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AssigneesHarmonic Drive Systems Inc., Sumitomo Metal Industries, Ltd.
InventorsShoji Kuwana, Yoshihide Kiyosawa, Akio Ikeda
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An attitude control device has a plurality of harmonic drive mechanisms of the hollow type, preferably first and second harmonic drive mechanisms. First and second rotational members are connected to the outputs of the first and second harmonic drive mechanisms. These rotational members have eccentric hollow portions which rotate eccentrically around the rotational axes of the harmonic drive mechanisms. A member to be driven is placed to extend through the eccentric hollow portions such that it is supportedly contacted with the inner surfaces of the eccentric hollow portions. In operation, the eccentric hollow portions are rotated relative to each other, whereby the member to be driven is controllably oriented to a desired direction. The attitude control device can be employed as a drilling-direction control device wherein a rotational drill shaft is supported by inner surfaces of eccentric hollow portions of first and second rotational members. These rotational members are rotated by first and second harmonic drive mechanisms. By rotating the eccentric hollow portions, the rotational drilling shaft is changed in orientation from the vertical direction.
A drilling-direction control device for a drilling system comprising a plurality of harmonic drive mechanisms of the hollow type and a plurality of rotational members connected one each to outputs of said harmonic drive mechanisms, each of said rotational members having an eccentric hollow portion which rotates eccentrically around a rotational axis of said harmonic drive mechanism, a rotational drill shaft being placed to extend through the hollow portions of said harmonic drive mechanisms and said eccentric hollow portions of said rotational members so that inner surfaces of said eccentric hollow portions are supportingly contacted with said rotational drill shaft, whereby portions of said rotational drill shaft, which are supported by said inner surfaces of said eccentric hollow portions, are deflected in a direction substantially perpendicular to an axis of said rotational drill shaft by rotating said rotational members relative to one another.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.