Variable-structure air-ground amphibious robot

Abstract

The invention provides a variable-structure air-ground amphibious robot. The variable-structure air-ground amphibious robot comprises a robot body, propellers, flight motors, tracks and a lifting supporting system. A main body frame is arranged in the middle of the robot, flying mechanisms (motors and rotors) on the left side and the right side of the main body frame are perpendicular to land traveling mechanisms (tracks) in distribution mode and connected with the land traveling mechanisms through supporting arms, and the flying mechanisms and the land traveling mechanisms are integrally connected through conversion tubular columns and conversion joints through revolute pairs so as to achieve the structure changing function. Four supporting wheels which can vertically ascend and descend and are driven by hub motors are arranged below a main body frame, the supporting effect is achieved when the robot needs to be switched from a flight mode to a crawler belt running mode, and the robot can also independently run on the ground. Through the multi-mode variable structure design, the core pain points that a traditional amphibious robot is redundant in structure and poor in scene adaptability are solved, in the land traveling field, wheel type high efficiency and crawler belt high trafficability are fused, triple variable structure is achieved, and the amphibious robot can be applied to the fields of disaster rescue, national defense safety and the like.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of robots, especially the technology of land-air amphibious special robots. This technical field involves designing, manufacturing, and operating special robot systems that can flexibly transform between land and air environments to meet the actions and tasks in various complex terrains. Background Art

[0002] In recent years, land-air amphibious robots have received extensive attention due to their unique advantages. Such innovative platforms effectively overcome the limitations of traditional single-domain robots. Compared with multi-rotor aircraft, although they have the advantage of three-dimensional space maneuverability, they have the disadvantages of high energy consumption, short endurance, and limited payload. And compared with wheeled robots, although they have strong load-bearing capacity, they are restricted by insufficient terrain adaptability. Amphibious robots, by integrating the advantages of the two forms, can not only perform continuous operation tasks on the ground, but also break through complex terrain obstacles through air mobility, significantly improving the operation efficiency in diverse environments.

[0003] However, it is not difficult to summarize the existing land-air amphibious robots. Many of them are simple superpositions of multi-rotor and wheeled robots. Such a superposition system with a fixed structure is difficult to dynamically adjust its form: in the air mode, the wheeled mechanism becomes an ineffective dead weight and destroys the aerodynamic shape; in the ground mode, the rotor system forms a structural interference, restricting the obstacle-crossing ability.

[0004] The land travel part of the existing land-air amphibious robots generally adopts simple wheeled or tracked forms. Wheeled amphibious robots have high ground travel ability, but it is difficult to travel on the ground with large roughness such as ruins and mountains. Tracked vehicles have good "passability", but they travel relatively slowly. Summary of the Invention

[0005] In view of the technical problems mentioned in the above background art, a variable-configuration land-air amphibious robot is provided.

[0006] The technical means adopted by the present invention are as follows:

[0007] A deformable land-air amphibious robot, comprising:

[0008] The main frame of the land-air amphibious robot; flight motor supports; flight motors, rotors, support arms, Z-shaped angle codes, tracks, floor supports, mounting ears, base crossbeams, liftable support systems, wheels

[0009] The frame of the land-air amphibious robot includes: a main frame, a crossbeam frame, an upper and lower bottom plate, a fixed joint, a cross brace, a crossbeam column, a conversion rod, and a conversion joint. The main frame is welded from 16 hollow rectangular aluminum alloy frames, and the stress concentration part is reinforced by a fixed joint. The cross brace is used in the middle to support the space frame. The cross brace has a reserved hole at the intersection of the cross brace, and the hole is interference fit with the crossbeam column. A servo motor with an axis coinciding with the axis of the conversion rod is installed at the end of the crossbeam column, and the servo motor is connected to the conversion rod through a coupling. A conversion joint is installed on the conversion rod for the robot to perform a variable configuration action. The upper and lower bottom plates are welded to the main frame, and the upper and lower bottom plates are symmetrically punched to reduce the weight of the fuselage. The belly formed by the bottom plate and the frame is installed with key systems such as the flight controller, land controller, variable configuration controller, hydraulic controller, and battery.

[0010] The flight motor support is connected to the conversion joint.

[0011] The rotor is firmly connected to the motor.

[0012] The flight motor is fixed to the upper end of the flight motor support.

[0013] The support arm is connected with the flight motor support member and the conversion joint.

[0014] The crawler is bolted to the support arm through the Z-shaped angle code on the premise of ensuring the normal operation of the crawler.

[0015] The bottom plate support is threadedly connected to the lower bottom plate.

[0016] The mounting ears are welded to the bottom plate support.

[0017] The base crossbeam passes through the mounting ears, and the two are connected by interference fit.

[0018] The lifting system is driven by hydraulics. When the robot switches from aerial flight to track driving, it is necessary to ensure that the vertical height of the lifting system in the extended state is greater than the vertical height of the amphibious robot when the tracks fall. When the tracks on both sides fall completely, the lifting system is compressed and retracted.

[0019] The wheels are connected to the lifting system, and the wheel-type rolling is driven by a four-wheel hub motor to avoid interference with the crawler transmission mechanism.

[0020] The motion modes include flight mode and land mode, and the switching motion modes include switching from flight mode to land mode or from land mode to flight mode and switching between wheels and tracks in land mode.

[0021] The described switching motion mode also includes switching from a wheeled driving mode to a tracked driving mode or from a tracked driving mode to a wheeled driving mode. The switching condition is determined by the road surface flatness output by the road surface elevation information, and the road surface elevation information can be realized by a lidar and a vehicle-mounted GPS positioning system.

[0022] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages:

[0023] Compared with a single-domain driving robot, the present invention can not only travel on land (wheeled, tracked), but also fly (quadcopter flight) and hover in the air, realizing free switching between land-air modes, and easily coping with complex terrains (such as ruins, mountains, waters) or air obstacles to perform special tasks.

[0024] Compared with an amphibious land-air robot simply superimposed by existing multi-rotor and wheeled robots, the innovation of the present invention lies in realizing the functions of land travel and air flight through metamorphosis. When the robot needs to perform the flight function, the entire robot is lifted by a liftable system, and the metamorphosis controller controls the servo motor to rotate to retract the tracks, and at the same time the rotors are also leveled with the horizontal plane. After both tracks are retracted (rotors are opened), the liftable system shrinks to reduce the driving resistance and air flow disturbance during air flight.

[0025] Compared with an amphibious land-air robot simply superimposed by existing multi-rotor and wheeled robots, the present invention adopts a wheel-track switching type land travel system. The wheel-track switching realizes the balance of "speed" and "stability" by dynamically integrating the high efficiency of wheels and the strong passability of tracks. Brief Description of the Drawings

[0026] Figure 1 is a three-dimensional stereogram of a variable configuration amphibious land-air robot Figure 2 is a partial metamorphosis diagram of a variable configuration amphibious land-air robot Figure 3 is a main frame diagram of a variable configuration amphibious land-air robot Figure 4 is a diagram of the bottom plate support member and the liftable system of a variable configuration amphibious land-air robot Detailed Description of the Invention

[0027] Please refer to the attached Figure 1(3D Stereogram of the Variable Configuration Land-Air Amphibious Robot), the present invention provides a variable configuration land-air amphibious robot, whose working mode can be divided into a flight mode and a land travel mode. Among them, the flight mode means that the land-air amphibious robot maintains an attitude in the air. More specifically, the flight mode can be presented as a state of hovering in the air or flying in the air. The land travel mode means that the land-air amphibious robot is in a ground attitude, which can be specifically presented as a state of staying at a predetermined position on the ground or moving on the ground. Among them, the land travel mode can be presented as a wheeled vehicle suitable for traveling well and at a relatively fast speed on road conditions such as roads, or can be transformed into a crawler vehicle suitable for traveling on unstructured roads such as mountains and muddy areas through configuration change.

[0028] Please refer to the appendix Figure 3 (Main Frame Diagram of the Variable Configuration Land-Air Amphibious Robot), the main frame (1) of the variable configuration land-air amphibious robot is crucial as the overall framework of the robot. To minimize the body weight and facilitate flight, the main frame (1) can be considered to be made of aluminum alloy. After heating the aluminum alloy, it is put into a mold and extruded to form 16 main brackets (1-2) in a hollow rectangular shape, and they are welded to form the core framework of the robot's main frame. At the stress concentration points, fixing joints (1-1) are used to reinforce the strength and stiffness of the frame. Four hollow aluminum alloy tubes are welded at the front and rear ends of the frame as crossbeam brackets (1-4). Two cross braces (1-7) are welded on each side of the frame to support the space frame. Holes are reserved at the intersection of the cross braces (1-7). Two relatively thick aluminum alloy tubes are passed through the holes at the center of the cross braces (1-7), and they are in interference fit to form two crossbeam columns (1-5). A small servo motor can be installed at each end of the crossbeam column. The small servo motor shaft is connected to the conversion rod through a coupling. The angle and speed of the rotation of the small servo motor are controlled by a configuration change motion controller, and accordingly, the conversion rod rotates to facilitate the realization of subsequent configuration change functions. The conversion rod (1-6) is key-connected to the conversion joint (1-3). When the conversion rod rotates with the rotation of the servo motor, the conversion joint also rotates accordingly.

[0029] The upper and lower bottom plates (1-8) are cut and formed from aluminum alloy plates, and holes are drilled on the surface to reduce weight and connect with other components. The two bottom plates (1-8) are welded on the upper and lower sides of the above-mentioned amphibious robot. An abdominal cavity is formed in the middle part of the two bottom plates, and various key subsystems such as controllers, land travel and flight power sources can be installed in the abdominal cavity.

[0030] Please refer to the appendix Figure 4(Variable configuration land-air amphibious robot floor support and lift system diagram). The amphibious robot floor support (2-1) and the vertically liftable legs (2-4) are crucial for the robot to perform the variable configuration action. The floor support (2-1) is composed of an aluminum alloy plate and is bolted to the lower floor (1-8) through the holes on the lower floor (1-8). Four mounting ears (2-2) are welded on the floor support (2-1). Two base crossbeams (2-5) pass through the mounting ears (2-2), and there is an interference fit between them. Four vertically liftable legs (2-4) driven by double-acting hydraulic cylinders can be installed on the base crossbeams (2-5), and hydraulic locks are equipped to prevent settlement. Four wheels (2-3) independently driven by hub motors are connected to the lower part of the legs. Through the lift system, the robot can not only temporarily support the variable configuration action but also directly drive the robot in wheeled mode.

[0031] Please refer to the appendix Figure 1 (Three-dimensional diagram of the variable configuration land-air amphibious robot). In this embodiment, the flight assembly mainly consists of a flight motor (7) and a rotor (6). It can be understood that the flight assembly may also include a battery and a control system. The control system may include an electronic speed controller and a control chip, etc., which will not be elaborated here. In addition, the rotor (6) assembly may not be limited to four. To increase the maximum takeoff weight of the amphibious robot, other appropriate numbers, such as six, eight, etc., are also feasible. Each rotor (6) should be equipped with a corresponding flight motor (7).

[0032] The support arms (3) on both sides are welded to the above-mentioned conversion joint (1-3). One end of the support arm is bolted to a Z-shaped angle bracket (4), and the other end of the Z-shaped angle bracket (4) is bolted to the side of the crawler. It should be noted here that there is a certain distance between the Z-shaped angle bracket (4) and the crawler (5) in the horizontal plane direction. Otherwise, it will interfere with the transmission of the crawler (5). In addition, this distance should not be too large, otherwise, the connection between the angle bracket (4) and the side of the crawler (5) will be unstable.

[0033] The robot in this embodiment should also be equipped with a GPS positioning system and a lidar to determine the position of the robot itself and the elevation information of the current road surface. The lidar uses relevant environmental perception algorithms to obtain the road surface flatness, and the road surface flatness is used as the wheel-track switching standard for the robot in the land travel state. A certain road surface flatness is set as the wheel-track switching threshold. When the road surface flatness exceeds this threshold, the crawler is used for land travel, and when the road surface flatness is less than this threshold, the wheeled mode is used for land travel.

[0034] In this embodiment, the international roughness index (IRI) is used as the road surface flatness evaluation index, and its calculation can be obtained by △h i is the elevation difference between adjacent points, and L is the total length.

[0035] According to engineering practice experience, when the IRI value is above 3.0 m / km, it is generally considered that the road surface needs to be repaired, and at this time, the possibility of vehicle jumping is relatively high. Therefore, in this implementation case, the IRI threshold is set to 4 m / km.

[0036] In this embodiment, there are multiple form switches, which will be described one by one below.

[0037] Flight mode switches to tracked travel: When the amphibious robot is in an environment where flight conditions are not favorable, it obtains the elevation information in front through lidar, calculates the road surface flatness, and determines that the road surface flatness at this time is greater than 4 m / km. At this time, the robot is configured with a liftable system, which is controlled by a hydraulic controller to lower it. The robot starts to perform the allosteric action. The small servo motor at the end of the crossbeam pipe column starts to rotate forward, driving the conversion rod to rotate, so that the track drops. When both tracks are completely dropped, the hydraulic controller controls the liftable system to retract. At this time, the robot will rely on the tracks to travel.

[0038] Flight mode switches to wheeled travel: When the amphibious robot is in an environment where flight conditions are not favorable, it obtains the elevation information in front through lidar, calculates the road surface flatness, and determines that the road surface flatness at this time is less than 4 m / km. At this time, the robot is configured with a liftable system, which is controlled by a hydraulic controller to lower it. At this time, the hub motor will drive the wheels to travel.

[0039] Tracked travel switches to flight mode: When the amphibious robot is in an environment where land travel conditions are not favorable, the robot will perform the allosteric action and switch to the flight mode. At this time, the liftable system is controlled by a hydraulic controller to lower it. The small servo motor at the end of the crossbeam pipe column starts to rotate reversely, driving the conversion rod to rotate, so that the track rises. The rotor is in the horizontal plane. The hydraulic controller controls the liftable system to retract. At this time, the robot will rely on the flight motor to drive the rotor to fly in the air.

[0040] Wheeled travel switches to flight mode: When the amphibious robot is in an environment where land travel conditions are not favorable, the robot will perform the allosteric action and switch to the flight mode. At this time, the liftable system is controlled by a hydraulic controller to lower it. The small servo motor at the end of the crossbeam pipe column starts to rotate reversely, driving the conversion rod to rotate, so that the track rises. The rotor is in the horizontal plane. The hydraulic controller controls the liftable system to retract. At this time, the robot will rely on the flight motor to drive the rotor to fly in the air.

[0041] Tracked travel switches to wheeled travel: The robot obtains the elevation information in front through lidar, calculates the road surface flatness, and determines that the road surface flatness at this time is less than 4 m / km. At this time, the robot is configured with a liftable system, which is controlled by a hydraulic controller to lower it. At this time, the hub motor will drive the wheels to travel.

[0042] Wheel - type driving switches to tracked driving: The robot obtains the elevation information in front through lidar, calculates the road surface flatness, and determines that the road surface flatness at this time is greater than 4 m / km. At this time, the robot is configured with a liftable system, which is controlled by a hydraulic controller to retract. At this time, the robot will rely on tracked driving.

[0043] The embodiments described in this article are only used to illustrate the technical concept of the present invention and do not constitute a limitation on the protection scope. Those skilled in the relevant art should be aware that, without departing from the design idea of the present invention, modification acts such as adjustment of the foregoing embodiments and equivalent substitution of technical features are all regarded as within the protection scope defined by the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. An allosteric land-air amphibious robot, characterized in that, Comprising: The main frame of the amphibious land-air robot (1); the bottom plate support and the liftable system (2); the support arm (3); the Z-shaped angle code (4); the crawler belt (5); the rotor (6); the flight motor (7); the flight motor support (8); The main frame of the amphibious land-air robot (1) includes: a fixed section (1-1), a main body support (1-2), a conversion section (1-3), a cross beam support (1-4), a cross beam pipe column (1-5), a conversion rod (1-6), a cross brace (1-7), an upper and lower bottom plate (1-8); The bottom plate support and the liftable system (2) include: a bottom plate support (2-1), a mounting ear (2-2), a wheel (2-3), a vertically liftable leg (2-4), a base cross beam (2-5); The main frame of the amphibious land-air robot (1) is welded by a plurality of extruded hollow rectangular main body supports (1-2) to form a core frame; 2 hollow aluminum alloy cross beam supports (1-4) are welded at the front and rear ends of the frame, and there are 8 cross beam supports in total; the cross braces (1-7) arranged on both sides of the frame are connected through the cross beam pipe columns (1-5) with interference fit in the center. A servo motor is installed at the end of the cross beam pipe column, and the axis of the servo motor coincides with the axis of the conversion rod (1-6). The servo motor is connected to the conversion rod through a coupling to drive the conversion rod to rotate, and its rotation angle and speed are regulated by a variable structure controller; the conversion rod and the conversion section (1-3) are connected by a key connection to achieve synchronous rotation; two perforated aluminum alloy bottom plates (1-8) are welded on the upper and lower parts of the frame to form a hollow abdominal cavity.

2. The deformable land-air amphibious robot according to claim 1, wherein, The stress concentration part is strengthened through the fixed section (1-1).

3. A deformable amphibious land-air robot according to claim 1, characterized in that The bottom plate support of the amphibious robot (2-1) is fixedly connected to the lower bottom plate (1-8) by bolts; the four mounting ears (2-2) welded on the lower surface of the bottom plate support are in interference fit with the base cross beam (2-5). Four vertically liftable legs (2-4) driven by double-acting hydraulic cylinders are integrated below the cross beam, and wheels (2-3) driven by hub motors are carried at the ends of the legs.

4. A deformable amphibious land-air robot according to claim 1, characterized in that The two support arms (3) are welded to the conversion section (1-3), and one end of each support arm is bolted to the side of the crawler belt (5) through a Z-shaped angle code (4); the Z-shaped angle code needs to keep a horizontal distance from the crawler belt.

5. A deformable land-air amphibious robot according to claim 1, characterized in that The robot should also be equipped with a lidar and a GPS; the lidar and the GPS are arranged at the upper end of the upper bottom plate (1-8).

6. The deformable land-air amphibious robot according to claim 1, wherein, The robot should also have subsystems such as a power supply, a flight controller, a hydraulic controller, and a variable structure motion controller, and these subsystems are installed at the upper end of the upper bottom plate or in the abdominal cavity formed by the upper and lower bottom plates.

7. A deformable amphibious land-air robot according to claim 1, characterized in that Through the liftable system and the variable structure motion controller, the robot realizes six variable structure modes: switching from flight mode to crawler travel, switching from flight mode to wheeled travel, switching from crawler travel to flight mode, switching from wheeled travel to flight mode, switching from crawler travel to wheeled travel, and switching from wheeled travel to crawler travel.

8. The deformable land-air amphibious robot according to claim 7, characterized in that, After the described land-air amphibious robot switches from the land travel mode to the flight mode, the described land travel motor stops running. After the land-air amphibious robot switches from the flight mode to the land travel mode, the described flight motor stops running.

Images