The present invention relates to a micro-manipulator, and particularly to a micro-manipulator that grips a micro-material with two gripping fingers.
Conventionally, a micro-manipulator is used for assembling a micro-component and handling a cell. Generally, in order to grip a micro-material, a micro-manipulator has a mechanism for opening and closing leading ends of gripping fingers around the micro-material (see Patent Reference 1). The micro-manipulator generally handles a small material in a view of a microscope with naked eyes or through an image on a display via a CCD camera mounted on a microscope (see Patent Reference 2).
When an object has a size in a micro-region less than 1 mm, dominant physical phenomenon are different from those in a macro-region in which a conventional industrial product is handled. In other words, in the micro-region, instead of a dominant force of gravity in the macro-region, forces between surfaces such as molecules, liquid linkage forces, and static electricity become dominant. Accordingly, when a micro-material is gripped, while it is possible to grip the micro-material without a large force, it is difficult to separate the micro-material from a gripping finger and place the micro-material at a predetermined position.
In a related field, there is a technology for stabilizing a movement of a micro-manipulator and adjusting an impact, in which a moving mechanism is provided for moving one micro-manipulator tool by a predetermined amount and a shocking mechanism is separately provided for applying an impact to the micro-manipulator (see Patent Reference 3).
Patent Reference 1: Japanese Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 08-168979
Patent Reference 2: Japanese Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 04-303810
Patent Reference 3: Japanese Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2003-1574
In the conventional micro-manipulators having two gripping fingers, it is difficult to stably place a micro-material at a desired position because of the surfaces force. That is, when the two gripping fingers are separated (opened) to release the micro-material, the micro-material tends to stick to one of the gripping fingers, thereby making it difficult to stably place the micro-material at a desired position. Even if the technology disclosed in Patent Reference 3 is applied, it is necessary to provide the vibrating mechanisms in both of the gripping fingers and the moving mechanism for moving the gripping fingers, thereby making the micro-manipulator large.
In view of the problems mentioned above, an object of the present invention is to provide a micro-manipulator with two gripping fingers capable of stably placing a micro-material at a desired position.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the invention.