Pneumatic stepper motor and device comprising at least one such pneumatic stepper motor
AssigneeMachnet Medical Robotics B.V.
InventorsVincent Groenhuis, Francoise Jeanette Siepel, Stefano Stramigioli
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A pneumatic stepper motor includes a housing, said housing accommodating at least part of: a rack or geared axle comprising a plurality of gear elements; and two pistons, each comprising at least two teeth, said pistons being arranged to cooperate with said rack or geared axle. The racks may either be straight or curved. The pistons are preferably double-acting pistons. A device includes at least one, and preferably a plurality of, such pneumatic stepper motor(s). The device may in particular be an MRI-compatible robotic system, more in particular for example an MRI-guided breast biopsy device.
Claims13
A pneumatic stepper motor, comprising:
- a housing, said housing accommodating at least part of:
- a rack comprising a plurality of gear elements, said rack having a longitudinal direction;
- and
- two pistons arranged next to each other in the longitudinal direction of the rack, each of said two pistons comprising at least two teeth, the at least two teeth of each of said two pistons being arranged to cooperate with said rack;
- wherein said rack comprises said gear elements at least two longitudinal sides thereof;
- and
- wherein at least one of said housing, said rack, and said two pistons are manufactured from a plastic material by 3D printing.
A pneumatic stepper motor, comprising:
- a housing, said housing accommodating at least part of:
- a rack comprising a plurality of gear elements;
- and
- two pistons, each of said two pistons comprising at least two teeth, the at least two teeth of each of said two pistons being arranged to cooperate with said rack,
- wherein said rack comprises said gear elements at at least two longitudinal sides thereof, and
- wherein said two pistons each comprise a cavity, wherein the teeth extend in the cavity, and wherein the rack is arranged in the cavity such that the teeth face the gear elements of said rack.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.