A continuous inspection robot with rotational freedom

Abstract

The present invention discloses a continuous detection robot arm with rotational freedom, including a driving unit and a robot arm unit, wherein the robot arm unit includes a plurality of robot arm segments coaxially mounted together in sequence, and the driving unit drives the plurality of robot arm segments to bend and rotate around an axis. The robot arm segment includes a plurality of detection components, which are connected in series through a central flexible skeleton, and a plurality of curved traction ropes are arranged on the peripheral side of the central flexible skeleton, which are sequentially threaded on the detection components, and the driving unit drives the curved traction ropes to realize the bending movement of the robot arm segment; the outer edge of each detection component is wrapped with a rotating traction rope, and the driving unit drives the rotating traction rope to rotate the detection component around the axis. The present invention drives the curvature and rotation of the robot arm through the curved traction rope and the rotating traction rope, thereby realizing the continuity of the robot arm movement and ensuring that the robot arm can flexibly adapt to various narrow detection spaces and large-area curved surface detection.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the technical field of industrial detection, in particular to a continuous detection mechanical arm with rotational freedom. Background Art

[0002] In the field of industrial inspection, inspection robotic arms are often used for industrial inspection. Traditional robotic arms are usually mainly composed of connecting rods, and the connecting rods are connected in series to form a robotic arm. The inspection camera is installed at the end of the robotic arm, and the connection method between the various nodes of the inspection robotic arm is rigid connection.

[0003] The above detection robot arm structure has the following technical problems:

[0004] 1. The traditional robotic arm segments use rigid connections, which results in a small degree of bending and low flexibility of the robotic arm, making it difficult to complete inspection tasks in small and complex spaces.

[0005] 2. The detection camera of the traditional robotic arm is arranged at the end of the robotic arm, which is not conducive to large-area curved surface detection. The robotic arm needs to move over a large range, resulting in low work efficiency;

[0006] 3. Traditional robotic arms have few degrees of freedom, and their working space and detection posture are limited.

[0007] 4. When conducting large-scale curved surface inspection, the inspection robot arm needs to move in space and sweep the entire curved surface, making the problem of low efficiency more prominent.

[0008] After searching, a Chinese patent publication similar to this patent application was found, entitled: A wire-driven continuous inspection robot with visual feedback function, with the authorization publication number: CN 111993431B. The patent publication includes a drive device, a continuous robotic arm, a visual feedback device, and an end effector; the inspection robot adopts a wire-driven method.

[0009] The difference between this patent disclosure and the present patent application is that the detection is performed by installing a camera at the end of the robot, which improves the ability to enter a narrow space to a certain extent, but the camera is single and does not have rotational freedom, and the detection range is small. Summary of the Invention

[0010] The present invention provides a continuous detection robot arm with rotational freedom to solve the above problems existing in the prior art.

[0011] A continuous detection robot arm with rotational freedom includes a drive unit and a robot arm unit. The drive unit drives the robot arm unit to move. The robot arm unit includes multiple groups of robot arm segments. The multiple groups of robot arm segments are coaxially installed in series in sequence. The drive unit drives the multiple groups of robot arm segments to bend and rotate around the axis.

[0012] Moreover, each of the robotic arm segments includes a plurality of detection components installed at intervals, and the plurality of detection components are connected in series through a central flexible skeleton. A plurality of curved traction ropes are arranged in parallel on the circumference of the central flexible skeleton. The curved traction ropes are sequentially passed through the detection components, and the driving unit realizes the bending movement of the robotic arm segment by driving the curved traction ropes.

[0013] A rotating traction rope is wound around the outer edge of each detection component, and the driving unit drives the rotating traction rope to realize the rotation of the detection component around the axis.

[0014] Moreover, the detection component includes a fixed disk, a rotating disk and a sensor. The fixed disk is coaxially fixed on the central flexible skeleton. The rotating disk is coaxially rotatably mounted on the outer circle of the fixed disk. The sensor is fixed on the edge of the rotating disk.

[0015] Moreover, the fixed plate is provided with a plurality of through holes for accommodating the curved traction ropes and a plurality of through holes for accommodating the rotating traction ropes.

[0016] Moreover, a bearing is installed between the fixed disk and the rotating disk;

[0017] The outer edge of the rotating disk is provided with a guide groove for winding the rotating traction rope.

[0018] Moreover, each of the detection components is equipped with a guide mechanism. After the rotating traction rope passes through the guide mechanism, it is connected to the driving unit, and the detection component is pulled by the driving unit to realize the rotation movement around the axis.

[0019] Moreover, each of the detection components is equipped with two sets of guide mechanisms, each set of the guide mechanisms includes two connecting rods and three guide wheels, the connecting rods are U-shaped structures and are correspondingly mounted on the upper and lower end surfaces of the fixed disk; one end of the upper connecting rod is fixedly mounted on the upper end surface of the fixed disk, and the other end is mounted on the guide wheel, and the guide wheel is located on the outside of the rotating disk; the top of the lower connecting rod is fixedly mounted on the lower end surface of the fixed disk, and the guide wheels are respectively mounted on the left and right ends of the connecting rod;

[0020] The guide mechanism corresponds to the sensor, and two rotating traction ropes are fixed on the rotating disk below the sensor. The two rotating traction ropes are respectively wound along the guide groove and around the upper guide wheel, and then around the two lower guide wheels in turn, and are finally connected to the driving units respectively.

[0021] Moreover, a flexible sleeve is coaxially sleeved on the outside of each of the mechanical arm sections, and the flexible sleeve is fixedly connected to the rotating disk;

[0022] Moreover, the upper and lower adjacent robot arm sections share one detection component.

[0023] Moreover, the driving unit includes a bending driving module and a rotation driving module;

[0024] Each of the bending drive modules drives one of the bending traction ropes, and the bending drive module includes a ball screw, a traction plate is fixed on the nut of the ball screw, and a connection hole for fixing the bending traction rope is opened on the traction plate;

[0025] Each of the rotation drive modules drives the two rotation traction ropes on a detection component. The rotation drive module includes a motor and a rotating wheel. The ends of the rotation traction ropes are respectively fixed on both ends of the rotating wheel.

[0026] The advantages and positive effects of the present invention are:

[0027] 1. This continuous detection robot arm with rotational freedom adopts a central flexible skeleton as the central skeleton of the robot arm section, and uses the stretching of the curved traction rope to achieve flexible bending of the robot arm, which greatly improves the bending degree of the robot arm and ensures that the robot arm can flexibly adapt to various small and complex detection spaces, greatly increasing the application scenarios of the detection device.

[0028] 2. In this continuous detection robotic arm with rotational freedom, each section of the robotic arm is connected end to end, that is, the top of the robotic arm section at the bottom is the lower end of the robotic arm section at the top, and adjacent robotic arm sections share a detection component, which effectively improves the continuity of the robotic arm's movement.

[0029] 3. This continuous detection robot arm with rotational freedom, each robot arm segment is composed of multiple detection components, the detection components include multiple rotatable rotating disks, and the sensors on the rotating disks are driven to rotate around the axis by rotating the traction rope, which greatly improves the freedom of movement of the robot arm. In addition, each robot arm segment on the entire central skeleton is arranged and installed with multiple sensors, which is particularly suitable for large-scale curved surface detection. The robot arm only needs to adjust the curvature of the central skeleton to correspond to the curved surface to be detected, and then adjust the angle of the sensor to scan the entire curved surface, effectively improving the detection work efficiency.

[0030] 4. This continuous detection robot arm has rotational freedom, and the rotation angle of the sensor can be controlled individually or several sensors can be controlled synchronously.

[0031] 5. This continuous detection robot arm with rotational freedom is composed of multiple robot arm sections. It can adjust the position and speed of each detection component individually, and can also install a connecting sleeve to connect the rotating disk into a whole to achieve synchronous rotation. It can be flexibly adjusted according to detection requirements.

[0032] 6. The present invention has a simple structure, scientific and reasonable design, ingenious conception, and simple control method. By bending the traction rope and rotating the traction rope to drive the bending degree and free rotation degree of the robot arm around the axis, the continuity of the robot arm's movement is achieved, ensuring that the robot arm can flexibly adapt to various small and complex detection spaces and large-area curved surface detection. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0033] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the present invention;

[0034] Figure 2 It is a structural schematic diagram of the mechanical arm section of the present invention;

[0035] Figure 3 It is a structural schematic diagram of the detection component of the present invention;

[0036] Figure 4 It is a schematic structural diagram of the fixed disk and the rotating disk of the present invention;

[0037] Figure 5 It is a structural schematic diagram of the bending drive module of the present invention;

[0038] Figure 6 It is a structural schematic diagram of the rotation drive module of the present invention;

[0039] Figure 7 Schematic diagram of the connection method of the second robotic arm of the present invention.

[0040] In the figure, 1 is a robotic arm section, 2 is a detection component, 3 is a drive unit, 4 is a sensor, 5 is a rotating traction rope, 6 is a bending traction rope, 7 is a guide wheel, 8 is a bending drive module, 9 is a rotating drive module, 10 is a flexible sleeve, 21 is a fixed disk, 22 is a rotating disk, 23 is a guide frame, 24 is a bearing, 25 is a connecting rod, 26 is a guide groove, 27 is a central flexible skeleton, 212 is a through hole, 213 is a through hole, 81 is a ball screw, 82 is a traction plate, 83 is a connecting hole, 91 is a motor, and 92 is a rotating wheel. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0041] The present invention will be further described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0042] The invention provides a continuous detection robot arm with rotational freedom, such as Figure 1 As shown, it includes a driving unit 3 and a robotic arm unit, the driving unit 3 drives the robotic arm unit to move, the robotic arm unit includes multiple groups of robotic arm segments 1, and the multiple groups of robotic arm segments 1 are coaxially installed in series in sequence, the driving unit 3 includes a bending driving module 8 and a rotation driving module 9, the rotation driving module 9 drives the detection components in the multiple groups of robotic arm segments 1 to rotate around the axis, and the bending driving module 8 drives the robotic arm segment 1 to bend.

[0043] Example 1

[0044] like Figure 2 As shown, the robotic arm segment 1 includes a plurality of detection components 2 installed in sequence at intervals, and the plurality of detection components 2 are connected in series through a central flexible skeleton 27. A plurality of bending traction ropes 6 are arranged in parallel on the circumference of the central flexible skeleton 27. The bending traction ropes 6 are evenly distributed around the circumference. The bending traction ropes 6 are sequentially passed through the detection components (2). In the accompanying drawings of this embodiment, there are nine bending traction ropes 6 (three for each robotic arm segment, and the robotic arm unit has three robotic arm segments, 3x3=6). The bending drive module 8 realizes the bending action of the robotic arm segment 1 by driving the bending traction ropes 6; as shown Figure 5 As shown, the bending drive module 8 includes a ball screw 81, a traction plate 82 is fixed on the nut of the ball screw 81, and a connection hole 83 for fixing the bending traction rope 6 is opened on the traction plate 82; the central flexible skeleton 1 is made of superelastic material, and can be made of a nickel-titanium alloy solid shaft, a nickel-titanium alloy hollow shaft or a spring. Figure 1 There are three robot arm sections in the embodiment, and each robot arm section is composed of four detection components 2.

[0045] The outer edge of each detection component 2 is wound with a rotating traction rope 5, and the rotation driving module 9 drives the rotating traction rope 5 to realize the rotation of the detection component 2. Figure 3 、 Figure 4 As shown, the detection component 2 includes a fixed disk 21, a rotating disk 22, a guide mechanism for rotating the traction rope 5 and a sensor 4. The fixed disk 21 is coaxially fixed on the central flexible skeleton 27. The outer circle of the fixed disk 21 is coaxially rotatably mounted on the rotating disk 22 through a bearing 24. The fixed disk 21 and the rotating disk 22 thus form a rotating pair, and the sensor 4 is fixed on the edge of the rotating disk 22.

[0046] like Figure 4 As shown, the fixed plate 21 is provided with a plurality of through holes 212 for accommodating the curved traction rope 6 and a plurality of through holes 213 for accommodating the rotating traction rope 5; the through holes 212 in the drawings of this embodiment are three groups of three; the through holes 213 are three groups of three.

[0047] like Figure 3 As shown, each of the detection components 2 is installed with two groups of guide mechanisms, and each group of the guide mechanisms includes two connecting rods 25 and three guide frames 23. The guide frames 23 are installed with guide wheels 7, and the upper and lower end surfaces of the fixed disk 21 are respectively installed with the U-shaped connecting rods 25; one end of the upper connecting rod 25 is fixedly mounted on the upper end surface of the fixed disk 21, and the other end is installed with the guide frame 23 and the guide wheel 7 and is located on the outside of the rotating disk 22; the top of the lower connecting rod 25 is fixedly mounted on the lower end surface of the fixed disk 21, and the left and right ends of the connecting rod 25 are respectively installed with the guide frames 23 and the guide wheels 7.

[0048] The guide mechanism in this embodiment is installed on one side of the fixed disk 21, and the sensor 4 is installed on the other side of the rotating disk 22. The fixed disk 21 and the sensor 4 are arranged opposite to each other. The two sets of guide mechanisms are arranged radially along the fixed disk 21. The outer circle of the rotating disk 22 is provided with a guide groove 26 for winding the rotating traction rope 5. Two rotating traction ropes 5 are fixed on the rotating disk 22 below the sensor 4. The two rotating traction ropes 5 are respectively wound on the guide groove 26, and pass through the guide wheel 7 located above and then pass through the two guide wheels 7 located below in turn. The ends of the two rotating traction ropes 5 are connected to the rotating drive module 9. The structure of the rotating drive module 9 is as follows: Figure 6 As shown, it includes a motor 91 and a rotating wheel 92 , and the two rotating traction ropes 5 are fixed to the left and right ends of the rotating wheel 92 after passing through a distribution plate (not shown in the figure).

[0049] The working principle of the detection component 2 is:

[0050] One end of the two rotating traction ropes 5 is respectively fixed on the rotating disk 22 below the sensor 4, and the two rotating traction ropes 5 are respectively wound in the guide groove 26 of the rotating disk 22, and after being guided by the two sets of the guide mechanisms, they pass downward through the through hole 213 and pass through the distribution disk. The ends of the two rotating traction ropes 5 are respectively fixed on the left and right ends of the rotating wheel 92.

[0051] A. The motor 91 rotates in the reverse direction to drive the rotating traction rope 5 on the left side to pull and reel in the line, and the rotating traction rope 5 on the right side to release the line, thereby driving the sensor 4 on the rotating disk 22 to rotate counterclockwise;

[0052] B. The motor 91 rotates forward to drive the rotating traction rope 5 on the right side to pull and reel in the line, and the rotating traction rope 5 on the left side to release the line, thereby driving the sensor 4 on the rotating disk 22 to rotate clockwise.

[0053] The sensor 4 can be an optical sensor, an infrared sensor, a position sensor, a mechanical sensor, a heat sensor, a flaw detector, a distance measuring instrument, etc.

[0054] By rotating the traction rope 5 and the rotation drive module 9, the traction rope 5 is looped around the rotating disk 22 of the detection component 2, driving the rotation of the rotating disk 22. The rotation of the rotating disk 22 in turn drives the horizontal rotation of the sensor 4. This detection component 2 increases the freedom of the detection robot arm and improves its flexibility, compensating for the limited freedom of traditional robot arms and the inability of conventional continuous-type robots to rotate around an axis. Each detection component 2 is equipped with a sensor 4, enabling rapid inspection of large areas, significantly improving inspection efficiency.

[0055] As a preferred solution, the upper and lower adjacent robotic arm sections share one detection component (2). Each robotic arm section is connected end to end, that is, the top end of the robotic arm section located at the bottom is the lower end of the robotic arm section located at the top. Adjacent robotic arm sections share one detection component, which effectively improves the continuity of the robotic arm movement.

[0056] In embodiment 1, each robotic arm section includes four detection components 2, namely four sensors 4. Each detection component 2 corresponds to a motor 91 to achieve independent rotation around the axis. Each robotic arm section is driven by four motors 91. Each motor 91 can independently adjust the rotation speed of each rotating disk 22, which is highly flexible.

[0057] Example 2

[0058] like Figure 7 As shown, in this embodiment, each arm segment is covered with a flexible sleeve 10. The flexible sleeve 10 securely mounts the detection component 2 within the arm segment to the flexible sleeve 10, enabling a single motor 91 to drive the free rotation of multiple detection components, effectively reducing costs. The flexible sleeve 10 is made of a spring or a folded tube.

[0059] The present invention adopts a flexible central flexible skeleton to install a freely rotatable detection component 2, and utilizes the stretching of a bent traction rope to achieve flexible bending, which greatly improves the bending degree of the detection device. The detection component 2 can be freely rotated by rotating the traction rope 5, effectively ensuring that the detection robot arm can flexibly adapt to various small and complex detection spaces and large-area curved surface detection, greatly increasing the application scenarios of the detection robot arm.

[0060] Obviously, the above embodiments are merely examples for clarity of explanation and are not intended to limit the implementation methods. Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that other variations or modifications based on the above descriptions are possible. It is not necessary and impossible to enumerate all implementation methods here. Obvious variations or modifications arising therefrom remain within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A continuous detection robot arm with rotational freedom, comprising a driving unit (3) and a robot arm unit, wherein the driving unit (3) drives the robot arm unit to move, characterized in that: The mechanical arm unit comprises a plurality of groups of mechanical arm segments (1), the plurality of groups of mechanical arm segments are coaxially mounted together in sequence, and the driving unit (3) drives the plurality of groups of mechanical arm segments (1) to perform bending motion and rotational motion around an axis; Each of the mechanical arm sections (1) comprises a plurality of detection components (2) installed at intervals, the plurality of detection components (2) being connected in series via a central flexible skeleton (27), a rotating traction rope (5) being wound around the outer edge of each detection component (2), and the driving unit (3) realizing the rotation of the detection component (2) around the axis by driving the rotating traction rope (5); The detection component (2) comprises a fixed disk (21), a rotating disk (22) and a sensor (4); the fixed disk (21) is coaxially fixed on the central flexible skeleton (27); the rotating disk (22) is coaxially rotatably mounted on the outer circle of the fixed disk (21); the sensor (4) is fixedly mounted on the edge of the rotating disk (22); and the outer edge of the rotating disk (22) is provided with a guide groove (26) for winding the rotating traction rope (5); Each detection component (2) is equipped with two sets of guide mechanisms, each set of the guide mechanisms includes two connecting rods (25) and three guide wheels (7), the connecting rods (25) are of U-shaped structure and are correspondingly mounted on the upper and lower end surfaces of the fixed disk (21); one end of the connecting rod (25) located at the top is fixedly mounted on the upper end surface of the fixed disk (21), and the other end is mounted with the guide wheel (7), and the guide wheel (7) is located outside the rotating disk (22); the top of the connecting rod (25) located at the bottom is fixedly mounted on the lower end surface of the fixed disk (21), and the guide wheels (7) are respectively mounted on the left and right ends of the connecting rod (25); The guide mechanism corresponds to the sensor (4), and two rotating traction ropes (5) are fixedly mounted on the rotating disk (22) below the sensor (4). The two rotating traction ropes (5) respectively run along the guide groove (26) and are wound around the upper guide wheel (7), and then are wound around the two lower guide wheels (7) in sequence, and are finally connected to the driving unit (3) respectively.

2. The continuous detection robot arm with rotational freedom according to claim 1, characterized in that: A plurality of bending traction ropes (6) are arranged in parallel around the central flexible skeleton (27), and the bending traction ropes (6) are sequentially threaded onto the detection component (2). The driving unit (3) realizes the bending action of the robot arm segment (1) by driving the bending traction ropes (6).

3. The continuous detection robot arm with rotational freedom according to claim 2, characterized in that: The fixed plate (21) is provided with a plurality of through holes for accommodating the curved traction rope (6) and a plurality of through holes for accommodating the rotating traction rope (5).

4. The continuous detection robot arm with rotational freedom according to claim 1, characterized in that: A bearing (24) is installed between the fixed disk (21) and the rotating disk (22).

5. The continuous detection robot arm with rotational freedom according to claim 4, characterized in that: A flexible sleeve (10) is coaxially sleeved on the outside of each mechanical arm section, and the flexible sleeve (10) is fixedly connected to the rotating disk (22).

6. The continuous detection robot arm with rotational freedom according to claim 1, characterized in that: The upper and lower adjacent mechanical arm sections share one detection component (2).

7. The continuous detection robot arm with rotational freedom according to claim 3, characterized in that: The driving unit (3) comprises a bending driving module (8) and a rotation driving module (9); Each of the bending drive modules (8) drives a corresponding bending traction rope (6), the bending drive module (8) comprising a ball screw (81), a traction plate (82) being fixedly mounted on a nut of the ball screw (81), and a connection hole (83) for fixing the bending traction rope (6) being provided on the traction plate (82); Each of the rotating drive modules (9) drives two rotating traction ropes (5) on a detection component (2); the rotating drive module (9) comprises a motor (91) and a rotating wheel (92); and the ends of the rotating traction ropes (5) are respectively fixed on the two ends of the rotating wheel (92).

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