robot end effector and robot

Abstract

This invention provides an end effector for a robot and the robot itself. The end effector includes an actuator base, a gripping structure, and a functional structure. Both the gripping structure and the functional structure are located on the actuator base, which is connected to the main body of the robot. The gripping structure includes a drive component, a base, a first link, a slide rail, a left gripper assembly, and a right gripper assembly. The left and right gripper assemblies have identical structures and are symmetrically arranged. Both the left and right gripper assemblies are rotatably connected to the first link. The drive component can rotate the first link to clamp and open the left and right gripper assemblies. This invention uses a gripper principle instead of a pneumatic drive principle, which not only solves the gripping problem of ultra-redundant robot end effectors but also avoids the use of large air tube channels, reducing the overall size of the actuator and improving space utilization.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of robotics, specifically to an end effector for a robot, and particularly to a detachable end effector and robot for a tethered, super-redundant robot. Background Technology

[0002] Hyperredundant robots possess advantages such as a large aspect ratio, dexterous movement, and flexible operation, making them promising candidates for automated operations in confined spaces, including aerospace manufacturing and high-end equipment maintenance. Hyperredundant robots can freely navigate confined and complex spaces with minimal environmental damage and can retract along their entry path without disturbing the environment, thus enabling them to reach areas inaccessible to humans and perform tasks in their place.

[0003] Hyper-redundant robots are typically equipped with end effectors at the end of their arms to remove or move debris or parts in confined spaces (such as pipes).

[0004] Pneumatic drive is one of the solutions for end effectors, but pneumatic drive requires a relatively large internal air pipe channel, which results in a larger actuator size and lower space utilization.

[0005] Patent document CN 115194743 A discloses a super-redundant robot, namely a waste removal device for the end effector of a snake-arm robot, including a fixed support and a quick-change suction head. The interior of the quick-change suction head near the robot body is formed as a collection chamber, and the interior of the quick-change suction head away from the robot body is formed as a waste passage. The device also includes an air passage pipe connected to the air passage, the air passage pipe extending along the extension direction of the robot body to the front end of the robot body and connected to an air source at the front end of the robot body; the end of the quick-change suction head away from the robot body is a suction port, and waste is sucked in through the suction port and enters the collection chamber through the air passage.

[0006] However, this solution still uses the pneumatic drive principle, and still has the drawback of requiring a relatively large air pipe channel, resulting in a large actuator size. Summary of the Invention

[0007] In view of the deficiencies in the prior art, the purpose of this invention is to provide an end effector for a robot and a robot.

[0008] An end effector for a robot according to the present invention includes an actuator base, a gripping structure, and a functional structure;

[0009] Both the grasping structure and the functional structure are located on the actuator base, which is connected to the main structure of the robot.

[0010] The functional structure includes one or more functional module units;

[0011] The gripping structure is used to grip external objects. The gripping structure includes a drive unit, a base, a first connecting rod, a slide rail, a left gripper assembly, and a right gripper assembly. The left gripper assembly and the right gripper assembly have the same structure and are arranged symmetrically to each other.

[0012] The drive unit is mounted on the base, the slide rail is fixedly connected to the base, and the output end of the drive unit is connected to the first connecting rod.

[0013] Both the left and right gripper assemblies are rotatably connected to the first connecting rod. The driving member can drive the first connecting rod to rotate, so that the left and right gripper assemblies can clamp and open.

[0014] Preferably, the left gripper assembly includes a second link, a gripper, and a slider. The first link and the second link are rotatably connected, the gripper and the second link are rotatably connected, the gripper and the slider are fastened together, and the slider is matched with a slide rail.

[0015] Preferably, the left gripper assembly further includes a sliding gripping plate, and the sliding gripping plate and the gripper achieve adaptive sliding based on a dovetail groove structure;

[0016] Both the end of the sliding clamping plate and the end of the gripper are provided with protrusions, and the two protrusions can cooperate with each other to limit the sliding of the sliding clamping plate and the gripper.

[0017] Preferably, the gripping structure further includes a rotating frame, which is rotatably mounted on the actuator base and rotatably connected to the base.

[0018] Preferably, the functional module unit is a fill light, a heat sink, a binocular camera, or a monocular camera;

[0019] The supplementary light is mounted on the actuator base by screws, and multiple heat sinks are symmetrically arranged on the actuator base. The binocular camera is mounted on the actuator base by screws, and the monocular camera is fixed to the drive unit by adhesive bonding of the monocular camera fixing component.

[0020] Preferably, the number of functional module units is multiple, and the multiple functional modules fully include a fill light, a heat sink, a binocular camera, and a monocular camera.

[0021] Preferably, the second link is a long link, the first link is a short link, and the driving component includes a drive motor.

[0022] Preferably, the drive component is connected to the first connecting rod slot via a motor coupling.

[0023] Preferably, the first link and the second link are connected by a pin.

[0024] The gripper is connected to the second link via a pin or a link shaft.

[0025] The gripper is fixed to the slider by a screw.

[0026] According to the present invention, a robot employs the aforementioned end effector.

[0027] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects:

[0028] 1. The gripping structure of this invention adopts the gripper principle instead of the pneumatic drive principle, which not only solves the gripping problem of the end effector of the super-redundant robot, but also avoids the use of thick air pipe channels, reduces the overall volume of the actuator, and improves space utilization.

[0029] 2. This invention solves the problem of detection and grasping in low-light environments for ultra-redundant robots by adopting a reasonable and compact arrangement of binocular cameras, monocular cameras, and supplementary lighting structures within the limited space at the end of the device. This makes it possible to apply ultra-redundant robots to practical low-light, narrow, complex, and confined spaces.

[0030] 3. The present invention establishes a first passive degree of freedom by connecting the arc segment and the actuator base, and a second passive degree of freedom by connecting the rotating frame and the base through a second rotation axis. The design of the two passive degrees of freedom ensures that the grasping module is always in a vertically confined space when the super-redundant robot is in various motion postures, thus optimizing the grasping performance of the end effector of the super-redundant robot. Attached Figure Description

[0031] Other features, objects, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description of non-limiting embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings:

[0032] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the gripping structure of the present invention in the open state;

[0033] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the gripping structure of the present invention in a clamped state;

[0034] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the main structure of the hyper-redundant robot.

[0035] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the connection structure between the end of the main structure of the super-redundant robot and the present invention;

[0036] The diagram shows:

[0037]

[0038] Detailed Implementation

[0039] The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to specific embodiments. These embodiments will help those skilled in the art to further understand the present invention, but do not limit the invention in any way. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make several changes and improvements without departing from the concept of the present invention. These all fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0040] This invention provides an end effector for a robot, such as... Figures 1-4 As shown, the system includes an actuator base 10, a gripping structure, and a functional structure. Both the gripping structure and the functional structure are located on the actuator base 10. The actuator base 10 is connected to the main structure 19 of the super-redundant robot via slots arranged in a 90-degree circle. In a preferred embodiment, refer to... Figure 3 The actuator base 10 is connected to the main structure 19 of the super-redundant robot. Specifically, the actuator base 10 is connected to the right slender manipulator arm of the main structure 19 of the super-redundant robot. The right slender manipulator arm is composed of a rigid arm segment and a universal joint connected in series. The functional structure includes one or more functional module units.

[0041] The gripping structure includes a drive component 17, a base 8, a first connecting rod 1, a slide rail 7, a left gripper assembly, and a right gripper assembly. The left and right gripper assemblies have the same structure and are arranged symmetrically. The drive component 17 is mounted on the base 8 with bolts and nuts, and the slide rail 7 is fixed to the base 8 by an interference fit through shaft positioning. The output end of the drive component 17 is connected to the first connecting rod 1; specifically, the drive component 17 is connected to the first connecting rod 1 via a motor coupling 14. Both the left and right gripper assemblies are rotatably connected to the first connecting rod 1. The drive component 17 can drive the first connecting rod 1 to rotate, thereby clamping and opening the left and right gripper assemblies. In a preferred embodiment, the drive component 17 includes a drive motor.

[0042] The left gripper assembly includes a second link 18, a gripper 3, and a slider 6. The first link 1 and the second link 18 are rotatably connected, specifically, the first link 1 and the second link 18 are connected by a pin. The gripper 3 is rotatably connected to the second link 18, specifically, the gripper 3 is connected to the second link 18 by a pin or a connecting shaft 2. The gripper 3 is fastened to the slider 6, specifically, the gripper 3 is fastened to the slider 6 by a screw. The slider 6 matches a slide rail 7. The gripping structure is a motor-driven slide rail linkage structure. In a preferred embodiment, the second link 18 is a long link, and the first link 1 is a short link.

[0043] In a preferred embodiment, the left gripper assembly further includes a sliding gripping plate 4, which is slidably connected to the gripper 3. Specifically, the sliding gripping plate 4 and the gripper 3 can achieve adaptive sliding based on a dovetail groove structure. Both the end of the sliding gripping plate 4 and the end of the gripper 3 are provided with protrusions 5, which cooperate to limit the sliding of the sliding gripping plate 4 and the gripper 3. More specifically, when the robot equipped with the end effector excessively corrects its motion posture, the sliding gripping plate 4 will contact the working plane. At this time, the sliding gripping plate 4 will slide upward along the dovetail groove to avoid collisions caused by excessive posture correction.

[0044] The gripping structure also includes a rotating frame 20, which is rotatably mounted on the actuator base 10 and rotatably connected to the base 8. Specifically, the arc segment 16 on the rotating frame 20 is connected to the actuator base 10 via a first rotating shaft 21, and the two are positioned by a sealing ring, forming the first passive degree of freedom, which can achieve a rotation of ±15 degrees; the end of the rotating frame 20 is connected to the base 8 via a second rotating shaft 9, forming the second passive degree of freedom, which can achieve a rotation of 0-90 degrees.

[0045] The functional module unit comprises a fill light 11, a heat sink, and a binocular camera 15 or a monocular camera 13. The fill light 11 is mounted on the actuator base 10 using screws. Multiple heat sinks are symmetrically arranged on the actuator base 10. The binocular camera 15 is mounted on the actuator base 10 using screws. The monocular camera 13 is fixedly connected to the drive component 17 by adhesive bonding using a monocular camera fixing component 12. In a preferred embodiment, there are multiple functional module units, and these multiple functional modules completely include the fill light 11, heat sink, binocular camera 15, and monocular camera 13. This invention is compact and has multiple module functions.

[0046] The working principle of this invention is as follows:

[0047] The driving component 17 drives the first connecting rod 1 to rotate via the motor coupling 14. The rotation angle of the driving component 17 is 0-90 degrees. The rotational motion of the first connecting rod 1 is converted into the horizontal movement of the sliding clamping plate 4 through the slide rail connecting rod structure. Figure 1 As shown, when the motor rotates at 0 degrees, the two sliding clamping plates 4 are at their furthest distance, and the gripping structure is in the open state; Figure 2 As shown, when the motor rotates at 90 degrees, the two sliding clamping plates 4 are closest to each other, and the gripping structure is in a clamping state.

[0048] The supplementary light 11 adjusts the light intensity based on the current working environment lighting conditions, and collects environmental information of the robot end effector through the binocular camera 15. Based on the recognition and positioning algorithm, it locates the coordinates of extraneous objects in the environment, thereby guiding the robot to move to the designated position.

[0049] The information about unwanted objects collected by the binocular camera 15 will be lost in the field of view after being guided to a certain position due to the limitation of the field of view. After the robot finishes its movement, the monocular camera 13 collects environmental information at the end of the robot to observe the position of unwanted objects, and then further controls the robot's movement and corrects the robot's posture.

[0050] When the robot equipped with the end effector corrects to the designated position, the first passive degree of freedom formed by the arc segment 16 and the actuator base 10, and the second passive degree of freedom formed by the rotating frame 20 and the base 8 connected by the second rotating axis 9, will adjust the rotation angle of the two passive degrees of freedom in real time according to the robot's current position, based on gravity self-correction, so that the sliding gripper 4 always remains perpendicular to the working plane. When the sliding gripper 4 remains perpendicular to the working plane, the drive component 17 does not rotate, the gripping structure is in the open state, and the foreign object is observed in the center of the field of view through the monocular camera 13. When the drive component 17 rotates 90 degrees, the gripping structure is in the clamping state, realizing the gripping of the foreign object, and the gripping process and result are observed through the monocular camera 13.

[0051] In summary, this invention, by using a motor-driven sliding rail linkage structure as the grasping structure instead of a pneumatic drive principle, not only solves the grasping problem of the end effector of an ultra-redundant robot, thus increasing the functionality of the ultra-redundant robot's end effector and expanding its usability, but also avoids the use of large air tube channels, reducing the overall size of the actuator and improving space utilization. Furthermore, by employing a reasonable and compact arrangement of the vision module unit (binocular camera 15 and monocular camera 13), the supplementary lighting module unit (supplementary light 11), and the grasping structure within the limited space of the end effector, this invention solves the detection, recognition, and grasping problem of ultra-redundant robots in low-light environments, making it possible to apply ultra-redundant robots to practical low-light, narrow, complex, and confined spaces. In addition, this invention uses the arc segment 16 and the actuator base 10 to form the first passive degree of freedom, and the rotating frame 20 and the base 8 connected by the second rotating axis 9 to form the second passive degree of freedom. This design of two passive degrees of freedom ensures that the grasping module is always in a vertically confined space during various motion postures of the ultra-redundant robot, optimizing the grasping performance of the ultra-redundant robot's end effector. Finally, this invention also solves the environmental adaptability problem of the super-redundant robot by using the dovetail groove structure, thereby improving the actual grasping performance of the super-redundant robot end effector.

[0052] In the description of this application, it should be understood that the terms "upper", "lower", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on this application.

[0053] Specific embodiments of the present invention have been described above. It should be understood that the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, and those skilled in the art can make various changes or modifications within the scope of the claims, which do not affect the essence of the present invention. Unless otherwise specified, the embodiments and features described in this application can be arbitrarily combined with each other.

Claims

1. An end effector for a robot, characterized in that, Includes actuator base (10), gripping structure and functional structure; The grasping structure and the functional structure are both located on the actuator base (10), and the actuator base (10) is connected to the main structure of the robot; The functional structure includes one or more functional module units; The gripping structure is used to grip external objects. The gripping structure includes a drive component (17), a base (8), a first connecting rod (1), a slide rail (7), a left gripper assembly, and a right gripper assembly. The left gripper assembly and the right gripper assembly have the same structure and are arranged symmetrically to each other. The drive unit (17) is mounted on the base (8), the slide rail (7) is fixedly connected to the base (8), and the output end of the drive unit (17) is connected to the first connecting rod (1). The left gripper assembly and the right gripper assembly are both rotatably connected to the first connecting rod (1). The driving member (17) can drive the first connecting rod (1) to rotate, so that the left gripper assembly and the right gripper assembly can clamp and open. The left gripper assembly includes a second link (18), a gripper (3), and a slider (6). The first link (1) is rotatably connected to the second link (18), the gripper (3) is rotatably connected to the second link (18), the gripper (3) is fastened to the slider (6), and the slider (6) is matched with the slide rail (7). The gripping structure also includes a rotating frame (20), which is rotatably mounted on the actuator base (10) and is rotatably connected to the base (8); The arc segment (16) on the rotating frame (20) is connected to the actuator base (10) via the first rotating shaft (21), and the two are positioned by a sealing ring, forming the first passive degree of freedom and achieving a rotation of ±15 degrees; the end of the rotating frame (20) is connected to the base (8) via the second rotating shaft (9), forming the second passive degree of freedom and achieving 0 A 90-degree rotation.

2. The end effector of the robot according to claim 1, characterized in that, The left gripper assembly also includes a sliding gripping plate (4), and the sliding gripping plate (4) and the gripper (3) achieve adaptive sliding based on the dovetail groove structure; Both the end of the sliding clamping plate (4) and the end of the gripper (3) are provided with protrusions (5), and the two protrusions (5) can cooperate with each other to limit the sliding of the sliding clamping plate (4) and the gripper (3).

3. The end effector of the robot according to claim 1, characterized in that, The functional module unit is a fill light (11), a heat sink, a binocular camera (15) or a monocular camera (13). The supplementary light (11) is arranged on the actuator base (10) by means of screws, and multiple heat sinks are symmetrically arranged on the actuator base (10). The binocular camera (15) is arranged on the actuator base (10) by means of screws, and the monocular camera (13) is fixedly connected to the drive component (17) by means of bonding the monocular camera fixing part (12).

4. The end effector of the robot according to claim 2, characterized in that, The number of functional module units is multiple, including a fill light (11), a heat sink, a binocular camera (15), and a monocular camera (13).

5. The end effector of the robot according to claim 1, characterized in that, The second link (18) is a long link, the first link (1) is a short link, and the driving component (17) includes a drive motor.

6. The end effector of the robot according to claim 1, characterized in that, The drive unit (17) is connected to the first connecting rod (1) through the motor coupling (14) slot.

7. The end effector of the robot according to claim 6, characterized in that, The first link (1) and the second link (18) are connected by a pin; The gripper (3) is connected to the second link (18) by a pin or a link shaft (2); The gripper (3) is fixed to the slider (6) by a screw.

8. A robot, characterized in that, The end effector according to any one of claims 1 to 7 is used.

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