Robot Hand Coupler and Lock for Misalignment-Tolerant Insertion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing hands and robot systems face challenges in achieving precise positional accuracy during tasks such as inserting components into holes, due to misalignment and tilting issues, which complicates operations like picking up and placing components.
Innovation Solution
A hand system with a gripper coupled to a hand body via a coupler that allows for adjustable positioning and locking mechanisms, including a decentering and tilt coupler, along with actuators for precise movement and rotation, enabling the gripper to align accurately with the workpiece.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If the hand uses a fixed rigid structure to grip and move workpieces, then the structure is simple and easy to control, but the positional accuracy deteriorates when misalignment or tilting occurs during insertion tasks
Solution Approach 1:
The hand employs a dynamic structure where the gripper can change its pose (position and orientation) relative to the hand body through a coupler mechanism. This allows the hand to adapt to misalignment and tilting during insertion tasks, improving positional accuracy without requiring a completely rigid and complex structure. The coupler enables controlled movement and adjustment during operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The hand is divided into separate functional components: a hand body, a gripper, and a coupler connecting them. This segmentation allows independent control and adjustment of each component, enabling the gripper to achieve precise positioning and orientation relative to the hand body while maintaining overall structural simplicity.
2Manufacturing precision
If the hand employs sensing and control mechanisms to enhance positional accuracy, then the positional accuracy improves, but the loads of sensing and control increase
Solution Approach 1:
The coupler mechanism provides self-adjusting capabilities that reduce the need for complex sensing and control systems. The mechanical design allows automatic adaptation to misalignment and tilting through its inherent degrees of freedom, thereby reducing the sensing and control loads while maintaining positional accuracy.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the hand uses a fixed gripper position relative to the hand body, then the control is simple, but the ability to perform insertion work with misalignment tolerance is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The coupler enables the gripper to dynamically adjust its position and orientation relative to the hand body, providing adaptability for insertion tasks with misalignment. This dynamic capability is achieved through a relatively simple mechanical structure that maintains ease of control while enhancing versatility.
Data Source
AI summary
A hand 100 includes a hand body 2, a gripper 3 that grips a workpiece, a coupler 4 that couples the gripper 3 to the hand body 2 such that a relative position of the gripper 3 to the hand body 2 is changeable, and a lock 9 that locks movement of the coupler 4. The lock 9 switches, by an opening/closing action, between a locked state where the lock 9 locks movement of the coupler 4 by contacting the gripper 3 and an unlocked state where the lock 9 unlocks movement of the coupler 4 by separating from the gripper 3.