Tactile sensor equipped with multiple light sources and a photo detector, sensing device and robot having the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12339143-B2
Application number	US-202318197476-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	May 15, 2023
Priority date	Dec 17, 2021
Publication date	Jun 24, 2025
Grant date	Jun 24, 2025

Abstract

This application discloses a tactile sensor, a detection method for a touch event, a sensing device and a robot, and belongs to the field of sensor design. The tactile sensor includes: a sensing unit, an elastomer support housing and a base; the sensing unit is disposed in an inner cavity enclosed by the elastomer support housing and the base; and the sensing unit includes at least two light sources, a photo detector and a reflector, where the photo detector is disposed on base, the at least two light sources are disposed around the periphery of the photo detector on the base, and the reflector is disposed at the top of an inner cavity of the elastomer support housing. By adopting the combination of a plurality of light sources and one photo detector, the number of photo detectors for use is reduced, so that the volume of the tactile sensor is reduced.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A tactile sensor comprising: a sensing unit, an elastomer support housing and a base;
the sensing unit being disposed in an inner cavity enclosed by the elastomer support housing and the base; and
the sensing unit comprises at least eight light sources, a photo detector and a reflector, the photo detector being disposed on the base, the at least eight light sources being evenly disposed around an octagon-shaped periphery of the photo detector on the base with the photo detector as a center of symmetry, and the reflector being disposed at a top of the inner cavity of the elastomer support housing,
wherein the photo detector is configured to measure a change in light intensity of light from each of the light sources reflected by the reflector separately by turning on/off the light source when a force is applied to the elastomer support housing and the changes in the light intensity of the reflected light of the at least eight light sources are then configured for determining magnitude and direction of the force in six degrees of freedom.

2. The tactile sensor according to claim 1 , wherein the base comprises an x-axis and a y-axis which intersect at an origin on the base;
the photo detector is disposed at the origin; and
the at least eight light sources comprise two positive x-axis light sources, two negative x-axis light sources, two positive y-axis light sources and two negative y-axis light sources, wherein the two positive x-axis light sources are located on a positive half axis of the x-axis, the two negative x-axis light sources are located on a negative half axis of the x-axis, the two positive y-axis light sources are located on a positive half axis of the y-axis, and the two negative y-axis light sources are located on a negative half axis of the y-axis.

3. The tactile sensor according to claim 1 , wherein no intersection exists between a projection area of the reflector on the base and disposing positions of the at least eight light sources.

4. The tactile sensor according to claim 1 , wherein the elastomer support housing is of an integral structure, and is made of a silicone material.

5. The tactile sensor according to claim 1 , wherein the elastomer support housing comprises a rigid plate and a deformable support, the rigid plate is connected to the base through the deformable support, and the reflector is fixed to a lower surface of the rigid plate.

6. An electronic skin, the electronic skin being covered with a tactile sensor array comprising at least two tactile sensors according to claim 1 .

7. A robot, the robot being covered with the tactile sensor according to claim 1 at a preset position.

Assignees

• Tencent Tech Shenzhen Co Ltd

Inventors

• Lee Wangwei

Classifications

• G01L1/24 Primary

  by measuring variations of optical properties of material when it is stressed, e.g. by photoelastic stress analysis {using infrared, visible light, ultraviolet} · CPC title

• G01L5/228

  using tactile array force sensors · CPC title

• G01D5/30

  the beams of light being detected by photocells · CPC title

• B25J19/021

  Optical sensing devices · CPC title

• B25J13/084 Primary

  Tactile sensors (in general G01L5/16, G01L5/22) · CPC title