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:
May. 30, 2000
Filed:
Mar. 10, 1998
H Dean McGee, Rochester Hills, MI (US);
Hadi A Akeel, Rochester Hills, MI (US);
Chi-Keng Tsai, Bloomfield Hills, MI (US);
Eric Lee, Bloomfield Hills, MI (US);
Min-Ren Jean, Rochester Hills, MI (US);
Sai-Kai Cheng, Rochester Hills, MI (US);
FANUC Robotics North America, Inc., Rochester Hills, MI (US);
Abstract
A robot calibration system includes a calibration sensor that provides an indication of when a first reference point that remains fixed relative to a robot base is a fixed distance from a second reference point that is located on the robot arm. The robot arm is moved through a plurality of orientations and each time that the fixed distance between the two reference points is achieved, robot joint position information is determined. The preferred calibration sensor includes a string that extends between the two reference points and activates a signal generator each time that the string is taut as caused by the orientation of the robot arm. The generated signal indicates that the two reference points are separated by the fixed distance. The determined robot joint positions are then used to determine a calibration factor which varies depending on the needs of a particular situation. Example calibration factors are useful for correcting errors in robot kinematic information, locating the workcell reference frame and locating the tool center point reference frame.