CN106239497A - Fluid skeleton flexible mechanical arm assembly - Google Patents

Abstract

Fluid skeleton flexible mechanical arm assembly, belongs to robotics, including pedestal, driver, drive mechanism, fluid bone elements and end piece etc..This device has multiple degree of freedom, can bend to multiple directions and flexible, the spatial form of various bending can be made, make the instrument being connected to imitative trunk robot arm device end can arrive at certain locus, mobility is good, having preferable flexibility, during mutual with people, safety is high, simultaneously, compact conformation little from heavy and light, volume and low cost.Fluid skeleton flexible mechanical arm assembly can be widely applied in the various automated system needing mechanical arm.

Description

Fluid skeleton flexible robotic arm device

technical field

The invention belongs to the technical field of robots, and in particular relates to the structural design of a fluid skeleton flexible mechanical arm device.

Background technique

Robots are designed to perform tasks in place of humans and usually require a pair of arms. The human arm has seven degrees of freedom, belongs to the series cantilever structure, has well-developed muscles, can generate a lot of force and move at a high speed, all of which make the development of the mechanical arm very difficult. Whether it is the CMU/Sarcos robot developed by Carnegie Mellon University in the United States, the HUBO robot developed by the Korean High Technology Research Institute, and the ASIMO robot developed by Japan's Honda Corporation...these have a common feature: these traditional robot arms are all A plurality of rigid connecting rods are composed of joints in series or in parallel, which have the disadvantages of complex structure, large volume, heavy weight, high energy consumption, and high cost.

In order to overcome the inherent defects of traditional discrete rigid robots, a large number of researches on continuous flexible robots have been carried out in the world in the past two decades.

J. Yang et al once described in the paper a continuous robot that pulls the springs at all levels in series through multiple sets of tendon ropes. The unit proved to be maneuverable, reliable and economical.

Walker et al. have introduced the developed flexible continuum manipulator OCTARM in the literature. In addition, the robot Air-Octor, which was inspired by the elephant trunk and flexible tentacles in the biological world, has good bending ability and shows that its redundant degree of freedom performance is better than that of the rigid manipulator with the same degree of freedom in many occasions. .

German company Festo (FESTO) imitated the concept of an elephant's trunk and fish fins and developed a flexible robotic arm that uses gas to drive an imitation elephant's trunk. The device is composed of a plurality of manipulating components arranged in a stacked manner along the curve, and each manipulating component respectively includes a plurality of connecting plates and a plurality of fluid chambers.

Chinese invention patent CN103895012B once disclosed an imitation elephant trunk mechanical arm unit, including a base, a plurality of artificial muscle components, a plurality of intermediate parts, a plurality of springs, end parts and a flexible cover; wherein the artificial muscle component includes a driver, a transmission mechanism and Flexible screw assembly. The device has multiple degrees of freedom and can bend in multiple directions.

However, most of the existing flexible manipulator solutions have the following deficiencies:

1) The driving mechanism is relatively complex. Such as Air-Octor and FESTO's flexible elephant trunk robotic arm requires special equipment for controlling gas, which makes the whole system larger in mass, higher in energy consumption and cost; In the arm, since each tendon rope or flexible rod corresponds to a driver, the number of drivers required to achieve multi-directional bending significantly increases the cost and complexity of the system.

2) Carrying capacity and stability are limited. Due to the widespread use of flexible components such as springs as supporting structures, some flexible manipulators are prone to deformation caused by loads, resulting in instability or decreased accuracy.

Contents of the invention

The purpose of the present invention is to overcome the deficiencies of the prior art, and propose a fluid skeleton flexible mechanical arm device, which has multiple degrees of freedom and can flexibly bend in different directions, so as to make different spatial shapes, so that The tool connected to the end of the robotic arm can reach a certain space position, and at the same time has the characteristics of light weight, small size, compact structure and low cost.

Technical scheme of the present invention is as follows:

A fluid skeleton flexible mechanical arm device designed by the present invention is characterized in that it includes a base, a first driver, a second driver, a third driver, a first transmission mechanism, a second transmission mechanism, a third transmission mechanism, a first tendon cord, second tendon cord, third tendon cord, N fluid skeletal units and end pieces; the first driver is fixedly installed on the base, and the output shaft of the first driver is connected to the input end of the first transmission mechanism connected, the output end of the first transmission mechanism is connected with one end of the first tendon cord, and the other end of the first tendon cord is connected with the end piece, and the first tendon cord passes through all the fluid bone units; the The second driver is fixedly installed on the base, the output shaft of the second driver is connected with the input end of the second transmission mechanism, the output end of the second transmission mechanism is connected with one end of the second tendon cord, and the second The other end of the tendon rope is connected to the end piece, and the second tendon rope passes through all the fluid bone units; the third driver is fixedly installed on the base, and the output shaft of the third driver is connected to the third transmission mechanism. The input end is connected, the output end of the third transmission mechanism is connected to one end of the third tendon cord, the other end of the third tendon cord is connected to the end piece, and the third tendon cord passes through all the fluid bone units; The fluid skeletal unit includes a lower plate, an upper plate, three flexible pipes, connecting pipes, fluid and at least one electric valve; the two ends of the flexible pipe are respectively connected to the lower plate and the upper plate, and the two ends of the spring are The lower plate and the upper plate are connected, and the fluid is sealed in the connecting pipe and the three flexible pipes; the two ends of each flexible pipe are respectively closed by the upper seal of the flexible pipe and the lower seal of the flexible pipe, but the lower seal of the flexible pipe is in contact with the three flexible pipes. The connecting pipes are connected; therefore, the connecting pipes are connected to the flexible pipes. The electric valve is arranged on the connecting pipe to control the fluids in the three flexible pipes to communicate with each other or to stop each other; the three flexible pipes are evenly distributed between the upper plate and the lower plate; The first lower plate through hole, the second lower plate through hole and the third lower plate through hole; the upper plate is provided with the first upper plate through hole, the second upper plate through hole and the third upper plate through hole evenly distributed on the circumference. The upper plate through hole; the lower plate of the first fluid skeletal unit is fixedly connected to the base, all the fluid skeletal units are connected one by one in turn, the upper plate of each fluid skeletal unit located below is connected to the lower plate of the fluid skeletal unit located above The plate is fixed; the upper plate of the last fluid skeletal unit is fixed to the end piece; the first tendon rope passes through the first lower plate through hole and the first upper plate through hole of all the fluid skeletal units in turn; the second The tendons pass through the second lower plate through holes and the second upper plate through holes of all fluid skeletal units in turn; the third tendon ropes pass through the third lower plate through holes and the third upper plate through holes of all fluid skeletal units in turn. hole; N is a natural number.

The flexible mechanical arm device of the fluid skeleton according to the present invention is characterized in that: the flexible tube adopts a spring wire bellows or an embedded spring wire bellows.

The fluid skeleton flexible mechanical arm device according to the present invention is characterized in that: the fluid skeleton unit further includes a spring, and the spring is arranged between the lower plate and the upper plate.

The fluid bone flexible mechanical arm device of the present invention is characterized in that the fluid is water.

The fluid skeleton flexible mechanical arm device of the present invention is characterized in that: the driver adopts a motor, a hydraulic cylinder or an air cylinder.

Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages and outstanding effects:

The fluid bone flexible mechanical arm device of the present invention has multiple degrees of freedom, can bend and stretch in multiple directions, and can make various curved spatial shapes, so that the tools connected to the end of the trunk-like mechanical arm device can reach A certain space position has good mobility, good flexibility, high safety in the process of interacting with people, light weight, small size, compact structure and low cost.

Description of drawings

Fig. 1 is a three-dimensional appearance view of an embodiment of the fluid skeleton flexible mechanical arm device designed by the present invention.

Figure 2 is a front view of the embodiment shown in Figure 1 .

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the embodiment shown in Fig. 1 .

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the fluid skeleton unit in the embodiment shown in Fig. 1 .

Fig. 5 is a front view of the fluid skeleton unit in the embodiment shown in Fig. 1 .

Fig. 6 is a front view of the upper board (or lower board) in the embodiment shown in Fig. 1 .

Fig. 7 is an exploded view of the fluid skeleton unit in the embodiment shown in Fig. 1 .

In Figures 1 to 7:

1 - base,

21-the first driver (the first motor), 22-the second driver (the second motor), 23-the third driver (the third motor),

31-the first transmission mechanism, 32-the second transmission mechanism, 33-the third transmission mechanism,

312-the first slide rail, 322-the second slide rail, 332-the third slide rail,

313 - first nut plate, 323 - second nut plate, 333 - third nut plate,

314-the first lead screw, 324-the second lead screw, 334-the third lead screw,

41 - the first cord, 42 - the second cord, 43 - the third cord,

5-fluid skeletal unit, 51-lower plate, 52-upper plate,

53 - flexible pipe, 54 - connecting pipe, 55 - fluid,

56-electric valve, 571-the through hole of the first lower plate, 572-the through hole of the second lower plate,

573-the third lower plate through hole, 581-the first upper plate through hole, 582-the second upper plate through hole,

583 - the third upper plate through hole, 591 - the upper seal of the flexible pipe, 592 - the lower seal of the flexible pipe,

6 - End pieces.

detailed description

The specific structure, working principle and other contents of the present invention will be further described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

An embodiment of the fluid skeleton flexible mechanical arm device designed by the present invention, as shown in FIG. The transmission mechanism 32, the third transmission mechanism 33, the first tendon cord 41, the second tendon cord 42, the third tendon cord 43, N fluid skeletal units 5 and the end piece 6; the first driver 21 is fixedly installed on the base 1, the output shaft of the first driver 21 is connected to the input end of the first transmission mechanism 31, and the output end of the first transmission mechanism 31 is connected to one end of the first tendon rope 41, and the first tendon rope 41 The other end is connected with the end piece 6, and the first tendon rope 41 passes through all the fluid bone units 5; the second driver 22 is fixedly installed on the base 1, and the output shaft of the second driver 22 is connected to the first The input end of the two transmission mechanisms 32 is connected, the output end of the second transmission mechanism 32 is connected with one end of the second tendon rope 42, and the other end of the second tendon rope 42 is connected with the end piece 6, and the second tendon The rope 42 passes through all the fluid skeleton units 5; the third driver 23 is fixedly installed on the base 1, the output shaft of the third driver is connected with the input end of the third transmission mechanism 33, and the third transmission mechanism The output end of 33 is connected with one end of the third tendon cord 43, and the other end of the third tendon cord 43 is connected with the end piece 6, and the third tendon cord 43 passes through all fluid 55 skeletal units 5; the fluid The skeletal unit 5 includes a lower plate 51, an upper plate 52, three flexible pipes 53, a connecting pipe 54, a fluid 55 and at least one electric valve 56; the two ends of the flexible pipe 53 are respectively connected to the lower plate 51 and the upper plate 52, so The two ends of the spring part are respectively connected to the lower plate 51 and the upper plate 52, and the fluid 55 is sealed in the connecting pipe 54 and the three flexible pipes 53; the connecting pipe 54 communicates with the three flexible pipes 53; the electric valve 56 Set on the connecting pipe 54 to control the fluid 55 in the three flexible pipes 53 to communicate with each other or to block each other; the three flexible pipes 53 are evenly distributed between the upper plate 52 and the lower plate 51; the lower plate 51 is set There are first lower plate through holes 571 uniformly distributed on the circumference, second lower plate through holes 572 and third lower plate through holes 573; the upper plate 52 is provided with first upper plate through holes 581 evenly distributed on the circumference The second upper plate through hole 582 and the third upper plate through hole 583; the lower plate 51 of the first fluid skeleton unit 5 is fixedly connected to the base 1, all the fluid skeleton units 5 are connected one by one in turn, and each fluid skeleton unit located below The upper plate 52 of the skeletal unit 5 is affixed to the lower plate 51 of the upper fluid skeletal unit 5; the upper plate 52 of the last fluid skeletal unit 5 is affixed to the end piece 6; the first tendon cord 41 passes through all The first lower plate through hole 571 and the first upper plate through hole 581 of the fluid skeletal unit 5; the second tendons 42 pass through the second lower plate through hole 572 and the second upper plate through hole of all the fluid skeletal units 5 in turn. hole 582; the third tendon cord 43 passes through the third lower plate through hole 573 and the third upper plate 52 through hole of all fluid skeletal units 5 in sequence; N is a natural number.

In this embodiment, N is 6.

The fluid bone flexible mechanical arm device of the present invention is characterized in that: the flexible tube 53 adopts a spring wire bellows or an embedded spring wire bellows. In this embodiment, the flexible tube 53 is a spring wire bellows.

In another embodiment, the fluid skeleton unit 5 further includes a spring, and the spring is arranged between the lower plate 51 and the upper plate 52 . Since what the flexible pipe 53 of this embodiment adopts is the embedded spring wire bellows, wherein there are spring parts embedded in the bellows, so no additional spring parts are required.

In this embodiment, the fluid 55 is water.

The fluid skeleton flexible mechanical arm device of the present invention is characterized in that: the first driver 21 adopts a motor, a hydraulic cylinder or an air cylinder. In this embodiment, the first driver 21 is a motor.

The fluid skeleton flexible mechanical arm device of the present invention is characterized in that: the second driver 22 adopts a motor, a hydraulic cylinder or an air cylinder. In this embodiment, the second driver 22 is a motor.

The fluid skeleton flexible mechanical arm device of the present invention is characterized in that: the third driver 23 adopts a motor, a hydraulic cylinder or an air cylinder. In this embodiment, the third driver 23 is a motor.

In this embodiment, the first transmission mechanism 31 , the second transmission mechanism 32 and the third transmission mechanism 33 have the same structure, and the first transmission mechanism 31 is used as an example for illustration. The first transmission mechanism 31 includes a lead screw 312 and a nut plate 313, the output shaft of the first motor 21 is connected with the first lead screw 314, and the first lead screw 314 is threadedly connected with the first nut plate 313, so The first nut plate 313 is slidably embedded in the base 1 , and the first nut plate 313 is connected to one end of the first tendon rope 41 .

In this embodiment, the circumference of the first upper plate through hole 581, the second upper plate through hole 582, and the third upper plate through hole 583 are concentric with the circle center of the first flexible tube, the second flexible tube, and the third flexible tube. , and the centers of the first upper plate through hole 581, the second upper plate through hole 582, and the third upper plate through hole 583 are respectively located at the centers of the first flexible tube 53, the second flexible tube 53, and the third flexible tube 53. In this embodiment, the circumference of the first lower plate through hole 571, the second lower plate through hole 572, and the third lower plate through hole 573 is the same as that of the first flexible tube 53, the second flexible tube 53, and the third flexible tube. The center of the tube 53 is concentric with the circle, and the centers of the first lower plate through hole 571, the second lower plate through hole 572, and the third lower plate through hole 573 are located through the first flexible tube 53, the second flexible tube 53, the third On the radius where the center of the flexible pipe 53 is located.

The base 1 further includes a first slide rail 312 , a second slide rail 322 and a third slide rail 332 fixed together. The first nut plate 313 is slidably embedded on the first slide rail 312 , the second nut plate 323 is slidably embedded on the second slide rail 322 , and the third nut plate 333 is slidably embedded on the third slide rail 332 .

The working principle of the present embodiment is described as follows in conjunction with the accompanying drawings:

When this embodiment is in an initial state, it is shown in FIG. 1 .

Open a certain electric valve 56, close other electric valves 56, then the first driver 21 rotates, drives the first nut plate 313 to move straight down through the first transmission mechanism 31, pulls the first tendon rope 41 downwards, and the first tendon The first flexible tube corresponding to the rope 41 (in the fluid 55 skeletal unit 5 with the electric valve 56 opened) is extruded, and the fluid 55 therein flows to the second flexible tube and the third flexible tube of the same layer, and at the same time, The second tendon rope 42 and the third tendon rope 43 corresponding to the second flexible pipe and the third flexible pipe also move upward under the rotation of the second driver 22 and the third driver 23, thereby discharging the first flexible pipe. The fluid 55 leaves volume space. Finally, the electric valve 56 is closed to prohibit the fluid 55 from continuing to flow.

Open another electric valve 56 again afterwards, continue above-mentioned process.

By distributing the displacements of the first tendon cord 41 , the second tendon cord 42 and the third tendon cord 43 , the end piece 6 of the device can be controlled to reach any position in the working space.

When the mechanical arm is reversed, the principle is the same as the above-mentioned process, only the moving direction of each tendon rope is opposite, so it will not be repeated.

The fluid bone flexible mechanical arm device of the present invention has multiple degrees of freedom, can bend and stretch in multiple directions, and can make various curved spatial shapes, so that the tools connected to the end of the trunk-like mechanical arm device can reach A certain space position has good mobility, good flexibility, high safety in the process of interacting with people, light weight, small size, compact structure and low cost.

Claims (5)

1. A fluid bone flexible mechanical arm device, characterized in that it includes a base, a first driver, a second driver, a third driver, a first transmission mechanism, a second transmission mechanism, a third transmission mechanism, and a first tendon rope , the second tendon cord, the third tendon cord, N fluid skeletal units and end pieces; the first driver is fixedly installed on the base, and the output shaft of the first driver is connected to the input end of the first transmission mechanism, The output end of the first transmission mechanism is connected with one end of the first tendon cord, and the other end of the first tendon cord is connected with the end piece, and the first tendon cord passes through all the fluid bone units; the second tendon cord passes through all the fluid bone units; The driver is fixedly installed on the base, the output shaft of the second driver is connected with the input end of the second transmission mechanism, the output end of the second transmission mechanism is connected with one end of the second tendon rope, and the second tendon rope The other end is connected with the end piece, the second tendon rope passes through all the fluid bone units; the third driver is fixedly installed on the base, the output shaft of the third driver is connected to the input end of the third transmission mechanism connected, the output end of the third transmission mechanism is connected with one end of the third tendon cord, and the other end of the third tendon cord is connected with the end piece, and the third tendon cord passes through all the fluid bone units; The fluid skeletal unit includes a lower plate, an upper plate, three flexible pipes, connecting pipes, fluid and at least one electric valve; plate and upper plate, the fluid is sealed in the connecting pipe and the three flexible pipes; the connecting pipe communicates with the three flexible pipes; the electric valve is arranged on the connecting pipe to control the fluid in the three flexible pipes to communicate with each other or cut off each other; the three flexible pipes are evenly distributed between the upper plate and the lower plate; the lower plate is provided with a first lower plate through hole, a second lower plate through hole and a third lower plate through hole uniformly distributed on the circumference holes; the upper plate is provided with a first upper plate through hole, a second upper plate through hole and a third upper plate through hole uniformly distributed on the circumference; the lower plate of the first fluid skeleton unit is fixedly connected to the base, and all The fluid skeletal units are connected one by one in turn, the upper plate of each lower fluid skeletal unit is fixedly connected to the lower plate of the upper fluid skeletal unit; the upper plate of the last fluid skeletal unit is fixedly connected to the end piece; A tendon rope passes through the first lower plate through hole and the first upper plate through hole of all fluid skeletal units in sequence; the second tendon rope passes through the second lower plate through hole and the second upper plate of all fluid skeletal units in sequence through holes; the third tendon cord passes through the third lower plate through holes and the third upper plate through holes of all fluid skeletal units in sequence; N is a natural number. 2. The fluid bone flexible robotic arm device according to claim 1, wherein the flexible tube is a spring wire bellows or an embedded spring wire bellows. 3. The fluid skeleton flexible robotic arm device according to claim 1, wherein the fluid skeleton unit further comprises a spring, and the spring is arranged between the lower plate and the upper plate. 4. The fluid skeleton flexible robotic arm device according to claim 1, wherein the fluid is water. 5. The fluid skeleton flexible robotic arm device according to claim 1, wherein the driver is a motor, a hydraulic cylinder or an air cylinder.