Robot foot structure and robot

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to the field of robot technology, and in particular to a robot foot structure and a robot. A specific implementation scheme is: an arched robot foot, wherein the middle of the robot foot is higher than the front and rear of the robot foot. The present disclosure imitates the arched design of the human foot to design the robot foot into an arched structure with a low front and rear part and a high middle part of the robot foot, so that the force of the robot foot is concentrated on the front and rear part of the foot, reducing the force area of ​​the foot, which is conducive to maintaining the stability of the overall center of mass of the robot on complex roads.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to the technical field of robots, and in particular to a robot foot structure and a robot. Background Art

[0002] With the rapid development of the robotics industry, advances in robotics have made it possible to design functional and realistic humanoid robots. Taking a bipedal robot as an example, its foot needs to have a shock-absorbing function, because the robot's foot bears the weight of the entire robot, and the robot will be subjected to greater impact force during walking, jumping and other actions. In addition, the robot's foot also needs to be able to deform according to the flatness of the ground, thereby providing a larger contact surface, maintaining the stability of the robot's overall center of mass, and being able to adapt to complex terrain environments.

[0003] The existing bipedal robot has limited shock absorption function and ability to adapt to the flatness of the ground. At present, the mainstream technical solution for the robot foot is to design the robot foot as a whole flat plate, and then install an elastic rubber pad on the sole of the foot to achieve the shock absorption function. The disadvantage of this solution is that when the robot walks on a special ground, such as a road with stones, the contact area between the sole of the foot and the raised stones is limited, which makes it difficult for the robot to maintain balance during movement. The disadvantage of this solution is that the shock absorption effect that can be provided by rubber pads is limited, resulting in a greater impact when the robot's feet touch the ground; and if a shock absorption mechanism such as a spring is installed on the robot's feet, the height of the foot will be increased, making the foot bloated. The disadvantage of this solution is that the front end of the foot does not distinguish between multiple toes, and cannot fit the undulations of the ground, which makes it difficult for the robot to maintain balance during movement and standing. Therefore, there is an urgent need for a robot foot structure that can adapt and adjust according to the flatness of the ground and reduce the impact of the foot landing at the same time. Summary of the invention

[0004] The present disclosure provides a robot foot structure and a robot.

[0005] According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a robot foot structure, comprising:

[0006] An arched robot foot, wherein a middle portion of the robot foot is higher than a front portion of the robot foot and a rear portion of the robot foot.

[0007] Optionally, the robot foot includes a middle foot, and the middle foot is arched.

[0008] Optionally, the robot foot also includes an upper foot; the lower surface of the upper foot is in contact with the upper surface of the middle foot, and the upper foot is arched.

[0009] Optionally, the robot foot also includes a bottom foot; the lower surface of the middle foot is in contact with the upper surface of the bottom foot, and the bottom foot is a flat plate structure.

[0010] Optionally, the front part of the upper foot plate includes a first flat plate structure; the middle part of the upper foot plate includes a second flat plate structure, a first inclined structure, and a second inclined structure, and the first inclined structure is respectively connected to the first flat plate structure and the second flat plate structure; the rear part of the upper foot plate includes a third flat plate structure, and the second inclined structure is respectively connected to the second flat plate structure and the third flat plate structure.

[0011] Optionally, the front portion of the upper foot plate is provided with at least one first fork structure, and the front portion of the middle foot plate is provided with at least one second fork structure, and at least two toe structures are formed by the first fork structure and the second fork structure.

[0012] Optionally, the robot foot includes one or more pressure sensors for collecting pressure information at corresponding positions of the robot foot and feeding it back to the robot's motion control unit, and the motion control unit adjusts the robot's center of mass according to the pressure information.

[0013] Optionally, the pressure sensors are respectively arranged at the front of the robot foot and the rear of the robot foot.

[0014] Optionally, a hollow structure is provided in the middle of the middle foot plate; the middle foot plate also includes a plurality of recessed structures arranged around the circumference of the middle foot plate.

[0015] Optionally, the upper foot plate is made of carbon fiber.

[0016] Optionally, the middle foot plate is made of rubber.

[0017] Optionally, the bottom foot plate is made of rubber.

[0018] Optionally, the upper foot plate is provided with a plurality of first mounting holes; the middle foot plate is provided with a plurality of second mounting holes, and the first mounting holes and the second mounting holes are arranged correspondingly, and are used to mount the robot foot plate to the robot body.

[0019] According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, a robot is provided, comprising the robot foot structure described in any one of the above technical solutions.

[0020] The present invention designs the robot foot plate into an arched structure with low front and rear parts and high middle part of the robot foot plate by imitating the arched design of the human foot. The advantages of the present invention are: first, the force of the robot foot plate is concentrated on the front and rear parts of the foot plate, imitating the arched design of the human foot, which is conducive to maintaining the stability of the overall center of mass of the robot on complex roads; second, the arched elastic mechanism imitating the human foot can provide a certain shock-absorbing elasticity; the middle part of the foot plate of the arched mechanism adopts a hollow design, which further increases the shock-absorbing elasticity of the arched mechanism; combined with the use of rubber material, the shock-absorbing capacity of the foot plate is comprehensively improved; third, the toe fork structure at the front part of the foot plate, when one toe steps on an object such as a stone, the toe will deform and bounce upward, while the other toe that has not stepped on the stone will remain in a stable state, which improves the fit of the foot to the undulating ground and improves the stability of the robot's movement and standing.

[0021] It should be understood that the content described in this section is not intended to identify the key or important features of the embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become easily understood through the following description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0022] The accompanying drawings are used to better understand the present solution and do not constitute a limitation of the present disclosure.

[0023] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the robot foot in the embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0024] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the exploded structure of the robot foot in the embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0025] The reference numerals in the specific implementation manner are as follows:

[0026] Robot foot 1; front part 1A of the robot foot; middle part 1B of the robot foot; rear part 1C of the robot foot; upper foot 11; middle foot 12; bottom foot 13; pressure sensor 14; first mounting hole 15; second mounting hole 16; first flat plate structure 111; first inclined structure 112; second flat plate structure 113; second inclined structure 114; third flat plate structure 115; first forked structure 116; second forked structure 121; hollow structure 122; recessed structure 123. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] The following is a description of exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, including various details of the embodiments of the present disclosure to facilitate understanding, which should be considered as merely exemplary. Therefore, it should be recognized by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes and modifications may be made to the embodiments described herein without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. Similarly, for the sake of clarity and conciseness, descriptions of well-known functions and structures are omitted in the following description.

[0028] In the description of the embodiments of the present application, the term "at least one" refers to one or more, and "plurality" refers to more than two (including two).

[0029] In the description of the embodiments of the present application, the technical terms "center", "longitudinal", "lateral", "length", "width", "thickness", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside", "clockwise", "counterclockwise", "axial", "radial", "circumferential", etc. indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, which are only for the convenience of describing the embodiments of the present application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the referred device or element must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be understood as a limitation on the embodiments of the present application.

[0030] In view of the technical problem in the prior art that the robot foot is difficult to balance when walking on a complex road surface, the present disclosure provides a robot foot structure, such as Figure 1 As shown, including:

[0031] The robot foot 1 is arched, wherein the middle portion 1B of the robot foot 1 is higher than the front portion 1A of the robot foot 1 and the rear portion 1C of the robot foot 1 .

[0032] In this embodiment, the robot's foot is designed to be an arch-shaped structure with low front and rear parts and high middle part of the robot's foot through the arch-shaped design imitating the human foot. The force on the robot's foot is concentrated on the front and rear parts of the foot, reducing the force area of ​​the foot, which is beneficial to maintaining the stability of the robot's overall center of mass on complex roads.

[0033] As an optional implementation, Figure 1 As shown, the robot foot 1 includes: a middle foot 12, which is arched; an upper foot 11, the lower surface of the upper foot 11 is fitted with the upper surface of the middle foot 12, and the upper foot 11 is arched; a bottom foot 13, the lower surface of the middle foot 12 is fitted with the upper surface of the bottom foot 13, and the bottom foot 13 is a flat plate structure.

[0034] Specifically, the robot foot plate 1 includes an upper layer, a middle layer, and a lower layer. Among them, the middle foot plate 12 refers to the middle layer of the robot foot plate 1, which is arranged between the upper foot plate 11 and the bottom foot plate 13. The upper foot plate 11 and the middle foot plate 12 are both designed to be arched, and the bottom foot plate 13 is designed to be a flat plate structure, so that the robot foot plate 1 is arched as a whole, and the force of the robot foot plate is concentrated to the front and rear of the foot plate, reducing the force area of ​​the foot plate, which is conducive to maintaining the stability of the overall center of mass of the robot on complex roads.

[0035] As an optional implementation, Figure 2 As shown, the front part of the upper foot plate 11 includes a first flat plate structure 111; the middle part of the upper foot plate 11 includes a second flat plate structure 113, a first inclined structure 112, and a second inclined structure 114, and the first inclined structure 112 is respectively connected to the first flat plate structure 111 and the second flat plate structure 113; the rear part of the upper foot plate 11 includes a third flat plate structure 115, and the second inclined structure 114 is respectively connected to the second flat plate structure 113 and the third flat plate structure 115.

[0036] Specifically, the first inclined structure 112 and the second inclined structure 114 may be inclined at angles of, for example, 5°, 8°, 10°, etc., and the arch structure they form is a bionic design. The area percentage of the human arch can be referred to as 0.20-0.25, that is, the area of ​​the middle part of the upper foot plate 11 formed by the second flat plate structure 113, the first inclined structure 112, and the second inclined structure 114 accounts for 0.20-0.25 of the area of ​​the entire robot foot plate.

[0037] As an optional embodiment, at least one first fork structure 116 is provided at the front of the upper foot plate 11, and at least one second fork structure 121 is provided at the front of the middle foot plate 12, and at least two toe structures are formed by the first fork structure 116 and the second fork structure 121.

[0038] Specifically, in this embodiment, by providing a first forked structure 116 at the front of the upper foot plate 11 and a second forked structure 121 at the front of the middle foot plate 12, two toe structures are formed at the front of the robot foot plate 1. When one of the toes steps on an object such as a stone, the toe will deform and bounce upward, while the other toe that has not stepped on the stone will remain stable. In the flat design of the traditional foot plate, the foot plate will deform and bounce upward as a whole. The front part of the robot foot plate is divided into at least two parts by the first forked structure and the second forked structure. When stepping on a stone, only part of the foot plate will deform and bounce upward, which can improve the stability of the robot foot plate.

[0039] As an optional embodiment, the robot foot 1 includes one or more pressure sensors 14 for collecting pressure information at corresponding positions of the robot foot 1 and feeding it back to the robot motion control unit (not shown in the figure). The robot motion control unit adjusts the center of mass of the robot according to the pressure information.

[0040] Specifically, the pressure sensor 14 in this embodiment can collect the pressure exerted on various parts of the robot's foot in real time, and the robot motion control unit can adjust the center of mass of the robot according to the pressure information, thereby improving the adaptability of the robot's foot on different surfaces.

[0041] Specifically, the process of adjusting the center of mass of the robot according to the pressure information includes: the four pressure sensors 14 can respectively collect four analog signals, and the analog signals are transmitted to the robot's motion control unit through signal cables; the observer in the motion control unit processes the signals collected by the pressure sensors and outputs coordinate values ​​and pressure values; the motion control algorithm can calculate the force of the foot plate according to the coordinate values ​​and pressure values, and the robot's motion state can be further adjusted according to the force of the foot plate. The adjustment of the robot's motion state includes two aspects:

[0042] 1) From an overall perspective, the force control mode and position control mode of the robot's legs (including the foot) can be switched according to whether the robot's foot is under pressure. Taking a bipedal robot as an example, when one foot touches the ground, the pressure on the foot gradually increases from 0, and the motion control algorithm switches from the position control mode to the force control mode according to the pressure value; when one foot leaves the ground, the pressure on the foot gradually decreases to 0, and the motion control algorithm switches from the force control mode to the position control mode according to the pressure value. That is, if the pressure on the robot's foot is 0, the position control mode is used at this time; if the pressure on the foot is not 0, the force control mode is used at this time.

[0043] 2) From a local perspective, the robot motion control algorithm will adjust the robot's posture according to the force conditions in different parts of the foot to maintain the overall stability of the robot.

[0044] As an optional implementation, Figure 2 As shown, the pressure sensors 14 are respectively arranged at the front part of the robot foot 1 and the rear part of the robot foot 1 .

[0045] In this embodiment, four pressure sensors 14 are included. Two grooves can be respectively provided at the front and rear of the middle foot plate 12 for placing the pressure sensors 14. The upper foot plate 11 is attached to the surface of the middle foot plate 12 to form a closed space, and the pressure sensors 14 are fixed between the upper foot plate 11 and the middle foot plate 12. Since the front and rear parts of the robot foot plate 1 are the main parts bearing pressure, the pressure of these parts is mainly monitored, and the center of mass of the robot is adjusted in real time to ensure that the robot can walk stably on complex terrain.

[0046] As an optional implementation, Figure 2 As shown, a hollow structure 122 is provided in the middle of the middle foot plate 12 ; the middle foot plate 12 also includes a plurality of recessed structures 123 , which are arranged around the circumference of the middle foot plate 12 .

[0047] Specifically, the middle foot plate 12 is made of rubber material. When the robot walks on complex terrain such as stone ground, the hollow structure 122 can be compressed, imitating the arch elastic mechanism of the human foot, which can provide a certain shock-absorbing elasticity. On this basis, the middle part of the foot plate of the arch mechanism adopts a hollow design, which further increases the shock-absorbing elasticity of the arch mechanism, thereby improving the shock-absorbing ability of the robot foot plate 1. The concave structure 123 around the middle foot plate 12 can play a decorative and weight-reducing role.

[0048] As an optional implementation, Figure 2 As shown, the material of the upper foot plate 11 can be carbon fiber, which has the characteristics of high hardness, strong compression resistance, high corrosion resistance and good pressure resistance, which can improve the overall pressure resistance of the robot foot plate, improve the stability of the robot and extend the service life. The material of the middle foot plate 12 and the bottom foot plate 13 is rubber. On the basis of adopting the arch elastic mechanism imitating the human foot sole and the hollow design of the middle part of the foot plate of the arch mechanism, combined with the use of rubber material, the shock absorption ability of the robot foot plate is comprehensively improved.

[0049] As an optional implementation, Figure 2 As shown, the upper foot plate 11 is provided with a plurality of first mounting holes 15; the middle foot plate 12 is provided with a plurality of second mounting holes 16, and the first mounting holes 15 and the second mounting holes 16 are correspondingly arranged for mounting the robot foot plate 1 to the robot body.

[0050] Specifically, in this embodiment, the number of the first mounting holes 15 is 5, and the first mounting holes 15 can be evenly arranged in the middle of the upper foot plate 11, that is, on the second flat plate structure 113; the number of the second mounting holes 16 is 5, and they can be arranged on the middle foot plate 12 corresponding to the first mounting holes 15. The robot foot plate 1 can be mounted to the ankle of the robot body or the leg of the robot body through the multiple first mounting holes 15 and the second mounting holes 16.

[0051] The present disclosure also provides a robot, comprising the robot foot structure described in any one of the above embodiments. Figure 1 As shown, including:

[0052] The robot foot 1 is arched, wherein the middle portion 1B of the robot foot 1 is higher than the front portion 1A of the robot foot 1 and the rear portion 1C of the robot foot 1 .

[0053] In this embodiment, the robot's foot is designed to be an arch-shaped structure with low front and rear parts and high middle part of the robot's foot through the arch-shaped design imitating the human foot. The force on the robot's foot is concentrated on the front and rear parts of the foot, reducing the force area of ​​the foot, which is beneficial to maintaining the stability of the robot's overall center of mass on complex roads.

[0054] It should be understood that the various forms of processes shown above can be used to reorder, add or delete steps. For example, the steps recorded in this disclosure can be executed in parallel, sequentially or in different orders, as long as the desired results of the technical solution of this disclosure can be achieved, and this document is not limited here.

[0055] The above specific implementations do not constitute a limitation on the protection scope of the present disclosure. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications, combinations, sub-combinations and substitutions can be made according to design requirements and other factors. Any modification, equivalent substitution and improvement made within the spirit and principle of the present disclosure shall be included in the protection scope of the present disclosure.

Claims

1. A robot foot structure, characterized in that: include: A bow-shaped robot foot (1), wherein the middle portion (1B) of the robot foot (1) is higher than the front portion (1A) of the robot foot (1) and the rear portion (1C) of the robot foot (1).

2. The robot foot structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: The robot foot plate comprises a middle foot plate (12), and the middle foot plate (12) is arched.

3. The robot foot structure according to claim 2, characterized in that: The robot foot also includes an upper foot (11); the lower surface of the upper foot (11) is in contact with the upper surface of the middle foot (12), and the upper foot (11) is in an arch shape.

4. The robot foot structure according to claim 2, characterized in that: The robot foot also includes a bottom foot (13); the lower surface of the middle foot (12) is in contact with the upper surface of the bottom foot (13), and the bottom foot (13) is a flat plate structure.

5. The robot foot structure according to claim 3, characterized in that: The front part of the upper footboard (11) includes a first flat plate structure (111); the middle part of the upper footboard includes a second flat plate structure (113), a first inclined structure (112), and a second inclined structure (114), wherein the first inclined structure (112) is respectively connected to the first flat plate structure (111) and the second flat plate structure (113); the rear part of the upper footboard (11) includes a third flat plate structure (115), wherein the second inclined structure (114) is respectively connected to the second flat plate structure (113) and the third flat plate structure (115).

6. The robot foot structure according to claim 3, characterized in that: The front portion of the upper foot plate (11) is provided with at least one first fork structure (116), and the front portion of the middle foot plate (12) is provided with at least one second fork structure (121), and at least two toe structures are formed by the first fork structure (116) and the second fork structure (121).

7. The robot foot structure according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The robot foot (1) comprises one or more pressure sensors (14) for collecting pressure information at corresponding positions of the robot foot (1) and feeding it back to the robot's motion control unit, and the motion control unit adjusts the robot's center of mass according to the pressure information.

8. The robot foot structure according to claim 7, characterized in that: The pressure sensors (14) are respectively arranged at the front part (1A) of the robot foot (1) and the rear part (1C) of the robot foot (1).

9. The robot foot structure according to claim 2, characterized in that: The middle portion of the middle foot plate (12) is provided with a hollow structure (122); the middle foot plate (12) also includes a plurality of recessed structures (123) which are arranged around the circumference of the middle foot plate (12).

10. The robot foot structure according to claim 3, characterized in that: The material of the upper foot plate (11) is carbon fiber.

11. The robot foot structure according to claim 2, characterized in that: The material of the middle foot plate (12) is rubber.

12. The robot foot structure according to claim 4, characterized in that: The material of the bottom foot plate (13) is rubber.

13. The robot foot structure according to claim 3, characterized in that: The upper foot plate (11) is provided with a plurality of first mounting holes (15); the middle foot plate (12) is provided with a plurality of second mounting holes (16), and the first mounting holes (15) and the second mounting holes (16) are arranged correspondingly and are used to mount the robot foot plate (1) on the robot body.

14. A robot, characterized in that: The robot foot structure comprises any one of claims 1-13.

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