Asea Aktiebolag

Abb Research Ltd.

Abb Technology Ltd

Abb Schweiz Ag

Asea Ab

Abb Automation Technologies Ab Robotics

Torgny Brogardh

Christer Ovren

Morgan Adolfsson

Bertil Hok

Lars Sander

Jianjun Wang

ZhongXue Gan

Olof Engstrom

Hui Zhang

Anders Persson

Sture Goransson

Chao Li

George Q Zhang

Stig Moberg

Ingvar Jonsson

Ove Ode

Leif G Stensland

Qing Tang

Hans Bertilson

Jan Bergstrom

Daniel Eriksson

Hakan Brantmark

Anders Linge

Mats Isaksson

An industrial robot includes first and second kinematic chains configured to transmit the movements of corresponding first and second actuators to respective movements of an end effector. The first kinematic chain includes a first rod which is stiff. The second kinematic chain includes elements between the second actuator and the first rod such that the actuation of the second actuator causes bending forces on the first rod. The first and second kinematic chains thereby have the first rod as a common element, which improves compactness and accessibility of the robot. This improvement assumes that the robot is provided with one or more stiff rods that can bear the bending forces resulting from the actuation of the corresponding actuators.

Compact parallel kinematics robot

An industrial robot including a manipulator for movement of an object in space. The manipulator includes a movable platform arranged for carrying the object, a first arm arranged for influencing the platform in a first direction and including a first inner arm part rotatable about a first axis, a second arm arranged for influencing the platform in a second direction and including a second inner arm part rotatable about a second axis, a third arm arranged for influencing the platform in a third direction and including a third inner arm part rotatable about a third axis.

Industrial robot including a parallel kinematic manipulator

Industrial robot with a stand

Industrial robot

A robot having a force sensor and a tool fixture for operating on a workpiece that may have a complex surface contour is programmed by an operator first teaching the robot by a suitable technique such as lead through teaching a few gross points of the contour. These points, known as guiding points, are used to generate a program to be followed by the robot under the control of the robot controller and using force control during which the robot finalizes the guiding points and teaches one or more points on the contour intermediate adjacent guiding points. The controller or other computing device uses the points so taught to generate the path the robot tool fixture will follow when the tool is to operate on the workpiece.

Method of and apparatus for automated path learning

A method for calibration of a base coordinate system of an industrial robot in relation to a work area includes:

Calibration of a base coordinate system for an industrial robot

An industrial robot that uses a simulated force vector to allow a work piece held by the robot end effector to be mated with a work piece whose location and orientation is not precisely known to the robot. When the end effector makes contact with the location and orientation in which the other work piece is held the robot provides a velocity command to minimize the force of the contact and also provides a search pattern in all directions and orientations to cause the end effector to bring the work piece it is holding in contact with the other work piece. The search pattern and the velocity command are continued until the two work pieces mate.

Industrial robot with controlled flexibility and simulated force for automated assembly

An industrial robot that has uses a simulated force vector to allow a work piece held by the robot end effector to be mated with a work piece whose location and orientation is not precisely known to the robot. When the end effector makes contact with the location and orientation in which the other work piece is held the robot provides a velocity command to minimize the force of the contact and also provides a search pattern in all directions and orientations to cause the end effector to bring the work piece it is holding in contact with the other work piece. The search pattern and the velocity command are continued until the two work pieces mate.

A robot having a spindle is calibrated by disposing a calibration tool in the robot spindle. The position of the calibration tool is measured. An axis of the spindle is determined based on the measured position. A calibration tool center point is determined based on the measured position. A robot tool rotation axis is determined based on the determined spindle axis, robot tool center point, the determined calibration tool center point, and difference in length between the calibration tool and a robot tool.

Robot machining tool position and orientation calibration

The present invention relates to a fiber-optic measuring apparatus for measuring physical quantities, such as position, speed, acceleration, force, pressure, elongation, temperature, etc., comprising at least one optic fiber for conducting light between an electronic unit and a transducer. The transducer comprises a member having at least one luminescent material, and the position of that member with respect to the fiber end is influenced by the quantity being measured, the output signal from the transducer thus being dependent on the quantity being measured.

Fiber-optic measuring apparatus using luminescent material

An optical position-measuring sensor has a monolithic structure which includes at least two masses of photoluminescent material, which on excitation emit photoluminescent light with non-identical spectra. The at least two masses are supported in the sensor by a resilient part (e.g. a beam or diaphragm), the deflection of which determines the wavelength distribution of the luminescent light which is coupled into an optical wave conductor (e.g. a light fiber) terminating in the sensor.

Optical position-measuring sensor

A fiber optical measuring device for measuring dynamic movements between a boundary surface of an optical fiber and a boundary surface of a movement-sensing body. The optical fiber is adapted to transmit optical energy to and from the boundary surfaces and at least one of the boundary surfaces includes a photo-luminescent material, the optical energy reflected from the boundary surface of the body being dependent on the relative position between the two boundary surfaces.

Fiber optical measuring device for measuring dynamic movements

A fiber-optic sensor for measuring a physical quantity or sensing changes therein, consists of a transmitter and receiver unit respectively arranged to transmit and receive optical energy and an optical fiber for transmission of said optical energy to and from a sensor located at the measurement point. The sensor has at least one solid body, which is arranged to emit photoluminescent optical energy in at least one wavelength range, and a volume limited by at least two substantially plane-parallel surfaces, the separation of which is smaller than half the coherence length for either the transmitted or luminescent optical energy, whereby an interference pattern will differently affect the transmission of optical energy to the receiver unit as the optical length between said parallel surfaces changes with changes in the physical quantity being sensed.

Fiber-optic luminescence sensor utilizing interference in a thin layer

An optical sensor for detecting changes in physical quantities such as temperature, position, force, level, pressure, flow, acceleration, magnetic or electrical field strength or mechanical deformation, includes a luminescent material built up of atomically localized luminescence centers, included as a solid solution in an amorphous or mono-crystalline bonding material.

Optical sensor having atomically localized luminescence centers

A fiber optical luminescence measuring system for measuring a change in a physical quantity employs a transmitter/receiver unit and a sensor unit for the physical quantity optically linked by at least one optical fiber. The sensor unit is arranged to emit luminescent light with at least two different decay time constants, where the quotient between the intensities of emitted luminescent light having the different decay times corresponds to a measure of the quantity to be measured.

Growing community of inventors

Vaster.ang.s, Sweden

Torgny Brogardh