| US 7,467,782 B2 | ||
| Fiber redirect system, multi-axis robotic wrist and fiber placement apparatus incorporating same and related methods | ||
| James L. Harvey, Salt Lake City, Utah (US); Douglas G. Harris, West Valley City, Utah (US); James M. Brown, Salt Lake City, Utah (US); and Boyd Hatch, West Valley City, Utah (US) | ||
| Assigned to Alliant Techsystems Inc., Minneapolis, Minn. (US) | ||
| Filed on Feb. 06, 2006, as Appl. No. 11/348,537. | ||
| Application 11/348537 is a continuation of application No. 10/428332, filed on May 02, 2003, granted, now 6,994,324, filed on Feb. 07, 2006. | ||
| Prior Publication US 2006/0231671 A1, Oct. 19, 2006 | ||
| This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer. | ||
| Int. Cl. B66D 1/00 (2006.01) | ||
| U.S. Cl. 254—388 | 20 Claims |
| 1. A robotic wrist configured for articulation about at least three axes, the robotic wrist comprising:
a first section;
a second section coupled with the first section;
a third section coupled with the second section, wherein each of the first section, the second section and the third section
are configured to articulate about at least one axis of the at least three axes, and wherein at least one of the first section,
the second section and the third section is configured to articulate about each of the at least three axes, at least two of
the at least three axes being oriented such that they do not intersect each other;
a material delivery mechanism associated with the third section;
a first bearing coupled to the first section to accommodate relative rotation of at least one of the first section and the
second section about at least one of the at least three axes, wherein an opening is formed in the first bearing; and
a material redirect system configured to deliver an elongated material element to the material delivery mechanism along a
material path having a portion that extends through the opening of the first bearing.
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