A reconfigurable legged robot with bipedal / quadrupedal / four-wheel locomotion modes

Abstract

The present invention discloses a reconfigurable legged robot with bipedal / quadrupedal / four-wheel motion modes, including a torso part, a hip deflection direction component, a hip roll direction component, a hip-leg connection component, a thigh component, a calf component, a driving wheel connecting piece, a driving wheel, a foot sole component, a foot sole adjustment component, and a driven wheel. By changing the joint movement amount and driving mode of the driving joints, the legged robot can switch between the three motion modes of bipedal, quadrupedal, and four-wheel, which helps the robot work efficiently in different environments. The present invention gives full play to the advantages of the reconfigurable characteristics of the legged robot, improves the environmental adaptability of the robot, enriches the motion characteristics of the robot, and expands the application scenarios of the robot.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of legged robots, and particularly to a reconfigurable legged robot with biped / quadruped / wheeled locomotion modes. Background Art

[0002] Biped, quadruped, and wheeled robots each have distinct advantages and disadvantages. For example, biped robots have significant advantages in terrain adaptability, with capabilities such as walking on complex ground and avoiding obstacles, but are at a disadvantage in terms of movement speed and energy efficiency. Quadruped robots have higher movement stability than biped robots, but are also at a disadvantage in terms of movement capabilities. Wheeled robots have the highest movement speed, but are unable to adapt to complex terrain environments. Summary of the Invention

[0003] Aiming at the deficiencies of the prior art, the present invention combines the advantages of existing legged and wheeled robots, and proposes a reconfigurable legged robot with biped / quadruped / wheeled locomotion modes. This legged robot can dynamically switch between biped, quadruped, and wheeled modes, and has strong adaptability.

[0004] The object of the present invention is achieved by the following technical solutions:

[0005] A reconfigurable legged robot with biped / quadruped / wheeled locomotion modes, the legged robot has a left-right symmetric structure, and includes a torso component, a left hip, a right hip, a left leg, and a right leg. The torso component is rotatably connected to the left hip and the right hip symmetrically arranged on both sides of the torso component. The left leg and the right leg are respectively rotatably connected to the left hip and the right hip;

[0006] The left hip includes a hip rotating component and a hip-leg connecting component rigidly connected. The hip rotating component is used to drive the left leg to rotate spatially relative to the torso component;

[0007] The left leg includes a thigh component, a calf component, a driving wheel connecting piece, a moving and rotating component, a driving wheel, a sole component, and a driven wheel;

[0008] Both ends of the hip-leg connecting component are respectively connected to one end of the thigh component and one end of the driving wheel connecting piece through rotating joints. The other end of the thigh component is connected to one end of the calf component through a rotating joint. The driving wheel connecting piece is connected to the calf component through the moving and rotating component. The driving wheel is installed at the other end of the driving wheel connecting piece through a rotating joint. The other end of the calf component is connected to the middle of the sole component through a rotating joint. The driven wheel is connected to one end of the sole component through a rotating joint. The hip-leg connecting component, the thigh component, the calf component, the driving wheel connecting piece, and the moving and rotating component form a planar five-bar mechanism;

[0009] The left hip and the right hip have the same structure, and the left leg and the right leg have the same structure;

[0010] Adjust the sole component and the planar five-bar mechanism. When only the sole component touches the ground, it is a bipedal motion mode; when the driving wheel and the driven wheel touch the ground simultaneously, it is a four-wheel motion mode; when the driving wheel and the sole component touch the ground simultaneously and the driving wheel is in a locked state, it is a quadrupedal motion mode.

[0011] Furthermore, the hip rotating component includes a hip yaw direction component and a hip roll direction component. The torso component is connected to the hip yaw direction component through a revolute joint; the hip yaw direction component is connected to the hip roll direction component through a revolute joint; the hip roll direction component is rigidly connected to the hip-leg connecting component.

[0012] Furthermore, the legged robot further includes a sole adjustment link one and a sole adjustment link two. One end of the sole adjustment link one is connected to the other end of the sole component through a revolute joint. The other end of the sole adjustment link one is connected to one end of the sole adjustment link two through a revolute joint. The other end of the sole adjustment link two is connected to the calf component through a revolute joint. The calf component, the sole adjustment link two, the sole adjustment link one, and the sole component form a planar four-bar mechanism to realize the adjustment of the positions of the sole component and the driven wheel.

[0013] Furthermore, the moving and rotating component includes a moving joint and a rotating joint connected to each other. The driving wheel connecting piece realizes moving and rotating relative to the calf component through the moving joint and the rotating joint.

[0014] The beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows:

[0015] According to different task requirements and application environments, the reconfigurable legged robot of the present invention can perform dynamic switching among bipedal, four-wheel, and quadrupedal modes, and select the optimal mode to complete the specified tasks. On complex and rough roads, the robot switches to the bipedal motion mode. By adjusting the position of the sole adjustment component, only the sole component touches the ground; through the drivers installed on the thigh and calf components, the bipedal walking mode is realized. When the ground environment is relatively rough and the robot needs to have a certain load capacity, the robot switches to the quadrupedal mode; the driving wheel and the sole alternately touch the ground, and the driving motor on the driving wheel is in a locked state, forming an arc-foot mode. When the ground environment is relatively ideal, the robot switches to the four-wheel mode, the driving wheel and the driven wheel touch the ground simultaneously, and the driving wheel is driven by the driving motor. The reconfigurable legged robot of the present invention has strong environmental adaptability and high working efficiency. Description of the Drawings

[0016] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the bipedal motion mode of the reconfigurable legged robot of the present invention;

[0017] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the four-wheel motion mode of the reconfigurable legged robot of the present invention;

[0018] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the four-legged motion mode of the reconfigurable legged robot of the present invention.

[0019] In the figure, the trunk component 1, the hip deflection direction component 2, the hip roll direction component 3, the hip-leg connection component 4, the thigh component 5, the calf component 6, the driving wheel connection part 7, the mobile joint 8, the rotating joint 9, the driving wheel 10, the foot sole component 11, the second foot sole adjustment component 12, the first foot sole adjustment component 13, and the driven wheel component 14. Specific embodiments

[0020] The present invention will be described in detail below according to the drawings and preferred embodiments. The purpose and effects of the present invention will become more apparent. The present invention will be further described in detail below in conjunction with the drawings and embodiments. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to explain the present invention and are not used to limit the present invention.

[0021] As Figure 1 shown, the reconfigurable legged robot with biped / quadruped / four-wheel motion modes of the present invention is a left-right symmetric structure, which includes three parts: a trunk component 1, a hip, and legs. The left and right parts have the same structure, and the two legs have the same structural form, so they have the same motion form. Hereinafter, one of the parts will be taken as an example to describe its structure.

[0022] The left hip includes a hip deflection direction component 2, a hip roll direction component 3, and a hip-leg connection component 4. The trunk component 1 is connected to the hip deflection direction component 2 through a rotating pair; the hip deflection direction component 2 is connected to the hip roll direction component 3 through a rotating pair; the hip roll direction component 3 is rigidly connected to the hip-leg connection component 4. Therefore, relative to the trunk component 1, the hip-leg connection component 4 has two degrees of freedom in the deflection and roll directions. Among them, the hip deflection direction component 2 and the hip roll direction component 3 are used to realize the spatial rotation of the hip-leg connection component 4 relative to the trunk component 1. The design method and connection sequence are not limited to this embodiment, and spherical joints, universal joints, etc. can be used to realize its rotation ability.

[0023] The left leg includes a thigh component 5, a calf component 6, a driving wheel connecting member 7, a moving joint 8, a rotating joint 9, a driving wheel 10, a foot component 11, a second foot adjustment component 12, a first foot adjustment component 13, and a driven wheel 14. Both ends of the hip-leg connecting component 4 are respectively connected to one end of the thigh component 5 and one end of the driving wheel connecting member 7 through rotating joints. The other end of the thigh component 5 is connected to one end of the calf component 6 through a rotating joint. The driving wheel connecting member 7 is connected to the calf component 6 through the moving joint 8 and the rotating joint 9. The driving wheel 10 is installed at the other end of the driving wheel connecting member 7 through a rotating joint. The other end of the calf component 6 is connected to the middle of the foot component 11 through a rotating joint. One end of the driven wheel 14 and one end of the first foot adjustment link 13 are respectively connected to both ends of the foot component 11 through rotating joints. The other end of the first foot adjustment link 13 is connected to one end of the second foot adjustment link 12 through a rotating joint. The other end of the second foot adjustment link 12 is connected to the calf component 6 through a rotating joint. The calf component 6, the second foot adjustment link 12, the first foot adjustment link 13, and the foot component 11 form a planar four-bar mechanism to realize the adjustment of the positions of the foot component 11 and the driven wheel 14. The hip-leg connecting component 4, the thigh component 5, the calf component 6, the driving wheel connecting member 7, the moving joint 8, and the rotating joint 9 form a planar five-bar mechanism.

[0024] Particularly, in this embodiment, the distance between the moving joint 8 and the rotating joint 9 is zero, and the length of the connecting rod between them can be regarded as zero. Therefore, it can be regarded as a special planar five-bar mechanism. Without being limited to this embodiment, the moving joint 8 and the rotating joint 9 can also be connected by a connecting rod of a certain length to form the form of a conventional five-bar mechanism. This five-bar mechanism has two degrees of freedom of motion in the plane, and the planar two-degree-of-freedom motion can be realized by driving any two of the five joints. The five-bar mechanism in this embodiment can also be replaced by other connection forms as long as the planar two degrees of freedom of the calf component 6 relative to the hip-leg connecting component 4 can be realized. The parallelogram mechanism in this embodiment enables the foot to have one degree of freedom in this plane. Therefore, the motion of the foot component 11 can be realized by driving any one of the second foot adjustment link 12 and the first foot adjustment link 13. Among them, the foot adjustment components 12 and 13 are used to realize the positional relationship of the foot component 11 and the driven wheel component 14 relative to the ground, and their design methods are not limited to this embodiment a. The specific design method only needs to be able to meet the adjustment of the positional relationship of the foot component 11 and the passive wheel component 14 relative to the ground.

[0025] In this embodiment, each leg has at least five degrees of freedom in space and can move in three-dimensional space through alternating motion.

[0026] Next, the motion mode of the biped robot of the present invention will be introduced.

[0027] As Figure 1As shown in the figure, for the planar five-bar mechanism, the driving wheel 10 is retracted to a position away from the ground, and the driving wheel 10 is locked by the motor connected thereto; by driving the planar four-bar mechanism, the foot component 11 is adjusted to a position close to the ground, and it is ensured that the driven wheel 14 cannot contact the ground during walking. By driving the two motors mounted on the five-bar mechanism and the driving motor of the foot part, the front and rear alternating movement of each leg in its plane is controlled to realize the biped walking function of this embodiment.

[0028] As Figure 2 shown in the figure, by driving the planar five-bar mechanism, the driving wheel 10 is extended to a position in contact with the ground; by driving the planar four-bar mechanism, the driven wheel 14 is adjusted to a position in contact with the ground while the foot component 11 cannot contact the ground; on this basis, all the driving motors mounted on each leg are locked, and by driving the driving wheel motor, the planar movement of the four-wheel movement mode of the present invention is realized; through the differential movement of the two driving wheels 10, the turning operation on the plane is completed.

[0029] As Figure 3 shown in the figure, by driving the planar five-bar mechanism, the driving wheel 10 is extended to a position in contact with the ground, and the driving wheel 10 is locked by the motor connected thereto to form an arc-shaped foot; by driving the planar four-bar mechanism, the foot component 11 is adjusted to a position close to the ground, and it is ensured that the driven wheel 14 cannot contact the ground during walking; by driving the motors other than the driving wheels, a gait of alternating walking of the two driving wheels 10 and the two feet 11 is formed to realize the quadruped movement mode of the robot in three-dimensional space.

[0030] Those of ordinary skill in the art can understand that the above are only preferred examples of the invention and are not used to limit the invention. Although the invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing examples, for those skilled in the art, they can still modify the technical solutions described in the foregoing examples or perform equivalent replacements for some of the technical features. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the invention shall be included within the protection scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A reconfigurable legged robot with biped / quadruped / quadruple-wheel motion modes, characterized in that, the legged robot has a left-right symmetric structure, and includes a trunk component (1), a left hip, a right hip, a left leg and a right leg. The trunk component (1) is rotatably connected to the left hip and the right hip symmetrically arranged on both sides of the trunk component. The left leg and the right leg are respectively rotatably connected to the left hip and the right hip; the left hip includes a hip rotation component and a hip-leg connection component (4) rigidly connected. The hip rotation component is used to drive the left leg to rotate spatially relative to the trunk component (1); the left leg includes a thigh component (5), a calf component (6), a driving wheel connecting member (7), moving rotation components (8, 9), a driving wheel (10), a foot sole component (11) and a driven wheel (14); both ends of the hip-leg connection component (4) are respectively connected to one end of the thigh component (5) and one end of the driving wheel connecting member (7) through rotating joints. The other end of the thigh component (5) is connected to one end of the calf component (6) through a rotating joint. The driving wheel connecting member (7) is connected to the calf component (6) through the moving rotation components (8, 9). The driving wheel (10) is installed at the other end of the driving wheel connecting member (7) through a rotating joint. The other end of the calf component (6) is connected to the middle of the foot sole component (11) through a rotating joint. The driven wheel (14) is connected to one end of the foot sole component (11) through a rotating joint. The hip-leg connection component (4), the thigh component (5), the calf component (6), the driving wheel connecting member (7) and the moving rotation components (8, 9) form a planar five-bar mechanism; the left hip and the right hip have the same structure, and the left leg and the right leg have the same structure; by adjusting the foot sole component (11) and the planar five-bar mechanism, when only the foot sole component (11) touches the ground, it is in the biped motion mode; when the driving wheel (10) and the driven wheel (14) touch the ground simultaneously, it is in the quadruple-wheel motion mode; when the driving wheel (10) and the foot sole component (11) touch the ground simultaneously and the driving wheel (10) is in the locked state, it is in the quadruped motion mode; the hip rotation component includes a hip yaw direction component (2) and a hip roll direction component (3). The trunk component (1) is connected to the hip yaw direction component (2) through a rotating pair; the hip yaw direction component (2) is connected to the hip roll direction component (3) through a rotating pair; the hip roll direction component (3) is rigidly connected to the hip-leg connection component (4); The described legged robot further includes a first foot adjustment link (13) and a second foot adjustment link (12). One end of the first foot adjustment link (13) is connected to the other end of the foot component (11) through a rotating joint. The other end of the first foot adjustment link (13) is connected to one end of the second foot adjustment link (12) through a rotating joint. The other end of the second foot adjustment link (12) is connected to the calf component (6) through a rotating joint. The calf component (6), the second foot adjustment link (12), the first foot adjustment link (13), and the foot component (11) form a planar four-bar mechanism to realize the adjustment of the positions of the foot component (11) and the driven wheel (14).

2. The reconfigurable legged robot with a biped / quadruped / quadruped motion mode according to claim 1, characterized in that, the moving and rotating components (8, 9) include a moving joint (8) and a rotating joint (9) connected to each other, and the driving wheel connecting member (7) moves and rotates relative to the calf component (6) through the moving joint (8) and the rotating joint (9).

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