Flexible clamping jaw suitable for clamping food of multiple sizes

Abstract

According to the flexible clamping jaw suitable for clamping food of multiple sizes, a sliding groove is formed in the lower portion of a base, two sliding bases can transversely move relative to the base along the sliding groove at the same time, a flexible knuckle clamping finger is arranged below each sliding base, one end of a first knuckle of each flexible knuckle clamping finger is connected with a first knuckle driving assembly, and the other end of a second knuckle of each flexible knuckle clamping finger is connected with a second knuckle driving assembly. The first knuckle driving assembly drives the two first knuckles to conduct opening and closing movement close to or away from each other, an output shaft of a motor of the adjusting driving assembly is connected with a motor arm, the motor drives the motor arm to rotate, and the left end and the right end of the motor arm are hinged to one end of a left connecting rod and one end of a right connecting rod correspondingly. And the other ends of the left connecting rod and the right connecting rod are respectively hinged with the corresponding sliding seats. According to the flexible clamping jaw provided by the invention, the space can be adjusted, and the proper binding surface can be adjusted according to different sizes of clamped food, so that the clamping jaw can firmly grab large-size food and can clamp small-size food with complex shapes without slipping when clamping the large-size food, and the application range and the stability of the clamping jaw for clamping the food are improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the field of flexible end effectors and relates to a flexible clamping claw suitable for clamping foods of various sizes. Background Art

[0002] In the process of food processing and production, the food grabbing process is generally completed manually. The disadvantages of manual food grabbing include low efficiency, high labor intensity, susceptibility to fatigue, and health and safety hazards. Therefore, the research and development of flexible grippers suitable for grabbing food has broad development prospects.

[0003] Currently available flexible grippers are often designed based on specific gripping object sizes, and the sizes of objects that can be gripped are fixed, and cannot be adjusted according to the sizes of the gripping objects, so they are not very applicable. Summary of the invention

[0004] 1. Technical problems to be solved: The size of the object that can be gripped by the existing flexible gripper is fixed, and it cannot be adjusted according to the size of the gripped object, so the applicability is not strong.

[0005] 2. Technical solution: In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a flexible clamping claw suitable for clamping food of multiple sizes, including a base, a slide groove is arranged under the base, and an adjusting drive assembly drives two sliding seats to move laterally relative to the base along the slide groove at the same time, and a flexible finger joint clamping finger is arranged under each sliding seat, and each of the flexible finger joint clamping fingers includes a first finger joint, a first finger joint driving assembly, and one end of the first finger joint is connected to the first finger joint driving assembly, and the first finger joint driving assembly drives the two first finger joints to perform opening and closing movements that are close to or away from each other, and the adjusting drive assembly includes a motor fixed on the base, as well as a motor arm, a left connecting rod and a right connecting rod, and the output shaft of the motor is fixed to the middle of the motor arm by an interference fit, and the motor drives the motor arm to rotate, and the left and right ends of the motor arm are respectively hinged to one end of the left connecting rod and the right connecting rod, and the other ends of the left connecting rod and the right connecting rod are respectively hinged to the corresponding sliding seats.

[0006] Furthermore, the left and right ends of the motor arm are of the same length, and the left connecting rod and the right connecting rod are of the same length.

[0007] Furthermore, the first finger joint is made of silicone with a hollow inner cavity. The first finger joint drive assembly includes a manifold fixed on the base and two solenoid valves fixed above the manifold. One end of each of the solenoid valves is connected to one end of an air pipe, and the other end of each of the solenoid valves is connected to a manifold. A first finger joint air inlet connected to the internal cavity of the first finger joint is provided on the surface of each of the first finger joints, and the other end of each of the air pipes is connected to a first finger joint air inlet.

[0008] Furthermore, a pressure sensor is installed at the air inlet of the first finger joint to detect the pressure of the internal cavity of the first finger joint.

[0009] Furthermore, the outward side of each of the first finger joints is configured as a tooth-shaped structure, and the inward side of the first finger joint is configured as a plane structure.

[0010] Furthermore, each of the flexible finger joint clamps also includes a second finger joint, the second finger joint has a large contact surface area at one end and a small contact surface area at the other end, a second finger joint drive device is installed at the lower end of the first finger joint, and the second finger joint is installed at the output end of the second finger joint drive device, and the second finger joint drive device is a micro-servo drive to drive the second finger joint to rotate, switching the second finger joint to contact the surface of the food to be clamped.

[0011] Furthermore, the second knuckle contact surface has anti-slip stripes.

[0012] Furthermore, the material of the second knuckle is silicone, and the fitting surface of the second knuckle is flush with the plane on the inner side of the first knuckle.

[0013] Furthermore, each of the first finger joints is connected to a sliding seat via a clamping sleeve, the clamping sleeve is fixed under the sliding seat, the clamping sleeve is provided with a convex portion, the concave portion on the first finger joint and the convex portion on the clamping sleeve are engaged with each other, so that the first finger joint is fixed on the clamping sleeve.

[0014] Furthermore, the left and right ends of the motor arm are respectively connected to one end of the left connecting rod and the right connecting rod through pin shaft I and pin shaft II, so that the motor arm and the left connecting rod and the right connecting rod can rotate relative to each other. The other ends of the left connecting rod and the right connecting rod are respectively connected to the corresponding sliding seats through pin shaft III and pin shaft IV, so that the left connecting rod, the right connecting rod and the corresponding sliding seats can rotate relative to each other.

[0015] 3. Beneficial effects: The flexible clamping jaws provided by the present invention are suitable for clamping foods of various sizes, and the spacing between the flexible clamping jaws can be adjusted. The flexible clamping jaws can adjust the appropriate fitting surface according to the foods of different sizes, thereby ensuring that the clamping jaws can firmly grasp large-sized foods and can clamp small-sized foods of complex shapes without slipping, thereby improving the application range and stability of the clamping jaws in clamping foods. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the main structure of the present invention.

[0017] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the adjustable clamping module of the present invention.

[0018] Figure 3 It is a half-section schematic diagram of the first finger joint of the present invention.

[0019] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the flexible knuckle clamping structure of the ferrule installation of the present invention.

[0020] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the clamping claws of the present invention clamping large-sized cakes.

[0021] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of the clamping claw of the present invention clamping a small-sized edible flower bud.

[0022] The numbers in the figure are: 100-base; 200-sliding seat; 210-ferrule; 211-convex part; 300-trachea; 400-flexible finger joint clamp; 410-first finger joint; 411-recess; 412-first finger joint air inlet; 413-cavity; 420-first finger joint drive assembly; 421-manifold; 422-solenoid valve; 430-second finger joint; 440-second finger joint drive device; 500-adjusting drive assembly; 510-motor; 520-motor arm; 530-left connecting rod; 540-right connecting rod; 600-pressure sensor; 610-pin shaft I; 620-pin shaft II; 630-pin shaft III; 640-pin shaft IV; 650-bolt; 660-nut. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] The present invention is described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0024] like Figure 1 As shown, a flexible clamp suitable for clamping food of various sizes includes a base 100, a slide groove is arranged below the base 100, and an adjustment drive assembly 500 drives two sliding seats 200 to move laterally relative to the base 100 along the slide groove at the same time.

[0025] In one embodiment, the slide groove runs through the entire base 100 horizontally, and the two ends of the slide groove are respectively located on the left and right sides of the base 100, thereby forming a continuous channel. The sliding seat 200 is slidably connected to the slide rail in the slide groove through a sliding block, and the adjustment drive assembly 500 is transmission-connected to the sliding seat 200. The adjustment drive assembly 500 can drive the two sliding seats 200 to move horizontally relative to the base 100 along the slide groove in the base 100 at the same time.

[0026] A flexible finger joint clamp is provided under each sliding seat 200, and each of the flexible finger joint clamps 400 includes a first finger joint 410, a first finger joint drive assembly 420, and one end of the first finger joint 410 is connected to the first finger joint drive assembly 420, and the first finger joint drive assembly 420 drives the two first finger joints 410 to perform opening and closing movements towards or away from each other.

[0027] like Figure 2As shown, the adjustment drive assembly 500 includes a motor 510 fixed on the base 100, as well as a motor arm 520, a left connecting rod 530 and a right connecting rod 540. The output shaft of the motor 510 is fixed to the motor arm 520 by interference fit. The motor 510 drives the motor arm 520 to rotate. The left and right ends of the motor arm 520 are respectively hinged to one end of the left connecting rod 530 and the right connecting rod 540, and the other ends of the left connecting rod 530 and the right connecting rod 540 are respectively hinged to the corresponding sliding seat 200.

[0028] The adjustment drive assembly 500 is connected to the sliding seat 200 by transmission, and the adjustment drive assembly 500 can drive the two sliding seats 200 to move horizontally relative to the base 100 along the slide groove in the base 100 at the same time. The specific process is: the output shaft of the motor 510 drives the motor arm 520 to rotate, and the motor arm 520 drives the left connecting rod 530 and the right connecting rod 540 to rotate, and the other ends of the left connecting rod 530 and the right connecting rod 540 are connected to the sliding seat 200, and drive the two flexible knuckle clamping fingers 400 to move.

[0029] In one embodiment, the lengths of the left and right ends of the motor arm 520 are consistent, and the lengths of the left connecting rod 530 and the right connecting rod 540 are consistent. With such a design, the motor 510 drives and ensures that the two sliding seats 200 are precisely adjusted synchronously.

[0030] In one embodiment, the left and right ends of the motor arm 520 are respectively connected to one end of the left connecting rod 530 and the right connecting rod 540 through pin shaft I 610 and pin shaft II 620, so that the motor arm 520 and the left connecting rod 530 and the right connecting rod 540 can rotate relative to each other, and the other ends of the left connecting rod 530 and the right connecting rod 540 are respectively connected to the corresponding sliding seat 200 through pin shaft III 630 and pin shaft IV 640, so that the left connecting rod 530, the right connecting rod 540 and the corresponding sliding seat 200 can rotate relative to each other.

[0031] In one embodiment, the first finger joint drive assembly 420 includes a manifold 421 fixed on the base 100 and two solenoid valves 422 fixed above the manifold 421. The external air source is transported into the air inlet of the manifold 421, one end of the two solenoid valves 422 is fixed on the air outlet of the manifold 421, the other end of the two solenoid valves 422 is connected to one end of the air pipe 300, and the other end of the air pipe 300 is connected to the first finger joint air inlet 412. The two solenoid valves 422 control the external air source to enter the cavity 413 inside the first finger joint 410, so as to achieve the gripping of the flexible clamp.

[0032] In one embodiment, a pressure sensor 600 is installed at the air inlet 412 of the first finger joint to detect the pressure of the internal cavity 413 of the first finger joint 410 .

[0033] In one embodiment, the first finger joint 410 is made of silicone and is injection molded, and has a hollow cavity 413 inside.

[0034] In one embodiment, the outward side of the first finger joint 410 is a tooth-shaped structure, such as Figure 3 As shown, the inward side of the first knuckle 410 is a planar structure, and the shape of the cavity 413 located inside the first knuckle 410 is consistent with the shape of the outward side of the first knuckle 410, and is the same tooth-shaped structure. The first knuckle drive assembly 420 is used to fill the cavity 413 with gas through the first knuckle air inlet 412, and under the action of the tooth-shaped structure on the outward side of the first knuckle 410, the first knuckle 410 automatically bends inward.

[0035] In one embodiment, each of the flexible knuckle clamp fingers 400 further includes a second knuckle 430, such as Figure 4 As shown, the contact surface area of ​​one end of the second finger joint 430 is large, while the contact surface area of ​​the other end is small. The second finger joint driving device 440 is installed at the lower end of the first finger joint 410, and the second finger joint 430 is installed at the output end of the second finger joint driving device 440. The second finger joint driving device 440 is a micro-servo motor that drives the second finger joint 430 to rotate, switching the second finger joint 430 to contact the surface of the food to be clamped.

[0036] In one embodiment, the second finger joint 430 is made of silicone and is molded by silicone injection. The contact surface of the second finger joint 430 is flush with the plane of the inner side of the first finger joint 410.

[0037] When the flexible clamp grasps large-sized food, the second finger joint driving device 440 drives the second finger joint 430 to rotate, and the fitting surface of the second finger joint 430 and the food to be grasped is switched to the end with a wider knuckle area. At this time, the contact area between the flexible clamp and the large-sized food is large, and the grip is secure; when the flexible clamp grasps small-sized food, the second finger joint driving device 440 drives the second finger joint 430 to rotate, and the fitting surface of the second finger joint 430 and the food to be grasped is switched to the end with a smaller knuckle area. At this time, the contact area between the flexible clamp and the small-sized food is small, which can better adapt to the shape of small-sized food and grasp it securely, especially objects with complex shapes, to avoid poor contact and slipping caused by the thicker fingertips being difficult to adapt to the contour of small-sized food.

[0038] In one embodiment, the second finger joint 430 and the two contact surfaces of the food to be clamped have anti-slip stripes, which ensure the stability of the flexible clamping claw when clamping the food.

[0039] In one embodiment, each of the first finger joints 410 is connected to the sliding seat 200 through a clamping sleeve 210, the clamping sleeve 210 is fixed below the sliding seat 200, the clamping sleeve 210 is provided with a convex portion 211, and the concave portion 411 on the first finger joint 410 and the convex portion 211 on the clamping sleeve 210 are mutually engaged, so that the first finger joint 410 is fixed on the clamping sleeve 210. The stability of the clamping jaws during the pitch change process is enhanced.

[0040] In one embodiment, the ferrule 210 is fixedly mounted on the sliding seat 200 by using two bolts 650 and two nuts 660 .

[0041] The working process of the present invention is: like Figure 5 The figure shows the state of clamping large-sized pastries.

[0042] The exogenous air pump is connected to the manifold 421 through the air pipe 300, and all valves are in a closed state before clamping, and the two flexible knuckle clamping fingers 400 remain loose. When clamping large-sized pastries, the control system controls the output shaft of the motor 510 on the base 100 to rotate forward, and the output shaft drives the motor arm 520 to rotate, and the motor arm 520 drives the left connecting rod 530 and the right connecting rod 540 to rotate, and the other ends of the left connecting rod 530 and the right connecting rod 540 are rotatably connected to the sliding seat 200, and the sliding seat 200 is fixedly connected to the ferrule 210, and drives the two flexible knuckle clamping fingers 400 to move, and after reaching the clamping position, the motor 510 stops moving. The control system controls the second knuckle drive device 440 to not work, and the contact surface of the second knuckle 430 and the food to be clamped is the end with a wide knuckle area. The control system controls the exogenous air pump to input high-pressure airflow to the manifold 421 for clamping large-sized pastries. After the control system receives the instruction to clamp the large-sized pastry, the two solenoid valves 422 are opened, and the high-pressure airflow enters the trachea 300 through the solenoid valves 422, and then the high-pressure airflow enters the cavity 413 inside the first finger joint 410 after passing through the first finger joint air inlet 412. The two pressure sensors 600 located in the two first finger joint air inlets 412 monitor the air pressure in the cavity 413 in real time. The control system ensures that the air pressure reaches the preset value based on the feedback of the pressure sensor 600. Under the action of the high-pressure airflow, the first finger joint 410 is inflated and expanded, and the first finger joint 410 automatically bends inward, exerting sufficient clamping force on the large-sized pastry, and completing the clamping of the large-sized pastry. When the air pressure reaches the preset value, the control system controls the external air pump to stop inflating to control the size of the clamping force. After the clamping operation is completed, the control system closes the two solenoid valves 422, and the gas in the internal cavity 413 of the first finger joint 410 is released from the first finger joint air inlet 412, and the two flexible finger joint clamping fingers 400 move away from each other, releasing the clamped large-sized pastry. The control system controls the output shaft of the motor 510 to reverse, and drives the two flexible finger joint clamping fingers 400 back to the initial position through the adjustable clamping module.

[0043] like Figure 6 The figure shows the state of clamping a small-sized edible flower bud.

[0044] The exogenous air pump is connected to the manifold 421 through the air pipe 300, and all valves are in a closed state before clamping, and the two flexible knuckle clamping fingers 400 remain loose. When clamping the small-sized edible flower bud, the control system controls the output shaft of the motor 510 on the base 100 to rotate forward, and the output shaft drives the motor arm 520 to rotate, and the motor arm 520 drives the left connecting rod 530 and the right connecting rod 540 to rotate, and the other end of the left connecting rod 530 and the right connecting rod 540 is connected to the sliding seat 200 for rotation, and the sliding seat 200 is fixedly connected to the ferrule 210, and drives the two flexible knuckle clamping fingers 400 to move, and the motor 510 stops moving after reaching the clamping position. The control system controls the output shaft of the second knuckle drive device 440 to rotate forward, and drives the second knuckle 430 to switch to the end with a small knuckle area. The control system controls the exogenous air pump to input a low-pressure airflow to the manifold 421 for clamping the small-sized edible flower bud. After the control system receives the instruction to clamp the small-sized edible flower bud, the two solenoid valves 422 are opened, and the low-pressure airflow enters the trachea 300 through the solenoid valves 422, and then the low-pressure airflow enters the cavity 413 inside the first finger joint 410 after passing through the first finger joint air inlet 412. The two pressure sensors 600 located in the two first finger joint air inlets 412 monitor the air pressure in the cavity 413 in real time. The control system ensures that the air pressure reaches the preset value based on the feedback of the pressure sensors 600. Under the action of the low-pressure airflow, the first finger joint 410 is inflated and expanded, and the first finger joint 410 automatically bends inward, exerting sufficient clamping force on the small-sized edible flower bud, and completing the clamping of the small-sized edible flower bud. When the air pressure reaches the preset value, the control system controls the external air pump to stop inflating to control the size of the clamping force. After the clamping operation is completed, the control system closes the two solenoid valves 422, and the gas in the internal cavity 413 of the first finger joint 410 is released from the first finger joint air inlet 412, and the two flexible finger joint clamping fingers 400 move away from each other, releasing the clamped small-sized edible flower bud. The control system controls the output shaft of the motor 510 to reverse, and drives the two flexible finger joint clamping fingers 400 back to the initial position through the adjustable clamping module. The control system controls the output shaft of the second finger joint drive device 440 to reverse, and drives the second finger joint 430 to switch the contact surface with the food to be clamped to the end with a wider finger joint area.

Claims

1. A flexible clamping claw suitable for clamping food of various sizes, comprising a base (100), characterized in that: A slide groove is provided below the base (100), and the adjustment drive assembly (500) drives the two sliding seats (200) to move laterally relative to the base (100) along the slide groove at the same time, and a flexible finger joint clamp is provided below each sliding seat (200), and each of the flexible finger joint clamps (400) comprises a first finger joint (410), a first finger joint drive assembly (420), and one end of the first finger joint (410) is connected to the first finger joint drive assembly (420), and the first finger joint drive assembly (420) drives the two first finger joints (410) to perform an opening and closing movement of approaching or moving away from each other. The adjustment drive assembly (500) comprises a motor (510) fixed on a base (100), a motor arm (520), a left connecting rod (530) and a right connecting rod (540); an output shaft of the motor (510) and the motor arm (520) are fixed by interference fit; the motor (510) drives the motor arm (520) to rotate; left and right ends of the motor arm (520) are respectively hinged to one end of the left connecting rod (530) and the right connecting rod (540); and the other ends of the left connecting rod (530) and the right connecting rod (540) are respectively hinged to the corresponding sliding seat (200).

2. The flexible clamping claw suitable for clamping food of various sizes as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The left and right ends of the motor arm (520) are of the same length, and the left connecting rod (530) and the right connecting rod (540) are of the same length.

3. The flexible clamping claw suitable for gripping food of various sizes as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The first finger joint (410) is made of silicone and has a hollow cavity (413) inside. The first finger joint drive assembly (420) comprises a manifold (421) fixed on the base (100) and two solenoid valves (422) fixed above the manifold (421). One end of each of the solenoid valves (422) is connected to one end of an air pipe (300), and the other end of each of the solenoid valves (422) is connected to a manifold (421). A first finger joint air inlet (412) communicating with the internal cavity (413) of the first finger joint (410) is provided on the surface of each of the first finger joints (410), and the other end of each of the air pipes (300) is connected to a first finger joint air inlet (412).

4. The flexible clamping claw for gripping food of various sizes as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that: It also includes a pressure sensor (600) installed at the air inlet (412) of the first finger joint, and is used to detect the pressure of the internal cavity (413) of the first finger joint (410).

5. The flexible clamping claw suitable for clamping food of various sizes as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The outward side of each first finger joint (410) is arranged as a tooth-shaped structure, and the inward side of the first finger joint (410) is arranged as a plane structure.

6. The flexible clamping jaw for gripping food of various sizes as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that: Each of the flexible knuckle clamping fingers (400) further comprises a second knuckle (430), wherein the contact surface area at one end of the second knuckle (430) is large, while the contact surface area at the other end is small, a second knuckle driving device (440) is installed at the lower end of the first knuckle (410), and the second knuckle (430) is installed at the output end of the second knuckle driving device (440), and the second knuckle driving device (440) is a micro-servo engine that drives the second knuckle (430) to rotate, so as to switch the second knuckle (430) to contact the surface of the food to be clamped.

7. The flexible clamping claw suitable for gripping food of various sizes as claimed in claim 6, characterized in that: The second finger joint (430) has anti-slip stripes on its fitting surface.

8. The flexible clamping claw suitable for clamping food of various sizes as claimed in claim 6, characterized in that: The material of the second finger joint (430) is silicone, and the fitting surface of the second finger joint (430) is flush with the plane on the inner side of the first finger joint (410).

9. The flexible clamping claw suitable for clamping food of various sizes as claimed in claim 5, characterized in that: Each of the first finger joints (410) is connected to a sliding seat (200) via a clamping sleeve (210), the clamping sleeve (210) is fixed below the sliding seat (200), the clamping sleeve (210) is provided with a convex portion (211), the concave portion (411) on the first finger joint (410) and the convex portion (211) on the clamping sleeve (210) are engaged with each other, so that the first finger joint (410) is fixed on the clamping sleeve (210).

10. The flexible clamping claw suitable for clamping food of various sizes as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 5 and 7 to 9, characterized in that: The left and right ends of the motor arm (520) are respectively connected to one end of the left connecting rod (530) and the right connecting rod (540) through a pin shaft I (610) and a pin shaft II (620), so that the motor arm (520) and the left connecting rod (530) and the right connecting rod (540) can rotate relative to each other. The other ends of the left connecting rod (530) and the right connecting rod (540) are respectively connected to the corresponding sliding seat (200) through a pin shaft III (630) and a pin shaft IV (640), so that the left connecting rod (530) and the right connecting rod (540) can rotate relative to each other.

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