A multi-module device for measuring the mechanical properties of a flexible robotic arm

Abstract

The present invention discloses a multi-module device for measuring the mechanical characteristics of a flexible mechanical arm, including an arm body test box and a data processing box. The upper part of the arm body test box is provided with an arm body test clamping unit, and the lower part is provided with an arm body test box module unit; a data processing component is provided in the data processing box, and a mobile structure is fixedly installed at the four corners of the bottom of the arm body test box and the data processing box. The lower part of the arm body test box contains a fixed groove and a tool storage room for placing different structures when facing different physical quantity measurements of the present invention, and the upper part includes a three-claw chuck controlled by three slide rails that can move with two degrees of freedom, a variety of sensor elements controlled by one slide rail that can move with a single degree of freedom, multiple binocular vision sensors, a wind circulation device and a calibration plate.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of mechanical measuring devices, in particular to a multi-module device for measuring the mechanical characteristics of a flexible mechanical arm. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, soft robotic arms have gradually become a hot topic in the field of robotics research because traditional robotic arms lack flexibility and multi-degree-of-freedom motion in certain specific tasks. However, due to the unlimited degrees of freedom, low rigidity, and poor control accuracy of soft robotic arms, researchers are constantly solving these problems to meet the needs of various scenarios and tasks.

[0003] Therefore, various manufacturers or researchers hope to conduct detailed and meticulous performance evaluation of their flexible robotic arms before they are put into use, especially quantitative measurement of some important and task-oriented mechanical properties, such as the control accuracy, anti-interference ability, force and torque output capacity, volume, density and other indicators of the flexible robotic arms. Therefore, a measurement platform that can integrate measurement modules is needed to perform detailed measurements of performance indicators of various robotic arms. To this end, we propose a multi-module device for measuring the mechanical properties of flexible robotic arms to solve the above problems. Summary of the invention

[0004] The object of the present invention is to provide a multi-module device for measuring the mechanical characteristics of a flexible robotic arm, so as to solve the problems raised in the above-mentioned background technology.

[0005] To achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following technical solution: a multi-module device for measuring the mechanical characteristics of a flexible mechanical arm, comprising an arm body test box and a data processing box, wherein the upper half of the arm body test box is provided with an arm body test clamping unit, and the lower half is provided with an arm body test box module unit;

[0006] The data processing box is provided with a data processing component, and the four bottom corners of the arm body experimental box and the data processing box are respectively fixedly installed with a mobile structure.

[0007] Preferably, the data processing box is a 1m*1m*1m box, the arm body experiment box is a 1m*1m*2m box and the upper part of the arm body experiment box is hingedly provided with a door with a visual window structure, and the arm body experiment box and the data processing box interact using data transmission.

[0008] Preferably, the data processing box is mainly used for data solution and control of the arm test box. The interior of the data processing box is divided into a left chamber and a right chamber by partitions. The data processing components include a host, peripherals, temperature, wind interference modules, and a quality measurement module. The host is arranged in the right chamber, and the mass measurement module and the temperature, wind interference module are arranged in the left chamber at upper and lower positions respectively. A number of peripherals are arranged on the top of the data processing box.

[0009] Preferably, the arm experiment clamping unit includes a calibration plate, a binocular camera, slide rail one, slide rail two, slide rail three, slide rail four, a motor, a sensor, a three-jaw chuck, slide rail five, and a force measuring platform; the calibration plate is fixedly mounted on the inner wall of one side of the arm experiment box close to the data processing box; the slide rail one, slide rail two, and slide rail three are respectively and evenly fixedly mounted on the top inner wall of the arm experiment box; the slide rail one, slide rail two, and slide rail three are respectively arranged parallel to each other; the bottom of the slide rail one and slide rail three in the vertical direction are slidably clamped with the slide rail four; one end of the slide rail four is provided with a slide rail five fixedly mounted on the inner wall of one side of the arm experiment box; the bottom of the slide rail four is slidably clamped with the three-jaw chuck; the bottom of the slide rail two is slidably clamped with a number of sensors.

[0010] Preferably, motors are fixedly installed on the slide rail one, slide rail two, slide rail three, slide rail four and slide rail five respectively, the sensors include an air pressure sensor, a temperature sensor and a decibel meter controlled by the motor and moving along the slide rail two with a single degree of freedom, the slide rail five contains a force measuring platform controlled by the motor and moving along the slide rail five with a single degree of freedom, six binocular cameras are distributed on the upper part of the arm test box, the binocular cameras can capture the posture of the arm movement, and the binocular cameras cooperate with the calibration plate to realize the calculation of the shape and posture movement of the flexible robotic arm.

[0011] Preferably, the arm body experiment box module unit includes a transparent water tank, a tool storage room, a groove, and an interface. The groove is opened in the lower half of the arm body experiment box, and the transparent water tank is movably placed in the groove. An interface is fixedly installed on the inner wall of one side of the groove, and a tool storage room is provided at the bottom of the groove.

[0012] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: the lower part of the arm test box contains fixed grooves of different structures and a tool storage room for placing different physical quantities when measuring different physical quantities; the upper part includes a three-jaw chuck controlled by three slide rails that can move with two degrees of freedom, a variety of sensor elements controlled by one slide rail that can move with one degree of freedom, multiple binocular vision sensors, a wind circulation device and a calibration plate. In conjunction with the data processing box, it can quantitatively measure multiple indicators of the flexible robotic arm, such as mass, volume, posture, stiffness, force and torque output, control accuracy, response time, etc., and give a detailed report description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the present invention;

[0014] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the arm body experimental box and the data processing box in the present invention;

[0015] Figure 3 It is a schematic side view of the internal structure of the arm body experimental box and the data processing box in the present invention;

[0016] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the front view of the internal structure of the arm body experimental box and the data processing box in the present invention;

[0017] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the arm body test box of the present invention;

[0018] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the arm body experiment clamping unit and the arm body experiment box module unit in the present invention.

[0019] In the figure: 1. Arm test box; 2. Data processing box; 3. Mobile structure; 4. Data processing component; 41. Left chamber; 42. Right chamber; 43. Host; 44. Peripheral; 45. Temperature and wind interference module; 46. Quality measurement module; 5. Arm test clamping unit; 51. Calibration plate; 52. Binocular camera; 53. Slide one; 54. Slide two; 55. Slide three; 56. Slide four; 57. Motor; 58. Sensor; 59. Three-jaw chuck; 50. Slide five; 501. Force measuring platform; 6. Arm test box module unit; 61. Transparent water tank; 62. Tool storage room; 63. Groove; 64. Interface. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0021] Example 1

[0022] Reference Figure 1-6 , which is the first embodiment of the present invention, and provides a multi-module device for measuring the mechanical characteristics of a flexible mechanical arm, including an arm body test box 1, a data processing box 2, an arm body test clamping unit 5 is provided in the upper half of the arm body test box 1, and an arm body test box module unit 6 is provided in the lower half;

[0023] A data processing component 4 is arranged in the data processing box 2, and a mobile structure 3 is fixedly installed at the four bottom corners of the arm body experimental box 1 and the data processing box 2 respectively. The arm test box 1 is set on the left side, and the data processing box 2 is set on the right side. There is a data transmission line between the two boxes for interactively realizing the tasks of each box. A mobile structure 3 is set at the bottom of the arm test box 1 and the data processing box 2. The mobile structure 3 includes eight universal wheels and supporting fixed columns of threaded rod structure, which are used to ensure the mobility and stability of the arm test box 1 and the data processing box 2. The data processing box 2 is used for user operation. The user controls the internal modules and environment of the left arm test box 1 through the visual interface and the host 43. The measuring arm can be fixed on the upper part of the left arm test box 1 by a three-jaw chuck 59. Various sensors 58 on the upper part can be used to measure the internal air pressure of the arm and the front thrust. Six binocular cameras 52 cooperate with the calibration plate 51 to capture the posture and motion of the robot during movement. By replacing different module sensors or interference modules in the arm test box 1, it is possible to achieve the measurement of indicators such as volume and mass and the generation of temperature and wind interference, thereby giving a more accurate measurement report.

[0024] Example 2

[0025] Reference Figure 1-6 , which is the second embodiment of the present invention. This embodiment is based on the previous embodiment. Specifically, the data processing box 2 is a box of 1m*1m*1m, the arm experiment box 1 is a box of 1m*1m*2m, and the upper part of the arm experiment box 1 is hingedly provided with a box door with a visual window structure, which is convenient for installing the measuring robotic arm inside the arm experiment box 1 through the box door. At the same time, the box door with a visual window structure is convenient for observing the situation of the internal robotic arm. The arm experiment box 1 and the data processing box 2 interact with each other through data transmission. The two boxes are relatively independent with clear division of labor. At the same time, data transmission is used to enable the two parts to interact.

[0026] Reference Figure 2-3As shown, specifically, the data processing box 2 is mainly used for data solution and control of the arm body test box 1, for sending instructions and data processing, and the actuator inside the arm body test box 1 is used to realize the generation of environmental temperature, wind interference, etc. The inside of the data processing box 2 is divided into a left chamber 41 and a right chamber 42 by partitions. The data processing component 4 includes a host 43, peripherals 44, a temperature and wind interference module 45, and a quality measurement module 46. The host 43 is arranged in the right chamber 42 for processing data. The quality measurement module 46 and the temperature and wind interference module 45 are arranged at upper and lower positions respectively. Inside the left chamber 41, a volume measurement module is also provided, and each module in the left chamber 41 is configured as a detachable structure. By replacing different module sensors or interference modules, the measurement of indicators such as volume and mass and the generation of temperature and wind interference can be achieved. A number of peripherals 44 are provided on the top of the data processing box 2 for implementing user operations and inputting relevant instructions into the execution module of the arm body test box 1 to achieve the measurement of different mechanical characteristics. After the measurement of the arm body test box 1 is completed, the host 43 receives the measurement information, and the peripherals 44 can intuitively display the measurement data.

[0027] Reference Figure 2-5 As shown, specifically, the arm experiment clamping unit 5 includes a calibration plate 51, a binocular camera 52, a slide rail 1 53, a slide rail 2 54, a slide rail 3 55, a slide rail 4 56, a motor 57, a sensor 58, a three-jaw chuck 59, a slide rail 50, and a force measuring platform 501. The slide rails 1 53, 2 54, 3 55, 4 56, and 50 are respectively fixedly installed with motors 57. The calibration plate 51 is fixedly installed on the inner wall of the arm experiment box 1 on one side close to the data processing box 2, which can assist the binocular camera 52 in judging and calibrating the position of the robot arm. The slide rails 1 53, 2 54, and 3 55 are respectively and evenly fixedly installed on the top inner wall of the arm experiment box 1. The slide rails 1 53, 2 54, and 3 55 are respectively and sequentially evenly distributed and fixedly installed on the top inner wall of the arm experiment box 1. They are arranged parallel to each other respectively, and the bottom of the slide rail 1 53 and the slide rail 3 55 in the vertical direction are slidably clamped to the slide rail 4 56, and the bottom of the slide rail 4 56 is slidably clamped to the three-jaw chuck 59. The three-jaw chuck 59 is used to clamp and fix the top of the measuring robot arm to ensure that the arm body obtains a sufficiently large movement space. At the same time, it can also simulate the vibration generated by the robot arm base when facing unknown interference to measure the robustness of the robot arm control. The slide rail 1 53, the slide rail 3 55 and the slide rail 4 56 form an I-shaped structure, which is maneuvered by the motor 57 to achieve the displacement of two degrees of freedom in the plane of the three-jaw chuck 59. One end of the slide rail 4 56 is provided with a slide rail 5 50 fixedly installed on the inner wall of one side of the arm body experimental box 1. The bottom of the slide rail 2 54 is slidably clamped with a plurality of sensors 58. Figure 5 Two types of temperature sensors and air pressure sensors are shown in the figure, and single-degree-of-freedom translation is achieved by using a slide rail 54 in conjunction with a motor 57.

[0028] Reference Figure 5As shown, specifically, the sensor 58 includes an air pressure sensor, a temperature sensor and a decibel meter that are controlled by a motor 57 and move along the slide rail 2 54 with a single degree of freedom. The air pressure, the overall temperature and the noise inside the test chamber can be measured. For the air-driven flexible robotic arm, the air pressure sensor can also be connected to the air path of the air-driven flexible robotic arm through an interface to measure the air pressure inside the robotic arm.

[0029] Furthermore, the sensor 58 can select different types of sensors to meet different measurement requirements. The angle sensor can be used to measure the torsional force of the robot arm; the time response capability of the robot arm can be measured by measuring the time for data transmission to the host 43 in the right data processing box 2; the energy conversion rate of the robot arm can be obtained by comparing the electrical energy consumed by the entire robot arm with the output energy; the friction coefficient meter can be used to detect the friction coefficient between the robot arm and the environment or the filling material inside the robot arm to estimate the energy consumption.

[0030] Reference Figure 5 As shown, specifically, the slide rail 50 contains a force measuring platform 501 which is controlled by a motor 57 and moves along the slide rail 50 in a single degree of freedom. The force measuring platform 501 cooperates with the slide rail 50 using the motor 57 to achieve a single degree of freedom vertical displacement up and down. During measurement, after the robotic arm is driven, the slide rail 50 is used to place the force measuring platform 501 at a suitable position, and the front end of the robotic arm is used to touch or push the force measuring platform 501. The data measured by the force measuring platform 501 is transmitted back to the host 43 of the data processing box 2, so as to accurately measure the front-end thrust output of the robotic arm when performing a task, and also the anti-interference ability of the robotic arm can be judged according to the measurement curve.

[0031] Reference Figure 5 , 6 As shown, specifically, six binocular cameras 52 are distributed in the upper part of the arm experiment box 1. The binocular camera 52 can capture the posture of the arm movement. The binocular camera 52 cooperates with the calibration plate 51 to realize the solution of the shape and posture movement of the flexible robotic arm. The binocular algorithm can be used to realize the robotic arm control error estimation and deviation measurement, and the control accuracy and response time of the robotic arm are given.

[0032] Reference Figure 5 , 6As shown, specifically, the arm body experiment box module unit 6 includes a transparent water tank 61, a tool storage room 62, a groove 63, and an interface 64. The groove 63 is opened in the lower half of the arm body experiment box 1, and the transparent water tank 61 is movably placed in the groove 63. When facing the measurement of different physical quantities, by replacing the transparent water tank 61, it is possible to achieve measurement of more indicators in a smaller experimental operation environment. By immersing the flexible robotic arm in the transparent water tank 61, the volume of water discharged is measured by the sensor to estimate the real volume of the robotic arm. By replacing the transparent water tank 61 in the groove 63 with a mass measuring instrument, the mass of the flexible robotic arm can be measured. Through data processing, data such as the overall density of the robotic arm can be obtained. At the same time, the transparent water tank 61 in the groove 63 can be replaced to measure other indicators. The actuator of the wind interference and temperature module in the arm body experiment box 1 can be used to dry the robotic arm that is stained with water when measuring the volume, and the ambient temperature and wind speed can also be adjusted to detect the anti-interference ability of the robotic arm.

[0033] Furthermore, wind interference uses actuators to adjust the wind speed and direction at the position of the robotic arm, and this is achieved by using multiple fans that are evenly arranged. The temperature module increases the temperature by heating the heating wire through the heat released after it is energized, and lowers the temperature by using a condenser to continuously consume ambient heat to achieve a cooling effect.

[0034] Reference Figure 5 , 6 As shown, specifically, an interface 64 is fixedly installed on the inner wall of one side of the groove 63, and a tool storage room 62 is provided at the bottom of the groove 63. The tool storage room 62 is convenient for storing various tools used for measurement.

[0035] Example 3

[0036] Reference Figure 1-6 , which is the third embodiment of the present invention, and is based on the above two embodiments.

[0037] Reference Figure 1As shown, the arm body test box 1 is arranged on the left side, and the data processing box 2 is arranged on the right side. There is a data transmission line between the two boxes for interactively realizing the tasks of each box. A mobile structure 3 is arranged at the bottom of the arm body test box 1 and the data processing box 2. The mobile structure 3 includes eight universal wheels and supporting fixing columns of threaded rod structure, which are used to ensure the mobility and stability of the arm body test box 1 and the data processing box 2. The peripherals 44 arranged above the data processing box 2 are convenient for user operation. The user controls the internal modules and environment of the left arm body test box 1 through the visual interface and the host 43. The measuring arm body can be fixed on the upper part of the left arm body test box 1 by a three-jaw chuck 59. The various sensors 58 above can be used to measure the internal air pressure of the arm body and the front thrust. The six binocular cameras 52 cooperate with the calibration plate 51 to capture the posture and motion of the robot arm during movement. By replacing different module sensors or interference modules in the arm body test box 1, it is possible to achieve the measurement of indicators such as volume and mass and the generation of temperature and wind interference, thereby giving a more accurate measurement report.

[0038] Although embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes, modifications, substitutions and variations may be made to the embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the present invention, and that the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A multi-module device for measuring the mechanical properties of a flexible robotic arm, comprising an arm body test box (1) and a data processing box (2), characterized in that: The upper part of the arm body experiment box (1) is provided with an arm body experiment clamping unit (5), and the lower part is provided with an arm body experiment box module unit (6); The data processing box (2) is provided with a data processing component (4), and the four corners at the bottom of the arm body experimental box (1) and the data processing box (2) are respectively fixedly mounted with a mobile structure (3); The arm experiment clamping unit (5) comprises a calibration plate (51), a binocular camera (52), a slide rail one (53), a slide rail two (54), a slide rail three (55), a slide rail four (56), a motor (57), a sensor (58), a three-jaw chuck (59), a slide rail five (50), and a force measuring platform (501). The calibration plate (51) is fixedly mounted on an inner wall of the arm experiment box (1) close to the data processing box (2). The slide rail one (53), the slide rail two (54), and the slide rail three (55) are fixedly mounted in sequence and evenly distributed. Installed on the top inner wall of the arm body test box (1), the slide rail one (53), the slide rail two (54), and the slide rail three (55) are respectively arranged parallel to each other, and the bottom of the slide rail one (53) and the slide rail three (55) are slidably connected to the slide rail four (56) in the vertical direction, and one end of the slide rail four (56) is provided with a slide rail five (50) fixedly installed on the inner wall of one side of the arm body test box (1), and the bottom of the slide rail four (56) is slidably connected to the three-claw chuck (59), and the bottom of the slide rail two (54) is slidably connected to a plurality of sensors (58); Motors (57) are fixedly mounted on the slide rail one (53), the slide rail two (54), the slide rail three (55), the slide rail four (56), and the slide rail five (50), respectively. The sensor (58) includes an air pressure sensor, a temperature sensor, and a decibel meter that are controlled by the motor (57) and move along the slide rail two (54) with a single degree of freedom. The slide rail five (50) contains a force measuring platform (501) that is controlled by the motor (57) and moves along the slide rail five (50) with a single degree of freedom. Six binocular cameras (52) are distributed on the upper part of the arm body experimental box (1). The binocular cameras (52) can capture the posture of the arm body movement. The binocular cameras (52) cooperate with the calibration plate (51) to realize the calculation of the shape and posture movement of the flexible robotic arm.

2. A multi-module device for measuring mechanical properties of a flexible robotic arm according to claim 1, characterized in that: The data processing box (2) is The arm test box (1) is The upper part of the arm body experiment box (1) is hingedly provided with a box door with a visual window structure, and the arm body experiment box (1) and the data processing box (2) interact with each other by means of data transmission.

3. A multi-module device for measuring mechanical properties of a flexible robotic arm according to claim 1, characterized in that: The data processing box (2) performs data analysis and controls the arm body experimental box (1). The interior of the data processing box (2) is divided into a left chamber (41) and a right chamber (42) by partitions. The data processing component (4) comprises a host (43), peripherals (44), a temperature and wind interference module (45), and a mass measurement module (46). The host (43) is arranged in the right chamber (42). The mass measurement module (46) and the temperature and wind interference module (45) are arranged in the left chamber (41) at upper and lower positions, respectively. A plurality of peripherals (44) are arranged on the top of the data processing box (2).

4. The multi-module device for measuring mechanical properties of a flexible robotic arm according to claim 1, characterized in that: The arm body experiment box module unit (6) comprises a transparent water tank (61), a tool storage room (62), a groove (63), and an interface (64); the groove (63) is provided in the lower half of the arm body experiment box (1); the transparent water tank (61) is movably placed in the groove (63); an interface (64) is fixedly mounted on an inner wall of one side of the groove (63); and a tool storage room (62) is provided at the bottom of the groove (63).

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