Air-driven rope-controlled expandable soft grabbing robot

Abstract

The invention discloses a gas-driven rope-controlled deployable soft grabbing robot. The gas-driven rope-controlled deployable soft grabbing robot comprises a rigid base support, four soft pneumatic finger units, a driving airbag unit, a driving rope and a visual camera. The soft pneumatic finger units are fixed to the connecting frame through bolts, the connecting frame is fixed to the rigid base support through bolts, and the four soft pneumatic fingers are evenly distributed on the rigid base support in the circumferential direction. The driving air bag unit is divided into a finger internal air bag and an external fan-shaped air bag, the finger internal air bag is nested in the soft finger and used for driving the finger to bend, the external fan-shaped air bag is fixed to the middle of the connecting frame and used for driving the finger to open, and under the dual effects of air-driven opening and rope-driven closing, the finger can be driven to bend. And the soft fingers can be flexibly and efficiently unfolded and folded, so that the object can be grabbed. The robot has the advantages of being large in grabbing range and high in bearing capacity, and the robot is made of soft materials and has a protection effect on fragile objects, so that diversified task requirements are met.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the field of soft grasping robots, and in particular to an air-driven, rope-controlled, deployable soft grasping robot. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, with the rapid development of automation and intelligent technology, robots have been widely used in manufacturing, logistics, medical care, agriculture and other fields. Especially in scenarios that require flexible, safe and lightweight grasping, soft robots, due to their flexible materials and special structures, show superior performance that is difficult to achieve with traditional rigid robots. Compared with rigid grasping devices, soft grasping robots can adapt to diverse and irregular shapes of objects, reduce damage to the grasped objects, and are suitable for delicate operations, such as the handling of fragile objects and the operation of precision devices.

[0003] Existing soft grasping robots mainly adopt pneumatic, hydraulic or electric drive modes, among which pneumatic drive has gradually become a popular technology in the field of soft robots due to its simple operation, fast response and precise control. However, existing pneumatic soft grasping robots have some shortcomings, such as complex structural design, poor flexibility, insufficient grasping stability, and difficulty in meeting diverse operational requirements. In addition, existing air-driven soft grasping robots also have room for improvement in energy consumption, manufacturing cost and convenience. Therefore, the development of an air-driven soft grasping robot that can grasp efficiently and stably in a complex working environment has become a research hotspot in the current technical field. Summary of the invention

[0004] In view of the defects existing in the prior art, the object of the present invention is to provide an air-driven, cable-controlled, deployable soft grasping robot.

[0005] The technical solution adopted by the present invention is:

[0006] The invention discloses an air-driven rope-controlled deployable soft grasping robot, comprising a plurality of soft pneumatic finger units, a driving rope, a rigid base support and a driving airbag unit; the soft pneumatic finger unit comprises an elastic sleeve, a spring steel sheet, a hand guide guide tube and an internal airbag of the finger, the internal airbag of the finger is arranged based on the spring steel sheet, the elastic sleeve is wrapped around the outside of the spring steel sheet and the internal airbag of the finger, the driving rope passes through the corresponding hand guide guide tube in sequence according to a certain rope laying rule to connect the soft pneumatic finger units, and finally passes through the rope receiving hole and is connected to the driving structure through the rope guide tube, the rigid base support is used to support the soft pneumatic finger units, the driving airbag unit comprises the internal airbag of the finger and the external fan-shaped airbag, the internal airbag of the finger and the external fan-shaped airbag are connected, and air pressure is transported through an air guide tube, the external fan-shaped airbag is used for large-range control of the angle between the soft pneumatic finger unit and the rigid base support, and the internal airbag of the finger is used to complete the curvature control of the soft pneumatic finger unit.

[0007] Furthermore, the elastic sleeve is cast from silicone into a multi-section cavity structure. Specifically, the main shape of the elastic sleeve matches the spring steel sheet. On one side close to the rigid base bracket, a number of protrusions are arranged at uniform intervals. The protrusions are inflatable cavities. Each inflatable cavity is provided with an internal finger airbag. The spring steel sheet and the elastic sleeve form an integrated structure during casting and are fixed to the finger connecting plate at the end by bolts to form a base of the soft finger. The finger guide rope tube is fixed to the lower side of the rope threading hole by a rope, and is also cast into one with the elastic sleeve during casting to drive the rope to pass through. The internal finger airbag is made of polyethylene film and is arranged into a multi-layer cavity structure nested in the multi-section cavity of the elastic sleeve. The finger is bent by introducing positive pressure.

[0008] Furthermore, when the air-driven soft grasping robot is in an unfolded state, the soft pneumatic finger unit is in an arc-shaped everted state, and when it is closed, the soft pneumatic finger unit is in a naturally straightened state.

[0009] Furthermore, the portion where the rigid base support is connected to the soft pneumatic finger unit is a rectangular parallelepiped structure, and the number of the soft pneumatic finger units is four, which are sequentially arranged on four sides of the cubic structure.

[0010] Furthermore, the rigid base bracket includes a finger mounting seat and a bottom plate. The finger mounting seat is a rectangular structure, and a mounting hole is arranged at the top center thereof for installing a visual camera. The finger mounting seat is arranged as a hollow structure for reducing weight and storing camera wires. Four bolt holes are arranged on the four sides of the finger mounting seat for installing the base connecting plate of the connecting frame. Two rope collection holes are arranged on the diagonal sides of the finger mounting seat for uniformly outputting the drive ropes to the drive system. The bottom plate is a circular structure and is connected and fixed to the finger mounting seat by bolts.

[0011] Furthermore, the internal airbag and the external fan-shaped airbag of the finger are both supported by polyethylene film. The internal airbag of the finger is a multi-section cavity structure for being nested in each cavity of the elastic sleeve to drive the finger to bend. The external fan-shaped airbag is a fan-shaped structure, which is installed between the base connecting plate and the finger connecting plate of the connecting frame to drive the finger to open and close. The end thereof passes through the base connecting plate and is sealed and connected to the air guide tube, thereby realizing the connection between the driving airbag and the air source.

[0012] Furthermore, the soft pneumatic finger unit fixes the spring steel sheet on the connecting frame by bolts, and the connecting frame includes a base connecting plate, a finger connecting plate and a rotating shaft, and the base connecting plate and the finger connecting plate are connected by a rotating shaft.

[0013] Furthermore, when the driving rope and the external fan-shaped airbag are in a relaxed state and a positive pressure input state respectively, the air-driven soft grasping robot is in an expanded state, and when the driving rope and the external fan-shaped airbag are in a tightened state and a negative pressure input state respectively, the air-driven soft grasping robot is in a closed state.

[0014] Furthermore, the visual camera is installed at the top center of the rigid bracket to obtain target recognition and visual navigation data of the air-driven soft grasping robot.

[0015] Compared with the prior art, the advantages of the present invention are: under the dual driving action of the external fan-shaped airbag and the airbag inside the finger, a pair of fingers can achieve an opening and closing range of 0-180°, and have a wide range of grasping characteristics. At the same time, since the rope drive can make the fingers bend inward to achieve full-surround grasping, the robot can lift objects over 70kg and has large-load grasping characteristics. In addition, due to the driving concept of air-driven rope control, the robot also has rapid response characteristics and ultra-high stability, and relying on the silicone-coated fingers, it can protect the grasped target object. Combining the above performance, the present invention can not only grasp target objects with a larger radius, but also grasp target objects with larger mass while ensuring the integrity of the grasped target, thereby meeting diverse task requirements. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative work.

[0017] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the robot's unfolded state structure;

[0018] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the robot's closed state structure;

[0019] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the back structure of the robot;

[0020] Figure 4 This is the front view of the robot;

[0021] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the rigid base support structure of the robot;

[0022] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a single soft finger of the robot;

[0023] Figure 7 This is a cutaway view of a single soft finger of the robot;

[0024] Figure 8 This is a partial magnified view of a single soft finger of the robot;

[0025] Fig. 9 This is a view of the spring steel sheet of a single soft finger of the robot;

[0026] Fig.10 This is a schematic diagram of the robot's single drive airbag structure;

[0027] Fig.11 This is a schematic diagram of the robot connection frame structure;

[0028] In the figure: 1. Soft pneumatic finger unit; 11. Elastic sleeve; 12. Spring steel sheet; 121. Rope threading hole; 13. Finger guide rope hole; 2. Driving rope; 3. Rigid base bracket; 31. Finger mounting seat; 32. Bolt hole; 33. Bottom plate; 34. Rope collection hole; 4. Driving airbag unit; 41. Finger internal airbag; 42. External fan-shaped airbag; 5. Connecting frame; 501. Base connecting plate; 502. Finger connecting plate; 503. Rotating shaft; 6. Rope guide tube; 7. Air guide tube; 8. Visual camera; 9. Bolt. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the embodiments of the present application clearer, the technical solution in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are part of the embodiments of the present application, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making creative work are within the scope of protection of this application.

[0030] The embodiments of the present invention are further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0031] like Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figure 3 and Figure 4The air-driven, rope-controlled deployable soft grasping robot shown in the figure comprises a soft pneumatic finger unit 1, a driving rope 2, a rigid base bracket 3, a driving airbag unit 4 and a visual camera 8; the visual camera 8 is installed at the top center of the rigid bracket, and is used to obtain target recognition and visual navigation data of the soft grasping robot. The soft pneumatic finger units 1 are evenly distributed around the rigid base bracket 3, and the two are connected and fixed by a connecting frame 5. The driving rope 2 passes through the corresponding hand guide tube 13 in turn according to a certain rope laying rule to connect the four soft pneumatic finger units 1 to form a mesh structure, and finally passes through the rope collection hole 34 and is connected to the driving structure through the guide tube 6. The driving airbag unit 4 is composed of an internal finger airbag 41 and an external fan-shaped airbag 42. The two airbags are interconnected and are transported by air pressure through an air guide tube 7.

[0032] like Figure 5 The rigid base bracket 3 shown includes a finger mounting seat 31 and a bottom plate 33. The finger mounting seat 31 is a rectangular structure with a mounting hole at the top center for mounting a visual camera 8. The finger mounting seat 31 is a hollow structure, which can reduce weight and store camera wires. Four bolt holes 32 are provided on the four sides of the finger mounting seat 31 for mounting the base connecting plate 501 of the connecting frame 5. Two rope collection holes 34 are provided on the diagonal sides of the finger mounting seat 31 for uniformly outputting the drive rope 2 to the drive system. The bottom plate 33 is a circular structure and is fixed to the finger mounting seat 31 by bolts. It can also be fixedly connected with other robotic arm structures to complete special grasping tasks.

[0033] like Figure 6 , Figure 7 , Figure 8 and Fig. 9The soft pneumatic finger unit 1 shown includes an elastic sleeve 11, a spring steel sheet 12, a finger guide tube 13 and an internal finger airbag 41. The elastic sleeve 11 is cast from silicone into a multi-section cavity structure, which is coated on the surface of the finger and has a flexible feature, which can greatly prevent the finger from damaging the object when performing a grasping action. Specifically, the main shape of the elastic sleeve 11 matches the spring steel sheet 12, and a plurality of protrusions are arranged at uniform intervals on one side close to the rigid base bracket 3. The protrusions are inflatable cavities, and a finger internal airbag 41 is arranged in each inflatable cavity. The spring steel sheet 12 and the elastic sleeve 11 are an integrated structure during casting, and are screwed at the end. The bolt 9 is fixed on the finger connecting plate 502 to form the base of the soft finger. The finger guide rope tube 13 is fixed to the lower side of the rope threading hole 121 by a rope. Specifically, the lower rope guide tube 13 is fixed to the steel plate by a rope. The number of the finger guide rope tubes 13 matches the number of ropes to be used. Several of them are arranged at preset intervals along the transverse direction of the spring steel sheet 12. The rope threading hole 121 is opened on the steel plate and is also cast into one piece with the elastic sleeve 11 during casting to drive the rope 2 to pass through. The internal airbag 41 of the finger is made of polyethylene film and is arranged to have a multi-layer cavity structure nested in the multi-segment cavity of the elastic sleeve. The finger is bent by introducing positive pressure.

[0034] like Fig.10 The driving airbag unit 4 shown includes an internal finger airbag 41 and an external fan-shaped airbag 42, both of which are made of polyethylene film. The two airbag parts are integrated and interconnected, and air pressure is transported through an air duct 7. The internal finger airbag 41 is a multi-section cavity structure used to be nested in each cavity of the elastic sleeve 11 to drive the finger to bend. The external fan-shaped airbag 42 is a fan-shaped structure, which is installed between the base connecting plate 501 and the finger connecting plate 502 of the connecting frame 5 to drive the finger to open and close. The end of the airbag passes through the base connecting plate 501 and is sealed and connected to the air duct 7, thereby realizing the connection between the driving airbag 4 and the air source. Specifically, the external fan-shaped airbag 42 includes a main body and a plurality of branch airbags connected above the main body. The lengths of the branch airbags are different. The vertices of the branch airbags are connected to form an arc surface. After inflation, the whole forms a fan surface. When not inflated, the external fan-shaped airbag is compressed and the branch airbags are tightly fitted so that the pneumatic finger unit 1 can be close to the rigid base bracket 3.

[0035] like Fig.11The connecting frame 5 shown includes a base connecting plate 501, a finger connecting plate 502 and a rotating shaft 503, wherein the finger connecting plate 502 fixes the spring steel sheet 12 by bolts, and the finger connecting plate 502 is fixed to the finger mounting seat 31 by bolts, and the base connecting plate 501 and the finger connecting plate 502 are connected by the rotating shaft 503, thereby realizing a fixed connection between the soft pneumatic finger unit 1 and the rigid base bracket 3.

[0036] In this embodiment, the rope laying rules are as follows: there is at least one group of cross-arranged ropes between adjacent soft pneumatic finger units 1, wherein two oppositely arranged adjacent groups of soft pneumatic finger units 1 are provided with second cross-state ropes, and another pair of oppositely arranged adjacent groups of soft pneumatic finger units 1 are provided with directly connected ropes. Of course, this rope strategy can be adjusted according to the actual application scenario.

[0037] Working principle: In a non-working state, the pneumatic soft finger unit and the fan-shaped airbag of an air-driven and rope-controlled deployable soft grasping robot are in a closed state, and the driving rope is in a tightened state. When the air-driven soft grasping robot needs to grasp an object, the visual camera first captures the target object information and route information, and then feeds back the collected visual information to the visual control system. The visual control system is integrated into the driving end of the robot as a whole, and is connected to the rope drive system and the bottom mobile trolley drive system to form an integrated control system. After receiving the visual information, the control system analyzes the current state of the robot and issues action commands to drive the robot to run near the captured object. When the robot reaches the vicinity of the captured object, the driving rope is relaxed, and the driving airbag is filled with positive pressure at the same time. Under the action of positive pressure, the external fan-shaped airbag begins to expand and then drives the soft fingers to expand. Further, the airbag inside the finger drives the finger to further expand the grasping space outward under the action of positive pressure. Then, after the soft grasping robot moves to a position where the entire object can be covered, negative pressure is filled into the driving airbag. Under the action of negative pressure, the external fan-shaped airbag begins to shrink and then drives the soft fingers to close. Further, the airbag inside the finger drives the finger to start to restore the straight state under the action of negative pressure. At the same time, the driving rope is tightened and drives the soft fingers to bend inward until the soft grasping robot covers the entire object or completely grasps it. The object is captured by the soft grasping robot and then the next task is carried out. After the subsequent task is completed, the driving rope of the soft grasping robot is relaxed, and the driving airbag continues to be filled with positive pressure so that the closed cavity formed by the entire robot's soft fingers is opened, thereby unloading the grasped object. The above steps are a workflow of an air-driven soft grasping robot.

[0038] It should be noted that, in this application, relational terms such as "first" and "second" are only used to distinguish one entity or operation from another entity or operation, and do not necessarily require or imply any such actual relationship or order between these entities or operations. Moreover, the terms "include", "comprise" or any other variants thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, so that a process, method, article or device including a series of elements includes not only those elements, but also other elements not explicitly listed, or also includes elements inherent to such process, method, article or device. In the absence of further restrictions, the elements defined by the sentence "comprise a ..." do not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article or device including the elements.

[0039] The above description is only a specific implementation of the present application, so that those skilled in the art can understand or implement the present application. Various modifications to these embodiments will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein can be implemented in other embodiments without departing from the spirit or scope of the present application. Therefore, the present application will not be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but will conform to the widest range consistent with the principles and novel features applied for herein.

Claims

1. An air-driven, rope-controlled, deployable soft grasping robot, characterized in that: The invention comprises a plurality of soft pneumatic finger units (1), a driving rope (2), a rigid base bracket (3) and a driving airbag unit (4); the soft pneumatic finger unit (1) comprises an elastic sleeve (11), a spring steel sheet (12), a finger guide rope tube (13) and a finger internal airbag (41); the finger internal airbag (41) is arranged based on the spring steel sheet (12); the elastic sleeve (11) is wrapped around the spring steel sheet (12) and the finger internal airbag (41); the driving rope (2) passes through the corresponding finger guide rope tube (13) in sequence according to a certain rope laying rule to connect the soft pneumatic finger units (1). , and finally passes through the rope receiving hole (34) and is connected to the driving structure through the rope guide tube (6). The rigid base bracket is used to support each soft pneumatic finger unit (1). The driving airbag unit includes the finger internal airbag (41) and the external fan-shaped airbag (42). The finger internal airbag (41) and the external fan-shaped airbag (42) are connected and air pressure is transported through an air guide tube (7). The external fan-shaped airbag (42) is used for a large range of control of the angle between the soft pneumatic finger unit (1) and the rigid base bracket (3). The finger internal airbag (41) is used to complete the curvature control of the soft pneumatic finger unit (1).

2. The air-driven, cable-controlled, deployable soft grasping robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The elastic sleeve (11) is cast from silicone into a multi-section cavity structure. Specifically, the main shape of the elastic sleeve (11) matches the spring steel sheet (12). On one side close to the rigid base bracket (3), a plurality of protrusions are arranged at uniform intervals. The protrusions are inflatable cavities. Each inflatable cavity is provided with a finger internal airbag (41). The spring steel sheet (12) and the elastic sleeve (11) form an integrated structure during casting and are fixed to the finger connecting plate (502) at the end by bolts (9) to form the base of the soft finger. The finger guide rope tube (13) is fixed to the lower side of the rope threading hole (121) by a rope and is also cast into one piece with the elastic sleeve (11) during casting to drive the rope (2) to pass through. The finger internal airbag (41) is made of polyethylene film and is arranged into a multi-layer cavity structure and is nested in the multi-section cavity of the elastic sleeve. The finger is bent by the introduction of positive pressure.

3. The air-driven, cable-controlled, deployable soft grasping robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: When the air-driven soft grasping robot is in an unfolded state, the soft pneumatic finger unit (1) is in an arc-shaped outward-turned state, and when the air-driven soft grasping robot is in a closed state, the soft pneumatic finger unit (1) is in a naturally straightened state.

4. The air-driven, cable-controlled, deployable soft grasping robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The portion where the rigid base support (3) is connected to the soft pneumatic finger unit (1) is a rectangular parallelepiped structure. The number of the soft pneumatic finger units (1) is four and they are arranged in sequence on the four sides of the cubic structure.

5. The air-driven, cable-controlled, deployable soft grasping robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The rigid base bracket (3) comprises a finger mounting seat (31) and a bottom plate (33). The finger mounting seat (31) is a rectangular parallelepiped structure, and a mounting hole is arranged at the center of its top for mounting a visual camera (8). The finger mounting seat (31) is arranged as a hollow structure for reducing weight and storing camera wires. Four bolt holes are arranged on the four sides of the finger mounting seat (31) for mounting a base connecting plate (501) of a connecting frame (5). Two rope receiving holes (34) are arranged on the diagonal sides of the finger mounting seat (31) for uniformly outputting the drive rope (2) to the drive system. The bottom plate (33) is a circular structure and is connected and fixed to the finger mounting seat (31) by bolts.

6. The air-driven, cable-controlled, deployable soft grasping robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The finger internal airbag (41) and the external fan-shaped airbag (42) are both supported by polyethylene film. The finger internal airbag (41) is a multi-section cavity structure for being nested in each cavity of the elastic sleeve (11) to drive the finger to bend. The external fan-shaped airbag (42) is a fan-shaped structure, which is installed between the base connecting plate (501) and the finger connecting plate (502) of the connecting frame (5) to drive the finger to open and close. The end of the airbag passes through the base connecting plate (501) and is sealed and connected to the air guide tube (7), thereby realizing the connection between the driving airbag (4) and the air source.

7. The air-driven, cable-controlled, deployable soft grasping robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The soft pneumatic finger unit (1) fixes a spring steel sheet (12) on a connecting frame (5) by means of bolts (9); the connecting frame (5) comprises a base connecting plate (501), a finger connecting plate (502) and a rotating shaft (503); the base connecting plate (501) and the finger connecting plate (502) are connected by means of the rotating shaft (503).

8. The air-driven, cable-controlled, deployable soft grasping robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: When the driving rope (2) and the external fan-shaped airbag (42) are in a relaxed state and a positive pressure input state, respectively, the air-driven soft grasping robot is in an unfolded state; when the driving rope (2) and the external fan-shaped airbag (42) are in a tightened state and a negative pressure input state, respectively, the air-driven soft grasping robot is in a closed state.

9. The air-driven, cable-controlled, deployable soft grasping robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The visual camera (8) is installed at the top center of the rigid support and is used to obtain target recognition and visual navigation data of the air-driven soft grasping robot.

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