Twisted Lumen Guide Member for Flexible Manipulator Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing flexible manipulators face issues with inconsistent path lengths for driving wires due to bending, leading to unintended movement of movable portions and poor controllability due to varying frictional forces between wires and lumens.
Innovation Solution
A flexible-manipulator guide member with twisted or braided lumens along the longitudinal axis of the inserted portion to stabilize the path lengths and reduce frictional forces, ensuring consistent control of movable portions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the lumen is formed straight along the longitudinal direction of the inserted portion, then the structure is simple and manufacturing is easy, but the path lengths of wires become different depending on bending direction, causing unintended movement of the movable portion
Solution Approach 1:
The lumen is formed with a twisted shape about the longitudinal axis of the inserted portion, transforming the straight linear path into a helical curved path. This curvature ensures that both wires maintain consistent path lengths even when the inserted portion bends in different directions, preventing unintended movement of the movable portion while maintaining manufacturing feasibility
2Reliability
If the lumen is twisted to maintain consistent wire path lengths, then controllability of the movable portion is improved, but the manufacturing complexity and structural difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The twisted lumen structure creates a helical path that naturally compensates for bending-induced path length differences. This geometric solution achieves consistent wire tension and improved controllability without requiring complex mechanical adjustment mechanisms, maintaining relative manufacturing simplicity
Solution Approach 2:
The twist pitch and twist direction of the lumen are optimized to match the expected bending characteristics of the inserted portion. By adjusting these geometric parameters, the system achieves consistent wire path lengths across various bending states, improving controllability while keeping the structure manufacturable
Data Source
AI summary
A flexible-manipulator guide member is provided in an inserted portion of a flexible manipulator including the elongated flexible inserted portion, the movable portion disposed at the distal end of the inserted portion, a drive portion disposed at the base end of the inserted portion, and the elongated driving-force transmitting member that transmits motive power of the drive portion to the movable portion, and is provided with a lumen through which the driving-force transmitting member passes in the longitudinal direction, wherein the lumen has a twisted shape about the longitudinal axis of the inserted portion.