Robotic arm for simulating cigarette smoking process

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11445746-B2
Application number	US-202117414329-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jan 21, 2021
Priority date	Apr 20, 2020
Publication date	Sep 20, 2022
Grant date	Sep 20, 2022

Abstract

A robotic arm includes a base, a first robotic arm, a second robotic arm, a robotic hand and a cigarette holder connected in sequence. The cigarette holder includes a cigarette insertion hole and a cigarette smoking tube. The cigarette smoking tube is connected to a smoking simulator. The robotic arm further includes at least one air exhausting hole. The air exhausting hole is located around the cigarette holder and communicated with an air exhauster through an air exhausting pipe. The robotic arm swings to control the cigarette holder to carry a cigarette from a smoking position to an ash flicking position. Airflow is formed near the air exhausting hole by means of air exhaustion, so as to simulate influences of a wind speed in an outdoor environment on the columnar ash in the cigarette smoking process of the human body.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method for simulating a cigarette smoking process and a smoking environment of a human body based on a robotic arm, wherein
the robotic arm comprises a base, a first robotic arm, a second robotic arm, a robotic hand and a cigarette holder, wherein the base, the first robotic arm, the second robotic arm, the robotic hand and the cigarette holder are connected in sequence;
the cigarette holder comprises a cigarette insertion hole and a cigarette smoking tube, and the cigarette smoking tube is connected to a smoking simulator;
the robotic arm further comprises at least one air exhausting hole, the at least one air exhausting hole is located around the cigarette holder, and the at least one air exhausting hole is communicated with an air exhauster through an air exhausting pipe; and
the robotic arm further comprises an ash flicking mechanism, the ash flicking mechanism comprises a support and a flicking piece and the ash flicking mechanism is fixed at the cigarette holder or placed at a working table independently;
the method comprises the following steps:
(1) lighting a cigarette, setting a smoking mode of the smoking simulator to start a smoking action, and starting the air exhauster; meanwhile or then,
(2) starting the robotic arm and setting control parameters, and swinging the robotic arm to enable the cigarette holder to carry the cigarette from a smoking position to an ash flicking position;
(3) after the cigarette reaches the ash flicking position, enabling the flicking piece to tap the cigarette to flick ash away, and after the ash is flicked, swinging the robotic arm to enable the cigarette holder to carry the cigarette from the ash flicking position to the smoking position, so as to finish one smoking action; and
(4) repeating steps (2) to (3) to perform a plurality of smoking actions.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein in step (2), when the cigarette holder swings to carry the cigarette from the smoking position to the ash flicking position, the robotic arm passes through a staying position.

3. The method according to claim 2 , wherein a height from the smoking position to a bottom of the base is a first height, a height from the staying position to the bottom of the base is a second height, a height from the ash flicking position to the bottom of the base is a third height, the first height is larger than the second height, and the second height is larger than the third height.

4. The method according to claim 1 , wherein an air exhausting speed of the air exhauster in step (1) is less than 10 m/s and not equal to 0 m/s.

5. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the smoking mode of the smoking simulator in step (1) is an International Organization of Standardization (ISO) or Federal Trade Commission (FTC) or Massachusetts smoking mode.

Assignees

• China Tobacco Yunnan Ind Co Ltd

Inventors

• Zheng Han
• Zhang Ying
• Wang Hao
• Zhan Jianbo
• Yu Zhenhua
• Xie jiao
• Wang Xu
• Li Geng
• Wang Tao
• Yu Tingting
• Li Liwei
• Ding Haiyan
• Yue Baoshan
• Yu Jiang
• Zhang Jing

Classifications

• B25J9/1679

  characterised by the tasks executed · CPC title

• B25J15/0019

  End effectors other than grippers · CPC title

• B25J11/00

  Manipulators not otherwise provided for · CPC title

• A24C5/3406 Primary

  Controlling cigarette combustion · CPC title

• G01N31/12

  using combustion (G01N25/20 takes precedence) · CPC title