Control system that guides a robot or articulated device with a laser distance meter for 3D motion, or guides a robot or articulated device with a computer pointing device (such as a mouse) for 2D motion

• US 9,044,857 B2
• Filed: 12/12/2012
• Issued: 06/02/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 02/14/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Jerry Neal Sommerville
• Original Assignee: Jerry Neal Sommerville
• Inventors: Sommerville, Jerry Neal
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Bao Long T
• Application Number:
  US13/712,844
• Publication Number:
  US 20130211597A1
• Time in Patent Office: 902 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1602 characterised by the control system, structure, architecture
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1671 characterised by simulation, either to verify existing program or to create and verify new program, CAD/CAM oriented, graphic oriented programming systems
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1697 Vision controlled systems
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/39387 Reflex control, follow movement, track face, work, hand, visual servoing
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/40099 Graphical user interface for robotics, visual robot user interface
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/40103 Show object with laser pointer, give oral command for action on, with object
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 901/02 Arm motion controller

Abstract

A control system that guides a robot or articulated device with a laser distance meter for 3D motion, or guides a robot or articulated device with a computer pointing device (such as a mouse) for 2D or 3D motion. User needs to point to a desired physical location of the end point, and then the difficult work of finding the right joint angles to get there is done by a computer. System works like hand eye coordination. The hand goes wherever the eye is pointed so long as the eye is pointed within the reachable boundary of the jointed arm or articulated device.

Claims

1. A laser-mouse guided device comprising:

a robot mechanism having at least a humerus and a radius arm;

said robot mechanism being controlled by a computer having a graphical computer input device of either a mouse or a three dimension laser distance meter control of an end-effector;

said computer having a graphic user interface with a visual representation of said robot mechanism;

said computer having a computer simulation program that provides a visualization of motion of said robot mechanism without requiring communication with said robot mechanism or robot mechanism hardware;

a separately connectable computing system;

an inverse kinematics program that coordinate robot'"'"'s end point motion with motion from said graphical computer input device, and

said inverse kinematics program having operational robot model modes comprising sequential joint, Cartesian coordinate, laser guided and polar whereby real or simulated motion of said robot model modes is calculated and displayed on said graphic user interface to ensure said real or simulated motion is within a reachable boundary of said robot mechanism.

2. The laser-mouse guided device according to claim 1 that further includes at least a third degree of freedom for vertical movement.

3. The laser-mouse guided device according to claim 1 wherein the robot mechanism includes six degrees of freedom.

4. The laser-mouse guided device according to claim 1, wherein said computer performs inverse kinematics calculations to move said robot mechanism.

5. The laser-mouse guided device according to claim 1 wherein said computer includes at least one Universal Serial Bus port for the guided position input, jointed arm angle inputs, and jointed arm motor control.

6. The laser-mouse guided device according to claim 1 further includes a computing system to motor interface.

7. The laser-mouse guided device according to claim 6 wherein said computing system to motor interface includes a motor controller and at least one servo amplifier.

8. The laser-mouse guided device according to claim 7 wherein said servo amplifier is a two-stage DC motor servo amplifier.

9. The laser-mouse guided device according to claim 6 wherein said computing system to motor interface includes at least one digital to analog converter, at least one pulse width modulator.

10. The laser-mouse guided device according to claim 1 wherein each of said at least three degrees of movement includes an encoder.

11. The laser-mouse guided device according to claim 10 wherein said encoder is used with a counter unit that is used for determining a position of said robot mechanism jointed arm.

12. The laser-mouse guided device according to claim 1 that further includes at least one wireless Internet Protocol camera that is mounted on or near said robot mechanism jointed arm.

13. The laser-mouse guided device according to claim 12 wherein an image from said at least one wireless IP camera is viewed on said separate connectable computing system.

14. The laser-mouse guided device according to claim 1 that is operable in at least one of an absolute mode, a workspace perimeter mode, a coordinate frame mode and a delta motion mode.

15. The laser-mouse guided device according to claim 14 wherein said absolute mode uses current and a desired location or destination within a reachable boundary of said robot mechanism, and said separate connectable computing system moves said robot mechanism to said desired location in a single step of movement.

16. The laser-mouse guided device according to claim 14 wherein said workspace perimeter mode uses multiple points within a reachable boundary of said robot mechanism where said robot mechanism moves in a pre-determined pattern of motion within said reachable boundary.

17. The laser-mouse guided device according to claim 14 wherein said delta motion mode moves said robot mechanism in small incremental step of a pre-determined direction and size depending on a said inverse kinematics program within a coordinated frame wherein said coordinate frame mode includes at least one of Cartesian coordinates, polar coordinates, dual axis, and sequential joint trajectory coordinates.

18. The laser-mouse guided device according to claim 1 wherein an endpoint of said end-effector is controlled by a three-dimension laser meter.

19. The laser-mouse guided device according to claim 1 wherein an endpoint of said end-effector is controlled by a two-dimension computer user interface input device.

20. The laser-mouse guided device according to claim 1 wherein said humerus and said radius arm of said robot mechanism is connected to a flexible shaft, or a shaft with at least one universal joint and said shaft is driven by at least one right angle motor or at least one right angle gear box.