Patent ID: 8154239

Claim:
A medical manipulator comprising: an actuator block having a motor including a rotatable shaft; a coupler detachably mounted on the actuator block and having a rotor connected to the rotatable shaft of the motor; a distal-end working unit mounted on a distal end of a joint shaft, which extends from the coupler and is operatively connected to the rotor by a power transmitting member; an angle sensor for detecting an angular displacement of the motor; and a controller for reading a signal from the angle sensor and comparing the read signal with an operation command value for energizing the motor through a feedback loop, wherein the controller temporarily cuts off the feedback loop to turn the feedback loop into an open loop, outputs a current signal to the motor, and monitors the signal from the angle sensor within a range in which the distal-end working unit remains still, for thereby determining whether a system including the motor and the angle sensor is malfunctioning or not.