The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Oct. 21, 1980
Filed:
Mar. 19, 1979
Hugo A Panissidi, Peekskill, NY (US);
International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, NY (US);
Abstract
An air pressure counterbalance system is provided for an X Y Z orthogonal manipulator wherein the effect of gravity on a manipulator arm joint is counterbalanced both while hydraulic pressure is supplied to the hydraulic motors and also when the motive power is suspended. The air pressure counterbalance force is produced by a piston operating in an air cylinder in the direction of the gravity axis as the manipulator hand is raised or lowered. A selected constant air pressure is supplied to the counterbalance cylinder through an air pressure regulating system. In a preferred embodiment, a program-controlled counterbalance system is provided wherein the weights of various tools to be grasped by the manipulator fingers during a program are stored in CPU memory. The manipulator program selects the appropriate counterbalancing force to compensate for the predetermined tool weight and adjusts an air pressure regulator accordingly.