Patent ID: 9174345
Filing Date: 2015-11-03
Classification: B25J,Y10T

Abstract:
1. A robot arm, comprising: a body that is elastically deformable and has a pipe form extending in an axial direction; an instrument pivotally connected to an operational end of the body via a hinge; a cable that is connected to a proximal end of the instrument and is configured to control an operation of the instrument such that a tension in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction is offset; a force sensing apparatus that is attached to a surface of the body and is configured to sense a force exerted upon the body; and a direction conversion unit that is configured to convert a direction of the cable which is parallel to the axial direction to the direction perpendicular to the axial direction, the direction conversion unit disposed in the body, wherein the force sensing apparatus includes, at least three fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) attached on the surface of the body, a light source configured to provide light to each of the at least three FBGs; a light detector configured to detect light reflected by each of the at least three FBGs or light passing through each of the at least three FBGs, and at least one opening in the body and between two adjacent ones of the at least three FBGs, wherein the at least one opening is disposed such that largest deformation occurs in an upper portion of the body where the instrument is installed and a center of the at least one opening is arranged at a position lower than a center of one of the at least three FBGs between the other two adjacent ones of the at least three FBGs, and wherein the at least three FBGs are arranged at the upper portion of the body.