CN113084854B

CN113084854B - Variable-rigidity flexible driver

Info

Publication number: CN113084854B
Application number: CN202110406003.5A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 曹淼龙; 牟宗浪; 周婵; 杨元健; 颜昊
Original assignee: Zhejiang Lover Health Science and Technology Development Co Ltd
Current assignee: Zhejiang Lover Health Science and Technology Development Co Ltd
Priority date: 2021-04-15
Filing date: 2021-04-15
Publication date: 2022-08-05
Anticipated expiration: 2041-04-15
Also published as: CN113084854A

Abstract

The invention discloses a variable-rigidity flexible driver, which comprises an integral support, wherein a double-layer internal and external compression air bag cavity is arranged in the center of the integral support, and the lower end of the double-layer internal and external compression air bag cavity is connected with a connecting base; the double-layer internal and external compression air bag cavity consists of an external air bag cavity and an internal air bag cavity, the external air guide pipe of the external air bag cavity is connected with the first air pump, and the external air guide pipe of the internal air bag cavity is connected with the second air pump; the bottom of the external air bag cavity is connected with a sucker. The invention has simple structure, stable performance, high precision, high efficiency and less energy consumption, takes the air suction of the miniature air pump as a control source, and is suitable for long-term continuous work.

Description

Variable-rigidity flexible driver

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of manipulator drivers, in particular to a variable-rigidity flexible driver.

Background

A robot refers to an automatic operating device that can simulate some motion functions of a human hand and an arm to grab, carry objects or operate tools according to a fixed program. It can replace the heavy labor of people to realize the mechanization and automation of production, and can be operated under harmful environment to protect the personal safety, thus being widely applied to the departments of mechanical manufacturing, metallurgy, electronics, light industry, atomic energy and the like.

The structure of the manipulator is similar to human fingers and is divided into 3 types, namely, a jointless joint, a fixed joint and a free joint. The number of the gripping devices can be divided into two fingers, three fingers, four fingers, etc., wherein the fingers are the most used. The clamping head with various shapes and sizes can be prepared according to the shapes and sizes of the clamping objects so as to adapt to the requirements of operation. The hand without the gripping device is generally referred to as a vacuum chuck or a magnetic chuck. The manipulator is mostly controlled by a motor to complete a specific action. And various structures such as clamping type, holding type and absorption type are available according to the shape, size, weight, material and operation requirement of the object to be held.

However, most of the existing manipulator drivers are mainly made of rigid materials, are driven by motors, and have complex structures and high prices.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of the present invention to provide a variable stiffness flexible drive that addresses the problems set forth in the background above. In order to achieve the purpose, the invention provides the following technical scheme:

a variable-rigidity flexible driver comprises an upper disc track fixer, a self-locking device, an upper connecting support, a double-layer internal and external compression air bag, a lower disc track fixer, a fan-shaped telescopic air bag, a connecting rod, a lower connecting support, a sucker and a clamping finger mounting support. The centers of the upper disc track fixer and the lower disc track fixer are provided with double layers of internal and external compressed air bags; the double-layer internal and external compression air bag consists of an external air bag cavity and an internal air bag cavity; air guide tubes are respectively arranged above the external air bag cavity and the internal air bag cavity and are respectively externally connected with a first air pump and a second air pump; the bottom of the external air bag cavity is connected with a sucker, the upper disc track fixer is connected with the upper part of the upper connecting support, and the lower part of the upper connecting support is connected with four clamping finger mounting supports through rotating pins; the clamping finger mounting bracket is also connected with a lower connecting bracket through a rotating pin respectively, and the lower connecting bracket is mounted at the bottom of the lower disc track fixer; two fan-shaped telescopic air bags are respectively arranged between every two connecting brackets.

As a further scheme of the invention: the self-locking device is arranged on the protruding sliding block of the upper connecting support, so that the relative position between the upper connecting support and the upper disc track fixer can be fixed after the upper connecting support moves to a required position while the upper connecting support can move relatively, the manipulator has better stability in operation, and the manipulator cannot move randomly due to the action of external force when grabbing objects.

As a further scheme of the invention: the inner compression air bag in the double-layer inner and outer compression air bag is connected with the cylindrical small air bag in the upper connecting support, and when the inner compression air bag is inflated to play a supporting role, the cylindrical small air bag expands along with the inner compression air bag to push the small steel balls to complete a self-locking function. When the internal compression air bag is not inflated, the small air bag automatically restores to the original size due to the elasticity of the material, and the small steel balls reset to release the self-locking function.

As a further scheme of the invention: the side circumference of the side face of the upper disc track fixer is provided with a sliding groove, the side face of the upper end of the upper connecting support is provided with a protruding sliding block, and the protruding sliding block is in sliding connection with the upper disc track fixer through the sliding groove in the side circumference of the upper disc track fixer.

As a further scheme of the invention: the bottom of the lower disc track fixer is provided with a sliding groove, the top of the lower connecting support is provided with a protrusion, and the sliding connection between the sliding groove at the bottom of the lower disc track fixer and the lower disc track fixer can be realized through the lower disc track fixer.

As a further scheme of the invention: the upper connecting supports, the clamping finger mounting supports and the lower connecting supports are connected with the connecting rods through rotating pins to form a four-bar mechanism, and the rotating range of the clamping finger mounting supports can be designed through calculation according to the principle of the four-bar mechanism.

As a further scheme of the invention: the double-layer internal and external compression air bag adopts a mode that the external compression air bag wraps the internal compression air bag. The external compression air bag is connected with the first air pump through an air duct, and the internal compression air bag is connected with the second air pump through an air duct. The bottom of the external compression air bag is provided with a vent hole connected with a sucker. The two layers of compression air bags are connected with different air pumps, the internal compression air bag is inflated and expanded during working, and the external compression air bag is deflated and contracted. During the contraction process, the suction cup is connected with the external compression air bag, so that the suction action can be realized. After the internal compression air bag is inflated and expanded, the rigidity change range of the internal air bag is effectively improved, and the contraction process of the external compression air bag is retarded until the clamping finger mounting bracket reaches the target action. At the moment, the positive and negative pressures of the inner and outer air bags enable the variable-rigidity flexible driver to achieve the effect of required rigid body strength.

As a further scheme of the invention: under the condition that the rigidity of the inner air bag cavity is different, the output supporting force is different when the outer air bag cavity controls the same compression amount, and the corresponding proportion is enhanced along with the increase of the rigidity.

As a further scheme of the invention: two fan-shaped telescopic airbags are respectively arranged between every two connecting supports, when the fan-shaped telescopic airbags are inflated, the part attached to the sliding groove is small in extension degree relative to the outside, when the fan-shaped telescopic airbags are inflated, the fan-shaped telescopic airbags achieve bending extension, and the moving angle of the finger mounting support can be clamped by adjusting air pressure.

Compared with the prior art, the opening and closing of the clamping device are controlled by the double-layer compression air bag cavity, the double-layer internal and external compression air bags are formed by wrapping the internal air bags with the external air bags and connecting the internal air bags with different air pumps, and the external air bags are connected with the suckers, so that the gripper can grab articles and suck the articles, and the grabbing success rate of some special articles is increased; when the gripper grabs an object, the external air bag absorbs and compresses to enable the gripper to be folded, the internal air bag is inflated and expanded, the speed of reducing the contraction of the external air bag is achieved, the rigidity strength requirement required when the gripper grabs the object is increased, the small air bag in the self-locking device is also driven to expand to form a self-locking effect, the internal mechanism of the manipulator is simplified, the variable-rigidity flexible driver can work under different rigidity requirements, and the gripper device is flexible and light. Compared with the traditional hydraulic system, the double-layer compression air bag cavity has the advantages that the double-layer compression air bag cavity is compressed, simultaneously has the support of the inflation effect of the internal air bag, the stability is improved, but has the advantages of flexible materials, higher fault tolerance and small working error probability, repeated vibration in the process of contacting a target is effectively reduced, the double-layer compression air bag cavity is attached to the surface of the target, and the flexibility control is completely embodied.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a variable stiffness flexible driver.

FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of a double-layer inner and outer compression airbag cavity of a variable stiffness flexible driver.

Fig. 3 is a schematic view of a self-locking device of a variable stiffness flexible driver.

Fig. 4 is a sector-shaped telescopic airbag of a variable stiffness flexible driver.

In the figure: 1-upper disc track fixer, 2-self-locking device, 3-upper connecting support, 4-double-layer internal and external compression air bag, 5-lower disc track fixer, 6-fan-shaped telescopic air bag, 7-connecting rod, 8-lower connecting support, 9-sucker, 10-clamping finger mounting support, 41-external air bag cavity, 42-internal air bag cavity, 21-small steel ball and 22-small air bag.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all of the embodiments. All that can be obtained by a person skilled in the art without inventive effort is based on the embodiments of the invention

Other embodiments are within the scope of the invention.

Referring to fig. 1-4, in an embodiment of the present invention, a variable stiffness flexible driver includes an upper disc track fixer 1, a self-locking device 2, an upper connecting bracket 3, a double-layer inner and outer compression airbag 4, a lower disc track fixer 5, a fan-shaped telescopic airbag 6, a connecting rod 7, a lower connecting bracket 8, a suction cup 9, and a finger clamping mounting bracket 10.

The centers of the upper disc track fixer 1 and the lower disc track fixer 5 are provided with a double-layer internal and external compressed air bag 4; the double-layer internal and external compression air bag 4 consists of an external air bag cavity 41 and an internal air bag cavity 42; air guide tubes are respectively arranged above the external air bag cavity 41 and the internal air bag cavity 42 and are respectively externally connected with a first air pump and a second air pump; the bottom of the external air bag cavity 41 is connected with a sucker 9, the upper disc track fixer 1 is connected with the upper part of the upper connecting support 3, and the lower part of the upper connecting support 3 is connected with four clamping finger mounting supports 10 through rotating pins; the clamping finger mounting bracket 10 is also connected with the connecting rod 7 through a rotating pin and connected with the lower connecting bracket 8 through a rotating pin, and the lower connecting bracket 8 is mounted at the bottom of the lower disc track fixer 5; two fan-shaped telescopic air bags 6 are respectively arranged between every two adjacent lower connecting brackets 8.

In the embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 2, the outer bag chamber 41 of the double-layered inner and outer compression bag 4 is not communicated with the bottom of the inner bag chamber 42.

A cylinder gap is arranged in the middle of the protruding sliding block on the side surface of the upper end of the upper connecting support 3, and the self-locking device 2 is placed in the cylinder gap.

The self-locking device 2 is composed of a cylindrical small air bag 22 and two small steel balls 21 which are vertically arranged in a cylindrical gap, the two small steel balls 21 are respectively arranged at two ends of the cylindrical small air bag 22, and a plurality of hemispherical concave holes for fixing the small steel balls 21 when the self-locking device 2 works are respectively and uniformly arranged above and below the inside of a sliding groove on the circumference of the side surface of the upper disc track fixer 1.

In the embodiment of the invention, as shown in fig. 3, the self-locking device 2 in the embodiment of the invention enables the relative position between the upper connecting bracket 3 and the upper disc track fixer 1 to be relatively movable, and meanwhile, the upper connecting bracket 3 can be fixed after being moved to a required position, so that the manipulator has better stability in operation, and can not move randomly due to the action of external force when grabbing objects. When the self-locking device 2 works, the internal air bag cavity 42 in the double-layer internal and external compression air bag cavity 4 is connected with the cylindrical small air bag 22 in the upper connecting support 3, when the internal air bag cavity 42 is inflated to play a supporting role, the cylindrical small air bag 22 expands along with the inflation, the two small steel balls 21 move upwards and downwards respectively, the upper surface and the lower surface of the top protruding sliding block of the upper connecting support 3 are higher than those of the top protruding sliding block of the upper connecting support, and the protruding parts are overlapped with the hemispherical small pits in the sliding groove in the upper fixing disc track fixer 1 to complete the self-locking function. When the inner air bag cavity 42 is not inflated, the cylindrical small air bag 22 automatically restores to the original size due to the elasticity of the material, and the small steel ball 21 resets to release the self-locking function.

In the embodiment of the invention, two fan-shaped telescopic airbags 6 are respectively arranged between every two adjacent lower connecting brackets 8. When the fan-shaped telescopic air bag 6 is inflated, the part attached to the sliding groove is small in extension degree relative to the outside, and when the fan-shaped telescopic air bag 6 is inflated, the fan-shaped telescopic air bag 6 is bent and extended to adjust the mutual position angle between the lower connecting supports 8, so that the relative position angle between the four clamping finger mounting supports 10 is adjusted, and finally the moving angle between the clamping fingers is realized. The air pumps connected with the fan-shaped telescopic air bags 6 can be a plurality of air pumps or the same air pump, and the air pumps can be arranged according to different requirements of users on the relative position precision between the clamping fingers.

Through the variable-rigidity flexible driver arranged above, the clamping finger mounting bracket 10 can be provided with a mechanical claw for grabbing an object during specific work. The variable-rigidity flexible driver can be accurately contracted under the driving of the air pump. The method specifically comprises the following steps: the first air pump exhausts air through the air duct on the external air bag cavity 41 to compress the external air bag cavity 41, when the external air bag cavity 41 contracts, the sucker 9 connected with the external air bag cavity generates adsorption force to control the sucker 9 to absorb articles, particularly to adsorb articles with smoother surfaces, and if the soft air fingers are matched to enable the articles to be clamped to be more difficult to drop, the external air bag cavity can also bear heavier weight. The second air pump inflates through the air guide tube on the inner air bag cavity 42 to enable the inner air bag cavity 42 to expand, the expansion of the inner air bag slows down the contraction action of the outer air bag, and the required rigidity and strength requirements are provided for the gripper to grab the articles, so that the articles can be grabbed more stably. The contraction of the external air bag 41 drives the lower disk track fixer 5 to move upwards, and the lower disk track fixer 5 moves upwards and simultaneously drives the clamping finger mounting bracket 10 connected to the lower disk track fixer 5 to rotate around the rotating pin.

Furthermore, it should be understood that although the present description refers to embodiments, not every embodiment may contain only a single embodiment, and such description is for clarity only, and those skilled in the art should integrate the description, and the embodiments may be combined as appropriate to form other embodiments understood by those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. A variable-rigidity flexible driver is characterized by comprising an upper disc track fixer (1), a self-locking device (2), an upper connecting support (3), a double-layer internal and external compression air bag (4), a lower disc track fixer (5), a fan-shaped telescopic air bag (6), a connecting rod (7), a lower connecting support (8), a sucker (9) and a clamping finger mounting support (10); the centers of the upper disc track fixer (1) and the lower disc track fixer (5) are provided with a double-layer internal and external compressed air bag (4); the double-layer internal and external compression air bag (4) consists of an external air bag cavity (41) and an internal air bag cavity (42); air guide tubes are respectively arranged above the external air bag cavity (41) and the internal air bag cavity (42), and are respectively externally connected with a first air pump and a second air pump; the bottom of the external air bag cavity (41) is connected with a sucker (9), the upper disc track fixer (1) is connected with the upper part of the upper connecting support (3), and the lower part of the upper connecting support (3) is connected with four clamping finger mounting supports (10) through rotating pins; the four clamping finger mounting brackets (10) are respectively connected with one ends of the four connecting rods (7) through rotating pins, the other ends of the four connecting rods (7) are respectively connected with one ends of the four lower connecting brackets (8) through rotating pins, and the other ends of the four lower connecting brackets (8) are all mounted at the bottom of the lower disc track fixer (5); two fan-shaped telescopic air bags (6) are arranged between every two adjacent lower connecting brackets of the four lower connecting brackets (8); a cylindrical gap is formed in the middle of the protruding sliding block on the side face of the upper end of the upper connecting support (3), and a self-locking device (2) is placed in the cylindrical gap; self-lock device (2) comprise cylinder ballonet (22) and two small steel balls (21) of vertical setting in the cylinder space, two small steel balls (21) set up respectively at the both ends of cylinder ballonet (22), go up inside top and the below of spout on disc track fixer (1) side circumference and evenly be provided with a plurality of hemisphere caves that are used for the fixed small steel ball of self-lock device during operation respectively, inside gasbag cavity (42) are linked together with cylinder ballonet (22).

2. A variable stiffness flexible drive according to claim 1, wherein: go up disc track fixer (1) side circumference and be provided with the spout, go up linking bridge (3) upper end side and be provided with outstanding slider, outstanding slider realizes sliding connection through spout on last disc track fixer (1) side circumference and last disc track fixer (1).

3. A variable stiffness flexible drive according to claim 1, wherein: the double-layer internal and external compression air bag (4) adopts an external air bag cavity (41) to wrap an internal air bag cavity (42).

4. A variable stiffness flexible drive as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 3 wherein: the bottom of the lower disc track fixer (5) is provided with a sliding groove, the top of the lower connecting support (8) is protruded, and the sliding connection between the sliding groove at the bottom of the lower disc track fixer (5) and the lower disc track fixer (5) can be realized through the sliding groove.