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US 10,300,609 B2Granted
Motor and controller integration for a legged robot
AssigneeBoston Dynamics, Inc.
InventorsZachary John Jackowski, Kyle Rogers, Adam Young
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An example robot includes: a motor disposed within a housing at a joint configured to control motion of a member of a robot; a controller including one or more printed circuit boards (PCBs) disposed within the housing and including a plurality of field-effect transistors (FETs) disposed on a surface of a PCB of the one or more PCBs facing the motor; a rotary position sensor mounted on the controller; a shaft coupled to a rotor of the motor and extending therefrom to the controller; and a magnet mounted within the shaft at an end of the shaft facing the controller.
Claims16
A robot comprising:
- a motor disposed within a housing and at a joint, wherein the joint is configured to control motion of a member of the robot;
- a power stage printed circuit board (PCB) disposed within the housing and including a plurality of field-effect transistors (FETs) disposed on a first surface of the power stage PCB facing the motor;
- a logic stage PCB including (i) one or more processors in communication with the power stage PCB, and (ii) a first rotary position sensor mounted on a surface of the logic stage PCB, wherein the surface of the logic stage PCB faces a second surface of the power stage PCB opposite the first surface, wherein the power stage PCB is disposed between the motor and the logic stage PCB, and wherein the power stage PCB and logic stage PCB are arranged on respective axially spaced planes;
- a shaft coupled to a rotor of the motor and configured to extend through the power stage PCB;
- a magnet mounted at an end of the shaft facing the first rotary position sensor;
- a second rotary position sensor coupled to the member of the robot and configured to provide sensor information indicative of a rotary position of the member of the robot;
- and
- a flexible PCB configured to receive one or more wires from the second rotary position sensor, and provide one or more respective wires to at least one connector configured to mate with a corresponding connector coupled to the power stage PCB.
5 more elements
A robot comprising:
- a motor disposed within a housing and at a joint, wherein the joint is configured to control motion of a member of the robot;
- a power stage printed circuit board (PCB) disposed within the housing and including a plurality of field-effect transistors (FETs) disposed on a first surface of the power stage PCB facing the motor, wherein the housing includes a thermal coupling surface protruding radially inward from an interior peripheral surface thereof between the power stage PCB and the motor;
- a logic stage PCB including (i) one or more processors in communication with the power stage PCB, and (ii) a rotary position sensor mounted on a surface of the logic stage PCB, wherein the surface of the logic stage PCB faces a second surface of the power stage PCB opposite the first surface, wherein the power stage PCB is disposed between the motor and the logic stage PCB, and wherein the power stage PCB and logic stage PCB are arranged on respective axially spaced planes;
- a shaft coupled to a rotor of the motor and configured to extend through the power stage PCB;
- a magnet mounted at an end of the shaft facing the rotary position sensor;
- a thermal sensor mounted on the first surface of the power stage PCB among the FETs and facing the motor, wherein the thermal sensor is configured to provide thermal information indicative of a temperature of the FETs and the motor to the one or more processors;
- and
- thermal interfacial material disposed between (i) the first surface of the power stage PCB to which the FETs and the thermal sensor are mounted, and (ii) the thermal coupling surface, wherein the thermal interfacial material is configured to provide for thermal transfer between the power stage PCB and the thermal coupling surface of the housing, and wherein the thermal coupling surface is configured to provide for thermal transfer from thermal interfacial material and the motor to an exterior surface of the housing.
5 more elements
A robot comprising:
- a motor disposed within a housing and at a joint, wherein the joint is configured to control motion of a member of the robot;
- a power stage printed circuit board (PCB) disposed within the housing and including a plurality of field-effect transistors (FETs) disposed on a first surface of the power stage PCB facing the motor;
- a logic stage PCB including (i) one or more processors in communication with the power stage PCB, and (ii) a rotary position sensor mounted on a surface of the logic stage PCB, wherein the surface of the logic stage PCB faces a second surface of the power stage PCB opposite the first surface, wherein the power stage PCB is disposed between the motor and the logic stage PCB, and wherein the power stage PCB and logic stage PCB are arranged on respective axially spaced planes;
- a shaft coupled to a rotor of the motor and configured to extend through the power stage PCB;
- a magnet mounted at an end of the shaft facing the rotary position sensor;
- and
- a transition board disposed between a stator of the motor and the power stage PCB, wherein the transition board is configured to receive a plurality of wires from the stator and provide a plurality of pins to the power stage PCB based on a desired type of winding connection for the motor, wherein the plurality of pins is less than the plurality of wires.
4 more elements
An assembly comprising:
- a motor disposed within a housing and at a joint, wherein the joint is configured to control motion of a member of a robot;
- a controller including (i) one or more printed circuit boards (PCBs) disposed within the housing, and (ii) a plurality of field-effect transistors (FETs) disposed on a surface of a PCB of the one or more PCBs, wherein the FETs face the motor;
- a first rotary position sensor mounted on the controller;
- a shaft coupled to a rotor of the motor and extending therefrom to the controller;
- a magnet mounted within the shaft at an end of the shaft facing the controllers;
- a second rotary position sensor coupled to the member of the robot and configured to provide information indicative of a rotary position of the member of the robot;
- a torque sensor coupled to the housing and configured to provide torque information indicative of a torque load on the member of the robot;
- and
- a flexible PCB configured to (i) receive one or more wires from the second rotary position sensor and the torque sensor, and (ii) provide one or more respective wires to at least one connector, wherein the at least one connector is configured to mate with a corresponding connector coupled to the controller.
6 more elements
An assembly comprising:
- a motor disposed within a housing and at a joint, wherein the joint is configured to control motion of a member of a robot;
- a controller including (i) one or more printed circuit boards (PCBs) disposed within the housing, and (ii) a plurality of field-effect transistors (FETs) disposed on a surface of a PCB of the one or more PCBs, wherein the housing includes a thermally conductive structure protruding radially inward from an interior peripheral surface thereof between the controller and the motor, and wherein the FETs face the motor;
- a rotary position sensor mounted on the controller;
- a shaft coupled to a rotor of the motor and extending therefrom to the controller;
- a magnet mounted within the shaft at an end of the shaft facing the controller;
- a thermal sensor mounted on the surface of the PCB among the FETs and facing the motor, wherein the thermal sensor is configured to provide thermal information indicative of a temperature of the FETs and the motor to the controller;
- and
- thermal interfacial material disposed between (i) the surface of the PCB to which the FETs and the thermal sensor are mounted, and (ii) the thermally conductive structure, wherein the thermal interfacial material is configured to provide for thermal transfer between the controller and the thermally conductive structure of the housing, and wherein the thermally conductive structure is configured to provide for thermal transfer from thermal interfacial material and the motor to an exterior surface of the housing.
5 more elements
An assembly comprising:
- a motor disposed within a housing and at a joint, wherein the joint is configured to control motion of a member of a robot;
- a controller including (i) one or more printed circuit boards (PCBs) disposed within the housing, and (ii) a plurality of field-effect transistors (FETs) disposed on a surface of a PCB of the one or more PCBs, wherein the FETs face the motor;
- a rotary position sensor mounted on the controller;
- a shaft coupled to a rotor of the motor and extending therefrom to the controller;
- a magnet mounted within the shaft at an end of the shaft facing the controller;
- a transition board disposed between a stator of the motor and the controller, wherein the transition board is configured to receive a plurality of wires from the stator and provide a plurality of pins to the controller based on a desired type of winding connection for the motor, wherein the plurality of pins is less than the plurality of wires;
- and
- an electric insulation sheet disposed between the transition board and the housing.
5 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.