Continuous air supply dynamic sealing device for self-growing soft robot

Abstract

The invention relates to the field of soft robots, in particular to a self-growing soft robot continuous air supply dynamic sealing device which comprises a main body winding and unwinding wheel and a growing soft robot wound on the main body winding and unwinding wheel, the interior of the main body winding and unwinding wheel is hollow, and the interior of the main body winding and unwinding wheel is communicated with the growing soft robot. A static shaft is arranged at one end of the main body winding and unwinding wheel, the interior of the static shaft is hollow, the outer side of the static shaft is rotationally connected with the main body winding and unwinding wheel through an outer sealing bearing, and an inner sealing bearing is installed on the inner side of the static shaft. An air suction channel is installed on the inner ring of the inner sealing bearing and communicates with the interior of the main body winding and unwinding wheel. The side wall of the static shaft is provided with an inflation channel, and the inflation channel communicates with the interior of the main body folding and unfolding wheel. The problems of cable winding, air pipe knotting, sealing difficulty and the like in the prior art can be solved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of soft robots, and more specifically to a continuous pneumatic sealing device for a self-growing soft robot. Background Technology

[0002] In fields such as disaster relief, industrial equipment inspection, and minimally invasive medical surgery, the environments in which exploration is conducted are typically characterized by confined spaces, complex structures, and unstructured environments. Traditional rigid robots, due to their large size and limited joints, struggle to operate flexibly in these environments. In recent years, self-growing soft robots have attracted widespread attention due to their unique "flip-growth" movement mechanism. These robots are made of flexible thin-film materials and are driven by internal air pressure, allowing them to extend like vines through complex paths, exhibiting strong environmental adaptability. Their core driving force comes from a continuous and stable supply of high-pressure gas. During the robot's extension, the flexible tube needs to be continuously released from a storage drum, requiring a reliable dynamic seal between the rotating drum and the stationary gas source. However, existing dynamic sealing technologies, such as industrial rotary joints and mechanical end-face seals, suffer from problems such as large size, heavy weight, high friction, and entanglement, making it difficult to meet the requirements of self-growing soft robots for lightweight, low-friction, and entanglement-free continuous gas supply and signal transmission. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The purpose of this invention is to provide a continuous pneumatic sealing device for a self-growing soft robot, which can solve problems such as cable entanglement, air pipe knotting, and sealing difficulties in the prior art.

[0004] The objective of this invention is achieved through the following technical solution:

[0005] A continuous pneumatic sealing device for a self-growing soft robot includes a main take-up and release wheel and a growing soft robot wound on the main take-up and release wheel. The main take-up and release wheel is hollow inside and communicates with the growing soft robot. A stationary shaft is provided at one end of the main take-up and release wheel. The stationary shaft is hollow inside and is rotatably connected to the main take-up and release wheel via an outer sealing bearing. An inner sealing bearing is installed on the inner side of the stationary shaft.

[0006] An air intake channel is installed on the inner ring of the inner sealed bearing. The air intake channel is connected to the interior of the main body take-up and take-up wheel. The tip cable of the growing soft robot is led out from the inner ring of the inner sealed bearing.

[0007] An inflation channel is installed on the side wall of the stationary shaft, and the inflation channel is connected to the interior of the main body retraction wheel.

[0008] A silicone pad is installed between the inner ring of the external sealing bearing and the stationary shaft, and a silicone pad is installed between the outer ring of the external sealing bearing and the main body take-up and release wheel.

[0009] The main retractor and extender wheel is rotatably connected to the bearing seat via a stepper motor end bearing.

[0010] The stationary shaft is fixedly connected to the mounting base.

[0011] The main take-up and take-down wheel is fixedly connected to the output shaft of the stepper motor via a flexible coupling.

[0012] The stepper motor is mounted in the base body via a stepper motor base, and the bearing housing and mounting base are also mounted in the base body.

[0013] The base body is equipped with a base top cover.

[0014] The end of the stationary shaft extends out of the side wall of the base body.

[0015] The beneficial effects of this invention are as follows:

[0016] This invention completely solves the problem of tangled pipes, ensuring the continuity of detection signals. It innovatively employs a decoupled structure with dual-sealed bearings—an inner and outer sealed bearing working in conjunction with a hollow stationary shaft. The cable and suction channel are introduced through the inner ring of the inner sealed bearing. Utilizing the free rotation characteristic of the bearing's inner ring, the torsional stress on the internal cables during the soft robot's retraction and rotation is effectively eliminated. Actual testing shows that this structure ensures that air supply and cable transmission do not interfere with each other, completely eliminating the risk of breakage caused by tangled pipes in traditional structures, and ensuring the stable operation of the advanced sensor signals and suction function.

[0017] This invention achieves a lightweight and low-friction, highly efficient dynamic seal, improving system mobility. Unlike traditional industrial rotary joints that rely on precision metal components, resulting in large size and high friction, this invention utilizes 3D-printed PLA material combined with flexible silicone pad filling technology to construct a compact dynamic sealing system. The adaptive deformation of the silicone pad not only compensates for machining tolerances and effectively seals high-pressure gas leakage paths, but also significantly reduces frictional damping during the rotation of the main body's take-up and take-down wheels. This low-torque sealing design significantly reduces the load on the stepper motor, lowers system energy consumption, makes the device lighter, and greatly enhances its adaptability to operation in confined spaces.

[0018] The device boasts high structural integration and ease of maintenance, reducing manufacturing costs. The main body is modularly assembled from acrylic sheets and 3D-printed parts, resulting in a simple and inexpensive manufacturing process. The base's locking grooves and sealant work together to achieve dust and water resistance while facilitating quick disassembly and maintenance. The hollow stationary shaft design provides space for adding more fluid or electrical channels in the future, offering excellent versatility and expansion potential. Attached Figure Description

[0019] The present invention will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific implementation methods.

[0020] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the self-growing soft robot continuous pneumatic sealing device of the present invention.

[0021] Figure 2 This is the interior of the self-growing soft robot continuous pneumatic sealing device of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 3 This is a top view of the self-growing soft robot continuous pneumatic sealing device of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 4 This is a side view of the self-growing soft robot continuous pneumatic sealing device of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 5 This is a cross-sectional view of the self-growing soft robot continuous pneumatic sealing device of the present invention.

[0025] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the growth soft robot structure of the present invention;

[0026] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the inflation channel and suction channel structure of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the internal sealing bearing and the external sealing bearing of the present invention.

[0028] In the figure: 1. Base upper cover; 2. Base body; 3. Growth soft robot; 4. Inflation channel; 5. Inhalation channel; 6. Bearing seat; 7. Mounting seat; 8. Stationary shaft; 9. Main body take-up and release wheel; 10. Stepper motor; 11. Stepper motor base; 12. Stepper motor end bearing; 13. Inner sealed bearing; 14. Outer sealed bearing; 15. Silicone pad; 16. Flexible coupling. Detailed Implementation

[0029] The present invention will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0030] like Figures 1 to 8 As shown below, the structure and function of a continuous pneumatic sealing device for a self-growing soft robot will be described in detail.

[0031] A self-growing soft robot continuous pneumatic sealing device includes a base body 2 and a base upper end cover 1 installed on the base body 2. The base upper end cover 1 and the base body 2 are made of acrylic sheet, which is made by CNC milling and drilling and then bonded with sealant.

[0032] The base body 2 is fixedly connected to the stepper motor base 11, bearing seat 6 and mounting seat 7 by glue or screws. The stepper motor 10 is fixedly connected to the stepper motor base 11 by screws. The main body take-up and release wheel 9 is fixedly connected to the output shaft of the stepper motor 10 by a flexible coupling 16. The main body take-up and release wheel 9 is rotatably connected to the bearing seat 6 by the stepper motor end bearing 12.

[0033] The bearing housing 6 is made using 3D printing and is made of PLA.

[0034] A soft robot 3 is wound around a main winding wheel 9. The main winding wheel 9 is hollow inside, and there is a connection between the interior of the main winding wheel 9 and the soft robot 3. The main winding wheel 9 is 3D printed and made of PLA. The main winding wheel 9 is made of nylon. The end of the soft robot 3 is glued to a small hole in the winding wheel 9. To ensure airtightness, silicone rubber is coated on the outside of the main winding wheel 9 to enhance the sealing performance.

[0035] One end of the main retractor wheel 9 is provided with a stationary shaft 8. The stationary shaft 8 is hollow inside. The outer side of the stationary shaft 8 and the main retractor wheel 9 are rotatably connected by an outer sealing bearing 14. An inner sealing bearing 13 is installed on the inner side of the stationary shaft 8. The stationary shaft 8 is fixedly connected to the mounting base 7. The mounting base 7 is made by 3D printing and the material is PLA.

[0036] An air intake channel 5 is installed on the inner ring of the inner sealing bearing 13. The air intake channel 5 is internally connected to the main body take-up and take-up wheel 9. The tip cable of the growing soft robot 3 is led out from the inner ring of the inner sealing bearing 13.

[0037] An inflation channel 4 is installed on the side wall of the stationary shaft 8, and the inflation channel 4 is internally connected to the main body retraction wheel 9.

[0038] A silicone pad 15 is installed between the inner ring of the outer sealing bearing 14 and the stationary shaft 8, and a silicone pad 15 is installed between the outer ring of the outer sealing bearing 14 and the main body take-up and release wheel 9.

[0039] The end of the stationary shaft 8 extends out of the side wall of the base body 2, the air inlet channel 4 and the air intake channel 5 extend out of the base body 2, and the growth soft robot 3 extends out of the base body 2.

[0040] In use, the inside of the main body take-up and release wheel 9 is inflated through the inflation channel 4. The main body take-up and release wheel 9 inflates the growing soft robot 3, causing the growing soft robot 3 to grow. At the same time, the stepper motor 10 is started, and the output shaft of the stepper motor 10 starts to rotate. The output shaft of the stepper motor 10 drives the main body take-up and release wheel 9 to rotate, and the main body take-up and release wheel 9 releases the growing soft robot 3, causing the growing soft robot 3 to grow.

[0041] The air intake channel 5 is used to draw air into the interior of the main take-up and release wheel 9. The main take-up and release wheel 9 draws air into the growing soft robot 3, causing the growing soft robot 3 to retract. At the same time, the stepper motor 10 is started, and the output shaft of the stepper motor 10 starts to rotate. The output shaft of the stepper motor 10 drives the main take-up and release wheel 9 to rotate, and the main take-up and release wheel 9 wraps around the growing soft robot 3, so that the growing soft robot 3 is wrapped around and stored on the main take-up and release wheel 9.

[0042] The airtightness between the main body retractable wheel 9 and the stationary shaft 8 is ensured by using the inner sealing bearing 13, the outer sealing bearing 14 and two silicone pads 15 during inflation and suction.

[0043] As the core carrier of the dynamic seal, the stationary shaft 8 is designed as a hollow cylindrical structure. Its left end extends into the inner cavity of the main body take-up and drop wheel 9, while its right end is secured by bolts to the stationary shaft 8 mounting seat 7, ensuring that it is strictly stationary relative to the base body 2. The hollow cavity inside the stationary shaft 8 forms the main channel for the mixed transmission of gas and cable. The inflation channel 4 is adhered to the pipe wall of the stationary shaft 8 located outside the base, directly supplying gas to the main body take-up and drop wheel 9.

[0044] The compensation between the outer sealing bearing 14 and the silicone gasket 15 is the first key line of defense for achieving "dynamic sealing". The outer sealing bearing 14 is installed in the center hole on the right end face of the main body take-up and take-down wheel 9. In order to solve the air leakage problem caused by the rough surface of the 3D printed part, this embodiment provides a layer of annular silicone gasket 15 between the inner wall of the inner ring of the outer sealing bearing 14 and the outer wall of the stationary shaft 8. During assembly, the elastic compression properties of the silicone gasket 15 are used to fill the microscopic gap between the inner ring of the outer sealing bearing 14 and the stationary shaft 8, forming an interference fit static sealing interface.

[0045] During operation, the outer ring of the outer sealing bearing 14 rotates at high speed with the main body take-up and take-down wheel 9, while the inner ring of the outer sealing bearing 14 is locked to the stationary shaft 8 under the friction of the silicone pad 15 and remains stationary. The high-pressure gas is trapped in the inner cavity of the main body take-up and take-down wheel 9 and cannot leak through the gap between the inner ring of the outer sealing bearing 14 and the stationary shaft 8. It can only escape in a very small amount through the gap of the internal balls of the outer sealing bearing 14 (sealed by grease), which fully meets the requirements of the soft robot under low-pressure (<50kPa) conditions.

[0046] The inner sealed bearing 13 is decoupled from the cable, which is the core design to prevent cable tangling. A countersunk hole is provided on the cantilever end face of the stationary shaft 8 extending into the main body take-up and take-up wheel 9. The outer ring of the inner sealed bearing 13 is fixed in this countersunk hole by another layer of silicone pad 15. The power cable, signal cable, and air intake channel 5 of the growing soft robot 3 pass through the hollow cavity of the stationary shaft 8 and directly through the inner ring of the inner sealed bearing 13 into the inner cavity of the main body take-up and take-up wheel 9. Here, Kappa glue is used to completely encapsulate and cure the cable bundle and the inner ring of the inner sealed bearing 13. The ingenuity of this structure lies in the fact that the inner ring of the inner sealed bearing 13 becomes a freely rotating "cable plug." When the growth soft robot 3 rotates, causing torque to be generated in the internal cable, the inner ring of the inner sealed bearing 13 will rotate freely in the direction of the cable force, thereby eliminating torsional stress. The cable bundle actually achieves a "flexible dynamic connection" with the stationary shaft 8, completely avoiding tangling and breakage caused by a rigid connection. The ingenuity of this structure lies in the fact that the inner ring of the inner sealed bearing 13 becomes a freely rotating "cable plug." When the growth soft robot 3 rotates, causing torque to be generated in the internal cables, the inner ring of the inner sealed bearing 13 will rotate freely in the direction of the force on the cables, thereby eliminating torsional stress. The cable bundle actually achieves a "flexible dynamic connection" with the stationary shaft 8, completely avoiding entanglement and breakage caused by rigid connections.

[0047] High-pressure gas supplied by an external air source first enters through the inflation channel 4, filling the hollow interior of the stationary shaft 8. Limited by the airtight barrier of the outer sealing bearing 14, the high-pressure gas passes through the inner sealing bearing 13 and finally enters the sealed inner cavity of the main body take-up and release wheel 9. Because the outer surface of the main body take-up and release wheel 9 is coated with a silicone rubber layer, and both bearings on both sides achieve static and dynamic sealing through silicone gaskets, the high-pressure gas in the sealed inner cavity is forcibly guided and can only be injected directly into the internal cavity of the growing soft robot 3 wound around it through the vent holes on the outer circumferential surface of the main body take-up and release wheel 9. The soft robot body 3 is made of a flexible thin film material, with its uninflated portion layered and wound around the main body take-up and release wheel 9. When high-pressure gas is continuously injected into the body 3, the air pressure inside the tube rises rapidly. As gas flows in, the stepper motor 12 rotates simultaneously, causing the body to grow outward with high rigidity, thus achieving the expected goal.

[0048] It should be noted that while preferred embodiments of this application are provided in the specification and accompanying drawings, this application can be implemented in many different forms and is not limited to the embodiments described herein. These embodiments are not intended to impose additional limitations on the content of this application; their purpose is to provide a more thorough and comprehensive understanding of the disclosure of this application. Furthermore, the above-described technical features can be combined with each other to form various embodiments not listed above, all of which are considered to be within the scope of this specification. Moreover, those skilled in the art can make improvements or modifications based on the above description, and all such improvements and modifications should fall within the protection scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A self-growing soft robot continuous air supply and dynamic sealing device, comprising a main body winding and unwinding wheel (9) and a growing soft robot (3) wound on the main body winding and unwinding wheel (9), characterized in that: The main body retracting wheel (9) is hollow inside, and the interior of the main body retracting wheel (9) is connected to the growth soft robot (3). One end of the main body retracting wheel (9) is provided with a stationary shaft (8). The interior of the stationary shaft (8) is hollow. The outer side of the stationary shaft (8) and the main body retracting wheel (9) are rotatably connected by an outer sealing bearing (14). An inner sealing bearing (13) is installed on the inner side of the stationary shaft (8).

2. The self-growing soft robot continuous air supply and dynamic sealing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: An air intake channel (5) is installed on the inner ring of the inner sealing bearing (13). The air intake channel (5) is internally connected to the main body take-up and take-down wheel (9). The tip cable of the growing soft robot (3) is led out from the inner ring of the inner sealing bearing (13).

3. The self-growing soft robot continuous air supply and dynamic sealing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: An inflation channel (4) is installed on the side wall of the stationary shaft (8), and the inflation channel (4) is internally connected to the main body retraction wheel (9).

4. The self-growing soft robot continuous air supply and dynamic sealing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: A silicone pad (15) is installed between the inner ring of the outer sealing bearing (14) and the stationary shaft (8), and a silicone pad (15) is installed between the outer ring of the outer sealing bearing (14) and the main body take-up and take-down wheel (9).

5. The self-growing soft robot continuous air supply and dynamic sealing device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The main retractor wheel (9) is rotatably connected to the bearing seat (6) via the stepper motor end bearing (12).

6. The self-growing soft robot continuous air supply and dynamic sealing device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The stationary shaft (8) is fixedly connected to the mounting base (7).

7. The self-growing soft robot continuous air supply and dynamic sealing device according to claim 6, characterized in that: The main take-up and take-down wheel (9) is fixedly connected to the output shaft of the stepper motor (10) via a flexible coupling (16).

8. The self-growing soft robot continuous air supply and dynamic sealing device according to claim 7, characterized in that: The stepper motor (10) is installed in the base body (2) via the stepper motor base (11), and the bearing seat (6) and the mounting seat (7) are both installed in the base body (2).

9. The self-growing soft robot continuous air supply and dynamic sealing device according to claim 8, characterized in that: The base body (2) is equipped with a base upper end cover (1).

10. The self-growing soft robot continuous air supply and dynamic sealing device according to claim 9, characterized in that: The end of the stationary shaft (8) extends out of the side wall of the base body (2).

Images