A three-axis orthogonal transmission pendulum spherical robot

Abstract

The application provides a three-axis orthogonal transmission pendulum spherical robot, and belongs to the field of intelligent robots. The three-axis orthogonal transmission pendulum spherical robot comprises a spherical shell and an internal driving mechanism. The spherical shell is a main component for ground contact movement of the robot and is also a bearing component of the internal driving mechanism. The internal driving mechanism comprises a support frame assembly, a pendulum rod assembly and a heavy pendulum assembly. The support frame assembly can rotate around the X-axis of the spherical shell, the pendulum rod assembly can rotate around the Y-axis of the spherical shell, and the heavy pendulum assembly can rotate around the Z-axis of the spherical shell. The three-axis driving motor is concentrated at the heavy pendulum assembly, the effective mass ratio of the heavy pendulum mechanism relative to the whole machine is improved, the three-axis orthogonal transmission and three-axis linkage coupling problems are solved, three-axis centralized input and multi-direction output driving are realized, electrical wiring is more convenient, and the driving performance and maintainability of the spherical robot are effectively improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of intelligent robots, and more specifically, relates to a three-axis orthogonal transmission pendulum spherical robot. Background Technology

[0002] Regardless of whether the service environment is structured or unstructured, high precision, high flexibility, and high reliability have always been the themes in spherical mobile robot design. Compared to two-drive pendulum spherical mobile robots, three-drive pendulum spherical mobile robots add rotation capability and have three characteristics: 1. Fully driven configuration, capable of being stimulated in all degrees of freedom; 2. Large flexible space, able to reach any reachable position in any posture; 3. High fault tolerance, even if one joint is shut down, it can still achieve omnidirectional movement using the remaining two joints. These inherent advantages enable three-drive pendulum mobile robots to meet the high precision and high reliability requirements of spherical mobile robot motion in various structured and unstructured environment scenarios.

[0003] In 2008, the applicant proposed a three-drive spherical mobile robot (200810111880.4). This configuration is based on BYQ-III, with an added ring rack 8 inside the spherical shell, which allows the long axis frame to rotate around the Z-axis under the drive of the guide rail motor 6.

[0004] In 2011, the applicant proposed a second three-drive configuration (201110118015.4), which works by using two pendulums to swing in opposite directions at the same speed around the Y-axis, thereby generating a torque around the Z-axis to enable the robot to rotate.

[0005] In 2019, the applicant proposed a third three-drive configuration (201910188308.6), which uses three joint motors mounted on three rotating axes and adds a centroid radial drive motor, giving it two control modes.

[0006] In the innovative design of pendulum-type spherical mobile robot mechanisms, the research on internal drive configuration is an unavoidable key issue. Current three-drive pendulum-type spherical mobile robot configurations have three main shortcomings: 1. Asymmetrical distribution of the three-axis motors leads to uneven distribution of the main mass within the internal mechanism; 2. Dispersed distribution of the three-axis motors results in complex electrical wiring design; 3. A large proportion of ineffective mass in the inner frame leads to a decrease in the proportion of heavy-duty mass. To solve these problems, it is urgent to design a novel three-drive configuration scheme to improve the drive performance of the pendulum-type spherical mobile robot from the perspective of mechanical structure optimization. How to increase the effective payload ratio while achieving ideal internal drive motion has a significant impact on enhancing the load-bearing capacity and drive performance of the pendulum-type spherical mobile robot. Summary of the Invention

[0007] To address the aforementioned deficiencies or improvement needs of existing technologies, this invention provides a three-axis orthogonal transmission pendulum-type spherical robot. Its key feature is that the three-axis drive motors are concentrated in the pendulum mechanism, further improving the effective mass ratio of the pendulum mechanism relative to the entire robot, while simultaneously enabling the spherical mobile robot to rotate along three axes, including its own rotation, in a global inertial coordinate system. The invention focuses on solving the problems of three-axis orthogonal transmission and three-axis linkage coupling to achieve centralized input and multi-directional output three-axis drive.

[0008] The technical solution adopted by this invention to solve its technical problem is:

[0009] A three-axis orthogonal transmission pendulum-type spherical robot includes: a spherical shell and an internal drive mechanism. The spherical shell is the main component for the robot's contact motion on the ground and also serves as the load-bearing component of the internal drive mechanism. The internal drive mechanism includes a support frame assembly, a pendulum rod assembly, and a heavy pendulum assembly. The support frame assembly includes an inner guide rail gear on the spherical shell, a driven wheel, a driving wheel, and a support frame. The pendulum rod assembly includes a pendulum rod and a synchronous belt drive module. The heavy pendulum assembly includes a face gear drive module, a drive motor, an electronic control system, a drive motor support frame, and a battery. The inner guide rail gear on the spherical shell is fixedly connected to the inner side of the spherical shell. The driven wheel and driving wheel are respectively installed at the ends of the support frame and mesh with the inner guide rail gear on the spherical shell. The other end of the support frame is connected to the upper end of the pendulum rod via a bearing. The synchronous belt drive module is installed parallel to the pendulum rod. Its synchronous belt driving wheel is fixedly connected to a gear shaft, and the gear shaft is connected to the pendulum rod via a bearing. The synchronous belt driven wheel is fixedly connected to a driven wheel bracket or a driving wheel power shaft. The face gear drive module is connected to the pendulum rod via a shaft... The drive motor is connected to the pendulum arm; the drive motor is fixedly connected to the drive motor support frame; the drive motor support frame is connected to the lower end of the pendulum arm via bearings; all drive motors are horizontally mounted, and the output shaft of each drive motor is connected to a spur gear, and the direction of power rotation is changed through a face gear module; the first drive motor transmits power to the drive wheel through the face gear, the first synchronous pulley module, the drive wheel power shaft, and the second synchronous pulley module, thereby realizing the rotation of the entire internal drive mechanism around the X-axis of the spherical shell, thus realizing the rolling of the spherical robot along the Y-axis by utilizing the principle of eccentric torque; the second drive motor transmits power to the passive wheel support through the face gear and the synchronous pulley module, thereby making the pendulum arm assembly and the heavy pendulum assembly rotate around the Y-axis of the spherical shell, thus realizing the rolling of the spherical robot along the X-axis by utilizing the principle of eccentric torque; the third drive motor transmits power to the pendulum arm through the face gear, thereby making the heavy pendulum assembly rotate around the Z-axis of the spherical shell, realizing the rotation of the spherical shell around the vertical direction by utilizing the conservation of momentum.

[0010] When the three motors of the internal drive mechanism move, except for the first motor, the other two motors will generate motion coupling in other directions. In order to decouple the motion of the drive motors, the present invention proposes the following decoupling method:

[0011] Assume the output shaft speed of the first motor is α1, the output shaft speed of the second motor is α2, and the output shaft speed of the third motor is α3. The number of teeth of the i-th gear is represented by Zi, and the speed is represented by ni.

[0012] To make the spherical shell of the spherical robot rotate around the X-axis, the first motor operates alone, while the second and third motors are braked. At this time, the rotational speed of the spherical shell...

[0013] To make the spherical shell of the spherical robot rotate around the Y-axis, the second motor operates independently, the first motor is not braked, and the third motor is braked. At this time, the rotational speed of the spherical shell is... If the first motor is powered on, then to resolve the operational coupling caused by the second motor, the speed of the first motor should be:

[0014] To make the spherical shell of the spherical robot rotate around the Z-axis, the third motor should operate independently, while the first and second motors should not be braked. In this case, the rotational speed of the spherical shell is... If the first and second motors are powered on, then to resolve the operational coupling caused by the third motor, the speed of the first motor should be: The speed of the second motor should be

[0015] As a further preferred embodiment, the spherical shell is made of a hard, lightweight material, and its structure can be designed as two hemispheres or two spherical crowns and a drum-shaped wheel, to facilitate the disassembly and assembly of the internal drive mechanism.

[0016] As a further preferred embodiment, when the first drive motor transmits power to the second synchronous belt module, the rotation directions of the synchronous belt drive pulley and driven pulley are made perpendicular to each other, thereby changing the rotation direction of the first drive motor to the X-axis of the spherical shell.

[0017] As a further preferred embodiment, the three drive motors are symmetrically arranged in four directions on the horizontal plane, and the battery and control system are set in the fourth direction, so that the main mass of the pendulum is relatively uniform in the four directions, thereby making the rotational inertia matrix of the pendulum approximately an identity matrix, which facilitates control.

[0018] As a further preferred embodiment, the passive wheel is made of aluminum alloy, and the inner guide rail gear of the spherical shell is made of rubber to reduce the mass of the non-heavy pendulum mechanism.

[0019] As a further preferred embodiment, both the inner guide gear and the driven wheel of the spherical shell can be made into bevel gears, so that the spherical shell can withstand the force and torque exerted by the internal drive mechanism on the three vertical axes of the spherical shell.

[0020] As a further preferred embodiment, the passive wheel support frame can be made into a structure with a slightly movable angle, so that there is a suitable working gap when the passive wheel and the inner ring of the spherical shell rotate synchronously.

[0021] As a further preferred embodiment, the face gear should be as small in volume as possible while ensuring rigidity and strength, thereby increasing the length of the swing arm and enhancing the robot's driving performance.

[0022] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are:

[0023] The problem of three-axis orthogonal transmission and three-axis linkage coupling was solved, realizing centralized input and multi-directional output three-axis drive; the problem of dispersed distribution of three-axis motors in pendulum spherical robots was solved, making the mass of the internal pendulum mechanism more concentrated, increasing the effective mass ratio of the pendulum, and effectively improving the driving performance of the spherical robot; the centralized arrangement of three-axis motors makes electrical wiring more convenient, facilitates the modular design of each component, and is beneficial to processing, manufacturing and maintenance. Attached Figure Description

[0024] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the accompanying drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below.

[0025] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of a spherical robot constructed according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the internal drive mechanism constructed according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0027] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the three-axis transmission direction and the number of teeth of each gear constructed according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0028] In all the accompanying drawings, the same reference numerals are used to denote the same elements or structures, wherein:

[0029] 1-Inner guide gear of spherical shell, 2-Spherical shell driven drive wheel, 3-Driven wheel support frame, 4-Y-axis synchronous belt, 5-Y-axis synchronous belt drive wheel, 6-Second motor, 7-Third motor, 8-Motor support frame, 9-First motor, 10-X-axis first synchronous belt drive wheel, 11-X-axis first synchronous belt, 12-Drive wheel support frame, 13-X-axis second synchronous belt drive wheel, 14-X-axis second synchronous belt, 15-X-axis second synchronous belt driven wheel, 16-Spherical shell drive wheel, 17-Drive wheel power shaft, 18-X-axis first synchronous belt driven wheel, 19-Swing rod, 20-Y-axis synchronous... With passive wheel, 21-drive wheel support frame bearing, 22-upper end bearing 1 of the swing arm, 23-upper end bearing 2 of the swing arm, 24-right bearing in the middle of the swing arm, 25-Y-axis spur gear, 26-Y-axis spur gear shaft, 27-face gear connecting bearing, 28-face gear of the first motor, 29-output gear of the second motor, 30-output gear of the third motor, 31-lower end bearing of the swing arm, 32-face gear of the third motor, 33-output gear of the first motor, 34-face gear of the second motor, 35-face gear support bearing, 36-X-axis spur gear shaft, 37-X-axis spur gear, 38-left bearing in the middle of the swing arm. Detailed Implementation

[0030] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all of them. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the present invention without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention. Furthermore, the technical features involved in the various embodiments of the present invention described below can be combined with each other as long as they do not conflict with each other.

[0031] Example: A three-axis orthogonal transmission pendulum-type spherical robot, such as Figure 1 and Figure 2As shown, it includes: an inner guide gear 1 on the spherical shell, which is fixedly connected to the inner side of the spherical shell. The inner guide gear 1 meshes with three driven wheels 2 and one driving wheel 16 of the internal drive mechanism, enabling the entire internal drive mechanism to rotate around the X-axis of the spherical shell. The driven wheels 2 and driving wheel 16 of the internal drive mechanism are respectively mounted on the ends of the driven wheel bracket 3 and the driving wheel bracket 12 via bearings. The driving wheel 16 is fixedly connected to the driven wheel 15 of the second synchronous belt on the X-axis. The driven wheel bracket 3 and the driving wheel bracket 12 have a three-forked structure, with the third forked end connected to a bearing 23 and a shaft respectively. The support 22 is connected to the upper end of the rocker arm 19 to form a support frame assembly; the drive wheel bracket 12 is connected to the drive wheel power shaft 17 via a bearing; the left end of the drive wheel power shaft 17 is fixedly connected to the X-axis second synchronous belt drive wheel 13; the middle part of the rocker arm 19 is connected to the Y-axis spur gear shaft 26 and the X-axis spur gear shaft 36 via bearings 24 and 38 respectively; the middle part of the Y-axis spur gear shaft 26 is fixedly connected to the Y-axis spur gear 25, and the end is fixedly connected to the Y-axis synchronous belt drive wheel 5; the middle part of the X-axis spur gear shaft 36 is fixedly connected to the X-axis spur gear 37, and the end is fixedly connected to the X-axis first synchronous belt drive wheel 5. Wheel 10 is fixedly connected; the X-axis spur gear 37 meshes with the first motor face gear 28; the first motor face gear 28 is connected to the rocker arm 19 via a bearing 35, and is positioned below the X-axis spur gear 37; the Y-axis spur gear 25 meshes with the second motor face gear 34; the second motor face gear 34 is connected to the outer ring of the first motor face gear 28 via a bearing 27; both the first motor face gear 28 and the second motor face gear 34 are symmetrical structures, with identical upper and lower tooth surfaces; the lower tooth surface of the first motor face gear 28 meshes with the first motor output gear 33, and the second motor face gear 34 meshes with the first motor output gear 33. The lower tooth surface of gear 34 meshes with the output gear 29 of the second motor; the first motor 9, the second motor 6, and the third motor 7 are fixedly connected to the motor support frame 8 and are all on the same horizontal plane, respectively set in the left, right and front directions of the motor support frame 8. The battery and control system are installed in the rear direction of the motor support frame 8 to balance the mass of the third motor 7, thus forming the pendulum assembly; the bottom end of the motor support frame 8 is connected to the pendulum rod 19 through the bearing 31; the third motor 7 meshes with the third motor face gear 32 through the third motor output gear 30, thereby driving the pendulum assembly to rotate around the X-axis of the spherical shell.

[0032] The face gear can achieve a 90-degree reversal of the transmission direction. At the same time, the face gear is smaller in volume than the bevel gear, which helps to increase the length of the swing arm. The synchronous belt drive can adjust the transmission length according to the length of the swing arm. Compared with belt drive and chain drive, it is lighter and has higher transmission efficiency. The flexible synchronous belt can be twisted 90 degrees for transmission, which facilitates reversal of transmission.

[0033] The battery and control system include at least: a transformer, a control board, a wireless communication module, a GPS, a nine-axis gyroscope, a driver, and a wireless debugger; the battery can be a wirelessly rechargeable battery; the drive motor should include a motor encoder; thus, after the robot is assembled, it can be wirelessly charged and wirelessly debugged without disassembling the spherical shell.

[0034] like Figure 3 As shown, the power transmission directions of the internal drive device along the X, Y, and Z axes are indicated by dashed lines, solid lines, and dotted lines, respectively; the X-axis power transmission direction of the internal drive device, i.e. Figure 3 As shown by the dashed line, starting from the output gear 33 of the first motor, the power is transmitted from the first motor 9 to the spherical shell drive wheel 16 via the first motor face gear 28, the X-axis spur gear 37, the X-axis first synchronous belt drive pulley 10, the X-axis first synchronous belt 11, the X-axis first synchronous belt driven pulley 18, the drive wheel power shaft 17, the X-axis second synchronous belt drive pulley 13, the X-axis second synchronous belt 14, and the X-axis second synchronous belt driven pulley 15. This causes the entire internal drive mechanism to rotate around the X-axis of the spherical shell. The Y-axis power transmission direction of the internal drive device is... Figure 3 As shown by the solid line, starting from the output gear 29 of the second motor, the power transmission passes through the second motor face gear 35, the Y-axis spur gear 25, the Y-axis synchronous belt driving pulley 5, the Y-axis synchronous belt 4, and the Y-axis synchronous belt driven pulley 20. The Y-axis synchronous belt driven pulley 20 is fixedly connected to the spherical shell driven pulley bracket, thereby transmitting the power of the second motor 6 to the driven pulley bracket 3, causing the pendulum rod 19 and the heavy pendulum assembly to rotate around the Y-axis of the spherical shell; the Z-axis power transmission direction of the internal drive device is... Figure 3 As shown by the direction of the line drawn at the midpoint, the power is transmitted directly from the output gear 30 of the third motor to the face gear 32 of the third motor, thereby driving the pendulum assembly to rotate around the Z-axis of the spherical shell.

[0035] When the three motors of the internal drive mechanism move, except for the first motor, the other two motors will generate motion coupling in other directions. In order to decouple the motion of the drive motors, the present invention provides a decoupling embodiment:

[0036] To make the spherical shell of the spherical robot rotate around the X-axis, the first motor 9 operates alone, while the second motor 6 and the third motor 7 are braked. At this time, the rotational speed of the spherical shell...

[0037] To make the spherical shell of the spherical robot rotate around the Y-axis, the second motor 6 should operate independently, the first motor 9 should not be braked, and the third motor 7 should be braked. At this time, the rotational speed of the spherical shell will be... If the first motor 9 is powered on, then in order to resolve the operational coupling caused by the second motor 6, the speed of the first motor 9 should be:

[0038] To make the spherical shell of the spherical robot rotate around the Z-axis, the third motor 7 should operate independently, while the first motor 9 and the second motor 6 should not be braked. At this time, the rotational speed of the spherical shell is... If the first motor 9 and the second motor 6 are powered on, then in order to resolve the operational coupling caused by the third motor 7, the speed of the first motor 9 should be: The speed of the second motor 6 should be

[0039] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any variations or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present invention should be included within the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, the scope of protection of the present invention should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A three-axis orthogonal transmission pendulum-type spherical robot, characterized in that, include: The system comprises a spherical shell and an internal drive mechanism, the internal drive mechanism including a support frame assembly, a rocker arm assembly, and a heavy rocker assembly; the support frame assembly includes an inner guide rail gear on the spherical shell, a driven wheel, a driving wheel, and a support frame; the rocker arm assembly includes a rocker arm and a synchronous belt drive module; the heavy rocker assembly includes a face gear drive module, a drive motor, an electronic control system, and a drive motor support frame; the inner guide rail gear on the spherical shell is fixedly connected to the inner side of the spherical shell, and the driven wheel and driving wheel are respectively installed at the ends of the support frame and mesh with the inner guide rail gear on the spherical shell; the other end of the support frame is connected via... The bearing is connected to the upper end of the rocker arm; the synchronous belt drive module is installed parallel to the rocker arm, with its synchronous belt drive pulley fixedly connected to the gear shaft, the gear shaft connected to the rocker arm via the bearing, and the synchronous belt driven pulley fixedly connected to the driven pulley bracket or the drive pulley power shaft; the face gear drive module is connected to the rocker arm via the bearing; the drive motor is fixedly connected to the drive motor support frame; the drive motor support frame is connected to the lower end of the rocker arm via the bearing; all drive motors are horizontally installed, and the output shaft of each drive motor is connected to a spur gear, and the direction of power rotation is changed through the face gear module.

2. The three-axis orthogonal transmission pendulum spherical robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first drive motor transmits power to the drive wheel via a face gear, a first synchronous pulley module, a drive wheel power shaft, and a second synchronous pulley module, thereby enabling the entire internal drive mechanism to rotate around the spherical shell X, and thus using the principle of eccentric torque to achieve the rolling of the spherical robot along the Y-axis. The second drive motor transmits power to the passive wheel support via a face gear and a synchronous pulley module, thereby enabling the pendulum assembly and the heavy pendulum assembly to rotate around the Y-axis of the spherical shell, and thus using the principle of eccentric torque to achieve the rolling of the spherical robot along the X-axis. The third drive motor transmits power to the pendulum via a face gear, thereby enabling the heavy pendulum assembly to rotate around the Z-axis of the spherical shell, and using the conservation of momentum to achieve the rotation of the spherical shell around the vertical direction.

3. A three-axis orthogonal transmission pendulum spherical robot according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that: When the three motors of the internal drive mechanism move, except for the first motor, the other two motors will generate motion coupling in other directions. In order to decouple the motion of the drive motors, the present invention proposes the following decoupling method: Assume the output shaft speed of the first motor is α1, the output shaft speed of the second motor is α2, and the output shaft speed of the third motor is α3. The number of teeth of the i-th gear is represented by Zi, and the speed is represented by ni. To make the spherical shell of the spherical robot rotate around the X-axis, the first motor operates alone, while the second and third motors are braked. At this time, the rotational speed of the spherical shell... To make the spherical shell of the spherical robot rotate around the Y-axis, the second motor operates independently, the first motor is not braked, and the third motor is braked. At this time, the rotational speed of the spherical shell is... If the first motor is powered on, then to resolve the operational coupling caused by the second motor, the speed of the first motor should be: To make the spherical shell of the spherical robot rotate around the Z-axis, the third motor should operate independently, while the first and second motors should not be braked. In this case, the rotational speed of the spherical shell is... If the first and second motors are powered on, then to resolve the operational coupling caused by the third motor, the speed of the first motor should be: The speed of the second motor should be

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