Master-slave micromanipulator apparatus
US5943914A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 27, 1997 |
| Grant date | Aug 31, 1999 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 27, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10T74/20213
- WIPO fieldMedical technology
- WIPO sectorInstruments
Abstract
An apparatus based on precision X-Y stages that are stacked. Attached to arms projecting from each X-Y stage are a set of two axis gimbals. Attached to the gimbals is a rod, which provides motion along the axis of the rod and rotation around its axis. A dual-planar apparatus that provides six degrees of freedom of motion precise to within microns of motion. Precision linear stages along with precision linear motors, encoders, and controls provide a robotics system. The motors can be positioned in a remote location by incorporating a set of bellows on the motors and can be connected through a computer controller that will allow one to be a master and the other one to be a slave. Position information from the master can be used to control the slave. Forces of interaction of the slave with its environment can be reflected back to the motor control of the master to provide a sense of force sensed by the slave. Forces import onto the master by the operator can be fed back into the control of the slave to reduce the forces required to move it.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.