Arrester Unit Cable Management for Tendon Robots
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Solution Overview
Problem
Tendon-suspended robots face limitations in navigating around furniture due to the space required for tendons, which restricts their movement in in-house environments, and existing systems do not effectively manage cable forces, leading to high tensions that are difficult to manage with conventional winding mechanisms.
Innovation Solution
The use of an arrester unit to keep main cables together, connected to the payload platform by an anchoring cable with a winding mechanism, which forms a ring or disk with apertures and rollers to minimize friction and distribute cable forces evenly, thereby increasing the reachable area and reducing cable tension.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If tendon-suspended robots are used for three-dimensional movement, then mobility and task performance are improved, but the space required for tendons above the platform increases, limiting navigation in in-house environments
Solution Approach 1:
The arrester unit is positioned within the workspace volume already defined by the tendon anchors, nesting the cable management function inside the existing structural envelope rather than requiring additional external space. This allows the system to maintain 3D movement capability while containing all necessary components within the original workspace boundaries.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention transitions from managing tendon spatial distribution in 3D space to managing cable forces through a centralized arrester unit that operates in a different dimensional regime - using force vector summation and anchoring mechanics rather than spatial arrangement, thereby reducing the horizontal space requirement for cable management.
2Ease of operation
If conventional winding mechanisms are used to control tendon length, then platform positioning is achieved, but cable forces become excessively high and difficult to manage
Solution Approach 1:
The arrester unit serves as an intermediary element between the multiple tendon forces and the payload platform. It collects and sums the cable forces vectorially, then transmits the combined force to the platform through a single anchoring cable. This intermediary structure distributes and balances the forces, preventing excessive tension in any single cable while maintaining precise positioning control.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention merges multiple separate cable force management functions into a single integrated arrester unit. Instead of controlling each tendon independently with separate winding mechanisms, the system combines all cable forces at the arrester unit, which then manages the total load through one anchoring cable, significantly reducing the force management complexity and peak cable tensions.
Data Source
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AI summary
A payload suspension system for facilitating three- dimensional movement of a suspended payload especially but not exclusively for aerial tethered/cable suspended robots, rescue systems and crane systems is provided. Keeping the main cables together by an arrester unit can increase the reachable area of a payload and therefore a larger place for positioning is available and less space is required for the suspending cables. A payload platform is suspended by main cables traversing through the arrester unit which keeps the main cables together. The arrester unit is connected to the payload platform by an anchoring cable.