# US 2019/0321968 A1 · Motor-drive assembly capable of deploying a traction force, use of the assembly for the motorized driving of an articulated arm, and associated method > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 2019/0321968 A1 - Document ID: US20190321968A1 - Status: Published application - Kind: A1 - Application number: 16/470,601 - Filed: 2017-12-21 - Published: 2019-10-24 - Earliest claimed: 2016-12-28 - Assignees: Push4M - Applicants: Push4M - Inventors: Nicolas DE LUSSY - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20190321968A1 ## CPC - B25J 9/1045: {comprising tensioning means} - B25J 9/104: {with cables, chains or ribbons} - B25J 9/162: {Mobile manipulator, movable base with manipulator arm mounted on it} - E02F 3/427: {with mechanical drives (by cables or hoisting ropes E02F3/46 take precedence)} - E02F 3/46: with reciprocating digging or scraping elements moved by cables or hoisting ropes {; Drives or control devices therefor (E02F3/205, E02F3/905 take precedence)} - B25J: MANIPULATORS; CHAMBERS PROVIDED WITH MANIPULATION DEVICES ({manipulators specially adapted for use in surgery A61B34/70; manipulators used in cleaning hollow articles B08B9/04}; manipulators associated with rolling mills B21B39/20; manipulators associated with forging machines B21J13/10; {manipulators associated with picking-up and placing mechanisms B23P19/007}; means for holding wheels or parts thereof B60B30/00; {vehicles with ground-engaging propulsion means, e.g. walking members B62D57/02, B62D57/032; devices for picking-up and depositing articles or materials between conveyors B65G47/90, B65G47/91; manipulators with gripping or holding means for transferring packages B65H67/065}; cranes B66C; {manipulators used in the protection or supervision of pipe-line installations F17D5/00; walking equipment adapted for nuclear steam-generators F22B37/006}; manipulators specially adapted for, or associated with, nuclear reactors G21C; {apparatus used for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor H10P72/50}) - E02F: DREDGING; SOIL-SHIFTING (winning peat E21C49/00) ## Abstract The invention relates to an articulated arm having a first member connected to a second member by a hinge pivoting about an axis, said articulated arm being motor-driven by a motor-drive assembly comprising: —at least one first motor devices and one second motor device; —at least one inextensible tension belt connecting the first and second members; —each motor device having at least two pushing means configured to exert a transverse push on the tension belt; and —a control member capable of operating the pushing means according to a sequence that includes at least the application of a transverse pushing force to the tension belt leading to a deformation and an increase in the tension of said belt, supported by the first motor device, and at least the application of a transverse pushing force producing a deformation and an increase in the tension of the inextensible belt supported by the second motor device; the deformations accompanied by successive increases in tension allow the second member to pivot about the hinge axis. ## Claims ### Claim 1 An articulated arm (10, 30) including a first member connected by an articulation pivoting about an axis (500) to a second member, characterized in that it is motorized by a motor-drive assembly (100) including: at least one first motor-drive device (101) and one second motor-drive device (102), at least one inexpensible traction belt (105) connecting the first and the members, each motor-drive device including at least two pushing means (110, 120) configured to exert a transverse thrust on the traction belt, and a control member adapted to cause the pushing means to function in a sequence including at least the application of a transverse thrust force to the traction belt (105) causing deformation of and an increase in the tension in said belt, carried by the first motor-drive device (101), and at least the application of a transverse thrust force causing deformation of and an increase in the tension in the inextensible belt carried by the second motor-drive device (102), the successive deformations and increases in tension enabling pivoting of the second member (104) about the axis (500) of the articulation. ### Claim 2 The articulated arm (10, 30) as claimed in the preceding claim, in which at least one motor-drive device (101, 102, 301, 302) employs a so-called force pushing means (110, 310) that includes a cylinder configured to exert a transverse force on a narrow portion of the traction belt (105, 306, 307), said belt being arranged so that the angle between the traction belt at rest and the traction belt moved by the so-called force pushing means is able to vary from zero to at least fifteen degrees. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The articulated arm (10, 30) as claimed in claim 1, in which at least one motor-drive device (101, 102, 301, 302) employs a so-called amplitude pushing means (120, 320) that includes a plurality of cylinders (121, 122, 123, 124, 125, 321, 323, 325) configured to exert a transverse thrust over a larger extent of the traction belt (105, 306, 307). ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The articulated arm (10, 30) as claimed in claim 1, in which the attachment point (108) of the second member is positioned at a distance from the articulation less than twenty percent of the length of the second member. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The articulated arm (10, 30) as claimed in claim 1, in which at least one motor-drive device (101, 102, 301, 302) includes a tensioner system configured to tension the traction belt (105, 306, 307) by bearing on a pushing means. ### Claim 6 The articulated arm (10) as claimed in the preceding claim, in which the tensioning system includes a belt (135) adapted to exert a force on the traction belt (105) via two sliding attachments (135, 136). ### Claim 7 (depends on 1) The articulated arm (10, 30) as claimed in claim 1, in which at least one motor-drive device (101, 102, 301, 302) includes at least one pulley (160) or at least one metal bar (365, 366) arranged so as to bend the traction belt (105, 306, 307) on itself in a “U” shape over a portion of its length. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The articulated arm (10, 30) as claimed in claim 1, in which the transverse thrust exerted by the at least one of the pushing means is exerted by one or more hydraulic cylinders. ### Claim 9 The articulated arm (10, 30) as claimed in the preceding claim, in which at least one cylinder includes locking means of rack, abutment, brake, clapet or vanne type. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The articulated arm (10, 30) as claimed in claim 1, including a supplementary motor-drive assembly enabling pivoting of the second member about the axis (500) of the pivoting articulation in the opposite rotation direction. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The articulated arm (10, 30) as claimed in claim 1, in which the first member and the second member are articulated by a ball-joint connection and including at least three motor-drive assemblies (100) disposed in a triangle all around the first member, enabling pivoting of the second member in all directions. ### Claim 12 (depends on 1) The multi-articulated arm (51) as claimed in claim 1, including a plurality of articulated arms (30, 52, 53) as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, said articulated arms being interconnected in series. ### Claim 13 The multi-articulated arm (51) according to the preceding claim, in which the inextensible traction belt of at least one motor-drive device is fastened to the inextensible traction belt of the motor-drive device of the next articulated arm by a common point of contact. ### Claim 14 A method (40) of lifting a load by means of an articulated arm including a first member articulated to a second member and by a motor-drive assembly (100) controlled by a control member and including a first motor-drive device and a second motor-drive device, characterized in that it includes the following steps: traction (50) on a first inextensible traction belt connecting an attachment point on the first member to an attachment point on the second member, traction (60) on a second inextensible traction belt connecting an attachment point on the first member to an attachment point on the second member, at least one of the traction steps employing a transverse thrust on a traction belt and the traction steps (50, 60) being repeated until the second member is raised to a required height. ### Claim 15 (depends on 13) The method (40) as claimed in claim 13 of lifting a load by means of an articulated arm, further including tensioning by a tensioning system of the inextensible traction belt bearing on a pushing means. ### Claim 16 (depends on 13) The method (40) as claimed in claim 13 of lifting a load by means of an articulated arm in which at least one traction step (50, 60) includes, in sequence, the following steps: releasing (505, 605) the tension exerted on the inextensible traction belt by a so-called force pushing means and releasing (510, 610) the tension exerted by the tensioning system, tensioning (515, 615) the inextensible traction belt by transverse thrust from a so-called amplitude pushing means, tensioning (520, 620) the inextensible traction belt bearing on a pushing means by a tensioning system, tensioning (525, 625) the inextensible traction belt by transverse thrust from a so-called force pushing means, and monitoring (530, 630) the lifting of the second member. ### Claim 17 (depends on 13) The method (40) as claimed in claim 13 of lifting a load, further including a preliminary step including the following steps: tensioning (405) by the so-called amplitude pushing means of the first motor-drive device and the second motor-drive device, monitoring (410) the lifting of the second member, and tensioning (415) the inextensible traction belt of the second motor-drive device by transverse thrust from a so-called force pushing means. ### Claim 18 Mobile site machinery (80, 90) characterized in that it includes an articulated arm (870) according to the invention.