Robotic Gripper Design for Harborage Point Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Robotic systems, particularly those using soft and hard actuators, face challenges in reducing biological and chemical harborage points, which can lead to contamination hazards due to crevices, surface roughness, and other areas where materials can accumulate, making cleaning difficult.
Innovation Solution
The design of robotic actuators, grippers, and hubs with internalized fasteners, rounded interlocking systems, increased distances between components, and smooth surfaces to minimize harborage points, along with disposable coverings and specialized actuator configurations that reduce bacterial accumulation and facilitate cleaning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If traditional fasteners and mounting points are used on robotic actuators, then assembly and connection are simplified, but harborage points for biological and chemical materials increase
Solution Approach 1:
The fastening function is extracted from the external surface and relocated to the internal structure of the actuator. The hub incorporates internal attachment mechanisms that secure actuators from within, eliminating external fasteners, screws, and mounting points that would otherwise create harborage points on the actuator surface.
Solution Approach 2:
The attachment mechanism is nested within the hub structure itself. The hub contains internal features such as recesses, interference-fit elements, or adhesive bonding surfaces that are integrated into the hub's body, allowing the actuator to be secured without adding external components that would create cleaning difficulties.
2Ease of operation
If smooth surfaces are used on robotic actuators, then cleaning efficiency is improved, but structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
All external surfaces of the actuator and hub are designed with continuous curved transitions. Corners, edges, and sharp angles are eliminated in favor of radiused corners and smooth fillets. The actuator bellows, hub interface, and gripping surfaces all feature continuous curvature that prevents material accumulation and facilitates easy cleaning with minimal structural modification.
3Adaptability or versatility
If soft robotic actuators are used for handling delicate materials, then gentleness and conformability are improved, but harborage points for contamination increase
Solution Approach 1:
The actuator employs a flexible bellows structure with smooth continuous surfaces that can conform to delicate objects while maintaining ease of cleaning. The flexible membrane material allows the actuator to adapt to various object shapes without creating rigid corners or crevices, and the smooth film surface prevents biological and chemical material accumulation.
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 approach effectively reduces harborage points, enhances cleaning efficiency, and improves the handling of delicate or hazardous materials by minimizing bacterial growth and contamination risks while maintaining the adaptability and gentleness of soft robotic actuators.
Implementation Method 1
the soft actuator is passively actuated by ambient temperature changes
Data Source
Figure 1A~1B
Figure 1C~1D
Figure 2A~2D
AI summary
Exemplary embodiments relate to improvements in robotic systems to reduce biological or chemical harborage points on the systems. For example, in exemplary embodiments, robotic actuators, hubs, or entire robotic systems may be configured to allow crevices along joints or near fasteners to be reduced or eliminated, hard corners to be replaced with rounded edges, certain components or harborage points to be eliminated, shapes to be reconfigured to be smoother or flat, and/or or surfaces to be reconfigurable for simpler cleaning.