Adhesion device, end effector, and robot

Abstract

This disclosure relates to an adhesion device and a robot equipped with the adhesion device. The adhesion device includes a substrate whose inner surface is configured to contact an object to be adhered to, a directional dry adhesive layer provided on the inner surface of the substrate and having a plurality of inclined microwedge structures, and an adhesion layer provided on the inner surface of the substrate and surrounding the directional dry adhesive layer.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of industrial robots, and particularly to an adhesion device and a robot equipped with the adhesion device.

Background Art

[0002] In robots, grippers are often used as end effectors to enable various operations such as gripping, holding, and climbing of objects. Most grippers rely heavily on the normal gripping force to obtain sufficient frictional force. However, in the case of fragile objects, there is a risk that the object may be deformed or damaged by excessive normal gripping force. To avoid such problems, in recent years, grippers based on directional dry adhesives have emerged. Directional dry adhesives are inspired by the fibrous structures found in geckos and the feet of certain spiders, and are defined as materials that have relatively high shear adhesion and relatively low peel strength while having minimal adhesiveness. These materials can adhere to, detach from, and re-adhere to various adhesion objects multiple times.

[0003] Directional dry adhesives are known for their minimal cohesive force and high shear adhesion, but generally lack a large normal adhesion force.

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] Therefore, there is a need to provide an adhesion device having a high adhesion force and a robot equipped with the adhesion device.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] In one embodiment, the adhesion device includes a substrate configured such that an inner surface thereof contacts an adhesion object, a directional dry adhesive layer provided on the inner surface of the substrate and having a plurality of inclined micro-wedge structures, and an adhesion layer provided on the inner surface of the substrate and surrounding the directional dry adhesive layer.

[0006] In one embodiment, the thickness of the directional dry adhesive layer is greater than the thickness of the adhesive layer.

[0007] In one embodiment, the adhesive layer is a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer.

[0008] In one embodiment, the adhesive layer includes a plurality of micro-suction cups.

[0009] In one embodiment, the adhering layer includes a plurality of mushroom-shaped tips.

[0010] In one embodiment, the adhesive layer includes a film and a plurality of fibers connecting the film and the inner surface.

[0011] In one embodiment, the robot's end effector includes a plurality of attachment devices as described above and a load member connected between the plurality of attachment devices, wherein the plurality of attachment devices are arranged symmetrically with respect to the center of the load member.

[0012] In one embodiment, both ends of the load member are connected to the substrates of the plurality of adhesion devices, and the load member is configured to apply load to the adhesion devices in the tangential and normal directions to the surface of the object to be adhered.

[0013] In one embodiment, the load-bearing member includes one or a combination thereof of a tendon, rope, chain, and membrane.

[0014] A robot, including the end effector described above.

[0015] The above solution combines two types of adhesives: a directional dry adhesive layer and an adhesive layer. As a result, the adhesive device equipped with this composite adhesive can exhibit high adhesion in all directions, and the pressure required to bond the dry adhesive layer to the object can be minimized, thus achieving excellent results. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0016] To more clearly describe embodiments of the present invention or prior art, the drawings necessary for describing the embodiments or prior art will be briefly described. The drawings described below are merely those shown for embodiments of the present invention, and it will be clear that those skilled in the art can obtain drawings of other embodiments based on these drawings without requiring any creative effort. [Figure 1] This is a schematic diagram of an adhesion apparatus according to one embodiment. [Figure 2] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing how the adhesion device acts on the object to be adhered to. [Figure 3] This is a magnified view of location A shown in Figure 2. [Figure 4] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing how the adhesion device is removed from the object to which it is attached. [Figure 5] (A) to (D) are enlarged views of the adhesion layer shown in Figure 1. [Figure 6] This is a schematic diagram of an end effector according to one embodiment. [Figure 7] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram showing how the end effector acts on the object to which it is attached. [Figure 8] Figure 6 is a schematic diagram showing how the adhesion device is removed from the object to which it is attached. [Figure 9] This is a schematic diagram of a robot according to one embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0017] To make the above-mentioned objectives, features, and advantages of this disclosure clearer and easier to understand, specific embodiments of this disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. The following description includes many specific details to ensure a thorough understanding of the invention. However, this disclosure can be implemented in ways different from those described herein, and those skilled in the art can make similar improvements without departing from the spirit of the invention. Therefore, the invention is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed below.

[0018] In the present disclosure, unless otherwise explicitly limited, terms such as "attach", "connect", "contact", "fix", etc. should be construed in a broad sense. For example, they may be fixedly connected, removably connected, or integral, may be mechanical connections, may be electrical connections, may be direct connections, or may be indirectly connected via intervening elements. It may also mean the connection between two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meanings of the above terms in the present disclosure according to the situation. <00,00087>

[0019] Or, when an element is referred to as being "fixed" or "installed" on another element, it may be provided on the other element or may be provided via an intervening element. When an element is described as being "connected" to another element, it may be directly connected or may be connected via an intervening element. Terms such as "vertical", "horizontal", "upper", "lower", "left", "right", etc. used in this specification and similar expressions are for the convenience of explanation and do not mean the only embodiment.

[0020] Referring to FIG. 1, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides an adhesion device 100, and the adhesion device 100 includes a substrate 10, a directional dry adhesive layer 20, and an adhesion layer 30. The substrate 10 includes an inner surface 12 that contacts the adhesion object (S) and an outer surface 14 that is connected to the joint member of the robot. Both the directional dry adhesive layer 20 and the adhesion layer 30 are provided on the inner surface 12.

[0021] [[ID=!4]] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the directional dry adhesive layer 20 has a plurality of inclined micro-wedge structures. The micro-wedge structures may be inclined in a direction opposite to the main operation direction of the attaching device 100. In some embodiments, each micro-wedge structure includes a first inclined surface and a second inclined surface, and the bottom of the first inclined surface is connected to the bottom of the second inclined surface to form a protruding tip. In one embodiment, the angle between the first inclined surface and the vertical plane is in the range of 50° to 80°, the angle between the second inclined surface and the vertical plane is in the range of 20° to 60°, and the height of the micro-wedge structure in the vertical direction is 40 μm to 200 μm. The micro-wedge structures may be integrally formed with the substrate 10 using a mold, or may be individually formed and adhered to the inner surface 12 of the substrate 10 by an adhesive or the like. In other embodiments, the shapes and dimensions of the plurality of micro-wedge structures can be adjusted according to actual needs.

[0022] The adhesion layer 30 surrounds the directional dry adhesive layer 20. The adhesion layer 30 can adopt various different designs. For example, referring to FIGS. 5(A) to 5(C), in these embodiments, the adhesion layer 30 may include a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer (e.g., a transparent adhesive) 32, a plurality of micro-suction cups 34, and a plurality of mushroom-shaped tips 36, respectively. The adhesion layer having mushroom-shaped tips can have a greater load capacity in the normal direction and a higher adhesion strength and preload ratio than the same type of product having flat tips. In other embodiments, as shown in FIG. 5(D), the adhesion layer 30 may further include a film 38 and a plurality of fibers 39 connecting the film 38 and the inner surface 12. The height of the fibers 39 may be, for example, about 1 μm to 100 μm. The width-to-length ratio of the fibers may be about 1:1 to about 5:1. The shape and / or cross-section of the fibers may be, for example, substantially circular, elliptical, hexagonal or rectangular. In one exemplary embodiment, a specific structure of the adhesion layer 30 can be formed using commercially available Sylgard® 184 (e.g., available from Dow Chemical), which is PDMS (polydimethylsiloxane).

[0023] Since the thickness of the directional dry adhesive layer 20 is greater than the thickness of the adhesive layer 30, when the directional dry adhesive layer 20 is about to come into contact with the surface of the object to be attached (S), the adhesive layer 30 does not come into contact with the object to be attached (S). At this time, the adhesion mechanism of the microwedge structure of the directional dry adhesive layer 20 is the van der Waals force effect. When no tangential load is applied, the microwedge structure is slightly inclined, and only the tip comes into contact with the surface of the object to be attached (S). In this state, the van der Waals force is negligible, and the microwedge structure is in an inactive state.

[0024] As shown in Figure 2, when the substrate 10 applies a constant downward pressure to the object (S) to be attached, the microwedge structure of the directional dry adhesive layer 20 elastically deforms, thereby causing the adhesive layer 30 to come into contact with the object (S). When a shear force L is applied to the substrate 10, the microwedge structure of the directional dry adhesive layer 20 is gradually bent and activated by the force. As the microwedge structure is gradually activated, the contact area between the microwedge structure and the surface of the object (S) increases significantly. Since the adhesive force in the normal direction is proportional to the contact area between the microwedge structure and the surface of the object, the adhesive force in the normal direction also increases significantly. Furthermore, when the substrate 10 is preloaded in the shear direction, the directional dry adhesive layer 20 is bonded to the surface of the object (S), thereby allowing the substrate 10 to come closer to the surface of the object (S). As a result, when further pressure is applied to the adhesive layer 30 in the direction normal to the adhesive layer, the adhesive layer 30 is bonded to the surface of the object to be attached (S). If the preload is maintained, the adhesive layer 30 and the surface of the object to be attached (S) are stably bonded, and it is guaranteed that the adhesive layer 30 will have a very strong adhesive force even when loads are applied to the substrate 10 in any direction.

[0025] When it is necessary to remove the adhesion device 100 from the surface of the object to be adhered (S), the shear preload can be released, and the directional dry adhesive layer 20 will rebound and return to its original undeformed state. As a result, the micro-wedge structure of the directional dry adhesive layer 20 will no longer be pressed against the surface of the object to be adhered (S), only the tips will be in contact with the object to be adhered (S), the adhesive force in the normal direction will be negligible, and the micro-wedge structure will become inactive. If the area of ​​the directional dry adhesive layer 20 is much larger than the area of ​​the adhesive layer 30, the rebound of the directional dry adhesive layer 20 will also cause the adhesive layer 30 to bounce off the surface of the object to be adhered (S). In other words, after the shear preload is released, the entire adhesion device 100 will automatically detach from the object to be adhered (S).

[0026] As shown in Figure 4, when the area of ​​the adhesive layer 30 is relatively large, the repulsive force of the directional dry adhesive layer 20 may not be large enough to detach it from the surface of the object (S) to which it is attached. In this case, by actively applying a peeling force P to the edge of the substrate 10, one end of the substrate 10 can be lifted, thereby allowing the adhesive layer 30 to be manually peeled from the surface of the object (S) to which it is attached. In this case, it is not necessary to always maintain a shear preload during the loading stage.

[0027] A directional dry adhesive layer can provide high normal and shear adhesion, but requires high pressure to activate. On the other hand, the adhesive layer 30 has low bonding strength and high shear adhesion, but typically lacks normal adhesion. In the above embodiment, by combining the two types of adhesives, the adhesive device 100 can bond the dry adhesive layer to the object with minimal pressure while providing high adhesion in all directions, thereby achieving good results.

[0028] As shown in Figure 6, another embodiment of the present disclosure provides a robot end effector 200, which includes a plurality of attachment devices 100 according to each of the above embodiments and a load member 300 connected between these attachment devices 100. The plurality of attachment devices 100 are arranged symmetrically with respect to the center of the load member 300. In this embodiment, the inclination directions of the microwedge structures of two opposing attachment devices 100 are opposite to each other.

[0029] The load member 300 includes, but is not limited to, tendons, ropes, chains, membranes, or combinations thereof. When sufficient tension is applied, the load member 300 may be substantially immobile. The load member 300 may be made of, for example, polyimide, Kevlar®, and / or polyester (PET). Both ends of the load member 300 are connected to the substrates 10 of two adjacent adhesive devices 100. Referring to Figure 7, by positioning the load member 300 between two opposing adhesive devices 100, an upward force can be applied to the center of the load member 300. In this case, the load member 300 is configured to load the two adhesive devices 100 in the tangential and normal directions to the surface of the object to be attached (S). Since the inclination directions of the microwedge structures of the two opposing adhesive devices 100 are opposite to each other, and the inclination direction of each microwedge structure is opposite to the direction of the force that the load member 300 applies to the substrate 10, a shear preload can be applied to the two directional dry adhesive layers 20 simultaneously.

[0030] Similar to the above embodiment, during the loading phase, an external load can be applied via the two substrates 10 to ensure that the adhesive layer 30 has a very strong adhesive force. During the unloading phase, if the repulsive force of the directional dry adhesive layer 20 is large enough to overcome the adhesive force of the adhesive layer 30, the entire end effector 200 will automatically detach from the object (S) once the shear preload is released. If the repulsive force of the directional dry adhesive layer 20 is not large enough to detach the adhesive layer 30 from the surface of the object (S), then, as shown in Figure 8, applying force to one end of the substrate 10 and lifting it can assist in detaching it from the surface of the object (S). Similarly, in this case, it is not necessary to always maintain the shear preload during the loading phase.

[0031] The directional dry adhesive layer 20 itself can easily bond to the object to be attached, but it does not provide strong adhesion. The adhesive layer 30 can provide strong adhesion, but it requires relatively high initial pressure when bonding to the object to be attached. In the above embodiment, by combining the two types of adhesives, the advantages of both are obtained. That is, the end effector 200, which combines the directional dry adhesive layer 20 and the adhesive layer 30, is not only easy to attach but also provides strong adhesion, thus eliminating the disadvantages of the directional dry adhesive layer 20 and the adhesive layer 30.

[0032] Referring to Figure 9, one embodiment further provides a robot 600. The robot 600 may include a plurality of articulated members 601 and end effectors 200 connected to the ends of the articulated members 601. The robot 600 has a wide range of application prospects in picking up and transporting products such as ultrathin wafers, ultrathin glass, flexible circuit boards, and wearable products. Those skilled in the art should understand that the structure shown in Figure 6 is merely an exemplary embodiment of the robot 600. In other embodiments, the robot 600 may include more or fewer components, such as I / O devices, network access devices, communication buses, processors, memory, actuators, and sensors. For example, the robot 600 may include a processor and memory that stores instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause a control system to be implemented. The memory may also store instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to activate or deactivate the end effectors 200 in order to grasp or release an object to be picked up.

[0033] The embodiments described above do not limit the scope of protection of the invention. Any modifications, equivalent substitutions, and improvements made within the spirit and principles of the embodiments described above shall be included within the scope of protection of the invention.

[0034] The above description is merely a specific embodiment of the present disclosure and is not intended to limit the scope of protection of the present disclosure. Any modification or substitution that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed herein shall be included within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. An adhesion device, A substrate configured such that its inner surface comes into contact with the object to be attached, A directional dry adhesive layer having a plurality of inclined microwedge structures is provided on the inner surface of the substrate, An adhesion apparatus characterized by including an adhesion layer provided on the inner surface of the substrate and surrounding the directional dry adhesive layer.

2. The adhesion apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the thickness of the directional dry adhesive layer is greater than the thickness of the adhesion layer.

3. The adhesion device according to claim 1, characterized in that the adhesion layer is a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer.

4. The adhesion apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the adhesion layer includes a plurality of micro-suction cups.

5. The adhesion apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the adhesion layer includes a plurality of mushroom-shaped tips.

6. The adhesion apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the adhesion layer includes a film and a plurality of fibers connecting the film and the inner surface.

7. It is the end effector of the robot, The plurality of adhesion devices described in claim 1, and a load member connected between the plurality of adhesion devices, The end effector is characterized in that the plurality of attachment devices are arranged symmetrically with respect to the center of the load member.

8. The end effector according to claim 7, characterized in that both ends of the load member are connected to the substrates of the plurality of adhesion devices, and the load member is configured to apply load to the adhesion devices in the tangential and normal directions to the surface of the object to be adhered to.

9. The end effector according to claim 7, characterized in that the load member includes one of a tendon, a rope, a chain, and a membrane, or a combination thereof.

10. The end effector according to claim 7, characterized in that the thickness of the directional dry adhesive layer is greater than the thickness of the adhesive layer.

11. The end effector according to claim 7, characterized in that the aforementioned adhesive layer is a pressure-sensitive adhesive layer.

12. The end effector according to claim 7, characterized in that the adhesion layer includes a plurality of micro-suction cups.

13. The end effector according to claim 7, characterized in that the aforementioned adhesion layer includes a plurality of mushroom-shaped tips.

14. The end effector according to claim 7, characterized in that the adhesive layer includes a film and a plurality of fibers connecting the film and the inner surface.

15. It is a robot, A robot characterized by including the end effector described in claim 7.

16. The robot according to claim 15, wherein both ends of the load member are connected to the substrates of the plurality of adhesion devices, and the load member is configured to apply load to the adhesion devices in the tangential and normal directions to the surface of the object to be adhered to.

17. The robot according to claim 15, characterized in that the load member includes one of a tendon, a rope, a chain, and a membrane, or a combination thereof.

18. The robot according to claim 15, characterized in that the thickness of the directional dry adhesive layer is greater than the thickness of the adhesive layer.

19. The robot according to claim 15, characterized in that the aforementioned adhesion layer includes a plurality of mushroom-shaped tips.

20. The robot according to claim 15, characterized in that the adhesive layer includes a film and a plurality of fibers connecting the film and the inner surface.

Images