Deployable Robot Arm with Spiral Hub and SaFE Panels
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing deployable robot arms face a trade-off between storage efficiency and structural rigidity, making it difficult to achieve both high storage efficiency and high rigidity simultaneously.
Innovation Solution
A deployable high-rigidity robot arm with a folding and rolling storage type, featuring a hub with a spiral structure, panels with a Slide and Fold Enabling (SaFE) structure, and a shape-forming apparatus that forms a bent structure, allowing for telescoping while maintaining rigidity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the number of links is increased in deployable linkage mechanism, then storage efficiency is increased, but overall structure becomes weaker
Solution Approach 1:
The robot arm is divided into multiple modular links connected by joints, allowing the structure to be segmented for compact storage while maintaining strength through strategic placement of reinforcement elements at critical joint locations
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs composite material structures combining rigid link elements with reinforcing components, creating a hybrid structure that achieves both high storage efficiency through compact folding and sufficient structural strength through material composition
2Volume of moving object
If foldable structure is folded flat through folding line, then storage efficiency is high, but bending strength of arm is weakened
Solution Approach 1:
Reinforcement elements are pre-installed at the folding lines and joint locations before the folding operation, ensuring that the structural strength is maintained in advance at the most vulnerable points during the folding and storage process
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies reinforcement elements locally at critical folding lines and joint positions rather than uniformly throughout the entire structure, achieving enhanced bending strength at key locations while maintaining overall compactness and storage efficiency
3Ease of operation
If structural coupling element is added in zipper mechanism, then structure is deployed, but strength and storage efficiency of coupling portion have trade-off relationship
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces intermediate reinforcement elements that act as mediators between the coupling portions, distributing stresses and enhancing the coupling strength without interfering with the deployment mechanism's operation or storage efficiency
4Reliability
If thickness is limited in rollable structure, then winding on hub is avoided, but high-rigidity arm is difficult to be realized
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a nested multi-layer structure where thinner panels are stacked and nested within each other, allowing the overall structure to achieve high rigidity through the combined effect of multiple layers while maintaining the ability to roll onto the hub without structural damage
Data Source
AI summary
Proposed is a deployable high-rigidity robot arm in a folding and rolling type. the deployable high-rigidity robot arm includes a hub capable of being rotated forward or backward, a plurality of panels having a sliding and folding structure that is capable of being wound or unwound on the hub, a shape-forming apparatus coupled to the plurality of panels and configured such that the plurality of panels is unwound from the hub and a bent structure is formed, and a shape-maintaining apparatus configured to maintain and extend the bent structure formed by the shape-forming apparatus. Furthermore, the plurality of panels is configured to be telescoped by a rotation of the hub while the plurality of panels maintains the bent structure.