Robotic system

Abstract

A drive system comprising a support structure for guide rails defining an X-Y array of tracks (22, 24) so ​​that one or more carriages (10) can be extended along these tracks to any desired position. The carriages are intended to carry a single robotic device, or to work together to carry a larger robotic device. The tracks are composed of an array of pegs (14) supported from a ceiling plane composed of an array of tiles (8) that provide electrical connections for the carriages. Each peg carries a reel mounted between two horizontal flanges that cooperates with a rectangular sprocket connected to the base of the cubic carriage housing. The carriages are driven by internal electric motors arranged to drive two pairs of omnidirectional wheels (90) in the ceiling plane, while the carriages are supported and guided by their sprockets.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to drive systems for robotic devices suspended from a ceiling or other elevated surface. Such robotic systems are particularly relevant to home automation or healthcare and industrial operations. Background Art

[0002] Most overhead robots used in factory automation are positioned in fixed locations, and the objects to be manipulated or processed are moved to a location near the robot. While this is acceptable in factories, it is not suitable in living environments where the same robot may need to be serviced anywhere within a larger living workspace.

[0003] Miller described a suspended automation system suitable for more home environments in US2017355077(A1) on December 14, 2017. Miller teaches a system having a support structure for a planar guide rail that allows a carriage (described as a gantry in Miller's teaching) to move in both the x-direction and the y-direction in the plane of the rail rail via a plurality of rails. The carriage can support a robotic arm. The carriage is equipped with an electric motor that obtains power from these rails. Miller is particularly concerned with moving objects in a storage module located above the rails. In Miller's second embodiment, an x-rail and a y-rail are provided by a plurality of rails. However, when the carriage is to change direction, the carriage must be lifted, which will result in unstable movement, making it difficult to use this system to support a manipulator that needs to perform precise movements under computer control.

[0004] Another overhead guide rail system is described in WO 2016 / 029205 (BEC COMPANIES [BEC Company]) of February 25, 2016. This overhead guide rail system uses a carriage that travels along I-beams assembled in an xy manner so as to intersect. Bases are provided at the intersections to allow the carriage to pass through open gaps. BEC COMPANIES also included an extensive survey of other track-type prior art.

[0005] The use of a track-type carriage for patient mobility is described in CA 2639061 (Shiraz) dated March 8, 2010.

[0006] Technical issues

[0007] A particular technical problem is therefore to provide smooth, accurately predictable movement of the carriage to enable precise computer control of the overhead manipulator.

[0008] Another technical problem is the safety and reliability of the mechanism used to power the electric motor driving the carriage.

[0009] It is also desirable to provide a carriage capable of supporting a wide variety of robotic devices, including robotic arms, cable-driven robots, and parallel robots, depending on the desired application. Such devices may vary in size, weight, and load capacity.

[0010] Furthermore, most prior art systems involve the control of a single robotic device at any one time, which limits the range of the robotic device. Summary of the invention

[0011] The system of the present invention is configured to facilitate smooth movement of the carriage when it moves on a horizontal plane without tilting or rolling.

[0012] An advantage of the present invention's carriage is that multiple computer controlled carriages can be used on the same rail plane to support individual robotic devices or work together to support a large robotic device. This allows a system with a single carriage size to achieve a variety of functions from delivering a cup of tea to operating a patient capstan. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] In order that the present invention may be better understood, embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0014] Figure 1 An exploded perspective view showing the arrangement of the support structure and the guide rails;

[0015] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 An exploded view of the details showing how the parts are assembled to form the rail;

[0016] Figure 3 is a perspective view of individual pegs used to define the track of the guide rail, as seen from above;

[0017] Figure 4 is a perspective view from below of a single peg for defining a guide rail track, the guide rail track being shown in exploded relation to the underside of an electrical ceiling tile serving as part of the support structure;

[0018] Figure 5 It is a perspective view of the carriage seen from above;

[0019] Figure 6 is a plan view from above showing electrical ceiling tiles serving as part of the support structure and electrical system;

[0020] Figure 7 is a side view of a carriage supported between two pegs of a guide rail; and

[0021] Figure 8is a perspective view showing a larger robotic device supported on a connecting plate carried by a plurality (four) of carriages. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0022] The drive system is designed so that the carriage 10 or a connected array or system of carriages is suspended from a support structure that incorporates a horizontal frame mounted above a workspace (e.g., a living room or warehouse). The carriage is computer controlled and can move in the plane of the frame in the X or Y direction along an orthogonal array of tracks. The carriage can support various manipulators such as robot arms, parallel robots or cable-driven robots in suspension, which are known in the art and will not be described further in any detail. These manipulators allow various tasks to be performed under computer control in the workspace below the frame while leaving most of the space unobstructed. Figure 8 It is shown how this drive system can be used with a robotic device 92 to provide a complete robotic system.

[0023] The robotic drive system comprises: a support structure 2 supporting a ceiling plane 4 defined within a horizontal frame; and a track plane 6 parallel to and below the ceiling plane 4. The ceiling plane is comprised of an array of square tiles 8. The tiles 8 provide electrical connections for a carriage 10 used within the system. An array of pegs 14 is supported by the frame. These pegs work together to define a track 20 that defines tracks 22, 24 in the X and Y directions of the track plane 6. The carriage 10 has a cubic housing 26 for housing an electric motor and other control equipment. The cubic housing is supported between the track plane 6 and the ceiling plane 4, as shown in FIG. Figure 7 The housing 26 has a neck 28 which carries a rectangular sprocket 30 and a connection plate 32 below the plane of the rail which allows other robotic devices to be connected to the carriage 10. The connection plate 32 may be common to an array of carriages which all move together in sync to provide support for heavy devices, see Figure 8 The sprockets have a prominent V-shaped profile.

[0024] The carriage 10 can be computer controlled to move smoothly on the track formed by the design of the pegs 14. This is achieved by sizing the pegs and carriage together, and by designing the carriage weight distribution so that the center of gravity of the carriage is always on the peg flange or between two contacting peg flanges to prevent the carriage from rolling or tilting when the carriage straddles between two pegs. Movement stability is created by limiting the ratio of the carriage body and peg flange dimensions to the open space between the two peg flanges. Making the carriage body side dimension twice greater than the distance between the two peg flanges creates a stable configuration.

[0025] The carriage supports other robotic devices, such as a robot arm, a parallel robot or a cable-driven robot.

[0026] The components of the drive system will now each be described in more detail.

[0027] Support structure

[0028] Support structure 2 Figure 1 and Figure 2 4 is best shown in FIG. 4. In this example, the ceiling plane 4 is defined by a rectangular skeleton frame 40 composed of I-section beams welded together and supported at the four corners by columns 42. It will be appreciated that where the structure covers a large area, additional columns along the sides of the frame may be required. Parallel I-beam ribs 44 traverse the skeleton frame from side to side. These ribs can be located in the X direction or the Y direction. The skeleton frame 40 can be built into the ceiling of a building where appropriate. However, the structure being supported on columns 42 allows the structure to be properly engineered to support the expected loads and allows the system to be used in existing buildings.

[0029] The ceiling plane 4 is further defined by an array of tiles 8. Each tile is square or rectangular and is sized to be supported between adjacent ribs 44. The lower drive surface 46 of the tile 8 (see Figure 4 ) have diagonal contact plates 48, 50 which are alternately connected to the positive and negative contacts of the power supply. These plates 48, 50 cooperate with the corresponding plates of the adjacent tiles so that the entire lower surface of the ceiling plane is covered with alternating electrical contact surfaces. Each carriage 10 is equipped with a contact brush 54 at each corner. The spacing of the diagonal contact plates and the spacing of the brushes are such that the brush of any one carriage is always in contact with a plate of opposite polarity in order to obtain power for the carriage in a manner similar to bumper cars. The current is fed through a rectifier circuit in the carriage which allows a constant DC power supply independent of the position in which the carriage is located.

[0030] Each tile 8 may have a central hole 60 through which the tile may be bolted to the peg 14. The tiles are supported by the pegs. Slots may be formed in the tiles from the central hole 60 to the adjacent edges so that the slots may be positioned around the pegs. The tiles may also be arranged so that they have cutouts at the corners so that four tiles are connected to each peg. In this configuration, a rectangular tile has a peg at each corner. The ceiling plane formed by the tiles must be hard enough to resist the forces exerted by the moving carriage, and it will be appreciated that various design possibilities are possible for supporting the tiles from the pegs or from the support frame.

[0031] Pegs and Rails

[0032] The guide plane 6 is spaced below the ceiling plane 4. The guide 20 consists of orthogonal tracks 22 and 24 in the X and Y directions. The guide is defined by the pegs 14. Each individual peg is supported by the frame.

[0033] like Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, each peg 14 has a hollow central stem 64 surrounded at the level of the rail plane by a pair of rectangular flanges 66, 68, the dimensions of which are determined to be slightly smaller than the size of the tile above to allow the passage of the carriage neck 28. As shown, between the flanges, the stem is shaped to define a circular scroll 70 with a serrated V-shaped profile (see FIG. Figure 7 ), the circular spool interacts or matches the shape of the sprocket 30 of the carriage 10 to provide alignment and guidance for the carriage 10. The profile is matched to specified tolerances to allow uniform guidance without binding.

[0034] It will be appreciated that the mating surfaces of the sprocket and spool may have different profiles so long as the sprocket and spool interact together to maintain proper guidance.

[0035] The pegs may be formed in several separable parts to facilitate assembly.

[0036] The upper surface 72 of the upper flange 66 provides a bearing surface for the base of the housing of the carriage, which bearing surface is provided with a ball bearing 80. The lower surface of the lower flange 68 may be as shown. Figure 4 The patterning shown is to reduce the weight of the peg. The lower surface can be decorated because it can be seen from below the working space. The upper surface of the lower flange 68 provides a bearing surface for the lower surface of the sprocket 30.

[0037] like Figure 6 As shown, the tops of the pegs terminate in a rectangular flange plate 62 which rests on the upper surface of the ceiling tile 8. Bolts 63 pass through each corner of the flange plate to connect the pegs to the I-beam via the supporting ceiling tiles. The pegs 14 can be positioned so that each peg passes through the center of the tile as shown in the drawings, or alternatively arranged so that each peg connects to four ceiling tiles where the peg and ceiling tile meet. It will be appreciated that different structural means can be used to ensure that the pegs are suspended from the ceiling plane in the desired array to provide electrical contact.

[0038] Slide

[0039] The overall structure of the slide Figure 5 Best in Show.

[0040] The housing 26 of the carriage 10 contains all the drive gears, motors and control equipment for the system. The housing is cubic. As shown in this embodiment, the top and bottom of the housing are square. The sides can be rectangular, depending on the capacity required to support the internal electric motor and controls. A set of four omnidirectional wheels 90 are arranged to protrude from the top surface of the carriage and engage with the ceiling tiles to guide the carriage along the track. The omnidirectional wheel is a two-way device that can be driven to rotate around a fixed horizontal main axis, but has smaller rollers 92 on its periphery that can freely rotate around a horizontal axis transverse to the main axis. This means that the omnidirectional wheel can be driven in one direction and, when not driven, is allowed to slide transversely to its main axis. This type of omnidirectional wheel is known in the field of robotics and will not be described in further detail. Each carriage has omnidirectional wheels adjacent to each other on the four upper edges of the top surface of the carriage. Depending on whether the carriage is intended to move in the X direction or the Y direction, the internal motor drives only two parallel omnidirectional wheels at any one time. The non-driven omnidirectional wheels will slide freely and guide the carriage in a stable horizontal motion.

[0041] Brush connectors 54 for powering the internal electric motor and other control systems are located at each of the four corners of the top surface of the housing. Each brush 54 is spring mounted for good engagement with the tile's connection plate. The brush connectors supply a rectifier circuit in the carriage body that provides a constant DC power supply to the internal parts.

[0042] In order to allow the carriage to be restrained when it is in the desired working position, each face of the carriage is provided with a rotatable pin wheel 100. The pin wheels are mounted so that they can rotate freely around a vertical axis or be locked into position in the carriage under control. Each pin wheel has four arms 102. When the carriage moves along the track, the pin wheels interact with the rod 64 of the peg 14, and when the pin wheels rotate freely, the carriage cannot be prevented from moving freely. However, when the pin wheels are locked in place, the pin wheels act as brakes against the rod of the peg and hold the carriage firmly in place. In this way, the carriage can be locked in a predetermined position along the track.

[0043] The underside of the cube carriage main housing 26 is supported on flange 66 by ball bearings 80. These ball bearings are arranged at least all the way around the underside side of the housing, and the bearings on at least two sides will always be in contact with the upper flange of the peg track depending on the direction of movement.

[0044] The stability of the movement is controlled by the rectangular V-shaped profile of the sprocket 30, which engages the reel as it passes over the peg's reel 70. The interlocking engagement of the sprocket against the V-shaped profile of the reel groove ensures that the movement of the carriage remains horizontal.

[0045] The neck 28 of each carriage supports a connecting plate 32. The plate 32 is shown as a separate plate for each carriage, but may be part of a larger connecting plate, such as Figure 8 The neck may carry electrical controls to the connection plate, which may then be carried to a remote robotic device 92 connected thereto. It should be understood that the connection plate may be used to interface with a wide variety of robotic devices.

[0046] Operation of the robotic system

[0047] The system is computer controlled. An internal computer is provided to control. The internal computer will be supplied with simple overall instructions via a wireless transceiver (i.e. locate this point). The computer then controls the electric motor within the carriage. This type of computer control may be of any known design and will not be described further. Under software control, it will be appreciated that the carriage can be guided to the desired position in a horizontal plane. When the carriage is used to support parallel robotic devices, the device can be used to provide smooth movement within a three-dimensional work area beneath the support structure to perform the necessary tasks. In the case where multiple robotic devices are supported on the same support structure, software control must be implemented to prevent collisions.

Claims

1. A drive system comprising a support structure, at least one carriage, and a planar guide supported by the structure, the planar guide allowing the carriage to move in two orthogonal directions in the plane of the guide; characterized in that The carriage has a cubic housing carrying a suspension neck which supports a guide sprocket and to which a robotic device can be connected; and is characterized in that, The guide rail is defined by a rectangular array of spaced suspension pegs to allow the carriage housing to move between these suspension pegs, each peg carrying a horizontal flange that provides a supporting surface for the base of the carriage housing, and the reel is shaped to interact with the sprocket to guide the carriage.

2. The drive system according to claim 1, wherein: Each peg has a second horizontal flange spaced below the spool to provide a bearing surface for the sprocket of the carriage.

3. The drive system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The neck of the carriage carries a connection plate for connection to a robotic device.

4. The drive system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The side walls of the carriage have protruding pin wheels which can be used to lock the carriage in place against the pegs.

5. The drive system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The support structure includes a frame that supports the array of pegs.

6. The drive system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: The supporting structure defines a ceiling plane comprised of tiles.

7. The drive system according to claim 6, wherein: The carriage has two pairs of orthogonal omnidirectional wheels that protrude from the top of the cubic housing and engage the tiles to drive the carriage.

8. The drive system according to claim 6, wherein: Power supply to the carriage is provided via brushes that engage contact plates on the tiles.

9. The drive system according to claim 6, wherein: Each of these tiles is supported by a corresponding stud.

10. A robotic system comprising a drive system as claimed in any preceding claim, and a robotic device mounted to a carriage.

11. A robot system comprising the drive system of claim 3, and a robot device mounted to a connecting plate of a carriage.

12. A robotic system comprising the drive system of claim 3, having a plurality of carriages sharing a common connection plate, and a robotic device mounted to the connection plate.

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