Industrial robot device including a robot and a processing machine

• US 4,868,473 A
• Filed: 10/12/1988
• Issued: 09/19/1989
• Est. Priority Date: 02/24/1987
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha (Mitsubishi Electric Corporation)
• Inventors: Kato, Hisao
• Primary Examiner(s): Shoop, Jr., William M.
• Assistant Examiner(s): IP, SHIK LUEN PAUL
• Application Number:
  US07/256,834
• Time in Patent Office: 342 Days
• Field of Search: 318/568, 318/640, 318/687, 318/565-573, 901/14-16, 901/9, 901/20, 901/21, 901/23, 901/24, 901/26, 901/29, 901/30-39, 901/48, 364/513
• US Class Current: 700/254
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1692 Calibration of manipulator

Abstract

An industrial robot device in which deviation between an offline-teaching instruction and an actual movement of a robot according to the instruction can be eliminated. The elimination of deviation is accomplished by adjusting absolute X, Y and Z axes of software for driving the robot with respect to those of a processing machine which operates together with the robot.

Claims

1. A method for operating an industrial robot device, comprising the steps of:

providing a robot having a base having at least two nonparallel robot installation reference surfaces formed thereon and movable arm means supported by said base;

positioning said robot so that said robot installation reference surfaces abut corresponding installation reference surfaces of a processing machine;

positioning optical detecting means in at least first and second planes on said processing machine separated from but having a predetermined spatial relationship with respect to said installation reference surfaces of said processing machine;

positioning an end of said movable arm means at a first reference position designated by a software instruction in accordance with a set of software absolute coordinate axes in a vicinity of said optical detecting means;

projecting at least two beams of light from said end of said movable arm means in a direction of said optical detecting means;

detecting a position of said beams of light on said optical detecting means;

determining an amount of deviation of said first reference position from a second reference position fixed with respect to said installation reference surfaces of said processing machine; and

modifying said software absolute coordinate axes in accordance with said amount of deviation.

2. The method for operating an industrial robot of claim 1 wherein said step of providing said optical detecting means comprises providing a matrix array of optical detectors in each of three orthogonal planes fixed with respect to said installation reference surfaces of said processing machine.

3. The method for operating an industrial robot of claim 2, wherein said step of projecting said light beams comprises projecting three light beams, one substantially perpendicular to each of said three orthogonal planes.

4. The method for operating an industrial robot of claim 3, further comprising the step of removing said optical detecting means from said processing machine.