A flexible swab sampling robot

Abstract

The present invention relates to the technical field of swab sampling devices, and specifically to a flexible swab sampling robot, which includes a base, a driving mechanism, a wrist, a gripper, a vision module, a controller, and an XYZ three-axis moving platform; the driving mechanism is installed inside the base, the base is installed on the XYZ three-axis moving platform, the wrist is installed on the upper side of the base, the gripper is installed on the upper side of the wrist, and the driving mechanism is used to drive the wrist to bend and drive the gripper to complete the clamping work; the vision module is installed on the base, the controller is installed on the periphery of the base, and the driving mechanism, the vision module, and the XYZ three-axis moving platform are all electrically connected to the controller. In the present invention, the bending movement of the wrist is more flexible than that of traditional manipulators, and the gripper also has passive compliance, which improves the adaptability of the robot for swab sampling and also increases the scope of application of the present invention.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of swab sampling devices, and particularly to a flexible swab sampling robot. Background Art

[0002] For a long time, robots have been used for sampling to perform various dangerous tasks. In the field of flexible robots for swab sampling, domestic and foreign experts and scholars have successfully developed some robots to assist swab sampling after several years of research.

[0003] Although some teams have now installed special manipulators on robots for nucleic acid sampling, there are currently several major problems. First, the part that needs to be detected in pharyngeal swab nucleic acid testing is the human throat. When the pharyngeal swab contacts the soft throat tissue in a person's narrow oral cavity, it may cause safety concerns for the human body. Second, the flexibility of many current end-sampling robots is limited. They can only go straight in and out, and the speed may be relatively slow. Compared with human nucleic acid testers, there are obvious deficiencies in user safety, operation flexibility, detection speed, etc. Therefore, using a pharyngeal swab sampling robot system that combines computer vision, tactile sensors with a robot to replace medical staff for autonomous pharyngeal swab nucleic acid sampling can not only reduce the labor intensity of medical staff, but also reduce their risk of cross-infection, which is of great significance for preventing the spread of the virus.

[0004] At the same time, the existing pharyngeal swab robots at home and abroad are relatively complex in structure, large in size, relatively troublesome to install and disassemble, and most of them are rigid structures. Most use pneumatic drive, with poor sealing, resulting in inaccurate position positioning, which has a certain impact on the safety of the human oral cavity. At the same time, the manufacturing cost is relatively high, which is not conducive to large-scale promotion. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The present invention provides a flexible swab sampling robot to solve the technical problems of inaccurate positioning of existing pharyngeal swab robots and easy to cause adverse effects on the human oral cavity.

[0006] To achieve the above object, the technical solution of the present invention is realized as follows:

[0007] The present invention provides a flexible swab sampling robot, including a base, a driving mechanism, a wrist, a gripper, a vision module and a controller;

[0008] The driving mechanism is installed inside the base, the wrist is installed on the upper side of the base, the gripper is installed on the upper side of the wrist, and the driving mechanism is used to drive the wrist to bend and drive the gripper to complete the gripping work;

[0009] The vision module is installed on the base, the controller is installed on the peripheral side of the base, and both the driving mechanism and the vision module are electrically connected to the controller.

[0010] Furthermore, the wrist includes a proximal wrist joint, a distal wrist joint, and several first discs;

[0011] The proximal wrist joint is installed on the base. The several first discs are evenly divided into two groups.

[0012] The distal wrist joint is installed on the upper side of the proximal wrist joint through one group of first discs; the other group of first discs is installed on the upper side of the distal wrist joint.

[0013] Both the proximal wrist joint and the distal wrist joint include multiple wrist units and several second discs; the multiple wrist units on the proximal wrist joint and the distal wrist joint are vertically installed together in a head-to-tail splicing manner, and the second discs are installed between two adjacent wrist units; activity slots are symmetrically arranged vertically on the wrist units.

[0014] Furthermore, the number of wrist units on both the proximal wrist joint and the distal wrist joint is set to two, and the opening directions of the activity slots of the two wrist units on the proximal wrist joint and the distal wrist joint are staggered in the front-back and left-right directions.

[0015] Furthermore, both the wrist joint and the distal wrist joint also include four hollow hoses and four first springs;

[0016] Through holes are vertically opened in the middle of the two activity slots of the wrist unit. The four hollow hoses are divided into two groups and are respectively vertically installed in the through holes of the two wrist units; the four first springs are respectively sleeved on the outer circles of the four hollow hoses.

[0017] Furthermore, the material of the hollow hose is polytetrafluoroethylene.

[0018] Furthermore, arc-shaped slots are opened on both the upper side and the lower side of the wrist unit.

[0019] Furthermore, the driving mechanism includes four first pulley rope driving assemblies and a second pulley rope driving assembly;

[0020] Four first rope drive assemblies are respectively used to drive four wrist monomers to bend along the direction of the movable groove. The four first pulley rope drive assemblies all include a first pulley, two first ropes, a first drive motor and a first bracket. The first drive motor is installed on the inner side of the base through the first bracket. The first pulley is installed on the output shaft of the first drive motor. Two first annular grooves are formed on the first pulley. One ends of the two first ropes on the four first pulley rope drive assemblies are respectively wound in the two first annular grooves along opposite directions, and the other ends respectively pass through a plurality of hollow hoses and are connected to the front and rear sides or the left and right sides of the first disc or the front and rear sides or the left and right sides of the second disc.

[0021] The second rope drive assembly is installed on the inner side of the base and is used to drive the gripper so that the gripper completes the gripping work.

[0022] Further, the second rope drive assembly includes a second drive motor, a second bracket, a second pulley and two second ropes.

[0023] The second drive motor is installed on the inner side of the base through the second bracket. The second pulley is installed on the output shaft of the second drive motor. Two second annular grooves are formed on the second pulley. One ends of the two second ropes are respectively wound in the two second annular grooves, and the other ends are respectively connected to the left and right sides of the gripper. The second drive motor is electrically connected to the controller.

[0024] Further, the gripper includes a base, two finger knuckles, two finger tips, two rotating shafts, two torsion springs, two third pulleys, two fourth pulleys and two second springs.

[0025] The two finger knuckles and the two finger tips are both divided into two groups and are symmetrically arranged on the left and right sides of the base respectively. The two finger knuckles are respectively rotatably connected to the base through two rotating shafts. The two finger tips are respectively installed on the two finger knuckles. Clamping grooves are formed in the middle of the upper sides of the two finger tips for clamping the flexible swab. The two torsion springs are respectively sleeved on the two rotating shafts. The two third pulleys are respectively installed on the two rotating shafts. The two fourth pulleys are respectively installed on the two finger tips. The second rope is successively wound around the outer circles of the third pulley and the fourth pulley on the same side and is fixed to the finger tip on the same side. The two second springs are respectively arranged on the two second ropes and are located between the third pulley and the fourth pulley on the same side.

[0026] Further, the flexible swab sampling robot further includes an XYZ three-axis moving platform.

[0027] The base is installed on the XYZ three-axis moving platform, and the XYZ three-axis moving platform is electrically connected to the controller.

[0028] The beneficial effects of the present invention:

[0029] 1. The present invention discloses a flexible swab sampling robot, which can achieve flexible pharyngeal swab sampling by the robot in a narrow oral cavity space. First, it adopts an under-actuated system, using fewer actuators to control the bending of the robot's wrist, reducing the volume and overall weight of the robot; the overall driving method uses a pulley and rope, making the overall structure more compact and the friction smaller; secondly, the wrist is mainly made of flexible materials such as silica gel, and there are multiple first springs in the middle, which can flexibly change the stiffness, so as to prevent the wrist from contacting the human body during the sampling process and ensure human safety; the gripper is composed of finger knuckles and finger tips, and both adopt a modular design, which can adapt to the shape of the swab and flexibly grasp it to ensure the safety of sampling.

[0030] 2. The wrist in the present invention simulates the compliant characteristics of human arm muscle control. For the first time, flexible silica gel material is used to make the wrist. Through the drive of the first rope, the stiffness of the wrist can be continuously changed, achieving flexible control. During the flexible swab sampling process, both the lateral force and the axial force can be controlled within the specified range, and the flexible swab has a relatively flexible manipulation ability. At the same time, it ensures that the flexible swab sampling robot is small and suitable for the swab sampling environment.

[0031] The gripper in the present invention adopts an under-actuated system, which makes the structure compact and the control simple, facilitating the sampling of flexible swabs, thus achieving the purpose of simplifying the control. A second spring is installed between the third pulley and the fourth pulley, and the second spring can make the gripper have a passive compliance characteristic, enabling it to maintain flexible grasping during the process of gripping the swab.

[0032] 3. The present invention is equipped with a vision module, which can be used to collect and provide the position of the flexible swab, improving the sampling accuracy and making the swab sampling process safer. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0033] Figure 1 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the present invention;

[0034] Figure 2 is an enlarged view of the three-dimensional connection schematic diagram of the base, wrist and gripper in the present invention;

[0035] Figure 3 is an enlarged view of a partial schematic diagram of the first rope drive assembly;

[0036] Figure 4 is an enlarged view of the three-dimensional diagram of the wrist unit;

[0037] Figure 5 is an enlarged view of the connection schematic diagram of the wrist unit, the hollow hose and the first spring;

[0038] Figure 6 An enlarged view of the three-dimensional schematic diagram of the gripper;

[0039] Figure 7 An enlarged view of the partial connection schematic diagram of the first rope and the gripper.

[0040] Explanation of the reference numerals in the drawings:

[0041] 1. Base;

[0042] 2. Driving mechanism; 21. First driving motor; 22. First pulley; 23. First bracket;

[0043] 3. Wrist; 31. Proximal wrist joint; 311. Wrist monomer; 3111. Activity groove; 3112. Arc groove; 312. Second disc; 313. Hollow hose; 314. First spring; 32. Distal wrist joint; 33. First disc;

[0044] 4. Gripper; 41. Base; 42. Finger knuckle; 43. Finger tip;

[0045] 5. Vision module;

[0046] 6. XYZ three-axis moving platform. Detailed implementation manners

[0047] The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. In the description of the present invention, the relevant orientation or positional relationship is based on Figure 2 the orientation or positional relationship shown, where "up" and "down" refer to Figure 2 the up and down directions of Figure 2 For example, perpendicular to the paper surface upwards is up, perpendicular to the paper surface downwards is down, perpendicular to the paper surface to the left is left, perpendicular to the paper surface to the right is right, perpendicular to the paper surface inwards is front, perpendicular to the paper surface outwards is back, the left and right directions are horizontal, and the up and down directions are vertical. It should be understood that these orientation terms are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be construed as a limitation of the present invention.

[0048] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense. For example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, and it can be the communication inside two elements. For those of ordinary skill in the art, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood through specific situations.

[0049] In addition, descriptions such as "first" and "second" in the present invention are for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying their relative importance or implicitly specifying the quantity or order of the indicated technical features. Thus, features defined with "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one such feature. In the description of the present invention, the meaning of "a plurality" is at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise specifically defined.

[0050] Referring to Figure 1 and Figure 2 , an embodiment of the present application provides a flexible swab sampling robot, including a base 1, a driving mechanism 2, a wrist 3, a gripper 4, a vision module 5 and a controller;

[0051] The driving mechanism 2 is installed inside the base 1, the wrist 3 is installed on the upper side of the base 1, the gripper 4 is installed on the upper side of the wrist 3, and the driving mechanism 2 is used to drive the wrist 3 to bend and drive the gripper 4 to complete the gripping work;

[0052] The vision module 5 is installed on the base 1, and the vision module 5 can provide the position of the end of the flexible swab in real time;

[0053] The controller is installed on the periphery of the base 1, and both the driving mechanism 2 and the vision module 5 are electrically connected to the controller.

[0054] Referring to Figure 2 , Figure 4 and Figure 5 , in this embodiment, the wrist 3 includes a wrist proximal joint 31, a wrist distal joint 32 and several first discs 33;

[0055] The wrist proximal joint 31 is installed on the base 1, and several first discs 33 are evenly divided into two groups.

[0056] The wrist distal joint 32 is installed on the upper side of the wrist proximal joint 31 through one group of first discs 33; the other group of first discs 33 is installed on the upper side of the wrist distal joint 32;

[0057] Both the wrist proximal joint 31 and the wrist distal joint 32 include a plurality of wrist units 311 and several second discs 312; the plurality of wrist units 311 on the wrist proximal joint 31 and the wrist distal joint 32 are vertically installed together in a head-to-tail splicing manner, and the second discs 312 are installed between two adjacent wrist units 311; the wrist units 311 are vertically symmetrically provided with movable slots 3111.

[0058] In this embodiment, the number of wrist units 311 on the proximal wrist joint 31 and the distal wrist joint 32 is set to two, and the opening directions of the activity slots 3111 of the two wrist units 311 on the proximal wrist joint 31 and the distal wrist joint 32 are staggered in the front-back and left-right directions.

[0059] In this embodiment, the proximal wrist joint 31 and the distal wrist joint 32 also each include four hollow hoses 313 and four first springs 314;

[0060] Through holes are vertically opened in the middle of the two activity slots 3111 of the wrist unit 311. The four hollow hoses 313 are divided into two groups and are respectively vertically installed in the through holes of the two wrist units 311; the four first springs 314 are respectively sleeved on the outer circles of the four hollow hoses 313; by compressing the first springs 314, the bending angle of the wrist 3 can be indirectly changed, thereby adjusting the stiffness of the wrist 3.

[0061] In this embodiment, the material of the hollow hose 313 is polytetrafluoroethylene.

[0062] In this embodiment, arc-shaped grooves 3112 are opened on both the upper and lower sides of the wrist unit 311.

[0063] In this embodiment, the drive mechanism 2 includes four first pulley rope drive assemblies and a second pulley rope drive assembly;

[0064] The four first pulley rope drive assemblies are respectively used to drive the four wrist units 311 to bend along the direction of the activity slot 3111. The four first pulley rope drive assemblies each include a first pulley 22, two first ropes, a first drive motor 21, and a first bracket 23; the first drive motor 21 is installed inside the base 1 through the first bracket 23, the first pulley 22 is installed on the output shaft of the first drive motor 21, and two first annular grooves are opened on the first pulley 22; one ends of the two first ropes on the four first pulley rope drive assemblies are respectively wound in the two first annular grooves in opposite directions, and the other ends respectively pass through a plurality of hollow hoses 313 and are connected to the front and back sides or the left and right sides of the first disc 33 or the front and back sides or the left and right sides of the second disc 312; when the first drive motor 21 rotates, the first rope on one side of the first pulley 22 is stretched and the length is shortened, and the first rope on the other side of the first pulley 22 is elongated and the length becomes longer, so that the wrist 3 can be bent to one side.

[0065] The second rope drive assembly is installed inside the base 1 and is used to drive the gripper 4 to complete the gripping work.

[0066] In this embodiment, the second rope driving assembly includes a second driving motor, a second bracket, a second pulley and two second ropes;

[0067] The second driving motor is installed inside the base 1 through the second bracket. The second pulley is installed on the output shaft of the second driving motor. Two second annular grooves are formed in the second pulley. One end of each of the two second ropes is wound in the two second annular grooves respectively, and the other end is connected to the left and right sides of the gripper 4 respectively. The second driving motor is electrically connected to the controller.

[0068] In this embodiment, the gripper 4 includes a base 41, two finger knuckles 42, two finger tips 43, two rotating shafts, two torsion springs, two third pulleys, two fourth pulleys and two second springs;

[0069] The two finger knuckles 42 and the two finger tips 43 are both divided into two groups and are symmetrically arranged on the left and right sides of the base 41 respectively. The two finger knuckles 42 are respectively rotatably connected to the base 41 through two rotating shafts. The two finger tips 43 are respectively installed on the two finger knuckles 42. Clamping grooves are formed in the middle of the upper sides of the two finger tips 43 for clamping the flexible swab; the two torsion springs are respectively sleeved on the two rotating shafts, the two third pulleys are respectively installed on the two rotating shafts, the two fourth pulleys are respectively installed on the two finger tips 43, the second ropes are respectively wound around the outer circles of the third pulley and the fourth pulley on the same side in sequence, and are fixed on the finger tip 43 on the same side. The two second springs are respectively arranged on the two second ropes and are located between the third pulley and the fourth pulley on the same side.

[0070] In this embodiment, the two finger tips 43 are both made of flexible silicone material, so that when the flexible swab sampling robot performs sampling, the finger tips 43 clamping the flexible swab are flexibly connected to the oral cavity of the subject, avoiding adverse effects on the oral cavity of the subject.

[0071] The specific rope winding method of the second rope is shown in Figure 7 , where the circle where r1 is located corresponds to the third pulley, the circle where r2 is located corresponds to the fourth pulley, and k2 corresponds to the second spring. Therefore, the final overall movement of the gripper 4 is that when the second driving motor rotates forward, it drives the second pulley to rotate, thereby driving the second rope to shorten and the second spring to elongate, so that the gripper 4 closes. When the second driving motor rotates in reverse, the second rope elongates and the second spring compresses, so that the gripper 4 opens to the initial position. After the finger tips 43 on both sides of the gripper 4 are combined, a cylindrical clamping groove is formed as a whole to adapt to the shape of the flexible swab holder. At the same time, the grasping force of the flexible swab and the joint movement can be well controlled by adjusting the power of the second driving motor and the elastic coefficient of the second spring.

[0072] Rolling bearings are provided between the finger knuckles 42 and the base 41 on both the left and right sides of the gripper 4. Because the friction is relatively small, the rotating shaft is installed in the rolling bearing, which can reduce the friction between the second rope and the third pulley and the fourth pulley, thereby improving the transmission efficiency. Since the gripper 4 only needs to perform a flexible swab clamping action and is designed as an underactuated system before, only one second drive motor is required to achieve the drive. At the same time, due to the relatively simple functional requirements of the gripper 4, the finger knuckles 42 and the finger tips 43 of the gripper 4 can be designed modularly, which can reduce the design difficulty and production cost at the same time.

[0073] Referring to Figure 1 , in this embodiment, the flexible swab sampling robot further includes an XYZ three-axis moving platform 6;

[0074] The base 1 is installed on the XYZ three-axis moving platform 6, and the XYZ three-axis moving platform 6 is electrically connected to the controller. The XYZ three-axis moving platform 6 is used to quickly locate the position of the subject's oral cavity and can also adjust the relative position between the wrist 3 and the person.

[0075] As described above, the above are only specific embodiments of the present invention, but the protection scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed by the present invention can easily think of changes or substitutions, which should be covered by the protection scope of the present invention. Moreover, the technical solutions between the various embodiments of the present invention can be combined with each other, but it must be based on the fact that those skilled in the art can implement it. When the combination of technical solutions appears to be contradictory or unable to be implemented, it should be considered that such a combination of technical solutions does not exist and is not within the protection scope required by the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A flexible swab sampling robot, characterized in that: It includes a base (1), a driving mechanism (2), a wrist (3), a gripper (4), a vision module (5) and a controller; The driving mechanism (2) is installed inside the base (1), the wrist (3) is installed on the upper side of the base (1), the gripper (4) is installed on the upper side of the wrist (3), and the driving mechanism (2) is used to drive the wrist (3) to bend and drive the gripper (4) to complete the gripping work; The vision module (5) is installed on the base (1), the controller is installed on the periphery of the base (1), and both the driving mechanism (2) and the vision module (5) are electrically connected to the controller; The wrist (3) includes a wrist proximal joint (31), a wrist distal joint (32) and a plurality of first discs (33); The wrist proximal joint (31) is installed on the base (1), and the plurality of first discs (33) are evenly divided into two groups. The wrist distal joint (32) is installed on the upper side of the wrist proximal joint (31) through one group of first discs (33); the other group of first discs (33) is installed on the upper side of the wrist distal joint (32); Both the wrist proximal joint (31) and the wrist distal joint (32) include a plurality of wrist units (311) and a plurality of second discs (312); the plurality of wrist units (311) on the wrist proximal joint (31) and the wrist distal joint (32) are vertically installed together in a head-to-tail splicing manner, and the second discs (312) are installed between two adjacent wrist units (311); movable slots (3111) are symmetrically arranged vertically on the wrist unit (311). The number of wrist units (311) on both the wrist proximal joint (31) and the wrist distal joint (32) is set to two, and the opening directions of the movable slots (3111) of the two wrist units (311) on the wrist proximal joint (31) and the wrist distal joint (32) are staggered in the front-back and left-right directions; Both the wrist proximal joint (31) and the wrist distal joint (32) further include four hollow hoses (313) and four first springs (314); Through holes are vertically opened in the middle of the two movable slots (3111) of the wrist unit (311), the four hollow hoses (313) are divided into two groups and are respectively vertically installed in the through holes of the two wrist units (311); the four first springs (314) are respectively sleeved on the outer circles of the four hollow hoses (313).

2. The flexible swab sampling robot according to claim 1, wherein The hollow hose (313) is made of polytetrafluoroethylene.

3. The flexible swab sampling robot according to claim 1, wherein Arc-shaped grooves (3112) are opened on both the upper side and the lower side of the wrist unit (311).

4. The flexible swab sampling robot according to claim 1, wherein The driving mechanism (2) includes four first pulley-rope driving assemblies and a second pulley-rope driving assembly; Four first pulley rope drive assemblies are respectively used to drive four wrist monomers (311) to bend along the direction of the movable groove (3111). The four first pulley rope drive assemblies each include a first pulley (22), two first ropes, a first drive motor (21), and a first bracket (23). The first drive motor (21) is installed on the inner side of the base (1) through the first bracket (23). The first pulley (22) is installed on the output shaft of the first drive motor (21). Two first annular grooves are formed on the first pulley (22). One ends of the two first ropes on the four first pulley rope drive assemblies are respectively wound in the two first annular grooves along opposite directions, and the other ends respectively pass through a plurality of hollow hoses (313) and are connected to the front and rear sides or the left and right sides of the first disc (33) or the front and rear sides or the left and right sides of the second disc (312). The second rope drive assembly is installed on the inner side of the base (1) and is used to drive the gripper (4) so that the gripper (4) completes the gripping work.

5. The flexible swab sampling robot according to claim 4, wherein, The second rope drive assembly includes a second drive motor, a second bracket, a second pulley, and two second ropes. The second drive motor is installed on the inner side of the base (1) through the second bracket. The second pulley is installed on the output shaft of the second drive motor. Two second annular grooves are formed on the second pulley. One ends of the two second ropes are respectively wound in the two second annular grooves, and the other ends are respectively connected to the left and right sides of the gripper (4). The second drive motor is electrically connected to the controller.

6. The flexible swab sampling robot according to claim 5, wherein, The gripper (4) includes a base (41), two finger knuckles (42), two finger tips (43), two rotating shafts, two torsion springs, two third pulleys, two fourth pulleys, and two second springs. The two finger knuckles (42) and the two finger tips (43) are each divided into two groups and are symmetrically arranged on the left and right sides of the base (41) respectively. The two finger knuckles (42) are respectively rotatably connected to the base (41) through two rotating shafts. The two finger tips (43) are respectively installed on the two finger knuckles (42). Clamping grooves are formed in the middle of the upper sides of the two finger tips (43) for clamping the flexible swab. The two torsion springs are respectively sleeved on the two rotating shafts. The two third pulleys are respectively installed on the two rotating shafts. The two fourth pulleys are respectively installed on the two finger tips (43). The second ropes are respectively wound around the outer circles of the third pulley and the fourth pulley on the same side in sequence and are fixed to the finger tip (43) on the same side. The two second springs are respectively arranged on the two second ropes and are located between the third pulley and the fourth pulley on the same side.

7. The flexible swab sampling robot according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, It further includes an XYZ three-axis moving platform (6). The base (1) is installed on the XYZ three-axis moving platform (6), and the XYZ three-axis moving platform (6) is electrically connected to the controller.

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