# US 11,999,051 B2 · Control device, control method, and program > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 11,999,051 B2 - Document ID: US11999051B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 16/982,204 - Filed: 2019-01-22 - Published: 2021-02-04 - Granted: 2024-06-04 - Earliest claimed: 2018-03-27 - Assignees: Sony Corporation - Applicants: Sony Corporation - Inventors: Tetsuya Narita - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11999051B2 ## CPC - B25J 13/082: {Grasping-force detectors (in general G01L5/16, G01L5/22)} - B25J 13/083: {fitted with slippage detectors} - B25J 9/1612: {characterised by the hand, wrist, grip control} - B25J 13/084: {Tactile sensors (in general G01L5/16, G01L5/22)} - B25J 13/085: {Force or torque sensors (B25J13/082, B25J13/084 take precedence)} - B25J: MANIPULATORS; CHAMBERS PROVIDED WITH MANIPULATION DEVICES ({manipulators specially adapted for use in surgery A61B34/70; manipulators used in cleaning hollow articles B08B9/04}; manipulators associated with rolling mills B21B39/20; manipulators associated with forging machines B21J13/10; {manipulators associated with picking-up and placing mechanisms B23P19/007}; means for holding wheels or parts thereof B60B30/00; {vehicles with ground-engaging propulsion means, e.g. walking members B62D57/02, B62D57/032; devices for picking-up and depositing articles or materials between conveyors B65G47/90, B65G47/91; manipulators with gripping or holding means for transferring packages B65H67/065}; cranes B66C; {manipulators used in the protection or supervision of pipe-line installations F17D5/00; walking equipment adapted for nuclear steam-generators F22B37/006}; manipulators specially adapted for, or associated with, nuclear reactors G21C; {apparatus used for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor H10P72/50}) ## Abstract There is provided a control device, a control method, and a program which are able to appropriately control a grip force of when a contact section and an object come into contact with each other. The control device includes a grip controller that controls a grip force related to a contact section depending on a contact force of when the contact section and an object come into contact with each other, the contact force being based on a sensing result obtained by a tactile sensor disposed at the contact section and a sensing result obtained by a force sensor disposed at the contact section. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A control device comprising: a grip controller configured to control a contact force at each contact point of a plurality of contact points when a contact section and an object come into contact with each other, the contact force being based on a sensing result obtained by a tactile sensor disposed at the contact section and a sensing result obtained by a force sensor disposed at the contact section, wherein the sensing result obtained by the tactile sensor is used to determine a number of the plurality of contact points on the tactile sensor and a relative position from a predetermined reference position of each contact point of the plurality of contact points on the tactile sensor, which indicates a positional relationship between the plurality of contact points, wherein the contact force at each contact point is controlled according to the number of the plurality of contact points, the relative position of each contact point, and a contact force strength ratio between individual contact points of the plurality of contact points, wherein the contact force strength ratio is calculated for each individual contact point with respect to each other individual contact point of the plurality of contact points, and wherein the grip controller is implemented via at least one processor. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The control device according to claim 1, wherein the contact section is a grip section, wherein the grip controller controls a grip force of the grip section depending on respective contact forces at respective individual contact points, wherein the respective contact forces at the respective individual contact points are calculated on a basis of the sensing result obtained by the force sensor and information related to the individual contact points of when the grip section and the object come into contact with each other at the plurality of contact points, and wherein the information related to the individual contact points is identified on a basis of the sensing result obtained by the tactile sensor. ### Claim 3 (depends on 2) The control device according to claim 2, wherein information indicating the positional relationship of the individual contact points among the plurality of contact points includes pieces of position information of the respective individual contact points within the grip section. ### Claim 4 (depends on 2) The control device according to claim 2, wherein the grip controller controls the grip force of the grip section depending on contact forces at the respective individual contact points, wherein the respective contact forces at the respective individual contact points are calculated on a basis of the information related to the individual contact points and a resultant force calculated as a sum of contact forces between the grip section and the object, and wherein the resultant force is identified on a basis of the sensing result obtained by the force sensor. ### Claim 5 (depends on 2) The control device according to claim 2, wherein the grip section is coupled to an actuator or the grip section includes an actuator, wherein the grip controller controls the grip force of the grip section depending on contact forces at the respective individual contact points of when the grip section and the object are in contact with each other at one or more points, and wherein the respective contact forces are calculated on a basis of the information related to the respective individual contact points and a generation force of the actuator identified on a basis of the sensing result obtained by the force sensor. ### Claim 6 (depends on 2) The control device according to claim 2, further comprising: a contact force calculator configured to calculate the respective contact forces at the respective individual contact points on a basis of the information related to the individual contact points and the sensing result obtained by the force sensor, wherein the contact force calculator is implemented via at least one processor. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The control device according to claim 6, further comprising: a slip detector configured to detect a slip amount of the object with respect to the grip section on a basis of the sensing result obtained by the tactile sensor, wherein the slip detector is implemented via at least one processor. ### Claim 8 (depends on 7) The control device according to claim 7, wherein the slip detector detects the slip amount of the object with respect to the grip section further on a basis of the respective contact forces at the respective individual contact points calculated by the contact force calculator. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The control device according to claim 8, wherein the slip detector detects the slip amount of the object with respect to the grip section further on a basis of the sensing result obtained by the force sensor. ### Claim 10 (depends on 8) The control device according to claim 8, wherein the slip detector further determines whether or not to detect the slip amount of the object with respect to the grip section, on a basis of whether or not a contact between the grip section and the object has been detected. ### Claim 11 (depends on 7) The control device according to claim 7, wherein the grip controller controls the grip force of the grip section depending on the respective contact forces at the respective individual contact points calculated by the contact force calculator and the slip amount detected by the slip detector. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The control device according to claim 11, wherein the grip controller controls the grip force of the grip section further depending on an upper limit of the contact force when the contact section and the object come into contact with each other, the upper limit being specified by a user. ### Claim 13 (depends on 11) The control device according to claim 11, wherein the grip controller controls the grip force of the grip section further depending on a target value of a contact force of the grip section with respect to the object, the target value being specified by a user. ### Claim 14 (depends on 11) The control device according to claim 11, wherein the grip controller controls the grip force of the grip section further depending on information indicating a relationship between a state of the object and a grip force of the grip section of when the grip section gripped the object in the past. ### Claim 15 (depends on 11) The control device according to claim 11, wherein the grip controller controls the grip force of the grip section further depending on a recognition result of a state of the object while the grip section is in contact with the object. ### Claim 16 (depends on 11) The control device according to claim 11, wherein the grip controller further switches a type of control to be performed on the grip section or a control parameter related to the grip section, depending on whether or not a contact between the grip section and the object has been detected. ### Claim 17 (depends on 1) The control device according to claim 1, wherein the sensing result obtained by the tactile sensor is used to determine the number of the plurality of contact points prior to determining the relative position of each contact point. ### Claim 18 (depends on 1) The control device according to claim 1, wherein the sensing result obtained by the tactile sensor is used to determine the contact force strength ratio. ### Claim 19 (depends on 1) The control device according to claim 1, wherein the contact force strength ratio is calculated with respect to a shear force at each individual contact point. ### Claim 20 A control method comprising: controlling, by a processor, a contact force at each contact point of a plurality of contact points when a contact section and an object come into contact with each other, the contact force being based on a sensing result obtained by a tactile sensor disposed at the contact section and a sensing result obtained by a force sensor disposed at the contact section, wherein the sensing result obtained by the tactile sensor is used to determine a number of the plurality of contact points on the tactile sensor and a relative position from a predetermined reference position of each contact point of the plurality of contact points on the tactile sensor, which indicates a positional relationship between the plurality of contact points, wherein the contact force at each contact point is controlled according to the number of the plurality of contact points, the relative position of each contact point, and a contact force strength ratio between individual contact points of the plurality of contact points, and wherein the contact force strength ratio is calculated for each individual contact point with respect to each other individual contact point of the plurality of contact points. ### Claim 21 A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having embodied thereon a program, which executed by a computer causes the computer to execute a method, the method comprising: controlling a contact force at each contact point of a plurality of contact points when a contact section and an object come into contact with each other, the contact force being based on a sensing result obtained by a tactile sensor disposed at the contact section and a sensing result obtained by a force sensor disposed at the contact section, wherein the sensing result obtained by the tactile sensor is used to determine a number of the plurality of contact points on the tactile sensor and a relative position from a predetermined reference position of each contact point of the plurality of contact points on the tactile sensor, which indicates a positional relationship between the plurality of contact points, wherein the contact force at each contact point is controlled according to the number of the plurality of contact points, the relative position of each contact point, and a contact force strength ratio between individual contact points of the plurality of contact points, and wherein the contact force strength ratio is calculated for each individual contact point with respect to each other individual contact point of the plurality of contact points.