A multi-legged crawling robot using a reverse parallelogram mechanism at the waist

Abstract

A multi-legged crawling robot using a reverse parallelogram mechanism at the waist comprises a body as a closed chain mechanism, and four crawling legs as open chain mechanisms, the closed chain mechanism being a reverse parallelogram mechanism composed of a front body, a first rod, a second rod, a third rod and a rear body, the motion plane of the reverse parallelogram mechanism being a horizontal plane, the projections of the first rod and the third rod on the horizontal plane coinciding and jointly constituting a connecting rod of the reverse parallelogram mechanism, the second rod being another connecting rod of the reverse parallelogram mechanism, the front body and the rear body being two cranks of the reverse parallelogram mechanism, the front side of the front body and the rear side of the rear body each being provided with a Y-shaped bracket for mounting the crawling leg, the Y-shaped bracket having two mounting arms symmetrical along the axis of the body, the axes of the mounting arms being parallel to the horizontal plane, and the ends of the mounting arms being hingedly connected to the crawling leg.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application belongs to the field of crawling robots, and relates to a multi-legged crawling robot. BACKGROUND

[0002] The foot-type crawling robot has simple structure and flexibility, can travel on a relatively complex road surface, and can easily cross obstacles to complete many dangerous operations, and has a broad application prospect in the fields of military, mine exploitation, nuclear industry, planet exploration, fire rescue, construction industry, forestry logging, teaching and entertainment.

[0003] However, in the structural design of the conventional multi-legged crawling robot, the focus is mostly on the leg structure, and little attention is paid to the waist structure. The conventional multi-legged crawling robot mostly uses a rigid structure for the waist. The disadvantages are as follows: 1) the waist is not movable, and only serves as a support and a load platform, and does not play any role in the movement and posture of the robot; 2) the rigid waist structure of the multi-legged crawling robot cannot change its shape, and the relative positions of the legs of the robot remain unchanged, and the robot can only change the leg posture to realize walking, running, obstacle avoidance and turning, and the waist does not play any role in the movement and adaptability adjustment of the crawling robot, and the rigid waist structure greatly limits the overall working space and flexibility of the robot.

[0004] In the prior art, there are few studies on the crawling robot with a movable waist. Chinese patent document CN105818882A discloses a four-legged bionic robot using a planar four-bar metamorphic mechanism in the waist. The waist structure provided therein has a parallel double-planar four-bar structure, and although the waist of the robot is movable after the structure is used, the width of the robot can be adjusted, and the flexibility of the robot is effectively increased, the waist twisting range of the robot cannot obtain a smaller turning radius due to the structural limitation, and the parallel double-planar four-bar mechanism has low stability, low load capacity, complex control and poor practical applicability. Therefore, it is an urgent problem in the prior art to provide a multi-legged crawling robot with an improved waist structure, which can better simulate the gait of crawling animals, has low energy consumption, high carrying capacity and high stability. SUMMARY

[0005] In view of the deficiencies in the prior art, the present application aims to provide a multi-legged crawling robot with a simple and reliable structure using a counterparallel four-bar mechanism in the waist.

[0006] To solve the foregoing problems, the technical scheme adopted by the present application is as follows:

[0007] A multi-legged crawling robot using a reverse parallelogram mechanism in the waist region comprises a body as a closed chain mechanism, and four crawling legs as open chain mechanisms. The closed chain mechanism is a reverse parallelogram mechanism composed of a front body 4, a first link 1, a second link 2, a third link 3, and a rear body 5. The motion plane of the reverse parallelogram mechanism is horizontal. The projections of the first link and the third link on the horizontal plane coincide and jointly constitute one link of the reverse parallelogram mechanism. The second link serves as another link of the reverse parallelogram mechanism. The front body and the rear body serve as two cranks of the reverse parallelogram mechanism. The two ends of the second link 2 are connected to the middle hinge seats of the front body 4 and the rear body 5 through a fourth hinge 9 and a second hinge 7, respectively. The two ends of the first link 1 are connected to the upper hinge seats of the front body and the rear body through a first hinge link 6 and a third hinge link 8, respectively. The two ends of the third link 3 are connected to the lower hinge seats of the front body 4 and the rear body 5 through a fifth hinge 10 and a sixth hinge 11, respectively. The axes of the first hinge 6, the second hinge 7, the third hinge 8, the fourth hinge 9, the fifth hinge 10, and the sixth hinge 11 are perpendicular to the horizontal plane.

[0008] The front side of the front body and the rear side of the rear body are both provided with Y-shaped frames 18 for mounting the crawling legs. The Y-shaped frames have two mounting arms that are symmetrical along the body axis and have axes parallel to the horizontal plane. The ends of the mounting arms are hingedly connected to the crawling legs.

[0009] The multi-legged crawling robot using a reverse parallelogram mechanism in the waist region further comprises a fourth link 12, a fifth link 13, and a sixth link 14 hingedly connected in sequence from the root to the end of each crawling leg as an open chain mechanism. The root of the fourth link is hingedly connected to the end of the mounting arm through a seventh rotary hinge 15, and the axis of the seventh rotary hinge is perpendicular to the horizontal plane. The root of the fifth link 13 is connected to the fourth link 12 through an eighth hinge 16, and the end of the fifth link 13 is connected to the sixth link 14 through a ninth hinge 17. The axes of the eighth hinge 16 and the ninth hinge 17 are parallel to the horizontal plane.

[0010] The multi-legged crawling robot using a reverse parallelogram mechanism in the waist region further comprises that when any crawling leg is lifted, the center of gravity of the entire body falls on the side line of the triangle formed by the tips of the remaining three supporting crawling legs.

[0011] The multi-legged crawling robot using a reverse parallelogram mechanism in the waist region further comprises that the axes of the mounting arms and the body have an included angle of 70°-85°.

[0012] Compared with the prior art, the multi-legged crawling robot using a reverse parallelogram mechanism in the waist region has the following beneficial effects:

[0013] (1) The application applies the anti-parallel four-edge mechanism to the torso of the multi-legged crawling robot, and through controlling the rhythmic twist of the anti-parallel four-edge mechanism, the frequency of the twist of the crawling animal is simulated, and the energy consumption is smaller.

[0014] (2) Compared with the prior art, the waist twist range of the multi-legged crawling robot is large, the turning radius is small, the turning time is shortened, and the turning and narrow terrain passing ability are improved.

[0015] (3) The multi-legged crawling robot provided by the application has a multi-layer connecting rod structure in the waist of the body, which increases the stability and reliability of the body and improves the load capacity.

[0016] (4) The multi-legged crawling robot provided by the application has a symmetrical leg structure, and the middle part of the front body and the rear body is hollow, which facilitates the installation of the power control board and the sensor. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0017] Figure 1 is a general structure schematic diagram of a multi-legged crawling robot using an anti-parallel four-edge mechanism in the waist provided by an embodiment of the application;

[0018] Figure 2 is a top view schematic diagram of the waist of a multi-legged crawling robot using an anti-parallel four-edge mechanism in the waist provided by an embodiment of the application;

[0019] Figure 3 is a front view schematic diagram of the crawling foot structure of a multi-legged crawling robot using an anti-parallel four-edge mechanism in the waist provided by an embodiment of the application;

[0020] Figure 4 is a top view schematic diagram of the crawling foot structure of a multi-legged crawling robot using an anti-parallel four-edge mechanism in the waist provided by an embodiment of the application;

[0021] Figure 5 is a first straight waist gait to first bent waist gait change schematic diagram of a multi-legged crawling robot using an anti-parallel four-edge mechanism in the waist provided by an embodiment of the application;

[0022] Figure 6 is a first bent waist gait to second straight waist gait change schematic diagram of a multi-legged crawling robot using an anti-parallel four-edge mechanism in the waist provided by an embodiment of the application;

[0023] Figure 7 is a second straight waist gait to second bent waist gait change schematic diagram of a multi-legged crawling robot using an anti-parallel four-edge mechanism in the waist provided by an embodiment of the application;

[0024] Figure 8is a kind of multi-legged crawling robot second bend initial gait to first straight waist gait change schematic provided by the embodiment of the application using reverse parallelogram mechanism in waist;

[0025] In the figure: 1-first rod;2-second rod;3-third rod;4-front fuselage;5-rear fuselage;6-first hinge;7-second hinge;8-third hinge;9-fourth hinge;10-fifth hinge;11-sixth hinge;12-fourth rod;13-fifth rod;14-sixth rod;15-ninth hinge;16-eighth hinge;17-ninth hinge;18-Y-shaped frame DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] The technical scheme of the present application will be further described in detail below in conjunction with the drawings and specific embodiments, and the description is only explanatory of the present application and does not limit the present application.

[0027] As Figures 1-2 shown, the present application provides a kind of multi-legged crawling robot using reverse parallelogram mechanism in waist, including as closed chain mechanism fuselage, and four as open chain mechanism crawling foot, the closed chain mechanism is the reverse parallelogram mechanism consisting of front fuselage 4, first rod 1, second rod 2, third rod 3 and rear fuselage 5, with the movement plane of reverse parallelogram mechanism as horizontal plane, the projection of first rod and third rod on horizontal plane coincides and jointly constitutes a connecting rod of reverse parallelogram mechanism, second rod 2 as another connecting rod of reverse parallelogram mechanism, front fuselage and rear fuselage as two cranks of reverse parallelogram mechanism, the two ends of second rod 2 are connected with the middle hinge seat of front fuselage 4 and rear fuselage 5 through fourth hinge 9 and second hinge 7 respectively, the two ends of first rod 1 are connected with the upper hinge seat of front fuselage and rear fuselage through first hinge 6 and third hinge 8 respectively;The two ends of third rod 3 are connected with the lower hinge seat of front fuselage 4 and rear fuselage 5 through fifth hinge 10 and sixth hinge 11 respectively, the axis of first hinge 6, second hinge 7, third hinge 8, fourth hinge 9, fifth hinge 10, sixth hinge 11 is orthogonal to horizontal plane;

[0028] The front side of front fuselage and the back side of rear fuselage are both installed Y-shaped frame 18 for installing crawling foot, the Y-shaped frame has two installation arms symmetrical along the axis of fuselage, the axis of installation arm is parallel to horizontal plane, the axis of installation arm and fuselage has 70°-85° included angle, the end of installation arm is hinged with crawling foot;

[0029] Each open chain as a crawling foot comprises, in sequence from the root to the end, the hinged fourth bar 12, the fifth bar 13 and the sixth bar 14, the root of the fourth bar is hinged with the end of the mounting arm through the seventh rotary hinge 15, the axis of the seventh rotary hinge is perpendicular to the horizontal plane, the root of the fifth bar 13 is connected with the fourth bar 12 through the eighth hinge 16 respectively, the end of the fifth bar 13 is connected with the sixth bar 14 through the ninth hinge 17, the axes of the eighth hinge 16 and the ninth hinge 17 are parallel to the horizontal plane;

[0030] The multi-legged crawling robot, when one crawling leg is lifted, the center of gravity of the whole body just falls on the edge line of the triangle formed by the tips of the remaining three supporting crawling legs.

[0031] The multi-legged crawling robot using the anti-parallel four-edge mechanism at the waist has an overall structure as shown in Figure 1 , a waist structure as shown in Figure 2 , and a crawling leg structure as shown in Figures 3-4 .

[0032] In the application, the closed chain structure as the waist structure comprises six rotary hinges, i.e., the first hinge 6, the second hinge 7, the third hinge 8, the fourth hinge 9, the fifth hinge 10 and the sixth hinge 11, as the anti-parallel four-edge mechanism, any one of the six hinges is driven to completely drive the closed chain structure. In the application, according to the different selection of the driving position in the closed chain, there are various driving forms, which can be selected in actual application, and the selection principle is to ensure that the complete driving can be realized in various configurations, the pressure angle is small in the driving process, the motion interference is avoided, and the maximum motion efficiency and working space of the whole closed chain are ensured.

[0033] The multi-legged crawling robot provided by the application comprises two straight waist gaits and two bent waist gaits in a complete gait cycle, and the four crawling legs of the robot are lifted in the order of left front, left rear, right front and right rear, and the body is moved forward under the driving of the closed chain mechanism. The initial posture of the motion is that the straight waist gait of the robot and the head of the robot face forward, and a complete gait cycle comprises: the first straight waist gait (initial posture), the first bent waist gait, the second straight waist gait, the second bent waist gait and the first straight waist gait (initial posture). The specific process of the gait change is as follows:

[0034] As shown in Figure 5 , it is a schematic diagram of the change from the first straight waist gait (initial gait) of the robot to the first bent waist gait;

[0035] In the initial gait, the robot is in the first straight posture and the head is directed forward. In the process of changing from the first straight posture to the first bent posture, the eighth hinge and the ninth hinge are driven to lift the left front crawling foot tip, and then any hinge in the closed chain structure is driven to move the left front crawling foot forward, while the tips of the remaining three crawling feet contact the ground as support. The robot body changes from straight to bent, and the center of gravity of the robot moves from the edge line of the triangle formed by the tips of the three supporting crawling feet to the inside of the triangle. When the robot body is bent to the left front crawling foot, the tip falls down, the supporting foot becomes four, and the center of gravity of the robot falls in the quadrilateral formed by the connecting line of the four supporting crawling feet. The distance of the center of gravity moving in the forward direction of the robot is one fourth of the distance of the left front crawling foot moving forward.

[0036] As shown in FIG. 1, the robot is in the first straight posture. Figure 6 FIG. 2 shows the first bent posture of the robot.

[0037] In the first bent posture, the eighth hinge and the ninth hinge are driven to lift the left rear crawling foot tip, and then any hinge in the closed chain structure is driven to move the left rear crawling foot forward, while the tips of the remaining three crawling feet contact the ground as support. The robot body changes from bent to straight, and the center of gravity of the robot moves from the edge line of the triangle formed by the tips of the three supporting crawling feet to the inside of the triangle. When the robot body is bent to the left front crawling foot, the tip falls down, the supporting foot becomes four, and the center of gravity of the robot falls in the quadrilateral formed by the connecting line of the four supporting crawling feet. The distance of the center of gravity moving in the forward direction of the robot is one fourth of the distance of the left front crawling foot moving forward.

[0038] As shown in FIG. 3, the robot is in the second straight posture. Figure 7 FIG. 4 shows the second bent posture of the robot.

[0039] In the second straight posture, the eighth hinge and the ninth hinge are driven to lift the right front crawling foot tip, and then any hinge in the closed chain structure is driven to move the right front crawling foot forward, while the tips of the remaining three crawling feet contact the ground as support. The robot body changes from straight to bent, and the center of gravity of the robot moves from the edge line of the triangle formed by the tips of the three supporting crawling feet to the inside of the triangle. When the robot body is bent to the right front crawling foot, the tip falls down, the supporting foot becomes four, and the center of gravity of the robot falls in the quadrilateral formed by the connecting line of the four supporting crawling feet. The distance of the center of gravity moving in the forward direction of the robot is one fourth of the distance of the right front crawling foot moving forward.

[0040] As shown in FIG. 5, the robot is in the second bent posture. Figure 8 FIG. 6 shows the first straight posture of the robot.

[0041] In the second bending posture, the eighth hinge and the ninth hinge are driven to lift the right rear crawling foot, and then any hinge in the closed chain structure is driven to move the right rear crawling foot forward, the toes of the remaining three crawling feet touching the ground as support, the robot body changes from bending to straightening, the center of gravity of the robot moves from the edge line of the triangle formed by the three supporting crawling foot toes to the inside of the triangle, when the robot body changes to the first straight posture with the head pointing forward, the center of gravity of the robot falls within the triangle formed by the three supporting crawling foot toes, at this time, the left rear crawling foot is moved into position, the toes fall down, the supporting feet become four, and the center of gravity of the robot falls within the quadrilateral formed by the four supporting crawling feet. The distance that the center of gravity moves in the forward direction of the robot is one fourth of the distance that the right rear crawling foot moves forward.

[0042] The present application is not limited to the embodiments described above. The above description of the specific embodiments is intended to describe and illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, and the specific embodiments described above are merely illustrative and not restrictive. Without departing from the purpose of the present application and the scope protected by the claims, those skilled in the art can make many forms of specific changes under the inspiration of the present application, and these all belong to the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A multi-legged crawling robot using an inverse parallelogram mechanism at the waist, characterized by The body is a closed chain mechanism, and the four crawling legs are open chain mechanisms. The closed chain mechanism is a parallelogram mechanism composed of a front body, a first rod, a second rod, a third rod, and a rear body. The movement plane of the parallelogram mechanism is a horizontal plane. The projections of the first rod and the third rod on the horizontal plane coincide and jointly constitute a connecting rod of the parallelogram mechanism. The second rod serves as another connecting rod of the parallelogram mechanism. The front body and the rear body serve as two cranks of the parallelogram mechanism. The two ends of the second rod are connected to the middle hinge seats of the front body and the rear body through a fourth hinge and a second hinge respectively. The two ends of the first rod are connected to the upper hinge seats of the front body and the rear body through a first hinge and a third hinge respectively. The two ends of the third rod are connected to the lower hinge seats of the front body and the rear body through a fifth hinge and a sixth hinge respectively. The axes of the first hinge, the second hinge, the third hinge, the fourth hinge, the fifth hinge, and the sixth hinge are perpendicular to the horizontal plane. The front side of the front body and the rear side of the rear body are provided with Y-shaped frames for mounting the crawling legs. The Y-shaped frame has two mounting arms which are symmetrical along the axis of the body and whose axes are parallel to the horizontal plane. The end of the mounting arm is hingedly connected to the crawling leg. Each crawling leg is an open chain mechanism and sequentially comprises a fourth rod, a fifth rod, and a sixth rod which are hingedly connected. The root of the fourth rod is hingedly connected to the end of the mounting arm through a seventh rotating hinge whose axis is perpendicular to the horizontal plane. The root of the fifth rod is connected to the fourth rod through an eighth hinge. The end of the fifth rod is connected to the sixth rod through a ninth hinge. The axes of the eighth hinge and the ninth hinge are parallel to the horizontal plane.

2. A multi-legged crawling robot using an anti-parallelogram mechanism at the waist as described in claim 1, characterized in that... When any crawling leg is lifted, the center of gravity of the whole body falls on the side line of a triangle formed by the tips of the remaining three supporting crawling legs.

3. The multi-legged, crawling robot using a reverse parallelogram mechanism at the waist according to claim 2, characterized in that The axes of the mounting arm and the body form an angle of 70°-85°.

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