Eversible Flexible Robot Arm for Independent Payload Positioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing flexible pneumatic robot arms deployed by eversion face challenges in controlling the movement and positioning of payloads due to the inflated sleeve surrounding the central sheath, leading to unidirectional deployment and limitations in maneuverability, particularly in confined environments.
Innovation Solution
A flexible pneumatic arm with a tubular body and a central sheath, utilizing two fluid streams for deployment and a secondary fluid layer to separate the sheath from the tubular element, combined with traction mechanisms and membrane conditioning elements like spreaders and idler wheels, allowing independent control of payload movement and orientation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If the robot arm is deployed by eversion of the membrane from the storage chamber, then the arm can be deployed without moving pollution or causing deterioration of the environment, but the inflated sleeve surrounds the central sheath causing the payload to move forward twice as fast as the distal end, making positioning control difficult
Solution Approach 1:
A second fluid stream is introduced as an intermediary substance between the inflated sleeve and the central sheath. This fluid creates a lubricating layer that prevents direct contact and friction, allowing the central sheath to move independently at a controlled speed while the sleeve inflates at a different speed, thus resolving the speed mismatch problem while maintaining the environmentally friendly eversion deployment method
2Device complexity
If the robot arm uses unidirectional deployment by inflation only, then the deployment process is simple, but rewinding and effective storage of the arm cannot be achieved, limiting practical use
Solution Approach 1:
The system transitions from static unidirectional inflation to dynamic bidirectional control by introducing a second fluid stream that can be independently controlled. This allows the central sheath to be pushed forward during deployment and pulled back during retraction, enabling the arm to be effectively stored and reused while maintaining relatively simple inflation-based mechanics
3Volume of moving object
If the robot arm is designed for deployment in confined zones, then it can access difficult-to-reach areas, but the payload cannot be reliably retained in place relative to the distal end of the arm
Solution Approach 1:
The second fluid stream acts as a mediator that decouples the motion of the inflated sleeve from the central sheath carrying the payload. By creating a fluid barrier, it allows independent speed control of the central sheath, enabling reliable payload positioning and retention in confined spaces while maintaining access to difficult-to-reach areas
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables precise control of payload movement and orientation within confined spaces, facilitating deployment and retraction, and enabling maneuverability in multiple directions, including in explosive atmospheres, with improved control over the deployment and storage process.
Implementation Method 1
the sleeve being able to be inflated and to be deployed by eversion at the distal end of the tubular body of the arm, termed the apex, from said storage chamber by the action of the first stream of fluid
Implementation Method 2
said second stream of fluid being able to create and to maintain a film of fluid around the tubular element in order to facilitate the introduction into and/or the movement in the sheath of said tubular element
Data Source
AI summary
A robot is provided with an arm in the form of a tubular body having a sleeve (12) formed of a flexible membrane that is capable of being inflated and deployed by eversion at the distal end of the arm from the storage chamber (4) by means of a first fluid stream. This tubular sleeve (12) forms, when it is in the deployed state, a central inside sheath that can be used to house and receive a flexible tubular element carrying a payload such as a camera or a sensor or an actuator. A second fluid stream is injected between the tube and the tubular element, thereby enabling the latter to move separately from the tube. Cables or wires (22a, 22c), arranged in peripheral sheaths of the sleeve (12), guide and orient the movement of the arm. Such an arrangement is configured for inspection of straight or bent pipes such as pipes in a confined environment or for the transport of payloads in pipes, in particular in an industrial, sanitary, nuclear or marine environment, or in aggressive or hazardous conditions.