CN115488917B - Manipulator and use method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides a manipulator and a using method thereof, relating to the field of mechanical equipment; the manipulator comprises a control center, a first driving part and a second driving part which are electrically connected with the control center, and a plurality of manipulator clamping jaws which are connected with the first driving part through a first connecting part and are distributed in a peripheral array on the same horizontal plane; wherein, any two adjacent manipulator clamping jaws are driven by a first driving part to at least have a first included angle and a second included angle which form two clamping postures of the manipulator; the mechanical hand clamping jaw comprises a connecting arm and a hand claw, one end of the connecting arm is fixedly connected to the first connecting part, the other end of the connecting arm is movably connected to the hand claw by adopting an SMA spring assembly, the hand claw is connected to the second driving part through the second connecting part, and the hand claw reciprocates in the vertical direction under the driving of the second driving part; when the SMA spring component is electrified to work, the claws of the mechanical arm are close to each other and fold, and the object to be clamped is picked up; the manipulator is convenient to control, and can safely and efficiently clamp fragile or miniature articles.

Description

A robot and method of using the same

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the technical field of mechanical equipment, and in particular to a manipulator and a method for using the manipulator.

Background Art

With the development of science and technology, various industries have gradually applied automation procedures. As an important part of the automation program, intelligently controlled robots are widely used in various processing industries. Robots can grab, move objects or operate tools according to fixed procedures, and can be programmed to complete various expected operations. Their application has greatly reduced labor costs.

Traditional manipulators have complicated structures, large sizes, mostly constant torque, insufficient flexibility, simple functions, and cannot adapt to the gripping of objects in complex working conditions. For example, when grasping fragile objects, they are easily damaged and have the disadvantages of not being able to grip firmly and being easy to break. Therefore, the concept of flexible manipulators is proposed; the flexible joints of flexible manipulators are mainly made of variable materials and have flexible characteristics. When used, the joints can have shock absorption and buffering effects. When the flexible manipulator is bent, the finger joints are flexible and have a good gripping effect on fragile objects. Therefore, it has good application value in the raw material supply, production packaging, and warehousing and transportation in the light industry and food processing industry, and can be used in sorting, packaging, warehousing, and distribution scenarios.

At present, the driving methods of mainstream flexible manipulators mainly include pneumatic, hydraulic and electric methods. Compared with electric methods, pneumatic flexible manipulators have the disadvantages of insufficient power and unstable control when used, and hydraulic flexible manipulators have the disadvantages of difficult sealing and risk of leakage. In addition, the current mainstream manipulators are expensive and complex to control, while the manipulator structures suitable for gripping fragile objects with simple control and low cost need further research.

Summary of the invention

The object of the present invention is to provide a manipulator and a method of using the same, which are used to solve the problem that existing flexible manipulators cannot be used to clamp fragile and micro-objects. The manipulator is driven by energizing an SMA spring assembly, and has simple control, easy use, and sufficient power.

To achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention proposes the following technical solution: a manipulator, comprising a first driving part, a second driving part, a first connecting part, a second connecting part, a plurality of manipulator grippers and a control center;

The plurality of manipulator grippers are connected to the output end of the first driving unit via the first connecting portion, the manipulator grippers are arranged in an array around the same horizontal plane of the output end, and any two adjacent manipulator grippers have at least a first angle and a second angle under the drive of the first driving unit; the first angle and the second angle constitute two gripping postures of the manipulator;

The manipulator gripper comprises a connecting arm, a gripper and an SMA spring assembly, one end of the connecting arm is fixed to the first connecting part, and the other end is movably connected to the gripper by the SMA spring assembly, the gripper is connected to the output end of the second driving part via the second connecting part, and the gripper has the freedom to move in the vertical direction under the drive of the second driving part;

The control center is electrically connected to the first driving part, the second driving part and the SMA spring assembly respectively; when the SMA spring assembly is powered on, the claws of the manipulator gripper approach each other and close together, so that the object to be gripped is picked up.

Furthermore, the first driving part and the second driving part are arranged in sequence from top to bottom to constitute the manipulator body;

The first driving part includes a first housing and an electric rotating unit disposed in the first housing, and the second driving part includes a second housing and an electric telescopic unit disposed in the second housing; the first housing is fixed above the second housing, and the electric rotating unit is provided with a first output shaft vertically penetrating the bottom surface of the first housing, and the bottom end of the first output shaft extends to the top of the second housing;

The manipulator gripper comprises three parts, wherein the first connection part comprises a first connection unit, a second connection unit and a third connection unit respectively connected to a manipulator gripper; the first connection unit is configured as a fixing part, which is connected to the top of the manipulator gripper and is used to fix the manipulator gripper connected thereto on the upper surface of the second shell; the second connection unit comprises a driving gear connected to the top of the manipulator gripper, the driving gear is fitted on the upper surface of the second shell, and a first through hole is provided at the axial center position of its tooth surface, and the first through hole is tightly matched with the bottom end of the first output shaft; the third connection unit comprises a driven gear connected to the top of the manipulator gripper, the driven gear is fitted on the upper surface of the second shell, and the driven gear is meshed with the driving gear; a second through hole is provided at the axial center position of the tooth surface of the driven gear, and a positioning part is provided on the upper surface of the second shell, and the positioning part adopts a bearing to adapt to the second through hole;

When the electric rotating unit is started, it drives the driving gear to drive the driven gear to rotate, and then drives the manipulator gripper connected thereto to rotate and change the gripping posture.

Furthermore, the manipulator gripper also includes a connecting rod unit;

The bottom end of the connecting arm is provided with a first mounting position and a second mounting position, the hand claw is provided with a third mounting position and a fourth mounting position, the first mounting position is rotatably connected to the third mounting position by an SMA spring assembly, the second mounting position is rotatably connected to the fourth mounting position by a connecting rod unit, and the SMA spring assembly is parallel to the connecting rod unit;

The closing direction of the manipulator is defined as the inner side, and a working surface facing the inner side is provided on the gripper; when the SMA spring assembly is powered on, the bottom of the working surface is driven to flip inward, and the working surface contacts the object to be clamped.

Furthermore, the second connection portion includes a rotating portion and three fourth connection units having the same structure;

The electric telescopic unit is provided with a second output shaft vertically penetrating the bottom surface of the second housing, and the rotating part is provided at the bottom end of the second output shaft extending out of the second housing; the rotating part includes a rotating disk, and a third through hole is provided in the middle of the rotating disk, and the third through hole of the rotating disk is adapted to be connected to the second output shaft via a bearing;

The fourth connection unit array is arranged on the rotating disk, and its position corresponds to the position of the manipulator gripper one by one; the fourth connection unit is provided with a movable connection part, and the movable connection part is rotatably connected to the connecting rod unit of the manipulator gripper;

When the electric telescopic unit is started, the rotating part is driven to move back and forth in the vertical direction, thereby driving the connecting rod unit and the hand claw connected thereto to move up and down in the vertical direction.

Furthermore, the bottom end of the connecting arm is configured as a two-stage step structure extending inward, the two-stage step structure includes a first step located on the outside and a second step located on the inside, and the bottom surface of the second step is higher than the bottom surface of the first step; a first mounting groove with an opening facing downward is provided in the middle of the first step, the first mounting groove and the groove walls on both sides thereof constitute a first mounting position, and the second step constitutes a second mounting position;

A second mounting groove with an upward opening is provided on the upper part of the gripper, and the second mounting groove and the groove walls on both sides thereof constitute a third mounting position and a fourth mounting position respectively; the third mounting position is located at the lower side of the fourth mounting position, and in the vertical direction, the positions of the third mounting position and the fourth mounting position correspond to the first mounting position and the second mounting position.

Further, the SMA spring assembly includes an SMA spring, a first connector and a second connector respectively fixed to two ends of the SMA spring;

One end of the first connector away from the SMA spring is set as an annular structure, and the annular structure is rotatably set in the first mounting groove by a rotating shaft assembly; the end of the second connector away from the SMA spring is set as a semi-cylindrical structure, and a fourth through hole is set on the upper edge of the semi-cylindrical structure parallel to its axial direction, and the fourth through hole is rotatably set in the second mounting groove by a rotating shaft assembly, and the arc surface of the semi-cylindrical structure abuts against the bottom surface of the second mounting groove.

Furthermore, the connecting rod unit includes a pair of connecting rods arranged in parallel; the connecting rods are symmetrically arranged outside the first mounting groove and the second mounting groove, and the two ends of the connecting rods are rotatably connected to the groove walls of the first mounting groove and the second mounting groove respectively by using a rotating shaft assembly;

The fourth connecting unit includes an L-shaped bracket and a cross bar. The upper end of the L-shaped bracket is fixedly connected to the disk surface of the rotating disk, and the bottom end is rotatably connected to one end of the cross bar using a rotating shaft assembly. The other end of the cross bar is arranged between two parallel connecting rods and is connected to the middle of the two connecting rods using a rotating shaft assembly.

Furthermore, the first through hole is configured as an elliptical hole, and the shape of the bottom end of the first output shaft is adapted to the first through hole.

Furthermore, the working surface of the gripper is a vertical plane or an arc-shaped surface recessed toward the inside of the gripper.

The present invention also provides a method for using a manipulator, which is applied to the above-mentioned manipulator, and the method comprises:

1) Start the first driving unit, and the electric rotating unit drives the driving gear to mesh with the driven gear according to the structure of the object to be clamped, and controls the adjacent manipulator grippers to change between the first angle and the second angle, and determines the gripping posture of the manipulator; at the same time, the grippers of the manipulator grippers change their posture synchronously with the manipulator grippers under the action of the rotating disk;

2) The second driving unit is started, and the electric telescopic unit drives the gripper of the manipulator to move downward toward the object to be gripped via the fourth connecting unit connected to the rotating disk;

3) Start the SMA spring assembly, the SMA spring extends and drives the claws to move closer to each other and close to clamp the object to be clamped, thereby completing the clamping of the object to be clamped;

4) The second driving unit is started again, and the electric telescopic unit lifts the gripper for clamping the object upwards through the fourth connecting unit to complete the picking up of the object to be clamped.

It can be seen from the above technical solutions that the technical solutions of the present invention have the following beneficial effects:

The present invention discloses a manipulator and a method for using the same, wherein the manipulator comprises a first drive unit, a second drive unit, a first connection unit, a second connection unit, a plurality of manipulator grippers and a control center; the plurality of manipulator grippers are connected to the output end of the first drive unit via the first connection unit, the manipulator grippers are distributed in an array around the same horizontal plane of the output end, and any two adjacent manipulator grippers have at least a first angle and a second angle constituting two gripping postures of the manipulator under the drive of the first drive unit; the manipulator grippers comprise a connecting arm, a gripper and an SMA spring assembly, wherein one end of the connecting arm is fixed to the first connection unit, and the other end is movably connected to the gripper by an SMA spring assembly, the gripper is connected to the output end of the second drive unit via the second connection unit, and the gripper has the freedom to move in the vertical direction under the drive of the second drive unit; the control center is electrically connected to the first drive unit, the second drive unit and the SMA spring assembly respectively; when the SMA spring assembly is powered on, the grippers of the manipulator grippers approach each other and close together, so that the object to be clamped is picked up. The manipulator of the present invention is easy to control and can safely and efficiently grip fragile or micro-objects.

The change of the gripping posture of the manipulator of the present invention is realized by using gears in the first connection part. Specifically, the first connection part includes connection units respectively connected to a manipulator gripper, one connection unit makes the manipulator gripper connected thereto be fixedly connected to the first driving part, and the other two connection units are respectively provided with a driving gear connected to the first output shaft and a driven gear meshed with the driving gear, and the position change of the manipulator connected thereto is realized by the meshing rotation of the gears. The present invention can effectively position the manipulator through the meshing of gears, keep the gripping posture of the manipulator stable, and the cost of the overall device is not high.

It should be appreciated that all combinations of the foregoing concepts, as well as additional concepts described in greater detail below, may be considered to be part of the inventive subject matter of the present disclosure, provided such concepts are not mutually inconsistent.

The foregoing and other aspects, embodiments and features of the present invention can be more fully understood from the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. Other additional aspects of the present invention, such as the features and/or beneficial effects of the exemplary embodiments, will be apparent from the following description or learned from the practice of the specific embodiments according to the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are not drawn to scale according to actual reference objects. In the accompanying drawings, each identical or nearly identical component shown in various figures may be represented by the same reference numeral. For the sake of clarity, not every component is labeled in each figure. Now, embodiments of various aspects of the present invention will be described by way of example and with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG1 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of a manipulator according to the present invention;

FIG2 is a second three-dimensional schematic diagram of the manipulator of the present invention;

FIG3 is a top view of the manipulator of the present invention from the first connecting portion downward;

FIG4 is a bottom view of the manipulator of the present invention;

FIG5 is a perspective schematic diagram of the manipulator gripper of the present invention;

FIG6( a ) is a perspective schematic diagram of a connecting arm of a manipulator gripper of the present invention;

FIG6( b ) is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the gripper of the manipulator gripper of the present invention;

FIG7 is a structural diagram of the driving gear in the first connecting part;

FIG8 is a structural diagram of a driven gear in the first connecting portion;

FIG. 9 is a structural diagram of an SMA spring assembly.

In the figure, the specific meaning of each mark is as follows:

1-manipulator gripper, 11-connecting arm, 111-first mounting groove, 112-second step, 12-claw, 121-working surface, 122-second mounting groove, 13-SMA spring assembly, 131-SMA spring, 132-first connecting head, 133-second connecting head, 14-connecting rod; 2-first driving part, 21-first shell; 3-second driving part, 31-second shell, 32-second output shaft; 4-first connecting part, 41-first connecting unit; 42-second connecting unit, 421-driving gear, 422-first through hole; 43-third connecting unit, 431-driven gear, 432-second through hole; 5-second connecting part, 51-rotating part, 511-rotating disk, 512-third through hole; 52-fourth connecting unit, 521-L-shaped bracket, 522-cross bar.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In order to make the purpose, technical solution and advantages of the embodiment of the present invention clearer, the technical solution of the embodiment of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below in conjunction with the drawings of the embodiment of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiment is a part of the embodiment of the present invention, not all of the embodiments. Based on the described embodiment of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in this field without creative work are within the scope of protection of the present invention. Unless otherwise defined, the technical terms or scientific terms used herein should be the common meaning understood by people with general skills in the field to which the present invention belongs.

The words "first", "second" and similar words used in the patent application specification and claims of the present invention do not indicate any order, quantity or importance, but are only used to distinguish different components. Similarly, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the singular forms of "a", "an" or "the" and other similar words do not indicate a quantitative limitation, but indicate the existence of at least one. Words such as "include" or "comprise" mean that the elements or objects appearing before "include" or "comprise" cover the features, wholes, steps, operations, elements and/or components listed after "include" or "comprise", and do not exclude the existence or addition of one or more other features, wholes, steps, operations, elements, components and/or their collections. "Up", "down", "left", "right" and the like are only used to indicate relative positional relationships. When the absolute position of the described object changes, the relative positional relationship may also change accordingly.

Based on the problems of insufficient power in existing pneumatic flexible manipulators and difficult sealing in hydraulic flexible manipulators, and the current manipulators are relatively complex in structure and control system, resulting in high production costs of the manipulators; therefore, it is necessary to propose a manipulator structure with relatively simple structure and control. In addition, the current manipulators are large in size, the clamping force cannot be accurately controlled, and the flexibility is insufficient, so fragile objects and micro-objects cannot be picked up safely and without damage. The present invention proposes a manipulator and a method of using the same, which uses an SMA spring assembly as a flexible driving part. The SMA spring assembly is simple to control and flexible enough, and can safely and smoothly clamp and control fragile objects and micro-objects when working.

The robot arm and the method of using the robot arm disclosed in the present invention will be further specifically introduced below in conjunction with the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings.

The manipulator disclosed in the present invention comprises a first driving part 2, a second driving part 3, a first connecting part 4, a second connecting part 5, a plurality of manipulator grippers 1 and a control center;

Among them, a number of manipulator grippers 1 are connected to the output end of the first driving part 2 via the first connecting part 4, the manipulator grippers 1 are distributed in an array around the same horizontal plane of the output end of the first driving part 2, and any two adjacent manipulator grippers 1 have at least a first angle and a second angle under the drive of the first driving part 2; the first angle and the second angle constitute two gripping postures of the manipulator; the manipulator gripper 1 includes a connecting arm 11, a hand claw 12 and an SMA spring assembly 13. When installed, one end of the connecting arm 11 is fixed to the first connecting part 4, and the other end is movably connected to the hand claw 12 by the SMA spring assembly 13. The hand claw 12 is connected to the output end of the second driving part 3 via the second connecting part 5, and the hand claw 12 has the freedom to move in the vertical direction under the drive of the second driving part 3; the control center is electrically connected to the first driving part 2, the second driving part 3 and the SMA spring assembly 13 respectively; when the SMA spring assembly 13 is powered on, the hand claws 12 of the manipulator gripper 1 approach each other and close together, so that the object to be clamped is picked up.

The manipulator of the present invention has a first driving unit 2 driving the manipulator gripper 1 to change the gripping posture of the manipulator, a second driving unit 3 driving the manipulator gripper 12 to approach the object to be gripped, and the SMA spring assembly 13 drives the gripper 12 to clamp on the surface of the object to be gripped when working.

In specific implementation, as shown in Figures 1 and 2, the first drive unit 2 and the second drive unit 3 are arranged in sequence from top to bottom to form the main body of the manipulator; the first drive unit 2 includes a first shell 21 and an electric rotating unit arranged in the first shell 21, and the second drive unit 3 includes a second shell 31 and an electric telescopic unit arranged in the second shell 31; as shown in the figure, the first shell 21 is fixed above the second shell 31, and in the embodiment, the first shell 21 is connected to the second shell 31 by a symmetrically arranged support column, and the electric rotating unit is provided with a first output shaft vertically penetrating the bottom surface of the first shell 21, and the bottom end of the first output shaft extends to the top of the second shell 31. In the embodiment, the main body of the manipulator constitutes the core structure of the manipulator, the electric rotating unit selects a servo or a rotating motor, and the electric telescopic unit selects a telescopic motor.

In the embodiment shown in the drawings, the manipulator is provided with three manipulator grippers 1, and the first driving unit 2 drives the three manipulator grippers 1 to change between gripping postures of 120° or 180°.

As shown in FIG3 , the first connecting portion 4 includes a first connecting unit 41, a second connecting unit 42 and a third connecting unit 43 respectively connected to a manipulator gripper 1; when designed, the first connecting unit 41 is set as a fixing portion, which is connected to the top of the manipulator gripper 1 and is used to fix the manipulator gripper 1 connected thereto on the upper surface of the second shell 31; the second connecting unit 42 includes a driving gear 421 connected to the top of the manipulator gripper 1, the driving gear 421 is fitted on the upper surface of the second shell 31, and a first through gear is provided at the axial center position of the tooth surface Hole 422; the third connecting unit 43 includes a driven gear 431 connected to the top of the manipulator gripper 1, the driven gear 431 is fitted on the upper surface of the second shell 31, and the driven gear 431 is meshed with the driving gear 421; during assembly, the first through hole 422 is tightly matched with the bottom end of the first output shaft, and the driving gear 421 is connected to the first driving part 2 only through the first output shaft; a second through hole 432 is provided at the axial center position of the tooth surface of the driven gear 431, and a positioning portion is provided on the upper surface of the second shell 31, and the positioning portion adopts a bearing to adapt to the second through hole 432.

In the embodiment, the first through hole 422 is configured as an elliptical hole, the shape of the bottom end of the first output shaft is adapted to the first through hole 422, and the first output shaft will not slide after being matched with the elliptical hole; the positioning portion is designed as a cylinder protruding from the upper surface of the second shell 31 toward the first shell 21, and the outer wall of the cylinder adopts a rolling bearing to be installed in coordination with the second through hole 432. In addition, as shown in Figures 7 and 8, in this embodiment, the driving gear 421 and the driven gear 431 are both configured as a plate-like structure, and the driving gear 421 and the driven gear 431 are respectively composed of a plurality of continuous teeth arranged on the periphery of one end of the plate-like structure, and the other end of the plate-like structure is connected to the upper end of the connecting arm 11 on the manipulator gripper 1 by a connecting piece.

When the first driving part 2 is working, its electric rotating unit is started, driving the driving gear 421 to drive the driven gear 431 to rotate, and then driving the manipulator gripper 1 connected thereto to rotate and change the gripping posture. In this embodiment, the manipulator gripper 1 connected to the first connecting unit 41 is fixed to the upper surface of the second housing 31 and is a fixed claw, and the manipulator gripper 1 connected to the second connecting unit 42 and the third connecting unit 43 is a movable claw. Therefore, the electric rotating unit realizes the adjustment and change of the gripping posture of the manipulator by driving the movable claw.

In combination with the specific structure shown in Figure 5, the manipulator gripper 1 also includes a connecting rod unit; during installation, a first mounting position and a second mounting position are set at the bottom end of the connecting arm 1, and a third mounting position and a fourth mounting position are set on the gripper 12; during installation, the first mounting position is rotatably connected to the third mounting position using the SMA spring assembly 13, and the second mounting position is rotatably connected to the fourth mounting position using the connecting rod unit, and the SMA spring assembly 13 is parallel to the connecting rod unit; the clamping direction of the manipulator gripper 1 is defined as the inner side, and a working surface 121 facing the inner side is set on the gripper 12; when the SMA spring assembly 13 is powered on, it drives the bottom of the working surface 121 to flip inward, and makes the working surface 121 contact the object to be clamped; in the whole manipulator, the SMA spring assemblies 13 of the three manipulator grippers 1 work simultaneously and make the grippers 12 tighten and close inward to complete the clamping action of the object to be clamped.

In the initial state of the manipulator gripper 1 of the present scheme, the length of the SMA spring assembly 13 should not be less than the length of the connecting rod of the connecting rod unit, otherwise the working surface 121 of the gripper 12 will be flipped outward, and the elongation of the SMA spring assembly 13 required during operation will be greatly increased, which is not conducive to the realization of the gripping action; therefore, in the embodiment, the length of the connecting rod unit is designed to be equal to the length of the SMA spring assembly 13, so as shown in Figure 1, the connecting rod unit and the SMA spring assembly 13 form a parallelogram after being fixed from the first installation position to the fourth installation position, and then when the SMA spring assembly 13 is energized and extended, it can easily drive the gripper 12 to flip inward to complete the object gripping.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 9 , the SMA spring assembly 13 includes an SMA spring 131, a first connector 132 and a second connector 133 respectively fixed to the two ends of the SMA spring 131; wherein, the end of the first connector 132 away from the SMA spring 131 is set as an annular structure, and the annular structure is rotatably arranged in the first mounting groove 111 by a rotating shaft assembly; the end of the second connector 133 away from the SMA spring 131 is set as a semi-cylindrical structure, and the upper edge of the semi-cylindrical structure is provided with a fourth through hole parallel to its axial direction, and the fourth through hole is rotatably arranged in the second mounting groove 122 by a rotating shaft assembly, and the arc surface of the semi-cylindrical structure abuts against the bottom surface of the second mounting groove 122. When the SMA spring 131 is energized and extended, the SMA spring assembly 13 is extended as a whole, and the gripper 12 is pushed to flip inward from the abutment between the second connector 133 and the second mounting groove 122 to adapt to the extension of the SMA spring 131, and realize the posture change of the gripper 12. In the embodiment shown in the drawings, the first connector 132 and the second connector 133 are made of ceramics. When fixed, the first connector 132 and the second connector 133 are respectively provided with slots, and both ends of the SMA spring 131 are respectively fixed and clamped in the preset slots.

As shown in Figures 6(a) and 6(b), the upper part of the connecting arm 11 is set as a type of L-shaped bracket, and the bending part of the type of L-shaped bracket is set as a rounded corner to improve the structural strength of the connecting arm 11; the bottom end of the connecting arm 11 is set as a two-stage step structure extending inward, and the two-stage step structure includes a first step located on the outside and a second step 112 located on the inside, and the bottom surface of the second step 112 is higher than the bottom surface of the first step; when connected, there is a first installation groove 111 with an opening facing downward in the middle of the first step, the first installation groove 111 and the groove walls on both sides constitute the first installation position, and the second step 112 constitutes the second installation position. A second installation groove 122 with an opening facing upward is set on the upper part of the hand claw 12, and the second installation groove 122 and the groove walls on both sides respectively constitute the third installation position and the fourth installation position, wherein the third installation position is located below the fourth installation position, and the third installation position and the fourth installation position correspond to the first installation position and the second installation position in the vertical direction. In a specific implementation, in order to prevent the robot gripper 1 from approaching the object to be clamped and colliding with its storage surface, thereby preventing the gripper 12 from flipping over, an arc-shaped transition surface is provided on the side of the gripper 12 opposite to the working surface 121; for example, as shown in FIG6(b), the gripper 12 is designed as a triangular prism structure, one side of the triangular prism constitutes the working surface 121, and the edge opposite to the side and its adjacent two side edges adopt an arc-shaped transition, and the second mounting groove 122 passes through from one opposite side of the edge to the working surface 121.

In addition, the working surface 121 of the gripper 12 in the embodiment can be designed as a vertical plane. Considering that the plane has a poor clamping effect on fragile objects or micro-objects with a spherical structure, the working surface 121 can also be designed as an arc-shaped surface that is recessed into the inside of the gripper 12 to adapt to the shape of the object, increase the contact area between the working surface 121 and the object, and effectively improve the clamping effect. In some embodiments, a rubber layer is also fitted on the working surface 121 of the gripper 12 to increase the friction between the gripper 12 and the object through the rubber layer to prevent the gripper 12 from slipping out of the gripper when the gripper is gripping an overly smooth object.

As shown in FIG. 1 , FIG. 2 , FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 , the second connection part 5 includes a rotating part 51 and three fourth connection units 52 of the same structure; in terms of structure, the electric telescopic unit is provided with a second output shaft 32 vertically penetrating the bottom surface of the second housing 31, and the rotating part 51 is arranged at the bottom end of the second output shaft 32 extending out of the second housing 31; the rotating part 51 includes a rotating disk 511, and a third through hole 512 is arranged in the middle of the rotating disk 511, and the third through hole 512 of the rotating disk 511 is connected to the second output shaft 32 through a bearing adapter; the fourth connection units 52 are arranged in an array on the rotating disk 511, and their positions correspond to the positions of the manipulator gripper 1. The matching bearings of the rotating disk 511 and the second output shaft 32 generally also adopt rolling bearings, which cooperate with the first drive part 2, so that the fourth connection unit 52 connects the connecting rod unit and the manipulator gripper 1 to rotate synchronously, and does not affect the normal extension and retraction of the second drive part.

During installation, the fourth connecting unit 52 is provided with a movable connecting part, which is rotatably connected to the connecting rod unit of the manipulator gripper 1; therefore, when the electric telescopic unit is started, it drives the rotating part 51 to move back and forth in the vertical direction, thereby driving the connecting rod unit and the gripper 12 connected thereto to move up and down in the vertical direction.

Further in combination with Figures 1 and 2, the fourth connecting unit 52 includes an L-shaped bracket 521 and a cross bar 522, the upper end of the L-shaped bracket 521 is fixedly connected to the disk surface of the rotating disk 511, and the bottom end is rotatably connected to one end of the cross bar 522 by a rotating shaft assembly; the connecting rod unit of the manipulator gripper 1 includes a pair of parallel connecting rods, which are symmetrically arranged on the outside of the first mounting groove 111 and the second mounting groove 122, and the two ends of the connecting rod 14 are respectively rotatably connected to the groove walls of the first mounting groove 111 and the second mounting groove 122 by a rotating shaft assembly; during assembly, the other end of the cross bar 522 is arranged between the two parallel connecting rods 14, and is connected to the middle part of the two connecting rods 14 by a rotating shaft assembly, that is, the cross bar 522 constitutes the movable connection part of the fourth connecting unit 52.

As an optional embodiment, the shaft assembly is designed as a stud and at least two nuts adapted to be installed therewith; for the SMA spring assembly 13, the stud symmetrically penetrates the two side walls of the first installation slot 111 or the second installation slot 122, the first connector 132 and the second connector 133 are respectively mounted on the rod section of the stud located in the slot, and the two ends of the stud protruding from the outside of the slot wall are locked with nuts; for the connecting rod unit, the stud symmetrically penetrates the two side walls of the second step 112 or the second installation slot 122, the two ends of the symmetrical connecting rod 14 are respectively connected to one end of the stud protruding from the second step 112 or the second installation slot 122, and then locked with bolts; for the crossbar 522, it is connected in a position similar to that of the SMA spring 131 during installation; when the shaft assembly composed of the studs is installed, all the studs are parallel to each other. Currently, for a larger robot, the shaft assembly can be composed of a shaft in combination with other locking units.

The present invention further provides a method for using the above-mentioned manipulator, which method comprises the following steps:

1) Start the first driving unit 2, and the electric rotating unit drives the driving gear 421 to mesh with the driven gear 431 according to the structure of the object to be clamped, and controls the adjacent manipulator gripper 1 to change between the first angle and the second angle, and determines the gripping posture of the manipulator; at the same time, the gripper 12 of the manipulator gripper 1 changes its posture synchronously with the manipulator gripper 1 under the action of the rotating disk 511;

2) The second driving unit 3 is started, and the electric telescopic unit drives the gripper 12 of the manipulator gripper 1 downward to approach the object to be gripped via the fourth connecting unit 52 connected to the rotating disk 511;

3) The SMA spring assembly 13 is started, and the SMA spring 131 is extended to drive the claws 12 to move closer to each other and close to clamp the object to be clamped, thereby completing the clamping of the object to be clamped;

4) The second driving unit 3 is started again, and the electric telescopic unit lifts the gripper 12 for clamping the object upwards through the fourth connecting unit 52, thereby completing the picking up of the object to be clamped.

The above-disclosed manipulator of the present invention uses an SMA spring 131 to drive the fingertips to achieve the clamping of objects, has sufficient power, and is not only simple in structure and control, but also suitable for clamping fragile and micro objects, and has stable control; the use method of the present invention selects the clamping posture of the manipulator according to the structure of the object to be clamped, and then controls the SMA spring assembly 13 to drive the gripper 12 close to the object to be clamped to clamp the object, and finally the second drive unit 3 lifts the gripper 12 after clamping the object to complete the automatic picking of the object; when the gripper 12 clamps the object, due to the different structures of the object to be clamped, when the gripper 12 contacts the object to be clamped, the object contacts the working surface 121 and is tightly attached to the surface of the object under the flexible action of the SMA spring 131, thereby achieving stable clamping of the object.

Although the present invention has been disclosed as above with preferred embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present invention. A person with ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention belongs may make various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention shall be determined by the definition of the claims.

Claims (7)

1. The manipulator is characterized by comprising a first driving part, a second driving part, a first connecting part, a second connecting part, a plurality of manipulator clamping jaws and a control center;

The plurality of manipulator clamping jaws are connected to the output end of the first driving part through the first connecting part, the manipulator clamping jaws are distributed in the same horizontal plane periphery array of the output end, and any two adjacent manipulator clamping jaws at least have a first included angle and a second included angle under the driving of the first driving part; the first included angle and the second included angle form two clamping postures of the manipulator;

the mechanical hand clamping jaw comprises a connecting arm, a claw and an SMA spring assembly, one end of the connecting arm is fixedly connected to the first connecting part, the other end of the connecting arm is movably connected to the claw by the SMA spring assembly, the claw is connected to the output end of the second driving part through the second connecting part, and the claw has the freedom degree of moving along the vertical direction under the driving of the second driving part;

The control center is electrically connected with the first driving part, the second driving part and the SMA spring assembly respectively; when the SMA spring component is electrified to work, the claws of the manipulator clamping claws are close to each other and are folded, so that an object to be clamped is picked up;

The manipulator clamping jaw further comprises a connecting rod unit;

The bottom end of the connecting arm is provided with a first installation position and a second installation position, the paw is provided with a third installation position and a fourth installation position, the first installation position is rotationally connected with the third installation position by adopting an SMA spring component, the second installation position is rotationally connected with the fourth installation position by adopting a connecting rod unit, and the SMA spring component is parallel to the connecting rod unit;

the bottom end of the connecting arm is provided with a first mounting groove with a downward opening, and the groove walls on the two sides of the first mounting groove form a first mounting position; the upper part of the paw is provided with a second installation groove with an upward opening, and the groove walls at two sides of the second installation groove respectively form a third installation position and a fourth installation position; the SMA spring assembly comprises an SMA spring, and a first connector and a second connector which are respectively fixedly connected to two ends of the SMA spring; one end of the first connecting head, which is far away from the SMA spring, is arranged into an annular structure, and the annular structure is rotationally arranged in the first mounting groove by adopting a rotating shaft assembly; one end of the second connector, which is far away from the SMA spring, is provided with a semi-cylindrical structure, a fourth through hole is arranged on the semi-cylindrical structure along the axial direction parallel to the semi-cylindrical structure, the fourth through hole is rotationally arranged in the second mounting groove by adopting a rotating shaft assembly, and the arc-shaped surface of the semi-cylindrical structure is abutted to the bottom surface of the second mounting groove;

Defining the folding direction of the manipulator as the inner side, and arranging a working surface facing the inner side on the paw; when the SMA spring component is electrified to work, the bottom of the working surface is driven to turn inwards, and the working surface is enabled to contact an article to be clamped;

The second connecting part comprises a rotating part and three fourth connecting units with the same structure;

The electric telescopic unit is provided with a second output shaft which vertically penetrates through the bottom surface of the second shell, and the rotating part is arranged at the bottom end of the second output shaft extending out of the second shell; the rotating part comprises a rotating disc, a third through hole is formed in the middle of the rotating disc, and the third through hole is connected to the second output shaft in an adaptive manner through a bearing;

The fourth connecting unit arrays are arranged on the rotating disc, and the positions of the fourth connecting unit arrays correspond to the positions of the clamping jaws of the manipulator one by one; the fourth connecting unit is provided with a movable connecting part, and the movable connecting part is rotationally connected with the connecting rod unit of the manipulator clamping jaw;

When the electric telescopic unit is started, the rotating part is driven to reciprocate in the vertical direction, and then the connecting rod unit and the paw connected with the connecting rod unit are driven to move up and down in the vertical direction.

2. The manipulator according to claim 1, wherein the first driving part and the second driving part are sequentially arranged from top to bottom to constitute the manipulator body;

The first driving part comprises a first shell and an electric rotating unit arranged in the first shell, and the second driving part comprises a second shell and an electric telescopic unit arranged in the second shell; the first shell is fixedly arranged above the second shell, the electric rotating unit is provided with a first output shaft which vertically penetrates through the bottom surface of the first shell, and the bottom end of the first output shaft extends to the upper part of the second shell;

The manipulator clamping jaw comprises three first connecting parts, wherein each first connecting part comprises a first connecting unit, a second connecting unit and a third connecting unit which are respectively fixedly connected with one manipulator clamping jaw; the first connecting unit is arranged as a fixing part, and the fixing part is connected to the top end of the manipulator clamping jaw and is used for fixedly arranging the manipulator clamping jaw fixedly connected with the fixing part on the upper surface of the second shell; the second connecting unit comprises a driving gear connected with the top end of the clamping jaw of the manipulator, the driving gear is attached to the upper surface of the second shell, a first through hole is formed in the axis position of the tooth surface of the driving gear, and the first through hole is tightly matched with the bottom end of the first output shaft; the third connecting unit comprises a driven gear connected with the top end of the manipulator clamping jaw, the driven gear is attached to the upper surface of the second shell, and the driven gear is meshed with the driving gear; the gear surface axis position of the driven gear is provided with a second through hole, the upper surface of the second shell is provided with a positioning part, and the positioning part is adapted to the second through hole by adopting a bearing;

when the electric rotating unit is started, the driving gear is driven to drive the driven gear to rotate, and then the manipulator clamping jaw connected with the electric rotating unit is driven to rotate to change the clamping posture.

3. The manipulator according to claim 1, wherein the connecting arm bottom end is provided as a secondary step structure extending to the inner side, the secondary step structure including a first step located on the outer side and a second step located on the inner side, and a bottom surface of the second step is higher than a bottom surface of the first step; the first mounting groove is arranged in the middle of the first step, and the second step forms a second mounting position;

The third installation position is located at the lower side of the fourth installation position, and the third installation position and the fourth installation position correspond to the first installation position and the second installation position in the vertical direction.

4. A manipulator according to claim 3, wherein the linkage unit comprises a pair of parallel arranged links; the connecting rods are symmetrically arranged outside the first mounting groove and the second mounting groove, and two ends of each connecting rod are respectively connected to the groove walls of the first mounting groove and the second mounting groove in a rotating mode through rotating shaft assemblies;

The fourth connecting unit comprises an L-shaped support and a cross rod, the upper end of the L-shaped support is fixedly connected to the disc surface of the rotating disc, the bottom end of the L-shaped support is rotatably connected to one end of the cross rod through a rotating shaft assembly, and the other end of the cross rod is arranged between two connecting rods which are arranged in parallel and is connected to the middle parts of the two connecting rods through the rotating shaft assembly.

5. The manipulator according to claim 2, wherein the first through hole is provided as an oblong hole, and the shape of the bottom end of the first output shaft is adapted to the first through hole.

6. The manipulator according to claim 1, wherein the working surface of the gripper is a vertical plane or an arcuate surface recessed inwardly of the gripper.

7. A method of using a manipulator as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6, the method comprising:

1) Starting a first driving part, driving a driving gear to mesh with a driven gear to rotate by an electric rotating unit according to the structure of an object to be clamped, controlling adjacent manipulator clamping jaws to change between a first included angle and a second included angle, and determining the clamping gesture of the manipulator; simultaneously, the hand claw of the mechanical hand clamping jaw and the mechanical hand clamping jaw synchronously change the gesture under the action of the rotating disc;

2) Starting the second driving part, and driving the claws of the manipulator clamping claws to be close to the objects to be clamped by the electric telescopic unit through a fourth connecting unit connected with the rotating disk;

3) Starting an SMA spring assembly, wherein the SMA spring stretches to drive the claws to draw together and fold to clamp the article to be clamped, so as to finish clamping the article to be clamped;

4) And then starting the second driving part, and lifting the claw for clamping the article upwards by the electric telescopic unit through the fourth connecting unit to finish the picking up of the article to be clamped.