Patents on the soles of your shoes...: Oh, patents! Nao's spine

Saturday, October 28, 2017

Oh, patents! Nao's spine

Beyond Nao’s unique and patented appearance in US design patent USD774148S1, this little robot embodies far more inventions. Beginning with Nao’s spine, or central nervous circuitry, each of the little robot’s humanoid features and functions are disclosed in utility patents, granted in the US, in Europe, as well as globally by WIPO.

For example, US2015122073 (A1) titled Spine for a humanoid robot discloses the invention that invokes Nao’s circumscribed spinal capacity for extension, flexion and rotation. This invention is one of several that gives the little robot, a specific set of features that mimic human function. A set of mimetic features that, in turn, and beyond representation, perhaps also offer a laboratory (or mirror) for better understanding certain aspects of human function.

Indeed, US2015122073 (A1) discloses a flexible spine with just two degrees of freedom that attaches to the pelvis at the lower end, and to the neck of the little robot, at the upper end. For practical design and production purposes, the invention spine only bends on two horizontal axes (i.e; right to left, and forward and back). Torque or vertical axis rotations were designed separately from the invention spine, into the little robot’s neck.

The humanoid robot's spine thus comprises just two double acting linear actuators attached to the base of the neck and to the base of the pelvis, which together, or separately, control the forward/backward, right/left movements of the spine, comprising otherwise a flexible rod, and ball joints with just two degrees of freedom, to prevent the flexible rod from buckling. Far greater specification is included in the disclosure of this invention that includes 14 claims.

US2015122073 (A1) is part of a family that includes 5 more patents disclosing Nao’s spine:

WO2013178772 (A1) ― 2013-12-05 - Spinal column for a humanoid robot
JP2015523221 (A) ― 2015-08-13 - Spinal column for a humanoid robot
FR2991221 (A1) ― 2013-12-06 - Spinal column for a humanoid robot
EP2855104 (A1) ― 2015-04-08 - Spine for a humanoid robot
DK2855104 (T3) ― 2017-10-16 - Spinal column for a humanoid robot

The abstract for US2015122073 (A1) is included below with one of the patent drawings showing the design of Nao’s spine.

The invention concerns a spinal column for a humanoid robot, the column (20) comprising a lower base (11) intended to be fixed to a pelvis of the robot (10) and an upper base (13) intended to be fixed to a neck (14) of the robot (10), the spinal column (10) allowing two rotations of the upper base (13) relative to the lower base (11), a first taking place about a sagittal axis (21) and a second taking place about a transverse axis (22). According to the invention, the column (20) comprises a flexible band (25) and linear actuators (26, 27), the band (25) being embedded in a first of the ends (28, 30) thereof at a point (29) in a first of the bases (11, 13) and at least guided at a point (31) in a second of the bases (11, 13), the actuators (26, 27) both being anchored between the two bases (11, 13) at anchoring points (32, 33, 34, 35). For each of the bases (11, 13), the anchoring points (32, 33, 34, 35) of the two actuators (26, 27) and the embedding or guide point (29, 31) of the band (25) are spaced apart.