Method and apparatus for limiting the movement of a robot, and a robot equipped with said apparatus
First Claim
1. A method of limiting the movement of a robot, said method comprising the steps of:
- defining in a memory a virtual safety barrier including a trajectory of a work or tool mounted on a wrist of a robot in operation;
defining at least two three-dimensional spatial regions including parts of the robot including said work or tool;
matching a predicted position of said defined three-dimensional spatial region, which is obtained by trajectory calculations, with said virtual safety barrier; and
carrying out a control to stop the movement of the arm including any one of the three-dimensional spatial regions if at least part of the predicted position, which is obtained by trajectory calculations, of any one of the defined three-dimensional spatial regions is included in said virtual safety barrier.
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Accused Products
Abstract
The safety in robotic operations is enhanced and the floor space in a factory or the like is effectively utilized. A virtual safety barrier 50 including the trajectory of movement of a work or tool 7 mounted on a wrist 5 of a robot 1 in operation is defined in a memory. At least two three-dimensional spatial regions S (S1 to S3) including a part of the robot including the work or tool are defined. Predicted positions of the defined three-dimensional spatial regions obtained by trajectory calculations are matched with the virtual safety barrier 50, and if the predicted position of any one of the defined three-dimensional spatial regions based on trajectory calculations is included in the virtual safety barrier 50, a control is effected to stop the movement of the robot arms 3 and 4.
123 Citations
7 Claims
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1. A method of limiting the movement of a robot, said method comprising the steps of:
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defining in a memory a virtual safety barrier including a trajectory of a work or tool mounted on a wrist of a robot in operation;
defining at least two three-dimensional spatial regions including parts of the robot including said work or tool;
matching a predicted position of said defined three-dimensional spatial region, which is obtained by trajectory calculations, with said virtual safety barrier; and
carrying out a control to stop the movement of the arm including any one of the three-dimensional spatial regions if at least part of the predicted position, which is obtained by trajectory calculations, of any one of the defined three-dimensional spatial regions is included in said virtual safety barrier. - View Dependent Claims (2, 4)
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3. A robot movement limiting apparatus comprising:
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means for defining in a memory a virtual safety barrier including a movement trajectory of a work or tool mounted on the wrist of a robot in operation;
means for defining at least two three-dimensional spatial regions including a part of the robot including said work or tool;
means for calculating a predicted position of each of said three-dimensional spatial regions that have been defined, on a movement trajectory;
means for matching the predicted position of each three-dimensional spatial region with said virtual safety barrier;
means for determining whether or not at least a part of the predicted position of any one of the defined three-dimensional spatial regions, based on trajectory calculations, is included in said virtual safety barrier; and
control means for stopping the movement of the arm including the three-dimensional spatial region if it is determined that at least a part of the predicted position of the three-dimensional spatial region is included in said virtual safety barrier. - View Dependent Claims (5, 6)
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7. A method of limiting the movement of a robot, comprising the steps of:
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acquiring, as a reference value, a movement trajectory in each step at one or more locations including a work or tool mounted on a wrist of a robot by operating the robot once;
setting a boundary value for each step by adding a margin to said reference value;
determining whether any one of measured values in individual steps during the subsequent operations of the robot is within corresponding one of said boundary values; and
effecting a control to stop the movement of the robot arm if any one of the measured values exceeds the corresponding boundary values.
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Specification