CN116852412A - Homopolar connector for self-reconfiguration modularized robot - Google Patents

Abstract

A homopolar connector for a self-reconfiguration modularized robot belongs to the technical field of modularized reconfigurable robots. The invention solves the problems that the connecting structure of the existing modularized robot has no homogeneity, and has larger structure size and weight and weaker mechanical strength. The circumference that a plurality of cranks arranged along the disc and a plurality of cranked one end all articulated with the disc, a plurality of spouts set firmly on the bottom plate along circumference, a plurality of sliders one-to-one slip sets up in a plurality of spouts, and a plurality of sliders's one end one-to-one articulates with a plurality of cranked other ends, a plurality of jack catch's one end one-to-one rotates the other end of installing at a plurality of sliders, a plurality of jack catch corresponds through the cooperation of arc through-hole with the fixed axle of solid dress on the spout, realizes spacing to jack catch motion trail, sets up a plurality of passive spread grooves that quantity is the same with the jack catch along its circumference on the top cap. The connector has homogeneity, the male and female connection mechanisms are not limited, and the separation and connection actions are rapid.

Description

Homopolar connector for self-reconfiguration modularized robot

Technical Field

The invention relates to a homopolar connector for a self-reconfiguration modularized robot, and belongs to the technical field of modularized reconfigurable robots.

Background

The modularized reconfigurable robot system consists of a plurality of robot standard modules with basic operation functions, wherein each standard module is a highly autonomous mechanical electronic unit system, and the modularized reconfigurable robot system has the motion planning, calculation capability and communication capability of a robot. A large number of modules with the same functional structure are connected and separated with each other through a reconstruction algorithm. The self-reconstruction modularized robot has the current advantage that the self-reconstruction modularized robot can adjust the topological structure according to the environment so as to cope with the complex environment and complete the task. In order to ensure the diversity of topological structures and the stability of the reconstruction process, the connecting mechanism is required to be universal, reliable in connection, easy to separate, small in size, low in energy consumption and the like.

At present, the design forms of the device of the connecting mechanism mainly comprise a mechanical type, an electromagnetic type, a mechanical-memory alloy type and the like. The mechanical connecting mechanism has low energy consumption, stable connection and high reliability, but needs a larger space to complete reconstruction and is difficult to separate; the electromagnetic connecting mechanism is rapid in connection, small in required space, high in energy consumption and serious in heating; the connecting mechanism with the memory alloy consumes time and energy in action and does not meet the requirement of rapid separation action.

More mainly, the prior connecting mechanism strictly prescribes a male connecting mechanism and a female connecting mechanism, so that the standard module of the robot does not have homogeneity, and further the changeable topological structure is limited.

In addition, most of the existing connecting mechanisms adopt a gear transmission mode, but the gear transmission mode has high requirements on the space inside the connecting mechanism, so that the whole connecting mechanism has large size and weight and weak mechanical strength.

Disclosure of Invention

The invention aims to solve the technical problems, and further provides a homopolar connector for a self-reconfiguration modularized robot.

The technical scheme adopted by the invention for solving the technical problems is as follows:

the utility model provides a homopolar connector for self-reconfiguration modularization robot, includes steering wheel, top cap, bottom plate and set up disc, a plurality of cranks, a plurality of spout, a plurality of slider and a plurality of jack catch between top cap and bottom plate, wherein the steering wheel is adorned admittedly on the bottom plate and the output shaft of steering wheel passes the coaxial rigid coupling of bottom plate and disc, a plurality of cranks are arranged along the circumference of disc and a plurality of cranked one end all is articulated with the disc, a plurality of spouts are fixedly set up on the bottom plate along the circumference, a plurality of sliders one-to-one slip sets up in a plurality of spouts, and a plurality of slider one-to-one is articulated with a plurality of cranked other end, a plurality of jack catch's one-to-one end is rotated and is installed the other end at a plurality of sliders, all offered the arc through-hole on every jack catch, a plurality of jack catch corresponds through the cooperation of arc through-hole and the fixed axle of admitting on the spout, realize spacing to jack catch motion trail, a plurality of passive spread grooves the same as jack catch are offered to quantity along its circumference on the top cap, and a plurality of passive spread.

Further, the crank is of an L-shaped structure, and the orientations of the plurality of cranks are arranged identically.

Further, the sliding groove comprises two sliding seats symmetrically and fixedly arranged on the surface of the bottom plate, the fixed shaft is fixedly arranged between the two sliding seats, one side surface opposite to the two sliding seats is provided with sliding ways, and the sliding blocks slide along the length directions of the two sliding ways.

Further, one end parts of the two sliding seats are smoothly in transition.

Further, a through groove is formed in the other end portion of the sliding block, and one end portion of the clamping jaw is rotatably installed in the through groove through the rotating shaft.

Further, a plurality of limit grooves are further formed in the top cover along the circumferential direction of the top cover, the limit grooves and the passive connecting grooves are arranged in a staggered mode, and the clamping claws are inserted in the limit grooves in a one-to-one correspondence mode.

Further, one end of the claw, which is butted with the passive connecting groove on the opposite-side homopolar connector, is in a hook-shaped structure.

Further, the upper surface of the bottom plate is fixedly provided with a plurality of supporting blocks along the circumferential direction of the bottom plate, and the top cover is fixedly connected with the bottom plate through a plurality of supporting blocks.

Further, along the direction from the outer side of the top cover to the central axis, the passive connecting groove is arranged in an outer wide and inner narrow structure.

Further, the number of the clamping jaws is four.

Compared with the prior art, the invention has the following effects:

the homopolar connector comprises a male part and a female part, wherein the male part is a plurality of extensible hook-type locking structures, namely clamping claws, on the homopolar connector; the female part is a plurality of clamping groove structures capable of fixing clamping claws, namely passive connecting grooves, on the homopolar connector. The asexual butt joint mechanism is used for guaranteeing the homogeneity of the module, the asexual connection enhances the autonomy and self-configuration capability of the module, any two identical homosexual connectors are oppositely arranged, and the opposite passive connecting grooves are hooked by the clamping jaws of the asexual butt joint mechanism to lock and connect the asexual butt joint mechanism, so that the connectors have the homogeneity, the male and female connecting mechanisms are not required to be limited, and the separation and connection actions are rapid. Any two modules can be connected with each other in the same mode, so that the design of the bottom layer is effectively simplified, centralized control is simpler and more convenient, the working efficiency is effectively improved, and the robot is more suitable for a reconfigurable robot.

The invention adopts a direct driving mode, and directly drives the disc to rotate by adopting the steering engine, so as to drive a plurality of clamping jaws to move at the same time, and drive the clamping jaws to realize the actions of grabbing and releasing. And then effectively reduce whole coupling mechanism's size and weight, effectively improved mechanical strength simultaneously, promoted the intensity of connection greatly, better alleviateed self-reconfiguration modularization robot in the problem that the rigidity is not enough of deformation collision in-process.

The invention utilizes the crank slide block structure to convert the rotary motion of the disc into the planar motion of the slide block; the plane motion of the sliding block can be converted into the rotary motion of the claw through the sliding block, the claw and the fixed shaft. The jaw is restrained by the fixed shaft and the rotating shaft to rotate along with the action of the sliding block.

Drawings

FIG. 1 is a first perspective view of the homopolar connector for a self-constructing modular robot of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a second perspective view of the homopolar connector for the self-constructing modular robot of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a third perspective view of the homopolar connector for the self-constructing modular robot of the present invention (top cover not shown);

fig. 4 is a schematic view of a fourth perspective structure of the homopolar connector for the self-constructing modular robot of the present invention (top cover not shown);

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view of a crank;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing the connection state of the claw, the slider and the chute;

FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view of a chute with a stationary shaft mounted thereto; .

FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view of a slider;

fig. 9 is a schematic perspective view of a claw;

FIG. 10 is a schematic perspective view of the top cover;

FIG. 11 is a schematic perspective view of a base plate with support blocks mounted thereto;

fig. 12 is a schematic perspective view showing a state where the claws grasp when two like connectors are mated;

FIG. 13 is a schematic perspective view of the two hermaphroditic connectors mated with the jaws released;

FIG. 14 is a schematic view in partial perspective of the pawl in the released state;

FIG. 15 is a schematic view in partial perspective of the jaws in a gripping state;

FIG. 16 is a schematic top view of the present invention in a released condition of the homopolar connectors for the self-constructing modular robot (bottom and top cover not shown);

fig. 17 is a schematic top view (bottom and top cover not shown) of the invention in a gripping state of the homopolar connector for the self-constructing modular robot.

In the figure:

1. steering engine; 2. a top cover; 2-1, a passive connecting groove; 2-2, a limit groove; 3. a bottom plate; 4. a disc; 5. a crank; 6. a chute; 6-1, a sliding seat; 6-11, a slideway; 7. a slide block; 7-1, through grooves; 8. a claw; 8-1, arc through holes; 9. a fixed shaft; 11. and a supporting block.

Detailed Description

The first embodiment is as follows: the present embodiments will be described in detail and clearly with reference to fig. 1 to 17, and it is apparent that the described embodiments are only some embodiments, but not all embodiments of the present invention, and all other embodiments obtained by a person skilled in the art without making any inventive effort are within the scope of the present invention based on the embodiments of the present invention.

It should be noted that, the descriptions of the directions of the present invention in terms of "front", "rear", "left", "right", "inner", "outer", "left", "right", "upper", "lower", "top", "bottom", etc. are defined based on the relationship of orientations or positions shown in the drawings, only for convenience in describing the present invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the structures described must be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore, the present invention should not be construed as being limited thereto. In the description of the present invention, the meaning of "plurality" is two or more unless specifically defined otherwise.

In the description of the present invention, unless explicitly stated 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 utility model provides a homopolar connector for self-reconfiguration modularization robot, including steering wheel 1, top cap 2, bottom plate 3 and set up disc 4 between top cap 2 and bottom plate 3, a plurality of crank 5, a plurality of spout 6, a plurality of slider 7 and a plurality of jack catch 8, wherein steering wheel 1 is adorned admittedly on bottom plate 3 and the coaxial rigid coupling of output shaft of steering wheel 1 and disc 4 passes bottom plate 3, a plurality of crank 5 is arranged along the circumference of disc 4 and the one end of a plurality of crank 5 all articulates with disc 4, a plurality of spout 6 is fixedly set up on bottom plate 3 along the circumference, a plurality of slider 7 one-to-one slides and is set up in a plurality of spout 6, and a plurality of slider 7's one end one-to-one is articulated with a plurality of crank 5's the other end, a plurality of jack catch 8's one-to-one is rotated the other end of installing at a plurality of slider 7, a plurality of jack catch 8 correspond and is all offered arc through 8-1 on each jack catch 8 and is cooperateed with fixed axle 9 of admittedly on spout 6, realize spacing to jack catch 8 motion trail, a plurality of passive connecting grooves 2-1 that are the same with jack catch 8 are offered along its circumference on the top cap 2, and a plurality of passive connecting grooves 2-1 are arranged with a plurality of moving jack catch 8 in a plurality of crisscross.

The steering engine 1 is fixedly arranged on one side surface, far away from the top cover 2, of the bottom plate 3.

The cranks 5, the sliding grooves 6, the sliding blocks 7 and the clamping claws 8 are all arranged along the circumferential uniform parts, so that the clamping claws 8 are ensured to stretch out and grasp uniformly in the process of stress.

The clamping jaws 8 are correspondingly matched with the fixed shaft 9 fixedly arranged on the sliding groove 6 through the arc-shaped through holes 8-1, so that the limit of the movement track of the clamping jaws 8 is realized, even if the clamping jaws 8 can only move up and down in the sliding groove 6, as the fixed shaft 9 is fixed in the sliding groove 6, when the sliding block 7 moves linearly along the sliding groove 6, the clamping jaws 8 rotate around the fixed shaft 9 through the arc-shaped through holes 8-1, the purpose of extending and retracting the clamping jaws 8 is realized, and the purpose of locking and separating is further realized.

The passive connecting grooves 2-1 and the clamping claws 8 are uniformly distributed along the circumferential direction of the top cover 2, so that when the two connectors are in butt joint, the clamping claws 8 on the opposite side connector can smoothly extend into the passive connecting grooves 2-1 of the connector, and meanwhile, the clamping claws 8 of the connector can smoothly extend into the passive connecting grooves 2-1 of the opposite side connector, and further, the connection between the two connectors is ensured to be stable and reliable.

The homopolar connector of the invention simultaneously comprises a male part and a female part, wherein the male part is a plurality of extensible hook-type locking structures, namely clamping claws 8, on the homopolar connector; the female part, namely the like connector, is provided with a plurality of clamping groove structures capable of fixing the clamping claws 8, namely the passive connecting grooves 2-1. The asexual butt joint mechanism is used for guaranteeing the homogeneity of the module, the asexual connection enhances the autonomy and self-configuration capability of the module, any two identical homosexual connectors are oppositely arranged, the opposite passive connecting grooves 2-1 are hooked by the clamping claws 8 of the asexual butt joint mechanism, and the asexual butt joint mechanism can be used for locking and connecting the asexual connection mechanisms, so that the connectors have the homogeneity, the male and female connection mechanisms are not limited, and the separation and connection actions are rapid. Any two modules can be connected with each other in the same mode, so that the design of the bottom layer is effectively simplified, centralized control is simpler and more convenient, the working efficiency is effectively improved, and the robot is more suitable for a reconfigurable robot.

The passive connecting groove 2-1 is the passive port in the homopolar connector, and the claw 8 is the active port in the homopolar connector. At least four passive ports and four active ports are distributed on each homopolar connector in a staggered way along the circumferential direction. The connecting structure is formed into the four-way homopolar connector, so that the four-way homopolar connector has excellent flexibility and adaptability, any two modules can be connected with each other in the same way, the design of the bottom layer is effectively simplified, the centralized control is simpler and more convenient, and the four-way homopolar connector is more suitable for a reconfigurable robot.

According to the invention, a direct driving mode is adopted, the steering engine 1 is adopted to directly drive the disc 4 to rotate, and then the clamping jaws 8 are driven to move at the same time, so that the clamping jaws 8 are driven to realize the actions of grabbing and releasing. And then effectively reduce whole coupling mechanism's size and weight, effectively improved mechanical strength simultaneously, promoted the intensity of connection greatly, better alleviateed self-reconfiguration modularization robot in the problem that the rigidity is not enough of deformation collision in-process.

The invention utilizes the structure of the slider 7 of the crank 5, and can convert the rotary motion of the disc 4 into the planar motion of the slider 7; the planar movement of the slide 7 can in turn be converted into a rotational movement of the catch 8 by the slide 7, the catch 8 and the fixed shaft 9. The jaw 8 is restrained by a fixed shaft 9 and a rotating shaft arranged on the sliding block 7, and rotates along with the sliding block 7.

The crank 5 is of an L-shaped structure, and the orientations of the plurality of cranks 5 are identical. By designing the crank 5 into an L-shaped structure, the transmission space can be effectively saved, and the size of the whole connector can be effectively reduced; by arranging the orientations of the plurality of cranks 5 in the same way, the interference among the cranks 5 can not occur in the rotation process of the disc 4. The L-shaped angle of rotation of the crank 5 is 90 degrees.

The sliding chute 6 comprises two sliding seats 6-1 symmetrically and fixedly arranged on the surface of the bottom plate 3, the fixed shaft 9 is fixedly arranged between the two sliding seats 6-1, one side surface opposite to the two sliding seats 6-1 is provided with sliding ways 6-11, and the sliding block 7 slides along the length direction of the two sliding ways 6-11. So designed, one end of the slide 6-1 is the end close to the disc 4, and the other end of the slide 6-1 is the end far from the disc 4. The fixed shaft 9 is preferably fixed to the upper portion of the other end portion of the slider 6-1, i.e., the upper portion of the end portion remote from the disk 4, so that the claw 8 has a larger rotation angle. The slide ways 6-11 are arranged lower than the fixed shaft 9, so that the sliding of the sliding block 7 is prevented from being influenced by the fixed shaft 9, and the extending action of the clamping jaws 8 is ensured.

One end parts of the two sliding seats 6-1 are smoothly and transitionally arranged. The design is that one end parts of the two sliding seats 6-1 are smoothly transited on one side surface opposite to the two sliding seats 6-1, which is close to the disc 4, so that one end parts of the two sliding seats 6-1 are in a horn-shaped structure relatively, and the crank 5 can not interfere with the sliding seats 6-1 when being displaced along with the disc 4.

The other end of the slide block 7 is provided with a through groove 7-1, and one end of the claw 8 is rotatably arranged in the through groove 7-1 through a rotating shaft. By the design, through grooves 7-1 are formed in the sliding block 7, a movable space is provided for rotation of the clamping jaws 8.

A plurality of limit grooves 2-2 are further formed in the top cover 2 along the circumferential direction of the top cover, the limit grooves 2-2 and the passive connecting grooves 2-1 are arranged in a staggered mode, and a plurality of clamping claws 8 are inserted in the limit grooves 2-2 in a one-to-one correspondence mode. Through the design, the limiting grooves 2-2 limit the clamping claws 8, so that the clamping claws 8 are prevented from deflecting to the left and right sides in the extending or retracting process to influence the accuracy of the grabbing and releasing actions between the two homopolar connectors. The limiting groove 2-2 is the groove position where the side claw 8 stretches out, and the passive connecting groove 2-1 is the groove position where the opposite side claw 8 stretches into and locks.

The end part of the claw 8, which is butted with the passive connecting groove 2-1 on the opposite side homopolar connector, is in a hook-shaped structure. By designing in this way, the "front edge" of the claw 8 has a sharper profile by means of the design of the bent hook, and the opposite homopolar connector can be pulled actively. The structural design can autonomously complete the motion sequences on the two grids, and fully considers the robustness to the offset.

The upper surface of bottom plate 3 has set firmly a plurality of supporting shoe 11 along its circumference, top cap 2 through a plurality of supporting shoe 11 with bottom plate 3 rigid coupling. So designed, the connection between the bottom plate 3 and the top cover 2 is realized through a plurality of supporting blocks 11, and a space is formed between the bottom plate 3 and the top cover 2 to accommodate the disk 4, the crank 5, the sliding block 7, the sliding groove 6 and other transmission mechanisms.

Along the direction from the outer side of the top cover 2 to the central axis, the passive connecting groove 2-1 is arranged in an outer wide and inner narrow structure. So designed, make passive spread groove 2-1 be the choke shape structure, wherein the success rate when being located the wider part in outside can effectively improve jack catch 8 locking, and the narrower part that is located the inboard can effectively prevent the jack catch 8 slippage that leads to because of rocking about after locking.

The number of the clamping claws 8 is four. The design is similar, and the number of the crank 5, the chute 6, the sliding block 7 and the passive connecting groove 2-1 is four, so that the connecting structure forms a four-way homopolar connector, and the four-way homopolar connector has excellent flexibility and adaptability and is more suitable for a reconfigurable robot.

Working principle:

the output shaft of the steering engine 1 is fixed in a central clamping groove of the disc 4, and when the steering engine 1 drives the disc 4 to rotate, the plurality of cranks 5 push the plurality of sliding blocks 7 to correspondingly move along the length direction of the sliding grooves 6, so that the rotation motion of the disc 4 is converted into the plane motion of the sliding blocks 7; the plane motion of the sliding block 7 is converted into the rotary motion of the clamping jaw 8 through the limiting action of the fixed shaft 9 and the rotating shaft and the action of the arc-shaped through hole 8-1 on the clamping jaw 8; when the claw 8 extends out for connection, the claw can pass through the passive connecting groove 2-1 on the target connector (namely, the opposite side homopolar connector) to enter the interior of the target connector, then start to actively pull the claw into the interior of the target connector, and finally complete the locking action.

The foregoing is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art, who is within the scope of the present invention, should make equivalent substitutions or modifications according to the technical scheme of the present invention and the inventive concept thereof, and should be covered by the scope of the present invention.

Claims (10)

1. A homopolar connector for a self-reconstructing modular robot, characterized by: comprises a steering engine (1), a top cover (2), a bottom plate (3) and a disc (4), a plurality of cranks (5), a plurality of sliding grooves (6), a plurality of sliding blocks (7) and a plurality of clamping jaws (8), wherein the steering engine (1) is fixedly arranged on the bottom plate (3), an output shaft of the steering engine (1) penetrates through the bottom plate (3) and is fixedly connected with the disc (4) coaxially, the plurality of cranks (5) are circumferentially arranged along the disc (4), one ends of the plurality of cranks (5) are hinged with the disc (4), the plurality of sliding grooves (6) are circumferentially fixedly arranged on the bottom plate (3), the plurality of sliding blocks (7) are slidably arranged in the plurality of sliding grooves (6) in a one-to-one mode, one ends of the plurality of sliding blocks (7) are hinged with the other ends of the plurality of cranks (5), one ends of the plurality of clamping jaws (8) are rotatably arranged at the other ends of the plurality of the sliding blocks (7), arc-shaped through holes (8-1) are respectively arranged on each clamping jaw (8), the plurality of clamping jaws (8) are correspondingly arranged on the fixed shafts (6) through the arc-shaped through holes (8-1) to the one end to be matched with the fixed shafts (9) to realize limit movement locus of the clamping jaws (8), the top cover (2) is provided with a plurality of passive connecting grooves (2-1) with the same number as the clamping claws (8) along the circumferential direction, and the plurality of passive connecting grooves (2-1) and the plurality of clamping claws (8) are arranged in a staggered manner.

2. A homopolar connector for self-reconfiguring modular robots as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the cranks (5) are of an L-shaped structure, and the orientations of the plurality of cranks (5) are identical.

3. A homopolar connector for self-reconfiguring modular robots according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: the sliding chute (6) comprises two sliding seats (6-1) symmetrically and fixedly arranged on the surface of the bottom plate (3), the fixed shaft (9) is fixedly arranged between the two sliding seats (6-1), one side surface opposite to the two sliding seats (6-1) is provided with sliding ways (6-11), and the sliding blocks (7) slide along the length directions of the two sliding ways (6-11).

4. A homopolar connector for self-reconfiguring modular robots according to claim 3, characterized in that: one end parts of the two sliding seats (6-1) are smoothly in transition.

5. A homopolar connector for self-reconfiguring modular robots as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the other end of the sliding block (7) is provided with a through groove (7-1), and one end of the claw (8) is rotatably arranged in the through groove (7-1) through a rotating shaft.

6. A homopolar connector for self-reconfiguring modular robots as claimed in claim 1, wherein: a plurality of limit grooves (2-2) are further formed in the top cover (2) along the circumferential direction of the top cover, the limit grooves (2-2) and the passive connecting grooves (2-1) are arranged in a staggered mode, and a plurality of clamping claws (8) are inserted in the limit grooves (2-2) in a one-to-one correspondence mode.

7. A homopolar connector for self-reconfiguring modular robots as claimed in claim 1, wherein: one end of each claw (8) is in a hook-shaped structure, which is butted with a passive connecting groove (2-1) on the opposite-side homopolar connector.

8. A homopolar connector for self-reconfiguring modular robots as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the upper surface of bottom plate (3) has set firmly a plurality of supporting shoe (11) along its circumference, top cap (2) through a plurality of supporting shoe (11) with bottom plate (3) rigid coupling.

9. A homopolar connector for self-reconfiguring modular robots as claimed in claim 1, wherein: along the direction from the outer side of the top cover (2) to the central axis, the passive connecting groove (2-1) is arranged in a structure with wide outer side and narrow inner side.

10. A homopolar connector for self-reconfiguring modular robots as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the number of the clamping claws (8) is four.