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:
Aug. 31, 1993
Filed:
Jul. 12, 1991
Arthur Schleifer, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Philip B Fuhrman, Wilmington, DE (US);
Mark E Shuman, West Chester, PA (US);
Hewlett-Packard Company, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Abstract
Methods of calibrating robotic manipulators are disclosed. The present invention uses an inclinometer or a leveling device to provide a reference to calibrate each encoder for each joint of a robotic manipulator. The inclinometer or leveling device is most preferably an electronic protractor or similar device that is placed on a surface of one of the links and the joint is moved until the link is at a preselected angle. In certain embodiments an offset position between the level position and an index position for an absolute encoder is determined and absolute encoder data describing the offset position is recorded. Preferably, the inclinometer is capable of generating a signal that indicates the angle of the surface of the link with respect to the gravity vector. This signal can be used to control the joints and automatically calibrate the manipulator.