Robot Cable Spooler with Removable Cartridge and Outfeed Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Ground-based robots often face challenges with reliable wired connections due to cable snagging and entanglement, leading to stress and damage, especially when moving around obstacles or with moving parts.
Innovation Solution
A cable handling system comprising a base housing, a removable cable cartridge, and an outfeed assembly that deploys the control cable from the cartridge, coupled to the robot's drive mechanism, ensuring the cable is maintained taut and untangled regardless of movement direction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a wired connection is used to ensure reliable communication, then communication reliability is improved, but cable snagging and entanglement occur leading to stress and damage
Solution Approach 1:
The cable system is segmented into a reusable base housing containing the outfeed assembly and a disposable cable cartridge. This segmentation allows the cable to be easily replaced when damaged or tangled, maintaining communication reliability without permanent cable damage to the base system.
Solution Approach 2:
The cable is extracted from a protected cartridge housing and fed through a guided outfeed assembly. This extraction method keeps the cable organized and reduces snagging compared to traditional external cable routing, while the cartridge can be quickly removed and replaced if the cable becomes damaged or entangled.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the robot moves around obstacles and corners, then operational versatility is improved, but cable snagging increases leading to communication interruptions
Solution Approach 1:
The outfeed assembly is designed to dynamically adjust cable deployment as the robot moves. The assembly can feed out cable in response to robot movement, accommodating turns and obstacles while maintaining consistent cable tension and preventing snagging that would interrupt communication.
Solution Approach 2:
The outfeed assembly acts as an intermediary between the cable cartridge and the robot. It provides a guided path for the cable and can actively manage cable deployment during robot movement, preventing direct contact between the cable and obstacles while maintaining communication reliability.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the control cable is under tension to prevent entanglement, then cable organization is improved, but stress points are created leading to cable damage
Solution Approach 1:
The cable is pre-loaded in the cartridge with appropriate tension and routing. This beforehand preparation ensures the cable enters the outfeed assembly in an organized state without excessive stress points, cushioning against future entanglement while protecting cable integrity during normal operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The system can change cable deployment parameters such as feed rate and tension based on robot movement and cable usage. This dynamic parameter adjustment maintains optimal cable organization without creating excessive stress that would damage the cable, allowing adaptation to different operational conditions.
4Ease of repair
If a disposable cable cartridge is used to enable easy replacement, then ease of repair is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The cable handling system is segmented into a permanent base housing and a removable cartridge. This segmentation enables easy replacement of the cable cartridge without affecting the base system, improving repair ease while keeping the overall device complexity manageable through modular design.
Solution Approach 2:
The cable cartridge is designed as a disposable or easily replaceable component. When the cable becomes damaged, tangled, or worn, the entire cartridge can be quickly removed and replaced with a new one, significantly improving ease of repair compared to attempting to replace individual cables in a fixed system.
Data Source
AI summary
Techniques are disclosed for systems and methods for providing a wired connection between a ground-based robot and a controller. A cable handling system for a robot may include a base housing, a cable cartridge removably connected to the base housing, a control cable housed at least partially within the cable cartridge, and an outfeed assembly coupled to the base housing and configured to deploy the control cable from the cable cartridge. The control cable may be deployable from the cable cartridge to maintain a wired connection between the robot and a controller. The outfeed assembly may be configured to couple to a drive mechanism of the robot such that movement of the drive mechanism deploys the control cable from the cable cartridge. The outfeed assembly may be configured to deploy the control cable from the cable cartridge regardless of the direction of movement of the drive mechanism.