Finger joint transmission mechanism with multiple translation stages
The multi-stage finger joint transmission mechanism in humanoid robot hands addresses the limitations of existing designs by providing high flexibility and precise control, enabling complex movements and enhancing the robot hand's functionality.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- DE102023134853
- Authority / Receiving Office
- DE · DE
- Patent Type
- Patents
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2023-12-12
- Publication Date
- 2025-05-08
- Estimated Expiration
- 2043-12-12
AI Technical Summary
Existing humanoid robot hands have limited degree of freedom and cannot individually control and accurately position the bending motion of each joint, restricting them to simple gripping tasks.
A multi-stage finger joint transmission mechanism is introduced, comprising a first finger joint with a pivot portion and a joint portion with arc-shaped teeth, a hollow second finger joint with a driving device and transmission components, allowing for precise control and high flexibility.
The mechanism simplifies the structural design, reduces volume, and provides a high reduction ratio, enabling precise control over each finger joint for complex movements, thus enhancing the robot hand's functionality.
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Abstract
Description
[0001] The present invention relates to a robot hand mechanism, particularly to a finger joint transmission mechanism of a humanoid robot hand.
[0002] As a result of the booming development of the robotics industry, humanoid robot hands are now available that mimic the structure of the human hand, allowing them to perform certain tasks like a human hand. Research into multi-finger robot hands focuses on the function of dexterous work execution.
[0003] Existing humanoid robotic hands are designed to grasp objects, with individual joints pivotally connected to each other and capable of being driven to move with a predetermined degree of freedom. For example, the bionic finger device disclosed in Chinese Patent Application No. CN 1 08 189 065 A pivots the respective finger joints relative to each other using connecting rods and then connects a linear drive element to the connecting rod of the first finger joint. When the linear drive element is actuated, each finger joint can be driven to flex or extend relatively through the mutual influence of the connecting rods.Although the robot hand composed of this structure can achieve the effect of simulating the human hand in terms of grasping objects, the joints driven by the connecting rods not only have a small degree of freedom, but also the flexion movement of each joint cannot be individually controlled and accurately positioned, so only simple grasping tasks can be performed.
[0004] In addition, there are currently designs that use cables to pull the interlocked finger joints to achieve flexion or extension movements. This mainly simulates the tendon method of the human hand to pull the finger joints and generate corresponding pivoting movements. However, the drive device used by this type of robot hand to roll the cable is relatively large, and the cables that drive each finger must be wound separately and installed on the robot hand, which makes the overall structure of this type of robot hand more complex. Furthermore, the flexion movements of each joint cannot be individually controlled and precisely positioned, so deficiencies still exist. Further reference is made to document US 2014 / 0 324 189 A. This describes a hand prosthesis and discloses a finger joint transmission mechanism having the features according to the preamble of claim 1. Document DE 10 2019 202 865 A1 relates to the joint shaft structure of a robot. Document DE 10 2017 204 076 A1 describes a robot wrist structure, and document DE 198 54 762 A1 relates to an artificial hand.
[0005] The main purpose of the present invention is to provide a finger joint transmission mechanism for a humanoid robot hand, which is capable of simplifying the structural design and effectively utilizing the space to reduce the volume and ensure the effectiveness of its reduction ratio, while having high flexibility and precise control.
[0006] To achieve the above-mentioned objects, the present invention provides a finger joint transmission mechanism with multiple gear stages according to claim 1, comprising: - A first finger joint having at one end a first pivot part and a first joint part, and wherein the first joint part is provided with a row of teeth arranged in an arc along an axis Y; - A second finger joint which is hollow and in which a receiving space is formed; wherein this second finger joint has a head end and a rear end opposite the head end; wherein the head end of the second finger joint is relatively pivotally connected to the first pivot portion of the first finger joint and wherein a second pivot portion and a second joint portion are formed at the rear end, and wherein a drive device is provided in the receiving space; wherein the drive device has a transmission shaft which projects towards the first joint part, and wherein a transmission gear is provided along the outer circumference of this transmission shaft. - A transmission component provided at a position directly above the second finger joint adjacent to the tip end thereof, the transmission component comprising a toothed disk meshing with the transmission gear; a drive shaft projecting from the center of the toothed disk and rotating synchronously with the toothed disk; and a drive gear meshing with the tooth row is provided along the outer circumference of the drive shaft, such that when the transmission shaft of the driving device drives the toothed disk and its transmission shaft to rotate by means of the transmission gear, the drive gear is synchronously driven to move along the tooth row, and at the same time, the second finger joint is driven to make up and down swings at a predetermined angle relative to the first finger joint. - Fig. 1 is a schematic exploded view of an embodiment of the present invention. - Fig. Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the three-dimensional appearance of the present invention. - Fig. Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the composition and structure of the present invention. - Fig. 4 is a partially enlarged schematic diagram of Fig. 3. - The Fig. 5 and Fig. 6 are schematic diagrams of the action of each joint during downward pivoting according to the present invention. - The Fig. 7 and Fig. 8 are schematic diagrams of the operation of the first finger joint of the present invention during sideways tilting relative to the drive assembly.
[0007] As in the Fig. 1 to 4, the finger joint transmission mechanism of the humanoid robot hand of the present invention mainly consists of a first finger joint 11, a second finger joint 21, a third finger joint 31 and a fourth finger joint 41 connected in this order with rotary joints, wherein a transmission component 51 is provided at each of the rotary joints of the first finger joint 11, the second finger joint 21, the third finger joint 31 and the fourth finger joint 41, wherein: one end of the first finger joint 11 has a first pivot part 12 projecting along an axis Z in the form of a convex column to its left and right sides, and a first joint part 13 extending forward in a plate-like manner along an axial direction X, the first joint part 13 being provided with a row of teeth 14 arranged in an arc shape along an axis Y; the second finger joint 21 is hollow and has a receiving space 22 that extends along the longitudinal axis direction inside the second finger joint 21. In this embodiment, the second finger joint 21 is assembled from a first half-shell 211 and a second half-shell 212; in other possible embodiments, the second finger joint 21 can also be integrally formed by a hollow cylinder with at least one open end or a truss-like support frame. The present invention is not limited to the structure or manufacturing method of the finger joint itself. The second finger joint 21 has a head end 23 and a rear end 24 opposite the head end 23, and an assembly groove 25 is formed inwardly at a position directly above the head end 23 of the second finger joint 21.The second finger joint 21 has a through hole 231 at its head end 23 and is relatively pivotally connected to the first joint portion 12 of the first finger joint 11, so that the first joint part 13 can be relatively accommodated in the head end 23. At the rear end 24, a second pivot part 26 is formed, which protrudes in the form of a convex column on the two opposite sides along the axial direction Z, and a second joint part 27, which protrudes forward along the axial direction X and is plate-shaped and is provided with another row of teeth 28 arranged in an arc shape along the axial direction Y. A drive device 61 is accordingly accommodated in the receiving space 22, wherein the drive device 61 can consist of a single motor or a combination of a motor and a reduction gear.The drive device 61 includes a transmission shaft 62 projecting toward the first joint part 13, and a transmission gear 63 consisting of a bevel gear or a halberd gear and arranged along the outer circumference of the transmission shaft 62.
[0008] The transmission component 51 is located in the mounting groove 25 of the second finger joint 21. The transmission component 51 comprises an obliquely arranged toothed disk 52, wherein the toothed disk 52 is provided with a predetermined number of helical teeth 521 along its outer circumference. A drive shaft 53 protrudes from the center of the toothed disk 52 in the direction of the tooth row and can rotate synchronously with the toothed disk 52. A drive gear 54 is provided along the outer circumference of the drive shaft 53 and meshes with the tooth row 14. The drive gear 54 can also consist of a bevel gear or a halberd gear. The number of teeth of the drive gear 54 is fewer than the number of teeth of the toothed disk 52. An inclination angle θ is formed between the central axis L of the drive shaft 53 and the central axis L' of the transmission shaft 62. In this embodiment, the inclination angle θ is, for example, 45 degrees.By slanting the transmission component 51 in the mounting groove 25 directly above the second finger joint 21, not only can the number of components and the overall weight be reduced, but the transmission component 51 can also effectively utilize the space to reduce the overall volume in the assembled state. At the same time, a sufficiently large reduction ratio can be provided during the transmission process, so that when the transmission shaft 62 of the drive device 61 and its transmission gear 63 drive the toothed pulley 52 and the drive shaft 53 to rotate synchronously, the drive gear 54 is driven to move along the tooth row 14 to stably drive the second finger joint 21 to perform an upward or downward pivoting movement at a predetermined angle relative to the first finger joint 11 along the Y axis.Furthermore, the motor of the drive device 61 may be additionally equipped with an angle sensor to precisely control the movement position of the finger joints and thereby accurately simulate the flexion and extension movements of human finger joints, and when the second finger joint 21 is in an extended position A relative to the first finger joint 11, the central axis L' of the transmission shaft 62 of the drive device 61 is aligned with the center line of the tooth row 14 extending along the axial direction X (as shown in FIG. Fig. shown). In addition, if the torque provided by the drive device 61 consisting only of a motor is insufficient, a drive device 61 consisting of a reduction gear connected in series with the front end of the motor can be used to perform the first deceleration stage. Subsequently, the transmission component 51 performs a second deceleration stage to ensure its output torque. Furthermore, the third finger joint 31 is pivotally connected at its head end 33 to the second pivot part 26, and the same drive device 61 and transmission component 51 as in the second finger joint 21 are mounted in the third finger joint 31.
[0009] The third finger joint 31 and the fourth finger joint 41 are each provided with the same row of teeth 28 as the first finger joint 11 and the second finger joint 21 at the points where they are pivotally connected to each other, and also with the same drive device 61 and the transmission component 51, so that the third finger joint 31 and the fourth finger joint 41 can also move along the corresponding row of teeth 28 via their respective drive gears 54, so that the third finger joint 31 and the fourth finger joint 41 can each be driven to pivot upwards or downwards at a predetermined angle along the axis direction Y. As shown in the Fig. As shown, the drive devices 61 of the second finger joint 21, the third finger joint 31 and the fourth finger joint 41 can move in forward or backward rotation and thereby drive the corresponding finger joints to bend or extend.
[0010] Furthermore, each joint position of the finger formed by the present invention can be controlled independently, which provides high flexibility and enables precise control.
[0011] Furthermore, a bearing 15 is protrudingly formed at the other end of the first finger joint 11. The bearing 15 is provided with a drive tooth row 16 arranged in an arcuate manner along an axial direction Z. A drive component 71 comprises a drive motor 72 and a reduction gear 73 connected to the drive motor 72. The reduction gear 73 has an output shaft 74 projecting along the axial direction Y, wherein the output shaft 74 and the transmission shaft 62 have the same central axis L', and wherein an output gear 75 consisting of a bevel gear or a halberd gear is arranged on the outer circumference of the output shaft 74, and wherein the output gear 75 meshes with the drive tooth row 16, so that when the drive motor 72 drives the output shaft 74 through the reduction gear 73, as shown in the Fig.shown, by the output gear 75, the drive gear row 16 can be moved relative thereto, whereby the first finger joint 11 is stably driven to tilt left or right at a predetermined angle along the axis direction Z relative to the drive component 71, whereupon the other finger joints can be driven to perform lateral deflection movements to improve their movement flexibility.
Claims
[1] Finger joint transmission mechanism with multiple translation stages, comprising - a first finger joint (11) having at one end a first pivot part (12) and a first joint part (13), wherein the first joint part (13) is provided with a row of teeth (14) arranged in an arc along an axial direction Y; - a second finger joint (21) which is hollow and has a receiving space (22) in its interior, wherein the second finger joint (21) has a head end (23) and a rear end (24) opposite the head end (23), wherein the head end (23) of the second finger joint (21) is connected in a relatively pivotable manner to the first pivot part (12) of the first finger joint (11), wherein a second joint part (27) is formed at the rear end (24) and a drive device (61) is provided in the receiving space (22); wherein the drive device (61) has a transmission shaft (62) which projects in the direction of the first joint part (13), and wherein a transmission gear (63) is arranged along the outer circumference of the transmission shaft (62); - a transmission component (51), the transmission component (51) comprising a toothed disk (52) that meshes with the transmission gear (63); wherein the toothed disk (52) has a drive shaft (53) projecting from the center of the toothed disk (52) that can rotate synchronously with the toothed disk (52), and wherein a drive gear (54) that meshes with the row of teeth (14) is provided along the outer circumference of the drive shaft (53), so that when the transmission shaft (62) of the drive device (61) rotates the toothed disk (52) and the drive shaft (53) with its transmission gear (63), the drive gear (54) is synchronously driven to move along the row of teeth (14), and thus the second finger joint (21) is driven to pivot up or down at a predetermined angle relative to the first finger joint (11); characterized by , that a second pivoting part (26) is further formed at the rear end (24); the transmission component (51) is provided at a position above the head end (23) of the second finger joint (21); and the second finger joint (21) has a concave mounting groove at the upper position next to the head end (23) and the transmission component (51) lies in the mounting groove (25) of the second finger joint (21). [2] A multi-stage finger joint transmission mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the toothed disk (52) is provided with a predetermined number of helical teeth (521) along its outer circumference, and the number of teeth of the drive gear (54) is less than the number of teeth of the toothed disk (52). [3] A multi-stage finger joint transmission mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the first pivot part (12) projects along an axial direction Z from the two opposite sides of the second finger joint (21) to form a convex columnar shape, and the first joint part (13) faces forward along an axial direction X to project in a plate-like manner, and the second finger joint (21) is relatively pivotally connected to the first pivot part (12) of the first finger joint (11) with a through hole (231) at its head end (23) so that the first joint part (13) is relatively housed in the head end (23). [4] A multi-stage finger joint transmission mechanism according to claim 3, wherein, when the second finger joint (21) is in an extended position (A) relative to the first finger joint (11), the center axis of the transmission shaft (62) of the drive device (61) and the center line extending along the axial direction X of the tooth row (14) are aligned with each other. [5] A multi-stage finger joint transmission mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the transmission component (51) is arranged inclined in the mounting groove (25) so that an inclination angle (θ) is formed between the center axis of the drive shaft (53) and the center axis of the transmission shaft (62). [6] A multi-gear ratio finger joint transmission mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the second joint part (27) is provided with another row of teeth (28) arranged in an arcuate manner along the axial direction Y, and a third finger joint (31) is pivotally connected to the second pivot part (26) at its head end (33), and the third finger joint (31) is equipped with the same drive device (61) and the transmission component (51) as the second finger joint (21), so that when the drive gear (54) of the third finger joint (31) rotates, it moves along the other row of teeth (28) and then drives the third finger joint (31) relative to the second finger joint (21) to perform pivoting movements up or down at a predetermined angle. [7] A multi-gear ratio finger joint transmission mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the other end of the first finger joint (11) has a bearing (15), and the bearing (15) is provided with a drive gear row (16) arranged in an arc along an axial direction Z, and wherein a drive component (71) comprises a drive motor (72) and a reduction gear (73) connected to the drive motor (72), and wherein the reduction gear (73) has an output shaft (74), and an output gear (75) is provided on the outer circumference of the output shaft (74), and wherein the output gear (75) meshes with the drive gear row (16), so that when the drive motor (72) drives the output shaft (74) via the reduction gear (73), the drive gear row (16) is set in motion by the output gear (75). to drive the first finger joint (11),to perform a tilting movement to the left or right at a predetermined angle relative to the drive component (71).
Citation Information
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