Disclosure of Invention
It is a primary object of the present disclosure to overcome at least one of the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art and to provide a leg exoskeleton actuating mechanism and an exoskeleton robot having the same.
According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a leg exoskeleton actuation mechanism comprising:
a first body member;
a second body member, the first body member being rotatably disposed relative to the second body member;
the connecting piece is hinged with the first body piece and the second body piece;
the pressing piece is arranged on the connecting piece;
the energy storage component is arranged on the second body piece;
when the first body piece rotates along the first direction, the pressing piece enables the energy storage assembly to store energy; the energy storage assembly releases energy when the first body member is rotated in the second direction.
In one embodiment of the invention, the energy storage assembly is a spring assembly, a hydraulic cylinder assembly or a pneumatic cylinder assembly.
In one embodiment of the invention, an energy storage assembly comprises:
a cylinder body provided on the second body member;
the output shaft is telescopically arranged in the cylinder body;
when the pressing piece presses the output shaft to retract, energy is stored in the cylinder body; when the protruding shaft extends out, energy is released in the cylinder body.
In one embodiment of the invention, the energy storage assembly further comprises:
and the base circle is arranged on the output shaft and is in contact with the pressing piece, so that the pressing piece drives the output shaft to retract through pressing the base circle.
In one embodiment of the invention, the pressing member is a cam.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the pressing piece has a first contact curved surface that contacts a base circle having a second contact curved surface that contacts the pressing piece;
wherein at least one of the first curved contact surface and the second curved contact surface has a roughness of not more than 0.8 μm.
In one embodiment of the invention, the energy storage assembly further comprises:
and the output shaft screw is connected with the base circle and the output shaft.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the connecting members are provided in pairs, and the two connecting members in the pair are hinged to both sides of the first body member and the second body member, respectively;
wherein, be provided with the pressing piece on at least one connecting piece, and the pressing piece sets up with energy storage component one-to-one.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the leg exoskeleton actuation mechanism further comprises:
a first rotating shaft connecting the first body member and the connecting member so that the connecting member is hinged to the first body member;
and the second rotating shaft is connected with the second body part and the connecting piece so that the connecting piece is hinged with the second body part.
In one embodiment of the invention, the first body member is provided with a first tooth portion and the second body member is provided with a second tooth portion, the first tooth portion and the second tooth portion being engaged.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an exoskeleton robot comprising a leg exoskeleton actuator as described above.
According to the leg exoskeleton actuating mechanism, when the first body piece rotates relative to the second body piece, the connecting piece drives the pressing piece to enable the energy storage component to store energy, namely the energy storage component for providing assistance to the first body piece realizes energy storage by means of the rotation process of the first body piece relative to the second body piece, and the energy storage component is simple in structure and is not influenced by endurance.
Detailed Description
Exemplary embodiments that embody features and advantages of the present disclosure are described in detail below in the specification. It is to be understood that the disclosure is capable of various modifications in various embodiments without departing from the scope of the disclosure, and that the description and drawings are to be regarded as illustrative in nature, and not as restrictive.
In the following description of various exemplary embodiments of the disclosure, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and in which are shown by way of illustration various exemplary structures, systems, and steps in which aspects of the disclosure may be practiced. It is to be understood that other specific arrangements of parts, structures, example devices, systems, and steps may be utilized and structural and functional modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Moreover, although the terms "over," "between," "within," and the like may be used in this specification to describe various example features and elements of the disclosure, these terms are used herein for convenience only, e.g., in accordance with the orientation of the examples in the figures. Nothing in this specification should be construed as requiring a specific three dimensional orientation of structures in order to fall within the scope of this disclosure.
In one embodiment of the present invention, referring to fig. 1 to 4, a leg exoskeleton executing mechanism includes: first body member 10; second body member 20, first body member 10 being rotatably disposed relative to second body member 20; a connector 30, the connector 30 being hinged to both the first body member 10 and the second body member 20; a pressing member 40, the pressing member 40 being disposed on the connection member 30; energy storage assembly 50, energy storage assembly 50 being disposed on second body member 20; wherein, when the first body member 10 is rotated in the first direction, the pressing member 40 causes the energy accumulating member 50 to accumulate energy; energy storage assembly 50 releases energy when first body member 10 is rotated in the second direction.
In the leg exoskeleton actuator according to one embodiment of the present invention, when the first body member 10 rotates relative to the second body member 20, the connecting member 30 drives the pressing member 40 to enable the energy storage assembly 50 to store energy, that is, the energy storage assembly 50 for providing assistance to the first body member 10 is configured to store energy by means of the rotation process of the first body member 10 relative to the second body member 20, and compared with the prior art electric device, the energy storage assembly 50 is not only simple in structure but also is not affected by endurance.
In one embodiment, the energy storage member 50 is in contact with the pressing member 40 to provide a supporting force to the pressing member 40, when the first body member 10 rotates in a first direction relative to the second body member 20, i.e. the pressing member 40 presses the energy storage member 50 for energy storage, and when the first body member 10 rotates in a second direction relative to the second body member 20, the pressing member 40 keeps in contact with the energy storage member 50 and the energy storage member 50 releases energy, wherein the first direction and the second direction are opposite directions, i.e. one is counterclockwise and the other is clockwise, and it can be seen from fig. 3 that when the first body member 10 rotates in the first direction, i.e. counterclockwise, the energy storage member 50 stores energy.
In one embodiment, the energy storage assembly 50 is a spring assembly, a hydraulic cylinder assembly, or a pneumatic cylinder assembly. The spring assembly, the hydraulic cylinder assembly and the pneumatic cylinder assembly can store energy under the action of external force, and can release the stored energy when the external force is removed, and for the energy storage assembly 50, as long as the energy storage assembly can store energy in the pressing process of the pressing piece 40, related parts which release the stored energy in the releasing process of the pressing piece 40 are all within the protection scope of the invention.
In one embodiment, as shown in fig. 4, the energy storage assembly 50 includes: a cylinder 51, the cylinder 51 being provided on the second body member 20; an output shaft 52, the output shaft 52 being telescopically arranged in the cylinder 51; wherein, when the pressing member 40 presses the output shaft 52 to retract, the cylinder 51 stores energy; when the output shaft 52 extends, energy is released in the cylinder 51. When the output shaft 52 retracts, the energy storage component 50 stores energy, when the output shaft 52 extends, the energy storage component 50 releases the stored energy, and the cylinder body 51 can be a hydraulic cylinder, a pneumatic cylinder or an elastic piece arranged inside the cylinder body 51, so that the energy storage and the energy release are realized.
In one embodiment, as shown in fig. 1 and 3, the energy storage assembly 50 further comprises: and a base circle 53, wherein the base circle 53 is arranged on the output shaft 52 and is contacted with the pressing piece 40, so that the pressing piece 40 drives the output shaft 52 to retract through pressing the base circle 53. The base circle 53 is provided to ensure that the pressing member 40 smoothly presses the output shaft 52 into the cylinder 51.
In one embodiment, the pressing member 40 is a cam. The cam is fixed on the connecting member 30 by a screw 80, and the circumferential outer edge of the cam is a curved surface, so that when the connecting member 30 drives the cam to rotate, the cam can press the base circle 53 to move downwards. The number of screws 80 is plural, and the plural screws 80 realize stable fixation of the cam and the connecting member 30.
In one embodiment, as shown in fig. 1, the pressing piece 40 has a first contact curved surface 41 that contacts a base circle 53, and the base circle 53 has a second contact curved surface 531 that contacts the pressing piece 40; wherein at least one of the first curved contact surface 41 and the second curved contact surface 531 has a roughness of not more than 0.8 μm. The pressing member 40 is a cam, the contact surface of the cam with the base circle 53 is a first contact curved surface 41, that is, a part of the circumferential outer surface of the cam is in contact with the base circle 53, and the length of the first contact curved surface 41 may be determined according to the angle of rotation of the first body member 10 with respect to the second body member 20, and is not limited herein, and is determined according to the specific use, that is, the circumferential outer edge of the cam may partially not satisfy the roughness of 0.8 μm.
In one embodiment, since it is first body member 10 that depresses the cam during a particular use, it is desirable to ensure that the surface of the cam that contacts base circle 53 has sufficient smoothness and that a roughness of no greater than 0.8 μm ensures reliability of use.
In one embodiment, as shown in fig. 4, the energy storage assembly 50 further comprises: and an output shaft screw 54, wherein the output shaft screw 54 is connected with the base circle 53 and the output shaft 52. The output shaft screw 54 fixes the base circle 53 to the end of the output shaft 52, i.e., the side that contacts the cam.
In one embodiment, as shown in fig. 1 and 2, the connecting members 30 are provided in pairs, and the two connecting members 30 in a pair are hinged to both sides of the first body member 10 and the second body member 20, respectively; wherein, the pressing member 40 is arranged on at least one connecting member 30, and the pressing member 40 and the energy storage assembly 50 are arranged in a one-to-one correspondence manner. The provision of two connectors 30 in pairs ensures stable connection of first body member 10 and second body member 20.
In one embodiment, the connecting members 30 are provided in pairs, and the pressing members 40 and the energy storage assemblies 50 are provided in a kit, i.e., one pressing member 40 is provided on one connecting member 30, and one energy storage assembly 50 is provided. Or, the two connecting pieces 30 are provided with the pressing pieces 40, and the two pressing pieces 40 are provided with the energy storage assemblies 50 correspondingly.
In one embodiment, as shown in fig. 1 and 2, the leg exoskeleton actuation mechanism further comprises: a first rotation shaft 60, the first rotation shaft 60 connecting the first body member 10 and the connector 30 to hinge the connector 30 with the first body member 10; a second rotating shaft 70, the second rotating shaft 70 connecting the second body member 20 and the connecting member 30 so that the connecting member 30 is hinged with the second body member 20. Referring to fig. 3, the first rotating shaft 60 and the second rotating shaft 70 are respectively located at two ends of the connecting member 30, when the first body member 10 rotates counterclockwise relative to the second body member 20, the first body member 10 will drive the connecting member 30 to rotate around the second rotating shaft 70, and at this time, the pressing member 40 presses the base circle 53 to drive the output shaft 52 to retract into the cylinder 51, as shown in fig. 3, when the solid line part state of the first body member 10, the connecting member 30 and the pressing member 40 rotates to the dotted line part state, the energy storage assembly 50 stores energy.
In one embodiment, as shown in fig. 2, first body member 10 is provided with first teeth 11 and second body member 20 is provided with second teeth 21, the first teeth 11 and the second teeth 21 being engaged. During rotation of first body member 10 relative to second body member 20, first tooth 11 and second tooth 21 remain in mesh and are positively engaged, wherein the circumferential lengths of first tooth 11 and second tooth 21 are designed according to a specific rotation angle.
The leg exoskeleton execution mechanism of one embodiment of the invention is a mechanical pneumatic exoskeleton execution mechanism, comprising: an upper main plate (first body member 10); a lower main panel (second body member 20); an upper main plate rotation shaft (first rotation shaft 60); left and right connecting plates (two connecting members 30 in pair); a cam (pressing piece 40) arranged on the left connecting plate; a screw 80; a base circle 53; the output shaft 52, the base circle 53 and the output shaft 52 are fixedly connected through an output shaft screw 54; the cylinder body 51, the cylinder body 51 is a cylinder (namely, the energy storage component 50 is a pneumatic cylinder component); a lower main plate spindle (second spindle 70) and a spindle screw 54. Rotation process for the leg exoskeleton actuators: go up the mainboard around last mainboard pivot anticlockwise rotation, through last mainboard and lower mainboard meshing effect, the left connecting plate of linkage simultaneously and right connecting plate rotate around mainboard pivot down, concreties and carries out the pivoted while around mainboard pivot down at the cam on left connecting plate surface, and the base circle 53 is pushed down to the cam to accomplish the process of pushing down of play axle 52.
The leg exoskeleton executing mechanism does not have the problem of endurance, is far lower in weight than an electric exoskeleton, occupies a smaller space range, can be used in all-weather environments and can be used uninterruptedly for a long time, and the maneuverability of the exoskeleton is greatly improved. Compared with an electric exoskeleton, the exoskeleton has longer service life and wider application range, and can be used in more severe environment for a long time.
An embodiment of the invention also provides an exoskeleton robot, which comprises the leg exoskeleton execution mechanism.
Other embodiments of the invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the invention disclosed herein. This invention is intended to cover any variations, uses, or adaptations of the invention following, in general, the principles of the invention and including such departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice within the art to which the invention pertains. It is intended that the specification and exemplary embodiments be considered as exemplary only, with a true scope and spirit of the invention being indicated by the following claims.
It will be understood that the invention is not limited to the precise arrangements described above and shown in the drawings and that various modifications and changes may be made without departing from the scope thereof. The scope of the invention is limited only by the appended claims.