Robot Unit Wire Routing for Compact Joint Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional robot driving devices face challenges with increased volume and weight, making them inconvenient to wear and inefficient in power consumption, and they often suffer from wire interference that hampers accurate joint motion implementation.
Innovation Solution
A robot unit design where drivers are housed in a base and connected to first members via wires, with a second link performing a revolution or rotation motion around a first link, maintaining wire lengths and preventing interference, allowing for independent operation of shoulder, elbow, and wrist members.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Power
If drivers are located adjacent to first members to promptly transmit driving forces, then driving force transmission efficiency is improved, but volume and weight of the robot driving device are increased
Solution Approach 1:
The robot driving device is segmented into a base unit containing drivers and separate first members at joint positions. The drivers are housed in the base rather than being distributed at each joint, dividing the system into functional modules connected by wires. This segmentation allows the heavy driver components to be concentrated in one location while keeping joint areas lightweight.
Solution Approach 2:
The drivers are extracted from their conventional locations adjacent to first members and relocated to the base. By taking out the drivers from distributed positions and consolidating them in the base, the volume and weight at joint positions are reduced while the drivers remain functional through wire connections.
2Measurement precision
If drivers are located adjacent to first members for precise control, then control precision is improved, but weight of the device is increased
Solution Approach 1:
The system is segmented so that control functions are separated from actuation functions. The base containing drivers handles power generation and control signaling, while first members at joints handle motion execution. This segmentation allows precise control signals to be transmitted through wires without requiring heavy driver components at each joint.
Solution Approach 2:
Wires serve as intermediaries transmitting both power and control signals from the base to the first members. This intermediary connection enables precise control to be maintained at a distance, allowing the heavy drivers to remain in the base while control precision is preserved at the joint positions.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple wires are used to connect drivers to first members, then driving forces can be transmitted to multiple members, but wire interference occurs and joint motions are affected
Solution Approach 1:
The wires are extracted from being bundled together near joints and are instead routed individually from the base to each first member. By taking out the wires from congested areas and distributing them along separate paths from the base, interference between wires is reduced and joint motion accuracy is improved.
Solution Approach 2:
The wire routing is moved from a two-dimensional plane near the joints to a three-dimensional space extending from the base. By utilizing the spatial dimension along the length of the links, wires can be routed separately and independently, preventing interference while maintaining connection to multiple first members.
4Volume of moving object
If drivers are housed in a base and connected via wires, then volume and weight are reduced, but wire length increases
Solution Approach 1:
The wire routing is made dynamic to accommodate joint motions. The wires are routed along the links and can extend or retract as joints move, maintaining appropriate length without creating tension or interference. This dynamic adaptation allows the base housing configuration to maintain compact volume while accommodating the increased wire length through flexible routing.
Data Source
AI summary
A robot uni includes: a first link forming a center of rotation of the robot unit; a second link configured to perform a revolution motion or a rotation motion based on the center of rotation when rotated about the first link; first members, each of which is provided between the first link and the second link; drivers, each of which is provided in a direction that faces the first link and is configured to provide driving forces to the first members; wires configured to transmit the driving forces of the drivers to the first members; and second members, each of which is provided on the first link and the second link, is wound by the wires, and is configured to perform a revolution motion or a rotation motion along with the first link and the second link in a case where each of the first members is driven.