A new type of rope-driven soft finger

Abstract

The present invention discloses a novel rope-driven soft finger, which includes a skeleton, a driving rope and a covering layer. The skeleton is composed of a plurality of skeleton modules connected in series through a connecting shaft A, on which a base is mounted by screws and nuts. A driving rope is respectively installed in the rope channels on both sides of the skeleton, one end of which is connected to the end of the skeleton and the other end is led out from the rope hole on the base, and the covering layer is coated on the skeleton. When in use, the bending / reset and reverse bending / reset control of the soft finger are achieved by the coordinated action of pulling and releasing the two driving ropes. Through innovative design, the present invention uses ropes to drive the soft finger, and there is no sealing requirement. It solves the problems of high sealing requirements of traditional pneumatic soft fingers, such as the difficulty of manufacturing process, the inability to grasp sharp objects on the surface, and the inability of fingers to actively bend in both directions due to structural factors.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of soft robots, and in particular to a novel rope-driven soft finger. Background Art

[0002] In the field of soft robotics, to prevent drive failure caused by leakage of the driving medium, traditional pneumatic soft fingers must have a high degree of sealing, which makes their preparation process relatively complex. In addition, soft hands made with this type of fingers cannot be used for grasping objects with sharp surfaces, which limits the application range of traditional soft fingers. In addition, traditional pneumatic soft fingers can only achieve unidirectional bending movement, and their reset movement relies on the elasticity of the finger material itself, which limits the size of the object that can be grasped by soft hands made with this type of fingers under the same conditions.

[0003] Therefore, a novel soft finger is needed to solve the above problems. For this reason, the present invention proposes a novel rope-driven soft finger. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The present invention proposes a new type of rope-driven soft finger, which aims to solve the problems in the existing technology of soft fingers caused by the sealing requirements, such as high difficulty in preparation process, inability to grasp sharp objects, and inability to actively bend in both directions.

[0005] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions:

[0006] The first aspect of the present invention is a novel rope-driven soft finger, comprising a coating layer, a skeleton, and a driving rope. The skeleton is composed of a plurality of skeleton modules connected in series via a connecting shaft A. The skeleton module is composed of a connector and two connecting plates A connected via the connecting shaft A. The connecting shaft A and the two connecting plates A adopt an interference fit, and the connecting plates A adopt a clearance fit with the connector. The connecting plates A can rotate relative to the connector. The connector is composed of two parallel connector plates 2-4 and two sleeves at both ends. A rope limiter is also installed transversely within the connector. The rope limiter is assembled from two parallel connecting plates B2-2 via a connecting shaft B. The connecting plates B2-2 and the connecting shaft B adopt an interference fit, and the two connecting plates A gap is left between the two for the driving rope to pass through. A base is installed on the skeleton by screws and nuts. A driving rope is also installed on the soft finger. There are two driving ropes, which pass through the rope channels formed by the rope limiters on both sides of the skeleton and the sleeve respectively, and are finally connected to the connecting shafts B on both sides of the rope limiters at the end of the skeleton. Except for the two connecting shafts B on the rope limiters at the end of the skeleton, the function of the connecting shafts on the other limiters is to limit the position of the driving rope on its side together with the sleeve. The other ends of the two driving ropes are respectively led out from the two rope holes on the base, and the covering layer is covered on the skeleton.

[0007] According to the first aspect of the present invention, the skeleton is a series structure with multiple degrees of freedom, and the number of degrees of freedom depends on the number of connectors and connecting plates A connected in series.

[0008] According to the first aspect of the present invention, the covering layer is made of elastic material.

[0009] According to the first aspect of the present invention, preferably, the middle section of the soft finger is wavy in shape, the covering layer at the finger rope limiter protrudes outward, and the covering layer between the two rope limiters is concave inward, with a smooth transition between the protrusion and the concave.

[0010] According to the first aspect of the present invention, preferably, the thickness of the coating layer gradually increases from the fingertip toward the base.

[0011] According to the second aspect of the present invention, a method for using a new type of rope-driven soft finger is provided. When in use, the base is fixed on a certain plane, and the bending / reset and reverse bending / reset of the soft finger are achieved by coordinating the traction and release of the two driving ropes. When the length of one of the ropes within the skeleton is shortened under the action of the traction force, the length of the other driving rope within the coating layer will be extended.

[0012] The present invention has at least the following beneficial effects:

[0013] 1. By using a driving rope instead of the pneumatic drive scheme of traditional soft fingers, the present invention does not require any sealing of the soft fingers, thus making the preparation process of the soft hand easier;

[0014] 2. By using drive ropes to replace the pneumatic drive scheme of traditional soft fingers, the manufactured fingers can grasp sharp objects, thereby expanding the application range of soft fingers.

[0015] 3. By coordinating and controlling the two drive ropes, the soft fingers proposed in the present invention can achieve bidirectional bending movement, while traditional pneumatic soft fingers can only achieve unidirectional movement. This enables the soft hand composed of the soft fingers proposed in the present invention to grasp larger objects under the same size conditions. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Figure 1 These are the front and left views of a novel rope-driven soft finger according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0017] Figure 2 This is a three-view diagram of a new type of rope-driven soft finger connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0018] Figure 3 These are three-view drawings of a novel rope-driven soft finger skeleton module according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0019] Figure 4 This is an axonometric view of a novel rope-driven soft finger skeleton according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0020] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of a method for using a novel rope-driven soft finger according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0021] Numbers in the figure:

[0022] 1-1 covering layer; 1-2 skeleton; 1-3 driving rope; 2-1 sleeve; 2-2 connecting plate B; 2-3 connecting shaft B; 2-4 connector plate; 3-1 connector; 3-2 connecting shaft A; 3-3 connecting plate A; 4-1 skeleton module; 4-2 rope hole; 4-3 screw nut; 4-4 base. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] This section will describe in detail the specific embodiments of the present invention. The preferred embodiments of the present invention are shown in the accompanying drawings. The purpose of the accompanying drawings is to supplement the description of the text part of the specification with graphics, so that people can intuitively and vividly understand each technical feature and the overall technical solution of the present invention, but it should not be understood as a limitation on the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0024] Refer to the attached Figure 1-4One embodiment of the present invention provides a specific implementation scheme of a new type of rope-driven soft finger, including a coating layer 1-1, a skeleton 1-2, and a driving rope 1-3. The skeleton 1-2 is composed of a plurality of skeleton modules 4-1 connected in series through a connecting shaft A3-2. The skeleton module 4-1 is composed of a connector 3-1 and two connecting plates A3-3 connected by the connecting shaft A3-2. The connecting shaft A3-2 and the two connecting plates A3-3 adopt an interference fit, and the connecting shaft A3-2 and the connector 3-1 adopt a clearance fit. The connecting plate A3-3 can rotate relative to the connector 3-1. The connector 3-1 is composed of two parallel connector plates 2-4 and two sleeves 2-1 at both ends. A rope limiter is also installed horizontally in the connector 3-1. The rope limiter is assembled by two parallel 2-2 connecting plates B2-2 through a 2-3 connecting shaft B2-3. The connecting plate B2-2 and the connecting shaft B2-3 adopt an interference fit, and A gap is left between the two connecting plates for the driving rope 1-3 to pass through. A base 4-4 is installed on the skeleton 1-2 through screws and nuts 4-3. A driving rope 1-3 is also installed on the soft finger. There are two driving ropes 1-3, which pass through the rope channels formed by the rope limiters on both sides of the skeleton 1-2 and the sleeve 2-1, and are finally connected to the connecting shafts B2-3 on both sides of the rope limiters at the end of the skeleton 1-2. Except for the two connecting shafts B2-3 on the rope limiters at the end of the skeleton 1-2, the function of the connecting shafts on the remaining limiters is to limit the position of the driving rope 1-3 on its side together with the sleeve 2-1. The other ends of the two driving ropes 1-3 are respectively led out from the two rope holes 4-2 located on the base 4-4, and the covering layer 1-1 is covered on the skeleton.

[0025] A novel rope-driven soft finger comprises a covering layer 1-1, a skeleton 1-2, and a driving rope 1-3; the skeleton 1-2 is composed of a plurality of skeleton modules 4-1 connected in series via a connecting shaft A3-2, a base 4-4 is mounted on the skeleton 1-2 via screws and nuts, driving ropes 1-3 are respectively mounted in rope channels on both sides of the skeleton 1-2, the covering layer 1-1 is covered on the skeleton 1-2, the skeleton module 4-1 is composed of a connector 3-1 and two connecting plates A3-3 connected via the connecting shaft A3-2, the connecting shaft A3-2 adopts an interference fit with the two connecting plates A3-3, and a clearance fit with the connector 3-1, and the connecting plates A3-3 can rotate in the same plane relative to the connector 3-1.

[0026] The connector 3-1 is composed of two parallel connector plates 2-4 and two sleeves 2-1 located at both ends. A rope limiter is also installed transversely in the connector 3-1.

[0027] The rope limiter is assembled by two parallel connecting plates B2-2 through two connecting shafts B2-3. An interference fit is adopted between the connecting plates B2-2 and the two connecting shafts B2-3, and a gap is left between the two connecting plates for the driving rope 1-3 to pass through.

[0028] There are two driving ropes 1-3, which pass through the rope channels formed by the rope limiters and sleeves 2-1 on both sides of the skeleton 1-2, and are finally connected to the connecting shafts B2-3 on both sides of the rope limiters at the end of the skeleton 1-2. The other ends of the two driving ropes 1-3 are respectively led out from the two rope holes 4-2 located on the base.

[0029] In addition to the two connecting shafts B2-3 on the rope stoppers at the ends of the skeleton 1-2, the connecting shafts on the remaining stoppers also function to form a rope channel with the sleeve 2-1, allowing the drive rope 1-3 on that side to pass through and restrict the position of the drive rope 1-3. During use, the soft finger can achieve bending / reset and reverse bending / reset motions under the coordinated traction of the two drive ropes 1-3. The coating 1-1 is made of an elastic material and deforms accordingly with the deformation of the skeleton 1-2. The thickness of the coating 1-1 gradually increases from the fingertip to the base.

[0030] Working principle:

[0031] Refer to the attached Figure 5 In this embodiment, the forward / reverse bending and reset motion control of the soft finger is achieved by pulling and releasing the two drive ropes 1-3 passing through the rope holes 4-2. For the skeleton 1-2 with multiple redundant degrees of freedom, its elastic coating 1-1 serves to maintain the skeleton 1-2 in its initial state. The thickness of the coating 1-1 gradually increases from the fingertip to the base 4-4, so the force exerted by the coating 1-1 on the skeleton 1-2 in its initial state also gradually increases from the fingertip to the base 4-4. During the finger bending motion control process, one of the two drive ropes 1-3 is pulled, while the other is relaxed. At this time, under the traction force transmitted by the drive rope 1-3, the portion of the finger near the fingertip will bend first according to the "law of least resistance," and its bending direction will be toward the side of the pulled rope. As the traction force increases, the portion of the finger away from the fingertip will also gradually bend, thereby achieving the control of the soft finger's bending motion in a specific direction.

[0032] The above description is only a preferred specific embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of protection of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any technician familiar with the technical field, within the technical scope disclosed by the present invention, who makes equivalent replacements or changes based on the technical solution and inventive concept of the present invention, should be covered by the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0033] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that descriptions involving orientations, such as up, down, front, back, left, right, etc., indicating orientations or positional relationships, are based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they cannot be understood as limitations on the present invention.

[0034] In the description of the present invention, "several" means one or more, "many" means more than two, "greater than," "less than," and "exceed" are understood to exclude the number itself, while "above," "below," and "within" are understood to include the number itself. The use of "first" and "second" in the description is solely for the purpose of distinguishing technical features and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance, implicitly specifying the number of the indicated technical features, or implicitly specifying the order of the indicated technical features.

[0035] In the description of the present invention, unless otherwise clearly defined, terms such as setting, installing, and connecting should be understood in a broad sense, and technicians in the relevant technical field can reasonably determine the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention based on the specific content of the technical solution.

Claims

1. A new type of rope-driven soft finger, characterized by: It includes a covering layer, a skeleton, and a driving rope; the skeleton is composed of several skeleton modules connected in series through a connecting shaft A, a base is installed on the skeleton through screws and nuts, and driving ropes are respectively installed in the rope channels on both sides of the skeleton, the covering layer is covered on the skeleton, and the skeleton module is composed of a connector and two connecting plates A connected by a connecting shaft A. The connecting shaft A and the two connecting plates A adopt an interference fit, and the connecting shaft A adopts a clearance fit with the connector. The connecting plate A can rotate in the same plane relative to the connector. The connector is composed of two parallel connector plates and two sleeves respectively located at both ends. There is also a transverse A rope limiter is installed, and the rope limiter is assembled by two parallel connecting plates B through two connecting shafts B. There are two driving ropes in total, which pass through the rope channels formed by the rope limiters on both sides of the frame and the sleeve respectively, and are finally connected to the connecting shafts B on both sides of the rope limiters at the end of the frame respectively. The other ends of the two driving ropes are respectively led out from the two rope holes located on the base. Except for the two connecting shafts B on the rope limiter at the end of the frame, the function of the connecting shafts on the remaining limiters is also to form a rope channel together with the sleeve, through which the driving rope on its side passes and limits the position of the driving rope.

2. A novel rope-driven soft finger according to claim 1, characterized in that The connecting plate B and the two connecting shafts B are fitted with interference, and a gap is left between the two connecting plates for the driving rope to pass through.

3. The novel rope-driven soft finger according to claim 1, characterized in that: When in use, the soft finger can achieve bending / resetting and reverse bending / resetting movements under the coordinated traction of the two driving ropes.

4. The novel rope-driven soft finger according to claim 1, characterized in that: The covering layer is made of elastic material and can be deformed accordingly with the deformation of the frame.

5. The novel rope-driven soft finger according to claim 1, characterized in that: The thickness of the coating gradually increases from the fingertips of the soft fingers to the base. The coating plays a role in maintaining the initial state of the skeleton, and the retention force of the coating on the initial state of the skeleton also gradually increases from the fingertips to the base.

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