Flexible mechanical arm based on mechanical superstructure

Abstract

The flexible mechanical arm based on the mechanical superstructure comprises a connecting arm, a driving assembly and a plurality of flexible units, each flexible unit comprises an upper rotating arm, a lower rotating arm and a supporting frame, the upper rotating arms and the lower rotating arms are arranged at the top and the bottom of the supporting frames in a rotating fit mode correspondingly, and the connecting arms are arranged on the supporting frames in a rotating fit mode; the adjacent flexible units are connected in series through the connecting arm, the upper rotating arm, the lower rotating arm and the supporting frame are coaxially arranged, the driving assembly is used for driving the upper rotating arm, the lower rotating arm and the connecting arm to swing up and down, and flexible movement of the mechanical arm is achieved in the mode that the connecting arm, the driving assembly and the multiple flexible units are controlled in a segmented mode. The complexity and the control method of the flexible mechanical arm structure are increased, the flexibility of the structure is enhanced, and good flexibility can be obtained only through simple rope driving.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of intelligent robots, and in particular to a flexible mechanical arm based on a mechanical superstructure. Background Art

[0002] The robot arm is the most widely used automated mechanical device in the field of robotics technology. It can receive instructions and accurately locate a point in three-dimensional (or two-dimensional) space to perform operations.

[0003] Traditional robots are difficult to use flexibly in a small space due to their structural limitations. At present, the robot's mechanical arm mainly adopts a rigid mechanical arm, which is high in cost, slow in operation, small in load-to-weight ratio, high in energy consumption, poor in operability, inconvenient in transportation and low in operational safety. The rigid mechanical arm has poor operability in a small space or complex environment.

[0004] Therefore, there is an urgent need to improve the robot's robotic arm so that it can adapt to operability in small spaces or complex environments. Summary of the invention

[0005] In view of this, the present invention provides a flexible robotic arm based on a mechanical superstructure, which adopts a plurality of flexible unit structures. The flexible unit structures are interconnected by connection points or joints, and each unit itself has a certain flexibility and deformability.

[0006] The flexible mechanical arm based on mechanical superstructure provided by the present invention adopts the following technical solution:

[0007] A flexible robotic arm based on a mechanical superstructure comprises a connecting arm, a driving assembly and a plurality of flexible units, wherein the flexible unit comprises an upper rotating arm, a lower rotating arm and a supporting frame, wherein the upper rotating arm and the lower rotating arm are respectively rotatably arranged at the top and the bottom of the supporting frame, and the connecting arm is rotatably arranged at the supporting frame, adjacent flexible units are connected in series via the connecting arm, the upper rotating arm, the lower rotating arm and the supporting frame are coaxially arranged, and the driving assembly is used to drive the upper rotating arm, the lower rotating arm and the connecting arm to swing up and down.

[0008] Optionally, two of the rigid rods 2 and 3 are provided, and multiple rigid rods 1 are provided between the two rigid rods 2, wherein one of the rigid rods 1 is rotatably provided at the top of the rigid rod 2 to form an upper rotating arm, and one of the rigid rods 1 is rotatably provided at the bottom of the rigid rod 2 to form a lower rotating arm.

[0009] Optionally, the flexible unit includes multiple rigid rods 1 and 2, the rigid rod 1 is symmetrically provided with multiple groups of rotating parts along its own circumference, and the rigid rod 2 has a connecting part 1, and the rotating part can be rotatably provided along its own axial direction to cooperate with the corresponding connecting part 1.

[0010] Optionally, rigid rod members 3 are respectively arranged on both sides of the rigid rod member 2, and the rigid rod member 2 and the rigid rod member 3 form a rectangular frame with a longitudinal section. The rigid rod member 3 has a connecting portion 2, and the rotating portion can be rotated along its own axis to cooperate with the corresponding connecting portion 2.

[0011] Optionally, a rigid rod 1 is disposed at the axis of the rigid rod 2 and the rigid rod 3 to form a supporting frame.

[0012] Optionally, the longitudinal section of the rigid rod member 1 is cross-shaped, the longitudinal section of the rigid rod member 2 is cross-shaped, and the cross section of the rigid rod member 3 is straight-line shaped.

[0013] Optionally, the driving assembly includes a driving member, a fixed pulley and a connecting member, the fixed pulley is rotatably arranged on the supporting frame, the rigid rod has a through hole for the connecting member to pass through, the connecting member is wrapped around the fixed pulley and connected to the rotating arm and the lower rotating arm on the same side, the driving member drives the fixed pulley to rotate, and drives the upper rotating arm and the lower rotating arm on the same side to rotate synchronously through the connecting member.

[0014] Optionally, the driving member is a motor, a reduction gear set is provided at the output end of the motor, an organic disk is provided at the output end of the reduction gear set, and the organic disk is fixedly connected to a fixed pulley.

[0015] Optionally, a control system is also included. A position feedback potentiometer is provided on the machine disk. The feedback potentiometer is connected to the control system. The control system is used to control the speed and forward and reverse rotation of the motor.

[0016] Optionally, a rigid rod member 1 is provided between adjacent flexible units to form a connecting arm, and the connecting arm is rotatably connected to the rigid rod member 2 of the adjacent flexible units respectively.

[0017] In summary, the present invention includes at least one of the following beneficial technical effects: the flexible movement of the robotic arm is realized through segmented control of a connecting arm, a driving assembly and multiple flexible units, the complexity of the flexible robotic arm structure and the control method are increased, the flexibility of the structure is enhanced, and good flexibility can be obtained only through simple rope drive. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] In order to more clearly illustrate the specific implementation methods of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the specific implementation methods or the description of the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are some implementation methods of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative work.

[0019] Figure 1 is a structural schematic diagram of a rigid rod member according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 2 is a structural schematic diagram of a second rigid rod member according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the third structure of a rigid rod according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the exploded structure of a single flexible unit according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of a connection structure of adjacent flexible units according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 6 Schematic diagram of the flexible mechanical arm structure of an embodiment of the present invention.

[0025] Explanation of the accompanying drawings: 1. Rigid rod one; 2. Rigid rod two; 3. Rigid rod three; 4. Fixed pulley; 5. Connecting member. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] The following describes the embodiments of the present invention through specific examples, and those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of the present invention from the contents disclosed in this specification. The present invention can also be implemented or applied through other different specific embodiments, and the details in this specification can also be modified or changed in various ways based on different viewpoints and applications without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

[0027] The following is combined with Figure 1-6 The present invention is described in further detail.

[0028] An embodiment of the present invention discloses a flexible mechanical arm based on a mechanical superstructure.

[0029] Reference Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figure 3 , Figure 4 , Figure 5 , Figure 6A flexible robotic arm based on a mechanical superstructure comprises a connecting arm, a driving assembly and a plurality of flexible units, wherein the flexible unit comprises an upper rotating arm, a lower rotating arm and a supporting frame, wherein the upper rotating arm and the lower rotating arm are respectively rotatably arranged at the top and the bottom of the supporting frame, and the connecting arm is rotatably arranged at the supporting frame, and adjacent flexible units are connected in series through the connecting arm, and the upper rotating arm, the lower rotating arm and the supporting frame are coaxially arranged, and the driving assembly is used to drive the upper rotating arm, the lower rotating arm and the connecting arm to swing up and down, and the flexible movement of the robotic arm is realized in the form of segmented control of the connecting arm, the driving assembly and the plurality of flexible units, which increases the complexity of the structure of the flexible robotic arm and the control method, enhances the flexibility of the structure, and realizes good flexibility by only a simple rope drive.

[0030] The flexible unit includes a plurality of rigid rods 1 and 2. The rigid rod 1 is symmetrically provided with a plurality of rotating parts along its own circumference. The rigid rod 2 has a connecting part 1. The rotating parts can be rotatably provided along its own axial direction and are provided in cooperation with the corresponding connecting part 1. Among them, the rigid rod 1 is used as the main skeleton of the flexible mechanical arm. The rigid rod 1 is preset with a perforation, which is used to cooperate with the driving assembly. The longitudinal section of the rigid rod 1 is a cross shape. The rotating part is a circular shaft extending from the rigid rod 1. The circular shaft is respectively provided on the four end faces of the cross shape. The connecting part 1 is a circular hole opened in the rigid rod 1. The circular shaft is rotatably provided in the circular hole so that the circular shaft can rotate along the circumference of the circular hole.

[0031] Rigid rod members 3 3 are respectively arranged on both sides of rigid rod member 2, the longitudinal section of rigid rod member 2 2 is cross-shaped, the cross section of rigid rod member 3 3 is straight-line-shaped, rigid rod member 2 2 and rigid rod member 3 3 form a rectangular frame with a longitudinal section, rigid rod member 3 3 has a connecting portion 2, and a rotating portion can rotate along its own axis and is cooperated with the corresponding connecting portion 2, rigid rod member 1 is arranged in the rectangular frame, and the rotating portion of each end of rigid rod member 1 is respectively connected to the connecting portion 1 and the connecting portion 2 of the corresponding rectangular frame, so that rigid rod member 1 can rotate relative to the rectangular frame.

[0032] Furthermore, there are two rigid rods 2 and two rigid rods 3, the two rigid rods 2 are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the rigid rod 1, the two rigid rods 3 are symmetrically arranged on both sides of the rigid rod 1, and multiple rigid rods 1 are arranged between the two rigid rods 2, wherein one rigid rod 1 is rotatably arranged at the top of the rigid rod 2 2 to form an upper rotating arm, and one rigid rod 1 is rotatably arranged at the bottom of the rigid rod 2 2 to form a lower rotating arm.

[0033] Among them, the main role of the rigid rod three 3 is to improve the unit structure, fix the main frame rigid rod one 1, and fix the rigid rod two 2, so that the structural unit can bend left and right while having a certain rigidity and will not be damaged during the detection process.

[0034] A rigid rod 1 is arranged at the axis of the rigid rod 2 2 and the rigid rod 3 3 to form a supporting frame.

[0035] In this embodiment, one of the central axes of a rigid rod member 2 has three connecting portions 1, and the three connecting portions 1 are respectively connected to three rigid rod members 1, that is, three rigid rod members 1 are installed on one rigid rod member 2.

[0036] The middle of the central axis of the rigid rod member 3 is provided with a connecting portion 2 for connecting with the rotating portion of the rigid rod member 1 forming the support frame. Circular through holes are opened on both sides of the rigid rod member 3 and are respectively connected with the two rigid rod members 2 2.

[0037] In summary, a flexible unit includes three rigid rods 1, two rigid rods 2 and two rigid rods 3, wherein the two rigid rods 2 and the two rigid rods 3 form a rectangular frame, the three rigid rods 1 are arranged at intervals along the central axis of the rigid rod 2, and are respectively located at the bottom, middle and top of the rigid rod 2. The driving component can drive the rigid rod 1 in the flexible unit to rotate, and the rigid rods 1 located at the top and bottom can realize the bending of the unit structure through the driving component.

[0038] In this embodiment, the four sides of the rigid rod 1 are provided with holes, which are rope holes. Through the driving component, the rigid rod 1 can achieve four degrees of freedom in the front, back, left and right directions, and realize the bending of the flexible unit structure.

[0039] A rigid rod 1 is arranged between adjacent flexible units to form a connecting arm. In this embodiment, the rigid rod 1 located at the top and bottom of the flexible unit becomes a connecting arm, and the connecting arm is respectively connected to the rigid rod 2 2 of the adjacent flexible unit in rotation. Two adjacent point unit structures are connected by the rigid rod 1, and the connection method between the rigid rod 1 and the rigid rod 2 2 is similar to a cross universal joint. The rigid rod 1 realizes multi-angle rotation between the two adjacent lattice unit structures, which lays a foundation for the flexible robot arm to explore in complex pipelines.

[0040] The driving assembly includes a driving member, a fixed pulley 4 and a connecting member 5. The fixed pulley 4 is rotatably arranged on the supporting frame. The rigid rod 1 has a through hole for the connecting member 5 to pass through. The connecting member 5 is arranged around the fixed pulley 4 and is connected to the rotating arm and the lower rotating arm on the same side. The driving member drives the fixed pulley 4 to rotate and drives the upper rotating arm and the lower rotating arm on the same side to rotate synchronously through the connecting member 5.

[0041] The driving part is a motor, a reduction gear set is arranged at the output end of the motor, a machine disk is arranged at the output end of the reduction gear set, and the machine disk is fixedly connected to the fixed pulley 4 .

[0042] Furthermore, the connecting member 5 is rope-driven. Rope-driven means fixing one or more sets of stretchable wires in the axial direction of the flexible arm. Common rope-driven means generally configure three or four sets of driving wires to control the flexible arm to achieve bending or twisting motion.

[0043] In other embodiments, to achieve more complex movements, multiple groups of rope drive modules may be combined in series.

[0044] The flexible arm based on rope drive has a large output force, strong load resistance and relatively simple control. It only needs to control the stretching length of the rope to realize the posture control of the soft arm. A rod is set at the top of the mechanical arm, and the rod is connected to the flexible unit. The specific operation is as follows: first, a fixed pulley 4 is installed at the bottom center of the rigid rod 2, and a motor is installed next to it. Then, the rope passes through the pulley and the rope holes set in each flexible unit rigid rod, and finally connected to the top of the mechanical arm, and the rope is fixed at the top of the mechanical arm. Then, the pulley is driven by the motor to rotate and then the rope is driven to slide, so that the mechanical arm is subjected to high force on one side and low force on the other side, and the flexible swing of the mechanical arm is realized. The rotation of the rigid rod 1 on the same central axis is realized by the fixed pulley 4 and the rope. The rope drive and the motor drive can realize the relevant swinging function of the mechanical arm. Combined with the characteristics of the mechanical arm with light structure and smooth movement, the motor drive is more stable under the condition of compact structure, without impact, and accurately controls its own rotation angle, with high transmission efficiency.

[0045] In order to further improve the accuracy of rotation, a control system is also included. The control system uses a control circuit board. A position feedback potentiometer is set on the machine disk. The feedback potentiometer is connected to the control system. The control is used to control the speed and forward and reverse rotation of the motor. The control circuit board receives the control signal from the signal line to control the rotation of the motor. The motor drives a series of reduction gear sets, which are transmitted to the output machine disk after deceleration. The output shaft of the motor is connected to the position feedback potentiometer. The machine disk rotates while driving the position feedback potentiometer. The potentiometer will output a voltage signal to the control circuit board for feedback. Then the control circuit board determines the direction and speed of the motor rotation according to the position, so as to achieve the target stop. The motor is installed at the hinge of the two adjacent structural units to realize the movement of the robot arm. The motor can be directly controlled, which is convenient for realizing the precise control of position, speed and torque to complete fine swinging movements.

[0046] The flexible robotic arm of the present invention is composed of many small flexible unit structures through multiple rigid rods, mainly including rigid rod 1, rigid rod 2 and rigid rod 3. The three rigid rods interact with each other to form a single lattice unit structure, which can not only ensure the stability of the flexible robotic arm skeleton, but also realize multi-angle movement between adjacent lattice units.

[0047] The present invention differentiates the traditional robotic arm and forms a robotic arm through multiple flexible units to realize the relevant functions of the robotic arm. The connection method between adjacent flexible units selects a series connection method, which is to connect and combine multiple rigid-flexible units into a single unit structure, and then connect them through a hinge connection based on the cross universal joint principle to form a chain-type flexible robotic arm in series.

[0048] Compared with the prior art, the flexible mechanical arm of the present invention is a new type of robot device, and the beneficial effects of the technical solution have broad application prospects in the industrial and medical fields:

[0049] (1) In industrial production, flexible robotic arms can be used for operations in narrow spaces, such as completing delicate assembly tasks on an assembly line. Their flexibility and adaptability enable flexible robotic arms to be used in a variety of complex working environments, improving production efficiency and product quality.

[0050] (2) In the medical field, flexible robotic arms can be used in minimally invasive surgery, reducing patient trauma and recovery time while improving surgical accuracy and safety.

[0051] (3) Flexible robotic arms can also be used in picking operations such as picking fruits and vegetables, as well as pipeline maintenance to improve efficiency and reduce labor costs.

[0052] This article uses specific examples to illustrate the principles and implementation methods of the present invention. The description of the above embodiments is only used to help understand the method of the present invention and its core ideas. The above is only a preferred implementation method of the present invention. It should be pointed out that due to the limitations of textual expression, there are objectively infinite specific structures. For ordinary technicians in this technical field, without departing from the principles of the present invention, several improvements, modifications or changes can be made, and the above technical features can be combined in an appropriate manner; these improvements, modifications, changes or combinations, or the direct application of the inventive concept and technical solution to other occasions without improvement, should be regarded as the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A flexible robotic arm based on a mechanical superstructure, characterized in that: It includes a connecting arm, a driving assembly and multiple flexible units, the flexible unit includes an upper rotating arm, a lower rotating arm and a supporting frame, the upper rotating arm and the lower rotating arm are respectively rotatably arranged at the top and bottom of the supporting frame, the connecting arm is rotatably arranged at the supporting frame, adjacent flexible units are connected in series through the connecting arm, the upper rotating arm, the lower rotating arm and the supporting frame are coaxially arranged, and the driving assembly is used to drive the upper rotating arm, the lower rotating arm and the connecting arm to swing up and down.

2. The flexible mechanical arm based on mechanical superstructure according to claim 1, characterized in that: The flexible unit includes a plurality of rigid rods 1 and 2, wherein the rigid rod 1 is symmetrically provided with a plurality of rotating parts along its own circumference, and the rigid rod 2 has a connecting part 1, and the rotating part can be rotatably provided along its own axial direction and is matched with the corresponding connecting part 1.

3. The flexible mechanical arm based on mechanical superstructure according to claim 2, characterized in that: Rigid rods 3 are respectively arranged on both sides of the rigid rod 2, and the rigid rods 2 and 3 form a rectangular frame with a longitudinal section. The rigid rod 3 has a connecting part 2, and the rotating part can be rotated along its own axis and is matched with the corresponding connecting part 2.

4. The flexible mechanical arm based on mechanical superstructure according to claim 3, characterized in that: There are two rigid rods 2 and 3, and multiple rigid rods 1 are arranged between the two rigid rods 2, wherein one rigid rod 1 is rotatably arranged at the top of the rigid rod 2 to form an upper rotating arm, and one rigid rod 1 is rotatably arranged at the bottom of the rigid rod 2 to form a lower rotating arm.

5. The flexible mechanical arm based on mechanical superstructure according to claim 4, characterized in that: The axes of the rigid rods 2 and 3 are provided with the rigid rod 1 to form a supporting frame.

6. The flexible mechanical arm based on mechanical superstructure according to claim 4, characterized in that: The longitudinal section of the rigid rod member 1 is a cross shape, the longitudinal section of the rigid rod member 2 is a cross shape, and the cross section of the rigid rod member 3 is a straight line shape.

7. The flexible mechanical arm based on mechanical superstructure according to claim 3, characterized in that: The driving assembly includes a driving member, a fixed pulley and a connecting member. The fixed pulley is rotatably arranged on the supporting frame. The rigid rod has a through hole for the connecting member to pass through. The connecting member is arranged around the fixed pulley and connected to the rotating arm and the lower rotating arm on the same side. The driving member drives the fixed pulley to rotate and drives the upper rotating arm and the lower rotating arm on the same side to rotate synchronously through the connecting member.

8. The flexible mechanical arm based on mechanical superstructure according to claim 7, characterized in that: The driving member is a motor, a reduction gear set is arranged at the output end of the motor, an engine disk is arranged at the output end of the reduction gear set, and the engine disk is fixedly connected to the fixed pulley.

9. The flexible mechanical arm based on mechanical superstructure according to claim 8, characterized in that: It also includes a control system. A position feedback potentiometer is arranged on the machine disk. The feedback potentiometer is connected to the control system. The control system is used to control the speed and forward and reverse rotation of the motor.

10. The flexible mechanical arm based on mechanical superstructure according to claim 2, characterized in that: A rigid rod member 1 is arranged between adjacent flexible units to form a connecting arm, and the connecting arm is rotatably connected to the rigid rod members 2 of the adjacent flexible units respectively.

Images