Apparatus and method of distributing object handling
First Claim
1. A method of handling objects, comprising:
- selecting one of a plurality of objects to be handled;
selecting one trajectory of a set of predetermined trajectories in a trajectory space to accomplish a system function, the selected predetermined trajectory having a trajectory envelope that indicates at least one criterion of interest;
determining an actual position in the trajectory space of the selected object;
determining whether the actual position in the trajectory space of the selected object is within the trajectory envelope of the selected predetermined trajectory; and
selecting another trajectory of the set of predetermined trajectories upon determining that the actual position in the trajectory space of the specified object is not within the trajectory envelope of the selected predetermined trajectory.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A modular object handling system has a multi-level control architecture, which includes a system controller that coordinates the functions and/or operations of individual module controllers, that in turn control corresponding actuators, to provide a desired system function. The system controller performs the overall trajectory planning by taking the constraints of each of the module actuators into account. The system controller may compensate for deviations of objects from their planned trajectories by contemporaneously redetermining trajectories and trajectory envelopes to encode the various combinations of the system constraints and task requirements. The trajectory envelopes can denote regions around other trajectories to indicate control criteria of interest, such as control and collision boundaries. However, by predetermining the trajectories and trajectory envelopes, and comparing the current state of an object with the predetermined trajectory envelopes, the system controller can even more quickly determine the extent to which the state satisfies the criteria. Thus, this system simplifies on-line determinations to merely include a comparison between a particular object, a particular trajectory and the corresponding trajectory envelope. It is also desirable to predetermine multiple trajectories, as well as trajectory envelopes associated with each of the multiple trajectories, for each object. The apparatus and methods of the invention can then monitor the status of each object, and switch between the multiple predetermined trajectories in order to actively improve energy usage efficiency. The apparatus and methods can also modify the trajectories of other objects to avoid collisions with the object whose trajectory was originally switched.
34 Citations
23 Claims
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1. A method of handling objects, comprising:
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selecting one of a plurality of objects to be handled;
selecting one trajectory of a set of predetermined trajectories in a trajectory space to accomplish a system function, the selected predetermined trajectory having a trajectory envelope that indicates at least one criterion of interest;
determining an actual position in the trajectory space of the selected object;
determining whether the actual position in the trajectory space of the selected object is within the trajectory envelope of the selected predetermined trajectory; and
selecting another trajectory of the set of predetermined trajectories upon determining that the actual position in the trajectory space of the specified object is not within the trajectory envelope of the selected predetermined trajectory. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. An object handling apparatus usable with objects that are movable along a path, comprising:
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a device that determines an actual position in a trajectory space of a specified object;
at least one actuator that performs an operation on the specified object;
at least one module controller that controls the operation of the at least one actuator;
a system controller that plans a system function based on the operation of the at least one actuator and based on whether the actual position in the trajectory space of the specified object is within a trajectory envelope, the trajectory envelope indicating control criteria of interest relative to one specified trajectory among multiple trajectories in the trajectory space that accomplishes the system function, the system controller specifying another trajectory of the multiple trajectories other than the one specified trajectory upon a determination that the actual position in the trajectory space of the specified object is not within the trajectory envelope. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23)
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Specification