Articulated Robot Vacuum Hose Routing for Longer Hose Life
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Robotic pick-and-place systems with large diameter hoses face challenges in flexibility, space usage, and durability due to increased friction, torsional stresses, and potential energy storage, which leads to hose degradation and reduced mobility in large workspaces.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of pass-through couplings that allow the hose to move freely through the joints of the articulated arm, reducing binding and bending, and incorporating rotational couplings to manage hose stress and flexibility, along with a control system to identify and avoid high-stress positions, minimizes hose strain and extends its lifespan.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If larger diameter hoses are used to reduce friction and sustain vacuum, then vacuum flow rate is improved, but flexibility and ease of movement deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The hose is divided into multiple sections with different diameters. The larger diameter section is used where high vacuum flow is needed (near the vacuum source), while smaller diameter sections are used where flexibility is required (near the end effector and in mobile sections), thus resolving the contradiction between flow rate and flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the hose are assigned different diameters based on local requirements. The hose has large diameter in stationary high-flow areas and small diameter in mobile flexibility-required areas, optimizing both vacuum flow and flexibility simultaneously.
2Loss of energy
If larger diameter hoses are used to reduce friction, then energy loss is reduced, but weight and space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The hose system is segmented into large and small diameter sections. The large diameter section minimizes friction loss where it matters most (near the vacuum source), while the small diameter sections reduce overall weight and space requirements, achieving energy efficiency without excessive weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The hose diameter parameter is changed along its length rather than being uniform. This allows optimization of friction loss in critical areas while minimizing weight and space in less critical areas, resolving the contradiction between energy loss and weight.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the hose is routed to follow articulated arm contours, then adaptability is improved, but hose life deteriorates due to cyclic loading and bending
Solution Approach 1:
The hose routing is segmented into a fixed portion that follows the articulated arm contours for adaptability, and a mobile portion that can move independently to reduce bending stress. This segmentation allows the hose to adapt to workspace requirements while minimizing cyclic loading on critical sections.
Solution Approach 2:
A mobile hose section or hose management mechanism acts as an intermediary between the fixed articulated arm routing and the end effector. This intermediary absorbs the cyclic bending and torsional stresses, protecting the main hose run from fatigue while maintaining workspace adaptability.
4Ease of operation
If a continuous helical lip is provided in the hose to provide flexibility, then ease of operation is improved, but reliability deteriorates due to bend failure under cyclic loading
Solution Approach 1:
The hose is segmented into sections with different flexibility characteristics. The helical lip design is used in sections where flexibility is needed but cyclic loading is minimized, while reinforced sections without helical lips are used in high-stress areas, balancing compliance and durability.
Solution Approach 2:
The helical lip feature is applied locally in specific sections of the hose where flexibility is required, rather than continuously throughout. Critical sections subject to high cyclic loading use alternative designs that prioritize durability, resolving the contradiction between bending compliance and resistance to fatigue failure.
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 reduces hose stress, prevents binding, and extends the hose's operational life by minimizing bending and torsion, enabling more efficient and flexible robotic motion within large workspaces while maintaining high vacuum flow rates.
Implementation Method 1
Many common vacuum systems generate a vacuum at the end effector using a Venturi pump, which involves providing high pressure (typically 80 psi) air blown over an aperture to generate a vacuum at the aperture
Data Source
AI summary
A programmable motion robotic system is disclosed that includes a plurality of arm sections that are joined one to another at a plurality of joints to form an articulated arm, and a hose coupling an end effector of the programmable motion robotic system to a vacuum source. The hose is attached to at least one arm section of the articulated arm by a pass-through coupling that permits the hose to pass freely through the coupling as the plurality of arm sections are moved about the plurality of joints.