Modular articulated structure

A flexible snake robot comprising a number of serially interconnected rotary modules, each rotary module including first and second structural members pivotally connected together, an actuator for pivoting said second structural member relative to said first structural member, a sensor for sensing an angular position of said second structural member relative to said first structural member, a controller operatively connected to said sensor for operating said actuator, wherein said flexible snake robot has first and second opposed free ends, said first and second opposed free ends being interconnectable, and wherein said flexible snake robot is configurable into a loop with said first and second free ends thereof being releasably interconnected to form an endless chain of modules.

A module for forming a segment of an articulated structure, comprising first and second structural members pivotally mounted together, said first and second structural members having cooperating abutting surfaces radially arranged relative to an axis of rotation of said module so as to continuously remain tangential to one another while said second member is pivoted relative to said first structural member, thereby providing continuous radial bearing contact between said first and second structural members such that a load on said module is supported substantially entirely by said bearing surfaces of said first and second structural members.

A walking robot structure comprising a series of rotary modules assembled in line and having a first terminal module at a first end thereof and a second terminal module at a second opposed end thereof, each rotary module having first and second structural members pivotally connected to one another for rotation about a pivot axis and being operated by an actuator, said first and second terminal modules each having an axle extending generally in parallel to a longitudinal axis of said series, and a riding disc mounted on each of said axles laterally outwardly of said series, said riding disc having a circumferential surface adapted to ride on a support surface when said rotary modules are displaced in a rigid axle configuration and a lateral outer surface adapted to serve as a base surface for allowing said walking robot structure to walk on said lateral outer surfaces of said riding discs when said rotary modules are rotated relative to one another.

A movable robot structure comprising a pair of riding discs mounted on respective secondary axles extending axially outwardly from opposed ends of an articulated main axle, said articulated main axle including a number of serially connected rotary modules having respective pivot axes extending perpendicularly to said secondary axles, and wherein each of said rotary modules is operated by an actuator controlled by a control unit.

A flexible elongated structure comprising a series of rotary modules detachably assembled in a chain-like configuration, each rotary module including a hollow joint having an internal free space for housing at least one component, said hollow joint including first and second structural members, each of said first and second structural members being provided with a pair of spaced-apart side plates extending from a base plate, said side plates of said second structural member being received between said side plates of said first structural member and pivotally connected thereto so that said second structural member is pivotable relative to said first structural member about an axis perpendicular to said side plates, and rigid connections for releasably attaching adjacent pairs of rotary modules.

An article handling/supporting structure comprising a vertical mounting column, a cantilever flexible arm having a first end connected to said vertical column and a second opposed end adapted to carry an article, said cantilever flexible arm being vertically displaceable between fixed positions along said vertical column and including a number of serially interconnected rotary modules, each rotary module including first and second structural members, a vertical axle pivotally connecting said first and second structural members together so that adjacent modules are rotatable with respect to each other in a horizontal plane while being prevented from rotational movement in a vertical plane under gravitational forces, thereby providing for a self-supported flexible arm.

A flexible arm for use in a three-dimensional coordinate measuring device, said flexible arm being supported at a first end thereof and carrying a probe at a second opposed end thereof, said flexible arm comprising:

• a series of rotary modules assembled together in a chain-like configuration so that said series is movable within a given volume,
• each of said rotary modules including a hollow joint defined by first and second structural members pivotally mounted together in opposed facing relationship for pivotal movement about an axis perpendicular to a longitudinal axis of said series of rotary modules, and a sensor for providing rotational positioning data on each of said rotary modules, and
• a rigid connection between each pair of adjacent rotary modules to releasably attach the second structural member of a first rotary module to the first structural member of a second rotary module.

A flexible robot limb comprising a number of serially interconnected rotary modules, each rotary module including first and second structural members pivotally connected together, an actuator for pivoting said second structural member relative to said first structural member, a sensor for sensing an angular position of said second structural member relative to said first structural member, a controller operatively connected to said sensor for operating said actuator, and wherein a number of said rotary modules further includes a brake selectively acting on said second structural members thereof to releasably lock a segment of said flexible robot limb in a rigid state while allowing other segments of said robot limb to remain flexible.