Mechanical arm of rigid-flexible coupling artificial muscle based on nuclear environment and driving method

Abstract

The invention provides a rigid-flexible coupling artificial muscle mechanical arm based on a nuclear environment and a driving method, and belongs to the technical field of mechanical arms. The mechanical arm comprises a mechanical arm base, the mechanical arm base is connected with one end of a rear arm flexible driver, and one end of the rear arm flexible driver is connected with a rotating mechanism; a rigid movable connecting frame A is connected between the mechanical arm base and the bottom of the rotating mechanism, a front arm flexible driver and a rigid movable connecting frame B are installed between the upper portion of the rotating mechanism and a mechanical arm front side connector device, and the mechanical arm front side connector device is connected with a rigid mechanical arm. The performance breakthrough is achieved while the functional integrity of the mechanical arm is kept, the distributed flexible driving units are adopted, each joint is composed of the optical actuator based on the rigidity-variable carbon nano tube nano-composite yarn and the composite material formed by combining the optical actuator and the epoxy resin, the strength and sensitivity are high, the reaction speed of the mechanical arm is increased, and the mechanical arm is suitable for large-scale popularization and application. And further breakthrough in the ability of completing established work tasks is realized.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the technical field of robotic arms, and in particular relates to a robotic arm with rigid-flexible coupling artificial muscles based on a nuclear environment and a driving method thereof. Background Art

[0002] Rigid robotic arms are widely used in automated production, high-precision operations, hazardous environment operations, flexible operations, and quality control. However, traditional rigid robotic arms have many drawbacks. For example, their purely rigid metal structure results in a large mass and bulk. Furthermore, they are prone to collisions with other objects or operators during operation, causing significant damage. Furthermore, in extreme environments such as nuclear environments, traditional robotic arms have poor corrosion and radiation resistance.

[0003] Traditional robotic arms have the problems of low flexibility and adaptability, difficult maintenance, easy corrosion, slow stress response, and easy damage due to excessive mass and inertia caused by their all-rigid metal structure. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of the present invention is to provide a rigid-flexible coupled artificial muscle robotic arm and a driving method based on a nuclear environment to solve the problem of excessive mass and inertia caused by the rigid metal structure of the traditional robotic arm.

[0005] The purpose of the present invention is achieved through the following technical solutions:

[0006] A robotic arm with a rigid-flexible coupled artificial muscle based on a nuclear environment comprises: a robotic arm base, the robotic arm base being connected to one end of a rear arm flexible driver, one end of the rear arm flexible driver being connected to a rotating mechanism, a rigid movable connecting frame A being connected to the robotic arm base and the bottom of the rotating mechanism, a forearm flexible driver and a rigid movable connecting frame B being installed between the upper part of the rotating mechanism and a front-side interface device of the robotic arm, and the front-side interface device of the robotic arm being connected to a rigid manipulator.

[0007] Furthermore, the forearm flexible actuator and the rear arm flexible actuator adopt a composite material formed by combining an optical actuator based on carbon nanotube nanocomposite yarn with variable stiffness and epoxy resin.

[0008] Furthermore, the stress of the forearm flexible driver and the rear arm flexible driver is ≥12MPa.

[0009] Furthermore, a hernia lamp is installed on one side of the exterior of the forearm flexible driver and the rear arm flexible driver, and the hernia lamp is connected to the host computer through a controller mainboard.

[0010] Furthermore, the controller mainboard is installed in the robotic arm base.

[0011] Furthermore, both ends of the forearm flexible driver and the rear arm flexible driver are connected to electrodes respectively.

[0012] Furthermore, sensors are installed at the finger ends of the rigid manipulator to obtain corresponding stress information.

[0013] Furthermore, the maximum output power of the xenon lamp is 50W, the ultraviolet light output power is 6.6W, and the infrared light output power is 26.8W.

[0014] The present invention may also include:

[0015] A method for driving a robotic arm using a rigid-flexible coupled artificial muscle based on a nuclear environment as described above comprises the following steps:

[0016] Corresponding instructions are input into the control circuit on the host computer, allowing the robotic arm to communicate with the host computer. The forearm flexible actuator on one side of the forearm uses high-intensity illumination with a xenon lamp or is directly powered for electrical drive, causing the photoactuator to heat up and contract, causing the rigid manipulator of the robotic arm to bend toward side A. The CNT wheel-spun yarn of the rear arm flexible actuator on one side stretches under the action of tension, causing the front end of the robotic arm to rotate to achieve the effect of changing the robotic arm's posture;

[0017] The rear arm flexible driver at the bottom of the robot arm is controlled by multiple circuits to achieve the purpose of front end change under different states of flexible driver heat contraction.

[0018] The beneficial effects of the present invention are:

[0019] The patented technology of this invention aims to reduce the damage and corrosion resistance caused by the inertia of the robotic arm while reducing its own weight, and to speed up the response speed of the robotic arm. The response speed is less than 50 milliseconds, and the control of the robotic arm reaches 12mPa, achieving a further breakthrough in the ability to complete the established work tasks.

[0020] This invention achieves performance breakthroughs while maintaining the functional integrity of the robotic arm through the innovative application of bionic principles and intelligent materials. It adopts a distributed flexible drive unit, and each joint is composed of a composite material composed of a light actuator based on carbon nanotube nanocomposite yarn with variable stiffness and epoxy resin. It has the advantages of low density, high strength, high sensitivity and fast response. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0021] Attachment Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of the present invention.

[0022] In the attached figure: 1. Xenon lamp, 2. Controller main board, 3. Robotic arm base, 4. Rotating mechanism, 5. Rigid manipulator, 6. Robotic arm front end interface, 7. Forearm flexible driver, 8. Rear arm driver, 9. Rigid movable connecting frame, 10. Sensor. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0024] The present invention provides a mechanical arm with a rigid-flexible coupled artificial muscle based on a nuclear environment, as shown in the attached Figure 1 As shown, the robot comprises a robotic arm base 3 connected to one end of a rear arm flexible actuator 8, which in turn is connected to a rotating mechanism 4. A rigid movable connecting frame A9-1 connects the robotic arm base 3 and the bottom of the rotating mechanism 4. A forearm flexible actuator 7 and a rigid movable connecting frame B9-2 are installed between the upper portion of the rotating mechanism 4 and the front interface device 6 of the robotic arm. The front interface device 6 is connected to the rigid manipulator 5. The rigid robotic arm structure is the main body, and the flexible intelligent composite material serves as the drive. Sensors are installed at the fingertips of the rigid manipulator to obtain corresponding stress information.

[0025] The stress of the forearm flexible driver 7 and the rear arm flexible driver 8 is ≥12 MPa.

[0026] A hernia lamp 1 is installed on one side of the exterior of the forearm flexible driver 7 and the rear arm flexible driver 8 , and the hernia lamp 1 is connected to the host computer through the controller mainboard 2 .

[0027] The controller mainboard 2 is installed in the robot arm base 3, communicates with the robot arm, and realizes the control function on the host computer. It uses flexible wheel-rotating yarn as a drive and connects it to the rigid robot arm frame to realize a rigid-flexible coupling design. The sensor 10 is installed at the front end of the robot arm. When it touches an object, it gives a contact signal to achieve the effect of intelligent driving.

[0028] In this embodiment, the forearm flexible driver 7 and the rear arm flexible driver 8 use a composite material composed of an optical actuator based on carbon nanotube nanocomposite yarn with variable stiffness and epoxy resin. The characteristics of this material are: it can produce a maximum stress of 12MPa, which is about forty times that of human skeletal muscle. If driven by near-infrared light, the reaction time can be controlled within 40 milliseconds, and it can respond to contraction quickly. Moreover, since the density of the composite material is relatively low, the weight of the robotic arm can be greatly reduced.

[0029] Preferably, both ends of the forearm flexible driver 7 and the rear arm flexible driver 8 are connected to electrodes respectively.

[0030] In this embodiment, the finger ends of the rigid manipulator 5 are equipped with sensors 10 to obtain corresponding stress information. When the sensor 10 contacts an object, it gives a contact signal to achieve the effect of intelligent driving.

[0031] In this embodiment, the xenon lamp adopts HSF-F300 xenon lamp, with a maximum output power of 50W, an ultraviolet light output power of 6.6W, and an infrared light output power of 26.8W.

[0032] This embodiment also includes:

[0033] A method for driving a robotic arm using a rigid-flexible coupled artificial muscle based on a nuclear environment as described above is characterized in that the method comprises the following steps:

[0034] The corresponding instructions are input to the control circuit 2 on the host computer, so that the robot arm communicates with the host computer. The forearm flexible driver 7 on one side of the forearm uses a xenon lamp for high-intensity illumination or is directly powered for electrical drive, causing the photoactuator to heat up and contract, causing the rigid manipulator 5 of the robot arm to bend toward side A. The CNT wheel-spun yarn of the rear arm flexible driver 8 on one side is stretched under the action of tension, causing the front end of the robot arm to rotate to achieve the effect of changing the posture of the robot arm.

[0035] The rear arm flexible driver 8 at the bottom of the robotic arm is controlled by multiple circuits to achieve the purpose of front-end change under different flexible drive heat contraction states, achieving an effect similar to a "ball joint".

[0036] The composite material of a carbon nanotube (CNT) nanocomposite yarn optical actuator and epoxy resin described in this embodiment is prepared by: using chemical vapor deposition to deposit a carbon nanotube (CNT) film, twisting the film to achieve a helical structure similar to a spring; applying tension to maintain the helical state; and then applying a mixture of epoxy resin and a curing agent to the surface of the carbon nanotube spiral yarn. Because carbon nanotubes have excellent wettability in organic solvents and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are porous, the epoxy resin and curing agent can easily penetrate the interior of the carbon nanotube yarn, forming a stable structure. Furthermore, the carbon nanotube composite yarn can generate a maximum stress of 12 MPa, approximately 40 times that of human skeletal muscle. When driven by an HSF-F300 xenon lamp, it can even respond and contract rapidly within 40 milliseconds. Furthermore, due to the low density of the carbon nanotube spiral yarn used in this material, the weight of the robotic arm can be greatly reduced, and the robotic arm's activation speed is much faster than that of traditional robotic arms.

[0037] You can also refer to the public literature to make your own, for example: Xu L, Peng Q, Zhao X, et al., Light actuator based on carbon nanotube nanocomposite yarn with variable stiffness [J]. Journal of the American Chemical Society Applied Materials and Interfaces, 2020, 12(36): 40711-40718).

[0038] The present invention has extremely strong radiation resistance. During the experiment, a 60Co-γ ray ionizing irradiation device (3.7×1015Bq) was used. The carbon nano-intelligent composite material was placed in the irradiation device and the irradiation dose rate was set to 0.5Gy / s. After irradiation, the degree of damage to the material was low and it could still reach more than 98% of the performance before irradiation.

[0039] The present invention still has high reliability in high-irradiation fields such as nuclear radiation irradiation rooms and nuclear magnetic resonance imaging scenarios, providing a new solution for high-end applications such as medical robots and space capsule robotic arms.

[0040] The foregoing description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the present invention. Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that various modifications and variations of the present invention are possible. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, or improvements made within the spirit and principles of the present invention are intended to be within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. A robotic arm with a rigid-flexible coupled artificial muscle based on a nuclear environment, characterized in that: include: A robotic arm base (3) is provided, wherein the robotic arm base (3) is connected to one end of a rear arm flexible driver (8), one end of the rear arm flexible driver (8) is connected to a rotating mechanism (4), a rigid movable connecting frame A (9-1) is connected between the robotic arm base (3) and the bottom of the rotating mechanism (4), a forearm flexible driver (7) and a rigid movable connecting frame B (9-2) are installed between the upper part of the rotating mechanism (4) and a robotic arm front side interface device (6), and the robotic arm front side interface device (6) is connected to a rigid robotic arm (5).

2. The mechanical arm of the rigid-flexible coupled artificial muscle based on the nuclear environment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The forearm flexible driver (7) and the rear arm flexible driver (8) adopt a composite material formed by combining a light actuator based on carbon nanotube nanocomposite yarn with variable stiffness and epoxy resin.

3. The mechanical arm of the rigid-flexible coupled artificial muscle based on the nuclear environment according to claim 1, characterized in that: The stress of the forearm flexible driver (7) and the rear arm flexible driver (8) is ≥12 MPa.

4. The mechanical arm of the rigid-flexible coupled artificial muscle based on the nuclear environment according to claim 2, characterized in that: A hernia lamp (1) is installed on one side of the exterior of the forearm flexible driver (7) and the rear arm flexible driver (8), and the hernia lamp (1) is connected to a host computer via a controller mainboard (2).

5. The mechanical arm of the rigid-flexible coupled artificial muscle based on the nuclear environment according to claim 2, characterized in that: The controller mainboard (2) is installed in the robotic arm base (3).

6. The mechanical arm of the rigid-flexible coupled artificial muscle based on the nuclear environment according to claim 2, characterized in that: Both ends of the forearm flexible driver (7) and the rear arm flexible driver (8) are connected to electrodes respectively.

7. The mechanical arm of the rigid-flexible coupled artificial muscle based on the nuclear environment according to claim 4 or 6, characterized in that: The finger ends of the rigid manipulator (5) are equipped with sensors (10) to obtain corresponding stress information.

8. The mechanical arm of the rigid-flexible coupled artificial muscle based on the nuclear environment according to claim 7, characterized in that: The maximum output power of the xenon lamp is 50W, the ultraviolet light output power is 6.6W, and the infrared light output power is 26.8W.

9. A method for driving a mechanical arm of a rigid-flexible coupled artificial muscle based on a nuclear environment as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that: The method comprises the following steps: A corresponding instruction is inputted into the control circuit (2) on the host computer, so that the robot arm communicates with the host computer. The forearm flexible driver (7) on one side of the forearm is illuminated with high intensity by a xenon lamp or directly powered on for electric driving, so that the photoactuator is heated and contracted, so that the rigid manipulator (5) of the robot arm is bent toward the A side. The CNT wheel-rotating yarn of the rear arm flexible driver (8) on one side is stretched under the action of tension, so that the front end of the robot arm rotates to achieve the effect of changing the posture of the robot arm. The rear arm flexible driver (8) at the bottom of the robot arm is controlled by multiple circuits to achieve the purpose of front end change under different states of flexible driver heat contraction.

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