Integrated circuit for network communication with industrial personal computer and mechanical arm

Abstract

The utility model discloses an integrated circuit for network communication with an industrial personal computer and a mechanical arm. The integrated circuit comprises five parts, namely a power supply circuit A, an embedded single chip microcomputer control circuit B, an Ethernet and switch circuit C and a serial port communication circuit D which are connected in sequence. The integrated circuit for network communication with the industrial personal computer and the mechanical arm can ensure stable and accurate transmission of information among equipment, so that safe operation is ensured, and the life safety of a patient is protected.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model belongs to the technical field of medical devices, and specifically relates to an integrated circuit for network communication with an industrial computer and a robotic arm. Background Art

[0002] Since the 1990s, robot-assisted minimally invasive surgery has experienced rapid development. A variety of surgical robotic systems have been successfully applied clinically, garnering significant attention from the medical and scientific communities worldwide. Integrating numerous emerging disciplines, surgical robotic systems have enabled minimally invasive, intelligent, and digital surgical procedures. In recent years, surgical robots have been widely used worldwide, encompassing a wide range of surgical procedures, including urology, obstetrics and gynecology, cardiac surgery, thoracic surgery, hepatobiliary surgery, gastrointestinal surgery, and otolaryngology.

[0003] Communication between the robotic arm, industrial computer, and end-effector is crucial throughout the surgical process. However, due to the closed nature of the robotic arm's system, serial communication between it and the end-effector is unstable, with occasional communication failures, posing a significant risk to the surgical process. Utility Model Content

[0004] Therefore, this application adds an integrated circuit between the industrial computer and the robotic arm to communicate serially with the motor driver and counting board in the end effector, obtaining the actuator model information and remaining time information from the counting board. At the same time, it communicates with the robotic arm and the industrial computer over the network, and sends the obtained counting board information to the robotic arm via the UDP protocol (User Datagram Protocol). The robotic arm recognizes this information and, if it determines that the end effector is available, sends it to the industrial computer via network communication. The industrial computer then sends the control information of the motor in the end effector back to the integrated circuit via network communication, and the integrated circuit sends it to the motor driver via serial communication to complete the control of the motor. In this way, the use of the robotic arm for serial communication is avoided, making the entire system more stable. At the same time, a switch module is added to the circuit instead of an independent switch to save space in the robotic arm chassis. In addition, more interfaces can be reserved in the integrated circuit to connect more types of sensors (such as laser ranging sensors, pressure sensors, etc.), providing support for various solutions in the subsequent development of the product.

[0005] In view of the problems and shortcomings of the existing technology, this application proposes an integrated circuit for network communication with an industrial computer and a robotic arm to ensure stable and accurate transmission of information between the devices, so that the operation can be carried out safely and the patient's life can be protected.

[0006] An embodiment of the present utility model proposes an integrated circuit for network communication with an industrial computer and a robotic arm. The integrated circuit for network communication with an industrial computer and a robotic arm includes five parts, namely a power supply circuit A, an embedded single-chip microcomputer control circuit B, an Ethernet and switch circuit C, and a serial communication circuit D connected in sequence.

[0007] According to one embodiment of the present invention, for example, the power supply circuit A converts DC 24V into DC 3.3V and DC 5V required by this circuit; the embedded single-chip microcomputer control circuit B implements related functions according to the written program; the Ethernet and switch circuit C realizes network communication with the industrial computer and the robotic arm; the serial communication circuit D realizes serial communication with the counting board and the motor driver.

[0008] According to one embodiment of the present utility model, for example, the power supply circuit A includes: a 24V input forms a step-down circuit through the chip U21 and the inductor L1, the capacitor C1 is connected in parallel at both ends of the input power supply for filtering, the capacitor C2, the capacitor C3, and the capacitor C4 are connected in parallel at both ends of the power chip output, and form a storage circuit with the inductor L1 to provide a continuous 5V output; the 5V input forms a step-down circuit through the chip U22, the capacitor C5 is connected in parallel at both ends of the chip U22 input for filtering, and the capacitor C6 is connected in parallel at both ends of the power chip output to form a storage circuit to provide a continuous 3.3V output.

[0009] According to one embodiment of the present invention, for example, the embedded single-chip microcomputer control circuit B includes a chip U1 and a port J1, wherein the chip U1 is a chip adopting the ARM-Cortex-M4 core architecture, has 32-bit computing power and shielded interrupt function, and the chip has 100 pins, including 75 GPIO ports. The chip also has a variety of built-in peripherals, including USB, multiple serial ports, CAN, and Ethernet; J1 is a program download port used to burn the driver.

[0010] According to one embodiment of the present invention, for example, the Ethernet and switch circuit C includes a chip U20, a network communication port J9, a capacitor C22 and a capacitor C23, wherein the chip U20 is an Ethernet chip, which realizes the network communication function and performs network communication with the robotic arm and the industrial computer; J9 is a network communication port, which is used to connect to the switch, and the network communication port J9 is connected to the capacitor C22 and the capacitor C23 for filtering.

[0011] According to one embodiment of the present utility model, for example, the serial communication circuit D includes a chip U2, a chip U23, a capacitor C34, a capacitor C35, a capacitor C37, a capacitor C38, a port USB1, and a port USB2, wherein the chip U2 and the chip U23 are serial communication chips, respectively used for serial communication with the counting board and the motor driver in the end effector; the capacitor C34 and the capacitor C35 are connected in parallel to the ground terminal of the chip U2; the capacitor C37 and the capacitor C38 are connected in parallel to the ground terminal of the chip U23 to filter the signal; USB1 is a connection port with the counting board, and USB2 is a connection port with the motor driver. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] Figure 1 This is a schematic structural diagram of a power supply circuit A in an integrated circuit for network communication with an industrial computer and a robotic arm provided by an embodiment of the present utility model.

[0013] Figure 2 This is a structural diagram of an embedded single-chip microcomputer control circuit B in an integrated circuit for network communication with an industrial computer and a robotic arm provided by an embodiment of the present utility model.

[0014] Figure 3 This is a structural diagram of the Ethernet and switch circuit C in an integrated circuit for network communication with an industrial computer and a robotic arm provided by an embodiment of the present utility model.

[0015] Figure 4 This is a structural diagram of a serial communication circuit D in an integrated circuit for network communication with an industrial computer and a robotic arm provided by an embodiment of the present utility model. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0016] To make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more clearly understood, the present invention is further described in detail below in conjunction with specific embodiments and with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention is not limited to the accompanying drawings and the following embodiments.

[0017] An integrated circuit for network communication with an industrial computer and a robotic arm. The circuit comprises five parts: a power supply circuit A, an embedded single-chip microcomputer control circuit B, an Ethernet and switch circuit C, and a serial communication circuit D, which are connected in sequence.

[0018] The power supply circuit A converts DC 24V into the DC 3.3V and DC 5V power required by this circuit; the embedded single-chip microcomputer control circuit B implements the functions described in this application according to the written program; the Ethernet and switch circuit C realizes network communication with the industrial computer and the robotic arm; the serial communication circuit D realizes serial communication with the counter board and motor driver.

[0019] The power supply circuit A includes: a 24V input forms a step-down circuit through chip U21 and inductor L1, capacitor C1 is connected in parallel at both ends of the input power supply for filtering, capacitors C2, C3, and C4 are connected in parallel at both ends of the power chip output, and form a storage circuit with inductor L1 to provide a continuous 5V output; a 5V input forms a step-down circuit through chip U22, capacitor C5 is connected in parallel at both ends of the chip U22 input for filtering, and capacitor C6 is connected in parallel at both ends of the power chip output to form a storage circuit to provide a continuous 3.3V output.

[0020] The embedded single-chip microcomputer control circuit B is chip U1, which utilizes the ARM Cortex-M4 core architecture, boasting 32-bit computing power and maskable interrupt functionality. The chip has 100 pins, including 75 GPIOs. It also includes a variety of built-in peripherals, including USB, multiple serial ports, CAN, and Ethernet. J1 is the program download port for programming the driver. The remaining capacitors and resistors are fixed peripheral circuits of the microcontroller chip.

[0021] The Ethernet circuit C includes a chip U20, a network communication port J9, a capacitor C22, and a capacitor C23, wherein the chip U20 is an Ethernet chip that realizes the network communication function and performs network communication with the robotic arm and the industrial computer; J9 is a network communication port that is used to connect to the switch; the network communication port J9 is connected to the capacitor C22 and the capacitor C23 for filtering.

[0022] The serial communication circuit D includes chip U2, chip U23, capacitor C34, capacitor C35, capacitor C37, capacitor C38, port USB1, and port USB2, wherein U2 and U23 are serial communication chips, respectively used for serial communication with the counting board and motor driver in the end effector, capacitor C34 and capacitor C35 are connected in parallel to the ground end of chip U2, capacitor C37 and capacitor C38 are connected in parallel to the ground end of chip U23 to filter the signal; USB1 is the connection port with the counting board, and USB2 is the connection port with the motor driver.

[0023] The driver of this circuit uses FreeRTOS (a small real-time operating system kernel) supported by the stm32 chip to control multi-process tasks to better ensure the real-time performance and reliability of the system.

[0024] The first process involves serial communication with the counter board in the end effector and network communication with the robotic arm. First, when the circuit receives a start command from the robotic arm, it begins serial communication with the counter board. Because the information sent by the counter board is encrypted, this process must decode the information and extract the end effector's current model, remaining time, and remaining uses. This information is then sent to the robotic arm.

[0025] The second process of the program is the serial communication with the motor driver in the end effector and the network communication with the industrial computer. When process one is completed, the robot arm and the industrial computer will communicate over the network to complete the system initialization and subsequent surgical operations. During the initialization stage, the industrial computer will send an initialization instruction to the integrated circuit. After receiving the instruction, the circuit will communicate with the motor driver board through the serial port, record the current position of the motor (encoder information) and control the motor rotation until it stalls. It will then record the position when it stalls. This position difference is the range of the motor in this direction. After that, it will be measured in the reverse direction to complete the initialization calibration operation. During the surgical stage, the industrial computer will send the motor position information to the circuit board in real time through network communication. The circuit board will send this position information to the motor driver through the serial port to ensure that the electric cutting ring of the end effector can accurately reach the target position.

[0026] It should be noted that the integrated circuit provided by the present invention for network communication with the industrial computer and the robotic arm is not limited to the use of the above program, and any program written according to actual needs can be applied. The above is just an example.

Claims

1. An integrated circuit for network communication with an industrial computer and a robotic arm, characterized in that: The integrated circuit for network communication with the industrial computer and the robotic arm includes five parts, namely, a power supply circuit A, an embedded single-chip microcomputer control circuit B, an Ethernet and switch circuit C, and a serial communication circuit D, which are connected in sequence; The power supply circuit A converts 24V DC into the 3.3V DC and 5V DC power required by this circuit; the embedded single-chip microcomputer control circuit B implements its functions according to the written program; the Ethernet and switch circuit C realizes network communication with the industrial computer and the robotic arm; Serial communication circuit D realizes serial communication with the counting board and the motor driver; The power supply circuit A includes: a 24V input forming a step-down circuit through a chip U21 and an inductor L1, a capacitor C1 connected in parallel across the input power supply for filtering, capacitors C2, C3, and C4 connected in parallel across the output of the power supply chip, and forming a tank circuit with the inductor L1 to provide a continuous 5V output; a 5V input forming a step-down circuit through a chip U22, a capacitor C5 connected in parallel across the input of the chip U22 for filtering, and a capacitor C6 connected in parallel across the output of the power supply chip to form a tank circuit to provide a continuous 3.3V output; The embedded single-chip microcomputer control circuit B includes a chip U1 and a port J1. The chip U1 is a chip using the ARM-Cortex-M4 core architecture, with 32-bit computing power and shielded interrupt function. The chip has 100 pins, including 75 GPIO ports. The chip also has a variety of built-in peripherals, including USB, multiple serial ports, CAN, and Ethernet. J1 is a program download port for burning the driver. The Ethernet and switch circuit C includes a chip U20, a network communication port J9, a capacitor C22, and a capacitor C23. The chip U20 is an Ethernet chip that implements network communication functions and communicates with the robotic arm and the industrial computer. J9 is a network communication port used to connect to the switch. The network communication port J9 is connected to capacitors C22 and C23 for filtering. The serial communication circuit D includes chip U2, chip U23, capacitor C34, capacitor C35, capacitor C37, capacitor C38, port USB1, and port USB2, wherein chip U2 and chip U23 are serial communication chips, respectively used for serial communication with the counting board and motor driver in the end effector; capacitor C34 and capacitor C35 are connected in parallel to the ground end of chip U2; capacitor C37 and capacitor C38 are connected in parallel to the ground end of chip U23 to filter the signal; USB1 is the connection port with the counting board, and USB2 is the connection port with the motor driver.

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