Maneuvering system having inner force sense presenting function

Abstract

A compact, lightweight manipulation system that excels in operability and has a force feedback capability is provided. When automatic operation of a slave manipulator 105 that follows manual operation of a master manipulator 101 is bilaterally controlled by means of communication, the force acting on the slave manipulator is fed back to the master manipulator by operating the master manipulator primarily under electrically-driven speed control and the slave manipulator primarily under pneumatically-driven force control. Therefore, in the master manipulator, it is not necessary to compensate for the dynamics and the self-weight of the master manipulator in the motion range of a user, allowing highly accurate, broadband positional control, which is specific to an electrically-driven system, and in the slave manipulator, nonlinearity characteristics specific to a pneumatically-driven system presents passive softness, provides a high mass-to-output ratio, and produces a large force.

1 - 8 . (canceled) 
     
     
         9 . A manipulation system in which automatic operation of a slave manipulator that follows manual operation of a master manipulator is controlled under pneumatically-driven force control, the manipulation system characterized in that the manipulation system comprises
 a parallel link including   a parallel link support shaft rotatably supported on a base plate,   a first link having one end rotatably supported by the parallel link support shaft,   a second link having one end rotatably supported by the parallel link support shaft, the second link being parallel to the first link,   a third link having one end rotatably supported by the other end of the second link and a substantially central portion rotatably supported by the first link, the third link being parallel to the parallel link support shaft,   a fourth link having one end rotatably supported by the other end of the first link, the fourth link being parallel to the third link, and   a fixture rotatably supported by the other end of the third link and the other end of the fourth link, and   a plane passing through an axis of rotation of a portion where the fixture is rotatably supported by the third link and passing through an axis of rotation of a portion where the fixture is rotatably supported by the fourth link is parallel to the first link.   
     
     
         10 . A manipulation system in which automatic operation of a slave manipulator that follows manual operation of a master manipulator is controlled under pneumatically-driven force control, the manipulation system characterized in that the manipulation system comprises
 a parallel link including   a parallel link support shaft rotatably supported on a base plate,   a first link having one end rotatably supported by the parallel link support shaft,   a second link having one end rotatably supported by the parallel link support shaft, the second link being parallel to the first link,   a third link having one end rotatably supported by the other end of the second link and a substantially central portion rotatably supported by the first link, the third link being parallel to the parallel link support shaft,   a fourth link having one end rotatably supported by the other end of the first link, the fourth link being parallel to the third link, and   a fixture rotatably supported by the other end of the third link and the other end of the fourth link,   a plane passing through an axis of rotation of a portion where the fixture is rotatably supported by the third link and passing through an axis of rotation of a portion where the fixture is rotatably supported by the fourth link is parallel to the first link,   the manipulation system further comprises:   a first pneumatic actuator that acts on the parallel link in such a way that the parallel link is rotatable around the parallel link support shaft;   a second pneumatic actuator that acts on the first link in such a way that the first link is rotatable around a portion where the first link is rotatably supported by the parallel link support shaft; and   a third pneumatic actuator that acts on a moving object in such a way that the moving object slidably moves in a direction passing through an intersection point of the plane and an axis of rotation of the parallel link support shaft, and   a force acting on the moving object is estimated from drive forces produced by the first, second, and third pneumatic actuators based on back drivability of one of the pneumatic actuators.   
     
     
         11 . A manipulation system in which automatic operation of a slave manipulator that follows manual operation of a master manipulator is controlled under pneumatically-driven force control, the manipulation system characterized in that the manipulation system comprises
 a parallel link including   a parallel link support shaft rotatably supported on a base plate,   a first link having one end rotatably supported by the parallel link support shaft,   a second link having one end rotatably supported by the parallel link support shaft, the second link being parallel to the first link,   a third link having one end rotatably supported by the other end of the second link and a substantially central portion rotatably supported by the first link, the third link being parallel to the parallel link support shaft,   a fourth link having one end rotatably supported by the other end of the first link, the fourth link being parallel to the third link, and   a fixture rotatably supported by the other end of the third link and the other end of the fourth link,   a plane passing through an axis of rotation of a portion where the fixture is rotatably supported by the third link and passing through an axis of rotation of a portion where the fixture is rotatably supported by the fourth link is parallel to the first link,   the manipulation system further comprises:   a first pneumatic actuator that acts on the parallel link in such a way that the parallel link is rotatable around the parallel link support shaft;   a second pneumatic actuator that acts on the first link in such a way that the first link is rotatable around a portion where the first link is rotatably supported by the parallel link support shaft; and   a third pneumatic actuator that acts on a moving object in such a way that the moving object slidably moves in a direction passing through an intersection point of the plane and an axis of rotation of the parallel link support shaft,   a force acting on the moving object is estimated from drive forces produced by the first, second, and third pneumatic actuators based on back drivability of one of the pneumatic actuators, and   an inverse dynamics function of the slave manipulator is calculated based on an equation containing dqs/dt or d 2 qs/dt 2 , where qs: a displacement of each joint of the slave manipulator and dqs/dt, d 2 qs/dt 2 : target values of a trajectory of the master manipulator are used.