Support system and robot

Abstract

The present application relates to a kind of support systems, comprising: upper mount and lower support seat;Several upper components, several lower components and several middle components;The one end of upper component is rotatably connected on upper mount, the one end of lower component is rotatably connected on lower support seat;The rotation axis of upper component and lower component is parallel;First lower component and first upper component, second upper component are rotatably connected;Second lower component is rotatably connected with third upper component and fourth upper component simultaneously;Middle component one end is rotatably connected first lower component, the other end is rotatably connected third upper component, three linear actuation systems are optionally installed in upper component, lower component and middle component.The support system has multiple coupled closed-chain linkages, which can be controlled to achieve attitude control and gait walking;It is suitable for high stiffness, reliability and fast deployment maintenance requirement.The regulation of overall linkage is clearer, more economical and efficient.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of robot motion devices, in particular to a support system and a robot. BACKGROUND

[0002] A humanoid robot refers to a robot product with typical human characteristics, capable of adapting to complex environments and performing multi-task operations. It is a comprehensive product in the field of robots, and its overall research and development and component research will drive the rapid development of the upstream and downstream industrial chains, which provides strong impetus for the research and development of humanoid robots. A humanoid robot simulates human walking by moving its legs. Compared with wheeled or four-legged robots, it has higher terrain adaptability, but also consumes a large amount of energy to maintain balance. Compared with wheeled or four-legged structures, its stability in standing, walking, etc. is lower, and the double-leg form is not superior in terms of load-bearing capacity, motion performance and stability. Therefore, the mechanism of the humanoid robot needs to be improved.

[0003] At present, the lower limbs of a humanoid robot are usually driven by a multi-motor series and parallel mechanism. A plurality of rotary motors are used to control the rotation of the upper leg, lower leg and foot to achieve walking. The number of motors required for such a single leg is usually more than 5, and the motors are arranged from top to bottom to achieve standing, straight walking and turning. On the one hand, the number of motors is large, the degree of freedom is high, and the stability is relatively poor. Not only is the control difficult, but the total energy consumption is also high. On the other hand, the weight of the structure after the addition of the motor also increases the power consumption of some motors, reducing the energy utilization rate.

[0004] The most common lower limb driving device of a humanoid robot at present is a rotary electric driving joint system, which has the advantages of high torque density and light structure weight, and can effectively improve the mobility of the robot. The structure generally comprises a plurality of rotary driving motors arranged on the upper leg and lower leg, respectively. The upper leg and lower leg are connected by bearings and other rotating pairs, and the lower leg and foot are connected by a connecting rod structure. The upper leg, lower leg and foot structure are independently rotated by different motors. Through specific motion planning and control, this group of rotary driving motors can realize the behaviors of balanced standing and walking of the humanoid robot. To achieve efficient operation of such a structure, it is necessary to prevent the coupling of the motion of each motor and the controlled structure, which increases the control difficulty. Therefore, a plurality of motors need to be arranged on the upper leg and lower leg. During the movement of the robot, each motor rotates at a different angle to control the corresponding structure part. When standing still, the motor still needs to be powered to output a certain torque to maintain the stillness.

[0005] As described above, the humanoid robot using the open-loop structure of the rotary driving motor consumes a large amount of electric energy when standing still. When walking, the motors arranged at the lower leg increase the weight of the structure, and additional electric energy is consumed when driving forward, which reduces the endurance of the humanoid robot. SUMMARY

[0006] The present application is mainly to solve the shortcomings of the prior art robot drive device, to provide a new robot support system and such a robot.

[0007] The present application provides a support system, comprising:

[0008] an upper mounting seat and a lower support seat; a plurality of upper components, a plurality of lower components and a plurality of middle components; one end of each of the upper components is rotatably connected to the upper mounting seat, and one end of each of the lower components is rotatably connected to the lower support seat; the rotation axes of the upper components and the lower components are parallel;

[0009] The upper components are four, which are a first upper component, a second upper component, a third upper component and a fourth upper component; the lower components are two, which are a first lower component and a second lower component;

[0010] The first lower component is rotatably connected to the first upper component and the second upper component; the second lower component is rotatably connected to the third upper component and the fourth upper component;

[0011] One end of the middle component is rotatably connected to the first lower component, and the other end is rotatably connected to the third upper component

[0012] Three linear actuation systems are optionally installed in the upper components, the lower components and the middle components.

[0013] Preferably, the linear actuation system is installed on the upper component having only two connection points, the lower component having only two connection points or the middle component having only two connection points.

[0014] Preferably, the linear actuation system is a first linear actuation, a second linear actuation and a third linear actuation.

[0015] The first linear actuation, the second linear actuation and the third linear actuation are respectively installed on the first upper component, the second upper component and the fourth upper component.

[0016] Preferably, the linear actuation system is a first linear actuation, a second linear actuation and a third linear actuation.

[0017] The first linear actuation and the second linear actuation are respectively installed on two of the first upper component, the second upper component and the fourth upper component, and the third linear actuation is installed on the middle component.

[0018] Preferably, the linear actuation system is a linear drive motor.

[0019] Preferably, a perpendicular rotary joint is arranged above the upper mounting seat, and the rotary axes of the rotary joint and the rotary joint are perpendicular to each other and to the rotary axis of the upper assembly.

[0020] The application also provides a robot having the support system according to any one of the preceding items.

[0021] The support system forms a 2-ring 7-link 2-DOF parallel structure and a 2-ring 6-link 1-DOF structure through the plurality of coupled closed-chain linkage mechanisms connecting the upper mounting seat and the lower support seat. Under the controlled driving of the three linear actuation systems 18, the system can be controlled to realize attitude control and gait walking. The parallel structure is suitable for the use scene requirements of high rigidity, reliability and rapid deployment and maintenance. The joint relationship is more direct and simple, the degree of kinematic coupling is slightly lower, and the regulation and control of the overall linkage are clearer, so it is easier to implement in a large range of simplified motion situations or applications requiring rapid reset and simple control, and it is more economical and efficient in meeting most conventional gaits and motion conditions. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0022] Figure 1 is a schematic view of the support system 1 of the application;

[0023] Figure 2 is a schematic view of the support system 1 of the application in different motion states.

[0024] In the drawings:

[0025] 1: support system; 11: upper mounting seat; 12: lower support seat; 15: upper assembly; 151: first upper assembly; 152: second upper assembly; 153: third upper assembly; 154: fourth upper assembly; 16: lower assembly; 161: first lower assembly; 162: second lower assembly; 17: middle assembly; 18: linear actuation system; 181: first linear actuation member; 182: second linear actuation member; 183: third linear actuation member; 91: rotary joint; 92: rotary joint. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] The application will be described in detail below in conjunction with the drawings and specific embodiments. In the present specification, the size proportions of the drawings do not represent actual size proportions, and they are only used to reflect the relative positional relationships and connection relationships between the components, components with the same name or the same reference numerals represent similar or identical structures, and are only for illustrative purposes.

[0027] Figure 1This is a schematic diagram of the support system 1 of this application. The support system 1 is mounted on the robot body to support the robot body and maintain its movement and other mobility requirements. The support system 1 generally includes an upper mounting base 11 and a lower support base 12. The upper mounting base 11 can be connected to the robot body, while the lower support base 12 provides support within a support surface. In a sense, the lower support base 12 can be equated to the feet of a human body.

[0028] By designing the connection mechanism between the upper mounting base 11 and the lower support base 12, a human-like lower limb movement scheme is achieved for the lower support base 12 around the upper mounting base 11. However, the movement mechanism of the support system 1 in this application differs from existing robot lower limb mechanisms. It adopts a chain mechanism that combines series and parallel connections. While achieving motion posture control of the lower support base 12, it also enables the chain mechanism to partially mimic the movement pattern of the human lower limb to achieve a deformed walking gait.

[0029] Specifically, such as Figure 1 As shown, the support system 1 also includes several upper components 15, several lower components 16, and several middle components 17. One end of each upper component 15 is rotatably connected to an upper mounting base 11, and one end of each lower component 16 is rotatably connected to a lower support base 12. The ends of the upper components 15 and lower components 16 that are connected to each other are combined with the middle components 17 for a mixed docking, giving the system three degrees of freedom.

[0030] Specifically, such as Figure 1 As shown, the upper assembly 15 has four components: a first upper assembly 151, a second upper assembly 152, a third upper assembly 153, and a fourth upper assembly 154. The lower assembly 16 has two components: a first lower assembly 161 and a second lower assembly 162. The linear actuation system 18 has three components: a first linear actuator 181, a second linear actuator 182, and a third linear actuator 183.

[0031] The first upper assembly 151, the second upper assembly 152, the third upper assembly 153, and the fourth upper assembly 154 are all rotatably connected to the upper mounting base 11. Although the connection positions of the four components on the upper mounting base 11 are different to avoid interference, the rotation axes of the four components on the upper mounting base 11 are parallel, which means that the rotation planes of the four components are parallel.

[0032] Similarly, in the lower part, both the first upper component 151 and the second upper component 152 are rotatably connected to the lower support 12. Although their connection positions on the lower support 12 differ to avoid interference, their rotation axes on the lower support 12 are parallel, which means their rotation planes are parallel. Generally speaking, for the upper component 15 and the lower component 16, their rotation planes are parallel, meaning their rotation axes are parallel. More specifically, the rotation axes of the upper component 15 and the lower component 16 typically extend laterally along the robot, meaning that the upper component 15 and the lower component 16 perform planar motion in a vertical plane in the front-back direction.

[0033] The operation of the support system 1 depends primarily on the connection method between the upper component 15 and the lower component 16, and also on the installation method of the linear actuation system 18. This is described in detail below. The first lower component 161 is simultaneously connected to two sets of upper components 15. For clarity, the first lower component 161 is rotatably connected to both the first upper component 151 and the second upper component 152. The second lower component 162 is not rotatably connected to the same upper component 15 as the first lower component 161. Therefore, the second lower component 162 can be rotatably connected to both the third upper component 153 and the fourth upper component 154. In this case, a kinematic chain is formed on the second lower component 162, and two kinematic chains are formed on the first lower component 161, each passing through the first upper component 151 and the second upper component 152. The three kinematic chains connect end-to-end to form a closed loop. To ensure the system's motion state is determined when the linear actuation system 18 is added, the system's degrees of freedom should equal the number of linear actuation systems 18, which is three. Therefore, the introduction of the fourth chain satisfies the degree of freedom condition. Specifically, the first lower component 161 is also connected to the third upper component 153 via the middle component 17. That is, one end of the middle component 17 is rotatably connected to the first lower component 161, and the other end is rotatably connected to the third upper component 153. Although not explicitly stated here, since it has been stated above that the rotation planes of the upper component 15 and the lower component 16 are parallel, the rotation plane of the middle component 17 must also be parallel to the rotation planes of the former two. The linear actuation system 18 can be installed on any three of the upper component 15, lower component 16, and middle component 17, allowing the distance between their different rotational connection points to be controlled and variable, thus driving the support system 1. Preferably, since the linear actuation system 18 is a linear drive system, it is preferably installed on a motion component with only two connection points. Here are some examples. For instance, the first linear actuator 181, the second linear actuator 182, and the third linear actuator 183 are respectively mounted on the first upper assembly 151, the second upper assembly, and the fourth upper assembly 154. Alternatively, the first linear actuator 181 and the second linear actuator 182 are respectively mounted on two of the three upper assemblies 151, 152, and 154, and the third linear actuator 183 is mounted on the middle assembly 17. Taking the installation of the third linear actuator 183 on the middle assembly 17 as an example, this means that the third linear actuator 183 becomes part of the middle assembly 17. Driven by the third linear actuator 183, the two rotational connection points at both ends of the middle assembly 17 are controlled to move away from or towards each other. In other words, from the perspective of the kinematic pair, the middle assembly 17 is equivalent to a sliding pair. The same installation method for other linear actuator systems 18 can be deduced by analogy.Generally, since the linear actuation system 18 has a large mass, the closer the linear actuation system 18 is to the center of motion, the smaller the rotational inertia of the system.

[0034] The linear actuation system 18 typically includes a linear drive motor. These components form a series of closed-loop linkage mechanisms, resulting in a parallel structure with 2 links, 7 links, and 2 degrees of freedom, and a structure with 2 links, 6 links, and 1 degree of freedom. Under the controlled drive of the three linear actuation systems 18, the system can achieve controlled posture control and gait walking. This parallel structure is suitable for applications requiring high stiffness, reliability, and rapid deployment and maintenance. The main joints and drive cables are relatively concentrated, with clearer hierarchical structure. The overall number of links in the legs is slightly less, making it appear more "simplified" and compact. The joint relationships are more direct and concise, the kinematic coupling is slightly lower, and the overall linkage control is clearer. Therefore, it is easier to implement in applications requiring large-scale simplified motion or rapid reset and simple control. Due to fewer link paths and clearer force transmission paths, the corresponding control and drive are more predictable. In scenarios with high stiffness and high load requirements, its simple structure usually means higher reliability, lower assembly difficulty, and relatively fewer errors and loosening points. Its structure is relatively compact with fewer joints, making it easy to achieve closed-loop control and fault detection. It has lower maintenance and testing costs and is more economical and efficient in meeting most conventional gait and movement requirements.

[0035] Taking one type of motor control method as an example, such as Figure 2 As shown, when the humanoid robot moves forward, the lower support base 12 is first lifted, and the three linear drive motors output power together. At this time, all three linear drive motors extend, but follow a certain sequence and extension distance control to complete the prescribed action. In actual use, based on the topology of this patented mechanism, the lengths of several components are designed according to actual needs, and the motion of the linear motors is designed through a specific control algorithm to achieve the purpose of movement. This support system 1 has high rigidity characteristics, and at the same time, it gives the foot end higher rigidity to ensure the stability of the robot's lower limbs. It has relatively few degrees of freedom, relatively low control difficulty, and relatively good stability, and does not require additional power output to maintain stability. Therefore, when used as the lower limbs of the humanoid robot for walking, it has high adaptability and terrain clearance, improves energy efficiency, and increases the endurance of the humanoid robot.

[0036] Furthermore, two orthogonal rotary joints are provided above the upper mounting base 11: rotary joint 91 and rotary joint 92. The rotation axes of rotary joint 91 and rotary joint 92 are perpendicular to and simultaneously perpendicular to the rotation axis of the motion component of the support system 1. Their function is to control the lateral sway and external rotation of the entire support system 1.

[0037] This application also provides a method such as Figure 2The humanoid robot shown has two sets of support systems 1 arranged side by side. The two sets of support systems 1 are driven alternately to achieve walking that mimics the human lower limbs.

[0038] The above description is merely a preferred embodiment of the present invention and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Various modifications and improvements made by those skilled in the art to the technical solutions of the present invention without departing from the spirit of the present invention should fall within the protection scope defined by the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A support system, characterized in that, include: Upper mounting base (11) and lower support base (12); a plurality of upper components (15), a plurality of lower components (16) and a plurality of middle components (17); one end of each upper component (15) is rotatably connected to the upper mounting base (11), and one end of each lower component (16) is rotatably connected to the lower support base (12); the rotation axes of the upper components (15) and the lower components (16) are parallel; The upper component (15) has four parts, namely the first upper component (151), the second upper component (152), the third upper component (153) and the fourth upper component (154); the lower component (16) has two parts, namely the first lower component (161) and the second lower component (162). The first lower component (161) is rotatably connected to the first upper component (151) and the second upper component (152); the second lower component (162) is also rotatably connected to the third upper component (153) and the fourth upper component (154); One end of the middle component (17) is rotatably connected to the first lower component (161), and the other end is rotatably connected to the third upper component (153). Three linear actuation systems (18) are optionally installed in the upper assembly (15), lower assembly (16), and middle assembly (17).

2. The support system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The linear actuation system (18) is mounted on an upper assembly (15) with only two connection points, a lower assembly (16) with only two connection points, or a middle assembly (17) with only two connection points.

3. The support system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The linear actuation system (18) consists of a first linear actuator (181), a second linear actuator (182), and a third linear actuator (183); The first linear actuator (181), the second linear actuator (182), and the third linear actuator (183) are respectively mounted on the first upper assembly (151), the second upper assembly (152), and the fourth upper assembly (154).

4. The support system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The linear actuation system (18) consists of a first linear actuator (181), a second linear actuator (182), and a third linear actuator (183); The first linear actuator (181) and the second linear actuator (182) are respectively installed on two of the first upper assembly (151), the second upper assembly (152) or the fourth upper assembly (154), and the third linear actuator (183) is installed on the middle assembly (17).

5. The support system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, The linear actuation system (18) is a linear drive motor.

6. The support system as described in claim 1, characterized in that, An orthogonal rotary joint (91) and a rotary joint (92) are provided above the upper mounting base (11). The rotation axes of the rotary joints (91) and (92) are perpendicular to and simultaneously perpendicular to the rotation axis of the upper assembly (15).

7. A robot, characterized in that, It has a support system as described in any one of claims 1-6.

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