Climbing Robot Using Pendular Motion
First Claim
1. A climbing robot suitable for climbing a substantially vertical, inclined or horizontal surface comprising:
- a main body including;
an upper cross-member having a pair of ends; and
a pair of spaced-apart gripping mechanisms coupled to the main body, the pair of gripping mechanisms being independently and selectively releasable from and attachable to a surface on which the robot can climb;
an actuator carried by the main body; and
a weighted pendular tail, actuatable by the actuator and being configured for pendular rotation relative to the main body;
wherein rotation of the pendular tail relative to the main body causes one end of the main body to rise relative to an other end of the main body resulting in the robot climbing the surface.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A climbing robot suitable for climbing a substantially vertical, inclined or horizontal surface comprises a main body (14) including: an upper cross-member (18) having a pair of ends; and a pair of spaced-apart gripping mechanisms (16a, 16b) coupled to the main body. The pair of gripping mechanisms are independently and selectively releasable from and attachable to a surface on which the robot can climb. An actuator (40) is carried by the main body, and an end-weighted pendular tail (12) is actuatable by the actuator and is configured for pendular rotation relative to the main body. Rotation of the pendular tail relative to the main body causes one end of the cross-member main body to rise relative to an other end of the main body resulting in the robot climbing the surface.
23 Citations
20 Claims
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1. A climbing robot suitable for climbing a substantially vertical, inclined or horizontal surface comprising:
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a main body including; an upper cross-member having a pair of ends; and a pair of spaced-apart gripping mechanisms coupled to the main body, the pair of gripping mechanisms being independently and selectively releasable from and attachable to a surface on which the robot can climb; an actuator carried by the main body; and a weighted pendular tail, actuatable by the actuator and being configured for pendular rotation relative to the main body; wherein rotation of the pendular tail relative to the main body causes one end of the main body to rise relative to an other end of the main body resulting in the robot climbing the surface. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 18, 19, 20)
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9. A method of manipulating a climbing robot to climb a substantially vertical, inclined or horizontal surface comprising:
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obtaining a two-link climbing robot comprising; a main body including; an upper cross-member having a pair of ends; and a pair of spaced-apart gripping mechanisms coupled to the main body, the pair of gripping mechanisms being independently and selectively releasable from and attachable to a surface on which the robot can climb; an actuator carried by main body; and a weighted pendular tail, actuatable by the actuator and being configured for pendular rotation relative to the main body; releasing from the surface a first of the pair of gripping mechanisms to allow a free end of the main body to rotate about a second, fixed gripping mechanism; rotating the pendular tail with the actuator to cause the free end of the main body to rise above the second gripping mechanism; and re-attaching the first gripping mechanism to the surface. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. (canceled)
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15. (canceled)
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16. A method of directing a climbing robot to move laterally, comprising:
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providing a pendulum actuated robot having a pendulum momentum transfer member and at least two gripping mechanisms, wherein the pendulum momentum transfer member is capable of a full 360 degrees of rotation; rotating the pendulum momentum transfer member to cause a main body of the robot to rotate to a nearly vertical orientation while alternately attaching and releasing the gripping mechanisms to alternately pivot the robot'"'"'s main body to move the robot to the right or to the left. - View Dependent Claims (17)
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Specification