US 12,338,879 B2
Extension pipe and transport robot
Hirotaka Komura, Tokyo-to (JP); Kunihiro Iwamoto, Nagakute (JP); and Yoshiaki Nakamoto, Nisshin (JP)
Assigned to TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA, Aichi-ken (JP)
Filed by TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA, Aichi-ken (JP)
Filed on Jun. 26, 2023, as Appl. No. 18/340,888.
Claims priority of application No. 2022-102389 (JP), filed on Jun. 27, 2022.
Prior Publication US 2023/0417308 A1, Dec. 28, 2023
Int. Cl. F16H 19/06 (2006.01); B25J 9/10 (2006.01); B25J 18/02 (2006.01); F16H 25/20 (2006.01)
CPC F16H 25/20 (2013.01) [B25J 9/104 (2013.01); B25J 18/02 (2013.01); F16H 19/0618 (2013.01); F16H 2025/2062 (2013.01)] 10 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An extension pipe, comprising:
a first belt including a plurality of first engagement pins provided on an upper side along the upper side and a plurality of second engagement pins provided on a lower side along the lower side;
a second belt including a plurality of first engagement holes provided on the upper side along the upper side and a plurality of second engagement holes provided on the lower side along the lower side; and
a first guide part including a spiral groove configured to spirally guide the first belt and the second belt, the spiral groove including a first spiral groove and a second spiral groove that are different from each other, wherein
the first belt and the second belt are spirally wound around the first guide part so that the corresponding first engagement pins engage the second engagement holes, respectively, and the corresponding second engagement pins engage the first engagement holes, respectively,
each of the first engagement pins and each of the second engagement pins are configured to be insertable into the first and second spiral grooves, respectively,
a first trajectory, in which each of the first engagement pins is configured to move along the first spiral groove, includes a first start point where the first engagement pins are inserted in the first spiral groove and a first end point where the first engagement pins come out of the first spiral groove,
a second trajectory, in which each of the second engagement pins is configured to move along the second spiral groove, includes a second start point where the second engagement pins are inserted in the second spiral groove and a second end point where the second engagement pins come out of the second spiral groove, and
a difference between a length of the first trajectory from the first start point to the first end point along the first spiral groove and a length of the second trajectory from the second start point to the second end point along the second spiral groove is less than half a circumference of a single wrap of the first spiral groove or half a circumference of a single wrap of the second spiral groove.