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Novel torsional spring with corrugated flexible units for series elastic actuators for cooperative robots

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Abstract

Reasonable robot joint stiffness is necessary to guarantee the safety and control accuracy of cooperative robots. In this study, a novel flat torsional spring with corrugated flexible units for a series elastic actuator (SEA) was developed to meet the requirements of cooperative robots. The torsional spring can absorb impact energy. The spring was optimized through the design of experiment method, and its theoretical stiffness was verified through numerical calculation and finite element analysis. Compared with other existing flat torsional springs in the simulation, the proposed torsional spring showed reasonable torsional stiffness and high radial and axial stiffness, which could guarantee safety and control accuracy. The proposed torsional spring was also evaluated through real experiments. Simulation and experimental results revealed that the proposed torsional spring has a linear torque versus angle characteristic.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported in part by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grants 52075178 and 51820105007, the Guangdong Basic and Applied Basic Research Foundation under Grant 2019A1515011154, and the Guangzhou Municipal Scientific and Technological Project under Grant 202002030233.

The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Guangdong Key Laboratory of Precision Equipment and Manufacturing Technology, School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, South China University of Technology, Guangzhou, P. R. China

    Yanlin Chen, Yanjiang Huang, Kaibin Chen, Yeping Wang & Yanbin Wu

  2. Research into Artifacts, Center for Engineering, University of Tokyo, Hongo, Bunkyo-Ku, Tokyo, 113-8656, Japan

    Yanjiang Huang

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  1. Yanlin Chen
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  2. Yanjiang Huang
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  3. Kaibin Chen
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Correspondence to Yanjiang Huang.

Additional information

Yanlin Chen is currently working toward his Doctorate degree at Guangdong Key Laboratory of Precision Equipment and Manufacturing Technology, School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, South China University of Technology. His main research interests include human—robot interaction, robot kinematics, robot control, and robot dynamics.

Yanjiang Huang received his Ph.D. degree in Precision Mechanical Engineering from the University of Tokyo in 2013. He became a Professor at South China University of Technology, China, in September 2020. His main research interests are human-robot interaction and robot system design.

Kaibin Chen received his Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from South China University of Technology in 2020. In November 2021, he became an engineer with the Fifth Electronics Research Institute of MIIT in China. His main research interests are human-robot interaction and reliability of electronic products.

Yeping Wang is a Ph.D. student of computer sciences at University of Wisconsin-Madison. He obtained his M.S.E. in Robotics at Johns Hopkins University and his B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from South China University of Technology. His research interests are in human—robot interaction.

Yanbin Wu is currently studying for an Undergraduate degree at the School of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, South China University of Technology. His main research interests include human-robot cooperation and wearable exoskeletons.

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Chen, Y., Huang, Y., Chen, K. et al. Novel torsional spring with corrugated flexible units for series elastic actuators for cooperative robots. J Mech Sci Technol 36, 3131–3142 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-022-0544-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12206-022-0544-5

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