Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Kawasaki Jukogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Nachi - Fujikoshi Corporation

Toyota School Foundation

Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki

Kazutsugu Suita

Yoshitaka Sakamoto

Seiji Suzuki

Koji Imai

Yoji Yamada

Hitoshi Arasuna

Nuio Tsuchida

Satoru Hirayama

Kanji Matsushima

Morihiko Okura

Kazufumi Kimura

Keiichiro Fujita

Rikio Azumaya

Yoshinori Kakuda

In a tire type determination method, a surface image of a tread portion of a tire mounted on a vehicle is captured by a camera fixed at a predetermined position in a tilted hanger conveyor line, which is located downstream in a vehicle-carrying direction with respect to a position at which the tire of the vehicle is lifted from the ground and starts moving diagonally upward. Further, image information is extracted from the surface image of the tread portion, and a tire type is determined by checking the image information against registered information. A vehicle inspection system includes a tire type determination portion and a vehicle type information obtaining portion so as to determine the tire type using the method. A conformance determination portion determines whether the tire type determined by the tire type determination portion conforms to a specified tire type searched based on the vehicle type information.

Tire type determination method and vehicle inspection method and system using  the same

The safety in robotic operations is enhanced and the floor space in a factory or the like is effectively utilized. A virtual safety barrierincluding the trajectory of movement of a work or toolmounted on a wristof a robotin operation is defined in a memory. At least two three-dimensional spatial regions S (Sto S) including a part of the robot including the work or tool are defined. Predicted positions of the defined three-dimensional spatial regions obtained by trajectory calculations are matched with the virtual safety barrier, and if the predicted position of any one of the defined three-dimensional spatial regions based on trajectory calculations is included in the virtual safety barrier, a control is effected to stop the movement of the robot armsand

Method and apparatus for limiting the movement of a robot, and a robot equipped with said apparatus

The invention provides a vehicle confronting apparatus and a vehicle confronting method for a vehicle, which enables to confront a vehicle surely for a short while. A vehicle confronting apparatus, comprises: a guide-type confronting deviceguiding a wheel of a vehicleentering to a confronting position, and regulating both sides of the wheel of the vehicle; a run-out-type confronting devicerotationally driving the wheel of the vehicle reaching the confronting position; and a control devicecontrolling motions of the guide-type confronting deviceand the run-out-type confronting device. The control devicecancels the regulation of the wheel by the guide-type confronting devicewithin a period between a time of starting of the rotational driving of the wheel of the vehicleand a time when the rotation speed of the wheel reaches a predetermined run-out speed.

Apparatus and method for positioning a vehicle

A vehicle positioning apparatus capable of avoiding the elastic deformation of the tires or the development of histeresis in and around the legs allows a vehicle to be positioned with high accuracy. The apparatus includes two front wheel guide unitsand two rear wheel guide unitseach including a pair of guide members gand gwith a predetermined length that extend in parallel while an interval is maintained between the guide members in accordance with the tire widths Wand Wof front wheelsand the rear wheelsrespectively, of a vehicleto be positioned. A correct position of the vehicle can be ensured as the vehicle travels along the wheel guide units with each of the tires restrained by each pair of guide members gand gon either side of the tire. The apparatus also includes a mechanism for adjusting each of the wheel guide units in accordance with the wheel tracks Tand Tof the vehiclewhereby various types of vehicles can be handled with a single apparatus.

Vehicle positioning apparatus

A control apparatus is provided which is selectively placed in an allowed state in which the apparatus is allowed to be operated and an inhibited state in which the apparatus is inhibited from being operated. The control apparatus includes a first three-position switch and a second three-position switch, each of which has a non-pressed position, an optimum operated position, and an over-pressed position. A controller of the apparatus establishes the inhibited state, irrespective of the operated positions of the three-position switches, when it is determined that both of the first and second three-position switches are pressed down, and establishes the allowed state when it is determined that only one of the first and second three-position switches is pressed down, and is operated to the optimum operated position.

Control apparatus and control method for the same

An intelligent welding gun is provided with a fixed side sensor in a fixed side portion. The mechanical impedance of the fixed side portion is kept small, which permits the mechanical impedance to be set in a range where the fixed side sensor can effectively detect at least one of a position of a fixed side welding tip and a pressing force imposed on the fixed side welding tip. The fixed side sensor and a moving side sensor constitute a redundant sensor measurement system. Various kinds of methods conducted using the above welding gun include a method of calibrating a sensor (including calibration of a reference point and a gain), a control method of suppressing a welding expulsion, a re-welding feedback control method, a control method of a welding strength, a control method of reducing a clearance between workpieces, a method of correcting a welding robot track, and a method of managing a positional accuracy change at a welding point.

Welding gun and methods conducted using the same

A spot welding apparatus having a pressing axis to which a mechanical impedance control device is provided. The mechanical impedance control device includes a welding condition instruction device, a pressing axis control device, and a mechanical impedance calculation device. A method for controlling the spot welding apparatus, wherein for welding relatively thin plates, the mechanical impedance is controlled to be low, and for welding relatively thick plates, the mechanical impedance is controlled to be high.

Spot welding apparatus and a method for controlling the apparatus

An integrated control system for a work robot may be used for controlling multiple work robots as well as multiple work tools connected to the work robots. The integrated control system includes a robot control central processing unit (CPU), at least one work control CPU, a shared memory, and a system bus constructed to transmit information between each of the CPUs and the shared memory. The robot control CPU, the work control CPU, and the shared memory are connected to the system bus.

Integrated control system for a work robot

A welding gun includes an actuator and welding tips. The actuator includes a stator coupled to a welding robot and a rotor rotatable relative to the stator about an axis of the actuator. The stator includes an axially extending portion and at least one circumferentially extending arm. The rotor includes an axially extending portion and at least one circumferentially extending arm. The welding tips are coupled to an end of the circumferentially extending arm of the stator and an end of the circumferentially extending arm of the rotor. Lengths of the axially extending portion of the stator and the axially extending portion of the rotor can be determined to any length so long as strength and rigidity are assured.

Welding gun

The spot welding electrodes are driven by the servomotor (30) so as to be moved to and pressured against a work surface. The welding pressure controller (27) detects welding pressure corresponding to current flowing through the servomotor (30) via a driver (26) and controls the welding pressure so as to be changed according to the set welding pressure condition. The welding current flowing through the spot welding electrodes is controlled by the welding current controller (28). The welding current controller (28) and the welding pressure controller (27) are both controlled synchronously by the robot CPU (20) via the system bus (21). The robot CPU (20) controls the welding pressure and the welding current on the basis of the welding condition data (22) stored in a memory, so as to be changed in synchronism with each other at a plurality of welding stages, respectively. By doing this, it is possible to control the welding pressure and the welding current during the spot welding synchronously and systematically, thus realizing a spot welding control adaptive to work behavior.

Spot welding control method and apparatus

Positions where the pair of electrode chips are in contact with each other are regarded as reference positions. Desired starting positions where the tips of the pair of electrodes are slightly apart from the surfaces of a workpiece are determined on the basis of the reference positions X taking into consideration the thickness d of the workpiece. The electrode chips are moved to the desired starting position. The electrode chips are moved at a predetermined low speed until contact positions where the electrode chips come into contact with the workpiece (20). The electrode chips are then moved at a predetermined speed from the contact positions to overshot positions where the workpiece is compressed between the electrode chips.

Welding gun control method

In a technique of monitoring whether a physical system is normal or abnormal by continuously comparing a phenomenon taking place in the system and a phenomenon taking place in a model and also in a technique of control adopting evaluation functions using an error quantity in the model, the phenomena in both the physical system and model can be optimized. An equivalent electric circuit to the physical system is produced, and an input is provided to both of the system and the circuit. In this state, the output of the physical system and the reference value of the equivalent electric circuit are compared. The use of the equivalent electric circuit permits solving the problem inherent in the prior art that the time necessary for analog-to-digital conversion and numerical calculations is longer than the time of the actual phenomenon and disables real time simulation.

System for and method of equivalent circuit reference type control

It is difficult to use in combination a technique of detecting a collision of an arm due to application thereto of an external force and a technique of alleviating the degree of impact of the arm by covering the arm with a cushioning material. This is so because if it is intended to alleviate the impact degree, the timing of detection of the generation of the collision is delayed. The disclosed technique is to overcome the relation of the opposing factors by using a visco-elastic material. Particularly, by selecting the viscosity coefficient and the elasticity coefficient of the material in predetermined ranges, it is possible to alleviate the impact degree without excessive delay of the impact detection timing and forcibly stop the arm before the force acting between the arm and the object exceeds a permissible level.

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Toyota, Japan

Kazutsugu Suita