Novel pneumatic flexible actuator

Abstract

The invention discloses a novel pneumatic flexible actuator. The novel pneumatic flexible actuator comprises a movable nut, a silica gel hose, electric brushes, conductive silica gel and nylon balls, wherein two nylon balls are arranged in the silica gel hose, and the diameters of the two nylon balls are larger than that of the silica gel hose; two pieces of conductive silica gel are oppositely arranged on the silica gel hose; the movable nut comprises a nut bracket, four rolling bearings and two electric brushes; the nut bracket is arranged on the silica gel hose in a sleeving manner and located between two protrusions; the four rolling bearings are axially installed at the inner side of the nut bracket, and the diameter of an inscribed circle among the rolling bearings is smaller than these of the nylon balls; and the two electric brushes are installed at the inner side of the nut bracket and are in contact with the two pieces of conductive silica gel separately. According to the pneumatic flexible actuator disclosed by the invention, a certain moving speed and stability are guaranteed, meanwhile, the pneumatic flexible actuator is simpler in structure, easily available in materials and higher in moving accuracy, and the functions of positioning, self-locking and the like can be achieved.

Description

technical field [0001] The invention relates to the technical field of soft robots, in particular to a novel pneumatic flexible actuator. Background technique [0002] Currently, there is an increasing demand for probing searches in confined spaces using robots in many fields. For example, natural disasters such as earthquakes and tsunamis have occurred frequently in recent years. In the rescue work in disaster areas, it is often necessary to develop rescue robots to detect whether there are wounded inside the collapsed houses and under the rubble and assist in rescue; there are also endoscopic robots and robots in the medical field. Pipeline inspection robots in the industrial field, etc., all need to detect different types of narrow spaces. Compared with traditional rigid mobile robots, pneumatic soft robots are more suitable for this kind of work, because pneumatic flexible mechanisms are often more flexible than electric rigid mechanisms. And compared with other drivin...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

Most of them rely on the deformation tension of the inflatable hose to drive the movement of the external rollers. The structure is complex, the movement accuracy is low, and the driving force is greatly limited by the pipe material, which requires a high level of material preparation technology; at the same time, the function is relatively single and does not have Features such as positioning and self-locking to cope with some more complex pipeline detection

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