LINE TRACKING DATA OVER ETHERNET
First Claim
1. A control system, comprising:
- a line tracking encoder adapted to measure a reference position of a conveyor line and transmit a tracking signal representing tracking data including the reference position of the conveyor line;
a master controller in communication with said encoder, said master controller adapted to receive said tracking signal, process said tracking data represented by said tracking signal, and generate a data packet in response to processing of said tracking data;
a slave controller in communication with said master controller and in electrical communication with at least one robot, said slave controller adapted to receive said data packet and control movement of said at least one robot in response to said data packet; and
a communications network directly interconnecting said master controller and said slave controller, wherein said communications network is adapted to transmit said data packet from said master controller to said slave controller.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A robot control system includes a line tracking encoder that measures a reference position of a conveyor line and transmits a tracking signal representing tracking data including the reference position of the conveyor line. A master controller is in communication with the encoder to receive the tracking signal, process the tracking data represented by the tracking signal, and generate a data packet in response to processing of the tracking data. A slave controller is in communication with the master controller and at least one robot for receiving the data packet and controlling the movement of the at least one robot in response to the data packet. A communications network directly interconnects the master controller and the slave controller and transmits the data packet from the master controller to the slave controller.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A control system, comprising:
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a line tracking encoder adapted to measure a reference position of a conveyor line and transmit a tracking signal representing tracking data including the reference position of the conveyor line; a master controller in communication with said encoder, said master controller adapted to receive said tracking signal, process said tracking data represented by said tracking signal, and generate a data packet in response to processing of said tracking data; a slave controller in communication with said master controller and in electrical communication with at least one robot, said slave controller adapted to receive said data packet and control movement of said at least one robot in response to said data packet; and a communications network directly interconnecting said master controller and said slave controller, wherein said communications network is adapted to transmit said data packet from said master controller to said slave controller. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A method for controlling movements of a plurality of robots, the method comprising the steps of:
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measuring a reference position of a conveyor line; transmitting a tracking signal representing tracking data including the reference position of the conveyor line; processing the tracking data represented by the tracking signal; generating a data packet in response to the processing of the tracking data; transmitting the data packet over a communications network; processing the data packet to predict a future position of the conveyor line; and controlling a movement of at least one robot in response to the processing of the data packet. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. A method for controlling movements of a plurality of robots, the method comprising the steps of:
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providing a control system including, a line tracking encoder adapted to measure a reference position of a conveyor line and transmit a tracking signal representing tracking data including the reference position of the conveyor line, and a master controller in communication with the encoder, the master controller adapted to receive the tracking signal, process the tracking data represented by the tracking signal, and generate a data packet in response to processing of the tracking data; providing a slave controller in communication with the master controller and in electrical communication with at least one robot; and
a communications network directly interconnecting the master controller and the slave controller;transmitting the data packet over the communications network to the slave controller; and controlling a movement of the at least one robot in response to the data packet. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
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Specification