Flexible heat exchange system, robot skin and robot

Abstract

The utility model relates to a flexible heat exchange system, robot skin and a robot. The flexible heat exchange system comprises a flexible outer heat exchanger, a flexible heat insulation layer and a flexible inner heat exchanger, the flexible heat insulation layer is arranged between the flexible outer heat exchanger and the flexible inner heat exchanger, and the flexible outer heat exchanger and the flexible inner heat exchanger are both made of flexible heat exchangers. The flexible heat exchanger comprises a collecting inlet pipe, a collecting outlet pipe and a plurality of micro-pipe channels arranged between the collecting inlet pipe and the collecting outlet pipe, and the micro-pipe channels are arranged on the flexible base layer. Heat exchange between the attaching surface and the environment temperature is achieved through the flexible heat exchange system, so that the appropriate temperature of the attaching surface is maintained, meanwhile, heat generated in the robot is dissipated to the environment, the interior of the robot is in an appropriate temperature state, and heat management of the robot is achieved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to a flexible heat exchange system, a robot skin, and a robot. Background Art

[0002] Flexible heat exchangers can be used in various wearable devices due to their good shape adaptability, such as human wearable devices, robot skin, etc. They can also be used for heat exchange needs on irregular surfaces in industrial scenarios.

[0003] For example, with the rapid development of artificial intelligence technology, various robots such as household robots, construction robots, and medical robots have been increasingly used. Robots have many moving components or integrated control circuits. In addition to generating heat when working, these components also need to work at a suitable temperature. In specific application scenarios, robot parts or other wearable devices that come into contact with the human body cannot be at too low or too high a temperature. Therefore, robots need to use a thermal management system to meet the requirements for controlling their temperature. Utility Model Content

[0004] The purpose of this application is to design a flexible heat exchange system, robot skin, and robot, which can achieve heat exchange between the attached surface and the ambient temperature through the flexible heat exchange system to maintain a suitable temperature of the attached surface, and at the same time dissipate the heat generated inside the robot into the environment, so that the inside of the robot is in a suitable temperature state, thereby realizing thermal management of the robot.

[0005] The present application relates to a flexible heat exchange system, comprising a flexible external heat exchanger, a flexible thermal insulation layer and a flexible internal heat exchanger, wherein the flexible thermal insulation layer is arranged between the flexible external heat exchanger and the flexible internal heat exchanger, and the flexible external heat exchanger and the flexible internal heat exchanger are both made of flexible heat exchangers, and the flexible heat exchanger comprises an inlet pipe and an outlet pipe and a plurality of micro-tube channels arranged between the inlet pipe and the outlet pipe, and the micro-tube channels are arranged on a flexible base layer.

[0006] Among them, the multiple micro-tube channels of the flexible heat exchanger can be arranged equidistantly or unequally, and the collecting pipe and the collecting pipe can be of the same length or of different lengths; the micro-tube channels of the flexible heat exchanger can be formed by arranging pipelines on the flexible base layer, or the micro-tube channels of the flexible heat exchanger can be coupled by the flexible base layer; the flexible base layer can include a heat-averaging layer and a protective layer located outside the heat-averaging layer, and the protective layer can be a metal film or an organic film; a spring coil or a threaded tube can be formed on the micro-tube channel, and the flexible base layer can be provided with retractable wrinkles; the flexible external heat exchanger and the flexible internal heat exchanger can be connected by a compressor and a valve assembly to form a circulating heat exchange system.

[0007] The present application also relates to a robot skin, comprising the flexible heat exchange system as described above.

[0008] The present application also relates to a robot, comprising the robot skin as described above, wherein the robot may include a movable joint, and the flexible heat exchange system may be respectively provided on both sides of the movable joint, and the flexible heat exchange systems may be connected in parallel or in series. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the layout of the flexible heat exchange system of the present application.

[0010] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the flexible heat exchange system of the present application.

[0011] Figure 3 It is a structural schematic diagram of the flexible heat exchanger of the present application.

[0012] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of the flexible heat exchanger of the present application.

[0013] Figure 5 It is a structural schematic diagram of the flexible heat exchanger of the present application.

[0014] Figure 6 It is another structural schematic diagram of the flexible heat exchanger of the present application.

[0015] Figure 7 It is an overall schematic diagram of the flexible heat exchanger of the present application.

[0016] Figure 8 It is a schematic diagram of a form of the flexible heat exchanger of the present application.

[0017] Fig. 9 It is a schematic diagram of another form of the flexible heat exchanger of the present application.

[0018] Fig.10 It is a schematic diagram of the flexible heat exchanger of the present application applied to a joint position. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0019] In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the present application more clear, the embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that the embodiments and features in the embodiments of the present application can be combined with each other arbitrarily without conflict.

[0020] According to the flexible heat exchange system of the present application, Figure 1As shown, it includes a flexible external heat exchanger 1, a flexible thermal insulation layer 2 and a flexible internal heat exchanger 3, and the flexible external heat exchanger 1 and the flexible internal heat exchanger 3 are separated by the flexible thermal insulation layer 2. The flexible external heat exchanger 1 realizes heat exchange with the external environment, and the flexible internal heat exchanger 3 realizes heat exchange with the internal environment. The flexible thermal insulation layer 2 mainly realizes heat insulation between the flexible external heat exchanger 1 and the flexible internal heat exchanger 3 to avoid the formation of a cold bridge. After the three flexible parts are combined, a flexible heat exchange system that meets the requirements of attached installation can be formed, for example, it can be used as a robot skin or a wearable device.

[0021] like Figure 2 As shown, further, the flexible external heat exchanger 1 and the flexible internal heat exchanger 3 are connected through the compressor 4 and the valve assembly 5 to form a circulating heat exchange system. Due to the heat generated by the internal components of the robot, it is necessary to dissipate the heat to the environment where the robot is located through the flexible external heat exchanger 1, while the flexible internal heat exchanger 3 cools the internal components of the robot. The heat exchange medium in the circulation system can be a refrigerant, and the phase change and efficient heat exchange can be achieved through the reverse Carnot cycle principle; other refrigerants such as heat transfer oil can also be used to achieve heat transfer without phase change.

[0022] The flexible outer heat exchanger 1 and the flexible inner heat exchanger 2 are both made of flexible heat exchangers. Figure 3 As shown, the flexible heat exchanger includes an inlet pipe 13 and an outlet pipe 14 and a plurality of micro-tube channels 11 arranged between the inlet pipe 13 and the outlet pipe 14, wherein the micro-tube channels 11 are arranged on a flexible base 12. The arrangement of the plurality of parallel micro-tube channels can reduce the flow path of the heat exchange medium and the flow resistance, and is particularly suitable for the case where the channel diameter is small.

[0023] The term "microtube channel" in this application means that its size is small enough to meet the requirement that the heat exchanger is flexible as a whole, without limiting the specific size of the tube. The microtube channel 11 is a channel through which the heat exchange medium flows. The microtube channel 11 forms good contact with the flexible base layer 12. The linear heat source formed by the microtube channel 11 forms a surface heat source through the flexible base layer 12, which expands the heat exchange area and increases the heat exchange amount. Multiple microtube channels 11 are connected to the collecting pipe 13 and the collecting pipe 14 so that the heat exchange medium can flow into and out of the flexible heat exchanger. A baffle 15 is arranged inside at least one of the collecting pipe 13 and the collecting pipe 14. On the one hand, it can make the flow distribution of the heat exchange medium in the multiple microtube channels 11 more uniform, and on the other hand, it can change the flow direction of the heat exchange medium so that the heat exchange medium enters and exits at the same end, which is convenient for pipe connection. The multiple microtube channels 11 of the flexible heat exchanger can be arranged equidistantly or unequally; the collecting pipe 13 and the collecting pipe 14 can be of the same length or of different lengths. Figure 4 The different lengths shown are to meet the needs of flexible heat exchangers in different parts of the robot.

[0024] like Figure 5As shown, the micro-tube channel of the flexible heat exchanger can be formed by arranging pipes on a flexible base. In this case, if metal pipes with an equivalent diameter of ≤2 mm are arranged, the micro-tube channel can achieve a higher pressure bearing capacity while achieving flexibility. At this time, the heat exchange medium can be a refrigerant. Figure 6 As shown, the micro-tube channels of the flexible heat exchanger can also be coupled by a flexible base layer, and grooves that can be coupled to each other are provided on the flexible base layer. The micro-tube channels are formed on the coupling surface by coupling the grooves to each other. In this case, although the pressure bearing capacity in the micro-tube channel is poor, only heat exchange media without phase change heat transfer, such as heat transfer oil, can be used to achieve heat exchange circulation, but because the entire pipeline is coupled by a flexible base layer, the superiority in flexibility is more prominent.

[0025] like Figure 7 As shown, the flexible base layer 12 can be composed of a heat-averaging layer 121 and a protective layer 122 located outside the heat-averaging layer 121. The heat-averaging layer 121 mainly enlarges the heat dissipation area of ​​the linear heat source of the micro-tube channel 11 to become a surface heat source, and its material can be a metal film with good thermal conductivity or an organic film with good thermal conductivity after modification. The protective layer 122 needs to have a certain strength but not lose flexibility, and mainly plays a role in protecting the micro-tube channel 11 and the flexible heat exchanger formed by it. The protective layer 122 can be a metal film or an organic film.

[0026] In order to further achieve the deformation of the flexible base layer 12 and meet the deformation requirements of the robot during operation, a spring coil structure or a threaded tube structure can be formed on the microtube channel 11, and the flexible base layer 12 is provided with retractable wrinkles. After obtaining the skin of the desired part of the robot, the skin can be corrected according to the required size to obtain the skin of the required size of different parts. Figure 8 and 9 As shown, the internal space formed by the flexible heat exchanger can be used to install the internal components required for the operation of the robot, for example, it can be cylindrical or truncated cone. Fig.10 As shown, the connection between the two skins can be achieved through the movable joint 6, so as to be used for heat dissipation of a certain organ part of the robot, such as the outside of the arm. At the same time, the heat exchangers in the two skins can be connected to the refrigeration and heat exchange circulation system in parallel or in series, so as to achieve temperature coordination of the entire organ part.

[0027] Although the implementation methods disclosed in this application are as above, the contents described are only implementation methods adopted for facilitating the understanding of this application, and are not intended to limit this application. Any technician in the technical field to which this application belongs can make any modifications and changes in the form and details of implementation without departing from the spirit and scope disclosed in this application, but the scope of patent protection of this application shall still be based on the scope defined in the attached claims.

Claims

1. A flexible heat exchange system, characterized in that: It includes a flexible external heat exchanger, a flexible thermal insulation layer and a flexible internal heat exchanger, wherein the flexible thermal insulation layer is arranged between the flexible external heat exchanger and the flexible internal heat exchanger, and the flexible external heat exchanger and the flexible internal heat exchanger are both made of flexible heat exchangers. The flexible heat exchanger includes an inlet pipe and an outlet pipe and a plurality of micro-tube channels arranged between the inlet pipe and the outlet pipe, and the micro-tube channels are arranged on a flexible base layer.

2. The flexible heat exchange system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The multiple micro-tube channels of the flexible heat exchanger are arranged at equal or unequal distances, and the inlet and outlet pipes are of the same length or different lengths.

3. The flexible heat exchange system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The micro-tube channels of the flexible heat exchanger are formed by arranging pipes on the flexible substrate, or the micro-tube channels of the flexible heat exchanger are formed by coupling the flexible substrate.

4. The flexible heat exchange system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The flexible base layer includes a heat-spreading layer and a protective layer located outside the heat-spreading layer, and the protective layer is a metal film or an organic film.

5. The flexible heat exchange system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: A spring coil or a threaded tube is formed on the microtube channel.

6. The flexible heat exchange system according to claim 5, characterized in that: The flexible base layer is provided with retractable pleats.

7. The flexible heat exchange system according to any one of claims 1 to 3 and 6, characterized in that: The flexible external heat exchanger and the flexible internal heat exchanger are connected via a compressor and a valve assembly to form a circulating heat exchange system.

8. A robot skin, characterized in that: The invention comprises a flexible heat exchange system according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. A robot, characterized in that: Comprising the robotic skin according to claim 8.

10. The robot according to claim 9, characterized in that: The robot comprises a movable joint, and the flexible heat exchange systems are respectively arranged on both sides of the movable joint, and the flexible heat exchange systems are connected in parallel or in series.

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