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Design
The design inspiration came from an unusual source, Star Wars. More specifically the mechanism used to power the BB-8 droid for a red carpet event. The design portion that is applicable to this project is the mechanism that rotates BB-8’s head. Cables are used to transfer energy from motors located at the bottom of the droid to a joint that rotates BB-8’s head in a swivel motion. The joint acts much like a universal joint where one end of the joint can remain stationary while the other end of the joint has a large range of movement to swivel.
Initial conception and design of the device was sketched on my own time and further developed at Central Washington University. Mariah Barrett was consulted when conceptualizing design requirements.
Much like the mechanism in the BB-8 droid, the Ultrasound probe head must have a swivel action. To perform the swivel motion, the head is powered by an external motor unit. Bowden cables transfer energy to the head of the transducer. Bowden cables are a type of cable that utilize an outer sleeve and an inner, load transferring cable to redirect force from one area to another. The most common applications for bowden cables are for bike brake lines and car clutch cables. The external motor unit is controlled by joystick that is attached to the probe handle.
Part Drawings
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