226 results about "Muscle material" patented technology

A system includes a navigation apparatus and controller. The navigation apparatus includes a body assembly that includes a plurality of pneumatic or artificial muscles that are configured to interact with a sidewall of the conduit and move the body assembly through the conduit. The plurality of pneumatic or artificial muscles are independently actuated to steer the body assembly. The navigation apparatus also includes a sensor array coupled to the body assembly. The sensor array is positioned to interact with the sidewall of the conduit and provide signals as the body assembly moves through the interior cavity. The controller is communicatively coupled to the sensor array and configured to determine a characteristic of the conduit based on the signals provided by the sensor array.

The invention discloses an artificial muscle system, a manufacturing method and application, and the system comprises an integrated driving unit which is composed of artificial muscles with spiral or twisted structures and can generate mechanical movement of rotation, contraction or stretching under external stimulation; the integrated heat management unit comprises a fluid pump with an electrode with a specific surface area of 100m < 2 > / g-1500m < 2 > / g, and is driven by voltage to generate one-way fluid flow so as to quickly dissipate heat generated after the artificial muscle is driven; the integrated sensing layer is formed by compounding a functional filler and an elastic substrate, is integrated on the surface or inside the artificial muscle and is used for monitoring the deformation, temperature, pressure and displacement states of the artificial muscle in the driving process in real time; the fluid pump is integrated with the artificial muscle in a series, parallel or composite configuration mode, the cooling time is shortened, and the driving frequency and efficiency are improved. The system has a wide application prospect and can be applied to the fields of intelligent composite materials, robots, wearable equipment, bionic engineering and medical instruments.

The invention belongs to the technical field of soft robots, and discloses a lockable driver based on artificial muscles and a driving method of the lockable driver. The driver comprises an artificial muscle bundle, a locking device and a flexible connector, the artificial muscle bundle is formed by weaving a plurality of CD-ROM liquid crystal elastomer fibers in a chain shape, and 30%-50% of reversible contraction deformation can be generated under illumination; the locking device is of a layer blocking variable stiffness structure, and millisecond soft-hard state switching is achieved through vacuum negative pressure. During driving, light initiates phase change shrinkage of the liquid crystal elastomer, and then the locking device is vacuumized to fix deformation; and the flexible state can be recovered by charging positive pressure when the pressure is released. The problems that a traditional flexible driver is high in standby energy consumption and poor in load capacity are solved, the high deformation capacity and the lockable rigidity are achieved, and the flexible driver can be widely applied to the fields of exoskeletons, rehabilitation instruments and the like.

The invention discloses a coil structure-based length self-sensing method for high polymer twisted artificial muscle, which comprises the following steps of: firstly, enabling the artificial muscle to be equivalent to N equidistant circular current loops, establishing an inductance calculation formula by combining a Biot-Savart law and a magnetic field superposition principle, and breaking through the limitation of a traditional solenoid model on a helical angle; then through MATLAB numerical simulation and iterative computation, fitting to obtain a power function describing the relation between inductance and length; and finally, proposing a parameter dynamic correction mode based on single-time initial inductance measurement according to complex factors such as actual magnetic flux leakage and skin effect, and realizing rapid adaptive calibration by adjusting a parameter b. In a word, the method creatively combines theoretical modeling with experimental correction, the sensing precision in a dynamic stretching scene is remarkably improved while the inductance-length macroscopic trend prediction capability is ensured, dependence on a large amount of experimental data is not needed, and the method has good engineering applicability and is worthy of popularization.

A fluidic artificial muscle actuator may include at least one inflatable bladder defining a first inflatable segment coupled to a first member and to a second member arranged at opposite ends of the first inflatable segment, and a second inflatable segment coupled to a third member and to a fourth member arranged at opposite ends of the second inflatable segment, and an effector coupled to the first inflatable segment and to the second inflatable segment for providing an actuator output. The first inflatable segment is configured to contract in a longitudinal direction with increase in fluid pressure in the first inflatable segment and the second inflatable segment is configured to extend in the longitudinal direction with increase in fluid pressure in the second inflatable segment.

An artificial muscle including a housing, an electrode pair positioned in an electrode region of the housing, the electrode pair including a first electrode and a second electrode, the first electrode and the second electrode each including a pair of tab portions and a bridge portion, the pair of tab portions extending parallel to one another to define a gap portion between the pair of tab portions, the gap portion having a constant gap width extending along a tab length of the pair of tab portions, the bridge portion interconnecting the pair of tab portions, and a dielectric fluid housed within the housing, wherein the electrode pair is actuatable between a non-actuated state and an actuated state such that actuation from the non-actuated state to the actuated state directs the dielectric fluid into an expandable fluid region of the housing.

The invention relates to a wet response fiber and a preparation method and application thereof. The wet response fiber is a double-component parallel type composite fiber. Wherein the first component comprises a wet response factor and a polymer; the second component includes a hydrophobic polymer. The two components in the two-component wet response fiber material are controllable and adjustable, the driving effect is obvious, the spinning process is simple, continuous preparation can be achieved, various textile processes can be easily matched, and customized wet response textured fabric is achieved. The wet response fiber disclosed by the invention is expected to be used in the fields of intelligent wearing, sports health, medical assistance, high-end equipment, environmental perception, information acquisition, artificial muscles, soft robots and the like.

The invention provides a robot training method and device, electronic equipment and a storage medium, and the method comprises the steps: constructing a training network which comprises a strategy output network and an evaluation network; a reward function of the training network is determined, and the reward function comprises a centroid speed tracking reward function, an upper limb trunk balance reward function and a gait guiding reward function; obtaining current posture information of the to-be-trained robot, and calculating a target reward according to the posture information; inputting the attitude information into a strategy output network to obtain an action strategy of the hydraulic artificial muscle; inputting the target reward into an evaluation network to obtain an evaluation result of the action strategy; and under the condition that the evaluation result is that the action strategy meets the preset driving requirement, the hydraulic artificial muscle is driven according to the action strategy. According to the invention, the training of the robot based on hydraulic artificial muscle driving can be realized, and the training difficulty is low.

An artificial muscle including a housing, an electrode pair positioned in an electrode region of the housing, the electrode pair including a first electrode and a second electrode, the first electrode and the second electrode each including a pair of tab portions and a bridge portion interconnecting the pair of tab portions, and a first closing aid provided exteriorly of the housing opposite the electrode pair and applying a force in a direction toward the electrode region of the housing, wherein the electrode pair is actuatable between a non-actuated state and an actuated state such that actuation from the non-actuated state to the actuated state results in attraction of the first electrode and the second electrode.

The invention discloses a large-driving-force liquid crystal elastomer composite artificial muscle belt and a manufacturing method and application thereof. The preparation method comprises the following steps: reacting a mixed reaction system containing a liquid crystal monomer, a chain extender, a cross-linking agent, a photoinitiator, a catalyst and a nano material to prepare a composite oligomer; and placing the composite oligomer in a mold, removing the solvent, and then carrying out stretching and cross-linking treatment to obtain the liquid crystal elastomer composite artificial muscle band with large driving force. The composite artificial muscle belt can achieve linear contraction under thermal stimulation, and large thrust can be generated in the recovery process; meanwhile, the composite artificial muscle belt can achieve large driving force output without being assembled by an artificial muscle fiber bundle, and the technical problem caused by the fact that a plurality of artificial muscle fiber bundles are assembled to achieve contraction force amplification is solved.

The invention relates to the technical field of rehabilitation training equipment, and discloses a hand rehabilitation glove with artificial muscles, which comprises a connecting piece, a plurality of flexible pneumatic muscles are fixedly connected to the surface of the connecting piece, fingerstalls are fixedly connected to the ends, away from the connecting piece, of the plurality of flexible pneumatic muscles, elastic bands are fixedly connected to the surfaces of the plurality of fingerstalls, and the elastic bands are fixedly connected to the surface of the connecting piece. The outer layers of the multiple flexible pneumatic muscles are all expandable woven mesh pipes, the inner layers of the multiple flexible pneumatic muscles are all flexible rubber air bags, the ends, close to the connecting piece, of the multiple flexible rubber air bags are all fixedly connected with air pipes, and the bottom of the connecting piece is fixedly connected with hook-and-loop fasteners. Through precise pressure adjustment of the intelligent control module, natural contraction characteristics of human muscles can be simulated, the collision risk of a traditional rigid driving structure is avoided, and meanwhile, the safety monitoring module monitors the running state of the equipment in real time and triggers emergency response when the equipment is abnormal, so that the safety in the rehabilitation training process is further guaranteed.

The present invention discloses an artificial muscle fiber based on liquid crystal elastomers that is electrically driven and heat-resistant. The fiber improves its overall mechanical strength without affecting its drive performance, enabling rapid and precise actuation and exhibiting rapid response characteristics. The electrically driven liquid crystal elastomer artificial muscle has high sensitivity, high drive capacity, and high output force, achieving 60% of its maximum drive capacity within 0.3 seconds. While meeting the requirements for a large drive capacity, it also possesses a high driving force, offering broad research prospects in the fields of flexible electronics, soft robotics, and rehabilitation medicine. The preparation method of the present invention is simple and easy to operate, enabling mass production.

The invention discloses a pneumatic artificial muscle driven soft rehabilitation glove, and belongs to the technical field of rehabilitation medical instruments, the pneumatic artificial muscle driven soft rehabilitation glove comprises a glove, driving assemblies and an air path conversion base, the glove comprises a finger sleeve, a phalanx sleeve and a palm sleeve, one end of a stretching tendon rope located on the hand back side is connected with the finger sleeve, the phalanx sleeve and the palm sleeve, and the other end of the stretching tendon rope is connected with one driving assembly; one end of the bent tendon rope located on the palm side is also connected with the fingerstall, the phalanx sleeve and the palm sleeve, the other end of the bent tendon rope located on the palm side is also connected with the other driving assembly, the two driving assemblies are connected with the two air path conversion bases respectively, the two air path conversion bases are connected through a bandage buckle, and the two air path conversion bases sleeve and are locked at the positions of the arms of the human body. The technical problems that an existing rehabilitation glove is high in structural rigidity and poor in wearing comfort, the maintenance cost is high due to an integrated structure, and motion antagonism and joint motion range limitation are generated due to lack of passive ductility of artificial muscles can be solved.

An electrothermally driven artificial muscle fiber based on a liquid crystal elastomer. The overall mechanical strength of the fiber is improved without affecting the driving performance thereof, can be driven quickly and precisely, and has quick response characteristics. The electrothermally driven liquid crystal elastomer artificial muscle has high sensitivity, large actuation strain and high output force, can achieve a maximum actuation strain of 60% within 0.3s, and has a large driving force while satisfying a large actuation stroke, such that the electrothermally driven liquid crystal elastomer artificial muscle has broad research prospects in the fields of flexible electronics, soft robotics and rehabilitation therapy. The preparation method for the electrothermally driven artificial muscle fiber based on a liquid crystal elastomer involves a simple preparation process and easy operations, and can be mass-prepared.

A soft robotic gripper includes multiple fingers, each embedding at least one artificial muscle formed as a low-temperature shape-memory coil that recovers a memorized shape when electrically heated, thereby driving the fingers between open and gripping configurations in cold environments; the coil acts as a Joule-heated actuator enabling reversible contraction / extension with improved response at reduced transformation temperatures suitable for low-ambient operation.

Described herein is a cooling system for an artificial muscle, comprising: a flexible channel of tubular shape defining a lumen bound by a first end and a second end; an inlet interface attached to the first end of the flexible channel, at least a first port disposed in the inlet interface; an outlet formed by an opening at the second end of the flexible channel; an air flow device communicative with the at least first port disposed in the inlet interface.

The invention relates to the technical field of nuclear industrial robot control, and discloses an anti-radiation variable-stiffness mechanical arm which comprises a plurality of torsion modules, and every two adjacent torsion modules are connected through a rotating module, so that the torsion modules can spin around the longitudinal axes of the torsion modules and rotate around the horizontal axes on the rotating modules. A top cover is installed at the top of the uppermost torsion module, a bottom plate is installed at the bottom of the lowermost torsion module, the top cover and the torsion modules, the torsion modules and the torsion modules and the bottom plate are connected through a plurality of SMA artificial muscles, and wires are led out from the two ends of the SMA artificial muscles and connected into independent drive circuits. According to the anti-radiation variable-rigidity mechanical arm, control over the rigidity and deformation of the mechanical arm can be achieved, the size and weight of the mechanical arm are greatly reduced, and the power density is improved.

Superabsorbent and rapidly expanding porous gels can be made from the in situ foaming of a monomer solution (e.g., acrylic acid and acrylamide) using a double-barreled syringe having an acid and a base in respective barrels. Gas (e.g., CO2) can be generated at the mixing tip of the syringe by the acid-base reaction, and gas bubbles may be stabilized by an amphiphilic polymer in one of the barrels. Monomers can be polymerized by ultraviolet (UV) light to form the gel around the bubbles, and the material can be dried under ambient conditions to yield a porous solid. A resulting gel can absorb water at an extremely high rate until equilibrium is achieved, for example, at ˜300 times its weight and / or at more than 3 times its size. Such expansion can be used to lift weight, in mechanical work, in new designs for mechano-chemical engines, in artificial muscles, etc.

A control method of artificial muscle, comprising the following steps: S1: generating an artificial muscle bundle by connecting artificial muscle modules in series; S2: establishing an artificial muscle bundle voltage displacement model, and obtaining a target displacement Y of the artificial muscle bundle through the artificial muscle bundle voltage displacement model * (t) required ideal voltage V(t); S3: a feedforward inverse compensation controller compensates the ideal voltage V(t) in advance according to a disturbance signal; the disturbance signal includes humidity, temperature and load change; S4: a PID controller automatically adjusts the ideal voltage V(t) according to an error signal e(t); the error signal e(t) is the difference between the ideal voltage V(t) and an actual voltage; S5: the target displacement Y of the artificial muscle bundle is realized according to the ideal voltage V(t) * (t). The application can accurately calculate the voltage required for a specific displacement target, effectively offset the nonlinearity and external disturbance of the artificial muscle system, improve the control accuracy, and make the displacement of the artificial muscle bundle accurately reach the target displacement.

This invention discloses a fabrication process and control method for a free-curvature bionic artificial muscle fan blade, belonging to the field of bionic artificial muscle fan blade technology. It involves mixing sodium alginate, a natural polymer, with an ionic liquid to prepare a biomass gel electro-actuated membrane with high output force density and high strength at room temperature. A biomass gel conductive ink, made by blending gallium indium tin alloy with sodium alginate powder, is used as the electrode film. The resulting artificial muscle fan blade exhibits high energy conversion efficiency, low starting voltage, fast response speed, and higher structural strength at room temperature. Finally, the fan-shaped electrode is divided into several regions, which can be independently powered to control the curvature effect. This invention provides a simple fabrication process and control method for a free-curvature bionic artificial muscle fan blade, with stable structure, rapid deformation, and strong controllability, offering new ideas for the research and application of artificial muscle devices.

A fluidic artificial muscle actuator may include at least one inflatable bladder defining a first inflatable segment coupled to a first member and to a second member arranged at opposite ends of the first inflatable segment, and a second inflatable segment coupled to a third member and to a fourth member arranged at opposite ends of the second inflatable segment, and an effector coupled to the first inflatable segment and to the second inflatable segment for providing an actuator output. The first inflatable segment is configured to contract in a longitudinal direction with increase in fluid pressure in the first inflatable segment and the second inflatable segment is configured to extend in the longitudinal direction with increase in fluid pressure in the second inflatable segment.

Disclosed are an artificial muscle module, artificial skin implementing a micro-expression, and a manufacturing method therefor. The artificial muscle module of the present invention comprises: an outer coil including a coiled outer yarn having a hollow; and an inner elastic body located inside the hollow and including an elastic body. Through the introduction of a tension supporter, free-standing is possible without an initial load, resulting in high utilization and enabling implementation of micro-emotional expressions.

Actuators (artificial muscles) comprising twisted polymer fibers generate actuation when powered thermally. In some embodiments, the thermally-powered polymer fiber actuator can be incorporated into an article, such as a textile or garment.

An artificial muscle chair device includes a plurality of artificial muscles embedded in a chair. Each artificial muscle includes a housing having an electrode region and an expandable fluid region. A first electrode and a second electrode each disposed in the electrode region of the housing. The artificial muscle chair device further includes a dielectric fluid disposed within the housing. The first and second electrodes electrostatically attract, inflating the expandable fluid region with dielectric fluid and thereby applying selective pressure to an outer surface of the chair.

The utility model belongs to the field of artificial lenses, and particularly discloses an artificial lens based on a liquid lens. The intraocular lens includes: an annular stent; the artificial muscle is fixed on the inner side of the annular bracket; the liquid lens is connected with the artificial muscle, the liquid lens is arranged at the center of the annular support, and the focal length of the liquid lens can be changed by adjusting external voltage; and the wireless receiving coil is arranged on the annular bracket, is electrically connected with the liquid lens, and is used for receiving the wireless induction electric energy and applying an external voltage to the liquid lens. According to the intraocular lens, the focal length can be changed by adjusting the external voltage of the liquid lens, the focal length adjusting mode is simple and easy to control, and the accuracy is high.

The invention discloses a bionic finger, a hand driving control device, a bionic hand control method and a robot, and belongs to the technical field of bionic robotics.The bionic finger comprises at least one flexible bionic muscle cooperation body which is arranged in the length direction of a knuckle structure, one end of the flexible bionic muscle cooperation body serves as a fixed end to be connected to a finger adaptation base of the knuckle structure, and the other end of the flexible bionic muscle cooperation body serves as a free end; the force transmission part is connected to the knuckle structure through a force transmission path; the driving unit is electrically connected with the flexible bionic muscle cooperation body and is configured to apply a driving electric field to the flexible bionic muscle cooperation body; motion output is transmitted to the knuckle structure through the free end, and the knuckle structure is driven to generate smooth motion conforming to human finger motion characteristics. According to the scheme, through adaptive connection of the cooperation body and the knuckle structure and cooperative driving of the multiple internal component sets, the problems that output force of a single artificial muscle driver is not smooth, and a step feeling exists are solved, and continuous, smooth and controllable bionic buckling movement is achieved.

To present effective configurations of a curved motion actuator using Warsaw-type artificial muscle and to embody various holding devices provided with the actuator.SOLUTION: An actuator 10 comprises: a multi-layered fiber reinforced tube 11 composed of two layers of a rubber base material layer and a fiber contained layer; cover members 12A, 12B attached to opposite ends of the tube 11, respectively; a binding member 20 in contact with a part of a lateral surface of the tube 11 and provided along an axial direction of the tube 11; an adhesive layer 31 connecting the tube 11 and the member; and fastening bands 13A, 13B. The cover members 12A, 12B close openings at the opposite ends of the tube 11, and maintains the inside thereof in a closed state. The fastening bands 13A, 13B are fastened to an outer peripheral surfaces at the opposite ends of the tube 11 and fastens the tube 11 with the binding member 20 such that no gap is present between the cover members 12A, 12B and the tube 11.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

The invention belongs to the technical field of flexible driving and intelligent fluid control, and particularly relates to an electric control magneto-rheological hydraulic flexible artificial muscle system and a control method, the electric control magneto-rheological hydraulic flexible artificial muscle system comprises a flexible driving cavity, a magneto-rheological valve group, a hydraulic pump, an electromagnetic control system, a control unit and a fluid circulation channel; the flexible driving cavity is connected with the magnetorheological valve through a fluid circulation channel; the input end of the hydraulic pump is connected to the oil reservoir, and the output end is connected with the input end of the magnetorheological valve group; magnetorheological fluid is contained in a cavity of the magnetorheological valve group; the magneto-rheological valve group is connected with the electromagnetic control system; the electromagnetic control system is connected with the magnetorheological valve group and is used for controlling the magnetic field intensity; and the control unit is used for receiving the state signal and generating a control instruction so as to realize contraction and release of the driving cavity. The magneto-rheological driving system supports multiple control modes, multi-mode fusion control such as speed control, force control and position control can be achieved by adjusting the magnetic field intensity and the response curve, and different task requirements are met.

The application discloses a kind of artificial muscle driven hybrid fracture reduction surgery robot, it relates to the technical field of auxiliary operating instrument of medical surgery.The present application solves the problems of the existing fracture reduction surgery robot, such as large volume, small workspace, low integration, weak load capacity, complex control, complex kinematics calculation, and easy to cause rigid impact during movement.The top side of the mounting base is provided with a first and second joint swing arm, the first end of the swing arm connecting rod is provided with a first rotary joint, the left and right ends of the first rotary joint are respectively connected with two first rotary joint rotary traction mechanisms, the bottom of the first rotary joint is connected with the mounting base, the end of the swing arm connecting rod is provided with a second rotary joint, the left and right ends of the second rotary joint are respectively connected with two second rotary joint rotary traction mechanisms, and the second rotary joint, four-chain 2R1T parallel mechanism and end traction platform are sequentially connected.The application is used for fracture reduction surgery.

The invention discloses an artificial muscle length measuring device and a humanoid robot. The length measuring device comprises a mounting base, a rotating part, a measuring rope, an elastic part and a rotating angle measuring mechanism, and the mounting base is fixed to the fixed end of an artificial muscle; the rotating piece is rotationally arranged on the mounting base, and a winding part is formed on the rotating piece; the rotation angle measuring mechanism is connected with the rotating member and is used for detecting the rotation angle of the rotating member. The device has the beneficial effects that the rotating part, the measuring rope, the elastic part and other components are matched, the length change of the artificial muscle is converted into the rotating angle change of the rotating part, the rotating angle measuring mechanism records and outputs the value of the rotating angle, and therefore the length change value of the artificial muscle can be calculated; because the rotation angle measurement occupies a small volume, the compactness of the structure is realized, the measurement device can be integrated in the compact structure of the humanoid robot, and the influence on the overall design and motion performance of the robot is reduced.