Apparatus and method for automatic position calibration

Abstract

This invention discloses an automatic position calibration device and method. The automatic position calibration device includes a control system, which includes a control unit, a pressure detection unit connected to the control unit, and a display unit. The pressure detection unit includes a detection plate with multiple arrayed pressure sensors on its lower surface. The loading point fixture includes a loading point fixture plate with three protruding guide points, and is located below the crane trolley. This invention adds a control system that can be detachably installed on the crane trolley. After the pressure detection unit in the control system touches the guide points on the loading point fixture, it performs precise automatic positioning of the crane trolley. Then, the display unit displays the deviation values ​​of the crane trolley in the X direction, Y direction, and angle, which improves the accuracy of the loading point calibration data, greatly increases debugging efficiency, reduces the workload of debugging personnel, and shortens the OHT (Output-to-Track) time to go online.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the technical field of overhead suspended crane trolley conveying systems, and particularly relates to an automatic calibration device and method for overhead suspended crane trolley conveying systems in the semiconductor industry. Background Technology

[0002] In existing AMHS (Automated Material Handling System) systems, the OHT (Overhead Lift Trolley) mainly relies on manual visual inspection or the use of rulers and angle gauges for measurement and calibration when calibrating the loading point.

[0003] However, in practical applications, it has been found that this work mode, which relies entirely on manual calibration, often leads to inaccurate calibration data, requiring repeated calibration, which greatly increases the workload of debugging personnel and prolongs the time for OHT to go online, causing many inconveniences in actual use. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to overcome the shortcomings of the prior art by providing an automatic calibration device and method that, by adding a control unit installed on the crane trolley, uses a pressure detection unit within the control unit to touch a guide point on the loading point fixture to accurately locate the position of the crane trolley, thereby increasing debugging efficiency and shortening the OHT online time.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is: an automatic positioning device applied to an overhead suspended crane trolley conveying system, wherein the overhead suspended crane trolley conveying system has a crane trolley that can move up and down, comprising:

[0006] The control system includes a control unit, a pressure detection unit connected to the control unit, and a display unit.

[0007] The loading point fixture is located below the lifting trolley and is used to contact the pressure detection unit;

[0008] When the control system moves down with the crane trolley, the pressure detection unit touches the loading point fixture and feeds back the position information to the control system. The control system processes the position information and feeds it back to the display unit, which then displays the deviation values ​​of the crane trolley in the X direction, Y direction, and angle.

[0009] Furthermore, the pressure detection unit includes a detection plate, and multiple pressure sensors are arranged in an array at the four corners of the lower surface of the detection plate.

[0010] Furthermore, the loading point fixture includes a loading point fixture plate, which has three protruding guide points for contacting the pressure detection unit.

[0011] Furthermore, the guide point is cylindrical in shape, and the distance between the free end face of the guide point and the plane of the loading point fixture is the same.

[0012] Furthermore, the display unit is a computer.

[0013] An automatic position calibration method includes the following steps:

[0014] When the S1 control system follows the crane trolley down to a certain position, the pressure detection unit contacts the guide point on the loading point fixture, and the crane trolley stops descending;

[0015] The S2 control unit reads the position information fed back by the pressure detection unit;

[0016] The S3 control unit calculates the coordinates of point A (X1, Y1), point B (X2, Y2), and point C (X3, Y3) on the loading point fixture based on the position information, and then calculates the coordinates of point D (X4, Y4) of the center of the triangle formed by points A, B, and C.

[0017] S4 compares and calculates the coordinates of the center point D (X4, Y4) with the actual required coordinates of the center point E (X0, Y0), and calculates the deviation values ​​in the X direction, Y direction, and angle, and finally displays them on the display unit.

[0018] Furthermore, the distance from point A to point B is denoted as m1, the distance from point A to point C is denoted as m2, and the distance from point B to point C is denoted as m3, where m1>m2>m3 or m1=m2>m3 or m1>m2=m3.

[0019] Due to the application of the above technical solution, the present invention has the following advantages compared with the prior art:

[0020] The automatic position calibration device and method of the present invention adds a control system that can be detachably installed on the crane trolley. After the pressure detection unit in the control system touches the loading point fixture, it performs precise automatic positioning of the crane trolley. Then, the display unit displays the deviation values ​​of the crane trolley in the X direction, Y direction and angle, thus automatically completing the automatic position calibration of the crane trolley. This improves the accuracy of the loading point calibration data, greatly increases the debugging efficiency, reduces the workload of debugging personnel, and greatly shortens the online time of OHT. Attached Figure Description

[0021] The technical solution of the present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings:

[0022] Figure 1This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an automatic position calibration device according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the pressure detection unit in one embodiment of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the loading point fixture in one embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the spatial coordinates of points A, B, C, and D in one embodiment of the present invention;

[0026] The components include: 1. Crane trolley; 2. Control unit; 3. Pressure detection unit; 4. Display unit; 5. Loading point fixture; 30. Detection plate; 31. Pressure sensor; 50. Loading point fixture plate; and 51. Guide point. Detailed Implementation

[0027] The present invention will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments.

[0028] See Figure 1 This invention is applied to an overhead suspended crane trolley conveying system, which has a crane trolley 1 that can move up and down. An embodiment of the invention describes an automatic positioning device including a control system and a loading point fixture 5. The control system can move up and down with the crane trolley 1 as a whole. In this embodiment, the control system includes a control unit 2, a pressure detection unit 3 connected to the control unit, and a display unit 4. The loading point fixture 5 is located below the crane trolley 1. When the control system moves down, the pressure detection unit 3 located below the crane trolley 1 touches the loading point fixture 5 and feeds back the position information of the loading point fixture 5 to the control unit 2. The control unit 2 processes the position information and feeds it back to the display unit 4 to display the deviation values ​​of the crane trolley 1 in the X direction, Y direction, and angle.

[0029] See Figure 2 As a further preferred embodiment of this application, the pressure detection unit 3 includes a detection plate 30. Since the lower surface of the detection plate 30 will contact the loading point fixture 5 when it moves down, multiple pressure sensors 31 are provided at the four corners of the lower surface of the detection plate 30 in a grid pattern. The purpose of providing multiple pressure sensors 31 is to improve the accuracy of position detection.

[0030] See Figure 3As a further preferred embodiment of this application, the loading point fixture 5 includes a loading point fixture plate 50. In this embodiment, the loading point fixture plate 50 is provided with three protruding guide points 51. The guide points 51 are cylindrical in shape. The distance between the free end face of the three guide points 51 and the plane of the fixture 5 is the same, thereby ensuring that the three guide points 51 and the pressure detection unit 3 are all in the same plane, thus improving the accuracy of the position test.

[0031] Of course, more than three guide points 51 can be used for more accurate calculations. In this embodiment, three guide points 51 are used for relevant examples.

[0032] See Figure 3-4 In this embodiment, the three guide points 51 on the loading point fixture 5 are set as points A, B, and C, respectively. The coordinates of point A are (X1, Y1), point B is (X2, Y2), and point C is (X3, Y3). Then, the coordinates of the center point D (X4, Y4) of the triangle formed by points A, B, and C can be calculated, and the coordinates of the actual required center point E (X0, Y0) can be calculated. By comparing and calculating the coordinates of the center point D (X4, Y4) with the actual required center point E (X0, Y0), the deviation values ​​in the X direction, Y direction, and angle can be calculated. This allows for the automatic calibration of the position of the crane trolley, improving the accuracy of the crane trolley.

[0033] Wherein, the distance from point A to point B is denoted as m1, the distance from point A to point C is denoted as m2, and the distance from point B to point C is denoted as m3, where m1>m2>m3 or m1=m2>m3 or m1>m2=m3. In this way, the triangle formed by ABC can be an equilateral triangle, an isosceles triangle, or a scalene triangle, to meet different usage requirements.

[0034] As a further preferred embodiment of this application, the display unit 4 is a computer, but it can also be other display components.

[0035] In addition, the present invention also discloses an automatic position calibration method, comprising the following steps:

[0036] When the S1 control system follows the crane trolley down to a certain position, the pressure detection unit contacts the guide point on the loading point fixture, and the crane trolley stops descending;

[0037] The S2 control unit reads the position information fed back by the pressure detection unit after it touches the guide point;

[0038] The S3 control unit calculates the coordinates of point A (X1, Y1), point B (X2, Y2), and point C (X3, Y3) on the loading point fixture based on the position information, and then calculates the coordinates of point D (X4, Y4) of the center of the triangle formed by points A, B, and C.

[0039] S4 compares and calculates the coordinates of the center point D (X4, Y4) with the actual required coordinates of the center point E (X0, Y0), and calculates the deviation values ​​in the X direction, Y direction, and angle, and finally displays them on the display unit.

[0040] As described above, this invention adds a control system that can be detachably installed on the crane trolley. After the pressure detection unit in the control system touches the loading point fixture, it performs precise automatic positioning of the crane trolley. Then, the display unit displays the deviation values ​​of the crane trolley in the X direction, Y direction, and angle, which automatically completes the automatic calibration of the crane trolley position, improves the accuracy of the loading point calibration data, greatly increases the debugging efficiency, reduces the workload of debugging personnel, and greatly shortens the online time of OHT.

[0041] The above are merely specific application examples of the present invention and do not constitute any limitation on the scope of protection of the present invention. All technical solutions formed by equivalent transformations or equivalent substitutions fall within the scope of protection of the present invention.

Claims

1. An automatic positioning device, applied to an overhead suspended crane trolley conveying system, wherein the overhead suspended crane trolley conveying system has a crane trolley that can move up and down, characterized in that, include: The control system includes a control unit, a pressure detection unit connected to the control unit, and a display unit. The loading point fixture is located below the lifting trolley and is used to contact the pressure detection unit; The pressure detection unit includes a detection plate, and multiple pressure sensors are arranged in an array at the four corners of the lower surface of the detection plate. The loading point fixture includes a loading point fixture plate, which has three protruding guide points for contacting the pressure detection unit. When the control system moves down with the crane trolley, the pressure detection unit touches the loading point fixture and feeds back the position information to the control system. The control system compares and calculates the center point of the three protruding guide points with the actual required center point coordinates, and then displays the crane trolley's X-direction deviation, Y-direction deviation, and angle deviation values.

2. The device for automatically calibrating position according to claim 1, characterized in that: The guide point is cylindrical in shape, and the distance between the free end face of the guide point and the plane of the loading point fixture is the same.

3. The device for automatically calibrating position according to claim 1, characterized in that: The display unit is a computer.

4. An automatic calibration method using the automatic calibration device as described in any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: When the S1 control system follows the crane trolley down to a certain position, the pressure detection unit contacts the guide point on the loading point fixture, and the crane trolley stops descending; The S2 control unit reads the position information fed back by the pressure detection unit; The S3 control unit calculates the coordinates of point A (X1, Y1), point B (X2, Y2), and point C (X3, Y3) on the loading point fixture based on the position information, and then calculates the coordinates of point D (X4, Y4) of the center of the triangle formed by points A, B, and C. S4 compares and calculates the coordinates (X4, Y4) of the center point D with the actual required coordinates (X0, Y0) of the center point E, and calculates the deviation values ​​in the X direction, Y direction, and angle, and finally displays them on the display unit; the distance from point A to point B is denoted as m1, the distance from point A to point C is denoted as m2, and the distance from point B to point C is denoted as m3, where m1>m2>m3 or m1=m2>m3 or m1>m2=m3.

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