Agile robotic arm for positioning a tool with controlled orientation

Abstract

A robotic arm (500) for use in a controlled orientation and positioning tool (44). The robotic arm (500) includes an inner arm link assembly (15, 18, 29; 15, 18, 77); an outer arm link assembly (23; 81; 173; 228; 632; 384); and a first actuator (1; 249) configured to rotate the inner arm link assembly about a first rotation axis (180). The inner arm link assembly includes a first inner link (15) arranged at its inner end to rotate about a fourth rotation axis (185), and a second inner link (18) arranged at its inner end to rotate about a different third rotation axis (182), wherein the rotation axes (182, 185) are perpendicular to the first rotation axis (180), and rotation results in a geometrical reconfiguration of the inner arm link assembly. The inner arm linkage also includes a connecting shaft (29; 77) mounted at the outer ends of the first and second inner links via at least one degree of freedom joint. The inner arm linkage is connected to the outer arm linkage via the connecting shaft, connected to the tool, and forms a first kinematic chain providing a first degree of freedom for positioning the tool. A second actuator (2; 254) is configured to rotate the outer arm linkage about a second rotation axis, thereby forming a second kinematic chain providing a second degree of freedom for positioning the tool. A third actuator (3) is configured to move the outer arm linkage by actuating the geometrically reconfigurable inner arm linkage, resulting in movement of the second rotation axis. The outer arm linkage is arranged to rotate about the second rotation axis, thereby forming a third kinematic chain providing a third degree of freedom for positioning the tool. The robotic arm also includes one or more transmission mechanisms arranged in combination with the outer arm linkage to achieve controlled orientation of the tool.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure pertains to the technical field of industrial robots, and particularly relates to lightweight robot structures for very fast processes, for extremely fast movement of objects, and for highly safe robotic devices.

[0002] background

[0003] For example, in direct collaboration between humans and robots, and when the use of fence-free robotic devices is advantageous, high safety measures are required. Looking at the prior art, there are parallel motion robots (such as the Delta robot described in WO1987003528A1), where all actuators are mounted on fixed supports, thus achieving a lightweight structure. However, these parallel motion robots have the following drawbacks: the arm system occupies a large space, and therefore the workspace required for the arm system is small. As a result, these robots can only be used in applications where ample space is allocated for the arm system and for very limited workspaces (especially in the vertical direction). Therefore, Delta robots are primarily used for pick-and-place operations above a plane, such as a conveyor belt with sufficient space for the robot arm structure.

[0004] In WO2014187486, for example, compared to the Delta robot, the proposed slim parallel structure provides a larger workspace relative to the space required by the arm system. In the robot structure of WO2014187486, a first actuator drives a first arm about a first axis, a first kinematic chain is configured to transmit rotation of the first arm as movement of the end effector, and the first kinematic chain has a first link and a first joint between the first arm and the first link. The first joint has at least two degrees of freedom (DOF), and a second joint is mounted between the first link and the end effector. To operate without losing the six DOF constraint on the end effector, the design according to WO2014187486 relies on the torsional stiffness of the first link. However, this means that both the first and second joints of the first link must have two degrees of freedom, and no more, which in turn means that the constant tilt angle of the end effector obtained cannot be greater than at the center of the workspace. Therefore, the slender robot concept based on WO2014187486 requires two DOF wrists, even for simple pick-and-place operations on a horizontal surface. However, this wrist would add considerable weight, and the robot would not have a lightweight arm system like the Delta robot. Furthermore, wiring would be needed to transmit power and control the actuators of the wrists.

[0005] In WO2015188843, a parallel motion robot is described as comprising a base and an end effector movable relative to the base. A first actuator is attached to the base and connected to the end effector via a first kinematic chain, which includes a first arm, a first link, a first joint between the first arm and the first link, and a second joint between the first link and the end effector. A second actuator is attached to the base and connected to the end effector via a second kinematic chain, which includes a second arm, a second link, a third joint between the second arm and the second link, and a fourth joint between the second link and the end effector. A third actuator is attached to the base or to the first arm and connected to the end effector via a third kinematic chain, which includes a first gear and a second gear, which are connected to and mesh with the end effector via bearing journals. At least one element of the third kinematic chain forms a motion pair with at least one element of the first kinematic chain. The kinematic chain responsible for the translational movement of the end effector thus serves as a support structure for the kinematic chain responsible for the rotational movement of the end effector.

[0006] Compared to the slender structure in WO2014187486, WO2015188843 describes a robot structure whose arm system requires a large amount of space. This robot structure includes three separate kinematic chains that directly connect three actuators to the end effector platform to be moved, and therefore requires considerable space for the three arms to swing in three different directions.

[0007] WO2015188843 includes an arrangement for rotating a tool mounted on an end effector platform. WO2015188843 Figure 1 The arrangement consists of tandemly working links and gears. These links are mounted on two of the three separate kinematic chains connecting the actuator to the end effector platform, limiting the already limited positioning capability. These limitations depend on the fact that the links are mounted on two separate kinematic chains, on how the tandemly working links are connected, and on the fact that the working range of the links is significantly reduced when the arm rotates away from their zero position. (See WO2015188843) Figure 1 The rotation of the tool around the first axis simultaneously causes it to rotate around the second axis, and to compensate for this, a loss of rotational range with respect to the second axis occurs. Furthermore, the rotational capability is severely reduced, resulting in a large offset that further shifts the end effector platform away from the center of the workspace. However, WO2015188843... Figure 2 The layout in the middle will give a large range of rotation, but it will be more than WO2015188843. Figure 1The concept described further reduces the limited workspace. One reason for this is the need for a universal joint in the linkage between the arm and the end effector platform. Furthermore, several tandem gear stages are required in the kinematic chain used to rotate the tool. This increases the weight of the arm and end effector platform, increases backlash and friction, and increases maintenance requirements.

[0008] WO2019138025 describes a PKM that reduces or solves at least some of the problems mentioned above. However, this PKM uses at least two parallelograms arranged in the outer arm system, which poses accessibility problems in certain situations, such as when used for packaging in a box. The two parallelograms in WO2019138025 are needed to achieve parallel movement of the tool in one direction. To achieve parallel movement of the tool in a second direction, a third parallelogram arrangement is used in the outer arm system of WO2019138025.

[0009] Overview

[0010] The purpose of this disclosure is to provide a robotic arm that overcomes the shortcomings of existing technologies. Another purpose is to provide a space-saving robotic arm that provides three degrees of freedom for controlled orientation and positioning of tools. Yet another purpose is to provide a lightweight robotic arm compared to other robots.

[0011] These and other objectives are achieved, at least in part, by the robotic arm according to the independent claim and the embodiments according to the dependent claims.

[0012] According to a first aspect, this disclosure relates to a robotic arm for controlling the orientation and positioning of a tool. The robotic arm includes an inner arm link assembly and an outer arm link assembly. The robotic arm also includes a first actuator configured to rotate the inner arm link assembly about a first rotational axis. The inner arm link assembly includes a first inner link arranged at its inner end to rotate about a fourth rotational axis and a second inner link arranged at its inner end to rotate about a different third rotational axis, wherein these rotational axes are perpendicular to the first rotational axis, and these rotations result in a geometrical reconfiguration of the inner arm link assembly. The inner arm link assembly also includes a connecting shaft mounted at the outer ends of the first and second inner links by means of a joint with at least one degree of freedom. The inner arm link assembly is connected to the outer arm link assembly via the connecting shaft. The outer arm link assembly is pivotally arranged to rotate about a second rotational axis parallel or aligned with the connecting shaft and connected to the tool. The inner and outer arm link assemblies thus form a first kinematic chain from the first actuator to the tool, which provides a first degree of freedom for positioning the tool. The robotic arm also includes a second actuator configured to rotate the outer arm linkage assembly about a second rotational axis, thereby forming a second kinematic chain from the second actuator to the tool, which provides a second degree of freedom for positioning the tool. The robotic arm also includes a third actuator configured to move the outer arm linkage assembly by actuating a geometrically reconfigurable inner arm linkage assembly, causing movement of the second rotational axis. The outer arm linkage assembly is arranged to rotate about the second rotational axis, thereby forming a third kinematic chain from the third actuator to the tool. This provides a third degree of freedom for positioning the tool. The robotic arm also includes one or more transmission mechanisms arranged in combination with the outer arm linkage assembly to achieve controlled orientation of the tool.

[0013] The robotic arm provides three degrees of freedom for controlling the orientation of tools in a compact manner. This makes the robotic arm suitable for applications in confined spaces where the tool needs to have a constant orientation or rotate with one or more degrees of freedom, without any heavy and bulky wrists that include actuator devices.

[0014] According to some embodiments, the first and second inner links of the inner arm linkage are portions of a first kinematic parallelogram. This parallelogram is defined by the intersection of the rotation axes of the outer and inner ends of the inner links, ensuring that when the first outer link is mounted to rotate about an axis parallel or aligned with the rotation axis of the line defined between the intersection of the rotation axes of the two inner links, the first outer link will always move the tool without rotating about its vertical axis and without tilting about an axis parallel to a horizontal axis perpendicular to the rotation axis of the first outer link. This well-defined kinematic requirement allows, for example, the picking and placing of objects on a plane without changing the object's orientation, and the picking of suspended objects along a conveyor, always from the same direction.

[0015] According to some embodiments, the first motion parallelogram is configured to rotate about a first axis of rotation. In this way, the tool can be moved vertically with a constant tool orientation and a constant pick-up direction for the suspended object.

[0016] According to some embodiments, the outer arm linkage is configured to rotate with one degree of freedom in a second plane perpendicular to the first plane of the first motion parallelogram. This is required to ensure that the tool remains perpendicular to the plane, which is parallel to the axis of rotation of the parallelogram. In application, this plane is defined as the plane where the object to be picked up and / or placed lies. This is also required when the operation must be performed in a vertical direction for picking up and / or placing suspended objects.

[0017] According to some embodiments, the second kinematic chain includes a lever mechanism and at least one link, wherein the at least one link connects the lever mechanism to the outer arm linkage assembly, and wherein a second actuator is configured to rotate the outer arm linkage assembly by actuating the lever mechanism. In this way, an efficient and lightweight concept for moving the tool horizontally relative to the base is obtained.

[0018] According to some embodiments, one of one or more transmission mechanisms is arranged to rotate the tool about a first axis of rotation of the tool. This allows for a constant tool tilt angle, or tilting and / or rotating of the tool, without the use of any bulky and heavy actuators. These actuators are typically electrically driven and require cables, which can break and have serious consequences. Electrical systems are also hazardous in environments such as explosive atmospheres.

[0019] According to some embodiments, one of the transmission mechanisms is arranged to rotate the tool about a second axis of rotation that is not parallel to the tool's first axis of rotation. This allows for the picking up of an object at one orientation angle and with one tilt angle, and then the placement of the object at another or the same orientation angle and with another or the same tilt angle. This is a desirable characteristic, for example, for picking up and placing, tilting, and suspending objects on a flat conveyor. This can also be used in machining processes employing symmetrical tools, such as gluing, painting, and cutting.

[0020] According to some embodiments, one of the transmission mechanisms includes a bearing whose axis of rotation is parallel to or coincides with a second axis of rotation. This is a good way to mount the transmission mechanism regarding the tool's working range for orientation and tilting. The bearing could also be placed on the outer portion of one of the inner links, but this would make the kinematics of the transmission mechanism less efficient.

[0021] According to some embodiments, one or more transmission mechanisms include one or more levers configured to convert rotation into translation or translation into rotation. Therefore, the robot can become more compact while still achieving the desired orientation.

[0022] According to some embodiments, one or more transmission mechanisms include one or more links. This type of transmission is easy to implement and is useful in applications where infinite rotation is not required.

[0023] According to some embodiments, the inner links of one or more linkages have the same length of motion between their rotational axes as the first inner link between its rotational axes. In this way, an optimal transmission mechanism is obtained with respect to the range of tool orientation and / or tilt. A constant tool tilt angle can also be obtained in one design without any fourth actuator.

[0024] According to some embodiments, the outer link and outer arm link assembly of one or more links is part of the second motion parallelogram. In this way, an optimal transmission mechanism is obtained with respect to the range of tool orientation and / or tilt.

[0025] According to some embodiments, the inner links of one or more linkages are mounted to the base via joints. By satisfying the two requirements described above, a constant tilt angle can be obtained throughout the workspace without the need for any fourth actuator.

[0026] According to some embodiments, the robotic arm includes one or more actuators, each configured to control the rotation axis of a tool via one or more transmission mechanisms. The one or more transmission mechanisms include one or more of a linkage drive, a backhoe transmission, a gear drive, a belt drive, a rotary shaft drive, and a universal joint drive, which connects one or more actuators to the tool. Therefore, controlled rotation of the tool can be achieved in a variety of different ways. When a constant tilt angle with a constant tool orientation, as obtained above, is insufficient, actuators are needed on the robotic arm base or inner arm to control the tool's orientation and / or tilt angle via one or more transmission mechanisms.

[0027] According to some embodiments, the backhoe drive is configured to increase the rotational movement of one of one or more additional actuators by a corresponding increase in the rotation of the tool's axis of rotation. This is an effective method for obtaining a greater working range for the tool's orientation and tilting. Regarding tilting, suspended objects can be easily picked up and placed throughout the workspace. If a linkage drive without a backhoe is used, the tool can only be used for picking up and placing tilted objects. The backhoe also allows the tool to rotate (at least) one revolution, which is important in many applications.

[0028] According to some embodiments, the gear drive includes two or more gears of different sizes arranged to transmit rotational movement of one of one or more additional actuators as a corresponding rotation of the tool's axis of rotation. This is another method for obtaining a greater working range for tool orientation and tilting. One advantage compared to backhoes is that the gears can be made lightweight and compact, for example, from plastic. One disadvantage is that if lightweight plastic gears are used, their expected lifespan is lower.

[0029] According to some embodiments, one or more transmission mechanisms include one or more belt drives. In this way, unlimited rotation of the tool can be achieved, which reduces the cycle time for randomly oriented objects to be picked up and placed in a specific orientation. Therefore, the most efficient control is to move the tool from the current orientation angle to the next orientation angle with the shortest possible change in orientation angle.

[0030] According to some embodiments, one of one or more belt drives is arranged to rotate the tool about a first axis of rotation without any limitation on the rotation angle. As mentioned above, the most important use of belt drives is to rotate the tool in such a way that objects can be picked up and placed in different orientations, and always move from the current orientation angle to the next orientation angle with the shortest possible change in orientation angle.

[0031] According to some embodiments, one or more belt drives are arranged to rotate the tool about a second axis of rotation that is not parallel to the tool's first axis of rotation. This means, for example, that the tool can effectively pick up and / or place objects placed in different orientations on inclined or vertical planes. It also allows for machining with symmetrical tools of complex geometry without the need for stops to rewind the tool.

[0032] According to some embodiments, at least one belt drive is connected in series with at least one universal joint.

[0033] According to some embodiments, at least one of the transmission mechanisms has an inner link or inner drive mechanism parallel to a first inner link and a second inner link, and at least one of the transmission mechanisms has an outer link or outer drive mechanism parallel to the outer arm of the outer arm linkage assembly. This achieves an optimal kinematic design for the transmission mechanism. This means that the transmission mechanism will minimize the workspace required for the robot arm.

[0034] According to some embodiments, one or more transmission mechanisms include a fourth transmission mechanism and a fifth transmission mechanism, each transmission mechanism being configured to control a different rotation axis of the tool.

[0035] According to some embodiments, at least one of the first and second inner links is configured to rotate about an axis fixed to the base and aligned with a first axis of rotation. This is a prerequisite for obtaining the target kinematic properties required for the robotic arm.

[0036] In some embodiments, the second axis of rotation is parallel to the first axis of rotation. This is also a kinematic requirement for the target characteristics of the robotic arm.

[0037] According to some embodiments, one or more transmission mechanisms include one or more universal joints, and one or more universal joints are mounted such that the center of each universal joint lies on an axis defined by the centerline of the shaft or the axis of rotation of the bearing. In this way, unlimited rotation can be transmitted to a link or transmission mechanism rotating about the centerline of the shaft or the axis of rotation of the bearing. This results in the effective transmission of actuator rotation as tilting and / or rotation of the tool, even during large rotations of the inner and outer arm linkages.

[0038] According to some embodiments, one or more transmission mechanisms include a tilting mechanism comprising: a tilting lever; a tilting beam having a first beam bearing at one end and a second beam bearing at the other end; a first beam shaft mounted in the first beam bearing and a second beam shaft mounted in the second beam bearing, wherein the first beam shaft is mounted on a first outer link of the outer arm linkage assembly, and the second beam shaft is connected to the tool; and a link connected between the first and second beam shafts via bearings at each end of the link, wherein the tilting mechanism is configured to transmit tilting movement of the tilting lever into a correspondingly increased tilting movement of the tool. This allows for a large tool tilt angle to be achieved throughout the robot's workspace, meaning that a large tool tilt angle can be achieved even with large rotations of the inner and outer arm linkage assemblies.

[0039] According to some embodiments, one or more transmission mechanisms include a shaft mechanism comprising a first shaft portion and a second shaft portion, and a tube configured to rotate. The first and second shaft portions are connected by a bearing whose rotation center coincides with the centerline of the two shaft portions, and the shaft portions and bearings are mounted to slide within the tube, wherein one of the shaft portions is arranged to follow the rotation of the tube. This allows rotation and translation to be transmitted in a single linkage, resulting in a compact design of the transmission mechanism. This transmission device can be used to drive the rotation and tilting of a tool, thereby achieving a compact connection with the tool.

[0040] According to some embodiments, one or more transmission mechanisms include a rotating shaft mounted above or below one of a first inner link and a second inner link, wherein the rotating shaft is configured to rotate at least one universal joint. In this way, the universal joint can be installed such that its center is located at the intersection between the two axes, without requiring a universal joint for each axis. Therefore, this provides a simpler and more compact transmission when traversing two axes defined by the centerline of the shaft or the axis of rotation of the bearing. Brief description of the attached diagram

[0042] Figure 1 The illustration shows a robotic arm according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0043] Figure 2 The illustration shows a robotic arm according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0044] Figure 3 The illustration shows a robotic arm according to a third embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0045] Figure 4 The illustration shows a robotic arm according to a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0046] Figure 5A The illustration shows a robotic arm according to a fifth embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0047] Figure 5B The diagram shows... Figure 5A The image shows an alternative robotic arm to the robotic arm shown in the figure.

[0048] Figure 6 A belt drive mechanism according to some embodiments is illustrated separately.

[0049] Figure 7 The illustration shows a robotic arm according to a sixth embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0050] Figure 8 The illustration shows a robotic arm according to a seventh embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0051] Figure 9A The illustration shows a robotic arm according to an eighth embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0052] Figure 9B The diagram illustrates an alternative installation for the tool.

[0053] Figure 10 The illustration shows a robotic arm according to a ninth embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0054] Figure 11 Another belt drive mechanism according to some embodiments is shown separately.

[0055] Figure 12 Another belt drive mechanism according to some embodiments is shown separately.

[0056] Figure 13 The illustration shows a double universal joint according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0057] Figure 14 The illustration shows a robotic arm according to a tenth embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0058] Figure 15 The illustration shows a robotic arm according to the eleventh embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0059] Figure 16 The illustration shows an alternative configuration of the actuation sequence of the joint axis of one of the actuated joints in a robotic arm.

[0060] Figure 17A The illustration shows another alternative, in which a belt drive has been replaced by a shaft drive.

[0061] Figure 17B The illustration shows another alternative, in which the belt drive has been replaced by a shaft drive.

[0062] Figure 17C The diagram shows... Figure 17A Another alternative.

[0063] Figure 18 The diagram shows... Figure 16 Alternative designs for the embodiments described in the example.

[0064] Figure 19 The diagram illustrates how the second inner link is actuated about the third rotational axis. Figure 18 Alternative designs for the embodiments described above.

[0065] Figure 20 The illustration shows a robotic arm according to the twelfth embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0066] Figure 21The illustration shows a robotic arm according to the thirteenth embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0067] Figure 22 The diagram shows... Figure 19 Alternative designs for the embodiments described in the example.

[0068] Figure 23A The illustration shows a robotic arm according to the fourteenth embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0069] Figure 23B The diagram shows... Figure 23A Kinematics of a tilting mechanism used for tool rotation.

[0070] Figure 24 The illustration shows a portion of a robotic arm according to a fifteenth embodiment of the present disclosure, including... Figure 23B A similar tilting mechanism.

[0071] Figure 25A The illustration shows a robotic arm according to a sixteenth embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0072] Figure 25B A compact gear according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is schematically illustrated.

[0073] Figure 25C The illustration shows a tilting mechanism according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0074] Figure 26 The illustration shows a robotic arm according to the seventeenth embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0075] Figure 27 The illustration shows a robotic arm according to the eighteenth embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0076] Figure 28 The illustration shows a robotic arm according to the nineteenth embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0077] Figure 29 A portion of a robotic arm according to the twentieth embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0078] Figure 30 A portion of a robotic arm according to a twenty-first embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0079] Figure 31 The illustration shows a robotic arm according to the twenty-second embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0080] Figure 32 The illustration shows a robotic arm according to the twenty-third embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0081] Detailed description

[0082] In the following disclosure, a robotic arm is described that enables three degrees of freedom (DOF) and controlled rotation of a tool in a lightweight and compact manner. The robotic arm includes three kinematic chains establishing three axes, and one or more transmission mechanisms that effectively control the orientation of the tool, wherein each kinematic chain effectively positions the tool. The robotic arm includes an inner arm linkage assembly that, when actuated, changes its configuration to provide one of the three degrees of freedom. This inner arm linkage assembly is also part of one of the other kinematic chains used for positioning the tool. This means that one axis of the robotic arm is achieved by reconfiguring another axis of the robotic arm, which will be explained further below. The reconfigurable inner arm linkage assembly allows the robotic arm to have a compact shape while still allowing for a large workspace. Furthermore, this arrangement allows the actuators to be positioned at the base rather than distributed within the robotic arm.

[0083] The actuator disclosed herein is, for example, a motor configured to rotate an output shaft on a rotation axis. The actuator may include one or more gears and an electric motor. The motor is then typically mounted next to the gears, driving one or more gears via a gear drive or belt drive, and thus only the output shaft of the gears needs to limit the rotation angle of the actuator.

[0084] Tools are, for example, grippers (such as mechanical claws, controlled vacuum cups, electromagnetic units) or other tools such as glue guns, laser guns, deburring tools, waterjet cutting nozzles. A tool may also be referred to as an end effector.

[0085] The inner arm linkage consists of multiple links connected to joints, allowing its configuration to be reconfigured without loss of stability. The joint at the inner end of the inner link can have two degrees of freedom. The joint at the outer end of the inner link can have one or two degrees of freedom.

[0086] The outer arm linkage assembly includes an outer link connected to the inner arm linkage assembly. The outer arm linkage assembly follows the movement of the inner arm linkage assembly.

[0087] In this document, a transmission mechanism is defined as a mechanical system capable of transmitting movement from an actuator or fixed orientation from a base to a tool. A transmission mechanism may include one or more of a linkage drive, a backhoe drive, a gear drive, a belt drive, and a rotary shaft drive.

[0088] A linkage consists of one or more links connected to a joint. A linkage may also be called a kinematic chain.

[0089] A backhoe drive system comprises multiple links connected by joints. These links are connected in such a way that they increase the rotational movement of the actuator to which they are attached as a corresponding increase in the rotation of the tool's axis of rotation. The backhoe drive system may be referred to as a backhoe mechanism.

[0090] A gear transmission device comprises two or more gears of different sizes, which are arranged to transmit the rotational movement of the actuator as a corresponding rotation of the tool's axis of rotation.

[0091] A belt drive comprises one or more belts, each arranged around a pulley mounted on a rotating shaft, to transmit the rotational movement of an actuator as a corresponding rotation of the tool's axis of rotation. Each belt is made of a flexible material or a chain. A belt drive may be referred to as a belt drive mechanism.

[0092] A rotating shaft drive is a shaft that transmits rotation from one end to the other. The shaft is mounted via at least one bearing, the axis of rotation of which is aligned with the central axis of the shaft.

[0093] In this paper, a link is defined as a mechanical part of a linkage assembly that connects adjacent parts via joints. The link itself can be elastic, or it can be designed to have variable stiffness, or it can be designed to have both elastic and rigid modes depending on the chosen operating mode, or in mechanism design based on kinematic chain analysis, it can be considered a rigid body. For the sake of simplicity in the following description, links are assumed to be rigid bodies.

[0094] In this paper, a joint is defined as being designed to connect a link to another link or structure such that movement in at least one degree of freedom is permitted.

[0095] In this paper, the moving parallelogram is defined by four lines between four points in a plane, where these lines form a closed structure and opposite lines are of equal length. In an embodiment of the parallelogram of the invention, the points are defined by the intersection of rotational axes formed by bearings.

[0096] An agile robotic arm is a robotic arm capable of moving quickly and lightly. It features a motion structure arranged to facilitate minimal inertia through the use of lightweight materials for the linkage assembly, which can be actuated by actuators (motors) positioned close to the robot's base.

[0097] A parallel motion manipulator (PKM) is defined as a mechanical structure that uses a series of parallel motion links forming a motion loop to manipulate an object. In this disclosure, the robotic arm includes motion loops of two to five. However, strictly speaking, it is not a parallel motion manipulator (PKM) but a hybrid motion manipulator, also defined as a parallel-series manipulator. The academic definition of a parallel motion manipulator requires that the series of parallel links forming the motion loop directly connects the actuator to the platform being manipulated.

[0098] The same labels are used for the same features in all figures and will not be repeated where they have already been mentioned.

[0099] It will also be understood that although the terms first, second, etc., are used herein to describe the various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are merely used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element may be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second element may be referred to as a first element, without departing from the scope of this disclosure.

[0100] To clarify the following description, we refer to the arrangement of the tool relative to the robot base or frame in the Xw, Yw, and Zw directions, and the arrangement for tool orientation in one (1) or several degrees of freedom. Tool orientation includes tool rotation (e.g., rotation about the tool connection axis), or tool tilting about an axis not parallel to (e.g., perpendicular to) the tool connection axis, or both for the five degrees of freedom. As will be apparent from the following description, different drives for tool orientation can be combined such that all actuators remain fixed to the robot support. Thus, more than five degrees of freedom are possible, but for simplicity, they are not explained in detail.

[0101] Figure 1 A robotic arm 500 according to a first embodiment is shown. This robotic arm 500 is designed to move a tool 44 parallel to the XwYw plane of the world coordinate system 55, and to move the tool 44 perpendicular to the XwYw plane with a constant rotation angle. This is an important feature in material handling and pick-and-place operations.

[0102] The robotic arm 500 includes inner arm linkages 15, 18, and 29, an outer arm linkage, a first actuator 1, a second actuator 2, and a third actuator 3. Therefore, the robotic arm 500 is configured to be actuated by the first actuator 1, the second actuator 2, and the third actuator 3. The first actuator 1 is mounted on a fixed base 13, which serves as the fixed frame of the robotic arm 500. The first actuator 1 has an output shaft 4 arranged to rotate about a first rotation axis 180. Because the first actuator 1 is fixed to the base, this means that the first rotation axis 180 is also fixed relative to the base 13.

[0103] The inner arm linkage assembly includes a first inner link 15, a second inner link 18, and a first connecting shaft 29. The first inner link 15 includes an inner end and an outer end. The first inner link 15 is connected at its inner end to the output shaft 6 of a third actuator 3, which is mounted to the output shaft 4 of the first actuator 1 via a bracket 87. Therefore, the output shaft 4 is connected to the first inner link 15. The first inner link 15 is arranged to rotate about a fourth rotation axis 185 of the third actuator 3. The fourth rotation axis 185 is perpendicular to the first rotation axis 180. At its outer end, the first inner link 15 is connected to the first connecting shaft 29 via a joint 28 having at least one degree of freedom. The second inner link 18 includes an inner end and an outer end. The second inner link 18 is connected at its inner end to a joint 14. The joint 14 is connected here to the base 13 via attachment mechanisms 24a and 24b. The attachment mechanisms 24a and 24b include a first connector 24a and a shaft 24b. The second inner link 18 is mounted on the shaft 24b via a joint 14. The joint 14 includes a bracket and three bearings. Two of the bearings share a common third axis of rotation 182 and are mounted on a third bearing whose axis of rotation coincides with the axis of rotation 180. Therefore, the center of the shaft 24b on which the third bearing of the joint 14 is mounted will also coincide with the axis of rotation 180. The shaft 24b is mounted on the base 13 via a first connector 24a.

[0104] The second inner link 18 is arranged to rotate about a third rotation axis 182 of the joint 14, the third rotation axis 182 being perpendicular to the first rotation axis 180. At its outer end, the second inner link 18 is connected to the first connecting shaft 29 via a joint 27 having at least one degree of freedom. Thus, the first connecting shaft 29 is mounted to the first and second inner links by means of joints 27 and 28.

[0105] The inner arm linkage is connected to the outer arm linkage via a first connecting shaft 29. As explained, the first connecting shaft 29 is mounted between the first inner link 15 and the second inner link 18 by means of two joints 28 and 27. Each of these joints 28, 27 has a bracket with two bearings, thus forming a pair of bearings, which are respectively mounted on the first inner link 15 and the second inner link 18. The bearing pair of these joints have common axes 188 and 187, respectively, perpendicular to the main extensions of the inner links 18, 15. A second axis of rotation 181 is defined by the center of the first connecting shaft 29 and is intended to intersect with the axes of rotation 188 and 187. The second axis of rotation 181 is parallel to the first axis of rotation 180. Axis 188 is referred to as the fifth axis of rotation, and axis 187 is referred to as the sixth axis of rotation.

[0106] The outer arm linkage assembly of this invention includes a first outer link 23. The first outer link 23 is connected at one end to a first connecting shaft 29 via a first connecting bearing 31, and at the other end to a tool 44 via a tool connecting lever 41 and a tool mounting beam 43. The tool mounting beam 43 may also be referred to as the orientation axis of the tool 44. The outer arm linkage assembly is pivotally arranged to rotate about a second rotation axis 181 aligned with the first connecting shaft 29.

[0107] The inner arm linkage and the outer arm linkage connected to the first connecting shaft 29 form a first kinematic chain from the first actuator 1 to the tool 44, which provides a first degree of freedom for positioning the tool 44.

[0108] When the first actuator 1 rotates the output shaft 4, the first inner link 15 will rotate up and down accordingly about the central axis of the output shaft 4, and therefore about the first rotation axis 180. This movement results in movement in the Zw direction. The rotation of the first inner link 15 will cause a corresponding rotation of the second inner link 18, since they are connected via the first connecting shaft 29. Therefore, the first actuator 1 is configured to rotate the inner arm link assembly about the first rotation axis 180. Thus, the first inner link 15 and the second inner link 18 are configured to rotate about the rotation axis 180, which is fixed relative to the base 13.

[0109] The second actuator 2 of the robotic arm 500 is configured to rotate the outer arm linkage assembly about a second rotation axis 181, thereby forming a second kinematic chain from the second actuator 2 to the tool 44. This provides a second degree of freedom for positioning the tool 44. The second kinematic chain includes a lever mechanism and a link 20. The link 20 connects the lever mechanism and the outer arm linkage assembly. The link 20 connects the lever mechanism to the outer arm linkage assembly. The second actuator 2 is configured to rotate the outer arm linkage assembly by actuating the lever mechanism. More specifically, the second actuator 2 includes an output shaft 5. The second actuator 2 is fixed to a base 13. The output shaft 5 is connected to an inner lever 19, which in turn is connected to one end of the link 20 via a joint 21. The link 20 is connected at its other end to a first outer link 23 of the outer arm linkage assembly. When the second actuator 2 rotates the output shaft 5, the outer arm linkage assembly will oscillate about a second rotation axis 181 about a first connecting bearing 31 mounted on the upper end of the first outer link 23. Therefore, the leverage mechanism includes at least an internal lever 19. Figure 1 In this case, the center of shaft 5 is installed to coincide with the axis of rotation 180°, which is an advantage but not a necessity.

[0110] The third actuator 3 is configured to rotate its output shaft 6 about a fourth rotation axis 185 (here, a vertical axis). Here, the fourth rotation axis 185 intersects the first rotation axis 180, and these rotation axes 180 and 185 are perpendicular to each other. The output shaft 6 is mounted to the first inner link 15, and when the output shaft 6 rotates about the fourth rotation axis 185, the first inner link 15 also rotates about the fourth rotation axis 185. Because the first inner link 15 and the second inner link 18 are connected, rotation of the first inner link 15 also causes rotation of the second inner link about a third rotation axis 182. The resulting rotation of the first inner link 15 about the fourth rotation axis 185 and the second inner link 18 about the third rotation axis 182 leads to a geometrical reconfiguration of the inner arm linkage assembly. It also results in movement in the Yw direction. Therefore, the first inner arm 15 and the second inner arm 18 are actuated to rotate simultaneously about a common geometrical rotation axis, thereby rotating about the first rotation axis 180. Inner arms 15 and 18 can be simultaneously actuated to rotate at their inner ends about their respective geometric axes of rotation 182 and 185. These respective geometric axes of rotation 182 and 185 are parallel to each other and perpendicular to the first axis of rotation 180. Therefore, the first inner link 15 is arranged to rotate at its inner end about a fourth axis of rotation 185. The second inner link 18 is arranged to rotate at its inner end about a different third axis of rotation 182. This rotation results in a geometrical reconfiguration of the inner arm link assembly. In this embodiment, the first inner link 15 and the second inner link 18 are portions of a first kinematic parallelogram 183. This first kinematic parallelogram 183 is defined by the intersection of the axes of rotation of the outer and inner ends of the mounting members of the inner links 15 and 18. The outer linkage assembly 23 is mounted to rotate about an axis parallel to or aligned with the axis of rotation of a line defined between the intersections of the rotation axes at the outer ends of the two inner linkages 15, 18. Thus, the outer linkage assembly 23 will always move the tool 44 without rotating about its vertical axis and without tilting about an axis parallel to a horizontal axis perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the outer linkage assembly 23. In this embodiment, the first inner linkage 15 and the second inner linkage 18 are parallel. They remain parallel during geometric reconstruction. Therefore, parallel movement in the Yw direction is achieved by means of a first parallelogram 183 connected to at least the first actuator 1 and the third actuator 3. Furthermore, the first plane formed by the first parallelogram 183 is actuated to rotate about the axis of the first actuator 1, thereby rotating about the first axis of rotation 180. In other words, the motion parallelogram 183 is configured to rotate about the first axis of rotation 180. Furthermore, the third actuator 3 is arranged to cause the first inner link 15 and the second inner link 18 to swing within the first plane of the first parallelogram 183, thereby changing the shape of the parallelogram.When the inner arm linkage moves in the Yw direction, the outer arm linkage and the first connecting shaft 29 will move accordingly because the inner arm linkage is connected to the outer arm linkage via the first connecting shaft 29. The third actuator 3 is therefore configured to move the outer arm linkage by actuating the geometrically reconfigurable inner arm linkage, thereby causing a movement of the second rotation axis 181 (about which the outer arm linkage is arranged to rotate), thus forming a third kinematic chain from the third actuator 3 to the tool. This third kinematic chain provides a third degree of freedom for positioning the tool 44.

[0111] The robotic arm 500 also includes a transmission mechanism arranged in combination with the inner arm linkage and the outer arm linkage to achieve controlled orientation of the tool 44. It should be understood that the robotic arm 500 may include more transmission mechanisms than illustrated. The illustrated transmission mechanism includes a kinematic chain or linkage connecting the base 13 and the tool 44. More specifically, a third connector 25a is connected to a first connector 24a. A fourth connector 25b is connected to the third connector 25a. A joint 32 is mounted on the fourth connector 25b. Alternatively, the third connector 25a may be directly mounted to the base 13. At one end, the joint 32 is mounted to an inner link 33. At the other end, the inner link 33 is mounted to a joint 34. The joint 34 is connected to a first lever 35, which includes a first lever link 35a and a second lever link 35b. The first lever link 35a and the second lever link 35b are mounted at 90 degrees relative to each other. A second connecting bearing 36 is mounted on a first connecting shaft 29. The first lever link 35a and the second lever 37 are mounted on the second connecting bearing 36 at a 90-degree angle to each other. The second lever 37 is connected to the link 39 via the bearing 38. The link 39 is connected to one end of the tool connecting lever 41 via the bearing 42. The tool connecting lever 41 is connected to the first outer link 23 at its other end via the bearing 40. The rotation axes of bearings 31, 36, 38, 40, and 42 are parallel to each other and parallel to the second rotation axis 181. Joints 32 and 34 are depicted as ball joints, but alternatively, rod ends, universal joints, or cardan joints can be used. The tool 44 is mounted on a vertical tool mounting beam 43, which is mounted on the tool connecting link 41.

[0112] To achieve parallel motion also in the second direction, i.e., the Xw coordinate direction, a second motion parallelogram 184 is used, comprising a first outer link 23 and a second outer link 39. Therefore, the outer link 39 and the outer arm link assembly are part of the second motion parallelogram 184. Figure 1In this configuration, the plane of the second motion parallelogram 184 is always at a 90-degree angle relative to the plane of the first parallelogram 183. The configuration of the second parallelogram 184 is controlled by the second actuator 2. Therefore, the second parallelogram is reconfigurable. The second parallelogram 184 includes a second lever 37, a first outer link 23, a second outer link 39, and a tool connecting link 41. The angle of the second lever 37 is controlled by the first lever 35 and the inner link 33, which is connected to the base 13 via a joint 32 and connectors 25a, 25b, and 24a. To obtain a constant tilt angle for the tool 44, the travel lengths of the inner link 33 and the first inner link 15 between their respective axes of rotation are the same. The second motion parallelogram 184 defines a second plane. The second plane is perpendicular to the first plane. Therefore, the outer arm linkage assembly is configured to rotate with one degree of freedom in the second plane, which is perpendicular to the first plane of the first motion parallelogram 183.

[0113] pass Figure 1 The design of the robotic arm 500 in the article achieves the following functions:

[0114] - The first actuator 1 will use the tool mounting beam 43 to move the tool 44 up and down (mainly in the Zw direction), wherein the central axis 186 of the tool mounting beam 43 is always perpendicular to the horizontal XwYw plane.

[0115] - The second actuator 2 will use the tool mounting beam 43 to move the tool 44 in and out (mainly in the Xw direction), wherein the central axis 186 of the tool mounting beam 43 is always perpendicular to the horizontal XwYw plane.

[0116] - The third actuator 3 will use the tool mounting beam 43 to move the tool 44 laterally (mainly in the Yw direction), wherein the central axis 186 of the tool mounting beam 43 is always perpendicular to the horizontal XwYw plane.

[0117] - In all motion, tool 44 will never rotate around axis 186.

[0118] The following kinematic requirements are conducive to achieving the functions listed above:

[0119] - The second rotation axis 181 is parallel to the first rotation axis 180.

[0120] - The first rotation axis 180 is the rotation center of both the first inner link 15 and the second inner link 18.

[0121] - The third rotation axis 182 is parallel to the fourth rotation axis 185.

[0122] - The fifth rotation axis 188 is parallel to the sixth rotation axis 187.

[0123] - The distance between the intersection of axis 180 and axis 182 and the intersection of the first rotation axis 180 and the fourth rotation axis 185 is equal to the distance between the intersection of the second rotation axis 181 and the fifth rotation axis 188 and the intersection of the second rotation axis 181 and the sixth rotation axis 187.

[0124] - The right-angle distance between the rotation center of the first connecting bearing 31 and the rotation center of the bearing 40 is equal to the right-angle distance between the rotation center of the bearing 38 and the rotation center of the bearing 42.

[0125] - The right-angle distance between the rotation center of the first connecting bearing 31 and the rotation center of the bearing 38 is equal to the right-angle distance between the rotation center of the bearing 40 and the rotation center of the bearing 42.

[0126] - All rotation centers of bearings 31, 38, 40 and 42 are parallel.

[0127] - The rotation axis of the first connecting bearing 31 coincides with the rotation axis of the second connecting bearing 36, but the second connecting bearing 36 can be directly mounted on either arm 15 or arm 18 (see...). Figure 3 ), or mounted on the extensions of these arms.

[0128] - The distance between the centers of joints 32 and 34 is the same as the distance between the intersection of the first rotation axis 180 and the third rotation axis 182 and the intersection of the second rotation axis 181 and the fifth rotation axis 188.

[0129] Compared to WO2019138025, the robotic arm 500 of this disclosure requires no parallelograms in the extraarm system to achieve parallel movement of the tool 44 in one direction, and only requires one parallelogram 184 in the extraarm system to achieve parallel movement of the tool 44 in another direction. The linkage arrangement in WO2019138025 is used in the extraarm system to realize a transmission configured to rotate and tilt the tool. These arrangements require space, in the same manner as the third parallelogram, to achieve parallel movement of the tool in the second direction.

[0130] Therefore, even in simple pick-and-place operations on a horizontal surface, the robot concept according to WO2014187486 requires a two-degree-of-freedom wrist. However, this wrist adds considerable weight, and the robot will not have a lightweight arm system like the Delta robot. Furthermore, wiring will be required to transmit power and control the actuators of the wrist. The robotic arm 500 disclosed herein does not have these drawbacks.

[0131] This solution is impossible in the structure of WO2014187486 because the end effector would lose a constraint and cannot be controlled by the increased degree of freedom between the first arm and the first link. In WO2014187486... Figure 4 The structure has a non-slender form and requires a large space for the arm system, but it can have joints that can have three degrees of freedom between the first arm and the first rod. However, it is impossible to achieve the result of WO2014187486. Figure 4 The proposed solution results in a slender and compact robot structure because, in this case, vertical motion can only be performed via a separate kinematic chain directly connected to the end effector platform (as in the case of a delta robot), thus requiring a significant amount of space for the arm structure. The robot structure according to WO2014187486 can only control three degrees of freedom using actuators fixed to the support.

[0132] It should also be mentioned that the workspace of the robot structure in WO2015188843 is much smaller than the workspace of the different variants of the robot arm in this paper.

[0133] Below, will refer to Figures 2-22 Several different embodiments of the robotic arm are described. Similar to the first embodiment, all these embodiments include a first kinematic chain, a second kinematic chain, and a third kinematic chain. These kinematic chains will not be described in detail again, except where they differ from the first embodiment, or for ease of understanding. The embodiments described below also include one or two drive mechanisms.

[0134] Figure 2 A robotic arm 500 according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated. This embodiment has substantially the same components as the first embodiment. However, the transmission mechanism here includes links 33 and 39, actuated by means of a fourth actuator 46. In contrast, the transmission mechanism in the first embodiment is fixed to a base. More specifically, the robotic arm 500 according to this second embodiment includes an option to control the tilt angle of a tool 44 about a rotation axis parallel to the Yw axis of the world coordinate system 55. This rotation axis can be considered as a first rotation axis of the tool 44. Therefore, the joint 32 of the inner link 33 is now mounted on an actuated third lever 47, which is configured to rotate about the rotation center of the fourth actuator 46. The third lever 47 is mounted on the output shaft 45 of the fourth actuator 46. Figure 2 In this configuration, the output shaft 45 is mounted such that its axis of rotation coincides with the first axis of rotation 180. Alternatively, the axis of rotation of the fourth actuator 46 may not coincide with the first axis of rotation 180. Figure 2The function obtained is that when the fourth actuator 46 rotates the output shaft 45, the third lever 47 will oscillate about the rotation axis of the output shaft 45, and the inner link 33 and the second outer link 39, connected by the first lever 35 (first lever link 35a, second lever link 35b) and the second lever 37, will cause the tool connecting lever 41 to rotate about the bearing 40, thereby tilting the beam 43 and the tool 44. Therefore, the fourth actuator 46 causes the tool 44 to rotate about the tool's second rotation axis 510. The rotation axis 510 is defined by the bearing 40. Figure 1 Compared to the first embodiment, the new components are the fourth actuator 46, the output shaft 45, and the third actuation lever 47. The remaining components are the same as... Figure 1 The description is the same. However, the kinematic requirements for the first outer link 23, inner link 33, second lever 37, second outer link 39, tool connecting lever 41, and first lever 35 no longer need to ensure that the tool is always perpendicular to the horizontal plane. For example, the first outer link 23 and the second outer link 39 no longer need to be parallel, and the movement length of the inner link 33 does not need to be equal to the movement length of the second inner link 18. The only requirement that still needs to be met for these components is that all rotation centers of bearings 31, 38, 40, and 42 are parallel. The transmission devices 33-39 include a second connecting bearing 36 whose rotation axis coincides with the second rotation axis 181.

[0135] Figure 2 The possibility of implementing a transmission mechanism between the second actuator 2 and the first outer link 23 above parallelogram 183 is also illustrated by dashed lines. In this configuration, shaft 5 is connected to link 20u via lever 19u and joint 21u. Link 20u is then connected to the first outer link 23 via joint 22u and fourth lever 360.

[0136] In applications where picking up is tilting or suspending a part and placing is lowering the part, for picking up and tilting parts, the tilt range of tool 44 should be at least + / - 45 degrees, or for picking up and suspending parts, the tilt range of tool 44 should be at least + / - 90 degrees. Figure 2 In the design, tool tilting + / - 45 degrees will be possible within most of the workspace of the 500-degree robotic arm. However, if tool tilting of + / - 90 degrees or even greater is required throughout the entire workspace, then... Figure 3 The backhoe mechanism and / or gear mechanism in the process.

[0137] Figure 3The figure illustrates a robotic arm 500 according to a third embodiment. Viewed from the first connecting bearing 31, an additional transmission mechanism is arranged here on the opposite side of the robotic arm 500. More specifically, the robotic arm 500 includes an additional transmission mechanism arranged to rotate the tool 44 about a second rotation axis 700 of the tool 44. Therefore, a fourth actuator 46 rotates the tool 44 about the second rotation axis 700. All rotation axes of the tool that are horizontal to the rotation axis 700 of the tool 44 can be referred to as the second rotation axis of the tool 44. Therefore, the second rotation axis will cause the tool to tilt in the direction given by the direction of the second rotation axis. The first rotation axis of the tool is defined by line 186 in the figure. Figure 7 The diagram illustrates how the tool can be actuated to rotate about the axis of rotation. Here, the backhoe drive is positioned between the actuated third lever 47 and the first lever 35. The backhoe drive can be configured in different ways to achieve a larger rotation angle of the first lever 35 than the rotation angle of the third lever 47 when the output shaft 45, driven by the fourth actuator 46, actuates the third lever 47. Figure 3In this configuration, a first backhoe link 56 is mounted between an actuated third lever 47 and an intermediate fifth lever 50. The intermediate fifth lever 50 is mounted on a first inner link 15 via a bearing 51, allowing it to oscillate about the rotation axis of the bearing 51. The first backhoe link 56 is mounted on the third lever 47 via a joint 32 and on the intermediate fifth lever 50 via a joint 48. A second backhoe link 57 is mounted between the intermediate fifth lever 50 and the first lever 35. The second backhoe link 57 is mounted on the fifth lever 50 via a joint 49 and on the first lever 35 via a joint 34. To achieve angular magnification, the radius of rotation of the center of joint 49 about the bearing 51 should be greater than the corresponding radius of rotation of the center of joint 48. Furthermore, the radius of rotation of the center of joint 49 about the bearing 51 should be greater than the radius of rotation of the center of joint 34 about the axis of the second connecting bearing 36. Therefore, the additional kinematic chain includes two backhoe drive mechanisms 57, 56, configured to increase the rotational movement of the fourth actuator 46 to a corresponding increase in the rotation of the tool 44's rotation axis 700. To further amplify the tilting rotation of the tool 44 about the rotation axis 700, a first gear 52 and a second gear 53 are mounted on the first outer arm 23 via bearings (not shown). The tool connecting link 41, now used as a lever, is mounted on the first gear 52 in such a way that when the second lever 37 is actuated to move up and down, the first gear 52 will rotate, and by means of gear transmission, the second gear 53 will also rotate. The tool 44 is mounted on the second gear 53 via a shaft 54 ​​and a tool mounting beam 43, and the tool 44 will rotate with the rotation of the second gear 53. Thus, the tool 44 is arranged to rotate about the tool's second rotation axis 700. To make the rotation of the tool 44 greater than the rotation of the tool connecting link 41, the diameter of the first gear 52 must be larger than the diameter of the second gear 53. The second lever 37 is connected to gear 52 via joint 38, second outer link 39, joint 42, and tool connecting link 41 mounted on the first gear 52. Alternatively, joints 38 and 42 can be implemented as simple bearings having a rotation axis parallel to the second rotation axis 181. It should be noted that the second outer link 39 and gears 52 and 53 for increasing the rotational capacity of tool 44 can be replaced by one or more backhoe drives corresponding to the backhoe drive shown between the third lever 47 and the first lever 35. In this case, joint 51 of the fifth lever 50 and the second connecting bearing 36 of the first lever 35 are mounted on the first outer link 23 with rotation axes parallel to the second rotation axis 181, respectively. Accordingly, a gear drive on the first inner link 15 can be used instead of the backhoe drive. Gear 53 is then mounted on the second connecting bearing 36, and the second gear 53 is mounted on the second inner link 18 via a bearing similar to bearing 201.Bearing 201 is mounted between connecting rod 200 and the first outer connecting rod 23. Alternatively, gear drives can be used on both the second inner connecting rod 18 and the first outer connecting rod 23, in which case a backhoe solution can also be used. The second connecting bearing 36 is mounted here on the first inner connecting rod 15, but can also be alternatively mounted on, for example... Figure 2 The first connecting shaft 29 is shown. The second connecting bearing 36, together with bearing 51, can also be mounted on the second inner connecting rod 18. It should also be mentioned that a rack and pinion can be used to amplify the rotational capacity of tool 44. For descriptions of other components in this figure, please refer to [link to relevant documentation]. Figure 1 The text.

[0138] Figure 4 A robotic arm according to a fourth embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated. The fourth embodiment illustrates an actuation... Figure 1 An alternative to the basic structure is described. The goal here is to fix all actuators to the base 13, meaning all actuators are loaded with minimal mass inertia. The plane formed by the first parallelogram 183, including the first inner link 15 and the second inner link, is actuated to rotate about the axis 180 of the first actuator 1. The third actuator 3 causes the first inner link 15 and the second inner link 18 to oscillate within the plane of the first parallelogram 183, thereby changing the shape of the parallelogram. To also achieve parallel movement in the second direction, i.e., the Xw direction, a second parallelogram 184, including the first outer link 23 and the second outer link 39, is used. The plane of the second parallelogram 184 is always at a 90-degree angle to the plane of the first parallelogram 183. The first parallelogram 183 includes the first axis of rotation 180 (and thus the axis of rotation of the shaft 4 of the first actuator 1), the first inner link 15, the second inner link 18, and the first connecting shaft 29. The second parallelogram 184 includes a second lever 37, a first outer link 23, a second outer link 39, and a tool connecting link 41. The outer link 39 is parallel to the first outer link 23 of the outer arm link assembly. The inner link 33 is parallel to the first inner link 15 and the second inner link 18. The angle of the second lever 37 is controlled by the first lever 35 and the inner link 33. The movement length of the inner link 33 between its rotation axes 504 and 599 is the same as the movement length of the first inner link 15 between its rotation axes 185 and 187. The inner link 33 is mounted to the base 13 here via a joint 32. The robot structure is actuated by three rotary actuators 1, 2, and 3. The first actuator 1 is connected to the first inner link 15 via its rotation output shaft 4 and via a joint 14 including two bearings and a bracket connected to the first inner link 15. Figure 4 Joint 14 in Figures 1-3 The joint 14 shown in the figure is the same, but there it is implemented for the second inner link 18. Figure 4In this configuration, when the first actuator 1 rotates the output shaft 4, the first inner connecting rod 15 rotates up and down about the central axis of the output shaft 4. The second actuator 2 has an output rotating shaft 5 that passes through the hollow first actuator 1 and also through the hollow output shaft 4. The output shaft 5 is connected to an inner lever 19, which in turn is connected at one end to a connecting rod 20 via a joint 21. The connecting rod 20 is connected at its other end to a first outer connecting rod 23 of a second parallelogram 184 via a joint 22. Therefore, when the second actuator 2 rotates the output shaft 5, the first outer connecting rod 23 will oscillate about the axis of a first connecting bearing 31 mounted in the upper end of the first outer connecting rod 23. The third actuator 3 rotates its output shaft 6, which is mounted to pass through the first actuator 1 and the second actuator 2, which have corresponding output shafts 4 and 5. A 90-degree gear is mounted at the end of the output shaft 6. The gear system comprises a first gear 7 and a second gear 8. The first gear 7 is mounted on the end of shaft 6, while the second gear 8 is mounted on bearing 9, which in turn is mounted on another bearing 11 via mechanical attachment 10. Gears 7 and 8 and bearings 9 and 11 are mounted such that the common central axis of shafts 4, 5, and 6 coincides with the rotation axis of the first gear 7 and bearing 11, and the rotation axis of the second gear 8 coincides with the rotation axis of bearing 9, forming a 90-degree angle with the central axis of shafts 4, 5, and 6. The rotation axis of gear 8 intersects the rotation axis of the first gear 7. A second inner link 18 is mounted on the second gear 8, and thus rotation of the third actuator 3 will cause the second inner link 18 to oscillate about the rotation axis of bearing 9. Bearing 11 is mounted on base 13 via beam 12. Actuators 1, 2, and 3 are also mounted on base 13, meaning that no actuators are required in the arm system, allowing for the design of an extremely lightweight robot.

[0139] The first connecting shaft 29 is mounted between the first inner link 15 and the second inner link 18 via two joints. Each of these joints 27, 28 includes a bracket mounted on the end of the first connecting shaft 29. The first bracket of the first joint 27 includes a pair of bearings mounted with their axis of rotation perpendicular to the second inner link 18. To compensate for the offset 26 at the 90-degree gear, a mechanical extension 18b of the cylindrical portion 24 serves as an offset mounting for the bearings of the bracket 27. The second bracket of the second joint 28 also includes a pair of bearings, but these bearings are mounted directly on the first inner link 15. The first and second brackets are mounted on the second inner link 18 and the first inner link 15, respectively, in such a manner that the central axis of the first connecting shaft 29 (here, the second axis of rotation 181) is parallel to the first axis of rotation 180 of the shafts 4-6. The offset mounting 18b provides an offset 25 relative to the common center line of the second inner link 18, which corresponds to an offset 26 between the first rotation axis 180, which is the rotation center of shaft 4-6, and the common center line of the second inner link 18.

[0140] The second connecting bearing 36 is mounted on the first connecting shaft 29, and the two levers (the first lever 35 and the second lever 37) are mounted on the second connecting bearing 36 at a 90-degree angle to each other. The first lever 35 is connected to the base 13 via an inner connecting rod 33, which is mounted to the base 13 via a joint 32 and to the first lever 35 via a joint 34. The second lever 37 is connected to the second outer connecting rod 39 via a bearing 38. The second outer connecting rod 39 is then connected to one end of the tool connecting lever 41 via a bearing 42, while the tool connecting lever 41 is connected to the first outer connecting rod 23 at its other end via a bearing 40. The rotation axes of bearings 31, 36, 38, 40, and 42 are parallel to each other and parallel to the first rotation axis 180, and thus parallel to the central axes of shafts 4, 5, and 6. Joints 32 and 34 are depicted as ball joints, but rod ends, universal joints, or swivel joints may also be used. Tool 44 is mounted on a vertical tool mounting beam 43, which in turn is mounted on a horizontal tool connecting rod 41. This design achieves the desired result. Figure 1 The robot arm in the first embodiment has the same function and meets the same kinematic requirements.

[0141] Another method to achieve a larger tilt angle for tool 44 is to use an additional transmission mechanism that includes a belt drive. This is in Figure 5AThe illustration shows a robotic arm according to a fifth embodiment of the present disclosure. In this fifth embodiment, the belt drive includes two steps: a first step with an inner drive along a second inner link 18 (or alternatively, along a first inner link 15), and a second step with an outer drive along a belt drive beam 81. Here, the inner drive 66 is parallel to the first inner link 15 and the second inner link 18. The outer drive 65 is parallel to the first outer link 23 of the outer arm linkage assembly. The belt drive beam 81 is part of the outer arm linkage assembly. Alternatively, only one step can be used, in which the belt drive can be combined with a backhoe drive or gear drive in another step. The belt drive can then be along the second inner link 18, the first inner link 15, or the belt drive beam 81. With a two-stage belt drive, unlimited rotation can be achieved. Therefore, belt drives 66-65 are arranged to allow tool 44 to rotate about its second axis of rotation 700 without any limitation on the rotation angle. A third actuator 3 with an output shaft 6 is mounted on the output shaft 4 of the first actuator 1 via a mechanical connector 87. The output shaft 4 is thus connected to the joint bracket of joint 14 to allow the first inner link 15 to oscillate in the plane 183 of the first parallelogram. As shown in the previous figures, the first actuator 1 rotates the output shaft 4 to oscillate the first inner link 15 up and down, and the second actuator 2 rotates the output shaft 5 to oscillate the inner lever 19. The output shaft 45, rotated by the fourth actuator 46, is now connected to the input pulley of the first belt drive 66 via a first universal joint 67 (indicated by a ball). Therefore, the first belt drive 66 is connected in series with the first universal joint 67. The output pulley of the first belt drive 66 is connected to the second connecting shaft 77 via a second universal joint 76. Therefore, the first belt drive 66 is also connected in series with the second universal joint 76. The second connecting shaft 77 is respectively installed between the bearing 80a of the first joint 27 and the bearing 80b of the second joint 28. The input pulley of the second belt drive 65 is mounted on the second connecting shaft 77 and is rotatable. The belt drive beam 81 is connected to the second connecting shaft 77 via bearing 79. The output pulley of the second belt drive is connected to the tool mounting beam 43 via shaft 83, which can rotate in the bearing 82 mounted on the belt drive beam 81.

[0142] To prevent the first belt drive 66, which has universal joints 67 and 76, from tilting, a bearing 88 is introduced between the first belt drive 66 and the bearing 92. Therefore, the outer ring of the bearing 88 is mounted on the belt drive beam 71 via a mechanical interface 89, and the inner ring of the bearing 88 is mounted on the outer ring of the bearing 92 via a shaft 90 and a mechanical interface 91. The center of rotation of the bearing 88 should intersect with the center of the first universal joint 67. A similar arrangement of bearings with bearings similar to bearing 88 can be formed between the belt drive beam 71 and the bearing 80a.

[0143] The belt drive described herein saves space, enabling a slender boom system even when both rotation and tilting of tool 44 are controlled. Space saving is important in boom systems, but in, for example, WO2019138025, belt drives are less suitable because the necessary kinematic movement either requires axial / lateral movement of the pulleys or necessitates numerous additional universal joints, both of which are complex and cumbersome. In this disclosure, hinge joints rotating about parallel axes facilitate the use of a space-saving belt drive.

[0144] Figure 5B The illustration shows the possibility of using a backhoe drive to enhance the working angle range of the belt-driven beam 81. Using a drive with a large rotational capacity, even when the belt-driven beam 81 undergoes significant rotation and, for example, in… Figure 5B When the tool 44 rotates from the downward direction to the upward direction (for industrial robots, this movement is called bending backward), the rotation or tilt of the tool 44 can also be controlled. Figure 5B The backhoe is achieved by connecting rods 350 and 355 in series. Rod 350 is mounted between levers 19 and 352 via joints 21 and 351, while rod 355 is mounted between lever 352 and belt-driven beam 81. Lever 352 is mounted on the first inner link 15 via bearing 353 and is actuated to oscillate in the XwZw plane. To achieve the desired angle ratio, the distance between the center of joint 14 and the center of the first inner link 15 should be greater than the distance between the center of joint 351 and the center of bearing 353, and the distance between the center of joint 354 and the center of bearing 353 should be greater than the distance between the center of joint 22 and the center of the second connecting shaft 77. Alternatively, a gear mechanism can be used to achieve a larger rotation angle for the outer link (see...). Figure 3 The gear mechanism at the tooling location), and even the belt drive can be used with a universal joint. Alternatively, the shaft 5 of the second actuator 2 can be connected to the belt drive beam 81 using a belt drive with a universal joint or a connecting rod combined with gears.

[0145] Figure 6 A belt drive mechanism according to some embodiments is illustrated separately. More specifically, Figure 6Some information was provided. Figure 5A and Figure 5B More details of the belt drive mechanism. The actuated output shaft 45 transmits rotation to the belt drive input shaft 68 via a first universal joint 67. The belt drive input shaft 68 rotates in a bearing 69 mounted on a belt drive beam 71. The belt drive input shaft 68 is connected to an input pulley 70, and thus rotation is transmitted from the output shaft 45 to the input pulley 70. Rotation of the input pulley 70 causes the output pulley 73 to rotate due to the belt 72 connecting the input and output pulleys. The output pulley 73 is mounted on a belt drive output shaft 75, which is connected to a second connecting shaft 77 via a second universal joint 76. The belt drive output shaft 75 rotates within a bearing 74 mounted on the belt drive beam 71. The second connecting shaft 77 is the belt drive input shaft for the belt drive mechanism 65 and is connected to the input pulley 78 of the second belt drive mechanism 65. Here, the belt drive beam 81 also functions as a belt drive beam, and thus the second connecting shaft 77 rotates in the bearing 79 of the belt drive beam 81 (see...). Figure 5A and Figure 5B In this case, the belt-driven beam 81 is also the outer arm linkage assembly of the robot arm 500. For example... Figure 5A and Figure 5B As shown, the second connecting shaft 77 also rotates within bearings 80a and 80b, wherein bearing 80b is in Figure 5A and Figure 5B As shown in the diagram. Therefore, rotation of the second connecting shaft 77 causes the input pulley 78 to rotate, and the output pulley 85 will rotate via the belt 84. The output pulley 85 is connected to the belt-driven output shaft 83, which rotates in the bearing 82, thereby according to... Figure 5A and Figure 5B Rotating tool 44. Since the output shaft 45 and the second connecting shaft 77 are included in a first parallelogram having a first inner link 15 and a second inner link 18, a first universal joint 67 before the input pulley 70 of the first belt drive 66 and a second universal joint 76 after the output pulley 73 are necessary. Since the lateral movement of the belt drive beam 81 does not require a parallelogram, universal joints are not needed before the input pulley 78 and after the output pulley 85 of the second belt drive 65. From with Figure 13 Design descriptions of universal joints 67 and 76 can be found in relevant texts. Figure 13 The double universal joint type is shown. For designs with single universal joint types such as universal joints 67 and 76, a method such as... Figure 13The diagram shows an internal universal joint with a connecting cross or an external universal joint with a connecting ring. To improve transmission accuracy, the diameter of the output gear can be made larger than the diameter of the input gear. This is possible because the transmission has unlimited rotational capacity. It should also be mentioned that belt drives are easily encapsulated. A circular seal is then required between the encapsulation and shafts 68, 75, 77 (both sides) and 83.

[0146] exist Figure 5A and Figure 5B In this configuration, belt drives 65 and 66 are used to tilt the tool 44. However, belt drives 65 and 66 can also be used to rotate the tool 44. Figure 4 The basic triaxial design shown utilizes this possibility, according to Figure 7 A robotic arm 500 with a constant tool tilt angle and a controlled infinite tool rotation angle was obtained.

[0147] Figure 7 The illustration shows a robotic arm according to a sixth embodiment of the present disclosure. In addition to the three kinematic chains controlling the position of the tool 44, the sixth embodiment includes two transmission mechanisms. These two transmission mechanisms may be referred to as the fourth transmission mechanism and the fifth transmission mechanism, each configured to control different rotation axes 186, 511 of the tool 44. In this sixth embodiment, the first actuator 1 controls the up / down oscillation of the first inner link 15 and the second inner link 18, as if... Figure 4 The same applies to the fourth embodiment shown. The second actuator 2 controls the forward / outward swing of the first outer link 23, and the third actuator 3 controls the lateral swing of the first inner link 15 and the second inner link 18. In the case of the first inner link 15, the lateral swing is performed via the first joint 27 and the second joint 28, and the first connecting shaft 29. Now relative to... Figure 4 A fourth actuator 46 is added, and its output shaft 45 rotates the belt drive input shaft of the belt drive 66 via a first universal joint 67. The belt drive output shaft of the belt drive 66 rotates the belt drive input shaft of the second belt drive 65 via a second universal joint 76. Figure 5A and Figure 5BIn contrast, the belt drive beam 81 is now separate and no longer equivalent to the first outer link 23. The inner ring of the bearing 69, which is mounted on the belt drive beam 81 using its outer ring, is now mounted on the second inner link 18. To compensate for this, a third universal joint 83a is used on the shaft 83. In fact, the third universal joint 83a eliminates the need for the second universal joint 76, which is shown in dashed lines. The belt drive output shaft 61 of the second belt drive 65 is mounted in the tube 60 via the third universal joint 83a using a bearing (not shown). This tube is rotatable relative to the shaft 61 and the first outer link 23. The shaft 61 rotates the input gear of the 90-degree gear assembly 62, thereby causing the output gear of the 90-degree gear assembly 62 to rotate the tool mounting shaft 63, and thus causing the tool 44 to rotate about the tool's first axis of rotation 186. Therefore, the fourth actuator 46 causes the tool 44 to rotate about the tool's first axis of rotation 186. All axes of rotation of the tool parallel to this axis of rotation can be referred to as the first axis of rotation of the tool 44. The tool mounting shaft 63 rotates in a bearing (not shown) within a mechanical section 64, which is connected to a second parallelogram-shaped tool connecting lever 41 comprising a first outer link 23 and a second outer link 39. The tool connecting lever 41 is connected to the tube 60 and controls the rotation of the mechanical section 64 in such a way that the tool mounting shaft 63 will always be perpendicular to the horizontal plane. This additional kinematic chain is connected to the base 13 via a third lever 47. The separation of the belt-driven beam 81 and the first outer link 23 means that joints 24 and 28 can be implemented using alternative solutions. Therefore, the supports for these joints are now mounted on the first connecting shaft 29 instead of on the links 18 and link sections 15, and bearings 80a and 80b are instead mounted on the links 18 and link sections 15, respectively.

[0148] Figure 8 The illustration shows a robotic arm according to a seventh embodiment of the present disclosure. Specifically, the seventh embodiment is... Figure 7The alternative design aims to achieve infinite tool rotation while maintaining a constant tool tilt angle. Therefore, in addition to the three kinematic chains controlling the position of tool 44, this seventh embodiment includes two transmission mechanisms controlling the orientation of tool 44. In this design, the external belt drive is replaced by a rotating shaft 228, which is also the first external link of the robot arm 500. Thus, the output of the second universal joint 76 now drives a 90-degree gear 62. The output of this gear 62 is connected to shaft 228, which rotates in bearing 230 and oscillates by means of a first connecting bearing 31. The first connecting bearing 31 is mounted on the first connecting shaft 29, and bearing 230 is connected to the first connecting bearing 31 via beam 231 in such a way that the axis of rotation of bearing 230 is perpendicular to the second axis of rotation 181 of the first connecting bearing 31. The shaft 228 oscillates about the second axis of rotation 181 by means of the first external link 23 connected to shaft 228 via joint 229. Joint 229 has a bearing whose axis of rotation coincides with the axis of rotation of shaft 228. Joint 229 also has a pair of bearings whose common axis of rotation is perpendicular to the axis of rotation of shaft 228. At the lower end of shaft 228 is a fourth universal joint 227, which transmits the rotation of shaft 228 to shaft 63. Shaft 63 rotates within a hollow shaft 223 with an inner bearing (not shown), causing tool 44 to rotate. Therefore, a fourth actuator 46 causes tool 44 to rotate about a first axis of rotation 186 of the tool. Bearing 224a is used to restrain the fourth universal joint 227 from tilting about a horizontal axis 226. This bearing is mounted between the hollow shaft 223 and bearing 224b by means of mechanical couplings 221 and 222. Shaft 228 rotates within bearing 224b, and the axis of rotation 226 of bearing 224a is horizontal and passes through the center of the fourth universal joint 227. To maintain a constant tilt angle of tool 44 within the workspace of robot arm 500, hollow shaft 223 is connected to lever 220, which in turn is connected to... Figure 9A The connecting rod drive devices 39 and 33 are shown. Because the connecting rod drive device is offset in the Yw direction relative to the shaft 228, an offset beam 219 is required between the bearing 42 of the lever 220 and the connecting rod 39.

[0149] Figure 9AThe illustration depicts a robotic arm according to an eighth embodiment of the present disclosure. The eighth embodiment includes the possibility of combining two different drive mechanisms to achieve the kinematics of a five-DOF robotic arm 500, which can both rotate the tool 44 about an axis parallel to the Zw axis of coordinate system 55 and tilt the tool 44 about an axis parallel to the Yw axis of coordinate system 55. This is necessary for picking up or placing suspended and tilted objects while simultaneously rotating them. Therefore, the eighth embodiment also includes two drive mechanisms, which may be referred to as a fourth drive mechanism and a fifth drive mechanism, each configured to control different rotation axes 186, 501 of the tool 44. Thus, a fourth actuator 46 rotates the tool 44 about a second rotation axis 501 of the tool. A fifth actuator 98 rotates the tool 44 about a first rotation axis 186 of the tool. A parallelogram including a first inner link 15 and a second inner link 18 is used to... Figure 4 The same design is used. The transmission mechanism for rotating tool 44 is the same as in... Figure 7 The same applies. This transmission mechanism consists of the fifth actuator 98 ( Figure 5A and Figure 5B The fourth actuator 46 in the middle is actuated, and includes a rotating output shaft 97. Figure 5A and Figure 5B The transmission mechanism for the tilting tool 44 includes an output shaft 45, a first universal joint 67, a belt drive 66, a second universal joint 76, a second belt drive 65, a fifth universal joint 61a (which replaces the second universal joint 76), a rotating shaft 61, a 90-degree gear assembly 62, and a rotating tool mounting shaft 63. Figure 2 and Figure 3 The combination of transmission mechanisms in [the system]. For example... Figure 2 As shown, the transmission mechanism from the third lever 47 to the second lever 37 includes a joint 32, a connecting rod 33, a joint 34, and the outer ring of the second connecting bearing 36. Then, the transmission mechanism from the second lever 37 to the tool 44 includes a joint 38, a connecting rod 39, a joint 42, a tool connecting lever 41, a gear 52, a gear 53, a mechanical component 64, and a tool mounting shaft 63. This design yields a robotic arm with unlimited tool rotation capability and at least + / - 90° tool tilt.

[0150] Figure 9B The illustration shows the possibilities of horizontally mounting tool 44, thereby obtaining five degrees of freedom for the arrangement of applications such as painting, arc welding, laser welding and laser cutting.

[0151] Figure 10 The illustration shows a robotic arm according to a ninth embodiment of the present disclosure. The ninth embodiment includes two transmission mechanisms that achieve unlimited tool tilting and rotation using two parallel belt drives. Here, Figure 9AThe universal joints 67 and 76 have been replaced by double universal joints 103 and 104 so that two belt drives 66 and 101 can be driven in parallel, and two concentric shafts for driving two parallel belt drives 65 and 100 can be output. Therefore, the sixth actuator 106 rotates the output shaft 105 via the double universal joint 103 (for the design of the double universal joint, see...). Figure 13 The inner universal joint of the third actuator 3 is connected to the belt drive input shaft (not shown) of the belt drive 66. The third actuator 3 rotates its output shaft 6, which is connected to the belt drive input shaft 107 via the outer universal joint of the double universal joint 103. Therefore, shaft 105 rotates within shaft 6 and the belt drive input shaft of the belt drive 66 rotates within the belt drive input shaft of the belt drive 101. The belt drive output shaft of the belt drive 66 rotates within the belt drive output shaft 108 of the belt drive 101 and is connected to the belt drive input shaft 109 of the belt drive 100 via the inner universal joint of the double universal joint 104. Shaft 109 is also mounted within the bearing 110 of the joint 28. The belt drive output shaft 108 of the belt drive 101 is hollow and rotates outside the belt drive output shaft of the belt drive 66. The belt drive output shaft 108 is connected to the second connecting shaft 77 of the second belt drive 65 via the outer universal joint of the double universal joint 104. The second connecting shaft 77 is also mounted within the bearing 102 of the joint 24. The belt drive output shaft 61 of the second belt drive 65 is connected to the 90-degree gear assembly 62 and rotates the tool 44 via the tool mounting shaft 63. The belt drive output shaft 60 of the belt drive 100 rotates the mechanical component 64, which in turn tilts the tool 44. Therefore, the third actuator 3 will cause the tool 44 to rotate about the tool mounting shaft 63, thereby rotating about the first rotation axis 186, while the sixth actuator 106 will tilt the tool about the tool's second rotation axis 700.

[0152] exist Figure 11 The concept of a parallel belt drive is shown in more detail. In this alternative belt drive mechanism, the parallel belt drive is separated to show the belt drive input and output shafts of all belt drives. The components of the belt drive have been combined. Figure 6 The description is given, and will not be repeated here. However, following the transmission mechanism from output to input, the following is obtained:

[0153] Rotating shaft 105 will tilt tool 44 via the inner universal joint of double universal joint 103, belt drive input shaft 105, belt drive output shaft 114, inner universal joint of double universal joint 104, belt drive input shaft 109, and belt drive output shaft 60.

[0154] - Rotating shaft 6 will cause tool 44 to rotate via the outer universal joint of double universal joint 103, belt drive input shaft 107, belt drive output shaft 108, outer universal joint of double universal joint 104, second connecting shaft 77, belt drive output shaft 61 and gear assembly 62.

[0155] Figure 12 Another belt drive mechanism according to some embodiments is illustrated separately. More specifically, Figure 12 An alternative method using two belt drives is shown. This is used... Figure 8 The two sets of belt drives shown are relative to... Figure 11 The advantage is that it eliminates the need for double universal joints, but the belt drive will require more space. (Marking and...) Figure 8 The markings are the same, with "a" added to the left-hand markings and "b" added to the right-hand markings. Shaft 86a rotates tool 44 via 90-degree gear 62, and shaft 86b tilts the shaft via arm 64. Thus, another actuator 3a rotates tool 44 about the tool's first axis of rotation 186. Another actuator 3b rotates tool 44 about the tool's second axis of rotation 700. Shafts 86a and 86b rotate about a common axis 700. Yet another third actuator 3a drives shaft 45a, and yet another third actuator 3b drives shaft 45b. Another possible, but less compact, design is to mount the right-hand belt drive "b" to the left-hand side and the left-hand belt drive "a" to the right-hand side. Shaft 86a would then be mounted behind pulley 85a, and shaft 86b would be mounted in front of pulley 85b. Shaft 86b would then be connected to gear 62, and shaft 86a would be connected to arm 64.

[0156] Figure 13The illustration shows a double universal joint according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The double universal joint includes an inner universal joint and an outer universal joint having coincident joint centers. An inner shaft 109 is connected to a bracket 131 of the inner universal joint. The bracket 131 is mounted on the outer rings of bearings 132 and 133. The inner rings of bearings 132 and 133 have coincident rotation centers and are mounted on shafts 134 and 135, which are part of a cross. Additional shafts 129 and 130 (shaft 130 is hidden in the figure) of the cross are mounted within the inner rings of bearings 127 and 128 (bearing 128 is hidden in the figure). A bracket 126 is mounted on the outer rings of bearings 127 and 128 and connected to shaft 114. Therefore, rotation of shaft 109 will cause rotation of shaft 114. A bearing (not shown) is used between the hollow second connecting shaft 77 and shaft 109, and another bearing (not shown) is used between the hollow shaft 115 and shaft 114. Shaft 77 and shaft 115 are respectively mounted in bearings 102 and 74. The second connecting shaft 77 is connected to a bracket 122 of the external universal joint. The bracket 122 is mounted on the outer rings of bearings 123 and 124. The inner rings of bearings 123 and 124 have coincident centers of rotation and are mounted on shafts 125a and 125b, which are mounted on ring 136 and have coincident central axes. Two other shafts, 120 and 121, with coincident central axes, are mounted on ring 136 such that the common central axis of shafts 120 and 121 intersects the common central axis of shafts 125a and 125b, and the common central axis of shafts 120 and 121 is in the same plane as the common central axis of shafts 125a and 125b. Shafts 120 and 121 are respectively mounted inside bearings 118 and 119, and the outer rings of bearings 118 and 119 are mounted on bracket 117. Bracket 117 is in turn mounted on shaft 108. Therefore, rotating the second connecting shaft 77 will rotate shaft 108 independently of the connection between shafts 109 and 114. Of course, shafts 129, 130, 134, and 135 can also be mounted on the ring in the same way as shafts 125a, 125b, 120, and 121.

[0157] Different types of transmission mechanisms have been shown to achieve the rotation and tilting of tool 44. The transmission types previously shown herein are single-link drives, linkage drives including backhoe drives, linkage drives including gear assemblies, and belt drives. These transmission types can be combined in different ways. One example is... Figure 11 As shown, it includes a single-link drive, a linkage drive containing gears, and two belt drives.

[0158] exist Figure 14The illustration shows a robotic arm according to a tenth embodiment of the present disclosure, which has been configured for picking up and placing objects by suspending / tilting / laying them, wherein the tool rotation does not need to be infinite. The tenth embodiment includes two transmission mechanisms. In the tenth embodiment, tool tilting utilizes... Figure 3 The same gear-based second part is used for the transmission mechanism in the middle for tool tilting, while tool rotation utilizes a mechanism for... Figure 3 The same transmission mechanism as the first part of the transmission mechanism used for tool tilting is used. The components of the transmission mechanism that control the rotation of tool 44 have the same... Figure 3 The same reference numerals are used for the same transmission mechanism used to tilt tool 44, except that the letter 'b' is added to the numbers. To install the transmission mechanism for tool rotation, an extension 145 is introduced between the second inner link 18 and bearing 51b, an extension 144 is introduced between the second inner link 18 and bearing 36b, an extension 141 is introduced between the first outer link 23 and bearing 143, and an extension 142 is introduced between extension 141 and bearing 140. A fifth actuator 98 actuates the transmission mechanism for tool rotation via a rotating shaft 97, on which a sixth lever 47b is mounted. Therefore, the fifth actuator 98 causes tool 44 to rotate about the tool's first rotation axis 186, and the actuator 46 causes the tool to rotate about the second rotation axis 700.

[0159] Figure 10 The illustration shows how to achieve unlimited tool rotation and tilting using four belt drives. Figure 15 The figure illustrates a robotic arm according to the eleventh embodiment of this disclosure. It utilizes four belt drives, but employs only one double universal joint. Figure 15 In the middle, it was obtained with Figure 10 The same result. Therefore, the eleventh embodiment includes two transmission mechanisms. Figure 15 The structure of the robotic arm in Figure 10There are some differences, and therefore they will be described in detail. Thus, the shaft 6 of the third actuator 3 now rotates the first actuator 1, the seventh actuator 148, and the eighth actuator 150, because the first actuator 1, the seventh actuator 148, and the eighth actuator 150 are connected to the shaft 6 via a bracket structure 147. The first actuator 1 causes the first inner link 15 mounted on the shaft 4 of the first actuator 1 to swing up and down. The seventh actuator 148 causes the belt drive input shaft 149 of the belt drive 101 to rotate, and the eighth actuator 150 causes the belt drive input shaft 151 of the belt drive 66 to rotate. Since a double universal joint is not required, the belt drive input shaft 151 can be connected to the opposite side of the belt drive 66. A double universal joint is not required on the belt drive output shafts 108 and 172. The belt drive output shaft 172 of belt drive 66 rotates within the belt drive output shaft 108 of belt drive 101 and is the belt drive input of belt drive 100. It is rigidly connected to the input pulley of belt drive 100 and rotates at its end within a bearing 156, which is mounted on a first inner connecting rod 15 by its outer ring. The belt drive output shaft 172 of belt drive 66 is the belt drive input of second belt drive 65 and is rigidly connected to the input pulley of second belt drive 65. Second actuator 2 rotates shaft 5, thereby oscillating inner lever 19. Second actuator 2 and third actuator 3 are rigidly mounted on a support, which is similar to... Figure 3 The base 13 is located in the center. An inner lever 19 is connected to a beam 160, which in turn is connected via joints 21 and 147 to parallel connecting rods 20 and 146, respectively. Connecting rod 20 is connected via joint 22 to the belt drive beam 173 of the belt drive 100, and connecting rod 146 is connected to an extension beam 161. The extension beam 161 is mounted on a connecting rod 159, which is configured to swing about a shaft 58 by means of a bearing 158. Shaft 58 is mounted on an extension 157, which is mounted on the outer ring of a bearing 155. The inner ring of the bearing 155 is mounted on a shaft 154, which is mounted on a connecting rod 15 via extension beams 152 and 153. The belt drive output shafts of belt drives 65 and 100 are connected to a double universal joint 621. An inner shaft 61 from the double universal joint 621 rotates within an outer shaft 60 from the double universal joint 621 and is connected to a 90-degree gear 62. An outer shaft 60 from the double universal joint 621 is mounted in the inner ring of the bearing 622, causing the mechanical component 64 to rotate. Therefore, belt drive 100 transmits rotation to tilt tool 44, and second belt drive 65 transmits rotation to rotate tool 44. Thus, seventh actuator 148 rotates tool 44 about its first axis of rotation 186. Eighth actuator 150 rotates tool 44 about its second axis of rotation 700. To obtain proper functionality of the robotic arm, the following installation rules should be applied:

[0160] - The straight line 162 passing through joint 22 and joint 145 should be horizontal and parallel to the line 165 passing through joint 21 and joint 147, and also parallel to the axis of rotation 166 of axis 5.

[0161] - Link 20 should have the same length of motion as link 146.

[0162] Line 167 should pass through the center of the double universal joint 621, joint 22, and the point where the rotation axes of bearings 155 and 158 intersect.

[0163] Figure 16 An alternative configuration of the actuation sequence of the joint axis of one of the actuated joints of a robotic arm is illustrated. In this configuration, a 90-degree gear with an input gear 237 and an output gear 236 rotates shaft 235 about a fixed vertical axis 182. Therefore, bearing 234 is mounted to a fixed base (not shown) via beam 233. Rotation of shaft 6 will cause the second inner link 18 to oscillate in the plane of the first parallelogram. The second inner link 18 is also allowed to oscillate up and down by means of bearing 239 mounted on shaft 238 (shaft 238 is mounted at a right angle to shaft 235). The axis of rotation of bearing 239 coincides with the first axis of rotation 180. The second inner link 18 is mounted on bearing 238 via bearing 16 and mechanical extensions 241 and 240. Bearing 16 is necessary to obtain the working kinematics of the robotic arm. Figure 16 Only the components related to the change in the rotation sequence of the rotation axes 180 and 182 are outlined. This solution would simplify the control of the 90-degree gear, but would require the addition of bearing 16. It should be mentioned that a third actuator 3, vertically mounted on the fixed base 13, could be used instead of the 90-degree gear and a transmission with a shaft 6 passing through the third actuator 3, the first actuator 1, and the second actuator 2. The output shaft 6 of the third actuator 3 would then also be shaft 235. Figure 16 It is also indicated that it is not necessary to mount the first outer connecting rod 23 on the first connecting shaft 29. Therefore, the first outer connecting rod 23 can also be mounted on a separate shaft 331 via the first connecting bearing 31. However, the rotation axis 330 of the first connecting bearing 31 should be parallel to the second rotation axis 181. Figure 16 In the middle, shaft 331 is mounted on the first connecting shaft 29 by means of extension rod 620.

[0164] Figure 17A The illustration shows another alternative, in which a belt drive has been replaced by a shaft drive. The shaft drive is parallel to parallelogram 183. (The details are omitted here.) Figure 4 The 90-degree gear in the middle, and drive Figure 4The third actuator 3 of the 90-degree gear is mounted on the base 13 near the inner end of the second inner link 18. Therefore, the second inner link 18 is mounted on the shaft 6 via a bracket 240 and a pair of bearings 239a and 239b. The common axis of rotation of bearings 239a and 239b is perpendicular to axis 180 and coincides with axis 182. A fourth actuator 46 with an output shaft 45 rotates the input of the first universal joint 67 about axis 180. The output shaft 68 of the first universal joint 67 engages the 90-degree gear 260 and is mounted in bearing 69. The 90-degree gear 260 is connected to the 90-degree gear 262 via shaft 261 (a bearing for the shaft mounted on beam 71, not shown in the figure). The output of the 90-degree gear 262 rotates the shaft 75 mounted in bearing 74. Bearings 69 and 74 are mounted in each end of beam 71. Shaft 75 is connected to a second universal joint 76, which in turn is connected to a second connecting shaft 77. The line 263 between the centers of universal joints 67 and 76 should be parallel to the line 264 between the intersection of line 266 and the second rotation axis 181 and the intersection of the first rotation axis 180 and the third rotation axis 182. Rotating the shaft 45 of the fourth actuator 46 will cause the second connecting shaft 77 to rotate. The second connecting shaft 77 can then be connected, for example, to... Figure 8 The input pulley of the shaft drive or belt drive shown. Figure 5A and Figure 5B The mechanism that uses bearing 88 to constrain the universal joint transmission device is in Figure 19 The middle is also required, but not included. Of course, the two 90-degree gears 260 and 262 together with shaft 261 can be replaced by a belt drive.

[0165] Figure 17B The diagram shows... Figure 17A Variations. In Figure 17B In the middle, the fourth actuator 46 is mounted on the second inner arm 18, which will increase the inertia of the third actuator 3, but at the same time eliminates the need for Figure 17A The first universal joint 67 in the middle. This possibility of installing an actuator for rotation or tilt control of tool 44 can be used in all transmission mechanisms, even where a universal joint is not required.

[0166] Figure 17C The diagram shows... Figure 17A Another variation of the embodiment. In Figure 17C The illustration shows the possibility of mounting a fourth actuator 46 for controlling the rotation or tilt of tool 44 on joint 27. Alternatively, the fourth actuator 46 can also be mounted on joint 28 and can be used to drive all types of transmission mechanisms connected to the outer link 23. Figure 17CIn this configuration, the fourth actuator 46 is mounted on shafts 341a and 341b of joint 27 via mechanical connectors 340a and 340b. Shafts 341a and 341b rotate within joint bearings 342a and 342b, thus orienting the fourth actuator 46 toward the second connecting shaft 77, which is also the output shaft 45 of the fourth actuator 46. Of course, using bearings 342a and 342b and shafts 341a and 341b to connect the fourth actuator 46 to the second inner arm 18 is not necessary. Instead, a separate bearing with its rotation center aligned with axis 266 can be used to connect the fourth actuator 46 to the second inner arm 18.

[0167] Figure 18 The diagram shows... Figure 16 Alternative designs to the embodiments described in the middle. More specifically, in Figure 18 The embodiments illustrated in Figure 16 Modifications to the design of the actuation of the second inner link 18 around axis 182. Figure 18 In this configuration, rotation about axis 182 is achieved via a ball screw arrangement. Therefore, the ninth actuator 249 rotates the nut 247 via gear 248, thereby moving the screw bearing 245. The movement of bearing 245 is transmitted via connecting rod 244 to the movement of bearing 243, and since bearing 243 is mounted on lever 242, shaft 235 will rotate about the vertical rotation axis 182. Shaft 235 is mounted in bearings 234a and 234b, which have a common rotation axis coinciding with the third rotation axis 182. Bearings 234a and 234b are mounted on a base (not shown) via beams 233a and 233b. The second inner arm 18 is mounted as shown... Figure 18 The bearings 239a and 239b are shown, and bearings 239a and 239b are in turn mounted on shaft 235 via shafts 238a and 238b. Bearings 239a and 239b have a common axis of rotation that is perpendicular to the third axis of rotation 182. It should be noted that the ball screw 246 requires a linear bearing. The rationale for using a ball screw actuator solution is the possibility of intelligent engineering solutions and low-cost components.

[0168] Figure 19 This illustrates how the second inner link 18 is actuated about the third rotation axis 182. Figure 18 Alternative designs to the embodiments described. In Figure 18 In the middle, the ball screw arrangement causes the second inner connecting rod 18 to rotate about a fixed third rotation axis 182, but... Figure 19 In this configuration, when the third rotation axis 182 rotates around the first rotation axis 180, the ball screw causes the second inner connecting rod 18 to rotate around the third rotation axis 182. This eliminates the need for... Figure 18Bearing 16 is located in the bearing 242a. Therefore, the ninth actuator 249 rotates the nut 247 via gear 248, thereby moving the screw bearing 245a. The movement of bearing 245a is transmitted via connecting rod 245b to the movement of bearing 245c, and since bearing 245c is mounted on lever 245d, shaft 243 will rotate about a vertical third axis of rotation 182. Shaft 243 is mounted in bearing 242a and causes the second inner connecting rod 18 to rotate about the third axis of rotation 182. Bearings 234a and 234b are mounted on a fixed base (not shown) via beams 233a and 233b. The second inner arm 18 is mounted on bearings 239a and 239b, which in turn are mounted on shaft 235 via shafts 238a and 238b. Bearing 242a is mounted on bearing 242c via attachment 242b. The first rotation axis 180 is also the rotation axis for bearing 242c, and bearing 242c is mounted on shaft 5 of the second actuator 2 via shaft 242d. Alternatively, bearing 242c can be directly mounted to the fixed base of the robot arm (not shown). A larger diameter bearing 242c can also be used, placed to the left of bearing 242a, with the ball screw passing through the interior of bearing 242c. The rationale for using a ball screw actuator solution is the potential for intelligent engineering solutions and low-cost components.

[0169] Figure 20 A robotic arm according to a twelfth embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated. The twelfth embodiment illustrates the possibility of using a solution with ball screws to also drive a transmission mechanism including a backhoe drive and a gear drive. Therefore, Figure 20 yes Figure 3 A copy of the embodiment, wherein the fourth actuator 46, shaft 45, and third lever 47 have been replaced by a ball screw arrangement. Joint 32 is here directly mounted on the ball screw, which is actuated by rotation of nut 247. Ninth actuator 249 rotates nut 247 by means of gear 248. If gear mechanisms 52 to 53 are mounted on the first inner link 15, or if using... Figure 2 The single-link drive shown can use the same actuation concept utilizing a ball screw. In this figure, actuator 249 causes tool 44 to rotate about the second rotation axis 700.

[0170] Figure 21 A robotic arm according to a thirteenth embodiment of the present invention is illustrated. This embodiment illustrates further possibilities for using ball bearing concepts for the actuation of a robotic arm. Figure 21 Based on Figure 4 .exist Figure 21 In the middle, the first actuator 1 and the second actuator 2 are both Figures 18 to 20The ball screw concept shown is replaced here. Therefore, the ball screw 246 is connected via lever 250 and connecting rod 244 to rotate shaft 4. When the ninth actuator 249 rotates gear 248, nut 247 rotates, the ball screw moves joint 245, connecting rod 244 transmits this movement to joint 243, and lever 250 rotates shaft 4 about the first axis of rotation 180. The tenth actuator 254 rotates gear 253, gear 253 rotates nut 252, nut 252 moves ball screw 251, and joint 21 moves connecting rod 20, connecting rod 20 rotates the first outer connecting rod 23 about the first connecting bearing 31. Therefore, the lever mechanism here includes ball screw 251.

[0171] Figure 22 The diagram shows... Figure 19 Alternative designs to the embodiments described in the middle. More specifically, Figure 22 Another example is given of how the inner ends of the first inner link 15 and the second inner link 18 can be mounted relative to the base by means of bearings and rotary actuators. There are many possibilities for mounting the inner ends of the inner links 15, 18 relative to the rotation axes 180, 182, and 185 on the base. However, to obtain the desired motion performance, the possibilities for the mounting sequence of the first rotation axis 180 and the third rotation axis 182 in a series connection, and the first rotation axis 180 and the sixth rotation axis 185 in a series connection, are limited. Therefore, it is necessary to implement the first rotation axis 180 closer to the base than the third rotation axis 182, and / or to implement the first rotation axis 180 closer to the base than the sixth rotation axis 185. Neither the third rotation axis 182 nor the sixth rotation axis 185 can be implemented as close to the base as possible. Figures 1-14 , Figures 17A-17C , Figure 19 and Figure 21 In this configuration, the first rotation axis 180 is driven by a bearing or actuator mounted on a base for both the first inner link 15 and the second inner link 18. Figure 16 and Figure 18 In this configuration, the first rotation axis 180 is implemented on a base used only for the first inner connecting rod 15. In this case, a bearing 16 is required; otherwise, it would be impossible to maintain the parallelism of the second rotation axis 181 and the first rotation axis 180 in the workspace.

[0172] To achieve the desired function, it is also advantageous to connect an actuator to the inner end of the first inner link 15 and / or the inner end of the second inner link 18, so as to rotate the inner links 15, 18 about a first rotation axis 180. Regarding the first rotation axis 180, the actuator may be connected to the inner end of the first inner link or the inner end of the second inner link 18, or the actuator may have a shaft reaching both the inner ends of the first inner link 15 and the second inner link 18. Regarding the third rotation axis 182 and the sixth rotation axis 185, the actuator is connected to the inner end of the first inner link 15 or to the inner end of the second inner link 18. Of course, the actuator may also be connected to both the inner ends of the first inner link 15 and the second inner link 18 by means of, for example, a belt drive.

[0173] exist Figure 22 In this configuration, the first actuator 1 rotates the second inner link 18 about the first rotation axis 180 via shaft 4 and extensions 240a and 240b. Since the third rotation axis 182 is fixed to the base via shaft 235, bearing 234, and extension 233a, the second inner link 18 requires bearing 16. The third actuator 3 rotates the first inner link 15 about the sixth rotation axis 185, and the first inner link 15 rotates about the first rotation axis 180 via bearing 239, which is fixed to the base via shaft 238 and extension 233b. The third actuator 3 is mounted on bearing 239 via extensions 241b and 240b.

[0174] Figure 23A The illustration shows a robotic arm according to a fourteenth embodiment of the present disclosure. More specifically, Figure 23A The diagram shows... Figure 3 An alternative is to increase the tilt range of tool 44. Figure 3 In this context, gear trains are used to increase the tool's tilt range, while... Figure 23A In this design, the gear mechanism is replaced by a linkage mechanism. Its advantages include eliminating the need for gearbox lubrication, and combining tool tilting with tool movement to increase tool accessibility. Figure 3 The backhoe also has a drive mechanism, and such a mechanism can certainly be used in... Figure 23A It is used in [the context of a device]. It has a first inner link 15, a second inner link 18, and a first connecting shaft 29. Figure 23A The base structure and Figure 2 The base structure is the same. Now, link 20 is mounted above the parallelogram formed by links 15 and 18, and therefore, the inner lever 19 works upward, and the first outer link 23 is connected to the seventh lever 501 via joint 501a. This increases the accessibility of the first outer link 23 with respect to the environment. Figure 23BThe kinematic mechanism shown is mounted at the end of the first outer link 23. This mechanism is actuated by an eleventh actuator 320 with an output shaft 321, on which an eighth lever 322 is mounted. A joint 32 is mounted on the eighth lever 322, and by means of an inner link 33, a joint 34, first levers 35a-35b, and a second connecting bearing 36, when the eighth lever 322 oscillates about the first rotation axis 180, the second lever 37 oscillates about the second rotation axis 181. The second connecting bearing 36 is mounted on the first connecting shaft 29. Oscillating the second lever 37 causes the tilting lever 300 to also oscillate about the first beam axis 312a. The first beam axis 312a can be mounted in different directions depending on the required tilt direction in the application. In the figure, the centerline of the first beam axis 312a is oriented in the Xw / Yw plane between the Xw and Yw axes of the world coordinate system. The tilting beam 302 is connected to the first beam bearing 301 mounted on the first beam axis 312a. Inclined beam 302 is also connected to inclined lever 300. Therefore, for example, swinging inclined lever 300 downwards will cause inclined beam 302 to rotate to the right about first beam axis 312a. Second beam bearing 303 is mounted at the lower end of inclined beam 302, and second beam axis 304 is mounted in second beam bearing 303. Second beam axis 304 is connected to beam 305 via ninth lever 309, first beam bearing 310, connecting rod 307, and second beam bearing 306. This linkage design between beam 305 and second beam axis 304 will cause second beam axis 304 to rotate in the same direction as the rotation of inclined beam 302 when inclined lever 300 rotates. And therefore, tool 44, which has a tool holder or tool axis 311, will rotate approximately twice the rotation angle of inclined lever 300, because the rotation of tool 44 will be the sum of the rotation of inclined beam 302 and the rotation of second beam axis 304. Beam 305 is mounted on first outer connecting rod 23. The first beam shaft 312a is also mounted on the first outer link 23 via shaft 312b. The tilting mechanism is configured to transmit the tilting movement of the tilting lever 300 as a correspondingly increased tilting movement of the tool 44. The tilting movements occur in the same direction. Thus, the linkage mechanism amplifies the movement of the tilting lever 300 into the movement of the tool shaft 311. The first beam bearing 310 and the second beam bearing 306 are arranged on different sides of the plane defined by the rotation axes of the second beam shaft 304 and the first beam shaft 312a. In this figure, the eleventh actuator 320 causes the tool 44 to rotate about the two rotation axes 502 / 503 of the tool, both of which are located in the horizontal plane and therefore belong to the type of the second rotation axis. The total rotation of the tool 44 is the sum of the rotations about axes 502 and 503.

[0175] Figure 23B The diagram shows... Figure 23AThe kinematics of the tilting mechanism used for tool rotation are shown. The continuous line indicates the kinematic state when the tool holder or tool shaft 311 is in a vertical orientation. The dashed line indicates the kinematics after the tilting lever 300 has rotated. Component designations are consistent with... Figure 23A The same applies. The diagram above shows when the tilting lever 300 rotates upward by an angle 390. As a result, the connecting rod 307 rotates by the same angle, and the second beam bearing 303 moves to position 303r. Due to the tilting beam 302, the ninth lever 309 will rotate upward relative to the connecting rod 307, and the bearing 310 will move to position 310r. This means that the tool 44 will rotate and move along line 391 to achieve orientation and position 44r. Figure 23B The figure below illustrates the corresponding kinematics when the tilt lever 300 is rotated downwards by an angle 392. The tool 44 will then rotate and move along line 393 to 44r. This combined rotation and movement of the tool 44 can be used to reach confined spaces, such as in machine maintenance applications. The length relationships between the tool holder or tool shaft 311, link 307, and links 23 and 324 can then be adjusted to match the geometry of the machine to be maintained.

[0176] Figure 24 The illustration shows a portion of a robotic arm according to a fifteenth embodiment of the present disclosure, including... Figure 23B A similar tilting mechanism. Figure 24 The diagram illustrates the situation when the first rotation axis 180 is vertical (parallel to the Zw axis) and when the first beam bearing 301 is directly mounted on the inner lever 19. Figure 23B The kinematics of mechanical mechanisms in the context can also be used in this situation. Now, similar to... Figures 23A-23B The inclined beam 302 in the inclined beam 632 replaces Figure 23A The first outer link 23 and the second actuator 2 are used to rotate the tilting beam 632 via the inner lever 19, joint 21, link 20, joint 22 and the seventh lever 501. The central axis 181b of the tool holder or tool shaft 311b is mounted parallel to the first rotation axis 180, and therefore, for a SCARA-type robot, it will always be parallel to the Zw axis. The kinematics of the mechanism controlled by the seventh lever 501 are... Figure 23B The same as described in [the text], meaning the tool can pick up objects, for example, behind a pillar or composite wall. If as in [the text]... Figure 23B The seventh lever 501 is mounted on the inclined beam 302 (in the figure, the seventh lever 501 is mounted on the outer ring of the first beam bearing 301, which is mounted on the inclined beam 632), and the robot will have a so-called backward bending feature, which means that the tool 44 can pick up objects on the left and right sides of the plane defined by the links 15 and 18.

[0177] Figure 25AThe illustration shows a robotic arm according to the sixteenth embodiment. More specifically, Figure 25A The illustration shows when using Figure 23B The mechanism described herein allows for both tilting and rotation of tool 44. For clarity in the accompanying drawings, link 20 now operates below the plane defined by links 15 and 18; otherwise, the base structure is... Figure 23A The same as in the previous section. The structure from the eleventh actuator 320 to the second lever 37 is also the same. Figure 23A The structure is the same. However, new ideas were introduced to control... Figure 23B The tilting mechanism. Therefore, the tilting lever 300 is now connected to the second lever 37 via link 329, shaft mechanism 326 (326a-326b) and link 324. The shaft 312 of the tilting mechanism is mounted on the tube 343 via bracket 398, and the tube 343 is rotated by the first rotary amplifier 342. Figure 25C The figure illustrates a tilting mechanism according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Shaft mechanism 326 is in... Figure 25C As shown in the diagram, it includes two shaft portions, a first shaft portion 326a and a second shaft portion 326b, which are connected by a bearing 348. The rotation center of the bearing 348 coincides with the coincident center of the shaft portions 326a and 326b. The shaft portions 326a and 326b are mounted in... Figure 25C The tube 343 shown on the right slides within the tube. A first shaft portion 326a has a cutout 349 along its surface, and the tube 343 has a tap 350 designed to travel within the cutout 349. Alternatively, a cutout can be present along the lower portion of the tube 343, and the tap can be present on the first shaft portion 326a. With this arrangement, the first shaft portion 326a will rotate with the tube 343. However, the second shaft portion 326b does not rotate and can therefore be attached to the link 324. If the link 324 cannot prevent some rotation of the second shaft portion 326b, a rotation locking mechanism for the second shaft portion 326b can be added above the tube 343. Now, look... Figure 25A The second shaft portion 326b is connected to the second lever 37 via joint 325, connecting rod 324, and joint 323, while the first shaft portion 326a is connected to the tilting lever 300 via pin 327, joint 328, connecting rod 329, joint 359, and the tenth lever 356. Therefore, the eleventh actuator 320 will cause the tilting lever 300 to rotate about shaft 312, and according to... Figure 23B The kinematics in the middle cause tool 44 to tilt. Therefore, with Figure 23AIn contrast, the eleventh actuator 320 causes tool 44 to rotate about two rotation axes 502 / 503 of the tool's second axis type. The twelfth actuator 335 rotates shaft 336, which in turn rotates eleventh lever 337, which in turn rotates twelfth lever 341 via joint 338, connecting rod 339, and joint 340. When twelfth lever 341 rotates, first rotation amplifier 342 causes tube 343 to rotate (this first rotation amplifier 342 includes, for example...). Figure 25B The gear mechanism in the transmission device (to make the tube 343 rotate at a larger angle than the lever 341), and the tilting mechanism will rotate because the tilting mechanism is mounted on the tube 343 via the bracket 398. Since the first shaft portion 326a will be based on the... Figure 25C The described mechanism rotates together with tube 343, therefore the transmission devices 327-328-329-359-356 will follow the rotation of the tilting mechanism, and the tilting will be independent of the rotation. Figure 25C The concept explained in the text will allow it to operate in all directions according to... Figure 23B Achieving full tilting capability. This is extremely useful for picking up or placing suspended or tilted objects. The rotation amplifier 342 can rely on different concepts including gear and / or linkage structures. An example of a rotation amplifier linkage structure is a backhoe mechanism, for example, according to International Patent Application PCT / EP2020 / 063573. Thus, the twelfth actuator 335 causes the tool 44 to rotate about the tool's first rotation axis 505 (see...). Figure 26 The 505 in the gear rotates. Of course, different gear designs can be used. Figure 25B An example of a compact gear according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is schematically illustrated. A twelfth lever 341 is mounted on a ring 395. The interior of the ring has teeth that engage an internal gear 397, which is mounted on a tube 343.

[0178] Figure 26 The illustration shows a robotic arm according to the seventeenth embodiment of this disclosure. More specifically, Figure 26 The diagram illustrates the relationship with Figure 23A Same main structure, but here it comes from Figure 23B The tilting mechanism has been replaced by a second rotary amplifier 332, which can be identical to the first rotary amplifier 342. Therefore, the tenth lever 356 engaging the second rotary amplifier 332 is connected to the first shaft portion 326a via a connecting rod 329. According to... Figure 25A and Figure 25CAs described, rotating the second lever 37 will cause the tenth lever 356 to rotate. Rotating the tenth lever 356 will result in an amplified rotation of the shaft 333, and consequently an amplified rotation of the tool 44. The second rotation amplifier 332 is mounted on the tube 343 by means of a bracket 345. Therefore, rotating the twelfth lever 341 will cause the first rotation amplifier 342 to rotate, and due to the... Figure 25C In this mechanism, the first connecting shaft 29 and the tenth lever 356 will rotate accordingly, and the tool 44 can rotate independently about the shaft 333 and the tube 343. Therefore, the eleventh actuator 320 causes the tool 44 to rotate about the second rotation axis 504. The twelfth actuator 335 causes the tool 44 to rotate about the second rotation axis 505. Figure 25A Compared to the previous design, one advantage of this design is that it can achieve higher rotational amplification.

[0179] Figure 27 The illustration shows a robotic arm according to an eighteenth embodiment of the present invention. More specifically, Figure 27 It shows the use of Figure 25C Another concept is presented to achieve independent tilting and rotation of tool 44. Here, a rack and pinion solution is used, where rack 400 is directly mounted on shaft portion 326a, and pinion 401 is mounted on shaft 402, which is mounted on bearing 403. Bearing 403 is connected to tube 343 via bracket 404. Rotating tube 343 will cause both rack and pinion to rotate, and tool 44 can be tilted in any direction via the rack and pinion arrangement. The figure also shows a different concept for engaging the first rotary amplifier 342. Twelfth actuator 335 now rotates shaft 405 parallel to the second inner link 18. Twelfth actuator 335 is mounted on the second inner link 18, and shaft 405 is supported by bearing 406, which is also mounted on the second inner link 18. Thirteenth lever 407 is mounted on shaft 405 at, for example, an angle of 90 degrees to achieve oscillating movement of the twelfth lever 407. Thirteenth lever 407 engages with the first rotary amplifier 342 via rotating lever 341. The thirteenth lever 407 is connected to the twelfth lever 341 via joint 408, connecting rod 409, and joint 340. Of course, this design for engaging the first rotary amplifier 342 can also be used... Figure 25A and Figure 26 In the case shown, the eleventh actuator 320 causes the tool 44 to rotate about the second rotation axis 506. The twelfth actuator 335 causes the tool 44 to rotate about the first rotation axis 505.

[0180] Figure 28 A robotic arm according to the nineteenth embodiment of this disclosure is illustrated. Figures 25A to 27 In this context, the rotational degree of freedom precedes the tilting degree of freedom in kinematics. Figure 28An example of the opposite case, tilting before rotation, is shown. A first rotary amplifier 361 rotates a second rotary amplifier 380 via a shaft 362. The first rotary amplifier 361 is mounted on connecting rods 23a and 384 via beams 382 and 383. Connecting rod 384 is parallel to connecting rod 23a and mounted on a first connecting shaft 29 using bearing 399. The purpose of connecting rod 384 is to make the mounting of the tool tilting and rotating structure more rigid. An eleventh actuator 320 will rotate a second lever 37, and via joints 323, 324, and 325, another lever 358 will rotate, thereby rotating shaft 362 and the second rotary amplifier 380. The second rotary amplifier 380 is engaged by a fourteenth lever 379, which is connected to a fifteenth lever 375 via joint 378, 377, and ball joint 376. When the first rotary amplifier 361 causes the second rotary amplifier 380 to rotate about axis 363 (the rotation axis of shaft 362), joint 378 will circle about axis 363. Because the ball joint 376 is mounted close to axis 363, the rotational degree of freedom is less dependent on the tilting degree of freedom. The fifteenth lever 375 is mounted on shaft 372, which rotates in bearing 373 and another bearing 374. Bearing 373 is mounted on connecting rod 384 via beams 385 and 386, and another bearing 374 is mounted on connecting rod 384 via beams 387 and 388. Shaft 372 is rotated by the thirteenth actuator 364 via shaft 365, the sixteenth lever 366, distance beam 367, joint 368, connecting rod 369, joint 370, and the seventeenth lever 371. Therefore, rotating shaft 365 will rotate tool holder 381 and tool 44 almost independently of the tilting obtained by engaging the first rotation amplifier 361 with the eleventh actuator 320. Thus, the eleventh actuator 320 rotates tool 44 about the second rotation axis 363. The thirteenth actuator 364 rotates tool 44 about the first rotation axis 507.

[0181] exist Figure 25A , Figure 26 and Figure 27 In the diagram, the first rotary amplifier 342 is positioned offset from the second rotation axis 181, primarily for ease of understanding. To achieve a greater working range of transmission between the rotations of the eleventh lever 337 and the twelfth lever 341 relative to the positional workspace of the tool 44, the rotary amplifier should be placed as close as possible to the second rotation axis 181. Therefore, in Figure 28 In this configuration, the seventeenth lever 371 is placed closer to the second axis of rotation 181. However, Figure 28 In the middle, at the boundary of the workspace of tool 44, the transmission efficiency between beam 367 and the seventeenth lever 371 is still low.

[0182] Figure 29A portion of a robotic arm according to a twentieth embodiment of the present disclosure is illustrated. More specifically, Figure 29 The illustration shows a method of transmission improved to the seventeenth lever 371 by means of the sixth universal joint 414 and the seventh universal joint 420. Figure 29 Basically with Figure 28 The same part is used in the first inner link 15, on which a transmission solution with universal joints 414 and 420 is installed. Therefore, the thirteenth actuator 364 is mounted on the first inner link 15 via a distance beam 410. The thirteenth actuator 364 causes the rotating shaft 411, which is mounted in bearing 412, to rotate. Bearing 412 is also mounted on the first inner link 15 via a distance beam 413. For maximum transmission efficiency, shaft 411 should be parallel to the first inner link 15. The sixth universal joint 414 is mounted at the end of shaft 411 such that its center is on the rotation axis 419. Rotation axis 419 is the rotation axis of joint 28. The output of the sixth universal joint 414 causes the shaft 415, which is mounted in bearing 416, to rotate. Bearing 416 is mounted on the portion of joint 28 mounted on the first connecting shaft 29 via beams 417 and 418. Alternatively, beams 417 and 418 can be mounted directly on the first connecting shaft 29. The seventh universal joint 420 is mounted on shaft 415 and rotates shaft 422. The seventh universal joint 420 is mounted such that its center is on rotation axis 421. Rotation axis 421 is the rotation axis of the first connecting bearing 31, about which the first outer connecting rod 23 rotates. Shaft 422 is mounted in bearing 423, which is mounted on the first outer connecting rod 23 via beam 424. The eighteenth lever 425 is mounted at a right angle on shaft 422 and rotates shaft 372 via joint 426, connecting rod 427, joint 370, and the seventeenth lever 371. Shaft 372 (and...) Figure 28 Compared to the first outer connecting rod 23, the first inner connecting rod 15 is mounted in bearing 373, which is in turn mounted on the first outer connecting rod 23 via beam 428. The sixth universal joint 414 transmits the rotation of shaft 411 to shaft 415, so that the rotation of the first inner connecting rod 15 relative to shaft 29 about the rotation axis 419 does not affect the rotation of shaft 415. Similarly, the seventh universal joint 420 makes the transmission of the rotation of shaft 415 to shaft 422 independent of the rotation of the first outer connecting rod 23. Therefore, the transmission between shaft 422 and shaft 372 is independent of tool 44 (see...). Figure 28 The position of the transmission can be adjusted, and in addition to using a transmission with linkage 427, a 90-degree gear transmission can also be used (see, for example, see...). Figure 10It should also be noted that a second transmission device of the same type, mounted on the second inner link 18, can be used. This second transmission device has a universal joint corresponding to the sixth universal joint 414, the center of which is on the axis of rotation of the joint at the end of the second inner link 18. In this way, this concept can be used to simultaneously control two degrees of freedom of tool rotation.

[0183] Figure 30 A portion of a robotic arm according to a twenty-first embodiment of this disclosure is illustrated. More specifically, Figure 30 The diagram illustrates how, if the universal joint is installed with its center at the intersection of rotation axes 419 and 421, a connection can be achieved using only one universal joint. Figure 29 The same transmission function is performed. Therefore, the first connecting bearing 31 is now installed with its rotation center coinciding with the center of the eighth universal joint 438. The first connecting bearing 31 is now mounted on beams 446 and 447, which are mounted on the first connecting shaft 29 (in... Figure 30 Instead of hiding it, see, for example Figure 29 (Where the first connecting shaft 29 is visible). A shaft 445 for the first connecting bearing 31 is mounted between beams 446 and 447, which are introduced such that the rotation axis 421 passes through the center of the eighth universal joint 438. The eighth universal joint 438 is mounted on shaft 411 and drives shaft 440. Shaft 440 is mounted on bearing 441, which is mounted on the first outer link 23 via beams 442, 443, and 444. A second lever 37 is mounted at a right angle to shaft 440 and moves link 324 up and down via joint 323 (e.g., with...). Figure 27 (Compared). For example, Figure 29 Similarly, shaft 411 is rotated by thirteenth actuator 364 and passes through bearing 412. Thirteenth actuator 364 and bearing 412 are mounted on the first inner connecting rod 15 via distance beams 410 and 413, respectively. Figure 29 compared to, Figure 30 The advantage of this solution is that it only requires one universal joint, but the workspace will be more limited when both links 15 and 23 are at their maximum angle simultaneously. As for... Figure 29 In this case, a second transmission device of the same type can also be installed on the second inner link 18.

[0184] Figure 31 The illustration shows a robotic arm according to a twenty-second embodiment of the present disclosure. More specifically, Figure 31 The diagram shows... Figure 23A and Figure 23B How can the tilting mechanism in the middle be related to... Figure 30The transmission mechanism is used together to achieve tool tilting and unlimited tool rotation. The basic structure of the actuation parallelogram formed by links 15 and 18 is... Figure 30 The same as in. With Figure 30 Similarly, the thirteenth actuator 364 and bearing 412 are mounted on the first inner connecting rod 15 by means of distance beams 410 and 413, respectively, and the eighth universal joint 438 is mounted on the rotating shaft 411. The eighth universal joint 438 is mounted such that its rotation center is located at the intersection of rotation axes 419 and 421. Rotation axis 419 is the rotation axis of the bearing of joint 28, which is mounted between the first inner connecting rod 15 and the first connecting shaft 29 (not visible in the figure, but see [reference]). Figure 29 The rotation axis 421 is the rotation axis of the first connecting bearing 31, and the first outer connecting rod 23 is mounted on the first connecting bearing 31. The first connecting bearing 31 is mounted offset from the second rotation axis 181 between the ends of connecting rods 15 and 18. This offset is achieved by beams 446 and 447, which are mounted on joints 28 and 27, respectively. The first connecting bearing 31 is mounted on shaft 445 between beams 446 and 447. The first outer connecting rod 23 can swing freely between the beams. An eighth universal joint 438 drives shaft 440, which rotates in bearing 441. Bearing 441 is mounted on the first outer connecting rod 23 via beams 444, 443, and 442. An angle gear 463 is mounted on shaft 440 and rotates shaft 466. Shaft 466 is mounted in bearings 464 and 467. Bearing 464 is mounted on the first outer connecting rod 23 via beams 465, 443, and 442. Bearing 467 is mounted on the first outer connecting rod 23 via beams 468, 469, and 470. A ninth universal joint 471 is mounted on the lower end of shaft 466, and is mounted such that its center of rotation is on the axis of rotation 474 of the first beam bearing 301 of the tilting mechanism. The ninth universal joint 471 drives shaft 472 mounted in bearing 473. Bearing 473 is mounted on the tilting beam 302 of the tilting mechanism. Because the tilting beam 302 of the tilting mechanism swings no more than + / - 50 degrees relative to the first beam shaft 312a mounted on connecting rod 23 (see...), the tilting mechanism's tilting beam 302... Figure 23B Therefore, the angle of the universal joint is within its working range. The tenth universal joint 475 is mounted on the lower end of the shaft 472 and drives the tool shaft 311. The tenth universal joint 475 is mounted so that its rotation center is on the rotation axis 477 of the second beam bearing 303 of the tilting mechanism. The tool shaft 311 is mounted in the bearing 476, which is mounted on the second beam shaft 304 of the tilting mechanism via the beam 477'. Since the second beam shaft 304 of the tilting mechanism rotates no more than + / - 50 degrees relative to the tilting beam 302 (see...), the angle of the universal joint is within its working range. Figure 23BTherefore, the angle of the universal joint is within its working range. Tool 44 is mounted at the end of tool shaft 311 and can therefore be controlled to rotate by thirteenth actuator 364 without any rotation angle limitation.

[0185] To engage the tilting mechanism, a transmission device similar to that on the first inner link 15 is mounted on the second inner link 18. Therefore, the fourteenth actuator 450 rotates the shaft 452, which is mounted in the bearing 453. The fourteenth actuator 450 is mounted on the second inner link 18 via an offset beam 451, and the bearing 453 is mounted on the second inner link 18 via an offset beam 454. The eleventh universal joint 455 is mounted on the left end of the shaft 452 such that its center is at the intersection of rotation axes 421 and 456. Rotation axis 421 is defined by the rotation axis of the first connecting bearing 31, while rotation axis 456 is defined by the rotation axis of the joint 27. The eleventh universal joint 455 drives the shaft 456', which rotates in the bearing 457. The bearing 457 is mounted on the first outer link 23 via beams 461, 462, and 442. The nineteenth lever 458 is mounted on the shaft 456' and engages the tilting mechanism via joint 459, connecting rod 460, joint 325, and tilting lever 300. Therefore, rotating the shaft 452 via the fourteenth actuator 450 engages the mechanism according to... Figure 23B The tilting mechanism. When the tilting mechanism tilts the tool 44, the rotation mechanism with universal joints 471 and 475 will transmit rotation to the tool 44 independently of the tilt angle. Therefore, the fourteenth actuator 450 causes the tool 44 to rotate about two rotation axes 474 / 477, which are of the second rotation axis type of the tool. The thirteenth actuator 364 causes the tool 44 to rotate about the first rotation axis 508 of the tool.

[0186] Figure 32 The illustration shows a robotic arm according to a twenty-third embodiment of the present disclosure. More specifically, Figure 32 The diagram illustrates the use of Figure 30 and Figure 31 The transmission device is designed to rotate a device with Figure 23A The possibilities of tools based on the shown basic structure. Figure 32 The illustration also shows the possibility of mounting shaft 411 below the first inner link 15, which would provide more space around joint 28. The upper structure, having an actuation parallelogram formed by links 15 and 18, and a link assembly controlling the tilt angle of the tool, are... Figure 23AThe same applies to the above. The tool tilts about a rotation axis 480, which is the rotation axis of bearing 483 mounted on the first outer link 23 via beam 484. The eleventh actuator 320 rotates the second lever 37 about the second rotation axis 181, and via link 324, beams 481, 482, and 485 are actuated to rotate (tilt) about axis 480. To allow the tool 44 to rotate independently of tilting, a universal joint is mounted on shaft 466 such that the center of the joint is on axis 480. The tenth universal joint 475 is actuated by the thirteenth actuator 364 mounted on a distance beam 410 below the first inner link 15. The actuator rotates shaft 411 mounted in bearing 412. Bearing 412 is mounted on the underside of the link via distance beam 413. The eighth universal joint 438 is mounted on the end of shaft 411, with the center of the eighth universal joint 438 placed at the intersection formed between rotation axes 187 and 421. Axis 187 is defined by the axis of rotation of the bearing in joint 28, while axis 421 is defined by the axis of rotation of the first beam bearing 301, on which the first outer connecting rod 23 is mounted. It can be seen that axis 421 is now located below the second axis of rotation 181, so that shaft 411 is located below the first inner connecting rod 15, and therefore the eighth universal joint 438 is located below joint 28. To make axis 421 below the second axis of rotation 181, vertical beams 493 and 494 are introduced. They are mounted on a first connecting shaft 29, which has a gap between the mounting points of beams 493 and 494 (e.g., in...). Figure 31 In, but Figure 31 Unlike in Figure 32 (That's obvious). If the joint 22 of link 20 is directly mounted on the first outer link 23 instead of on the tilting lever 300, and if the link preferably operates under the parallelogram including links 15 and 18, then in Figure 32 The design eliminates the need for clearance in the first connecting shaft 29, which may imply a more rigid design. Therefore, according to Figure 32Beams 493 and 494 are mounted on portions of the first connecting shaft 29 at their upper ends and on shaft 492 at their other ends, with the first beam bearing 301 rotating on shaft 492. The eighth universal joint 438 drives the angle gear 463. The input gear is mounted on shaft 440, which rotates in bearing 441. Bearing 441 is mounted on this side of the gear so that shaft 466 is as close as possible to the plane defined by rotation axes 421 and 181, thus ensuring that the working range of the tenth universal joint 475 is as symmetrical as possible about the vertical direction of tool shaft 311. Bearing 441 is mounted on the first outer connecting rod 23 via beams 488, 489, 490, and 491. The output gear of the angle gear 463 is mounted on shaft 466, which rotates in bearings 464 and 467. Bearing 464 is mounted on the first outer connecting rod 23 via beams 490 and 491, and bearing 467 is mounted on the first outer connecting rod 23 via beams 486 and 487. Of course, the first beam bearing 301 for the first outer connecting rod 23 should be mounted close to axis 187, eliminating the need for long beams 485, 486, and 490. Beam 484 is used to compensate for the offset between shaft 466 and the plane defined by rotation axes 181 and 421. Conversely, the shaft can be mounted tilted toward the plane of rotation axes 181 and 421. Of course, there are many ways to modify the design; for example, the second connecting bearing 36 could be mounted on shaft 492 instead of the first connecting shaft 29. Now, rotating shaft 466 will therefore rotate the tenth universal joint 475, which in turn will rotate the tool shaft 311. When the connecting rod 324 rotates beams 481, 482, and 485 about the rotation axis 480 of bearing 483 via joint 325, the tool shaft and tool 44 will tilt, and the tenth universal joint 475 will rotate tool 44. Of course, in this case, as in... Figure 31 In, it can also be used as in Figure 31 A rotary transmission device with shaft 452 replaces the transmission device including inner link 33 in this figure. Therefore, the eleventh actuator 320 causes tool 44 to rotate about the tool's second rotation axis 480. The thirteenth actuator 364 causes tool 44 to rotate about the tool's first rotation axis 508.

[0187] Rotation axes 186, 505, 507, and 508 can each be referred to as the first rotation axis of tool 44. Rotation axes 226, 363, 474 / 477, 480, 501, 502 / 503, 504, 506, 509, 510, 511, and 700 can each be referred to as the second rotation axis of tool 44.

[0188] This disclosure is not limited to the preferred embodiments described above. Various alternatives, modifications, and equivalents may be used. Therefore, the above embodiments should not be considered as limiting the scope of this disclosure.

Claims

1. A robotic arm (500) for positioning a tool (44), said robotic arm (500) comprising: Inner arm linkage assembly (15, 18, 29); Outer boom linkage (23; 81; 173; 228; 632; 384）； The first actuator (1; 249) is configured to rotate the inner arm linkage about a first rotation axis (180); The inner arm linkage assembly is described below: -- Including a first inner link (15) and a second inner link (18), the first inner link (15) is arranged at its inner end to rotate about a fourth rotation axis (185), and the second inner link (18) is arranged at its inner end to rotate about a different third rotation axis (182), wherein the third rotation axis and the fourth rotation axis (182, 185) are perpendicular to the first rotation axis (180), and the rotation of the first inner link (15) about the fourth rotation axis (185) and the rotation of the second inner link (18) about the third rotation axis (182) result in a geometrical reconfiguration of the inner arm link assembly. -- Including connecting shafts (29, 77), which are mounted at the outer ends of the first inner link (15) and the second inner link (18) by means of joints (27, 28) with at least one degree of freedom, and -- Connected to the outer arm linkage assembly via the connecting shafts (29, 77); and The outer arm linkage assembly is described below: -- Pivotibly arranged to rotate about a second axis of rotation (181; 330) parallel or aligned with the connecting shafts (29, 77), and -- Connect to the tool mentioned. This forms a first kinematic chain from the first actuator to the tool, the first kinematic chain providing a first degree of freedom for positioning the tool; A second actuator (2; 254) is configured to rotate the outer arm linkage about the second rotation axis (181, 330), thereby forming a second kinematic chain from the second actuator to the tool, the second kinematic chain providing a second degree of freedom for positioning the tool; as well as A third actuator (3) is configured to move the outer arm linkage by means of actuating the inner arm linkage through actuation energy geometric reconstruction, thereby causing the movement of the two rotation axes (181, 330), the outer arm linkage being arranged to rotate about the second rotation axis, thereby forming a third kinematic chain from the third actuator to the tool, the third kinematic chain providing a third degree of freedom for positioning the tool; The robotic arm (500) further includes one or more transmission mechanisms arranged in combination with the extra-arm linkage to achieve controlled orientation of the tool, wherein the one or more transmission mechanisms include: -- One or more levers (35, 35a, 35b, 37, 37b, 41, 41b, 50, 300, 309, 341, 358, 360, 371, 375, 379, 425, 458, 501) configured to convert rotation into translation or translation into rotation; and -- One or more links (33-39; 33, 57, 39; 33b, 57b, 39b, 307, 324, 326, 327, 339, 377, 427, 460), wherein the outer link (39; 39b) of one or more links (33-39; 33, 57, 39; 33b, 57b, 39b) and the first outer link of the outer arm link group (23) are part of the second kinematic parallelogram (184).

2. The robot arm (500) according to claim 1, wherein the first inner link (15) and the second inner link (18) of the inner arm link assembly are portions of the first kinematic parallelogram (183).

3. The robotic arm (500) according to claim 2, wherein the first motion parallelogram (183) is configured to rotate about the first rotation axis (180).

4. The robotic arm (500) according to claim 2 or 3, wherein, The outer arm linkage is configured to rotate with one degree of freedom in a second plane perpendicular to the first plane of the first kinematic parallelogram (183).

5. The robotic arm (500) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the second kinematic chain includes a lever mechanism (19; 251) and at least one link (20, 350, 352, 355), wherein the at least one link (20, 350, 352, 355) connects the lever mechanism (19, 251) to the outer arm link assembly, and wherein the second actuator (2, 254) is configured to rotate the outer arm link assembly by actuating the lever mechanism (19; 251).

6. The robotic arm (500) according to claim 1, wherein, One of the one or more transmission mechanisms is arranged to cause the tool to rotate about a first axis of rotation of the tool (186, 505, 507, 508).

7. The robotic arm (500) according to claim 6, wherein, Another of the one or more transmission mechanisms is arranged such that the tool rotates about a second axis of rotation of the tool (226, 363, 474 / 477, 480, 501, 502 / 503, 504, 506, 509, 510, 511, 700), the second axis of rotation of the tool (226, 363, 474 / 477, 480, 501, 502 / 503, 504, 506, 509, 510, 511, 700) being non-parallel to the first axis of rotation of the tool (186, 505, 507, 508).

8. The robotic arm (500) according to claim 7, wherein one of the one or more transmission mechanisms includes a bearing, the axis of rotation of the bearing being parallel to or coincident with the second axis of rotation (181; 330).

9. The robotic arm (500) according to claim 1, wherein, The inner link (33; 33b) of the one or more links (33-39; 33, 57, 39; 33b, 57b, 39b) is mounted to the base (13) via a joint (32).

10. The robotic arm (500) according to any one of claims 1, 7-9, comprising one or more actuators (46; 98; 106; 148; 150; 320; 335; 364; 450), each actuator being configured to control the rotation axis (186, 363, 474 / 477, 480, 501, 502 / 503, 504, 505, 506, 507, 508, 510, 700) of the tool (44) via one of the one or more transmission mechanisms, and wherein the one or more transmission mechanisms comprises one or more of a linkage and a gear transmission connecting one of the one or more actuators to the tool (44).

11. The robotic arm (500) according to any one of claims 1, 7-8, comprising one or more actuators (46; 98; 106; 148; 150; 320; 335; 364; 450), each actuator being configured to control the rotation axis (186, 363, 474 / 477, 480, 501, 502 / 503, 504, 505, 506, 507, 508, 510, 700) of the tool (44) via one of the one or more transmission mechanisms, and wherein the one or more transmission mechanisms include one of the one or more actuators... An actuator is connected to the tool (44) to a backhoe drive, wherein the backhoe drive is placed between an actuated third lever (47) and a first lever (35) and includes a first backhoe link (56) and a second backhoe link (57), the first backhoe link (56) being mounted between the third lever (47) and an intermediate fifth lever (50), the intermediate fifth lever (50) being mounted on the first inner link (15) via a bearing (51) to swing about the rotation axis of the bearing (51), and the second backhoe link (57) being mounted between the intermediate fifth lever (50) and the first lever (35).

12. The robotic arm (500) of claim 11, wherein the backhoe drive is configured to increase the rotational movement of one of the one or more actuators by a corresponding rotational increase of the rotational axis of the tool.

13. The robotic arm (500) according to any one of claims 1, 7-9, comprising one or more actuators (46; 98; 106; 148; 150; 320; 335; 364; 450), each actuator being configured to control the rotation axis (186, 363, 474 / 477, 480, 501, 502 / 503, 504, 505, 506, 507, 508, 510, 700) of the tool (44) via one of the one or more transmission mechanisms, and wherein the one or more transmission mechanisms comprises a rotation shaft drive connecting one of the one or more actuators to the tool (44).

14. The robotic arm (500) according to any one of claims 1, 7-9, comprising one or more actuators (46; 98; 106; 148; 150; 320; 335; 364; 450), each actuator being configured to control the rotation axis (186, 363, 474 / 477, 480, 501, 502 / 503, 504, 505, 506, 507, 508, 510, 700) of the tool (44) via one of the one or more transmission mechanisms, and wherein the one or more transmission mechanisms comprises a universal joint transmission device connecting one of the one or more actuators to the tool (44).

15. The robotic arm (500) according to claim 10, wherein, The gear transmission device includes two or more gears of different sizes, which are arranged to transmit the rotational movement of one of the one or more actuators as a corresponding rotation of the rotational axis of the tool.

16. The robotic arm (500) according to any one of claims 10-15, wherein the one or more transmission mechanisms comprise one or more belt drives.

17. The robotic arm (500) of claim 16, wherein one of the one or more belt drives (66-65, 101-65, 66-100) is arranged to rotate the tool about a first axis of rotation (186) of the tool without any limitation on the rotation angle.

18. The robotic arm (500) according to claim 17, wherein, The second rotation axis (700) of the tool (44) is not parallel to the first rotation axis (186) of the tool.

19. The robotic arm (500) according to any one of claims 16-18, wherein at least one of the belt drive devices (66, 101, 66a, 66b) is connected in series with at least one universal joint (67, 76, 103, 104, 67a, 76a, 76b).

20. The robotic arm (500) according to any one of claims 1, 6-19, wherein, At least one of the one or more transmission mechanisms has an inner connecting rod or inner transmission device that is parallel to the first inner connecting rod and the second inner connecting rod, and at least one of the one or more transmission mechanisms has an outer connecting rod or outer transmission device that is parallel to the outer arm of the outer arm linkage group.

21. The robotic arm (500) according to any one of claims 1, 6-19, wherein the one or more transmission mechanisms include a fourth transmission mechanism and a fifth transmission mechanism, each of the fourth transmission mechanism and the fifth transmission mechanism being configured to control different rotation axes of the tool.

22. The robotic arm (500) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, At least one of the first inner link and the second inner link is configured to rotate about an axis fixed to the base (13) and aligned with the first rotation axis (180).

23. The robotic arm (500) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the second rotation axis (181, 330) is parallel to the first rotation axis (180).

24. The robot arm (500) according to any one of claims 1, 6-19, 21, wherein the one or more transmission mechanisms comprise one or more universal joints, and wherein the one or more universal joints are mounted in such a manner that the joint center of each universal joint is located on an axis (164, 180, 181, 187, 226, 419, 421, 456, 474, 477, 480) defined by the centerline of the shafts (4, 6, 29, 45, 45a, 45b, 77, 77a, 77b, 98, 445, 492) and / or the rotation axis of the bearings (31, 79, 99, 110, 224a, 301, 303, 312a, 419, 483, 622).

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