Bionic joint and robot

Abstract

The utility model discloses a bionic joint and a robot. The joint comprises a first skeleton, a second skeleton and a driving connecting assembly, the first skeleton is hinged to the second skeleton, the first skeleton and the second skeleton are further connected through the driving connecting assembly, the joint further comprises a medium pipeline, a first mounting cavity is formed in the first skeleton, a second mounting cavity is formed in the second skeleton, and the medium pipeline is connected with the first mounting cavity. The first installation cavity and the second installation cavity are communicated to form a pipeline channel, and the medium pipeline is arranged along the pipeline channel and connected with the driving connection assembly. The installation cavities used for forming the pipeline channels are formed in the first skeleton and the second skeleton, the medium pipelines are arranged in the pipeline channels, the requirement for large-angle bending and stretching movement of the joint is met, meanwhile, the leakage risk caused by falling and bumping of the medium pipelines is effectively avoided, and the use effect of the joint is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of bionic joints, in particular to a bionic joint and a robot. Background Art

[0002] Humanoid robots are driven by motors, pneumatics, and hydraulics. In hydraulically driven / pneumatic joints, there are two ways to arrange high-pressure pipelines: one is to place the high-pressure pipelines around the joints, and the other is to connect them using dynamic seals. However, when the high-pressure pipelines are on the outside of the bones, they bend significantly during movement, and are at greater risk of falling or bumping, making them prone to leakage. Transmission using dynamic seals relies on the reliability of the dynamic seals, and due to the high pressure in the high-pressure pipelines, the risk of wear and leakage from the dynamic seals increases with long-term use. To address the leakage issue, a new type of bionic joint is urgently needed to solve the above problems. Utility Model Content

[0003] In order to solve the above problems, on the one hand, the utility model provides a bionic joint, including a first bone, a second bone and a drive connection assembly, the first bone and the second bone are hinged, the first bone and the second bone are also connected by the drive connection assembly, and also includes a medium pipeline, a first installation cavity is provided in the first bone, a second installation cavity is provided in the second bone, the first installation cavity and the second installation cavity are connected to form a pipeline channel, and the medium pipeline is arranged along the pipeline channel and connected to the drive connection assembly.

[0004] Furthermore, at least the pipe section of the medium pipeline located at the hinge is a corrugated pipe.

[0005] Furthermore, the first mounting cavity extends to the hinge end of the first bone, the second mounting cavity extends to the hinge end of the second bone, and the first mounting cavity and the second mounting cavity are connected at the hinge end.

[0006] Furthermore, a first receiving groove is formed at the hinged end of the first bone, and the first receiving groove is communicated with the first installation cavity; a second receiving groove is formed at the hinged end of the second bone, and the second receiving groove is communicated with the second installation cavity.

[0007] Furthermore, it also includes a connecting shaft and a bearing, one of the first bone and the second bone is sleeved on the connecting shaft, and the other is movably connected to the connecting shaft through the bearing.

[0008] Furthermore, a clearance groove is provided on the connecting shaft, the clearance groove is communicated with the pipeline channel, and the medium pipeline is arranged through the clearance groove.

[0009] Furthermore, both ends of the connecting shaft are respectively connected to a first end cover and a second end cover.

[0010] Furthermore, it also includes a third bone and a ligament, the third bone is slidably connected to the second bone, and one end of the ligament is connected to the third bone and the other end is connected to the first bone.

[0011] Furthermore, the drive connection assembly includes a valve body, an artificial muscle and a tendon rope, the artificial muscle and the tendon rope are connected to form a drive unit, the two ends of the drive unit are respectively connected to the first bone and the second bone, the medium pipeline is connected to the valve body, and the valve body is connected to the medium inlet of the artificial muscle.

[0012] On the other hand, the present invention also provides a robot comprising the bionic joint as described above.

[0013] Due to the adoption of the above technical solution, the present invention has the following beneficial effects compared with the prior art:

[0014] 1) The bionic joint provided by the present invention has a mounting cavity for forming a pipeline channel provided in the first and second bones. The medium pipeline for conveying high-pressure medium is built into the pipeline channel, which satisfies the large-angle bending and stretching movements of the joint while effectively avoiding the risk of leakage of the medium pipeline due to falls and bumps, thereby improving the use effect of the joint.

[0015] 2) In the bionic joint provided by the present invention, the pipe section of the medium pipeline located at the hinged end of the joint adopts a bellows, and the bending characteristics of the bellows are used to achieve large-angle repeated bending of the medium pipeline.

[0016] 3) The bionic joint provided by the present invention is used as a knee joint, retaining the patella and ligaments. The knee joint is highly anthropomorphic. During bending, the patella can slide on the femur. At the same time, the patella simulates human muscle drive, providing a reliable hanging point for artificial muscle drive of the thigh part, and can simulate the movement of the human knee joint including the patella, thereby realizing knee joint bending movement. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the following briefly introduces the drawings required for use in the embodiments or the description of the prior art. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present invention. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying any creative work.

[0018] Figure 1 Schematic diagram of the structure of the bionic joint provided by the utility model Figure 1 ;

[0019] Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the structure of the bionic joint provided by the utility model Figure 2 ;

[0020] Figure 3 This is a cross-sectional view of the bionic joint provided by the utility model.

[0021] 1-tibia; 2-femur; 3-first valve body; 31-pipe opening; 4-second valve body; 5-medium pipeline; 6-first drive unit; 61-first artificial muscle; 62-first tendon; 63-medium inlet; 7-second drive unit; 71-second artificial muscle; 71-second tendon; 8-patella; 9-ligament; 10-connecting shaft; 11-bearing; 12-allowance groove; 13-first end cover; 14-second end cover; 15-gasket; 16-first accommodating groove; 17-second accommodating groove. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] The following will be combined with the accompanying drawings of the embodiments of the present invention to clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the embodiments described are only part of the embodiments of the present invention, not all of them. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without making any creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention. In the drawings, the size and relative sizes of some parts may be exaggerated for clarity.

[0023] In the description of the present invention, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "connection" and "connected" should be interpreted broadly. For example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integrated connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, it can be the internal connection of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0024] In the description of the present invention, the terms "up", "down", "left", "right", "front", "back", "center", "horizontal", "vertical", "top", "bottom", "inside", "outside" and other orientations or positional relationships are based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of description and simplification of operation, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they cannot be understood as limitations on the present invention.

[0025] Furthermore, in the description of this utility model, the terms "first" and "second" are used solely to distinguish between the features in the description and should not be understood to indicate or imply relative importance or implicitly specify the number of the technical features indicated. Furthermore, features designated as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of the features.

[0026] Example 1

[0027] The present utility model provides a bionic joint, comprising a first skeleton, a second skeleton and a drive connection assembly, wherein the first skeleton is hinged to the second skeleton, and the first skeleton and the second skeleton are also connected via the drive connection assembly. The joint further comprises a medium pipeline 5, which is used as an air / liquid pipeline. A first mounting cavity is provided in the first skeleton, and a second mounting cavity is provided in the second skeleton. The first mounting cavity and the second mounting cavity are connected to form a pipeline channel, and the medium pipeline 5 is arranged along the pipeline channel and connected to the drive connection assembly. In the present application, the bionic joint can be used as a hydraulic bionic joint, and the medium pipeline 5 acts as a high-pressure liquid flow path; it can also be used as a pneumatic bionic joint, and the medium pipeline 5 acts as a high-pressure gas flow path. In this embodiment, the bionic joint is a hydraulic bionic joint.

[0028] Specifically, the first and second bones are hingedly connected, allowing them to move relative to each other to achieve joint flexion. The medium pipeline 5 is built into the pipeline channel within the bones, which can meet the needs of large-angle flexion and extension of the joint. This effectively avoids the risk of leakage in the medium pipeline due to falls and collisions, and ensures the service life of the hydraulic bionic joint. The hydraulic bionic joint of this application can be used for knee joints, elbow joints, etc.

[0029] In an optimized embodiment, a portion of the medium pipeline 5 is constructed using a bellows, ensuring that at least the medium pipeline section corresponding to the hinge between the first and second bones is constructed using a bellows. Of course, the medium pipeline 5 can be entirely constructed using a bellows. The bellows' bending properties can be utilized to further achieve large-angle, repetitive bending of the medium pipeline.

[0030] In an optimized implementation method, in order to avoid affecting the medium pipeline during joint bending, the medium pipeline 5 is also located in the pipeline channel at the hinge of the first bone and the second bone, the first mounting cavity extends to the hinge end of the first bone, and the second mounting cavity extends to the hinge end of the second bone, and the first mounting cavity and the second mounting cavity are connected at the hinge end.

[0031] Optimize the implementation method, as shown in the attached instructions Figure 1As shown, the hinged end of the first bone is provided with a first receiving groove 16, which is in communication with the first mounting cavity, and the hinged end of the second bone is provided with a second receiving groove 17, which is in communication with the second mounting cavity. Providing receiving grooves at the hinged ends of the bones, on the one hand, ensures that the medium pipeline has sufficient bending space during joint bending, thereby preventing squeezing of the medium pipeline and affecting the flow of the medium within the pipeline, where the medium refers to liquid or gas. On the other hand, the receiving grooves can serve as inspection windows, facilitating observation and even maintenance of the medium pipeline.

[0032] In an optimized embodiment, the drive connection assembly includes a valve body, an artificial muscle, and a tendon. The artificial muscle and tendon are connected to form a drive unit. The two ends of the drive unit are connected to the first and second bones, respectively. The medium pipeline 5 is connected to the valve body, which is connected to the medium inlet of the artificial muscle. There can be one or two valve bodies, and multiple drive units.

[0033] The following is a detailed description of the hydraulic bionic knee joint, as shown in the attached manual. Figure 1 As shown, the first bone is a tibia 1, and the second bone is a femur 2. The end of the tibia 1 is hingedly connected to the end of the femur 2. The valve body includes a first valve body 3 and a second valve body 4. The first valve body 3 is disposed on the tibia 1, and the second valve body 4 is disposed on the femur 2. The first valve body 3 and the second valve body 4 are connected via a medium pipeline 5. The medium pipeline 5 is statically sealed with the first valve body 3 and the second valve body 4, respectively, to avoid the risk of leakage caused by wear of the dynamic sealing ring due to long-term use in the dynamic sealing method. The working principle of the knee joint is that the high-pressure liquid in the cylinder enters the second valve body 4 and enters the first valve body 3 through the medium pipeline 5. The first valve body 3 and the second valve body 4 are both provided with a pipe port 31. The high-pressure liquid in the first valve body 3 enters part of the drive unit through the pipe port 31 and flows back into the cylinder body. The drive unit is expanded and contracted due to the filling and discharge of liquid, including two stages of contraction due to filling and extension due to discharge of liquid, thereby realizing the relative movement of the tibia 1 and the femur 2. The high-pressure liquid in the second valve body 4 enters another part of the drive unit through the pipe port and flows back into the cylinder body. The drive unit is expanded and contracted due to the filling and discharge of liquid, thereby realizing the relative movement of the tibia 1 and the femur 2, and the knee joint bending movement is realized through multiple groups of drive units.

[0034] In an optimized embodiment, some of the drive units are first drive units 6, each of which includes a first artificial muscle 61 and a first tendon 62. The first artificial muscle 61 is disposed on the tibia 1, one end of the first tendon 62 is connected to the first artificial muscle 61, and the other end is connected to the femur 2. The first valve body 3 is connected to the medium inlet 63 of the first artificial muscle 61 via a low-pressure pipeline. Specifically, there are multiple groups of first drive units 6, and the first valve body 3 is provided with multiple pipe openings 31, each pipe opening 31 being connected to a medium inlet 63 in a one-to-one correspondence. Liquid enters the corresponding first artificial muscle 61 through the pipe opening 31 of the first valve body 3, and the first artificial muscle 61 is filled with liquid and contracts. The liquid in the first artificial muscle 61 is discharged through the liquid outlet, and the first artificial muscle 61 extends due to the discharge of liquid, thereby enabling relative movement between the tibia 1 and the femur 2 via the first tendon 62.

[0035] In an optimized implementation, another part of the drive unit is a second drive unit 7. Each of the second drive units 7 includes a second artificial muscle 71 and a second tendon 72. The second artificial muscle 71 is arranged on the femur 2. One end of the second tendon 72 is connected to the second artificial muscle 71 and the other end is connected to the tibia 1. The second valve body 4 is connected to the medium inlet of the second artificial muscle 71 through a low-pressure pipeline. The second drive unit 7 has the same structure as the first drive unit 6 and will not be described here. The second drive unit 7 fills and discharges the second artificial muscle 71 with fluid through the second valve body 4 to achieve relative movement between the tibia 1 and the femur 2. In this embodiment, the knee joint flexion movement is achieved by the second drive unit 7 and the first drive unit 6.

[0036] Optimize the implementation method, as shown in the attached instructions Figure 2 As shown, it also includes a third bone and a ligament 9. The third bone is the patella 8. The patella 8 is slidably connected to the femur 2. One end of the ligament 9 is connected to the patella 8 and the other end is connected to the tibia 1.

[0037] Preferably, a slide is provided on the femur 2, and a slider that can move along the slide is provided on the patella 8. The patella 8 is connected to the tibia 1 through a ligament 9. The knee joint of this embodiment is highly anthropomorphic, and the structure of the patella 8 and the ligament 9 is retained. During the bending process, the patella 8 can slide on the femur 2. At the same time, the patella 8 simulates human muscle drive, providing a reliable hanging point for the artificial muscle drive of the thigh part, and can simulate the movement of the human knee joint including the patella, thereby realizing the knee joint bending movement.

[0038] The optimized embodiment further includes a connecting shaft 10 and a bearing 11, wherein one of the first skeleton and the second skeleton is sleeved on the connecting shaft 10, and the other is movably connected to the connecting shaft 10 via the bearing 11. Figure 3As shown, the tibia 1 is fixedly connected to the connecting shaft 10, and the femur 2 is movably connected to the connecting shaft 10 through a bearing 11. The hinged end of the tibia 1 is provided with a groove, and the femur 2 is inserted into the groove and connected to the connecting shaft 10 through a bearing 11. There are two bearings 11, which are respectively arranged at both ends of the femur 2.

[0039] In some embodiments, the femur 2 is fixedly connected to the connecting shaft 10 , and the tibia 1 is movably connected to the connecting shaft 10 via a bearing 11 .

[0040] In an optimized embodiment, a clearance groove 12 is provided on the connecting shaft 10. The clearance groove 12 is aligned with the pipeline channel, and the medium pipeline 5 is arranged along the clearance groove. The medium pipeline 5 passes through the femur 2, the connecting shaft 10, and the tibia 1 from the second valve body 4 in sequence, and then connects to the first valve body 3. The clearance groove is a C-shaped groove. The C-shaped groove is used to make way for the medium pipeline 5 to pass through the connecting shaft 10, ensuring the physical bending range of the bellows. When high-pressure liquid flows through the pipeline, the pressure-resistant bellows are used to achieve unaffected bending under pressure.

[0041] In the optimized embodiment, the outer wall of the connecting shaft 10 is a multi-step structure along the axial direction. Figure 3 As shown, the diameter of the connecting shaft 10 decreases from left to right. On the one hand, it is convenient for the connecting shaft 10 to be inserted into the tibial end and the femoral end. On the other hand, the multi-step structure has multiple step surfaces, which can limit the bearing 11.

[0042] In an optimized implementation manner, the two ends of the connecting shaft 10 are respectively connected with a first end cover 13 and a second end cover 14 for axial limitation of the tibia and femur.

[0043] Preferably, at least one washer 15 is provided on the connecting shaft 10, with the surface of the washer 15 perpendicular to the axial direction of the connecting shaft 10. In this embodiment, the washer 15 is provided between the bearing 11 and the tibia 1. Of course, the number and position of the washer 15 can be adjusted as needed. The axial clearance between the two bearing inner rings is eliminated by the first end cap, the second end cap, and the washer, ensuring that the knee does not move laterally during exercise.

[0044] Example 2

[0045] The utility model also provides a robot comprising the bionic joint as described in Example 1.

[0046] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the present invention may be implemented in many other specific forms without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Although embodiments of the present invention have been described, it should be understood that the present invention should not be limited to these embodiments, and those skilled in the art may make changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A bionic joint comprising a first skeleton, a second skeleton, and a drive connection assembly, wherein the first skeleton is hinged to the second skeleton, and the first skeleton and the second skeleton are further connected via the drive connection assembly, characterized in that: It also includes a medium pipeline. A first installation cavity is provided in the first bone, and a second installation cavity is provided in the second bone. The first installation cavity is connected to the second installation cavity to form a pipeline channel. The medium pipeline is arranged along the pipeline channel and connected to the drive connection assembly.

2. The bionic joint according to claim 1, characterized in that At least the pipe section of the medium pipeline located at the hinge is a bellows.

3. The bionic joint according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first mounting cavity extends to the hinge end of the first bone, and the second mounting cavity extends to the hinge end of the second bone, and the first mounting cavity and the second mounting cavity are communicated at the hinge end.

4. The bionic joint according to claim 3, characterized in that The hinged end of the first bone is provided with a first accommodating groove, which is communicated with the first installation cavity. The hinged end of the second bone is provided with a second accommodating groove, which is communicated with the second installation cavity.

5. The bionic joint according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a connecting shaft and a bearing. One of the first bone and the second bone is sleeved on the connecting shaft, and the other is movably connected to the connecting shaft through the bearing.

6. The bionic joint according to claim 5, characterized in that: The connecting shaft is provided with a clearance groove, the clearance groove is communicated with the pipeline channel, and the medium pipeline is arranged through the clearance groove.

7. The bionic joint according to claim 5, characterized in that: The two ends of the connecting shaft are respectively connected to a first end cover and a second end cover.

8. The bionic joint according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes a third bone and a ligament, wherein the third bone is slidably connected to the second bone, and one end of the ligament is connected to the third bone and the other end is connected to the first bone.

9. The bionic joint according to claim 1, characterized in that: The drive connection assembly includes a valve body, an artificial muscle and a tendon rope. The artificial muscle and the tendon rope are connected to form a drive unit. The two ends of the drive unit are respectively connected to the first bone and the second bone. The medium pipeline is connected to the valve body, and the valve body is connected to the medium inlet of the artificial muscle.

10. A robot, characterized in that: The bionic joint comprises the bionic joint according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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