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Tennessee Technological University

Robotic Technologies of Tennessee, LLC

James Walter Beard

Stephen Lee Canfield

David Bryant

Steve Glovsky

Stephen Giovanni Zuccaro

Steven Marc Glovsky

Nicholas Canfield

Robots are commonly used for automated MIG (Metal Inert Gas) or TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas) welding in many industries such as automotive manufacturing. A weld procedure is defined and the robot performs motion control of the weld torch along the weld seam, while starting and stopping the arc as desired along the weld seams. The robot controls the motion of the torch along the weld path. The motion is defined by a combination of the position and orientation of the torch which is attached to the robot end-effector. The weld specification will generally prescribe a portion or all of the desired orientation of the torch. This information can be used to reduce the complexity of programming a weld path for a robot.

Method for teaching torch orientation for robotic welding

This patent defines a method for making robot programming more intuitive for tasks such as welding. The method further is an enhancement of manual guiding methods of robot positioning and can improve situations in which finer resolution or control of the robot end-effector is required. A motion sensor is mounted in series with the n−1 joint and in parallel with the njoint, where n is the number of degrees of freedom or number of joints of the serial manipulator. The motion sensor is further mounted directly in-line with the njoint and becomes part the opposing portion of the njoint. The motion sensor further is uniquely adapted to apply to non-spherical wrist robots. The motion sensor senses input movements by a robot operator and controls the output tool motion in a controlled manner with resolution defined by user input at the motion sensor.

Method for precise, intuitive positioning of robotic welding machine

A tracked climbing vehicle containing a compliant suspension apparatus to prescribe the distribution of forces on the adhering members in the tracked climbing machine. The compliant suspension apparatus is configured to negotiate irregularities in a climbing surface without the vehicle tracks losing full surface contact and adhesion by distributing the loads from the climbing machine chassis to the adhering traction members in a specific prescribed fashion. The apparatus thus avoids exceeding the allowable force in any adhering traction member and significantly improves the performance of the climbing machine.

Tracked climbing machine with compliant suspension apparatus

A tracked climbing vehicle containing a compliant suspension apparatus to prescribe the distribution of forces on the adhering members in the tracked climbing machine. The compliant suspension apparatus is configured to negotiate irregularities in a climbing-surface without the vehicle tracks losing full surface contact and adhesion by distributing the loads from the climbing machine chassis to the adhering traction members in a specific prescribed fashion. The apparatus thus avoids exceeding the allowable force in any adhering traction member and significantly improves the performance of the climbing machine.

A climbing vehicle with wheel or endless-track type propulsion using suction for generating adhering forces is adapted to climbing non-planar surfaces such as intersecting walls, pipes or other structural members. The suction chamber is relatively fixed to the vehicle chassis and moves with the vehicle chassis. A seal is created around the suction chamber through an adaptive sealing mechanism. The adaptive sealing mechanism consists of a series of links that adapt to the climbing surface geometry and forms a seal at the climbing surface. The links in the adaptive sealing mechanism span a portion of the suction chamber along the longitudinal sides of the vehicle and are elastically sprung to maintain contact with the surface. The adaptive sealing mechanism links also span the lateral sides of the vehicle to fully enclose the suction chamber. Thus, the suction chamber is maintained even as the mobile vehicle passes over significant geometry changes in the climbing surface, for example transitioning between surfaces that are orthogonally opposed.

Climbing vehicle using suction with variable adaptive suspension seal

An endless-track type mobile climbing vehicle containing a suspension apparatus, transducer manipulator and surface cleaning system to perform non-destructive examination of structures while traversing the structure in all positions. The invention is able to conform to large range of irregularities of the climbing surface while maintaining contact between the track and adhering members and uniformly distributing the climbing loads on the adhering members giving the system a high payload to weight ratio. The invention is moves the inspection transducer over the surface while maintaining correct alignment of the tool relative to the surface. The invention allows an operator to perform an inspection on structures that require cleaning or other preparation prior to inspection. The invention allows an operator to perform an inspection remotely.

Mobile, climbing endless track robotic system to perform remote inspections on structures

This patent discloses a climbing vehicle capable of high payload to weight ratio and capable of climbing surfaces with geometric variations and traveling along a single dimension. More specifically, this invention applies to a vehicle well adapted to climbing non-planar surfaces such as pipes or other structural members while traveling along a single dimension, for example traveling parallel to the axis of the pipe. The climbing vehicle makes contact with the climbing surface through drive wheels and a trailing arm. The adhering members are aligned with the primary axis and are rigidly attached or contained in a suspension that is able to conform to a large range of surface irregularities while providing push and pulling forces between the adhering members and the climbing vehicle chassis to uniformly distribute the climbing loads on the adhering members. The result is a climbing machine that can accommodate large surface irregularities while maximizing the climbing payload with a minimum number and size of adhering members.

One-dimensional climbing vehicle with resilient guide mechanism

A climbing vehicle capable of high payload to weight ratio and capable of climbing surfaces with geometric variations is enabled through a suspension mechanism consisting of a resilient runner chain. The resilient runners contain adhering members such as magnets that create forces directed toward a ferrous climbing surface. The resilient runner has flexibility and internal stiffness or additional springs that transfer these forces to the climbing vehicle chassis and payload to provide equilibrium during the climbing process. It is able to conform to a large range of surface irregularities while providing push and pulling forces between the adhering members and the climbing vehicle chassis to uniformly distribute the climbing loads on the adhering members. The result is a climbing machine that can accommodate large surface irregularities while maximizing the climbing payload with a minimum number and size of adhering members.

Climbing vehicle with suspension mechanism

A tracked climbing vehicle containing a compliant suspension apparatus to prescribe the distribution of forces on the adhering members in the tracked climbing machine capable of negotiating irregular surfaces. The compliant suspension apparatus is configured to negotiate irregularities in a climbing-surface without its tracks losing full surface contact and adhesion. It does this by distributing the loads from the climbing machine chassis to the adhering traction members in a specific prescribed fashion to avoid exceeding the allowable force in any adhering traction member and thus significantly improve the performance of the climbing machine.

An endless-track type climbing vehicle containing a multi-link suspension apparatus to uniformly distribute the forces on the on the adhering members while traversing irregular climbing surfaces. The multi-links suspension apparatus is able to conform to large range of surface irregularities while providing push and pulling forces on the adhering members to uniformly distribute the climbing loads on the adhering members. The result is a climbing machine that can accommodate large surface irregularities while maximizing the climbing payload with a minimum number and size of adhering members.

Growing community of inventors

Cookeville, TN, United States of America

James Walter Beard