Automatically numbered robot joints, robot master controller, and robot

Abstract

The present invention discloses a mechanical arm joint that can be automatically numbered, a mechanical arm main controller and a mechanical arm, wherein the mechanical arm joint that can be automatically numbered includes a joint PCBA and a first connector, an MCU and a plurality of MCU detection pins arranged on the joint PCBA, each MCU detection pin is connected to a power supply through a pull-up resistor, the MCU is used to collect the level signal of each MCU detection pin and number the mechanical arm joint accordingly, the first connector includes a plurality of first pins, and the common end of each first pin is grounded. The numbering of the mechanical arm joint proposed by the present invention is determined by the level signal at each MCU detection pin, and the level signal can be changed by whether the MCU detection pin is grounded, so that the joint has a position number different from other joints. Since there is no need to burn the software of the joint PCBA, the joint PCBA can be assembled on any joint, thereby improving the mixed use of the joint PCBA.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the field of mechanical arms, and in particular to a mechanical arm joint capable of automatically being numbered, a mechanical arm main controller and a mechanical arm. Background Art

[0002] A multi-joint robotic arm is an intelligent machine that can work semi-autonomously or fully autonomously. It has basic features such as perception, decision-making, and execution. It can assist or even replace humans in completing dangerous, heavy, and complex tasks.

[0003] In existing multi-joint robotic arms, in order to reduce R&D costs, production costs, etc., each joint uses the same hardware version PCBA. After the entire machine is assembled, the registers on the PCBA are numbered by software, and the joint positions are identified based on the position numbers, so that the main controller can exchange information with different joints.

[0004] However, the method of using software to number the registers on the PCBA, once the position is numbered, the numbered PCBA can only be assembled on the joint at the corresponding position, and different joints cannot be mixed. However, since the PCBAs of different joints have the same appearance, it is easy to confuse them when disassembling and repairing the joints, causing the risk of confusion in joint identification later. Summary of the invention

[0005] The main purpose of the present invention is to provide a robotic arm joint that can be automatically numbered, aiming to solve the technical problem that the PCBAs of the existing robotic arm joints cannot be mixed after being numbered.

[0006] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the present invention proposes a robotic arm joint that can be automatically numbered, including a joint PCBA and a first connector, an MCU and a plurality of MCU detection pins arranged on the joint PCBA, each MCU detection pin is connected to a power supply through a pull-up resistor, the MCU is used to collect the level signal of each MCU detection pin and number the robotic arm joint accordingly, the first connector includes a plurality of first pins for pulling down the MCU detection pins of other robotic arm joints connected thereto to the ground, and the common end of each first pin is grounded.

[0007] The present invention further proposes a robot arm main controller, including a main control PCBA and a second connector arranged on the main control PCBA, the second connector including a plurality of second pins for pulling down the MCU detection pins of the robot arm joints connected thereto to the ground, and the common end of each second pin is grounded.

[0008] The present invention also proposes a robotic arm that can be automatically numbered, comprising a plurality of the aforementioned robotic arm joints and a robotic arm main controller, the robotic arm joint comprising a joint PCBA and a first connector, an MCU and a plurality of MCU detection pins arranged on the joint PCBA, each MCU detection pin being connected to a power supply via a pull-up resistor, the MCU being used to collect level signals of each MCU detection pin and numbering the robotic arm joints accordingly, the first connector comprising a plurality of first pins for pulling down the MCU detection pins of other robotic arm joints connected thereto to the ground, and the common end of each first pin being grounded; the robotic arm main controller comprising a main control PCBA and a second connector arranged on the main control PCBA, the second connector comprising a plurality of second pins for pulling down the MCU detection pins of the robotic arm joints connected thereto to the ground, and the common end of each second pin being grounded.

[0009] Among them, the robotic arm that can be automatically numbered includes three robotic arm joints, each robotic arm joint includes two MCU detection pins and two first pins, and the robotic arm main controller includes two second pins.

[0010] Among them, the three robotic arm joints are the first robotic arm joint, the second robotic arm joint and the third robotic arm joint, the second pin of the robotic arm main controller can be electrically connected to the MCU detection pin of the first robotic arm joint, the first pin of the first robotic arm joint can be electrically connected to the MCU detection pin of the second robotic arm joint, and the first pin of the second robotic arm joint can be electrically connected to the MCU detection pin of the third robotic arm joint.

[0011] Among them, the relationship between the number of robot arm joints and MCU detection pins is:

[0012] y=2 x

[0013] Wherein, x is the number of MCU detection pins of each robotic arm joint and x is greater than or equal to 1, and y is the number of robotic arm joints that can be recognized by the robotic arm main controller.

[0014] The robot arm main controller communicates with each robot arm joint and each robot arm joint communicates with each other via an EtherCat bus or a CanOpen bus.

[0015] Among them, the resistance of the pull-up resistor is 10-20KΩ.

[0016] Among them, the operating voltage of MCU is 3.3V or 5.0V.

[0017] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial technical effects of the embodiments of the present invention are:

[0018] The numbering of the robot arm joints proposed by the present invention is determined by the level signal at each MCU detection pin, and the level signal can be changed by whether the MCU detection pin is grounded, so that the joint has a position number different from other joints. Since there is no need to burn software to the joint PCBA, the joint PCBA can be assembled on any joint. After the assembly is completed, the MCU determines the position number of the joint according to the level signal at each MCU detection pin, thereby improving the mixed use of the joint PCBA. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] Figure 1 It is a schematic structural diagram of a mechanical arm capable of automatic numbering in one embodiment of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 2 It is a schematic structural diagram of a mechanical arm capable of automatic numbering in one embodiment of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the structure of a robotic arm capable of automatic numbering in one embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] The embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below, and examples of the embodiments are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals throughout represent the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and are intended to be used to explain the present invention, but cannot be understood as limiting the present invention. Based on the embodiments in the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in the field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0023] See also Figure 1 The robotic arm capable of automatic numbering proposed in the present invention comprises a robotic arm main controller 10 and a plurality of robotic arm joints 20 respectively connected to the robotic arm for communication, the robotic arm main controller 10 comprises a main control PCBA 11 and a second connector 12 arranged on the main control PCBA, the robotic arm joint 20 comprises a joint PCBA 21 and a first connector 22, an MCU 23 and a plurality of MCU detection pins 24 arranged on the joint PCBA 21, and each MCU detection pin is respectively connected to a power supply VCC through a pull-up resistor 25.

[0024] The first connector 22 includes a plurality of first pins 221, and a common end of the plurality of first pins 221 is grounded, and is used to be connected to the MCU detection pin 24 of other robot joints 20. If the first pin 221 is connected to the MCU detection pin 24 of other robot joints 20, the MCU detection pin 24 will be pulled down to the ground, so the level signal detected by the MCU23 is "0", and if the first pin 221 is not connected to the MCU detection pin 24 of other robot joints 20, the MCU detection pin 24 will be pulled up by the power supply VCC, so the level signal detected by the MCU23 is "1".

[0025] Each robot arm joint 20 includes at least one MCU detection pin 24, and the position number of the robot arm joint 20 can be determined according to the level signal at each MCU detection pin 24. Example: The robot arm joint 20 includes two MCU detection pins 24 and two first pins 221. When the two MCU detection pins 24 are not connected to the first pins 221 of other robot arm joints 20, the two MCU detection pins 24 are pulled up by the power supply VCC, and the two level signals detected by MCU23 are both "1", so the position number of the robot arm joint 20 is determined to be "11", and then the position number is sent to the main controller 10; when the two MCU detection pins 24 are connected to the two first pins 221 of other robot arm joints 20, the two MCU detection pins 24 are pulled down to the ground, and the two level signals detected by MCU23 are both "1". The numbers are all "0", so the position number of the robotic arm joint 20 is determined to be "00"; when one of the MCU detection pins 24 is connected to the first pin 221 of the other robotic arm joint 20, and the other MCU detection pin 24 is not connected to the first pin 221 of the other robotic arm joint 20, at this time, the two level signals may be "01" or "10". In order to make the numbers of each robotic arm joint 20 different, the two MCU detection pins 24 and the two first pins 221 in each robotic arm joint 20 have a certain order, that is, the MCU23 of each robotic arm joint 20 collects and numbers the level signals in the same order.

[0026] For details, see Figure 1 , Figure 1There are three mechanical arm joints 20 shown. The upper MCU detection pin 24 of the second mechanical arm joint 202 is not connected to the first pin 221 of the first mechanical arm joint 201, while the lower MCU detection pin 24 is connected to the first pin 221. Therefore, the level signals of the two MCU detection pins 24 of the second mechanical arm joint 202 are "1" and "0", respectively, so the position number of the second mechanical arm joint 202 is determined to be "10". The upper MCU detection pin 24 of the third mechanical arm joint 203 is connected to the first pin 221 of the second mechanical arm joint 202, while the lower MCU detection pin 24 is not connected to the first pin 221. Therefore, the level signals of the two MCU detection pins 24 of the third mechanical arm joint 203 are "0" and "1", respectively, so the position number of the third mechanical arm joint 203 is determined to be "01".

[0027] The second connector 12 includes a plurality of second pins 121, and a common end of the plurality of second pins 121 is grounded, and is used to be connected to the MCU detection pin 24 of the robot joint 20. If the second pin 121 is connected to the MCU detection pin 24 of the robot joint 20, the MCU detection pin 24 will be pulled down to the ground, so the level signal detected by the MCU23 is "0", and if the second pin 121 is not connected to the MCU detection pin 24 of the robot joint 20, the MCU detection pin 24 will be pulled up by the power supply VCC, so the level signal detected by the MCU23 is "1".

[0028] The following takes a three-joint robotic arm as a specific embodiment to explain the principle of automatic numbering of each robotic arm joint. In this embodiment, the robotic arm includes a robotic arm main controller 10 and three robotic arm joints 20, the robotic arm main controller 10 includes two second pins 121, and the robotic arm joints 20 include two MCU detection pins 24 and two first pins 221.

[0029] Example 1: See Figure 1, the three mechanical arm joints 20 are the first mechanical arm joint 201, the second mechanical arm joint 202 and the third mechanical arm joint 203 from left to right, and the two second pins 121 are respectively connected to the two MCU detection pins 24 of the first mechanical arm joint 201, so the level signals at the two MCU detection pins 24 detected by the MCU23 of the first mechanical arm joint 201 are "0" and "0", respectively, so the position number of the first mechanical arm joint 201 is determined to be "00". The first pin 221 located at the top of the first mechanical arm joint 201 is not connected to the MCU detection pin 24 of the second mechanical arm joint 202, and the first pin 221 located at the bottom of the first mechanical arm joint 201 is connected to the MCU detection pin 24 of the second mechanical arm joint 202, so the level signals at the two MCU detection pins 24 detected by the MCU23 of the second mechanical arm joint 202 are "1" and "0", respectively, so the position number of the second mechanical arm joint 201 is determined to be "10". The first pin 221 located at the top of the second robotic arm joint 202 is connected to the MCU detection pin 24 of the third robotic arm joint 203, while the first pin 221 located at the bottom of the second robotic arm joint 202 is not connected to the MCU detection pin 24 of the third robotic arm joint 203. Therefore, the level signals at the two MCU detection pins 24 detected by the MCU23 of the third robotic arm joint 203 are "0" and "1" respectively, so the position number of the third robotic arm joint 203 is "01".

[0030] After detecting their respective position numbers, specifically "00", "10", and "01", the three robotic arm joints 20 will send these three position numbers to the robotic arm main controller 10, and the robotic arm main controller 10 will then send motion control instructions to the robotic arm joints 20 with the corresponding position numbers one by one. For example, a control instruction to move to point A is sent to the robotic arm joint 20 with position number "00", and the control instruction includes the position number "00" of the robotic arm joint 20. Since each robotic arm joint 20 has its own position number, only the robotic arm joint 20 with position number "00" will execute this motion instruction. In the process of executing the motion instruction, a joint of the robotic arm will move in the space, while the other robotic arm joints 20 will remain stationary. In this way, the robotic arm main controller 10 can confirm the robotic arm joint 20 corresponding to the position number "00".

[0031] In addition, the robot arm main controller 10 can also determine the position of the robot arm joint 20 corresponding to each position number through a preset mapping table stored in advance. Specifically, the preset mapping table includes the position number, the joint position and the corresponding relationship between the two, such as "00" corresponds to the first robot arm joint 201, "10" corresponds to the second robot arm joint 202, and "01" corresponds to the third robot arm joint 203. When the robot arm main controller 10 receives the position number sent by the MCU23 of each robot arm joint 20, the joint position can be determined according to the position number and the preset mapping table. More specifically, assuming that the position number received by the robot arm main controller 10 is "00", it can be determined that "00" corresponds to the first robot arm joint 20.

[0032] Furthermore, the robot arm main controller 10 can also determine the position of the robot arm joint 20 corresponding to each position number through a preset rule. Specifically, the position numbers can be set to correspond to the first robot arm joint, the second robot arm joint, and the third robot arm joint from small to large, or the position numbers can be set to correspond to the first robot arm joint, the second robot arm joint, and the third robot arm joint from large to small. It should be noted that the first robot arm joint, the second robot arm joint, and the third robot arm joint refer to robot arm joints at different positions that are connected in sequence from the base of the robot arm to the end of the robot arm (or from the end to the base).

[0033] Example 2: See Figure 2, the three robot joints 20 are the first robot joint 201, the second robot joint 202 and the third robot joint 203 from left to right. The second pin 121 located at the top is not connected to the MCU detection pin 24 of the first robot joint 201, while the second pin 121 located at the bottom is connected to the MCU detection pin 24 of the first robot joint 201. Therefore, the level signals at the two MCU detection pins 24 detected by the MCU23 of the first robot joint 201 are "1" and "0" respectively, so the position number of the first robot joint 201 is determined to be "10". The two first pins 221 of the first robot joint 201 are respectively connected to the two MCU detection pins 24 of the second robot joint 202. Therefore, the level signals at the two MCU detection pins 24 detected by the MCU23 of the second robot joint 202 are "0" and "0" respectively, so the position number of the second robot joint 201 is determined to be "00". The first pin 221 located at the top of the second robotic arm joint 202 is connected to the MCU detection pin 24 of the third robotic arm joint 203, while the first pin 221 located at the bottom of the second robotic arm joint 202 is not connected to the MCU detection pin 24 of the third robotic arm joint 203. Therefore, the level signals at the two MCU detection pins 24 detected by the MCU23 of the third robotic arm joint 203 are "0" and "1" respectively, so the position number of the third robotic arm joint 203 is "01".

[0034] The confirmation of the position numbers of the three robot arm joints 20 is based on the same principle as the method described in the aforementioned Example 1. Please refer to the contents of the aforementioned Example 1 for details, which will not be repeated here.

[0035] Example 3: See Figure 3, the three mechanical arm joints 20 are the first mechanical arm joint 201, the second mechanical arm joint 202 and the third mechanical arm joint 203 from left to right, the second pin 121 located at the top is connected to the MCU detection pin 24 of the first mechanical arm joint 201, and the second pin 121 located at the bottom is not connected to the MCU detection pin 24 of the first mechanical arm joint 201, so the level signals at the two MCU detection pins 24 detected by the MCU23 of the first mechanical arm joint 201 are "0" and "1" respectively, so the position number of the first mechanical arm joint 201 is determined to be "01". The first pin 221 located at the top of the first mechanical arm joint 201 is not connected to the MCU detection pin 24 of the second mechanical arm joint 202, and the first pin 221 located at the bottom of the first mechanical arm joint 201 is connected to the MCU detection pin 24 of the second mechanical arm joint 202, so the level signals at the two MCU detection pins 24 detected by the MCU23 of the second mechanical arm joint 202 are "1" and "0" respectively, so the position number of the second mechanical arm joint 201 is determined to be "10". The two first pins 221 of the second robotic arm joint 202 are respectively connected to the MCU detection pins 24 of the third robotic arm joint 203. Therefore, the level signals at the two MCU detection pins 24 detected by the MCU23 of the third robotic arm joint 203 are "0" and "0" respectively. Therefore, the position number of the third robotic arm joint 203 is "00".

[0036] The confirmation of the position numbers of the three robot arm joints 20 is based on the same principle as the method described in the aforementioned Example 1. Please refer to the contents of the aforementioned Example 1 for details, which will not be repeated here.

[0037] To sum up, the position number of each robotic arm joint 20 proposed in the present invention can be changed by changing the connection between the MCU detection pin 24 and the first pin 221 of other robotic arm joints 20 or the second pin 121 of the robotic arm main controller 10. Specifically, it can be connected or not connected, or one of the MCU detection pins 24 can be connected.

[0038] In some embodiments, the relationship between the number of the robot arm joints 20 and the MCU detection pins 24 proposed by the present invention is:

[0039] y=2 x

[0040] Wherein, x is the number of MCU detection pins 24 of each robotic arm joint 20 and x is greater than or equal to 1, and y is the number of robotic arm joints 20 identifiable by the robotic arm main controller 10 .

[0041] In this embodiment, if x is 1, the robot arm main controller 10 can recognize at most 2 robot arm joints 20, and the position numbers of the two robot arm joints 20 are "0" and "1", or "1" and "0". If x is 2, the robot arm main controller 10 can recognize at most 4 robot arm joints 20, and the position numbers of the four robot arm joints 20 can be "11", "01", "10", "11", or "01", "11", "11", "10", including but not limited to these. If x is 3, the robot arm main controller 10 can recognize at most 8 robot arm joints 20, and so on.

[0042] In some embodiments, the robot main controller 10 communicates with each robot joint 20 and between each robot joint 20 via an EtherCat bus or a CanOpen bus. In this embodiment, the EtherCat bus communication utilizes the EtherCat technology, and the EtherCat protocol processing is completely performed in hardware. The protocol ASIC can be flexibly configured, which greatly improves the work efficiency. The data communication using the CanOpen bus has no master-slave distinction. Any node (robot joint 20) can initiate data communication to any other one or more nodes (robot joint 20). The order of communication is determined by the order of priority of the information of each node (robot joint 20). The low priority avoids the high priority, and will not cause congestion to the communication line.

[0043] In some embodiments, the resistance of the pull-up resistor 25 is 10-20KΩ. In this embodiment, the resistance of the pull-up resistor 25 can be 10KΩ, 15KΩ, 20KΩ, or other resistance values ​​within the range of 10-20KΩ. The resistance of the pull-up resistor 25 selected within this range can ensure the normal automatic numbering of each robot arm joint 20.

[0044] In some embodiments, the operating voltage of the MCU is 3.3 V or 5.0 V. In this embodiment, the operating voltage of the MCU can be 3.3 V or 5.0 V. Under this operating voltage, the MCU can work normally. Those skilled in the art can make a selection according to actual conditions.

[0045] Compared with the existing method of performing position numbering through registers on the PCBA board, the automatic numbering robot arm proposed by the present invention can reduce the firmware development work of register position numbering, and does not need to burn the register firmware of the joint PCBA one by one, thereby reducing the probability of joint position number loss. At the same time, since there is no software position numbering, the joint PCBA can be assembled on any joint, thereby improving the interoperability of the joint PCBA.

[0046] The above are only partial or preferred embodiments of the present invention. Neither the text nor the drawings can limit the scope of protection of the present invention. All equivalent structural changes made by using the contents of the present invention specification and drawings under the overall concept of the present invention, or direct / indirect application in other related technical fields are included in the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A robotic arm joint capable of automatically numbering, characterized in that: It includes a joint PCBA and a first connector, an MCU and a plurality of MCU detection pins arranged on the joint PCBA, each of the MCU detection pins is connected to a power supply via a pull-up resistor, the MCU is used to collect level signals of each MCU detection pin and number the robot arm joints accordingly, the first connector includes a plurality of first pins for pulling down the MCU detection pins of other robot arm joints connected thereto to the ground, and the common end of each of the first pins is grounded.

2. A robot arm main controller, characterized in that: Used to control the robotic arm joint as described in claim 1, the robotic arm main controller includes a main control PCBA and a second connector arranged on the main control PCBA, the second connector includes a plurality of second pins for pulling down the MCU detection pins of the robotic arm joint connected thereto to the ground, and the common end of each second pin is grounded.

3. A robotic arm capable of automatically numbering, characterized in that: It comprises a plurality of automatically numbered robotic arm joints as described in claim 1 and a robotic arm main controller as described in claim 2, wherein the robotic arm main controller is communicatively connected with each of the robotic arm joints.

4. The automatic numbering robot according to claim 3, characterized in that: The robot arm comprises three joints, each of which comprises two MCU detection pins and two first pins, and the robot arm main controller comprises two second pins.

5. The automatic numbering robot according to claim 4, characterized in that: The three robotic arm joints are respectively the first robotic arm joint, the second robotic arm joint and the third robotic arm joint. The second pin of the robotic arm main controller can be electrically connected to the MCU detection pin of the first robotic arm joint, the first pin of the first robotic arm joint can be electrically connected to the MCU detection pin of the second robotic arm joint, and the first pin of the second robotic arm joint can be electrically connected to the MCU detection pin of the third robotic arm joint.

6. The automatic numbering robot according to claim 3, characterized in that: The relationship between the number of the robot arm joints and the MCU detection pins is: y＝2 x Among them, x is the number of MCU detection pins of each of the robotic arm joints and x is greater than or equal to 1, and y is the number of the robotic arm joints that can be identified by the robotic arm main controller.

7. The automatic numbering robot according to claim 3, characterized in that: The robot arm main controller communicates with each of the robot arm joints and each of the robot arm joints communicates with each other via an EtherCat bus or a CanOpen bus.

8. The automatic numbering robot according to claim 3, characterized in that: The resistance of the pull-up resistor is 10-20KΩ.

9. The automatic numbering robot according to claim 3, characterized in that: The operating voltage of the MCU is 3.3V or 5.0V.

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