Fanuc Robotics North America, Inc.

Fanuc America Corporation

Fanuc Robotics America Corporation

Peter J Swanson

H Dean McGee

Sai-Kai Cheng

Eric C Lee

Ho Cheung Wong

Jason Tsai

Yi Sun

Jianming Tao

Chi-Keng Tsai

Leo Keselman

Tien L Chang

Di Xiao

Robert V Bauer, Jr

Matthew DeNio

Dean McGee

Methods and systems include ways to synchronize a press machine and tending robots, including a pick robot and a drop robot, where the press machine includes an operating area for pressing a blank into a part. The pick robot and the part are moved out of the operating area while the drop robot carrying the blank is moved into the operating area. At least a portion of the pick robot and/or the part resides within the operating area at the same time at least a portion of the drop robot and/or the blank resides within the operating area. The pick robot is in communication with the drop robot and the movement of the pick robot is synchronized with the movement of the drop robot to prevent the pick robot or part from colliding with the drop robot or the blank.

Automatic synchronization of press machines and robots

A system and method for controlling avoiding collisions and deadlocks in a workcell containing multiple robots automatically determines the potential deadlock conditions and identifies a way to avoid these conditions. Deadlock conditions are eliminated by determining the deadlock-free motion statements prior to execution of the motions that have potential deadlock conditions. This determination of deadlock-free motion statements can be done offline, outside normal execution, or it can be done during normal production execution. If there is sufficient CPU processing time available, the determination during normal production execution provides the most flexibility to respond to dynamic conditions such as changes in I/O timing or the timing of external events or sequences. For minimal CPU impact the determination is done offline where many permutations of programming sequences can be analyzed and an optimized sequence of execution may be found.

Method and system for automatically preventing deadlock in multi-robot systems

A method of teaching a robot a desired operating path and a lead-through teach handle assembly are disclosed. A mounting mechanism mounts the entire handle assembly to an arm of the robot. The handle assembly also includes a handle that is supported by the mounting mechanism. A robot operator utilizes the handle assembly and grasps the handle to apply an external force to move the robot arm, or the operator, without the handle assembly, directly holds a tool connected to the robot arm to apply the external force at the tool. The handle assembly is characterized by a universal joint that interconnects the handle and the mounting mechanism and that accommodates orientation changes of the handle relative to the mounting mechanism that result from translational and rotational movement of the robot arm as the user is teaching the robot. The external force applied at the tool is estimated with either a force sensor disposed on the handle assembly or by monitoring the torque of motors used to move the robot. Motion commands are generated in response to the estimated force to power assist the operator in moving the robot arm. During teaching of the robot, the operator selects either a translational operating mode which limits the movement imparted on the tool only to translational movement, or a rotational operating mode which limits the movement imparted on the tool only to rotational movement.

Lead-through teach handle assembly and method of teaching a robot assembly

A method of controlling a powered manipulator in a plurality of workspaces is disclosed. The manipulator includes a handle, a motor, a force sensor, and is in combination with a processor controlling the manipulator. The method includes the steps of imparting force on the control handle, sensing direction and magnitude of the force, and sending data of the force to the processor. The data is processed to establish movement commands for the manipulator. The processor is programmed to establish at least one virtual constraint in a first workspace for limiting movement of the manipulator to prevent an operator from moving the manipulator to a limit of this workspace. After the manipulator is moved in this workspace, the manipulator is relocated from the first workspace into a second workspace different from the first workspace where the manipulator is then moved again. To limit movement of the manipulator in the second workspace, the at least one virtual constraint established in the first workspace is repositioned to the second workspace.

Method of controlling an intelligent assist device in a plurality of distinct workspaces

A method for teaching movements to a robot (,) is disclosed. The robot (,) includes a fixture (,) for cooperating with a workpiece (,), at least one sensor (,) for sensing a spatial relationship of the robot fixture (,) relative to the workpiece (,), at least one motor (,), and a microprocessor (,) for controlling motion of the robot (,) relative to the workpiece (,). The method comprises the steps of storing a predetermined spatial relationship between the robot fixture (,) and the workpiece (,) in the microprocessor (,), imparting movement onto the robot (,), either by an operator physically moving the robot (,) or by actuating a joystick or a teach pendant to step the robot (,) through a desired set of motions, recording the imparted movement on the robot (,) in the microprocessor (,), using the recorded imparted movement to establish initial movement commands, continuously sensing a spatial relationship of the robot fixture (,) relative to the workpiece (,), and comparing the sensed relationship of the robot fixture relative (,) to the workpiece (,) to the predetermined spatial relationship to determine a deviation from the predetermined spatial relationship. The imparted movement of the robot (,) is continuously modified based upon the determined deviation to maintain the spatial relationship of the robot fixture (,) relative to the workpiece (,) during teaching of the robot (,).

Method of robot teaching with motion constraints

A method of controlling a powered manipulator (,) is disclosed. The powered manipulator (,) includes at least one motor (,), at least one force sensor (,) on a manual control handle (,) and a microprocessor (,) combined with the plurality of the force sensors (,) for controlling a powered manipulator (,) within physical limits of a workspace. The method comprises the steps of the operator imparting a force on the control handle (,), sensing the direction and magnitude of the force with the plurality of force sensors (,) and sending the force data to the microprocessor (,), processing the force data from the plurality of force sensors (,) with the microprocessor (,) to create movement commands for the powered manipulator (,) and moving the powered manipulator (,) in response to the movement commands from the microprocessor (,). An adaptive gain feature proportions powered manipulator movement commands relative to force imparted by an operator on the control handle (,) and can be relative to dynamic motion states. The microprocessor (,) is programmed for establishing virtual constraints to limit the movement of the powered manipulator (,) within a virtual workspace thereby preventing the operator from moving the powered manipulator (,) to at least some of the mechanical limits. Modifying the powered manipulator movement commands in relation to the virtual constraints assists the operator in guiding the powered manipulator (,) to a specific point within the virtual workspace.

Method of controlling an intelligent assist device

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Lake Orion, MI, United States of America

Peter J Swanson