Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Toyota Jidosha Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

Sony Corporation

Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha

Matsushita Electric Works, Ltd.

Kabushiki Kaisha Toyoda Jidoshokki Seisakusho

Yaskawa Electric Mfg. Co. Ltd.

Kabushiki Kaisha Toyota

Yoshito Kato

Toshio Hashimoto

Nobuo Fukuma

Yasuo Ishiguro

Toshitaka Kuno

Mitsuo Koide

Masaru Nakano

Shuichi Sunahara

Hideyuki Matsubara

Chisao Hayashi

Masao Kawase

Kouji Nogami

Masatoshi Kimura

Hiroshi Takahashi

Motoo Ikari

Hiroyuki Ohkubo

Yoshiaki Kanbe

Tadashi Satake

Hiroshi Moribe

Hideki Hori

Shintaro Yamamoto

Ikumitsu Kohara

Fumiaki Takeda

Satoshi Kaseda

Shigeru Umehara

Akira Taga

Takao Terui

Hiroshi Maru

Nobuyuki Suzuki

Susumu Kurebayashi

Takayuki Tanaka

Yuji Yakada

Toshimitsu Isoi

Kaoru Shirakura

An operation control system for automated guided vehicles conveying articles along an unmanned conveying system. This operational control system comprises a first travel path loop and a second travel path loop along which a first group and a second group of the automated guided vehicles are automatically travelled. A common travel path is provided along which the automated guided vehicles of both the first and the second group are travelled, to enable a transfer of articles between the groups of automated guided vehicles. Also a correlating unit for correlating one automated guided vehicle of the first group with another automated guided vehicle of the second group, and a transfer control unit for controlling the transfer of the articles between the automated guided vehicles are provided. The transfer control unit permits only a transfer of articles between automated guided vehicles correlated with each other by the correlating unit.

Operation control system for automated guide vehicles

This invention is a real-time tracking controller for a standard-path robot that detects a target point in advance, permitting higher-speed work. The robot uses both sensed data and previously taught data to accurately execute its task. Accurate control is obtained using target points corresponding to time intervals. Thus, even if the speed or path is changed during operation, accurate tracing is continuously executed.

Real-time robot control system tracking based on a standard path

A tracking control robot controls its arm end, which holds a tool, to track a taught path so that a reaction force between a workpiece and the tool remains constant. An ideal state for the arm end is determined from the present state of the arm end and the difference between the actual reaction force and a predetermined target force. Then, this ideal state is compared with a reference state of the arm end on the taught path to obtain a target position and a target attitude of the arm end. Since a target position is always determined independently of the last target position, no position error due to time delay affects a new target position even when the next target position is generated before the tool reaches the last target position. Thus, the robot is quick, responsive, and accurate when tracking at a constant operation speed.

Robot with controlled tool tracking displacement

An optically scanning displacement sensor is arranged to compute by means of a triangulation an inverse function from a first measured distance signal proportional to output position signals from a position detecting means which receiving reflected light from an object to be detected, and the first measured distance signal is multiplied at a linearity correcting means by a signal of a sum of the inverse function and a constant so as to compute a second measured distance signal, whereby a two-dimensional position detection can be realized with the least required memory capacity and the minimum adjusting process.

Optically scanning displacement sensor with linearity correction means

A control system for an industrial robot having a hand which traces a pre-stored standard course defining its position and posture and which has a foresight function. The hand is provided with a tool and a work shape sensor, where the tool and the work shape sensor have a known spatial relationship. The foresight function is realized by a control system comprising temporary storing means for temporarily storing a future position and/or posture data of the tool calculated from a sensed position and/or posture data of the present sensor position. The stored data is output after a delayed time interval when it is compared with a pre-stored standard data. When the difference is small, the data is used to control the future position and/or posture of the hand. When the difference is great, an abnormality process is started.

Control system for an industrial robot with a foresight function

A positioning control device wherein an abnormality in a position detector is judged only by use of two position signals having differing phases emitted from the position detector for effecting position detection of a movable article without using the data of movement of the movable article to be controlled. For this purpose, direction determining means are provided which are responsive to the position signals to provide normal or reverse direction signals. A logical circuit for effecting abnormality judging of the position detector is provided in a controller for emitting a position control signal corresponding to the position signal to a control circuit for effecting position control of the movable article. When an abnormal condition occurs in the position detector, the signal aspect of the position signal emitted from the position detector is varied from that during the normal operation.

Positioning and abnormality control device

An automatic painting system including a non-explosion-proof automatic painting machine which has an arm having a spray gun and an arm housing, the arm and the arm housing being inserted through an opening defined in a side wall of a closed painting booth into the interior of the painting booth. A hermetically sealing bellows is mounted on and extends between a distal end of the arm and an inner surface of the side wall around the opening therein for protecting a portion of the arm which is slidable with respect to the arm housing from the atmosphere in the painting booth. The interior of the bellows is kept in communication with the atmosphere through the opening in the side wall.

Automatic painting system

An automatic painting system has a painting booth composed of a partition having side walls, a ceiling, and a floor which jointly define a working space isolated by the partition from exterior space for accommodating a workpiece to be painted in a position therein. The partition has air inlet and outlet ports opening into the working space. A movable painting mechanism such as a robot paint spray gun is disposed adjacent to the workpiece position and controlled by a control unit disposed outside of the painting booth and including a robot drive source. The control unit and the movable painting mechanism are interconnected by an arm accommodated in an arm housing extending through the partition with a sealing member hermetically sealing a gap between the arm housing and the partition. A door is mounted on the partition in the vicinity of the workpiece position for transfer of the workpiece into and out of the painting booth.

Pulses indicating movement distance are frequency divided to a desired resolution and then counted in a microprocessor in accordance with the direction of movement. The position count value addresses a data memory storing switch output data corresponding to desired detection positions.

Position detecting device

A length measuring device has a magnetic scale body including at least one origin signal magnetic section and a measurement signal magnetic section forming a magnetic grating, the magnetic scale body having a uniform frictional surface formed over the entire effective length of the scale body, and a detecting head body including an origin detecting head for detecting an origin signal and a measurement detecting head for detecting a measurement signal and provided with a scraper in elastic contact with the frictional surface of the magnetic scale body, the detecting head body moving relative to the magnetic scale of the body along the length of the latter.

Length measuring device

The present invention relates to improvements in a method of sensing a position of a movable body by directly or indirectly converting a unit movement of the movable body into digital pulse signals and an apparatus therefor. A reference position is selected at a point, at which said movable body abuts against and presses a stopper provided at a specific position within the moving range thereof. The pulse signals are counted as the movable body moves from the stopper using the reference position as a reference number. The coincidence of the number of the pulse signals counted with a first predetermined pulse number corresponding to a predetermined position is sensed so as to sense the fact that the movable body has reached a predetermined position and position sensing signals are emitted. Further, as necessary, the position sensing signals that have been emitted are sustained for the duration of a second predetermined pulse number corresponding to a predetermined stroke preset so that the position sensing signals indicate that the movable body has reached the predetermined position and is within a predetermined stroke from the predetermined position.

Method of sensing position of movable body and apparatus therefor

An apparatus for controlling a DC motor driven screw feed which moves the table of a machine tool into prescribed positions including a plurality of limit switches which detect the position of the table, a rate change control circuit which receives signals from the limit switches and changes the rate of revolution of the DC motor when the table has reached prescribed rate change positions and a current limiting circuit which supplies the DC motor with a prescribed constant current and keeps the output torque of the DC motor at a prescribed level when the table has reached a prescribed dwell position.

Device for controlling the feed of machine tools

An improved feed for a D.C. motor driven feed including a feed screw and nut which moves the table of a machine tool through predetermined positions in accordance with orders to change the rate of feed. The improved feed includes a power damping circuit, a switching circuit for electrically coupling the power damping circuit for a predetermined length of time to the D.C. motor whenever there is an order to change the rate of feed, thrust bearings provided in the D.C. motor whereby loads applied to the table are borne by the thrust bears and a cylindrical protective cover coupled to the nut and covering the feed screw such that the bottom inside surface of the cover is in relative near proximity to the feed screw and the top inside surface of the cover is in relative far proximity to the feed screw.

Method and apparatus for controlling the feed of machine tools

A protective means for a feeder of machinery having means for transmitting control signal formed from the differential between a predetermined revolution speed and an actual revolution speed of a DC-motor for driving the feeder, and a means to control current in the DC-motor according to said control signal, thereby protecting the motor against excessive current.

Protective means for feeder of machinery with DC-motor

A directional switching device for a feeder in a machine tool driven by a direct current motor. The armature circuit of the direct current motor is provided with a relay contact circuit for switching the forward and backward movements of the conveyor. The relay contact circuit is controlled by signals from a sequencing circuit.

Growing community of inventors

Aichi, Japan

Yoshito Kato