WO2022185656A1

WO2022185656A1 - Robot and robot system

Info

Publication number: WO2022185656A1
Application number: PCT/JP2021/046259
Authority: WO
Inventors: 雄希松尾; 高志佐藤; 崇光高木
Original assignee: 東京ロボティクス株式会社
Priority date: 2021-03-04
Filing date: 2021-12-15
Publication date: 2022-09-09
Also published as: JP2022134921A; JP7569555B2

Abstract

Provided is a robot which is configured by connecting a plurality of structures and in which at least an even number of structures among the structures are odd-numbered structure each including an odd number of operation parts, the robot comprising: one or a plurality of control circuit boards which are disposed inside the odd-numbered structures and each control two operation parts; and one or a plurality of control circuit boards for remaining operation parts which control two remaining operation parts, each of which is one remaining operation part in each of the odd-numbered structures by sequentially associating the control circuit boards with the two operation parts.

Description

Robots and robotic systems

The present invention relates to the configuration of robots and the like, particularly to the configuration of robots including a plurality of operating units.

In recent years, various articulated robots have been developed. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses an articulated robot arm that can be easily miniaturized.

Patent Literature 1 discloses a robot arm having therein a series of follower (slave) control circuit boards connected to a robot controller and a series of drive circuit boards connected to a power supply. ing. The control circuit board and the drive circuit board are paired to control the motor.

It should be noted that the control circuit board is connected to an encoder, etc., has a microcomputer, and transmits motor control signals to the drive circuit. On the other hand, the drive circuit board mounts a motor driver or the like and drives the motor according to the control signal.

In this way, by separately providing the control circuit board and the drive circuit board, it is possible to separate the drive circuit board and the control circuit board, which tend to generate heat, making heat countermeasures easier and improving maintainability. do.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2020-26000

The robot arm of Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration in which two motors associated with a horizontal joint unit and a vertical joint unit are controlled using a pair of control circuit board and drive circuit board.

By the way, for example, the robot arm described in Patent Document 1 has an odd number (seven) of motors. Therefore, if an attempt is made to construct a control system using one control circuit board that controls two motors, one motor to be controlled will be left over.

However, if a control circuit board capable of controlling two motors is made to correspond to this one remaining motor, not only will the configuration become redundant, but there is a possibility that it will hinder the miniaturization of the robot. On the other hand, if a control circuit board for one motor is newly designed and mounted, it may lead to a complicated configuration and an increase in design man-hours.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned technical background, and its object is to achieve a simple and compact configuration while utilizing a common control circuit board capable of controlling two operating units. To provide a robot or the like having

The above technical problems can be solved by robots, etc. with the following configuration.

That is, a robot according to the present invention is configured by connecting a plurality of structures, wherein at least an even number of the structures are odd structures each including an odd number of moving parts, and each of the above one or a plurality of control circuit boards arranged in an odd number structure and controlling two of each of the operation units; and one or a plurality of control circuit boards for redundant operation units for controlling two redundant operation units that are left in the structure.

According to such a configuration, it is possible to provide a robot having a simple and compact configuration while utilizing a common control circuit board capable of controlling two operating units.

The control circuit board for the redundant operation part may be arranged in a structure to which the odd structures are connected.

According to such a configuration, since the control circuit board for the redundant operating section is not arranged in the structure including the odd number of operating sections, the structure including the odd number of operating sections can be miniaturized.

The structure includes a first structure, the odd structure includes a first structure and a second structure connected to the first structure, and the surplus operation unit comprises: The operation part near the connecting part of the first structure and the moving part near the connecting part of the second structure may be provided.

According to such a configuration, it is possible to collectively control the surplus motion parts in the vicinity of the connection part of each structure, so that the robot can be miniaturized without the trouble of wiring or the like.

The odd-numbered structures are a pair of structures provided symmetrically with respect to the main body structure, and the control circuit board for the redundant motion part is provided inside the main body structure. good too.

According to such a configuration, there is a relatively large internal space compared to structures corresponding to, for example, the limbs of a robot, and the control circuit boards for the left and right redundant motion units are arranged in the main body located in the center. It is possible to reduce the size of the robot.

The pair of structures may include a pair of arms extending from the main body structure, and the surplus motion portions may be motion portions related to joints at the base of each of the arms.

According to such a configuration, since it is not necessary to provide a control circuit board for each joint at the base of each arm constituting the surplus motion part, it is possible to use a control circuit board capable of controlling two motion parts. Therefore, it is possible to provide a dual-arm robot or the like having a simple and compact configuration.

A first bus for communicating control signals from a robot controller to at least the body portion structure and to an action portion within the body portion structure; and a second bus for communicating control signals to the action part in the left arm, and a third bus extending to the inside of the right arm part of the arm parts for communicating control signals to the action part in the right arm. and the control circuit board for redundant operating units is connected to the first bus.

According to such a configuration, the control circuit board for the redundant operation section is arranged on the first bus extending into the body section structure at the center, so that a robot having a simple and compact configuration is provided. can do.

The communication between each of the control circuit boards or the control circuit boards for each redundant operation section may be performed according to the EtherCAT standard.

According to such a configuration, each operation unit can be controlled at high speed.

Each of the control circuit boards and each of the control circuit boards for redundant operating units may be daisy-chained in series on the first bus, the second bus, or the third bus.

According to such a configuration, a simple communication configuration can be achieved by daisy chain connection.

The control circuit board and the control circuit board for redundant operating units may be mounted with a CPU for operating two operating units.

According to such a configuration, it is possible to reduce the number of substrates by using substrates in common, and it is possible to simplify the configuration and reduce the size of the robot.

The present invention can also be thought of as a robot system. That is, a robot system according to the present invention is configured by connecting a plurality of structures, wherein at least an even number of the structures are odd structures each including an odd number of moving parts, one or a plurality of control circuit boards arranged in each of the odd-numbered structures and each controlling two of the operation units; and one or a plurality of control circuit boards for redundant operation units for controlling two redundant operation units each of which is left in the odd-numbered structure.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a robot or the like having a simple and compact configuration while utilizing a common control circuit board capable of controlling two operating units.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of the layout of the control circuit board. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram regarding the configuration of the control circuit board and the drive circuit board. FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of the right arm of the robot. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the first joint assembly. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of the layout of the control circuit board according to the modified example (part 1). FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram regarding the arrangement of the control circuit board according to the modified example (part 2). FIG. 7 is an external perspective view of the mobile robot. FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of the layout of the control circuit board in the mobile robot.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(1. First Embodiment)
As a first embodiment, an example in which the present invention is applied to a dual-arm robot 800 will be described. In this embodiment, the dual-arm robot 800 will be described as an example, but the present invention may be applied to other robots. For example, it may be a robot that has only one arm, or a robot that has a structure other than an arm. Also, it may be applied to a robot system.

The dual-arm robot 800 according to this embodiment is formed by connecting a plurality of structures, that is, a body, a pair of arms connected symmetrically to both sides of the body, and It has a head connected to the upper end via a neck. The torso has two joints (J1, J2), the left and right arms each have seven joints (J1 to J7), and the neck has two joints (J1, J2), allowing rotation and bending around the axis. Bring. More specifically, each articulation includes a motor to effect flexion and rotation of the articulation about its longitudinal axis.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram regarding the arrangement of the control circuit board 30. FIG. In this embodiment, the control circuit board 30 is mounted with a microcomputer including one CPU. One control circuit board 30 processes commands from the robot controller and sensor values from sensors such as encoders provided at each joint, and functions as a follower controller of the robot controller 1 to simultaneously control two motors associated with two joints. control effectively.

As is clear from the figure, the robot 800 has a robot controller 1 inside its body. The robot controller 1 is connected to the EtherCAT hub 2 inside the body via a first bus 700 .

Here, the EtherCAT hub 2 is a hub that operates under the EtherCAT standard and has high-speed response. The EtherCAT hub 2 consists of a first bus 700, a body, a second bus 701 extending into the head, a third bus 702 extending into the right arm, and a fourth bus extending into the left arm. branch to 703; That is, a star topology centering on the EtherCAT hub 2 is formed.

Although the EtherCAT hub 2 is exemplified in this embodiment, hubs operating under other standards may be used.

On the second bus 701, in order from the EtherCAT hub 2, the control circuit board 30-3 that controls the first joints of the left and right arms, the two joints of the body, that is, the first joint of the body and the body A control circuit board 30-2 that controls the second joint of the head, and a control circuit board 30-1 that controls the two joints of the neck that supports the head, that is, the first neck joint and the second neck joint, are connected to the daisy chain. Connected by connection.

On the third bus 702, in order from the EtherCAT hub 2, the control circuit board 30-4 that controls the right arm second joint and the right arm third joint, the control circuit board 30 that controls the right arm fourth joint and the right arm fifth joint. -5, a control circuit board 30-6 for controlling the sixth joint of the right arm and the seventh joint of the right arm are connected by daisy chain connection.

On the fourth bus 703, in order from the EtherCAT hub 2, the control circuit board 30-7 controls the second joint of the left arm and the third joint of the left arm, the control circuit board 30-7 controls the fourth joint of the left arm and the fifth joint of the left arm. -8, a control circuit board 30-9 for controlling the sixth joint of the left arm and the seventh joint of the left arm are connected by daisy chain connection.

As is clear from the figure, although the arm has seven joints, the first joint corresponding to the joint at the base of the arm is the control circuit board 30 connected to the second bus 701 and arranged in the body. Left and right are collectively controlled by -3. Thus, in this embodiment, all the control circuit boards 30 are control circuit boards that control two joints.

According to such a configuration, it is not necessary to provide a board for each of the left and right first joints, and there is no need to design a board for the first joint. Therefore, it is possible to provide a robot or the like having a simple and compact configuration.

In addition, since the control circuit boards 30-3 for the left and right first joints are housed in the torso section, which has relatively more space than the arms, the left and right arms can be made smaller.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram regarding the configuration of the control circuit board 30 and the drive circuit board 40. FIG. As is clear from the figure, the robot 800 has a control system in which control circuit boards 30 for processing control signals from the robot controller 1 are connected in series by daisy chain connection, and a control circuit board 30 connected in parallel to each control circuit board 30 and a drive system consisting of a series of drive circuit boards 40 provided.

Each control circuit board (30-3 to 30-1) is connected by a second bus 701, and each control circuit board (30-3 to 30-1) has an encoder (50-3) associated with two joints. 50-1) are connected. Each control circuit board 30 transmits a control signal to each corresponding drive circuit board 40 via the wire harness 9 for data transmission/reception based on the value of the encoder and the command value from the robot controller. Note that the wire harness is a flexible collective component formed by bundling a plurality of signal lines and having terminals or connectors at both ends thereof.

Each drive circuit board (40-3 to 40-1) is connected in series to a power line 8 from a power supply device attached to the robot 800, and each corresponding control circuit board (30-3 to 30-1 ) and motors (60-3 to 60-1).

Each drive circuit board 40 has a hole in the center and has circuit elements corresponding to each motor in each of the left and right half regions. Each drive circuit board 40 is equipped with a motor driver circuit, an inverter circuit that converts a DC voltage to an AC voltage, and the like. -1) are respectively controlled.

According to such a configuration, the drive circuit board 40 having circuit elements that easily generate heat can be separated from the control circuit board 30, which facilitates countermeasures against heat.

Although the system related to the second bus 701 is described as an example in FIG. , a pair of control circuit board 30 and drive circuit board 40 are provided in series.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of the right arm of the robot 800 having seven joints. As is clear from the figure, the right arm consists of a right arm second joint (J2) and a right arm third joint (J3) in order from the root side of the right arm. A joint assembly 111, a second joint assembly 112 consisting of the fourth right arm joint (J4) and the fifth right arm joint (J5) corresponding to the area of a human elbow or forearm, the sixth right arm joint (J6) and It has a third joint assembly 113 consisting of the seventh joint (J7) of the right arm and corresponding to the area around the human wrist and hand.

In addition, the first joint of the right arm is provided at the base of the arm. Also, in the figure, the cover that protects each substrate is shown removed from the housing.

Also, in the first joint assembly 111, the drive circuit board 40-4 for driving the right arm second joint and the right arm third joint is exposed on the front side of the shoulder. A control circuit board 30-4 for controlling the right arm second joint and the right arm third joint is exposed on the side of the shoulder.

Similarly, the drive circuit board 40-5 for driving the fourth right arm joint and the fifth right arm joint is exposed on the side surface of the second joint assembly 112. As shown in FIG. The corresponding control circuit board 30-5 is not shown because it is located on the back side of the drawing. Further, although not shown, the third joint assembly 113 is also provided with a pair of control circuit board 30-6 and drive circuit board 40-6 for controlling the sixth and seventh right arm joints. .

4 is an enlarged view of the first joint assembly 111. FIG. As is clear from the figure, on the surface corresponding to the front of the shoulder of the second right arm housing 102 that is rotatably connected to the first right arm housing, the drive circuit board 40-4 is mounted around the center of the joint rotation. It is fixed so that it is substantially aligned with the center of the drive shaft and its rear surface is brought into contact with the housing. With such a configuration, the drive circuit board 40 can be arranged with little bias, so smooth rotation of the joint can be achieved. In addition, the contact allows the heat generated in the drive circuit board 40-4 to escape to the housing.

In addition, a control circuit board 30-4 is fixed with bolts to the surface corresponding to the outer surface of the arm of the right arm second housing. The control circuit board 30-4 and the drive circuit board 40-4 are connected at one end of a wire harness (not shown) to the connector connection portion 31 of the control circuit board 30-4 and at the other end to the connector of the drive circuit board 40-4. It is connected by connecting to the unit 41 . At this time, the wire harness 9 is wired so as to pass through the inside of the housing.

According to such a configuration, since both the control circuit board 30-4 and the drive circuit board 40-4 are fixed to the right arm second housing 2, the right arm second housing 102 is driven by the operation of the motor. is rotated with respect to the right arm first housing 101, the relative positional relationship between the control circuit board 30-4 and the drive circuit board 40-4 does not change, realizing stable connection between the boards. be able to.

Note that the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and the control circuit board 30 and the drive circuit board 40 may be fixed to different parts constituting joints. For example, the control circuit board 30-4 may be fixed to the right arm second housing 102, and the drive circuit board 40-4 may be fixed to the right arm first housing 101. FIG. According to such a configuration, even if the relative positional relationship between the first right arm housing 101 and the second right arm housing 102 changes due to the rotation of the second right arm joint, the flexibility of the wire harness allows the control circuit to operate. The board 30-4 and the driving circuit board 40-4 are stably connected.

In addition, according to such a configuration, by removing the housing cover of the robot 800, the mounting surfaces of the control circuit board 30 and the drive circuit board 40 can be easily accessed. improve sexuality.

Furthermore, according to such a configuration, since the control circuit board 30 and the drive circuit board 40 are connected by the wire harness 9 having flexibility, the control circuit board 30 and the drive circuit board 40 are installed in the housing of the robot 800 . can be freely arranged.

As described above, in the first embodiment, a plurality of structures including arms and a torso are connected to each other. The robot 800 including seven (7) motion units (motors 60) has been described as an example. More specifically, a plurality of control circuit boards (30-1, 30-2, 30-4 to 30-9) arranged in a structure having an odd number of operating units and controlling two operating units each, and , a control circuit board 30 for one surplus operating section, which controls two one surplus operating sections remaining in each of the odd-numbered structures by sequentially associating the control circuit boards with the two operating sections. -3 and robot 800 have been described. However, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration, and can be implemented in various modifications.

(2. Modification)
In the first embodiment, the control circuit board 30-3 that controls the left and right first joints is connected to the second bus 701, but the configuration is not limited to this. Thus, for example, it may be arranged on another communication system.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram regarding the arrangement of the control circuit board 30 according to the modified example (Part 1). As is clear from the figure, the control circuit board 30-3 that controls the left and right first joints is connected to the fourth bus 703 in this example. Even in this case, the control circuit board 30-3 is arranged inside the body. Further, it may be connected to the third bus 702 instead of the fourth bus 703 .

In the first embodiment, a control circuit board 30 for controlling two motors is applied to an arm having an odd number of moving parts (motors), and the remaining one motor is connected to the left and right arms. Although the configuration in which the components are collectively controlled by the control circuit board 30-3 in the body portion has been described, the present invention is not limited to such a configuration.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram regarding the arrangement of the control circuit board 30 according to the modified example (Part 2). In the configuration shown in the figure, the body has an odd number of joints, namely three joints, and the neck has an odd number of joints, namely three joints. In addition, in the same figure, the same code|symbol is attached|subjected about the structure similar to FIG.

As is clear from the figure, the control circuit board 308 that controls the left and right first joints is arranged on the second bus 701 also in the configuration of the figure.

On the other hand, in the example of FIG. 1, the body and neck each have three joints. A control circuit board 305 corresponding to the joints (J2/J3) and a control circuit board 307 corresponding to the two joints (J1/J2) of the trunk are provided. A control circuit board 306 for controlling the two joints is connected to one neck joint (J1) and one body joint (J3). At this time, the control circuit board 306 is placed inside the body.

According to such a configuration, it is possible to provide a robot or the like having a simple and compact configuration. Also, the size of the neck can be reduced in addition to the arms.

In the first embodiment, an example of applying the present invention to the dual-arm robot 800 was shown, but the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. Thus, for example, the invention can also be applied to a mobile robot 850 with one robot arm.

7 is an external perspective view of the mobile robot 850. FIG. As is clear from the figure, the mobile robot 850 has a head 201 having two joints (neck J1/J2) at its neck, and a head 201 at its upper end to slide the head 201 and arms 203 up and down. A body part 202 having one joint (body part J1), a truck part 204 having four independently driven wheels 205 to 208 and supporting the body part 202, and seven joints connected to the front of the body part 202. and arm portions including portions (arm portions J1 to J7).

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram regarding the arrangement of the control circuit board 230 in the mobile robot 850. FIG. As is clear from the figure, the mobile robot 850 comprises a robot controller 1 and an EtherCAT hub 2 connected thereto via a first bus 211, as in the first embodiment. In the EtherCAT hub 2, the signal from the first bus 211 is transmitted to the second bus 212 extending into the body portion 202, the third bus 213 extending into the arm portion 203, and the truck portion 204. and a fourth bus 214 extending into the interior of the .

On the second bus 212, in order from the EtherCAT hub 2, a control circuit board 230-2 for controlling the first joint (arm J1) of the arm 203 and the joint (body J1) of the body 202, A control circuit board 230-1 is connected to control the two joints (neck J1/J2).

Also, on the third bus 213, in order from the EtherCAT hub 2, a control circuit board 230-3 for controlling the second and third joints (arms J2/J3) of the arm 203; A control circuit board 230-4 that controls the fourth and fifth joints (arms J4/J5), and a control circuit board 230-5 that controls the sixth and seventh joints (arms J6/J7) of the arm 203. are placed.

Furthermore, a control circuit board 230-6 for controlling the two wheels on the right side of the truck section 204 and the two wheels on the left side of the truck section 204 are provided on the fourth bus 214 in order from the EtherCAT hub 2. A control circuit board 230-7 is arranged.

According to such a configuration, the first joint of arm 203 and the joint of the torso are controlled by one control circuit board 230 provided in torso 202, so that the size of arm 203 can be reduced. can be planned.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the above embodiments merely show a part of application examples of the present invention, and the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the specific configurations of the above embodiments. do not have. Moreover, the above-described embodiments can be appropriately combined within a range that does not cause contradiction.

The present invention can be used at least in industries that manufacture robots and the like.

1 robot controller 2 EtherCAT hub 30 control circuit board 40 drive circuit board 50 encoder (sensor)
60 motor 700 first bus 701 second bus 702 third bus 703 fourth bus 8 power line 9 wire harness (communication line)
201 Head 202 Body 203 Arm 204 Truck 205 Wheel 211 First bus 212 Second bus 213 Third bus 214 Fourth bus 800 Dual-arm robot 810 Dual-arm robot (modification)
820 dual-arm robot (modification)
850 mobile robot

Claims

A robot configured by connecting a plurality of structures, wherein at least an even number of the structures are odd structures each including an odd number of moving parts,
one or more control circuit boards disposed within each of said odd structures, each controlling two of said operating units;
One or a plurality of control circuits for redundant operating units, each controlling two redundant operating units in each of the odd structures by sequentially associating the control circuit boards with the two operating units. A robot, comprising a substrate.
　The robot according to claim 1, wherein the control circuit board for the redundant motion part is arranged in a structure to which the odd structures are connected.
the structure includes a first structure;
the odd structure includes a first structure and a second structure coupled to the first structure;
2. The robot according to claim 1, wherein said surplus motion parts are a motion part near a connecting part of said first structure and a motion part near a connecting part of said second structure.
The odd-numbered structures are a pair of structures provided symmetrically with respect to the main body structure,
2. The robot according to claim 1, wherein said control circuit board for redundant operation section is provided inside said body section structure.
the pair of structures includes a pair of arms extending from the body structure;
5. The robot according to claim 4, wherein said surplus motion part is a motion part related to a joint at the base of each said arm.
A first bus for communicating control signals from a robot controller to at least the body portion structure and to an action portion within the body portion structure; and a second bus for communicating control signals to the action part in the left arm, and a third bus extending to the inside of the right arm part of the arm parts for communicating control signals to the action part in the right arm. including a hub branching into the bus of
6. The robot according to claim 5, wherein said control circuit board for redundant motion units is connected to said first bus.
　The robot according to claim 6, wherein communication between each control circuit board or each control circuit board for redundant motion units is performed according to the EtherCAT standard.
7. The robot according to claim 6, wherein each of said control circuit boards and each of said control circuit boards for redundant operation units is serially daisy-chained on said first bus, said second bus or said third bus.
The robot according to claim 1, wherein the control circuit board and the redundant motion part control circuit board are equipped with a CPU for operating two motion parts.
A robot system configured by connecting a plurality of structures, wherein at least an even number of the structures are odd structures each including an odd number of moving parts,
one or more control circuit boards disposed within each of said odd structures, each controlling two of said operating units;
One or a plurality of control circuits for redundant operating units, each controlling two redundant operating units in each odd structure by sequentially associating the control circuit board with the two operating units. A robotic system, comprising: a substrate;