Multi-Segment Reinforced Actuators and Applications

• US 20160252110A1
• Filed: 10/29/2014
• Published: 09/01/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 10/29/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: President and Fellows of Harvard College (Harvard Corporation)
• Original Assignee: President and Fellows of Harvard College (Harvard Corporation)
• Inventors: Galloway, Kevin, Holland, Donal, Polygerinos, Panagiotis, Clites, Tyler, Maeder-York, Paxton, Boggs, Emily Marie, Walsh, Conor, Neff, Ryan, Dubrovsky, Zivthan
• Granted Patent: US 10,184,500 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/02 for holding wounds open; Tractors specula A61B1/32 ; drainage appliances for wounds A61M27/00
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 17/0218 for minimally invasive surgery A61B17/0281, A61B17/0469, A61B17/12013, A61B17/1285, A61B17/29, A61B17/320016 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00535 pneumatically or hydraulically operated A61B2017/22051, A61B2090/401 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00539 hydraulically
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/00544 pneumatically
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/0225 flexible, e.g. fabrics, meshes, or membranes
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/1103 Approximator
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2017/1132 End-to-end connections
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2090/065 for measuring contact or contact pressure
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2090/0807 Indication means
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 34/70 Manipulators specially adapted for use in surgery
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/68 Operating or control means
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/70 electrical
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/72 Bioelectric control, e.g. myoelectric
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 2/74 fluid , i.e. hydraulic or pneumatic
• CPC Class Codes: A61F 5/013 for the arms, hands or fingers A61F5/0118 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 1/024 Knee A61H1/0255 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 1/0288 Fingers
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 2201/1238 with hydraulic or pneumatic drive
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 2201/165 Wearable interfaces
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 2201/5061 : Force sensors
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 2201/5071 : Pressure sensors
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 2230/105 : used as a control parameter for the apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 2230/605 : used as a control parameter for the apparatus
• CPC Class Codes: A61H 3/00 : Appliances for aiding patients or disabled persons to walk about apparatus for helping babies to walk A47D13/04; orthopaedic devices for correcting deformities of, or supporting, limbs A61F5/0102; exercising apparatus for the feet or toes A63B23/10; stairways or ramps E04F11/00
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 13/00 : Controls for manipulators programme controls B25J9/16; control in general G05
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1612 : characterised by the hand, wrist, grip control
• CPC Class Codes: F15B 15/10 : the motor being of diaphragm type
• CPC Class Codes: F15B 15/103 : using inflatable bodies that contract when fluid pressure is applied, e.g. pneumatic artificial muscles or McKibben-type actuators

Abstract

A multi-segment reinforced actuator includes (a) a soft actuator body that defines a chamber and (b) a plurality of distinct reinforcement structures on or in respective segments of the soft actuator body. First and second reinforcement structures are respectively configured to produce a first and second actuation motions, respectively, in first and second segments of the soft actuator body when fluid flows into or out of the chamber. The actuation motions are selected bending, extending, expansion, contraction, twisting, and combinations thereof; and the first actuation motion differs from the second actuation motion. The actuator can be used, e.g., to facilitate bending of the thumb with corresponding bending, extending, expansion, contraction, and twisting actuation motions.

Claims

1. A multi-segment reinforced actuator, comprising:

at least one soft actuator body defining a chamber; and

a plurality of distinct reinforcement structures on or in respective segments of the soft actuator body, wherein the soft actuator body and the distinct reinforcement structures form a plurality of longitudinally sequenced segments, wherein a first of the reinforcement structures is configured to produce a first actuation motion in a first of the segments of the soft actuator body when pressurized fluid flows into or out of the chamber, and wherein a second of the reinforcement structures is configured to produce a second actuation motion in a second of the segments of the soft actuator body, wherein the actuation motions are selected from bending, extending, expansion, contraction, twisting, and combinations thereof, and wherein the first actuation motion is of a different type from and non-canceling of the second actuation motion and wherein the reinforcement structures together generate a plurality of the motions selected from bending, extending, expansion, contraction, twisting and combinations thereon.

2. The multi-segment reinforced actuator of claim 1, further comprising:

a pneumatic or hydraulic pump including an outlet for pumped fluid; and

a conduit coupled with the outlet for pumped fluid and with the soft actuator body to feed the pumped fluid into or out of the chamber, wherein the reinforcement structures are configured to be actuated to produce at least one of the actuation motions when the fluid is pumped into or out of the chamber by the pump.

4. The multi-segment reinforced actuator of claim 1, wherein at least one of the reinforcement structures is in the form of at least one fiber.

5. The multi-segment reinforced actuator of claim 4, wherein the fiber is wound counterclockwise or counterclockwise about and along the soft actuator body.

6. The multi-segment reinforced actuator of claim 4, wherein the actuator includes a plurality of fibers, and wherein at least a first fiber is wound counterclockwise about and along the soft actuator body, and wherein at least a second fiber is wound clockwise about and along the soft actuator body, wherein the second fiber crosses the first fiber with each winding.

7. The multi-segment reinforced actuator of claim 1, wherein at least one of the reinforcement structures is in the form of a perforated sheet extending longitudinally on or through the soft actuator body.

8. The multi-segment reinforced actuator of claim 1, wherein the first reinforcement structure is configured to produce twisting in the first segment when actuated.

9. The multi-segment reinforced actuator of claim 8, wherein the second segment is configured for actuation motion other than actuated twisting.

10. The multi-segment reinforced actuator of claim 1, wherein at least one of the segments of the actuator includes a strain-limiting layer.

11. The multi-segment reinforced actuator of claim 1, wherein the reinforcement structures are co-molded with the soft actuator body.

12. The multi-segment reinforced actuator of claim 1, further comprising a mount configured to attach the actuator to a human hand and to align each segment of the actuator with a respective articulating segment of a digit of the human hand.

13. The multi-segment reinforced actuator of claim 12, wherein the mount is in the form of a glove, and a plurality of actuators are attached to the glove, wherein segments in each actuator are configured to align with a segment of a digit of the human hand.

25. The multi-segment reinforced actuator of claim 1, wherein the reinforcement structures wrap radially around or through the soft actuator body.

26. The multi-segment reinforced actuator of claim 12, wherein the digit has a plurality of joints, and wherein the actuator is configured to cause or mechanically assist the digit to bend or straighten at the joints upon actuation.

27. The multi-segment reinforced actuator of claim 26, wherein the digit is a thumb, and wherein the actuator is configured to cause or mechanically assist the thumb to bend or straighten at the joints upon actuation.

28. The multi-segment reinforced actuator of claim 26, wherein the first actuation motion is bending, and wherein the second actuation motion is extending.

3. (canceled)

14. A method for variable actuation along multiple segments of an actuator, the method comprising:

using a soft actuator body that defines a chamber and that includes a plurality of distinct reinforcement structures on or in respective segments of the soft actuator body; and

pumping fluid into or out of the chamber to produce an actuation motion in each segment of the soft actuator body selected from at least one of the following types;

bending, extending, expansion, contraction, twisting and combinations thereof, wherein the respective reinforcement structures in the segments cause a first segment to actuate with a motion of a first type and cause a second segment to actuate with a motion of a second type, wherein the first type is a different type than the second type.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein the actuator includes five segments, and wherein the actuator twists and bends in the first segment, twist and extends in the second segment, bends in a third segment, extends in fourth segment, and bends in a fifth segment.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the actuator is attached to a human thumb having two joints, and wherein actuation of the segments cause or mechanically assist the thumb to bend or straighten at the joints.

17. The method of claim 14, wherein the actuator includes seven segments, wherein the actuator bends in the first segment, extends in the second segment, bends in the third segment, extends in the fourth segment, bends in the fifth segment, extends in the sixth segment, and bends in the seventh segment.

18. The method of claim 14, further comprising grasping or displacing an internal body part or soft tissue with the actuator during surgery.

29. The method of claim 14, wherein the soft actuator body is worn on a human knee and supply a supportive torque during the flexion and extension of a gate cycle of the human.

30. The method of claim 14, wherein the soft actuator body is worn on a jointed human body part, and wherein the pumping of fluid into or out of the soft actuator body bends, stiffens, straightens the human body part at the joint.

31. The method of claim 18, further comprising inserting the actuator through a trocar into a human, wherein the internal body part is then grasped or displaced by pumping fluid into the chamber.

19. A reinforced actuator, comprising:

a lower-durometer actuator body;

a pneumatic or hydraulic pump coupled with the lower-durometer actuator body and configured to pump fluid into or out of the lower-durometer actuator body; and

a higher-durometer reinforcement layer encircling the lower-durometer actuator body, wherein the higher-durometer reinforcement layer includes a strain-limiting band extending longitudinally along at least one side of at least one segment of the lower-durometer actuator body and a series of radial bands mutually separated by gaps extending at least partially around the lower-durometer body, wherein segments with different configurations of at least one of the radial band and the strain-limiting band cause the actuator to produce an actuation selected from bending, extending, expansion, contraction, twisting, and combinations thereof by altering the gaps when the lower-durometer body expands or contracts with a change in the fluid pressure in the lower-durometer actuator body, wherein the higher-durometer reinforcement layer comprises a plurality of segments, wherein the radial bands have different configurations in different segments to respectively produce different types of actuation among respective segments.

20. The reinforced actuator of claim 19, further comprising a strain-limiting band extending longitudinally along one side of the lower durometer actuator body and longitudinally joining at least some of the radial bands to facilitate bending of the actuator.

24. The reinforced actuator of claim 19, wherein the higher-durometer reinforcement layer joins multiple actuator bodies.

21. (canceled)

22. (canceled)

23. (canceled)