GB976851A - Master-slave manipulators - Google Patents

Abstract

976,851. Manipulators. PYE Ltd. (P. H. Stephenson). Nov. 27, 1963 [Nov. 27, 1962; April 24, 1963], Nos. 44744/62 and 16079/63. Heading B4Q. In a master slave manipulator in which the gripper on the slave arm is held open by a spring and is closed by a tension force applied to a tape actuated by a handle on the master arm, the force applied manually may be replaced or supplemented by a force derived from a manually controlled power means, e.g. a pneumatic actuator, whereby a greater force can be exerted by the gripper. The magnitude of the force derived from the power means is independent of the manual force. As shown in Fig. 2 a master arm 2 connected at its upper end (not shown) to a through tube extending through a shielding wall supports a tape 6 on pulleys 7, the lower end of the tape being connected to a handle and the upper end extending over further pulleys along the through tube to the gripper on the slave arm. A pneumatic actuator 8 is connected by a tape 9 to the tape 6 and is controlled by a manually operated switch 12 actuating a solenoid-operated valve 13. The force exerted by the tape 9 on the tape 6 may be adjusted by a regulating valve 11. In a modification the handle control may be arranged so that when more than a predetermined manual pressure is exerted the force derived from the lower means is automatically applied. Further, the force derived from the power means may continue to be applied until the manual pressure is reduced below a predetermined pressure. In a modification (Figs. 4, 5, not shown) the pneumatic actuator 8 is connected to the tape 6 via a Bowden cable.