The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Aug. 24, 2021
Filed:
Oct. 31, 2018
Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA (US);
Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA (US);
Abstract
A soft bodied robotic member has the appearance of a finger and has a deformable rubber elongated body surrounding an array of rigid ribs interconnected by a perpendicular constraint. The plates form a series of parallel protrusions extending from opposed sides of the body and have a serrated, sawtooth or wavelike appearance. A tether runs through each row of protrusions and draws the corresponding protrusions together in a compressive manner to bend or dispose the finger toward the compressed side. Gaps between the protrusion allow movement of the protrusion towards adjacent protrusions to dispose the body in an arcuate shape. The constraint is a planar sheet that bends with the arc along its width, but resists lateral twisting, thus limiting movement outside a plane defined by the arc and the tether. Multiple finger members may be placed in close geometric proximity for gripping a common object.