11314 results about "Relative motion" patented technology

Surgical assemblies, instruments, and related methods are disclosed that control tissue gripping force. A surgical assembly includes an end effector including a jaw operable to grip a patient tissue and a spring assembly. The spring assembly includes an output link drivingly coupled with the jaw, an input link drivingly coupled to an articulation source, and a spring coupled with the input and output links to transfer an articulation force from the input link to the output link. The spring is preloaded to inhibit relative movement between the input link and the output link while the transferred articulation force is below a predetermined level and so as to allow relative movement between the input link and the output link when the transferred articulation force is above the predetermined level.

The invention provides articulating mechanisms, and flexible members and flexible segments that can form such articulating mechanisms. The mechanisms are useful, for example, for remote steering, guidance and / or manipulation of various instruments and tools at a targeted location. The mechanisms, members or segments include links connected by flexible hinges. The proximal and distal ends of the mechanisms are connected by at least one set of cables in such a fashion that a proximal active flexible segment forms a discrete pair with a distal active flexible segment. Movement of active flexible segments at the proximal end of the mechanism results in a corresponding, relative movement of segments at the distal end of the mechanism. This configuration allows each flexible segment pair to move independently of one another and also permits the articulating mechanism to undergo complex movements and adopt complex configurations.

A torque head for gripping tubular members, in at least some aspects, has a housing, grip mechanism secured within the housing, the grip mechanism for selectively gripping a tubular member, the grip mechanism including at least one jaw selectively movable toward and away from a portion of a tubular member within the housing, the at least one jaw having mounted thereon slip apparatus for engaging the portion of the tubular member, the slip apparatus including die apparatus movably mounted to the at least one jaw, the die apparatus movable with respect to the at least one jaw so that relative movement of the tubular with respect to the torque head is possible to the extent that the die apparatus is movable.

A system that has a remote control, e.g., a wand, equipped with a relative motion sensor that outputs data indicative of a change in position of the wand. The system also has one or more light sources and a photodetector that detects their light and outputs data indicative of the detected light. The system uses one or more controllers to determine the absolute position of the wand based on the data output by the relative motion sensor and by the photodetector. The data enables determination of the absolute pose of the wand, which includes the absolute position of a reference point chosen on the wand and the absolute orientation of the wand. To properly express the absolute parameters of position and / or orientation of the wand a reference location is chosen with respect to which the calculations are performed. The system is coupled to a display that shows an image defined by a first and second orthogonal axes such as two axes belonging to world coordinates (Xo,Yo,Zo). The one or more controllers are configured to generate signals that are a function of the absolute position of the wand in or along a third axis for rendering the display. To simplify the mapping of a real three-dimensional environment in which the wand is operated to the cyberspace of the application that the system is running, the third axis is preferably the third Cartesian coordinate axis of world coordinates (Xo,Yo,Zo).

A vapor deposition reactor includes a chamber filled with a first material, and at least one reaction module in the chamber. The reaction module may be configured to make a substrate pass the reaction module through a relative motion between the substrate and the reaction module. The reaction module may include an injection unit for injecting a second material to the substrate. A method for forming thin film includes positioning a substrate in a chamber, filling a first material in the chamber, moving the substrate relative to a reaction module in the chamber, and injecting a second material to the substrate while the substrate passes the reaction module.