Tensioning integral manipulator with selective differential mechanism

Abstract

The invention discloses a tensegrity manipulator with a selective differential mechanism, and relates to the technical field of robots, the tensegrity manipulator comprises tensegrity fingers, a palm base plate and the selective differential mechanism, the tensegrity fingers are divided into three-joint fingers and two-joint fingers, each finger is formed by sequentially connecting a plurality of phalanx modules in series through an elastic rope, the phalanx module comprises a phalanx, an angle sensor, a connecting shaft and a wire locking device; the tensioning integral fingers are connected with the palm base plate through connecting pieces; the selective differential mechanism is arranged on the palm base plate and used for driving the tensioning integral type fingers to move. According to the mechanical arm, the advantages of a tensioning overall structure and a differential mechanism are combined, lightweight design is achieved, meanwhile, each finger can be independently controlled, and good flexibility is achieved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to the technical field of robots, and in particular to a tensegrity manipulator with a selective differential mechanism. Background Art

[0002] With the continuous development of human industrial technology and the increasing demand for health care services, people have put forward higher requirements on the performance of manipulators, especially in terms of dexterity, lightness, and anthropomorphism. However, traditional manipulators are mostly designed using a full-drive configuration method. Although this method can achieve a higher degree of freedom, it also brings problems such as complex system, large size and weight, and high control difficulty.

[0003] Tensegrity provides a new approach to solving these problems. Tensegrity is a stable self-balancing structure composed of compression and tension members, which is flexible and lightweight. The stiffness of this structure is provided by the balanced prestress between the tension and compression units, and there is almost no stiffness before the prestress is applied. Tensegrity has been widely used in the field of construction. In addition, the mechanical properties and control characteristics of tensegrity make it also have important potential in aerospace, bionic machinery and other fields.

[0004] The differential mechanism provides an optimization solution for the manipulator's drive system. The differential mechanism can decompose a motion input by a DC motor into multiple different motions, thereby reducing the number of components required for the drive system. This design not only helps to achieve the lightweight of the manipulator, but also simplifies the control logic and improves the reliability and flexibility of the system.

[0005] Combining tensegrity with differential mechanisms in manipulator design can fully utilize the advantages of both. The tensegrity structure can give the manipulator greater flexibility and lightweight characteristics, making it more adaptable in complex environments. The differential mechanism can optimize the drive system and reduce the complexity of the manipulator. This combination is not only expected to improve the overall performance of the manipulator, but also may provide a new direction for future robot design. Summary of the invention

[0006] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a tensegrity manipulator with a selective differential mechanism to solve the problems of large size and weight and complex control of traditional manipulators.

[0007] To achieve the above object, the present invention provides the following solution: a tensegrity manipulator with a selective differential mechanism, comprising:

[0008] Tensegrity fingers, which are divided into three-joint fingers and two-joint fingers, each finger is composed of a number of phalange modules connected in series by elastic ropes, and the phalange modules include phalanges, angle sensors, connecting shafts and wire lockers;

[0009] a palm base plate, the tensegrity fingers being connected to the palm base plate via a connector;

[0010] A selective differential mechanism is provided on the palm substrate for driving the tensegrity finger movement.

[0011] The above structure aims to propose a tensegrity manipulator with a selective differential mechanism, which combines the advantages of the tensegrity structure and the differential mechanism to achieve a lightweight design, while being able to control each finger individually and having good flexibility.

[0012] Optionally, the selective differential mechanism includes a pulley group, a winding wheel, a DC motor 2 and a driving rope arranged on the palm base plate, the winding wheel is connected to the DC motor 2, one end of the driving rope is connected to the phalanx module at the distal end of a finger, and the other end bypasses the pulley group and is connected to the phalanx module at the distal end of an adjacent finger, the DC motor 2 drives the pulley group to move through the driving rope to achieve bending and extension of the fingers; the selective differential mechanism also includes a servo for driving the thumb to perform palm-to-palm movement.

[0013] Optionally, the pulley group includes a plurality of fixed pulleys and movable pulleys arranged on the palm base plate, the palm base plate is provided with a plurality of pins, the pins are rotatably connected to wire posts as fixed pulleys, two linear guide sliders are slid on the palm base plate, and the linear guide sliders are connected to plug screws as movable pulleys.

[0014] Optionally, the selective differential mechanism also includes an electromagnetic locking device, which includes an electromagnet and a winding wheel. The electromagnet can extend or shorten its shaft end by powering off and on. When the electromagnet is powered off, the protrusion of the winding wheel is blocked by the shaft end of the electromagnet, and the winding wheel cannot rotate, thereby locking the movement of the corresponding finger.

[0015] Optionally, the three-joint finger includes a distal phalanx module, a middle phalanx module, a proximal phalanx module and a metacarpal module, and the two-joint finger includes a distal phalanx module, a middle phalanx module and a metacarpal module.

[0016] Optionally, the three-joint fingers serve as the index finger, middle finger, ring finger and little finger of the manipulator, and the two-joint fingers serve as the thumb of the manipulator.

[0017] Optionally, one end of the driving rope is fixed to the distal phalanx module, and the other end passes through the wire holes of the middle phalanx module, the proximal phalanx module, and the metacarpal module in sequence to reach the selective differential mechanism.

[0018] Optionally, the proximal phalanx module and the middle phalanx module have the same structure, both comprising a phalanx body, a connecting shaft being provided at the upper end of the phalanx body and a wire locker being provided at the lower end, the connecting shaft being interference fit with the angle sensor, and a small hole being provided on the connecting shaft so as to connect two adjacent phalanx modules through an elastic rope.

[0019] Optionally, one end of the two elastic ropes is fixed to the connecting shaft, and the other end is respectively connected to the upper phalanx module and the wire locker of the upper phalanx module; one end of the other elastic rope is connected to the wire locker of the current phalanx module, and the other end is connected to the lower phalanx module.

[0020] Optionally, the angle sensor adopts a linear potentiometer, and the joint angle is obtained by measuring the voltage at its output end, thereby realizing real-time monitoring of the finger joint angle.

[0021] The present invention discloses the following technical effects:

[0022] Compared with the traditional manipulator, the present invention introduces a tensegrity structure, and the unique connection method makes the joints of the manipulator have the advantages of simple structure, smooth movement, light weight and easy control.

[0023] The present invention reproduces the coordinated control of the human hand through a selective differential mechanism, rather than each joint being independently driven by a DC motor like a traditional manipulator. It can reduce independent control variables by coordinating the movement of multiple joints, improve the computing speed of the manipulator controller and reduce control delay.

[0024] The present invention can lock the movement of specific fingers and implement different driving schemes according to different task requirements, thereby being able to flexibly control a structure with more than 20 degrees of freedom of movement and complete a variety of daily functional tasks.

[0025] The present invention has the advantage of being constructed as a multi-level structure. Not only can it form a humanoid robot by constructing a four-level structure of distal finger joint-middle finger joint-proximal finger joint-palm, but it can also form a multi-joint bionic animal or robot arm structure by connecting the tensegrity joints and the selective differential mechanism in series and parallel. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings required for use in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative work.

[0027] Figure 1 It is a structural diagram of a tensegrity manipulator with a selective differential mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the proximal phalanx module in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of a three-joint finger in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 4 It is a structural schematic diagram of a selective differential mechanism in an embodiment of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 5 Schematic diagram of the connection of the selective differential mechanism in an embodiment of the present invention.

[0032] In the figure: 1. distal phalanx module; 2. middle phalanx module; 3. proximal phalanx module; 4. metacarpal module; 5. two-joint finger; 6. selective differential mechanism; 7. drive rope one; 8. drive rope two; 9. drive rope three; 10. palm base plate; 301. phalanx body; 302. angle sensor; 303. elastic rope one; 304. connecting shaft; 305. elastic rope two; 306. wire locker; 307. elastic rope three; 501. DC motor one; 601. winding wheel; 602. linear guide slider; 603. plug screw; 604. DC motor two; 605. wire column; 606. electromagnet; 607. servo. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0033] The following will be combined with the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0034] In order to make the above-mentioned objects, features and advantages of the present invention more obvious and easy to understand, the present invention is further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0035] Reference Figures 1 to 5As shown, the present invention provides a tensegrity manipulator with a selective differential mechanism, which is mainly composed of a tensegrity finger, a selective differential mechanism 6 and a connecting piece. The tensegrity finger is divided into a three-joint finger and a two-joint finger 5, each finger is composed of a phalange module connected in series, and the phalange module is a basic unit constituting a finger, including a phalange, an angle sensor 302, a connecting shaft 304 and a wire locker 306. The phalange serves as a supporting structure, the connecting shaft 304 is used to connect adjacent phalange modules, the wire locker 306 is used to fix the elastic rope, and the angle sensor 302 uses a linear potentiometer, and the joint angle is obtained by measuring the voltage at its output end, thereby realizing real-time monitoring of the finger joint angle.

[0036] In this embodiment, four phalange modules are connected in sequence with elastic ropes to form a three-joint finger, and three phalange modules are connected in sequence with elastic ropes to form a two-joint finger 5. The present invention uses the two-joint finger 5 as the thumb of the robot and the three-joint finger as the index finger, middle finger, ring finger and little finger of the robot.

[0037] In this embodiment, the structure and assembly form of the tensegrity finger are specifically as follows:

[0038] The structure and assembly form of the three-jointed finger Figure 3 As shown, the structure of the proximal phalanx module 3 is the same as that of the middle phalanx module 2. Taking the structure of the proximal phalanx module 3 as an example, the proximal phalanx module 3 includes a phalanx body 301, a connecting shaft 304 is provided at the upper end of the phalanx body 301, and a wire locker 306 is provided at the lower end. The connecting shaft 304 is interference-fitted with the angle sensor 302, and a small hole is provided on the connecting shaft 304 so as to connect two adjacent phalanx modules through an elastic rope; one end of the two elastic ropes is fixed to the connecting shaft 304, and the other end is respectively connected to the upper phalanx module and the wire locker 306 of the upper phalanx module; one end of the other elastic rope is connected to the wire locker 306 of the phalanx module of this section, and the other end is connected to the lower phalanx module. When the finger is bent and deformed, the elastic rope will be stretched to store elastic potential energy, and when the driving rope is relaxed, the finger will return to the initial state under the tension of the elastic rope.

[0039] The two-joint finger 5 is composed of three phalange modules connected in sequence by elastic ropes; the two-joint finger 5 serves as the thumb of the manipulator, and its structure is similar to that of the three-joint finger, but it only includes two joints; the joint of the thumb is driven by a DC motor 501 to achieve independent control of the thumb.

[0040] The three-joint finger serves as the index finger, middle finger, ring finger and little finger of the manipulator, and the two-joint finger 5 serves as the thumb of the manipulator. Each finger is connected to the palm base plate 10 through a connector to form a complete finger part of the manipulator. One end of the drive rope is fixed to the distal phalanx module 1, and the other end passes through the wire holes of the middle phalanx module 2, the proximal phalanx module 3, and the metacarpal module 4 in sequence to reach the selective differential mechanism 6 in the palm. When the DC motor 2 604 drives the selective differential mechanism 6 to move, the drive rope can be contracted and the finger can be deformed, thereby realizing a coupled movement similar to that of a human finger.

[0041] In this embodiment, if Figure 4 As shown, the selective differential mechanism 6 is mainly composed of a pulley group, an electromagnetic locking device and a DC motor 2 604. The selective differential mechanism 6 is arranged on the palm base plate 10. Specifically, the palm base plate 10 is provided with a pulley group, a winding wheel 601, an electromagnet 606, a DC motor 2 604 and two linear guides. Two linear guide sliders 602 slide on the two linear guides respectively, and a plug screw 603 is installed on the linear guide slider 602. The pulley group is used to transmit the power of the driving rope, the electromagnetic locking device is used to lock the movement of a single finger, and the DC motor 2 604 provides power to drive the movement of the finger. The DC motor 2 604 drives the pulley group to move through the driving rope, and the pulley group drives the finger to move through the driving rope. The electromagnetic locking device can lock the movement of a single finger, so that the manipulator has the ability to control each finger individually. The electromagnet 606 can extend or shorten the shaft end by turning off and on the power supply. After the driving rope passes through the wire hole of the metacarpal module 4, it is wound around the winding wheel 601 for several turns. When the electromagnet 606 is powered off, the protrusion of the winding wheel 601 will be blocked by the shaft end of the electromagnet 606 and cannot rotate, thereby locking the corresponding finger.

[0042] The electromagnetic device includes an electromagnet 606 and a winding wheel 601. The electromagnet 606 can extend or shorten the shaft end by powering on and off. When the electromagnet 606 is powered off, the protrusion of the winding wheel 601 is blocked by the shaft end of the electromagnet 606, and the winding wheel 601 cannot rotate, thereby locking the movement of the corresponding finger. When the electromagnet 606 is powered on, the shaft end retracts, the winding wheel 601 can rotate freely, and the finger can move under the drive of the drive rope.

[0043] The DC motor 2 604 drives the pulley block to move through the driving rope, thereby achieving the bending and stretching of the fingers. Figure 4 As shown, the DC motor 2 604 is responsible for driving the four fingers except the thumb, and the steering gear 607 is fixed to the palm base plate 10 for driving the thumb to perform palm-to-palm movement.

[0044] The overall assembly and function realization of the manipulator of the above structure: the index finger, middle finger, ring finger, and little finger are connected to the palm base plate 10 in sequence, the thumb is connected to the steering gear 607 on the palm base plate 10, and the driving rope for controlling the bending of the fingers is arranged along the pulley block. The structure formed is a tensegrity manipulator with a selective differential mechanism designed by the present invention. According to the physiological characteristics of the human hand, the present invention can realize functions such as single-finger pinching, two-finger pinching, radial pinching, and envelope grasping. Through the selective differential mechanism 6, the movement of each finger can be controlled individually to realize complex grasping and operation tasks.

[0045] In a specific embodiment, Figure 2 As shown, the connecting shaft 304 is interference-fitted with the angle sensor 302. A small hole is opened on the connecting shaft 304 so that two adjacent phalanges can be connected through an elastic rope. One end of the elastic rope 1 303 and the elastic rope 2 305 are fixed to the connecting shaft 304, and the other end of the elastic rope 1 303 is connected to the upper phalange, and the other end of the elastic rope 2 305 is connected to the wire locker 306 of the upper phalange module. One end of another elastic rope 307 is connected to the wire locker 306 of the current phalange, and the other end is connected to the lower phalange. When the finger is bent and deformed, the elastic rope will be stretched to store elastic potential energy. When the driving rope is relaxed, the finger will return to its initial state under the tension of the elastic rope.

[0046] In a specific embodiment, Figure 3 As shown, four phalanx modules are connected in the above manner to form a three-joint finger. It should be noted that the distal phalanx module 1 does not need an angle sensor 302, and the metacarpal module 4 does not need a wire lock 306. One end of the drive rope is fixed to the distal phalanx module 1, and the other end passes through the wire holes of the middle phalanx module 2, the proximal phalanx module 3, and the metacarpal module 4 in turn to reach the differential mechanism in the palm. When the DC motor 2 604 drives the differential mechanism to move, the drive rope can be contracted and the finger can be deformed, thereby realizing a coupling movement similar to that of a human finger. The proximal phalanx module 3 is removed, and the two-joint finger 5 formed is used as the thumb of the manipulator, and the joint of the thumb is driven by a DC motor 1 501.

[0047] In a specific embodiment, Figure 4 and Figure 5As shown, one end of the driving rope 2 8 and the driving rope 3 9 are respectively fixed to the distal phalanx modules 1 of the little finger and the middle finger, and after winding several turns on the winding wheel 601, they pass through the plug screw 603 and the wire rod 605, and the other ends are respectively fixed to the distal phalanx modules 1 of the ring finger and the index finger. After the wire rod 605 on the palm base plate 10 is opened, a pin is inserted into the fixed pulley that acts as a wire, and the driving rope is passed around the plug screw 603 on the two linear guide sliders 602 to simulate the function of the movable pulley. One end of the driving rope 1 7 is fixed to the DC motor 2 604, and the other end is also fixed to the DC motor 2 604 after passing the plug screw 603 on the two linear guides. The rotation of the DC motor 2 604 will drive the driving rope 1 7 to contract, and the linear guide will move accordingly, thereby driving the driving rope 2 8 and the driving rope 3 9 to bend the fingers. The DC motor 1 501 drives the thumb, the DC motor 2 604 is responsible for driving the four fingers except the thumb, and the steering gear 607 is fixed to the palm base plate 10 and drives the entire thumb to perform palm-to-palm movement.

[0048] The details not described in detail in the present invention are all conventional technical means well known to those skilled in the art.

[0049] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "longitudinal", "lateral", "up", "down", "front", "back", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inside" and "outside" etc., indicating orientations or positional relationships, are based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing the present invention, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be understood as a limitation on the present invention.

[0050] The embodiments described above are only descriptions of the preferred modes of the present invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Without departing from the design spirit of the present invention, various modifications and improvements made to the technical solutions of the present invention by ordinary technicians in this field should all fall within the protection scope determined by the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A tensegrity manipulator with a selective differential mechanism, characterized in that: include: A tensegrity finger, wherein the tensegrity finger is divided into a three-joint finger and a two-joint finger (5), each finger is formed by a plurality of phalange modules connected in series in sequence through elastic ropes, and the phalange module comprises a phalange, an angle sensor (302), a connecting shaft (304) and a wire locker (306); A palm base plate (10), wherein the tensegrity finger is connected to the palm base plate (10) via a connecting piece; A selective differential mechanism (6) is provided on the palm substrate (10) and is used to drive the tensegrity finger movement.

2. The tensegrity manipulator with a selective differential mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: The selective differential mechanism (6) comprises a pulley group, a winding wheel (601), a second DC motor (604) and a driving rope arranged on the palm base plate (10); the winding wheel (601) is connected to the second DC motor (604); one end of the driving rope is connected to a phalangeal module at the distal end of a finger, and the other end passes around the pulley group and is connected to a phalangeal module at the distal end of an adjacent finger; the second DC motor (604) drives the pulley group to move through the driving rope to achieve bending and stretching of the fingers; the selective differential mechanism (6) also comprises a steering engine (607) for driving the thumb to perform palm-to-palm movement.

3. The tensegrity manipulator with a selective differential mechanism according to claim 2, characterized in that: The pulley block comprises a plurality of fixed pulleys and movable pulleys arranged on the palm base plate (10); the palm base plate (10) is provided with a plurality of pins, and the pins are rotatably connected to the wire posts (605) as fixed pulleys; two linear guide sliders (602) are slidably arranged on the palm base plate (10); and the linear guide sliders (602) are connected to the plug screws (603) as movable pulleys.

4. The tensegrity manipulator with a selective differential mechanism according to claim 2, characterized in that: The selective differential mechanism (6) further comprises an electromagnetic locking device, the electromagnetic locking device comprising an electromagnet (606) and a winding wheel (601), the electromagnet (606) extending or shortening its shaft end by powering off and powering on, when the electromagnet (606) is powered off, the protrusion of the winding wheel (601) is blocked by the shaft end of the electromagnet (606), the winding wheel (601) cannot rotate, thereby locking the movement of the corresponding finger.

5. The tensegrity manipulator with a selective differential mechanism according to claim 2, characterized in that: The three-joint finger comprises a distal phalanx module (1), a middle phalanx module (2), a proximal phalanx module (3) and a metacarpal module (4), and the two-joint finger (5) comprises a distal phalanx module (1), a middle phalanx module (2) and a metacarpal module (4).

6. The tensegrity manipulator with a selective differential mechanism according to claim 5, characterized in that: The three-joint fingers serve as the index finger, middle finger, ring finger and little finger of the manipulator, and the two-joint finger (5) serves as the thumb of the manipulator.

7. The tensegrity manipulator with a selective differential mechanism according to claim 5, characterized in that: One end of the driving rope is fixed to the distal phalanx module (1), and the other end passes through the wire holes of the middle phalanx module (2), the proximal phalanx module (3), and the metacarpal module (4) in sequence to reach the selective differential mechanism (6).

8. The tensegrity manipulator with a selective differential mechanism according to claim 5, characterized in that: The proximal phalanx module (3) and the middle phalanx module (2) have the same structure, both comprising a phalanx body (301), a connecting shaft (304) being provided at the upper end of the phalanx body (301), and a wire locker (306) being provided at the lower end, the connecting shaft (304) being interference fit with the angle sensor (302), and a small hole being provided on the connecting shaft (304) so ​​as to connect two adjacent phalanx modules via an elastic rope.

9. The tensegrity manipulator with a selective differential mechanism according to claim 8, characterized in that: One end of the two elastic ropes is fixed to the connecting shaft (304), and the other end is respectively connected to the upper phalanx module and the wire locker (306) of the upper phalanx module; one end of the other elastic rope is connected to the wire locker (306) of the phalanx module of this section, and the other end is connected to the lower phalanx module.

10. The tensegrity manipulator with a selective differential mechanism according to claim 1 or 8, characterized in that: The angle sensor (302) adopts a linear potentiometer, and the joint rotation angle is obtained by measuring the voltage at its output end, thereby realizing real-time monitoring of the finger joint angle.

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