Single-wheel cluster robot and cluster robot system

Abstract

The invention provides a single-wheel cluster robot and a cluster robot system. The single-wheel cluster robot comprises a butt joint base, a steering mechanism, an advancing mechanism and a control mechanism. A steering mechanism and an advancing mechanism are arranged in the butt joint base; the steering mechanism and the advancing mechanism are both connected with the control mechanism, and the control mechanism is used for driving the steering mechanism to drive the butt joint base to steer and further used for driving the advancing mechanism to drive the butt joint base to advance in the needed direction. According to the single-wheel cluster robot, the omni-directional wheels and the planetary gear set are arranged, so that the omni-directional moving capacity is achieved, and stable transportation of surrounded objects is achieved. The single-wheel cluster robots can be freely butted in a magnetic attraction mode. The cluster robot system provided by the invention can efficiently and cooperatively transport objects.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application belongs to the field of robotics, and specifically relates to a single-wheel cluster robot and a cluster robot system. Background Art

[0002] Strategies for cooperatively transporting objects based on reference trajectories can be divided into three categories. The first category is the "pushing strategy", which involves multiple robots moving objects by generating contact forces in specific directions. However, the lack of a stable connection may cause the robots to lose control of the object during transportation, making the movement inefficient. To solve this problem, the researchers developed a second category of "grasping strategies". That is, by equipping each robot with a connector or operating mechanism, they can form a rigid connection with the object, ensuring stable transportation and improving anti-disturbance. However, the additional mechanism significantly increases the size and complexity of each module, reducing their adaptability to different transportation tasks.

[0003] In order to overcome the shortcomings of the first two types of strategies, researchers have developed a third type of "encirclement strategy". This strategy involves a team of robots surrounding an object through coordinated structure formation, passively constraining or controlling the movement of the object. It does not require additional mechanisms to connect to the object, but rather transports the object stably to the destination through coordinated movement. However, during the research and development process, the inventors of this application found that there are major challenges in implementing the encirclement strategy for the robot team; first, the encirclement structure must remain consistent throughout the transportation process; due to the lack of rigid connection with each other or with the object, the encirclement force applied is prone to deviate from the expected value due to interference or possible collisions, especially when the encircled object has a complex shape; in addition, it is very difficult to maintain structure formation when tracking a trajectory with a large curvature, because each robot must quickly change its direction of travel, requiring excellent coordination between team members. Summary of the invention

[0004] In order to overcome the problems existing in the related art at least to a certain extent, the present application provides a single-wheel cluster robot and a cluster robot system.

[0005] According to the first aspect of the embodiments of the present application, the present application provides a single-wheel cluster robot, which includes a docking base, a steering mechanism, a traveling mechanism and a control mechanism; the steering mechanism and the traveling mechanism are arranged in the docking base; the steering mechanism and the traveling mechanism are both connected to the control mechanism, and the control mechanism is used to drive the steering mechanism to drive the docking base to turn, and is also used to drive the traveling mechanism to drive the docking base to move in a desired direction.

[0006] In the above-mentioned single-wheel cluster robot, the docking base includes an annular gear and a base body, the annular gear is arranged on the inner wall of the base body along the circumference of the base body; a magnet array is arranged between the inner wall and the outer wall of the base body along the circumference of the base body; a spring plunger is arranged at the bottom of the base body, and the spring plunger is used to suspend and support the base body, and is also used to adjust the friction between the base body and the travel mechanism; the steering mechanism drives the docking base to turn by meshing with the annular gear.

[0007] Furthermore, the base body adopts a cylindrical structure, and the ring gear is arranged on the inner wall of the cylindrical structure; along the circumference of the cylindrical structure, 2n rectangular plates are arranged on the outer wall of the cylindrical structure, n is a natural number greater than or equal to 2, so that the cross-section of the outer wall of the cylindrical structure constitutes a regular 2n-gon; along the circumference of the cylindrical structure, a magnet array is arranged between the inner wall and the outer wall of the cylindrical structure.

[0008] Furthermore, the base body is formed of 2n rectangular plates to form a cylinder with a cross section of a regular 2n-gon; along the circumference of the cylinder, the ring gear is arranged on the inner wall of the cylinder; and the magnet array is arranged between the inner wall and the outer wall of the cylinder.

[0009] Furthermore, each magnet in the magnet array is arranged at the connection between two adjacent rectangular plates, and the directions of adjacent magnets are opposite.

[0010] In the above-mentioned single-wheel cluster robot, the steering mechanism includes a planetary gear set and a steering motor; the planetary gears in the planetary gear set are meshed with the ring gear; a support plate is provided on the top of the base body, and the support plate can rotate along the circumference of the base body, and the steering motor is provided on the support plate, and the steering motor is connected to a planetary gear in the planetary gear set, and the remaining planetary gears are connected to the support plate through a connecting shaft; the control mechanism controls the movement of the steering motor, and the steering motor drives the planetary gears connected thereto to rotate relative to the ring gear.

[0011] Furthermore, more than three planetary gears are arranged in the planetary gear set; along the circumference of the base body, more than three planetary gears are evenly spaced in the base body.

[0012] Furthermore, the travel mechanism includes an omnidirectional wheel and a travel motor, the omnidirectional wheel is connected to the travel motor, the travel motor is connected to a control mechanism, and the travel motor is fixedly connected to a support plate; the control mechanism is used to control the movement of the travel motor.

[0013] Furthermore, the control mechanism includes a power supply module and a PCB board, the power supply module is connected to the PCB board and is used to supply power to the PCB board; an MCU is provided on the PCB board, and the MCU is connected to the steering motor and the traveling motor to control the movement of the steering motor and the traveling motor.

[0014] According to the second aspect of the embodiments of the present application, the present application also provides a cluster robot system, which includes three or more single-wheel cluster robots as described in any one of the above items; the single-wheel cluster robots are docked by magnetic attraction.

[0015] According to the above-mentioned specific implementation of the present application, it can be known that there are at least the following beneficial effects: the single-wheel cluster robot provided by the present application can realize automatic docking of the single-wheel cluster robot by setting an alternatingly arranged magnet array in the base body, without the need for additional energy and the docking position is continuous.

[0016] The single-wheel cluster robot provided in the present application only uses one omnidirectional wheel and one planetary gear set to realize the movement of a single single-wheel cluster robot along any trajectory; the steering of each single-wheel cluster robot can be adjusted independently while maintaining the docking formation; and each single-wheel cluster robot can move as an omnidirectional robot as a whole while maintaining the docking formation.

[0017] The polygonal contour design of the present application increases shear strength while allowing flexible docking configuration, surrounding a target object with a complex shape and firmly encircling it. The present application enables a single-wheel cluster robot to have omnidirectional mobility by setting omnidirectional wheels, thereby achieving smooth transportation of the enclosed object. The cluster robot system provided by the present application can efficiently and collaboratively transport objects. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] The attached drawings below are part of the specification of the present application, which illustrate embodiments of the present application. The attached drawings together with the description of the specification are used to explain the principles of the present application.

[0019] Figure 1 One of the structural schematic diagrams of a single-wheel cluster robot provided for the specific implementation manner of the present application.

[0020] Figure 2 The second structural schematic diagram of a single-wheel cluster robot provided for the specific implementation method of the present application.

[0021] Figure 3 A partial structural schematic diagram of a single-wheel cluster robot provided for a specific implementation of the present application.

[0022] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of the application status of a cluster robot system provided in a specific embodiment of the present application.

[0023] Description of reference numerals:

[0024] 1. docking base; 11. ring gear; 12. base body; 13. magnet array; 14. spring plunger; 15. support plate; 151. through hole;

[0025] 2. Steering mechanism; 21. Planetary gear set; 22. Steering motor;

[0026] 3. Traveling mechanism; 31. Omnidirectional wheel; 32. Traveling motor. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] In order to make the purpose, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present application more clearly understood, the spirit of the contents disclosed in the present application will be clearly explained with the accompanying drawings and detailed descriptions below. After understanding the embodiments of the contents of the present application, any technician in the relevant technical field can change and modify them according to the techniques taught by the contents of the present application without departing from the spirit and scope of the contents of the present application.

[0028] The exemplary embodiments and descriptions of the present application are used to explain the present application, but are not intended to limit the present application. In addition, elements / components with the same or similar reference numerals used in the drawings and embodiments are used to represent the same or similar parts.

[0029] The terms “first”, “second”, etc. used in this document do not particularly refer to an order or sequence, nor are they used to limit this application. They are only used to distinguish elements or operations described with the same technical terms.

[0030] The words “include,” “including,” “have,” “contain,” etc. used in this document are open-ended terms, meaning including but not limited to.

[0031] As used herein, "and / or" includes any or all combinations of the items described.

[0032] As used herein, “plurality” includes “two” and “more than two”; as used herein, “plurality groups” includes “two groups” and “more than two groups”.

[0033] Certain terms used to describe the present application are discussed below or elsewhere in this specification to provide additional guidance to those skilled in the art regarding the description of the present application.

[0034] like Figure 1 to Figure 3 As shown, the single-wheel cluster robot provided in the embodiment of the present application includes a docking base 1, a steering mechanism 2, a traveling mechanism 3 and a control mechanism (not shown in the figure). The steering mechanism 2 and the traveling mechanism 3 are arranged in the docking base 1, and the control mechanism can be arranged at the top of the docking base 1.

[0035] The steering mechanism 2 and the traveling mechanism 3 are both connected to the control mechanism, and the control mechanism is used to drive the steering mechanism 2 to drive the docking base 1 to turn, and is also used to drive the traveling mechanism 3 to drive the docking base 1 to move in a desired direction.

[0036] The docking base 1 can be connected to the docking bases 1 in other single-wheeled cluster robots by magnetic attraction, so that multiple single-wheeled cluster robots form a cluster robot system.

[0037] The single-wheel cluster robot provided in the embodiment of the present application becomes a two-degree-of-freedom robot through the setting of the steering mechanism 2 and the traveling mechanism 3, so that the single-wheel cluster robot can flexibly self-organize, self-form and self-reconstruct.

[0038] In this embodiment, if Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, the docking base 1 includes a ring gear 11 and a base body 12, wherein the ring gear 11 is arranged on the inner wall of the base body 12 along the circumference of the base body 12. A magnet array 13 is arranged between the inner wall and the outer wall of the base body 12 along the circumference of the base body 12, so that the docking base 1 can be magnetically connected with other docking bases 1. A spring plunger 14 is arranged at the bottom of the base body 12, and the spring plunger 14 is used to suspend and support the base body 12, and is also used to adjust the friction between the base body and the travel mechanism. The steering mechanism 2 drives the docking base 1 to turn by meshing with the ring gear 11.

[0039] In a specific embodiment, the base body 12 can adopt a cylindrical structure, and the ring gear 11 is arranged on the inner wall of the cylindrical structure. Along the circumference of the cylindrical structure, 2n rectangular plates are arranged on the outer wall of the cylindrical structure, and n is a natural number greater than or equal to 2, so that the cross-section of the outer wall of the cylindrical structure constitutes a regular 2n-gon. Along the circumference of the cylindrical structure, a magnet array 13 is arranged between the inner wall and the outer wall of the cylindrical structure. Each magnet in the magnet array 13 is arranged at the connection between two adjacent rectangular plates, and the directions of adjacent magnets are opposite.

[0040] It is understandable that the base body 12 can also directly use 2n rectangular plates to enclose a cylinder with a cross section of a regular 2n polygon. Along the circumference of the cylinder, the ring gear 11 is arranged on the inner wall of the cylinder. The magnet array 13 is arranged between the inner wall and the outer wall of the cylinder. Each magnet in the magnet array 13 is arranged at the connection between two adjacent rectangular plates, and the directions of adjacent magnets are opposite.

[0041] Under the same diameter and magnet arrangement, the fewer the number of rectangular plates, the greater the docking strength (specifically expressed as shear force) of the single-wheel cluster robot, but the continuity of the docking position and the flexibility of the formation are worse. Therefore, the number of rectangular plates can be adjusted according to task requirements.

[0042] In a specific embodiment, n is set to n=12, and the cross section of the outer contour of the base body 12 is a regular 24-gon. Based on the polygonal contour design of the base body 12, the shear strength can be increased while allowing the single-wheel cluster robot to be flexibly docked; and the docking is carried out in the form of surface contact, and the docking firmness is high, so that the cluster robot system composed of the single-wheel cluster robots can surround a target object with a complex shape and firmly surround it.

[0043] In the above embodiment, if Figure 3 As shown, the steering mechanism 2 includes a planetary gear set 21 and a steering motor 22, wherein more than three planetary gears can be provided in the planetary gear set 21. Along the circumference of the base body 12, more than three planetary gears are evenly spaced in the base body 12 and mesh with the ring gear 11. A support plate 15 is provided on the top of the base body 12, and the planetary gears are connected to the support plate 15 through a connecting shaft, and the steering motor 22 is provided on the support plate 15. The steering motor 22 is connected to any planetary gear, and the control mechanism controls the movement of the steering motor 22, and the steering motor 22 drives the planetary gears connected thereto to rotate relative to the ring gear 11, thereby realizing the steering of the docking base 1.

[0044] Specifically, the support plate 15 can be made of ferromagnetic material, and the support plate 15 can be directly adsorbed on the top of the base body 12 by magnetic attraction. The support plate 15 can also rotate relative to the base body 12 along the circumference of the base body 12, so that the support plate 15 and the base body 12 are adsorbed into a whole by magnetic force, thereby improving the stability of a single single-wheel cluster robot; at the same time, the stability of the meshing between the ring gear 11 and the planetary gear is increased, thereby improving the transportation performance of the single-wheel cluster robot.

[0045] In the above embodiment, if Figure 2 As shown, the traveling mechanism 3 includes an omnidirectional wheel 31 and a traveling motor 32, the omnidirectional wheel 31 is connected to the traveling motor 32, the traveling motor 32 is connected to the control mechanism, and the traveling motor 32 is fixedly connected to the support plate 15. The control mechanism controls the movement of the traveling motor 32, and the traveling motor 32 drives the omnidirectional wheel 31 to move in the desired direction.

[0046] Specifically, Figure 2 As shown, a through hole 151 is opened on the support plate 15, and the omnidirectional wheel 31 is arranged in the through hole 151. The upper half of the omnidirectional wheel 31 passes through the through hole 151 and is located above the support plate 15; the lower half of the omnidirectional wheel 31 is located below the support plate 15.

[0047] In the above embodiment, the control mechanism includes a power supply module and a PCB board, and the power supply module is connected to the PCB board to supply power to the PCB board. Specifically, the power supply module can be powered by a storage battery or a rechargeable battery.

[0048] The PCB board is provided with an MCU, which is connected to the steering motor 22 and the traveling motor 32 to control the movement of the steering motor 22 and the traveling motor 32. Specifically, the MCU can adopt an esp32 chip, which is a chip with wireless communication function, which has a 40nm process, a dual-core 32-bit MCU, a 2.4GHz dual-mode WiFi and Bluetooth chip, and a main frequency of up to 230MHz. The esp32 chip adopts a Tensilica Xtensa LX6 microprocessor, including dual-core and single-core versions, a built-in antenna switch, an RF radio frequency module, a power amplifier, a low-noise receiving amplifier, a filter and a power management module.

[0049] The MCU can receive commands from an external host computer through a WiFi network, and then control the movement of the steering motor 22 and the travel motor 32 .

[0050] In a specific embodiment, considering the friction provided by the omnidirectional wheel 31, a 10mm x 5mm x 1mm NdFeB (neodymium iron boron) magnet can be used to construct the magnet array 13. 24 magnets are evenly arranged in the base body 12 with a cross section of a regular 24-gon with a radius of 5mm. Each magnet is installed at a distance of 1mm from the inner wall of the base body 12 along the radial direction of the base body 12, so that a tensile force of 1.29N is generated between each single-wheel cluster robot, and the shear strength is about 8.39×10 -3 N·m.

[0051] like Figure 4 As shown, based on the single-wheel cluster robot provided in the embodiment of the present application, the embodiment of the present application further provides a cluster robot system. The cluster robot system includes more than three single-wheel cluster robots. Each single-wheel cluster robot is spliced ​​together by magnetic attraction.

[0052] When the single-wheeled cluster robots approach each other, the magnet array 13 will passively align and attract, so that the single-wheeled cluster robots dock together. This passive and continuous docking mechanism facilitates stable connection between the single-wheeled cluster robots and promotes the formation of a flexible structure.

[0053] It is understandable that the base body 12 in the single-wheel cluster robot can also directly adopt a cylindrical structure. Along the thickness direction of the cylindrical structure, the magnet is directly arranged in the cylindrical structure. The single-wheel cluster robot of this structure can easily switch to the adjacent docking position by moving itself, that is, the single-wheel cluster robots docked with each other can be regarded as connected through the contact point. However, this switching only requires a very small shear torque, which makes the cluster robot system spliced ​​by the single-wheel cluster robots of this structure not stable enough and easily disturbed.

[0054] The single-wheeled cluster robot whose outer contour of the base body 12 is a regular polygon after further optimization in the present application has greater shear strength when switching docking positions. That is, the single-wheeled cluster robots that dock with each other can be regarded as connected through the contact surface. In addition, the single-wheeled cluster robot that is further optimized in the present application can provide a larger contact area and stronger stability during the transportation of objects. Using the base body 12 whose outer contour is a regular polygon, the consistency of docking and the shear strength can be adjusted by modifying the shear torque.

[0055] The single-wheel cluster robot provided in the embodiment of the present application can achieve automatic docking of the single-wheel cluster robot through the alternating arrangement of the magnet array 13, without the need for additional energy and the docking position is continuous.

[0056] The single-wheel cluster robot provided in the embodiment of the present application only uses one omnidirectional wheel 31 and one planetary gear set 21 to realize the movement of a single single-wheel cluster robot along an arbitrary trajectory; the steering of each single-wheel cluster robot can be adjusted independently while maintaining the docking formation; and each single-wheel cluster robot can move as an omnidirectional robot as a whole while maintaining the docking formation.

[0057] The above description is only an illustrative specific implementation manner of the present application. Without departing from the concept and principle of the present application, any equivalent changes and modifications made by any technician in the field should fall within the scope of protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A single-wheel cluster robot, characterized in that: It includes a docking base, a steering mechanism, a traveling mechanism and a control mechanism; the steering mechanism and the traveling mechanism are arranged in the docking base; the steering mechanism and the traveling mechanism are both connected to the control mechanism, and the control mechanism is used to drive the steering mechanism to drive the docking base to turn, and is also used to drive the traveling mechanism to drive the docking base to move in a desired direction.

2. The single-wheel cluster robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The docking base includes an annular gear and a base body, wherein the annular gear is arranged on the inner wall of the base body along the circumference of the base body; a magnet array is arranged between the inner wall and the outer wall of the base body along the circumference of the base body; a spring plunger is arranged at the bottom of the base body, and the spring plunger is used to suspend and support the base body and to adjust the friction between the base body and the travel mechanism; the steering mechanism drives the docking base to turn by meshing with the annular gear.

3. The single-wheel cluster robot according to claim 2, characterized in that: The base body adopts a cylindrical structure, and the ring gear is arranged on the inner wall of the cylindrical structure; along the circumference of the cylindrical structure, 2n rectangular plates are arranged on the outer wall of the cylindrical structure, n is a natural number greater than or equal to 2, so that the cross-section of the outer wall of the cylindrical structure constitutes a regular 2n-gon; along the circumference of the cylindrical structure, a magnet array is arranged between the inner wall and the outer wall of the cylindrical structure.

4. The single-wheel cluster robot according to claim 2, characterized in that: The base body is formed of 2n rectangular plates to form a cylinder with a cross section of a regular 2n-polygon; along the circumference of the cylinder, the ring gear is arranged on the inner wall of the cylinder; and the magnet array is arranged between the inner wall and the outer wall of the cylinder.

5. The single-wheel cluster robot according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that: Each magnet in the magnet array is arranged at the connection between two adjacent rectangular plates, and the directions of adjacent magnets are opposite.

6. The single-wheel cluster robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The steering mechanism includes a planetary gear set and a steering motor; the planetary gears in the planetary gear set are meshed with the ring gear; a support plate is provided on the top of the base body, and the support plate can rotate along the circumference of the base body, and the steering motor is provided on the support plate, the steering motor is connected to a planetary gear in the planetary gear set, and the other planetary gears are connected to the support plate through a connecting shaft; the control mechanism controls the movement of the steering motor, and the steering motor drives the planetary gears connected thereto to rotate relative to the ring gear.

7. The single-wheel cluster robot according to claim 6, characterized in that: The planetary gear set is provided with more than three planetary gears; along the circumference of the base body, the more than three planetary gears are evenly spaced and arranged in the base body.

8. The single-wheel cluster robot according to claim 6, characterized in that: The travel mechanism comprises an omnidirectional wheel and a travel motor, the omnidirectional wheel is connected to the travel motor, the travel motor is connected to a control mechanism, and the travel motor is fixedly connected to a support plate; the control mechanism is used to control the movement of the travel motor.

9. The single-wheel cluster robot according to claim 8, characterized in that: The control mechanism includes a power supply module and a PCB board, wherein the power supply module is connected to the PCB board and is used to supply power to the PCB board; an MCU is arranged on the PCB board, and the MCU is connected to the steering motor and the traveling motor to control the movement of the steering motor and the traveling motor.

10. A cluster robot system, characterized in that: It comprises three or more single-wheel cluster robots as described in any one of claims 1 to 9; the single-wheel cluster robots are docked by magnetic attraction.

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