抄録
We have developed a head care robot equipped with scrubbing fingers.This robot assists with hair washing and scalp care in hospitals or care facilities,and it eases the burden of healthcare professionals and care workers while it brings frequent hair washing and a higher Quality Of Life(QOL) to patients and others in need of nursing care.Several elemental technologies for this robot are listed below:a cylindrical rack mechanism for self-aligning and drive-force transmission from an electric motor to multiple fingers,a five-bar closed link mechanism to expand the head scrubbing area by extension motion,and a rear pressure force control by coordinated double arm motion to switch between supporting and washing a head.In addition to them,we newly introduced an orientation correction mechanism into a five-bar closed link mechanism to keep a contact face of an end effector aligned along a surface of the head.This paper presents several elemental technologies and kinematics of a five-bar closed link mechanism,and discusses improvement of head shape following capability by using an orientation correction mechanism.
