A Cascadable Expandable Variable Stiffness Robot Joint

Abstract

The invention relates to a cascadable variable-stiffness robot joint. High-precision adjustment of the stiffness of the joint is conducted by using flexible shaft disc mechanisms composed of sheaves, steel wires and bent leaf springs for providing variable torque and using a rotary supporting mechanism composed of a supporting frame, a gear worm and a servo motor for uniquely determining the positions of working end points of the arc-shaped bent leaf springs which are symmetrically distributed on the shaft disc mechanisms; the energy storage capacity of the joint can be adjusted by changing the cascade number of the flexible shaft disc mechanisms; and a differential gear set mechanism is used for achieving coupled motions including rotation of the robot joint, rotation of the joint motor and rotation of an elastic mechanism, so that the balance position and stiffness of the joint are changed at the same time, and forward-rotation stiffness and reversed-rotation stiffness are made adjustable.

Description

technical field [0001] The invention relates to a cascade-expandable variable stiffness robot joint, which belongs to the field of robots. Background technique [0002] When the robot performs various operations or movements, it will have various interactions with the surrounding environment, and the stiffness of its joints can indirectly adjust the strength of this interaction. When the elastic mechanism with a certain stiffness coefficient is installed on the joint of the robot, it will significantly increase its ability to adapt to the environment and reduce the unmeasurable damage caused by its unexpected collision; , the mechanical energy of the system can be stored and released through the deformation of the elastic element, and with a reasonable control method, the energy consumption of the robot's movement can be greatly reduced, which is conducive to improving the movement efficiency. For different motion styles of the robot, such as the efficient adjustment of the...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

Judging from the current situation, the existing variable stiffness joints of various robots have complex structures and control methods, limited use occasions, poor versatility, lack of consistent standards, and have shortcomings such as inability to adjust energy storage capacity and large additional joint rotational inertia. High reliability, low additional moment of inertia, scalable and cascadable general-purpose variable stiffness joints to meet the needs of different stiffness adjustment ranges and different energy storage capabilities, which can effectively improve the environmental adaptability and safety of the robot and reduce the cost of the robot , Expand the application field of robots

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