A bionic soft robot stomach with integrated driving and sensing and its measurement method

Abstract

The present invention discloses a bionic soft robot stomach with integrated drive and sensing, which includes an inner and outer silicone soft stomach, an oblique muscle driver and a plurality of circular muscle drivers. The oblique muscle driver is fixedly installed at the fundus of the inner and outer silicone soft stomach to simulate the tension contraction of the oblique muscle. The plurality of circular muscle drivers are connected end to end and are installed around the body and antrum of the inner and outer silicone soft stomach to simulate the peristaltic contraction of the circular muscle. The present invention also discloses a method for testing a bionic soft robot stomach with integrated drive and sensing, which can characterize the contraction rate and contraction force with voltage according to the output electrical signal and the recorded contraction rate and contraction force. The present invention can imitate the time-sharing contraction of the human stomach and realize real-time monitoring of the contraction rate of the soft stomach. It has a simple structure, is easy to integrate, has high precision, and is stable and reliable to meet the needs of modern medical integration and intelligence.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a bionic soft robot stomach and a measuring method thereof, in particular to a bionic soft robot stomach integrating driving and sensing and a measuring method thereof, belonging to the technical field of soft robot driving and sensing. Background Art

[0002] Due to its softness and strong compliance, soft robots have attracted widespread attention in the fields of medicine, agriculture, disaster relief, investigation, and ocean in recent years. At present, soft robots are mainly used in the medical field for assisting rehabilitation, assisting grasping, and artificial organs. In order to simulate and assist in realizing the functions of human organs, soft grippers, soft bladders, soft hearts, soft esophagus and other bionic limbs and organs have been developed. Simulated stomachs can be used for food digestion and gastric pathology research. However, most of the robots currently used to simulate the gastric digestive system are rigid simulated stomachs. Rigid simulated stomachs are limited in their wide application due to their complex drive structure and lack of real stomach movement function.

[0003] The soft stomach has received more and more attention in recent years due to its inherent softness and flexibility of driving. There are two main ways to drive the soft stomach, one is rope drive and the other is positive pressure gas drive. Rope drive takes up a lot of space and the actuation area of ​​the stomach is small, resulting in unsatisfactory peristalsis effect. Although positive pressure gas drive has a good simulation effect, it has too many drivers, which makes the preparation and control complicated. Most of the above-mentioned soft robot research focuses on the simulation of peristaltic contraction from the gastric body to the pylorus and ignores the function of the gastric fundus, resulting in the inability of soft robots to truly simulate the movement of the human stomach. In addition, due to its lack of perception function, the potential of soft robots has not been fully realized.

[0004] Therefore, it is urgent to develop a soft robot stomach with simple structure, bionic drive and perception integrated with real simulation function to meet the needs of integrated and intelligent modern medical research.

[0005] Based on the above, the invention patent with publication number KR20190127180A and publication date November 13, 2019 discloses a gastric phantom model and a test method for a gastric-insertion medical device, including a gastric model, a first driving member and a second driving member, wherein the first driving member and the second driving member are arranged on the model body so that the model body can shrink and recover in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the hollow part forming the model body, and the second driving member is arranged under the model body so that the model body can shrink and recover in a direction perpendicular to the direction of the hollow part forming the model body. The 1-1 driving unit of the first driving member can be located in the part of the first model body corresponding to the gastric fundus of the patient's actual stomach, or in the part of the first model body corresponding to the greater curvature of the patient's actual stomach. However, the document does not disclose how to give the soft robot stomach a bionic movement function, nor does it mention how to monitor the bionic soft stomach movement process in real time. Summary of the invention

[0006] The present invention aims to solve the problems that the existing soft robot simulated stomach has complex structure, is difficult to integrate, has low precision and poor stability, and is insufficient to meet the needs of modern medical integration and intelligence. A bionic soft robot stomach with integrated drive and sensor and a measurement method thereof are proposed, which can imitate the time-sharing contraction of the human stomach and realize real-time monitoring of the contraction rate of the soft stomach.

[0007] The technical solution adopted by the present invention to solve the above problems is:

[0008] A bionic soft robot stomach with integrated driving and sensing, comprising an inner and outer layer silicone soft stomach, an oblique muscle driver and a plurality of circular muscle drivers, wherein the oblique muscle driver is fixedly installed at the stomach fundus of the inner and outer layer silicone soft stomach to simulate the tension contraction of the oblique muscle, and the plurality of circular muscle drivers are connected end to end and are installed around the stomach body and gastric antrum of the inner and outer layer silicone soft stomach to simulate the peristaltic contraction of the circular muscle.

[0009] Furthermore, the oblique muscle driver includes an oblique muscle film packaging layer and a water-elastic origami structure. The water-elastic origami structure is fixedly installed in a sealed space formed by the oblique muscle film packaging layer. The sealed space formed by the oblique muscle film packaging layer is provided with oblique muscle suction holes. The lower surface of the sealed space formed by the oblique muscle film packaging layer is fixedly installed at the fundus of the inner and outer layers of silicone soft stomach and conforms to the fundus.

[0010] Furthermore, the material of the oblique muscle film encapsulation layer is TPU, and the material of the water-elastic origami structure is PET.

[0011] Furthermore, the circular muscle driver includes a circular muscle film packaging layer, an outer electrode layer, an isolation layer, an inner electrode layer and a zigzag origami structure. The zigzag origami structure is fixedly installed in a sealed rectangular cavity formed by the inner electrode layer. The isolation layer is installed between the inner electrode layer and the outer electrode layer. The circular muscle film packaging layer is installed on the outside of the outer electrode layer. After the isolation layer completely covers the outer electrode layer, it is fixedly connected to the circular muscle film packaging layer. A circular muscle suction hole is opened on the outermost circular muscle film packaging layer. The circular muscle film packaging layer is fixedly installed around the gastric body and gastric antrum of the inner and outer silicone soft stomachs and conforms to the gastric body and gastric antrum.

[0012] Furthermore, the upper half of the zigzag origami structure is close to the circular muscle air pumping hole and a through hole is opened on the upper half of the zigzag origami structure.

[0013] Furthermore, the circular muscle driver is provided with a signal output port, one end of which is connected to the outer electrode layer, and the other end of which is connected to the inner electrode layer.

[0014] Furthermore, the material of the annular muscle film encapsulation layer is TPU, the material of the outer electrode layer and the inner electrode layer is Al, the material of the isolation layer is PI, and the material of the zigzag origami structure is PEEK.

[0015] Furthermore, the material of the inner and outer layers of the silicone soft stomach is Dragon skin30.

[0016] A method for testing a bionic soft robot stomach with integrated driving and sensing, comprising the following steps:

[0017] S1: Use electrostatic collection equipment to record the electrical signals generated by the bionic soft robot stomach with integrated driving and sensing, and convert the original signals into square wave signals through signal processing;

[0018] S2: Use displacement sensors to record the contraction rate of the bionic soft robot stomach, and pressure sensors to record the contraction force of the bionic soft robot stomach;

[0019] S3: According to the output electrical signal and the recorded contraction rate and contraction force, the contraction rate and contraction force are characterized by voltage.

[0020] The beneficial effects of the present invention are:

[0021] 1. The present invention is inspired by origami and combines self-powered sensing technology to develop a bionic soft robotic stomach with integrated driving and sensing structures. This soft stomach can truly simulate and sense the movement of various parts of the stomach in real time.

[0022] 2. The present invention can reduce the number of circular muscle drivers and simulate and sense the peristaltic contraction of the stomach through the time-sharing drive of the zigzag origami structure. The oblique muscle driver designed by the water-bomb origami structure can simulate the tension contraction of the oblique muscle of the fundus. The time-sharing actuation of the oblique muscle driver and the circular muscle driver can simulate the process of human stomach contraction, peristalsis, crushing and expelling food.

[0023] 3. The present invention has the characteristics of miniaturization and integration. It can realize real-time monitoring of gastric contraction rate and contraction force under the premise of simulating the integrity and function of the human stomach. The experimental results can reach a numerical range similar to that of the human stomach, and can realize the mixing, transfer and emptying of the contents in the stomach and detect the movement state of the stomach in real time. It provides a theoretical and experimental basis for the development of new self-driven and self-sensing bionic soft organs. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of an implementation mode of a bionic soft robot stomach with integrated driving and sensing of the present invention.

[0025] Figure 2 It is a schematic structural diagram of an implementation mode of the oblique muscle actuator of the present invention.

[0026] Figure 3 It is a structural schematic diagram of an implementation mode of the shape muscle actuator of the present invention.

[0027] Figure 4 It is a structural schematic diagram of an implementation mode of the zigzag origami structure of the present invention.

[0028] Figure 5 It is a schematic flow chart of a method for testing a bionic soft robot stomach with integrated driving and sensing according to the present invention.

[0029] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of voltage output of the annular muscle actuator of the present invention when using different friction layer materials at a frequency of 0.5 Hz.

[0030] Figure 7 It is a schematic diagram of the voltage output of the lower half of the annular muscle actuator of the present invention at different contraction rates when the aperture is 0 mm.

[0031] Figure 8 It is a schematic diagram of the fitting curve of the contraction rate and voltage of the bionic soft robot stomach with integrated driving and sensing of the present invention.

[0032] Fig. 9 It is a schematic diagram of the fitting curve of the contraction force and voltage of the bionic soft robot stomach with integrated driving and sensing of the present invention.

[0033] Fig.10It is a schematic diagram of the results of durability test of the bionic soft robot stomach with integrated driving and sensing of the present invention.

[0034] In the figure: 1. Inner and outer layers of silicone soft stomach; 2. Oblique muscle actuator; 21. Oblique muscle film encapsulation layer; 22. Water bomb origami structure; 211. Oblique muscle suction hole; 3. Circular muscle actuator; 31. Circular muscle film encapsulation layer; 32. Outer electrode layer; 33. Isolation layer; 34. Inner electrode layer; 35. Zigzag origami structure; 311. Circular muscle suction hole. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that all directional indications (such as up, down, etc.) are based on the orientation or position relationship shown in the drawings, and 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 understood as a limitation on the present invention.

[0036] Specific implementation method 1: Combination Figure 1-10 To illustrate this embodiment, Figure 1-4 As shown, the bionic soft robot stomach with integrated driving and sensing described in this embodiment includes an inner and outer layer silicone soft stomach 1, an oblique muscle driver 2 and a plurality of circular muscle drivers 3. Preferably, the material of the inner and outer layer silicone soft stomach 1 is Dragon skin 30, the outer dimensions are 294.54 mm × 205.66 mm, and the thickness of the outer layer silicone is 0.5 mm, so that the soft stomach can simulate the human stomach more realistically. The oblique muscle driver 2 is fixedly installed at the fundus of the stomach of the inner and outer layer silicone soft stomach 1 to simulate the tension contraction of the oblique muscle. The plurality of circular muscle drivers 3 are connected end to end and are surrounded and installed at the stomach body and gastric antrum of the inner and outer layer silicone soft stomach 1 to simulate the peristaltic contraction of the circular muscle. The coordinated work of the circular muscle driver 3 and the oblique muscle driver 2 gives the soft robot stomach a bionic movement function. It can realize real-time monitoring of the bionic soft stomach movement process, has the advantages of high measurement accuracy and long service life, and provides a new way for gastric digestion medical research and food science.

[0037] like Figure 1 and 2As shown, the oblique muscle driver 2 includes an oblique muscle film encapsulation layer 21 and a water-elastic origami structure 22. The oblique muscle film encapsulation layer 21 is made of TPU, and the water-elastic origami structure 22 is made of PET, so that the oblique muscle driver 2 can simulate the oblique muscle more realistically. The water-elastic origami structure 22 is fixedly installed in a sealed space formed by the oblique muscle film encapsulation layer 21. The sealed space formed by the oblique muscle film encapsulation layer 21 is provided with an oblique muscle suction hole 211. When the oblique muscle suction hole 211 is evacuated, the water-elastic origami structure 22 driver is used to simulate the tension contraction of the oblique muscle. The oblique muscle driver 2 is actuated based on the contraction and extension of the water-elastic origami structure 22. The lower surface of the sealed space formed by the oblique muscle film packaging layer 21 is fixedly installed on the fundus of the inner and outer silicone soft stomach 1 and conforms to the fundus of the stomach. Preferably, the oblique muscle film packaging layer 21 is connected to the fundus of the inner and outer silicone soft stomach 1 by Sil-Poxy silicone adhesive, so that the oblique muscle driver 2 can simulate the oblique muscle more realistically.

[0038] like Figure 1 , Figure 3 and Figure 4As shown, the circular muscle driver 3 includes a circular muscle thin film packaging layer 31, an outer electrode layer 32, an isolation layer 33, an inner electrode layer 34 and a zigzag origami structure 35. The material of the circular muscle thin film packaging layer 31 is TPU, the material of the outer electrode layer 32 and the inner electrode layer 34 is Al, the material of the isolation layer 33 is PI, and the material of the zigzag origami structure 35 is PEEK, so that the circular muscle driver 3 can simulate the circular muscle more realistically. The zigzag origami structure 35 is fixedly installed in the sealed rectangular chamber formed by the inner electrode layer 34, and the peristaltic contraction of the circular muscle can be simulated by the zigzag origami structure driver. The isolation layer 33 is installed between the inner electrode layer 34 and the outer electrode layer 32, and the circular muscle thin film encapsulation layer 31 is installed on the outer side of the outer electrode layer 32. The isolation layer 33 completely covers the outer electrode layer 32 and is fixedly connected to the circular muscle thin film encapsulation layer 31. The circular muscle thin film encapsulation layer 31 is fixedly installed around the gastric body and gastric antrum of the inner and outer silicone soft stomach 1 and conforms to the gastric body and gastric antrum. Preferably, the circular muscle thin film encapsulation layer 31 is connected to the inner and outer silicone soft stomach 1 by Sil-Poxy silicone adhesive, the outer electrode layer 32 is tightly connected to the circular muscle thin film encapsulation layer 31 by glue, the isolation layer 33 is connected to the circular muscle thin film encapsulation layer 31 by glue and completely covers the outer electrode layer 32, and the inner electrode layer 34 is tightly connected to the zigzag origami structure 35 by glue. This allows the circular muscle driver 3 to simulate the circular muscle more realistically. The outermost circular muscle film encapsulation layer 31 is provided with a circular muscle suction hole 311. When the circular muscle driver 3 is evacuated through the circular muscle suction hole 311, the rectangular parallelepiped chamber composed of the circular muscle film encapsulation layer 31, the outer electrode layer 32 and the isolation layer 33 is recessed inward under the action of the external air pressure. The gap between the outer electrode layer 32 and the inner electrode layer 34 changes with the change of the evacuated air pressure, and the electrical signal generated by the electrode changes with the change of the gap. Preferably, the circular muscle driver 3 is provided with a signal output port, one end of which is connected to the outer electrode layer 32 and the other end is connected to the inner electrode layer 34, so as to facilitate the collection of electrical signals. The upper half of the preferred zigzag origami structure 35 is close to the circular muscle suction hole 311 and a through hole is provided on the upper half of the zigzag origami structure 35. The zigzag origami structure 35 is divided into an upper half and a lower half (two sections AB in the figure). The upper half, i.e., section A, is close to the circular muscle suction hole 311 and is provided with a through hole (the through hole is preferably a circular hole with a diameter of 4 mm). The lower half, i.e., section B, is not perforated. When the circular muscle driver 3 is evacuated through the circular muscle suction hole 311, due to the viscous damping effect of the fluid, the upper half, i.e., section A, is actuated first to produce contraction, and the lower half, i.e., section B, is actuated and contracted later. This can achieve a time-sharing driving effect by winding only four circular muscle drivers 3 end to end around the inner and outer layers of the silicone soft stomach 1, and evacuating air in a certain order, so that the soft robot stomach produces a peristaltic contraction effect.

[0039] like Figure 5As shown, a method for testing a bionic soft robot stomach with integrated driving and sensing includes the following steps:

[0040] S1: Use electrostatic collection equipment to record the electrical signals generated by the bionic soft robot stomach with integrated drive and sensing, and convert the original sinusoidal signal into a square wave signal through a signal processing module to improve the signal stability and reduce the complexity of the detection signal;

[0041] S2: Use displacement sensors to record the contraction rate of the bionic soft robot stomach, and pressure sensors to record the contraction force of the bionic soft robot stomach;

[0042] S3: According to the output electrical signal and the recorded contraction rate and contraction force, the contraction rate and contraction force are characterized by voltage.

[0043] like Figure 6 As shown, the voltage output of the annular muscle actuator 3 was measured at a frequency of 0.5 Hz using different friction layer materials (SCP, Cu and Al). The experimental results showed that the voltage amplitude was the largest and the signal was the most obvious when Al was used as the electrode layer material.

[0044] like Figure 7 As shown, the voltage output of the lower half of the circular muscle driver 3, i.e., segment B, at different contraction rates when the through hole is 0 mm is measured. The experimental results show that the voltage signal has a certain relationship with the contraction rate of the soft stomach, and the voltage amplitude increases with the increase of the contraction rate.

[0045] like Figure 8 and Fig. 9 As shown, it is a monitoring schematic diagram of the bionic soft robot stomach with integrated drive and sensing as described in the present invention. The experimental results show that the voltage signal has a linear relationship with the stomach contraction rate, and the stomach contraction force has a certain functional relationship with the voltage signal. The voltage signal designed by the present invention can better reflect the contraction of the soft stomach.

[0046] like Fig.10 As shown in the figure, the results of durability tests on the bionic soft robot stomach with integrated drive and sensor described in the present invention are shown. The experimental results show that after 780 consecutive vacuum contractions, the output voltage amplitude is still stable at 35V without obvious attenuation, reflecting the ultra-long service life of the present design.

[0047] Working principle:

[0048] The soft stomach includes an inner and outer silicone soft stomach 1, an oblique muscle driver 2 and a circular muscle driver 3. The oblique muscle driver 2 covers the stomach fundus of the inner and outer silicone soft stomach 1. When air is pumped out, the water-elastic origami structure 22 driver simulates the tension contraction of the oblique muscle. The circular muscle driver 3 surrounds the stomach body and gastric antrum of the inner and outer silicone soft stomach 1. There are four circular muscle drivers 3, which are connected end to end and surround the inner and outer silicone soft stomach 1. Air is pumped out in a certain order, and the viscous damping effect of the fluid is used to achieve a time-sharing driving effect. The zigzag origami structure driver simulates the peristaltic contraction of the circular muscle. The coordinated work of the circular muscle driver 3 and the oblique muscle driver 2 gives the soft robot stomach a bionic movement function.

[0049] The above is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention and does not limit the present invention in any form. Although the present invention has been disclosed as a preferred embodiment as above, it is not used to limit the present invention. Any technician familiar with this profession can make some changes or modify the technical contents disclosed above into equivalent embodiments without departing from the scope of the technical solution of the present invention. However, any simple modification, equivalent replacement and improvement made to the above embodiments without departing from the content of the technical solution of the present invention, based on the technical essence of the present invention, within the spirit and principles of the present invention, still fall within the protection scope of the technical solution of the present invention.

Claims

1. A bionic soft robot stomach with integrated driving and sensing, characterized in that: It comprises an inner and outer silicone soft stomach (1), an oblique muscle driver (2) and a plurality of circular muscle drivers (3). The oblique muscle driver (2) is fixedly mounted at the gastric fundus of the inner and outer silicone soft stomach (1) to simulate the tension contraction of the oblique muscle. The plurality of circular muscle drivers (3) are connected end to end and are installed around the gastric body and gastric antrum of the inner and outer silicone soft stomach (1) to simulate the peristaltic contraction of the circular muscle. The oblique muscle driver (2) comprises an oblique muscle film packaging layer (21) and a water-elastic origami structure (22). The water-elastic origami structure (22) is fixedly mounted in a sealed space formed by the oblique muscle film packaging layer (21). The sealed space formed by the oblique muscle film packaging layer (21) is provided with an oblique muscle suction hole (211). The lower surface of the sealed space formed by the oblique muscle film packaging layer (21) is fixedly mounted at the gastric fundus of the inner and outer silicone soft stomach (1) and conforms to the gastric fundus. The circular muscle driver (3) comprises a circular muscle. The invention comprises a thin film packaging layer (31), an outer electrode layer (32), an isolation layer (33), an inner electrode layer (34) and a zigzag origami structure (35). The zigzag origami structure (35) is fixedly installed in a sealed rectangular chamber formed by the inner electrode layer (34). The isolation layer (33) is installed between the inner electrode layer (34) and the outer electrode layer (32). The circular muscle thin film packaging layer (31) is installed on the outer side of the outer electrode layer (32). The isolation layer (33) is fixedly connected to the circular muscle thin film packaging layer (31) after completely covering the outer electrode layer (32). A circular muscle suction hole (311) is provided on the outermost circular muscle thin film packaging layer (31). The circular muscle thin film packaging layer (31) is fixedly installed around the gastric body and gastric antrum of the inner and outer layers of the silicone soft stomach (1) and conforms to the gastric body and gastric antrum. The coordinated work of the circular muscle driver (3) and the oblique muscle driver (2) endows the soft robot stomach with bionic movement function.

2. The bionic soft robot stomach with integrated driving and sensing according to claim 1, characterized in that: The material of the oblique muscle film packaging layer (21) is TPU, and the material of the water-elastic origami structure (22) is PET.

3. The bionic soft robot stomach with integrated driving and sensing according to claim 1, characterized in that: The upper half of the zigzag origami structure (35) is close to the circular muscle air extraction hole (311) and a through hole is provided on the upper half of the zigzag origami structure (35).

4. The bionic soft robot stomach with integrated driving and sensing according to claim 1, characterized in that: The circular muscle driver (3) is provided with a signal output port, one end of which is connected to the outer electrode layer (32) and the other end of which is connected to the inner electrode layer (34).

5. The bionic soft robot stomach with integrated driving and sensing according to claim 1, characterized in that: The material of the annular muscle film packaging layer (31) is TPU, the material of the outer electrode layer (32) and the inner electrode layer (34) is Al, the material of the isolation layer (33) is PI, and the material of the zigzag origami structure (35) is PEEK.

6. The bionic soft robot stomach with integrated driving and sensing according to claim 1, characterized in that: The material of the inner and outer layers of the silicone soft stomach (1) is Dragon skin30.

7. A method for testing a bionic soft robot stomach with integrated driving and sensing, characterized in that: The steps include: S1: Collecting the electrical signal generated by the stomach of the bionic soft robot with integrated driving and sensing as recited in any one of claims 1 to 6, and converting the original signal into a square wave signal through signal processing; S2: Use displacement sensors to record the contraction rate of the bionic soft robot stomach, and pressure sensors to record the contraction force of the bionic soft robot stomach; S3: Based on the electrical signal output by S1 and the contraction rate and contraction force recorded by S2, the contraction rate and contraction force are characterized by voltage.

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