• The Journal of Korea Robotics Society
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• v.12 no.1
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• pp.11-18
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• 2017

Static balance of an articulated robot arm at various configurations requires a torque compensating for the gravitational torque of each joint due to the robot mass. Such compensation torque can be provided by a spring-based counterbalance mechanism. However, simple installation of a counterbalance mechanism at each pitch joint does not work because the gravitational torque at each joint is dependent on other joints. In this paper, a 6 DOF industrial robot arm based on the parallelogram for multi-DOF counterbalancing is proposed to cope with this problem. Two passive counterbalance mechanisms are applied to pitch joints, which reduces the required torque at each joint by compensating the gravitational torque. The performance of this mechanism is evaluated experimentally.

• Transactions of the Korean Society of Mechanical Engineers A
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• v.41 no.6
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• pp.469-475
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• 2017

Workers in industrial fields are highly exposed to accidents or injuries caused by long working hours. An exoskeleton that is able to support the arm muscles of the worker and thereby reduce the probability of an accident and enhance working efficiency could be a solution to this problem. However, existing exoskeletons demand the use of high-priced sensors and motors, which makes them difficult to use in industrial fields. To solve this problem, we developed an arm assisting exoskeleton that consists only of mechanical components without any electronic sensors or motors. The exoskeleton follows the movement of the human arm by shoulder joint and ankle joint. In addition, counterbalance mechanisms are installed on the exoskeleton to support arm strength. The experimental validation of the exoskeleton was conducted using an EMG sensor, confirming the performance of the exoskeleton.