ROBOT

• US 20150273688A1
• Filed: 03/20/2015
• Published: 10/01/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 03/25/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: HARADA, Tomoki, HASHIMOTO, Koichi, ARAI, Shogo, YAMAGUCHI, Kengo
• Granted Patent: US 9,527,209 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 15/0042 V-shaped gripping surfaces
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1612 characterised by the hand, wrist, grip control
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1697 Vision controlled systems
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/39476 Orient hand relative to object
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/39487 Parallel jaws, two fingered hand
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/40053 Pick 3-D object from pile of objects
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/40583 Detect relative position or orientation between gripper and currently handled object
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/40607 Fixed camera to observe workspace, object, workpiece, global

Abstract

A robot includes a hand that grips an object and a control unit that operates the hand, the hand includes fingers that are able to grip the object at four or more contact points, and an object of which a metallic tone index is equal to or higher than 5 is gripped with the hand.

Claims

1. A robot comprising:

a hand that grips an object; and

a control unit that operates the hand,

wherein the hand includes fingers that are able to grip the object at four or more contact points, and

wherein the object of which a metallic tone index is equal to or higher than 5 is gripped with the hand.

2. The robot according to claim 1, wherein the control unit includes:

a position and attitude calculating unit that calculates position and attitude of the object on the basis of a three-dimensional point group obtained by imaging the object; and

a grip planning unit that determines an opening and closing direction of the fingers in a direction perpendicular to a length direction of the object and an imaging direction of the object.

3. The robot according to claim 2, wherein the grip planning unit causes the hand to approach the object from a point spaced apart by a predetermined distance from the position of the object in a direction perpendicular to the length direction of the object and not having a component parallel to a plane on which the object is placed.

4. The robot according to claim 3, wherein the grip planning unit inclines the fingers in the same direction as the inclination of the length direction of the object about the plane from the direction perpendicular to the plane when an angle between the plane and the length direction of the object is equal to or greater than a predetermined angle threshold.

5. The robot according to claim 1, wherein the control unit includes an attitude control unit that adjusts an attitude of the object by changing a force for gripping the object with the hand.

6. The robot according to claim 5, wherein the fingers have a shape and a size enabling caging and self alignment on the object.