Methods and apparatus for determining the center of a circle, and methods and apparatus for applying adhesive.

Abstract

This invention relates to the field of machine automation, and discloses a method and apparatus for determining the center of a circle, as well as a glue application method and apparatus, applied to machine equipment. The machine equipment includes a body, an arm shaft connected to the body, and an end effector connected to the end of the arm shaft. The method for determining the center of a circle includes: controlling the arm shaft to move so that the end effector aligns with multiple points on any circular trajectory of the circular equipment whose center is to be determined, wherein the number of points is not less than three; acquiring the position information and angle information of the arm shaft when the end effector aligns with each point; obtaining the position of the point based on the position information and angle information; and determining the position of the center of the circular equipment based on the position of the point. The solution of this invention can improve the accuracy of the center determination result.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of machine automation, and more specifically, to a method and apparatus for determining the center of a circle, and a method and apparatus for applying adhesive to circular equipment. Background Technology

[0002] In current machine automation systems, especially those using vision positioning, the standard method for calibrating the center of larger circular devices is to find the center using a manual drawing and then calibrate the center position and coordinates through robot teaching. This method usually results in a large error in the center coordinate position, making it difficult to achieve the required accuracy for automated use. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The purpose of this invention is to provide a method for determining the center of a circle, a method for applying adhesive to a circular device, a device for determining the center of a circle, an adhesive application device for a circular device, a processor, and a machine.

[0004] To achieve the above objectives, a first aspect of the present invention provides a method for determining the center of a circle, applied to a machine device, the machine device including a body, an arm shaft connected to the body, and an end effector connected to the end of the arm shaft, the method comprising:

[0005] Control the arm axis to move so that the end effector is aligned with multiple points on any circular trajectory of the circular device whose center is to be determined, wherein the number of points is not less than three;

[0006] Acquire the position and angle information of the arm axis when the end effector is aligned with each point;

[0007] The position of the point is obtained based on the location and angle information;

[0008] The location of the center of the circular device is determined by the location of the point.

[0009] In this embodiment of the invention, the angle of the end effector remains unchanged when the control arm axis moves.

[0010] In this embodiment of the invention, determining the position of the center of the circular device based on the position of the point includes: determining the position equidistant from the position of the point as the position of the center of the circular device.

[0011] In this embodiment of the invention, determining the position of the center of a circular device based on the position of a point includes: arbitrarily selecting three points from a plurality of points to obtain at least one triplet, the triplet including the position information of the three selected points; determining the center coordinates of a circle passing through the three points in the triplet based on the triplet; and averaging the center coordinates to obtain the position of the center.

[0012] In this embodiment of the invention, multiple points are arranged at equal intervals along a circular trajectory.

[0013] In this embodiment of the invention, the method further includes: controlling the arm axis to move so that the end effector moves in a circle with a preset radius around the center position, thereby obtaining an ideal circular trajectory; obtaining the offset between the ideal circular trajectory and a reference circular trajectory on the circular device, wherein the preset radius is equal to the radius of the reference circular trajectory; and correcting the position of the center of the circular device according to the offset until the ideal circular trajectory coincides with the reference circular trajectory.

[0014] In this embodiment of the invention, the reference circular trajectory is the edge of the circular device.

[0015] A second aspect of the present invention provides a method for applying adhesive to a circular device, applicable to a machine device including a body, an arm shaft connected to the body, and an end effector connected to the end of the arm shaft. The adhesive application method includes:

[0016] Obtain the position of the center of the circular device determined using the method described above for determining the center;

[0017] Obtain the position of any point on the circular trajectory of the object to be coated with adhesive on the circular device;

[0018] The radius of the circular trajectory to be coated is determined based on the position of the center and the position of the point.

[0019] Control the arm axis movement so that the end effector moves in a circle around the center position with a radius, thereby applying glue to the circular trajectory to be glued through the end effector.

[0020] In this embodiment of the invention, the circular trajectory to be coated with adhesive is a wavy circular trajectory; the adhesive coating method further includes: obtaining the positions of a preset number of points within any one cycle of the wavy circular trajectory to be coated with adhesive; determining a first distance corresponding to the point based on the position of the center of the circle and the position of the point, wherein the first distance is the distance between the point and the center of the circle; controlling the arm axis to move so that the end effector moves to the position of the point to perform adhesive coating; controlling the arm axis to move so that the end effector translates a preset angle with the center of the circle as the center and the first distance as the radius to coat the points in the remaining cycles of the wavy circular trajectory with adhesive, wherein the preset angle is the angle between two adjacent cycles.

[0021] In this embodiment of the invention, the preset quantity is 4 to 8.

[0022] A third aspect of the present invention provides a processor configured to perform the method for determining the center of a circle as described above.

[0023] A fourth aspect of the present invention provides a processor configured to perform the above-described method for applying adhesive to a circular device.

[0024] A fifth aspect of the present invention provides an apparatus for determining the center of a circle, comprising: an encoder configured to obtain position information and angle information of an arm shaft; and a processor according to the above.

[0025] A sixth aspect of the present invention provides an adhesive applicator for a circular device, comprising: the processor described above.

[0026] A seventh aspect of the present invention provides a machine device, comprising: a body; an arm shaft connected to the body; an end effector connected to the end of the arm shaft; and the above-described device for determining the center of a circle or the above-described adhesive applicator for a circular device.

[0027] The above technical solution controls the arm's movement to align the end effector with multiple points on any circular trajectory of the circular device whose center is to be determined. This allows the acquisition of the arm's position and angle information when the end effector aligns with each point. The position of each point is then determined based on the position and angle information, and finally, the center of the circular device is determined based on the position of the points. This method, by controlling the machine's arm to align the end effector with multiple points on the same circular trajectory on the circular device, and obtaining the positions of these points based on the arm's position and angle information, significantly reduces the error of manually calibrating the center compared to manual drawing methods, thus improving the accuracy of the center determination result.

[0028] Other features and advantages of the present invention will be described in detail in the following detailed description section. Attached Figure Description

[0029] The accompanying drawings are provided to further illustrate the invention and form part of the specification. They are used together with the following detailed description to explain the invention, but do not constitute a limitation thereof. In the drawings:

[0030] Figure 1 The illustration shows a flowchart of a method for determining the center of a circle according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 2 The schematic diagram illustrates a process flow diagram for determining the center of a circle in another embodiment of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 3 The schematic diagram illustrates a process flow diagram of an adhesive application method for a circular device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0033] Figure 4The diagram schematically illustrates a structural block diagram of a device for determining the center of a circle according to an embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0034] The specific embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are for illustration and explanation only and are not intended to limit the present invention.

[0035] Currently, the methods for calibrating the center of larger circular equipment have the following drawbacks: manual drawing for center calibration results in large errors; manual drawing for center calibration has limited applicability, and this method cannot be used to determine the center position when the center of the equipment is occupied by a device or is hollow.

[0036] Figure 1 The illustration shows a flowchart of a method for determining the center of a circle according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 1 As shown, in this embodiment of the invention, a method for determining the center of a circle is provided. Taking the application of this method to a processor of a machine as an example, the machine includes a body, an arm shaft connected to the body, and an end effector connected to the end of the arm shaft. The method may include the following steps:

[0037] Step S102: Control the arm axis to move so that the end effector is aligned with multiple points on any circular trajectory of the circular device whose center is to be determined, wherein the number of points is not less than three.

[0038] Understandably, the machine device may include, but is not limited to, a robot. The circular device whose center needs to be determined may be a hollow annular device or a solid circular device. The end effector may include a gripper or a suction nozzle, and may also include a needle calibration tool for aligning points on the circular device.

[0039] Specifically, the processor of the machine can control the movement of the arm shaft to align the end effector (e.g., a needle) at the end of the arm shaft with multiple points on any circular trajectory of the circular device whose center is to be determined. That is, these multiple points are located on the same circular trajectory across multiple circular trajectories of the circular device, and the number of points is no less than three. Specifically, after the end effector (e.g., the needle) aligns with one point, it can be rotated at different angles to align the end effector (e.g., the needle) with the remaining points on the circular trajectory containing that point. Further, the circular trajectory can be, for example, the circular trajectory containing the outer or inner edge of the circular device, or any circular trajectory in the middle of the circular device.

[0040] In one embodiment, the angle of the end effector remains constant while the control arm axis moves.

[0041] In other words, by keeping the angle of the end effector (e.g., the needle) constant while the processor controls the arm axis to align the end effector (e.g., the needle) with different points on the circular device, the accuracy of determining the center of the circular device can be improved.

[0042] In one embodiment, the circular device can be a slewing bearing. Understandably, the slewing bearing can be a major component of the excavator, serving as a transmission and support component that enables the excavator's upper frame to rotate. The slewing bearing is characterized by its large mass and high installation precision requirements. Furthermore, an excavator assembly line is a continuous production line used for assembling various excavator components.

[0043] Step S104: Obtain the position and angle information of the arm shaft when the end effector is aligned with each point.

[0044] Specifically, when the processor controls the arm shaft to drive the end effector (e.g., a needle) to align with different points on the same circular trajectory on the circular device, it can obtain the position and angle information of the arm shaft. Specifically, it can obtain the pose information of the arm shaft, that is, the position and angle information of the arm shaft, through the encoder.

[0045] Step S106: Obtain the position of the point based on the location information and angle information.

[0046] Specifically, after obtaining the position and angle information of the arm axis, the processor can compare or calculate the position of the point corresponding to the current position and angle information by comparing or calculating the position and angle information with the initial position and angle information of the arm axis.

[0047] Step S108: Determine the position of the center of the circular device based on the position of the point.

[0048] Specifically, after obtaining the positions of multiple points (no fewer than three), such as the coordinates of multiple points, the position of the center of the circular device can be determined based on the positions of these multiple points. The position of the center of the circular device can be determined by means of the coordinates of the center of the circular device, and the specific determination method can be determined by algorithm calculation.

[0049] The aforementioned method for determining the center of a circle involves controlling the arm's movement to align the end effector with multiple points on any circular trajectory of the circular device whose center is to be determined. This allows the acquisition of the arm's position and angle information when the end effector aligns with each point. The position of each point is then determined based on this information, and finally, the center of the circular device is determined from these positions. Compared to manual drawing, this method significantly reduces the error associated with manually calibrating the center and improves the accuracy of the center determination.

[0050] In one embodiment, determining the position of the center of a circular device based on the position of a point includes: determining the position equidistant from the position of the point as the position of the center of the circular device.

[0051] Understandably, the processor can determine the coordinates of the center of a circle, i.e., the position of the center of a circular device, based on the determined positions (e.g., coordinates) of multiple points, such as coordinates in the X and Y directions.

[0052] In one embodiment, determining the position of the center of a circular device based on the position of a point includes: arbitrarily selecting three points from a plurality of points to obtain at least one triplet, the triplet including the position information of the three selected points; determining the center coordinates of a circle passing through the three points in the triplet based on the triplet; and averaging the center coordinates to obtain the position of the center.

[0053] It is understandable that there must be at least three points. When there are three points, a triplet can be obtained, which includes the position information of the three points. The processor can determine the center coordinates of the circle passing through the three points in the triplet based on the triplet. That is, the coordinates of the points equidistant from the three points are the center coordinates of the circle passing through the three points in the triplet. Since there is only one triplet, only one center coordinate can be obtained, and this center coordinate is the position of the center of the circular device whose center is to be determined.

[0054] Furthermore, in one embodiment, when the number of points is four, four triplets can be obtained accordingly. Each triplet includes the position information of three points. Therefore, each triplet can determine the center coordinates of a circle passing through those three points. That is, the coordinates of the point equidistant from the three points in each triplet are the center coordinates of the circle passing through those three points. Since there are four triplets, four center coordinates can be obtained accordingly. The average of these four center coordinates is calculated, and the resulting center coordinates are the positions of the center of the circular device whose center is to be determined.

[0055] Similarly, when the number of points is five, six or even more, the method of this embodiment can also be used to determine the position of the center of the circular device. Using fewer points can save the time of machine alignment and shorten the workflow of the machine. Using more points can improve the accuracy of the center determination and further reduce errors.

[0056] In one embodiment, multiple points are arranged at equal intervals along a circular trajectory.

[0057] Understandably, multiple points are arranged at equal intervals along a circular trajectory. That is, connecting multiple points located on the same circular trajectory forms a regular polygon; for example, three points form an equilateral triangle, four points form a square, and five points form a regular pentagon. Specifically, the angle of rotation of the end effector relative to the circular device can be determined based on the number of points, thus ensuring that multiple points are arranged at equal intervals along the circular trajectory. This improves the accuracy of determining the center of the circle.

[0058] In one embodiment, the method for determining the center of a circle, after determining the position of the center of the circular device based on the position of a point, further includes a step of correcting the center of the circle. Specifically, this may include: controlling the arm axis to move so that the end effector performs a circular motion around the center of the circle with a preset radius, thereby obtaining an ideal circular trajectory; obtaining the offset between the ideal circular trajectory and a reference circular trajectory on the circular device, wherein the preset radius is equal to the radius of the reference circular trajectory; and correcting the position of the center of the circular device based on the offset until the ideal circular trajectory coincides with the reference circular trajectory.

[0059] It can be understood that the reference circular trajectory is a circular trajectory used as a reference on a circular device, and the preset radius is the radius of the reference circular trajectory. It can be the radius of a reference circular trajectory on a circular device that is input by the user or stored in advance. The radius can be determined by measuring the diameter of the reference circular trajectory.

[0060] Specifically, the processor can control the arm axis movement to drive the end effector (e.g., a needle) at the end of the arm axis to rotate one revolution around a predetermined radius, centered on a determined circle. For example, the center of the circle can be used as the robot's user coordinate system, and the needle as the tool coordinate system. The motion point is taught and recorded on the circular edge of the circular device (e.g., a rotary support). This point is rotated one revolution by offsetting the user coordinate system of the center of the circle. This program is run to obtain the deviation between the circular edge trajectory of the machine device (e.g., the robot) and the actual circular edge of the rotary support. The value of the user coordinate system of the center of the circle is adjusted according to the deviation. This step is repeated several times until the circular edge trajectory of the robot completely coincides with the circular edge of the rotary support. The value of the user coordinate system of the center of the circle is then successfully calibrated.

[0061] In this embodiment of the invention, the robot's circular trajectory action is programmed by rotating and offsetting the robot's user coordinate system. This program is then used to perform precise calibration of the circle center coordinates using the robot trajectory, which greatly improves the accuracy of the calibration results.

[0062] Figure 2 The diagram illustrates a flowchart of a method for determining the center of a circle according to another embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 As shown, in this embodiment of the invention, a method for determining the center of a circle is provided. Taking the application of this method to a processor of a machine as an example, the machine includes a body, an arm shaft connected to the body, and an end effector connected to the end of the arm shaft. The method may include the following steps:

[0063] Step S202: Control the arm axis to move so that the end effector is aligned with multiple points on any circular trajectory of the circular device whose center is to be determined, wherein the number of points is not less than three.

[0064] Step S204: Obtain the position and angle information of the arm shaft when the end effector is aligned with each point.

[0065] Step S206: Obtain the position of the point based on the location information and angle information.

[0066] Step S208: Determine the position of the center of the circular device based on the position of the point.

[0067] Step S210: Control the arm axis movement so that the end effector moves in a circle with a preset radius around the center position, thereby obtaining an ideal circular trajectory.

[0068] Step S212: Obtain the offset between the ideal circular trajectory and the reference circular trajectory on the circular device, wherein the preset radius is equal to the radius of the reference circular trajectory.

[0069] Specifically, the user can observe or measure the deviation between the ideal circular trajectory and the reference circular trajectory on the circular device, and input the deviation to obtain the offset. Alternatively, an image can be acquired through an image acquisition device, and the acquired image can be analyzed and processed to obtain the offset.

[0070] Step S214: Correct the position of the center of the circular device according to the offset until the ideal circular trajectory coincides with the reference circular trajectory.

[0071] In this embodiment of the invention, by first determining the preliminary position of the center of the circle, and then using the rotation offset of the robot user coordinate system, the robot's circle edge trajectory action is programmed. This program is then used to perform precise calibration of the center coordinates using the robot trajectory, which greatly improves the accuracy of the calibration results.

[0072] In one embodiment, the reference circular trajectory is the edge of the circular device.

[0073] Understandably, the reference circular trajectory can be at the outer edge of the circular device or at the inner edge of the circular device.

[0074] In some embodiments, the reference circular trajectory is a circular trajectory on a circular device with obvious imprints or grooves.

[0075] Figure 3 The illustration schematically shows a flow chart of a glue-applying method for a circular device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3 As shown, in this embodiment of the invention, a method for applying adhesive to a circular device is provided. Taking the application of this method to a processor of a machine as an example, the machine includes a body, an arm shaft connected to the body, and an end effector connected to the end of the arm shaft. The adhesive application method may include the following steps:

[0076] Step S302: Obtain the position of the center of the circular device determined using the method for determining the center.

[0077] Specifically, the processor can obtain the position of the center of the circular device determined using the method for determining the center in the above embodiments.

[0078] Step S304: Obtain the position of any point on the circular trajectory of the object to be coated on the circular device.

[0079] Specifically, when the trajectory to be coated with glue is a circular trajectory, the processor can obtain the position information of any point on the circular trajectory to be coated with glue, either input by the user or pre-stored.

[0080] Step S306: Determine the radius of the circular trajectory to be coated with adhesive based on the position of the center and the position of the point.

[0081] Specifically, the processor can determine the radius of the circular trajectory to be coated based on the position of the center and the position of the point on the circular trajectory. The radius value can be calculated using the coordinates of both.

[0082] Step S308: Control the arm axis to move so that the end effector moves in a circle around the center of the circle, thereby applying adhesive to the circular trajectory to be coated.

[0083] Specifically, the processor can control the movement of the arm shaft to drive the end effector at the end of the arm shaft (in this embodiment of the invention, the end effector is a glue sprayer or glue gun) to rotate around a radius centered on a determined circle, so as to apply glue to the circular trajectory to be glued through the end effector (e.g., glue sprayer or glue gun).

[0084] The above-described method for applying adhesive to circular equipment uses the method for determining the center of the circular equipment as described in the above embodiments to determine the position of the center. Based on the position of the center, precise adhesive application can be achieved, thereby improving the degree of automation of the machine equipment.

[0085] In one embodiment, the circular trajectory to be coated with adhesive is a wavy circular trajectory; the adhesive coating method for a circular device further includes: obtaining the positions of a preset number of points within any one cycle of the wavy circular trajectory to be coated with adhesive; determining a first distance corresponding to the point based on the position of the center and the position of the point, wherein the first distance is the distance between the point and the center; controlling the arm axis to move such that the end effector moves to the position of the point for adhesive coating; controlling the arm axis to move such that the end effector translates a preset angle with the center as the center and the first distance as the radius to coat the points within the remaining cycles of the wavy circular trajectory with adhesive, wherein the preset angle is the angle between two adjacent cycles.

[0086] Understandably, when the circular trajectory to be coated is a wavy circular trajectory, meaning the lines constituting the circular trajectory are wavy, the wavy circular trajectory includes multiple cycles. The specific number of cycles depends on the specific parameters of the circular equipment. For example, when the circular equipment is a rotary support, since there are multiple small circular holes on the circular edge of the rotary support, the distance between each adjacent circular hole can be the size of one wave cycle. The preset number is the number of points within one cycle of the wavy circular trajectory, which can be set by the user or by the system.

[0087] Specifically, the processor can obtain the positions of a preset number (e.g., 8) of points within any cycle on the wavy circular trajectory to be glued. Based on the position of the center of the circle and the position of each point, it determines the first distance corresponding to each point, i.e., the distance between each point and the center of the circle. The first distance for each point is usually different, although symmetrical points may have the same first distance. The processor then controls the arm shaft to move the end effector (e.g., a glue sprayer or glue gun) to the corresponding point to apply glue. After completing the glue application task for one point or one cycle, the processor controls the arm shaft to move the end effector (e.g., a glue sprayer or glue gun) by a preset angle, centered on the center of the circle and with the first distance as the radius, to apply glue to the points in the remaining cycles on the wavy circular trajectory, thus completing the glue application work for the entire wavy circular trajectory.

[0088] In one embodiment, the preset quantity is 4 to 8.

[0089] In one embodiment, the method for determining the center of a circle and the adhesive application method for circular equipment provided in this invention can be applied to the field of excavator production and assembly. Specifically, it can be applied to the slewing bearing adhesive application system of an excavator assembly line. The system requires spraying two adhesive strips onto the slewing bearing, one in a circular path and the other in a wavy circular path. An excavator assembly line is a continuous production line for assembling various excavator components. The slewing bearing is a major component of the excavator, serving as both a transmission and support component that enables the rotation of the excavator's upper frame. The slewing bearing is characterized by its large mass and high installation precision requirements.

[0090] Because there are large deviations in position and angle when the workpiece arrives, the system uses vision to detect several circular holes around the slewing support to position the workpiece. However, vision can only provide feedback on the position and angle deviation of a set of relative center coordinates. Therefore, the first problem to solve is to calibrate the center coordinates of the slewing support. However, the slewing support is hollow in the middle and has a slewing joint, so the center position cannot be calibrated using a manual drawing method.

[0091] In one embodiment, the method for determining the center of rotation and the method for applying adhesive to a circular device can be accomplished by using robot teaching to calibrate the center of rotation and apply adhesive. The specific steps are as follows:

[0092] 1. Install a needle on the robot's end effector and calibrate the needle's position in the robot tool coordinate system.

[0093] 2. Select a circular edge around the slewing support and take four feature points on the circular edge. The teaching robot aligns the needle with the four feature points and records the coordinates of these four feature points relative to the robot's world coordinate system (this project mainly focuses on the coordinates in the X and Y directions).

[0094] 3. Calculate the coordinates of the slewing support center using the weighted average of the coordinates of the four feature points. This is the preset coordinate of the slewing support center relative to the robot's world coordinate system. Set this coordinate value as the robot's user coordinate system.

[0095] 4. Using the center of the circle as the robot's user coordinate system and the needle tip as the tool coordinate system, teach and record the motion points on the circular edge of the rotary support. Then, rotate this point one revolution by offsetting the user coordinate system of the center of the circle. Run this program and adjust the value of the user coordinate system of the center of the circle by observing the deviation between the robot's walking trajectory and the actual circular edge of the rotary support. Repeat this step several times until the robot's walking trajectory completely coincides with the circular edge of the rotary support. The value of the user coordinate system of the center of the circle is then successfully calibrated.

[0096] 5. Using this user coordinate system, the glue application trajectory can be written. For a circular glue strip, only one point needs to be taught to complete the robot trajectory program; for a wavy circular trajectory, only one action program (e.g., 6 points) needs to be taught to complete the robot trajectory program.

[0097] 6. The workpiece deviation value fed back by visual inspection can be directly used on the user coordinate system at the center of the circle. The robot trajectory can be shifted by offsetting the position of this coordinate system.

[0098] Visual inspection feedback can be provided using image acquisition devices (e.g., cameras). Specifically, the image acquisition device can be placed in a fixed position to take pictures of different workpieces, thereby obtaining the positional and orientation offsets of different workpieces relative to the workpiece with a determined center. Based on these positional and orientation offsets, the position of the center of the subsequent workpiece can be determined.

[0099] Specifically, by installing a needle on the robot's end effector and employing the principle of four points concircling a circle, the initial calibration of the center of the rotary support circle can be completed using the robot's tool coordinate system. Further, mathematical algorithms are used to calculate the initial coordinates of the center. Using the robot's user coordinate system for rotational offset, the robot's edge trajectory motion is programmed, and this program is used to perform precise calibration of the center coordinates using the robot trajectory, significantly improving the accuracy of the calibration results. Using the robot's user coordinate system for rotational offset, the robot's adhesive application trajectory is taught, greatly improving robot debugging efficiency while reducing camera debugging workload.

[0100] Compared to existing traditional methods, this solution has the following advantages: The center-of-circle calibration method achieves very high calibration accuracy, exceeding ±0.1, and is unaffected by calibration errors in the robot's tool coordinate system. Setting the calibrated center coordinates as the robot's user coordinates and using them as a reference for teaching the robot's adhesive application trajectory significantly reduces the number of teaching points, improving robot debugging efficiency and reducing camera debugging workload. Furthermore, it greatly reduces on-site downtime for debugging during product upgrades.

[0101] Figure 4 A schematic block diagram of a device for determining the center of a circle according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. Figure 4 As shown, in this embodiment of the invention, a device 400 for determining the center of a circle is provided, comprising: an encoder 402 and a processor 404, wherein:

[0102] Encoder 402 is configured to obtain position and angle information of the arm shaft.

[0103] The processor 404 is configured to: control the arm axis movement so that the end effector is aligned with multiple points on any circular trajectory of the circular device whose center is to be determined, wherein the number of points is not less than three; acquire the position information and angle information of the arm axis when the end effector is aligned with each point; obtain the position of the point based on the position information and angle information; and determine the position of the center of the circular device based on the position of the point.

[0104] The aforementioned device 400 for determining the center of a circle involves a processor 404 controlling the arm shaft to align the end effector with multiple points on any circular trajectory of the circular device whose center is to be determined. The encoder 402 then acquires the position and angle information of the arm shaft when the end effector aligns with each point. Based on this position and angle information, the position of each point is determined, and the center of the circular device is then determined. By controlling the arm shaft of the machine to align the end effector with multiple points on the same circular trajectory, the processor 404 obtains the positions of these points based on their position and angle information, and then determines the center of the circular device. Compared to manual drawing, this significantly reduces the error of manually calibrating the center and improves the accuracy of the center determination result.

[0105] In one embodiment, the angle of the end effector remains constant while the control arm axis moves.

[0106] In one embodiment, the processor 404 is further configured to determine the position equidistant from the position of the point as the position of the center of the circular device.

[0107] In one embodiment, the processor 404 is further configured to: arbitrarily select three points from a plurality of points to obtain at least one triplet, the triplet including position information of the three selected points; determine the center coordinates of a circle passing through the three points in the triplet based on the triplet; and perform mean processing on the center coordinates to obtain the position of the center.

[0108] In one embodiment, multiple points are arranged at equal intervals along a circular trajectory.

[0109] In one embodiment, the processor 404 is further configured to: control the arm axis movement so that the end effector performs a circular motion with a preset radius around the center position, thereby obtaining an ideal circular trajectory; obtain the offset between the ideal circular trajectory and a reference circular trajectory on the circular device, wherein the preset radius is equal to the radius of the reference circular trajectory; and correct the position of the center of the circular device according to the offset until the ideal circular trajectory coincides with the reference circular trajectory.

[0110] In one embodiment, the reference circular trajectory is the edge of the circular device.

[0111] This invention also provides an adhesive applicator for a circular device, including a processor, wherein the processor is configured to: acquire the position of the center of the circular device determined using the method described above for determining the center; acquire the position of any point on the circular trajectory to be coated on the circular device; determine the radius of the circular trajectory to be coated based on the position of the center and the position of the point; and control the arm axis to move so that the end effector moves in a circle around the center position with a radius, thereby applying adhesive to the circular trajectory to be coated by the end effector.

[0112] The above-described adhesive applicator for circular equipment uses the method described in the above embodiment to determine the position of the center of the circular equipment. Based on the position of the center, precise adhesive application can be achieved, thereby improving the degree of automation of the machine equipment.

[0113] In one embodiment, the circular trajectory to be coated with adhesive is a wavy circular trajectory; the processor is further configured to: obtain the positions of a preset number of points within any one cycle of the wavy circular trajectory to be coated with adhesive; determine a first distance corresponding to the point based on the position of the center and the position of the point, wherein the first distance is the distance between the point and the center; control the arm axis to move such that the end effector moves to the position of the point to apply adhesive; control the arm axis to move such that the end effector translates a preset angle with the center as the center and the first distance as the radius to apply adhesive to the points in the remaining cycles of the wavy circular trajectory, wherein the preset angle is the angle between two adjacent cycles.

[0114] In one embodiment, the preset quantity is 4 to 8.

[0115] This invention provides a processor configured to execute the method for determining the center of a circle as described above.

[0116] This invention provides a processor configured to execute the above-described adhesive application method for a circular device.

[0117] This invention provides a machine device, including: a body; an arm shaft connected to the body; an end effector connected to the end of the arm shaft; and the above-mentioned device for determining the center of a circle or the above-mentioned adhesive applicator for a circular device.

[0118] Understandably, the machine equipment may include, but is not limited to, robots, and the number of arm segments may include, but is not limited to, six.

[0119] The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the specific details of the above embodiments. Within the scope of the technical concept of the present invention, various simple modifications can be made to the technical solution of the present invention, and these simple modifications all fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0120] It should also be noted that the various specific technical features described in the above embodiments can be combined in any suitable manner without contradiction. To avoid unnecessary repetition, the present invention will not describe the various possible combinations separately.

[0121] Furthermore, various different embodiments of the present invention can be combined in any way, as long as they do not violate the spirit of the present invention, they should also be regarded as the content disclosed by the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for determining a center of a circle, applied to a machine device, the machine device comprising a body, an arm shaft connected to the body, and an end effector connected to an end of the arm shaft, characterized in that, The method comprises: controlling the arm shaft to move so that the end effector is aligned with a plurality of points on any one circular track of the circular device whose center is to be determined, wherein the number of the points is not less than three; acquiring position information and angle information of the arm shaft when the end effector is aligned with each point; obtaining the positions of the points according to the position information and the angle information; determining the position of the center of the circular device according to the positions of the points; The method further comprises: controlling the arm shaft to move so that the end effector moves in a circular motion with the position of the center as the center and a preset radius, thereby obtaining an ideal circular track; acquiring an offset between the ideal circular track and a reference circular track on the circular device, wherein the preset radius is equal to the radius of the reference circular track; correcting the position of the center of the circular device according to the offset until the ideal circular track coincides with the reference circular track.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, When the arm shaft is controlled to move, the angle of the end effector remains unchanged.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein, The determination of the position of the center of the circular device according to the positions of the points comprises: determining a position with a distance equal to that of the positions of the points as the position of the center of the circular device.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein, The determination of the position of the center of the circular device according to the positions of the points comprises: arbitrarily selecting three points from the plurality of points to obtain at least one three-tuple, wherein the three-tuple comprises position information of the three selected points; determining the coordinates of the center of a circle passing through the three points in the three-tuple according to the three-tuple; performing mean value processing on the coordinates of the center to obtain the position of the center.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein, The plurality of points are arranged at equal intervals along the circular track.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein, The reference circular track is the edge of the circular device.

7. A method of gluing for a circular device, applied to a machine device comprising a body, an arm shaft connected to the body, and an end effector connected to the end of the arm shaft, characterized in that, The glue applying method comprises: acquiring the position of the center of the circular device determined by the method for determining the center of a circle according to any one of claims 1 to 6; acquiring the position of any one point on a circular track to be applied with glue on the circular device; determining the radius of the circular track to be applied with glue according to the position of the center and the position of the point; controlling the arm shaft to move so that the end effector moves in a circular motion with the position of the center as the center and the radius, thereby applying glue to the circular track to be applied with glue by the end effector.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein, The circular track to be applied with glue is a wavy circular track to be applied with glue; the glue applying method further comprises: acquiring the positions of a preset number of points in any one period on the wavy circular track to be applied with glue; determining a first distance corresponding to the points according to the position of the center and the positions of the points, wherein the first distance is the distance between the points and the center; controlling the arm shaft to move so that the end effector moves to the positions of the points to apply glue; controlling the arm shaft to move so that the end effector translates by a preset angle with the position of the center as the center and the first distance as the radius, thereby applying glue to the points in the remaining periods on the wavy circular track, wherein the preset angle is the included angle between two adjacent periods.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein, The preset number is 4 to 8.

10. A processor, comprising: The processor is configured to perform the method for determining a circle center according to any one of claims 1 to 6.

11. A processor, comprising: The processor is configured to perform the glue applying method for a circular device according to any one of claims 7 to 9.

12. A device for determining the center of a circle, characterized in that, Comprising: An encoder configured to obtain position information and angle information of the arm shaft; And The processor according to claim 10.

13. A gluing device for a circular apparatus, characterized in that Comprising: The processor according to claim 11.

14. A machine device, characterized by Comprising: A body; An arm shaft connected with the body; An end effector connected with the end of the arm shaft; and The device for determining a circle center according to claim 12 or the glue applying device for a circular device according to claim 13.

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