Manipulation device such as an industrial robot having at least one sensor
First Claim
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1. A manipulation device comprising:
- a robot means;
a control unit connected to said robot means for controlling the operation thereof;
at least one sensor located on said robot means for detecting a parameter usable in controlling operation of said robot means, said sensor emitting an output signal within a sensor range;
a programmable sensor interface interconnected between said sensor and said control unit, said programmable sensor interface including at least one microprocessor and at least one programmable memory connected to said microprocessor, said memory having a plurality of thresholds stored therein allocated to said sensor dividing said sensor range into at least three sub-ranges, and said microprocessor classifying an output signal received from said sensor into one of said sub-ranges and transmitting the result of said classification to said control unit for use in controlling the operation of said robot means.
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Abstract
A manipulation device, such as an industrial robot has at least one sensor connected to a control unit through a programmable sensor interface. The programmable sensor interface includes at least one microprocessor and at least one memory. Each sensor has three signal ranges, the limits of these ranges being selectable by thresholds which can be stored in the memory. The microprocessor is programmed to classify the signal received from a sensor in one of the signal ranges, and to transmit the result of the classification to the control unit. Activation of the individual sensors is undertaken by the control unit through a serial interface or through a parallel interface.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A manipulation device comprising:
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a robot means; a control unit connected to said robot means for controlling the operation thereof; at least one sensor located on said robot means for detecting a parameter usable in controlling operation of said robot means, said sensor emitting an output signal within a sensor range; a programmable sensor interface interconnected between said sensor and said control unit, said programmable sensor interface including at least one microprocessor and at least one programmable memory connected to said microprocessor, said memory having a plurality of thresholds stored therein allocated to said sensor dividing said sensor range into at least three sub-ranges, and said microprocessor classifying an output signal received from said sensor into one of said sub-ranges and transmitting the result of said classification to said control unit for use in controlling the operation of said robot means. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17)
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Specification