Linear actuator for humanoid robot

Abstract

The utility model discloses a linear actuator for a humanoid robot, which relates to the technical field of linear actuators for robots and comprises a shell, limiting lines are annularly and uniformly distributed on the inner wall of the shell, a moving plate is slidably connected into the shell through the limiting lines, and a universal ball seat is arranged at the top of the moving plate. A plurality of spherical joints which are sequentially connected are arranged at the top of the universal ball seat, the output end of the linear actuator can be bent in any direction in the mode that the universal ball seat is connected with the spherical joints, and the linear actuator can still effectively rotate or stretch out and draw back after being bent. In the rotating and stretching process, the spherical joint can adapt to different bending and transmission angles, a guide ring and a guide plate are arranged on the top and in the shell correspondingly, the spherical joint part which does not stretch out completely is limited, and it is guaranteed that the spherical joint part can automatically reset in the stretching or retracting process; the situation that the spherical lamp joint cannot effectively rotate and stretch out and draw back under the bending state due to the influence of the shape of the spherical lamp joint is avoided.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This utility model relates to the field of linear actuators for robots, and in particular to a linear actuator for humanoid robots. Background Technology

[0002] A linear actuator is a device that converts rotary motion into linear motion. Linear actuators are widely used in various fields such as industrial automation, medical equipment, and aerospace.

[0003] In the field of humanoid robots, linear actuators are used more extensively. For example, they can be used at robot joints and end effectors to achieve complex movements and release functions. However, the output of existing linear actuators is mostly rigid components. Rigid components need to be connected with other components to meet the needs of humanoid robots, such as the arc changes of joint positions and the curved movement of end effectors. Rigid actuators transform the force transmitted by rigid components into flexible transmission through other components. Utility Model Content

[0004] To address the aforementioned problems, the purpose of this invention is to provide a linear actuator for humanoid robots, solving the problem that linear actuators within humanoid robots cannot meet the requirements for flexible transmission.

[0005] The technical solution of this utility model is as follows: a linear actuator for a humanoid robot, including a shell, with a ring of uniformly distributed limiting patterns on the inner wall of the shell. A movable plate is slidably connected inside the shell through the limiting patterns. The bottom of the movable plate is connected to a drive component. A universal ball seat is provided on the top of the movable plate. The universal ball seat passes through the movable plate and is connected to the drive component. Several ball joints are arranged sequentially on the top of the universal ball seat. The ball joints are interconnected and extend outward along the top of the shell to form an output shaft. A support plate is provided on the top of the shell around the ball joints. A guide ring sleeved on the outside of the ball joint is provided at the end of the support plate and on the top of the shell. A guide plate passing through the movable plate is provided at the bottom of the guide ring located on the top of the shell.

[0006] Furthermore, the outer edge of the movable plate is provided with a vertical extension portion, the width of which is greater than the thickness of the movable plate. The movable plate slides and engages with the limiting texture through the extension portion to prevent the movable plate from tilting during movement and to ensure that the movable plate can effectively support the universal ball seat without shifting.

[0007] Furthermore, the diameter of the ball joint is greater than the inner diameter of the guide ring but less than the diameter of the universal ball seat.

[0008] Furthermore, the universal ball in the universal ball seat is a self-resetting universal ball, and the rotation direction of the universal ball seat is always vertically upward.

[0009] Furthermore, the guide ring is cylindrical in shape, with rounded chamfers at both ends of its inner wall. The rounded chamfers at both ends of the guide ring are smoothly connected. The rounded chamfer at the bottom of the guide ring is larger than that at the top. When the ball joint moves along the inside of the guide ring, if the ball joint tilts, it will be blocked by the chamfered part of the guide ring and pushed back to a vertical state. This ensures that the ball joint does not bend during continuous use, thus avoiding affecting its accuracy.

[0010] Furthermore, the support plate is a number of triangular plate-like structures arranged around the ball joint between the guide ring and the outer shell. The support plates form a channel for the ball joint to pass through. The diameter of the channel is adapted to the diameter of the ball joint. The support plate can restrict the ball joint extending out of the outer shell in the vertical direction, preventing the ball joint from losing support and deforming rapidly after leaving the outer shell, and ensuring that the ball joint can only bend when affected by external devices.

[0011] Furthermore, the top of the guide plate is connected to the guide ring, and the bottom is connected to the bottom of the inner wall of the housing. The guide plate is distributed in a ring at the bottom of the guide ring to form a cylindrical cavity. The cylindrical cavity encloses the ball joint and the universal ball seat. The guide plate can further enhance the stability of the moving plate and ensure that the ball joint located in the housing does not deform excessively, thus preventing the ball joint from bending itself and not extending outward when the universal ball seat pushes the ball joint to move.

[0012] The beneficial effects of this utility model are as follows:

[0013] 1. This utility model firstly enables the output end of the linear actuator to bend in any direction by connecting a ball joint with a universal ball seat, and can still effectively rotate or extend after bending. During rotation and extension, the ball joint can adapt to different bending and transmission angles.

[0014] 2. This utility model provides guide rings and guide plates on the top and inside of the outer shell, respectively, to restrict the incompletely extended spherical joint portion, so as to ensure that the spherical joint portion can automatically reset during the extension or retraction process, and to avoid the spherical lamp joint being unable to effectively rotate and extend in a bent state due to its own shape. Attached Figure Description

[0015] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of this utility model;

[0016] Figure 2 This is a cross-sectional view of the overall structure of this utility model;

[0017] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the movable plate structure of this utility model;

[0018] Figure 4This is a schematic diagram of the ball joint structure of this utility model.

[0019] Reference numerals: 1. Outer shell; 2. Restricting groove; 3. Moving plate; 4. Universal ball joint; 5. Ball joint; 6. Support plate; 7. Guide ring; 8. Guide plate. Detailed Implementation

[0020] The technical solutions of the present utility model will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings of the embodiments of the present utility model. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present utility model, and not all embodiments.

[0021] like Figure 1-4 As shown, a linear actuator for a humanoid robot includes a shell 1. The inner wall of the shell 1 is uniformly distributed with limiting patterns 2 in a ring. A movable plate 3 is slidably connected inside the shell 1 through the limiting patterns 2. The outer edge of the movable plate 3 is provided with a vertical extension portion. The width of the extension portion is greater than the thickness of the movable plate 3. The movable plate 3 is slidably engaged with the limiting patterns 2 through the extension portion to prevent the movable plate 3 from tilting during movement and to ensure that the movable plate 3 can effectively support the universal ball seat 4 without displacement. The bottom of the movable plate 3 is connected to a drive assembly. The top of the movable plate 3 is provided with a universal ball seat 4. The universal ball in the universal ball seat 4 is a self-resetting universal ball. The rotation direction of the universal ball seat 4 is always vertically upward.

[0022] The universal ball joint 4 passes through the movable plate 3 and is connected to the drive assembly. The top of the universal ball joint 4 is provided with several ball joints 5 connected in sequence. The ball joints 5 are connected to each other and extend outward along the top of the outer shell 1 to form an output shaft. The top of the outer shell 1 is provided with a support plate 6 surrounding the ball joint 5. The end of the support plate 6 and the top of the outer shell 1 are both provided with a guide ring 7 sleeved on the outside of the ball joint 5. The diameter of the ball joint 5 is larger than the inner diameter of the guide ring 7 and smaller than the diameter of the universal ball joint 4.

[0023] The guide ring 7 is cylindrical in shape, with rounded chamfers at both ends of its inner wall. The rounded chamfers at both ends of the guide ring 7 are smoothly connected. The rounded chamfer at the bottom of the guide ring 7 is larger than that at the top. When the ball joint 5 moves along the inside of the guide ring 7, if the ball joint 5 tilts, it will be blocked by the chamfered part of the guide ring 7 and pushed back to the vertical state. This ensures that the ball joint 5 does not bend during continuous use and avoids affecting accuracy.

[0024] The support plate 6 consists of several triangular plate-like structures arranged around the ball joint 5 between the guide ring 7 and the outer shell 1. The support plates 6 form a channel for the ball joint 5 to pass through. The diameter of the channel is adapted to the diameter of the ball joint 5. The support plate 6 can restrict the ball joint 5 extending out of the outer shell 1 in the vertical direction, preventing the ball joint 5 from losing support and deforming quickly after leaving the outer shell 1, and ensuring that the ball joint 5 can only bend when affected by external devices.

[0025] The bottom of the guide ring 7 located at the top of the outer shell 1 is provided with a guide plate 8 that passes through the moving plate 3. The top of the guide plate 8 is connected to the guide ring 7 and the bottom is connected to the bottom of the inner wall of the outer shell 1. The guide plates 8 are distributed in a ring at the bottom of the guide ring 7 to form a cylindrical cavity. The cylindrical cavity encloses the ball joint 5 and the universal ball seat 4. The guide plate 8 can further enhance the stability of the moving plate 3 and ensure that the ball joint 5 located in the outer shell 1 does not undergo excessive deformation, thus preventing the ball joint 5 from bending itself and not extending outward when the universal ball seat 4 pushes the ball joint 5 to move.

[0026] The working principle of this utility model is as follows: First, when in use, the subsequent components are connected to the output shaft formed by the ball joint 5 extending outside the outer shell 1. Then, the drive component can simultaneously drive the moving plate 3 to move vertically and the universal ball seat 4 to rotate. When the ball joint 5 needs to extend outward, the moving plate 3 moves upward and pushes the universal ball seat 4 to drive the ball joint 5 to move upward. During the movement, the guide plate 8 restricts the ball joint 5 from excessive deformation to avoid it being unable to pass through the guide ring 7. When the ball joint 5 passes through the guide ring 7, it remains perpendicular to each other under the pushing and squeezing of the smooth chamfer of the guide ring 7. After the ball joint 5 leaves the outer shell 1, it is restricted by the support plate 6 and then bends again under the action of the subsequent components through the guide ring 7 and rotates in the bent state.

[0027] During the retraction process, the ball joint 5 first passes through the guide ring 7 located at the top of the support plate 6. Under the action of the guide ring 7, the ball joint 5 returns to a perpendicular state and retracts into the shell 1 while maintaining a perpendicular state, ready for the next extension.

[0028] The above description is only a preferred embodiment of the present utility model, but the protection scope of the present utility model is not limited thereto. Any equivalent substitutions or changes made by those skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present utility model, based on the technical solution and the inventive concept of the present utility model, should be included within the protection scope of the present utility model.

Claims

1. A linear actuator for a humanoid robot, comprising a shell (1), wherein the inner wall of the shell (1) is uniformly distributed with a ring of restrictive patterns (2), characterized in that: The housing (1) is slidably connected to a movable plate (3) through a limiting pattern (2). The bottom of the movable plate (3) is connected to the drive assembly. A universal ball seat (4) is provided on the top of the movable plate (3). The universal ball seat (4) passes through the movable plate (3) and is connected to the drive assembly. A number of ball joints (5) are connected in sequence on the top of the universal ball seat (4). The ball joints (5) are connected to each other and extend outward along the top of the housing (1) to form an output shaft. A support plate (6) is provided on the top of the housing (1) around the ball joint (5). A guide ring (7) is provided at the end of the support plate (6) and on the top of the housing (1) on the outside of the ball joint (5). A guide plate (8) passing through the movable plate (3) is provided at the bottom of the guide ring (7) located on the top of the housing (1).

2. The linear actuator for a humanoid robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The outer edge of the movable plate (3) is provided with a vertical extension portion. The width of the extension portion is greater than the thickness of the movable plate (3). The movable plate (3) is slidably engaged with the limiting texture (2) through the extension portion.

3. A linear actuator for a humanoid robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The diameter of the ball joint (5) is greater than the inner diameter of the guide ring (7) and less than the diameter of the universal ball seat (4).

4. A linear actuator for a humanoid robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The universal ball in the universal ball seat (4) is a self-resetting universal ball, and the rotation direction of the universal ball seat (4) is always vertically upward.

5. A linear actuator for a humanoid robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The guide ring (7) is cylindrical in shape, with rounded chamfers at both ends of the inner wall. The rounded chamfers at both ends of the guide ring (7) are smoothly connected, with the rounded chamfer at the bottom of the guide ring (7) being larger than that at the top.

6. A linear actuator for a humanoid robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The support plate (6) is a number of triangular plate-like structures arranged around the ball joint (5) between the guide ring (7) and the outer shell (1). The support plates (6) form a channel for the ball joint (5) to pass through, and the diameter of the channel is adapted to the diameter of the ball joint (5).

7. A linear actuator for a humanoid robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: The top of the guide plate (8) is connected to the guide ring (7), and the bottom is connected to the bottom of the inner wall of the outer shell (1). The guide plate (8) is distributed in a ring at the bottom of the guide ring (7) to form a cylindrical cavity. The cylindrical cavity encloses the ball joint (5) and the universal ball seat (4).

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