Manipulator

A manipulator provided in combination with a supporting base, comprising:

• a plurality of joints disposed on said manipulator;
• a pulley disposed at each of said plurality of joints;
• a plurality of motors disposed on said supporting base;
• a linear wire for each of said pulleys, wherein each of said linear wires is connected to one of said plurality of motors, respectively, said linear wire having one end thereof fixed at said pulleys and the other end thereof connected to said respective motor;
• a flexible tube for each of said linear wires to be inserted therein, said flexible tube having one end fixed in the vicinity of a side of said respective pulley and another end fixed in the vicinity of said respective motor;
• and
• a twisted coil spring disposed in engagement with each of said pulleys, wherein said twisted coil spring contracts as said motor winds up said respective linear wire;
• and
• wherein each of said plurality of pulleys corresponds to a different one of said plurality of motors so that each of said plurality of pulleys disposed on said manipulator is driven by a separate one of said plurality of motors disposed on said supporting base, in one-to-one correspondence.

A manipulator disposed at a body portion of a robot or a supporting base at a work site and having one or more joints and a mechanism for moving and rotating said joints, said moving and rotating mechanism comprising:

• a pulley disposed at said joints;
• a linear wire for each of said pulleys, wherein each of said linear wires is connected to a motor, respectively, said linear wire having one end thereof fixed at said pulleys and the other end thereof connected to said motor which is fixed at an appointed portion of said supporting base;
• a flexible tube for each of said linear wires to be inserted therein, said flexible tube having one end fixed in the vicinity of a side of said pulley and another end fixed in the vicinity of said motor;
• a twisted coil spring disposed in engagement with each of said pulleys, wherein said twisted coil spring contracts as said motor winds up said respective linear wire,
• wherein each of said motors is disposed for each of said pulleys, respectively, so that each pulley corresponds to a different one of said motors;
• and
• a tension detecting mechanism disposed at an appointed portion of each of said linear wires and enabling detection of the tension of said wire,
• wherein said tension detecting mechanism comprises:
• a tension pulley having one side thereof brought into contact with said appointed portion of said wire, wherein said tension pulley is disposed slidably in the vertical direction along said wire;
• a traction means for tracking said tension pulley to a wire side;
• and
• a potentiometer, whose resistance value varies in line with an amount of movement of said traction means, disposed at an appointed portion of said traction means,
• wherein said traction means includes a return spring disposed at a first end of a tension wire, wherein said tension wire has a second end fixed to a pulley shuttle coupled with said tension pulley, and said potentiometer is disposed on a portion of said tension wire that is between said return spring and said pulley shuttle.