A variable stiffness robot

Abstract

The invention discloses a rigidity-variation robot. The rigidity-variation robot comprises a rigidity-variation device, a sealing device and a fluid injection device. The rigidity-variation device comprises an outer pipe body, an inner pipe body, an elastic filling body and an expansion bag body, the outer pipe body sleeves the inner pipe body, and a filling cavity is formed between the outer pipebody and the inner pipe body; the sealing device comprises a first sealing device body and a second sealing device body, the first sealing device body is connected with one end of the outer pipe bodyand one end of the inner pipe body and seals one end of the filling cavity, and the second sealing device body is connected with the other end of the outer pipe body and the other end of the inner pipe body and seals the other end of the filling cavity; the filling cavity is filled with the elastic filling body, and the expansion bag body is embedded in the elastic filling body; the output end ofthe fluid injection device penetrates through the first sealing device body or the second sealing device body and is communicated with the expansion bag body for injecting pressure fluid into the expansion bag body. The rigidity-variation robot can be bent, and the rigidity can be controlled.

Description

technical field [0001] The invention relates to the technical field of robots, in particular to a robot with variable stiffness. Background technique [0002] With the continuous progress and development of human production and life, as well as the continuous progress of robot technology and automatic control technology, robots have been widely used in all aspects of human society. In extreme and dangerous engineering environments where humans are not suitable, robots provide great convenience to humans. The traditional rigid robot structure is usually assembled by motors, pistons, joints, hinges and other components. Although it has sufficient power, high power, and mature performance, it also has many shortcomings, such as bulkiness, low safety factor, poor environmental adaptability, and low reliability. , low transmission efficiency, high noise, etc. [0003] In nature, many creatures have soft bodies, excellent flexibility and strong environmental adaptability, which ...

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Problems solved by technology

[0005] For soft robots with variable stiffness, Shanghai Jiaotong University's invention patent application number CN201210546744.4 discloses a flexible endoscopic robot with variable stiffness. The body structure is cylindrical, the material is silicone, and the driving structure is driven by several Rope control, when driving different strings or string combinations, the robot can complete the corresponding deformation action, its claimed variable stiffness is only controlled by pulling one or more strings, and the software The variable stiffness of the robot is accompanied by the movement process and is formed by strong coupling with the driving structure of the movement. It is difficult to independently control the stiffness of the soft robot

[0006] The invention patent application number CN201210179182.4 for a soft robot with variable stiffness discloses a magneto-rheological continuum robot manipulator, which is based on the principle of imitating the movement of an elephant trunk. The body is a long tube structure, and the outer layer passes through 4-section cylinder Shaped springs are connected in series, which are independently driven by four wires. The wires are introduced into the pulleys driven by the motor to drive the robot to move. The springs are connected by spine discs. The hose of the rheological fluid has a coil wound outside the hose, and the strength of the magnetic field of the magnetorheological fluid is controlled by changing the current of the coil, so as to realize the conversion between solid and liquid of the magnetorheological fluid and play a role in adjusting the rigidity of the robot; but Since the outer layer of this structure is a spring, the stiffness itself is relatively large, which cannot meet the flexibility requirements of some soft robot materials, and the magnetorheological fluid itself has a little viscosity when it is not powered, which reduces the flexibility of the robot. Many, magnetorheological fluids have better performance in liquid-solid conversion, but it is difficult to ensure that soft robots maintain good flexibility while having good stiffness

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