Hybrid pneumatic artificial muscle unit using a twisted-pneumatic engine and its operating method

Hybrid Artificial Muscle Combining Twisted String and Pneumatic Actuation

This technology relates to a hybrid pneumatic artificial muscle unit using a twisted-string pneumatic engine and its operating method, integrating both twisted-string and pneumatic actuation into a single unit.

Existing wearable and collaborative robots have faced limitations such as high energy loss, heavy actuator weight, and complex structures, making them difficult to adapt to a user's specific body structure.

This technology integrates a twisted-string element driven by a turbine and micro-motor into a pneumatic artificial muscle, simultaneously improving the response speed and contraction force of the artificial muscle.

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Key Features:

• An inelastic sleeve, a gas inlet/outlet connected to one end for gas injection, and a fixed end sealing the other end.
• An elastic tube located within the inelastic sleeve, with one end connected to the gas inlet/outlet and the other end connected to the fixed end.
• A turbine featuring a central rotational axis and multiple propellers that generates torque through gas pressure.
• A twisted-string structure connected to the other end of the turbine's rotational axis, generating contraction force through twisting.

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This invention was developed with support from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy for the development of a human-augmentation hybrid robot suit capable of safe 100m sprints in 7 seconds and comfortable 12-hour wear, as well as the development of core technologies for compact, lightweight, high-performance, and highly durable safe drive modules based on string twisting, utilizing string surface reinforcement, variable radius pulleys, and hybrid drive control.