A multi-amphibious robot integrating propellers and legs.

Abstract

This invention relates to an integrated wheel-propeller-leg amphibious robot, comprising a body, a retractable rotor assembly, four wheel-leg structures, and a control unit. The retractable rotor assembly is mounted on the body and can be deployed during operation and retracted when not in operation. The four wheel-leg structures are respectively mounted around the body, each consisting of a leg structure and a propeller. The upper end of the leg structure is connected to the body, and the lower end of the leg structure is connected to the propeller. The control unit is located within the body and is electrically connected to the drive units of the retractable rotor assembly, the leg structures, and the propellers to switch between three different operating modes: aerial movement, ground movement, and underwater movement. This robot has amphibious capabilities, high mobility, strong environmental adaptability, and a wide range of applications.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of robotics technology, specifically relating to an amphibious robot with integrated wheel, paddle, and leg design, suitable for both land and air use. Background Technology

[0002] Robots have been widely used in many fields due to their strong environmental adaptability, high flexibility and mobility, especially in harsh environments such as aquaculture, military reconnaissance, and mapping, where they have significant advantages. However, traditional robots have simple movement patterns and often can only meet relatively simple and singular work environments.

[0003] Compared to traditional robots, amphibious robots have a wider range of operations. Drones can only perform aerial operations and cannot move in water, potentially even burning out their internal electronics. Land-based robots can move freely on land but cannot fly or enter water. Underwater robots can often perform amphibious operations, but lack flight components, preventing them from performing aerial tasks. Existing amphibious robots have significantly improved environmental adaptability compared to robots with single-mode locomotion, but still have considerable limitations. Therefore, researching and designing amphibious robots capable of switching between land, water, and air amphibious capabilities, changing the single locomotion mode and single operating environment, and meeting people's needs for scientific research and exploration in vast spaces has significant academic and practical engineering implications.

[0004] Chinese patent application CN201911096192.X discloses an all-terrain mobile robot, including a robot skeleton and one or more mechanical leg assemblies mounted on the robot skeleton. The mechanical leg assembly includes a hip joint assembly, a thigh assembly, a lower leg assembly, and a movement assembly. The thigh assembly is connected to the robot skeleton via the hip joint assembly. One end of the lower leg assembly is connected to the thigh assembly, and the other end is connected to the movement assembly. Although this robot uses a wheel-leg combination to improve terrain adaptability, the leg drive joints are driven by motors, reducing the robot's load capacity and limiting its application under heavy load conditions. Furthermore, the robot's leg joints lack shock absorption; if traveling at high speed in wheeled mode, uneven surfaces will cause significant vibrations to the robot body, affecting not only the robot's motion control accuracy but also reducing the lifespan of various components.

[0005] Chinese patent application CN202310998242.3 discloses an amphibious robot capable of navigating land, water, and air, relating to the field of robotics. To address the issue of significant swaying during the switching between flight and ground walking modes, the robot comprises a main body with connecting seats on both outer walls. Stepper motors are mounted on the inner walls of these connecting seats, and the output shafts of the stepper motors are connected to a connecting frame via couplings. Support blocks are mounted on both outer walls of the connecting frame, with a first guide block and a second guide block on one outer wall of each support block. Rectangular slots are formed on both outer walls of the main body, with connecting blocks fixed to the inner top of the slots. While this amphibious robot possesses navigable capabilities across land, water, and air, it cannot meet the demands of working in harsh environments such as gravel surfaces and cannot overcome small obstacles like steps. Summary of the Invention

[0006] The purpose of this invention is to provide an amphibious robot with integrated wheel, paddle, and leg design, which has amphibious capabilities, high mobility, strong environmental adaptability, and a wide range of applications.

[0007] To achieve the above objectives, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is: an amphibious robot integrating wheels, paddles, and legs, comprising a body, a retractable rotor device, four wheel-leg structures, and a control unit. The retractable rotor device is mounted on the body and can be deployed during operation and retracted when not in operation. The four wheel-leg structures are respectively mounted around the body, and each wheel-leg structure consists of a leg structure and a paddle. The upper end of the leg structure is connected to the body, and the lower end of the leg structure is connected to the paddle. The control unit is located inside the body and is electrically connected to the drive units of the retractable rotor device, the leg structures, and the paddle, respectively, to switch between three different working modes: aerial movement, ground movement, and underwater movement.

[0008] Furthermore, the retractable rotor device includes a rack and pinion mechanism and two sets of rotor assemblies. The rack and pinion mechanism is installed on the middle part of the fuselage and includes a gear drive motor, gears, rack guide rails, and front and rear racks. The gear drive motor is installed on the fuselage and drives the gears to rotate. The rack guide rails are installed on the fuselage. The front and rear racks mesh with the left and right sides of the gears, respectively, and move forward and backward under the guidance of the rack guide rails and the drive of the gears. The two sets of rotor assemblies are respectively installed on the front and rear sides of the fuselage. Each set of rotor assemblies includes two rotors, two rotor drive motors, and two... The system comprises one rotor connecting rod, two connecting rods, and one rotor mounting base. The rotor mounting base is fixedly mounted on the fuselage. The output end of the rotor drive motor is connected to the corresponding rotor. The two rotor drive motors are respectively mounted on the left and right sides of the rotor mounting base via corresponding rotor connecting rods. One end of the rotor connecting rod is rotatably connected to the rotor mounting base, and the other end is fixedly mounted with the rotor drive motor. The front end of the front rack is rotatably connected to the middle of the two rotor connecting rods of the front rotor assembly via two connecting rods. The rear end of the rear rack is rotatably connected to the middle of the two rotor connecting rods of the rear rotor assembly via two connecting rods.

[0009] Furthermore, the leg structure includes a hip component, a thigh component, and a lower leg component. The hip component is fixedly connected to the side of the machine body. The upper end of the thigh component is rotatably connected to the end of the hip component and is driven to rotate by a thigh drive motor. The upper end of the lower leg component is rotatably connected to the lower end of the thigh component and is driven to rotate by a lower leg drive motor. The propeller is rotatably connected to the lower end of the lower leg component and is driven to rotate by a propeller drive motor.

[0010] Furthermore, the propeller consists of a propeller-type wheel and a tire. The propeller-type wheel consists of a hub, spokes, and a rim. The spokes have a propeller-type configuration. The hub is connected to the rim through the spokes. The tire is mounted on the rim. The hub is connected to the propeller drive motor and is driven to rotate by it.

[0011] Furthermore, the machine body includes a frame and a housing, the housing is fixedly installed on the outside of the frame, the control unit is disposed inside the housing and installed on the frame, and the housing is a sealed structure to prevent water from entering the machine body.

[0012] Furthermore, the frame is a cuboid frame structure, and the shell is composed of upper, lower, front, rear, left, and right side plates connected together. Rubber waterproof gaskets are placed between the joints of each side plate, and they are fixed together by threaded fasteners to achieve compression and sealing between each side plate; the retractable rotor device is installed on the upper side plate, and the four wheel leg structures are installed on the left and right side plates.

[0013] Furthermore, when the robot is in aerial motion mode, the position and attitude of the robot can be adjusted by controlling the rotation speed of different rotors on the retractable rotor device, thereby realizing the robot's vertical motion, pitch motion, roll motion, and turning motion.

[0014] Furthermore, the robot's ground movement modes include a wheeled movement mode and a legged movement mode. The wheeled movement mode is used for rapid movement on paved surfaces. When in wheeled movement mode, the robot moves forward and backward on the surface by controlling the rotation of the propellers, and turns on the surface by controlling the differential rotation of the four propellers. The legged movement mode is used for crossing obstacles or moving on unpaved surfaces. When in legged movement mode, the four propellers are fixed, and the robot crosses obstacles by controlling the movement of the four leg structures.

[0015] Furthermore, when the robot is in water movement mode, it moves forward and backward in the water by controlling the rotation of the propellers, and turns in the water by controlling the differential rotation of the four propellers.

[0016] Compared with existing technologies, the present invention has the following advantages: The present invention provides a wheel-paddle-leg integrated amphibious robot that integrates three working modes: aerial, ground, and underwater movement. In ground movement mode, it also possesses rapid movement and obstacle-crossing capabilities, making it suitable for a wide range of scenarios, highly adaptable to various environments, and possessing strong anti-interference capabilities. This robot can flexibly switch between multiple movement modes, making it suitable as a mobile multimodal robot to complete various tasks. Attached Figure Description

[0017] Figure 1 This is a structural schematic diagram of the amphibious robot with integrated wheel, paddle, and leg design according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0018] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the deployed state of the retractable rotor device in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the retractable rotor device in the retracted state in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0020] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the leg structure in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the propeller structure in an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0022] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0023] It should be noted that the following detailed descriptions are exemplary and intended to provide further explanation of this application. Unless otherwise specified, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this application pertains.

[0024] It should be noted that the terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments according to this application. As used herein, the singular form is intended to include the plural form as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. Furthermore, it should be understood that when the terms "comprising" and / or "including" are used in this specification, they indicate the presence of features, steps, operations, devices, components, and / or combinations thereof.

[0025] like Figure 1 As shown, this embodiment provides an integrated wheel-propeller-leg amphibious robot, including a body 1, a retractable rotor device 2, four wheel-leg structures, and a control unit. The retractable rotor device 2 is mounted on the body 1 and can be deployed during operation and retracted when not in operation. The four wheel-leg structures are respectively mounted around the body, and each wheel-leg structure consists of a leg structure 3 and a propeller 4. The upper end of the leg structure 3 is connected to the body 1, and the lower end of the leg structure 3 is connected to the propeller 4. The control unit is located inside the body 1 and is electrically connected to the drive units of the retractable rotor device 2, the leg structure 3, and the propeller 4 to switch between three different working modes: aerial movement, ground movement, and underwater movement.

[0026] like Figure 2-3As shown, the retractable rotor device 2 includes a rack and pinion mechanism and two sets of rotor assemblies. The rack and pinion mechanism is installed on the middle part of the body 1. The rack and pinion mechanism includes a gear drive motor, a gear 27, a rack guide rail 28, and front and rear racks. The gear drive motor is installed on the body 1 and drives the gear 27 to rotate. The rack guide rail 28 is installed on the body 1. The front and rear racks mesh with the left and right sides of the gear 27, respectively, and move forward and backward under the guidance of the rack guide rail 28 and the drive of the gear 27. The two sets of rotor assemblies are respectively installed on the front and rear sides of the body 1. Each set of rotor assemblies includes two rotors 21, two rotor drive motors 22, and two rotor connectors. The system includes a connecting rod 23, two connecting rods 25, and a rotor mounting base 24. The rotor mounting base 24 is fixedly mounted on the body 1. The output end of the rotor drive motor 22 is connected to the corresponding rotor 21. The two rotor drive motors 22 are respectively mounted on the left and right sides of the rotor mounting base 24 through corresponding rotor connecting rods 23. One end of the rotor connecting rod 23 is rotatably connected to the rotor mounting base 24, and the other end is fixedly mounted with the rotor drive motor 22. The front end of the front rack is rotatably connected to the middle of the two rotor connecting rods of the front rotor assembly through two connecting rods 25. The rear end of the rear rack is rotatably connected to the middle of the two rotor connecting rods of the rear rotor assembly through two connecting rods 25.

[0027] like Figure 4 As shown, the leg structure 3 includes a hip component 31, a thigh component 32, and a lower leg component 33. The hip component 31 is fixedly connected to the side of the machine body 1. The upper end of the thigh component 32 is rotatably connected to the end of the hip component 31 and is driven to rotate by a thigh drive motor. The upper end of the lower leg component 33 is rotatably connected to the lower end of the thigh component 32 and is driven to rotate by a lower leg drive motor. The propeller is rotatably connected to the lower end of the lower leg component 33 and is driven to rotate by a propeller drive motor.

[0028] like Figure 5 As shown, the propeller 4 consists of a propeller-type wheel 41 and a tire 42. The propeller-type wheel 41 consists of a hub, spokes, and a rim. The spokes have a propeller-type configuration. The hub is connected to the rim through the spokes. The tire 42 is mounted on the rim. The hub is connected to the propeller drive motor and is driven to rotate by it.

[0029] The body 1 includes a frame and a housing. The housing is fixedly installed on the outside of the frame, and the control unit is disposed inside the housing and installed on the frame. The housing is a sealed structure to prevent water from entering the body. In this embodiment, the frame is a cuboid frame structure, and the housing is composed of upper, lower, front, rear, left, and right side plates connected together. Rubber waterproof gaskets are placed between the side plates at the joints, and they are fixed together by threaded fasteners to achieve compression sealing between the side plates. The retractable rotor device is installed on the upper side plate, and the four wheel leg structures are installed on the left and right side plates.

[0030] In this device, dynamic sealing is applied between all relatively moving parts to prevent water from entering the moving parts and affecting the normal operation of the robot.

[0031] When the robot is in aerial motion mode, its position and attitude are adjusted by controlling the rotational speed of different rotors on the retractable rotor assembly, enabling vertical, pitch, roll, and turning movements. Pitch (forward / backward flight) is achieved by increasing or decreasing the rotational speed of an adjacent pair of rotors; roll (left / right flight) is achieved by increasing or decreasing the rotational speed of rotors on the same side; and yaw (left / right turning) is achieved by decreasing the rotational speed of two non-adjacent rotors to be lower than that of the other rotor. Specifically, the gear drive motor drives gear 27 to rotate, causing rack 26 to move along rack guide 28. Rack 26 drives connecting rod 25, which in turn causes rotor mounting rod 23 to deploy. Rotor drive motor 22 drives control rotor 21 to rotate along with the other three identical rotors. By controlling the rotational speed of rotor drive motor 22, the robot's position and attitude can be controlled. Vertical movement of the robot is achieved by simultaneously controlling the synchronous changes in the rotational speeds of the four rotor drive motors 22. The robot's pitch motion is achieved by controlling the speed of an adjacent pair of rotor drive motors 22 to increase or decrease; the robot's yaw motion is achieved by decreasing or increasing the speed of a pair of non-adjacent motors, making them different from the other remaining motors.

[0032] The robot's ground movement modes include wheeled and legged modes. The wheeled mode is used for rapid movement on paved surfaces. In this mode, the robot moves forward and backward on the road by controlling the propellers, and turns by controlling the differential speed of the four propellers. The legged mode is used for crossing obstacles or moving on unpaved surfaces. In this mode, the four propellers are stationary, and the robot crosses obstacles by controlling the movement of its four legs. When encountering an obstacle, the robot first uses wheeled mode to move to the obstacle, and then controls the movement of its left and right legs to step over it. The leg structures on the same side maintain the same movement state; that is, one side's leg structure is in a pushing-off state, while the other side's leg structure is in a stepping-out state. The movement states of the two sides' leg structures alternate, achieving a four-legged stepping mode suitable for traversing rough terrain.

[0033] When the robot is in underwater movement mode, it moves forward and backward in the water by controlling the rotation of its propellers, and turns in the water by controlling the differential rotation of its four propellers. That is, when moving on the water surface, the propellers provide thrust, and the robot moves forward along the axis of the propellers, that is, in the lateral direction.

[0034] The amphibious robot with integrated propellers and legs provided by this invention can select different motion modes and postures according to different task requirements, such as attitude, motion efficiency, and stability. When the robot is in flight mode, its balanced motion capability allows it to move quickly while maintaining a good motion posture, resulting in stronger environmental adaptability and anti-interference ability. The propellers can perform forward and turning movements in water and have good obstacle-crossing ability on uneven land, enabling this amphibious robot to efficiently traverse land, water, and water-land transition environments, and to operate in a variety of task environments.

[0035] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the invention in any other way. Any person skilled in the art may make changes or modifications to the above-disclosed technical content to create equivalent embodiments. However, any simple modifications, equivalent changes, and modifications made to the above embodiments based on the technical essence of the present invention without departing from the scope of the present invention shall still fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A multi-amphibious robot integrating wheels, paddles, and legs, characterized in that, The system includes an airframe, a retractable rotor assembly, four wheel-leg structures, and a control unit. The retractable rotor assembly is mounted on the airframe and can be deployed during operation and retracted when not in operation. The four wheel-leg structures are respectively mounted around the airframe, and each wheel-leg structure consists of a leg structure and a propeller. The upper end of the leg structure is connected to the airframe, and the lower end of the leg structure is connected to the propeller. The control unit is located inside the airframe and is electrically connected to the drive units of the retractable rotor assembly, the leg structures, and the propeller to switch between three different operating modes: aerial movement, ground movement, and underwater movement. The retractable rotor device includes a rack and pinion mechanism and two sets of rotor assemblies. The rack and pinion mechanism is installed on the upper middle part of the fuselage and includes a gear drive motor, gears, rack guide rails, and front and rear racks. The gear drive motor is installed on the fuselage and drives the gears to rotate. The rack guide rails are installed on the fuselage. The front and rear racks mesh with the left and right sides of the gears, respectively, and move forward and backward under the guidance of the rack guide rails and the drive of the gears. The two sets of rotor assemblies are respectively installed on the front and rear sides of the fuselage. Each set of rotor assemblies includes two rotors, two rotor drive motors, and two... The system comprises one rotor connecting rod, two connecting rods, and one rotor mounting base. The rotor mounting base is fixedly mounted on the fuselage. The output end of the rotor drive motor is connected to the corresponding rotor. The two rotor drive motors are respectively mounted on the left and right sides of the rotor mounting base via corresponding rotor connecting rods. One end of the rotor connecting rod is rotatably connected to the rotor mounting base, and the other end is fixedly mounted with the rotor drive motor. The front end of the front rack is rotatably connected to the middle of the two rotor connecting rods of the front rotor assembly via two connecting rods. The rear end of the rear rack is rotatably connected to the middle of the two rotor connecting rods of the rear rotor assembly via two connecting rods. The propeller consists of a propeller-type wheel and a tire. The propeller-type wheel consists of a hub, spokes, and a rim. The spokes have a propeller-type configuration. The hub is connected to the rim through the spokes. The tire is mounted on the rim. The hub is connected to the propeller drive motor and is driven to rotate by the motor.

2. The amphibious robot with integrated wheel-paddle-leg configuration according to claim 1, characterized in that, The leg structure includes a hip component, a thigh component, and a lower leg component. The hip component is fixedly connected to the side of the machine body. The upper end of the thigh component is rotatably connected to the end of the hip component and is driven to rotate by a thigh drive motor. The upper end of the lower leg component is rotatably connected to the lower end of the thigh component and is driven to rotate by a lower leg drive motor. The propeller is rotatably connected to the lower end of the lower leg component and is driven to rotate by a propeller drive motor.

3. The amphibious robot with integrated wheel-paddle-leg configuration according to claim 1, characterized in that, The machine body includes a frame and a housing. The housing is fixedly installed on the outside of the frame. The control unit is located inside the housing and installed on the frame. The housing is a sealed structure to prevent water from entering the machine body.

4. The amphibious robot with integrated wheel-paddle-leg configuration according to claim 3, characterized in that, The frame is a cuboid frame structure. The shell is composed of upper, lower, front, rear, left, and right side plates. Rubber waterproof gaskets are placed at the joints between the side plates and they are fixed together by threaded fasteners to achieve compression and sealing between the side plates. The retractable rotor device is installed on the upper side plate, and the four wheel leg structures are installed on the left and right side plates.

5. The amphibious robot with integrated wheel-paddle-leg configuration according to claim 1, characterized in that, When the robot is in aerial motion mode, the position and attitude of the robot can be adjusted by controlling the rotation speed of different rotors on the retractable rotor device, so as to realize the robot's vertical movement, pitching movement, rolling movement and turning movement.

6. The amphibious robot with integrated wheel-paddle-leg configuration according to claim 1, characterized in that, The robot's ground movement modes include a wheeled movement mode and a legged movement mode. The wheeled movement mode is used for rapid movement on paved surfaces. When in wheeled movement mode, the robot moves forward and backward on the surface by controlling the rotation of the propellers, and turns on the surface by controlling the differential rotation of the four propellers. The legged movement mode is used for crossing obstacles or moving on unpaved surfaces. When in legged movement mode, the four propellers are fixed, and the robot crosses obstacles by controlling the movement of the four leg structures.

7. The amphibious robot with integrated wheel-paddle-leg configuration according to claim 1, characterized in that, When the robot is in water movement mode, it moves forward and backward in the water by controlling the rotation of the propellers, and turns in the water by controlling the differential rotation of the four propellers.

Images