinder, so that the calculation of the position on the coordinate axis of the robot is hindered. It does not come and does not break the posture of the robot.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an entire legged walking robot according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory sectional view showing details of a joint structure of a waist of the legged walking robot shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part of FIG. 2 showing in detail a first shock absorbing mechanism of the legged walking robot shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is an explanatory sectional view showing in detail a joint structure of a knee of the legged walking robot shown in FIG. 1;

6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VI-VI of FIG. 5, and is a cross-sectional view showing in detail a second shock absorbing mechanism of the legged walking robot shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is an explanatory sectional view showing in detail a foot structure of the legged walking robot shown in FIG. 1;

8 is an enlarged sectional view of a main part showing in detail a third shock absorbing mechanism provided on the foot shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of a principal part of a knee joint structure similar to FIG. 5, showing a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a knee joint structure similar to FIG. 9 showing a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory view similar to a cross-sectional view of a main part of the knee joint structure of FIG. 9 showing a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing characteristics of an elastic body used in a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a knee joint structure similar to FIG. 9 showing a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a sectional view showing a fourth shock absorbing mechanism in detail, showing a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is data showing a test result of an impact (vertical floor reaction force) acting without an impact absorbing mechanism.

FIG. 16 is data showing an impact (vertical floor reaction force) absorption test result of the first impact absorbing mechanism according to the present invention.

FIG. 17 is data showing an impact (vertical floor reaction force) absorption test result of the third impact absorbing mechanism according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 legged walking robot (bipedal walking robot) 10R, 10L leg rotation joint (axis) 12R, 12L crotch pitch direction joint (axis) 14R, 14L crotch roll direction joint (axis) 16R , 16L Joints in the pitch direction of the knee (axis) 18R, 18L Joints in the pitch direction of the ankle (axis) 20R, 20L Joints in the roll direction of the ankle (axis) 22R, 22L Feet 24 Torso 200, 300, 400 First to third shock absorbing mechanisms 210, 306 Elastic body 402 Cylinder 404 Piston 404a Piston rod 404b Grounding body

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing from the front page (72) Inventor ▲ Taka ▼ Hashiaki 1-4-1 Chuo, Wako-shi, Saitama Prefecture Inside Honda R & D Co., Ltd. (72) Tadanobu Takahashi 1-4-4 Chuo, Wako-shi, Saitama No. 1 Inside Honda R & D Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A 4-83587 (JP, U) JP 2-94088 (JP, U) JP-A 60-81325 (JP, U) JP 2 -125232 (JP, U) Utility model registration 2532940 (JP, Y2) JP 48-39425 (JP, B1) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B25J 5/00 B25J 19 / 00 F16H 15 / 12,15 / 136

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. A legged walking robot having a base and a plurality of movable legs connected to the base , wherein a bottom of the base is provided.
An elastic body is fitted between the plate and the supporting member supporting the movable leg.
To form a shock-absorbing mechanism.
Part of and <br/> freely linked relative displacement via the shock absorbing mechanism legged walking robot, characterized by being configured to absorb impact caused by external forces acting on the base body or the movable legs . 2. The legged walking robot according to claim 1, wherein the relative displacement is a relative displacement in a vertical axis direction. 3. A substrate, coupled thereto, a thigh link
In the legged walking robot example Bei <br/> the movable leg of the plurality of the lower link is connected by a knee joint, the knee joint, the axis
A member having a plurality of elongated holes radially formed at the center thereof;
A pin movably housed in the hole.
When one of the thigh link and the lower leg link is connected to the member
In both cases, connect the other end to the pin, and
The elastic body is filled on both sides of the pin in the shock absorber
Structure is formed, thus the to freely relative displacement of said thigh link and the crus link connected via the <br/> shock absorbing mechanism
Legged walking robot, characterized by being configured to absorb impact caused by external forces acting on any of the thigh link and the crus link. 4. The legged walking robot according to claim 3, wherein the relative displacement between the thigh link and the lower leg link is a relative displacement about the axis of the knee joint. 5. A shock absorbing mechanism comprising a cylinder fixed to the movable leg and a piston slidably housed inside the movable leg is provided at the tip of the movable leg, and the rod of the piston is free when the piston lands. against the piston to the working fluid caused to ground the ends to slide in the cylinder, according to claim 1, wherein or 3 wherein wherein the configured to absorb impact caused by external forces acting on the robot at landing Legged walking robot. 6. The legged walking robot according to claim 5, wherein a regulating means for regulating a sliding direction of the piston is provided in the cylinder.