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US3693504A Expired / Lapsed US ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Manipulator system

Assignee: General Electric Canada Co
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Filing: 1970-08-19
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Granted: 1972-09-26
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Expires: 1990-08-19
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Abstract

Abstract In a manipulator system including a master and a slave skeleton, each of which has a plurality of limbs, and each limb of which has a plurality of serially connected elements, each of the remote ends of corresponding elements of master and slave members are position sensed and brought into correspondence by a respective servo loop. Associated with each joint of a slave leg member are pairs of position sensing devices connected to points remote from the joint. Associated with each corresponding set of leg members is a device for producing a control signal representing grounding of a respective set of leg members. A pair of selector switches are provided. Each selector switch is responsive to a respective control signal for passing the signal from the appropriate position sensing device of a pair to maintain the leg members of a respective set in correspondence.

Inventors

  • 👤 Kendall E Gilbert

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction US
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-10-27 20:14
CPC Classifications
B; B62; B62D; B62D57/00; B62D57/02; F; F15; F15B; F15B9/00; F15B9/16

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 8
Claim 1
Independent Claim 184 words
In combination, a pair of members, each including a plurality of longitudinal elements, each element of one member situated closely to and in similar orientation to a respective corresponding element of the other member, the elements of each of said members pivotally mounted at adjacent ends thereof, a plurality of actuators, each connected to a respective adjacent pair of elements of said one member to move said elements with respect to one another about the respective pivot point thereof in response to energization applied thereto, one of the end elements of one of said members pivotally mounted about a fixed point, one of the end elements of the other of said members pivotally mounted about another point adjacent to said one point, a plurality of position sensing devices, each connected to corresponding points on corresponding elements of said members which are remote from the pivot points thereof to sense the displacement thereof from a neutral position and develop a signal corresponding to such displacement, means for applying each of said signals to a respective actuator for maintaining correspondence of corresponding elements of said members.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim 184 words
In combination, a pair of members, each including a plurality of longitudinal elements, each element of one member situated closely to and in similar orientation to a respective corresponding element of the other member, the elements of each of said members pivotally mounted at adjacent ends thereof, a plurality of actuators, each connected to a respective adjacent pair of elements of said one member to move said elements with respect to one another about the respective pivot point thereof in response to energization applied thereto, one of the end elements of one of said members pivotally mounted about a fixed point, one of the end elements of the other of said members pivotally mounted about another point adjacent to said one point, a plurality of position sensing devices, each connected to corresponding points on corresponding elements of said members which are remote from the pivot points thereof to sense the displacement thereof from a neutral position and develop a signal corresponding to such displacement, means for applying each of said signals to a respective actuator for maintaining correspondence of corresponding elements of said members.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 153 words
In combination, a pair of members, each including a pair of longitudinal elements, each element of one member situated closely to and in similar orientation to a respective corresponding element of the other member, the elements of each of said members pivotally mounted at adjacent ends thereof, an actuator connected to the elements of said one member near the pivot point thereof to move the elements thereof with respect to said pivot point in response to energization applied thereto, a pair of position sensing devices, each connected near a respective end of corresponding elements to sense the displacement of position thereof from a neutral position and develop a signal corresponding to such displacement, selective means for alternately selecting signals from said pair of position sensing devices, means for applying said selected signal to energize said actuator in a direction to maintain correspondence of the ends of corresponding elements which produced such selected signal.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 153 words
In combination, a pair of members, each including a pair of longitudinal elements, each element of one member situated closely to and in similar orientation to a respective corresponding element of the other member, the elements of each of said members pivotally mounted at adjacent ends thereof, an actuator connected to the elements of said one member near the pivot point thereof to move the elements thereof with respect to said pivot point in response to energization applied thereto, a pair of position sensing devices, each connected near a respective end of corresponding elements to sense the displacement of position thereof from a neutral position and develop a signal corresponding to such displacement, selective means for alternately selecting signals from said pair of position sensing devices, means for applying said selected signal to energize said actuator in a direction to maintain correspondence of the ends of corresponding elements which produced such selected signal.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim 46 words
The combination of claim 2 in which are prOvided means for deriving a control signal representing a condition of close proximity of adjacent ends of corresponding elements remote from the pivot points thereof, and means responsive to said control signal to actuate said signal selective means.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim 172 words
In combination, a pair of members, each including a plurality of longitudinal elements, each element of one member situated closely to and in similar orientation to a respective corresponding element of the other member, the elements of each of said members pivotally mounted at adjacent ends thereof, a plurality of actuators, each connected to a respective adjacent pair of elements of said one member to move said elements with respect to one another about the respective pivot point thereof in response to energization applied thereto, a plurality of pairs of position sensing devices, each device of said pair connected near a respective end of corresponding elements to sense the displacement of position thereof from a neutral position and develop a signal corresponding to such displacement, a plurality of selective means, each selective means alternately selecting signals from a respective pair of position sensing devices, and means for applying each said selected signal to energize a respective actuator to maintain correspondence of each pair of corresponding elements which produced such respective selected signal.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim 172 words
In combination, a pair of members, each including a plurality of longitudinal elements, each element of one member situated closely to and in similar orientation to a respective corresponding element of the other member, the elements of each of said members pivotally mounted at adjacent ends thereof, a plurality of actuators, each connected to a respective adjacent pair of elements of said one member to move said elements with respect to one another about the respective pivot point thereof in response to energization applied thereto, a plurality of pairs of position sensing devices, each device of said pair connected near a respective end of corresponding elements to sense the displacement of position thereof from a neutral position and develop a signal corresponding to such displacement, a plurality of selective means, each selective means alternately selecting signals from a respective pair of position sensing devices, and means for applying each said selected signal to energize a respective actuator to maintain correspondence of each pair of corresponding elements which produced such respective selected signal.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim 53 words
The combination of claim 4 in which are provided means for deriving a control signal representing a condition of close proximity of a pair of adjacent ends of corresponding end elements of said members remote from the pivot points thereof, and means responsive to said control signal to actuate a signal selective means.

References Cited (Backward Citations)

US3171330A Cited
US3449769A Cited
US3433128A Cited
US3463146A Cited

USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows

Annuity Stage Window Opens Payment Deadline Surcharge Period Until Estimated Fee Status
3.5 Years (Year 4) 1975-09-26 1976-03-27 1976-09-26 $2000.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
7.5 Years (Year 8) 1979-09-26 1980-03-27 1980-09-26 $3760.00 Window Closed / Lapsed
11.5 Years (Year 12) 1983-09-26 1984-03-27 1984-09-26 $7700.00 Window Closed / Lapsed

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