Coordinated robot control from multiple remote instruction sources

• US 20030220715A1
• Filed: 05/22/2002
• Published: 11/27/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 05/22/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: KUKA Roboter GmbH (Midea Group Co., Ltd)
• Original Assignee: KUKA Roboter GmbH (Midea Group Co., Ltd)
• Inventors: Kneifel, R. William II, Stoddard, Kenneth A.
• Granted Patent: US 6,807,461 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/248
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1682 Dual arm manipulator; Coordination of several manipulators
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/41815 characterised by the cooperation between machine tools, manipulators and conveyor or other workpiece supply system, workcell
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/31206 Exchange of parameters, data, programs between two station, station and central or host or remote
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/40512 Real time path planning, trajectory generation
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/02 Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49895 Associating parts by use of aligning means [e.g., use of a drift pin or a "fixture"]

Abstract

A robot control system is provided for facilitating coordination amongst various robotic machines. The robot control system includes a plurality of robot controllers, such that each robot controller having an associated motion system adapted to control at least one robotic machine and the associated motion system is adapted to receive motion control commands from more than one robot control program. The robot control system further includes a remote instruction source that supplies motion control commands to the robot controllers, and a mutual exclusion mechanism residing on either the remote program instruction source or one of the robot controllers, where the mutual exclusion mechanism prevents simultaneous access by more than one robot control program to a given robotic machine. In operation, motion control commands are propagated from the remote program instruction source over a computer network to a selected group of the robot controllers.

Claims

1. A robot control system comprising:

a plurality of robot controllers, each robot controller having an associated motion system adapted to control at least one robotic machine, where the associated motion system is adapted to receive motion control commands from more than one robot control program;

a remote program instruction source that supplies motion control commands to said plurality of robot controllers, the instruction source having a memory for storing at least one robot control program and an instruction processor for converting said robot control program into motion control commands;

a mutual exclusion mechanism residing on either the remote program instruction source or one of the plurality of robot controllers, wherein the mutual exclusion mechanism prevents simultaneous access by more than one robot control program to a given robotic machine and

a computer network over which said remote instruction source and said plurality of robot controllers communicate, whereby the remote instruction source propagates motion control commands over the computer network to selected ones of said plurality of robot controllers.

2. The robot control system of claim 1 wherein the remote instruction source is operable to issue a set of motion control commands to more than one motion system.

3. The robot control system of claim 2 wherein the set of motion control commands are derived from only one robot control program associated with the remote instruction source.

4. The robot control system of claim 3 wherein the remote instruction source is operable to issue a first set of motion control commands for a first robotic machine to a first motion system associated with a first robot controller and second set of motion control commands for a second robotic machine to a second motion system associated with a second robot controller, thereby causing sequential motion coordination amongst the first and second robotic machines.

5. The robot control system of claim 3 wherein the remote instruction source is operable to issue a first set of motion control commands to a first motion system associated with a first robot controller for a first robotic machine and to second motion system associated with a second robot controller for a second robotic machine, thereby causing temporal motion coordination amongst the first and second robotic machines.

6. The robot control system of claim 5 wherein at least one of the motion control commands embodies a first instruction for the first robotic machine and a second instruction for the second robotic machine, such that the first instruction is different from the second instruction.

7. The robot control system of claim 1 wherein an associated motion system for a given robot controller is adapted to receive motion control commands and operable to control two or more robotic machines based on the motions control commands.

8. The robot control system of claim 1 wherein the remote instruction source is associated with one of the plurality of robot controllers.

9. The robot control system of claim 1 wherein the mutual exclusion mechanism is further defined as an arbitrator that mediates amongst motion control commands received from different robot control programs.

10. The robot control system of claim 9 wherein the arbitrator is embodied in the associated motion system of the selected ones of said plurality of robot controllers

11. A robot control system comprising:

a plurality of robot controllers, each robot controller having an associated motion system adapted to control at least one robotic machine;

a remote instruction source that supplies motion control commands to said plurality of robot controllers, the remote instruction source having a memory for storing at least one robot control program and an instruction processor for converting said robot control program into motion control commands;

a computer network over which said remote instruction source and said plurality of robot controllers communicate; and

a command initiated by said instruction source and propagated over said computer network to selected ones of said plurality of robot controllers, where the command gives the remote instruction source logical temporary ownership of the motion systems for the selected ones of said plurality of robot controllers.

12. The robot control system of claim 11 wherein the command is further defined as an attach/detach command embodied in the motion control commands received by the associated motion system of the selected ones of said plurality of robot controllers.

13. The robot control system of claim 11 wherein the remote instruction source is operable to issue a set of motion control commands to more than one motion system.

14. The robot control system of claim 13 wherein the set of motion control commands is derived from only one robot control program associated with the remote instruction source.

15. The robot control system of claim 13 wherein the remote instruction source is operable to issue a first set of motion control commands for a first robotic machine to a first motion system associated with a first robot controller and a second set of motion control commands for a second robotic machine to a second motion system associated with a second robot controller, thereby causing sequential motion coordination amongst the first and second robotic machines.

16. The robot control system of claim 13 wherein the remote instruction source is operable to issue a first set of motion control commands for a first robotic machine to a first motion system associated with a first robot controller and a second set of motion control commands for a second robotic machine to a second motion system associated with a second robot controller. thereby causing temporal motion coordination amongst the first and second robotic machines.

17. The robot control system of claim 11 wherein the remote instruction source is associated with one of the plurality of robot controllers.

18. The robot control system of claim 11 wherein the selected ones of said plurality of robot controllers further includes an arbitrator that mediates amongst motion control commands received from different robot control programs.

19. The robot control system of claim 18 wherein the arbitrator is embodied in the associated motion system of the selected ones of said plurality of robot controllers.