A proposal for utilizing structural joint stop in a manipulator

Usually the revolute joint of a manipulator cannot rotate all around, that is, in a range larger than 360 degree and it is limited by a mechanical element, the so called "joint stop". In conventional manipulators, a collision between an arm and the joint stop is avoided by barriers from both software and electronic hardware. Comparing to those conventional manipulators, human utilizes structural joint stop usefully in many manipulations, especially in hyper dynamic manipulations. In this paper, we propose a general utilization of structural joint stop in a manipulator to improve the capability of the manipulator in a large extent by a simple modification of the structure of joint. This paper gives the basic idea for utilizing structural joint stop in a manipulator, expected effects of the proposal, the method how to utilize the joint stop and simulation results.