Robot Arm Output Link for Manual Guidance and Tool Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing robot arms lack an extended scope of use, particularly in terms of manual and automatic control integration and intuitive operation.
Innovation Solution
A robot arm design featuring multiple joints and links with drive devices, including a distal end link as a tool flange, a hand link, and an additional output link rotatably mounted parallel to the flange axis, allowing for manual and automatic control through a hand guide means that provides tactile feedback and integrated input means.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If an additional output link is added to the robot arm, then the scope of use and operational flexibility is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The additional output link is designed to provide multiple functions: it serves as both an additional tool mounting interface and a manual guidance interface. The link can accommodate different tools or control interfaces depending on the application requirements, making the robot arm more versatile without requiring completely separate systems for each function.
Solution Approach 2:
The robot arm is divided into functional segments, with the additional output link being a distinct, separable component from the main kinematic chain. This segmentation allows the additional functionality to be added independently without redesigning the entire robot arm structure, thereby managing complexity through modular design.
2Ease of operation
If manual guidance capability is integrated into the robot arm, then ease of operation is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The manual guidance capability is merged with the additional output link structure. The hand guide means is integrated into the same physical component that provides the additional tool interface, combining two functions into one structural element. This reduces the need for separate manual guidance devices and simplifies the overall system architecture.
Solution Approach 2:
The additional output link serves dual purposes: it can mount tools for automated operations and simultaneously provide a hand guide interface for manual guidance. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate manual guidance equipment, improving ease of operation while controlling device complexity.
3Weight of moving object
If the additional output link is positioned on the hand link, then the payload capacity is maintained, but the structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of adding the additional output link to the distal end link (which would affect payload), the link is invertedly positioned on the hand link, which is upstream in the kinematic chain. This reversal of the expected positioning allows the additional functionality to be added without compromising the payload capacity at the distal end.
Solution Approach 2:
The additional output link is positioned in a different spatial location (on the hand link rather than the distal end link) and rotated about a parallel axis. This dimensional repositioning allows the system to gain additional operational flexibility while maintaining the original payload characteristics at the distal end.
Data Source
AI summary
A robot arm includes multiple joints and multiple links which can be adjusted relative to one another by movements of the joints of the robot arm. Each driven joint is paired with a drive device, and each drive device is designed to adjust the robot arm joint paired therewith, namely by automatic actuation of a motor of the respective drive device. The robot arm has a distal end link designed in the form of a tool flange, a hand link arranged directly upstream of the distal end link in the kinematic chain of the joints and links and on which the distal end link is rotatably mounted about a flange rotational axis. An additional output link is rotatably mounted on the hand link about a rotational axis that is parallel to the flange rotational axis and which is arranged on the hand link so as to lie opposite the distal end link.