Material or article handling – Article manipulator moves analogous with human hand – finger,... – Electric or fluid motor drive for manipulator
Patent
1983-08-09
1986-03-11
Siemens, Terrance L.
Material or article handling
Article manipulator moves analogous with human hand, finger,...
Electric or fluid motor drive for manipulator
414730, 414 7, 901 3, 901 22, 901 34, 901 50, 623 24, B25J 900
Patent
active
045752974
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to an assembly robot having several members which are joint-connected with each other and shaped approximately like the arm and finger members of a human hand with regard to their length and joint arrangment. The said robot members are guided by a human operator and at least one sensor and one driving means is assigned to each joint, the sensors being operative to provide signals indicative of the movements when the members are guided by hand, said signals being recorded and, when reproduced, being operative to control a particular driving means which is associated with a particular sensor.
Modern manipulation devices are usually provided with a hand member at the end of a multi-member arm which effects manipulations. For example, the hand member may be used to grip a welding device which welds together automobile body parts. In such an arrangement, the hand member is required to move along certain predetermined paths in space.
A known robot of the foregoing type has a first vertical axis of rotation. The multi-member arm operates to perform horizontal and vertical movements as well as swivel movements resulting from the superimposition of these movements. The hand member is so arranged at the end of the arm that it can be rotated around a first axis of rotation which runs in the axial direction of the arm. The hand member has a second axis of rotation at right angles to said first axis and, finally, a third axis of rotation running at right angles to the second axis of rotation, i.e., it is possible to rotate the hand member about any one or more of three axes.
It is extremely difficult to control the driving motors used in an arrangement of the type described above to effect the different movements of the manipulation device in such a way that the device moves along a desired nonlinear curve. Customarily, therefore, the desired curve is divided into linear path sections and the device is moved along the subdivided curve one section after the other. This leads to high programming complexity for the programmed control of the driving motors. In order to reduce the programming complexity, it is known to surround the arm and gripping members of the manipulation device by a casing having members which correspond to said arm and gripping members (DE-A-24 35 156). The members of the casing are provided with a number of switches corresponding to the number of axes of rotation of the manipulation device. The casing consists essentially of three members which are connected with each other by pivots and which are elastically supported by springs on the arm and gripping members. When the casing is guided by hand thereby to cause relative movements between the members of the manipulation device and the members of the casing, the aforementioned switches are actuated, produce signals which are recorded, and thereby establish a control program for the driving motors of the manipulation device.
The extremely complicated structure of the casing in the foregoing arrangement makes this type of programming device very expensive. The unavoidable play between the members of the casing and of the manipulation device results in erroneous programming, the error increasing with increasing play on the switches. An erroneous programming also results from the fact that the weight of the casing causes signals to be produced by the switches depending on the position of the casing even though no corresponding force has been exerted manually on the casing.
An additional programming device is described in DE-A-28 41 284 which consists of a center part surrounded by a sleeve. The center part is rigidly connected with a member of a robot. The sleeve can be moved in the same axes relative to the center part in which the robot member connected with the center part is movable. Between the center part and the sleeve, sensors are arranged which sense forces occurring in the directions of movement of the sleeve relative to the center part when the sleeve is guided by hand.
The electrical signals generated by the senso
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