CN113305828B - A wire drive controller for a soft robot - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention provides a wire drive controller of a soft robot, and relates to the technical field of intelligent robots. The wire drive controller of the soft robot comprises a substrate and a plurality of rotating modules; the plurality of rotating modules are distributed on one side surface of the substrate in rows and columns, each rotating module comprises a driving wheel and an idler wheel which are connected with each other, and the idler wheels are used for changing the rotating direction of the driving wheels; the anchor ring is provided with two annular on the anchor ring, and two annular all set up around the circumference of anchor ring, are provided with the perforating hole between two annular, and the perforating hole is used for connecting the line drive hawser on two annular. The wire drive controller of the soft robot of the invention utilizes the idler wheel which can change the rotation direction of the driving wheel and the two ring grooves which are connected with the same wire drive cable rope through the through hole, and can realize the pulling and pushing of the wire drive cable rope on any finger by controlling the positive and negative rotation of the driving wheel.

Description

Wire drive controller of soft robot

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of intelligent robots, in particular to a wire drive controller of a soft robot.

Background

The existing wire drive control module of the soft robot generally adopts a motor speed reduction drive module of a worm gear and a worm, can only realize the drawing control of the wire drive cable in one rotation direction of a motor, and cannot realize the synchronization of the wire drive cable in the pushing process (the movement rates of the cables are consistent and the directions are opposite).

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention is directed to a wire drive controller of a soft robot, which helps to solve the above-mentioned problems.

The invention is realized by the following steps:

a wire drive controller of a soft robot comprises a substrate and a plurality of rotating modules; the plurality of rotating modules are arranged on one side surface of the substrate in a row-column distribution manner, each rotating module comprises a driving wheel and an idler wheel which are connected with each other, and the idler wheels are used for changing the rotating direction of the driving wheels; be provided with two annulars, two on the anchor ring of action wheel the annular all winds the circumference setting of action wheel, two be provided with the perforating hole between the annular, the perforating hole is used for connecting the line drive hawser on two annulars.

Above-mentioned controller is driven to software robot's line utilizes the idler to change the direction of rotation of action wheel according to the control demand, and sets up two annuluses on the action wheel, and two annuluses can connect same root line through the perforating hole and drive the hawser, when driving the hawser with the line and around establishing according to opposite direction on two annuluses, can control the positive and negative rotation of drive action wheel and realize that any finger goes up the pull and the propelling movement of line drive hawser, simultaneously, this pull equals and opposite direction with the stroke and the speed homoenergetic that promote.

Further, the through hole extends in a tangential direction of the two ring grooves. The technical effects are as follows: the through hole extending in the tangential direction has small additional acting force on the wire drive cable, and can complete required wire drive control under the effect of a small motor.

Further, the through hole is U-shaped. The technical effects are as follows: the through hole that the U type set up makes one section that the line drive hawser is connected between two annular form the structure that the level and smooth meets, is convenient for the threading installation and higher in driving motor's control in-process stability.

Furthermore, a driving motor is further arranged on the rotating module and connected with the driving wheel. The technical effects are as follows: the driving motor is arranged on the rotating module, the control distance between the driving motor and the driving wheel is short, other connecting structures can be omitted, and the structure of the whole wire drive controller is simplified.

Further, the driving motor is a direct current motor. The technical effects are as follows: compared with an alternating current motor, the direct current motor has good starting characteristic and speed regulation characteristic and larger torque, and plays an important role in controlling finger rehabilitation training.

Furthermore, a position control mechanism is further arranged on the rotating module and used for limiting the rotating angle of the driving wheel. The technical effects are as follows: because the range of motion of finger has certain limit, adopts relevant mechanism to inject the turned angle of action wheel, can avoid action wheel turned angle to surpass the design range, prevents to appear the too big problem of finger control bending angle.

Further, the position control mechanism comprises a limiting convex block and a fan-shaped notch, the limiting convex block and the fan-shaped notch are respectively arranged on the driving wheel and the base plate, and the limiting convex block is located in the fan-shaped notch. The technical effects are as follows: the rotation angle of the driving wheel can be mechanically controlled by using the limiting convex blocks and the fan-shaped notches of the physical structure, and the electric appliance faults possibly caused by motor control are avoided.

The wire driving cable is arranged in the two annular grooves in a winding mode in the opposite direction. The technical effects are as follows: the wire-driven cable realizes the long-distance flexible control of the soft robot.

Further, the two wire drive cables in one of the rotary modules are led out in directions parallel to each other. The technical effects are as follows: when two line drive hawsers are led out from the rotating module along the tangential directions of the two ring grooves respectively, the direction can be changed by the idler, the two line drive hawsers are led out in parallel towards the same direction, the coplanar operation is facilitated, and the integral installation space of the multi-group line drive hawsers is small.

Furthermore, the wire drive cable is formed by winding seven metal wires; the metal cable is formed by winding nineteen stainless steel wires; or, the wire drive cable comprises a leather sheath and a core; the leather sheath wraps the core-spun core, and the leather sheath and the core-spun core are both made of high polymer polyethylene materials. The technical effects are as follows: the wire drive cable is preferably made of stainless steel wires or high-molecular polyethylene materials, so that the adaptability is stronger, and the special requirements of multiple scenes are met.

Further, the circuit overload protection module is also included; the circuit overload protection module is arranged on the substrate. The technical effects are as follows: the circuit overload protection module brings safety guarantee for finger control, and the use safety of the device is improved. Meanwhile, cables of a plurality of rotating modules are gathered on the circuit overload protection module, so that control and wiring are facilitated, and external control cables are accessed into the device through the circuit overload protection module.

Further, the device also comprises a protective cover; the protective cover is arranged on the base plate and used for covering the upper part of the rotating module. The technical effects are as follows: the protective cover has the effects of isolation and anti-static protection, and plays a role in protecting the internal rotating module and the wire drive cable.

The invention has the beneficial effects that:

the wire drive controller of the soft robot of the invention utilizes the idler wheel which can change the rotation direction of the driving wheel and the two ring grooves which are connected with the same wire drive cable rope through the through hole, and can realize the pulling and pushing of the wire drive cable rope on any finger by controlling the positive and negative rotation of the driving wheel.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings needed to be used in the embodiments will be briefly described below, it should be understood that the following drawings only illustrate some embodiments of the present invention and therefore should not be considered as limiting the scope, and for those skilled in the art, other related drawings can be obtained according to the drawings without inventive efforts.

Fig. 1 is a schematic external structural diagram of a wire drive controller of a soft robot according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an internal structure of a wire drive controller of a soft robot according to the present invention;

fig. 3 is a schematic view of a first perspective structure of a rotation module in a wire drive controller of a soft robot according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of a second perspective structure of a rotation module in a wire drive controller of a soft robot according to the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a third perspective structure of a rotation module in a wire drive controller of a soft body robot according to the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a first perspective structure of a driving wheel in a thread drive controller of a soft body robot according to the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a top view of the driving wheel in the thread drive controller of the soft body robot provided by the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line K-K in FIG. 7;

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line P-P of FIG. 7;

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram of a second perspective structure of a driving wheel in the thread drive controller of the soft body robot according to the present invention;

FIG. 11 is a third perspective view of a driving wheel of the thread drive controller of the soft robot according to the present invention;

fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of the soft robot with the drive wheel detached from the rotation module in the thread drive controller according to the present invention.

Icon: 100-a substrate; 200-a rotation module; 210-a driving wheel; 211-ring groove; 220-an idler wheel; 230-through holes; 240-wire drive line; 250-a drive motor; 260-a limit bump; 270-sector notch; 280-cover plate; 300-a circuit overload protection module; 400-protective cover; 500-protective cover.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the embodiments of the present invention clearer, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. It is to be understood that the embodiments described are only a few embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. The components of embodiments of the present invention that are generally described and illustrated in the figures can be arranged and designed in a wide variety of different configurations.

Thus, the following detailed description of the embodiments of the present invention, presented in the figures, is not intended to limit the scope of the invention, as claimed, but is merely representative of selected embodiments of the invention. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

It should be noted that: like reference numbers and letters refer to like items in the following figures, and thus, once an item is defined in one figure, it need not be further defined and explained in subsequent figures.

In the description of the present invention, it should be noted that the terms "center", "upper", "lower", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "inner", "outer", etc. indicate orientations or positional relationships based on the orientations or positional relationships shown in the drawings or the orientations or positional relationships that the products of the present invention are conventionally placed in use, and are only used for convenience in describing the present invention and simplifying the description, but do not indicate or imply that the devices or elements referred to must have a specific orientation, be constructed and operated in a specific orientation, and thus, should not be construed as limiting the present invention. Furthermore, the terms "first," "second," "third," and the like are used solely to distinguish one from another and are not to be construed as indicating or implying relative importance.

Furthermore, the terms "horizontal", "vertical", "overhang" and the like do not imply that the components are required to be absolutely horizontal or overhang, but may be slightly inclined. For example, "horizontal" merely means that the direction is more horizontal than "vertical" and does not mean that the structure must be perfectly horizontal, but may be slightly inclined.

In the description of the present invention, it should also be noted that, unless otherwise explicitly specified or limited, the terms "disposed," "mounted," "connected," and "connected" are to be construed broadly and may, for example, be fixedly connected, detachably connected, or integrally connected; can be mechanically or electrically connected; they may be connected directly or indirectly through intervening media, or they may be interconnected between two elements. The specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood in specific cases to those skilled in the art.

Some embodiments of the invention are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The embodiments described below and the features of the embodiments can be combined with each other without conflict.

Fig. 1 is a schematic external structural diagram of a wire drive controller of a soft robot according to the present invention; FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of an internal structure of a wire drive controller of a soft robot according to the present invention; fig. 3 is a schematic view of a first perspective structure of a rotation module 200 in a wire drive controller of a soft robot according to the present invention; fig. 4 is a second perspective structural view of a rotation module 200 in a wire drive controller of a soft robot according to the present invention; fig. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating a third perspective structure of a rotation module 200 in a wire drive controller of a soft robot according to the present invention; fig. 6 is a first perspective structural diagram of a driving wheel 210 in a thread drive controller of a soft body robot according to the present invention; FIG. 7 is a top view of the driving wheel in the thread drive controller of the soft body robot provided by the present invention; FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along line K-K in FIG. 7; FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line P-P of FIG. 7; fig. 10 is a second perspective structural view of the driving wheel 210 in the thread drive controller of the soft body robot according to the present invention; fig. 11 is a third perspective view of the driving wheel 210 in the thread drive controller of the soft body robot according to the present invention; fig. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of the soft robot according to the present invention, in which the rotating module 200 is detached from the driving wheel 210.

Referring to fig. 1 to 10, the present embodiment provides a wire drive controller of a soft robot, which includes asubstrate 100 and a plurality ofrotating modules 200.

Wherein, a plurality ofrotating modules 200 are arranged on one side of thesubstrate 100 in a row-column distribution, the rotatingmodules 200 comprise adriving wheel 210 and anidle wheel 220 which are connected with each other, and theidle wheel 220 is used for changing the rotating direction of thedriving wheel 210; the ring surface of thedriving wheel 210 is provided with tworing grooves 211, the tworing grooves 211 are arranged around the circumference of thedriving wheel 210, a throughhole 230 is arranged between the tworing grooves 211, and the throughhole 230 is used for connecting the wire-drivencables 240 on the tworing grooves 211.

In the above structure, as shown in fig. 2, the number of therotating modules 200 is 5, and the rotating modules respectively correspond to 5 fingers of one hand of a person, wherein theidler pulley 220 may be engaged with the drivingpulley 210 through a gear structure, may also be rotatably connected through a belt, and may also be connected through a wire-drivencable 240, so as to achieve the purpose that theidler pulley 220 changes the rotating direction of the drivingpulley 210.

Thedriving wheel 210 can be axially positioned by thecover plate 280 and a bolt with a gasket, and the movable range of the cable-drivencable 240 is limited, preferably, a limit structure in the form of a step structure is further disposed between thecover plate 280 and thedriving wheel 210.

In addition, a gap smaller than the diameter of thewire drive cable 240 is left between thedriving wheel 210 and thesubstrate 100, and simultaneously, the roundness of thedriving wheel 210 and the assembly coaxiality between thedriving wheel 210 and thesubstrate 100 are ensured, so that thedriving wheel 210 is ensured to run smoothly, and the operation blockage is avoided.

The working principle of the wire drive controller of the soft robot of the embodiment is as follows:

the wire drive controller of the soft robot utilizes the idler 220 to change the rotation direction of thedriving wheel 210 according to the control requirement, and tworing grooves 211 are arranged on thedriving wheel 210, and the tworing grooves 211 can be connected with the samewire drive cable 240 through the throughhole 230, when thewire drive cable 240 is wound on the tworing grooves 211 according to the opposite direction, the forward and reverse rotation of thedriving wheel 210 can be controlled to realize the drawing and pushing of thewire drive cable 240 on any finger, and meanwhile, the stroke and the speed of the drawing and the pushing are equal and opposite in direction.

In at least one embodiment, as shown in fig. 6, 7, 8, and 9, the throughhole 230 extends in a tangential direction of the tworing grooves 211. The throughhole 230 may be an S-shaped bent hole or an arc-shaped through hole to ensure that two ends of the hole are respectively communicated with the tworing grooves 211 tangentially. At this time, the throughhole 230 extending in the tangential direction exerts a small force on thewire drive cable 240, and the required wire drive control can be achieved with a small motor efficiency.

In at least one embodiment, as shown in fig. 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9, the throughhole 230 is further provided in a U shape. Here, two ports of the throughhole 230 having the U-shaped structure are located in different planes. At this time, the U-shaped throughhole 230 enables a section of thewire driving cable 240 connected between the tworing grooves 211 to form a smooth connection structure, which is convenient for threading installation and has high stability in the control process of the drivingmotor 250.

In at least one embodiment, as shown in fig. 2, fig. 3, fig. 4, and fig. 5, a drivingmotor 250 is further disposed on therotating module 200, and the drivingmotor 250 is connected to thedriving wheel 210. In this design, the drivingmotor 250 is disposed on therotation module 200, and the control distance from thedriving wheel 210 is short, so that other connection structures can be omitted, and the structure of the entire wire drive controller is simplified.

In at least one embodiment, as shown in fig. 2, 3, 4, and 5, further, the drivingmotor 250 is a dc motor. Compared with an alternating current motor, the direct current motor has good starting characteristic and speed regulation characteristic and larger torque, and plays an important role in controlling finger rehabilitation training.

It should be noted that therotation module 200 is further provided with a signal module and a three-stage parallel-axis gearbox, which are respectively used for acquiring the rotation state information of thedriving wheel 210 and changing the output rotation speed and torque. The dc motor and thedriving wheel 210 may be connected by a flange.

In at least one embodiment, as shown in fig. 11 and 12, a position control mechanism is further disposed on therotating module 200, and the position control mechanism is used for defining the rotation angle of thedriving wheel 210. The rotation angle of thedriving wheel 210 by the position control mechanism can be limited by the control stroke of the motor, and can also be limited by a mechanical structure. The position control mechanism can avoid the multi-turn overlapping abrasion of thewire drive cable 240 and ensure the use reliability of thewire drive cable 240. At this moment, because the range of motion of the finger has certain limit, adopt relevant mechanism to inject the turned angle ofaction wheel 210, can avoidaction wheel 210 turned angle to exceed the design scope, prevent the too big problem of finger control bending angle.

In at least one embodiment, as shown in fig. 11 and 12, further, the position control mechanism includes a limitingprotrusion 260 and a sector-shapednotch 270, the limitingprotrusion 260 and the sector-shapednotch 270 are respectively disposed on thedriving wheel 210 and thebase plate 100, and the limitingprotrusion 260 is located in the sector-shapednotch 270. The rotation angle of thedriving wheel 210 can be mechanically controlled by using the limitingconvex block 260 and the fan-shapednotch 270 which have physical structures, so that the electric appliance faults possibly occurring in motor control are avoided.

In at least one embodiment, as shown in fig. 2, further, awire driving cable 240 is further included, and thewire driving cable 240 is wound around the twoannular grooves 211 in opposite directions. The wire-drivingcable 240 may be made of stainless steel or a high molecular polyethylene material. The stainless steelwire drive cable 240 is formed by winding seven strands of metal wire cables, and each metal wire cable is formed by winding nineteen stainless steel wires. The test results show that the material is selected from the following materials: selecting SUS304 stainless steel wires with the size data of 7x19x0.04mm, and 7 wires comprising 19 wires and 1 strand; the outer diameter is 0.6 mm.

The high-molecular polyethylene wire-drive cable comprises a leather sheath and a core, wherein the leather sheath is made of high-molecular polyethylene materials, the core is wrapped by the leather sheath, the leather sheath is made of 16-braided 200D fiber yarns, and the core is made of 2 400D fiber yarns.

Preferably, the twowire drive cables 240 in onerotary module 200 are routed in parallel directions to each other. The change of direction made by the idler pulleys 220 facilitates coplanar operation and overall installation space for the multiple sets ofwire drive cables 240 is small.

In at least one embodiment, as shown in fig. 2, further, a circuitoverload protection module 300 is further included; the circuitoverload protection module 300 is disposed on thesubstrate 100, thereby improving the safety of the device. Meanwhile, cables of a plurality ofrotating modules 200 are gathered on the circuitoverload protection module 300, so that the control and wiring are convenient, and external control cables are accessed into the device through the circuitoverload protection module 300.

In at least one embodiment, as shown in fig. 1 and 2, further, aprotective cover 400 is further included; theshield 400 is disposed on thesubstrate 100 to shield above thespin module 200. Optionally, theshield 400 is mounted in a waist-shaped hole of thesubstrate 100 through a hexagonal copper stud, and the waist-shaped hole is used for preventing the copper stud from rotating. Further, aprotective cover 500 of the device is disposed above theprotective cover 400, and theprotective cover 500 is a hollow T-shaped structure with a single side opening and is used for buffering a line system.

In addition, the wire drive controller is further provided with anidler wheel 220 wire passing block and adriving wheel 210 wire passing block which respectively correspond to theidler wheel 220 and thedriving wheel 210 and are used for guiding the cables. The axis of the wire passing hole of the wire passing block of theidler wheel 220 is superposed with the tangent line of oneannular groove 211 of thedriving wheel 210 and the tangent line of the wheel groove of theidler wheel 220, so that thewire driving cable 240 is ensured not to rub with the hole wall in the operation process. And the main and auxiliary wheel wire passing blocks preferably adopt C-shaped groove structures so as to solve the problem of processing manufacturability of the elongated holes.

Through the above structural design, thewire driving cable 240 enters the firstannular groove 211 of thedriving wheel 210 from the tangential direction of the firstannular groove 211 of thedriving wheel 210, enters the secondannular groove 211 of thedriving wheel 210 through the cushion-screw guided by the throughhole 230 of the U-shaped structure, then enters the wheel groove of theidle wheel 220 along the tangential direction of thedriving wheel 210 and theidle wheel 220, and finally leaves therotating module 200 from the wire passing hole.

The above is only a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the present invention, and various modifications and changes will occur to those skilled in the art. Any modification, equivalent replacement, or improvement made within the spirit and principle of the present invention should be included in the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims (11)

1. A wire drive controller of a soft robot is characterized by comprising a substrate (100) and a plurality of rotating modules (200); the plurality of rotating modules (200) are arranged on one side surface of the substrate (100) in a row-column distribution manner, the rotating modules (200) comprise a driving wheel (210) and an idle wheel (220) which are connected with each other, and the idle wheel (220) is used for changing the rotating direction of the driving wheel (210); the ring surface of the driving wheel (210) is provided with two ring grooves (211), the two ring grooves (211) are arranged around the circumference of the driving wheel (210), a through hole (230) is arranged between the two ring grooves (211), and the through hole (230) is used for connecting the wire drive cables (240) on the two ring grooves (211); the wire driving cable (240) is further included, and the wire driving cable (240) is wound in the two annular grooves (211) in opposite directions.

2. The wire drive controller of the soft robot according to claim 1, wherein the through hole (230) extends in a tangential direction of the two ring grooves (211).

3. The wire drive controller of soft robot as claimed in claim 2, wherein the through hole (230) is U-shaped.

4. The wire drive controller of the soft robot as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rotating module (200) is further provided with a driving motor (250), and the driving motor (250) is connected with the driving wheel (210).

5. The wire drive controller of a soft robot according to claim 4, wherein the driving motor (250) is a DC motor.

6. The wire drive controller of the soft robot as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rotating module (200) is further provided with a position control mechanism for limiting the rotation angle of the driving wheel (210).

7. The wire drive controller of the soft robot according to claim 6, wherein the position control mechanism comprises a limit protrusion (260) and a fan-shaped notch (270), the limit protrusion (260) and the fan-shaped notch (270) are respectively disposed on the driving wheel (210) and the base plate (100), and the limit protrusion (260) is located in the fan-shaped notch (270).

8. The wire drive controller of a soft robot according to claim 1, wherein two wire drive cables (240) in one rotary module (200) are led out in parallel directions.

9. The wire drive controller of soft robot of claim 1, wherein the wire drive cable is wound from seven metal wires; the metal cable is formed by winding nineteen stainless steel wires; or, the wire drive cable comprises a leather sheath and a core; the leather sheath wraps the core-spun core, and the leather sheath and the core-spun core are both made of high polymer polyethylene materials.

10. The wire drive controller of the soft robot according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising a circuit overload protection module (300); the circuit overload protection module (300) is disposed on the substrate (100).

11. The wire drive controller of the soft robot according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising a protective cover (400); the shield cover (400) is disposed on the base plate (100) for covering above the rotating module (200).

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