Multifunctional climbing paw with super-strong adaptability

Abstract

The invention discloses a multifunctional climbing paw with super-strong adaptability. The multifunctional climbing paw comprises a supporting assembly, a driving assembly, an adhesion assembly and a claw assembly, the supporting assembly is connected with the spaceflight robot body. The driving assembly is arranged in the supporting assembly; the adhesion assembly is arranged at the bottom of the driving assembly; the claw assembly is arranged between the supporting assembly and the adhesion assembly; the driving assembly comprises an electric cylinder, a spherical hinge joint, a sliding block, a guide sliding rail and a switching rod. The adhesion assembly comprises a switching column, a switching disc, a thermal control glue placement disc, a heat insulation gasket, a heating sheet, a heat conduction copper sleeve and thermal control glue; the claw assembly is of a four-connecting-rod structure. When a spaceflight robot adopts the multifunctional climbing gripper with the super-strong adaptability, the multifunctional climbing gripper has the super-strong adaptability for the complex surface environment of a spacecraft, reliable adhesive force can be provided for the surface of the spacecraft no matter the surface of the spacecraft is a smooth metal surface or a non-metal surface or soft surfaces such as a rough fabric protective layer, and the service life of the spacecraft is prolonged. And meanwhile, the requirements of flexible action execution and high reliability are met.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the technical field of aerospace robots, and in particular relates to a multifunctional climbing gripper with super strong adaptability. Background Art

[0002] For spacecraft in orbit, in addition to relying on astronauts to complete extravehicular operations, space robots can also replace astronauts to complete extravehicular operations. This requires that the space robots can move stably and reliably on the surface of the spacecraft.

[0003] Since there are a large number of smooth metal surfaces and non-metal surfaces on the surface of the spacecraft, as well as a large number of soft surfaces such as rough fabric protective layers, this places very strict requirements on the climbing gripper structure of the space robot. As the connecting mechanism for the space robot to interact with the spacecraft surface, the climbing gripper not only needs to provide reliable adhesion for the space robot, but also needs to have flexible action execution and high reliability.

[0004] At present, the climbing grippers used by aerospace robots usually adopt a single electromagnetic adsorption structure, a negative pressure adsorption structure or a mechanical hook structure. These traditional climbing grippers generally have problems such as single performance, complex operation, and high requirements for the external load environment, especially poor adaptability to the complex surface environment of spacecraft. Summary of the invention

[0005] In view of the problems existing in the prior art, the present invention provides a multifunctional climbing gripper with super adaptability. When a space robot adopts the climbing gripper of the present invention, it has super adaptability to the complex surface environment of the spacecraft. No matter the surface of the spacecraft is a smooth metal surface, a non-metallic surface, or a soft surface such as a rough fabric protective layer, it can provide reliable adhesion while meeting the requirements of flexible action execution and high reliability.

[0006] In order to achieve the above-mentioned objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical scheme: a multifunctional climbing gripper with super adaptability, comprising a support assembly, a drive assembly, an adhesion assembly and a claw assembly; the support assembly is connected to the main body of the aerospace robot; the drive assembly is built into the support assembly; the adhesion assembly is arranged at the bottom of the drive assembly; the claw assembly is arranged between the support assembly and the adhesion assembly.

[0007] The support assembly includes an upper shell, a lower shell, a support column and a support frame; the lower shell is fixedly connected to the lower end of the upper shell; the support column is located on the inner side of the lower shell, and the upper end of the support column is fixedly connected to the lower end of the upper shell; the support frame is located on the inner side of the lower shell, and the support frame is fixedly connected to the lower end of the support column.

[0008] The upper shell adopts a cylindrical tube structure, a first adapter flange is arranged at the upper end of the upper shell, a second adapter flange is arranged at the lower end of the upper shell, and a straight rib is arranged between the first adapter flange and the second adapter flange; a ball joint mounting groove is arranged on the inner side of the first adapter flange; the inner side of the straight rib and the inner side of the upper shell cylinder are jointly used as the electric cylinder mounting groove, and a slide rail mounting groove is arranged on the inner surface of the upper shell cylinder on the opposite side of the straight rib; the upper end of the support column is fixedly connected to the second adapter flange.

[0009] The lower shell adopts a cylindrical tube structure, and a third adapter flange is arranged at the upper end of the lower shell, and the third adapter flange is fixedly connected to the second adapter flange; a hook claw clearance notch is arranged on the side tube wall of the lower shell.

[0010] The number of the hook claw assemblies is several, and the several hook claw assemblies are evenly distributed along the circumferential direction; the number of the support columns and the hook claw clearance notches is equal to the number of the hook claw assemblies, and the several support columns and the hook claw clearance notches are also evenly distributed along the circumferential direction, and a support frame is fixedly installed at the lower end of each support column.

[0011] The driving assembly includes an electric cylinder, a ball joint, a slider, a guide rail and a transfer rod; the ball joint is fixedly installed in the ball joint installation groove; the electric cylinder is located in the electric cylinder installation groove formed by the inner side of the straight rib and the inner side of the upper shell cylinder, and the upper end of the electric cylinder is connected to the ball joint; the guide rail is fixedly installed in the rail installation groove, the slider is arranged on the guide rail, and the slider has a linear sliding degree of freedom on the guide rail; one end of the transfer rod is fixedly connected to the slider, and the other end of the transfer rod is fixedly connected to the end of the power output rod of the electric cylinder.

[0012] The adhesion component includes an adapter column, an adapter plate, a thermal control glue placement plate, an insulating gasket, a heating plate, a thermally conductive copper sleeve and thermal control glue; the upper end of the adapter column is fixedly connected to the lower end of the adapter rod, and the lower end of the adapter column is fixedly connected to the center of the upper surface of the adapter plate; a fourth adapter flange is provided at the upper end of the thermal control glue placement plate, and the fourth adapter flange is fixedly connected to the adapter plate; a plurality of thermal control glue placement grooves are provided on the lower surface of the thermal control glue placement plate, and the thermal control glue is embedded in the thermal control glue placement grooves; the thermally conductive copper sleeve is arranged between the thermal control glue and the thermal control glue placement groove, the heating plate is arranged on the upper surface of the thermally conductive copper sleeve, and the insulating gasket is arranged between the upper surface of the heating plate and the thermal control glue placement groove; the centers of the adapter column, the adapter plate and the thermal control glue placement plate are all provided with cable passageways.

[0013] The hook claw assembly includes a first connecting rod, a second connecting rod, a third connecting rod, a fourth connecting rod and a hook barb; one end of the first connecting rod is hinged to the transfer column, the other end of the first connecting rod is hinged to one end of the second connecting rod, the other end of the second connecting rod is hinged to one end of the third connecting rod, the other end of the third connecting rod is a free end, and the hook barb is fixedly set at the free end of the third connecting rod; the rod body of the second connecting rod is hinged to the support frame; one end of the fourth connecting rod is hinged to the rod body of the third connecting rod, the other end of the fourth connecting rod is hinged to the support frame, and the hinge point of the second connecting rod and the support frame is located directly above the hinge point of the fourth connecting rod and the support frame.

[0014] Beneficial effects of the present invention:

[0015] The multifunctional climbing gripper with super adaptability of the present invention has super adaptability to the complex surface environment of the spacecraft when the aerospace robot adopts the climbing gripper of the present invention. It can provide reliable adhesion to the surface of the spacecraft, whether it is a smooth metal surface, a non-metallic surface, or a soft surface such as a rough fabric protective layer, while meeting the requirements of flexible action execution and high reliability. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of a multifunctional climbing gripper with super adaptability of the present invention;

[0017] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a multifunctional climbing claw with super adaptability of the present invention (the claw assembly and part of the support column and support frame are not shown);

[0018] Figure 3 A top view of a multifunctional climbing gripper with super adaptability according to the present invention;

[0019] Figure 4 for Figure 3 Middle AA sectional view (showing only part of the support assembly and part of the drive assembly);

[0020] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the combination of the driving component and the adhesion component of the present invention;

[0021] Figure 6 A bottom view of the adhesive assembly of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 7 for Figure 6 Middle BB section view;

[0023] Figure 8 It is a schematic structural diagram of a combination of an adhesion component, a single hook component, a single support column and a single support frame of the present invention;

[0024] Fig. 9It is a side view of a combination of an adhesive component, a single hook component and a single support frame of the present invention (the hook component is in a state of grasping a rough fabric surface);

[0025] Fig.10 It is a side view of a combination of an adhesive component, a single hook component and a single support frame of the present invention (the hook component is in a state of releasing the rough fabric surface);

[0026] Fig.11 It is a side view of a combination of the adhesion component of the present invention, a single hook component and a single support frame (the adhesion component is in a state of adhesion to a smooth surface);

[0027] In the figure, I—support assembly, II—drive assembly, III—adhesion assembly, IV—claw assembly, 1—upper shell, 2—lower shell, 3—support column, 4—support frame, 5—first adapter flange, 6—second adapter flange, 7—straight rib, 8—ball joint installation groove, 9—slide rail installation groove, 10—third adapter flange, 11—claw clearance notch, 12—electric cylinder, 13—ball joint, 14—slider, 15—guide slide rail, 16—adaptation rod, 17—adaptation column, 18—adaptation plate, 19—thermal control glue placement plate, 20—thermal insulation gasket, 21—heating plate, 22—thermal conductive copper sleeve, 23—thermal control glue, 24—fourth adapter flange, 25—thermal control glue placement groove, 26—cable passage, 27—first connecting rod, 28—second connecting rod, 29—third connecting rod, 30—fourth connecting rod, 31—hook barb. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] The present invention is further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0029] like Figures 1 to 11 As shown, a multifunctional climbing gripper with super adaptability includes a support component I, a drive component II, an adhesion component III and a claw component IV; the support component I is connected to the main body of the aerospace robot; the drive component II is built into the support component I; the adhesion component III is arranged at the bottom of the drive component II; the claw component IV is arranged between the support component I and the adhesion component III.

[0030] The support assembly I includes an upper shell 1, a lower shell 2, a support column 3 and a support frame 4; the lower shell 2 is fixedly connected to the lower end of the upper shell 1; the support column 3 is located on the inner side of the lower shell 2, and the upper end of the support column 3 is fixedly connected to the lower end of the upper shell 1; the support frame 4 is located on the inner side of the lower shell 2, and the support frame 4 is fixedly connected to the lower end of the support column 3.

[0031] The upper shell 1 adopts a cylindrical tube structure, with a first adapter flange 5 provided at the upper end of the upper shell 1, a second adapter flange 6 provided at the lower end of the upper shell 1, and a straight rib 7 provided between the first adapter flange 5 and the second adapter flange 6; a ball joint mounting groove 8 is provided on the inner side of the first adapter flange 5; the inner side of the straight rib 7 and the inner side of the cylinder of the upper shell 1 are used as the electric cylinder mounting groove, and a slide rail mounting groove 9 is provided on the inner surface of the cylinder of the upper shell 1 opposite to the straight rib 7; the upper end of the support column 3 is fixedly connected to the second adapter flange 6.

[0032] The lower shell 2 adopts a cylindrical structure, and a third adapter flange 10 is arranged at the upper end of the lower shell 2, and the third adapter flange 10 is fixedly connected to the second adapter flange 6; a hook claw clearance notch 11 is arranged on the side wall of the lower shell 2.

[0033] The number of the hook claw assemblies IV is several, and the several hook claw assemblies IV are evenly distributed along the circumferential direction; the number of the support columns 3 and the hook claw clearance notches 11 is equal to the number of the hook claw assemblies IV, and the several support columns 3 and the hook claw clearance notches 11 are also evenly distributed along the circumferential direction, and a support frame 4 is fixedly installed at the lower end of each support column 3.

[0034] The drive assembly II includes an electric cylinder 12, a ball joint 13, a slider 14, a guide rail 15 and a transfer rod 16; the ball joint 13 is fixedly installed in the ball joint installation groove 8; the electric cylinder 12 is located in the electric cylinder installation groove formed by the inner side of the straight rib 7 and the inner side of the cylinder of the upper shell 1, and the upper end of the electric cylinder 12 is connected to the ball joint 13; the guide rail 15 is fixedly installed in the rail installation groove 9, and the slider 14 is arranged on the guide rail 15, and the slider 14 has a linear sliding degree of freedom on the guide rail 15; one end of the transfer rod 16 is fixedly connected to the slider 14, and the other end of the transfer rod 16 is fixedly connected to the end of the power output rod of the electric cylinder 12.

[0035] The adhesion component III includes an adapter column 17, an adapter plate 18, a thermal control glue placement plate 19, a thermal insulation gasket 20, a heating plate 21, a heat-conducting copper sleeve 22 and a thermal control glue 23; the upper end of the adapter column 17 is fixedly connected to the lower end of the adapter rod 16, and the lower end of the adapter column 17 is fixedly connected to the center of the upper surface of the adapter plate 18; the upper end of the thermal control glue placement plate 19 is provided with a fourth adapter flange 24, and the fourth adapter flange 24 is fixedly connected to the adapter plate 18; on the thermal control glue placement plate A plurality of thermal control glue placement grooves 25 are provided on the lower surface of 19, and the thermal control glue 23 is embedded in the thermal control glue placement grooves 25; the thermal conductive copper sleeve 22 is arranged between the thermal control glue 23 and the thermal control glue placement grooves 25, the heating plate 21 is arranged on the upper surface of the thermal conductive copper sleeve 22, and the thermal insulation gasket 20 is arranged between the upper surface of the heating plate 21 and the thermal control glue placement grooves 25; the centers of the adapter column 17, the adapter plate 18 and the thermal control glue placement plate 19 are all provided with cable passage channels 26.

[0036] The hook claw assembly IV includes a first connecting rod 27, a second connecting rod 28, a third connecting rod 29, a fourth connecting rod 30 and a hook barb 31; one end of the first connecting rod 27 is hinged to the adapter column 17, the other end of the first connecting rod 27 is hinged to one end of the second connecting rod 28, the other end of the second connecting rod 28 is hinged to one end of the third connecting rod 29, the other end of the third connecting rod 29 is a free end, and the hook barb 31 is fixedly set on the free end of the third connecting rod 29; the rod body of the second connecting rod 28 is hinged to the support frame 4; one end of the fourth connecting rod 30 is hinged to the rod body of the third connecting rod 29, the other end of the fourth connecting rod 30 is hinged to the support frame 4, and the hinge point of the second connecting rod 28 and the support frame 4 is located directly above the hinge point of the fourth connecting rod 30 and the support frame 4.

[0037] The following describes the use of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings:

[0038] In this embodiment, the number of the hook assembly IV, the support column 3, the support frame 4 and the hook clearance notch 11 are all six and are evenly distributed along the circumferential direction, and the maximum extension of the power output rod of the electric cylinder 12 is 20 mm.

[0039] When a space robot adopts the climbing gripper of the present invention, during the on-orbit mission execution, if the surface of the spacecraft passed by is a soft surface such as a rough fabric protective layer, the electric cylinder 12 is first started, and the power output rod of the electric cylinder 12 is controlled to be completely retracted into the electric cylinder 12. During the retraction process of the power output rod of the electric cylinder 12, the transfer rod 16 will be driven to move synchronously, and the adhesion component III and the slider 14 will move synchronously with the transfer rod 16 until the adhesion component III is lifted to the highest point and the slider 14 rises to the highest point along the guide rail 15.

[0040] During the process of lifting the adhesion component III to the highest point, the first link 27 of the claw component IV will move upward synchronously with the adapter column 17 of the adhesion component III. The movement of the first link 27 will drive the second link 28 to make a downward pitch and swing motion around the hinge point on its rod body, and then drive the free end of the third link 29 to move to just below the thermal control glue placement plate 19 of the adhesion component III. The fourth link 30 will swing with the movement. At this time, the hook 31 can smoothly penetrate into the rough fabric to complete the grip of the climbing claw, thereby achieving reliable adhesion of the climbing claw to the surface of the spacecraft.

[0041] During the movement of the robot, the climbing claw needs to switch alternately between grasping and releasing. When the climbing claw switches from grasping to releasing, the electric cylinder 12 is started again, and the power output rod of the electric cylinder 12 is controlled to extend downward by 12 mm, thereby driving the adhesion component III to descend synchronously, so that the first connecting rod 27 of the hook component IV follows the adapter column 17 of the adhesion component III and moves upward synchronously by a set distance, until the free end of the third connecting rod 29 is driven to move to the oblique lower side of the adapter plate 18 of the adhesion component III, and the hook barb 31 can smoothly pull out the rough fabric, thereby releasing the attachment of the climbing claw to the surface of the spacecraft. When the climbing claw moves to the next grasping position, the grasping action is repeated to restore the attachment of the climbing claw to the surface of the spacecraft.

[0042] When a space robot adopts the climbing gripper of the present invention, while the robot is performing a mission on orbit, if the surface of the spacecraft that the robot passes by is a smooth metal surface or a non-metal surface, the electric cylinder 12 is first started, and the power output rod of the electric cylinder 12 is controlled to extend downward by 20 mm to the maximum length. During the extension of the power output rod of the electric cylinder 12, the transfer rod 16 will be driven to move synchronously, and the adhesion component III and the slider 14 will move synchronously with the transfer rod 16 until the adhesion component III drops to the lowest point, and the slider 14 drops to the lowest point along the guide rail 15.

[0043] When the adhesion component III descends to the lowest point, the first connecting rod 27 of the hook component IV will move downward synchronously with the adapter column 17 of the adhesion component III. The movement of the first connecting rod 27 will drive the second connecting rod 28 to make an upward swinging motion around the hinge point on its rod body, and then drive the free end of the third connecting rod 29 to move to the upper side of the adapter plate 18 of the adhesion component III. The fourth connecting rod 30 will swing with it, and then control the thermal control glue placement plate 19 of the adhesion component III to fit together with the smooth metal surface or non-metal surface.

[0044] When the thermal control glue placement plate 19 is in contact with the smooth metal surface or non-metal surface, the heating plate 21 is started, and the heat generated will be transferred to the thermal control glue 23 through the heat-conducting copper sleeve 22. The thermal control glue 23 will quickly become sticky after heating. At this time, the climbing claw is attached to the smooth metal surface or non-metal surface through the thermal control glue 23.

[0045] During the movement of the robot, the climbing claw needs to switch between adhesion and detachment alternately. When the climbing claw switches from adhesion to detachment, it only needs to turn off the heating plate 21, and the thermal control glue 23 loses heat supply. The temperature of the thermal control glue 23 will drop rapidly and lose its viscosity, and the climbing claw is detached from the surface of the spacecraft. When the climbing claw moves to the next grasping position, it only needs to restart the heating plate 21 to restore the viscosity of the thermal control glue 23, thereby simultaneously restoring the adhesion of the climbing claw to the surface of the spacecraft.

[0046] The solutions in the embodiments are not intended to limit the protection scope of the present invention. All equivalent implementations or changes that do not deviate from the present invention are included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A multifunctional climbing gripper with super adaptability, characterized by: It includes a support component, a drive component, an adhesion component and a claw component; the support component is connected to the main body of the aerospace robot; the drive component is built in the support component; The adhesion component is arranged at the bottom of the driving component; and the hook component is arranged between the supporting component and the adhesion component.

2. A multifunctional climbing gripper with super adaptability according to claim 1, characterized in that: The support assembly includes an upper shell, a lower shell, a support column and a support frame; the lower shell is fixedly connected to the lower end of the upper shell; the support column is located on the inner side of the lower shell, and the upper end of the support column is fixedly connected to the lower end of the upper shell; the support frame is located on the inner side of the lower shell, and the support frame is fixedly connected to the lower end of the support column.

3. A multifunctional climbing gripper with super adaptability according to claim 2, characterized in that: The upper shell adopts a cylindrical tube structure, a first adapter flange is arranged at the upper end of the upper shell, a second adapter flange is arranged at the lower end of the upper shell, and a straight rib is arranged between the first adapter flange and the second adapter flange; a ball joint mounting groove is arranged on the inner side of the first adapter flange; the inner side of the straight rib and the inner side of the upper shell cylinder are jointly used as the electric cylinder mounting groove, and a slide rail mounting groove is arranged on the inner surface of the upper shell cylinder on the opposite side of the straight rib; the upper end of the support column is fixedly connected to the second adapter flange.

4. The multifunctional climbing gripper with super adaptability according to claim 3 is characterized in that: The lower shell adopts a cylindrical tube structure, and a third adapter flange is arranged at the upper end of the lower shell, and the third adapter flange is fixedly connected to the second adapter flange; a hook claw clearance notch is arranged on the side tube wall of the lower shell.

5. The multifunctional climbing gripper with super adaptability according to claim 4, characterized in that: The number of the hook claw assemblies is several, and the several hook claw assemblies are evenly distributed along the circumferential direction; the number of the support columns and the hook claw clearance notches is equal to the number of the hook claw assemblies, and the several support columns and the hook claw clearance notches are also evenly distributed along the circumferential direction, and a support frame is fixedly installed at the lower end of each support column.

6. The multifunctional climbing gripper with super adaptability according to claim 3 is characterized in that: The driving assembly includes an electric cylinder, a ball joint, a slider, a guide rail and a transfer rod; the ball joint is fixedly installed in the ball joint installation groove; the electric cylinder is located in the electric cylinder installation groove formed by the inner side of the straight rib and the inner side of the upper shell cylinder, and the upper end of the electric cylinder is connected to the ball joint; the guide rail is fixedly installed in the rail installation groove, the slider is arranged on the guide rail, and the slider has a linear sliding degree of freedom on the guide rail; one end of the transfer rod is fixedly connected to the slider, and the other end of the transfer rod is fixedly connected to the end of the power output rod of the electric cylinder.

7. The multifunctional climbing gripper with super adaptability according to claim 6, characterized in that: The adhesion component includes an adapter column, an adapter plate, a thermal control glue placement plate, an insulating gasket, a heating plate, a thermally conductive copper sleeve and thermal control glue; the upper end of the adapter column is fixedly connected to the lower end of the adapter rod, and the lower end of the adapter column is fixedly connected to the center of the upper surface of the adapter plate; a fourth adapter flange is provided at the upper end of the thermal control glue placement plate, and the fourth adapter flange is fixedly connected to the adapter plate; a plurality of thermal control glue placement grooves are provided on the lower surface of the thermal control glue placement plate, and the thermal control glue is embedded in the thermal control glue placement grooves; the thermally conductive copper sleeve is arranged between the thermal control glue and the thermal control glue placement groove, the heating plate is arranged on the upper surface of the thermally conductive copper sleeve, and the insulating gasket is arranged between the upper surface of the heating plate and the thermal control glue placement groove; the centers of the adapter column, the adapter plate and the thermal control glue placement plate are all provided with cable passageways.

8. The multifunctional climbing gripper with super adaptability according to claim 7, characterized in that: The hook claw assembly includes a first connecting rod, a second connecting rod, a third connecting rod, a fourth connecting rod and a hook barb; one end of the first connecting rod is hinged to the transfer column, the other end of the first connecting rod is hinged to one end of the second connecting rod, the other end of the second connecting rod is hinged to one end of the third connecting rod, the other end of the third connecting rod is a free end, and the hook barb is fixedly set at the free end of the third connecting rod; the rod body of the second connecting rod is hinged to the support frame; one end of the fourth connecting rod is hinged to the rod body of the third connecting rod, the other end of the fourth connecting rod is hinged to the support frame, and the hinge point of the second connecting rod and the support frame is located directly above the hinge point of the fourth connecting rod and the support frame.

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