Dual-armed multi-axes program controlled manipulators
First Claim
1. In combination, first and second manipulators of like construction having first and second work heads, respectively, for performing complementary operations, said manipulators being disposed in relation to each other for enabling said work heads to perform said complementary operations, said first manipulator including operating means for effecting translation of said first work head through a succession of motions, said operating means having plural actuating means for effecting translation of said first work head along plural coordinates and control means for said actuators including means for providing successive commands, and said second manipulator including second operating means having plural actuating means for effective translation of said second work head through a succession of translations along plural coordinates corresponding to those of the first manipulator, said second operating means being responsive at least indirectly to the successive commands of said first manipulator for positioning said second work head to perform operations complementary to said first work head.
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Abstract
First and second manipulators cooperate with each other in executing a series of operations including motions in what may be called the mirror-image mode. Each unit has a main operating structure that carries a work head through several degrees of freedom in space, and the work head itself is capable of various secondary movements. The two manipulators are capable of operating under separate controls for executing related but independent operations. Separate manual controls are used for the two manipulators where the manipulators have a form of memory, they can also operate automatically under the separate control of their respective memories. However, the two manipulators are operable at other times in a cooperative, complementary mode, the same commands being used directly or indirectly to control both manipulators. In the case of indirect control of the second manipulator, control input or commands are used to control operation of the first manipulator and control input for effecting corresponding, cooperative operations of the second manipulator are derived from the operations of the first manipulator, the two manipulators; operating in a corresponding manner, and maintaining their work heads in alignment with each other. In the case of direct control, the second manipulator responds to the same control input or commands as those supplied to the first manipulator, the two manipulators motions, executing the same motions or mirror-image motions as required, adjustment being introduced for maintaining alignment and controlled of the work heads.
77 Citations
16 Claims
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1. In combination, first and second manipulators of like construction having first and second work heads, respectively, for performing complementary operations, said manipulators being disposed in relation to each other for enabling said work heads to perform said complementary operations, said first manipulator including operating means for effecting translation of said first work head through a succession of motions, said operating means having plural actuating means for effecting translation of said first work head along plural coordinates and control means for said actuators including means for providing successive commands, and said second manipulator including second operating means having plural actuating means for effective translation of said second work head through a succession of translations along plural coordinates corresponding to those of the first manipulator, said second operating means being responsive at least indirectly to the successive commands of said first manipulator for positioning said second work head to perform operations complementary to said first work head.
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2. First and second manipulators in accOrdance with claim 1, wherein said second manipulator includes further control means providing for independent control of said second actuating means to enable said work heads to execute independent motions additional to the aforesaid translations of the work heads.
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3. First and second manipulators in accordance with claim 1, wherein said means for providing successive commands includes a stored program for determining an automatic sequence of operations of both said manipulators, said program further including control portions providing for independent operations of said first and second manipulators as part of said sequence of operations.
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4. First and second manipulators in accordance with claim 1, wherein said plural operating means responsive to said successive commands of said first manipulator include means for providing like control for at least one of said actuating means of said second manipulator and for providing inverse control for at least another of said actuating means of said second manipulator, said like control and inverse control being in reference to the control of the corresponding actuating means of said first manipulator.
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5. First and second manipulators in accordance with claim 1, wherein said actuating means of each manipulator includes first, second and third actuating means for transporting the work head in three-dimensional space, said control means being arranged to provide like control over said first actuating means of said first manipulator and said first actuating means of said second manipulator, wherein said control means is arranged to provide inverse control over said second actuating means of said second manipulator as compared to the control provided over said second actuating means of said first manipulator, and wherein said control means is arranged to provide complemental control over said third actuating means of said manipulators.
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6. First and second manipulators in accordance with claim 1, wherein one of said actuating means of each of said manipulators includes a lengthwise extensible arm supporting the related work head, and wherein the control means includes means for representing the effective length of one of said arms, further including means for storing a quantity representing the desired spatial relationship of said work heads, said second operating means being responsive to the stored quantity and the representation of the length of said one arm for deriving the requisite control for the length of the other of said extensible arms.
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7. First and second manipulators in accordance with claim 1, wherein the aforesaid plural actuating means of each manipulator constitute a primary operating unit, each said manipulator additionally includes a secondary unit carried by said primary operating unit, each said work head being carried by a related secondary unit, said secondary units including means for adjusting the angles of said work heads about respective pivots relative to said primary units, respectively, said control means being arranged to provide control over said means for adjusting the angles of the work heads equally, means for representing the desired distance between said pivots to establish the desired spatial relationship between said work heads, and computer means responsive to said means for adjusting the angles of the work heads and said desired distance representing means for modifying the control of said control means over said primary unit for maintaining alignment of the work heads over a range of angular adjustments thereof.
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8. First and second manipulators in accordance with claim 7, wherein said computer means includes electromechanical means for generating corrective factors for the aforesaid adjustment.
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9. First and second manipulators in accordance with claim 1, wherein said plural actuating means of each said manipulator includes a main base and means for transporting said main base along a prescribed path, the paths of said manipulators being opposite each other and spaced aPart along their lengths, said plural actuating means of said manipulators supporting said work heads for performing a cooperative operation along an axis crossing a surface extending between said paths.
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10. First and second manipulators in accordance with claim 1 wherein at least one of said plural actuating means of each said manipulator includes a feed-back position representing means, and wherein said second operating means includes said position-representing means of the first manipulator as a servo master and said position-representing means of the second manipulator as a slave, and means for comparing said master and slave for controlling said one actuating means of the second manipulator in accordance with the operation of said one of the actuating means of the first manipulator.
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11. First and second manipulators in accordance with claim 10, wherein each said position-representing means is a digital encoder.
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12. First and second manipulators in accordance with claim 9, wherein said means for providing successive commands includes stored entries representing positions of at least one actuating means of the first manipulator, said first manipulator having position representing means coupled to said one actuating means thereof and comparing means for enabling said entries to serve as servo master input in controlling said one actuating means, and wherein said second operating means includes second position representing means coupled to one of said plural actuating means thereof and means for comparing said position representing means of said first and second manipulators for controlling said one of said plural actuating means of said second manipulator.
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13. First and second manipulators in accordance with claim 1, wherein at least one of said plural actuating means of each of said first and second manipulators are controlled by said command providing means to operate alike, at least a second of said actuating means of each of said manipulators are controlled by said command providing means to operate in the mirror-image mode, and in which at least a third one of said plural supporting and actuating means of each of said first and second manipulators are controlled by said command providing means to effect complemental operation thereof.
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14. First and second manipulators each having a work head and having plural supporting and actuating means operable in respective degrees of freedom for transporting the work head and disposed in relation to each other to execute both separate and cooperating operations, manual means for controlling each of said actuating means and said work heads to enable execution of the desired operations of said manipulators under manual control initially, memory control means for controlling either of said manipulators separately including control of the plural actuating means and the work head thereof under automatic control, means for entering control commands into the memory control means from a selected one of said manipulators corresponding to the manually executed operations thereof for use subsequently, and function control means for causing locking of said plural actuating means of one of said manipulators selectively while causing said memory control means to control the other of said manipulators.
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15. Apparatus for performing work operations including first and second manipulators having, respectively, work devices adapted to perform complementary work operations, said manipulators being essentially alike and each having a support and support-displacing means for transporting a respective one of said work devices along at least two coordinates, said manipulators having control means for said support-displacing means for causing displacement of said supports to corresponding positions and for causing the work devices to assume parallel attitudes, and computer means operable in dependence on the controlled attitudes of said work device for modifying the control of said support-displacing means of at least one of said manipulators by said control means to bring the work devices into alignment with each other.
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16. Apparatus in accordance with claim 15, further including means for storing a representation of the desired separation between said supports of said work devices, and wherein said computer means is additionally responsive to said representation storing means for modifying the control of said support-displacing means of at least one of said manipulators for maintaining said desired separation between said work-device supports.
Specification