MOVEMENT CONTROL FOR TRACKED ROBOT ASSEMBLIES THAT MANUFACTURE AIRCRAFT
First Claim
1. A method comprising:
- disposing a mobile robot assembly proximate to a fuselage of an aircraft that is being assembled;
aligning a left ranging sensor of the assembly with a left target;
aligning a right ranging sensor of the assembly with a right target;
directing the assembly to traverse to a location within the aircraft fuselage at which a robot on the assembly will perform work upon the fuselage;
determining a left distance between the left ranging sensor and the left target while the assembly is moving;
determining a right distance between the right ranging sensor and the right target while the assembly is moving;
detecting a difference between the determined distances; and
adjusting a direction of motion of the assembly based on the difference.
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Accused Products
Abstract
Systems and methods are provided for controlling the motion of a tracked robot assembly. An exemplary method comprises disposing a mobile robot assembly proximate to a fuselage of an aircraft that is being assembled, aligning a left ranging sensor of the assembly with a left target, and aligning a right ranging sensor of the assembly with a right target. The method also includes directing the assembly to traverse to a location within the aircraft fuselage at which a robot on the assembly will perform work upon the fuselage, determining a left distance between the left ranging sensor and the left target while the assembly is moving, determining a right distance between the right ranging sensor and the right target while the assembly is moving, detecting a difference between the determined distances, and adjusting a direction of motion of the assembly based on the difference.
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Citations
21 Claims
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1. A method comprising:
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disposing a mobile robot assembly proximate to a fuselage of an aircraft that is being assembled; aligning a left ranging sensor of the assembly with a left target; aligning a right ranging sensor of the assembly with a right target; directing the assembly to traverse to a location within the aircraft fuselage at which a robot on the assembly will perform work upon the fuselage; determining a left distance between the left ranging sensor and the left target while the assembly is moving; determining a right distance between the right ranging sensor and the right target while the assembly is moving; detecting a difference between the determined distances; and adjusting a direction of motion of the assembly based on the difference. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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10. A system comprising:
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a fuselage of an aircraft that is being assembled; a temporary floor comprising multiple floor boards that cover joists and beams of the fuselage and are coupled with each other via mechanical interlock mechanisms; a workstand that includes reflective targets; and an assembly that is disposed on the workstand and performs operations on the fuselage, the assembly comprising; multiple ranging sensors that each measure a distance to a corresponding target at the workstand; and a controller that detects a difference between the distances measured by the sensors while the assembly is moving, and changes a direction of motion of the assembly based on the difference in order to drive the assembly to a new position within the fuselage. - View Dependent Claims (11, 12, 13)
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14. A method comprising:
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installing temporary floor boards into a fuselage of an aircraft that is being assembled; identifying paths over which tracks of a tracked robot assembly will travel across the temporary floor boards within the fuselage during assembly of the fuselage; identifying a set of floor boards corresponding to each of the paths; and for each set of floor boards, installing mechanical interlock mechanisms that structurally unite the sets of floor boards into a rigid body along the identified paths. - View Dependent Claims (15, 16, 17, 18)
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19. A non-transitory computer readable medium embodying programmed instructions which, when executed by a processor, are operable for performing a method of adjusting a position of a tracked robot assembly operating within an aircraft fuselage, the method comprising:
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measuring distances between sensors on the assembly and corresponding targets external to the assembly; detecting differences in distance between the distances measured by the sensors; and steering the assembly based on the differences in distance. - View Dependent Claims (20, 21)
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Specification