In a typical pneumatic system to drive soft actuators, a control valve is the most heavy and expensive device. Therefore, a compact and inexpensive control valve has been desired. To solve such a problem, not only improving the valve itself but also reducing the number of valves can be considered. In this study, to decrease the number of valves to drive a complex pneumatic actuator with many chambers, a slide-gate mechanism type multi-port servo valve that can switch multiple ports and adjust the flow rate of many actuators simultaneously was proposed and tested. The tested valve consists of a rotational cam, multi-port, two servo motors for switching and adjusting, and so on. In this paper, the construction and operating principle of the tested valve are described. Furthermore, the radial bending/extension type flexible robot arm driven by the tested valve is also reported.
Research papers (academic journals)
