Underwater robot based on undulating fin propulsion

Abstract

The invention discloses an underwater robot based on undulating fin propulsion, and relates to the technical field of underwater propulsion devices, the underwater robot comprises a machine body, a plurality of flexible undulating fins, a driving assembly, a tail propulsion mechanism and a control module; the tail is arranged at the tail of the body; a plurality of flexible fluctuation fins are distributed on the two sides of the machine body in the length direction; the driving assembly is arranged on the machine body and connected with the multiple flexible fluctuation fins, and the driving assembly can drive the flexible fluctuation fins to independently fluctuate in the length direction of the machine body; the tail propelling mechanism is arranged on the tail and used for providing tail propelling force. And the control module is arranged on the machine body, is in communication connection with the driving assembly and the tail propelling mechanism, and can control actions of the driving assembly and the tail propelling mechanism. According to the underwater robot based on undulating fin propulsion, the action flexibility is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of underwater propulsion devices, and in particular to an underwater robot propulsed by wave fins. Background Art

[0002] Existing underwater propulsion technology mainly relies on propellers, which have limitations in terms of low speed and high efficiency. Propellers are less efficient at low speeds and are easily affected by debris in the water. In addition, propellers are noisy, which is not conducive to covert operations in military and scientific research missions. Therefore, robots based on bionic undulating fin propulsion have emerged, but existing undulating fin robots usually have poor control flexibility for the undulating fins. Summary of the invention

[0003] The purpose of the present invention is to provide an underwater robot based on wave fin propulsion to solve the problems existing in the above-mentioned prior art and improve the flexibility of movement.

[0004] To achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following solutions:

[0005] The present invention provides an underwater robot based on wave fin propulsion, comprising a body, a plurality of flexible wave fins, a driving component, a tail propulsion mechanism and a control module; a tail is arranged at the tail of the body; a plurality of the flexible wave fins are distributed on both sides of the body along the length direction; a driving component is arranged on the body and connected to the plurality of the flexible wave fins, and the driving component can drive each of the flexible wave fins to independently wave along the length direction of the body; a tail propulsion mechanism is arranged on the tail and can provide tail propulsion force; a control module is arranged on the body, and the control module is connected to the driving component and the tail propulsion mechanism in communication, and can control the actions of the driving component and the tail propulsion mechanism.

[0006] Preferably, the machine body comprises a plurality of submodules along the length direction, and two adjacent submodules can be detachably connected; and the flexible wave fins are arranged on both sides of each submodule.

[0007] Preferably, the driving component includes a plurality of driving mechanisms communicatively connected to the control module, one side of each submodule is provided with a flexible undulating fin, and each submodule is provided with two driving mechanisms, and the two driving mechanisms are respectively connected to the flexible undulating fins on both sides of the submodule; the driving mechanism is used to drive the corresponding flexible undulating fin to fluctuate.

[0008] Preferably, each of the driving mechanisms includes two driving motors, two transmission mechanisms and two driving rods, the two driving rods are arranged side by side on both sides of the flexible wave fin along the length direction of the body, and one end of the two driving rods is connected to the two driving motors through the two transmission mechanisms respectively; the two driving motors are arranged in the sub-module, and the driving motor drives the corresponding driving rod to move up and down through the transmission mechanism to drive the flexible wave fin to fluctuate up and down.

[0009] Preferably, the transmission mechanism includes a shell, a slide rail, a rotating disk and a transmission rod, the slide rail is vertically fixed on the shell, the rotating disk is rotatably connected to the shell, both ends of the transmission rod are respectively rotatably connected to the rotating disk and the driving rod, the driving rod is slidably passed through the slide rail, the driving motor is fixedly connected to the rotating disk, the driving motor drives the rotating disk to rotate, and drives the driving rod to slide up and down along the slide rail through the transmission rod.

[0010] Preferably, the tail is movably arranged at the tail of the fuselage, and the control module can control the action of the tail propulsion mechanism and can drive the tail to move in space relative to the fuselage.

[0011] Preferably, the tail drive device is configured as a vector thruster.

[0012] Preferably, it also includes a monitoring component, which is arranged on the flexible undulating fin. The monitoring component is communicatively connected to the control module and is used to monitor one or more of pressure information, speed information, angle information and environmental information, and can send it to the control module.

[0013] Preferably, each of the flexible undulating fins comprises an elastic layer, and a reinforcing layer and a waterproof coating are sequentially arranged outwardly on both sides of the elastic layer.

[0014] Preferably, the edge of each of the flexible undulating fins is configured to be tapered, and the flexible undulating fins are provided with corrugations.

[0015] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has achieved the following technical effects:

[0016] The underwater robot based on wave fin propulsion provided by the present invention has multiple flexible wave fins on both sides of the body, and controls the driving components through the control module to drive each flexible wave fin to fluctuate independently. Compared with the traditional method of setting the entire wave fin on one side, the flexibility of control can be improved. The control module can also provide tail propulsion force by controlling the tail propulsion mechanism to achieve overall movement. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative work.

[0018] Figure 1 A schematic top view of an underwater robot based on wave fin propulsion provided in Example 1;

[0019] Figure 2 This is an axial schematic diagram of a machine body provided in Example 1;

[0020] Figure 3 A schematic top view of the cooperation between the submodule and the flexible wave fin provided in the first embodiment;

[0021] Figure 4 A front view schematic diagram of the cooperation between the submodule and the flexible wave fin provided in the first embodiment;

[0022] Figure 5 A schematic diagram of the coordination of the driving motor, the transmission mechanism and the driving rod provided in the first embodiment;

[0023] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the cooperation between the transmission mechanism and the driving rod provided in the first embodiment;

[0024] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the flexible undulating fin provided in Example 1.

[0025] In the figure: 1-underwater robot based on wave fin propulsion; 10-body; 11-submodule; 20-tail; 30-flexible wave fin; 31-elastic layer; 32-reinforcement layer; 33-waterproof coating; 40-driving assembly; 41-driving mechanism; 411-driving motor; 412-transmission mechanism; 4121-housing; 4122-slide rail; 4123-rotating disk; 4124-transmission rod; 413-driving rod; 50-tail propulsion mechanism. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0027] The purpose of the present invention is to provide an underwater robot based on wave fin propulsion to solve the problems existing in the above-mentioned prior art and improve the flexibility of movement.

[0028] In order to make the above-mentioned objects, features and advantages of the present invention more obvious and easy to understand, the present invention is further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0029] Embodiment 1

[0030] This embodiment provides an underwater robot 1 based on wave fin propulsion. Figure 1 and Figure, including a body 10, a plurality of flexible undulating fins 30, a drive assembly 40, a tail propulsion mechanism 50 and a control module, wherein a tail 20 is arranged at the tail of the body 10; a plurality of flexible undulating fins 30 are distributed on both sides of the body 10 along the length direction; the drive assembly 40 is arranged on the body 10 and is connected to the plurality of flexible undulating fins 30, and the drive assembly 40 can drive each flexible undulating fin 30 to independently undulate along the length direction of the body 10; the tail propulsion mechanism 50 is arranged on the tail 20 and can provide tail propulsion force; the control module is arranged on the body 10, and the control module is communicated with the drive assembly 40 and the tail propulsion mechanism 50, and can control the actions of the drive assembly 40 and the tail propulsion mechanism 50.

[0031] A plurality of flexible undulating fins 30 are arranged on both sides of the body 10, and the driving assembly 40 is controlled by the control module to drive each flexible undulating fin 30 to undulate independently. Compared with the traditional arrangement of the entire undulating fin on one side, the flexibility of control can be improved. The control module can also provide tail propulsion force by controlling the tail propulsion mechanism 50 to achieve overall movement.

[0032] Among the optional solutions of this embodiment, it is more preferred to refer to Figure 2 , Figure 3 and Figure 4 The body 10 includes a plurality of submodules 11 along the length direction, and two adjacent submodules 11 can be detachably connected; flexible wave fins 30 are provided on both sides of each submodule 11; by configuring the body 20 as a plurality of submodules 11, the body 10 is modularized to facilitate disassembly and assembly to adjust the length; specifically, the submodules 11 can be fixed by plugging or by bolting.

[0033] Among the optional solutions of this embodiment, it is more preferred to refer to Figure 5 and Figure 6 The driving component 40 includes a plurality of driving mechanisms 41 that are communicatively connected to the control module. A flexible undulating fin 30 is provided on one side of each submodule 11, and two driving mechanisms 41 are provided on each submodule 11. The two driving mechanisms 41 are respectively connected to the flexible undulating fins 30 on both sides of the submodule 11; the driving mechanisms 41 are used to drive the corresponding flexible undulating fins 30 to undulate; the flexible undulating fins 30 on one side of the submodule 11 are independently controlled by the driving mechanisms 41, thereby further improving the flexibility of control.

[0034] Among the optional solutions of this embodiment, it is more preferred to refer to Figure 5 and Figure 6 Each driving mechanism 41 includes two driving motors 411, two transmission mechanisms 412 and two driving rods 413. The two driving rods 413 are arranged side by side on both sides of the flexible wave fin 30 along the length direction of the body 10, and one end of the two driving rods 413 is connected to the two driving motors 411 through the two transmission mechanisms 412 respectively; the two driving motors 411 are arranged in the submodule 11, and the driving rods 413 are fixedly penetrated in the flexible wave fin 30. The two driving motors 411 drive the corresponding driving rods 413 to move up and down through the transmission mechanism 412, so as to drive the front or rear side of the flexible wave fin 30 to move up and down, thereby realizing the up and down fluctuation of the flexible wave fin 30.

[0035] Among the optional solutions of this embodiment, it is more preferred to refer to Figure 6 The transmission mechanism 412 includes a shell 4121, a slide rail 4122, a rotating disk 4123 and a transmission rod 4124. The slide rail 4122 is fixedly arranged on the shell 4121 along the vertical direction. The rotating disk 4123 is rotatably connected to the shell 4121. Both ends of the transmission rod 4124 can be rotatably connected to the rotating disk 4123 and the driving rod 413 through a pin shaft. The driving rod 413 is slidably penetrated through the slide rail 4122. The driving motor 411 is fixedly connected to the rotating disk 4123. The driving motor 411 drives the rotating disk 4123 to rotate, and drives the driving rod 413 to slide up and down along the slide rail 4122 through the transmission rod 4124; wherein the shell 4121 can be fixed relative to the machine body 10, and the transmission mechanism 412 is equivalent to a crank slider mechanism, which converts the rotation of the driving motor 411 into a linear movement of the driving rod 413; in addition, the transmission mechanism 412 can also convert the rotation into a linear movement of the driving rod 413 through the cooperation of a conventional gear and a rack.

[0036] Further preferably, a stabilizing rod may be provided on each flexible undulating fin 30 , the stabilizing rod is fixedly provided in the flexible undulating fin 30 , one end of the stabilizing rod is slidably connected in the slide rail 4122 , and cooperates with the driving rod 413 to enhance the undulating stability of the flexible undulating fin 30 .

[0037] In the optional scheme of this embodiment, it is more preferred that the tail 20 is movably arranged at the tail of the body 10; the tail drive device is connected to the tail 20, and the control module can control the action of the tail propulsion mechanism 50 to drive the tail 20 to move in space relative to the body 10; the tail propulsion mechanism 50 can provide tail propulsion force and can control the direction of the tail 20, thereby adjusting the direction of the body 10; wherein the tail 20 is connected to the body 10 via a universal joint.

[0038] In the optional scheme of this embodiment, it is more preferred that the tail propulsion mechanism 50 is configured as a conventional vector thruster, including a propeller, which provides propulsion force by driving the propeller blades to rotate and drives the overall deflection of the propeller to adjust the propulsion direction of the tail propulsion mechanism 50, that is, controls the overall rotation of the propeller mechanism, and then adjusts the propulsion direction, and then adjusts the direction of the tail 20.

[0039] Among the optional schemes of this embodiment, it is more preferred that the underwater robot 1 based on wave fin propulsion provided in this embodiment also includes a monitoring component, which is arranged on the flexible wave fin 30. The monitoring component is communicatively connected with the control module and is used to monitor one or more of the pressure information, speed information, angle information and environmental information, and can send it to the control module; specifically, each flexible wave fin 30 is provided with a monitoring component, and the monitoring component is configured to include a pressure sensor, a speed sensor, an angle sensor and an environmental sensor. By monitoring the pressure information, speed information, wave angle information and underwater environmental information, the control module controls the driving component 40, the tail propulsion mechanism 50 and the tail driving device according to the monitoring information, so as to realize flexible control of the entire robot.

[0040] The monitoring component may also include a displacement sensor for monitoring the fluctuation amplitude, which is arranged on the housing 4121 of the transmission mechanism 412, and monitors the fluctuation amplitude information by monitoring the sliding displacement of the transmission rod 4124, and sends it to the control module for overall control.

[0041] Among the optional solutions of this embodiment, it is more preferred to refer to Figure 7 Each flexible wave fin 30 includes an elastic layer 31, and a reinforcement layer 32 and a waterproof coating 33 are sequentially arranged on both sides of the elastic layer 31. The elastic layer 31 is set to a highly elastic polyurethane material to ensure flexibility. The reinforcement layer 32 adopts a carbon fiber reinforced composite material, which has flexibility and improves strength. The waterproof coating 33 is made of polytetrafluoroethylene PTFE material to prevent the performance of the material from deteriorating after absorbing water, thereby ensuring the stability of the fin when working underwater for a long time.

[0042] In the optional scheme of this embodiment, it is more preferred that the edge of each flexible undulating fin 30 is set to be conical to reduce the generation of edge vortices and reduce resistance, and the flexible undulating fin 30 is provided with corrugations, which can effectively disperse the pressure and improve the flexibility and adaptability of the fin.

[0043] In the optional scheme of this embodiment, more preferably, the control module can be set to be based on the circuit board module and perform overall control through PID.

[0044] In the optional scheme of this embodiment, it is more preferred that the wavelength λ of the flexible undulating fin 30 is set to between 0.8 and 1.2 times the length dimension of the flexible undulating fin 30 in the length direction of the body 10, and the optimal wavelength is 1 times the length, that is, λ=L; the peak ratio A / λ of the flexible undulating fin 30, that is, the ratio of the amplitude to the wavelength, is set between 0.1 and 0.15, and the optimal peak ratio is 0.125, that is, A=0.125*λ.

[0045] The present invention uses specific examples to illustrate the principles and implementation methods of the present invention. The above examples are only used to help understand the method and core ideas of the present invention. At the same time, for those skilled in the art, according to the ideas of the present invention, there will be changes in the specific implementation methods and application scope. In summary, the content of this specification should not be understood as limiting the present invention.

Claims

1. An underwater robot based on wave fin propulsion, Features: include: A machine body (10), wherein a tail (20) is provided at the tail of the machine body (10); A plurality of flexible undulating fins (30), wherein the plurality of flexible undulating fins (30) are distributed along the length direction on both sides of the machine body (10); A driving component (40) is arranged on the machine body (10) and is connected to each of the plurality of flexible undulating fins (30), wherein the driving component (40) is capable of driving each of the flexible undulating fins (30) to independently undulate along the length direction of the machine body (10); A tail propulsion mechanism (50), disposed on the tail (20), capable of providing tail propulsion force; and A control module is arranged on the machine body (10); the control module is in communication connection with the drive assembly (40) and the tail propulsion mechanism (50), and is capable of controlling the actions of the drive assembly (40) and the tail propulsion mechanism (50).

2. The underwater robot based on wave fin propulsion according to claim 1, Features: The machine body (10) comprises a plurality of submodules (11) along the length direction, and two adjacent submodules (11) can be detachably connected; and the flexible wave fins (30) are provided on both sides of each submodule (11).

3. The underwater robot based on wave fin propulsion according to claim 2, Features: The driving assembly (40) comprises a plurality of driving mechanisms (41) which are communicatively connected to the control module; one side of each submodule (11) is provided with one of the flexible undulating fins (30); and each submodule (11) is provided with two of the driving mechanisms (41); the two driving mechanisms (41) are respectively connected to the flexible undulating fins (30) on both sides of the submodule (11); and the driving mechanisms (41) are used to drive the corresponding flexible undulating fins (30) to undulate.

4. The underwater robot based on wave fin propulsion according to claim 3, Features: Each of the driving mechanisms (41) comprises two driving motors (411), two transmission mechanisms (412) and two driving rods (413); the two driving rods (413) are arranged side by side on both sides of the flexible wave fin (30) along the length direction of the body (10); one end of the two driving rods (413) is connected to the two driving motors (411) through the two transmission mechanisms (412); the two driving motors (411) are arranged in the submodule (11); the driving motors (411) drive the corresponding driving rods (413) to move up and down through the transmission mechanisms (412), so as to drive the flexible wave fin (30) to fluctuate up and down.

5. The underwater robot based on wave fin propulsion according to claim 4, Features: The transmission mechanism (412) comprises a housing (4121), a slide rail (4122), a rotating disk (4123) and a transmission rod (4124); the slide rail (4122) is fixedly arranged on the housing (4121) in a vertical direction; the rotating disk (4123) is rotatably connected to the housing (4121); two ends of the transmission rod (4124) are rotatably connected to the rotating disk (4123) and the driving rod (413) respectively; the driving rod (413) is slidably penetrated through the slide rail (4122); the driving motor (411) is fixedly connected to the rotating disk (4123); the driving motor (411) drives the rotating disk (4123) to rotate, and drives the driving rod (413) to slide up and down along the slide rail (4122) through the transmission rod (4124).

6. The underwater robot based on wave fin propulsion according to claim 1, Features: The tail (20) is movably arranged at the tail of the body (10), and the control module can control the action of the tail propulsion mechanism (50) and can drive the tail (20) to move in space relative to the body (10).

7. The underwater robot based on wave fin propulsion according to claim 6, Features: The tail propulsion mechanism (50) is configured as a vector propeller.

8. The underwater robot based on wave fin propulsion according to claim 1, Features: It also includes a monitoring component, which is arranged on the flexible undulating fin (30), the monitoring component is communicatively connected with the control module, and is used to monitor one or more of pressure information, speed information, angle information and environmental information, and can send it to the control module.

9. The underwater robot based on wave fin propulsion according to claim 1, Features: Each of the flexible undulating fins (30) comprises an elastic layer (31), and a reinforcing layer (32) and a waterproof coating (33) are sequentially arranged outwardly on both sides of the elastic layer (31).

10. The underwater robot based on wave fin propulsion according to claim 1, Features: The edge of each of the flexible undulating fins (30) is arranged to be tapered, and the flexible undulating fins (30) are provided with corrugations.

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