Modular arm assembly and humanoid robot having the same

Abstract

The application discloses a modular small arm assembly and relates to the technical field of humanoid robots, which comprises a small arm shell assembly, a first driving assembly, a mechanical gripper assembly and a visual auxiliary assembly; the small arm shell assembly comprises a first shell and a second shell, and one side of the first shell is provided with a notch part; the first driving assembly is in driving connection with the small arm shell assembly; the mechanical gripper assembly is arranged on the small arm shell assembly; the visual auxiliary assembly comprises a small arm protective shell for closing the notch part, a camera assembly fixedly installed on the small arm protective shell and a second driving assembly for driving the small arm protective shell to be close to or away from the first shell. The visual auxiliary assembly is arranged in the modular small arm assembly; the camera assembly can be moved to outside or accommodated in the small arm shell assembly through the opening and closing of the small arm protective shell in the visual auxiliary assembly; the visual auxiliary of the visual blind area position is realized through the opening and closing of the small arm protective shell in the visual blind area position, so that the humanoid effect is better.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of humanoid robot technology, and in particular to a modular forearm assembly and a humanoid robot having the modular forearm assembly. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, humanoid robots have received increasing attention in recent years due to their good maneuverability when facing complex terrain. Humanoid robots need to use their arms to support objects with visual assistance, making the structural design of the arm modules, especially the forearm section, particularly crucial.

[0003] In existing technologies, arms typically connect motors to various parts through an internal skeleton before being covered by an outer shell. During use, visual assistance in the forearm is not always required (e.g., in some non-blind spots). This leads to problems such as inadequate visual assistance in the forearm, inaccurate sampling values ​​of dexterous hand rotation, complex assembly procedures, cumbersome testing and maintenance, and increased costs for bionic frames and auxiliary structures. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art and provide a modular forearm assembly and a humanoid robot having the modular forearm assembly.

[0005] To solve the above technical problems, the technical solution of the present invention is as follows: A modular forearm assembly, comprising: The forearm housing assembly includes a first housing and a second housing, wherein the first housing and the second housing are mated to form the forearm housing assembly, and a notch is provided on the side of the first housing away from the second housing; The first drive component is driven to be connected to the forearm housing assembly and is used to drive the forearm housing assembly to rotate around its own axis. A robotic gripper assembly is disposed at the other end of the forearm housing assembly; And, a visual aid component, including a forearm housing for closing the notch, a camera assembly fixedly mounted on the forearm housing, and a second drive assembly for moving the forearm housing closer to or away from the first housing; The camera assembly is located at one end of the forearm housing near the robotic gripper assembly. When the forearm housing closes the notch, the camera assembly is located inside the first housing; when the notch is not closed, the camera assembly is located outside the first housing.

[0006] As a preferred embodiment of the modular forearm assembly of the present invention, the second drive component includes a mounting base fixedly installed inside the forearm housing assembly, a drive electric cylinder hinged to the mounting base, and a protective shell rod hinged to the mounting base. The drive shaft of the drive electric cylinder and the other end of the protective shell rod are both hinged to the forearm protective shell.

[0007] In a preferred embodiment of the modular forearm assembly of the present invention, the distance between the end of the drive cylinder hinged to the mounting base and the robotic gripper assembly is greater than the distance between the end of the drive cylinder drive shaft hinged to the forearm housing and the robotic gripper assembly, and the distance between the end of the housing pull rod hinged to the mounting base and the robotic gripper is less than the distance between the end of the housing pull rod hinged to the forearm housing and the robotic gripper.

[0008] As a preferred embodiment of the modular forearm assembly of the present invention, wherein: a third drive component for driving the robotic gripper to swing is provided inside the forearm housing assembly; The third drive assembly includes a bearing housing fixedly installed inside the forearm housing assembly. The bearing housing is located at one end of the forearm housing assembly adjacent to the robotic gripper assembly. A cross bearing assembly is hinged inside the bearing housing. Two shaft ends located on the first axis of the cross bearing assembly are hinged to the bearing housing. Two shaft ends located on the second axis of the cross bearing assembly are hinged to the robotic gripper assembly. One end of the robotic gripper assembly that is hinged to the cross bearing assembly extends into the forearm housing assembly and forms two first connecting ball joints. The straight line where the two first connecting ball joints are located is parallel to the first axis. The third drive assembly also includes a first transmission rod and a second transmission rod disposed in the forearm housing assembly, as well as a first transmission rod drive device and a second transmission rod drive device for driving the first transmission rod and the second transmission rod closer to or away from the robotic gripper assembly, respectively. One end of the first transmission rod and the second transmission rod are respectively hinged to the two first connecting ball joints.

[0009] As a preferred embodiment of the modular forearm assembly of the present invention, the second axis is parallel to the thickness direction of the palm of the robotic gripper.

[0010] As a preferred embodiment of the modular forearm assembly of the present invention, wherein: the first transmission rod drive device and the second transmission rod drive device each include a drive motor fixedly installed in the forearm housing assembly, a drive disk fixedly connected to the outside of the drive motor rotation shaft, and a second connecting ball head fixedly installed on the drive disk, the second connecting ball head being located at a non-center position of the drive disk, and the other ends of the first transmission rod and the second transmission rod being respectively hinged to the two second connecting ball heads.

[0011] In a preferred embodiment of the modular forearm assembly of the present invention, the two drive motors are arranged sequentially along the axis of the forearm housing assembly.

[0012] As a preferred embodiment of the modular forearm assembly of the present invention, wherein: a magnetic encoder reading head for acquiring the rotation angle of the two drive motors is provided inside the forearm housing assembly.

[0013] As a preferred embodiment of the modular forearm assembly of the present invention, it further includes a forearm end shell assembly, the forearm end shell assembly being disposed at one end of the forearm outer shell assembly, and the first drive assembly being at least partially housed within the forearm end shell assembly.

[0014] The present invention also provides a humanoid robot, including a modular forearm assembly as described in any of the preceding claims.

[0015] The beneficial effects of this invention are: (1) The present invention provides a visual aid component in the modular forearm assembly. The camera component can be moved to the outside of the forearm shell assembly or housed in the forearm shell assembly by opening and closing the forearm shell in the visual aid component. The visual aid in the blind spot position is achieved by opening and closing the forearm shell, thereby making the humanoid effect better.

[0016] (2) The third drive assembly in this invention includes a cross bearing assembly, a first transmission rod, a second transmission rod, and two transmission rod drive devices. The mechanical gripper assembly can be flipped up and down and left and right through the different movement modes of the two transmission rods. This not only simplifies the assembly process but also facilitates subsequent testing and maintenance. It also reduces the cost of the frame bionics and auxiliary structures.

[0017] (3) The present invention also provides a magnetic encoder reading head for collecting the rotation angle of the two drive motors in the forearm shell assembly. The magnetic encoder reading head is used to sample the rotation of the drive disk so that the rotation sampling value of the robotic gripper assembly is more accurate. Attached Figure Description

[0018] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings used in the following description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0019] Figure 1 This is a structural schematic diagram of the modular forearm assembly provided in Example 1; Figure 2A schematic diagram of the modular forearm assembly when the forearm shell is opened; Figure 3 This is a structural schematic diagram of the third drive component in the modular forearm assembly; Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the third drive assembly in the modular forearm assembly provided in Example 1; Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the axis in the modular forearm assembly in Example 1; The components are as follows: 100, forearm shell assembly; 110, first shell; 120, second shell; 200, first drive assembly; 300, robotic gripper assembly; 310, connecting part; 400, vision assist assembly; 410, forearm protective shell; 420, camera assembly; 430, mounting base; 440, drive cylinder; 450, protective shell pull rod; 500, third drive assembly; 510, bearing seat; 520, cross bearing assembly; 530, first connecting ball joint; 540, first transmission rod; 550, second transmission rod; 560, drive motor; 570, drive disk; 580, second connecting ball joint; 590, magnetic encoder reading head; 600, forearm end shell assembly. Detailed Implementation

[0020] To make the content of this invention easier to understand, the invention will be further described in detail below with reference to specific embodiments and accompanying drawings.

[0021] Example 1: Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the modular forearm assembly provided in this embodiment. The device includes a forearm housing assembly 100, a first drive assembly 200, a robotic gripper assembly 300, and a vision assist assembly 400. The first drive assembly 200 is located at one end of the forearm housing assembly 100 and is used to drive the forearm housing assembly 100 to rotate around its own axis. The robotic gripper assembly 300 is located at the other end of the forearm housing assembly 100. The opening and closing of the forearm protective shell 410 in the vision assist assembly 400 allows the camera assembly 420 to move outside or be housed inside the forearm housing assembly 100, providing visual assistance in blind spots.

[0022] Specifically, the forearm housing assembly 100 includes a first housing 110 and a second housing 120. Both the first housing 110 and the second housing 120 are hollow arc-shaped housings. After the open ends of the first housing 110 and the second housing 120 are joined together, a hollow forearm housing assembly 100 with open ends is formed.

[0023] See Figure 3The robotic gripper assembly 300 is connected to the left end of the forearm housing assembly 100, and the forearm end housing assembly 600 is connected to the right end of the forearm housing assembly 100, forming a rotatable connection between the forearm end housing assembly 600 and the forearm housing assembly 100. The first drive assembly 200 is at least partially housed within the forearm end housing assembly 600 and is drively connected to the forearm housing assembly 100. When the first drive assembly 200 is in operation, it can drive the forearm housing assembly 100 to rotate around its own axis, i.e., the axis of rotation is... Figure 5 The axis L1 in the middle.

[0024] In this embodiment, the first drive component 200 includes a servo motor, which can precisely control the rotation angle of the forearm housing component 100.

[0025] See Figure 2 The upper end of the first housing 110, i.e., the side of the first housing 110 away from the second housing 120, has a notch. The visual aid assembly 400 includes a forearm cover 410 for closing the notch, a camera assembly 420 fixedly mounted on the forearm cover 410, and a second drive assembly for moving the forearm cover 410 closer to or away from the first housing 110. The camera assembly 420 is fixedly mounted inside the forearm cover 410 and located at the end of the forearm cover 410 near the robotic gripper assembly 300, i.e., at the left end of the forearm cover 410. The second drive assembly includes a mounting base 430 fixedly mounted inside the forearm housing assembly 100, which is also fixedly mounted inside the second housing 120. A drive cylinder 440 is hinged to the upper end of the mounting base 430, and the end of the piston rod of the drive cylinder 440 is hinged to the inner side of the forearm cover 410. When the drive cylinder 440 controls the piston rod to extend outward, the piston rod tilts and lifts the forearm housing 410 upward, positioning the camera assembly 420 on the forearm housing 410 outside the forearm outer shell assembly 100. This allows for image acquisition of the area where the robotic gripper assembly 300 is located, ensuring visual assistance in blind spots of the forearm. When visual assistance is not needed, the drive cylinder 440 controls the piston rod to retract inward, causing the piston rod to move the forearm housing 410 towards the first shell 110 until the notch at the upper end of the first shell 110 is closed. At this point, the camera assembly 420 is located inside the forearm outer shell assembly 100, thus protecting the camera assembly 420.

[0026] Additionally, a protective shell pull rod 450 is hinged to the mounting base 430. One end of the protective shell pull rod 450 is hinged to the mounting base 430, and the other end is hinged to the inner side of the forearm protective shell 410. Meanwhile, the distance between the end of the drive cylinder 440 hinged to the mounting base 430 and the robotic gripper assembly 300 is greater than the distance between the end of the drive shaft of the drive cylinder 440 hinged to the forearm protective shell 410 and the robotic gripper assembly 300. Conversely, the distance between the end of the protective shell pull rod 450 hinged to the mounting base 430 and the robotic gripper is less than the distance between the end of the protective shell pull rod 450 hinged to the forearm protective shell 410 and the robotic gripper. That is, the tilt direction of the piston rod of the drive cylinder 440 is opposite to the tilt direction of the protective shell pull rod 450. (See [reference]). Figure 2 When the drive cylinder 440 drives the boom guard 410 to tilt and lift upwards, the guard rod 450 will also gradually lift. The guard rod 450 can limit the maximum stroke of the boom guard 410, thereby limiting the lifting height of the boom guard 410.

[0027] A third drive assembly 500 for driving the robotic gripper to swing is also provided within the forearm housing assembly 100. The end of the robotic gripper assembly 300 has a generally U-shaped connecting portion 310, with both ends of the U-shaped connecting portion 310 being hinged portions. The third drive assembly 500 includes a bearing seat 510 fixedly installed within the forearm housing assembly 100, located at the left end of the forearm housing assembly 100, i.e., adjacent to one end of the robotic gripper assembly 300. A cross bearing assembly 520 is hinged within the bearing seat 510, comprising a cross-shaped shaft and shaft ends mounted at four ends of the shaft. Two shaft ends located on the first axis are hinged to the bearing seat 510, and two shaft ends located on the second axis are hinged to two hinged portions at the end of the robotic gripper assembly 300. When the cross bearing assembly 520 rotates around the first axis, it can cause the robotic gripper assembly 300 to flip up and down; when the cross bearing assembly 520 rotates around the second axis, it can cause the robotic gripper assembly 300 to swing left and right. The first axis of the cross bearing assembly 520 is... Figure 5 The second axis of the cross bearing assembly 520 is axis L2. Figure 5 The axis L3 in the middle.

[0028] See Figure 4A hinge portion on the robotic gripper assembly 300, which is hinged to the cross bearing assembly 520, extends into the forearm housing assembly 100, forming two first connecting ball joints 530. The straight line containing these two first connecting ball joints 530 is parallel to the first axis in the cross bearing assembly 520. The third drive assembly 500 also includes a first transmission rod 540 and a second transmission rod 550 installed in the forearm housing assembly 100, as well as a drive device for the first transmission rod 540 and a drive device for the second transmission rod 550. Both the first transmission rod 540 drive device and the second transmission rod 550 drive device include a drive motor 560 fixedly installed in the forearm housing assembly 100. Both drive motors 560 are fixedly installed on the second housing 120, and the two drive motors 560 are arranged sequentially along the axis of the forearm housing assembly 100, i.e., arranged one in front of the other along the length of the forearm housing assembly 100. Each drive motor 560 has a circular drive disk 570 coaxially and fixedly mounted on its outer side of its rotating shaft. A second connecting ball joint 580 is fixedly mounted on the non-center part of the drive disk 570. One end of the first transmission rod 540 and the second transmission rod 550 are respectively hinged to the two first connecting ball joints 530, and the other end of the first transmission rod 540 and the second transmission rod 550 are respectively hinged to the second connecting ball joints 580 on the two drive disks 570.

[0029] When the drive motor 560 in any of the drive rod drive devices is running, it can drive the corresponding drive disk 570 to rotate, which in turn drives the second connecting ball head 580 on it to rotate around the rotation axis of the drive motor 560. Since the lengths of the first drive rod 540 and the second drive rod 550 are fixed, the transmission through the first drive rod 540 and the second drive rod 550 will drive the first connecting ball head 530 to move accordingly. At this time, there are two driving modes. The first mode is to control the first drive rod 540 and the second drive rod 550 to move in the same direction, that is, to control the first drive rod 540 and the second drive rod 550 to move towards the robotic gripper assembly 300 or away from the robotic gripper assembly 300 at the same time. In this case, the force applied to the robotic gripper assembly 300 by the first connecting ball head 530 will drive the cross bearing assembly 520 to rotate around the first axis, thereby driving the robotic gripper to flip up and down. The second method is to control the first transmission rod 540 and the second transmission rod 550 to move in opposite directions, that is, one of the transmission rods moves towards the robotic gripper assembly 300, and the other transmission rod moves away from the robotic gripper assembly 300. At this time, the force applied to the robotic gripper assembly 300 through the first connecting ball head 530 will drive the cross bearing assembly 520 to rotate around the second axis, thereby driving the robotic gripper to flip left and right.

[0030] It is understandable that the U-shaped connecting part 310 provided at the end of the robotic gripper assembly 300 limits the angle between the robotic gripper assembly 300 and the forearm shell assembly 100 within a preset range when the robotic gripper assembly 300 rotates up and down or left and right around the wrist joint, thereby preventing motion interference between them and ensuring the normal movement of the robotic gripper assembly 300.

[0031] Preferably, a magnetic encoder 590 is also provided inside the forearm housing assembly 100 for collecting the rotation angle of the two drive motors 560. The magnetic encoder 590 is used to sample the rotation of the drive disk 570 so that the rotation sampling value of the robotic gripper assembly 300 is more accurate.

[0032] Therefore, the above technical solution enables the camera component 420 to move outside the forearm housing component 100 or be housed inside the forearm housing component 100 by opening and closing the forearm housing 410 in the visual aid component 400, thereby achieving visual assistance in the blind spot position and making the humanoid effect better.

[0033] Example 2: This example provides a humanoid robot, including a modular torso assembly, a modular upper arm elbow joint, and the modular forearm assembly provided in Example 1. The modular upper arm elbow joint includes a fourth drive assembly and an elbow joint housing. At least a portion of the elbow joint housing is housed within the modular forearm assembly, and the fourth drive assembly is connected to the modular forearm assembly.

[0034] The modular humanoid robot provided in this embodiment achieves humanoid upper limb movement by adopting a modular arm assembly upper arm part and a modular forearm assembly, and the humanoid upper limb movement has a good humanoid effect.

[0035] In addition to the above embodiments, the present invention may have other implementation methods; all technical solutions formed by equivalent substitution or equivalent transformation fall within the protection scope claimed by the present invention.

Claims

1. A modular arm assembly, characterized by: include: The forearm housing assembly (100) includes a first housing (110) and a second housing (120), wherein the first housing (110) and the second housing (120) are mated to form the forearm housing assembly (100), and a notch is provided on the side of the first housing (110) away from the second housing (120); The first drive assembly (200) is driven to the forearm housing assembly (100) and is used to drive the forearm housing assembly (100) to rotate around its own axis. A robotic gripper assembly (300) is disposed at the other end of the forearm housing assembly (100); And, a visual assist component (400) includes a forearm housing (410) for closing the notch, a camera assembly (420) fixedly mounted on the forearm housing (410), and a second drive assembly for moving the forearm housing (410) closer to or away from the first housing (110); the second drive assembly includes a mounting base (430) fixedly mounted in the forearm housing assembly (100), a drive cylinder (440) hinged to the mounting base (430), and a housing pull rod (450) hinged to the mounting base (430); the end of the robotic gripper assembly (300) is provided with a U-shaped connecting part (310), both ends of the connecting part (310) are hinged parts, and the drive shaft of the drive cylinder (440) and the other end of the housing pull rod (450) are both hinged to the forearm housing (410); The forearm housing assembly (100) is provided with a third drive assembly (500) for driving the robotic gripper to swing; the third drive assembly (500) includes a bearing seat (510) fixedly installed in the forearm housing assembly (100), the bearing seat (510) is located at one end of the forearm housing assembly (100) near the robotic gripper assembly (300), a cross bearing assembly (520) is hinged in the bearing seat (510), two shaft heads located on the first axis in the cross bearing assembly (520) are hinged to the bearing seat (510), and two shaft heads located on the second axis in the cross bearing assembly (520) are hinged to the robotic gripper assembly (300); One end of the robotic gripper assembly (300) that is hinged to the cross bearing assembly (520) extends into the forearm housing assembly (100) and forms two first connecting ball joints (530). The straight line where the two first connecting ball joints (530) are located is parallel to the first axis. The third drive assembly (500) also includes a first transmission rod (540) and a second transmission rod (550) disposed in the forearm housing assembly (100), as well as a first transmission rod (540) drive device and a second transmission rod (550) drive device for driving the first transmission rod (540) and the second transmission rod (550) to move closer to or away from the robotic gripper assembly (300). One end of the first transmission rod (540) and the second transmission rod (550) are respectively hinged to the two first connecting ball joints (530). The camera assembly (420) is located at one end of the forearm housing (410) near the robotic gripper assembly (300). When the forearm housing (410) closes the notch, the camera assembly (420) is located inside the first housing (110); when the notch is not closed, the camera assembly (420) is located outside the first housing (110).

2. The modular arm assembly of claim 1, wherein: The distance between the end of the drive cylinder (440) hinged to the mounting base (430) and the robotic gripper assembly (300) is greater than the distance between the end of the drive shaft of the drive cylinder (440) hinged to the forearm housing (410) and the robotic gripper assembly (300). The distance between the end of the housing pull rod (450) hinged to the mounting base (430) and the robotic gripper is less than the distance between the end of the housing pull rod (450) hinged to the forearm housing (410) and the robotic gripper.

3. The modular forearm assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: The second axis is parallel to the thickness direction of the palm of the robotic gripper.

4. The modular forearm assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: Both the first transmission rod (540) drive device and the second transmission rod (550) drive device include a drive motor (560) fixedly installed inside the forearm housing assembly (100), a drive disk (570) fixedly connected to the outside of the rotation shaft of the drive motor (560), and a second connecting ball head (580) fixedly installed on the drive disk (570). The second connecting ball head (580) is located at the non-center of the drive disk (570). The other ends of the first transmission rod (540) and the second transmission rod (550) are respectively hinged to the two second connecting ball heads (580).

5. The modular forearm assembly according to claim 4, characterized in that: The two drive motors (560) are arranged sequentially along the axis of the forearm housing assembly (100).

6. The modular forearm assembly according to claim 4, characterized in that: The forearm housing assembly (100) is equipped with a magnetic encoder (590) for acquiring the rotation angles of the two drive motors (560).

7. The modular forearm assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a forearm end shell assembly (600), which is disposed at one end of the forearm outer shell assembly (100), and the first drive assembly (200) is at least partially housed within the forearm end shell assembly (600).

8. A humanoid robot, characterized in that: Includes the modular forearm assembly as described in any one of claims 1 to 7.

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