US 4,736,826 AGranted

Remotely controlled and/or powered mobile robot with cable management arrangement

AssigneeRemote Technology Corporation

InventorsJohn R. White, Paul E. Satterlee, Jr., Kenneth L. Walker, Howard W. Harvey

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Abstract

A mobile robot remotely controlled and/or powered through a cable from a stationary console is provided. The robot carries a cable management arrangement which stores the cable and dispenses and retracts it as needed. The arrangement lays down the cable under zero tension when the robot is outbound and reels it in as the robot returns to allow the robot to follow a tortuous path without entangling the cable under or around obstacles. The robot can have numerous configurations such as a simple configuration for use as a transporter for mail in an office and parts in a factory, to a complex configuration with robotic arms and sensors for use in remote surveillance and security work. The robot is especially usable in hostile environments such as nuclear power plants and has a containment box permitting it to be moved to numerous locations without contaminating other areas.

Claims14

Dependent claims

A mobile robot system with cable handling arrangement comprising:

a steerable robot;
at least one power drive device for driving said robot in both a forward an reverse direction;
a steering arrangement for steering said robot around obstacles;
a station for operative connection to said robot;
a cable connecting said station and said robot;
a cable handling arrangement and a cable storage arrangement both carried by said mobile robot and transported therewith;
travel detection means for detecting the amount of travel of said robot and determining the amount of cable to be dispensed or retracted when in the automatic mode based solely on the determination from the amount of travel of said robot;
said cable handling arrangement and cable storage arrangement including a cable feed controlled by said travel detection means for dispensing out and retracting in said cable as the mobile robot moves away from said station and moves toward said station, respectively, under substantially zero tension in that part of the cable running between said station and said robot;
and
a power device for supplying power to said cable feed.

7 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.