Large deformation flexible manipulator and drive control system of rope-driven bellows structure

Through the large-deformed flexible robot arm of the rope-driven corrugated tube structure, the fixed driving mechanism and motor set drive tethers are used to solve the problems of discontinuous deformation and low positioning accuracy of existing flexible robot arm in narrow or deep space working environments, and achieve continuous and stable deformation and high-precision motion.

CN119328732BActive Publication Date: 2025-04-01NAT INNOVATION INST OF DEFENSE TECH PLA ACAD OF MILITARY SCI
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Patent Information

Application Number
CN202411898440.3
Authority / Receiving Office
CN · China
Patent Type
Patents(China)
Current Assignee / Owner
Filing Date
2024-12-23
Publication Date
2025-04-01
Estimated Expiration
2044-12-23

AI Technical Summary

Technical Problem

When existing flexible robot arms face a narrow or deep space working environment, it is difficult to achieve continuous and stable deformation, have sufficient load capacity and high structural repeat positioning accuracy.

Method used

The large-deformed flexible robot arm with a rope-driven corrugated structure drives the tether through a fixed driving mechanism and a motor set to control the bending and deformation of the robot arm body to achieve the precise movement of the end effector.

Benefits of technology

It realizes continuous and stable deformation of the robot arm, improves load capacity and structural repeat positioning accuracy, and is suitable for narrow space operations in microgravity environments such as space stations.

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Abstract

The present invention discloses a large deformation flexible mechanical arm with a rope-driven bellows structure and a drive control system. The mechanical arm comprises a fixed drive mechanism, a mechanical arm body and an end effector. The end effector is installed at the upper end of the mechanical arm body and is used to contact a target object and perform operations on the target object. The mechanical arm body is a bellows structure, the upper end of the mechanical arm body is connected to the end effector, and the lower end is connected to the fixed drive mechanism. The mechanical arm body is a flexible deformation structure, which can move the end effector to a target position and direction. The fixed drive mechanism is used to drive the mechanical arm body to move to a target shape through a tether, thereby moving the end effector to a target position and direction. The present invention solves the problems of redundant and low positioning accuracy of existing flexible mechanical arm drive devices, and has the advantages of continuous and stable deformation and high control accuracy.
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Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of flexible mechanical arms, and in particular to a large-deformation flexible mechanical arm with a rope-driven bellows structure and a drive control system. Background Art

[0002] The space manipulator is an important device for on-orbit services. It can be used to assist in various tasks such as the assembly of space stations, the release and recovery of satellites, and the detection and maintenance during failures. In the field of space manipulators, the most commonly used at home and abroad are multi-joint series rigid manipulators, which have the advantages of strong load capacity, high control accuracy, and convenient control. However, when faced with certain special space missions, traditional rigid manipulators cannot meet the needs, such as deep space exploration missions for detecting cracks and caves on asteroids, special inspection tasks for detecting narrow spaces inside rocket engines, and laser welding and cutting at slits, assisting in the deployment of faulty solar panels and other unconventional tasks. For these relatively narrow or deep space operating environments, flexible manipulators with higher degrees of freedom and more flexibility are needed.

[0003] Although flexible materials make the robot arm highly flexible, they also reduce its ability to do work externally. Some flexible robot arms driven by thin sheet deformation have a certain degree of curvature and load capacity, but the changes are discontinuous during the movement, and there will be a large number of irregular vibrations during the movement of the robot arm, which cannot stably control its movement trajectory. Although the pneumatically driven flexible robot arm deforms continuously and softly, its structural repeat positioning accuracy is low, and often the same control input will produce different results. Therefore, designing a flexible robot arm that can deform continuously and stably, has sufficient flexibility, has a certain load capacity, and has a high structural repeat positioning accuracy is an important step for the flexible robot arm to move towards application and play a role in tasks such as space exploration. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present invention provides a large-deformation flexible mechanical arm with a rope-driven bellows structure and a drive control system, which can meet the working requirements of microgravity such as space stations and the need to operate in a small space.

[0005] To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a large-deformation flexible mechanical arm with a rope-driven bellows structure, the mechanical arm comprising a fixed driving mechanism, a mechanical arm body and an end effector, wherein:

[0006] The end effector is mounted on the upper end of the robot arm and is used to contact the target object and perform operations on the target object;

[0007] The arm body of the robot arm is a bellows structure, the upper end of the arm body of the robot arm is connected to the end effector, and the lower end is connected to the fixed drive mechanism. The arm body of the robot arm is a flexible deformation structure, which can move the end effector to the target position and direction;

[0008] The fixed drive mechanism is used to drive the robot arm to move to the target shape through the tether, thereby moving the end effector to the target position and direction.

[0009] Furthermore, the fixed driving mechanism includes a supporting bracket, a motor group and a male docking ring; the motor group and the male docking ring are fixed to the supporting bracket by bolts, and the male docking ring is used to assemble and connect with the female docking ring at the lower end of the robotic arm body, thereby connecting the robotic arm body to the fixed driving mechanism; the motor group includes 9 groups of motors, and the 9 groups of motors are distributed around the male docking ring.

[0010] Furthermore, the motor group consists of a motor body, a steering wheel and a motor bracket. The tether is wound and fixed on the steering wheel, and then connected to the robot arm body through the guide groove wheel on the support bracket; the robot arm body is controlled to move to the target posture by retracting and releasing the tether.

[0011] Furthermore, the arm body is composed of multiple sections of stacked basic arm units, each section of the basic arm unit includes a male docking ring, a female docking ring, a bellows body and a fixed ring. The root of each section of the basic arm unit is a female docking ring, and the end is a male docking ring. The bellows body extends between the male docking ring and the female docking ring. The bellows body is made of flexible material, and the outer diameter of each layer is connected to the fixed ring.

[0012] Furthermore, a tether fixing portion is provided on the outer periphery of the fixing ring, and the tether fixing portion protrudes outward along the circumference of the fixing ring.

[0013] Furthermore, the male docking ring and the female docking ring can be inserted into each other and rotated until locked, thereby completing the matching connection between the upper and lower robot arm basic units, between the robot arm body and the supporting bracket, and between the robot arm body and the end effector.

[0014] Furthermore, each male docking ring is provided with a male plug plate and a male slot structure, and each female docking ring is provided with a female slot structure that cooperates with the male plug plate, and a female plug plate structure that cooperates with the male slot, so that the male docking ring and the female docking ring can be inserted into each other and rotated until locked.

[0015] Furthermore, the tether starts from the motor group, passes through the support bracket, passes through the positioning hole on each layer of the fixing ring, and is fixed on the male docking ring at the end of each basic unit. Three tethers are evenly distributed axially on each basic unit of the robotic arm. There are a total of 9 tethers in the three units, which are connected to 9 groups of motor groups respectively.

[0016] Furthermore, the end effector includes a mechanical claw bracket, a long connecting rod, a short connecting rod, three mechanical claws, a connecting plate and a female docking ring. The female docking ring is connected to the mechanical claw bracket and is used to connect to the male docking ring at the end of the robotic arm body; the three mechanical claws are hinged to the mechanical claw bracket through the long connecting rod, the short connecting rod and the connecting plate, driving the connecting plate to move up and down. When the connecting plate moves downward, the grasping action of the end effector is realized, and when the connecting plate moves upward, the releasing action of the end effector is realized.

[0017] On the other hand, the present invention provides a drive and control system for a rope-driven bellows structure large deformation flexible robotic arm, comprising a plurality of robotic arm basic units, wherein the robotic arm basic unit is the above-mentioned rope-driven bellows structure large deformation flexible robotic arm, and for each robotic arm basic unit, when the tether on one side is controlled to be tightened, the robotic arm basic unit will bend in the plane where the rope action point and the axis are located; when the tethers on both sides are controlled to be tightened, the robotic arm basic unit will bend in the plane where the rope action point and the axis are located on the other side; when the tethers on three sides are controlled to be tightened synchronously, the robotic arm basic unit will be compressed along the axis; the bending and deformation of the robotic arm basic unit are achieved by controlling the lengths of different tethers respectively; for the flexible robotic arm as a whole, the length changes of the nine tethers are controlled by the rotation of nine groups of motors to achieve different postures of the three-section robotic arm basic units, thereby controlling the movement of the flexible robotic arm.

[0018] The beneficial effects of the present invention are:

[0019] (1) Continuous and stable deformation: The rigidity of each basic unit of the flexible robotic arm designed by the present invention is equal, which can realize continuous deformation of the degrees of freedom in all directions. The maximum bending angle of a single basic unit of the robotic arm exceeds 90 degrees, and stable deformation can be achieved without generating a large amount of uncontrollable vibration during movement.

[0020] (2) The driving device is safe and lightweight: The present invention uses a motor to drive the tether to complete the control of the robotic arm. This is different from the pneumatic drive of the traditional flexible robotic arm, which requires a large air pump drive, which is not only heavy but also has a high risk factor. The motor used in the present invention only needs to provide electricity and has high safety and reliability, and can be applied to space environments such as space stations.

[0021] (3) High repeatability positioning accuracy: The present invention achieves precise control of the robot arm by means of a coefficient running through a fixed ring. The posture of the robot arm is determined when the tether length is given. Different from gas drive and other forms, the posture error of the robot arm is small when the same control instruction is given, and a sufficiently high structural repeatability positioning accuracy can be obtained. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the large-deformation flexible mechanical arm and the drive control system of the rope-driven bellows structure of Example 1;

[0023] Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the fixed drive mechanism in Example 1;

[0024] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the motor group in Example 1;

[0025] Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the basic unit structure of the robot arm in Example 1;

[0026] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the key design parameters of the internal structure of the robotic arm;

[0027] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the docking of the robot arm docking ring in Example 1;

[0028] Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the structure of the end effector in Example 1;

[0029] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of the bending principle of the basic unit of the robot arm in Example 2;

[0030] Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram of the working state of the robot arm in Example 2;

[0031] Among them, 1-fixed driving mechanism, 101-support bracket, 102-motor group, 1021-motor body, 1022-motor steering wheel, 1023-motor bracket, 103-bottom plate, 2-mechanical arm basic unit, 201-male docking ring, 202-female docking ring, 203-bellows body, 204-fixing ring, 3-end effector, 301-mechanical claw bracket, 302-long connecting rod, 303-short connecting rod, 304-mechanical claw, 305-connecting disk, 4-tether. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0032] The technical solution of the present invention will be described clearly and completely below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. 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.

[0033] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that the terms "center", "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "inner", "outer", etc., indicating the orientation or positional relationship, are based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the present invention. In addition, the terms "first", "second", and "third" are used for descriptive purposes only, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance.

[0034] In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "installed", "connected", and "connected" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection, or it can be indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, or it can be the internal communication of two components. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0035] The following combination Figure 1-Figure 9 The specific embodiments of the present invention are described in detail. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are only used to illustrate and explain the present invention, and are not used to limit the present invention.

[0036] The present invention discloses a large-deformation flexible mechanical arm of a rope-driven bellows structure and a drive control system. Figure 1 As shown, the rope-driven bellows structure large deformation flexible robotic arm includes three parts: a fixed driving mechanism 1, a robotic arm body formed by connecting a plurality of robotic arm basic units 2 in sequence, and an end effector 3. The end effector 3 is installed at the end of the robotic arm body, and is used to contact the target object and perform operations on the target object, such as grasping the target object; the end effector 3 is connected to the upper end of the robotic arm body, and the lower end is connected to the fixed driving mechanism 1, the robotic arm body 2 is a flexible deformation structure, and the end effector 3 can be moved to the target position and direction; the fixed driving mechanism 1 is used to drive the robotic arm body 2 to move to the target shape, thereby moving the end effector 3 to the target position and direction. Figure 1 In the illustrated embodiment, the robot arm body includes three robot arm basic units 2 .

[0037] like Figure 2As shown, the fixed driving mechanism 1 includes a supporting bracket 101, a motor group 102, a base plate 103 and a male docking ring 201; the male docking ring 201 is fixed to the supporting bracket 101 by bolts, and the male docking ring 201 is used to assemble and connect with the female docking ring 202 at the lower end of the robot basic unit 2 at the bottom end of the robot arm body, thereby connecting the robot arm body 2 to the fixed driving mechanism 1; the supporting bracket 101 and the motor group 102 are fixed to the base plate 103 by bolts, and the base plate 103 is the platform surface where the robot arm needs to be installed in actual use; the motor group 102 includes 9 groups of motors, and the 9 groups of motors are distributed around the male docking ring 201.

[0038] like Figure 3 As shown, each motor in the motor group 102 is composed of a motor body 1021, a motor steering wheel 1022 and a motor bracket 1023. The tether 4 is wound and fixed on the motor steering wheel 1022, and then connected to the manipulator body through the guide groove wheel on the support bracket 101. The tether 4 is connected to each manipulator basic unit 2 of the manipulator body, and the manipulator body 2 is controlled to move to the target posture by retracting and releasing the tether 4.

[0039] like Figure 4 As shown, each section of the basic unit 2 of the mechanical arm includes a male docking ring 201, a female docking ring 202, a bellows body 203 and a fixing ring 204. The root (lower part in the figure) of each section of the basic unit of the mechanical arm is the female docking ring 202, and the end (upper part in the figure) is the male docking ring 201. The bellows body 203 extends between the male docking ring 201 and the female docking ring 202. The bellows body 203 is made of flexible material and has a multi-layer structure of bending and overlapping, so that it can be bent in any direction to the target state. The radial section of the bellows body 203 shows a serpentine bending structure, and the outer diameter R of each layer of the raised part is connected to the fixing ring 204. In order to increase flexibility and achieve large deformation, the bellows is provided with a notch in the circumferential direction to form a hollow part. In this embodiment, three hollow parts are arranged in the circumferential direction, so that the bellows body 203 is divided into three independent fan-shaped rings in the axial direction. The structural parameters will determine the mechanical properties of the robot arm. In the present invention, the outer diameter and length of the robot arm mainly depend on the environmental restrictions and task requirements. In the preferred embodiment, the outer dimensions of the robot arm basic unit 2 are determined as follows: the outer radius of the raised part of the bellows body 203 is 23 mm, and the length is 219 mm, including 15 raised sections; and among the internal parameters, the wall thickness of the bellows is It is positively correlated with the stiffness of the robot arm, that is, the thicker the wall thickness, the worse the flexibility of the robot arm and the stronger the load-bearing capacity. When the outer diameter is determined, the inner radius of the concave part of the bellows r The larger the size, the shorter the bending part of the bellows, the greater the stiffness coefficient of the manipulator, but the bending stiffness decreases, and the central angle corresponding to the independent sector ring It will also affect the bending stiffness. The larger the central angle, the greater the bending stiffness. Figure 5 As shown, the key internal design parameters of each basic unit of the robot arm are: bellows wall thickness , bellows inner diameter r , bellows center angle . The correspondence between the design parameters of the robot and the performance of the robot is difficult to calculate and analyze directly. The present invention obtains a large number of data sets through finite element analysis, and then obtains them through machine learning fitting, and then constructs an evaluation function for the optimization of multiple objectives such as the flexibility and carrying capacity of the robot. Preferably, the optimization result is as follows: the outer radius of the raised part of the bellows body 203 is 23mm, the inner radius of the recessed part is 12mm, the wall thickness is 1mm, the central angle corresponding to each sector section is 60°, and the length is 219mm, including 15 sections of protrusions. The basic unit 2 of the robot arm adopts integrated 3D printing to realize the connection of various parts. In addition, a plurality of tether fixing parts are provided on the outer periphery of the fixing ring 204, and the tether fixing parts protrude outward along the circumference of the fixing ring. The number of the tether fixing parts is equal to the number of the sector rings of the bellows body 203, and the setting position corresponds to each sector ring; in this embodiment, a total of three tether fixing parts are provided, which are arranged corresponding to the three sector rings. Preferably, each tether fixing portion is provided with a plurality of holes for passing the tether 4 so that it roughly fits the surface of the robot basic unit 2. The number of holes in each fixing portion depends on the number of sections of the robot basic unit 2. Each section of the robot basic unit 2 is controlled by three tethers, and the root robot basic unit 2 needs to be arranged with a plurality of holes on the fixing portion for passing the control tethers of this section of the robot basic unit 2 and all subsequent robot basic units. In this embodiment, there are three sections of the robot basic unit 2, and each tether fixing portion of the robot basic unit 2 has three holes.

[0040] like Figure 6As shown, the male docking ring 201 and the female docking ring 202 can be inserted into each other and then rotated to a limited position and then locked by screws, so as to complete the matching connection between the upper and lower mechanical arm basic units 2, between the mechanical arm body and the support bracket 101, and between the mechanical arm body and the end effector 3. Specifically, each male docking ring 201 is a roughly disc structure, on which a male plug plate and a male slot structure are provided, and each female docking ring 202 is also a roughly disc structure, on which a female slot structure that cooperates with the male plug plate and a female plug plate structure that cooperates with the male slot are provided, so that the male docking ring 201 and the female docking ring 202 can be inserted into each other and then rotated to a limited position, and then screws are passed through the two threaded holes next to the fixing part hole, and nuts are used to lock. In this embodiment, each male docking ring 201 is provided with three sets of male plug plates and male slot structures, and each female docking ring 202 is correspondingly provided with three sets of female plug plates and female slot structures. In this embodiment, the outer diameter and inner diameter of the male docking ring 201, the female docking ring 202 and the fixing ring 204 are the same, preferably, for example, the outer diameter is 50 mm, the inner diameter is 46 mm, the thickness is 2 mm, and the hole for stringing the tether is 27 mm away from the axis.

[0041] The tether 4 starts from the motor group 102, passes through the support bracket 101, passes through the positioning hole on each layer of the fixing ring 204, and is fixed on the end male docking ring 201 of each basic unit. Three tethers 4 are evenly distributed axially on each basic unit of the robotic arm. A total of 9 tethers 4 are provided for the three units, which are respectively connected to the 9 groups of motor groups 102.

[0042] like Figure 7 As shown, the end effector 3 includes a mechanical claw bracket 301, a long connecting rod 302, a short connecting rod 303, three mechanical claws 304, a connecting plate 305 and a female docking ring 202. The female docking ring 202 is connected to the mechanical claw bracket 301 and is used to connect to the male docking ring 201 at the end of the mechanical arm. The three mechanical claws 304 are hinged to the mechanical claw bracket 301 through the long connecting rod 302, the short connecting rod 303 and the connecting plate 305, and the connecting plate 305 is driven to move up and down, thereby driving the mechanical claws 304 to move through the long connecting rod 302 and the short connecting rod 303, so as to realize the grasping action and releasing action of the end effector 3. The long connecting rod 302 is a double-connecting rod structure arranged in parallel. One end of the long connecting rod 302 is hinged to the mechanical claw bracket 301, and the other end is hinged to the mechanical claw 304, so that each mechanical claw 304 is connected to the mechanical claw bracket 301 through four long connecting rods 302 arranged in parallel. One end of the short connecting rod 303 is hinged to the connecting disk 305, and the other end is hinged to the middle part of the long connecting rod 302. When the connecting disk 305 moves downward, the long connecting rod 302 is driven to move through the short connecting rod 303 to realize the grasping action of the end effector 3. When the connecting disk 305 moves upward, the releasing action of the end effector 3 is realized.

[0043] On the other hand, the present invention also provides a driving method of a large deformation flexible manipulator with a rope-driven bellows structure and a driving control system. Large deformation refers to a situation where the deformation of an object is so large that it cannot be handled by a small deformation. In the present invention, large deformation can be understood as being able to achieve deformation, especially referring to the flexible deformation of the manipulator basic unit 2 through the rope-driven bellows structure, and the flexible deformation of the manipulator body composed of the manipulator basic unit 2.

[0044] Specifically, for each robot arm basic unit 2, if the tether 4 on one side is tightened, the robot arm basic unit 2 will bend in the plane where the tether action point and the axis are located; if the tethers 4 on both sides are tightened, the robot arm basic unit 2 will bend in the plane where the tether action point and the axis are located on the other side; if the tethers 4 on three sides are tightened synchronously, the robot arm basic unit 2 will be compressed along the axis. Figure 8 As shown, by controlling the lengths of different tethers respectively, flexible bending and deformation of the robot arm basic unit 2 can be achieved.

[0045] Specifically, if Fig. 9 As shown, for the flexible robotic arm as a whole, by rotating nine groups of motors and controlling the length changes of nine tethers 4, different postures of the three-section robotic arm basic unit 2 can be achieved, thereby achieving the purpose of controlling the movement of the flexible robotic arm.

[0046] Any process or method description in the flowchart of the present invention or described in other ways herein can be understood as a module, segment or part of a code including one or more executable instructions for implementing the steps of a specific logical function or process, which can be implemented in any computer-readable medium for use by an instruction execution system, device or equipment, and the computer-readable medium can be any medium containing storage, communication, propagation or transmission programs for use by execution systems, devices or equipment, including read-only memories, magnetic disks or optical disks, etc.

[0047] In the description of this specification, the description with reference to the terms "embodiment", "example", etc. means that the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described in conjunction with the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of the present invention. In this specification, the schematic representations of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. In addition, those skilled in the art can combine or combine different embodiments or examples described in this specification and the features therein without causing any contradiction.

[0048] Although the above content has shown and described the embodiments of the present invention, it can be understood that the above embodiments are exemplary and cannot be understood as limitations of the present invention. Ordinary technicians in the field can change, modify, replace, modify and other update operations on the above embodiments within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A large deformation flexible mechanical arm with a rope-driven bellows structure, characterized in that: The robotic arm comprises a fixed driving mechanism, a robotic arm body and an end effector, wherein: The end effector is mounted on the upper end of the robot arm and is used to contact the target object and perform operations on the target object; The arm body of the robot arm is a bellows structure, the upper end of the arm body of the robot arm is connected to the end effector, and the lower end is connected to the fixed drive mechanism. The arm body of the robot arm is a flexible deformation structure, which can move the end effector to the target position and direction; The fixed drive mechanism is used to drive the robot arm to move to the target shape through the tether, thereby moving the end effector to the target position and direction; The fixed drive mechanism includes a support bracket, a motor group and a male docking ring; the motor group and the male docking ring are fixed to the support bracket by bolts, and the male docking ring is used to assemble and connect with the female docking ring at the lower end of the arm body of the robot arm, so as to connect the arm body of the robot arm with the fixed drive mechanism; The arm body of the robot is composed of multiple sections of robot basic units. Each section of the robot basic unit includes a male docking ring, a female docking ring, a bellows body and a fixed ring. The root of each section of the robot basic unit is a female docking ring, and the end is a male docking ring. The bellows body extends between the male docking ring and the female docking ring. The male docking ring and the female docking ring are inserted into each other and rotated until locked, thereby completing the matching connection between the upper and lower robot arm basic units, between the robot arm body and the support bracket, and between the robot arm body and the end effector; The main body of the bellows is made of flexible material and has a multi-layer structure of bending and overlapping, so that it can be bent in any direction to the target state. The radial section of the main body of the bellows shows a serpentine bending structure, and the outer diameter R of each layer of the raised part is connected to the fixing ring; in order to increase flexibility and achieve large deformation, the bellows is provided with a notch in the circumferential direction to form a hollow part. By providing three hollow parts in the circumferential direction, the main body of the bellows is divided into three independent sector-shaped rings in the axial direction; Among them, the outer radius of the raised part of the bellows body is 23mm, the inner radius of the recessed part is 12mm, the length is 219mm, and it contains 15 raised sections; the central angle corresponding to each sector-shaped circular ring section is 60°.

2. The large deformation flexible mechanical arm of the rope-driven bellows structure according to claim 1 is characterized in that: The motor group includes 9 groups of motors, and the 9 groups of motors are distributed around the male docking ring.

3. The large deformation flexible mechanical arm of the rope-driven bellows structure according to claim 2 is characterized in that: The motor consists of a motor body, a steering wheel and a motor bracket. The tether is wound and fixed on the steering wheel, and then connected to the robot arm body through the guide groove wheel on the support bracket; the robot arm body is controlled to move to the target posture by retracting and releasing the tether.

4. The large deformation flexible mechanical arm of the rope-driven bellows structure according to claim 1 is characterized in that: A tether fixing portion is provided on the outer circumference of the fixing ring, and the tether fixing portion protrudes outward along the circumference of the fixing ring.

5. The large deformation flexible mechanical arm of the rope-driven bellows structure according to claim 4 is characterized in that: Each male docking ring is provided with a male plug plate and a male slot structure, and each female docking ring is provided with a female slot structure that cooperates with the male plug plate, and a female plug plate structure that cooperates with the male slot, so that the male docking ring and the female docking ring are inserted into each other and rotated until locked.

6. The large deformation flexible mechanical arm of the rope-driven bellows structure according to claim 5 is characterized in that: The tether starts from the motor group, passes through the support bracket, passes through the positioning holes on each layer of the fixing ring, and is fixed on the male docking ring at the end of each basic unit of the robotic arm. Three tethers are evenly distributed axially on each basic unit of the robotic arm. There are a total of 9 tethers in the three units, which are connected to 9 groups of motors respectively.

7. The large deformation flexible mechanical arm of the rope-driven bellows structure according to claim 6 is characterized in that: The end effector consists of a mechanical claw bracket, a long connecting rod, a short connecting rod, three mechanical claws, a connecting plate and a female docking ring. The female docking ring is connected to the mechanical claw bracket and is used to connect to the male docking ring at the end of the robotic arm. The three mechanical claws are hinged to the mechanical claw bracket through the long connecting rod, the short connecting rod and the connecting plate to drive the connecting plate to move up and down. When the connecting plate moves downward, the grasping action of the end effector is realized, and when the connecting plate moves upward, the releasing action of the end effector is realized.

8. The driving and control system of the large deformation flexible mechanical arm of the rope-driven bellows structure is characterized by: The drive control system includes a rope-driven bellows structure large deformation flexible robotic arm according to any one of claims 1-7. For each basic unit of the robotic arm, when the tether on one side is controlled to be tightened, the basic unit of the robotic arm will bend in the plane where the rope action point and the axis are located; when the tethers on both sides are controlled to be tightened, the basic unit of the robotic arm will bend in the plane where the rope action point and the axis are located on the other side; when the tethers on three sides are controlled to be tightened synchronously, the basic unit of the robotic arm will be compressed along the axis; the bending and deformation of the basic unit of the robotic arm are achieved by controlling the lengths of different tethers respectively; for the flexible robotic arm as a whole, the length changes of the nine tethers are controlled by the rotation of nine groups of motor groups, so as to achieve different postures of the three basic units of the robotic arm, thereby controlling the movement of the flexible robotic arm.

Citation Information

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