A flexible robot for spacecraft failure detection

Abstract

The application discloses a flexible robot for spacecraft fault detection and belongs to the technical field of space robots. In order to solve the problem that the existing fault detection robot has high flexibility but weak support ability of a terminal probe, leading to poor positioning accuracy, the application discloses a deformation pipeline module, which comprises a rigid straight pipe and a flexible bellows connected in series, and a coupling bending assembly arranged in the flexible bellows, the coupling bending assembly being capable of deforming; an image acquisition module is arranged at the tip of the flexible bellows and used for acquiring image information of a fault position of a spacecraft; a linear driving module provides power for the deformation of the coupling bending assembly; when the linear driving module applies a thrust force, the coupling bending assembly is bent and deformed, and the flexible bellows is synchronously bent, so that the image acquisition module is aligned with the fault position of the spacecraft and images are acquired; when the linear driving module applies a pulling force, the coupling bending assembly drives the flexible bellows to be stretched and reset, so that the flexible robot continues to move forward through the image acquisition module.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of space robot technology, and in particular relates to a flexible robot for spacecraft fault detection. Background Technology

[0002] Since the beginning of the new century, spacecraft malfunctions due to component aging or space debris impacts have become increasingly common. Therefore, repairing malfunctioning spacecraft in orbit has become a research hotspot in the aerospace field worldwide. With the rapid development of on-orbit replaceable module technology, a crucial technological foundation has been laid for future spacecraft to achieve acceptable on-orbit servicing and support for functional upgrades. As one type of replaceable module, fault detection robots, with their advantages of portability and rapid installation, have become a key research focus for scholars both domestically and internationally.

[0003] To achieve effective fault detection in spacecraft, robots with image acquisition capabilities need to be designed. Key components such as pipelines, thrusters, engines, and solar panel drive modules are the primary targets for fault detection. The design challenge of the fault detection module lies in accurately delivering and aligning the imaging lens with the fault location. While currently used flexible robots for fault detection are highly maneuverable and easy to manufacture, their support capabilities are weak, resulting in insufficient end-effector stability in the space environment, leading to decreased positioning accuracy and consequently affecting image acquisition quality. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of this, the present invention provides a flexible robot for spacecraft fault detection, which has both flexible bending and rigid support functions, and can ensure the accuracy of image acquisition.

[0005] To solve the above-mentioned technical problems, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is as follows:

[0006] A flexible robot for spacecraft fault detection includes:

[0007] The deformable pipe module includes a rigid straight pipe and a flexible corrugated pipe connected in series, and a coupling bending component built into the cavity of the flexible corrugated pipe. The coupling bending component can generate deformation to control the flexible corrugated pipe to achieve bending or straightening.

[0008] The image acquisition module, installed at the tip of the flexible bellows, is used to acquire image information of the spacecraft's fault location;

[0009] A linear drive module, located at the tail end of the deformable pipe module, provides driving force for the deformation of the coupled bending component;

[0010] When the linear drive module applies a thrust to the coupled bending assembly, the coupled bending assembly undergoes bending deformation, which in turn causes the flexible bellows to bend synchronously, so that the image acquisition module can align with the fault location of the spacecraft and acquire images; when the linear drive module applies a tension to the coupled bending assembly, the coupled bending assembly returns to its straightened state, which in turn causes the flexible bellows to straighten synchronously, so that the flexible robot can be guided forward by the image acquisition module.

[0011] Furthermore, the coupled bending assembly includes:

[0012] The first crossbar assembly includes a rocker arm and a first connecting rod arranged in a cross configuration. Both the rocker arm and the first connecting rod have a first end and a second end. The rocker arm near its first end and the first end of the first connecting rod are rotatably mounted on a rigid straight tube.

[0013] The second crossbar assembly includes a coupling rod and a second connecting rod arranged in a cross configuration. Both the coupling rod and the second connecting rod have a first end and a second end. The first end of the coupling rod and the first end of the second connecting rod are rotatably connected to the second end of the rocker arm, and the second end of the first connecting rod is rotatably connected to the first end of the coupling rod.

[0014] The connecting rod support tube has one end fixed to the front end of the flexible bellows and the other end inside the flexible bellows. The second end of the second connecting rod and the second end of the coupling rod are rotatably connected to the end of the connecting rod support tube that is inside the flexible bellows.

[0015] Furthermore, both the rocker and the coupling rod are S-shaped rods.

[0016] Furthermore, the tip of the flexible corrugated pipe is provided with a mounting base with a central through hole, and the image acquisition module and the connecting rod support tube are both installed in the central through hole of the mounting base.

[0017] Furthermore, the image acquisition module includes an imaging lens, an imaging fiber, and a lens support. The lens support is inserted into the connecting rod support tube, the imaging lens is installed at the front end of the lens support, and the imaging fiber is connected to the imaging lens for transmitting the acquired image signal.

[0018] Furthermore, it also includes a lighting module, which includes an LED base, LED beads, and a lighting optical fiber. The LED base is installed at the front end of the mounting base, the LED beads are installed on the LED base, and the lighting optical fiber is connected to the LED beads to supply them with power.

[0019] Furthermore, the linear drive module includes a housing, a drive motor, a lead screw shaft, a lead screw nut, and a push rod. The housing is installed at the end of a rigid straight tube. The drive motor is fixed inside the housing and can drive the lead screw shaft to rotate. The lead screw nut is screwed to the lead screw shaft. The push rod is slidably connected to the housing and can swing left and right. One end of the push rod is connected to the lead screw nut, and the other end passes through the housing and the rigid straight tube and is rotatably connected to the first end of the rocker arm.

[0020] Furthermore, it also includes a tool support beam, which is mounted at the end of the housing for the flexible robot to be inserted into the toolbox.

[0021] Furthermore, it also includes a quick-change interface for connecting to a space robotic arm, which is fixed to the tool support beam.

[0022] Furthermore, it also includes a control module that is electrically connected to the image acquisition module, the lighting module, and the linear drive module.

[0023] The beneficial effects of this invention compared to the prior art are:

[0024] 1. The flexible robot of this invention is designed with a linear drive module and a deformable pipe module. The distal end of the deformable pipe module is designed with a bending section, which has the dual functions of flexible bending and rigid support. After the space robotic arm drives the flexible robot to the spacecraft fault location, the linear drive module can control the bending section to complete the flexible bending action, thereby changing the orientation of the image acquisition module and the lighting module. Its rigid support characteristics effectively ensure the positioning accuracy of the image acquisition module, thus ensuring the clarity of the image acquisition at the fault location.

[0025] 2. The coupling bending assembly of the present invention consists of two intersecting four-bar linkages. The rigid straight tube, rocker arm, first connecting rod, and coupling rod constitute the first intersecting four-bar linkage, while the rocker arm, coupling rod, second connecting rod, and connecting rod support tube constitute the second intersecting four-bar linkage. The two intersecting four-bar linkages share common members, namely the rocker arm and the coupling rod, thereby creating a mutual constraint relationship between the first and second intersecting four-bar linkages. When the first intersecting four-bar linkage deforms, it will simultaneously drive the second intersecting four-bar linkage to undergo coordinated deformation. Through the coupled deformation effect of the two, the coupling bending assembly as a whole can bend and deform stably to one side or straighten back to its original position, thereby providing reliable and stable support for the guide probe at the end. Attached Figure Description

[0026] The accompanying drawings, which form part of this invention, are provided to give a further understanding of the invention.

[0027] Figure 1 This is a front view of a flexible robot for spacecraft fault detection according to the present invention.

[0028] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram showing the guide probe in an extended position.

[0029] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram showing the guide probe in a bent state.

[0030] Figure 4This is a cross-sectional view of the guide probe when it is in the extended position.

[0031] Figure 5 This is a cross-sectional view of the guide probe when it is in a bent state.

[0032] Figure 6 for Figure 4 A magnified view of a portion of point A in the middle.

[0033] Figure 7 for Figure 5 A magnified view of a section at point B in the middle.

[0034] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the coupled bending assembly.

[0035] Figure 9 for Figure 2 A magnified view of a section at point C.

[0036] Figure 10 for Figure 4 A cross-sectional view at point D.

[0037] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures:

[0038] 1. Mounting base; 11. Central through hole; 2. Deformable pipe module; 21. Rigid straight pipe; 22. Flexible corrugated pipe; 23. Coupled bending assembly; 231. Rocker arm; 232. First connecting rod; 233. Coupler rod; 234. Second connecting rod; 235. Connecting rod support tube; 236. First rotating shaft; 237. Second rotating shaft; 238. Third rotating shaft; 239. Fourth rotating shaft; 240. Fifth rotating shaft; 241. Sixth rotating shaft; 242. Seventh rotating shaft; 243. Eighth rotating shaft; 3. Image acquisition module; 31. Imaging lens; 32. 4. Lens support; 5. Lighting module; 6. LED base; 7. Mounting slot; 8. LED bead; 9. Baffle; 10. Linear drive module; 11. Housing; 12. Top cover plate; 13. Guide hole; 14. Support sleeve; 15. Lower base; 16. Drive motor; 17. Lead screw shaft; 18. Lead screw nut; 19. Push rod; 20. Encoder; 10. Tool support beam; 11. Support plate; 12. Support pin; 13. Quick-change interface; 14. Control module; 15. Circuit board; 16. Heat sink; 17. Heat sink bracket. Detailed Implementation

[0039] The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0040] See Figures 1 to 5This embodiment provides a flexible robot for spacecraft fault detection, mainly composed of a mounting base 1, a deformable pipe module 2, an image acquisition module 3, a lighting module 4, a linear drive module 5, a tool support beam 6, a quick-change interface 7, and a control module 8. Combined with... Figure 4 It can be seen that the mounting base 1, deformable pipe module 2, linear drive module 5, tool support beam 6, and quick-change interface 7 are arranged and fixed vertically from top to bottom; the image acquisition module 3 and lighting module 4 are both integrated and installed on the mounting base 1, forming the guide probe at the front end of the flexible robot; among them, the lighting module 4 is used to provide supplemental lighting for the spacecraft fault location, while the image acquisition module 3 is responsible for acquiring image information of the fault location. The space robotic arm can dock with the flexible robot through the quick-change interface 7, thereby driving the flexible robot to move to the fault operation location on the spacecraft. Figure 2 , Figure 3 , Figure 4 and Figure 5 The distal end of the deformable pipe module 2 is equipped with a bend, and the power output end of the linear drive module 5 can drive this bend to one side, enabling the flexible robot to accurately adjust the orientation of the image acquisition module 3 and the lighting module 4 after reaching the fault location, thus achieving precise alignment with the spacecraft fault location. Furthermore, the flexible robot can be stored in the end effector storage toolbox via the tool support beam 6.

[0041] In this embodiment, the curved section at the distal end of the deformable pipe module 2 serves the dual functions of flexible bending and rigid support. After the space robotic arm drives the flexible robot to the spacecraft fault location, the linear drive module 5 can control the curved section to complete the flexible bending action, thereby changing the orientation of the image acquisition module 3 and the lighting module 4. Its rigid support characteristics effectively ensure the positioning accuracy of the image acquisition module 3, thus ensuring the clarity of the images acquired at the fault location.

[0042] To achieve the dual functions of flexible bending and rigid support in the curved section at the distal end of the deformable pipe module 2, combined with Figure 4 and Figure 5 The deformable pipe module 2 in this embodiment includes a rigid straight pipe 21 and a flexible corrugated pipe 22 connected in series, and a coupling bending component 23 built into the cavity of the flexible corrugated pipe 22. The coupling bending component 23 can generate deformation to control the flexible corrugated pipe 22 to achieve bending or straightening.

[0043] Specifically, in combination Figure 6 , Figure 7 and Figure 8It can be seen that the coupled bending assembly 23 mainly consists of a first cross rod group, a second cross rod group, a connecting rod support tube 235, and multiple rotating shafts connected in series. A central through hole 11 is provided in the center of the mounting base 1, and the connecting rod support tube 235 is inserted into this central through hole 11, with its lower end extending into the flexible corrugated tube 22. Two oppositely arranged connecting ears are provided on the connecting rod support tube 235. Combined with... Figure 8 The first crossbar assembly includes rocker arms 231 and a first connecting rod 232. Two rocker arms 231 are arranged symmetrically from left to right. The first connecting rod 232 is located between the two rocker arms 231 and is cross-assembled with them. The second crossbar assembly consists of coupling rods 233 and a second connecting rod 234. Two coupling rods 233 are also arranged symmetrically from left to right. The second connecting rod 234 is located between the two coupling rods 233 and is cross-assembled with them. It is worth noting that both the rocker arms 231 and the coupling rods 233 are S-shaped sheet-like rods, while both the first connecting rods 232 and the second connecting rod 234 are straight rod structures. Here, the end of the rocker arm 231 and the first connecting rod 232 closest to the rigid straight tube 21 is defined as the first end, and the end furthest from the rigid straight tube 21 is defined as the second end; the end of the coupling rod 233 and the second connecting rod 234 closest to the rocker arm 231 is defined as the first end, and the end furthest from the rocker arm 231 is defined as the second end.

[0044] Combination Figure 6 and Figure 7 Two rocker arms 231 are connected in series via a first rotating shaft 236 and rotatably mounted on the inner walls of both sides of a rigid straight tube 21. The first end of a first connecting rod 232 is also rotatably mounted on the inner walls of both sides of the rigid straight tube 21 via a second rotating shaft 237. The second end of the first connecting rod 232 is inserted between two coupling rods 233 and rotatably connected to the first ends of the two coupling rods 233 via a fourth rotating shaft 239. The first ends of the two coupling rods 233 are connected in series to the second ends of the two rocker arms 231 via a third rotating shaft 238, forming a rotatable engagement with the second ends of the rocker arms 231. The second ends of the two coupling rods 233 are inserted between two connecting ears of a connecting rod support tube 235 and rotatably connected to the two connecting ears via a seventh rotating shaft 242. The first end of a second connecting rod 234 is rotatably connected to the second ends of the two rocker arms 231 via a fifth rotating shaft 240, and its second end is also inserted between the two connecting ears of the connecting rod support tube 235, achieving rotatable assembly with the connecting ears via a sixth rotating shaft 241. The power output end of the linear drive module 5 is rotatably connected to the first end of the two rocker arms 231 via the eighth rotating shaft 243, which can drive the two rocker arms 231 to push upward or pull downward.

[0045] The specific work process is as follows: Figure 6As shown, when the coupling bending assembly 23 is in the straightened state, the linear drive module 5 pushes the first ends of the two rocker arms 231 upwards, causing the two rocker arms 231 to rotate clockwise around the first rotating shaft 236. The second ends of the rocker arms 231 drive the first ends of the coupling rod 233 and the second connecting rod 234 to rotate clockwise through the third rotating shaft 238 and the fifth rotating shaft 240, respectively. At the same time, because the second end of the first connecting rod 232 is connected to the first end of the coupling rod 233, and its first end is constrained by the second rotating shaft 237, the coupling rod 233 will drive the first connecting rod 232 to rotate clockwise around the second rotating shaft 237, at which time the first cross rod group deforms. At the same time, the second end of the first connecting rod 232 generates a tension force along the rod direction on the coupling rod 233, driving the coupling rod 233 to rotate clockwise around the third rotating shaft 238. The coupling rod 233 then drives the mounting base 1 to rotate clockwise synchronously through the connecting rod support tube 235. Mounting base 1 drives flexible bellows 22 to bend synchronously, so that image acquisition module 3 is aligned with the fault location of the spacecraft and acquires images; when linear drive module 5 applies tension to coupling bending component 23, coupling bending component 23 returns to straight state and drives flexible bellows 22 to straighten synchronously, so as to move to the next fault location.

[0046] Depend on Figure 6 and Figure 7 It can be seen that the rigid straight tube 21 (the part between the first rotating shaft 236 and the second rotating shaft 237), the rocker arm 231, the first connecting rod 232, and the coupling rod 233 constitute the first cross four-bar linkage. Figure 6 and Figure 7 As shown by the red line in the middle, the rocker arm 231, coupling rod 233, second connecting rod 234, and connecting rod support tube 235 constitute the second cross four-bar linkage ( Figure 6 and Figure 7 As shown by the green line in the middle, the two cross four-bar linkages obviously share a common link, namely the rocker arm 231 and the coupling rod 233. This creates a mutual constraint relationship between the first and second cross four-bar linkages. When the first cross four-bar linkage deforms, it will simultaneously drive the second cross four-bar linkage to undergo coordinated deformation. Through the coupled deformation effect of the two, the coupling bending assembly 23 is able to bend and deform or straighten to one side in a stable manner, thereby providing reliable and stable support for the guide probe at the end.

[0047] See Figure 6 and Figure 7The image acquisition module 3 in this embodiment includes an imaging lens 31, an imaging optical fiber (not shown in the figure), and a lens support 32. The lens support 32 is inserted into the connecting rod support tube 235. The imaging lens 31 is installed at the front end face of the lens support 32. One end of the imaging optical fiber is connected to the imaging lens 31, and the other end passes through the connecting rod support tube 235, the flexible corrugated tube 22, and the rigid straight tube 21 and is connected to the control module 8 for transmitting the image signal acquired by the imaging lens 31.

[0048] See Figure 6 and Figure 7 The lighting module 4 in this embodiment includes an LED base 41, LED beads 42, an illumination fiber (not shown in the figure), and a baffle 43. The LED base 41 has a threaded hole, and the front end of the lens support 32 has an external thread. The LED base 41 is screwed onto the lens support 32 and is located at the front end of the mounting base 1. At the same time, the LED base 41 has four mounting slots 411. Four LED beads 42 are provided and are evenly fixed in the four mounting slots 411 of the LED base 41 around the imaging lens 31. One end of the illumination fiber is connected to the LED beads 42, and the other end passes through the mounting slot 411, the flexible corrugated tube 22, and the rigid straight tube 21 to connect to the control module 8 for powering the four LED beads 42.

[0049] Among them, the imaging fiber and the illumination fiber can be bundled into an integrated fiber inside the flexible corrugated tube 22.

[0050] See Figure 4 , Figure 5 and Figure 10The linear drive module 5 in this embodiment includes a housing 51, a drive motor 55, a lead screw shaft 56, a lead screw nut 57, and a push rod 58. The housing 51 includes an upper cover plate 52, a support sleeve 53, and a lower base 54, which are arranged and connected sequentially from top to bottom. The housing 51 is fixedly connected to the end of a rigid straight tube 21 through the upper cover plate 52. A guide hole 521 is provided on the upper cover plate 52. A perforated base plate is provided at the bottom of the support sleeve 53. The two ends of the lead screw shaft 56 are rotatably mounted on the upper cover plate 52 and the base plate of the support sleeve 53 respectively through bearings. An installation through hole is provided on the lower base 54. The motor housing of the drive motor 55 is fixedly installed in the installation through hole of the lower base 54, and the output shaft of the drive motor 55 passes through the support sleeve. The opening at the bottom of 53 is fixedly connected to the lead screw shaft 56. The lead screw nut 57 is screwed to the lead screw shaft 56. One end of the push rod 58 is hinged to the lead screw nut 57, and the other end passes through the guide hole 521 on the upper cover plate 52 and is inserted into the rigid straight tube 21, and is rotatably connected to the first end of the rocker arm 231. It should be noted that when the coupling bending assembly 23 deflects, the rocker arm 231 rotates. Then the hinge point between the rocker arm 231 and the push rod 58 moves in an arc, not up and down. Therefore, in order to match the movement of the rocker arm 231, the push rod 58 needs to have the freedom to swing left and right. Therefore, the lateral dimension of the guide hole 521 should be larger than the width of the push rod 58 to provide movement space for the left and right swing of the push rod 58.

[0051] The linear drive module 5 also includes an encoder 59, which is an incremental magnetic encoder; the drive motor 55 is a hollow cup motor with dual output shafts, and the encoder 59 is mounted on the other output shaft of the drive motor 55 and electrically connected to the control module 8 to determine the torque output of the drive motor 55.

[0052] When the image acquisition module 3 and the illumination module 4 need to bend towards the spacecraft's fault location, the drive motor 55 drives the lead screw shaft 56 to rotate. Under the constraint of the push rod 58 and the upper cover plate 52, the lead screw nut 57 moves upward along the axis of the lead screw shaft 56, thereby causing the push rod 58 to exert an upward thrust on the rocker arm 231. Conversely, when the image acquisition module 3 and the illumination module 4 have finished acquiring information about the spacecraft's fault location, the drive motor 55 drives the lead screw shaft 56 to rotate in the opposite direction. Under the constraint of the push rod 58 and the upper cover plate 52, the lead screw nut 57 moves downward along the axis of the lead screw shaft 56, thereby causing the push rod 58 to exert a downward pulling force on the rocker arm 231.

[0053] See Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 3The tool support beam 6 in this embodiment includes a support plate 61 and support nails 62. The support plate 61 is a long strip plate with a central opening in the center. It is bolted to the bottom of the housing 51 of the linear drive module 5. There are two support nails 62, which are installed at both ends of the support plate 61 in the length direction.

[0054] Before the flexible robot is connected to the space robotic arm, the flexible robot is inserted into the grid holes in the toolbox by the support nails 62 on both sides of the tool support beam 6, which facilitates the positioning of the flexible robot.

[0055] See Figure 4 , Figure 5 and Figure 10 In this embodiment, the quick-change interface 7 is a passive end interface that cooperates with the quick-change interface of the active end of the space robotic arm, thus enabling rapid insertion with the space robotic arm. The specific structure of the quick-change interface 7 can adopt existing technologies, such as the structures disclosed in patents with publication numbers CN117184459A and CN117262253A.

[0056] See Figure 4 , Figure 5 and Figure 10 The control module 8 in this embodiment includes a circuit board 81, a heat sink 82, and a heat sink bracket 83. The heat sink bracket 83 is fixed to the lower surface of the lower base 54 by screws. The heat sink 82 is mounted on the heat sink bracket 83 for heat dissipation of the circuit board 81. The circuit board 81 is fixed below the heat sink 82. The circuit board 81 is equipped with a main control chip. The main control chip adopts a single field-programmable gate array architecture and supports functions such as secondary power input, image downlink, and communication. The circuit board 81 is connected to the imaging fiber, the illumination fiber, the encoder 59, the drive motor 55, and the quick-switch interface 7 respectively by wires.

[0057] The working principle and workflow of a flexible robot for spacecraft fault detection according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0058] The space robotic arm docks with the flexible robot's quick-change interface 7 via the active end quick-change interface, and then removes the flexible robot from the toolbox. At this time, the deformable pipe module 2 at the front end of the flexible robot remains straight, and the space robotic arm manipulates the flexible robot to move to the vicinity of the fault location of the spacecraft to be inspected. The imaging lens 31 and LED beads 42 are activated, and the space robotic arm drives the guide probe to gradually advance, bringing the guide probe closer to the fault location. Based on the image information collected by the imaging lens 31, it is determined whether the guide probe has reached the fault point. If it has not reached the fault, it continues to advance; if it has reached the fault, the drive motor 55 is activated, which drives the lead screw shaft 56 to rotate. Under the constraint of the push rod 58 and the upper cover plate 52, the lead screw nut 57 moves upward along the axis of the lead screw shaft 56, thereby applying an upward thrust to the rocker arm 231 through the push rod 58. Two rocker arms 231 rotate clockwise around the first pivot 236. Their second ends drive the first ends of the coupling rod 233 and the second connecting rod 234 to rotate clockwise synchronously via the third pivot 238 and the fifth pivot 240, respectively. Simultaneously, because the second end of the first connecting rod 232 is connected to the first end of the coupling rod 233, and its first end is constrained by the second pivot 237, the coupling rod 233 drives the first connecting rod 232 to rotate clockwise around the second pivot 237. The first crossbar assembly deforms along with the linkage of the connecting rods. During this process, the second end of the first connecting rod 232 generates a tension force along the rod direction on the coupling rod 233, driving the coupling rod 233 to rotate further clockwise around the third pivot 238. The coupling rod 233 then drives the mounting base 1 to rotate clockwise synchronously via the connecting rod support tube 235. Mounting base 1 drives flexible bellows 22 to bend synchronously, so that imaging lens 31 can accurately align with the fault location of the spacecraft and complete image acquisition; control module 8, through encoder 59 and drive motor 55, coordinates the bending angle of guide probe, and in conjunction with the rotational movement of the end of space robotic arm, finally realizes all-round detection of fault point.

[0059] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions created by the present invention, and are not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present invention. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications or equivalent substitutions can be made to the technical solutions created by the present invention without departing from the essence and scope of the technical solutions created by the present invention.

Claims

1. A flexible robot for spacecraft fault detection, characterized in that, include: A deformable pipe module includes a rigid straight pipe and a flexible corrugated pipe connected in series, and a coupling bending assembly built into the cavity of the flexible corrugated pipe. The coupling bending assembly can generate deformation to control the flexible corrugated pipe to achieve bending or straightening actions. The coupling bending assembly includes a first cross rod group, a second cross rod group, and a connecting rod support tube. The first cross rod group includes a rocker arm and a first connecting rod arranged in a cross arrangement. Both the rocker arm and the first connecting rod have a first end and a second end. The rocker arm near its first end and the first end of the first connecting rod are rotatably mounted on the rigid straight pipe. The second cross rod group includes a coupling rod and a second connecting rod arranged in a cross arrangement. Both the coupling rod and the second connecting rod have a first end and a second end. The first end of the coupling rod and the first end of the second connecting rod are rotatably connected to the second end of the rocker arm, and the second end of the first connecting rod is rotatably connected to the first end of the coupling rod. One end of the connecting rod support tube is fixed to the front end of the flexible corrugated pipe, and the other end is inside the flexible corrugated pipe. The second end of the second connecting rod and the second end of the coupling rod are rotatably connected to the end of the connecting rod support tube inside the flexible corrugated pipe. The image acquisition module, installed at the tip of the flexible bellows, is used to acquire image information of the spacecraft's fault location; A linear drive module, located at the tail end of the deformable pipe module, provides driving force for the deformation of the coupled bending component; When the linear drive module applies a thrust to the coupled bending assembly, the coupled bending assembly undergoes bending deformation, which in turn causes the flexible bellows to bend synchronously, so that the image acquisition module can align with the fault location of the spacecraft and acquire images; when the linear drive module applies a tension to the coupled bending assembly, the coupled bending assembly returns to its straightened state, which in turn causes the flexible bellows to straighten synchronously, so that the flexible robot can be guided forward by the image acquisition module.

2. The flexible robot for spacecraft fault detection according to claim 1, characterized in that, Both the rocker and the coupling rod are S-shaped rods.

3. The flexible robot for spacecraft fault detection according to claim 1, characterized in that, The tip of the flexible corrugated pipe is equipped with a mounting base with a central through hole, and the image acquisition module and the connecting rod support tube are both installed in the central through hole of the mounting base.

4. A flexible robot for spacecraft fault detection according to claim 3, characterized in that, The image acquisition module includes an imaging lens, an imaging fiber, and a lens support. The lens support is inserted into the connecting rod support tube, the imaging lens is installed at the front end of the lens support, and the imaging fiber is connected to the imaging lens for transmitting the acquired image signals.

5. A flexible robot for spacecraft fault detection according to claim 3, characterized in that, It also includes a lighting module, which consists of an LED base, LED beads, and a lighting fiber. The LED base is installed at the front end of the mounting base, the LED beads are installed on the LED base, and the lighting fiber is connected to the LED beads to supply power to them.

6. A flexible robot for spacecraft fault detection according to claim 1, characterized in that, The linear drive module includes a housing, a drive motor, a lead screw shaft, a lead screw nut, and a push rod. The housing is installed at the end of a rigid straight tube. The drive motor is fixed inside the housing and can drive the lead screw shaft to rotate. The lead screw nut is screwed to the lead screw shaft. The push rod is slidably connected to the housing and can swing left and right. One end of the push rod is connected to the lead screw nut, and the other end passes through the through hole on the housing and the rigid straight tube and is rotatably connected to the first end of the rocker arm.

7. A flexible robot for spacecraft fault detection according to claim 6, characterized in that, It also includes a tool support beam, which is mounted at the end of the housing for the flexible robot to be inserted into the toolbox.

8. A flexible robot for spacecraft fault detection according to claim 7, characterized in that, It also includes a quick-change interface for connecting to a space robotic arm, which is fixed to the tool support beam.

9. A flexible robot for spacecraft fault detection according to claim 5, characterized in that, It also includes a control module, which is electrically connected to the image acquisition module, the lighting module, and the linear drive module.

Images