Wearable Robot Wire Drive System Reducing Weight
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional wearable robots with multiple driving motors increase weight and complexity, making it difficult for users to perform tasks efficiently.
Innovation Solution
A system where a plurality of joints in a wearable robot are driven by a single driver via a wire mechanism, with a tension detector and controller maintaining a preset reference tension, allowing uniform force application and reducing the need for multiple motors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If multiple driving motors are installed in each joint of the wearable robot, then the robotic arm can move smoothly along with the user's arm, but the weight of the wearable robot increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple driving functions into a single driver located in the waist unit. Instead of having separate motors in each joint (shoulder, elbow, wrist), one driver winds and unwinds a single wire that controls all joints simultaneously. This merging of driving functions dramatically reduces the total number of motors from multiple to one, thereby reducing overall weight while maintaining operational capability
Solution Approach 2:
The single driver in the waist unit serves multiple functions by controlling all joints of the robotic arm through the wire mechanism. The wire transmits force from the single driver to multiple joints, allowing one component to perform the work that would traditionally require multiple separate motors, thus reducing weight while maintaining multi-joint functionality
2Ease of operation
If multiple driving motors are installed in each joint of the wearable robot, then the robotic arm can move smoothly along with the user's arm, but the complexity of the wearable robot increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple driving systems into a single integrated driver-wire-joint system. Instead of having separate motor-control assemblies in each joint, the design combines all driving functions into one waist-mounted driver that controls all joints through a single wire, thereby simplifying the overall device architecture
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the driving function from each individual joint and consolidates it into a single driver located in the waist unit. By removing motors from the robotic arm joints and centralizing the driving mechanism in the waist, the complexity of the arm structure is reduced while the driving capability is preserved through the wire transmission system
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 reduces the overall weight and complexity of the wearable robot, ensuring stable operation and cost savings by applying uniform force to the joints, enabling efficient lifting and carrying of objects.
Implementation Method 1
a pressure sensor that is installed on the driver-side hook or the arm-side hook contact and detects pressure applied to the driver-side wire and the arm-side wire when the driver-side hook and the arm-side hook come into contact with each other
Implementation Method 2
a driver that is connected to the other end of the wire and winds or unwinds the wire; and a controller that controls the driver to be operated to wind or unwind the wire when the arm rotates to change the tension of the wire so that the wire maintains a preset reference tension
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus for driving a wearable robot includes a wire having one end connected to an arm of the wearable robot, a tension detector that is provided between the one end and the other end of the wire and detects tension of the wire, a driver that is connected to the other end of the wire and winds or unwinds the wire, and a controller that controls the driver to be operated to wind or unwind the wire when the arm rotates to change the tension of the wire so that the wire maintains a preset reference tension.