Serpentine Robotic Crawler
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A serpentine robotic crawler comprising:
- a first frame having a first continuous track rotatably supported by the first frame;
a second frame having a second continuous track rotatably supported by the second frame; and
a linkage arm coupling the first and second frames together in tandem and being actuated about at least one lateral axis and at least two longitudinal axes, which longitudinal axes are oriented by the actuated bending movement of the linkage arm about the at least one lateral axis.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A serpentine robotic crawler capable of multiple movement moves is disclosed. The serpentine robotic crawler includes a plurality of frame units, coupled together by at least one actuated linkage. Each frame unit includes a continuous track, enabling forward movement of the serpentine robotic crawler. The at least one actuated linkage has at least 7 degrees of movement freedom, enabling the serpentine robotic crawler to adopt a variety of poses.
112 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A serpentine robotic crawler comprising:
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a first frame having a first continuous track rotatably supported by the first frame; a second frame having a second continuous track rotatably supported by the second frame; and a linkage arm coupling the first and second frames together in tandem and being actuated about at least one lateral axis and at least two longitudinal axes, which longitudinal axes are oriented by the actuated bending movement of the linkage arm about the at least one lateral axis. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
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8. A serpentine robotic crawler comprising:
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at least two frame units each having a continuous track rotatably supported thereon; and at least one multi-degree of freedom actuated linkage arm coupled between the frame units, the linkage arm comprising; at least three actuated bending joints, each providing bending about a lateral axis; and at least two actuated rotary joints, each providing rotation about a longitudinal axis, wherein the linkage arm comprises a series-coupled combination of at least five actuated joints. - View Dependent Claims (9)
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10. A serpentine robotic crawler comprising:
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a first frame having a first continuous track rotatably supported by the first frame; a first actuated linkage coupled to the first frame wherein the first actuated linkage provides rotational movement about a longitudinal axis; an elbow-like actuated joint coupled to the first actuated linkage wherein the elbow-like actuated joint provides bending movement about a lateral axis; a second actuated linkage coupled to the elbow-like actuated joint wherein the second actuated linkage provides rotational movement about a longitudinal axis; and a second frame coupled to the second actuated linkage and having a second continuous track rotatably supported by the second frame. - View Dependent Claims (11)
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12. A method of operating a serpentine robotic crawler comprising:
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obtaining a first frame and a second frame, each frame having a drivable continuous track, the first and second frames being coupled together with an actuated multi-degree of freedom linkage arm having a series-coupled combination of actuated joints, the linkage arm comprising; at least two actuated rotary joints, each providing rotation of one of the first and second frames about a longitudinal axis; and at least one actuated bending joint that provides bending about a lateral axis; and articulating the actuated multi-degree of freedom linkage to establish a desired pose for the serpentine robotic crawler, wherein the longitudinal axes are oriented by the actuated manipulation of the linkage arm about the lateral axis. - View Dependent Claims (13)
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14. A method of operating a serpentine robotic crawler comprising:
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providing a first frame and a second frame, each frame having a drivable continuous track; coupling the first frame to the second frame with an actuated multi-degree of freedom linkage arm, wherein the actuated multi-degree of freedom linkage arm comprises a series-coupled combination of at least seven actuated joints to form the serpentine robotic crawler; and articulating the actuated multi-degree of freedom linkage arm to establish a desired pose for the serpentine robotic crawler. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification