Multi-mode rigid-flexible coupling modular space capture manipulator

Abstract

The present invention provides a multi-mode rigid-flexible coupling modular space capture manipulator, the manipulator body includes a hexagonal prism base and three flexible actuation modules evenly distributed on the base, namely a first flexible actuation module, a second flexible actuation module and a third flexible actuation module, and the first flexible actuation module, the second flexible actuation module and the third flexible actuation module are all fixed on the base. The flexible actuation module includes a trunk component, a drive component and a transmission component. The trunk component of the flexible actuation module serves as a working part to grasp or envelop a target object. The transmission components are distributed on the trunk component, and the drive component provides forces in different directions to the trunk component through the transmission component to realize universal bending of the flexible actuation module, which has the characteristics of large-scale non-cooperative target capture and flexible grasping, large expansion and light weight, and at the same time realizes rigid-flexible coupling deformation grasping in the working process of the manipulator, and enhances the stability of the manipulator in the grasping process.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the field of space capture robots, and in particular to a multi-mode rigid-flexible coupling modular space capture manipulator. Background Art

[0002] With the development of space activities in various countries around the world, limited orbital resources are gradually decreasing. According to analysis, about 80-130 satellites need to be launched every year in the world, and the number is increasing year by year. Today, there are already thousands of satellites in orbit. Whether the satellites in orbit are in a failed state or in operation, they are occupying limited orbital resources. In addition, rocket debris after satellite launch and orbital debris generated by space accidents will cause orbital resources to become less and less. Therefore, countries are actively carrying out research on the sustainable development of space activities.

[0003] At present, the research mainly focuses on two aspects: space on-orbit service for spacecraft and space debris removal. On-orbit service is mainly for faulty spacecraft, and the service life of the spacecraft can be extended by repairing the fault and adding propellant. The removal of space debris mainly refers to capturing space debris by appropriate means and then sending it into the earth's atmosphere to burn. Both on-orbit service and space debris removal involve a very critical technology - non-cooperative target capture, which is the key to on-orbit service and space debris removal. Space capture technology is mainly used for the capture of non-cooperative targets outside the cabin of spacecraft or space station. Therefore, space capture should have basic capture functions, sensor analysis functions, dexterous workspace, working modes that can cope with different capture targets, controllable capture stiffness and strength. In addition, considering the characteristics of on-orbit service, the robot also needs to be light in weight, small in size, high in expansion ratio and adaptable to the working environment of vacuum and weightlessness. At present, the research on space capture robots at home and abroad is mainly divided into rigid robots and soft robots. The research on rigid robots is mature, with diverse working modes and wide practical applications, but there are disadvantages such as poor stability and body vibration during work. The research on soft capture robots is still in the theoretical stage, because it is difficult to apply in practice due to factors such as the vacuum weightlessness environment or the capture stiffness and strength. However, soft capture manipulators have stronger adaptability to non-cooperative targets in space. In addition, they have high shrinkage, which greatly reduces the area occupied in air transportation. Their performance and application value will continue to improve with the development of related disciplines. Summary of the invention

[0004] In view of the above situation, the present invention provides a multi-mode rigid-flexible coupling modular space capture manipulator, which realizes free movement in three directions by driving a single flexible actuation module by flexible cables. At the same time, the manipulator formed by the modular design combination of three flexible actuation modules can be controlled simultaneously to realize the space capture function in a larger working space. In addition, the joints and knuckles of the flexible actuation modules are designed with flexible materials and rigid materials respectively, which has the advantages of large expansion and light weight. At the same time, the rigid-flexible coupling deformation grasping of the manipulator in the working process is realized, which enhances the stability of the manipulator during the grasping process.

[0005] The present invention provides a multi-mode rigid-flexible coupling modular space capture manipulator, which comprises a first flexible actuation module, a second flexible actuation module, a third flexible actuation module and a base, wherein the first flexible actuation module, the second flexible actuation module and the third flexible actuation module are all fixed on the base.

[0006] The first flexible actuation module, the second flexible actuation module and the third flexible actuation module have the same structure, and each comprises a trunk component, a transmission component, a drive component and a grasping component.

[0007] The torso assembly includes a first knuckle, a second knuckle, a third knuckle, a fourth knuckle, a fifth knuckle, a first joint, a second joint, a third joint, a fourth joint and a fifth joint.

[0008] The driving assembly includes three independently controlled motors and three reels, namely, a first motor, a second motor and a third motor and a first reel, a second reel and a third reel. The first motor, the second motor and the third motor are all fixed on the housing of the first flexible actuation module and keep the output shafts of the first motor, the second motor and the third motor parallel. The first reel, the second reel and the third reel are respectively fixed on the output shafts of the first motor, the second motor and the third motor and rotate with the motor shafts. The flexible rope is fixed on the reel. When the three motors of the first flexible actuation module are independently controlled to move and the motors of the second flexible actuation module and the third flexible actuation module remain stationary, the manipulator is in an independent capture mode; when the multiple motors of the first flexible actuation module, the second flexible actuation module and the third flexible actuation module are independently controlled to move, the manipulator is in a linkage capture mode, thereby realizing multi-mode grasping.

[0009] The grasping component includes a first branch cable, a second branch cable and a third branch cable, and the first branch cable, the second branch cable and the third branch cable are distributed on the trunk component at 120°. When the first branch cable is tightened and the second branch cable and the third branch cable are relaxed, the corresponding flexible actuation module will bend along the direction of the first branch cable; the tensioning and relaxation of the first branch cable, the second branch cable and the third branch cable are controlled respectively, so as to realize the bending of the flexible actuation module in three directions of 120° in space, thereby realizing spatial grasping.

[0010] The transmission assembly includes a roller, a sleeve, a retaining spring, a connector, a long roller and a wire splitter. The first end of the flexible rope is connected to a drum located on the output shaft of the motor, and the second end of the flexible rope passes through the roller at the edge of the first knuckle, the roller in the transmission structure at the first joint, the roller at the edge of the second knuckle, the roller in the transmission structure at the second joint, the roller at the edge of the third knuckle, the roller in the transmission structure at the third joint, the roller at the edge of the fourth knuckle, the roller in the transmission structure at the fourth joint, the roller at the edge of the fifth knuckle, and the roller in the transmission structure at the fifth joint, and passes through the wire splitter to be connected to the drum; during the grasping process, the motor is controlled to rotate so that the flexible rope drives the rollers at the first joint, the second knuckle, the second joint, the third knuckle, the third joint, the fourth knuckle, the fourth joint, the fifth knuckle and the fifth joint to rotate respectively, thereby realizing the rigid-flexible coupling bending of the joints and knuckles.

[0011] Preferably, the structures of the first joint, the second joint, the third joint and the fourth joint are the same; the first joint, the second joint, the third joint and the fourth joint all include a first cylinder, a second cylinder and a third cylinder, the first cylinder and the third cylinder have the same diameter, and are both 0.8 times the diameter of the second cylinder, the first cylinder and the third cylinder have cutting surfaces and form three arcs of the same size on the cutting surfaces with an angle of 60° with the horizontal plane, and an equilateral triangle is formed at the top and bottom of the cylinder after cutting is completed, the first cylinders of the first joint, the second joint, the third joint and the fourth joint are respectively connected to the lower ends of the first knuckle, the second knuckle, the third knuckle and the fourth knuckle, and the third cylinders of the first joint, the second joint, the third joint and the fourth joint are respectively connected to the upper ends of the second joint, the third joint, the fourth joint and the fifth joint.

[0012] Preferably, the first knuckle, the second knuckle, the third knuckle, the fourth knuckle and the fifth knuckle have the same structure and are each composed of three branches, the three branches are evenly distributed in an equilateral triangle, and a through hole is provided on the edge of each branch. The first knuckle, the second knuckle, the third knuckle, the fourth knuckle and the fifth knuckle gradually become larger from the end away from the base to the end close to the base.

[0013] Preferably, the roller in the transmission assembly passes through the roller connector and the sleeve in sequence, the first end of the roller connector is connected to the roller, and the second end of the roller connector is connected to an E-type retaining spring.

[0014] Compared with the prior art, the present invention is beneficial in that:

[0015] (1) The trunk assembly of the present invention is composed of knuckles made of rigid material and joints made of flexible material. The knuckles made of rigid material are deformed by flexible material to achieve reconstructed joints, thereby reducing the overall rigidity and achieving the effect of rigid-flexible coupling of the manipulator.

[0016] (2) The cable transmission of the present invention allocates three branch cables in one module. By coordinating the different pulling forces of the three branch cables, the single module can be controlled to bend and capture in any direction, taking into account the adaptability to non-cooperative targets, and reducing the damage to the target during the capture process;

[0017] (3) The spatial capture manipulator in the present invention is composed of a first flexible actuation module, a second flexible actuation module, a third flexible actuation module and a base. By independently controlling the first motor, the second motor and the third motor of each flexible actuation module, a single flexible actuation module or three flexible actuation modules can grasp an object, thereby realizing multi-mode grasping. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] Figure 1 It is an axonometric diagram of the multi-mode rigid-flexible coupling modular space capture manipulator of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 2 is an axonometric diagram of a single flexible actuation module of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 3 is a front view of a single flexible actuation module of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view of a single flexible actuation module of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 5 is a front view of the mechanical finger joint of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 6 is a cross-sectional view of a mechanical finger joint of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 7 It is a front view of the joint of the manipulator of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 8 is a top view of the joints of the manipulator of the present invention;

[0026] Fig. 9 It is a schematic diagram of transmission at the edge of the mechanical finger joint of the present invention;

[0027] Fig.10 It is a transmission schematic diagram of the joints of the manipulator of the present invention;

[0028] Fig.11 It is a schematic diagram of the distribution of motors in a single flexible actuation module of the present invention;

[0029] Fig.12 It is a working principle diagram of a single finger actuation module of the manipulator of the present invention;

[0030] Fig.13This is a schematic diagram of the gripping of a single module of the manipulator of the present invention;

[0031] Fig.14 It is a schematic diagram of the three modules of the manipulator of the present invention grasping simultaneously.

[0032] Main reference numerals:

[0033] 1. First flexible actuation module; 2. Second flexible actuation module; 3. Third flexible actuation module; 4. Base; 5. Spherical capture target; 6. Cylindrical capture target; 1-1. Flexible actuation trunk; 1-2. Power transmission assembly; 1-3. Power drive assembly; 1-1-1. First finger joint; 1-1-2. Second finger joint; 1-1-3. Third finger joint; 1-1-4. Fourth finger joint; 1-1-5. Fifth finger joint; 1-1-6 , the first joint; 1-1-7, the second joint; 1-1-8, the third joint; 1-1-9, the fourth joint; 1-1-10, the fifth joint; 1-2-1, roller; 1-2-2, sleeve; 1-2-3, E-type retaining spring; 1-2-4, roller connector; 1-2-5, long roller; 1-2-6, splitter; 1-2-7, flexible rope; 1-3-1, driving motor; 1-3-2, reel; 1-3-3, outer shell. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] In order to fully describe the technical content, structural features, objectives and effects of the present invention, the following will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0035] The present invention designs a multi-mode rigid-flexible coupling modular space capture manipulator, such as Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the manipulator consists of a first flexible actuation module 1, a second flexible actuation module 2, a third flexible actuation module 3 and a base 4. The three flexible actuation modules are exactly the same and are evenly distributed on the base 4 at 120°. Taking the first flexible actuation module as an example, the flexible actuation module consists of a flexible actuation trunk 1-1, a power transmission component 1-2 and a power drive component 1-3.

[0036] Figure 3 and Figure 4 The specific structure of the first flexible actuation module is shown.

[0037] The specific structure of the first flexible actuation module 1 is as follows: The external structure of the first flexible actuation module is as follows: Figure 3As shown, the first flexible actuation module 1 is respectively composed of a first finger joint 1-1-1, a second finger joint 1-1-2, a third finger joint 1-1-3, a fourth finger joint 1-1-4, a fifth finger joint 1-1-5, a roller 1-2-1, a splitter 1-2-6, a sleeve 1-2-2, a roller connector 1-2-4, a flexible cable 1-2-7, an E-type retaining spring 1-2-3 and a shell 1-3-3; the internal structure of the first flexible actuation module is as shown Figure 4 As shown, it is composed of a first joint 1-1-6, a second joint 1-1-7, a third joint 1-1-8, a fourth joint 1-1-9, a fifth joint 1-1-10, a long roller 1-2-5, a drive motor 1-3-1 and a reel 1-3-2; the motor distribution of the first flexible actuation module is as shown Fig.11 As shown, it consists of three driving motors 1-3-1, three reels 1-3-2, a roller 1-2-1 and a housing 1-3-3.

[0038] Independent motion transfer in a single direction Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, after the flexible cable passes around the front long roller 1-2-5 and the rear roller 1-2-1 on the divider 1-2-6, it passes through the roller at the fifth joint 1-1-10, the roller at the fifth finger joint 1-1-5, the roller at the fourth joint 1-1-9, the roller at the fourth finger joint 1-1-4, the roller at the third joint 1-1-8, the roller at the third finger joint 1-1-3, the roller at the second joint 1-1-7, the roller at the second finger joint 1-1-2, the roller at the first joint 1-1-6 and the roller at the first finger joint 1-1-1, respectively, to drive the first flexible actuating module to bend in a certain direction. The motion structure and driving mode of the first flexible actuating module in three directions distributed at 120 degrees are exactly the same.

[0039] like Figure 5 and Figure 6 As shown, the knuckles of the flexible actuation module have the same structure: the interior is hollow, and the three branches are distributed in an equilateral triangle. The edges of the branches are perforated, and grooves for connecting the joints are reserved at the upper and lower ends; the knuckles are made of rigid materials with a large friction coefficient and a small density. The rigid material can provide support for the entire flexible actuation module 1-1. The larger friction coefficient can increase the friction force after capture and prevent non-cooperative targets from slipping after capture. The low-density material combined with the hollow design can greatly reduce the weight of the entire capture manipulator and reduce the transportation burden of the capture manipulator.

[0040] Further, such as Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the size of the finger joints of the flexible actuation module gradually increases from being far away from the power part to being close to the power part, that is, from the first finger joint 1-1-1 to the fifth finger joint 1-1-5.

[0041] Joint structure Figure 7 and Figure 8 As shown, the joint body is a three-section cylinder. The diameter of the first section of the cylinder is the same as that of the third section of the cylinder, which is 0.8 times that of the second section of the cylinder. At the same time, in order to increase the bonding area, the first section and the third section of the cylinder are cut to form three arcs of the same size at an angle of 60° to the horizontal plane on the cutting surface. After the cutting is completed, an equilateral triangle of the same size is formed at the top and bottom of the cylinder. The joint uses a flexible material with strong toughness and low stiffness to increase the flexibility of the entire module, so that each joint can bend flexibly, and cooperate with the flexible cable drive method of the flexible actuation module to improve the adaptability of the entire module, and the flexible actuation trunk can be tightly attached to the target object.

[0042] Further, such as Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the joints of the flexible actuation module, namely the first joint 1-1-6, the second joint 1-1-7, the third joint 1-1-8, the fourth joint 1-1-9, and the fifth joint 1-1-10, are exactly the same in size.

[0043] like Fig. 9 As shown, taking the transmission at the edge of the fifth knuckle 1-1-5 as an example, the installation method of the transmission part at the knuckle edge is as follows: the roller 1-2-1 passes through the reserved through hole at the branch edge of the fifth knuckle 1-1-5 and the sleeve 1-2-2 located in the knuckle gap, and the tail of the roller is fixed with an E-type retaining spring. The assembly of the transmission at the knuckle edge is the same as the above method.

[0044] like Fig.10 As shown, taking the transmission at the joint of the third joint as an example, the installation method of the transmission part at the joint is as follows: the roller 1-2-1 passes through one of the holes of the roller connector 1-2-4, then passes through the sleeve 1-2-2, and then passes through one of the holes of another roller connector 1-2-4, and finally uses the E-type retaining ring 1-2-3 to fix the four parts. It should be noted that after the installation is completed, the inner surfaces of the two roller connectors are opposite and symmetrically distributed according to the sleeve. Finally, three rollers, three sleeves, three E-type retaining rings and three roller connectors constitute the transmission form at the joint, which is distributed at the first joint 1-1-6, the second joint 1-1-7, the third joint 1-1-8, the fourth joint 1-1-9, and the fifth joint 1-1-10.

[0045] like Fig.11 As shown, the driving motor 1-3-1 is connected to the reel 1-3-2, and the flexible cable 1-2-7 is connected to the reel. The reel is driven to rotate by the forward and reverse rotation of the motor to achieve the tightening and loosening of the corresponding flexible cable 1-2-7. The roller 1-2-1 and the divider 1-2-6 are used for the independent transmission of the rotation of the three motors, so as to realize the control of the first flexible actuating module in three independent movements evenly distributed at 120°.

[0046] The working principle of the first flexible actuation module is as follows Fig.12 As shown, after the flexible actuation module detects the spherical capture target 5, the three micro motors 1-3-1 of the power drive assembly 1-3 inside the housing 1-3-3 work, one of the motors rotates forward, a flexible rope is wound and tightened, the tension increases, and the other two motors rotate in the opposite direction, driving the other two flexible ropes to relax, and the tension decreases. During the tensioning of the flexible ropes, the transmission components in contact with the flexible ropes are subjected to pressure. Three ropes are wound around the transmission components at the joints, one of the three ropes is tightened and two are relaxed, and the joint as a whole is subjected to the force in the direction of the tightened flexible rope, and the joint is compressed and bent. The joint is made of a flexible material with strong toughness and low stiffness, which is extremely easy to bend and resistant to bending. After being subjected to the pressure of the transmission flexible rope 1-2-7, it undergoes elastic deformation and reverse bending, and the reverse bending is superimposed as a whole. The entire flexible actuation trunk bends on one side of the tensioning rope, completing the capture of the spherical capture target 5.

[0047] The usage mode of the robot is as follows Fig.13 and Fig.14 As shown in Figure 2, when a single flexible actuator module forms a complete manipulator, it can work independently as shown in Figure 2. Figure 7 As shown, a single flexible actuation module realizes independent capture of the cylindrical capture target 6. This mode is suitable for small non-cooperative targets, has a higher capture efficiency, and can capture dense targets in space more quickly; it can also cooperate to capture Figure 8 As shown, two or three flexible actuation modules are controlled in linkage to jointly complete the capture of the spherical capture target 5. This control mode is suitable for large non-cooperative targets.

[0048] The embodiments described above are only descriptions of the preferred implementation modes of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Without departing from the design spirit of the present invention, various modifications and improvements made to the technical solutions of the present invention by ordinary technicians in this field should all fall within the protection scope determined by the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A multi-mode rigid-flexible coupling modular space capture manipulator, characterized in that: It comprises a first flexible actuation module, a second flexible actuation module, a third flexible actuation module and a base, wherein the first flexible actuation module, the second flexible actuation module and the third flexible actuation module are all fixed on the base; The first flexible actuation module, the second flexible actuation module, and the third flexible actuation module have the same structure, and each comprises a trunk component, a transmission component, a drive component, and a grasping component; The trunk assembly includes a first knuckle, a second knuckle, a third knuckle, a fourth knuckle, a fifth knuckle, a first joint, a second joint, a third joint, a fourth joint and a fifth joint; The driving assembly includes three independently controlled motors and three reels, which are the first motor, the second motor and the third motor and the first reel, the second reel and the third reel. The first motor, the second motor and the third motor are all fixed on the housing of the first flexible actuation module and keep the output shafts of the first motor, the second motor and the third motor parallel. The first reel, the second reel and the third reel are respectively fixed on the output shafts of the first motor, the second motor and the third motor and rotate with the motor shafts. The flexible rope is fixed on the reel. When the three motors of the first flexible actuation module are independently controlled to move and the motors of the second flexible actuation module and the third flexible actuation module remain stationary, the manipulator is in an independent capture mode; when the multiple motors of the first flexible actuation module, the second flexible actuation module and the third flexible actuation module are independently controlled to move, the manipulator is in a linkage capture mode, thereby realizing multi-mode grasping. The grasping assembly includes a first branch flexible cable, a second branch flexible cable and a third branch flexible cable, which are distributed on the trunk assembly at 120°. When the first branch flexible cable is tightened and the second branch flexible cable and the third branch flexible cable are relaxed, the corresponding flexible actuation module will bend along the direction of the first branch flexible cable; the first branch flexible cable, the second branch flexible cable and the third branch flexible cable are respectively controlled to tighten and relax, so as to realize the bending of the flexible actuation module in three directions of 120° in space, thereby realizing spatial grasping; The transmission assembly includes a roller, a sleeve, a retaining spring, a connector, a long roller and a wire splitter. The first end of the flexible rope is connected to a drum located on the output shaft of the motor, and the second end of the flexible rope passes through the roller at the edge of the first knuckle, the roller in the transmission structure at the first joint, the roller at the edge of the second knuckle, the roller in the transmission structure at the second joint, the roller at the edge of the third knuckle, the roller in the transmission structure at the third joint, the roller at the edge of the fourth knuckle, the roller in the transmission structure at the fourth joint, the roller at the edge of the fifth knuckle, and the roller in the transmission structure at the fifth joint, and passes through the wire splitter to be connected to the drum; during the grasping process, the motor is controlled to rotate so that the flexible rope drives the rollers at the first joint, the second knuckle, the second joint, the third knuckle, the third joint, the fourth knuckle, the fourth joint, the fifth knuckle and the fifth joint to rotate respectively, thereby realizing the rigid-flexible coupling bending of the joints and knuckles.

2. The multi-mode rigid-flexible coupling modular space capture manipulator according to claim 1, characterized in that: The structures of the first joint, the second joint, the third joint and the fourth joint are the same; the first joint, the second joint, the third joint and the fourth joint all include a first cylinder, a second cylinder and a third cylinder, the diameters of the first cylinder and the third cylinder are the same, and both are 0.8 times the diameter of the second cylinder, the first cylinder and the third cylinder have cutting surfaces and form three arcs of the same size on the cutting surfaces that form an angle of 60° with the horizontal plane, and after cutting is completed, an equilateral triangle is formed at the top and bottom of the cylinder, the first cylinders of the first joint, the second joint, the third joint and the fourth joint are respectively connected to the lower ends of the first knuckle, the second knuckle, the third knuckle and the fourth knuckle, and the third cylinders of the first joint, the second joint, the third joint and the fourth joint are respectively connected to the upper ends of the second joint, the third joint, the fourth joint and the fifth joint.

3. The multi-mode rigid-flexible coupling modular space capture manipulator according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first knuckle, the second knuckle, the third knuckle, the fourth knuckle and the fifth knuckle have the same structure and are composed of three branches. The three branches are evenly distributed in an equilateral triangle. A through hole is set on the edge of each branch. The first knuckle, the second knuckle, the third knuckle, the fourth knuckle and the fifth knuckle gradually become larger from the end farthest from the base to the end close to the base.

4. The multi-mode rigid-flexible coupling modular space capture manipulator according to claim 1, characterized in that: The roller in the transmission assembly passes through the roller connector and the sleeve in sequence, the first end of the roller connector is connected to the roller, and the second end of the roller connector is connected to an E-type retaining spring.

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