A flexible robotic arm imitating an elephant trunk

A flexible robotic arm and elephant trunk technology, applied in the field of robotics, can solve the problems of affecting positioning accuracy, high cost, slow response speed, etc., and achieve the effects of simple and compact structure, improved stability and motion accuracy, and small footprint

Active Publication Date: 2020-12-08
ZHEJIANG UNIV
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  • Summary
  • Abstract
  • Description
  • Claims
  • Application Information

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

However, there are still some limitations in the current artificial elephant trunk robotic arm: 1. The deformation of the SMA wire is controlled by temperature, and the response speed is slow during the control process; 2. It is driven by an elastic rod and thread, but it is easy to Stability problems occur; 3. Or only use compression springs for support, but large deformation will occur under heavy load conditions, which will affect positioning accuracy; 4. Or hydraulic drive, but the structure is complex, large in size, high in cost, and the applicable occasions are limited

Method used

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  • A flexible robotic arm imitating an elephant trunk
  • A flexible robotic arm imitating an elephant trunk
  • A flexible robotic arm imitating an elephant trunk

Examples

Experimental program
Comparison scheme
Effect test

Embodiment 1

[0048] In this embodiment, two imitation elephant trunk robotic arm units are used in series, the second drive unit support 1 is fixed on the mobile trolley platform, and the charging plug is used as the end effector 16 for automatic charging of new energy vehicles.

[0049] Section 1 The effective length of compression spring 12 of the imitation elephant trunk mechanical arm unit is 280mm, using four guide plates 14 to distribute evenly on the neutral rod 11; Section 2 The effective length of compression spring 12 of the imitation elephant trunk mechanical arm unit is 180mm, using Three guide discs 14 are evenly distributed on the neutral rod 11 . The pitch of the compression spring is 16mm in the free state, and the axial length of the compression spring fixing ring is 12mm. When the bending degree of the mechanical arm is relatively large and exceeds 90°, the axial length of the compression spring fixing ring should be appropriately increased to be equal to the pitch of the...

Embodiment 2

[0056] The elephant trunk flexible mechanical arm can also be applied to other occasions, serving and people's daily life. Two elephant-trunk robotic arm units are used in series, and a pneumatic, electromagnetically controlled or motor-controlled robotic arm is used as an end effector 16 to fix the robotic arm on a wall or a table. After the user extracts the image features of the target object, the user can use the robotic arm to identify and grasp specific objects within a certain range. There is no difference from Example 1 in other respects.

Embodiment 3

[0058] The mechanical arm can also use the camera 17 as the end effector 16 without installing other devices. Using a pseudo-trunk mechanical arm unit, the monitoring of the surrounding environment can be realized. The monitoring range can reach a hemispherical surface, up to 3 / 4 spheres. Under this light load condition, if the requirements for the working space are not high, you can choose the compression spring 12 with less rigidity and shorter length, which can appropriately reduce the number of guide discs 14, but it is recommended not less than three. When the bending angle requirement is low and the effective length of the compression spring 12 is insufficient, only two are allowed. When there is no special requirement on motion accuracy, a DC motor can be used as the drive motor 2 .

[0059] The robotic arm can be installed on a fixed platform to monitor a specific area; it can be installed on a mobile trolley platform to monitor a larger area; it can also be held by ...

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PUM

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Abstract

The invention discloses an elephant trunk-like flexible mechanical arm. The mechanical arm comprises a plurality of elephant trunk-like mechanical arm units and an end execution assembly, wherein eachelephant trunk-like mechanical arm unit comprises a drive mechanism and an elephant trunk-like mechanism; and the stretching and retreating of steel wire ropes in the elephant trunk-like mechanisms are driven through motors in the drive mechanisms, so that the movement speed of the mechanical arm can be conveniently controlled by controlling the rotational speeds of the motors. According to the elephant trunk-like flexible mechanical arm, sensitive control over a movement process is realized through the driving for the steel wire ropes and the combined bearing of a pressure spring and a flexible rod, the stability problem under a high load is avoided, and accurate location is achieved; and meanwhile, a mechanical arm structure is simplified, and the advantages of being flexible in movement, high in load capacity, simple in structure, and the like are achieved. Meanwhile, a modularized design is adopted, hand-eye control is introduced, and the elephant trunk-like flexible mechanical arm is especially applicable to a service robot for life service, and also applicable to other intelligent application occasions.

Description

technical field [0001] The invention relates to the field of robots, in particular to a service robot used in life services, and in particular to a structural design of a flexible robotic arm imitating an elephant trunk. Background technique [0002] As the concept of smart life is mentioned more and more, robotic arms, as an important channel for human-technology interaction, have gradually entered the daily life fields such as office, entertainment, and home. However, traditional mechanical arms are mostly composed of rigid connecting rods connected in series or in parallel, which are large in size, complex in structure, and high in cost. Their rigid motion characteristics are likely to cause danger in human-computer interaction, such as rigidly hitting the body and damaging the socket or body. [0003] In contrast, the flexible elephant trunk robotic arm has unique advantages in these aspects. However, there are still some limitations in the current artificial elephant t...

Claims

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Application Information

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Patent Type & Authority Patents(China)
IPC IPC(8): B25J9/12
CPCB25J9/104B25J9/109B25J9/12
Inventor 杨克己郁海洋廖奎蒲凯
Owner ZHEJIANG UNIV
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