CN116115342A

CN116115342A - Flexible continuum guiding device and flexible continuum robot

Info

Publication number: CN116115342A
Application number: CN202211222160.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 谢亿平; 侯西龙; 王双翌
Original assignee: Artificial Intelligence And Robotics Innovation Center Hong Kong Institute Of Innovation Chinese Academy Of Sciences Ltd; Institute of Automation of Chinese Academy of Science
Current assignee: Artificial Intelligence And Robotics Innovation Center Hong Kong Institute Of Innovation Chinese Academy Of Sciences Ltd; Institute of Automation of Chinese Academy of Science
Priority date: 2022-10-08
Filing date: 2022-10-08
Publication date: 2023-05-16

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of medical equipment, and provides a flexible continuum guiding device and a flexible continuum robot, wherein the flexible continuum guiding device comprises: a mounting bracket; the rotary joints are sequentially connected in a head-to-tail rotary mode along the length direction of the rotary joints; at least one connecting frame, each connecting frame is correspondingly connected to one side of one rotary joint, and the rotary frame is configured to be capable of being movably penetrated by the flexible continuous body; the mechanical arm comprises a plurality of rotating arms which are sequentially connected in a head-to-tail rotating mode, the proximal end of the mechanical arm and the rotating joint close to the proximal end of the flexible continuous body are respectively connected to the mounting bracket, and the distal end of the mechanical arm and the rotating joint close to the distal end of the flexible continuous body are connected. The flexible continuum guiding device can enable the power of the flexible continuum robot in the delivery direction to be accurately transmitted to the end execution device through the flexible continuum, and control accuracy of the robot is improved.

Description

Flexible continuum guiding device and flexible continuum robot

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of medical equipment, in particular to a flexible continuum guiding device and a flexible continuum robot.

Background

The flexible continuum mechanism is widely applied to interventional examination and treatment through a natural cavity channel or a minimally invasive opening of a human body, and is a system formed by an operating handle, a flexible continuum and an end execution device. By operating the handle, the flexible continuum can be freely bent to deliver the actuating device at the end of the flexible continuum to a narrow space in the abdominal cavity for internal observation or manipulation. Because the operation difficulty of the flexible continuous body instrument is high, and the working environment is often accompanied by ionizing radiation, great challenges are brought to doctors, a plurality of researches focus on robotics of different types of flexible continuous bodies so as to realize remote or intelligent auxiliary instrument operation.

In the related art, a delivery motor is provided in an end effector to ensure that power can be accurately applied to the end effector, which makes a driving structure of the system complex and decentralized. In order to keep the compactness of the robot and the integration of the control system, the delivery control structure is concentrated on the handle part, which in turn causes that the power of the robot in the delivery direction is often difficult to be directly transmitted to the end effector, and the control precision and applicability of the robot are reduced.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention provides a flexible continuum guiding device and a flexible continuum robot, which are used for solving the problem that the power of the flexible continuum robot in the delivery direction is difficult to be directly transmitted to an end execution device in the prior art.

The present invention provides a flexible continuum guide device, comprising:

a mounting bracket;

the rotary joints are sequentially connected in a head-to-tail rotary mode along the length direction of the rotary joints;

at least one connecting frame, each connecting frame is correspondingly connected to one side of one rotary joint, and the rotary frame is configured to be capable of being movably penetrated by the flexible continuous body;

the mechanical arm comprises a plurality of rotating arms which are sequentially connected in a head-to-tail rotating mode, the proximal end of the mechanical arm and the rotating joint which is close to the proximal end of the flexible continuous body are respectively connected to the mounting bracket, and the distal end of the mechanical arm and the rotating joint which is close to the distal end of the flexible continuous body are connected.

According to the flexible continuum guide device provided by the invention, the rotary joints are provided with the front-stage joint part and the rear-stage joint part, the front-stage joint part of each rotary joint is rotationally connected with the rear-stage joint part of the adjacent rotary joint, and the rotation axes of the front-stage joint part and the rear-stage joint part are mutually orthogonal.

According to the present invention there is provided a flexible continuum guide device, the connector comprising:

the primary rotating frame is rotationally connected with the rotating joint;

the secondary rotating frame is rotatably connected with the primary rotating frame and is provided with a guide hole for penetrating the flexible continuous body;

the first rotating shaft is perpendicular to the corresponding rotating shaft of the rotating joint, and the second rotating shaft is perpendicular to the guide hole.

According to the present invention, there is provided a flexible continuum guide device, the connecting frame further comprising:

and the universal balls are arranged on the hole walls of the guide holes in a rolling way, distributed along the circumferential direction of the guide holes and used for being in rolling contact with the flexible continuous body.

the universal balls are connected to the secondary rotating frame through the connecting assemblies, the connecting assemblies comprise threaded connecting pieces and nuts, the universal balls are arranged at one ends of the threaded connecting pieces, and the threaded connecting pieces penetrate through the secondary rotating frame and are connected to the secondary rotating frame through the nuts.

According to the present invention, there is provided a flexible continuum guide device, the secondary rotating frame comprising:

the support with one-level swivel mount rotates to be connected, the first end of lid with the first end of support rotates to be connected, the second end of lid with the second end of support can dismantle to be connected, the support with define between the lid the guide hole.

the second end of the support is rotationally connected with the primary rotating frame through a second rotating shaft, and the shaft sleeve is movably sleeved on the second rotating shaft along the axial direction of the shaft sleeve; the second end of the cover body is provided with a limiting part, and the shaft sleeve can be sleeved on the outer sides of the limiting part and the second rotating shaft to limit the cover body to rotate relative to the support under the condition that the second end of the support is connected with the second end of the cover body.

According to the present invention, there is provided a flexible continuum guide device, the primary rotating frame comprising:

the rotary joint comprises a first connecting arm and a second connecting arm, wherein one end of the first connecting arm and one end of the second connecting arm are connected with each other to define an assembly hole, an intermediate connecting piece is arranged on the rotary joint, and the assembly hole is rotationally connected with the intermediate connecting piece; the second-stage rotating frame is respectively connected with the other end of the first connecting arm and the other end of the second connecting arm in a rotating way.

and each primary rotating frame is connected with the corresponding clamping hoop in a rotating way, and the clamping hoops are embraced on the outer sides of the corresponding rotating joints.

According to the flexible continuum guiding device provided by the invention, the mechanical arm is rotationally connected with the mounting bracket to form a first swing joint, a first rotating joint, a second swing joint, a third swing joint, a second rotating joint and a fourth swing joint which are sequentially distributed from the proximal end to the distal end of the mechanical arm;

the rotation axis of the first swing joint is parallel to the rotation axis of the first rotation joint, the rotation axis of the second swing joint is perpendicular to the rotation axis of the first rotation joint, the rotation axis of the third swing joint is parallel to the rotation axis of the second swing joint, the rotation axis of the second rotation joint is perpendicular to the rotation axis of the third swing joint, and the rotation axis of the fourth swing joint is perpendicular to the rotation axis of the second rotation joint.

The present invention also provides a flexible continuum robot comprising: an operating handle, a flexible continuum, an end effector, and any of the flexible continuum guides described above; the flexible continuous body is arranged on the connecting frame in a penetrating mode and is connected between the operating handle and the end execution device.

According to the flexible continuum guiding device and the flexible continuum robot, the plurality of rotary joints are sequentially connected in the head-to-tail rotation mode along the delivery direction of the flexible continuum to form the joint chain, and the connecting frame used for penetrating the flexible continuum is arranged on the rotary joints to form the path guiding mechanism for the flexible continuum. The position constraint of the path guiding mechanism and the flexible continuum is realized through limited sample point fixed point control, the rigidity of the flexible continuum and a mechanical arm connected with a joint chain in parallel. When the tail end position of the flexible continuous body needs to be adjusted, the position of the far end of the joint chain can be adjusted by using the mechanical arm, so that the spatial posture of the joint chain is changed, and the adjustment of the middle path of the flexible continuous body is realized. The flexible continuum guiding device can enable the power of the flexible continuum robot in the delivery direction to be accurately transmitted to the end execution device through the flexible continuum, and control accuracy of the robot is improved.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the invention or the technical solutions of the prior art, the following description will briefly explain the drawings used in the embodiments or the description of the prior art, and it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are some embodiments of the invention, and other drawings can be obtained according to the drawings without inventive effort for a person skilled in the art.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view of the installation structure of a flexible continuum guide device and a flexible continuum mechanism provided by the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a portion A of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the structure of a rotary joint in the flexible continuum guide device provided by the invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of the connection between the rotating frame and the connecting piece in the flexible continuum guiding device provided by the invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view of a secondary rotating frame in a flexible continuum guide provided by the invention in an open state;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of the structure of a rolling connection in the flexible continuum guide device provided by the invention;

reference numerals:

1. a mounting bracket; 11. a bracket body; 12. an operation table;

2. a mechanical arm; 21. a first swing arm; 211. a first swing joint; 22. a first rotating arm; 221. a first rotary joint; 23. a second swing arm; 231. a second swing joint; 24. a third swing arm; 241. a third swing joint; 25. a second rotating arm; 251. a second revolute joint; 26. a fourth swing arm; 261. a fourth swing joint;

3. a rotary joint; 30. a joint body; 31. anterior joint section; 32. a posterior joint section; 311. a first connection hole; 321. a second connection hole;

4. a connecting frame; 41. a rotating frame; 411. a primary rotating frame; 4110. a fitting hole; 4111. a first connecting arm; 4112. a second connecting arm; 412. a secondary rotating frame; 4120. a guide hole; 4121. a support; 4122. a cover body; 41221. a limit part; 42. a clamp; 43. a universal ball; 44. a connection assembly; 441. a threaded connection; 4411. a stem portion; 4412. a cap portion; 442. a nut; 45. a shaft sleeve; 461. a first rotating shaft; 462. a second rotating shaft;

5. a flexible continuum; 6. an operation handle; 7. an end effector.

Detailed Description

For the purpose of making the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more apparent, the technical solutions of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, and it is apparent that the described embodiments are some embodiments of the present invention, not all embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be made by those skilled in the art based on the embodiments of the invention without making any inventive effort, are intended to be within the scope of the invention.

In describing embodiments of the present invention, it should be noted that the terms "first" and "second" are used for clarity in describing the numbering of the product components and do not represent any substantial distinction unless explicitly stated or defined otherwise. The specific meaning of the above terms in the embodiments of the present invention will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art according to specific circumstances.

In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that, unless explicitly specified and limited otherwise, the terms "mounted," "connected," and "connected" are to be construed broadly, and may be, for example, fixedly connected, detachably connected, or integrally connected; can be directly connected or indirectly connected through an intermediate medium, and can be communication between two elements. The specific meaning of the above terms in the present invention will be understood in specific cases by those of ordinary skill in the art.

The flexible continuum guide device and the flexible continuum robot of the present invention are described below in connection with fig. 1-6.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the flexible continuum guiding device provided by the embodiment of the invention includes a mounting bracket 1, a mechanical arm 2, a plurality of rotary joints 3, and at least one connecting frame 4. The rotary joints 3 are sequentially connected in a head-to-tail rotary mode along the length direction of the rotary joints 3. Each connecting frame 4 is correspondingly connected to one side of one rotary joint 3, and the connecting frames 4 are configured to enable the flexible continuous body 5 to movably penetrate therethrough. The mechanical arm 2 comprises a plurality of rotating arms which are connected in turn in a head-to-tail rotation mode. The proximal end of the mechanical arm 2 and the rotary joint 3 near the proximal end of the flexible continuum 5 are connected to the mounting bracket 1, respectively, and the distal end of the mechanical arm 2 and the rotary joint 3 near the distal end of the flexible continuum 5 are connected.

Wherein, a plurality of rotary joints 3 are connected in turn in a head-to-tail rotation way to form a joint chain. The proximal end of the mechanical arm 2 and the proximal end of the joint chain are respectively connected with the mounting bracket 1 and are both close to the proximal end of the flexible continuous body 5, and the distal end of the mechanical arm 2 and the distal end of the joint chain are both connected and are both close to the distal end of the flexible continuous body 5, so that a serial-parallel series-parallel connection structure is formed.

It will be appreciated that the length direction of the joint chain is the extension direction of the flexible continuous body 5, i.e. the delivery direction of the flexible continuous body 5.

At least a part of the flexible continuous body 5 is connected to the joint chain by a connecting frame 4, the connecting frame 4 forms a structural support for the flexible continuous body 5, and the joint chain and the connecting frame 4 form a path guiding mechanism of the flexible continuous body 5. Because the rotary joints 3 are connected in turn in a head-to-tail rotational manner, each rotary joint 3 can rotate relative to the adjacent rotary joint 3. When the distal end position of the mechanical arm 2 moves, the joint chain can be driven to move, so that the adjustment of the spatial posture of the joint chain is realized, and the middle path of the flexible continuous body 5 is regulated and controlled.

The adjacent rotary joints 3 are connected through joint connectors, so that a certain static friction force exists between the adjacent rotary joints 3, and the joint chain can keep a fixed posture through the friction force between the rotary joints 3. And, the adjacent rotary joints 3 can relatively rotate under the driving action of the mechanical arm 2.

Optionally, adjacent rotary joints 3 are detachably connected through joint connectors, so that the length of the guiding mechanism can be adjusted by freely increasing or decreasing the number of the rotary joints 3, the guiding mechanism is suitable for path guiding of flexible continuous bodies 5 with different rigidities, and the universality of the device is improved.

Alternatively, the articulation piece may comprise a bolt and a nut, a portion of the shank of the bolt being formed with a thread adapted to threadedly engage the nut. As shown in fig. 3, the end portions of the rotary joints 3 are provided with connecting holes, and the screw rods are arranged in the connecting holes of two adjacent rotary joints 3 in a penetrating manner. The other part of the screw of the bolt is formed with a contact surface which contacts with the connection hole on the rotary joint 3 to rotate the rotary joint 3 on the surface of the contact surface. Through adjusting the nut, the static friction force between the two adjacent rotary joints 3 can be adjusted, so that the two adjacent rotary joints 3 can be relatively static under the action of the static friction force and can relatively rotate under the action of the mechanical arm 2.

When the mechanical arm is used, the position of the distal end of the mechanical arm 2 can be adjusted by adjusting the rotation angle of each rotating arm of the mechanical arm 2, so that the spatial posture of the joint chain can be adjusted. The adjustment of the intermediate path of the flexible continuum 5 is achieved while changing the spatial attitude of the articulated chain, so that the actuator at the end of the flexible continuum 5 reaches the desired position. The mechanical arm 2 is able to balance the weight of the articulated chain and to increase the rigidity of the overall structure.

According to the flexible continuum guiding device provided by the embodiment of the invention, the plurality of rotary joints 3 are sequentially connected in a head-to-tail rotation mode along the delivery direction of the flexible continuum 5 to form a joint chain, and the rotary joints 3 are provided with the connecting frame 4 for penetrating the flexible continuum 5 to form a path guiding mechanism for the flexible continuum 5. The position constraint of the path guiding mechanism and the flexible continuum 5 is achieved by a finite sample point fixed point control, the own rigidity of the flexible continuum 5, and a robotic arm 2 in parallel with the articulated chain. When the tail end position of the flexible continuous body 5 needs to be adjusted, the mechanical arm 2 can be used for adjusting the position of the far end of the joint chain, so that the spatial posture of the joint chain is changed, and the adjustment of the middle path of the flexible continuous body 5 is realized. The flexible continuum guiding device can enable the power of the flexible continuum robot in the delivery direction to be accurately transmitted to the end execution device through the flexible continuum 5, and control accuracy of the robot is improved.

As shown in fig. 2 and 3, in some embodiments of the present invention, the rotary joint 3 has a front stage joint part 31 and a rear stage joint part 32. The front joint part 31 of one rotary joint 3 is rotatably connected to the rear joint part 32 of the adjacent other rotary joint 3. The rotation axes of the anterior joint section 31 and the posterior joint section 32 are orthogonal to each other. In the present embodiment, the rotation axis of the front-stage joint portion 31 and the rotation axis of the rear-stage joint portion 32 are orthogonal to each other, and the plurality of rotation joints 3 are connected to form a super-redundant structure, whereby finer control of the flexible continuous body 5 can be achieved.

Specifically, the front joint part 31 is provided with a first connection hole 311, and the rear joint part 32 is provided with a second connection hole 321, and the axis of the first connection hole 311 is perpendicular to the axis of the second connection hole 321. The rotary joint 3 includes a joint body 30, and the front joint part 31 may be a first coupling lug formed at a first end of the joint body 30, and the first coupling hole 311 is provided at the first coupling lug. The posterior joint section 32 may include two oppositely disposed second connection lugs formed at the second end of the joint body 30, i.e., the two second connection lugs form a U-shaped posterior joint section 32, and the second connection hole 321 penetrates the two second connection lugs. The first connecting lug of each rotary joint 3 is positioned between the two second connecting lugs of the other rotary joint 3, so that the first connecting hole 311 and the second connecting hole 321 are opposite, and the joint connecting piece is arranged through the first connecting hole 311 and the second connecting hole 321 to realize the connection of the two adjacent rotary joints 3.

As shown in fig. 2 and 4, in some embodiments of the present invention, the connection frame 4 includes a rotation frame 41, and the rotation frame 41 is provided with a guide hole 4120 for penetrating the flexible continuous body 5. The swivel mount 41 has two degrees of swivel freedom with respect to the corresponding swivel joint 3. The rotation axes of the two rotation degrees are perpendicular to each other, one of which is perpendicular to the axis of the corresponding rotation joint 3 (the rotation joint 3 connected to the link 4), and the other of which is perpendicular to the axis of the guide hole 4120.

It will be appreciated that the rotating frame 41 is capable of rotating the flexible continuum 5 in both directions relative to the rotary joint 3. Namely, in the process that the joint chain is driven by the mechanical arm 2 to carry out posture adjustment, most of the degrees of freedom of the flexible continuous body 5 can be limited through the rotating frame 41, and two required degrees of rotation freedom are reserved, so that the effect that the additional internal stress caused by the guiding mechanism generates resistance to the movement of the flexible continuous body 5 while the position constraint of the rotary joint 3 on the flexible continuous body 5 is ensured is realized.

Wherein the rotating frame 41 can be rotatably connected with the rotating joint 3 through an intermediate connecting piece. The intermediate connection member may be a connection shaft fixed to the rotary joint 3 or integrally formed with the rotary joint 3, and the rotary frame 41 is rotatably connected to the connection shaft through a bearing.

In some embodiments of the invention, the intermediate connection is a separate component from the rotary joint 3 and the rotary frame 41, the rotary frame 41 is rotatably connected to the intermediate connection by a bearing, and the intermediate connection is detachably connected to the rotary joint 3. For example, the intermediate connection member is a collar 42 described in the following embodiments, each rotating frame 41 is connected to the rotating joint 3 by the collar 42, the collar 42 is disposed on the outer side of the corresponding rotating joint 3, and the rotating frame 41 is rotatably connected to the corresponding collar 42.

As shown in fig. 4, in some embodiments of the present invention, the rotating frame 41 includes a primary rotating frame 411 and a secondary rotating frame 412. The primary rotating frame 411 is rotatably connected to the rotary joint 3. The secondary rotating frame 412 is rotatably connected to the primary rotating frame 411. The secondary rotating frame 412 is provided with a guide hole 4120 for penetrating the flexible continuous body 5. The first rotation axis A1 of the primary rotation frame 411 relative to the rotation joint 3 and the second rotation axis A2 of the secondary rotation frame 412 relative to the primary rotation frame 411 are perpendicular to each other. The first rotation axis A1 is perpendicular to the axis of the corresponding rotary joint 3 (the rotary joint 3 connected to the primary rotary frame 411), and the second rotation axis A2 is perpendicular to the axis of the guide hole 4120. The present embodiment realizes two degrees of rotational freedom of the rotating frame 41 with respect to the rotary joint 3 by providing a two-stage rotating frame.

Further, with continued reference to FIG. 4, in some embodiments of the invention, the connector 4 further includes a universal ball 43. At least three universal balls 43 are rollingly provided to the wall of the guide hole 4120 and are disposed along the circumferential direction of the guide hole 4120, the universal balls 43 being adapted to be in rolling contact with the flexible continuous body 5.

Optionally, at least three universal balls 43 are uniformly spaced apart from the walls of the bore 4120. As shown in fig. 4, the three universal balls 43 are distributed at 120 ° to each other on the wall of the guide hole 4120, so that the flexible continuous body 5 can be completely supported between the three universal balls 43, and the flexible continuous body 5 is prevented from contacting the wall of the guide hole 4120.

The universal ball 43 may be embedded in the hole wall of the guide hole 4120 and may freely rotate. The ball 43 may also be embedded in other structural members, such as a connection assembly 44 described below, and then connected to the secondary rotating frame 412 via the connection assembly 44.

In this embodiment, by disposing the universal ball 43 in the guide hole 4120, the hole wall of the guide hole 4120 is in rolling connection with the flexible continuous body 5 through the universal ball 43, so that the friction between the flexible continuous body 5 and the guide hole 4120 is reduced, and the movement resistance of the flexible continuous body 5 is reduced. By combining the two degrees of rotational freedom of the rotating frame 41, damage of the flexible continuous body 5 due to long-term local large deformation can be avoided.

In some embodiments of the present invention, the connection frame 4 further includes a connection assembly 44, and each universal ball 43 is connected to the secondary rotating frame 412 through the connection assembly 44. As shown in fig. 4 and 6, the connection assembly 44 includes a threaded connection 441 and a nut 442. The universal ball 43 is disposed at one end of the screw connector 441, and the screw connector 441 is disposed through the secondary rotating frame 412 and is connected to the secondary rotating frame 412 through the nut 442.

It will be appreciated that the bore wall of the bore 4120 is provided with at least three mounting holes extending through the secondary rotating frame 412 through which the threaded connector 441 is disposed. The end of the screw connector 441 near the guide hole 4120 is embedded with the universal ball 43, and the end of the screw connector 441 far from the guide hole 4120 is positioned outside the secondary rotating frame 412 and is in screw connection with the nut 442.

In order to firmly connect the connection assembly 44 to the secondary rotating frame 412, in some embodiments of the present invention, the screw connector 441 includes a rod 4411 and a cap 4412, and the universal ball 43 is embedded in the cap 4412, and the cross section of the cap 4412 is polygonal, such as the regular hexagonal structure shown in fig. 4. The mounting hole in the secondary swivel mount 412 has a stop section adjacent the guide hole 4120 that has a cross-sectional shape sized to fit the cross-sectional shape of the cap 4412. When the nut 442 tightly connects the screw connector 441 to the secondary rotating frame 412, the cap 4412 is positioned in the limiting section, and the limiting section can limit the cap 4412 to rotate.

As shown in fig. 4 and 5, in some embodiments of the invention, the secondary rotating frame 412 includes a support 4121 and a cover 4122. The support 4121 is rotatably connected to the primary rotating frame 411, and a first end of the cover 4122 is rotatably connected to the first end of the support 4121, and a second end of the cover 4122 is detachably connected to the second end of the support 4121. The housing 4121 and the cover 4122 define a guide bore 4120 therebetween.

It will be appreciated that the support 4121 and the cover 4122 are respectively in a semi-circular configuration disposed opposite to each other and are engaged to form the guide hole 4120. A part of the universal ball 43 is provided on the holder 4121, and the other part of the universal ball 43 is provided on the cover 4122. When the secondary rotating frame 412 is required to be assembled and disassembled with the flexible continuous body 5, the cover 4122 and the support 4121 are opened by rotating, the flexible continuous body 5 is taken out or placed in the half hole of the support 4121, and then the second end of the cover 4122 and the second end of the support 4121 are connected, so that the flexible continuous body 5 is convenient to assemble and disassemble.

In some embodiments of the invention, the connector 4 further comprises a bushing 45. The second end of the support 4121 is rotatably coupled to the primary rotating frame 411 via a second rotating shaft 462. The shaft sleeve 45 is movably sleeved on the second rotating shaft 462 along the axial direction thereof. The second end of the cover 4122 is provided with a stopper 41221. In the case that the second end of the support 4121 is connected to the second end of the cover 4122, the sleeve 45 can be sleeved on the limiting portion and the outer side of the second rotating shaft to limit the cover 4122 to rotate relative to the support 4121.

The first end of the support 4121 is rotatably connected to the primary rotating frame 411 through a first rotating shaft 461, and the axis of the first rotating shaft 461 and the axis of the second rotating shaft 462 are collinear, that is, the rotation axis of the support 4121 relative to the primary rotating frame 411. Alternatively, the first and

second shafts

461 and 462 may be integrally formed with the primary rotating frame 411.

The second shaft 462 is provided with a first shaft section and a second shaft section, wherein the first shaft section is a cylindrical section, and the cross section of the second shaft section is a semicircle, a small semicircle or a large semicircle. The cross section of the limiting portion 41221 is a semicircle, a large semicircle or a small semicircle which is complementary to the second rotating shaft 462.

When the cover 4122 and the support 4121 need to be closed, the cover 4122 is buckled with the support 4121, the arc-shaped outer surface of the limiting part 41221 is spliced with the arc-shaped outer surface of the second rotating shaft 462 to form a cylindrical surface, and at this time, the shaft sleeve 45 can be moved to the first shaft section of the second rotating shaft 462 to be sleeved outside the cylindrical surface, so that the second end of the cover 4122 is limited to be separated from the second end of the support 4121, as shown in fig. 4. When the cover 4122 and the support 4121 need to be opened, the shaft sleeve 45 is moved to the first shaft section of the second rotating shaft 462, the restriction of the cover 4122 by the shaft sleeve 45 is released, and at this time, the cover 4122 can be rotated to be opened. As shown in fig. 5.

As shown in fig. 4 and 5, in some embodiments of the present invention, the primary rotating frame 411 includes a first connecting arm 4111 and a second connecting arm 4112. One end of the first connecting arm 4111 and one end of the second connecting arm 4112 are connected to each other to define a fitting hole 4110. The rotary joint 3 is provided with an intermediate connector, and the fitting hole 4110 is rotatably connected with the intermediate connector. The secondary rotating frame 412 is rotatably connected to the other end of the first connecting arm 4111 and the other end of the second connecting arm 4112, respectively.

It will be appreciated that the first ends of the first connecting arm 4111 and the second connecting arm 4112 are connected to each other to form a U-shaped or semi-circular mechanism, and the second ends of the first connecting arm 4111 and the second connecting arm 4112 are disposed opposite to each other. The secondary rotating frame 412 is rotatably connected between the second end of the first connecting arm 4111 and the second end of the second connecting arm 4112. The first end of the support 4121 in the above embodiment is rotatably connected to the first end of the first connecting arm 4111, and the second end of the support 4121 is rotatably connected to the second end of the second connecting arm 4112.

Wherein, the intermediate connector has a connecting shaft adapted to the assembly hole 4110, and the connecting shaft is rotatably connected to the assembly hole 4110 through a bearing. Optionally, two bearings distributed along the axial direction of the assembly hole 4110 are disposed between the assembly hole 4110 and the intermediate connecting member, so as to improve the rotation stability of the primary rotating frame 411 and the intermediate connecting member.

Two third connection lugs are respectively arranged at two sides of the first end of the first connection arm 4111, two fourth connection lugs are respectively arranged at two sides of the first end of the second connection arm 4112, and the two third connection lugs of the first connection arm 4111 and the two fourth connection lugs of the first end of the second connection arm 4112 are connected in one-to-one correspondence through fasteners such as bolts. In this way, the primary rotating frame 411 and the intermediate connecting members can be assembled with the bearing conveniently, and the structural strength of the primary rotating frame 411 can be enhanced.

As shown in fig. 2, 4 and 5, in some embodiments of the present invention, the connector 4 further includes a clip 42, where the clip 42 is the intermediate connector described in the above embodiments. Each of the primary rotating frames 411 is connected to the rotary joint 3 through a clip 42. The clamp 42 is embraced on the outer side of the corresponding rotary joint 3, and the primary rotary frame 411 is rotatably connected with the corresponding clamp 42.

The clip 42 includes a first hoop portion and a second hoop portion, one end of the first hoop portion and one end of the second hoop portion are rotatably connected, and the other end of the first hoop portion and the other end of the second hoop portion are detachably connected by a fastener such as a bolt. The middle connecting piece of the clamp mechanism can realize the detachable connection of the whole connecting frame 4 and the rotary joint 3, and the universality of the device is improved.

As shown in fig. 1, in some embodiments of the present invention, the mechanical arm 2 is rotatably connected to the mounting bracket 1, so as to form a first swing joint 211, a first swing joint 221, a second swing joint 231, a third swing joint 241, a second swing joint 251 and a fourth swing joint 261, which are sequentially distributed from a proximal end to a distal end of the mechanical arm 2. The rotation axis of the first swing joint 211 is parallel to the rotation axis of the first swing joint 221, the rotation axis of the second swing joint 231 is perpendicular to the rotation axis of the first swing joint 221, the rotation axis of the third swing joint 241 is parallel to the rotation axis of the second swing joint 231, the rotation axis of the second swing joint 251 is perpendicular to the rotation axis of the third swing joint 241, and the rotation axis of the fourth swing joint 261 is perpendicular to the rotation axis of the second swing joint 251.

Specifically, the robot arm 2 includes a first swing arm 21, a first swing arm 22, a second swing arm 23, a third swing arm 24, a second swing arm 25, and a fourth swing arm 26, which are sequentially distributed from the proximal end to the distal end. The first swing arm 21 is rotatably connected with the mounting bracket 1 to form a first swing joint 211. The first swing arm 22 is rotatably connected to the first swing arm 21 to form a first rotation joint 221. The second swing arm 23 is rotatably connected with the first swing arm 22 to form a second swing joint 231. The third swing arm 24 is rotatably connected with the second swing arm 23 to form a third swing joint 241. The second pivot arm 25 is pivotally connected to the third swing arm 24 to form a second pivot joint 251. The fourth swing arm 26 is rotatably connected to the second rotating arm 25 to form a fourth swing joint 261.

The embodiment of the invention also provides a flexible continuum robot, which comprises an operation handle 6, a flexible continuum 5, an end effector 7 and the flexible continuum guiding device in any of the above embodiments. As shown in fig. 1, the flexible continuous body 5 is provided to penetrate the connection frame 4 and is connected between the operation handle 6 and the end effector 7.

Further, the mounting bracket 1 includes a bracket body 11 and an operation table 12 connected to the bracket body 11. The proximal end of the joint chain is rotatably connected to the operation table 12, and the operation handle 6 can be placed on the operation table 12, so that the operation of operators is facilitated. The bottom of installing support 1 is equipped with a plurality of universal wheels, realizes flexible continuous robot's convenient removal.

Finally, it should be noted that: the above embodiments are only for illustrating the technical solution of the present invention, and are not limiting; although the invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, it will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that: the technical scheme described in the foregoing embodiments can be modified or some technical features thereof can be replaced by equivalents; such modifications and substitutions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A flexible continuum guide device, comprising:

a mounting bracket;

2. The flexible continuum guide device according to claim 1, wherein said rotary joints have a front stage joint portion and a rear stage joint portion, said front stage joint portion of each said rotary joint being rotatably connected to a rear stage joint portion of an adjacent other said rotary joint, said front stage joint portion and said rear stage joint portion being mutually orthogonal in rotational axis.

3. The flexible continuum guide device of claim 1, wherein said connector comprises:

the primary rotating frame is rotationally connected with the rotating joint;

4. A flexible continuum guide as in claim 3, wherein said connector further comprises:

5. The flexible continuum guide device of claim 4, wherein said connector frame further comprises:

6. A flexible continuum guide as recited in claim 3, wherein said secondary rotating frame comprises:

7. The flexible continuum guide of claim 6, wherein said connector frame further comprises:

8. A flexible continuum guide as recited in claim 3, wherein said primary swivel mount comprises:

9. A flexible continuum guide as in claim 3, wherein said connector further comprises:

10. The flexible continuum guide device according to claim 1, wherein said robotic arm is rotatably coupled to said mounting bracket to form a first swing joint, a second swing joint, a third swing joint, a second swing joint, and a fourth swing joint sequentially disposed from a proximal end to a distal end of said robotic arm;

11. A flexible continuum robot comprising: an operating handle, a flexible continuum, an end effector, and a flexible continuum guide as recited in any one of claims 1-10; the flexible continuous body is arranged on the connecting frame in a penetrating mode and is connected between the operating handle and the end execution device.