KR101089584B1 - Robot using smart material - Google Patents

Abstract

A robot using smart materials is disclosed. According to an aspect of the invention, the main body; A moving means coupled to one side of the main body and moving the main body in a predetermined direction; A movement control means coupled to one side of the movement means and bent in a predetermined direction in response to a drive signal; And a robot using a smart material including a driving unit generating the driving signal and transmitting the driving signal to the movement control means, which can accurately and efficiently perform the movement and stop operations, use less energy, and increase the movement speed. There is.

Smart materials, IPMC, robots, moving.

Description

Robot using smart material

The present invention relates to a robot, and more particularly to a robot using a smart material.

With the development of the electronic device industry, the technology of robots is greatly improved. In particular, technologies for various robots such as medical robots, industrial robots, military robots, and home robots are implemented and used for various purposes. In the case of using a robot, it is possible to perform a specific purpose such as inspection, reconnaissance, and detection even in an environment that is difficult for humans to enter, and it is expected that the robot will be used in a variety of environments.

However, most of the robots can be moved to perform a lease and perform a specific task through the robot controller, but free movement is not yet secured, and movement and stop operations need to be more smoothly. Therefore, in various types of robots, there is a need for a robot that can efficiently perform movement and stop operations.

The background art described above is technical information possessed by the inventors for the derivation of the present invention or acquired during the derivation process of the present invention, and is not necessarily a publicly known technique disclosed to the general public before the application of the present invention.

The present invention is to provide a robot using a smart material that can accurately move and stop motion, and can be operated efficiently.

In addition, the present invention is to provide a robot using a smart material that can use less energy and increase the speed of movement.

Technical problems other than the present invention will be easily understood through the following description.

According to an aspect of the invention, the main body; A moving means coupled to one side of the main body and moving the main body in a predetermined direction; A movement control means coupled to one side of the movement means and bent in a predetermined direction in response to a drive signal; And a driving unit generating the driving signal and transmitting the driving signal to the movement control means.

The movement means may have a wheel shape, and the movement control means may be curved in a circle to correspond to the outer circumferential surface of the movement means in correspondence with the drive signal.

The movement control means may have a caterpillar shape that connects the plurality of movement means to each other.

According to another aspect of the invention, the body portion; A movement control means coupled to one side of the main body part and configured to bend in a predetermined direction and move the main body part in response to a driving signal; And a driving unit generating the driving signal and transmitting the driving signal to the movement control means.

The movement control means may be curved in a circle along the outer circumferential surface of the body portion in correspondence with the driving signal.

The movement control means may be formed of an ionic polymer metal composite (IPMC), and the IPMC may have a larger gap between metals formed in a bending direction than a gap between metals formed in an opposite direction.

In addition, the IPMC may have a groove formed in a bending direction, and the IPMC may have a segment shape.

The main body may further include a camera capable of capturing an external object, and the camera may be a micro camera for inspecting an internal organ of a human body.

Other aspects, features, and advantages other than those described above will become apparent from the following drawings, claims, and detailed description of the invention.

The robot using the smart material according to the present invention can accurately move and stop motion, and can effectively operate, use less energy, and increase the speed of movement.

As the invention allows for various changes and numerous embodiments, particular embodiments will be illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the written description. However, this is not intended to limit the present invention to specific embodiments, it should be understood to include all changes, equivalents, and substitutes included in the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Terms including ordinal numbers such as first and second may be used to describe various components, but the components are not limited by the terms. The terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, the first component may be referred to as the second component, and similarly, the second component may also be referred to as the first component. And / or < / RTI > includes any combination of a plurality of related listed items or any of a plurality of related listed items.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the invention. Singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. As used herein, the terms "comprise" or "having" are intended to indicate that there is a feature, number, step, action, component, part, or combination thereof described on the specification, and one or more other features. It is to be understood that the present invention does not exclude the possibility of the presence or the addition of numbers, steps, operations, components, components, or a combination thereof.

In the following description of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals regardless of the reference numerals, and redundant explanations thereof will be omitted. In the following description of the present invention, if it is determined that the detailed description of the related known technology may unnecessarily obscure the subject matter of the present invention, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

1 is a side view of a robot using a smart material according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, a main body 110, a driving unit 120, a moving unit 130, and a movement control unit 140 are illustrated.

This embodiment is characterized by using the movement control means 140 formed of smart material to control the movement and stop movement of the robot. That is, the movement control means 140 may smoothly move the robot by enclosing the movement means 130 for moving the main body 110 of the robot during movement, and unfolding in a straight line or plane when the robot stops. And to be fixed at a specific position.

Regardless of its form, the robot of the present invention refers to an electronic device that performs a predetermined motion, for example, a movement motion, a stop motion, a rotation motion, or the like in response to an electronic signal. 1 illustrates a robot having a vehicle shape, but the present invention is not limited thereto.

The main body 110 forms the main body of the robot 100 of the present embodiment, and the shape thereof may be implemented in various ways such as a polyhedron, a cylinder, and a sphere. The main body 110 may have a shape determined according to the use place of the robot 100 of the present embodiment, or a predetermined functional part may be added. For example, when the robot 100 of the present embodiment is a microcapsule robot for organ inspection and treatment of the human body, the main body 110 may have a streamlined shape to be movable within the organ of the human body. In addition, when the robot 100 of the present embodiment is a military reconnaissance, exploration or crime prevention robot, or a robot for diagnosing an internal condition in various industrial equipment pipes including water and sewage pipes and gas pipes, the outer surface of the main body 110 may be externally blown. It may have a material and a shape having a predetermined strength to withstand. In addition, when the robot 100 of the present embodiment is a cleaning robot, the main body 110 may have a shape for efficiently cleaning, for example, a disk shape, and an inlet and a pump may be provided to absorb dust or the like. Can be.

The moving means 130 is a means for moving to the robot 100 of the present embodiment by coupling to one side of the main body 110, for example, may be a wheel. That is, the moving unit 130 is rotatable about the wheel shaft by being coupled to the wheel shaft provided on the lower surface of the main body 110 to allow the robot 100 of the present embodiment to move. The movement means 130 may be changed in direction by a steering device (not shown) provided in the main body 110 so as to control the movement direction.

The movement control means 140 is formed of a smart material that can be bent in a predetermined direction corresponding to the input driving signal. Here, the smart material may be formed of an electric polymer (EAP). Mechanism polymer is a generic name for a polymer material that can be modified by an electrical stimulus and may include not only an electrical stimulus but also a polymer material driven by a chemical stimulus, heat, or the like. There are various kinds of mechanical polymers such as IPMC (Dielectric elastomer, Conducting Polymer, Polymer Gel, PVDF, Carbon nanotube, Shape Memory Polymer). The smart material of the present embodiment may include not only these materials but also other materials deformable by electrical stimulation. Hereinafter, a description will be given focusing on the case where the smart material is IPMC.

The movement control unit 140 may be curved in a circle (solid line) by receiving the driving signal from the driving unit 120, or may be extended in a plane (dotted line) by receiving a driving signal extending from the driving unit 120. When using the movement control means 140 there is an effect that can use less energy and increase the movement speed than the walking robot.

The driver 120 generates a driving signal, which is an electric signal, and transmits the driving signal to the movement control means 140 so that the movement control means 140 may be bent in a predetermined direction. Here, the driving signal may be a voltage applied to bend the IPMC. In addition, the driving unit 120 may rotate the moving unit 130 to generate another driving signal for controlling the stop or movement of the main body unit 110 and transmit the generated driving signal to the moving unit 130. In this case, the driving signal transmitted to the movement control means 140 may be referred to as a first driving signal, and the driving signal transmitted to the movement means 130 may be referred to as a second driving signal.

2 is a cross-sectional view of an IPMC that is a smart material according to various embodiments of the present disclosure. Referring to FIG. 2A, an enlarged view of A illustrated in FIG. 1 illustrates a first electrode 142, an ion exchange polymer 144, and a second electrode 146. IPMC is generally a material driven by contraction and expansion with the movement of ions upon application of voltage. That is, IPMC is a material consisting of an ion exchange polymer such as Nafion and a surface electrode layer in which ions and water can move freely. Since the hydrated cations present in the IPMC can move freely inside the ion exchange polymer, when a voltage is applied to the surface electrode layer of the IPMC, an electric field is generated therein, and the cations hydrated by the electric field move toward the negative electrode. The movement of the cations causes a density change in the IPMC, and the negative electrode portion of the IPMC expands to offset the cation. As a result, the IPMC is bent in the positive electrode direction.

In this embodiment, the movement control means 140 is provided such that the positive electrode direction is in contact with the movement means 130. Referring to FIG. 2, a positive electrode, that is, a first electrode 142 and a negative electrode, that is, a second electrode 146 are formed on both surfaces of the ion exchange polymer 144. Since the ion exchange polymer 144 is bent in the direction of the first electrode 142, the distance between the first electrodes 142 may be greater than the distance between the second electrodes 146. That is, when the ion exchange polymer 144 is bent, the interval of the first electrode 142 is narrowed, so that when the plating is larger than the distance between the second electrodes 146, the warpage of the ion exchange polymer 144 may be less affected. Can be. In general, since the deformation of the IPMC increases nonlinearly as the applied voltage increases, the IPMC according to the present embodiment may be deformed in a circular shape when the applied voltage is increased.

Therefore, according to the present exemplary embodiment, the ion exchange polymer 144 may be curved in a circle without being disturbed by the first electrode 142.

FIG. 2B is a different embodiment from (a). Referring to this, the first electrode 142, the ion exchange polymer 144, the groove 145, and the second electrode 146 are shown. do. The differences from the above will be explained mainly.

In this embodiment, the groove 145 is formed in the direction in which the ion exchange polymer 144 is bent, that is, in the direction of the first electrode 142 so that the ion exchange polymer 144 can be bent as described above. There is one characteristic. A groove 145 may be formed in the ion exchange polymer 144 by a predetermined depth in a direction parallel to an axis of bending the ion exchange polymer 144, for example, a rotation axis of the moving means 130 of FIG. 1. Can be. The shape of the groove 145 may be implemented in various shapes, such as a triangle or a quadrangle, as well as a shape in which one end is semicircular.

3 is a cross-sectional view of an IPMC as a smart material according to another embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 3, a first electrode 142, an ion exchange polymer 144, and a second electrode 146 are shown. The differences from the above will be explained mainly.

This embodiment is characterized in that the IPMC is formed in the form of a segment that can be effectively curved in a circular shape. That is, the ion exchange polymer 144 is implemented in a segment shape as shown, and the first electrode 142 and the second electrode 146 are formed on each side of the segmented ion exchange polymer 144, so that the overall IPMC Can be segmented. According to this embodiment, since the ion exchange polymers 144 adjacent to each other can be effectively bent, there is an advantage that the prototype can be more easily implemented.

3 illustrates a case in which the first electrode 142 is formed on an upper portion of the ion exchange polymer 144, in contrast, the first electrode 142 may be formed on the entire or substantially most of the upper surface. In addition, although the lower surface of the ion exchange polymer 144 is illustrated in FIG. 3, the lower surface of the ion exchange polymer 144 may have a shape in which valleys are formed in order to improve warpage according to the shape of the upper surface. .

In addition, segmented IPMCs can be individually controlled by varying the applied voltage. That is, the voltage applied to each IPMC is set differently according to the degree of bending of each IPMC, so that the IPMC can be controlled for each segment. For example, when bending the IPMC circularly, the same voltage is applied to each segmented IPMC. In addition, when the IPMC is bent in an elliptical shape, the IPMC corresponding to the long axis of the ellipse applies a high voltage, and the IPMC corresponding to the short axis of the ellipse applies a low voltage to implement an overall ellipse shape.

In the above, an embodiment of a robot using a smart material and a smart material have been described. Hereinafter, with reference to the accompanying drawings, the robot using the smart material according to the present invention will be described with reference to specific embodiments. do. It will be described in turn below, it is obvious that the present invention is not limited to these embodiments.

4 is a side view of a robot using a smart material according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 4, the main body 110, the driving unit 120, the moving unit 230, the movement control unit 140, the camera 410, the first rotating unit 412, and the second rotating unit 414 are illustrated. do. The differences from the above will be explained mainly.

Unlike the above-described movement means 230 is provided with only a rotating shaft connected to the main body portion 110, the movement control means 140 is coupled to the rotating shaft is bent in a circular shape during the rotation of the movement means 230 in this embodiment The robot can be moved accordingly.

In addition, the main body 110 may further include a camera 410. That is, as described above, when the present invention is a microcapsule robot for long-term internal inspection or a reconnaissance / exploration robot, a camera 410 capable of capturing a target object may be provided to perform a corresponding inspection and reconnaissance / exploration. have. When the robot according to the present embodiment is a microcapsule robot for long-term internal inspection, the camera 410 may be a micro camera.

The camera 410 may be rotatable vertically and horizontally to widen the imaging angle. That is, the camera 410 is rotatable about an axis perpendicular to the ground by the first rotating part 412, and is rotatable about an axis parallel to the ground by the second rotating part 414. Rotatable

In addition, according to another exemplary embodiment, the camera 410 may be provided inside the main body 110 and may be implemented such that only the lens is exposed to the outside through a predetermined hole formed in the main body 110.

5 is a perspective view of a robot using a smart material according to a third embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 5, the main body 510, the movement means 530, and the movement control means 540 are illustrated. The differences from the above will be explained mainly.

This embodiment is characterized in that the movement control means 540 surrounds the movement means 530 provided on both sides of the cylindrical body portion 510 in a circular shape to enable the movement of the robot according to the present embodiment.

The movement means 530 may have a wheel shape having a circumference larger than the circumference of the body portion 510 at both sides of the cylindrical body portion 510. Both sides of the main body 510 may be provided with means for rotating the moving means 530, for example, a motor (not shown) to control the movement or stop operation of the robot. Here, although the main body 510 has been described as having a cylindrical shape, the movable means 540 provided on both sides is formed in a movable form, for example, a hexahedron, and the diagonal of the cross section is the movement control means 540. Of course, it can be implemented in various forms, such as a shape smaller than the diameter of the formed circle.

The movement control means 540 is formed of the same material as the IPMC as described above, bent in a circle (solid line) so as to cover the movement means 530 when the robot moves, and is unfolded in a plane (dotted line) when stopped to move the robot. And a stop operation.

According to this embodiment, the entire robot can be rolled when moving the stairs, etc., there is an advantage that the robot can be efficiently moved.

6 is a perspective view of a robot using a smart material according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 6, the main body 610 and the movement control means 640 are shown. The difference from the above-described embodiment will be mainly described.

This embodiment is characterized in that the movement control means 640 controls the movement of the robot according to this embodiment while covering the entire body portion 610. That is, the movement control means 640 may be bent in a circular or unfolded in a plane according to the outer peripheral surface of the cylindrical body portion 610 to control the movement of the robot according to the present embodiment.

A structure for movement may be implemented in the main body 610 for the movement of the robot. For example, an eccentric addition is provided inside the main body 610 which is out of a central axis corresponding to the center of the cross section perpendicular to the cylindrical longitudinal direction of the main body 610 by a predetermined distance, and rotates in response to a predetermined cycle. The driving force can be applied to the movement. That is, as the center of gravity of the robot of the present embodiment changes according to the rotation of the eccentric weight off the central axis, the driving force is generated in the moving direction, and the robot can roll accordingly. The rotation cycle of the eccentric weight may vary in accordance with the moving speed of the robot, and may be set to a rotation cycle that may generate propulsion force. Here, the case of generating the propulsion force using the eccentric weight has been described, but various structures capable of generating the propulsion force capable of moving the shape of FIG. 6 may be applied to the present invention.

In addition, the cross section of the main body 610 may be elliptical. That is, when the cross section of the main body 610 is circular, it may be difficult to control when moving. Therefore, the movement of the robot of the present embodiment may be controlled by implementing an elliptical shape having a predetermined eccentricity to prevent the rolling state.

7 is a perspective view of a robot using a smart material according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 7, the main body 710, the first movement means 732, the second movement means 734, the third movement means 736, and the movement control means 740 are illustrated. The differences from the above-described embodiment are mainly described above.

In the present embodiment, the movement control means 740 has a caterpillar shape, and a plurality of movement means are coupled to each other to move the robot. That is, when the movement control means 740 has a caterpillar shape coupled to the plurality of movement means, there is an advantage that the robot can be moved by driving one movement means.

The first moving means 732 and the second moving means 734 may move the robot in a circular (solid line) surrounded by the movement control means 740 during the movement. In addition, the robot may be stopped by the movement control means 740 unfolding in a plane (dotted line) when the robot is stopped. The third movement means 736 may be coupled to one side of the main body 710 to be used as an auxiliary wheel for horizontal maintenance and movement.

Other detailed circuit diagrams for robots using smart materials according to the embodiment of the present invention, common platform technologies such as embedded systems, O / S, communication protocols, interface standardization technologies such as I / O interfaces, actuators, batteries, cameras, sensors, etc. Detailed description of the parts standardization technology, etc. will be omitted since it is obvious to those skilled in the art.

In the above, the robot using the smart material according to an embodiment of the present invention described the shape of the smart material and the main body according to an embodiment with reference to the drawings, but is not necessarily limited to this, the shape of the smart material Alternatively, if any one of the shape of the body portion is modified to another shape, if the overall action and effect is not different, such other configuration may be included in the scope of the present invention, if the person skilled in the art It will be understood that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the claims.

1 is a side view of a robot using a smart material according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a cross-sectional view of a smart material in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

3 is a cross-sectional view of a smart material according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 4 is a side view of a robot using a smart material according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a perspective view of a robot using a smart material according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a perspective view of a robot using a smart material according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

7 is a perspective view of a robot using a smart material according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

110: main body 120: drive unit

130: movement means 140: movement control means

142: first electrode 144: ion exchange polymer

145 groove 146 second electrode

230: means of movement 410: camera

412: first rotating part 414: second rotating part

Claims (11)

In a robot whose movement is controlled using smart materials, Main body; A moving means coupled to one side of the main body and having a wheel shape for moving the main body in a predetermined direction; A motor coupled to one side of the main body and controlling the rotation of the moving means to move or stop the robot; A movement control means coupled to one side of the movement means and formed of an ionic polymer metal composite (IPMC), which is a smart material that is bent in a predetermined direction by an electrical stimulus corresponding to a drive signal, wherein the movement control means is the robot Surrounds the outer circumferential surface of the moving means in a circular shape during movement of the robot and extends in a plane when the robot stops; And And a driving unit generating the driving signal and transmitting the driving signal to the movement control means. delete delete delete delete delete The method of claim 1, The IPMC robot using a smart material, characterized in that the gap between the metal formed in the bending direction is larger than the gap between the metal formed in the opposite direction. The method of claim 1, The IPMC robot using a smart material, characterized in that the groove is formed in the bending direction. The method of claim 1, The robot using a smart material, characterized in that the IPMC has a segment form. The method of claim 1, The main body portion, A robot using smart material, further comprising a camera capable of imaging an external object. The method of claim 10, The camera is a robot using a smart material, characterized in that the micro camera for examining the internal organs of the human body.

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