Robotic arm and display device using the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9545723-B2
Application number	US-201514788049-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 30, 2015
Priority date	Feb 26, 2015
Publication date	Jan 17, 2017
Grant date	Jan 17, 2017

Abstract

A robotic arm connected to a display device includes a plurality of connecting members rotatably connected to each other via a plurality of shafts. Each shaft can be rotated by a motor. The robotic arm further includes a camera configured to capture images of a user, and a processor configured to execute a plurality of modules. The modules include an obtaining module configured to obtain the captured images; an image analyzing module configured to determine whether a user is moving a body part according to a plurality of successively obtained images and determine a direction and amplitude of the movement; and a signal generating module configured to generate a first control module according to the determined direction and amplitude of the movement, and transmit the generated first control signal to inform at least one motor to rotate the shaft secured thereto.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A robotic arm connected to a display device, the robotic arm comprising:
a plurality of connecting members rotatably connected to each other via a plurality of shafts, each of the plurality of shafts able to be rotated by a motor;
a camera configured to capture images of a user within a preset range in front of the camera; and
a processor configured to execute a plurality of modules comprising:
an obtaining module configured to obtain the captured images from the camera;
an image analyzing module configured to determine whether a user is moving a body part according to a plurality of successively obtained images and determine a direction and amplitude of a movement of the body part; and
a signal generating module configured to generate a first control module according to the determined direction and amplitude of the movement and transmit the generated first control signal to inform at least one motor to rotate the shaft secured thereto, whereby the display device is configured to rotate about a desired angle corresponding to the determined amplitude along the determined direction.

2. The robotic arm of claim 1 , wherein the signal generating module is configured to determine a shaft to be rotated and a rotation direction corresponding to the direction of the movement of the body part, determine a rotation angle corresponding to the amplitude of the movement of the body part, and generates the first control module according to the determined shaft to be rotated, the determined rotation direction, and the determined rotation angle, to inform the corresponding motor to rotate the determined shaft about the determined rotation angle along the determined rotation direction, causing the display device to rotate about a corresponding angle along the direction of the movement of the body part.

3. The robotic arm of claim 2 , further comprising a memory, wherein the memory stores a first relationship between different directions of the movement of the body part, the shafts to be rotated, and rotation directions; one direction of the movement of the body part corresponds to one shaft to be rotated, and one rotation direction; the memory further stores a second relationship between different amplitudes of the movements of the body part and rotation angles; one amplitude of the movement of the body part corresponds to one rotation angle; the signal generating module is configured to determine the corresponding shaft to be rotated and the corresponding rotation direction according to the first relationship, and to determine the corresponding rotation angle according to the second relationship.

4. The robotic arm of claim 1 , wherein the image analyzing module is further configured to calculates an area in which the body part is located in a currently obtained image when the robotic arm receives a trigger signal, determine whether the calculated area is less than a preset area, generate a second control signal when the calculated area is less than the preset area, and transmit the second control signal to inform at least one corresponding motor to rotate the shaft secured thereto, thereby allowing the robotic arm to be shortened to increase the distance between the user and the display device.

5. The robotic arm of claim 4 , wherein the image analyzing module is further configured to determine whether the area in which the body part is located keeps increasing in the currently obtained images if the calculated area is less than the preset area, generate a third control signal if the area of the body part keeps increasing, and transmit the third control signal to inform at least one corresponding motor to rotate the shaft secured thereto, thereby allowing the robotic arm to elongate and decrease the distance between the user and the display device.

6. The robotic arm of claim 5 , wherein the plurality of modules further comprises a distance analyzing module configured to determine a distance between the user and the camera according to the obtained images, determine whether the determined distance equals to a preset distance or not, calculate a difference between the determined distance and the preset distance if the determined distance does not equal to the preset distance, generates a fourth control signal according to the calculated difference, and transmit the fourth control signal to inform at least one corresponding motor to rotate the shaft secured thereto, thereby allowing the robotic arm to elongate or telescope the calculated difference and the distance between the user and the display device to be maintained at the preset distance.

7. The robotic arm of claim 6 , wherein the plurality of connecting members comprises a first connecting member, a second connecting member, a third connecting member, and a fourth connecting member; the plurality of shafts comprises a first shaft, a second shaft, a third shaft, and a fourth shaft; an end of the first connecting member is rotatably connected to the display device via a first shaft; an opposite end of the first connecting member away from the first shaft is rotatably connected to an end of the second connecting member via a second shaft; an opposite end of the second connecting member away from the second shaft is rotatably connected to the third connecting member via a third shaft; a bottom of the third connecting member is rotatably connected to the fourth connecting member via a fourth shaft.

8. The robotic arm of claim 7 , wherein a securing mechanism is secured to the first shaft; a back portion of the display device is secured to the first shaft via the securing mechanism, thereby securing to the robotic arm.

9. The robotic arm of claim 7 , wherein an axis of each of the first shaft, the second shaft, and the third shaft is parallel to Y direction of a coordinate system; an axis of the fourth shaft is perpendicular to the axis of each of the first shaft, the second shaft, and the third shaft, and is parallel to Z direction of the coordinate system; the motor secured to the first shaft rotates the first shaft, causing an orientation of the display device within a X-Z plane of the coordinate system to be adjusted; the motor secured to the fourth shaft rotates the fourth shaft, causing an orientation of the display device within a X-Y plane of the coordinate system to be adjusted; the motor secured to the second shaft or the third shaft rotates the second shaft or the third shaft, causing a distance between the user and the display device to be adjusted and an orientation of the display device within the X-Z plane of the coordinate system to be adjusted.

10. The robotic arm of claim 9 , wherein the first control signal is configured to control the corresponding motor to rotate the first shaft, the second shaft, the third shaft, the fourth shaft, or a combination thereof; each of the second control signal, the third control signal, and the fourth control signal is configured to control the corresponding motor to rotate the second shaft or the third shaft or both.

11. The robotic arm of claim 1 , wherein the camera is a stereo camera or a TOF camera.

12. A display device comprising:
a robotic arm comprising:
an obtaining module configured to obtain captured images from a camera;
an image analyzing module configured to determine whether a user is moving a body part according to a plurality of successively obtained images and determine a direction and amplitude of a movement of the body part; and
a signal generating module configured to generate a first control module according to the determined direction and amplitude of the movement and transmit the generated first control signal to inform at least one motor to rotate the shaf

Assignees

• Hon Hai Prec Ind Co Ltd

Inventors

• Chang Jen-Tsorng

Classifications

• Y10S901/47

  Optical · CPC title

• B25J9/1669

  characterised by special application, e.g. multi-arm co-operation, assembly, grasping · CPC title

• B25J9/1697 Primary

  Vision controlled systems · CPC title

• Y10S901/09

  Closed loop, sensor feedback controls arm movement · CPC title

• Y10S901/15

  Jointed arm · CPC title