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US 6,484,601 B1Granted
Bellows actuation device, specially for robotic manipulator, and method to operate said device
OwnerVincenzo Arrichielloinventor
Life of this patent
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Abstract
An actuation device uses, for the active element, a flexible bellows operated by a pressurized fluid (usually, but not necessarily, at a pressure higher than the ambient one). The bellows is housed, for the most part of its length, inside a cylindrical cavity having the inner diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the bellows, so that the bellows is free to vary its length, but is restrained to bend sideways and therefore can be operated by high pressure.
Claims21
Actuation device comprising:
- (a) a static member;
- (b) at least one moveable member pivotally mounted to the static member so as to have at least a degree of freedom with reference to the static member, the at least one moveable member defining at least one cavity;
- and
- (c) at least one flexible bellows operated by a pressurized fluid and adapted to produce motion of the at least one moveable member, the at least one flexible bellows having two ends mounted to the at least one moveable member and the static member respectively, the at least one flexible bellows being at least partially housed in the at least one cavity and being dimensionally sized smaller than the at least one cavity whereby the at least one bellows is free to vary in length within the cavity under influence of the pressurized fluid but is restrained to bend sideways by the cavity walls.
1 more element
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.