PRELIMINARY DESIGN FOR THE SHOULDERS AND ARMS OF A POWERED EXOSKELETAL STRUCTURE

摘要

A preliminary design of a portion of a powered exoskeletal device (termed the Man Amplifier) is presented. This portion consists of the fourteen joints (seven for each shoulder and arm) comprising the arm and shoulder structure. The hands are not included. The preliminary design is based upon the requirement that each arm be able to support and manipulate 1000 lbs in any position. The stresses within the structure are computed for various positions of the joints. Rotary actuators are described that satisfy the load requirement with a pressure drop of 2000 psi across them. A technique for sensing limb positions of the wearer is presented.