Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090125145 | ROBOT APPARATUS - A working robot arm and an object recognizing unit used for recognizing a moving body such as a person and an animal are prepared, and while an object recognized by the object recognizing unit is blocked by a shielding operation by the use of the robot arm or a trunk portion of a robot mechanism unit, a job is carried out by the working robot arm so that it becomes possible to actively ensure a working space of the robot mechanism unit, and consequently to continue the job safely. | 05-14-2009 |
20090127980 | POLYMER ACTUATOR - In a polymer actuator provided with a first polymer structural member having a conductive property, an electrolyte retention layer electrically connected to the first polymer structural member, and a second polymer structural member electrically connected to the first polymer structural member through the electrolyte retention layer interposed therebetween and having a conductive property, and by applying a potential difference between the first polymer structural member and the second polymer structural member, the first polymer structural member and the second polymer structural member are allowed to expand and contract, by displacement of the second polymer structural member, the potential difference between the first polymer structural member and the second polymer structural member is changed. | 05-21-2009 |
20090289433 | LEG-WHEELED-TRAVELING MECHANISM - A leg-wheeled traveling mechanism is provided with a seat portion, two follow-up legs, each having an end portion that is freely rotatably connected to the seat portion, with a distance between the end portion and a tip portion having a foot-rest portion being retractable, two or more support legs, each having an end portion that is freely rotatably connected to the seat portion, with a distance between the end portion and a tip portion having a wheel portion being retractable, a foot-position measuring unit that measures relative positional changes of the foot-rest portions and foot portions of a rider, and a control device that controls operations of the follow-up legs and the support legs, based upon the relative positional changes measured by the foot-position measuring unit so as to allow the foot-rest portions to move virtually in the same directions as those of the foot portions. | 11-26-2009 |
20100089524 | ACTUATOR AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING PLANAR ELECTRODE SUPPORT FOR ACTUATOR - An actuator as a drive source of robots and the like is usable for housekeeping assistance, job assistance, and nursing help. The drive source itself is small, light, flexible, and safe. A manufacturing method for a planar electrode support therefor is also described. The actuator has an electrolyte layer in contact with a conductive polymer layer disposed in between a first electrode having the conductive polymer layer attached thereto and opposite second electrode, for deforming the conductive polymer layer by application of electric fields to the electrodes. The first electrode has low rigidity in a longitudinal direction of the conductive polymer layer to facilitate expansion and contraction thereof. | 04-15-2010 |
20100101342 | FLEXIBLE ACTUATOR AND JOINT-DRIVING UNIT USING THE SAME - A displacement member can be displaced in a direction substantially perpendicular to a moving direction of a translation member that is held on a base member so as to reciprocatingly move thereon linearly, and an elastic mechanism secured to the base member accumulates and releases elastic energy in accordance with the distance to the displacement member. Protruding members of the translation member are pressed against a transmission member by generated force provided by the energy release from the elastic mechanism; thus, a distance adjusting operation between coupling mechanisms coupling the transmission member and the displacement member is controlled by a control device so that the relative position and relative angle between the displacement member and the transmission member are changed. | 04-29-2010 |
20100170241 | HYDRAULIC ACTUATOR AND JOINT DRIVING UNIT EMPLOYING THE SAME - There are provided a swash member and a first and second rotational members which are held on a base member through a universal joint mechanism and can rock about two axes out of three orthogonal axes including a center of the mechanism, a pump mechanism for transferring a low-pressure non-compressible fluid in a low-pressure pipe portion to a high-pressure pipe portion filled with a high-pressure non-compressible fluid being pressurized by a pressure accumulation mechanism, a control valve device which controls connection between both the pipe portions and a plurality of rocking-torque generation mechanisms which couple the base member and the swash member to each other and are driven by the fluids for generating a rocking torque to the swash member, and rocking-angle adjustment unit for changing a relative angle between the two rotational members. | 07-08-2010 |
20110029133 | ROBOT, AND CONTROL APPARATUS, CONTROL METHOD, AND CONTROL PROGRAM FOR ROBOT - A robot arm provided with a body unit shifting mechanism that connects a base unit and a body unit so as to be relatively shifted, and joint lock mechanisms that are capable of mechanically securing respective joints is disposed on the body unit, and a robot operation control unit controls to switch between a robot arm operation mode in which the robot arm is operated with one of the joints of the robot arm brought into a free state, and a body unit shift mode in which the body unit is shifted with the joint being brought into a locked state. | 02-03-2011 |
20110072919 | FLEXIBLE ACTUATOR AND JOINT-DRIVING UNIT USING THE SAME - A displacement member can be displaced in a direction substantially perpendicular to a moving direction of a translation member that is held on a base member so as to reciprocatingly move thereon linearly, and an elastic mechanism secured to the base member accumulates and releases elastic energy in accordance with the distance to the displacement member. Protruding members of the translation member are pressed against a transmission member by generated force provided by the energy release from the elastic mechanism; thus, a distance adjusting operation between coupling mechanisms coupling the transmission member and the displacement member is controlled by a control device so that the relative position and relative angle between the displacement member and the transmission member are changed. | 03-31-2011 |
20110209570 | MOTION CONVERSION DEVICE, FLEXIBLE ACTUATOR USING THE SAME, AND JOINT DRIVING UNIT - Three or more displacement generation mechanisms, which allow some of a plurality of guide members that are provided respectively to a plurality of guide holding members that is capable of reciprocally moving substantially perpendicularly to shifting directions of a reciprocally movable linear motion structural member with respect to a base member, and a rocking member that is provided to an end of a linear motion member capable of reciprocally moving in directions substantially in parallel with the shifting directions of the guide holding members so as to rock around an axis substantially perpendicular to the respective shifting directions of the linear motion structural member and the linear motion member, to be made in contact with each other so that some of the guide holding members are displaced relatively to the linear motion structural member, are operation-controlled, with a result that a transmission gear ratio between a displacement velocity of the linear motion member and a displacement velocity of the linear motion structural member is changed. | 09-01-2011 |
20130061740 | VEHICLE USING COMPRESSED GAS, AND CONTROL DEVICE THEREFOR - A power unit that can periodically determine a leakage of a compressed gas to early discover a defect, such as a crack, and a vehicle in which the power unit is used are provided. A vehicle that runs with an air engine including a gas machinery includes a control device. The control device includes an adjuster that controls an output of the gas machinery such that a target output is obtained, a pressure measuring unit that measures the pressure of the compressed gas at the piping unit of the air engine, and a determination unit that determines a leakage state of the compressed gas based on a change in pressure, which is measured by the pressure measuring unit every time the target output of the gas machinery becomes substantial zero. The control device suspends the determination of the leakage state when the target output of the gas machinery changes from substantial zero during the determination. | 03-14-2013 |
20130180804 | GRAVITY COMPENSATION DEVICE AND LIFT APPARATUS INCLUDING THE SAME - A link has first and second ends coupled, so as to be axially shiftable, respectively to two shafts that include a reference point located in a base and cross each other. A gas actuator has an inner space that has gas pressure pressing the first end of the link toward the reference point so as to shift the first end of the link such that a distance between a first end position of the link and the reference point is equal to or more than a distance between the first and second ends in a state where the inner space has a volume equal to zero obtained by extrapolating variation of the inner space volume relative to the first end position. The second end and a lift section that is vertically shiftable with respect to the base are coupled by means of a coupling section. | 07-18-2013 |
20140037412 | GAS-PRESSURE TYPE GRAVITY COMPENSATION ELEVATOR - There is provided a gas-pressure type gravity compensation elevator for ascending/descending a load object, which includes a control part. The control part is adapted to selectively connect a constant-pressure gas cylinder maintained at a constant pressure according to the grasping state, to a gas cylinder for exerting a driving force in the direction of ascent on an elevating mechanism. Further, the control part is adapted to control a sum of a volumes in the gas cylinder and the constant-pressure gas cylinder such that it equals to a sum of their average volumes, every time the grasping state is changed. | 02-06-2014 |
20140231731 | GAS SPRING DEVICE, AND BALANCER DEVICE AND ACTUATOR WHICH USE GAS SPRING DEVICE - A gas spring device includes a gas spring which generates a force proportional to a differential pressure between an inner space pressure and an atmospheric pressure, a suction/discharge part which can adjust a gas amount in the gas spring inner space, a rotary body which is connected to the gas spring, to which a torque due to the force generated by the spring is applied, a displacement part which is connected to the rotary body, and is displaced in conjunction with a rotary body rotary movement, a speed change part which is arranged in one of or both of between the rotary body and the displacement part and between the gas spring and the rotary body, and a torque compensating part which sets the torque applied to the rotary body to substantially 0 when the inner space gas amount of the gas spring is at a predetermined value. | 08-21-2014 |
20150020513 | VEHICLE USING COMPRESSED GAS, AND CONTROL DEVICE THEREFOR - A power unit that can periodically determine a leakage of a compressed gas to early discover a defect, such as a crack, and a vehicle in which the power unit is used are provided. A vehicle that runs with an air engine including a gas machinery includes a control device. The control device includes an adjuster that controls an output of the gas machinery such that a target output is obtained, a pressure measuring unit that measures the pressure of the compressed gas at the piping unit of the air engine, and a determination unit that determines a leakage state of the compressed gas based on a change in pressure, which is measured by the pressure measuring unit every time the target output of the gas machinery becomes substantial zero. The control device suspends the determination of the leakage state when the target output of the gas machinery changes from substantial zero during the determination. | 01-22-2015 |