A neck structure of a humanoid robot based on a rope-driven parallel mechanism

Abstract

The application discloses a kind of based on rope driving parallel mechanism humanoid robot neck structure, including support assembly, three steel wires are led out for driving on support assembly upper end, the upper guide device is arranged on the upper end of support assembly, three steel wires are driven to the support chain in parallel mechanism respectively through respective guide device pair, and the output end of three support chains is movably connected with the outside of movable platform.The movable platform in the application makes three-degree-of-freedom rotation relative to support, realizes a kind of large angle, small space, lightweight humanoid robot neck design.The application carries out two-stage differential guidance to the steel wire between motor spindle and transmission large wheel by the inner guide device in support assembly and the upper guide device on support assembly, to ensure the stability and accuracy of rope drive.The application uses support shaft as the installation base of entire parallel mechanism, installs three support chain structures on a base, to ensure the compactness of neck design.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of bionic humanoid robot technology, specifically relating to a neck structure for a humanoid robot based on a rope-driven parallel mechanism. Background Technology

[0002] With the advancement of humanoid robot technology and the diversification of application scenarios, the neck, as a key part connecting the head and torso, faces new design challenges. Designers are increasingly focusing on the development of multi-degree-of-freedom neck joints, needing to effectively control the size of the joints and drive mechanisms while ensuring flexible movement.

[0003] Traditional single-degree-of-freedom or limited-degree-of-freedom neck designs restrict the movement capabilities of robot heads, resulting in insufficient flexibility when performing complex tasks. To improve performance, researchers have proposed integrated multi-degree-of-freedom neck structures, enabling robots to perform more precise head movement control, such as pitching, turning, nodding, and tilting, thereby achieving more complex biomimetic behaviors. However, existing designs still have limitations to varying degrees.

[0004] Currently, the common serial neck structure solution has a simple overall structure and is easy to assemble, but the movement performance is relatively mechanical and lacks realism; while some three-degree-of-freedom neck designs can achieve more biomimetic and natural movements, but they occupy a lot of space, so the transfer and integration in practical applications are more difficult.

[0005] Therefore, optimizing the layout of the drive unit, joint components, and motion transmission structure so that the robot's neck can maintain a high degree of freedom and achieve natural biomimetic movements, while also being compact, efficient, and easy to integrate in space, is the core challenge in current neck design.

[0006] Based on the above situation, the present invention provides a humanoid robot neck structure based on a rope-driven parallel mechanism, providing an effective solution to the above problems. Summary of the Invention

[0007] This invention is proposed to solve the problems existing in the prior art, and its purpose is to provide a neck structure for a humanoid robot based on a rope-driven parallel mechanism.

[0008] The technical solution of the present invention is: a neck structure for a humanoid robot based on a rope-driven parallel mechanism, including a support assembly, three steel wire ropes for driving are led out from the upper end of the support assembly, an upper guide device is provided at the upper end of the support assembly, the three steel wire ropes drive the branches in the parallel mechanism after passing through their respective guides, and the output ends of the three branches are movably connected to the outside of the moving platform. Based on the requirement that the neck structure of a humanoid robot needs to balance multi-degree-of-freedom motion and compact arrangement within a narrow installation space, the drive unit is arranged axially inside the support assembly, and the drive of the drive unit and the motion output of the parallel execution structure are spatially separated. The steel wire rope uses guide devices set inside and at the top of the support assembly to reconstruct the direction of the transmission path multiple times, so that the transmission path can be folded and arranged within the limited space defined by the support assembly, thereby reducing the radial dimension occupancy of the neck structure.

[0009] Furthermore, the parallel mechanism enables the moving platform to move with three degrees of freedom relative to the support assembly, and the drive unit includes a micro servo electric cylinder and a motor spindle.

[0010] Furthermore, the first branch of the chain includes a support shaft that serves as the mounting base, and a coaxially rotating transmission sleeve is provided outside the support shaft. The transmission sleeve is provided with a large transmission wheel that drives it to rotate clockwise and counterclockwise.

[0011] Furthermore, the wire rope is wound around the outside of the drive wheel in two directions of rotation, thereby achieving clockwise and counterclockwise drive.

[0012] Furthermore, the end of the transmission sleeve is fixedly mounted with a transmission pinion by bolts.

[0013] Furthermore, the upper inclined surface of the transmission wheel is movably connected to the folding rod via an external threaded bearing.

[0014] Furthermore, the folding rod is continuously bent, and the upper inner side of the folding rod is movably connected to the moving platform through an external threaded bearing.

[0015] Furthermore, the guiding device includes an inner guiding device and an upper guiding device. The inner guiding device is disposed inside the support assembly, and the upper guiding device is disposed at the upper end of the support assembly. The inner guiding device and the upper guiding device are aligned vertically to achieve two-stage differential guidance of the wire rope.

[0016] Furthermore, the support assembly includes a lower support located at the bottom and connected to the robot's chest, an I-beam support provided on the lower support, and an upper support provided at the upper end of the I-beam support.

[0017] Furthermore, the I-beam support also divides the internal space of the bracket assembly, forming a power installation space to accommodate the miniature servo electric cylinder.

[0018] The beneficial effects of this invention are as follows: In this invention, the moving platform performs three-degree-of-freedom rotation relative to the support, realizing a humanoid robot neck design with large rotation angle, small space, and lightweight.

[0019] This invention provides two-stage differential guidance for the wire rope between the motor spindle and the transmission pulley through an inner guide device located in the support assembly and an upper guide device on the support assembly, ensuring the stability and accuracy of the rope drive.

[0020] This invention uses a support shaft as the mounting base for the entire parallel mechanism, and installs three branch structures on one base, ensuring the compactness of the neck design. Attached Figure Description

[0021] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the present invention; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the guiding device in this invention; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the parallel mechanism in this invention; Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the branch in this invention; Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the wire rope winding in this invention; The components include: 1. Lower support; 2. Miniature servo electric cylinder; 3. Motor spindle; 4. Guide device; 5. Upper support; 6. I-beam support; 7. Parallel mechanism; 8. Moving platform; 9. Guide support; 10. Guide shaft; 11. Guide wheel; 12. Support shaft; 13. Transmission wheel; 14. Transmission sleeve; 15. Transmission wheel; 16. Folding rod. Detailed Implementation

[0022] The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments: like Figures 1 to 5 As shown, a humanoid robot neck structure based on a rope-driven parallel mechanism includes a support assembly. Three steel wire ropes for driving are led out from the upper end of the support assembly. An upper guide device is provided at the upper end of the support assembly. After passing through their respective guides, the three steel wire ropes drive the branches in the parallel mechanism 7. The output ends of the three branches are movably connected to the outside of the moving platform 8.

[0023] The parallel mechanism 7 enables the moving platform 8 to move with three degrees of freedom relative to the support assembly.

[0024] The first branch of the chain includes a support shaft 12 that serves as the mounting base. A transmission sleeve 14 that rotates coaxially is provided outside the support shaft 12. A large transmission wheel 13 that drives the transmission sleeve 14 to rotate clockwise and counterclockwise is provided on the transmission sleeve 14.

[0025] The steel wire rope is wound around the outside of the transmission wheel 13 in two directions of rotation, thereby achieving clockwise and counterclockwise drive.

[0026] The transmission sleeve 14 is fixedly mounted on the end of the transmission pinion 15 by bolts.

[0027] The upper inclined surface of the transmission wheel 15 is movably connected to the folding rod 16 via an external threaded bearing.

[0028] The bending rod 16 is continuously bent, and the upper inner side of the bending rod 16 is movably connected to the moving platform 8 through an external thread bearing.

[0029] The guiding device 4 includes an inner guiding device and an upper guiding device. The inner guiding device is disposed inside the support assembly, and the upper guiding device is disposed at the upper end of the support assembly. The inner guiding device and the upper guiding device are aligned vertically to achieve two-stage differential guidance of the wire rope.

[0030] The support assembly includes a lower support 1 located at the bottom and connected to the robot's chest, an I-beam support 6 provided on the lower support 1, and an upper support 5 provided at the upper end of the I-beam support 6.

[0031] The I-beam support 6 also divides the internal space of the bracket assembly, forming a power installation space to accommodate the miniature servo electric cylinder 2.

[0032] Specifically, there are three miniature servo electric cylinders 2. The output end of the miniature servo electric cylinder 2 is equipped with a motor spindle 3. The inner guide device and the upper guide device are both guide devices 4. In the bracket assembly, each motor spindle 3 is equipped with an inner guide device on both sides.

[0033] Specifically, the inner guide device and the upper guide device have the same structure. In terms of position, the guide wheels 11 in the inner guide device and the upper guide device are vertically tangent, while the guide wheel 11 in the upper guide device is laterally tangent to the transmission wheel 13. The inner guide device guides the wire rope to rotate clockwise and counterclockwise, while the upper guide device enables the reversal between the inner guide device and the transmission wheel 13.

[0034] Combined with appendix Figure 1 The structure is described as follows: the bottom of the lower support 1 is connected to the robot by bolts, three micro servo cylinders 2 are fixed to the lower support 1 by bolts, and the motor spindle 3 is fixed to the three micro servo cylinders 2 by bolts to realize axial rotation.

[0035] Each miniature servo electric cylinder 2 has a guide device 4 fixed on each side. There are two I-beam supports 6 between the upper bracket 5 and the lower bracket 1. The I-beam supports 6 are connected to the upper and lower brackets by bolts. At the same time, there are bolt holes around the upper bracket 5, which are aligned and fixed to the lower bracket 1 by bolts.

[0036] The fixed shaft in the parallel mechanism 7 is bolted to the upper support 5 and is located in the middle front part of the upper support. The guide wheels in the three sets of upper guide devices are tangent to the transmission wheels in the parallel mechanism 7 and are located on both sides of the parallel mechanism 7.

[0037] Each of the three sets of branches contains its own drive wheel 13.

[0038] More specifically, on one side of the parallel mechanism 7, there is a set of upper guide devices responsible for guiding the wire rope of the transmission wheel 13 in the third branch; on the other side of the parallel mechanism 7, there is an upper guide device responsible for guiding the wire rope of the transmission wheel 13 in the first and second branches; the guide device 4 of the first branch is close to the parallel mechanism 7, and the guide device 4 of the second branch is on the outside; the three sets of upper guide devices are symmetrical on the left and right, and are tangent to the wire rope through-hole in the upper support 5.

[0039] Combined with appendix Figure 2 The structure is described as follows: the upper guide device and the inner guide device are identical guide devices 4, which include a guide bracket 9, a guide shaft 10, a guide wheel 11, and a nut. The inner guide device is fixedly connected to the lower bracket 1 by bolts on the guide bracket 9, and its guide wheel 11 is axially tangent to the lower end of the motor main shaft 3. The upper guide device has a symmetrical structure and is tangent to the through hole of the wire rope on the upper bracket 5.

[0040] Combined with appendix Figure 3 The structure of the parallel mechanism 7 is described as follows: it consists of a moving platform 8, a support shaft 12, and three sets of branches. The three branches have the same structure. Each set of branches includes a large transmission wheel 13, a transmission sleeve 14, a small transmission wheel 15, and a folding rod 16.

[0041] The three branches differ in that the transmission sleeve 14 in each branch drives the transmission pulley 15 within its respective chain.

[0042] In each branch chain, transmission sleeves with different shaft diameters are stacked on top of each other, and there are gaps between each layer to prevent them from rubbing against each other during movement.

[0043] Combined with appendix Figure 4 The structure is described as follows: In the parallel mechanism 7, the support shaft 12 is fixedly connected to the upper bracket 5 by bolts, providing support for the entire parallel mechanism 7. The bearing and the bottom end face of the support shaft 12 form the inner ring positioning of the bearing, and the outer ring of the bearing and the end face of the transmission wheel 13 in the first branch form the outer ring positioning of the bearing. The end face of the transmission sleeve 14 forms the outer ring positioning of the other side of the bearing. A groove is reserved on the transmission sleeve 14 to place a retaining ring to achieve the inner ring positioning of the bearing. A bolt through hole is reserved at the far end of the transmission sleeve 14, and the transmission wheel 15 is fixed by bolt connection.

[0044] The upper end of the transmission wheel 15 uses an external thread bearing to cooperate with the folding rod 16. At the same time, a nut is used to fasten it on the threaded side. The folding rod 16 and the moving platform 8 are transmitted through the cooperation of the external thread bearing.

[0045] In the parallel mechanism 7 described above, each branch has three revolute joints, and the central rotation axes of the three revolute joints converge at a single point in space.

[0046] Furthermore, the rotation centers of the three sets of branches are also located in the same position in space, and this parallel mechanism realizes rotation in three axial directions.

[0047] Combined with appendix Figure 5 The structure is described below, showing the winding method of the wire rope: The wire ropes start from both sides of the motor main shaft 3 and rotate around the motor main shaft 3 in opposite directions to form a differential connection. They extend from the optical axis of the motor main shaft 3 to both sides, pass through the guide wheels 11 on both sides of the motor device and the wire rope opening reserved in the upper bracket 5, and change the direction of the wire ropes through the guide wheels 11 next to the through holes, so that they are tangent to the center position of the corresponding transmission wheel 13.

[0048] Afterwards, one side of the wire rope is wound upwards around the transmission wheel 13. A hole is reserved on the transmission wheel 13. An aluminum sleeve is put on the rope end and clamped. The rope is then inserted into the upper hole to complete the winding of one side of the rope. The other side is wound downwards around the transmission wheel 13. The winding direction should be opposite to that of the other side of the rope. An aluminum sleeve is put on the rope end and clamped. The rope is then inserted into the lower hole of the transmission wheel 13 to complete the winding of the other side of the rope.

[0049] In this invention, by using the differential winding method of three steel wire ropes, the micro servo electric cylinder 2 can control the winding and unwinding of the steel wires to control the clockwise or counterclockwise rotation of the three sets of large transmission wheels 13. The three sets of large transmission wheels 13 respectively enable the small transmission wheels 15 to rotate coaxially through the transmission sleeve 14, thus driving the three sets of folding rods 16, thereby realizing the movement of the moving platform 8.

[0050] In this invention, the moving platform has only three degrees of freedom of rotation relative to the support. When the drive joints of the three branches rotate synchronously, the moving platform can achieve rotational motion around the Z-axis; when the drive joints of any one or two branches rotate, under the geometric constraints of the remaining branches, the moving platform generates coupled rotation around the X-axis and Y-axis, thereby realizing continuous adjustment of the moving platform's posture, thus realizing a large-angle, small-space, and lightweight humanoid robot neck design.

[0051] This invention provides two-stage differential guidance for the wire rope between the motor spindle and the transmission pulley through an inner guide device located in the support assembly and an upper guide device on the support assembly, ensuring the stability and accuracy of the rope drive.

[0052] This invention primarily addresses the challenge of balancing multi-degree-of-freedom motion with compact arrangement within a narrow, elongated space in the neck structure of humanoid robots. The invention achieves spatial separation of drive and motion output by arranging the drive unit (comprising a miniature servo cylinder 2 and a motor spindle 3) axially within a support assembly and placing the parallel actuator at the upper end of the support. Simultaneously, by utilizing multi-stage guiding devices located inside and at the upper end of the support, the wire rope transmission path is reconfigured multiple times, allowing the drive path to be folded within a limited space, thereby significantly reducing the radial dimension occupied by the structure.

[0053] Furthermore, this invention achieves a high degree of integration of multi-degree-of-freedom drive units in axial space by coaxially integrating three sets of branch structures on a single support shaft and arranging transmission sleeves of different shaft diameters in a layered manner. This allows the overall structure to adapt to installation environments with small diameters and long strokes. Compared with existing technologies, this invention effectively reduces lateral space occupation and improves space utilization while ensuring three-degree-of-freedom motion capability, making it particularly suitable for bionic joint designs in slender and confined spaces such as the neck.

[0054] Therefore, this invention not only achieves large turning angle and lightweight motion performance, but also breaks through the technical bottleneck of traditional structures that are difficult to arrange multi-degree-of-freedom drive systems in a narrow space through drive path reconstruction and structural layer integration, and has good engineering application value.

Claims

1. A neck structure for a humanoid robot based on a rope-driven parallel mechanism, comprising a support assembly, characterized in that: Three steel wire ropes for driving are led out from the upper end of the support assembly. The support assembly is equipped with guide devices (4) corresponding to the three steel wire ropes, both inside and at the upper end. The support assembly is also equipped with a parallel execution mechanism at the upper end. The three steel wire ropes drive the three branches in the parallel mechanism (7) through the corresponding upper guide devices. The output ends of the three branches are all movably connected to the outside of the moving platform (8). Based on the fact that the neck structure of the humanoid robot needs to take into account both multi-degree-of-freedom motion and compact arrangement, the drive unit is arranged axially inside the support assembly, and the drive of the drive unit and the motion output of the parallel execution structure are spatially separated. The steel wire rope uses the guide device set inside and at the top of the support assembly to reconstruct the direction of the transmission path multiple times, so that the transmission path is folded and arranged within the space defined by the support assembly (4), thereby reducing the radial dimension occupancy rate of the neck structure.

2. The humanoid robot neck structure based on a rope-driven parallel mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: The parallel mechanism (7) drives the moving platform (8) to achieve three degrees of freedom relative to the support assembly. The driving unit includes a micro servo electric cylinder (2) and a motor spindle (3).

3. The humanoid robot neck structure based on a rope-driven parallel mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: The branch includes a support shaft (12) as the mounting base, and a transmission sleeve (14) that rotates coaxially is provided outside the support shaft (12). A transmission wheel (13) that drives the transmission sleeve (14) to rotate clockwise or counterclockwise is provided on the transmission sleeve (14).

4. The humanoid robot neck structure based on a rope-driven parallel mechanism according to claim 3, characterized in that: The steel wire rope is wound around the outside of the transmission wheel (13) in two directions of rotation, and pulls the transmission wheel (13) to achieve clockwise or counterclockwise drive.

5. The humanoid robot neck structure based on a rope-driven parallel mechanism according to claim 3, characterized in that: The transmission sleeve (14) is fixedly mounted with a transmission pinion (15) by bolts at its end.

6. The humanoid robot neck structure based on a rope-driven parallel mechanism according to claim 5, characterized in that: The upper inclined surface of the transmission wheel (15) is movably connected to the folding rod (16) through an external thread bearing.

7. The humanoid robot neck structure based on a rope-driven parallel mechanism according to claim 6, characterized in that: The folding rod (16) is continuously bent, and the upper inner side of the folding rod (16) is movably connected to the moving platform (8) through an external thread bearing.

8. The neck structure of a humanoid robot based on a rope-driven parallel mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: The guiding device (4) includes an inner guiding device and an upper guiding device. The inner guiding device is located inside the support assembly, and the upper guiding device is located at the upper end of the support assembly. The inner guiding device and the upper guiding device are aligned vertically to achieve secondary differential guidance of the wire rope.

9. The neck structure of a humanoid robot based on a rope-driven parallel mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that: The support assembly includes a lower support (1) located at the bottom and connected to the robot's chest, an I-beam support (6) provided on the lower support (1), and an upper support (5) provided at the upper end of the I-beam support (6).

10. The humanoid robot neck structure based on a rope-driven parallel mechanism according to claim 9, characterized in that: The I-beam support (6) also divides the internal space of the bracket assembly to form a power installation space that accommodates the micro servo electric cylinder (2).

Images