US 12,336,948 B1
Sandwich bionic soft gripper capable of automatically assisting in grasping and preparation method therefor
Xiangmeng Li, Taiyuan (CN); Huifen Wei, Taiyuan (CN); Xijing Zhu, Taiyuan (CN); Yajun Zhang, Taiyuan (CN); Jian Shen, Taiyuan (CN); and Chaohui Wang, Taiyuan (CN)
Assigned to North University of China, (CN)
Filed by North University of China, Taiyuan (CN)
Filed on Jan. 10, 2025, as Appl. No. 19/016,418.
Claims priority of application No. 202410430792.X (CN), filed on Apr. 11, 2024.
Int. Cl. A61H 1/02 (2006.01); B25J 1/02 (2006.01)
CPC A61H 1/0288 (2013.01) [B25J 1/02 (2013.01); A61H 2201/0207 (2013.01); A61H 2201/0214 (2013.01); A61H 2201/0221 (2013.01); A61H 2201/0242 (2013.01); A61H 2201/1207 (2013.01); A61H 2201/1635 (2013.01); A61H 2201/165 (2013.01); A61H 2201/5082 (2013.01)] 6 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A sandwich bionic soft gripper capable of automatically assisting in grasping, comprising a glove (1) and fourteen power structures, wherein
each power structure comprises two drivers, a variable-stiffness grid layer (209), a pair of transmission skeletons (210), and a strain sensor;
each driver comprises a flexible heat insulation layer (201), a flexible electric heating layer (202), a pair of flexible wires A (203), a flexible packaging layer A (204), a pair of liquid crystal elastomer driving layers (205), a thin film temperature sensor (206), a flexible water cooling layer (207), and a flexible water pipe (208); a front surface of the flexible heat insulation layer (201) is provided with a cavity; the flexible electric heating layer (202) is stacked on a bottom surface of the cavity; the pair of flexible wires A (203) is embedded inside the flexible heat insulation layer (201); each head end of the pair of flexible wires A (203) is connected to the flexible electric heating layer (202); each tail end of the pair of flexible wires A (203) is led out; the flexible packaging layer A (204) is stacked on both the front surface of the flexible heat insulation layer (201) and a front surface of the flexible electric heating layer (202); the pair of liquid crystal elastomer driving layers (205) is stacked side by side on a front surface of the flexible packaging layer A (204); the thin film temperature sensor (206) is stacked on the front surface of the flexible packaging layer A (204), and the thin film temperature sensor (206) is located between the pair of liquid crystal elastomer driving layers (205); two ends of the thin film temperature sensor (206) are led out; the flexible water cooling layer (207) is stacked on the front surface of the flexible packaging layer A (204), a front surface of the pair of liquid crystal elastomer driving layers (205), and a front surface of the thin film temperature sensor (206); a front surface edge of the flexible water cooling layer (207) is provided with a pair of mutually symmetrical notches; the flexible water pipe (208) is embedded inside the flexible water cooling layer (207); two ends of the flexible water pipe (208) are led out;
front surfaces of two flexible water cooling layers (207) in each power structure are in butt joint with each other, and the variable-stiffness grid layer (209) in each power structure is sandwiched between the front surfaces of the two flexible water cooling layers (207); two pairs of notches in each power structure are in butt joint to form a pair of concave holes, and one pair of transmission skeletons (210) in the power structure is inserted into one pair of concave holes, respectively;
each strain sensor comprises a flexible sensitive layer (301), a flexible interdigital electrode (302), a flexible packaging layer B (303), and a pair of flexible wires B (304); the flexible sensitive layer (301) is stacked on a back surface of a first flexible heat insulation layer (201) of a corresponding power structure; the flexible interdigital electrode (302) is stacked on a front surface of the flexible sensitive layer (301); the flexible packaging layer B (303) is stacked on the back surface of the first flexible heat insulation layer (201) of the corresponding power structure, the front surface of the flexible sensitive layer (301) and a front surface of the flexible interdigital electrode (302); the pair of flexible wires B (304) is embedded inside the flexible packaging layer B (303); head ends of the pair of flexible wires B (304) are respectively connected to two poles of the flexible interdigital electrode (302); each tail end of the pair of flexible wires B (304) is led out;
the glove (1) is of a double-layer structure; the fourteen power structures are all sandwiched between a finger dorsum inner layer and a finger dorsum outer layer of the glove (1), and the fourteen power structures are located in a one-to-one correspondence at nine interphalangeal joints and five metacarpophalangeal joints of the glove (1); tail ends of each pair of flexible wires A (203), two ends of each thin film temperature sensor (206), two ends of each flexible water pipe (208), and tail ends of each pair of flexible wires B (304) penetrate the finger dorsum outer layer of the glove (1) to be led out; each transmission skeleton (210) is arranged along a direction of a corresponding finger; and each flexible packaging layer B (303) is in contact with the finger dorsum outer layer of the glove (1).