Foldable joint module and continuum robot

Abstract

The invention discloses a foldable joint module and a continuum robot. The foldable joint module comprises a sliding rail, a plurality of joint framework rods and a plurality of foldable joint rib plates, the joint framework rods are distributed in the circumferential direction of the sliding rail, and one end of each joint framework rod is slidably connected with the sliding rail; each joint rib plate is arranged between every two adjacent joint framework rods, and the two sides of each joint rib plate are connected with the joint framework rods on the corresponding sides correspondingly. When the two adjacent joint framework rods are close to each other, the joint rib plates between the two joint framework rods are vertically folded and close to each other; on the contrary, when the two adjacent joint framework rods are separated, the joint rib plate between the two joint framework rods is unfolded to a working state. According to the invention, the portability of the continuum robot is improved, the occupied space of the continuum robot in a non-working state is reduced, and the multi-scene applicability is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of robotics, and particularly relates to a foldable joint module and a continuum robot. Background Art

[0002] In today's rapidly developing technological field, continuum robots have received extensive attention due to their excellent flexibility and ability to adapt to complex environments. These robots mimic biological structures in nature, such as snakes or elephant trunks, and can perform tasks that are difficult for traditional rigid robots to accomplish. The emergence of continuum robots provides a new approach to solving operation problems in complex environments, and they can enter narrow or complex environments in a less invasive manner to perform tasks. They are particularly suitable for application scenarios that require high flexibility. For example, in minimally invasive surgery, they can accurately reach the lesion site for treatment; in industrial inspection, they can penetrate inside pipes for defect detection, etc.

[0003] Despite their significant advantages, the existing designs of continuum robots still have some deficiencies. Due to the continuous nature of their structures, these robots occupy a large amount of space in the non-working state, which limits their portability and deployment flexibility. Especially in emergency situations that require rapid response, or in space-constrained environments, this problem of occupying a large amount of space becomes particularly prominent. Secondly, although traditional continuum robots are flexible and variable during the working state, they are bulky in the non-working state and require a large storage space. In addition, for some application scenarios that require transporting the robot to different working locations, the volume and shape of the robot also pose additional challenges to logistics.

[0004] Therefore, it is necessary to solve the problems existing in the existing continuum robots, such as occupying a large amount of space in the non-working state, requiring a large storage space, and limiting their portability and deployment flexibility. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The main object of the present invention is to provide a foldable joint module and a continuum robot that are convenient for folding and storage.

[0006] To achieve the foregoing invention object, the technical solutions adopted by the present invention include: a foldable joint module, comprising: A slide rail; Multiple joint skeleton rods, the multiple joint skeleton rods are circumferentially distributed along the slide rail, and one end of each joint skeleton rod is slidably connected to the slide rail; Multiple foldable joint rib plates, each joint rib plate is disposed between two adjacent joint skeleton rods, and both sides of the joint rib plate are respectively connected to the corresponding side joint skeleton rods; When two adjacent joint skeleton rods approach each other circumferentially, the joint rib plates between the two joint skeleton rods will stand up and fold towards each other; conversely, when two adjacent joint skeleton rods separate circumferentially, the joint rib plates between the two joint skeleton rods will expand to the working state.

[0007] In a preferred embodiment, the slide rail includes a chute, and a sliding bead is provided at the end of each joint skeleton rod. The sliding bead is embedded in the chute for rolling friction movement, so that one end of the joint skeleton rod is slidably connected to the slide rail.

[0008] In a preferred embodiment, each joint skeleton rod includes two joint skeleton sub-rods that are distributed vertically and rigidly connected. A sliding bead is provided at the end of each joint skeleton sub-rod. The slide rail also correspondingly includes two chutes, one above the other. The two sliding beads of each joint skeleton rod are respectively embedded in the chutes on the corresponding side.

[0009] In a preferred embodiment, each joint rib plate includes two joint sub-rib plates. One side of each joint sub-rib plate close to the joint skeleton rod is connected to the joint sub-rib plate on the corresponding side by a hinge, and the two joint sub-rib plates are connected by a sliding hinge.

[0010] In a preferred embodiment, the joint skeleton rods include a short and thin joint skeleton rod, a long and thin joint skeleton rod, and at least one ordinary joint skeleton rod. The ordinary joint skeleton rod is located between the short and thin joint skeleton rod and the long and thin joint skeleton rod. Except that no joint rib plate is provided between the short and thin joint skeleton rod and the long and thin joint skeleton rod, a joint rib plate is provided between every two adjacent joint skeleton rods. And when the joint module is fully expanded, the short and thin joint skeleton rod and the long and thin joint skeleton rod are in contact with each other; conversely, when the joint module is fully folded, they are separated from each other.

[0011] On the other hand, the present invention also provides a continuum robot, which includes a plurality of joint modules, a flexible support rod, and a plurality of ropes connected to the joint modules. The plurality of joint modules are fixedly arranged on the flexible support rod at intervals up and down. All the joint modules are circumferentially folded or expanded under the pulling of the ropes; wherein, the joint module adopts the foldable joint module.

[0012] In a preferred embodiment, the flexible support rod passes through the center of each joint module, and the center of each joint module is fixed on the flexible support rod through a expansion sleeve and a metal sleeve.

[0013] In a preferred embodiment, except for the short and thin joint skeleton rod of each joint module, a plurality of holes are provided at the head of each joint skeleton rod away from the slide rail. The holes include a hanging code hole for placing a hanging code and a plurality of rope holes for the ropes to pass through.

[0014] In a preferred embodiment, the positions of the hanging code holes on each joint skeleton rod of each joint module are the same, while the positions of the hanging code holes on the corresponding joint skeleton rods of different joint modules are arranged in a staggered manner from top to bottom.

[0015] In a preferred embodiment, each rope passes through the rope hole on the joint module and is fixed by the hanging code in the hanging code hole on the joint skeleton rod to be controlled.

[0016] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are at least as follows: The present invention designs the joint module of the continuum robot to be foldable, so that the continuum robot can move the joint skeleton rods when folding is required, bringing all the joint skeleton rods together, causing the connected joint rib plates to fold and stand up, playing a folding role; when the continuum robot needs to work, the joint skeleton rods can be moved to unfold and lay flat all the folded joint rib plates for normal work. The foldable joint module described in the present invention not only greatly reduces the occupied space of the continuum robot in the non-working state, but also enables the continuum robot to enter a narrower space and then unfold for work, further expanding the application scenarios of the continuum robot. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the drawings required for the description of the embodiments or the prior art. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments recorded in the present invention. For those of ordinary skill in the art, without creative efforts, other drawings can also be obtained based on these drawings.

[0018] Figure 1 is a three-dimensional structural schematic diagram of a continuum robot with a foldable joint module in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 is a three-dimensional structural schematic diagram of a joint module in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 is a connection schematic diagram of the joint rib plate and the joint skeleton rod of a joint module in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 4 is a connection schematic diagram between two joint rib plates of a joint module in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 5 is a part schematic diagram of three different joint skeleton rods in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 6 is an exploded view of the installation method of a joint skeleton rod in an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 7It is a schematic diagram of the state when the joint module in the embodiment of the present invention is closed; Figure 8 It is a schematic diagram of the state when the joint module in the embodiment of the present invention is flattened; Explanation of reference numerals: 1. Joint module, 2. Flexible support rod, 3. Rope, 4. Joint rib plate, 5. Joint skeleton rod, 6. Slide bead, 7. Slide rail, 8. Thin and short joint skeleton rod, 9. Long and thin joint skeleton rod, 10. Ordinary joint skeleton rod. Detailed implementation manners

[0019] The present invention will be more fully understood from the following detailed implementation manners, which should be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. The detailed embodiments of the present invention are disclosed herein; however, it should be understood that the disclosed embodiments are only exemplary of the present invention, and the present invention can be embodied in various forms. Therefore, the specific functional details disclosed herein should not be construed as restrictive, but only as the basis of the claims and as a representative basis for teaching those skilled in the art to adopt the present invention in any appropriate detailed embodiment in fact.

[0020] As Figure 1 shown, a continuum robot disclosed in an embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of joint modules 1, flexible support rods 2 and a plurality of ropes 3. The plurality of joint modules 1 are fixedly arranged at intervals up and down on the flexible support rods 2, and all the joint modules 1 are folded or unfolded under the pulling of the ropes 3.

[0021] Specifically, as Figure 2 shown, each joint module 1 adopts a foldable design, which is convenient for the storage of the continuum robot and saves its storage space. Each joint module 1 specifically includes a slide rail 7, a plurality of joint skeleton rods 5 and a plurality of foldable joint rib plates 4. Among them, a through hole for the flexible support rod 2 to pass through is provided in the center of the slide rail 7. The flexible support rod 2 passes through the through hole and is fixed to the center of the slide rail 7 through a tightening sleeve (not shown in the figure) and a metal sleeve (such as an aluminum sleeve, not shown in the figure). A chute for the joint skeleton rod 5 to slide is also provided on the slide rail 7. In this embodiment, specifically, a circular groove is provided on each of the upper and lower surfaces of the slide rail 7. The circular grooves are distributed around the through hole, and the ring width of the circular groove can be specifically 8 mm.

[0022] The plurality of joint skeleton rods 5 are distributed circumferentially along the slide rail 7, and each joint skeleton rod 5 extends radially, and one end of each of them is slidably connected to the slide rail 7. Specifically, as Figure 5As shown, there are three different types of joint framework rods 5, namely short and thin joint framework rods 8, long and thin joint framework rods 9, and ordinary joint framework rods 10. Among them, the ordinary joint framework rods 10 are located between the short and thin joint framework rods 8 and the long and thin joint framework rods 9, and the number of them is set to at least 1. The short and thin joint framework rods 8 are slightly shorter in length than other joint framework rods, and the middle part of the ordinary joint framework rods 10 is slightly thicker than other joint framework rods. In this embodiment, there is 1 short and thin joint framework rod 8, 1 long and thin joint framework rod 9, and 3 ordinary joint framework rods 10. Moreover, the short and thin joint framework rod 8 and the long and thin joint framework rod 9 are in contact with each other when the joint module is fully deployed, and conversely, they are separated when the joint module 1 is fully folded.

[0023] Each joint framework rod 5 specifically includes two joint framework sub-rods that are distributed up and down and are rigidly connected. In this embodiment, the two joint framework sub-rods of each joint framework rod 5 are specifically rigidly connected by screws and nuts, as Figure 6 shown. And a sliding bead 6 is provided at the end of each joint framework sub-rod, that is, two sliding beads 6 are provided at the end of each joint framework rod 5 and are distributed relatively up and down. The sliding bead 6 can be made of steel balls, etc. When the two joint framework sub-rods of each joint framework rod 5 are connected, by aligning the sliding beads 6 at their respective ends up and down, the two sliding beads 6 are simultaneously embedded into the two sliding grooves of the above-mentioned slide rail 7, and a rolling contact is formed between the sliding bead 6 and the sliding groove for rolling friction movement, realizing the sliding connection between one end of the joint framework rod 5 and the slide rail 7, so that the joint framework rod 5 can make a circular motion along the sliding groove of the slide rail 7, ensuring the low-friction movement of the joint framework rod 5 in the slide rail 7. In this embodiment, each joint module 1 has 10 steel balls, and the radius of each steel ball is 3 mm.

[0024] A hinge is installed in the middle part of each joint framework rod 5 for connecting the joint rib plates 4. Among them, a double hinge is installed on the ordinary joint framework rod 10, which can be connected to the joint rib plates 4 on both sides, and ordinary hinges are installed on the short and thin joint framework rod 8 and the long and thin joint framework rod 9, which can only be connected to the joint rib plate 4 on one side.

[0025] Each joint rib plate 4 is arranged between two adjacent joint framework rods 5, and both sides of the joint rib plate 4 are respectively connected to the corresponding joint framework rods 5 on the corresponding side. Specifically, in this embodiment, except that no joint rib plate 4 is provided between the short and thin joint framework rod 8 and the long and thin joint framework rod 9, a joint rib plate 4 is provided between the other two adjacent joint framework rods 5.

[0026] Each joint rib plate 4 includes two joint sub-rib plates. In this embodiment, each joint sub-rib plate is fan-shaped, with a radius of 82 mm and a central angle of 39°. The two joint sub-rib plates are connected by a sliding hinge, and they can be erected and folded together or unfolded through the sliding hinge. In this embodiment, the two joint sub-rib plates are connected by two sliding hinges, as shown in Figure 4 shown. The other two sides of the two joint sub-rib plates are respectively connected to the corresponding side joint skeleton rods 5 through fixed hinges, as shown in Figure 3 shown.

[0027] As shown in Figure 7 shown, when two adjacent joint skeleton rods 5 approach each other circumferentially along the slide rail 7, the fixed hinges between the joint rib plate 4 and the joint skeleton rods 5 and the sliding hinges between the two joint sub-rib plates gradually close, and finally reach a fully closed state, prompting the two joint sub-rib plates between the two joint skeleton rods 5 to stand up and closely fit together, realizing the folding and storage of the joint module 1, significantly reducing the occupied space of the continuum robot, and facilitating carrying and storage. Conversely, as shown in Figure 8 shown, when two adjacent joint skeleton rods 5 separate circumferentially, the fixed hinges between the joint rib plate 4 and the joint skeleton rods 5 and the sliding hinges between the two joint sub-rib plates gradually open, and finally reach a fully open state, prompting the two joint sub-rib plates between the two joint skeleton rods 5 to flatten and return to the working state. When all the joint rib plates 4 on the joint module 1 are fully unfolded, the whole is in or approximately in a disc shape.

[0028] In addition, except for the thin and short joint skeleton rod 8, multiple holes for the rope 3 to pass through are provided at the head of each joint skeleton rod 5 away from the slide rail 7. In this embodiment, the multiple holes are evenly spaced radially at the head of the joint skeleton rod 5. The number of holes provided on each joint skeleton rod 5 corresponds to the number of joint modules 1 on the flexible support rod 2. For example, if there are 3 joint modules 1, the number of holes on each joint skeleton rod 5 is set to 3. In this embodiment, the radius of each hole is 2 mm. Among them, the holes on each joint skeleton rod 5 specifically include a lifting lug hole for placing a lifting lug and multiple rope holes for the rope 3 to pass through. The position of the lifting lug hole provided on the joint skeleton rod 5 is related to the layer where its joint module 1 is located. For example, the lifting lug holes on each joint skeleton rod 5 of the topmost joint module 1 are provided in the innermost layer, and as the layer of the joint module 1 goes down, the corresponding lifting lug holes move outward one position step by step. For each joint module 1, the position of the lifting lug hole on each joint skeleton rod 5 is the same, and all the holes except the lifting lug hole on each joint skeleton rod 5 are rope holes. That is, the position of the lifting lug hole on each joint skeleton rod 5 of each joint module 1 is the same, and the positions of the lifting lug holes on the corresponding joint skeleton rods 5 of different joint modules 1 are arranged in a staggered manner from top to bottom in sequence.

[0029] Each rope 3 passes through the rope holes on the joint module 1 and is fixed by a hanging weight in the hanging weight hole on the joint skeleton rod 5 to be controlled. For example, for the rope controlling the topmost joint module 1, it passes through the innermost rope holes of the bottommost joint module 1 and the middle-layer joint module 1 from bottom to top in sequence, and finally passes through the innermost hanging weight hole of the topmost joint module 1 and is fixed by the hanging weight in the hanging weight hole, so that the rope 3 can be pulled to the topmost joint module 1; for the rope controlling the middle-layer joint module 1, it passes through the middle-side rope holes of the bottommost joint module 1 and finally passes through the middle-side hanging weight holes of the middle-layer joint module 1 and is fixed by the hanging weight in the hanging weight hole; for the rope controlling the bottommost joint module 1, it directly passes through the outermost hanging weight hole of the bottommost joint module 1 and is fixed by the hanging weight in the hanging weight hole. The number of ropes 3 controlled in each layer corresponds to the number of joint skeleton rods 5 of the joint module 1 in each layer. In this embodiment, for example, the number of joint skeleton rods 5 in each layer is 5, so the number of ropes 3 controlled in this layer is 5. The joint rib plates 4 are driven to fold or unfold under the pulling of the corresponding ropes 3.

[0030] The foldable joint module and continuum robot provided by the embodiment of the present invention have at least the following advantages: In the present invention, the joint module of the continuum robot is designed to be foldable, so that the continuum robot can move the joint skeleton rods when folding is required, and all the joint skeleton rods are brought together, so that the connected joint rib plates are folded and erected, playing a role of folding and storing; when the continuum robot needs to work, the joint skeleton rods can be moved to unfold and lay flat all the folded joint rib plates for normal work. The foldable joint module of the present invention not only greatly reduces the occupied space of the continuum robot in the non-working state, thus significantly reducing the storage space, but also enables the continuum robot to enter a narrower space and then unfold for work, further expanding the application scenarios of the continuum robot (especially in those scenarios with strict requirements on equipment size and easy deployment).

[0031] All aspects, embodiments, features and examples of the present invention should be regarded as illustrative in all respects and are not intended to limit the present invention. The scope of the present invention is only defined by the claims. Without departing from the spirit and scope of the claimed invention, those skilled in the art will understand other embodiments, modifications and uses.

[0032] In the present invention, the use of titles and chapters does not mean limiting the present invention; each chapter can be applied to any aspect, embodiment or feature of the present invention.

Claims

1. A foldable joint module, characterized in that: The joint module includes: A slide rail; Multiple joint skeleton rods, which are circumferentially distributed along the slide rail, and one end of each joint skeleton rod is slidably connected to the slide rail; Multiple foldable joint rib plates, each joint rib plate is arranged between two adjacent joint skeleton rods, and both sides of the joint rib plate are respectively connected to the joint skeleton rods on the corresponding side; When two adjacent joint skeleton rods approach each other circumferentially, the joint rib plates between the two joint skeleton rods will stand up and fold and approach each other; conversely, when two adjacent joint skeleton rods separate from each other circumferentially, the joint rib plates between the two joint skeleton rods will unfold to the working state.

2. The foldable joint module according to claim 1, characterized in that: The slide rail includes a chute, and a sliding bead is arranged at the end of each joint skeleton rod, and the sliding bead is embedded in the chute for rolling friction movement, so that one end of the joint skeleton rod is slidably connected to the slide rail.

3. The foldable joint module according to claim 2, wherein: Each joint skeleton rod includes two rigidly connected joint skeleton sub-rods distributed up and down, and a sliding bead is arranged at the end of each joint skeleton sub-rod. The slide rail also correspondingly includes two chutes up and down, and the two sliding beads of each joint skeleton rod are respectively embedded in the chutes on the corresponding side.

4. A foldable joint module according to claim 1, characterized in that: Each joint rib plate includes two joint sub-rib plates, and one side of each joint sub-rib plate close to the joint skeleton rod is connected to the joint sub-rib plate on the corresponding side through a hinge, and the two joint sub-rib plates are connected through a sliding hinge.

5. A foldable joint module according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: The joint skeleton rods include short and thin joint skeleton rods, long and thin joint skeleton rods and at least one ordinary joint skeleton rod. The ordinary joint skeleton rod is located between the short and thin joint skeleton rod and the long and thin joint skeleton rod. Except that no joint rib plate is arranged between the short and thin joint skeleton rod and the long and thin joint skeleton rod, one joint rib plate is arranged between the other two adjacent joint skeleton rods. And the short and thin joint skeleton rod and the long and thin joint skeleton rod are in contact with each other when the joint module is fully unfolded, and conversely, they are separated from each other when the joint module is fully folded.

6. A continuum robot, characterized in that: The robot includes multiple joint modules, a flexible support rod and multiple ropes connected to the joint modules. The multiple joint modules are fixed on the flexible support rod at intervals up and down. All the joint modules are folded or unfolded circumferentially under the pulling of the ropes; the joint module adopts the foldable joint module described in claim 5.

7. The continuum robot according to claim 6, wherein: The flexible support rod passes through the center of each joint module, and the center of each joint module is fixed on the flexible support rod through a expansion sleeve and a metal sleeve.

8. A continuum robot according to claim 6, characterized in that: Except for the short and thin joint skeleton rod of each joint module, multiple holes are arranged at the head of each joint skeleton rod far from the slide rail. The holes include a hanging code hole for placing a hanging code and multiple rope holes for the ropes to pass through.

9. The continuum robot according to claim 8, characterized in that: The positions of the hanging code holes on each joint skeleton rod of each joint module are the same, and the positions of the hanging code holes on the corresponding joint skeleton rods of different joint modules are arranged in a staggered manner from top to bottom in sequence.

10. A continuum robot according to claim 8, characterized in that: Each rope passes through the rope holes on the joint module and is fixed by the hanging code in the hanging code hole on the joint skeleton rod to be controlled.

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