Multifunctional manipulator

Abstract

The present invention discloses a multifunctional manipulator, which relates to the technical field of manipulators, and includes a gripper assembly and an inflation assembly. The gripper assembly includes an intermediate arm, an elastic member, and a plurality of jaws. The plurality of jaws are arranged around the circumference of the intermediate arm, and each jaw is rotatably connected to the intermediate arm through an elastic member. The elastic member can accumulate elastic force when the plurality of jaws are closed, and can release the elastic force to drive the plurality of jaws to open. The inflation assembly includes an air storage member and a plurality of airbags. The air storage member is connected to the intermediate arm, and an inflation chamber is provided in the air storage member. The plurality of airbags are arranged around the circumference of the air storage member, and each airbag is connected to the inflation chamber. The inflation chamber can drive the volume of the plurality of airbags to increase when receiving inflation, so that the plurality of airbags drive the plurality of jaws to close. Since the airbags have a certain buffering property, the volume of the airbags gradually increases, thereby squeezing and driving the jaws to clamp the object, which has a buffering effect on the object and is not easy to damage the surface of the object.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of manipulators, and in particular to a multifunctional manipulator. Background Art

[0002] A robot arm is a very common tool in industry. It is mainly used to simulate human hands to grab target objects and move them to a designated location to complete product processing, saving the trouble of manual handling.

[0003] For example, the prior art with announcement number CN212312056U discloses an integrated grasping and suction robot for multi-scale special-shaped parts. Its working principle is to first rotate the head end robot arm to a suitable spatial position; then adjust the middle robot arm to an appropriate posture; then adjust the end robot arm so that the pneumatic gripper and the pneumatic suction claw are above the object; then select the appropriate grasping method according to the size of the part. If the object is large, select the pneumatic gripper; if the part is small, select the pneumatic suction claw; then introduce high-pressure gas to open the gripper to grasp the part or exhaust the high-pressure gas to allow the suction claw to cover the part, and then introduce high pressure to grasp the part; finally, according to the spatial position where the part needs to be moved, the robot arm is appropriately adjusted to place the part to be grasped.

[0004] However, this prior art still has defects. For example, the gripper is driven by pneumatic means to grasp objects. Since it is not easy to finely control the strength of the gripper by pneumatic means and the gripper has no buffering effect on the object, the gripper is prone to damage the surface of the object when grasping the object. Summary of the invention

[0005] In view of this, it is necessary to provide a multifunctional manipulator to solve the technical problems in the prior art that it is not easy to finely control the strength of the gripper when grasping objects through pneumatic drive, and the gripper has no buffering effect on the object, which causes the gripper to easily damage the surface of the object when grasping the object.

[0006] In order to achieve the above technical objectives, the technical solution of the present invention provides a multifunctional manipulator, comprising:

[0007] A gripper assembly, comprising an intermediate arm, an elastic member and a plurality of clamping jaws, wherein the plurality of clamping jaws are arranged around the circumference of the intermediate arm, each of the clamping jaws is rotatably connected to the intermediate arm through the elastic member, and the elastic member can accumulate elastic force when the plurality of clamping jaws are closed, and can release the elastic force to drive the plurality of clamping jaws to open;

[0008] The inflation component includes an air storage component and multiple air bags. The air storage component is connected to the middle arm. An inflation cavity is provided in the air storage component. Multiple air bags are arranged around the circumference of the air storage component, and each air bag is connected to the inflation cavity. When the air pressure in the inflation cavity increases, the inflation cavity can drive the volume of the multiple air bags to increase, so that the multiple air bags drive the multiple clamps to close.

[0009] Furthermore, the air storage component includes an outer cover and a plurality of partitions, the outer cover is provided with the inflation cavity, the plurality of partitions are arranged on the circumference of the inflation cavity around the outer cover, the inflation cavity is divided into a plurality of inflation chambers by the plurality of partitions, and the plurality of airbags are correspondingly arranged in the plurality of inflation chambers.

[0010] Furthermore, the outer cover is provided with a slide groove, and the partition is detachably inserted into the slide groove.

[0011] Furthermore, the outer cover is funnel-shaped, and all of the airbags are located on a side of the outer cover facing the clamping claw.

[0012] Furthermore, the gas storage component also includes a slider, the outer cover is connected to the slider, and the slider is slidably connected to the intermediate arm.

[0013] Furthermore, an air inlet cavity is provided in the slider, and the air inlet cavity is connected to the plurality of inflation chambers at the same time. The air inlet cavity is used to connect to an external air source through an air pipe so as to inflate the plurality of inflation chambers at the same time.

[0014] Furthermore, the gripper assembly also includes a plurality of linkage rods, the intermediate arm includes a first slide rod and a second slide rod, the second slide rod is slidably connected to the inside of the first slide rod, and the plurality of clamps are rotatably connected to the circumferential side of the first slide rod through the elastic member, one end of each linkage rod is rotatably connected to the second slide rod, and the other end of each linkage rod is rotatably connected to the corresponding clamp.

[0015] Furthermore, the multifunctional manipulator also includes a flange, and the gripper assembly includes a telescopic rod, one end of the telescopic rod is connected to the middle arm, and the other end of the telescopic rod is slidably connected to the flange.

[0016] Furthermore, the multifunctional manipulator also includes a first gripping arm and a second gripping arm, the gripping assembly is located between the first gripping arm and the second gripping arm, the first gripping arm and the second gripping arm are both slidably connected to the flange, and the first gripping arm and the second gripping arm can clamp objects when they are relatively close.

[0017] Furthermore, one end of the first gripping arm and the second gripping arm away from the flange is rotatably connected to a tray.

[0018] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention include: when the manipulator of the present invention needs to grasp an object, it can first control the external air source to inflate the inflation chamber of the air storage component, the inflation chamber drives the volume of multiple air bags to increase, and the multiple air bags gradually drive multiple clamps to close, so as to clamp the object. Since the air bags have a certain cushioning property, the volume of the air bags gradually increases and squeezes and drives the clamps to clamp the object, which has a cushioning effect on the object and is not easy to damage the surface of the object. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of the manipulator of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 2 It is a structural schematic diagram of the gripper assembly of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the gripper assembly of the present invention in one of the states;

[0022] Figure 4 is a schematic structural diagram of the gripper assembly of the present invention in another state;

[0023] Figure 5 It is a structural schematic diagram of the outer cover of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] The preferred embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein the accompanying drawings constitute a part of this application and are used together with the embodiments of the present invention to illustrate the principles of the present invention, but are not used to limit the scope of the present invention.

[0025] The present invention provides a multifunctional manipulator 100, which can selectively switch the manipulator according to the shape of the object to adapt to the shape of the object to be grasped, so as to grasp the object with regular or irregular shape and move the object to a specified position. Among them, the object with regular shape is, for example, a rectangular parallelepiped or cylindrical object; the irregular object is, for example, a curved surface object with a variety of different curvatures on the surface, or an object with large undulations and uneven surfaces.

[0026] The multifunctional manipulator 100 includes a gripper assembly 1, a clamping assembly 2, an inflating assembly 3 and a flange 4, wherein the gripper assembly 1 and the clamping assembly 2 are both slidably disposed on the flange 4 and can be adjusted on the flange 4 to facilitate grasping of objects. The inflating assembly 3 is connected to the gripper assembly 1 and is used to inflate the gripper assembly 1 to drive the gripper assembly 1 to grasp objects. The gripper assembly 1 obtains a power source for grasping objects through inflation, and can buffer the objects to be grasped, and is not easy to scratch the surface of the objects.

[0027] The gripper assembly 1 comprises a telescopic rod 11, an intermediate arm 12, a clamping jaw 13, an elastic member 14 and a linkage rod 15, wherein the top end of the intermediate arm 12 is connected to one end of the telescopic rod 11, and the other end of the telescopic rod 11 is slidably connected to the flange 4. The clamping jaw 13 is rotatably connected to the intermediate arm 12 through the elastic member 14, so that the clamping jaw 13 can rotate relative to the intermediate arm 12 to clamp an object.

[0028] Figure 1 The number of the clamping jaws 13 in the illustrated embodiment is three. In other embodiments, the number of the clamping jaws 13 may be two, four, or more than four, which is not limited here.

[0029] A plurality of jaws 13 are arranged around the circumference of the middle arm 12, and each jaw 13 is rotatably connected to the middle arm 12 via an elastic member 14. The elastic member 14 can accumulate elastic force when the plurality of jaws 13 are closed, and can release the elastic force to drive the plurality of jaws 13 to open, so as to drive the plurality of jaws 13 to reset when not grasping an object, and to prepare for grasping an object next time. It should be emphasized that one end of the jaw 13 is rotatably connected to the middle arm 12 via the elastic member 14, and the other end of the jaw 13 is a free end for grasping an object. The free ends of the plurality of jaws 13 can grasp an object during the closing process, and the free ends of the plurality of jaws 13 can release an object during the opening process.

[0030] The elastic member 14 is a torsion spring, which simultaneously connects the clamping jaws 13 and the intermediate arm 12. The torsion spring can store elastic force when the free ends of the plurality of clamping jaws 13 are opened, and can release the elastic force to drive the free ends of the plurality of clamping jaws 13 to close.

[0031] The middle arm 12 includes a first slide bar 121 and a second slide bar 122, and the second slide bar 122 is slidably connected to the inside of the first slide bar 121. The plurality of clamping jaws 13 are rotatably connected to the peripheral side of the first slide bar 121 through a torsion spring, and the number of the linkage rods 15 is multiple, one end of each linkage rod 15 is rotatably connected to the second slide bar 122, and the other end of each linkage rod 15 is rotatably connected to the corresponding clamping jaw 13.

[0032] When the second slide bar 122 slides in a direction away from the linkage bar 15, the second slide bar 122 can simultaneously drive the multiple linkage bars 15 to rotate, so that the multiple linkage bars 15 simultaneously drive the free ends of the multiple clamps 13 to close, and the multiple clamps 13 can be used to grasp objects.

[0033] When the second slide bar 122 slides toward the direction close to the linkage rod 15, the second slide bar 122 can simultaneously drive the multiple linkage rods 15 to rotate, so that the multiple linkage rods 15 simultaneously drive the free ends of the multiple clamps 13 to open each other. At this time, the multiple clamps 13 can be used to release objects.

[0034] The inflatable component 3 includes an air storage member 31 and a plurality of air bags 32. The plurality of air bags 32 are all arranged on the air storage member 31 and around the circumference of the air storage member 31. The number of air bags 32 is the same as the number of clamping jaws 13, both of which are three. The position of each air bag 32 and the clamping jaw 13 is correspondingly arranged so that the air bag 32 can press against the clamping jaw 13 when inflated, and the plurality of air bags 32 drive the free ends of the plurality of clamping jaws 13 to close and clamp the object.

[0035] The air storage member 31 includes a slider 311 , an outer cover 312 and a plurality of partitions 313 , wherein the slider 311 is connected to the outer cover 312 , and the plurality of partitions 313 are disposed inside the outer cover 312 .

[0036] The slider 311 is generally annular, and a slot is provided on its inner wall. A clip strip 123 is provided on the outer wall of the first slide bar 121 along its length direction. The slider 311 is slidably clipped to the clip strip 123 of the first slide bar 121 through the slot, so as to slide back and forth along the length direction of the first slide bar 121, thereby driving the outer cover 312 and the airbag 32 to slide back and forth. In other embodiments, the clip strip 123 may be provided on the inner wall of the slider 311, and the slot may be provided on the outer wall of the first slide bar 121, so as to realize the sliding connection between the slider 311 and the first slide bar 121.

[0037] The outer cover 312 is funnel-shaped. In other embodiments, the outer cover 312 can also be designed in other shapes, such as cylindrical. An air-filled cavity 314 is provided in the outer cover 312 . The bottom of the air-filled cavity 314 is closed and the top is open. The top is used to communicate with the slider 311 .

[0038] A plurality of partitions 313 are disposed in the air-filled cavity 314 and are disposed on the circumference of the air-filled cavity 314 surrounding the outer cover 312. Figure 5 The number of the partitions 313 in the illustrated embodiment is three. In other embodiments, the number of the partitions 313 may be other numbers, such as two, four, or more than four, which is not limited here. The three partitions 313 divide the inflation cavity 314 into three inflation chambers 315, and the three airbags 32 are connected to the three inflation chambers 315 respectively. The three airbags 32 are exposed from the inner wall of the outer cover 312. When the three inflation chambers 315 are inflated, the three airbags 32 can expand toward the clamping jaws 13, thereby pressing the three clamping jaws 13 and bringing the free ends of the three clamping jaws 13 closer.

[0039] The partition 313 can be fixedly connected to the outer cover 312 by welding or other methods, or can be detachably connected to the outer cover 312. For example, a slide groove can be provided in the outer cover 312, and the partition 313 can be detachably connected to the outer cover 312 by sliding and pulling, so that the number of partitions 313 to be installed can be adjusted as needed later.

[0040] The air storage component 31 is connected to the middle arm 12, and an inflation cavity is provided in the air storage component 31. Multiple airbags are arranged around the circumference of the air storage component 31, and each airbag is connected to the inflation cavity. When receiving inflation, the inflation cavity can drive the volume of the multiple airbags to increase, so that the multiple airbags drive the multiple jaws to close.

[0041] An air inlet cavity is provided in the slider 311, and the slider 311 is connected to the outer cover 312. The air inlet cavity is connected to the three inflation chambers 315 at the same time. The air inlet cavity is connected to an external air source through two air pipes 316. The external air source can inflate the air inlet cavity through the two air pipes. The air inlet cavity inflates the three inflation chambers 315 at the same time, and drives the three air bags 32 to inflate and expand, and drives the free ends of the three clamping jaws 13 to close.

[0042] Figure 1 The number of the gripper assemblies 1 in the illustrated embodiment is two, and the two gripper assemblies 1 can work independently or simultaneously without interfering with each other. In other embodiments, the number of the gripper assemblies 1 can also be one, three, or more than three, which is not limited here.

[0043] refer to Figure 3 and Figure 4 , respectively showing two working states of the gripper assembly 1:

[0044] Figure 3 The slider 311 of the gripper assembly 1 of the illustrated embodiment has not moved upward, and the airbag 32 is close to the clamping jaws 13. When the airbag 32 is inflated, the multiple airbags 32 can drive the free ends of the multiple clamping jaws 13 to close and grasp the object. The gripper assembly 1 in this state is usually suitable for grasping objects with high surface quality requirements. The surface of the object is not easily damaged because the airbag 32 drives the clamping jaws 13 to grasp the object.

[0045] Figure 4 The slider 311 of the gripper assembly of the illustrated embodiment moves upward. It should be emphasized that the slider 311 can be controlled by other control structures that control its up and down sliding. In order to simplify the drawings, the control structure is not drawn in the drawings.

[0046] Figure 4 The airbag 32 of the illustrated embodiment is in a state of being away from the clamping jaws 13. In this embodiment, the free ends of the plurality of clamping jaws 13 are closed or opened by controlling the second slide bar 122 to slide back and forth relative to the first slide bar 121. It should be emphasized that the telescopic rod 11 is composed of a plurality of sliding rod bodies, and the lowermost rod body is connected to the second slide bar 122, which is used to control the second slide bar 122 to slide back and forth relative to the first slide bar 121, thereby driving the clamping jaws to clamp or release an object. The other plurality of rod bodies of the telescopic rod 11 are used to control the entire gripper assembly 1 to move up and down, so that the gripper assembly 1 is close to the object.

[0047] The clamping assembly 2 is mainly used to grasp regular objects of larger volume by clamping.

[0048] The clamping assembly 2 also includes a first gripping arm 21, a second gripping arm 22 and a tray 23, wherein there are two trays 23, and the two trays 23 are rotatably connected to the first gripping arm 21 and the second gripping arm 22 respectively, and the tray 23 is used to assist the first gripping arm 21 and the second gripping arm 22 in gripping objects so that the objects are not easy to fall when being clamped by the clamping assembly 2.

[0049] The first grab arm 21 and the second grab arm 22 are both slidably connected to the flange 4. The first grab arm 21 and the second grab arm 22 are connected to corresponding cylinder driving devices (not shown in the figure), and the cylinder driving device can drive the first grab arm 21 and the second grab arm 22 to slide relatively close to each other along the flange 4 to clamp the object. The cylinder driving device can also drive the first grab arm 21 and the second grab arm 22 to slide away from each other along the flange 4 to release the object.

[0050] It should be emphasized that the flange 4 of the present invention is used to connect with other moving devices (not shown in the figure). After the gripper assembly 1 or the clamping assembly 2 on the flange 4 grabs an object, the moving device drives the flange 4 to move, thereby driving the object to move to the target position.

[0051] The first gripping arm 21 and the second gripping arm 22 are both provided with anti-skid sheets 24 on the opposite sides thereof. The anti-skid sheets 24 are used to frictionally connect with the object when the first gripping arm 21 and the second gripping arm 22 clamp the object, so as to enhance the friction between the object and the object, so that the object can be clamped more stably and is not easy to fall. The anti-skid sheets 24 can generally be made of rubber or silicone material, which can effectively prevent slipping. Furthermore, some protrusions can be added to the surface of the anti-skid sheets 24 to further enhance the friction between the anti-skid sheets 24 and the object.

[0052] The tray 23 on the first gripping arm 21 and the second gripping arm 22 is also connected to a corresponding motor (not shown in the figure), which is used to drive the tray 23 to rotate so that the tray 23 supports the object clamped by the first gripping arm 21 and the second gripping arm 22 to play an auxiliary support role. The rotation angle of the tray 23 can be freely adjusted, so it can hold objects of various shapes.

[0053] In addition, an anti-slip sheet may also be provided on the tray 23 to prevent the object from slipping during the process of lifting the object.

[0054] Figure 1 The first gripping arm 21, the second gripping arm 22 and the tray 23 of the illustrated embodiment are all planar in shape. In other embodiments, they may all be arranged in an arc shape or a continuously bent shape so as to adapt to grasping objects of different shapes.

[0055] In one embodiment, the gripper assembly 1 is located between the first gripper arm 21 and the second gripper arm 22. The first gripper arm 21 and the second gripper arm 22 usually clamp the two sides of the object. If there is a part in the middle of the object that can be grasped by the gripper assembly 1, the gripper assembly 1 can be controlled to move down to grasp the object. In this embodiment, the gripper assembly 1 and the clamping assembly 2 grasp the object together, which can achieve a more stable grasping effect on the object.

[0056] It should be noted that the object clamped by the clamping assembly 2 is usually not placed directly on the ground. The object is usually placed on a machine or platform, with both sides of the object extending from the edge of the platform. Only in this state can the object be easily grasped by the clamping assembly 2.

[0057] The above description is only a preferred specific implementation manner of the present invention, but the protection scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by any technician familiar with the technical field within the technical scope disclosed by the present invention should be covered within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A multifunctional manipulator, characterized in that: include: A gripper assembly, comprising an intermediate arm, an elastic member and a plurality of clamping jaws, wherein the plurality of clamping jaws are arranged around the circumference of the intermediate arm, each of the clamping jaws is rotatably connected to the intermediate arm through the elastic member, and the elastic member can accumulate elastic force when the plurality of clamping jaws are closed, and can release the elastic force to drive the plurality of clamping jaws to open; An inflatable component, comprising an air storage component and a plurality of air bags, wherein the air storage component is connected to the intermediate arm, an inflatable cavity is provided in the air storage component, a plurality of air bags are arranged around the circumference of the air storage component, and each of the air bags is connected to the inflatable cavity, and when the air pressure in the inflatable cavity increases, the inflatable cavity can drive the volume of the plurality of air bags to increase, so that the plurality of air bags drive the plurality of clamping jaws to close; The gas storage member comprises an outer cover and a plurality of partitions, wherein the outer cover is provided with the inflation cavity, the plurality of partitions are arranged on the circumference of the inflation cavity surrounding the outer cover, the inflation cavity is divided into a plurality of inflation chambers by the plurality of partitions, and the plurality of air bags are correspondingly arranged in the plurality of inflation chambers; The outer cover is funnel-shaped, and all of the airbags are located on a side of the outer cover facing the clamping claw; The gas storage member further comprises a slider, the outer cover is connected to the slider, and the slider is slidably connected to the intermediate arm; An air inlet cavity is provided in the slider, and the air inlet cavity is connected to the plurality of the inflation chambers at the same time. The air inlet cavity is used to connect to an external air source through an air pipe to inflate the plurality of the inflation chambers at the same time; The gripper assembly also includes a plurality of linkage rods, the intermediate arm includes a first slide rod and a second slide rod, the second slide rod is slidably connected to the inside of the first slide rod, and the plurality of clamps are rotatably connected to the circumferential side of the first slide rod through the elastic member, one end of each linkage rod is rotatably connected to the second slide rod, and the other end of each linkage rod is rotatably connected to the corresponding clamp.

2. The multifunctional manipulator according to claim 1, characterized in that: The outer cover is provided with a slide groove, and the partition plate is detachably inserted into the slide groove.

3. The multifunctional manipulator according to claim 1, characterized in that: The multifunctional manipulator further comprises a flange, and the gripper assembly comprises a telescopic rod, one end of the telescopic rod is connected to the middle arm, and the other end of the telescopic rod is slidably connected to the flange.

4. The multifunctional manipulator according to claim 3, characterized in that: The multifunctional manipulator also includes a first gripping arm and a second gripping arm, the gripping assembly is located between the first gripping arm and the second gripping arm, the first gripping arm and the second gripping arm are both slidably connected to the flange, and the first gripping arm and the second gripping arm can clamp objects when they are relatively close.

5. The multifunctional manipulator according to claim 4, characterized in that: One end of the first grabbing arm and the second grabbing arm away from the flange is rotatably connected with a tray.

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