Introduction

Typical robotic actuation units have a motor and its transmission system aligned with the axis of the joint they actuate, resulting in large lateral encumbrance of the whole system.

This solution aims at solving this problem and allows to locate the last transmission stage at an arbitrary distance from the axis of the screw.

Technical features

This invention consists in a class of actuation systems which is specifically designed to minimize the lateral encumbrance of the exoskeletal system to maximize its practical usability. Its core components are a motor coupled to a leadscrew or ballscrew system and a further (arbitrary) transmission system to connect the nut of the screw based transmission to the output wheel.

Furthermore, this solution allows to displace the location of the screw with respect to the final transmission stage, allowing the adaptation of the location of the different stages of the system without influencing the overall behavior.The designed anti-blockage system guarantees proper functioning of each mechanical component and high back-drivability of the overall system even for high overall gearing.

Possible Applications

• Robotics.

Advantages

• Minimal lateral encumbrance;
• High gearing;
• Highly Back-drivable;
• Torque estimation through current measurement;
• Capability of dislocating the screw from the point of application of force.