Robot Arm Cable Guide Mechanism for Unrestricted C-Arm Movement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional medical examination and treatment apparatuses, such as the ARTIS Zeego robot, face difficulties in guiding cable strands during complex movements due to their reliance on ceiling-mounted storage devices, which restrict movement and slow down the robot arm.
Innovation Solution
A telescopic pull-out system or joint mechanism is integrated onto the robot or its components to provide additional cable length directly, allowing for unrestricted movement about multiple axes, with driven pull-outs and counterweights to enhance speed and stability, and a damping element to reduce vibrations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Speed
If a ceiling-mounted cable storage device is used, then the cable strand can be stored and retrieved, but the movement of the robot arm is restricted and the speed is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The cable storage function is extracted from the ceiling-mounted device and integrated directly onto the robot arm. The cable storage device is now part of the moving robot arm structure, allowing the cable to be fed and retrieved along with the arm's movement, eliminating the restriction imposed by a fixed ceiling-mounted storage device.
Solution Approach 2:
The cable management system transitions from a fixed spatial arrangement (ceiling-mounted) to a moving spatial arrangement (integrated on robot arm). This dimensional change allows the cable storage device to move with the robot arm in multiple axes, providing unrestricted movement while maintaining cable management capability.
2Ease of operation
If the cable strand is guided through multiple passages in the robot arm, then the cable can be routed to the C-arm, but the guiding becomes difficult and complex
Solution Approach 1:
The cable storage device and cable guiding function are merged into a single integrated unit mounted on the robot arm. This combination simplifies the overall system by reducing the number of separate components and passages needed, making cable guidance easier while maintaining functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The cable storage device acts as an intermediary between the cable strand and the C-arm, providing a mobile reference point for cable management. This intermediary structure simplifies the guiding process by allowing the cable to be managed relative to the moving arm rather than through multiple fixed passages.
3Length of moving object
If the cable storage device is mounted on the ceiling, then the cable strand can be pulled out and drawn back, but the additional cable length required for complex movements cannot be provided
Solution Approach 1:
The cable storage device transitions from a static ceiling-mounted position to a dynamic position that moves with the robot arm. This dynamic arrangement allows the available cable length to automatically adapt to the arm's position, providing sufficient cable length for all movement ranges without restriction.
Solution Approach 2:
The cable is pre-routed through the robot arm structure with the storage device positioned to anticipate the arm's movement range. This preliminary arrangement ensures that sufficient cable length is available from the start, eliminating the need for ceiling-mounted storage and allowing immediate full-range movement.
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
This solution enables the cable strand to be guided seamlessly in all movements without ceiling constraints, increasing the speed of the robot arm and reducing mechanical stress, while maintaining hygiene and user-friendliness by eliminating the need for ceiling-mounted storage and minimizing wear and oscillations.
Implementation Method 1
When the C-arm of the robot is then moved back again to a starting position, the cable strand is drawn back into the cable storage device under the influence of a spring element.
Implementation Method 2
The device is configured to guide a cable strand in a movement of a C-arm and is configured to make a greater required length of the cable strand available
Implementation Method 3
a damping element to reduce vibrations
Data Source
AI summary
A medical examination and/or treatment apparatus includes a robot with a multiaxially movable arm, a C-arm mounted on the multiaxially movable arm, a cable strand for supplying the C-arm, and a device for guiding the cable strand in a movement of the C-arm. The device for guiding the cable strand is arranged at or on the robot or a component of the robot.