A composite super-redundant robot applied to narrow space inspection

Abstract

The application discloses a kind of composite super-redundant robots applied to narrow space inspection, including underactuated super-redundant manipulator, lifting platform mechanism, tracked mobile chassis and control console, underactuated super-redundant manipulator uses drive rear design mode, all driving devices and transmission structure are integrated in the drive box body behind arm body, overall installation is on lifting platform mechanism, lifting platform mechanism is then added on tracked mobile chassis, control console is then sent power and sends control signal to underactuated super-redundant manipulator, lifting platform mechanism and tracked mobile chassis by power cable and communication cable;Flexible movement of the mechanical arm body can be realized by the cooperation between joints, the rigid link of this mechanical arm has the characteristics of elongation, while ensuring its stiffness, significantly reduces the arm body transverse dimension, so that the mechanical arm has the ability to pass through narrow entrance, effectively improves the obstacle avoidance ability of distal arm body.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of intelligent robots, specifically to a composite super-redundant robot for inspection in confined spaces. Background Technology

[0002] Nuclear industry, aerospace, and petrochemicals have always been key areas of industrial development, holding significant positions in both civilian and military sectors. The nuclear and petrochemical industries, in particular, require industrial facilities to operate continuously year-round to ensure daily energy output. Therefore, periodic inspections and maintenance play a crucial role in their safe operation. However, these industrial settings may present hazards such as high temperatures, radiation, and toxic gases, rendering traditional manual methods unsuitable and necessitating the use of robots. Current technologies commonly employ six- or seven-DOF robotic arms for visual inspection of facilities within spaces. However, in environments with narrow entrances and confined interior spaces, traditional robotic arms, due to their large size, struggle to enter such spaces. Furthermore, their limited number of degrees of freedom prevents them from skillfully performing inspection tasks in confined spaces with obstacles. In addition, when facing tasks in large-scale scenarios with multiple confined spaces, traditional fixed robots cannot move autonomously and quickly between work areas, requiring external equipment for transfer, significantly increasing the overall complexity of the task. Therefore, there is an urgent need to design a composite, ultra-redundant robot with autonomous mobility, a lightweight structure, and high flexibility. Summary of the Invention

[0003] To address the shortcomings of existing technologies, the technical problem this invention aims to solve is to provide a composite super-redundant robot for inspection in confined spaces, which can achieve dexterous operation in narrow spaces and rapid autonomous movement within the task scenario.

[0004] The technical solution adopted in this invention is:

[0005] A composite super-redundant robot for inspection in confined spaces includes an underactuated super-redundant manipulator, a lifting platform mechanism, a tracked mobile chassis, and a control console. The underactuated super-redundant manipulator adopts a rear-drive design, with all drive devices and transmission structures integrated into the drive housing at the rear of the arm, which is mounted on the lifting platform mechanism. The lifting platform mechanism is then mounted on the tracked mobile chassis. The control console transmits power and sends control signals to the underactuated super-redundant manipulator, the lifting platform mechanism, and the tracked mobile chassis via power cables and communication cables.

[0006] The underactuated super-redundant robotic arm includes a rigid link, a Hooke joint, a drive rope, a flange, a drive mechanism, and a drive housing.

[0007] The underactuated, super-redundant robotic arm comprises nine rigid links. The first link is a fixed link, with one end fixed to the drive housing and the other end connected to a flange. The second link is fixed to the flange at one end and connected to the third link via a Hooke joint at the other end. The remaining links are connected sequentially via Hooke joints. The nine rigid links are divided into three groups based on their length: the first link is in the first group, links two through seven are in the second group, and links eight through nine are in the third group. Except for the first and second links, all other links can be driven by the rotation of the Hooke joints.

[0008] The underactuated super-redundant robotic arm includes eight Hooke joints, each with two rotational degrees of freedom. Each Hooke joint is connected to three drive ropes, which can achieve rotation along the two degrees of freedom under the tension of the three ropes. The eight Hooke joints are divided into three groups: the first to third joints are in the first group, corresponding to the third to fifth links; the fourth to sixth joints are in the second group, corresponding to the sixth to eighth links; and the seventh and eighth joints are in the third group, corresponding to the ninth link and the vision detection device.

[0009] The underactuated super-redundant robotic arm includes 24 drive ropes, with three ropes forming a group and fixed to a Hooke joint. The other end of the drive ropes is connected to the drive mechanism inside the drive housing via a flange, and the extension or retraction movement is achieved under the action of the drive mechanism.

[0010] The underactuated super-redundant robotic arm includes nine drive mechanisms. Each drive mechanism includes a motor and a transmission mechanism. Based on the different transmission structures, the nine drive mechanisms can be divided into two categories. The first type of drive mechanism includes three lead screw-slider devices and two sets of pulley devices. The first lead screw is connected to the motor via a coupling, the second lead screw shaft is connected to the first lead screw shaft via a set of pulley mechanisms, and the third lead screw is connected to the second lead screw shaft via another set of pulley mechanisms. The second type of drive mechanism includes two lead screw-slider devices and a set of pulley devices. The first lead screw is connected to the motor via a coupling, and the second lead screw is connected to the first lead screw shaft via a set of pulley mechanisms. The slider on each lead screw-slider device is connected to a drive rope. Under the operation of the motor, each drive mechanism can simultaneously pull three or two drive ropes. The first type of drive mechanism has six sets, used to drive the first two sets of joint movements, and the second type of drive mechanism has three sets, used to drive the third set of joint movements.

[0011] The lifting platform mechanism includes upper and lower end faces, a folding structure, and an electric push rod. The two ends of the folding structure are fixedly connected to the upper and lower end faces respectively. The electric push rod is installed in the folding structure. By extending and retracting the push rod, the folding structure is deformed, thereby realizing the lifting and lowering movement of the platform.

[0012] The tracked mobile chassis includes a chassis shell, a drive unit, and track wheels. The drive unit includes a motor, a reducer, and a motion controller. The front track wheel is the driving wheel, and the others are driven wheels. Under the action of the drive unit, the mobile chassis can achieve forward, backward, and turning movements.

[0013] The control console includes an outer casing, an industrial computer, a control module, and a power module. The industrial computer and control module are used to send control signals to the underactuated super-redundant robotic arm, the lifting platform mechanism, and the tracked mobile chassis, while the power module is used to provide power.

[0014] The advantages and beneficial effects of this invention are:

[0015] 1. The underactuated super-redundant robotic arm of the present invention has a large number of degrees of freedom, and the flexible movement of the robotic arm body can be achieved through the cooperation between the joints. In addition, the rigid links of the robotic arm are slender, which greatly reduces the lateral dimension of the arm body while ensuring its own rigidity, enabling the robotic arm to pass through narrow entrances. At the same time, the rigid links of the robotic arm are variable length, with the length of the links from the first set to the third set gradually decreasing, effectively improving the obstacle avoidance capability of the distal arm body.

[0016] 2. The underactuated super-redundant robotic arm drive housing of the present invention features lightweight and miniaturization. Through the drive structure, three or two drive ropes can be pulled simultaneously by a single motor. Compared with the traditional drive structure of one rope corresponding to one motor, the number of motors required for the robotic arm is reduced, the size of the drive housing is greatly optimized and the overall weight is reduced.

[0017] 3. The composite super-redundant robot of the present invention is equipped with a lifting platform mechanism at the bottom of the robotic arm, which provides the robotic arm with a vertical lifting function. When dealing with task scene entrances or objects to be inspected at different heights, the lifting platform mechanism can be adjusted to realize the dynamic movement of the robotic arm along the vertical height direction, effectively improving the applicability of the composite super-redundant robot in multi-task scenarios.

[0018] 4. The composite super-redundant robot of the present invention has a tracked mobile chassis, which is fixedly connected to the lower part of the lifting platform mechanism and has forward, backward and in-situ turning functions, providing the entire robot with multi-directional mobility and a certain obstacle-crossing performance, with strong passability; at the same time, the tracked mobile chassis effectively expands the reachable working range of the underactuated super-redundant manipulator, improving the robot's inspection performance in the task scenario.

[0019] 5. The composite super-redundant robot of the present invention adopts a separate control mode. The industrial control computer, control and communication module, and power supply module are integrated and installed in an independent control console. Power is transmitted to the underactuated super-redundant robotic arm, lifting platform mechanism, and tracked mobile chassis through power cables and communication cables, and control signals are sent. This effectively avoids electromagnetic interference problems and reduces the size and weight of the composite super-redundant robot itself. Attached Figure Description

[0020] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the front arm body of the underactuated super-redundant robotic arm in this invention;

[0022] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the drive housing structure of the underactuated super-redundant robotic arm in this invention;

[0023] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the drive housing of the underactuated super-redundant robotic arm in this invention from another perspective.

[0024] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the first type of drive mechanism in this invention;

[0025] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the second type of drive mechanism in this invention;

[0026] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the control cabinet structure in this invention;

[0027] In the figure: 1 is the front arm of the underactuated super-redundant robotic arm, 2 is the drive box of the underactuated super-redundant robotic arm, 3 is the control console, 4 is the power cable, 5 is the communication cable, 6 is the tracked mobile chassis, and 7 is the lifting platform mechanism.

[0028] 101 is the first connecting rod section, 102 is the flange, 103 is the second connecting rod section, 104 is the first joint, 105 is the third connecting rod section, 106 is the second joint, 107 is the fourth connecting rod section, 108 is the third joint, 109 is the fifth connecting rod section, 110 is the fourth joint, 111 is the sixth connecting rod section, 112 is the fifth joint, 113 is the seventh connecting rod section, 114 is the sixth joint, 115 is the eighth connecting rod section, 116 is the seventh joint, 117 is the ninth connecting rod section, 118 is the eighth joint, 119 is the vision inspection device, and 201 is the drive box housing. 202 is the front panel of the drive box, 203 is the first drive mechanism, 204 is the second drive mechanism, 205 is the third drive mechanism, 206 is the fourth drive mechanism, 207 is the fifth drive mechanism, 208 is the bottom plate of the drive box, 209 is the rear plate of the drive box, 210 is the sixth drive mechanism, 211 is the seventh drive mechanism, 212 is the eighth drive mechanism, 213 is the ninth drive mechanism, 301 is the control console shell, 302 is the industrial computer, 303 is the control and communication module, 304 is the first power supply module, and 305 is the second battery module.

[0029] 203-1 is the lead screw front baffle, 203-2 is the first lead screw slider device, 203-3 is the second lead screw slider device, 203-4 is the third lead screw slider device, 203-5 is the first pulley device, 203-6 is the second pulley device, 203-7 is the pulley device support seat, 203-8 is the motor, and 203-9 is the coupling;

[0030] 210-1 is the lead screw front baffle, 210-2 is the first lead screw slider device, 210-3 is the second lead screw slider device, 210-4 is the pulley device, 210-5 is the coupling, 210-6 is the motor, and 210-7 is the pulley device support. Detailed Implementation

[0031] The embodiments of the present invention are given below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The specific embodiments are only used for further detailed description of the invention and do not limit the scope of protection of this application.

[0032] This invention discloses a composite super-redundant robot for inspection in confined spaces, such as... Figures 1-7 As shown, it includes an underactuated robotic arm front arm body 1, an underactuated super-redundant robotic arm drive box 2, a control console 3, a power cable 4, a communication cable 5, a tracked mobile chassis 6, and a lifting platform mechanism 7.

[0033] The underactuated robotic arm front-end arm 1 includes a first link 101, a flange 102, a second link 103, a first joint 104, a third link 105, a second joint 106, a fourth link 107, a third joint 108, a fifth link 109, a fourth joint 110, a sixth link 111, a fifth joint 112, a seventh link 113, a sixth joint 114, an eighth link 115, a seventh joint 116, a ninth link 117, an eighth joint 118, and a vision inspection device 119. The first joint 101 is connected to the drive housing 2 and the flange 102 at both ends, the second connecting rod 103 is connected to the flange 102 and the first joint 104 at both ends, the third connecting rod 105 is hinged to the first joint 104 and the second joint 106 at both ends, and the remaining connecting rods and joints are hinged in sequence according to the above pattern until they are connected to the vision detection device. Each joint is connected to three drive ropes, which are connected to the drive mechanism in the drive housing 2 through the flange 102. Under the pull of the drive mechanism, each joint is driven to rotate.

[0034] The drive housing 2 includes a drive housing shell 201, a drive housing front plate 202, a first group of drive mechanisms 203, a second group of drive mechanisms 204, a third group of drive mechanisms 205, a fourth group of drive mechanisms 206, a fifth group of drive mechanisms 207, a drive housing bottom plate 208, a drive housing rear plate 209, a sixth group of drive mechanisms 210, a seventh group of drive mechanisms 211, an eighth group of drive mechanisms 212, and a ninth group of drive mechanisms 213. The nine groups of drive structures are evenly arranged inside the drive housing 2. Each drive structure is connected to the drive housing front plate 202 and the drive housing rear plate 209 on both sides. The drive housing front plate 202 and the drive housing rear plate 209 are connected to the drive housing bottom plate 209. The third group of drive mechanisms 205, the sixth group of drive mechanisms 210, and the ninth group of drive mechanisms 213 are second-type drive mechanisms, while the remaining drive mechanisms are first-type drive mechanisms.

[0035] The drive structure 203 includes a lead screw front baffle 203-1, a first lead screw slider device 203-2, a second lead screw slider device 203-3, a third lead screw slider device 203-4, a first pulley device 203-5, a second pulley device 203-6, a pulley device support 203-7, a motor 203-8, and a coupling 203-9. The drive mechanism 203 is connected to the drive box front plate 202 via the lead screw front baffle 203-1. The first pulley device 203-5 and the second pulley device 203-6 are connected via the pulley device support 203-9. -7 is fixed. The first lead screw and slider device 203-2 is connected to the motor 203-8 through the coupling 203-9. The second lead screw device 203-3 is connected to the first lead screw and slider device 203-2 through the first pulley device 203-5. The third lead screw device 203-4 is connected to the second lead screw device 203-3 through the second pulley device 203-6. Each set of lead screw and slider devices is connected to a drive rope through the top of its respective slider. Under the drive of the motor 203-8, the three sets of lead screw and slider devices move synchronously to pull their respective drive ropes.

[0036] The control console 3 includes a control console housing 301, an industrial computer 302, a control and communication module 303, a first power supply module 304, and a second battery module 305. The industrial computer 302 is used to send control commands to the control and communication module 303. After processing the control commands, the control and communication module 303 transmits specific action commands to the underactuated super-redundant robotic arm drive housing 2, the tracked mobile chassis 6, and the lifting platform mechanism 7 through the communication cable 5. The first power supply module 304 and the second battery module 305 transmit power to the underactuated super-redundant robotic arm drive housing 2, the tracked mobile chassis 6, and the lifting platform mechanism 7 through the power cable 4.

[0037] The working principle and workflow of this invention are as follows:

[0038] The console 3 sends specific motion commands to the underactuated super-redundant robotic arm drive housing 2, the tracked mobile chassis 6, and the lifting platform mechanism 7 via the communication cable 5. After receiving the commands, the tracked mobile chassis 6 carries the underactuated super-redundant robotic arm and the lifting platform mechanism 7 to the commanded task scene. Subsequently, the lifting platform mechanism 7 begins to move to adjust the overall height of the underactuated super-redundant robotic arm to match the scene entrance position. After receiving the commands, the underactuated super-redundant robotic arm drive housing 2 moves its various drive mechanisms. Taking the drive mechanism 203 as an example, after the motor 203-8 receives the motion command, the spindle starts... The first screw-slider device 203-2 rotates, and through coupling 203-9, it drives the screw in the first screw-slider device 203-2 to rotate. The slider in the first screw-slider device 203-2 moves linearly under the rotation of the screw. The drive rope fixed to the slider in the first screw-slider device 203-2 is stretched or contracted under the pull of the slider. The second screw-slider device 203-3 is connected to the first screw-slider device 203-2 through the first pulley device 203-5. When the screw in the first screw-slider device 203-2 rotates, it drives the first pulley device 203-5 to move. The lead screw of the second lead screw and slider device 203-3 rotates under the movement of the first pulley device 203-5. The drive rope fixed on the slider of the second lead screw and slider device 203-3 is stretched or contracted under the pull of the slider. The third lead screw and slider device 203-4 is connected to the second lead screw and slider device 203-3 through the second pulley device 203-6. When the lead screw in the second lead screw and slider device 203-3 rotates, it will drive the second pulley device 203-6 to move. The lead screw of the third lead screw and slider device 203-4 rotates under the movement of the second pulley device 203-6. The motor 203-8 rotates in the same direction as the other motor. The drive ropes fixed on the slider of the third lead screw and slider device 203-4 are stretched or contracted under the pull of the slider. When the motor 203-8 rotates forward, the three drive ropes fixed on the first lead screw and slider device 203-2, the second lead screw and slider device 203-3, and the third lead screw and slider device 203-4 are contracted in sequence. When the motor 203-8 rotates in reverse, the three drive ropes fixed on the first lead screw and slider device 203-2, the second lead screw and slider device 203-3, and the third lead screw and slider device 203-4 are stretched.

[0039] The first drive mechanism 203, the fourth drive mechanism 206, and the eighth drive structure 212 jointly determine the movement of the first joint 104, the second joint 106, and the third joint 108. When the first drive mechanism 203, the fourth drive mechanism 206, and the eighth drive structure 212 move, the corresponding drive ropes will drive the first joint 104, the second joint 106, and the third joint 108 to move synchronously in one direction. The second drive mechanism 204, the fifth drive mechanism 207, and the seventh drive structure 211 jointly determine the movement of the fourth joint 110, the fifth joint 112, and the sixth joint 114. When the second drive mechanism 204, the fifth drive mechanism 207, and the seventh drive structure 211 move, the corresponding drive ropes will drive the fourth joint 110, the fifth joint 112, and the sixth joint 114. 114 moves synchronously in one direction. The third group of drive mechanisms 205, the sixth group of drive mechanisms 210, and the ninth group of drive mechanisms 213 jointly determine the movement of the seventh joint 116 and the eighth joint 118. When the third group of drive mechanisms 205, the sixth group of drive mechanisms 210, and the ninth group of drive mechanisms 213 move, the corresponding drive ropes will drive the seventh joint 116 and the eighth joint 118 to move synchronously in one direction. When the nine groups of drive mechanisms move, all drive ropes are stretched or contracted. All joints in the front arm body 1 of the underactuated robotic arm rotate under the pull of the corresponding drive ropes, thereby driving the movement of each link in the front arm body 1 of the underactuated robotic arm. The vision detection device 119 moves in space under the combined influence of the movement of each link, and completes the all-round vision detection in the task scene.

[0040] The foregoing has shown and described the basic principles, main features, and advantages of the present invention. Those skilled in the art should understand that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. The embodiments and descriptions in the specification are merely illustrative of the principles of the invention. Various changes and modifications can be made to the invention without departing from its spirit and scope, and all such changes and modifications fall within the scope of the present invention as claimed. The scope of protection of this invention is defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A composite super-redundant robot for inspection in confined spaces, characterized in that, This includes an underactuated, super-redundant robotic arm, a lifting platform mechanism, a tracked mobile chassis, and a control console. The underactuated super-redundant robotic arm adopts a post-drive design and includes rigid links, Hooke joints, drive ropes, flanges, drive mechanisms, and drive housings. The underactuated super-redundant robotic arm comprises nine rigid links. The first link is a fixed link, with one end fixed to the drive housing and the other end connected to the flange. The second link is fixed to the flange at one end and connected to the third link via a Hooke joint at the other end. The remaining links are connected sequentially via Hooke joints. The nine rigid links are divided into three groups based on their length: the first link is in the first group, the second to seventh links are in the second group, and the eighth and ninth links are in the third group. Except for the first and second links, all other links can be driven by the rotation of the Hooke joints. The underactuated super-redundant robotic arm includes eight Hooke joints, each with two rotational degrees of freedom. Each Hooke joint is connected to three drive ropes, enabling rotation along the two degrees of freedom under the tension of the three ropes. The eight Hooke joints are divided into three groups: the first to third joints correspond to the third to fifth links of the first group; the fourth to sixth joints correspond to the sixth to eighth links of the second group; and the seventh and eighth joints correspond to the ninth link and the vision detection device. The underactuated super-redundant robotic arm also includes 24 drive ropes, with three ropes forming a group fixed to one Hooke joint. The other end of each drive rope is connected to the drive mechanism inside the drive housing via a flange, enabling telescopic movement under the action of the drive mechanism. All drive units and transmission structures are integrated into the drive housing at the rear of the boom, and are mounted on the lifting platform mechanism. The lifting platform mechanism is then mounted on the tracked mobile chassis. The control console transmits power and sends control signals to the underdriven super-redundant robotic arm, the lifting platform mechanism, and the tracked mobile chassis via power cables and communication cables.

2. The composite super-redundant robot according to claim 1, characterized in that, The underactuated super-redundant robotic arm includes nine drive mechanisms. Each drive mechanism includes a motor and a transmission mechanism. Based on the different transmission structures, the nine drive mechanisms can be divided into two categories. The first type of drive mechanism includes three lead screw-slider devices and two sets of pulley devices. The first lead screw is connected to the motor via a coupling, the second lead screw shaft is connected to the first lead screw shaft via a set of pulley mechanisms, and the third lead screw is connected to the second lead screw shaft via another set of pulley mechanisms. The second type of drive mechanism includes two lead screw-slider devices and a set of pulley devices. The first lead screw is connected to the motor via a coupling, and the second lead screw is connected to the first lead screw shaft via a set of pulley mechanisms. The slider on each lead screw-slider device is connected to a drive rope. Under the operation of the motor, each drive mechanism can simultaneously pull three or two drive ropes. The first type of drive mechanism has six sets, used to drive the first two sets of joint movements, and the second type of drive mechanism has three sets, used to drive the third set of joint movements.

3. The composite super-redundant robot according to claim 1, characterized in that, The lifting platform mechanism includes upper and lower end faces, a folding structure, and an electric push rod. The two ends of the folding structure are fixedly connected to the upper and lower end faces respectively. The electric push rod is installed in the folding structure. By extending and retracting the push rod, the folding structure is deformed, thereby realizing the lifting and lowering movement of the platform.

4. The composite super-redundant robot according to claim 1, characterized in that, The tracked mobile chassis includes a chassis housing, a drive unit, and track wheels. The drive unit includes a motor, a reducer, and a motion controller. The front track wheel of the tracked mobile chassis is the driving wheel, and the others are driven wheels. Under the action of the drive unit, the mobile chassis can achieve forward, backward, and turning movements.

5. The composite super-redundant robot according to claim 1, characterized in that, The control console includes an outer casing, an industrial computer, a control module, and a power module. The industrial computer and control module are used to send control signals to the underactuated super-redundant robotic arm, the lifting platform mechanism, and the tracked mobile chassis, while the power module is used to provide power.

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