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US 12,577,968 B2Granted
Soft variable impedance actuator using embedded jamming layer
AssigneeThe Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University
InventorsBrian H. Do, Inrak Choi, Sean Weston Follmer
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Abstract
A variable impedance actuator is provided with a bladder-style actuator having a first end and a second end, and a jamming brake located inside the bladder-style actuator and connected to the first end and the second end of the bladder-style actuator. The bladder-style actuator and the jamming brake are independently controlled.
Claims2
A variable impedance actuator with independent control of stiffness and damping of the actuator, comprising:
- (a) a Mckibben actuator having a first end and a second end;
- and
- (b) a jamming brake located inside the Mckibben actuator and connected to the same first end and the same second end of the Mckibben actuator, and wherein, a positive pressure applied through activation of the Mckibben actuator is used for adjusting tuning and damping of the variable impedance actuator, and
- wherein the jamming brake has n layers of stacked material split into two sets of layers, where there is a length L1 which is the length protruding from the first end, where there is a length L2 which is the length protruding from the second end, and where there is an overlapping length Loverlap which is the length corresponding to the overlapping region between the two sets of layers.
1 more element
A variable impedance actuator with independent control of stiffness and damping of the actuator, comprising:
- (a) a bladder-style actuator having a first end and a second end;
- and
- (b) a jamming brake located inside the bladder-style actuator and connected to the first end and the second end of the bladder-style actuator, and wherein a positive pressure applied through activation of the bladder-style actuator is used for adjusting tuning and damping of the variable impedance actuator,
- wherein the jamming brake has n layers of stacked material split into two sets of layers, where there is a length L1 which is the length protruding from the first end, where there is a length L2 which is the length protruding from the second end, and where there is an overlapping length Loverlap which is the length corresponding to the overlapping region between the two sets of layers.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.