Expandable and contractible arms
AssigneeKabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
InventorMotohiko Kimura
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An expandable and contractable arm is constituted by a plurality of expandable and contractable units and connecting devices including universal joints for serially interconnecting the units into the arm. Each unit includes at least three expandable and contractable operating members in the form of link mechanisms or double thread type expandable and contractable rods, and actuating devices for equally or unequally expanding and contracting the operating members so as to increase or decrease distances between the connecting members while maintaining them in parallel or inclined with respect to each other.
Claims6
An expandable and contractible arm comprising:
- a plurality of serially connected, independently expandable and contractible units, each unit comprising:
- (a) a lower base plate connected to a first end of each of at least three independently expandable and contractible double thread levers,
- (b) an upper base plate,
- (c) means for connecting a second end of each of said at least three expandable and contractible double thread levers to said upper base plate, said connecting means comprising:
- (i) a ball joint secured to each double thread lever second end,
- (ii) a pin slidably extending through each ball joint, and
- (iii) each pin being received by a respective pair of L-shaped flanges each depending from a lower surface of said upper base plate, one pair of said flanges each having a slot disposed therein, each said slot supporting an end of said respective pin, whereby said pin is slidable within said slot in a direction perpendicular to the length of said pin, and
- (d) means for independently expanding and contracting each of said at least three expandable and contractible double thread levers to so as to expand and contract each said unit independently from another said unit when said expanding and contracting means within said unit are operated equally, and so as to bend each said unit independently from another said unit when said expanding and contracting means within said unit are operated unequally.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.