Single-element driven dual-degree-of-freedom bistable crawling robot and driving method

Abstract

The present invention discloses a bistable crawling robot with two degrees of freedom that can be driven by a single component, and a driving method. The crawling robot comprises a robot housing, a bistable adjustment mechanism, a driving component, flexible bristle legs, and a pull rod. The present invention aims to provide a bistable crawling robot with a simple structure, light weight, portability, and compact size, capable of achieving two degrees of freedom motion using only a single driving component.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of robotics, and in particular to a single-element driven dual-freedom bistable crawling robot and a driving method thereof. Background Art

[0002] With the continuous development of science and technology, higher demands are being placed on microrobots in various fields, such as defense, aerospace, agriculture, communications, and pipeline transportation. This continuous advancement in science and technology has led researchers to focus on developing various types of microrobots. Microrobots offer advantages such as small size, light weight, high thrust-to-weight ratio, and high mobility. They can carry payloads such as communications, control, and monitoring equipment, and navigate predetermined routes. They can be deployed in locations difficult for humans and medium-sized robots to reach, such as narrow crevices, confined pipes, and confined building structures. Microcrawling robots, in particular, have garnered significant attention due to their simple structure, straightforward actuation methods, and high speed. They have found widespread application in applications such as pipeline inspection and are playing an increasingly important role.

[0003] However, most micro crawling robots use differential configurations of multiple drives or motors over a large scale to achieve steering capabilities and crawling reciprocating motion. In addition, having multiple drives makes it difficult for the crawling robot to maintain a very small structural size, which is not conducive to structural reduction and seriously affects the application of micro crawling robots. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In order to overcome the technical problems existing in the above-mentioned prior art, the present invention aims to provide a dual-degree-of-freedom bistable crawling robot and a driving method that can be driven by a single element. The robot is a micro robot that can achieve dual-degree-of-freedom bistable motion by relying solely on a single driving element, and has the characteristics of high driving precision and fast response.

[0005] In order to achieve the above object, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is as follows:

[0006] A two-degree-of-freedom bistable crawling robot that can be driven by a single component, the robot being a micro crawling robot that is integratedly processed using 3D printing technology; the micro crawling robot comprises a robot shell 1, a bistable adjustment mechanism 2, a diamond ring 3, a driving element 4, a pull rod 5 and flexible bristle legs 6; wherein a pair of bistable adjustment mechanisms 2 are arranged together with the diamond ring 3 below the robot shell 1, the bistable adjustment mechanisms 2 are located on both sides of the diamond ring 3, and the driving element 4 is embedded in the interior of the diamond ring 3; the pull rod 5 is located at the side end of the diamond ring 3, connecting the diamond ring 3 with the bistable adjustment mechanisms 2 on both sides; the flexible bristle legs 6 are located on both sides below the robot shell 1, and have a preset angle with the robot shell 1 in its horizontal direction.

[0007] Based on the natural frequency characteristics of the crawling robot, the crawling robot uses resonance and friction methods to complete forward and backward bidirectional movement, and specifically uses a voice coil motor as the driving element 4 to complete the drive; through simulation calculations, the crawling robot will show a tendency to move forward at low-order natural frequencies and a tendency to move backward at high-order natural frequencies. Therefore, by loading driving voltages of different frequencies to the voice coil electrodes, the driving element 4 is made to vibrate with the crawling robot, and due to the existence of friction between the flexible bristle legs 6 and the ground, the crawling robot completes forward and backward movement, that is, it will complete forward movement at low excitation frequency and backward movement at high excitation frequency.

[0008] The bistable adjustment mechanism 2 consists of a main body fixed end 2-1, a mass block 2-2, an outer push rod 2-3 and a flexible beam 2-4; the fixed end 2-1, the mass block 2-2 and the outer push rod 2-3 are connected by a flexible beam 2-4, the two mass blocks 2-2 are symmetrically placed on both sides of the outer push rod 2-3, and the symmetry line of the outer push rod 2-3 coincides with the fixed end 2-1, and the entire bistable adjustment mechanism 2 is a symmetrical structure, which is called the first stable state; the outer concave surface of the outer push rod 2-3 is in contact with the flexible bristle leg 6 on one side, and when the outer push rod 2-3 is pushed outward in the lateral direction, the flexible bristle leg 6 in contact with the outer push rod 2-3 is lifted up.

[0009] The driving method of the dual-freedom bistable crawling robot that can be driven by a single element is as follows: when the driving element 4 is loaded in the positive stable state, the driving element 4 is extended, and the side end of the diamond ring 3 is shortened accordingly, and the pull rod 5 as an integrated structure will also drive the bistable adjustment mechanism 2 to move; at this time, the mass block 2-2 on the bistable adjustment mechanism 2 will be subjected to a pulling force along the direction of the pull rod 5, and the bistable adjustment mechanism 2 will complete the process of switching from the first stable state to the second stable state. At this time, the mass block 2-2 connected to the pull rod 5 will drive the outer push rod 2-3 connected thereto and the two flexible beams 2-4 at the fixed end 2-1 to bend. Deformation, and since the bistable adjustment mechanism 2 is a symmetrical structure, the mass block 2-2 on the other side that is not connected to the pull rod 5 will also undergo the same deformation; at this time, the outer push rod 2-3 will push outward in the lateral direction and maintain the stable structure, which is called the second stable state; since the outer concave surface of the outer push rod 2-3 is in contact with the flexible bristle leg 6 on one side, when the outer push rod 2-3 is pushed outward in the lateral direction, the flexible bristle leg 6 in contact with it is lifted, causing the flexible bristle leg 6 to deflect outward away from the ground, and lose a part of the friction force providing forward and backward movement, thereby completing the forward and backward movement. The friction between the flexible bristle legs 6 and the ground required for movement is asymmetrically distributed in the overall structure, so that the micro crawling robot can complete the steering function, thereby realizing double-freedom movement; when the driving element 4 is loaded in the reverse steady state, the driving element 4 is shortened, and the side end of the diamond ring 3 will extend accordingly. Similarly, the pull rod 5 as an integrated structure will also drive the bistable adjustment mechanism 2 to move. At this time, the mass block 2-2 on the bistable adjustment mechanism 2 will be subjected to a thrust along the direction of the pull rod 5, and the bistable adjustment mechanism 2 will complete the process of switching from the second stable state to the first stable state. Similarly, at this time, the pull rod 5 is connected to the bistable adjustment mechanism 2. The connected mass block 2-2 will drive the outer push rod 2-3 connected to it and the two flexible beams 2-4 at the fixed end 2-1 to bend and deform, and since the bistable adjustment mechanism 2 is a symmetrical structure, the mass block 2-2 on the other side that is not connected to the pull rod 5 will also undergo the same deformation; at this time, the outer push rod 2-3 will retract inward along the lateral direction and maintain the stable structure, returning to the first stable state; at this time, the flexible bristle leg 6 will return to its original position, contact with the ground, and continue to complete the forward and backward bidirectional movement; by setting up the bistable adjustment mechanism 2, it is achieved that the movement of two degrees of freedom is completed by relying only on one driving element.

[0010] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages:

[0011] 1. The bistable crawling robot described in the present invention, which can achieve two-degree-of-freedom motion by relying on only a single drive element, adopts a 3D printing integrated design, has the characteristics of simple and compact structure, light weight, easy to carry, small size, etc., and greatly expands the application scenarios of the robot.

[0012] 2. The crawling robot described in the present invention is driven by a single driving element of a voice coil motor, has a fast response, and moves in the form of resonance, and can achieve forward and backward bidirectional movement at different driving frequencies.

[0013] 3. The crawling robot described in the present invention adopts a bistable adjustment mechanism for adjustment, and can complete the steering movement by switching the bistable adjustment mechanism between the first stable state and the second stable state, thereby realizing movement with two degrees of freedom.

[0014] 4. The crawling robot described in the present invention can achieve dual-degree-of-freedom movement by relying on only a single driving element. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] Figure 1 This is a structural diagram of the crawling robot of the present invention.

[0016] Figure 2 This is a bottom view of the crawling robot structure of the present invention.

[0017] Figure 3 This is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the crawling robot structure of the present invention when viewed from above.

[0018] Figure 4 It is the left view of the crawling robot structure of the present invention.

[0019] Figure 5 It is a structural schematic diagram of the bistable adjustment mechanism of the present invention.

[0020] Figure 6 Schematic diagram of the switching from the first stable state to the second stable state of the bistable adjustment mechanism of the present invention.

[0021] Figure 7 Schematic diagram of the bistable adjustment mechanism switching from the second stable state to the first stable state of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] The present invention will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0023] like Figure 1 、 Figure 2 、 Figure 3 and Figure 4As shown, the present invention is a bistable crawling robot that can achieve two-degree-of-freedom motion by relying solely on a single drive element. It is a micro-crawling robot that is integrated and designed using 3D printing technology. The micro-crawling robot includes a robot shell 1, a bistable adjustment mechanism 2, a diamond ring 3, a drive element 4, a pull rod 5 and a flexible bristle leg 6. A pair of bistable adjustment mechanisms 2 are arranged together with the diamond ring 3 below the shell, the bistable adjustment mechanism 2 is located on both sides of the diamond ring 3, and the drive element 4 is embedded in the inside of the diamond ring 3. The pull rod 5 is located at the side end of the diamond ring 3, connecting the diamond ring 3 with the bistable adjustment mechanism 2. The flexible bristle leg 6 is located on both sides of the bottom of the robot shell 1, and has an angle of 30° to 60° with the robot shell 1 in its horizontal direction. All structures are integrated and processed using 3D printing technology, and have the characteristics of simple and compact structure, low cost and small size.

[0024] Based on the micro-crawler's natural frequency and other system characteristics, the micro-crawler utilizes resonance and friction to achieve forward and backward bidirectional motion. Specifically, a voice coil motor is used as the drive element 4 for drive. The crawler tends to move forward at low-order natural frequencies and backward at high-order natural frequencies. Therefore, by applying drive voltages of different frequencies to the voice coil electrodes, the drive element 4 causes the crawler to vibrate along with it. The friction between the flexible bristle legs 6 and the ground allows the crawler to achieve forward and backward motion, namely, forward motion at low excitation frequencies and backward motion at high excitation frequencies.

[0025] like Figure 5 As shown, preferably, the bistable adjustment mechanism 2 is composed of a main body fixed end 2-1, a mass block 2-2, an outer push rod 2-3 and a flexible beam 2-4. The fixed end 2-1, the mass block 2-2 and the outer push rod 2-3 are connected by a flexible beam 2-4. The two mass blocks 2-2 are symmetrically placed on both sides of the outer push rod 2-3, and the symmetry line of the outer push rod 2-3 coincides with the fixed end 2-1. The entire bistable adjustment mechanism 2 is a symmetrical structure, which is called the first stable state. At the same time, the outer concave surface of the outer push rod 2-3 is in contact with the flexible bristle leg 6 on one side. When the outer push rod 2-3 is pushed outward in the lateral direction, the flexible bristle leg 6 in contact with it can be lifted. As shown Figure 6As shown, when the driving element 4 is loaded in the forward stable state, the driving element 4 extends, and the side ends of the diamond ring 3 shorten accordingly. The pull rod 5, as an integrated structure, also drives the bistable adjustment mechanism 2 to move. At this time, the mass block 2-2 on the bistable adjustment mechanism 2 is subjected to a pulling force along the pull rod 5, and the bistable adjustment mechanism 2 completes the process of switching from the first stable state to the second stable state. At this time, the mass block 2-2 connected to the pull rod 5 drives the outer push rod 2-3 and the two flexible beams 2-4 at the fixed end 2-1 to bend and deform. Since the bistable adjustment mechanism 2 is a symmetrical structure, the mass block 2-2 on the other side that is not connected to the pull rod 5 will also undergo the same deformation. At this time, the outer push rod 2-3 will push outward in the lateral direction and maintain this stable structure. This stable state is called the second stable state. Since the outer concave surface of the outer push rod 2-3 is in contact with the flexible bristle leg 6 on one side, when the outer push rod 2-3 is pushed outward in the lateral direction, the flexible bristle leg 6 in contact with it can be lifted up to keep it away from the ground, so that the friction between the flexible bristle leg 6 and the ground required for completing forward and backward movement is asymmetrically distributed in the overall structure, so that the micro crawling robot can complete the steering function, thereby realizing dual-degree-of-freedom movement; Figure 7 As shown, when the driving element 4 is loaded in the reverse steady state, the driving element 4 shortens, and the side ends of the diamond ring 3 extend accordingly. Similarly, the pull rod 5, as an integrated structure, also drives the bistable adjustment mechanism 2 to move. At this time, the mass block 2-2 on the bistable adjustment mechanism 2 is pushed in the direction of the pull rod 5, and the bistable adjustment mechanism 2 completes the process of switching from the second stable state to the first stable state. Similarly, the mass block 2-2 connected to the pull rod 5 causes the two flexible beams 2-4 at the fixed end 2-1 and the outer push rod 2-3 to bend and deform. Because the bistable adjustment mechanism 2 is a symmetrical structure, the mass block 2-2 on the other side that is not connected to the pull rod 5 will also undergo the same deformation. At this time, the outer push rod 2-3 will retract inward in the lateral direction and maintain this stable structure, returning to the first stable state. At this time, the flexible bristle leg 6 will return to its original position, contacting the ground, so that it can continue to complete the forward and backward bidirectional motion. By setting up the bistable adjustment mechanism 2, it is possible to achieve dual-degree-of-freedom motion with only one driving element.

Claims

1. A two-degree-of-freedom bistable crawling robot capable of being driven by a single element, characterized in that: The robot is a micro-crawling robot that is processed in an integrated manner using 3D printing technology; the micro-crawling robot comprises a robot housing (1), a bistable adjustment mechanism (2), a rhombus ring (3), a driving element (4), a pull rod (5) and a flexible bristle leg (6); wherein a pair of bistable adjustment mechanisms (2) are arranged together with the rhombus ring (3) below the robot housing (1), the bistable adjustment mechanism (2) is located on both sides of the rhombus ring (3), and the driving element (4) is embedded in the interior of the rhombus ring (3); the pull rod (5) is located at the side end of the rhombus ring (3) to connect the rhombus ring (3) with the bistable adjustment mechanism (2) on both sides; the flexible bristle leg (6) is located on both sides below the robot housing (1) and has a preset angle with the robot housing (1) in its horizontal direction; The bistable adjustment mechanism (2) is composed of a fixed end (2-1), a mass block (2-2), an outer push rod (2-3) and a flexible beam (2-4); wherein the fixed end (2-1), the mass block (2-2) and the outer push rod (2-3) are connected by a flexible beam (2-4), the two mass blocks (2-2) are symmetrically placed on both sides of the outer push rod (2-3), and the symmetry line of the outer push rod (2-3) and the fixed end (2-1) coincides, and the entire bistable adjustment mechanism (2) is a symmetrical structure, which is called the first stable state; the outer concave surface of the outer push rod (2-3) contacts with the flexible bristle leg (6) on one side, and when the outer push rod (2-3) is pushed outward in the lateral direction, the flexible bristle leg (6) in contact with the outer push rod (2-3) is lifted up, and this is the second stable state.

2. A single-element driven dual-degree-of-freedom bistable crawling robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: Based on the natural frequency characteristics of the crawling robot, the crawling robot uses resonance and friction methods to complete forward and backward bidirectional motion, and specifically uses a voice coil motor as a driving element (4) to complete the drive; through simulation calculation, the crawling robot will show a tendency to move forward at a low-order natural frequency and a tendency to move backward at a high-order natural frequency, so by loading driving voltages of different frequencies on the voice coil motor, the driving element (4) causes the crawling robot to vibrate together, and due to the existence of friction between the flexible bristle legs (6) and the ground, the crawling robot completes forward and backward motion, that is, it completes forward motion at a low excitation frequency and completes backward motion at a high excitation frequency.

3. A driving method for a single-element driven dual-degree-of-freedom bistable crawling robot according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: When the driving element (4) is loaded in the forward steady state, the driving element (4) is extended, and the side end of the diamond ring (3) is shortened accordingly, and the pull rod (5) as an integrated structure will also drive the bistable adjustment mechanism (2) to move; at this time, the mass block (2-2) on the bistable adjustment mechanism (2) will be subjected to a pulling force along the direction of the pull rod (5), and the bistable adjustment mechanism (2) will complete the process of switching from the first stable state to the second stable state. At this time, the mass block (2-2) connected to the pull rod (5) will drive the two flexible beams (2-4) at the outer push rod (2-3) and the fixed end (2-1) connected thereto to bend and deform, and due to the bistable adjustment The entire mechanism (2) is a symmetrical structure, and the mass block (2-2) on the other side that is not connected to the pull rod (5) will also undergo the same deformation; at this time, the outer push rod (2-3) will push outward in the lateral direction and maintain the second stable state; because the outer concave surface of the outer push rod (2-3) is in contact with the flexible bristle leg (6) on one side, when the outer push rod (2-3) is pushed outward in the lateral direction, the flexible bristle leg (6) in contact with it is lifted up, causing the flexible bristle leg (6) to deflect outward away from the ground, and lose a part of the friction force providing forward and backward movement, so that the flexible bristle leg (6) required for completing the forward and backward movement is not in contact with the flexible bristle leg (6) The friction force between the ground and the vehicle is asymmetrically distributed in the overall structure, so that the micro crawling robot can complete the steering function, thereby realizing the movement of two degrees of freedom; when the driving element (4) is loaded in the reverse steady state, the driving element (4) is shortened, and the side end of the diamond ring (3) will be extended accordingly. Similarly, the pull rod (5) as an integrated structure will also drive the bistable adjustment mechanism (2) to move. At this time, the mass block (2-2) on the bistable adjustment mechanism (2) will be pushed along the direction of the pull rod (5), and the bistable adjustment mechanism (2) will complete the process of switching from the second stable state to the first stable state. Similarly, at this time, the mass block (2-2) connected to the pull rod (5) will be pushed along the direction of the pull rod (5). The mass block (2-2) will drive the outer push rod (2-3) connected thereto and the two flexible beams (2-4) at the fixed end (2-1) to bend and deform, and since the bistable adjustment mechanism (2) is a symmetrical structure, the mass block (2-2) on the other side that is not connected to the pull rod (5) will also undergo the same deformation; at this time, the outer push rod (2-3) will retract inward along the lateral direction and return to the first stable state; at this time, the flexible bristle leg (6) will return to its original position, contact the ground, and continue to complete the forward and backward bidirectional movement; by setting the bistable adjustment mechanism (2), it is possible to achieve the movement of two degrees of freedom by relying on only one driving element.

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