Wrist structure for an articulated robotic arm

{
  "publication_number": "US9527216B2",
  "country": "US",
  "kind": "B2",
  "title": "Wrist structure for an articulated robotic arm",
  "abstract": "A wrist structure for an articulated robotic arm includes: a wrist body, a rotary member, a signal processing circuit board, a connector, a control unit and a drive unit. The wrist body includes a front end portion, a rear end portion, a receiving portion, and a wiring hole formed in the rear end portion. The rotary member is rotatably connected to the front end portion. The signal processing circuit board is removably disposed at the rear end portion, located inside the receiving portion and includes a gap aligned with the wiring hole. The connector is disposed in the wrist body and signal connected to the signal processing circuit board. The control unit is disposed inside the receiving portion and signal connected to the signal processing circuit board. The drive unit is disposed in the receiving portion to control the rotary member to swing with respect to the wrist body.",
  "claims": [
    "1. A wrist structure for an articulated robotic arm comprising: a wrist body with a front end portion, a rear end portion, a receiving portion between the front and rear end portions, and a wiring hole formed in the rear end portion to enable the receiving portion to be in communication with an exterior of the wrist body; a rotary member rotatably connected to the front end portion of the wrist body in a controllable manner; a signal processing circuit board being removably disposed at the rear end portion of the wrist body and located inside the receiving portion, and including a gap aligned with the wiring hole; a connector disposed in the wrist body and signal connected to the signal processing circuit board; a control unit disposed inside the receiving portion of the wrist body and signal connected to the signal processing circuit board; and a drive unit disposed in the receiving portion of the wrist body to control the rotary member to swing with respect to the wrist body.",
    "2. The wrist structure for an articulated robotic arm as claimed in claim 1, wherein the signal processing circuit board further includes a serial signal transmission interface, the wiring hole allows for insertion of a composite cable into the receiving portion, and the composite cable includes a serial signal cable which is signal connected to the serial signal transmission interface and used to transmit serial signals.",
    "3. The wrist structure for an articulated robotic arm as claimed in claim 2, wherein the signal processing circuit board further includes a first connector module, an input/output module, a second connector module, and a processing unit, the first connector module is signal connected between the serial signal transmission interface and the serial signal cable and serves to transmit the serial signals to the serial signal transmission interface and then to the processing unit, the processing unit decodes the serial signals, the second connector module is signal connected to the input/output module, and the second connector is further signal connected to the control unit by a signal cable, and signal connected to the connector by a connector-signal cable.",
    "4. The wrist structure for an articulated robotic arm as claimed in claim 1, wherein the signal processing circuit board is removably connected to the rear end portion of the wrist body by a bearing plate and located inside the receiving portion, and the bearing plate includes a quick-release portion locked to the rear end portion of the wrist body, and a bearing portion which is connected to the quick-release portion, located inside the receiving portion and provided for mounting of the signal processing circuit board.",
    "5. The wrist structure for an articulated robotic arm as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rotary member has a first pivoted portion pivoted to the front end portion of the wrist body and a second pivoted portion pivoted to the first pivoted portion, and the drive unit includes a first motor assembly which controls the first pivoted portion to swing with respect to the wrist body, and a second motor assembly which controls the second pivoted portion to rotate with respect to the first pivoted portion.",
    "6. The wrist structure for an articulated robotic arm as claimed in claim 5, wherein the composite cable includes a motor power cable and a motor signal cable which are electrically connected to the first and second motor assemblies.",
    "7. The wrist structure for an articulated robotic arm as claimed in claim 5, wherein the first motor assembly includes a first reduction gear and a first motor dynamically connected to the first reduction gear, and the second motor assembly includes a second reduction gear and a second motor dynamically connected to the second reduction gear.",
    "8. The wrist structure for an articulated robotic arm as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rear end portion of the wrist body is pivoted to the arm body via a hollow reduction gear which is disposed at the rear end portion of the wrist body, and the hollow reduction gear includes a hole which is in communication with the wiring hole and provided for insertion of the composite cable."
  ],
  "description_excerpt": "Field of the Invention\n\nThe present invention relates to an articulated robotic arm, and more particularly to a wrist structure for an articulated robotic arm.\n\nDescription of the Prior Art\n\nRobotic arms have found wide application in various equipments due to their versatility and superior operability. For example, the robotic arm used in machining industry can pick up and move objects to a processing machine to enable the objects to be processed by the processing machine in an automatic manner. The robotic arm can also be applied in medical field and controlled by a doctor to perform operation on patients. For a further example, the robotic arm can be used in game play to grab objects.\n\nReferring to FIG. 1, which shows a robotic arm assembly disclosed in U.S. Publication No. 20110154938A1, in order to control the rotation of the motor inside the wrist joint 13, a plurality of cables are inserted from the interior of the arm joint 11 into the interior of the wrist joint 13 and connected to the motor. In order to prevent the cables from tangling as the wrist joint rotates, a rotary member 14 with a central hole 141 is disposed between the wrist joint 13 and the rotary member 14, so that the wire connected to the motor of the wrist joint can insert through the central hole 141 into the wrist joint. However, the rotary member 14 is disposed in the arm joint 11, which is likely to increase the length of the arm joint 11. Besides, the structural strength of the rotary member 14 is low, which results in a low torque capability and a restricted rotation angle of the wrist joint 13.",
  "cpc": [
    "B25J 19/0029",
    "Y10S 901/23",
    "Y10S 901/29"
  ],
  "ipc": [
    "B25J 19/00"
  ],
  "assignees": [
    "Hiwin Technologies Corp"
  ],
  "inventors": [
    "Yu-Shan Lee",
    "Shu-Hung LIU"
  ],
  "filing_date": "2014-10-23",
  "publication_date": "2016-12-27",
  "grant_date": "2016-12-27",
  "priority_date": "2014-09-25",
  "application_number": "US-201414522203-A",
  "family_id": "68316118",
  "cited_by_count": 1,
  "citations": [
    "US5829307A",
    "US6275748B1",
    "US20040103740A1",
    "JP2006321026A",
    "US20120210817A1",
    "US20110154938A1",
    "US20150108099A1",
    "US20140309778A1",
    "US20140309776A1",
    "US20140309777A1",
    "US20160114491A1"
  ]
}