robot

Abstract

The application provides a robot, which comprises a trunk, a leg assembly and a steering device; wherein the trunk comprises a shell and a connecting piece; the connecting piece is fixedly connected with the outer side wall of the shell; the leg assembly is rotatably connected with the connecting piece; the steering device is connected with the shell and is used for driving the leg assembly to rotate relative to the shell. The robot provided by the embodiment of the application is designed under the basic structural framework of a conventional multi-legged robot and comprises a multi-legged robot with a steering device. The steering device can realize the in-retraction / out-spreading movement of the legs of the robot, so as to realize the steering function of the robot. On the premise of guaranteeing the function to the maximum extent, the overall mass of the robot can be reduced, and the cost can be saved.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of multi-legged robots, in particular to a robot structure. BACKGROUND

[0002] Robots, as a high-tech and high-intelligent collection, are constantly applied to various fields. The most commonly used way in our daily life is the wheeled type, but when facing complex road conditions such as steps, stairs, and gravel, the structure of "legs" that can adapt to complex terrains is needed. Quadruped robots have great potential in surveying, rescue, medical treatment, education and many other fields due to their good motion performance and rich motion modes.

[0003] Most of the existing quadruped robots are of foot type structure, and the whole body contains 12 driving units, three driving units on the hip joint of each leg respectively drive the adduction / abduction of the thigh, the forward swing / back spread of the thigh, and the flexion / extension of the lower leg. There are also lower leg driving units arranged on the knee joint to obtain better control accuracy.

[0004] All existing solutions require 12 driving units to achieve the complete motion space of the leg of the quadruped robot, i.e. the motion mode similar to the human body or real quadruped animals. Although the hip joint motor can increase the lateral stability of the quadruped robot, in fact, the adduction / abduction motion of the hip joint is less in range or use degree in quadrupeds, so in some application scenarios, this degree of freedom or driving unit can be omitted to achieve lighter mass and better motion performance. Therefore, how to design a leg structure that can rotate relative to the torso has become a problem to be solved. SUMMARY

[0005] The first aspect of the embodiment of the present application provides a robot, which comprises:

[0006] A torso comprising a shell and a connecting piece; the connecting piece is fixedly connected with the outer side wall of the shell;

[0007] A leg assembly rotatably connected with the connecting piece;

[0008] A steering device connected with the shell and used for driving the leg assembly to rotate relative to the shell.

[0009] The robot provided by the embodiment of the present application is designed under the basic structure framework of a conventional multi-legged robot, and a multi-legged robot comprising a steering device is designed. The steering device can realize the adduction / abduction motion of the leg of the robot, thereby realizing the steering function of the robot. On the premise of guaranteeing the function to the greatest extent, the overall mass of the robot can be reduced, and the cost can be saved. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0010] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the drawings needed to be used in the embodiments will be briefly introduced. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application, and other drawings can be obtained by those skilled in the art without any creative effort based on these drawings.

[0011] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of a robot in an embodiment of the present application;

[0012] Figure 2 is Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of a robot in an embodiment of the present application;

[0013] Figure 3 is Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of a robot in an embodiment of the present application;

[0014] Figure 4 is Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of a robot in an embodiment of the present application;

[0015] Figure 5 is Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of a robot in an embodiment of the present application;

[0016] Figure 6 is Figure 5 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of a robot in an embodiment of the present application;

[0017] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of a robot in an embodiment of the present application;

[0018] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of a robot in an embodiment of the present application;

[0019] Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of a robot in an embodiment of the present application;

[0020] Figure 10 is Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of a robot in an embodiment of the present application;

[0021] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of a robot in an embodiment of the present application; DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] The application will be described in further detail below with reference to the drawings and embodiments. It is particularly pointed out that the following embodiments are only for illustrating the application, but not for limiting the scope of the application. Similarly, the following embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the application, but not all the embodiments of the application. All other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative efforts fall within the scope of the application.

[0023] The terms "first", "second", "third" in the embodiments of the present application are only for descriptive purposes, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Therefore, the features defined with "first", "second", "third" can explicitly or implicitly include at least one of the features. In the description of the application, the meaning of "a plurality of" is at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise specifically limited. All directional indications (such as up, down, left, right, front, back, etc.) in the embodiments of the present application are only for explaining the relative position relationship, movement condition, etc. between components in a certain posture (as shown in the drawings), and if the certain posture changes, the directional indications also change accordingly. The terms "include" and "have" and any variations thereof in the embodiments of the present application are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion. For example, a process, method, system, product or device including a series of steps or units is not limited to the listed steps or units, but can optionally include steps or units not listed, or can optionally include other steps or components inherent to the process, method, product or device.

[0024] In this document, reference to "an embodiment" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment can be included in at least one embodiment of the application. The appearances of the phrase in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, nor are they necessarily mutually exclusive of one another. It is expressly understood that the embodiments described herein are merely examples from a multitude of possible embodiments, which can be literally combined or otherwise combined with other embodiments to produce additional embodiments including development sets of the application.

[0025] Please refer to Figure 1 and Figure 2 , Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of an embodiment of the robot of the present application, Figure 2 is Figure 1The schematic diagram of the split structure of the robot in the embodiment; it should be noted that the robot in the present application is a machine device which can complete functions such as walking, running and jumping under the control of a control system. A typical robot structure is a robot dog, that is, a robot structure including a trunk and four legs. Of course, the robot in the present embodiment can also be a structure including two, three or more legs, or even a structure including one leg, which is not limited here. In the present embodiment, the robot 10 includes but is not limited to a trunk 100, a leg assembly 200 and a steering device 300.

[0026] Specifically, the trunk 100 includes a shell 110 and a connecting piece 120; the connecting piece 120 is fixedly connected to the outer side wall of the shell 110; the leg assembly 200 is rotatably connected to the connecting piece 120; the steering device 300 is connected to the shell 110 and is used to drive the leg assembly 200 to rotate relative to the shell 110.

[0027] Optionally, the shell 110 can be formed with a receiving cavity 1100, and the steering device 300 is arranged in the receiving cavity 1100 and part of the structure extends out of the receiving cavity 1100. The outer side wall of the shell 110 of the robot in the present embodiment is provided with eight connecting pieces 120, and the robot includes four leg assemblies 200, each of which is connected to two connecting pieces 120.

[0028] Please refer to Figure 3 , Figure 3 is Figure 1 The schematic diagram of the structure of the steering device in the embodiment, the steering device 300 in the present embodiment includes a driving unit 310 and a transmission assembly 320; the driving unit 310 is arranged in the shell 110 and is fixedly connected to the shell 110; one end of the transmission assembly 320 is connected to the driving unit 310, and the other end is connected to the leg assembly 200 and can drive the leg assembly 200 to rotate relative to the shell 110 under the driving of the driving unit 310. Optionally, the driving unit 310 can be a driving motor.

[0029] Optionally, please refer to Figure 4 , Figure 4 is Figure 3 The schematic diagram of the partial structure of the steering device in the embodiment, the transmission assembly 320 includes a gear 321 and a rack shaft 322; the gear 321 is connected to the driving unit 310 and is in meshing transmission connection with the rack shaft 322; the rack shaft 322 is connected to the leg assembly 200 and is used to drive the leg assembly 200 to rotate relative to the shell 110.

[0030] Please continue to refer to Figure 3Optionally, the transmission assembly 320 further comprises a fixed sliding sleeve 323, which is connected with the shell 110, and specifically can be fixedly connected with the shell 110 by using two connecting seats 3230. The rack shaft 322 is inserted into the fixed sliding sleeve 323 and can reciprocate along the axial direction (the arrow direction in the figure) of the fixed sliding sleeve 323. The rack shaft 322 can also be fixedly connected with the shell 110 by using two sets of fixing devices 324. The fixing device 324 can include a fixing seat 3241 and a fixing plate 3242. The rack shaft 322 is inserted into the space formed by the fixing seat 3241 and the fixing plate 3242 and is rotationally connected with the fixing device 324. The fixing device 324 is used to limit the jumping of the rack shaft 322 during movement. When the driving unit 310 is powered on and operates, the driving gear 321 rotates, thereby driving the engaged rack shaft 322 to move linearly. The rotation direction of the driving unit 310 (the driving motor) determines the movement direction of the rack shaft 322. For example, when the motor rotates forward, the rack shaft 322 moves to the right direction of the arrow in the figure. When the motor rotates reversely, the rack shaft 322 moves to the left direction of the arrow in the figure.

[0031] Optionally, the opposite ends of the rack shaft 322 are respectively connected with a leg assembly 200, so as to drive two leg assemblies 200 to synchronously rotate relative to the shell 110. In the figure of the embodiment, only the structure of one set of steering devices cooperating with the leg assembly (which can be a front leg) is shown. In some other embodiments, the rear leg of the robot can also be provided with a steering device. The detailed structural features of this part are within the understanding range of those skilled in the art, and thus will not be described herein.

[0032] Please continue to refer to Figure 3 , the transmission assembly 320 further comprises a connecting rod 325, the two ends of the connecting rod 325 are respectively rotationally connected with the rack shaft 322 and the leg assembly 200. The embodiment of the present application proposes a four-legged robot in the form of a gear and a rack. The swinging movement in two directions of the hip joint is integrated into the same direction movement controlled by a motor, thereby realizing the function similar to the steering of a car. The rotational movement is converted into linear movement by the structure of the gear 321 and the rack shaft 322. The length of the meshing section determines the angle that can be finally steered. The longer the meshing length, the farther the rack shaft 322 can move linearly, thereby driving the connecting rod 325 to rotate in a larger range.

[0033] Please refer to Figure 5 , Figure 5 is Figure 1 The structure split schematic diagram of the robot leg assembly in the embodiment. The leg assembly 200 in the embodiment comprises a steering knuckle 210, a walking motor 220 and a leg main body 230. Please refer to Figures 6 to 8 , Figure 6is Figure 5 Structure diagram of the knuckle in the embodiment; Figure 7 is the first state structure diagram of the cooperation between the steering device and the leg assembly in the embodiment of the application, Figure 8 is the second state structure diagram of the cooperation between the steering device and the leg assembly in the embodiment of the application. The relative two ends of the knuckle 210 are respectively provided with a first connecting part 211 and a second connecting part 212, and the first connecting part 211 and the second connecting part 212 are respectively rotationally connected with the connecting piece 120 of the trunk 100, which can be specifically realized by a pin 101 to rotationally connect the first connecting part 211 and the second connecting part 212 with the connecting piece 120.

[0034] Optionally, the side of the knuckle 210 is further provided with a third connecting part 213, and the third connecting part 213 is connected with the connecting rod 325. Specifically, the third connecting part 213 and the connecting rod 325 can be rotationally connected by a connecting pin shaft 203. The walking motor 220 is fixedly connected with the knuckle 210 and connected with the leg main body 230 through a connecting part 240, for driving the leg main body 230 to rotate relative to the knuckle 210. The leg main body 230 can specifically include a lower leg driving motor and a transmission mechanism, and the lower leg driving motor and the lower leg transmission mechanism are not limited to a four-bar linkage motion form or a synchronous belt transmission form, and can even be a driving unit arranged at the knee part, without affecting the implementation of the scheme. The walking motor 220 can drive the leg main body 230 to rotate relative to the walking motor 220 as a whole.

[0035] Optionally, the connecting piece 120 can be inserted into a first groove 2110 of the first connecting part 211 and a first groove 2120 of the second connecting part 212, and the pin 101 defines that only rotation and up-down movement are allowed, and the up-down gap can be filled by a sleeve or a gasket 201, so that the up-down movement is also limited. The center of rotation of the entire leg assembly 200 is a central axis X, which passes through the centers of the first connecting part 211 and the second connecting part 212, and the force arm during rotation is the distance between the axis Y and the axis X. Figure 5

[0036] ​In this embodiment, the jump clearance of the knuckle 210 in the horizontal plane is completely limited, that is, the height of the front and back and the left and right sides of the legs is always consistent, that is, only simultaneous steering is allowed, and unilateral leg cannot achieve certain adduction and abduction. In other embodiments, the sleeve or gasket 201 mounted on the knuckle 210 can be replaced by a flexible element such as a spring, and the bearing (not shown in the figure) inside the knuckle 210 can be replaced by a radial spherical bearing, and the sleeve is pressed against the inner spherical part of the bearing. In this way, the movement between the knuckle 210 and the connecting member 120 is not only rotation, but also small-range up-and-down jumping, achieving the purpose of vibration reduction.

[0037] Please refer to Figure 9 , Figure 9 is a schematic diagram of the structural principle of robot steering in the embodiment of the application, only the simplified structure of the leg assembly 200, the connecting rod 325, the gear 321 and the rack shaft 322 are reserved. The position of the gear 321 on the shell 110 of the trunk 100 is relatively fixed, so that the center line of the gear 321 is taken as a reference, and the state of movement to the leftmost and rightmost is seen, the rack shaft 322 drives the connecting rod 325 at both ends, and since the center axis (X line) of the knuckle 210 in Figure 6 is fixed, the knuckle 210 rotates around the center axis (X line).

[0038] Please refer to Figure 10 , Figure 10 is Figure 9 a simplified linkage structure schematic diagram of robot steering in the embodiment of the application, wherein Figure 10 a corresponds to Figure 9 the state of the robot in a, Figure 10 b corresponds to the state of the robot in 9b. It can be simplified as a 5-linkage motion mechanism, the driving member is the rod 3, the motion of the rod 3 is limited to linear motion, when the rod 3 moves to one direction, for example, left, the corresponding two ends of 2 generate rotation, but the motion of the rod 1 is limited to rotation, so that the connection between the rod 1 and the rod 2 is limited to motion on the circular shaft with the length of the rod 1 as the radius, thereby limiting the uniqueness of the motion of the entire mechanism, the degree of freedom is 3*5-2*7=1. The reverse motion is the same, the rod members 2, 3 and 4 form a so-called steering trapezoid in a car.

[0039] Optionally, please continue to refer to Figure 5 and Figure 6The leg assembly 200 further comprises an elastic member 250; the third connecting portion 213 of the knuckle 210 comprises a first lug 2131 and a second lug 2132, the connecting rod 325 is arranged between the first lug 2131 and the second lug 2132, and the elastic member 250 is arranged between the connecting rod 325 and at least one of the first lug 2131 and the second lug 2132; the first lug 2131 and the second lug 2132 are respectively provided with through holes 2130, and the end of the connecting rod 325 is provided with a connecting hole 3250; a connecting pin 203 penetrates the through holes 2130 of the first lug 2131 and the second lug 2132, the connecting hole 3250 of the connecting rod 325 and the elastic member 250. The elastic member 250 can be a spring or an elastic material such as rubber, which plays a role of vibration reduction.

[0040] The robot provided by the embodiment of the application is a multi-legged robot comprising a steering device under the basic structural framework of a conventional multi-legged robot. The steering device can realize the inboard / outboard movement of the legs of the robot, thereby realizing the steering function of the robot. On the premise of guaranteeing the function to the maximum extent, the overall mass of the robot can be reduced, and the cost can be saved.

[0041] In the foregoing embodiment, the scheme for realizing the steering movement is the structure of the gear and the rack shaft cooperation, but it is not limited to this mechanism, and the scheme of the worm and the worm gear can also be used to realize the conversion of the rotary movement into the linear movement. The worm and worm gear scheme is that the motor drives the worm, the motor and the worm are fixed as a whole, the worm is limited to rotation and axial movement, and when the motor rotates in one direction, the worm rotates and translates in one direction. The connection structure characteristics of the worm and worm gear are similar to those of the gear and rack shaft scheme, and will not be described here again within the understanding range of those skilled in the art.

[0042] Please refer to Figure 11 , Figure 11 is a partial structural schematic view of another embodiment of the steering device of the application. In the embodiment, the transmission assembly 320 of the steering device comprises an eccentric wheel 326 and a connecting rod 327. Please refer to Figure 3 , Figure 5 and Figure 6The eccentric wheel 326 is connected with the driving unit 310 (specifically, a driving motor) and can rotate under the driving of the driving unit 310. The eccentric wheel 326 is connected with the connecting rod 327 and is used to drive the connecting rod 327 to slide and translate relative to the shell 110. The connecting rod 327 is connected with the knuckle 210 of the leg assembly 200 and can drive the leg assembly 200 to rotate relative to the shell 110. The connecting rod 327 can be connected with the shell 110 through a fixing member 328. The fixing member 328 is fixedly connected with the shell 110. The connecting rod 327 is inserted into the fixing member 328 and can slide relative to the fixing member 328.

[0043] The transmission assembly of the steering device in the embodiment has the characteristics of simple structure, high reliability and high control accuracy.

[0044] The above only describes some embodiments of the present application, and does not limit the protection scope of the present application. Any equivalent device or equivalent process transformation, or direct or indirect application in other related technical fields, which is made by using the content of the specification and drawings of the present application, is also included in the patent protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A robot, characterized in that, The robot comprises: a trunk comprising a shell and a connecting piece, the connecting piece being fixedly connected to the outer side wall of the shell and extending along the outer side of the outer side wall; a leg assembly rotatably connected to the end of the connecting piece away from the shell, the leg assembly comprising a knuckle, the opposite ends of the knuckle being respectively provided with a first connecting part and a second connecting part, the first connecting part and the second connecting part being respectively rotatably connected to the connecting piece, and the side edge of the knuckle being provided with a third connecting part; a steering device comprising a driving unit and a transmission assembly, the driving unit being arranged in the shell and fixedly connected to the shell, one end of the transmission assembly being connected to the driving unit, the other end of the transmission assembly being connected to the leg assembly and being capable of driving the leg assembly to rotate relative to the shell under the driving of the driving unit; the transmission assembly comprising a gear, a rack shaft, a fixed sliding sleeve and a connecting rod, the gear being connected to the driving unit and being in meshing transmission connection with the rack shaft, the rack shaft being connected to the leg assembly and being used to drive the leg assembly to rotate relative to the shell, the fixed sliding sleeve being connected to the shell, the rack shaft being inserted into the fixed sliding sleeve and being capable of reciprocating along the axis direction of the fixed sliding sleeve; the rack shaft being connected to the shell through two groups of fixing devices, the fixing device comprising a fixing seat and a fixing plate, the rack shaft being inserted into the space formed by the cooperation of the fixing seat and the fixing plate, the fixing device limiting the bounce of the rack shaft during movement, and the two ends of the connecting rod being respectively connected to the rack shaft and the third connecting part; wherein the leg assembly further comprises an elastic member, the third connecting part comprises a first lug and a second lug, the connecting rod being arranged between the first lug and the second lug, through holes being respectively arranged on the first lug and the second lug, an end of the connecting rod being provided with a connecting hole, and a connecting pin being arranged to pass through the through holes on the first lug and the second lug, the connecting hole on the connecting rod and the elastic member.

2. The robot of claim 1, wherein, The opposite ends of the rack shaft are respectively connected to a leg assembly to drive two leg assemblies to synchronously steer relative to the shell.

3. The robot of claim 1, wherein, The driving unit is a driving motor.

4. The robot of claim 1, wherein, The leg assembly comprises a walking motor and a leg main body, the walking motor being fixedly connected to the knuckle and being used to drive the leg main body to rotate relative to the knuckle.

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