Overload Protection Mechanism for 6-axis Force/Torque Sensor

摘要

This paper describes an overload protection mechanism for a 6-axis force/torque sensor. It can limit the load applied to the force sensor by contacting a sole part with a top plate placed on the force sensor. Specifically, compression springs are arranged between the force sensor and the top plate, and the springs are pre-compressed. When more loads than the preload are applied to the top plate, the top plate touches the sole part by compressing the springs, and it is possible to prevent the 6-axis force/torque sensor from being over-loaded. Verification of the proposed mechanism is conducted through experiments with a human-carrying biped robot, WL-16RV.