Pneumatic rotary actuator and pneumatic flexible manipulator

Abstract

The application discloses a pneumatic rotary actuator and a pneumatic flexible manipulator, and the pneumatic rotary actuator comprises at least one pneumatic rotary module, the pneumatic rotary module comprises a first hard structure block, a second hard structure block, a flexible film and an air pipe, the flexible film forms a flexible air-tight cavity in an inner region between the first hard structure block and the second hard structure block, one end of the air pipe is connected to the flexible air-tight cavity, and the other end of the air pipe is connected to an air pressure control device; when the air pressure in the flexible air-tight cavity changes under control, the air pressure difference between the inside and outside of the flexible air-tight cavity causes the flexible film to be concave or convex and to be unfolded, thereby pulling the first hard structure block and the second hard structure block to rotate; and the upper surface of the flexible film opposite to the hinge is provided with at least two separated thin plates in the length direction, the thin plates have greater anti-deformation rigidity than the flexible film, are not prone to large deformation and large rotation, and can make the upper surface fold along the gap between the thin plates, so that ideal movement is realized.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of actuators, in particular to a pneumatic rotary actuator and a pneumatic flexible manipulator. BACKGROUND

[0002] With the robots entering the public life, higher requirements are put forward for the safety and reliability of the robots in the occasions of interacting with people and dealing with fragile objects. Flexible materials can withstand large deformation and are not easy to be damaged, so flexible robots are naturally expected to solve the above problems. At present, there are various driving modes for flexible robots, including electric driving, shape memory alloy driving, pneumatic driving, hydraulic driving, thermal driving, etc., and pneumatic driving is a commonly selected mode.

[0003] Pneumatic technology is widely used due to its mature technology, wide air source, safety, cleanliness, light medium mass, large driving force and other advantages. Due to the advantages of pneumatic driving, pneumatic flexible robots are currently widely used in industrial production, medical treatment, environmental detection, wearable devices and other fields. The applicant has proposed a simple and effective V-shaped pneumatic rotary actuator, which is published in the Soft Robotics journal in the article “V-Shape Pneumatic Torsional Actuator: A Building Block for Soft Grasper and Manipulator”. The structure is made of 3D printed structural blocks and flexible film. After vacuum is introduced into the inside of the actuator, the film is concave inward and drives the structural blocks to rotate around the fixed shaft. The actuator design has many unique functions, its mass is only 1.7g, but the relative rotation angle can reach 7-9° / mm, and it can realize a specific torque of 26.6N·mm / g under the driving of 70kPa air pressure. The structure of the rotary actuator adopts a universal and modular design, so that the flexible robot can complete complex actions by assembling multiple actuators into a robot module. The V-shaped pneumatic actuator design can be used for small flexible robot grippers and manipulators for laboratory automation control. In addition, the applicant's prior application CN112045702A also discloses a similar V-shaped pneumatic rotary actuator.

[0004] However, the inventors have further found that the V-shaped pneumatic rotary actuator has the problem that the shape of the upper surface film during movement is difficult to predict, is inconsistent with finite element analysis and theoretical model, and the movement of the film is uncertain, which makes it difficult to achieve ideal movement. SUMMARY

[0005] In order to solve the problem of uncertainty of the movement of the film during the movement of the existing pneumatic rotary actuator, the present application proposes a pneumatic rotary actuator and a pneumatic flexible manipulator.

[0006] The technical problem of the present application is solved by the following technical solutions:

[0007] A pneumatic rotary actuator comprises at least one pneumatic rotary module, the pneumatic rotary module comprises a first hard structure block, a second hard structure block, a flexible film and a gas pipe, the first hard structure block and the second hard structure block are connected together in a hinged manner by being bonded with the flexible film, the flexible film forms a flexible air-tight cavity in the inner side area between the first hard structure block and the second hard structure block, one end of the gas pipe is connected to the flexible air-tight cavity, one end of the gas pipe is connected to an external gas pressure control device, when the gas pressure in the flexible air-tight cavity is controlled to decrease or increase, the gas pressure difference between the inside and outside of the flexible air-tight cavity causes the flexible film to concave inward or bulge outward to expand, thereby pulling the first hard structure block and the second hard structure block to rotate in opposite directions or in the same direction; the upper surface of the flexible film opposite to the hinge is provided with at least two separated thin plates in the length direction, the thin plates have greater anti-deformation rigidity than the flexible film.

[0008] In some embodiments, the at least two separated thin plates are two thin plates symmetrically arranged in the length direction of the upper surface of the flexible film.

[0009] In some embodiments, the at least two separated thin plates cover the entire upper surface of the flexible film, leaving only gaps between the thin plates.

[0010] In some embodiments, the at least two separated thin plates are arranged on the outside and / or inside of the upper surface of the flexible film.

[0011] In some embodiments, the at least two separated thin plates are pasted on the upper surface of the flexible film.

[0012] In some embodiments, the at least two separated thin plates are formed on the upper surface of the flexible film by 3D printing.

[0013] In some embodiments, the gap between the at least two separated thin plates is not less than twice the thickness of the thin plate.

[0014] In some embodiments, the first hard structure block and the second hard structure block are bonded with the flexible film by double-sided adhesive tape.

[0015] In some embodiments, the flexible film is a thermoplastic film, and the flexible film is bonded with the first hard structure block and the second hard structure block by heating.

[0016] The application further provides a pneumatic flexible manipulator, comprising the pneumatic rotary actuator, the first bionic finger and the second bionic finger.

[0017] The beneficial effects of the application compared with the prior art include:

[0018] The application sets at least two separated thin plates on the upper surface of the flexible film of the pneumatic rotary actuator along the length direction, the thin plates have greater deformation resistance than the flexible film, the original flexible film structure is changed into a thin shell structure, compared with the original flexible film structure, the thin shell structure has greater compression resistance or bending resistance, so that the pneumatic rotary actuator is not easy to produce large deformation and large rotation. Therefore, the upper surface of the flexible film is folded at the gap between the two thin plates, so that the flexible film shape is more consistent with the finite element analysis and theoretical model during the movement of the pneumatic rotary actuator, the certainty of the film movement is ensured, and thus the ideal movement is realized.

[0019] In addition, in the preferred scheme of the application, the flexible film is adhered to the first hard structure block and the second hard structure block by the double-sided adhesive, compared with the heating and bonding of the flexible film and the hard structure block, the deformation of the flexible film during the heating and bonding of the flexible film and the hard structure block is avoided, the flexible film is prevented from being easily bent and folded along the thinner part of the film during the movement of the pneumatic rotary actuator, the existence of random wrinkles of the flexible film is reduced, and the consistency and reliability of the pneumatic rotary actuator are improved.

[0020] Other beneficial effects of the embodiments of the application will be further described below. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0021] Figure 1 is a structural schematic diagram of a pneumatic actuator in the prior art.

[0022] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the actuation principle of a pneumatic actuator in the prior art.

[0023] Figure 3 is a perspective view of a pneumatic rotary actuator in the embodiments of the application.

[0024] Figure 4 is a preparation flowchart of a pneumatic rotary actuator in embodiment 1 of the application.

[0025] Figure 5 is a double-sided adhesive vector diagram of a flexible film of a pneumatic rotary actuator in embodiment 2 of the application.

[0026] Figure 6is a vector diagram of the thin plate double-sided adhesive of the pneumatic rotary actuator in Embodiment 2 of the present application.

[0027] The reference signs are as follows:

[0028] 1 - first hard structure block; 2 - second hard structure block; 3 - flexible film; 4 - air pipe; 5 - thin plate; 6 - hot air gun. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] The present application will be further described below with reference to the drawings and in conjunction with the preferred embodiments. It should be noted that the embodiments in the present application and the features in the embodiments can be combined with each other without conflict.

[0030] It should be noted that the left, right, up, down, top, bottom and other orientation terms in the present embodiment are only relative concepts or are referenced to the normal use state of the product, and should not be considered as limiting.

[0031] The existing negative pressure driven flexible pneumatic rotary actuator is shown in Figure 1 The pneumatic rotary actuator is composed of two hard structure blocks (hereinafter referred to as first hard structure block 1 and second hard structure block 2) with an initial angle of 90° and a flexible film 3 wrapped thereon. The flexible film and the contact edges of the first hard structure block 1 and the second hard structure block 2 (i.e. the inner side area) are fixed and sealed to form a closed hollow whole (i.e. a flexible airtight cavity). The parts of the first hard structure block 1 and the second hard structure block 2 exposed outside the cavity are heated and bonded with the flexible film 3 thereon by heating with a hot air gun.

[0032] The first hard structure block 1 and the second hard structure block 2 are made of 3D printing technology, and the 3D printing material is 1.75 mm diameter PLA (polylactic acid) + wire (eSUN brand). The width of the first hard structure block 1 and the second hard structure block 2 is 5 mm, the side parallelogram is 10 mm high, and the bottom edge is 5 mm long. The basic actuation principle of the pneumatic rotary actuator is shown in Figure 2 The first hard structure block 1 (in other variants, it can be the second hard structure block 2) is designed with a through hole for inserting an air pipe 4 to introduce gas. The flexible film 3 is made of 0.2 mm thick thermoplastic polyurethane film (TPU). When external vacuum negative pressure is applied to the hollow structure inside the flexible film 3 (by Figure 2 extracting gas in the direction indicated by the arrow of the air pipe 4 in ΔP, the flexible film 3 is recessed into the cavity (i.e. the flexible air-tight cavity) formed by the first hard structure block 1 and the second hard structure block 2 under the action of the air pressure, and the stress is formed at the connection between the flexible film 3 and the first hard structure block 1 and the second hard structure block 2, which drags the first hard structure block 1 and the second hard structure block 2 on the two sides to rotate towards each other or rotate away from each other. The first hard structure block 1 on the left side is fixed, and the second hard structure block 2 on the right side rotates counterclockwise along the central axis intersecting the first hard structure block 1 and the second hard structure block 2 under the air pressure and the traction of the flexible film 3, so that the pneumatic rotary actuator realizes the rotary motion.

[0033] On the basis of the single pneumatic rotary actuator, a modular splicing design scheme can be further proposed, that is, a plurality of pneumatic rotary actuators are connected in parallel or in series to form an actuating group to complete various complex motion actions of simulation. The V-shaped pneumatic actuator also has universality, simple manufacturing process and flexible material selection, and is convenient to popularize and apply to different fields to meet different needs.

[0034] According to the experimental test, it is found that because the upper surface of the cavity of the existing pneumatic rotary actuator has a large film area, the film shape in the movement process of the upper surface is difficult to predict, and the upper surface film may form more than one wrinkle in the movement process, which is inconsistent with the theoretical model. Due to the existence of the above problems, reliable experimental data cannot be obtained, which affects the subsequent modeling and control of the pneumatic rotary actuator, and it is also difficult to realize the ideal movement.

[0035] The embodiment of the present application provides at least two separated thin plates on the upper surface of the flexible film opposite to the hinge in the length direction, and the thin plate has a larger deformation resistance than the flexible film, so that the film shape of the pneumatic rotary actuator in the movement process is consistent with the theoretical model. The improved process and structure provide a more reliable data basis for precise modeling and improve the reliability of the actuator.

[0036] The pneumatic rotary actuator provided by the embodiment of the present application is like Figure 3 and Figure 6As shown, the pneumatic rotary module comprises a first hard structure block 1, a second hard structure block 2, a flexible film 3 and a gas pipe 4, the first hard structure block 1 and the second hard structure block 2 are connected together in a hinged manner by being bonded with the flexible film 3, the flexible film 3 forms a flexible air-tight cavity in an inner region between the first hard structure block 1 and the second hard structure block 2, one end of the gas pipe 4 is connected to the flexible air-tight cavity, and the other end of the gas pipe 4 is connected to an external air pressure control device, when the air pressure in the flexible air-tight cavity is controlled to decrease or increase, the air pressure difference between the inside and outside of the flexible air-tight cavity causes the flexible film 3 to be concave inward or bulge outward to expand, thereby pulling the first hard structure block 1 and the second hard structure block 2 to rotate towards each other or away from each other; the upper surface of the flexible film 3 opposite to the hinge is provided with at least two separated thin plates 5 along the length direction, the thin plates 5 have greater deformation resistance than the flexible film 3.

[0037] Preferably, the at least two separated thin plates 5 cover the entire upper surface of the flexible film 3, and only have a gap between the thin plates 5 and the thin plates 5.

[0038] In addition, the at least two separated thin plates 5 are arranged on the outside and / or the inside of the upper surface of the flexible film 3.

[0039] In other embodiments, the at least two separated thin plates 5 are pasted or formed on the upper surface of the flexible film 3 by 3D printing. Specifically, the thin plates 5 are PVC thin plates.

[0040] In preferred embodiments, the gap between the at least two separated thin plates is not less than twice the thickness of the thin plates, for example, can be 2-4 times. In this way, it is convenient to fold the thin plates and the thin plates, and also can play the effect of being a "crease" part.

[0041] In preferred embodiments, the first hard structure block 1 and the second hard structure block 2 are bonded with the flexible film 3 by double-sided adhesive tape.

[0042] In some alternatives, the flexible film 3 is a thermoplastic film, and the flexible film 3 is bonded with the first hard structure block 1 and the second hard structure block 2 by heating.

[0043] In some alternatives, the flexible film 3 is a thermoplastic film, and the flexible film 3 is bonded with the first hard structure block 1 and the second hard structure block 2 by heating.

[0044] The embodiment of the present application also proposes a pneumatic flexible manipulator comprising the above-mentioned pneumatic rotary actuator, a first bionic finger and a second bionic finger, the first bionic finger and the second bionic finger are respectively connected to the two hard structure blocks (specifically, the first hard structure block 1 and the second hard structure block 2) of the pneumatic rotary actuator, and are driven by the two hard structure blocks to move closer to or away from each other to clamp or release an object.

[0045] Example 1

[0046] The pneumatic rotary actuator of this embodiment is shown in Figure 4 The manufacturing process of the process of bonding the first hard structure block 1 and the second hard structure block 2 and the flexible film 3 is as follows:

[0047] a. First, prepare the first hard structure block 1 and the second hard structure block 2 and the flexible film 3. The model of the first hard structure block 1 and the second hard structure block 2 is built in the computer-aided design software (SOLIDWORKS), and then imported into the fused deposition modeling 3D printer (X500, Hongrui). The 3D printing material is 1.75 mm diameter PLA+ wire (eSUN). The pneumatic rotary actuator is composed of a pair of hard structure blocks (i.e. the first hard structure block 1 and the second hard structure block 2), the width of the hard structure block is 10 mm, the side parallelogram is 10 mm high, and the bottom edge is 5 mm long. A through hole with a diameter of about 5 mm is designed on one of the hard structure blocks (in this embodiment, the first hard structure block 1), which is used for inserting the air pipe 4 to pass through the gas.

[0048] The specific parameters of fused deposition modeling are as follows:

[0049] The nozzle diameter of 3D printing is 0.4 mm, the nozzle heating temperature is 210 ℃, and the bottom plate heating temperature is 30 ℃. The infill rate needs to be set to 100% in the 3D printing slicing software to ensure that the first hard structure block 1 and the second hard structure block 2 are dense inside, and the pneumatic rotary actuator is airtight. The flexible film 3 is a 0.2 mm TPU film, which is a thermoplastic film.

[0050] b. The steps of bonding the first hard structure block 1 and the second hard structure block 2 and the flexible film 3 are as follows:

[0051] A pair of hard structure blocks (i.e. the first hard structure block 1 and the second hard structure block 2) are placed vertically at an angle of 90°, and a flexible film 3 is covered on top. Since the PLA of the first hard structure block 1 and the second hard structure block 2 and the TPU of the flexible film 3 are both thermoplastic materials. This embodiment adopts the heating method of hot air gun 6 to heat and bond the first hard structure block 1 and the second hard structure block 2 and the flexible film 3 at selected points, which can achieve stable and reliable fixation. Because it is found in the process of finite element simulation that the deformation amount of these areas is larger than that of other sites during actuation, therefore, it is necessary to fully melt and bond this area. The contact edge of the flexible film 3 and the first hard structure block 1 and the second hard structure block 2 is heated to 350-400 ℃ using a hot air gun, and after cooling to room temperature, the bonding step is repeated to complete the fixation and bonding of all contact edges on four sides.

[0052] c. The steps of inserting the air pipe 4 and cutting off the excess flexible film 3 are as follows:

[0053] The air pipe 4 is inserted into the through hole at one end of the first hard structure block 1 and the second hard structure block 2. In this embodiment, the air pipe 4 is a silica gel hose with an outer diameter of 4 mm, which is connected to the air pressure control device to introduce a fixed vacuum negative pressure inward, so as to realize the actuation of the pneumatic rotary actuator, and make the first hard structure block 1 and the second hard structure block 2 rotate towards each other or away from each other. In this embodiment, the air pressure control device is an air pump. The air pipe 4 can be coated with a small amount of silicone rubber around the periphery to increase the sealing performance. Finally, the area of the flexible film 3 beyond the range of the actuator is cut off, that is, the pneumatic rotary actuator is completed.

[0054] As shown in Figure 3 , two rectangular sheet-shaped PVC (polyvinyl chloride) plates 5 (sheets) are pasted on the upper surface of the pneumatic rotary actuator, or two rectangular plates 5 are printed on the flexible film 3 by 3D printing method. The original film structure can be changed to a thin shell structure, which has greater compressive or bending stiffness than the original film structure and is not prone to large deformation and large rotation. Therefore, the upper surface will be folded along the gap between the two plates 5, thereby realizing ideal motion. The plates 5 (sheets) of the present application can also use other materials with greater stiffness than the flexible film, such as PLA and other plastics.

[0055] As shown in Figure 3 , the 0.1 mm to 0.5 mm thick PVC plate 5 is placed in a laser cutting machine (FST-6040, Foster), and cut according to the imported vector graphics, with the cutting pattern and size as shown in Figure 6 . The cut plate 5 is uniformly coated with glue or pasted with double-sided adhesive, and then pasted on the corresponding area of the flexible film 3 on the upper surface of the pneumatic rotary actuator cavity (i.e. the flexible airtight cavity), and then compacted.

[0056] The pneumatic flexible manipulator of the present embodiment comprises the above-mentioned pneumatic rotary actuator, the first bionic finger and the second bionic finger, the first bionic finger and the second bionic finger are respectively connected to the first hard structure block 1 and the second hard structure block 2 of the pneumatic rotary actuator, and the first bionic finger and the second bionic finger are driven by the first hard structure block 1 and the second hard structure block 2 to move closer to or away from each other to clamp or release objects.

[0057] Embodiment 2

[0058] Experiments show that the connection method of embodiment 1 has a large manual error and has the following problems:

[0059] 1. As shown in Figure 4As shown, a pair of hard structure blocks (i.e. the first hard structure block 1 and the second hard structure block 2) are placed vertically at an angle of 90°, which may have an initial angle error of several degrees. Secondly, the flexible film 3 is covered on the first hard structure block 1 and the second hard structure block 2, and the flexible film 3 is adhered to the first hard structure block 1 and the second hard structure block 2 by heating with the heat gun 6. This process is difficult to complete manually. Under the wind force of the heat gun 6, the flexible film 3 and the first hard structure block 1 and the second hard structure block 2 are easy to move, resulting in a large manual error of the pneumatic rotary actuator or even a failure of the pneumatic rotary actuator, which in turn affects the consistency of the actuator and is not conducive to the subsequent modeling and control of the actuator.

[0060] 2. The handheld heat gun 6 and the flexible film 3 have a certain angle, and the heating temperature of the heat gun 6 is much higher than the thermal deformation temperature of the flexible film 3. The existence of a certain angle between the heat gun 6 and the pneumatic rotary actuator will also affect the surrounding area of the heat gun 6 at the adhesion position. Especially when heating the edge of the cavity (i.e. the flexible airtight cavity) of the pneumatic rotary actuator, the flexible film 3 in the cavity part of the pneumatic rotary actuator is easily affected, which causes the material uniformity and shape change of the flexible film 3 or even dissolves, so that the pneumatic rotary actuator is easy to bend and fold along the thinner place of the flexible film 3 when moving, and the existence of random wrinkles greatly affects the consistency and reliability of the actuator.

[0061] The embodiment as shown Figure 3 、 Figure 5 、 Figure 6 As shown, the flexible film 3 is adhered to the first hard structure block 1 and the second hard structure block 2 by using double-sided tape (9448A, 3M Company), thereby reducing the large error caused by manual assembly without positioning, and improving the consistency of the actuator. Specifically, the following steps are included:

[0062] First, a vector graphic is constructed in computer-aided design software (SOLIDWORKS) as shown Figure 5The vector graphics are imported into a laser cutting machine (FST-6040, Foster), and the laser cutting machine cuts the double-sided adhesive tape according to the vector graphics. Then, the surface release paper is removed without changing the position of the double-sided adhesive tape, and the flexible film 3 is covered, and the flexible film 3 in this embodiment is a TPU film. Then, the flexible film 3 is pressed and compacted, so that the double-sided adhesive tape can be pasted on the TPU film according to the cut pattern position. Further, the double-sided adhesive tape corresponding to the hollow cavity part (i.e., the flexible airtight cavity) of the pneumatic rotary actuator and the double-sided adhesive tape beyond the range of the pneumatic rotary actuator are torn off, and the double-sided adhesive tape connected with the first hard structure block 1 and the second hard structure block 2 is reserved. Then, the first hard structure block 1 and the second hard structure block 2 are pasted according to the pattern of the corresponding contact area, and the adhesion of all contact edges on four sides is completed. Finally, the area of the flexible film 3 beyond the range of the pneumatic rotary actuator is cut off, and the pneumatic rotary actuator is completed.

[0063] As shown in Figure 3 two rectangular sheet-shaped PVC (polyvinyl chloride) plates 5 are pasted on the upper surface of the pneumatic rotary actuator, or two rectangular plates 5 are printed on the flexible film 3 by a 3D printing method. The original film structure can be changed to a thin shell structure, which has greater compressive or bending stiffness than the original film structure and is not prone to large deformation and large rotation. Therefore, the upper surface will fold along the gap between the two plates 5, thereby achieving ideal movement.

[0064] As shown in Figure 3 The 0.1 mm thick PVC plate 5 is placed in a laser cutting machine (FST-6040, Foster), and the plate is cut according to the imported vector graphics. The cutting pattern and size are shown in Figure 6 The cut plate 5 is uniformly coated with glue or pasted with double-sided adhesive tape, and then pasted on the corresponding area of the upper surface of the flexible film 3 in the cavity (i.e., the flexible airtight cavity) of the pneumatic rotary actuator, and compacted.

[0065] The pneumatic flexible manipulator includes the pneumatic rotary actuator, the first bionic finger, and the second bionic finger. The first bionic finger and the second bionic finger are connected to the first hard structure block 1 and the second hard structure block 2 of the pneumatic rotary actuator, respectively. The first bionic finger and the second bionic finger are driven by the first hard structure block 1 and the second hard structure block 2 to move closer to or farther away from each other to grasp or release an object.

[0066] The embodiment has the following advantages:

[0067] 1. The traditional thermal bonding process is changed to an adhesion process, which first eliminates the unpredictable film shape during the movement caused by thermal deformation of the flexible film 3, reduces the initial angle error, and greatly improves the consistency of the pneumatic rotary actuator.

[0068] 2. The original non-positioning manual assembly step increases the visible positioning area, so that the consistency error caused by manual assembly is reduced, and the advantages and disadvantages of manual assembly can be judged intuitively, so that the manual assembly error is reduced, and the consistency of the pneumatic rotary actuator is greatly improved.

[0069] 3. Two thin plates 5 are symmetrically adhered above the flexible diaphragm 3 of the pneumatic rotary actuator along the symmetry axis. The improvement of the structure is to change the diaphragm structure to a thin shell structure, to limit the large deformation and large rotation of the flexible diaphragm 3, so that the diaphragm on the upper surface of the cavity (i.e. the flexible airtight cavity) is folded along the symmetry axis of the actuator, improving the reliability of the pneumatic rotary actuator. The movement of the actuator is more consistent with the theoretical model. The improved process and structure provide a more reliable data basis for precise modeling.

[0070] The V-shaped pneumatic rotary actuator provided by the embodiment of the present application can provide a new idea for automatically performing common experimental steps for future flexible robots. Its application is not limited to laboratory environment, but also has potential application in automatic assembly line of industrial production.

[0071] The above is a further detailed description of the present application in combination with specific preferred embodiments, and the specific implementation of the present application cannot be limited to these descriptions. For those skilled in the art to which the present application belongs, without departing from the concept of the present application, a number of equivalent substitutions or obvious modifications can be made, and the performance or use is the same, which should be regarded as belonging to the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A pneumatic rotary actuator comprising at least one pneumatic rotary module, said pneumatic rotary module comprising a first rigid structural block, a second rigid structural block, a flexible diaphragm and an air tube, said first rigid structural block and said second rigid structural block are hingedly connected together by being adhered to said flexible diaphragm, said flexible diaphragm forms a flexible air-tight cavity in an inner region between said first rigid structural block and said second rigid structural block, one end of said air tube is connected to said flexible air-tight cavity, one end of said air tube is connected to an external air pressure control device, when the air pressure in said flexible air-tight cavity is controlled to decrease or increase, the air pressure difference between the inside and outside of said flexible air-tight cavity causes said flexible diaphragm to concave inward or bulge outward to expand, thereby pulling said first rigid structural block and said second rigid structural block to move in a forward rotary motion or a backward rotary motion; characterized in that, The upper surface of the flexible film opposite the hinge is provided with at least two separate plates along the length direction, the plates having greater deformation resistance than the flexible film, so that the film shape during movement of the pneumatic rotary actuator is consistent with the theoretical model, ensuring the certainty of film movement.

2. The pneumatic rotary actuator of claim 1, wherein, The at least two separate plates are two plates symmetrically arranged along the length direction of the upper surface of the flexible film.

3. A gas dynamic rotary actuator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, The at least two separate plates cover the entire upper surface of the flexible film, leaving only gaps between the plates.

4. The pneumatic rotary actuator of any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein, The at least two separate plates are arranged on the outer side and / or inner side of the upper surface of the flexible film.

5. The pneumatic rotary actuator of any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein, The at least two separate plates are pasted on the upper surface of the flexible film.

6. The pneumatic rotary actuator of any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein, The at least two separate plates are formed on the upper surface of the flexible film by 3D printing.

7. The pneumatic rotary actuator of any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein, The gap between the at least two separate plates is not less than 2 times the thickness of the plate.

8. The pneumatic rotary actuator of claim 7, wherein, The gap between the at least two separate plates is 2-4 times the thickness of the plate.

9. The pneumatic rotary actuator of any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein, The first hard structure block and the second hard structure block are adhered to the flexible film by double-sided adhesive.

10. The pneumatic rotary actuator of any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein, The flexible film is a thermoplastic film, and the flexible film and the first hard structure block and the second hard structure block are bonded by heating.

11. A pneumatic flexible manipulator, characterized by The pneumatic rotary actuator, the first bionic finger and the second bionic finger according to any one of claims 1 to 9, the first bionic finger and the second bionic finger being connected to the two hard structure blocks of the pneumatic rotary actuator respectively, and moving closer to or away from each other under the drive of the two hard structure blocks to clamp or release an object.

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