Mechanical manipulator

A mechanical movement system wherein means defining a base for further movement is mounted for movement with substantial freedom in translation and rotation by means of a plurality of legs, the effective length and angular orientation whereof are controllably adjustable, the means defining a base for further movement comprising a platform having three pairs of supportive legs coupled thereto at triangularly spaced-apart locations by means of three universal joints, each of which couples to one end of each of the two legs of a respective pair, and the two legs of each pair extending from their respective universal joint in divergent directions to spaced-apart locations in a mounting, whereat each leg is drivingly engaged by controllable leg drive means for moving the leg in its own longitudinal direction, the leg drive means associated with each leg being mounted so as to be capable of accommodating angular movement of its respective leg by means of a precision drive arrangement, said precision drive arrangement comprising a spherical ball within which there is housed an electric motor having an axial hollow drive shaft through which said elongate rectilinear member is adapted to extend with a driving interaction between the motor and the elongate member, an annular mounting collar for said spherical ball having an internal part-spherical surface complementary to the spherical surface of the ball and contiguous with the ball surface, and means interacting between the surface of the spherical ball and the contiguous internal surface of the annular collar for permitting relative rotational movement of the ball and the collar except in a direction about the axis of the motor drive shaft.

A mechanical movement system wherein means defining a base for further movement is mounted for movement with substantial freedom in translation and rotation by means of a plurality of legs, the effective length and angular orientation whereof are controllably adjustable, the means defining a base for further movement comprising a platform having three pairs of supportive legs coupled thereto at triangularly spaced-part locations by means of three universal joints, each of said universal joints comprising a first member of spherical form constrained within a complementary recess of spherical form in a second member, said first member providing a mounting for a pair of legs which are capable of pivotal movement relative to each other about the center of the first member, said recess in said second member being hemispherical or less than hemispherical, and magnetic means constraining said first member within the recess of said second member, each of said universal joints being coupled to one end of each of the two legs of a respective pair, and the two legs of each pair extending from their respective universal joint in divergent directions to spaced-apart locations in a mounting, whereat each leg is drivingly engaged by controllable leg drive means for moving the leg in its own longitudinal-direction, the leg drive means associated with each leg being mounted so as to be capable of accommodating angular movement of its respective leg.

A mechanical movement system wherein means defining a base for further movement is mounted for movement with substantial freedom in translation and rotation by means of a plurality of legs, the effective length and angular orientation whereof are controllably adjustable, the means defining a base for further movement comprising a platform having three pairs of supportive legs coupled thereto at triangularly spaced-apart locations by means of three universal joints, each of which couples to one end of each of the two legs of a respective pair, and the two legs of each pair extend from their respective universal joint in divergent directions to spaced-apart locations in a mounting whereat each leg is drivingly engaged by controllable leg drive means for moving the leg in its own longitudinal direction, the leg drive means associated with each leg being mounted so as to be capable of accommodating angular movement of its respective leg, and the three universal joints each comprising:

• a bifurcated ball having two halves which provide mountings for the respective leg ends and are constrained for rotation only about a common axis, the legs of each pair thereby being capable of pivotal movement relative to each other about the center of the bifurcated ball;
• and a member having a complementary recess of spherical form within which said bifurcated ball is received so as to be rotatable about any axis.

A machine tooling apparatus incorporating a mechanical movement system for determining the operation of a cutting tool, said mechanical movement system comprising means defining a base for further movement mounted for movement with substantial freedom in translation and rotation by means of a plurality of legs the effective length and angular orientation whereof are controllably adjustable, the means defining a base for further movement comprising a platform having three pairs of supportive legs coupled thereto at triangularly spaced-apart locations by means of three universal joints, each of which couples to one end of each of the two legs of a respective pair, and the two legs of each pair extending from their respective universal joint in divergent directions to spaced-apart locations in a mounting whereat each leg is drivingly engaged by controllable leg drive means for moving the leg in its own longitudinal direction, the leg drive means associated with each leg being mounted so as to be capable of accommodating angular movement of its respective leg, means on said platform for holding said cutting tool in operative condition, and a computer system for controlling said leg drive means so as to move a cutting tool held in said tool holding means in a desired manner during a machining operation, said computer system including computer aided design facilities enabling an operator to formulate the design of an object to be shaped by operation of the machine tooling apparatus and means to effect automatic computer aided manufacture of the designed object by the cutting of a workpiece with a cutting tool held in said tool holding means and utilizing data generated in use of the computer aided design facilities.