Patents by Inventor James J. Kerley, Jr.

James J. Kerley, Jr. has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 4946421
    Abstract: A cable-compliant robotic joint includes two "U" configuration cross-section brackets with their "U" cross-sections lying in different planes, one of the brackets being connected to a robot arm and the other to a tool. Additional angle brackets are displaced from the other brackets at corners of the robotic joint. All the brackets are connected by cable segments which lie in one or more planes which are perpendicular to the direction of tool travel as it approaches a work object. The compliance of the joint is determined by the cable segment characteristics, such as their length, material, angle, stranding, pre-twisting and pre-stressing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 13, 1988
    Date of Patent: August 7, 1990
    Assignee: The United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration
    Inventor: James J. Kerley, Jr.