Spherical-hexapod variable configuration lunar surface robot

Abstract

The invention relates to the field of lunar exploration, and provides a spherical-hexapod variable-configuration lunar surface robot which comprises a mounting base, a battery module is arranged in the center of the upper end face of the mounting base, and a controller is arranged in the area, located on one side of the battery module, of the upper end face of the mounting base; a step-down module, an IMU and a camera module are fixedly arranged on the upper end surface of the mounting base in an area on the other side of the camera module; the upper spherical shell is arranged above the mounting base and fixedly connected with the mounting base, and a skylight is arranged at the position, corresponding to the camera module, of the upper spherical shell; the modular single legs are six in number, the modular single legs are consistent in structure and configuration, and the modular single legs are evenly and fixedly connected to the bottom face of the mounting base in the circumferential direction through embedded parts. The robot has two movement modes, can adapt to different lunar surface topographic conditions, adopts a six-foot mode to crawl and move on a relatively gentle lunar surface, adopts a spherical mode to roll and go downhill on a large-gradient rugged terrain, and avoids the overturning risk when a single wheel type or foot type moving mechanism goes down a steep slope.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the field of lunar exploration, in particular to a spherical-hexapod metamorphic lunar rover. BACKGROUND

[0002] The lunar rover is an auxiliary tool for lunar exploration activities. The rover can enter complex terrain that is not easily accessible by conventional rovers, obtain lunar information on site, and carry out in-situ analysis. As lunar exploration missions become more complex and special, there is an urgent need for lunar rovers with strong terrain adaptability.

[0003] Currently, lunar rovers or rovers in orbit are mostly wheeled, such as the Apollo LRV lunar rover and the Chinese Yutu rover. Wheeled rovers are high-speed and efficient, but their movement mode is relatively single, mainly achieving straight-line travel and turning during travel after deployment on the lunar surface, and cannot achieve more configuration transformations. They have poor adaptability to large-slope terrain such as lunar streams, impact craters, and lava tubes. Currently, there are no lunar rovers that can explore such terrain. Therefore, China needs to develop a new type of lunar rover that can adapt to large-slope extreme terrain to achieve the first human exploration of lunar streams and lava tubes, conduct scientific research in high-value areas that have not been explored by human explorers, and improve the efficiency of lunar exploration. SUMMARY

[0004] To address the above needs and problems, the present application proposes a spherical-hexapod metamorphic lunar rover that can climb and roll. Compared with existing lunar wheeled rovers, the legged rover has strong obstacle climbing ability in rough and soft lunar terrain, and the spherical rover can efficiently descend slopes with the help of its rolling characteristics. The present application combines the high mobility of legged rovers and the rollable characteristics of spherical rovers, and through the folding and unfolding of modular single legs, it can both climb and explore in hexapod mode and switch to spherical mode for rolling, efficiently and quickly entering complex lunar terrain such as impact craters and lava tubes. In summary, the spherical-hexapod metamorphic rover developed by the present application can achieve three-dimensional composite stereoscopic exploration of high-value areas, which is of great significance for expanding exploration capabilities and improving the efficiency of lunar scientific exploration, and has good engineering application prospects.

[0005] The present application solves the problem of providing a spherical-hexapod metamorphic lunar rover that can switch between spherical and hexapod configurations during lunar movement, enabling both hexapod climbing mode for movement and exploration in rough and soft terrain and spherical rolling mode for rolling down large-slope terrain to enter special terrain.

[0006] The technical solution of the present application is a spherical-hexapod allosteric lunar surface robot, characterized in that it comprises: a mounting base, the upper end surface center of the mounting base is provided with a battery module, the upper end surface of the mounting base is provided with a controller in the area on one side of the battery module, and the upper end surface of the mounting base is fixedly provided with a voltage reduction module, an IMU and a camera module on the other side of the camera module; An upper spherical shell is arranged above and fixedly connected to the mounting base, and the upper spherical shell is provided with a skylight at a position corresponding to the camera module. Six modular single legs, each of which has the same structure and configuration, are uniformly and fixedly connected to the bottom surface of the mounting base through a circumferential embedded part.

[0007] Further, the camera module comprises an electric push rod, a camera connecting piece, a camera shell, a camera, a camera front cover and a camera shaped upper cover; the bottom end of the electric push rod is mounted on the mounting base, the camera connecting piece is mounted on the top end of the electric push rod, the camera shell is mounted on the camera connecting piece, the camera is mounted on the camera shell, the camera front cover is mounted on the front side of the camera shell, and the camera shaped upper cover is mounted on the top surface of the camera shell.

[0008] Further, the battery module comprises copper columns, a battery fixing plate and a battery pack; the copper columns are arranged in a quadrilateral structure pattern fixed ring on the upper surface of the mounting base, and there are two copper columns on each side; the battery fixing plate is mounted on the copper columns; and the battery pack is mounted in the cuboid space formed by the mounting base, the copper columns and the battery fixing plate.

[0009] Further, the modular single leg comprises a leg connecting ring, a joint module A, a joint module B, a joint module C, a joint connecting ring, a thigh connecting rod, a crank, a transmission connecting rod, a lower leg shell and a foot pad, and each leg has three active degrees of freedom; the leg connecting ring is fixedly connected to the mounting base, the joint module A is fixedly connected to the leg connecting ring, the joint connecting ring is connected to the output end of the joint module A and can rotate, thereby realizing lateral swinging of the modular single leg, the joint modules B and C are fixedly connected to the left and right sides of the joint connecting ring, the thigh connecting rod is connected to the output end of the joint module B and can rotate, the crank is connected to the output end of the joint module C and can rotate, the transmission connecting rod is connected to the crank and can rotate, and the lower leg shell is connected to the thigh connecting rod and the transmission connecting rod and can rotate. The crank, the thigh connecting rod, the transmission connecting rod and the lower leg shell constitute a parallelogram mechanism to realize lifting and lowering of the modular single leg, thereby realizing inward folding and outward stretching of the modular single leg. The foot pad is fixedly connected to the lower leg shell.

[0010] Further, the lower leg shell is in the shape of a 60-degree spherical lobe and is hollowed to reduce weight. When the six modular single legs are simultaneously folded inward, the corresponding lower leg shells converge inward, so that the outer surfaces of the six lower leg shells are on the same spherical surface, and the whole is in the shape of a lower hemisphere, and together with the upper spherical shell forms a complete sphere, to form a spherical robot shape and can roll downhill in a spherical mode. When the six modular single legs are extended outward, the six legs swing alternately in rhythm to form a hexapod robot shape and can move forward in a hexapod mode.

[0011] Further, the metamorphic lunar robot has two motion modes, spherical mode and hexapod mode.

[0012] The application also provides a mode switching method of the spherical-hexapod metamorphic lunar robot. After receiving the control instruction, the six modular single legs are sequentially extended outward under the drive of the joint module group, enter the hexapod mode, and at this time the robot can move and patrol and detect in a hexapod mode, and at the same time the robot camera is extended out of the upper spherical shell under the drive of the electric push rod, and can carry out lunar image recording; after receiving the impact crater or melt hole detection task control instruction, the six modular single legs are sequentially folded inward under the drive of the joint module group, the robot camera is retracted into the upper spherical shell, and enters the spherical mode, at this time the robot can roll downhill in a spherical mode, and after falling into the crater bottom, the robot restores to the hexapod mode again and unfolds the camera to carry out detailed inspection of the crater bottom.

[0013] The advantages of the application include: having two motion modes, which can adapt to different lunar terrain conditions, moving in a hexapod mode on relatively flat lunar surface and rolling downhill in a spherical mode on steep and rugged terrain, avoiding the risk of overturning when moving downhill in a single wheeled or footed mode, improving the efficiency and safety of downhill movement; the electronic single machine devices of the robot are arranged in the sealed cabin formed by the upper spherical shell and the mounting base, reducing the pollution of lunar dust; the modular single leg adopts a parallelogram mechanism, and the joint module group is concentratedly distributed on the upper part of the mechanical leg, which reduces the rotational inertia of the leg compared with the traditional series type mechanical leg, and at the same time improves the carrying capacity of the robot. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0014] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the spherical-hexapod metamorphic lunar robot provided by the application; Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the battery module provided by the application; Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the camera module provided by the application; Figure 4This is a schematic diagram of the modular single leg provided by the present invention in the expanded and folded states; Figure 5 Schematic diagram of the hexapod mode and spherical mode provided by the present invention; Explanation of symbols: 1. Upper spherical shell; 2. Mounting base; 3. Battery module; 3-1. Copper column; 3-2. Battery fixing plate; 3-3. Battery pack; 4. Step-down module; 5. Controller; 6. IMU; 7. Camera module; 7-1. Electric push rod; 7-2. Camera connector; 7-3. Camera housing; 7-4. Camera front cover; 7-5. Camera shaped upper cover; 7-6. Camera; 8. Modular single leg; 8-1. Leg connecting ring; 8-2. Joint module A; 8-3. Joint module B; 8-4. Joint module C; 8-5. Joint connecting ring; 8-6. Thigh connecting rod; 8-7. Crank handle; 8-8. Transmission connecting rod; 8-9. Lower leg housing; 8-10. Foot pad. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0015] The concept, specific structure and technical effects of the present invention are clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and examples to fully understand the purpose, scheme and effects of the present invention.

[0016] refer to Figure 1 The spherical-hexapod variable configuration machine provided by the present invention includes: an upper spherical shell 1, a mounting base 2, a battery module 3, a step-down module 4, a controller 5, an IMU 6, a camera module 7, and a modular single leg 8; the outer surface of the upper spherical shell 1 is an upper hemisphere, and a skylight is reserved for the camera module 7 to be lifted up and down and is sealed. The mounting base 2 is disc-shaped, and the upper spherical shell 1, battery module 3, step-down module 4, controller 5, IMU 6, and camera module 7 are all installed on the upper surface of the mounting base 2. There are six modular single legs 8 in total, each leg has the same structure and configuration, and is evenly installed on the bottom surface of the mounting base 2 in the circumferential direction.

[0017] refer to Figure 2 The battery module 3 includes a copper pillar 3-1, a battery fixing plate 3-2, and a battery pack 3-3; there are 8 copper pillars 3-1 in total, which are fixed on the upper surface of the mounting base 2, with 2 copper pillars on each side, distributed in a rectangular shape, the battery fixing plate 3-2 is installed on the copper pillars 3-1, and the battery pack 3-3 is installed in the rectangular space formed by the mounting base 2, the copper pillars 3-1 and the battery fixing plate 3-2.

[0018] refer to Figure 3, the camera module 7 includes an electric push rod 7-1, a camera connector 7-2, a camera shell 7-3, a camera 7-4, a camera front cover 7-5, and a camera shaped upper cover 7-6; the bottom end of the electric push rod 7-1 is mounted on the mounting base 2, the camera connector 7-2 is mounted on the top end of the electric push rod 7-1, the camera shell 7-3 is mounted on the camera connector 7-2, the camera 7-4 is mounted on the camera shell 7-3, the camera front cover 7-5 is mounted on the front side of the camera shell 7-3, and the camera shaped upper cover 7-6 is mounted on the top surface of the camera shell 7-3.

[0019] The electric push rod can drive the combination of the camera shell, the camera, the camera front cover and the camera shaped upper cover to slide up and down, when the electric push rod moves to the maximum stroke, the camera extends from the inside of the upper spherical shell and has sufficient field of view, when the electric push rod moves to the minimum stroke, the camera retracts into the upper spherical shell, the camera shaped upper cover is accurately embedded in the skylight reserved in the upper spherical shell, and the camera shaped upper cover and the outer surface of the upper spherical shell are exactly on the same spherical surface.

[0020] The electric push rod 7-1 can be vertically extended and retracted, thereby driving the combination of the camera shell 7-3, the camera 7-4, the camera front cover 7-5 and the camera shaped upper cover 7-6 to slide up and down, when the electric push rod 7-1 moves to the maximum stroke, the camera 7-4 can extend into the inside of the upper spherical shell 1 and have sufficient field of view, when the electric push rod 7-1 moves to the minimum stroke, the camera 7-4 retracts into the inside of the upper spherical shell 1, the camera shaped upper cover 7-6 is accurately embedded in the skylight reserved in the upper spherical shell 1, and the camera shaped upper cover 7-6 and the outer surface of the upper spherical shell 1 are exactly on the same spherical surface.

[0021] Reference Figure 4 The modular single leg 8 includes a leg connection ring 8-1, a joint module A 8-2, a joint module B 8-3, a joint module C 8-4, a joint connection ring 8-5, a thigh connecting rod 8-6, a handle 8-7, a transmission connecting rod 8-8, a lower leg shell 8-9, and a foot pad 8-10; in the present application, the technology of driving the rotating joint module A 8-2, the joint module B 8-3 and the joint module C 8-4 is already very mature, such as gear drive, motor drive, etc., the main protection of the present application is the changeable configuration that can realize the switching of spherical mode and six-legged mode, so it will not be described again.

[0022] The leg connecting ring 8-1 is circumferentially installed on the lower surface of the installation base 2 (the installation manner is not limited in the present application, and can be connected through clamping or screwing, etc.), the joint module A 8-2 is installed on the leg connecting ring 8-1, the joint connecting ring 8-5 is installed on the output end of the joint module A 8-2, the joint module A 8-2 can drive the joint connecting ring 8-5 to rotate, the joint module B 8-3 and the joint module C 8-4 are installed on the two sides of the joint connecting ring 8-5, the thigh connecting rod 8-6 is installed on the output end of the joint module B 8-3, the joint module B 8-3 can drive the thigh connecting rod 8-6 to rotate, the handle 8-7 is installed on the output end of the joint module C 8-4, the joint module C 8-4 can drive the handle 8-7 to rotate, the transmission connecting rod 8-8 is connected with the other end of the handle 8-7 and can rotate, the lower leg shell 8-9 is connected with the other end of the thigh connecting rod 8-6 and the transmission connecting rod 8-8 and can rotate, thus the thigh connecting rod 8-6, the handle 8-7, the transmission connecting rod 8-8 and the lower leg shell 8-9 form a parallelogram mechanism, the joint module C 8-4 can drive the transmission connecting rod 8-8 and the lower leg shell 8-9 to move through driving the handle 8-7, and can realize lifting and lowering of the modular single leg 8, and further realize inward folding and outward stretching of the modular single leg 8, the foot pad 8-10 is installed at the end of the lower leg shell 8-9, the foot pad 8-10 directly contacts with the ground to support the machine body when the robot is in the six-legged mode, and the foot pad 8-10 is folded in the inner side of the modular single leg 8 and does not hinder the normal rolling of the robot when the robot is in the spherical mode.

[0023] Reference Figure 5 The present robot has two motion modes: spherical mode and six-legged mode.

[0024] The switching method of the robot from the six-legged mode to the spherical mode is as follows: Firstly, the joint module A 8-4 of the six modular single legs 8 restores to zero position, drives each leg to swing, and makes each modular single leg 8 be spaced 60 degrees, at the same time, the joint module B 8-3 drives the thigh connecting rod 8-6 to rotate, the thigh connecting rod 8-6 is inwards contracted, the joint module C 8-4 drives the handle 8-7 to rotate, the handle 8-7 drives the thigh shell 8-9 to rotate through the transmission connecting rod 8-8, and the thigh shell 8-9 is inwards contracted, at this time, the six modular single legs 8 located at the bottom of the installation base 2 form a lower hemisphere.

[0025] Then, the electric push rod 7-1 drives the combination of the camera shell 7-3, the camera 7-4, the camera front cover 7-5 and the camera conformal upper cover 7-6 to slide downwards, the camera 7-4 is retracted into the upper spherical shell 1, and the camera conformal upper cover 7-6 is accurately embedded into the skylight reserved in the upper spherical shell 1, at this time, the camera conformal upper cover 7-6 and the upper spherical shell 1 form an upper hemisphere, and form a complete sphere with the lower hemisphere formed by the six modular single legs 8, and enter the spherical mode.

[0026] The switching method from the spherical mode to the hexapod mode of the robot is the reverse of the above method.

[0027] The application has been described above by way of example, but the application is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, and those skilled in the art can make various equivalent modifications or replacements without departing from the spirit of the application, and these equivalent modifications or replacements are all included in the scope defined by the claims of the present application.

Claims

1. A spheroid-hexapod metamorphic lunar robot, characterized by, Comprise: The installation base is provided with a battery module at the center of the upper end surface, and the upper end surface of the installation base is provided with a controller in the area on one side of the battery module and is fixedly provided with a voltage reduction module, an IMU and a camera module in the area on the other side of the camera module; The upper spherical shell is fixedly connected with the installation base above the installation base, and the upper spherical shell is provided with a skylight at a position corresponding to the camera module; The modular single leg is uniformly and fixedly connected to the bottom surface of the installation base through a circumferential embedded part.

2. The spheroid-hexapod metamorphic lunar robot according to claim 1, wherein: The camera module comprises an electric push rod, a camera connecting piece, a camera shell, a camera, a camera front cover and a camera shaped upper cover; the bottom end of the electric push rod is mounted on the installation base, the camera connecting piece is mounted on the top end of the electric push rod, the camera shell is mounted on the camera connecting piece, the camera is mounted on the camera shell, the camera front cover is mounted on the front side of the camera shell, and the camera shaped upper cover is mounted on the top surface of the camera shell.

3. The spheroid-hexapod metamorphic lunar robot according to claim 1, wherein: The battery module comprises a copper column, a battery fixing plate and a battery pack; the copper column is fixedly arranged on the upper surface of the installation base in a quadrilateral structure pattern, and there are two copper columns on each side; the battery fixing plate is mounted on the copper column; and the battery pack is mounted in the cuboid space formed by the installation base, the copper column and the battery fixing plate.

4. The spheroid-hexapod metamorphic lunar robot of claim 1, wherein: The modular single leg comprises a leg connecting ring, a joint module A, a joint module B, a joint module C, a joint connecting ring, a thigh connecting rod, a handle, a transmission connecting rod, a lower leg shell and a foot pad; each leg has three active degrees of freedom; the leg connecting ring is fixedly connected with the installation base; the joint module A is fixedly connected with the leg connecting ring; the joint connecting ring is connected with the output end of the joint module A and can rotate, thereby realizing lateral swinging of the modular single leg; the joint modules B and C are fixedly connected with the left and right sides of the joint connecting ring; the thigh connecting rod is connected with the output end of the joint module B and can rotate; the handle is connected with the output end of the joint module C and can rotate; the transmission connecting rod is connected with the handle and can rotate; and the lower leg shell is connected with the thigh connecting rod and the transmission connecting rod and can rotate. The handle, the thigh connecting rod, the transmission connecting rod and the lower leg shell constitute a parallelogram mechanism to realize lifting and lowering of the modular single leg, thereby realizing inward folding and outward stretching of the modular single leg. The foot pad is fixedly connected with the lower leg shell.

5. The spheroid-hexapod metamorphic lunar robot according to claim 4, characterized in that: The lower leg shell is in the shape of a 60-degree spherical petal and is hollowed out to reduce weight. When the six modular single legs are simultaneously folded inward, the corresponding lower leg shells also converge inward, so that the outer surfaces of the six lower leg shells are on the same spherical surface, the whole is in the shape of a lower hemisphere, and together with the upper spherical shell, forms a complete sphere, thereby constituting a spherical robot shape and being able to roll downhill in a spherical mode. When the six modular single legs are stretched outward, the six legs swing alternately in rhythm, thereby constituting a hexapod robot shape and being able to crawl forward in a hexapod mode.

6. The spherical-hexapod lunar robot according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: The metamorphic moon surface robot has two motion modes, i.e., a spherical mode and a hexapod mode.

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