Bistable adhesion foot

Abstract

The invention relates to a bistable adhesion foot, which belongs to the technical field of robot actuating mechanisms, and comprises a shell and a sliding sleeve which slides back and forth together with a sleeve formed on the target surface side of the shell, and a plurality of curved bars which penetrate through the sleeve and can swing relative to the sleeve in the sliding direction of the sliding sleeve are hinged to the circumferential array of the sliding sleeve. The tail end of the curved bar is fixedly connected with a viscous material; a plurality of slope buckles are arranged on the inner wall of the shell, jumping sliding blocks are arranged at the positions, corresponding to the slope buckles, of the outer wall of the sliding sleeve, and the shell can elastically deform in the radial direction at the positions of the slope buckles so that the jumping sliding blocks can be attached to the slope buckles all the time when moving upwards or downwards along with the sliding sleeve to drive the curved bar to swing in a reciprocating mode. The shell is matched with the jumping sliding block of the sliding sleeve through the slope buckle, so that the adhesion foot has two stable states including an adhesion state and a desorption state, application of a passive adhesion material to the adhesion foot is facilitated, the control complexity of related equipment is effectively reduced, and the application reliability of the related equipment is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of robot actuators, and in particular to a bistable adhesive foot used for a robot end actuator to realize adhesion and grasping actions. Background Art

[0002] The rapid development of robotics technology has put forward more requirements for the design of end-effectors. For robot end-effectors whose main functions are adhesive attachment and autonomous detachment, it is necessary to ensure the pressing position of the adhesive material and a certain out-of-plane preload during the adhesion process, and to ensure that the adhesive material can be quickly detached during the detachment process. The bistable structure is a new functional structure based on the principle of long rod compressive instability. With the help of the multi-solution characteristics of the motion of the compressed long rod under certain boundary constraints, a structure that can quickly and continuously change between two stable states is obtained. Benefiting from the characteristics of long motion deformation distance and large deformation potential energy requirements, the bistable structure is applied to the design of the adhesion foot, which can obtain an adhesion foot that satisfies the continuous motion deformation of the attachment state and the detachment state, and has motion locking during attachment and rapid detachment during detachment.

[0003] Therefore, based on the above problems, how to provide a bistable adhesion foot for the robot's end effector to achieve adhesion, grasping and other actions has become an important technical problem that technical personnel in this field urgently need to solve. Summary of the invention

[0004] In order to solve the technical problems existing in the above-mentioned prior art, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a bistable adhesion foot for reducing the equipment weight, reducing the control links and control complexity, and ensuring the smooth progress of the adhesion process and the rapid completion of the debonding process.

[0005] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object of the invention, the present invention provides a bistable adhesion foot, comprising:

[0006] A housing, a sliding sleeve that performs reciprocating sliding motion with a sleeve formed on the target surface side of the housing, a plurality of curved rods that penetrate the sleeve and can swing relative to the sleeve along the sliding direction of the sliding sleeve are hingedly connected to the sliding sleeve in a circumferential array, and a viscous material is fixed to the end of the curved rod;

[0007] Wherein, the inner wall of the shell is provided with a plurality of ramp buckles, and the outer wall of the sliding sleeve is provided with a jump slider corresponding to the position of the ramp buckles;

[0008] The housing is capable of radial elastic deformation at the position of the ramp buckle, so that when the jump slider follows the sliding sleeve to move upward or downward to drive the crankshaft to swing back and forth, the jump slider can always fit with the ramp buckle.

[0009] Furthermore, a first protrusion structure protruding from an inner wall of the casing is formed in the casing of the shell, and slopes extending obliquely toward the inner wall of the casing are symmetrically formed on both sides of the first protrusion structure, and the first protrusion structure is the slope buckle.

[0010] Furthermore, the outer wall of the sliding sleeve is formed with a second protrusion structure protruding from the outer wall thereof, one side of the second protrusion structure is formed with a first inclined surface extending toward the outer wall of the sliding sleeve, and the other side is formed with a second inclined surface extending toward the outer wall of the sliding sleeve for fitting with the ramp buckle, and the second protrusion structure is the jump slider.

[0011] Furthermore, a platform is formed at the top of the sleeve of the housing, a pillar is threadedly connected to the central mounting hole of the platform, and the sliding sleeve is sleeved on the outside of the pillar;

[0012] The top of the platform has a matching surface, and the matching surface is provided with a connecting hole, and the connecting hole is connected to an external device through a bolt.

[0013] Furthermore, the sleeve of the housing and the cylindrical surface of the sliding sleeve are provided with rectangular mounting holes for the curved rod to pass through;

[0014] A mounting hole is provided at the root of the bent rod, and a sliding groove is provided near the root end of the bent rod, wherein the mounting hole is coaxial with a second through hole provided on the side wall of the rectangular mounting hole of the sliding sleeve and is provided with a first bolt, and the first bolt is rotatably connected to the bent rod;

[0015] A first through hole is formed on a side wall of the rectangular mounting hole of the housing, a second bolt is installed in the first through hole, and the second bolt passes through the sliding groove of the bent rod.

[0016] Furthermore, it also includes an elastic band, one end of which is connected to the sliding sleeve and the other end is connected to the sleeve, and provides a pulling force to drive the sliding sleeve to return to its original position and drive the curved rod away from the target surface.

[0017] Furthermore, the bottom of the sleeve of the outer shell is threadedly connected with an elastic band bolt through a threaded hole, a boss is formed in the middle of the sliding sleeve, the boss is provided with an elastic band mounting hole, one end of the elastic band is connected to the elastic band bolt, and the other end is connected to the elastic band mounting hole.

[0018] In the above technical solution, the present invention provides a bistable adhesion foot, which has the following beneficial effects:

[0019] The bistable adhesion foot designed by the present invention has a sliding sleeve installed inside the shell and can perform reciprocating sliding motion with the sleeve formed on the target surface side of the shell. The sliding sleeve is hinged with multiple curved rods in a circumferential array, and the curved rods can swing back and forth up and down. The inner wall of the shell is provided with a slope buckle, and the outer wall of the sliding sleeve is provided with a jump slider. The adhesion foot realizes the conversion between bistable states through the cooperation of the slope buckle on the shell and the jump slider on the sliding sleeve, which is conducive to the application of passive adhesion materials in the adhesion foot, effectively reduces the equipment weight, reduces the control links and the control complexity, and ensures the smooth development of the adhesion process and the rapid completion of the debonding process. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0020] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments are briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention, and for ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work.

[0021] Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of the bistable adhesion foot attachment state disclosed in the present invention;

[0022] Figure 2 It is a schematic structural diagram of the bistable adhesion foot desorption state disclosed in the present invention;

[0023] Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the bistable adhesive foot disclosed in the present invention;

[0024] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the bistable adhesive foot shell slope buckle structure disclosed in the present invention;

[0025] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the bistable adhesive foot sliding sleeve jump slider disclosed in the present invention;

[0026] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the bistable adhesive foot crankshaft slideway disclosed in the present invention;

[0027] Figure 7 It is a schematic diagram of the installation position of the elastic band of the bistable adhesive foot sliding sleeve disclosed in the present invention;

[0028] Figure 7a yes Figure 7 AA section view;

[0029] Figure 8 It is a cross-sectional view of the structure of the bistable adhesion foot in the desorption state disclosed by the present invention.

[0030] Description of reference numerals:

[0031] 1. Shell; 2. Sliding sleeve; 3. Bending rod; 4. Support column; 5. Elastic band; 6. Elastic band bolt; 7. Viscous material;

[0032] 101, slope buckle; 102, first rectangular mounting hole; 103, first through hole; 104, connecting hole;

[0033] 201, jump slider; 202, second rectangular mounting hole; 203, second through hole; 204, elastic band mounting hole;

[0034] 301, mounting hole; 302, slide groove. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0035] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the implementation of the present invention clearer, the technical solution of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of the present invention.

[0036] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the structure of the bistable adhesion foot attachment state:

[0037] Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the structure of the bistable adhesion foot detachment state:

[0038] The present invention provides a bistable adhesion foot, comprising:

[0039] A housing 1 and a sliding sleeve 2. The sliding sleeve 2 is installed inside the housing 1 and can slide back and forth with the sleeve formed by the housing 1 on the target surface side. The sliding sleeve 2 is hinged with a plurality of curved rods 3 in a circumferential array. The curved rods 3 can penetrate the sleeve and swing relative to the sleeve along the sliding direction of the sliding sleeve 2. The ends of the curved rods 3 are fixedly connected with adhesive material 7 for providing adhesion.

[0040] Among them, the inner wall of the housing 1 is provided with a plurality of ramp buckles 101, and the outer wall of the sliding sleeve 2 is provided with a jump slider 201 at the position corresponding to the ramp buckle 101, and the housing 1 is capable of radial elastic deformation at the position of the ramp buckle 101, that is, when the jump slider 201 passes over the ramp buckle 101, the housing 1 can expand radially and produce radial elastic deformation, so that when the jump slider 201 follows the sliding sleeve 2 to move upward or downward to drive the crank rod 3 to swing back and forth along the axis direction of the sliding sleeve 2, the jump slider 201 can always fit with the ramp buckle 101;

[0041] See also Figure 1As shown, when the adhesion foot contacts the attachment, the lower end of the sliding sleeve 2 pushes the sliding sleeve 2 to move upward along the support 4 inside the shell 1 relative to the shell 1, and drives the bent rod 3 to flip downward, and the adhesion is completed through the adhesive material 7 on the lower end surface of the bent rod 3. When the adhesion foot is lifted upward from the plane, the adhesive material at the lower end of the sliding sleeve 2 causes the sliding sleeve 2 to move downward along the support 4 relative to the adhesion foot shell 1, and drives the bent rod 3 to flip upward to achieve desorption;

[0042] The adhesive foot has two stable states: an attached state and a deattached state. The conversion between the bistable states is achieved by the cooperation between the ramp buckle 101 on the housing 1 and the jump slider 201 on the sliding sleeve 2.

[0043] Figure 3 Cross-sectional view of the bistable adhesion foot:

[0044] Figure 8 This is a cross-sectional view of the structure of the bistable adhesion foot in the detached state:

[0045] See also Figure 3 As shown, in the working state, when the sliding sleeve 2 moves upward, the jump slider 201 moves upward with the sliding sleeve 2. At this time, the jump slider 201 lifts the slope buckle 101 from bottom to top along the lower slope of the slope buckle 101, and at the same time, the shell 1 produces elastic deformation and radial expansion. The jump slider 201 passes the top of the slope buckle 101 and continues to slide upward along the upper slope of the slope buckle 101, driving the curved rod 3 to flip downward, completing the bistable conversion from the detached state to the attached state.

[0046] See also Figure 8 As shown, when the sliding sleeve 2 moves downward, the jump slider 201 moves downward with the sliding sleeve 2. At this time, the jump slider 201 lifts the slope buckle 101 from top to bottom along the upper slope of the slope buckle 101, and at the same time, the shell 1 produces elastic deformation and radial expansion. The jump slider 201 passes over the top of the slope buckle 101 and continues to slide downward along the lower slope of the slope buckle 101, driving the curved rod 3 to flip upward, completing the bistable conversion from the attached state to the deattached state.

[0047] In this structure, the apex of the slope buckle 101 plays a role in preventing the adhesion foot from switching to a steady state under the action of the elastic band 5 or under external disturbance in the desorption state in the attached state. When the jump slider 201 slides up and down through the slope buckle 101 with the sliding sleeve 2, the shell 1 undergoes elastic deformation at the position of the slope buckle 101.

[0048] Figure 4 Schematic diagram of the bistable adhesive foot shell ramp buckle structure:

[0049] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of the bistable adhesive foot sliding sleeve jump slider structure:

[0050] See also Figure 4 As shown, a first convex block structure protruding from the inner wall of the casing 1 is formed in the casing. The first convex block structure is a slope buckle 101. Slopes extending obliquely toward the inner wall of the casing are symmetrically formed on both sides of the first convex block structure.

[0051] See also Figure 5 , 7 As shown, the outer wall of the sliding sleeve 2 is formed with a second convex block structure protruding from the outer wall thereof, and the second convex block structure is a jump slider 201. One side of the second convex block structure is formed with a first inclined surface extending toward the outer wall of the sliding sleeve 2, and the other side is formed with a second inclined surface extending toward the sliding sleeve 2. Figure 7a As shown, the jump slider 201 is a triangular structure, and the angle between the second inclined surface and the outer wall of the sliding sleeve 2 is smaller than the angle between the first inclined surface and the outer wall of the sliding sleeve 2;

[0052] When the jump slider 201 moves upward, the first inclined surface is first kept in contact with the lower slope of the slope buckle 101, and after passing the top of the slope, the second inclined surface is kept in contact with the upper slope;

[0053] When the jump slider 201 moves downward, the second slope is first kept in contact with the upper slope of the slope buckle 101, and after passing the slope apex, the first slope is kept in contact with the lower slope. In this structure, the angle between the second slope and the outer wall of the sliding sleeve 2 is set smaller than the angle between the first slope and the outer wall of the sliding sleeve 2, so that the sliding sleeve 2 can be reset effortlessly under the tension of the elastic band 5.

[0054] See also Figure 2 As shown, a platform is formed at the top of the sleeve of the shell 1, and the central mounting hole of the platform is threadedly connected with a pillar 4, and a sliding sleeve 2 is sleeved on the outside of the pillar 4. The top of the platform has a mating surface, and a connecting hole 104 is opened on the mating surface. The connecting hole 104 is connected to an external device through a bolt. In this structure, the sliding sleeve 2 moves linearly along the pillar 4. At the same time, the pillar 4 provides a limit and support for the sliding sleeve 2. When the adhesive foot is in a detached state, the lower end of the sliding sleeve 2 extends out of the adhesive foot shell 1, serving as a trigger structure for the adhesive foot to attach. As the adhesive foot falls, the sliding sleeve 2 moves upward. When the adhesive foot is in an attached state, the sliding sleeve 2 contacts the target surface. As the adhesive foot is lifted, the sliding sleeve 2 moves downward under the traction of the elastic band 5 and the viscous material at the bottom of the sliding sleeve 2.

[0055] See also Figure 2 As shown, the sleeve of the housing 1 is provided with a first rectangular mounting hole 102, and the cylindrical surface of the sliding sleeve 2 is provided with a second rectangular mounting hole 202 at a position corresponding to the first rectangular mounting hole 102. The rectangular mounting holes are used for the bent rod 3 to pass through and be installed on the attachment foot housing 1 and the sliding sleeve 2. The bent rod 3 is evenly installed in an array along the circumference of the sliding sleeve 2.

[0056] A mounting hole 301 is provided at the root of the curved rod 3, and a sliding groove 302 is provided near the root end of the curved rod 3. The mounting hole 301 is coaxial with the second through hole 203 provided on the side wall of the rectangular mounting hole of the sliding sleeve 2 and is installed with a first bolt. The first bolt is rotatably connected to the curved rod 3. A first through hole 103 is provided on the side wall of the rectangular mounting hole of the outer shell 1. The first through hole 103 is installed with a second bolt. The second bolt passes through the sliding groove 302 of the curved rod 3. The curved rod 3 cooperates with the outer shell 1 through the sliding groove 302 to limit the movement, and forms a hinge slider pair with the sliding sleeve 2 and the outer shell 1. The four curved rods 3 complete the clamping attachment and release detachment actions with the up and down movement of the sliding sleeve 2.

[0057] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the bistable adhesive foot crankshaft slide structure:

[0058] The curved rod 3 is an arc-shaped rod-shaped structure, and the end surface of the curved rod 3 is fixed with a sticky material 7 by a screw, and the head end of the curved rod 3 is provided with a mounting hole 301 and a slide groove 302 in sequence;

[0059] Figure 3 Schematic diagram of the installation position of the bistable adhesive foot elastic band:

[0060] Figure 7 Schematic diagram of the installation position of the elastic band of the bistable adhesive foot sliding sleeve:

[0061] The adhesion foot also includes an elastic band 5, one end of which is connected to the sliding sleeve 2 and the other end is connected to the sleeve, and provides a pulling force to drive the sliding sleeve 2 to return and drive the bent rod 3 away from the target surface. Specifically, the bottom of the sleeve of the housing 1 is threadedly connected with an elastic band bolt 6 through a threaded hole, and a boss is formed in the middle of the sliding sleeve 2. The boss is provided with an elastic band mounting hole 204. One end of the elastic band 5 is connected to the elastic band bolt 6, and the other end is connected to the elastic band mounting hole 204. The elastic band 5 provides additional driving force when the adhesion foot is converted from the attachment state to the desorption state, helping the bent rod 3 to complete rapid desorption.

[0062] In the above technical solution, the present invention discloses a bistable adhesion foot, the working principle is:

[0063] See also Figure 1 As shown, when the adhesive foot contacts the adhesion surface, the downward movement of the foot end pushes the sliding sleeve 2 to move relative to the housing 1 along the support 4, and the curved rod 3 is driven by the sliding sleeve 2 to flip downward relative to the housing 1, so that the adhesive material 7 at the foot end adheres to the target surface. At this time, the jump slider 201 pushes up the slope buckle 101 from the bottom to the top, and can continue to slide upward along the upper slope of the slope buckle 101 after passing the top of the slope buckle 101;

[0064] See also Figure 2As shown, when the adhesive foot needs to be separated from the target surface, the sliding sleeve 2 moves downward along the support 4 relative to the housing 1 under the drive of the elastic band 5, lifts the housing 1 and flips the bent rod 3 upward, and at the same time, the bent rod 3 uses the lever principle to complete the desorption of the adhesive material 7, completing the desorption process of the adhesive foot. At this time, the jump slider 201 pushes up the slope buckle 101 from top to bottom, passes the top of the slope buckle 101, and can continue to slide downward along the lower slope of the slope buckle 101;

[0065] The apex of the slope buckle 101 prevents the adhesion foot from switching to a steady state under the action of the elastic band 5 or under external disturbance in the desorption state. When the jump slider 201 slides up and down through the slope buckle 101 with the sliding sleeve 2, the housing 1 undergoes elastic deformation at the position of the slope buckle 101.

[0066] The adhesion foot realizes the conversion between the bistable states through the cooperation of the slope buckle 101 on the shell 1 and the jump slider 201 on the sliding sleeve 2, which is conducive to the application of passive adhesion materials in the adhesion foot, effectively reduces the equipment weight, reduces the control links and control complexity, and ensures the smooth progress of the adhesion process and the rapid completion of the debonding process.

[0067] The above description is only an illustrative embodiment of the present application and is not intended to limit the scope of the present application. Any equivalent changes, modifications and combinations made by any technician in the field without departing from the concept and principle of the present application shall fall within the scope of protection of the present application.

Claims

1. A bistable adhesion foot, characterized in that: include: A housing (1), a sliding sleeve (2) which performs reciprocating sliding motion with a sleeve formed on the target surface side of the housing (1), the sliding sleeve (2) being hingedly connected in a circumferential array with a plurality of curved rods (3) which penetrate the sleeve and can swing relative to the sleeve along the sliding direction of the sliding sleeve (2), and the ends of the curved rods (3) are fixedly connected with a viscous material (7); The inner wall of the housing (1) is provided with a plurality of slope buckles (101), and the outer wall of the sliding sleeve (2) is provided with a jump slider (201) at a position corresponding to the slope buckles (101); The housing (1) is capable of radial elastic deformation when located at the position of the ramp buckle (101), so that when the jump slider (201) follows the sliding sleeve (2) to move upward or downward to drive the curved rod (3) to swing back and forth, the jump slider (201) can always fit with the ramp buckle (101).

2. A bistable adhesion foot according to claim 1, characterized in that ； A first convex block structure protruding from the inner wall of the casing (1) is formed inside the casing, and slopes extending obliquely toward the inner wall of the casing are symmetrically formed on both sides of the first convex block structure, and the first convex block structure is the slope buckle (101).

3. A bistable adhesion foot according to claim 1, characterized in that ； The outer wall of the sliding sleeve (2) is formed with a second convex block structure protruding from the outer wall thereof, one side of the second convex block structure is formed with a first inclined surface extending toward the outer wall of the sliding sleeve (2), and the other side is formed with a second inclined surface extending toward the outer wall of the sliding sleeve (2), and the second convex block structure is the jump slider (201).

4. A bistable adhesion foot according to claim 1, characterized in that ； A platform is formed at the top of the sleeve of the housing (1); a support (4) is threadedly connected to the central mounting hole of the platform; and the sliding sleeve (2) is sleeved on the outside of the support (4); The top of the platform has a matching surface, the matching surface is provided with a connecting hole (104), and the connecting hole (104) is connected to an external device via a bolt.

5. A bistable adhesion foot according to claim 1 or 4, characterized in that ； The sleeve of the housing (1) and the cylindrical surface of the sliding sleeve (2) are provided with rectangular mounting holes for the curved rod (3) to pass through; The curved rod (3) is provided with a mounting hole (301) at its root, and a sliding groove (302) is provided near the root end of the curved rod (3), wherein the mounting hole (301) is coaxial with a second through hole (203) provided on the side wall of the rectangular mounting hole of the sliding sleeve (2) and is provided with a first bolt, and the first bolt is rotatably connected to the curved rod (3); A first through hole (103) is provided on the side wall of the rectangular mounting hole of the housing (1), a second bolt is installed in the first through hole (103), and the second bolt passes through the sliding groove (302) of the curved rod (3).

6. A bistable adhesion foot according to claim 1, characterized in that ； It also comprises an elastic band (5), one end of which is connected to the sliding sleeve (2) and the other end of which is connected to the sleeve, and provides a pulling force to drive the sliding sleeve (2) to return to its original position and drive the curved rod (3) away from the target surface.

7. A bistable adhesion foot according to claim 6, characterized in that ； The bottom of the sleeve of the housing (1) is threadedly connected to an elastic band bolt (6) through a threaded hole, a boss is formed in the middle of the sliding sleeve (2), and the boss is provided with an elastic band mounting hole (204), one end of the elastic band (5) is connected to the elastic band bolt (6), and the other end is connected to the elastic band mounting hole (204).

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