Gripper Jaw Tactile Sensor Recess Design
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing gripper devices with tactile sensors lack user-friendly and durable solutions for force detection, as they are difficult to maintain and have limited service life due to the integration of sensors and lack of precise force measurement.
Innovation Solution
A gripper jaw design with a recess for a replaceable tactile sensor and an elastic layer acting as a mechanical low-pass filter, allowing for precise force detection and extended service life, featuring a sensor array with taxels that deform reversibly and an elastic layer that protects the sensor and enhances sensitivity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If tactile sensors are integrated into the gripping surface, then force detection capability is improved, but sensor replacement difficulty and maintenance complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The tactile sensor is segmented from the gripper jaw body through a recess design, allowing the sensor to be separated into an independent replaceable module. The sensor array with taxels is housed in a dedicated sensor housing that can be removed and replaced without affecting the structural integrity of the gripper jaw, thus maintaining force detection capability while enabling easy maintenance.
Solution Approach 2:
The tactile sensor is extracted from the gripping surface by creating a recess that houses the sensor array separately from the main jaw structure. This extraction allows the sensor to be removed and replaced independently, solving the contradiction between maintaining precise force detection and enabling easy sensor replacement for maintenance.
2Manufacturing precision
If the sensor surface is flush with the gripping surface, then gripping accuracy is improved, but sensor durability and service life decrease due to excessive deformation
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor surface is positioned in a different dimension relative to the gripping surface by creating a recess. This dimensional change allows the sensor to protrude slightly beyond the gripping surface, reducing deformation during gripping operations while maintaining accurate contact with objects. The recess depth is optimized to balance between durability and gripping precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The recess structure provides beforehand cushioning for the sensor elements by allowing controlled deformation within the recess space. This cushioning effect protects the taxels from excessive deformation that would occur if the sensor were flush with the gripping surface, thereby extending sensor service life while maintaining gripping accuracy.
3Measurement precision
If the elastic layer is made thinner to improve sensor sensitivity, then force detection precision is improved, but mechanical protection capability and service life decrease
Solution Approach 1:
The thickness of the elastic layer is optimized to a specific parameter range that balances sensitivity and protection. By carefully selecting the elastic layer thickness, the system achieves sufficient force detection precision while maintaining adequate mechanical protection for the underlying sensor array, resolving the contradiction between sensitivity and durability.
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
The design enables improved user-friendly tactile sensing, easy replacement of sensors, and increased service life by limiting deformation and protecting the sensor array, while allowing for precise force measurement and secure object gripping.
Implementation Method 1
the taxels Tn,m for detecting externally applied forces Fext along the z-direction are elastically reversibly deformable
Implementation Method 2
an elastic layer ES arranged directly above the sensor array overlaps the sensor array and acts as a mechanical low-pass filter
Data Source
AI summary
A gripper jaw to grip an object, the jaw having a gripping surface with a recess therein, the jaw including: a tactile sensor with a sensor surface and a sensor thickness integrated in the recess in a z-direction, wherein the sensor includes: a base arranged lowermost in the recess, a sensor array arranged on the base with a plurality of taxels being sensitive elements arranged over an area of the base, the taxels configured to detect externally applied forces along the z-direction, wherein each taxel is reversibly deformable, and an elastic layer arranged above and overlapping the array, the layer acting as a mechanical low-pass filter and, in an unloaded state, having a layer thickness, wherein an outwardly facing surface of the layer forms a partial area of the sensor surface, wherein the sensor integrated in the recess projects with the sensor surface beyond the gripping surface in the z-direction.