Walking mechanism and mobile robot

Abstract

The application relates to the technical field of robots, and discloses a walking mechanism and a mobile robot, wherein the walking mechanism comprises a steering assembly and a wheel assembly; the steering assembly comprises a first motor, a worm, a worm wheel and a rotating shaft; the worm is connected with a main shaft of the first motor; the worm wheel is sleeved on the rotating shaft; the rotating shaft is connected with the wheel assembly; and the worm is in transmission connection with the worm wheel. The walking mechanism has the functions of movement and steering of the wheel assembly; the worm and the worm wheel are in transmission connection, and have self-locking capability; and when the walking mechanism is applied to a mowing robot, the technical problem that the mowing robot lacks self-locking capability and has the risk of sliding on a slope is solved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of robotics, and in particular to a walking mechanism and a mobile robot. Background Technology

[0002] A lawnmower robot is a mobile robot used to trim lawns, gardens, and other outdoor greenery. Through built-in sensors, navigation systems, and power units, lawnmower robots can automatically plan paths and precisely mow lawns, reducing manual maintenance costs.

[0003] In related technologies, when a lawnmower robot is mowing grass on a slope, if the slope angle is too large, the lawnmower robot does not have a self-locking ability and there is a risk of slipping off the slope. Utility Model Content

[0004] The purpose of this application is to provide a walking mechanism and a mobile robot, which aims to solve the technical problem of the risk of lawn mowing robots slipping on slopes.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, this application provides a walking mechanism, the walking mechanism comprising:

[0006] Wheel assembly;

[0007] The steering assembly includes a first motor, a worm, a worm wheel, and a shaft. The worm is connected to the main shaft of the first motor, the worm wheel is sleeved on the shaft, the shaft is connected to the wheel assembly, and the worm is drivenly connected to the worm wheel.

[0008] In the walking mechanism of this application, the worm gear includes a wheel body and a helical tooth portion;

[0009] The helical tooth portion includes a plurality of teeth spaced apart on the outer peripheral surface of the wheel body, and the teeth have a preset angle with the vertical direction;

[0010] The wheel body is provided with a shaft hole, the rotating shaft is fixed in the shaft hole, and the worm gear is connected to the worm through the helical tooth part.

[0011] In the walking mechanism of this application, the helical tooth portion is located in the fan-shaped area on the outer peripheral surface of the wheel.

[0012] In the walking mechanism of this application, the rotating shaft is provided with a first mounting part, the inner wall of the shaft hole is provided with a second mounting part, the rotating shaft passes through the shaft hole, and the first mounting part and the second mounting part cooperate to fix the rotating shaft in the shaft hole.

[0013] In the walking mechanism of this application, the wheel assembly includes a support frame and a drive wheel, a first end of the support frame is connected to the drive wheel, and a second end of the support frame is connected to the rotating shaft.

[0014] In the walking mechanism of this application, the wheel assembly further includes a second motor, which is located at the first end of the support frame, and the main shaft of the second motor is connected to the drive wheel.

[0015] In the walking mechanism of this application, the walking mechanism further includes a protective cover, the protective cover has a receiving cavity, the worm gear is disposed in the receiving cavity, and the worm extends horizontally into the receiving cavity and is connected to the worm gear for transmission.

[0016] In the walking mechanism of this application, the protective cover includes a first housing and a second housing, the first housing and the second housing being connected to form the accommodating cavity.

[0017] In the walking mechanism of this application, a limiting member is provided in the accommodating cavity, and the limiting member is used to limit the rotation range of the worm gear.

[0018] In the walking mechanism of this application, the steering component further includes a bushing, which is sleeved on the outer periphery of the rotating shaft within the accommodating cavity.

[0019] Secondly, this application also provides a mobile robot, including a robot body and the walking mechanism, wherein the walking mechanism is connected to the robot body.

[0020] This application provides a walking mechanism, the advantages of which are:

[0021] The locomotion mechanism includes a steering assembly and a wheel assembly. The steering assembly enables the wheel assembly to steer, while the wheel assembly enables the mobile robot to move. A worm gear is horizontally connected to the main shaft of the first motor, and a worm wheel is sleeved on and fixedly connected to the shaft. The worm gear and worm wheel are connected via a drive mechanism. When applied to a lawnmower robot on a slope, the first motor drives the worm gear to rotate, which in turn drives the worm wheel, causing the shaft and worm wheel to rotate together. This adjusts the steering of the wheel assembly, ensuring it faces a different direction from the slope and preventing movement. Because the worm gear and worm wheel are connected via a drive mechanism, and this drive mechanism is self-locking (only the worm can drive the worm wheel, not the other way around), even if the lawnmower robot has downward gravitational potential energy on the slope, the direction of the wheel assembly will not change, preventing it from sliding down the slope and avoiding the risk of the lawnmower robot slipping. When it is necessary to control the lawnmower robot to move, the first motor drives the worm gear to rotate, thereby adjusting the direction of the wheel assembly so that the wheel assembly can move. Attached Figure Description

[0022] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of this application, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are some embodiments of this application. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative effort.

[0023] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the walking mechanism provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0024] Figure 2 Another structural schematic diagram of the walking mechanism provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0025] Figure 3 An exploded view of the walking mechanism provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0026] Figure 4 Another structural schematic diagram of the walking mechanism provided in the embodiments of this application;

[0027] Figure 5 A top view of the steering assembly provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0028] Figure 6 for Figure 5 Sectional view at point AA along the middle;

[0029] Figure 7 A side view of the steering assembly provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0030] Figure 8 for Figure 7 Cross-sectional view at the middle edge BB;

[0031] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of the worm gear structure provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0032] Figure 10 This is another structural schematic diagram of the worm gear provided in an embodiment of this application;

[0033] Figure 11 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the rotating shaft provided in an embodiment of this application.

[0034] The markings in the diagram are as follows: 10. Steering assembly; 11. First motor; 12. Worm gear; 13. Worm wheel; 131. Wheel body; 132. Tooth; 133. Shaft hole; 134. Second mounting part; 14. Rotating shaft; 141. First mounting part; 15. Bushing; 16. Motor fixing part; 20. Wheel assembly; 21. Support frame; 22. Drive wheel; 23. Second motor; 30. Protective cover; 31. First housing; 32. Second housing; 33. Receiving cavity; 34. Limiting part; 100. Traveling mechanism; X, horizontal direction; Y, vertical direction. Detailed Implementation

[0035] The specific embodiments of this application will be described in further detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings and examples. The following examples are used to illustrate this application, but are not intended to limit the scope of this application.

[0036] In the description of this application, it should be noted that the terms "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "inner", "outer", etc. used in this application to indicate the orientation or positional relationship are based on the positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings, and are only for the convenience of describing this application and simplifying the description, and are not intended to indicate or imply that the device and element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation of this application.

[0037] In the description of this application, it should be understood that the terms "first," "second," etc., are used to describe various types of information, but these terms are not limited to them and are only used to distinguish information of the same type from one another. For example, without departing from the scope of this application, "first" information may also be referred to as "second" information, and similarly, "second" information may also be referred to as "first" information.

[0038] like Figures 1 to 8 As shown, this application embodiment provides a walking mechanism 100, including a steering assembly 10 and a wheel assembly 20; the steering assembly 10 includes a first motor 11, a worm 12, a worm wheel 13 and a rotating shaft 14, the worm 12 is connected to the main shaft of the first motor 11, the worm wheel 13 is sleeved on the rotating shaft 14, the rotating shaft 14 is connected to the wheel assembly 20, and the worm 12 and the worm wheel 13 are connected in a transmission connection.

[0039] In this embodiment, the walking mechanism 100 is applied to the mobile robot, for example, the walking mechanism 100 is mounted on the chassis of the mobile robot. The mobile robot can be a lawnmower robot, a sweeping robot, a cleaning robot, an inspection robot, a transport robot, or other robots with walking functions, and the walking mechanism 100 is used to drive the mobile robot to move and walk.

[0040] Figure 1 and Figure 2 The diagram shows a schematic of the walking mechanism 100 placed on a horizontal plane. The walking mechanism 100 includes a steering assembly 10 and a wheel assembly 20. The wheel assembly 20 is used to realize the movement function of the mobile robot, and the steering assembly 10 is used to realize the steering function of the wheel assembly 20. In the steering assembly 10, the worm gear 12 is assembled and fixed to the main shaft of the first motor 11 along the horizontal direction X. The first motor 11 drives the worm gear 12 to rotate around the first axis. The worm wheel 13 is sleeved on the rotating shaft 14 and fixedly connected to the rotating shaft 14. The worm gear 12 and the worm wheel 13 are connected by a transmission, and the worm gear 12 drives the worm wheel 13 and the rotating shaft 14 to rotate around the second axis.

[0041] Based on the above technical solution, the walking mechanism 100 is applied to a lawnmower robot. When the lawnmower robot is on a slope, the first motor 11 drives the worm gear 12 to rotate, which in turn drives the worm wheel 13 to rotate. This causes the shaft 14 to rotate together with the worm wheel 13, adjusting the direction of the wheel assembly 20 so that the wheel assembly 20 is in a different direction from the slope, preventing the wheel assembly 20 from moving. Because the worm gear 12 and worm wheel 13 are connected by a transmission, and the worm gear transmission has a self-locking property, only the worm gear 12 can drive the worm wheel 13 to rotate, not the other way around. Even if the lawnmower robot has downward gravitational potential energy on the slope, the direction of the wheel assembly 20 will not change, preventing the wheel assembly 20 from moving down the slope and avoiding the risk of the lawnmower robot slipping down the slope. When it is necessary to control the lawnmower robot to move, the first motor 11 drives the worm gear 12 to rotate, thereby adjusting the direction of the wheel assembly 20 so that the wheel assembly 20 can move.

[0042] In practical applications, the lead angle of the worm 12 is designed to be less than or equal to the equivalent friction angle between the meshing teeth of the worm wheel. The worm wheel 13 cannot drive the worm 12 to rotate in the opposite direction, ensuring that the worm gear transmission has sufficient self-locking capability when the slope angle is large.

[0043] In some embodiments, the worm 12 extends in the horizontal direction X, and the rotating shaft 14 extends in the vertical direction Y, that is, the axial direction of the worm wheel 13 is the vertical direction Y. When the worm 12 rotates, it transmits force to the worm wheel 13, which helps to reduce the friction between the worm wheel and the worm, reduce energy loss, and achieve higher transmission efficiency.

[0044] It should be noted that when the lawnmower robot is placed on a slope, the horizontal direction X is parallel to the slope surface, and the vertical direction Y is perpendicular to the slope surface.

[0045] In some embodiments, such as Figure 9 and Figure 10 As shown, the worm gear 13 includes a gear body 131 and a helical tooth portion; the helical tooth portion includes a plurality of teeth 132 spaced apart on the outer circumferential surface of the gear body 131, and the teeth 132 have a preset angle with the vertical direction Y; the gear body 131 is provided with a shaft hole 133, and the rotating shaft 14 is fixed in the shaft hole 133, and the worm gear 13 is connected to the worm 12 through the helical tooth portion.

[0046] Specifically, the wheel body 131 is the main structure of the worm gear 13, and the shaft hole 133 is located at the center of the wheel body 131. The rotating shaft 14 is sleeved in the shaft hole 133 and tightly fitted to the shaft hole 133, realizing a fixed connection between the worm gear 13 and the rotating shaft 14. The outer circumferential surface of the wheel body 131 is provided with teeth 132. Unlike the worm gear structure of the transmission, in the worm gear 13 of this embodiment, the teeth 132 of the wheel body 131 are helical teeth. The extension direction of the teeth 132 has a preset angle with the vertical direction Y, that is, the teeth 132 are inclined tooth structures. The worm gear 13 meshes with the worm 12 through the teeth 132. The lead angle of the worm 12 is less than the friction angle corresponding to the preset angle, so that the worm gear 13 has self-locking property. Compared with the transmission worm gear transmission connection, the helical tooth worm gear transmission has higher efficiency.

[0047] In some embodiments, such as Figure 9 and Figure 10 As shown, the helical teeth are located in the fan-shaped area on the outer circumferential surface of the wheel body 131.

[0048] Specifically, the helical teeth (or teeth 132) are distributed around the center of the wheel body 131 to form a fan-shaped area. Within the extension range of the helical teeth, the worm 12 meshes with the helical teeth (or teeth 132).

[0049] In some embodiments, the central angle of the sector region is greater than or equal to 120 degrees and less than or equal to 180 degrees. For example, the central angle of the sector region is 180 degrees, that is, half of the circumferential surface of the wheel body 131 is provided with teeth 132.

[0050] In some embodiments, such as Figures 9 to 11 As shown, the rotating shaft 14 is provided with a first mounting part 141, and the inner wall of the shaft hole 133 is provided with a second mounting part 134. The rotating shaft 14 passes through the shaft hole 133, and the first mounting part 141 and the second mounting part 134 cooperate to fix the rotating shaft 14 in the shaft hole 133.

[0051] Specifically, the first mounting part 141 of the rotating shaft 14 and the second mounting part 134 of the shaft hole 133 cooperate with each other to prevent relative rotation between the worm gear 12 and the worm wheel 13 during transmission.

[0052] For example, the first mounting part 141 is the first flat part on the outer peripheral surface of the rotating shaft 14, and the second mounting part 134 is the second flat part on the inner wall of the shaft hole 133. When the rotating shaft 14 passes through the shaft hole 133 and is tightly fitted with the shaft hole 133, the first flat part and the second flat part are positioned to prevent the worm gear 13 from rotating relative to the worm 12.

[0053] For example, the first mounting portion 141 is a pin, and the second mounting portion 134 is a slot, with the pin inserted into the slot to form a connection similar to a key or pin connection. Alternatively, the first mounting portion 141 is a flange, and the second mounting portion 134 is a corresponding groove, with the flange fitting into the groove.

[0054] In some embodiments, such as Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the wheel assembly 20 includes a support frame 21 and a drive wheel 22. The first end of the support frame 21 is connected to the drive wheel 22, and the second end of the support frame 21 is connected to the rotating shaft 14.

[0055] Specifically, the drive wheel 22 is rotatably connected to the bottom (first end) of the support frame 21 to realize the walking and moving function, and the rotating shaft 14 is assembled and fixed to the top (second end) of the support frame 21. The rotating shaft 14 can drive the entire wheel assembly 20 to rotate through the support frame 21.

[0056] In this embodiment, when the lawnmower robot is on a slope, the first motor 11 drives the worm gear 12 to rotate, which in turn drives the worm wheel 13 to rotate. The rotating shaft 14 rotates together with the worm wheel 13, and the rotating shaft 14 drives the drive wheel 22 to rotate through the support frame 21, thereby adjusting the direction of the drive wheel 22 so that the drive wheel 22 is in a different direction from the slope. The self-locking property of the worm gear transmission prevents the drive wheel 22 from rolling downhill, avoiding the risk of the lawnmower robot slipping down the slope. When it is necessary to control the lawnmower robot to move, the first motor 11 drives the worm gear 12 to rotate, thereby adjusting the direction of the drive wheel 22 to move it.

[0057] In some embodiments, such as Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the wheel assembly 20 also includes a second motor 23, which is located at the first end of the support frame 21, and the main shaft of the second motor 23 is connected to the drive wheel 22.

[0058] Specifically, the second motor 23 is installed at the bottom (first end) of the support frame 21, and the main shaft of the second motor 23 is assembled and fixed with the drive wheel 22. The second motor 23 is used to control the rotation of the drive wheel 22.

[0059] In this embodiment, the lawnmower robot is equipped with multiple walking mechanisms 100, and some or all of the wheel assemblies 20 are equipped with second motors 23. Each second motor 23 independently controls the drive wheel 22, enabling the lawnmower robot to perform turning, side-shifting and other steering actions.

[0060] In some embodiments, such as Figures 3 to 5 As shown, the walking mechanism 100 also includes a protective cover 30, which has a receiving cavity 33. The worm gear 13 is located in the receiving cavity 33, and the worm 12 extends into the receiving cavity 33 along the horizontal direction X and is connected to the worm gear 13 for transmission.

[0061] Specifically, the protective cover 30 is installed over the transmission parts of the worm gear 13 and worm 12, assembling the worm gear 13 and worm 12 within the receiving cavity 33 of the protective cover 30. This prevents debris such as grass from entering the meshing point between the worm gear 13 and worm 12, extending their service life and improving the reliability of the traveling mechanism 100. Furthermore, the protective cover 30 acts as a protective shield, preventing operators from contacting the worm gear 13 and reducing the risk of accidental injury.

[0062] In some embodiments, such as Figure 3 and Figure 8 As shown, the protective cover 30 includes a first housing 31 and a second housing 32, with the first housing 31 connected to the second housing 32 to form a receiving cavity 33.

[0063] Specifically, the first housing 31 is the upper cover, and the second housing 32 is the lower housing. The upper cover covers the lower housing to form a receiving cavity 33. The side wall of the second housing 32 is provided with a first mounting hole, and the bottom wall of the second housing 32 is provided with a second mounting hole. The worm gear 12 passes through the first mounting hole in the horizontal direction X and extends into the receiving cavity 33, and the rotating shaft 14 passes through the second mounting hole in the vertical direction Y and extends into the receiving cavity 33.

[0064] The first housing 31 and the second housing 32 are fixed by bolt assembly or snap-fit ​​assembly. This embodiment does not limit the assembly connection method of the first housing 31 and the second housing 32.

[0065] In some embodiments, such as Figure 4 As shown, a limiting member 34 is provided in the accommodating cavity 33, which is used to limit the rotation range of the worm gear 13.

[0066] Specifically, if the rotation range of the worm gear 13 is too large, it will cause the rotation angle of the wheel assembly 20 to be too large, causing the walking trajectory of the lawnmower robot to deviate from the predetermined path. In addition, an excessive rotation angle of the wheel assembly 20 will result in poor driving stability of the lawnmower robot, causing risks such as tilting and bumping during the driving process. In this embodiment, a limiting member 34 is provided on the inner wall of the second housing 32. When the teeth 132 of the worm gear 13 rotate clockwise or counterclockwise to the position of the limiting member 34, the limiting member 34 can abut against the teeth 132, preventing the worm gear 13 from rotating further, thereby limiting the rotation range of the wheel assembly 20 and avoiding excessive rotation of the wheel assembly 20.

[0067] In some embodiments, such as Figure 8 and Figure 11 As shown, the steering assembly 10 also includes a bushing 15, which is fitted inside the accommodating cavity 33 around the outer periphery of the rotating shaft 14.

[0068] Specifically, bushings 15 are fitted at different positions along the axial direction of the rotating shaft 14. The rotating shaft 14 rotates within the bushings 15, and the multiple bushings 15 together support the rotating shaft 14, reducing the radial runout of the rotating shaft 14 and making the rotating shaft 14 more stable during rotation. The bushings 15 act as bearings, reducing the friction of the rotating shaft 14 and reducing the noise and vibration when the rotating shaft 14 rotates.

[0069] In some embodiments, such as Figure 3 and Figure 6 As shown, the steering assembly 10 also includes a motor mounting member 16, which is sleeved on the body of the first motor 11.

[0070] Specifically, the motor fixing component 16 is a motor bracket, which fits the main body of the first motor 11 into the motor bracket so that the first motor 11 is fixed in the steering assembly 10, thereby preventing the first motor 11 from shifting or loosening due to vibration and enhancing the operational stability of the first motor 11.

[0071] On the other hand, this application embodiment also provides a mobile robot (not shown in the drawings), including a robot body and a walking mechanism 100, the walking mechanism 100 being connected to the robot body.

[0072] Specifically, the mobile robot includes a robot body and the aforementioned walking mechanism 100. The walking mechanism 100 is installed at the bottom of the robot body. The robot body integrates components such as a power system, a control system, and a communication module to realize the control of the robot and information interaction with the outside world.

[0073] The aforementioned mobile robot can be a lawnmower robot, a sweeping robot, a cleaning robot, an inspection robot, a transport robot, or other robots with mobility and walking functions. This embodiment does not specifically limit the type of mobile robot.

[0074] It should be understood that the term "and / or" as used in this specification and the appended claims refers to any combination and all possible combinations of one or more of the associated listed items, and includes such combinations. It should be noted that, herein, the terms "comprising," "including," or any other variations thereof are intended to cover non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method, article, or system that comprises a list of elements includes not only those elements but also other elements not expressly listed, or elements inherent to such a process, method, article, or system. Without further limitation, an element defined by the phrase "comprising one..." does not exclude the presence of other identical elements in the process, method, article, or system that includes that element.

[0075] The sequence numbers of the embodiments in this application are for descriptive purposes only and do not represent the superiority or inferiority of the embodiments. The above descriptions are merely specific embodiments of this application, but the scope of protection of this application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can easily conceive of various equivalent modifications or substitutions within the technical scope disclosed in this application, and these modifications or substitutions should all be covered within the scope of protection of this application. Therefore, the scope of protection of this application should be determined by the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A walking mechanism, characterized in that, The walking mechanism includes: Wheel assembly; The steering assembly includes a first motor, a worm, a worm wheel, and a shaft. The worm is connected to the main shaft of the first motor, the worm wheel is sleeved on the shaft, the shaft is connected to the wheel assembly, and the worm is drivenly connected to the worm wheel.

2. The walking mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that, The worm gear includes a gear body and a helical gear section; The helical tooth portion includes a plurality of teeth spaced apart on the outer peripheral surface of the wheel body, and the teeth have a preset angle with the vertical direction; The wheel body is provided with a shaft hole, the rotating shaft is fixed in the shaft hole, and the worm gear is connected to the worm through the helical tooth part.

3. The walking mechanism according to claim 2, characterized in that, The helical teeth are located within a fan-shaped area on the outer circumferential surface of the wheel.

4. The walking mechanism according to claim 2, characterized in that, The rotating shaft is provided with a first mounting part, and the inner wall of the shaft hole is provided with a second mounting part. The rotating shaft passes through the shaft hole, and the first mounting part and the second mounting part cooperate to fix the rotating shaft in the shaft hole.

5. The walking mechanism according to claim 2, characterized in that, The wheel assembly includes a support frame and a drive wheel, with a first end of the support frame connected to the drive wheel and a second end of the support frame connected to the shaft.

6. The walking mechanism according to claim 5, characterized in that, The wheel assembly also includes a second motor, which is located at the first end of the support frame, and the main shaft of the second motor is connected to the drive wheel.

7. The walking mechanism according to claim 1, characterized in that, The walking mechanism also includes a protective cover, which has a receiving cavity. The worm gear is located in the receiving cavity, and the worm extends horizontally into the receiving cavity and is connected to the worm gear in a driving connection.

8. The walking mechanism according to claim 7, characterized in that, The protective cover includes a first housing and a second housing, the first housing being connected to the second housing to form the accommodating cavity.

9. The walking mechanism according to claim 7, characterized in that, The accommodating cavity is provided with a limiting member, which is used to limit the rotation range of the worm gear.

10. The walking mechanism according to claim 7, characterized in that, The steering assembly also includes a bushing, which is fitted inside the accommodating cavity onto the outer periphery of the rotating shaft.

11. A mobile robot, characterized in that, It includes a robot body and a walking mechanism as described in any one of claims 1 to 10, the walking mechanism being connected to the robot body.

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