Rigidity-variable rigid-flexible coupling super-redundant continuum robot

Abstract

The invention discloses a rigidity-variable rigid-flexible coupling super-redundant continuum robot which comprises a head unit continuum, a middle unit continuum, a tail unit continuum and a driving line. The head unit continuum comprises a head body section and a plurality of structural body sections which are connected in sequence, and the upper surface of the head body section is a plane and used for being connected with an end effector; the middle unit continuum is connected with the head unit continuum, and the middle unit continuum comprises a plurality of structural body sections which are connected in sequence; the tail unit continuum is connected with the middle unit continuum and comprises a tail body section and a plurality of structural body sections which are connected in sequence, and the lower surface of the tail body section is a plane and is used for being fixed to a working platform or a base; a plurality of driving wires penetrate through the tail body section and the structural body section to be connected with the head body section and are used for transmitting driving force to the head body section, the structural body section and the tail body section. The problems that due to insufficient tension of a driving line of a traditional continuum robot, the structural stability is poor, and the structural rigidity cannot be actively adjusted are solved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention belongs to the technical field of robots, and in particular relates to a rigid-flexible coupling super-redundant continuum robot with variable rigidity. Background Art

[0002] A continuum robot refers to a type of robot with a deformable, flexible continuous skeleton. Compared with traditional rigid robots, continuum robots have higher degrees of freedom and flexibility, and have unique structural advantages and application potential in aerospace, nuclear power industry, biomedicine and other fields.

[0003] The structural unit of a continuum robot is a key part of the entire continuum robot, which directly determines the overall operating space, motion accuracy and operating stability of the robot. However, due to the mechanical characteristics and size requirements of the structural unit, its stiffness and structural stability are low, and its position retention ability is poor under external force disturbance. Existing rope-driven continuum robots usually increase the structural stiffness by increasing the tension of the driving rope, but since the tension must be maintained within the elastic deformation range of the driving rope, this method has certain limitations. It is necessary to solve the problem of insufficient rigidity of the continuum robot from the overall structure. Summary of the invention

[0004] In view of the above-mentioned problems, the purpose of the present invention is to provide a rigid-flexibly coupled super-redundant continuum robot with variable stiffness. By introducing an adjustable stiffness additional mechanism, the problems of poor structural stability of traditional continuum robots due to insufficient drive line tension and the inability to actively adjust the structural stiffness are solved without changing the structural dimensions of the robot. The robot has stronger anti-interference ability and environmental adaptability.

[0005] The technical solution of the present invention is: a rigid-flexible coupled super-redundant continuum robot with variable stiffness, comprising: A head unit continuum, comprising a head segment and a plurality of structural segments connected in sequence, wherein the upper surface of the head segment is a plane for connecting an end effector; An intermediate unit continuum connected to the head unit continuum, wherein the intermediate unit continuum includes a plurality of structural segments connected in sequence; A tail unit continuum, connected to the intermediate unit continuum, comprising a tail body segment and a plurality of structural body segments connected in sequence, wherein the lower surface of the tail body segment is a plane and is used to be fixed on a working platform or a base; A plurality of driving lines are centrally symmetrically passed through the tail body segment and the structural body segment and connected to the head body segment, and the driving lines are used to transmit driving force to the head body segment, the structural body segment and the tail body segment.

[0006] Furthermore, the structural body segment comprises: Cylindrical disc II; Two upper bearing supports 2 are two cylindrical shafts, symmetrically arranged on both sides of the upper part of the cylindrical disc 2, and the central axes of the two upper bearing supports 2 are perpendicular to the central axis of the cylindrical disc 2; The two lower bearing supports are two semicircular holes, symmetrically arranged on both sides of the lower part of the cylindrical disc. The axes of the semicircular holes of the two lower bearing supports are perpendicular to the central axis of the cylindrical disc. The included angle between the axes of the upper bearing support and the lower bearing support is 90°. The upper bearing supports and the lower bearing supports of the two adjacent cylindrical discs are connected by a micro bearing. Four groups of additional mechanism connection holes 2 are symmetrically arranged on the side of the cylindrical disc 2, the four groups of additional mechanism connection holes 2 are respectively located below the upper bearing support 2 or above the lower bearing support 2, and the additional mechanism connection holes 2 of two adjacent cylindrical discs 2 are connected by a flexible additional mechanism; A second driving wire hole is uniformly arranged on the second cylindrical disc in a penetrating manner, and the driving wire is arranged inside the second driving wire hole; The second central through hole is arranged through the central axis of the second cylindrical disk.

[0007] Furthermore, the head segment comprises: Cylindrical disc one; The two lower bearing supports 1 are two semicircular holes, symmetrically arranged on both sides of a lower portion of the cylindrical disc, the axes of the two semicircular holes of the lower bearing supports 1 are perpendicular to the central axis of the cylindrical disc 1, and the lower bearing supports 1 are connected to the corresponding upper bearing supports 2 via a micro bearing; Two groups of additional mechanism connection holes 1 are symmetrically arranged on the side of the cylindrical disc 1 and are respectively located above the two lower bearing supports 1, and the additional mechanism connection holes 1 are connected to the corresponding additional mechanism connection holes 2 through a flexible additional mechanism; A driving wire hole 1 is uniformly arranged in the cylindrical disk 1 through-type, and the driving wire is arranged in the driving wire hole 1; A central through hole 1 is arranged through the central axis of the cylindrical disk 1.

[0008] Furthermore, the tail segment comprises: cylindrical disk three; The two upper bearing supports three are two cylindrical shafts, symmetrically arranged on both sides of the upper part of the cylindrical disk three, the axes of the two upper bearing supports three are perpendicular to the central axis of the cylindrical disk three, and the upper bearing supports three are connected to the corresponding lower bearing supports two through a micro bearing; Two groups of additional mechanism connection holes three are symmetrically arranged on the side surface of the cylindrical disc three and respectively located below the two upper bearing supports three, and the additional mechanism connection holes three are connected to the corresponding additional mechanism connection holes two through a flexible additional mechanism; A third driving wire hole is circumferentially arranged to penetrate inside the third cylindrical disk, and the driving wire is arranged inside the third driving wire hole; The central through hole three is arranged through the central axis of the cylindrical disk three.

[0009] Furthermore, the inner ring diameter of the miniature bearing is equal to the outer diameter of the upper bearing support two and the upper bearing support three, the outer ring diameter of the miniature bearing is equal to the semicircular hole diameter of the lower bearing support one and the lower bearing support two, the inner ring of the miniature bearing is fixed to the corresponding upper bearing support two or the upper bearing support three by means of a gasket and a fastening screw, and the outer ring of the miniature bearing is engaged with the corresponding lower bearing support one or the lower bearing support two.

[0010] Furthermore, the flexible additional mechanism includes two connecting ends and a damping spring connected between the two connecting ends, and the connecting end is fixedly connected to the corresponding additional mechanism connecting hole 1, additional mechanism connecting hole 2 or additional mechanism connecting hole 3 by screws.

[0011] Furthermore, the damping spring is made of elastic material, specifically, thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer.

[0012] Working method of the present invention: Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following beneficial effects: 1. By introducing a flexible additional mechanism, the rigidity of the continuum robot can be adjusted according to actual needs during design and use, which greatly expands the use environment of the present invention.

[0013] 2. The flexible additional mechanism is discretely and independently connected in parallel between each structural body section, so that the present invention has local stiffness adjustability and mechanical properties of different unit continua along the axis. It can enhance operational flexibility and improve motion control performance under the premise of ensuring stiffness.

[0014] 3. The continuum robot in the present invention arranges the revolute pairs and flexible additional mechanisms between the joints on the outside of the structural segments, so that the center of the continuum robot has enough space to arrange various end effectors, such as cables, trachea, cameras, grinding heads or scalpels, etc., which can meet various working conditions. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the present invention; Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the structural body segment of the present invention; Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the head segment of the present invention; Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the structure of the tail body segment of the present invention; Figure 5 It is an exploded view of the structural body segment connection structure of the present invention; Figure 6 It is a structural schematic diagram of the invented flexible additional mechanism; Figure 7 , 8 Schematic diagram of the deformation process of the flexible additional mechanism.

[0016] Among them, 1. head unit continuum; 11. head body segment; 111. cylindrical disc 1; 112. lower bearing support 1; 113. additional mechanism connection hole 1; 114. drive line hole 1; 115. center through hole 1; 2. intermediate unit continuum; 21. structural body segment; 211. cylindrical disc 2; 212. upper bearing support 2; 213. lower bearing support 2; 214. additional mechanism connection hole 2; 215 , drive line hole two; 216, center through hole two; 3, tail unit continuum; 31, tail body segment; 311, cylindrical disk three; 312, upper bearing support three; 313, additional mechanism connection hole three; 314, drive line hole three; 315, center through hole three; 4, drive line; 5, flexible additional mechanism; 51, damping spring; 52, connection end; 6, miniature bearing; 7, gasket; 8, fastening screw; 9, screw. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0017] The following is combined with Figure 1 To the attached Figure 8 , the specific embodiments of the present invention are described in detail. In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "center", "upper", "lower", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside" and the like indicate positions or positional relationships based on the positions or positional relationships shown in the drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore cannot be understood as limiting the present invention.

[0018] The terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of the indicated technical features. Therefore, the features defined as "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features; in the description of the present invention, unless otherwise specified, "plurality" means two or more.

[0019] Example: Figure 1As shown, a rigid-flexible coupling super-redundant continuum robot with variable stiffness includes a head unit continuum 1, an intermediate unit continuum 2, a tail unit continuum 3 and a driving line 4. Among them: The head unit continuum 1 includes a head segment 11 and a plurality of structural segments 21 connected in sequence, the upper surface of the head segment 11 is a plane for connecting the end effector; the intermediate unit continuum 2 is connected to the head unit continuum 1, the intermediate unit continuum 2 includes a plurality of structural segments 21 connected in sequence; the tail unit continuum 3 is connected to the intermediate unit continuum 2, including a tail segment 31 and a plurality of structural segments 21 connected in sequence, the lower surface of the tail segment 31 is a plane for fixing on a working platform or a base; a plurality of driving lines 4 are centrally symmetrically passed through the tail segment 31 and the structural segments 21 and are connected to the head segment 11, the driving lines 4 are used to transmit driving force to the head segment 11, the structural segments 21 and the tail segment 31.

[0020] Preferably, if Figure 2 As shown, the structural body segment 21 includes a cylindrical disk 211, an upper bearing support 212, a lower bearing support 213, an additional mechanism connecting hole 214, a drive line hole 215 and a central through hole 216; the two upper bearing supports 212 are two cylindrical shafts, symmetrically arranged on both sides of the upper part of the cylindrical disk 211, and the central axes of the two upper bearing supports 212 are perpendicular to the central axis of the cylindrical disk 211; the two lower bearing supports 213 are two semicircular holes, symmetrically arranged on both sides of the lower part of the cylindrical disk 211, and the axes of the semicircular holes of the two lower bearing supports 213 are perpendicular to the central axis of the cylindrical disk 211, and the axes of the upper bearing supports 212 and the lower bearing supports 213 are perpendicular to the central axis of the cylindrical disk 211. The included angle is 90°, and the upper bearing support 212 and the lower bearing support 213 of two adjacent cylindrical disks 211 are connected by a miniature bearing 6; four groups of additional mechanism connecting holes 214 are symmetrically arranged on the side of the cylindrical disk 211, and the four groups of additional mechanism connecting holes 214 are respectively located below the upper bearing support 212 or above the lower bearing support 213, and the additional mechanism connecting holes 214 of two adjacent cylindrical disks 211 are connected by a flexible additional mechanism 5; the driving line hole 215 is evenly arranged on the cylindrical disk 211, and the driving line 4 is arranged inside the driving line hole 215; the central through hole 216 is arranged at the central axis of the cylindrical disk 211.

[0021] Preferably, if Figure 3As shown, the head segment 11 includes a cylindrical disc 111, a lower bearing support 112, an additional mechanism connection hole 113, a drive line hole 114 and a central through hole 115; the two lower bearing supports 112 are two semicircular holes, symmetrically arranged on both sides of the lower part of the cylindrical disc 111, the axes of the semicircular holes of the two lower bearing supports 112 are perpendicular to the central axis of the cylindrical disc 111, and the lower bearing support 112 is connected to the corresponding upper bearing support 212 through a micro bearing 6 Two groups of additional mechanism connection holes 113 are symmetrically arranged on the side of the cylindrical disk 111 and are respectively located above the two lower bearing supports 112. The additional mechanism connection holes 113 and the corresponding additional mechanism connection holes 214 are connected through the flexible additional mechanism 5; the driving wire holes 114 are evenly arranged in the cylindrical disk 111, and the driving wire 4 is arranged in the driving wire holes 114; the central through hole 115 is arranged at the central axis of the cylindrical disk 111.

[0022] Preferably, if Figure 4 As shown, the tail body segment 31 includes a cylindrical disk 311, an upper bearing support 312, an additional mechanism connection hole 313, a drive line hole 314 and a central through hole 315; the two upper bearing supports 312 are two cylindrical shafts, symmetrically arranged on both sides of the upper part of the cylindrical disk 311, the axes of the two upper bearing supports 312 are perpendicular to the central axis of the cylindrical disk 311, and the upper bearing support 312 is connected to the corresponding lower bearing support 213 through a micro bearing 6 ; Two groups of additional mechanism connecting holes three 313 are symmetrically arranged on the side of the cylindrical disk three 311, and are respectively located under the two upper bearing supports three 312, and the additional mechanism connecting holes three 313 are connected to the corresponding additional mechanism connecting holes two 214 through the flexible additional mechanism 5; the driving line hole three 314 is circumferentially arranged inside the cylindrical disk three 311, and the driving line 4 is arranged inside the driving line hole three 314; the central through hole three 315 is arranged at the central axis of the cylindrical disk three 311.

[0023] Preferably, if Figure 5 As shown, the inner ring diameter of the miniature bearing 6 is equal to the outer diameter of the upper bearing support 212 and the upper bearing support 312, and the outer ring diameter of the miniature bearing 6 is equal to the semicircular hole diameter of the lower bearing support 112 and the lower bearing support 213. The inner ring of the miniature bearing 6 is fixed to the corresponding upper bearing support 212 or the upper bearing support 312 by means of a gasket 7 and a fastening screw 8, and the outer ring of the miniature bearing 6 is engaged with the corresponding lower bearing support 112 or the lower bearing support 213.

[0024] Preferably, if Figure 6As shown, the flexible additional mechanism 5 includes two connecting ends 52 and a damping spring 51 connected between the two connecting ends 52. The connecting end 52 is fixedly connected to the corresponding additional mechanism connecting hole 1 13 or the additional mechanism connecting hole 214 or the additional mechanism connecting hole 3 313 by means of a screw 9. The damping spring 51 is made of elastic material, specifically, thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer.

[0025] like Figure 7 , 8 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the deformation of the flexible additional mechanism 5 under different stress conditions in this embodiment. According to the different stress directions, the stress conditions can be divided into normal force and tangential force. Under different stress conditions, the deformation state of the flexible additional mechanism 5 is as follows: Figure 7 , 8 As shown in the figure. In actual situations, the deformation of the flexible attachment mechanism is the superposition of two deformation modes. When external forces cause the body segment to bend and deform, the flexible attachment mechanism will generate a force in the opposite direction of the deformation due to deformation, thereby offsetting part of the external force interference to enhance the structural stability.

[0026] The specific embodiments described above further illustrate the objectives, technical solutions and beneficial effects of the present invention in detail. It should be understood that the above description is only a specific embodiment of the present invention and does not limit the present invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the present invention are included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A rigid-flexible coupled hyper-redundant continuum robot with variable stiffness, characterized in that: include: A head unit continuum (1) comprises a head segment (11) and a plurality of structural segments (21) connected in sequence, wherein the upper surface of the head segment (11) is a plane and is used for connecting an end effector; An intermediate unit continuum (2) connected to the head unit continuum (1), wherein the intermediate unit continuum (2) comprises a plurality of structural segments (21) connected in sequence; A tail unit continuum (3) connected to the intermediate unit continuum (2), comprising a tail body segment (31) and a plurality of structural body segments (21) connected in sequence, wherein the lower surface of the tail body segment (31) is a plane and is used to be fixed on a working platform or a base; A plurality of driving wires (4) are centrally symmetrically passed through the tail body segment (31) and the structural body segment (21) and connected to the head body segment (11); the driving wires (4) are used to transmit driving force to the head body segment (11), the structural body segment (21) and the tail body segment (31).

2. A variable stiffness rigid-flexible coupling super-redundant continuum robot as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that: The structural body section (21) comprises: Cylindrical disk II (211); The two upper bearing supports (212) are two cylindrical shafts, symmetrically arranged on both sides of the upper part of the cylindrical disc (211), and the central axes of the two upper bearing supports (212) are perpendicular to the central axis of the cylindrical disc (211); The two lower bearing supports (213) are two semicircular holes symmetrically arranged on both sides of the lower part of the cylindrical disc (211), the axes of the semicircular holes of the two lower bearing supports (213) are perpendicular to the central axis of the cylindrical disc (211), and the angle between the axes of the upper bearing support (212) and the lower bearing support (213) is 90°, and the upper bearing support (212) and the lower bearing support (213) of the two adjacent cylindrical discs (211) are connected via a miniature bearing (6); Four groups of additional mechanism connection holes (214) are symmetrically arranged on the side of the cylindrical disc (211), the four groups of additional mechanism connection holes (214) are respectively located below the upper bearing support (212) or above the lower bearing support (213), and the additional mechanism connection holes (214) of two adjacent cylindrical discs (211) are connected via a flexible additional mechanism (5); A second driving wire hole (215) is evenly arranged on the second cylindrical disk (211) in a penetrating manner, and the driving wire (4) is arranged inside the second driving wire hole (215); The second central through hole (216) is arranged through the central axis of the second cylindrical disc (211).

3. A variable stiffness rigid-flexible coupling super-redundant continuum robot as claimed in claim 2, characterized in that: The head segment (11) comprises: Cylindrical disk one (111); The two lower bearing supports (112) are two semicircular holes symmetrically arranged on both sides of the lower part of the cylindrical disc (111), the axes of the semicircular holes of the two lower bearing supports (112) are perpendicular to the central axis of the cylindrical disc (111), and the lower bearing supports (112) are connected to the corresponding upper bearing supports (212) via a micro bearing (6); Two groups of additional mechanism connection holes (113) are symmetrically arranged on the side of the cylindrical disc (111) and are respectively located above the two lower bearing supports (112), and the additional mechanism connection holes (113) are connected to the corresponding additional mechanism connection holes (214) via a flexible additional mechanism (5); A driving wire hole (114) is evenly arranged in a penetrating manner inside the cylindrical disk (111), and the driving wire (4) is arranged inside the driving wire hole (114); A central through hole (115) is provided through the central axis of the cylindrical disk (111).

4. A variable stiffness rigid-flexible coupling super-redundant continuum robot as claimed in claim 3, characterized in that: The tail segment (31) comprises: cylindrical disk three (311); The two upper bearing supports (312) are two cylindrical shafts, symmetrically arranged on both sides of the upper part of the cylindrical disk (311), the axes of the two upper bearing supports (312) are perpendicular to the central axis of the cylindrical disk (311), and the upper bearing supports (312) are connected to the corresponding lower bearing supports (213) via a micro bearing (6); Two groups of additional mechanism connection holes three (313) are symmetrically arranged on the side of the cylindrical disk three (311) and are respectively located below the two upper bearing supports three (312), and the additional mechanism connection holes three (313) are connected to the corresponding additional mechanism connection holes two (214) via a flexible additional mechanism (5); A third driving wire hole (314) is circumferentially arranged to penetrate inside the third cylindrical disk (311), and the driving wire (4) is arranged inside the third driving wire hole (314); The central through hole three (315) is arranged through the central axis of the cylindrical disk three (311).

5. The variable stiffness rigid-flexible coupling super-redundant continuum robot according to claim 4, characterized in that: The inner ring diameter of the miniature bearing (6) is equal to the outer diameter of the upper bearing support seat 2 (212) and the upper bearing support seat 3 (312), and the outer ring diameter of the miniature bearing (6) is equal to the semicircular hole diameter of the lower bearing support seat 1 (112) and the lower bearing support seat 2 (213). The inner ring of the miniature bearing (6) is fixed to the corresponding upper bearing support seat 2 (212) or the upper bearing support seat 3 (312) by means of a gasket (7) and a fastening screw (8), and the outer ring of the miniature bearing (6) is engaged with the corresponding lower bearing support seat 1 (112) or the lower bearing support seat 2 (213).

6. A variable stiffness rigid-flexible coupling super-redundant continuum robot as claimed in claim 4, characterized in that: The flexible additional mechanism (5) comprises two connection ends (52) and a damping spring (51) connected between the two connection ends (52); the connection end (52) is fixedly connected to the corresponding additional mechanism connection hole one (113) or additional mechanism connection hole two (214) or additional mechanism connection hole three (313) via screws (9).

7. A variable stiffness rigid-flexible coupling super-redundant continuum robot as claimed in claim 6, characterized in that: The damping spring (51) is made of elastic material, specifically thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer.

Images