Traction rope control device, control method and robot for a robot

Abstract

The present invention provides a traction rope control device, a control method and a robot for a robot. The traction rope control device includes: a parallel beam sensor, a bridge circuit, a signal amplifier, an analog-to-digital converter and a processing and control unit. Among them, the parallel beam sensor includes two staggeredly arranged parallel beam sensors, constituting a two-dimensional tension sensor. The present invention realizes the measurement of the magnitude and direction of the force in a two-dimensional plane through a set of two staggeredly arranged parallel beam load cells; adopts the L-shaped double beam orthogonal connection method to simply and reliably realize the measurement of the magnitude and direction of the elastic force; has a fully static structure, only has a tiny elastic deformation, does not require rotating moving parts, and has no precision or vulnerable parts such as gratings and sliding resistors, is more reliable and durable, and is easy to manufacture and maintain.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of mobile robot motion control, and particularly relates to a traction rope control device, a control method and a robot for a robot. Background Art

[0002] In some scenarios, small and slow unmanned vehicles still require human intervention in vehicle movement. For example, during handling and deployment, abnormal handling, or ad hoc out-of-map operation, etc., the robot often needs to move according to the instructions of the on-site accompanying personnel rather than automatically move according to the map.

[0003] Since unmanned vehicles do not provide manned conditions and there is no steering wheel device on the vehicle; and because the vehicle reducer has a large reduction ratio and no clutch, or the vehicle condition has a load at that time, it is often strenuous for manual long-distance pushing, so the operation is inconvenient. "Remote control" solves this problem to a certain extent. Common existing control means include: physical remote control, such as a four-direction joystick + buttons; dedicated computer or mobile phone software.

[0004] Although remote control enables operation without effort, common remote controls often occupy both hands, lack physical feedback, and rely on eye-hand coordination with a tactile delay. Generally, there is a response delay of hundreds of milliseconds. Fundamentally, using buttons and push rods to express manipulation intentions such as force is not direct enough. Mobile phone or computer software, through wireless technologies such as WI FI and Bluetooth, has a significant delay, the control is inaccurate, and it is not easy to achieve centimeter-level accuracy; the pairing process is cumbersome and cannot meet the requirement of "instant use".

[0005] "Remote control" cuts off the physical interaction connection between humans and machines and does not make full use of the condition of "personnel accompanying the vehicle". In summary, the existing robot control means appear "difficult and unnatural" and no longer meet the control and use requirements of mobile robots. How to design a control means that is direct, labor-saving, fast, simple and easy to interact with, and safe for personnel to temporarily and quickly manipulate the vehicle movement has become an urgent problem in the industry. Summary of the Invention

[0006] In view of this, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a traction rope control device, a control method and a robot for a robot, enabling the user to control the robot with one hand, having almost no requirements for the user's professional background, and being able to be controlled without professional skill training and adaptation. The experience during the control process is as real, natural, direct and fast as "giving the robot a hand", and it can work reliably in remote environments such as fields, realizing that under the operation of personnel, the mobile robot or unmanned vehicle can flexibly shuttle with people, thus greatly improving the user experience.

[0007] According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a traction rope control device for a robot, including:

[0008] Parallel beam sensors, a bridge circuit, a signal amplifier, an analog-to-digital converter, and a processing and control unit;

[0009] The number of the parallel beam sensors is two, and the arrangement directions of the two parallel beam sensors are not parallel to each other;

[0010] The output ends of the two parallel beam sensors are respectively connected to the signal amplifier via the bridge circuit, the output end of each signal amplifier is respectively connected to the input end of the analog-to-digital converter, and the output end of the analog-to-digital converter is connected to the processing and control unit.

[0011] In one embodiment, the two parallel beam sensors are a first parallel beam sensor arranged horizontally and a second parallel beam sensor arranged vertically; the two parallel beam sensors are arranged orthogonally in an L shape.

[0012] In one embodiment, one end of the first parallel beam sensor is adapted to be fixedly connected to the side surface of the robot body, and the other end is fixedly connected to the lower end of the vertically arranged second parallel beam sensor;

[0013] A rope tying post for tying a towing rope is arranged at the upper end of the second parallel beam sensor.

[0014] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a device for a robot, including the towing rope control device according to any one of the foregoing embodiments.

[0015] According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a robot control method, including:

[0016] Activating a pulling control mode according to a first operation of a user on the towing rope, where the pulling control mode is a mode of controlling the robot using the towing rope;

[0017] Determining a leading zero position and a reference pulling force vector according to a second operation of the user on the towing rope, where the leading zero position is a reference position for calculating the pulling force increment of the towing rope in the pulling control mode, and the reference pulling force vector is used as a reference for calculating the pulling force of the user operation;

[0018] Detecting a pulling force vector generated by the user pulling the towing rope, and generating a control instruction for the robot according to the pulling force vector.

[0019] In one embodiment, the first operation is that the user removes the towing rope and first pulls the towing rope with a force exceeding a threshold value.

[0020] In one embodiment, the second operation is that after the pulling control mode is activated, the user first tightens and pauses at a suitable position selected by the user and holds for a preset time;

[0021] When the suitable position is determined as the leading zero position, the stable pulling force vector detected during the holding process is set as the reference pulling force vector.

[0022] In one embodiment, after the pulling control mode is activated, the user pulls the towing rope along a preset trajectory.

[0023] In one embodiment, a control command for the robot is calculated and generated according to the difference between the pulling force vector generated by the user pulling the towing rope and the reference pulling force vector.

[0024] The present invention measures the magnitude and direction of force in a two-dimensional plane through a set of two staggered parallel beam load cells. By using non-specialized and commonly available general products and arranging them skillfully by the L-shaped double beam orthogonal connection method, the measurement of the magnitude and direction of elastic force is simply and reliably realized. The fully static structure has only a tiny elastic deformation, without rotating moving parts, and no precision or vulnerable components such as gratings and sliding resistors, making it more reliable and durable, and easier to manufacture and maintain. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments or the prior art. The drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those of ordinary skill in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative efforts.

[0026] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the principle of an embodiment of the towing rope control device of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the sensor structure of an embodiment of the towing rope control device of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of three basic deformations and effects of the parallel beams of the parallel beam sensor;

[0029] Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the response of the orthogonal parallel beam group of the present invention to the pulling force component;

[0030] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of the "follow-up" control process of an embodiment of the towing rope control device of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 6 Schematic diagram of the "follow-up" control effect of another embodiment of the towing rope control device of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 7 Schematic diagram of the human-machine operation effect of an embodiment of the towing rope control device of the present invention;

[0033] Figure 8 Schematic diagram of the principle of another embodiment of the towing rope control device of the present invention;

[0034] Figure 9 Schematic diagram of the three - dimensional force sensor structure for another embodiment of the traction rope control device of the present invention;

[0035] Figure 10 Schematic diagram of the operation process for an embodiment of the traction rope control device of the present invention. Detailed implementation manners

[0036] The present invention will be further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present invention and are not used to limit the present invention.

[0037] Embodiment 1

[0038] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of an embodiment of the traction rope control device of the present invention. As Figure 1 shown, the traction rope control device may include, connected in sequence: a parallel beam sensor, a bridge circuit, a signal amplifier, an analog - to - digital converter, and a processing and control unit; and a power supply unit (not shown in the figure) connected to each component. Among them, the parallel beam sensor includes two parallel beam sensors arranged in an interleaved manner, constituting a two - dimensional tension sensor.

[0039] Optionally, the two parallel beam sensors arranged in an interleaved manner are a first parallel beam sensor (also called a flat beam) arranged horizontally and a second parallel beam sensor (also called a vertical beam) arranged vertically. The two parallel beam sensors are arranged orthogonally in an L - shape, and the installation structure is as Figure 2 shown. One end of the first parallel beam sensor is directly or indirectly fixedly connected to the side surface of the body of the mobile robot, and the other end is fixedly connected to the lower end of the vertically arranged second parallel beam sensor; a rope - tying post is arranged at the upper end of the second parallel beam sensor for tying the traction rope. The output ends of the two parallel beam sensors are respectively connected to the signal amplifier via the bridge circuit. The output end of each signal amplifier is respectively connected to the input end of the analog - to - digital converter (AD). The output end of the analog - to - digital converter (AD) is connected to the processing and control unit. The analog signals output by the two parallel beam sensors are processed by the bridge circuit, amplified by the signal amplifier, and then processed by the analog - to - digital converter (AD) to be converted into digital signals and sent to the processing and control unit for calculation and processing. Finally, a two - dimensional tension vector is calculated and sent as the output signal of the traction rope controller to the control unit of the mobile robot.

[0040] The basic structure and working principle of the parallel beam sensor are as follows: The sensitive beam (or elastic body, elastic element) generates elastic deformation under the action of an external force, causing the resistance strain gauges pasted on its surface to deform accordingly; the resistance value of the resistance strain gauges will change, and then through the corresponding measurement circuit, this resistance change is converted into an electrical signal such as voltage or current, thus completing the process of converting the external force into an electrical signal.

[0041] The parallel beams of the parallel beam sensor have three basic deformations and effects in positive bending, side bending, and rotation as follows Figure 3 shown. Only positive bending effectively causes a difference between the two beams, while side bending and rotation cause symmetric deformations of the upper and lower beams, which contribute nothing to the output. As Figure 4 shown, the X and Y components of the tensile force transmitted through the towing rope can be detected by the flat beam and the vertical beam in the parallel beam group arranged in an L-shaped orthogonal manner respectively.

[0042] Optionally, the aforementioned two-dimensional tensile force sensor S is directly installed on the body of the mobile robot, and an elastic rope L is selected as the towing rope. When the elastic rope L is pulled by a human hand 1 m away, an initial value f0 of a tensile force vector F is read on the two-dimensional tensile force sensor S at this time. If f0 is taken as the zero point, the F increment will reflect the movement of the rope end. That is, the two-dimensional tensile force sensor S can sense the gesture change and is vectorized by deta_f0; after measuring deta_f0, the mobile robot responds to the change in motion, and the motion target is to cancel deta_f0 and make it zero, so as to achieve the "follow-up" control effect of the machine following the hand. As long as the elastic rope L remains tense, the position change of the human hand at the end can be transmitted to the two-dimensional tensile force sensor S through the elastic force.

[0043] Furthermore, the pulling position does not have to be limited to the front of the vehicle. It is also possible behind or beside the vehicle. Just take the driving position as the zero point of the tensile force vector. As long as the elastic force is not zero, the hand movement can be tracked. What drives the vehicle to move is the increment of F after zeroing, so the movement can be independent of the initial position (the standing position beside the vehicle). The controlled vehicle body tries to cancel the increment of the leading tensile force through movement, so as to achieve the follow-up control effect. As Figure 5 shown, when it is necessary to control the robot to move forward, backward, turn left or right, the user does not have to pull around the front, behind, left or right. Just pull at the same relative position. If the leading zero position is at the right rear, the change in the pulling position makes the pulling rope tend to be slack and the tensile force decreases. The follow-up situation is as Figure 6 shown.

[0044] In some embodiments, ropes with appropriate elasticity and rope lengths can be selected to obtain good feel and sensitivity. If it is too long, the angle change is tiny. If the elasticity is too small, the change in the elastic force is weak, and the feel is not good. If the elastic force is too large, it will make people tired.

[0045] Optionally, the typical parameter specifications of the towing rope control device are as follows: 30 cm operating range, 1 m vehicle accompanying distance, 3 N typical tensile force, 1 cm execution accuracy, 20 ms response time, 2 s ready / 2 s end operation.

[0046] The operating range refers to that the towing rope control device can be operated within 30 cm from the vehicle;

[0047] The vehicle accompanying distance refers to accompanying the vehicle within 1 m around the robot;

[0048] The typical pulling force refers to the force required to operate the traction rope control device;

[0049] The execution accuracy refers to the action accuracy after the vehicle is controlled by using the traction rope control device;

[0050] The response time refers to the time when the vehicle starts to move after the traction rope control device is operated to control the vehicle;

[0051] The ready and end operation time refers to the time taken for the vehicle to move from stationary / moving to moving / stationary.

[0052] The original signal contains components such as dead zone, jitter, and the stride of a person and the swing amplitude of the arm. Through modeling and filtering, a low-frequency signal suitable for the vehicle response is extracted and sent to the vehicle for execution.

[0053] The method of performing various filtering processes on the original signal belongs to the prior art. It is only necessary to filter out the noise components according to the characteristics of the original signal and extract the signal suitable for the vehicle response. This embodiment does not make special restrictions on this. In this embodiment, the method of taking the maximum value is used to determine the pulling force in the forward and backward directions, that is, the robot uses the maximum pulling force value collected as the signal that needs to be responded to in the forward and backward directions, and stops running until there is a pulling force in the opposite direction; the steering uses the real-time pulling force value to determine the rotation direction of the machine.

[0054] Through the above technical solution of the traction rope controller, the user can apply a pilot control instruction to the controlled mobile robot through the traction rope, thereby realizing an elastic non-powered connection between the human and the machine, which can be used immediately when pulled, and the operation is fast and direct. The user can accompany the vehicle at the side rear, and the control method is safer; the follow-up form of operation is natural and simple, and the effect is as Figure 7 shown.

[0055] Optionally, a handle convenient for holding is added to the hand-held end of the traction rope. When the traction rope operation is not required, the handle can be hung on the body of the mobile robot; when it is necessary to switch to the traction rope control mode, the user can remove the handle to activate the traction rope control mode. The user (or called the accompanying operator) selects the safer and more convenient side rear as the "pilot zero position", that is, the zero point of the elastic force signal, rather than the front of the vehicle as commonly considered, that is: the control pulling force is inconsistent with, or even contrary to, the direction of the vehicle head, just like a sailing boat sailing against the wind. The goal of enabling the accompanying vehicle personnel rather than the on-vehicle personnel to easily, naturally, safely and accurately control the low-speed vehicle is realized. Compared with the existing remote control, the hand-pulling method is natural and easy to understand. The traction rope can be configured for one machine, and it is convenient to store randomly and not easy to lose, which is convenient and reliable.

[0056] Optionally, the traction rope can be made of a uniform or non-uniform elastic material, including but not limited to forms such as pure rubber bands, combinations of cloth belts and rubber bands, combinations of iron wires and springs, etc.

[0057] Optionally, the towing rope can also be a non-elastic rope, but is retracted by an elastic retractor.

[0058] Regardless of the type of towing rope used, the common features are that neither end of the rope provides thrust or rigid support, it is soft, elastic and extensible, has a tendency to shorten after elongation, and the elastic force increases proportionally or non-proportionally with the increase in length.

[0059] Optionally, the two parallel beam pressure sensors for two-dimensional elastic force vector measurement can also be arranged in other ways, such as vertical L-shaped, or even non-orthogonal, but they are still a pair of pressure sensors; regardless of the arrangement, as long as the two-dimensional elastic force vector can be accurately measured.

[0060] By installing the towing rope control device provided in this embodiment, when the user needs to change the current movement direction of the robot, the user only needs to pull the towing rope in the target direction, and the towing rope between the user and the controlled robot will be tightened. The towing rope control device senses the pulling force direction of the user, and then sends a turning instruction to the controlled robot according to the pulling force direction; when the user needs to change the current movement speed of the robot, the user only needs to "suddenly" pull the towing rope in the acceleration direction, and the towing rope between the user and the controlled robot will be quickly tightened. The towing rope control device senses the pulling force acceleration of the user, and then sends an acceleration instruction to the controlled robot according to the pulling force acceleration. If the towing rope is pulled in the direction opposite to the current movement direction of the robot, the towing rope control device senses the reverse pulling force of the user, and sends a deceleration or braking instruction to the controlled robot according to the magnitude or acceleration of the reverse pulling force. In most cases, the towing rope control device senses the pulling force vector of the user, thereby analyzing the control intention of the user including the movement direction and speed change, thus realizing flexible and convenient interaction between the user and the robot, and obtaining a user experience similar to "walking a dog".

[0061] Embodiment 2

[0062] This embodiment provides another towing rope control device. As Figure 8 shown, the towing rope control device provided in this embodiment may include: a pulling force vector measurement mechanism, an analog-to-digital converter, and a processing and control unit, which are connected in sequence; and a power supply unit (not shown in the figure) connected to each component. Among them, the pulling force vector measurement mechanism is used to measure the pulling force vector of the user's towing, including the magnitude and direction of the towing force.

[0063] By using the pulling force vector measurement mechanism, real-time measurement and feedback of the pulling force vector data of the user's towing of the robot through the towing rope are realized, so as to control the robot.

[0064] In this embodiment, the tensile force vector measuring mechanism is a triaxial force sensor, also known as a three-dimensional force sensor or a three-component force sensor. Optionally, according to the range and accuracy requirements determined by the manipulation tensile force, a triaxial force sensor of the K3D40 type as shown in Figure 9 can be selected. The triaxial force sensor can simultaneously detect the tensile force values in the three XYZ directions in space and output three groups of voltage signals for the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis at the same time. The three groups of voltage signals are respectively output as three groups of corresponding digital signals through an analog-to-digital converter and then sent to the processing and control unit to calculate the tensile force values of the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis, so as to finally calculate the tensile force and direction conducted by the tow rope.

[0065] Embodiment III

[0066] Figure 10 shows a typical operation process of an embodiment of the tow rope control device provided by the present invention, including:

[0067] Step 1: The user removes the tow rope or the handle of the tow rope to activate the pulling mode.

[0068] The pulling control mode is the mode of using the tow rope to control the robot.

[0069] When the user removes the tow rope and first pulls the tow rope beyond the threshold of the preset tensile force, the pulling mode is activated.

[0070] When the tow rope of the tow rope control device is an inelastic rope wound by an elastic retractor, the user needs to directly pull out a preset rope length to activate the pulling mode.

[0071] Step 2: Confirm the zero point and enter the association.

[0072] After the user pulls out the tow rope, find a suitable tensioned position and pause at this position for about 1 s, which is an indication of "determining (pilot) zero position".

[0073] For example, the robot measures the tensile force of the tow rope at a certain frequency through the tow rope control device. When it detects that the tensile force increases from zero and stabilizes at a certain value for a sufficient time (for example, 1 s), the robot will recognize this "stable position" as the "pilot zero position", and use this "pilot zero position" to calculate the "tensile force increment" during the subsequent following process.

[0074] In some feasible embodiments, other "pilot zero position" confirmation methods can also be adopted:

[0075] For example, set a dedicated confirmation button, trigger structure, or even a biometric detection module, press it once or hold it down for confirmation; or the user pulls the tow rope to perform preset specified actions, such as drawing circles or figure eights.

[0076] Step 3: The user controls the robot in a pulling mode.

[0077] The traction rope control device continuously detects the pulling force vector, generates and sends a control instruction for the robot according to the detected pulling force vector.

[0078] Step 4: Disassociate, retrieve the handle, and end the pulling mode.

[0079] When the traction rope of the traction rope control device is an inelastic rope wound by an elastic reel, the user only needs to release the rope, and after the reel automatically elastically retrieves the rope, the pulling mode ends.

[0080] Embodiment 4

[0081] This embodiment provides a robot, including a robot body and a traction rope control device of the foregoing solution capable of controlling the robot.

[0082] The robot can be a wheeled mobile robot or a quadruped robot similar to a robotic dog, and the user can perform traction and manipulation of the robot through the traction rope control device.

[0083] Among them, the wheeled mobile robot can be a medical delivery robot, a self-driving sweeper, a disinfection robot, etc. This embodiment does not particularly limit the application scenario of the robot.

[0084] The specific embodiments described above further elaborate on the purpose, technical solution, and beneficial effects of the present application. It should be understood that the above description is only the specific embodiments of the present application and is not used to limit the protection scope of the present application. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made on the basis of the technical solution of the present application shall be included within the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A robot control method, characterized in that, it includes: Activating a pulling control mode according to the user's first operation on the towing rope, where the pulling control mode is a mode of using the towing rope to control the robot; Determining a leading zero position and a reference pulling force vector according to the user's second operation on the towing rope. The leading zero position is a reference position for calculating the pulling force increment of the towing rope in the pulling control mode, and the reference pulling force vector is used as a reference for calculating the user's operating pulling force; Detecting the pulling force vector generated by the user pulling the towing rope, and generating a control command for the robot according to the pulling force vector; The second operation is that after the pulling control mode is activated, the user first tightens and pauses at a suitable position selected by the user for a preset time; When the suitable position is determined as the leading zero position, the stable pulling force vector detected during the holding process is set as the reference pulling force vector.

2. The robot control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first operation is that the user removes the towing rope and first pulls the towing rope with a force exceeding the threshold.

3. The robot control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: The second operation is that after the pulling control mode is activated, the user pulls the towing rope along a preset trajectory.

4. The robot control method according to claim 1, characterized in that: Generating a control command for the robot according to the difference between the pulling force vector generated by the user pulling the towing rope and the reference pulling force vector.

5. A towing rope control device based on the robot control method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, it includes: Parallel beam sensors, a bridge circuit, a signal amplifier, an analog-to-digital converter, and a processing and control unit; The number of parallel beam sensors is two, and the arrangement directions of the two parallel beam sensors are not parallel to each other; The output ends of the two parallel beam sensors are respectively connected to the signal amplifier via the bridge circuit. The output end of each signal amplifier is respectively connected to the input end of the analog-to-digital converter, and the output end of the analog-to-digital converter is connected to the processing and control unit; The two parallel beam sensors are a first parallel beam sensor arranged horizontally and a second parallel beam sensor arranged vertically; the two parallel beam sensors are arranged orthogonally in an L shape; One end of the first parallel beam sensor is adapted to be fixedly connected to the side surface of the robot body, and the other end is fixedly connected to the lower end of the vertically arranged second parallel beam sensor; A rope tying post for tying the towing rope is provided at the upper end of the second parallel beam sensor.

6. The towing rope control device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The rope tying post is connected to a towing rope.

7. A robot, characterized in that, it includes the towing rope control device according to claims 5 and 6.

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