Hard stop assembly for a joint adapted for more than a single revolution

A joint assembly with a hard stop to limit rotation, comprising:

• an outer support ring;
• an inner ring mounted on an inner surface of the outer support ring for rotation about a central axis extending through the inner ring;
• and
• a stop assembly adapted to be in a disengaged state during a first revolution in either direction about the central axis and to be in an engaged stated after a predefined angular rotation after the first revolution in either of the directions,
• wherein the stop assembly comprises a Geneva drive body pivotally mounted on the outer support ring and an engagement pin on a surface of the inner ring for rotating the Geneva drive body between the disengaged state and the engaged state during rotation of the inner ring,
• wherein the stop assembly further comprises a pair of stop posts on the surface of the inner ring,
• wherein the stop posts are angularly offset from the engagement pin, and
• wherein at least one of the contact surfaces of the stop body is in a travel path of one of the stop posts when the stop assembly is in the engaged state.

A joint assembly with a hard stop for limiting rotation after a full revolution, comprising:

• an outer support ring;
• an inner ring pivotally coupled with the outer support ring;
• and
• a stop assembly including:
• a circular track, on a surface of the inner ring, with a guide surface facing outward toward the outer support ring;
• a Geneva drive body with arms with adjacent pairs of the arms being angularly offset, wherein the Geneva drive body is pivotally coupled with the outer support member;
• a stop body with a pair of arms, wherein the stop body rotates with the Geneva drive body;
• an engagement pin on the surface of the inner ring positioned and configured to engage and rotate the Geneva drive body between a disengaged position with a middle one of the arms of the Geneva drive body contacting the guide surface and one of two engaged positions with one of the arms other than the middle one of the arms of the Geneva drive body contacting the guide surface;
• and
• a pair of stop posts each positioned on the surface of the inner ring so as to contact one of the arms of the stop body during rotation of the inner ring when the Geneva drive body is in the two engaged positions.