Data processing: generic control systems or specific application – Specific application – apparatus or process – Robot control
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-16
2002-12-17
Black, Thomas (Department: 2121)
Data processing: generic control systems or specific application
Specific application, apparatus or process
Robot control
C700S003000, C700S260000, C700S085000, C700S047000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06496756
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a master-slave manipulator apparatus for operating a slave manipulator upon the basis of instructions from a master manipulator and a method therefor, and further relates to a training apparatus for manipulator operation input and a method therefor.
2. Description of Prior Art
Conventionally, with so-called a master-slave manipulator of a type being driven responding to a force inputted from a manipulator, the master manipulator (however, in the explanation given hereinafter, this “master manipulator” will be called by only “master”) drives a slave manipulator (hereinafter, this “slave manipulator” will be called by “slave”) accurately with respect to the forces being operated thereto, thereby aiming to operate it freely without a feeling that something wrong. For that purpose, threshold values for driving the driver shafts of the master manipulator are set for each degree of freedom of the driver shaft, so as to decide the force inputs given to the master manipulator. In this case, however, this threshold value is set at a magnitude so that the application of the inputs can be decided or detected fully, with certainty, by expecting or estimating a safety factor therein, etc.
On a while, in cases where, for example, a tired or exhausted operator operates or manipulates under the condition of lucking her/his concentration thereto, and/or where she/he operates it while seeing the operation condition of the slave looking aside the master, and/or where a person not well-skilled or trained in operation tries to manipulate it, the operating inputs are made as if ignoring or denying the degree of freedom of the master, or an operator applies a force into a direction not intended, of unconsciousness, therefore, there can be occur a phenomenon that a movement which the operator does not intend occurs in the slave.
Further, even when trying to perform or make the same operation, there may be a case where the forces differ delicately, for each individual, in the manners of applying thereof, for example, depending on the difference in the dominant arm and/or habits during manipulation by the operators. Therefore, if applying a setup value(s) (i.e., a threshold(s)) being similar for all the operators, there may be caused a case where the will of the operator cannot be sufficiently reflected in the operation. In particular, in a case where the same master is commonly owned or used by a plurality of operators, or the like, if the set values of the master are fixed, some operator(s) cannot reflect her/his will in the operation input.
By the way, in such the master-slave manipulator system, as a measure for not only following the inputting operation by the operator, but also against the input not intended by the operator, as was already known in Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. Hei 7-124165 (1995), there is proposed a manipulator system, wherein an acting point of the slave is calculated upon the basis of the sight line(s) of the operator, and further the positional difference thereof from the acting point indicated by an operation input means is obtained, thereby driving and controlling the slave so that the position of the acting point comes to be that acting point which the operation input means indicates, only when the positional difference is smaller than a predetermined value.
With such the manipulator system, namely under the environment where the slave is operated, in particular, in cases where there is an object around which should be escaped an external force from being applied to, and/or where the external force should be escaped from being applied to the environment itself around the object, i.e., in a scene where the will of the operator must be transmitted to the slave with accuracy or correctly, it is very dangerous that the slave makes a movement which is not intended by the operator, or that it takes a position not to be intended. Also, in particular, in a case where detailed and minute work is required by using the slave within a narrow space, there are often cases where no mistake will be allowed in the operation direction thereof.
On a while, in a case where trying to move the master, being restricted in the degree of freedom within the three dimensional space, into a certain direction thereof, a human, i.e., the operator may sometimes make an operation input so that the master is driven in a plurality directions of the degree of freedom at one time, not so far as she/he does not grasps the directions of the degree of freedom, in which the master can move completely, and is not always in her/his mind the direction thereof. Also, even if the operator tries to drive the master in only a certain degree of freedom, however she/he may also generate a force in the direction other than that of the degree of freedom at the same time in unconsciousness. For the human as the operator, it is rather difficult to move her/his hand only in one direction of the degree of freedom within such the three dimension space.
In this manner, according to the conventional art(s), there sometimes occurs the cases, where the slave comes to be in a position that the operator does not intend, since the operator occasionally drives the master into the plural directions of degree of freedom at the same time, or where the slave performs a movement that the operator does not intend by forces being generated unconsciously. Namely, it comes to be a problem whether the force(s) inputted through the master reflects the intention of the operator correctly and accurately or not. In other words, according to the conventional art(s) mentioned above, there may occur the case where the master manipulator also responds to the force(s) not intended by the operator, correctly and accurately, even when is inputted thereto the force, though it is not intended by her/him.
For such the problems, as described in the conventional art(s)mentioned above, in the case where the threshold values are set for the directions of the degree of freedom for the driver shaft of the master, respectively, so as to recognize the input thereof during the operation, it may be possible for the operator to input operation(s) reflecting the intention of her/himself correctly and accurately, if she/he could grasp the directions of degree of freedom of the master and also could make only an input along with that of the degree of freedom intended by her/him. But, such the operation necessitates a concentration of attentions by the operator. However, it is impossible for the operator to keep such the operation condition, necessitating such the concentration of attentions, for a long time.
For example, in the operation while seeing or looking at the working objet, or in the operation under condition of making her/his eyes off from the master, or in the operation under the operation where the tiredness is accumulated so that the concentration is lost, or in the operation that the person who is not well-skilled or trained performs, an easy operation is likely to be conducted by imaging the movement of the slave intuitively, and in such the instance, since the operation is conducted by neglecting or denying the directions of degree of freedom, in which the master can drive, strong forces come to be operated in plural directions of degree of freedom. In particular, in a case where the above-mentioned threshold values for recognizing the presence of the input from the master are set to be relatively low, so as to make it operable with a light force, it is further difficult to separate the force, acting in such the unconsciousness to the master, from that in the direction intended by the operator. In such the case, even if a large threshold value, being recognizable only the input which the operator intends, is set for each direction of the degree of freedom for the master, there also may occur a case where the large force is inputted in the driver shaft (the degree of freedom) other than that on which the operator intends to. In such the case, also the slave comes to ma
Fujie Masakatsu
Kan Kazutoshi
Nishizawa Kouji
Antonelli Terry Stout & Kraus LLP
Barnes Crystal J.
Black Thomas
Technology Research Association of Medical and Welfare Apparatus
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