Rigid-flexible coupled walking robot leg mechanism and walking robot

Abstract

The invention discloses a rigid-flexible coupled walking robot leg mechanism and a walking robot. The walking robot is provided with a walking robot leg mechanism, and the walking robot leg mechanism comprises a shank driving motor (4) and a shank driving connecting rod (7); the shank driving motor is assembled and connected with a thigh component (6), a crank connecting piece (5) is installed at the driving end of the shank driving motor and provided with a crank end (51), one end of the shank driving connecting rod is assembled and connected with the crank end, and the other end of the shank driving connecting rod is assembled and connected with the portion, close to the upper end, of a shank component (8) through a rotating pair. The shank driving connecting rod is an elastic connecting rod. The shank driving connecting rod serves as a structural part to transmit motion and also serves as an elastic component to play a role of an elastic plate spring, external loads are buffered through structural elastic deformation, the structural characteristics of bones, muscles and ligaments of an organism can be simulated, and a leg mechanism has good passive compliance.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a foot-type walking robot technology, in particular to a rigid-flexible coupled walking robot leg mechanism and a walking robot. Background Art

[0002] Legged walking robots, especially quadruped and bipedal walking robots, have broad application prospects in education, entertainment, disaster relief, industrial inspection, and other fields. The leg structure of walking robots is the key to their ability to walk, run, and other movements.

[0003] A review of existing technologies reveals that legged walking robots, widely researched and applied, generally employ purely rigid designs, namely, rigid links and rigid transmission mechanisms. This design minimizes deformation by increasing structural rigidity, thereby improving control accuracy and response frequency. However, purely rigid designs lack passive compliance, are susceptible to impact loads, exhibit poor environmental interaction, and rely on complex active control algorithms to achieve compliance, which is limited by control frequency and bandwidth. Unlike purely rigid designs, the leg structure of organisms exhibits a rigid-flexible coupling, comprising rigid bones, flexible muscles, and ligaments. This rigid-flexible coupling enables organisms to possess remarkable locomotion capabilities.

[0004] In summary, the main problems solved by the present invention are:

[0005] The leg mechanisms of existing legged walking robots lack passive compliance and are unable to adapt to complex terrain and buffer external impact loads. Summary of the Invention

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide a rigid-flexible coupled walking robot leg mechanism and a walking robot, wherein the walking robot leg mechanism and the walking robot have good passive compliance.

[0007] In order to achieve the above technical objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical solutions:

[0008] A rigid-flexibly coupled walking robot leg mechanism, the walking robot leg mechanism comprising a thigh component, a calf component and a thigh drive motor, the thigh component and the calf component being assembled and connected via a revolving pair, the thigh drive motor being used to drive the thigh component to swing; the walking robot leg mechanism also comprising a calf drive motor and a calf drive connecting rod; the calf drive motor being assembled and connected to the thigh component, a crank connecting piece being mounted on the driving end of the calf drive motor, the crank connecting piece having a crank end, one end of the calf drive connecting rod being assembled and connected to the crank end, and the other end of the calf drive connecting rod being assembled and connected to the proximal upper end portion of the calf component via a revolving pair.

[0009] Furthermore, the calf driving connecting rod is an elastic connecting rod.

[0010] Furthermore, the calf driving connecting rod is an elastic slat.

[0011] Furthermore, one end of the calf driving connecting rod is assembled and connected to the end of the crank. Specifically, one end of the calf driving connecting rod is assembled and connected to the end of the crank in a fixed connection.

[0012] Furthermore, one end of the calf driving connecting rod is assembled and connected to the end of the crank. Specifically, one end of the calf driving connecting rod is assembled and connected to the end of the crank through a rotating pair.

[0013] Furthermore, a flexible strain sensor is provided on the calf driving link.

[0014] Furthermore, the flexible strain sensor is incorporated into the behavior control system of the robot.

[0015] A walking robot is provided, wherein the walking robot is equipped with the walking robot leg mechanism as described above.

[0016] Compared with the prior art, the rigid-flexible coupled walking robot leg mechanism and the walking robot of the present invention have the following main beneficial effects:

[0017] The calf drive link in the leg mechanism of the walking robot uses an elastic link. The calf drive link not only transmits motion as a structural component, but also acts as an elastic leaf spring as an elastic component. It buffers external loads through structural elastic deformation, thereby simulating the structural characteristics of the skeleton-muscle-ligament of an organism, giving the leg mechanism good passive compliance. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the structure of the rigid-flexible coupled walking robot leg mechanism of the present invention;

[0019] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the connection between the shank drive connecting rod, the crank connector and the shank component assembly;

[0020] Figure 3 Schematic diagram for mounting the baseplate, thigh drive motor, and calf drive motor assembly connections. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] First, in order to facilitate a clear and accurate description of the technical solution in the following text, the following definitions are made in advance:

[0022] Definition 1: The "proximal upper end portion of the calf component" mentioned herein refers to the position near the upper end portion of the calf component 8 (e.g. Figure 2 (indicated by arrow A).

[0023] The specific embodiments of the present invention are further described below:

[0024] This embodiment provides a rigid-flexible coupled walking robot leg mechanism, which simulates the structural characteristics of the skeleton-muscle-ligament of a biological body and thus has good passive compliance.

[0025] See also Figure 1 The main body of the leg mechanism of the walking robot in this embodiment mainly includes a thigh component 6 and a calf component 8. The lower end of the thigh component 6 and the upper end of the calf component 8 are connected by a rotating pair assembly, thereby constituting the main part of the entire leg mechanism of the walking robot. The rotating pair assembly connection part constitutes the knee joint part.

[0026] See also Figure 1 and Figure 3 The walking robot leg mechanism of this embodiment further includes a mounting base 1, a thigh drive motor 2, a motor series connector 3 and a calf drive motor 4.

[0027] The mounting substrate 1 serves as the mounting base for the entire leg mechanism of the walking robot. The entire leg mechanism of the walking robot is mounted on the body of the robot based on the mounting substrate 1, thereby realizing the assembly of the leg mechanism of the walking robot on the robot.

[0028] The thigh drive motor 2 and the calf drive motor 4 are both rotary drive motors. The main body of the thigh drive motor 2 is installed based on the mounting base 1. The main body of the calf drive motor 4 is assembled and connected to the driving end of the thigh drive motor 2 through the motor series connector 3. At the same time, the main body of the calf drive motor 4 is also fixedly assembled and connected to the upper end of the thigh component 6. In other words, the driving end of the thigh drive motor 2 is assembled and connected to the upper end of the thigh component 6 through the motor series connector 3 and the calf drive motor 4. In this way, the thigh drive motor 2 can drive the thigh component 6 together with the calf component 8 (or the entire leg mechanism of the walking robot) to perform a swinging motion based on the mounting base 1 (or based on the robot body).

[0029] It should be noted that the motor series connector 3 is an assembly connection component, and its function is to assemble and connect the driving end of the thigh drive motor 2 with the main body of the motor series connector 3. Its specific structural configuration depends on the structural configuration of the thigh drive motor 2 and the calf drive motor 4.

[0030] See also Figure 1 and Figure 2 A crank connector 5 is installed on the driving end of the calf drive motor 4. The specific configuration of the crank connector 5 is as follows: Figure 2As shown, it has a crank end 51, which is located at an eccentric position of the entire crank connector 5. The crank end 51 is fixedly assembled with one end of the shank drive connecting rod 7, and the other end of the shank drive connecting rod 7 is assembled with the proximal upper end of the shank component 8 through a revolute pair.

[0031] Specifically, a protrusion (such as Figure 2 The other end of the calf driving link 7 is connected to the protrusion through a rotating pair.

[0032] The calf drive motor 4 is used to drive the calf drive connecting rod 7 to move up and down. The up and down moving calf drive connecting rod 7 can drive the calf component 8 to swing based on the lower end of the thigh component 6 (that is, the knee joint). In summary, the calf drive motor 4 drives the calf component 8 to swing through the calf drive connecting rod 7.

[0033] The most significant innovation of the walking robot leg mechanism in this embodiment lies in the use of an elastic link, specifically, an elastic strip made of an elastic material, as the shank drive link 7. This arrangement benefits from the fact that the shank drive link 7 serves both as a structural component to transmit motion and as an elastic member to act as an elastic leaf spring. This elastic deformation cushions external loads, mimicking the structural characteristics of the human skeleton, muscle, and ligaments, and imparting excellent passive compliance to the leg mechanism.

[0034] Furthermore, a flexible strain sensor (a prior art device, not shown) is installed on the shank drive link 7. This sensor, incorporated into the robot's behavioral control system, measures the local deformation of the shank drive link 7. Based on existing models of the overall leg mechanism's mechanical analysis, the overall deformation of the shank drive link 7 can be reconstructed and the external load acting on the foot end of the leg mechanism calculated. By enabling real-time monitoring and perception of load through feedback from the flexible strain sensor, the robot can adjust its motion control strategy based on the perceived external load, enhancing its adaptability to the environment.

[0035] In this embodiment, the crank end 51 of the crank connector 5 is assembled and connected to the upper end of the calf driving connecting rod 7 in a fixed connection. In other embodiments, a rotation pair connection can also be used.

[0036] However, it should be noted that the upper end of the shank drive link 7 is assembled using a fixed connection, which is intentional. Specifically, during fixed assembly, the shank drive link 7 undergoes coordinated deformation due to internal forces to meet assembly requirements, thereby allowing the shank drive link 7 to pre-store a portion of elastic potential energy. Furthermore, the fixed connection makes the deformation of the shank drive link 7 more pronounced during movement, making it easier to measure local deformation using a flexible strain sensor. This also achieves better energy storage and improves energy utilization efficiency.

[0037] This embodiment also provides a walking robot, which is equipped with the above-mentioned walking robot leg mechanism.

[0038] The above are only preferred embodiments of the present invention and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention. Therefore, any modifications, equivalent substitutions, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principles of the present invention should be included in the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A rigid-flexible coupled walking robot leg mechanism, comprising a thigh component (6), a calf component (8), and a thigh drive motor (2), wherein the thigh component (6) and the calf component (8) are connected via a revolute assembly, and the thigh drive motor (2) is used to drive the thigh component (6) to swing; Its characteristics are: The walking robot leg mechanism further includes a shank drive motor (4) and a shank drive connecting rod (7); The calf drive motor (4) is assembled and connected to the thigh component (6); a crank connector (5) is installed on the driving end of the calf drive motor (4); the crank connector (5) has a crank end (51); one end of the calf drive connecting rod (7) is assembled and connected to the crank end (51); the other end of the calf drive connecting rod (7) is assembled and connected to the proximal upper end of the calf component (8) through a rotating pair.

2. The rigid-flexible coupled walking robot leg mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: The calf driving connecting rod (7) is an elastic connecting rod.

3. The rigid-flexible coupled walking robot leg mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: The calf drive connecting rod (7) is an elastic strip.

4. The rigid-flexible coupled walking robot leg mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: One end of the calf driving connecting rod (7) is assembled and connected with the crank end (51), specifically, one end of the calf driving connecting rod (7) is assembled and connected with the crank end (51) in a fixed connection.

5. The rigid-flexible coupled walking robot leg mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: One end of the calf driving connecting rod (7) is assembled and connected with the crank end (51), specifically, one end of the calf driving connecting rod (7) is assembled and connected with the crank end (51) through a rotating pair.

6. The rigid-flexible coupled walking robot leg mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: A flexible strain sensor is provided on the calf driving connecting rod (7).

7. The rigid-flexible coupled walking robot leg mechanism according to claim 6, characterized in that: The flexible strain sensor is incorporated into the behavior control system of the robot.

8. A walking robot, characterized in that: The walking robot is equipped with the walking robot leg mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

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