US 11,865,703 B2
Flexible mechanical joint
Connor Richard Shannon, Vancouver (CA); Hatef Khadivinassab, Vancouver (CA); and Matthew Steven Hill, Vancouver (CA)
Assigned to Sanctuary Cognitive Systems Corporation, Vancouver (CA)
Filed by Sanctuary Cognitive Systems Corporation, Vancouver (CA)
Filed on Dec. 4, 2020, as Appl. No. 17/111,789.
Claims priority of provisional application 62/943,949, filed on Dec. 5, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2021/0170607 A1, Jun. 10, 2021
Int. Cl. B25J 17/00 (2006.01); B25J 11/00 (2006.01)
CPC B25J 17/00 (2013.01) [B25J 11/00 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A flexible joint comprising:
a plurality of links comprising:
a base link having a longitudinal axis and at least one cable pass-through-hole;
a last link having a longitudinal axis and at least one cable tie-point;
a plurality of intermediate plate links, each having a longitudinal axis and at least one respective cable pass-through hole;
a plurality of flexures, the base link, the last link, and the plurality of intermediate plate links coupled together by the plurality of flexures such that the plurality of intermediate plate links, the base link, and the last link form a chain of links having the base link at a first end of the chain and the last link at a second end of the chain and each of the plurality of intermediate plate links is coupled to each of two other ones of the plurality of links by respective ones of two flexures, with each respective one of the two flexures at a respective one of two opposite ends of the respective intermediate plate link along the longitudinal axis of the intermediate plate link, the two opposite ends of each intermediate plate link each comprising respective sloped faces that slope towards each other as the intermediate plate link is traversed from an interior to an exterior thereof, wherein each of the flexures has a rotational axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axes of the links that the flexure couples, wherein the rotational axis of each of the flexures extends along a length of the flexure, wherein each of the flexures comprises a flexible hinge member that resiliently couples two of the links;
at least one cable connected to the at least one cable tie-point of the last link and passing through at least one respective cable pass-through-hole of each intermediate link and passing through the cable pass-through hole of the base link; and
an inner channel extending longitudinally through the plurality of links and through at least one of the flexures, wherein the rotational axis of the at least one of the flexures is transverse to a longitudinal axis of the inner channel.