Torque-Controlled Dress Pack Manager for Robotic Arms
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional dress packs for robotic arms are limited in their ability to manage cables and hoses effectively in high degree of freedom robotic systems, often requiring software limitations on robotic arm motion, which degrades system performance.
Innovation Solution
A dress pack manager with active cable and hose management using rollers, gears, and a torque-controlled electric motor to maintain optimal tension, preventing damage from over-tightening or slackness, and featuring overload protection mechanisms like pressure sensitive switches and force sensors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If conventional dress packs are used with high degree of freedom robotic systems, then the robotic arm can move freely, but the cables and hoses become tangled or damaged due to improper tension management
Solution Approach 1:
The dress pack manager uses a torque-controlled motor that dynamically adjusts the tension on cables and hoses in real-time based on the robotic arm's position and movement. This dynamic control allows the system to maintain proper cable tension throughout the full range of motion, preventing tangling and damage while enabling high degree of freedom movement.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates sensors that continuously monitor cable tension and robotic arm position, providing feedback to the torque-controlled motor. This feedback mechanism allows the dress pack manager to automatically adjust tension levels to maintain optimal cable management throughout the robotic arm's motion range, resolving the contradiction between freedom of movement and cable integrity.
2Reliability
If software limits are imposed on robotic arm motion to manage dress packs, then cable and hose tension is controlled, but system performance is degraded
Solution Approach 1:
The invention replaces software-based motion limitations with a mechanical tension management system. The torque-controlled motor actively manages cable tension, allowing the robotic arm to operate through its full programmed range of motion without software restrictions. This substitution maintains cable integrity while preserving system performance and productivity.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the control parameter from software-imposed motion constraints to active tension control. By monitoring and adjusting cable tension in real-time, the system allows full range of motion while maintaining proper cable management, thereby eliminating the need for performance-degrading software limits.
3Device complexity
If passive spring-loaded mechanisms are used to feed dress packs, then the system is simple, but it cannot adapt to varying tension needs during robotic arm motion
Solution Approach 1:
The dress pack manager system monitors its own operation through sensors and automatically adjusts cable tension through the torque-controlled motor without external intervention. This self-service capability allows the system to adapt to varying tension needs throughout the robotic arm's range of motion while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces passive spring-loaded mechanisms with an active torque-controlled motor system. This substitution provides adaptive tension control that responds to the robotic arm's motion and cable requirements, significantly improving adaptability while adding only moderate complexity through electronic control.
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
Enables interference-free operation and increased reliability of robotic systems by maintaining consistent tension across the range of motion, preventing damage and entanglement, while allowing full range of motion without software limitations.
Implementation Method 1
A dress pack manager with active cable and hose management using rollers, gears, and a torque-controlled electric motor to maintain optimal tension
Implementation Method 2
featuring overload protection mechanisms like pressure sensitive switches and force sensors
Implementation Method 3
featuring overload protection mechanisms like pressure sensitive switches and force sensors
Data Source
AI summary
A dress pack manager for use with a robotic arm having an end-of-arm tool supplied with power or working fluid via a dress pack. A pair of rollers are spaced apart such that the dress pack may pass between them, and such that rotation of the rollers applies friction to the dress pack and causes the dress pack to move. An electric motor rotates one of the rollers in both a forward and backward rotation and is torque-controlled to maintain a constant tension applied to the dress pack by the rollers.