A flexible robot with multiple application scenarios

Abstract

The present invention discloses a flexible robot that is deformable and suitable for multiple application scenarios, comprising a flexible body, a rotor, and a universal wheel mechanism; the flexible body is provided with a plurality of rotor mounting holes, each of which is provided with a rotor; each rotor comprises a rotating frame, a swinging frame, and a spiral blade; the rotating frame is hingedly connected to the corresponding rotor mounting hole; the swinging frame is coaxially located inside the rotating frame and is hingedly connected to the rotating frame; the spiral blade is mounted on the swinging frame and can actively rotate; the universal wheel mechanism comprises a plurality of universal wheels, and the plurality of universal wheels are arranged on the same side of the flexible body. The present invention can adjust the robot to a variety of desired shapes by controlling the magnitude and direction of the different output forces of the plurality of rotors, and can simultaneously adapt to various complex environments such as air, land, and underwater, such as tunnels, channels, pipelines, curved surfaces of wind turbine blades, complex curved surfaces of high-altitude buildings, and nuclear reactors, thereby directly switching naturally between the three media of water, land, and air.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a robot, in particular to a flexible robot that is deformable and can be used in multiple application scenarios. Background Art

[0002] Existing inspection robots are only suitable for land or horizontal surface inspections, and their inspection scenarios are limited. They are only suitable for a single scenario and cannot randomly switch between high-altitude, underwater, and complex curved surfaces. They are also unable to simultaneously meet multiple scenarios and switch randomly. Specific use cases include the curved surfaces of wind turbine blades, bridge piers with both above-water and underwater parts, the complex curved surfaces of high-altitude buildings, satellite radar, complex terrain surveys, hydropower station inspections, tunnel inspections, deep-water exploration, geological disaster relief, and more. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to address the deficiencies of the above-mentioned existing technologies and provide a flexible robot that can be deformed and used in multiple application scenarios. The flexible robot that can be deformed and used in multiple application scenarios has a wide range of application scenarios and can adapt to various complex environments such as air, land and underwater at the same time, and can directly switch naturally among the three media of land, water and air.

[0004] In order to solve the above technical problems, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is:

[0005] A flexible robot capable of deformation and application in multiple scenarios comprises a flexible body and a rotor.

[0006] The flexible body is made of flexible material. A plurality of rotor mounting holes are arranged on the flexible body. One rotor is mounted in each rotor mounting hole.

[0007] Each rotor includes a rotating frame, a swing frame and a spiral blade.

[0008] The rotating frame is hinged to the corresponding rotor mounting hole.

[0009] The swing frame is coaxially located inside the rotating frame and is hinged to the rotating frame; each swing frame can actively rotate.

[0010] The spiral blades are mounted on a swing frame and can rotate actively.

[0011] The flexible body is rectangular and has two short sides and a symmetry axis X symmetrical about the two short sides; the number of rotor mounting holes is not less than 6; and at least 2 rotor mounting holes are arranged on the symmetry axis X and the two short sides.

[0012] Two rotor mounting holes are arranged on the symmetry axis X and the two short sides.

[0013] It also includes a universal wheel mechanism; the universal wheel mechanism includes a plurality of universal wheels, and the plurality of universal wheels are arranged on the same side of the flexible body.

[0014] The number of universal wheels shall not be less than the number of rotor mounting holes.

[0015] The rotating frame and the swing frame are both in the shape of a ring.

[0016] A fixed rod passing through its own center is provided in the swing frame, and the two ends of the fixed rod extend from the side walls of the swing frame and the rotating frame respectively, and are hingedly installed in the corresponding rotor mounting holes; wherein, both ends of the fixed rod are rotationally connected to the side walls of the rotating frame.

[0017] The flexible body, rotor and universal wheel mechanism are all waterproof.

[0018] By separately adjusting the driving force size and driving force direction of several rotors, not only can the spatial position of the entire flexible body be changed, but also the shape itself can be changed; among them, the adjustment method of the driving force direction of each rotor is through the combination of the two-degree-of-freedom movement of the rotating frame and the swing frame; the adjustment method of the driving force size of each rotor is through adjusting the rotation speed of each rotor itself.

[0019] The present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0020] 1. The present invention can adjust the robot to the required position by controlling the magnitude and direction of the output force of several rotors.

[0021] of various shapes.

[0022] 2. The present invention can adapt to various application scenarios and various complex environments at the same time, such as tunnels, channels, pipelines, wind turbine blade surfaces, complex curved surfaces of high-altitude buildings and nuclear reactors, etc., and can directly switch naturally among the three media of water, land and air. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] Figure 1 This is a structural diagram of a flexible robot that can be deformed and used in multiple application scenarios. Figure 1 .

[0024] Figure 2 This is a structural diagram of a flexible robot that can be deformed and used in multiple application scenarios. Figure 2 .

[0025] Figure 3 A bottom view of a deformable flexible robot for multiple application scenarios according to the present invention is shown.

[0026] Figure 4 Shown is a schematic structural diagram of the rotor in the present invention.

[0027] Figure 5 A schematic diagram showing the forces acting on the flexible body of the present invention is shown.

[0028] Among them are:

[0029] 10. Flexible body;

[0030] 11. Rotor mounting hole;

[0031] 20. Rotor;

[0032] 21. Rotating rack;

[0033] 22. Swing frame; 221. Fixed rod;

[0034] 23.Spiral blades;

[0035] 30. Universal wheel mechanism. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific preferred embodiments.

[0037] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "left side," "right side," "upper," "lower," etc., indicating orientations or positional relationships, are based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings and are intended solely to facilitate the description of the present invention and simplify the description. They do not indicate or imply that the devices or components referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed, or operate in a specific orientation. Terms such as "first" and "second" do not indicate the importance of components and therefore should not be construed as limitations on the present invention. The specific dimensions used in this embodiment are intended only to illustrate the technical solution and do not limit the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0038] like Figure 1 、 Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, a flexible robot that is deformable and suitable for multiple application scenarios includes a flexible body 10, a rotor 20 and a universal wheel mechanism 30.

[0039] The flexible body is made of flexible material and is provided with a plurality of rotor mounting holes 11 .

[0040] Furthermore, the flexible body is preferably rectangular, and has two short sides and a symmetry axis X that is symmetrical about the two short sides.

[0041] The number of rotor mounting holes is not less than 6; at least 2 rotor mounting holes are arranged on the symmetry axis X and the two short sides, and it is further preferred that 2 rotor mounting holes are arranged on the symmetry axis X and the two short sides.

[0042] like Figure 4 As shown, a rotor is installed in each rotor mounting hole, and each rotor includes a rotating frame 21, a swinging frame 22 and a spiral blade 23.

[0043] The rotating frame is hinged to the corresponding rotor mounting hole. Each rotating frame can rotate actively or passively.

[0044] The swing frame is coaxially located inside the rotating frame and is hinged to the rotating frame. Each swing frame can rotate actively.

[0045] Furthermore, the rotating frame and the swing frame are preferably in the shape of a ring.

[0046] A fixed rod passing through its own center is provided in the swing frame, and the two ends of the fixed rod extend from the side walls of the swing frame and the rotating frame respectively, and are hingedly installed in the corresponding rotor mounting holes; wherein, both ends of the fixed rod are rotationally connected to the side walls of the rotating frame.

[0047] The spiral blade is mounted on the swing frame and can actively rotate to provide driving force for the overall structure of the present invention.

[0048] like Figure 3 As shown, the universal wheel mechanism includes a plurality of universal wheels, and the plurality of universal wheels are arranged on the same side of the flexible body.

[0049] The number of universal wheels shall not be less than the number of the above-mentioned rotor mounting holes.

[0050] The flexible body, rotor and universal wheel mechanism are all waterproof. The universal wheel mechanism can be set as needed. For example, if the vehicle does not need to be used on land or curved surfaces and only needs to be used at high altitude or underwater, the universal wheel mechanism is not required.

[0051] like Figure 5 As shown, the flexible robot of the present invention can adjust the driving force magnitude and direction of several rotors, thereby not only changing the spatial position of the entire flexible body but also its own shape. The direction of each rotor's driving force is adjusted by combining the two degrees of freedom of the rotating frame and the swinging frame; the driving force magnitude of each rotor is adjusted by adjusting the rotational speed of each rotor.

[0052] The present invention has the following advantages:

[0053] 1. When the present invention has a universal wheel mechanism, it can achieve natural switching between three media: water, land, and air. When the universal wheel mechanism is not required, it can achieve natural switching between two media: air and water.

[0054] 2. It is deformable and controllable, with the magnitude and direction of each rotor's driving force adjustable. Because of its flexible shape, it can adapt to a variety of application scenarios, such as complex curved surfaces and confined spaces.

[0055] The preferred embodiments of the present invention are described in detail above. However, the present invention is not limited to the specific details in the above embodiments. Within the technical concept of the present invention, various equivalent transformations can be made to the technical solutions of the present invention, and these equivalent transformations all fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A flexible robot that can be deformed and used in multiple application scenarios, characterized by: It includes a flexible body, a rotor and a universal wheel mechanism; The flexible body is made of flexible material and is provided with a plurality of rotor mounting holes, each of which is provided with a rotor. Each rotor includes a rotating frame, a swing frame and a spiral blade; The rotating frame is hinged to the corresponding rotor mounting hole; The swing frame is coaxially located inside the rotating frame and is hinged to the rotating frame; each swing frame can rotate actively; The spiral blades are mounted on a swing frame and can rotate actively; The universal wheel mechanism includes a plurality of universal wheels, and the plurality of universal wheels are arranged on the same side of the flexible body; The flexible body, rotor and universal wheel mechanism are all waterproof; By adjusting the driving force and direction of several rotors separately, not only can the spatial position of the entire flexible body be changed, but also its own shape can be changed. This allows it to adapt to application scenarios such as tunnels, passages, pipelines, curved surfaces of wind turbine blades, complex curved surfaces of high-altitude buildings, or nuclear reactors, and can naturally switch between three media: water, land, and air. The direction of each rotor driving force is adjusted by combining the two degrees of freedom of the rotating frame and the swing frame; the magnitude of each rotor driving force is adjusted by adjusting the rotation speed of each rotor itself.

2. The deformable flexible robot for multiple application scenarios according to claim 1, characterized in that: The flexible body is rectangular and has two short sides and a symmetry axis X symmetrical about the two short sides; the number of rotor mounting holes is not less than 6; and at least 2 rotor mounting holes are arranged on the symmetry axis X and the two short sides.

3. The deformable flexible robot for multiple application scenarios according to claim 2, characterized in that: Two rotor mounting holes are arranged on the symmetry axis X and the two short sides.

4. The deformable flexible robot for multiple application scenarios according to claim 1, characterized in that: The number of universal wheels shall not be less than the number of rotor mounting holes.

5. The deformable flexible robot for multiple application scenarios according to claim 1, characterized in that: The rotating frame and the swing frame are both in the shape of a ring.

6. The deformable flexible robot for multiple application scenarios according to claim 5, characterized in that: A fixed rod passing through its own center is provided in the swing frame, and the two ends of the fixed rod extend from the side walls of the swing frame and the rotating frame respectively, and are hingedly installed in the corresponding rotor mounting holes; wherein, both ends of the fixed rod are rotationally connected to the side walls of the rotating frame.

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