CN212022832U - An inchworm-like soft robot - Google Patents

Abstract

The embodiment of the present application discloses an inchworm-like soft robot, comprising: a deformable body capable of bending; at least two variable friction feet, two ends of the deformable body are respectively connected to at least one of the variable friction feet, and the variable friction feet The friction foot includes a casing and a soft bag disposed in the casing, a bottom end face of the casing is provided with a plurality of through holes; and a soft bag driver, the soft bag driver enables the soft bag to operate under high pressure The soft bag is in the high pressure state, and the soft bag protrudes out of the casing from the through hole to increase the friction between the variable friction foot and the ground; so The soft bag is in the low pressure state, and the soft bag is retracted into the housing to reduce the frictional force between the variable friction foot and the ground. An inchworm-like soft robot according to the embodiment of the present application has the advantage of low requirements on the flatness of the ground.

Description

An inchworm-like soft robot

technical field

The embodiments of the present application relate to the technical field of soft robots, and in particular, to an inchworm-like soft robot.

Background technique

Most of the traditional robots are connected by rigid components, which have high bearing capacity and motion accuracy. However, the environmental adaptability of rigid robots is poor, especially in a small space, it is difficult to achieve corresponding actions, and the human-computer interaction is not friendly, which is easy to cause injuries. Can't work effectively in many special situations and work environments. With the development of new materials, bionic technology and 3D printing technology, soft robots came into being. Soft robots theoretically have infinite degrees of freedom, can change their shape and size arbitrarily within a certain range, have good environmental adaptability, and are widely used in medical, national defense and other fields.

At present, most of the soft robots are based on bionics. Among many bionic objects, the inchworm is favored by researchers because of its simple and easy-to-implement motion. In order to realize the inchworm-like motion, the control of the friction force between the robot and the ground is particularly important. When the robot moves forward, it is necessary to increase the friction between the front foot and the ground, and reduce the friction between the rear foot and the ground. At this time, the middle part of the robot is deformed and bent. Since the friction force on the front foot is greater than that on the rear foot, The rear foot of the robot will move forward. After the bending deformation reaches the maximum, the friction force between the rear foot and the ground will be increased, and the friction force between the front foot and the ground will be reduced. At this time, the middle part of the robot will return to the state before the deformation. The frictional force is greater than the frictional force on the front foot, and the robot's front foot will move forward. In this way, the forward motion of the robot is realized. The backward motion process of the robot is similar to the forward motion process. Therefore, controlling the magnitude of the frictional force is a prerequisite for ensuring the expected movement of the soft robot. At present, the control of the friction force mainly includes: according to the motion characteristics of the robot, set the friction plate in the appropriate position to control the friction force. Use one-way wheels to control the amount of friction. Use vacuum adsorption to control the size of the friction force. The above method has a simple structure and is easy to implement, but has high requirements on the flatness of the ground, and cannot be implemented on rough ground, which weakens the environmental adaptability of the soft robot.

Utility model content

The embodiments of the present application provide an inchworm-like soft robot to solve the problem of higher requirements on ground flatness.

The embodiments of the present application are realized through the following technical solutions:

An inchworm-like soft robot, comprising: a deformable body capable of bending; at least two variable friction feet, two ends of the deformed body are respectively connected with at least one of the variable friction feet, and the variable friction feet comprise a shell and a soft bag provided in the casing, a plurality of through holes are provided on the bottom end face of the casing; and a soft bag driver, the soft bag driver enables the soft bag to be between a high pressure state and a low pressure state switch; the soft bag is in the high pressure state, and the soft bag protrudes out of the housing from the through hole to increase the friction between the variable friction foot and the ground; the soft bag is in the In a low pressure state, the soft bladder retracts into the housing to reduce the frictional force between the variable friction foot and the ground.

Further, the number of the soft bag drivers is at least two, the soft bag provided on the front end of the deformable body of the variable friction foot and the variable friction foot provided at the rear end of the deformed body. The soft capsules of the two parts are respectively driven by different soft capsule drivers.

Further, when the soft bag of the variable-friction foot disposed at the front end of the deformable body is in the high pressure state, the soft bag of the variable-friction foot disposed at the rear end of the deformable body is in the high pressure state. is in the low pressure state; when the soft bladder of the variable friction foot part disposed at the front end of the deformable body is in the low pressure state, all the parts of the variable friction foot part disposed at the rear end of the deformable body are in the low pressure state. The soft bladder is in the high pressure state.

Further, the deformation body includes two transition sections and a bending deformation cavity, one ends of the two transition sections are respectively connected to two ends of the deformation cavity, and the variable friction foot is connected to the corresponding the other end of the transition section.

Further, the deformation cavity is made of elastic material, and a plurality of pneumatic meshes are formed in the deformation cavity. When the internal pressure of the pneumatic mesh increases, the pneumatic mesh expands to make the deformation The cavity is bent and deformed.

Further, the deformation body includes a bottom lining layer, the bottom lining layer is disposed on the bottom surface of the deformation cavity, and the elastic modulus of the bottom lining layer is greater than that of the deformation cavity.

Further, the deformation body includes a cavity driver, and the cavity driver inflates or inhales into the deformation cavity to bend or straighten the deformation cavity.

Further, the casing includes a detachably connected upper casing and a lower casing, the through hole is provided on the bottom end surface of the lower casing; the soft bag driver is connected to the soft bag through a trachea, The upper casing is provided with a connecting hole for the air pipe to pass through.

Further, the upper casing and the lower casing are connected by snaps.

The beneficial effects are:

Compared with the prior art, an inchworm-like soft robot according to the embodiment of the present application is provided with a deformable body capable of bending and a variable friction foot, and the variable friction foot includes a shell and a soft bag disposed in the shell. There are a plurality of through holes on the bottom end surface of the soft bag; when the soft bag is in a high pressure state, the soft bag protrudes out of the casing from the through hole to increase the friction between the variable friction foot and the ground; when the soft bag is in a low pressure state, the soft bag Retract into the housing to reduce the friction between the variable friction feet and the ground; thus, through the contact between the two variable friction feet and the ground, the ground contact area of the software robot is effectively reduced, and the flatness requirements on the ground are reduced. And by changing the friction force of the two variable friction feet, and matching the bending state and the stretching state of the deformed body, the forward movement of the soft robot on the ground of various road conditions can be realized.

Description of drawings

The specific implementations of the embodiments of the present application will be further described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

1 is a schematic structural diagram of a inchworm-like soft robot according to an embodiment of the application;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of an inchworm-like soft robot according to an embodiment of the application;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of part A of Fig. 2;

4 is a schematic structural diagram of a lower casing according to an embodiment of the application;

5 is a schematic structural diagram of an upper casing according to an embodiment of the application;

6 is a schematic diagram of changes of an inchworm-like soft robot in one cycle of forward movement according to an embodiment of the application; wherein, from top to bottom, the order is: initial stage, bending action stage, intermediate stage, stretching action stage and end stage .

Detailed ways

In order for those skilled in the art to better understand the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the embodiments of the present application will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The description in this part is only exemplary and explanatory, and should not be used to protect the embodiments of the present application. The range has any limiting effect.

It should be noted that like numerals and letters refer to like items in the following figures, so once an item is defined in one figure, it does not require further definition and explanation in subsequent figures.

It should be noted that the orientation or positional relationship indicated by the terms "center", "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "inner", "outer", etc. Based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in FIG. 2 , or the orientation or positional relationship in which the products of the embodiments of the present application are usually placed in use, it is only for the convenience of describing the embodiments of the present application and simplifying the description, rather than indicating or implying that The device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and therefore should not be construed as a limitation on the embodiments of the present application. Furthermore, the terms "first", "second", "third", etc. are only used to differentiate the description and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

Furthermore, the terms "horizontal", "vertical", "overhanging" etc. do not imply that a component is required to be absolutely horizontal or overhang, but rather may be slightly inclined. For example, "horizontal" only means that its direction is more horizontal than "vertical", it does not mean that the structure must be completely horizontal, but can be slightly inclined.

In the description of the embodiments of the present application, it should also be noted that, unless otherwise expressly specified and limited, the terms "arrangement", "installation", "connection" and "connection" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it may be a fixed The connection can also be a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection, or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, and it can be internal communication between two components. Those of ordinary skill in the art can understand the specific meanings of the above terms in the embodiments of the present application in specific situations.

An inchworm-like soft robot, as shown in Figures 1 to 5, includes:

A deformable body 1 that can be bent; the deformable body 1 includes a stretched state and a bent state;

At least two variable friction feet 2, the two ends of the deformed body 1 are respectively connected with at least one variable friction foot 2, and the variable friction feet 2 include a casing 21 and a soft bag 22 arranged in the casing 21. The bottom end face is provided with a plurality of through holes 23;

And the soft bag driver (not shown), the soft bag driver can make the soft bag 22 switch between the high pressure state and the low pressure state, and the soft bag driver can be an air pump, which can only be realized by inflating or inhaling into the soft bag 22. he switches;

The soft bag 22 is in a high pressure state, and the soft bag 22 protrudes out of the casing 21 from the through hole 23 to increase the friction between the variable friction foot 2 and the ground;

The soft bag 22 is in a low pressure state, and the soft bag 22 is retracted into the housing 21 to reduce the frictional force between the variable friction foot 2 and the ground.

Therefore, by switching the soft bladder 22 between the high pressure state and the low pressure state, the friction force between the variable friction foot 2 and the ground can be changed, the structure is simple, the controllability is high, and the complex design of the friction variable device in the prior art is avoided. .

The shape of the through hole 23 can be different, such as a rectangle, an ellipse or a circle, but it must be ensured that the soft bag 22 can protrude from the through hole 23 after a certain pressure of gas is introduced, and the soft bag 22 can be made of elastic material, such as rubber , the protruding degree of the soft bag 22 is specifically selected according to the conditions of the ground material and the size of the friction force. Generally, the protruding degree should not be too large, and attention should be paid to ensure the stability of the software robot.

The deformation process of the soft robot in this embodiment is as follows:

1. Initial stage: the deformed body 1 is in an undeformed stretched state, and the soft bladder 22 of the variable friction foot 2 at the front end of the deformed body 1 is inflated, where the soft bladder 22 is in a high pressure state and protrudes from the through hole 23 Shell 21; inhale to the soft bag 22 of the variable friction foot 2 disposed at the rear end of the deformed body 1, where the soft bag 22 is in a low pressure state and retracted into the casing 21; thus making the front end variable friction The frictional force of the foot portion 2 is greater than the frictional force of the variable friction foot portion 2 at the tail end.

2. Bending action stage: the deformed body 1 performs a bending action, the middle of the deformed body 1 is arched, and both ends are bent to the middle, because the frictional force of the variable friction foot 2 at the front end is greater than the friction force of the variable friction foot 2 at the rear end , so the variable friction foot 2 at the front end remains stationary, and the variable friction foot 2 at the tail moves forward.

3. Intermediate stage: keep the deformed body 1 in a bent state, and inflate the soft bladder 22 of the variable friction foot 2 at the rear end of the deformed body 1, where the soft bladder 22 is in a high pressure state and protrudes from the through hole 23. 21; inhale to the soft bag 22 of the variable friction foot 2 disposed at the front end of the deformed body 1, where the soft bag 22 is in a low pressure state and retracted into the housing 21; and then make the front end variable friction foot 22 inhale The frictional force of 2 is smaller than the frictional force of the variable friction foot 2 at the tail end.

4. Stretching action stage: The deformation body 1 performs the stretching action, the middle part of the deformation body 1 sinks, and the two ends are straightened to both sides. Because the friction of the variable friction foot 2 at the front end is smaller than the friction of the variable friction foot 2 at the rear end Therefore, the variable friction foot 2 at the tail end remains stationary, and the variable friction foot 2 at the front end moves forward.

5. At the end stage, the deformed body 1 returns to a straight stretched state, and the software robot completes a cycle of forward movement.

Through the contact between the two variable friction feet 2 and the ground, the software robot can effectively reduce the ground contact area and the flatness requirement of the ground, and by changing the friction of the two variable friction feet 2, it can match the bending of the deformed body 1. The state and extension state can realize the forward movement of the soft robot on the ground of various road conditions.

In a possible implementation, the number of soft capsule drivers is at least two, the soft capsule 22 of the variable friction foot 2 arranged at the front end of the deformable body 1 and the soft capsule 22 of the variable friction foot 2 arranged at the rear end of the deformation body 1. The bladders 22 are respectively driven by different soft bladder drivers, so that the variable friction feet 2 at the front end and the tail end can have different frictional forces, so as to flexibly realize the forward movement of the soft robot.

Usually, when the soft bladder 22 of the variable friction foot 2 disposed at the front end of the deformable body 1 is in a high pressure state, the soft bladder 22 of the variable friction foot 2 disposed at the rear end of the deformed body 1 is in a low pressure state; Bending action, so as to realize the bending action stage of the soft robot in the forward movement cycle.

When the soft bladder 22 of the variable friction foot 2 disposed at the front end of the deformable body 1 is in a low pressure state, and the soft bladder 22 of the variable friction foot 2 disposed at the rear end of the deformable body 1 is in a high pressure state; cooperate with the deformable body 1 to perform the stretching action , so as to realize the stretch action stage of the soft robot in the forward movement cycle.

A possible implementation manner, as shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 3 , the deformation body 1 includes two transition sections 12 and a deformation cavity 11 that can be bent. One end of the two transition sections 12 is respectively connected to the deformation cavity 11 At both ends, the variable friction foot 2 is connected to the other end of the corresponding transition section 12 .

The transition section 12 can be made of elastic material, such as silicon rubber, which can better connect with the deformation cavity 11 and the variable friction foot 2 . The deformation chamber 11 is made of an elastic material, such as a silicone rubber material. A plurality of pneumatic grids 111 are formed in the deformation chamber 11. When the internal pressure of the pneumatic grid 111 increases, the pneumatic grid 111 expands to make the deformation chamber 111. 11 produces bending deformation; the bending and stretching of the deformation cavity 11 drives the transition section 12 , thereby realizing the stretched state and the bending state of the deformed body 1 .

A possible implementation manner, as shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 3 , the deformable body 1 includes a bottom lining layer 13, and the bottom lining layer 13 is arranged on the bottom surface of the deformation cavity 11; the elastic modulus of the bottom lining layer 13 should be greater than the deformation The elastic modulus of the cavity 11, wherein the bottom liner 13 is bonded to the bottom surface of the deformation cavity 11 by means of glue, etc. The bottom liner 13 can reduce the deformation of the bottom of the deformation cavity 11 and prevent rollover during movement.

Specifically, when the internal pressure of the pneumatic mesh 111 increases, the pneumatic mesh 111 expands, and the deformation cavity 11 is axially elongated and deformed. The deformation of the bottom lining layer 13 is limited, so that the deformation cavity 11 is bent toward the direction of the bottom lining layer 13, so that the middle part of the deformation cavity 11 is arched, and the two ends are bent to the middle part, and the deformation cavity 11 drives the transition. Section 12, finally realizes the bending action of the deformed body 1;

When the internal pressure of the pneumatic grid 111 decreases, the pneumatic grid 111 shrinks, and the deformation cavity 11 is axially elongated and shortened. The deformation of the bottom lining layer 13 is limited, so that the curved deformation cavity 11 is straightened toward the opposite direction of the bottom lining layer 13 , so that the middle of the deformation cavity 11 sinks, and the two ends are straightened to both sides, and the deformation cavity 11 Then, the transition section 12 is driven to finally realize the stretching action of the deformed body 1 .

The deformation cavity 11 can be made of silicone rubber material, and the bottom layer 13 can be made of PP material.

In a possible implementation, the deformable body 1 includes a cavity driver, and the cavity driver inflates or inhales into the deformation cavity 11 to bend or straighten the deformation cavity 11 , and then drives the transition section 12 to realize the deformation body 1 . stretched and flexed states.

In a possible embodiment, the housing 21 includes an upper housing 211 and a lower housing 212 that are detachably connected. For example, the upper housing 211 and the lower housing 212 can be connected by pins, bolts, etc., which is convenient for quick assembly and maintenance. The soft bag 22 is placed in the cavity formed by the closing of the upper casing 211 and the lower casing 212 .

The upper casing 211 and the lower casing 212 can also be snap-connected. As shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 4 , the soft bag driver and the soft bag 22 are connected through a trachea (not shown), and the upper casing 211 is provided with an air supply pipe passing through. The connecting holes 213 of the upper casing 211 are provided with card slots 211a on both sides; the through holes 23 are arranged on the bottom end surface of the lower casing 212, and there are two bosses 212a on both sides of the lower casing 212 and two The cylinder 212b between the bosses 212a, one end of the buckle (not shown) is connected to the cylinder 212b, and the other end of the buckle is provided with a boss (not shown), the boss is stuck in the slot 211a, so as to realize the upper shell The body 211 and the lower case 212 are fixed. The buckle should have sufficient strength to withstand the internal pressure of the soft bag 22, and at the same time have a certain elasticity to facilitate the clamping and separation of the buckle and the slot.

The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application but not to limit them. Any modification or equivalent replacement that does not depart from the spirit and scope of the embodiments of the present application should be included within the scope of the technical solutions of the present application.

Claims (9)

1. The utility model provides an imitative inchworm software robot which characterized in that includes:

a deformable body (1) that can be bent;

the friction-variable foot part comprises at least two friction-variable foot parts (2), wherein two ends of the deformation body (1) are respectively connected with at least one friction-variable foot part (2), each friction-variable foot part (2) comprises a shell (21) and a soft bag (22) arranged in the shell (21), and a plurality of through holes (23) are formed in the bottom end face of the shell (21);

and a soft-balloon driver enabling the soft balloon (22) to switch between a high-pressure state and a low-pressure state;

the soft bag (22) is in the high-pressure state, and the soft bag (22) protrudes out of the shell (21) from the through hole (23) to increase the friction force between the variable-friction foot (2) and the ground;

the soft bag (22) is in the low pressure state, and the soft bag (22) retracts into the shell (21) to reduce the friction force between the variable friction foot (2) and the ground.

2. The inchworm-imitating soft robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: the number of the soft bag drivers is at least two, and the soft bags (22) of the variable friction foot parts (2) arranged at the front ends of the deformable bodies (1) and the soft bags (22) of the variable friction foot parts (2) arranged at the tail ends of the deformable bodies (1) are driven by different soft bag drivers respectively.

3. The inchworm-imitating soft robot according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: when the soft bag (22) of the variable friction foot (2) arranged at the front end of the deformable body (1) is in the high pressure state, the soft bag (22) of the variable friction foot (2) arranged at the tail end of the deformable body (1) is in the low pressure state;

when the soft bag (22) of the variable friction foot (2) arranged at the front end of the deformable body (1) is in the low pressure state, the soft bag (22) of the variable friction foot (2) arranged at the tail end of the deformable body (1) is in the high pressure state.

4. The inchworm-imitating soft robot according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: the deformation body (1) comprises two transition sections (12) and a deformation cavity (11) capable of being bent, one ends of the transition sections (12) are connected to two ends of the deformation cavity (11) respectively, and the variable friction foot (2) is connected to the other end of the corresponding transition section (12).

5. The inchworm-imitating soft robot according to claim 4, characterized in that: the deformation cavity (11) is made of elastic materials, a plurality of pneumatic grids (111) are formed in the deformation cavity (11), and when the internal pressure of the pneumatic grids (111) is increased, the pneumatic grids (111) expand to enable the deformation cavity (11) to generate bending deformation.

6. The inchworm-imitating soft robot according to claim 4, characterized in that: the deformation body (1) comprises a bottom lining layer (13), the bottom lining layer (13) is arranged on the bottom surface of the deformation cavity (11), and the elastic modulus of the bottom lining layer (13) is larger than that of the deformation cavity (11).

7. The inchworm-imitating soft robot according to claim 4, characterized in that: the deformation body (1) comprises a cavity driver, and the cavity driver inflates or inhales air into the deformation cavity (11) to enable the deformation cavity (11) to be bent or straightened.

8. The inchworm-imitating soft robot according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that: the shell (21) comprises an upper shell (211) and a lower shell (212) which are detachably connected, and the through hole (23) is formed in the bottom end face of the lower shell (212); the soft capsule driver is connected with the soft capsule (22) through an air pipe, and the upper shell (211) is provided with a connecting hole (213) for the air pipe to pass through.

9. The inchworm-imitating soft robot according to claim 8, characterized in that: the upper shell (211) is connected with the lower shell (212) in a snap-fit manner.

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