Interposer for robotic arms

Abstract

An intervening joint is described for enabling a robotic arm to be used as a reconfigurable fixture for vehicle manufacturing. The intervening joint comprises an attachment element for attaching the intervening joint to the robotic arm. The intervening joint also comprises a first positioning element, the first positioning element comprising a planar surface, the planar surface adapted to position a first feature of a vehicle component, the first feature comprising a surface of the vehicle component. The intervening joint further comprises a wall extending substantially around the planar surface, the wall connecting the planar surface to the attachment element, the wall defining a second positioning element, the second positioning element adapted to position a second feature of the vehicle component.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an attachment for a robotic arm that enables the robotic arm to be used as a reconfigurable fixture for vehicle manufacturing, and a method for using such an attachment as a reconfigurable fixture for vehicle manufacturing. [Background technology]

[0002] Vehicle manufacturing, and aircraft manufacturing in particular, traditionally requires complex manufacturing techniques commensurate with the complexity of the product being created. Traditional approaches to the location of individual elements of a vehicle typically rely on extremely expensively designed and manufactured "custom" fixtures. These fixtures have been meticulously constructed using extremely precise measuring equipment. These fixtures incur significant non-recurring and recurring cost penalties for their precision, can be very limited in their flexibility, and due to their custom nature, tend to have a fixed "shelf life" of use, which then incurs the additional cost of disposal of the fixtures. Summary of the Invention

[0003] According to one aspect of the invention, an interface node is provided to enable a robotic arm to be used as a reconfigurable fixture for vehicle manufacturing. The interface node comprises an attachment element for attaching the interface node to the robotic arm. The interface node also comprises a first positioning element, the first positioning element comprising a planar surface, the planar surface being suitable for positioning a first feature of a vehicle component, the first feature comprising a surface of the vehicle component. The interface node further comprises a wall extending substantially around the planar surface, the wall connecting the planar surface to the attachment element, the wall defining a second positioning element, the second positioning element being suitable for positioning a second feature of the vehicle component.

[0004] In some examples, the interposed joint further comprises a third positioning element, the third positioning element comprising one or more holes in the planar surface, each hole of the one or more holes being suitable for positioning a third feature of the vehicle component, the third feature of the vehicle component comprising a point of the vehicle component. The one or more holes may comprise a hole in the center of the planar surface. The one or more holes may be either a threaded hole or a hollow cone. The one or more holes may comprise an array of threaded holes, and optionally the array of threaded holes may comprise one or more of a 4mm threaded hole, a 5mm threaded hole, a 6mm threaded hole, and a 7mm threaded hole.

[0005] In some examples, the second feature of the vehicle component is an edge of the vehicle component, the flat surface is circular, the wall is cylindrical, the second positioning element is a cylindrical wall, and a tangent to the cylindrical wall may be used to position the edge of the vehicle component. In other examples, the second feature of the vehicle component is a corner of the vehicle component, the flat surface is rectangular, the wall is a right prism, the second positioning element is a corner of the wall or a corner joining the flat surface to the wall, and the corner of the wall or a corner joining the flat surface to the wall may be used to position the corner of the vehicle component.

[0006] In some examples, the attachment element is on an opposite side of the intervening joint relative to the flat surface. In other examples, the attachment element is connected to a wall of the intervening joint, and in some cases, the intervening joint may further comprise a fourth positioning element on the opposite side of the flat surface. The fourth positioning element may comprise a cup adapted to position a fourth feature of the vehicle component, the fourth feature comprising a cone.

[0007] In some examples, the attachment element comprises a clamp up location for clamping the interpositional joint to the robot arm and a reference surface to ensure a known interface point between the robot arm and the interpositional joint.

[0008] According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a device for use as a reconfigurable support for vehicle manufacturing, the device comprising a robot arm that can be moved in six degrees of freedom and an intermediary joint, such as the intermediary joint described above, the intermediary joint being connected to the robot arm via an attachment element of the intermediary joint.

[0009] According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for positioning a component of a vehicle relative to a vehicle build volume. The method comprises identifying a first feature of the component, the first feature of the component needs to be positioned at a desired position relative to the vehicle build volume. The method also comprises selecting a first positioning element of an intervening joint connected to a robotic arm, the intervening joint comprising one or more positioning elements, each positioning element of the one or more positioning elements for positioning a feature of the component of the vehicle, the first positioning element being selected from the one or more positioning elements to be suitable for positioning the first feature of the component. The method further comprises determining a positioning position of the first positioning element based on a desired position of the first feature of the component. The method also comprises moving the intervening joint using the robotic arm to position the first positioning element in the positioning position. The method further comprises positioning the component relative to the vehicle build volume using the first positioning element to position the first feature of the component, and thus the component, relative to the vehicle build volume.

[0010] In some examples, the one or more locating elements comprise at least one of a flat surface, a corner, a hole, a circular wall, and a cup, and the first feature of the component comprises at least one of a surface, a corner, a point, an edge, and a cone. Identifying a first locating element of the one or more locating elements on the intervening node based on the first feature of the component may comprise: if the first feature of the component is a surface, selecting a flat surface of the intervening node as the first locating element; if the first feature of the component is a corner, selecting a corner of the intervening node as the first locating element; if the first feature of the component is a point, selecting a hole of the intervening node as the first locating element; if the first feature of the component is an edge, selecting a circular wall of the intervening node as the first locating element; and if the first feature of the component is a cone, selecting a cup of the intervening node as the first locating element.

[0011] In some examples, the method may further comprise selecting an intervening node from one of a number of intervening nodes based on a first feature of the component, each of the number of intervening nodes comprising either a different positioning element or a different sized positioning element.

[0012] In some examples, the method may include attaching the interpositional joint to a robotic arm.

[0013] In some examples, positioning the component relative to the vehicle build volume may further comprise using a positioning element to support the component in a desired position. The first feature may comprise a surface, and the first positioning element may comprise a flat surface, and using the first positioning element to support the component in a desired position may comprise supporting the surface of the component on the flat surface of the intervening joint. The first feature may comprise a hole, and the first positioning element may comprise a threaded hole, and using the first positioning element to support the component in a desired position may comprise using a threaded joint to attach the component to the intervening joint via the hole and the threaded hole. The first feature may comprise a cone, and the first positioning element may comprise a cup, and using the first positioning element to support the component in a desired position may comprise disposing the cone in the cup.

[0014] In some examples, the method may further include mounting the component to the vehicle build volume such that the component is supported by the vehicle build volume, and moving the interpositional joint away from the positioning position using the robotic arm.

[0015] In some examples, the method may further comprise identifying a second feature of the second component that needs to be positioned in a second desired position relative to the vehicle build volume. The method may further comprise selecting a second positioning element of the one or more positioning elements on the intervening joint based on the second feature of the second component. The method may also comprise determining a second positioning position of the second positioning element based on the second desired position, and moving the intervening joint using the robot arm to position the second positioning element in the second positioning position. The method may also comprise positioning the second component relative to the vehicle build volume using the second positioning element to position the second feature of the second component, and thus the second component, relative to the vehicle build volume. In some examples, the first and second positioning elements may be the same. However, in other examples, the first and second positioning elements may be different.

[0016] In some examples, moving the interstitial joint using the robotic arm to place the positioning element in the positioning position may comprise using the robotic arm to move the interstitial joint in six degrees of freedom to drive the interstitial joint such that the positioning element is moved to the positioning position.

[0017] Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the drawings in which: [Brief description of the drawings]

[0018] [Figure 1] 1 is a cross-sectional view of an intervening node according to an example herein. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an intervening node according to an example herein. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an intervening node according to an example herein. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an intervening node according to an example herein. [Diagram 5] FIG. 13 is a top view of an intervening node being used to align / locate edges of components, according to an example herein. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an intervening node according to an example herein. [Figure 7] 13 is a perspective view of an interposer having an alternative attachment element, according to an example herein. [Figure 8] 13 is a perspective view of an interposer having an attachment element extending from a side wall of the interposer, according to an example herein. [Figure 9] FIG. 13 illustrates an intervening node being used to position / locate a component relative to a vehicle build volume, according to an example herein. [Figure 10] 4 is a flow chart illustrating a method for using an intervening clause according to an example herein. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0019] This application relates to an attachment for a robotic arm that allows the robotic arm to be used as a third hand when placing components for vehicle assembly, and in some examples aircraft assembly. The attachment may also be known as a fixturing node, interface node, interface element, fixed element, support element, or support node.

[0020] In one example, an intervening joint is provided to aid in the construction of a vehicle, such as an aircraft. The vehicle may exist in a partially constructed state known as a vehicle build volume or vehicle assembly while being manufactured. The intervening joint is designed to be connected or attached to a robot arm or other suitable industrial robot. To this end, the intervening joint comprises an attachment element for attaching the intervening joint to a robot arm or other suitable form of industrial robot. The attachment element may also be known as an attachment fixture, attachment joint, or attachment means. In addition to comprising an attachment element, the intervening joint comprises one or more positioning elements. The positioning element may also be known as a positioning feature, a positioning means, or a positioning component. Each positioning element of the one or more positioning elements is suitable for positioning, placing, or picking up on a feature of a component of the vehicle. In other words, when the intervening joint is in a suitable position relative to the vehicle build volume and / or the partially completed vehicle, each positioning element may be used to align / locate a feature of a component of the vehicle in a desired position such that the feature of the component may be located in a desired position relative to the vehicle build volume and / or the partially completed vehicle. This means that the component may be correctly positioned relative to the vehicle build volume. The desired position may be a position that ensures that the component of the vehicle is correctly positioned relative to another part / component of the vehicle that forms part of the vehicle build volume or the partially completed vehicle.

[0021] In another example, a method of using an intervening joint, such as the intervening joint described above, is provided. The method comprises identifying a feature of a component of a vehicle that needs to be positioned relative to a vehicle build volume to allow the component to be attached to or possibly form part of the vehicle build volume. In another example, the intervening joint may be used to support the component during disassembly of the vehicle. The method comprises selecting a positioning element from one or more positioning elements on the intervening joint connected to the robot arm. The positioning element is selected to be suitable for positioning / aligning / locating the identified feature of the component. For example, the form of the selected positioning element depends on the form of the identified feature such that the selected positioning element and the identified feature are corresponding and / or compatible. The positioning element and the identified feature correspond when the positioning element may be used to position / align that feature. The positioning element may be selected to be suitable for supporting the end goal of positioning / locating / aligning the identified feature of the component. Examples of corresponding positioning elements and features are described below. The method then comprises using the robotic arm to place the selected positioning element in a suitable position to place the identified feature relative to the vehicle build volume. This position may be determined based on a desired position of the component feature relative to the vehicle build volume, which in turn may be determined based on a desired position of the component relative to the vehicle build volume. In some examples, the desired position may also be based on the size and shape of the component and / or the relative positions of the component features and the positioning element on the intervening joint. Using the robotic arm may allow the intervening joint to be precisely moved in six degrees of freedom relative to the build volume. The intervening joint may be driven by the robotic arm into the correct position. Once the intervening joint is placed, the selected positioning element is used to align / locate / position the identified feature of the component.In some examples, this may involve using a positioning element to support or possibly hold the component. Additionally or alternatively, however, additional supports may be used to hold the component. The component may then be attached to the vehicle build volume, and once the component is attached, the robotic arm may be used to move the intervening joint away from the component (after any disassembly of the component from the intervening joint, if necessary). The intervening joint may then be reused to align / position / locate a second component relative to the vehicle build volume using a second feature of the second component.

[0022] FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional view of an exemplary intervening node having an attachment element 110 and three positioning elements 120, 130, and 140. The positioning element comprises a flat circular surface 120, a hole 130 in the flat circular surface, and an outer edge of a cylindrical wall 140. The cylindrical side wall 140 extends substantially around the flat circular surface 120. In other words, the flat circular surface 120 forms an end of the cylindrical wall 140 to form one end of a cylinder. In the example shown in FIG. 1, there is no lip between the flat circular surface 120 and the cylindrical wall 140. This lack of a lip can aid in using the flat surface 120 as a positioning feature. However, in other examples, a lip may be present. As shown in FIG. 2, the connection between the flat circular surface 120 and the cylindrical wall 140 may be chamfered. This can avoid sharp edges, which in turn can ensure that the node does not affect any wear on the component on which it is positioned. The mounting element 110 is at the opposite end of the cylindrical wall 140 from the flat circular surface 120. In other words, the cylindrical wall 140 may extend between the flat circular surface 120 and the mounting element 110. However, in other examples, the mounting element 110 may extend from the cylindrical wall 140, allowing the opposite surface of the flat circular surface 120 to be used as an additional positioning element. The mounting element 110 comprises a reference surface 102 and a clamp location 104. The reference surface 102 extends beyond the cylindrical wall 140 and is governed by the interposition of the robot arm so that the interpositional joint 100 and the robot arm fit perfectly and precisely. The clamp location may comprise a hole for receiving a bolt or other mounting feature. In other examples, the bolt or mounting feature may be in a predetermined position in the interpositional joint 100 when manufactured or may form part of the interpositional joint 100. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the attachment element 110 described with respect to FIG. 1 is only an example, and that other attachment elements may be used, depending on the robot arm and the attachment features of the robot arm.

[0023] FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the interposer 100 of FIG. 1. In FIG. 2, positioning elements 120, 130, and 140 are visible. As mentioned above, positioning element 120 comprises a flat circular surface 120. This flat circular surface can be used to align / locate / pick up a surface of a component of the vehicle that needs to be positioned relative to the vehicle build volume. The use of the flat surface can enable alignment of the component surface. The flat surface in FIG. 2 is circular because this can make it easier to have a cylindrical wall 140.

[0024] The positioning element 130 comprises a hole 130, which in some examples may be a threaded hole. This hole 130 may be used to align / locate / pick up a point on the vehicle component that needs to be positioned relative to the vehicle build volume. The hole 130 may be a threaded hole, a flat hole, a blind hole, a through hole, a threaded hole, a countersink hole, etc. The hole 130 may allow for precise location / positioning of a point on the component by aligning the point on the component with the hole 130. In some examples, the point may be a hole in the vehicle component. This may allow the hole 130 to be used for support and alignment. In the example shown in FIG. 2, the hole is in the center of the flat circular surface 120. This may aid in the manufacture of the intervening section 100, as it allows the hole 130 and the clamp location 104 to be manufactured together. However, in other examples, the hole 130 and the clamp location 104 may not meet. In other examples (not shown), instead of a single hole in the center of the flat circular surface 120, there may be an array of holes. In some examples, one of these holes may be in the center of the flat circular surface 120 .

[0025] The positioning element 140 comprises a cylindrical wall 140. The use of the cylindrical wall 140 allows for the alignment of the edge of the component. As shown in FIG. 5, a tangent of the cylindrical wall 140 can be used to align / position / pick up on an edge 501 of a component 500 of a vehicle that is to be positioned relative to the build volume of the vehicle. When the edge 501 of the component 500 is placed on the cylindrical wall 140, the edge 501 is at a tangent of the cylindrical wall 140. This ensures that a point 502 of the edge 501 is accurately positioned / positioned relative to the intervening node 100 and thus relative to the build volume of the vehicle. For example, the tangent point of any item positioned on a cylindrical surface is known as the "minimum footprint of the intervening area", which can be used to allow for accurate alignment.

[0026] FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of the interposer 100. FIG. 4 shows another perspective view of the interposer 100. Both of these views show an attachment element 110 of the interposer 100. The attachment element 110 may comprise a zero point clamp. As shown in FIG. 4, the attachment element 110 of the interposer 100 comprises a reference surface 102 and a clamp location 104. The reference surface can provide a known interposer point that allows the interposer 100 to be connected to a robot arm via a robot end effector. The reference surface can provide a fixed starting point for the interposer 100. The clamp location can allow the interposer 100 to be connected to a robot arm and can accommodate the particular interposer part of the robot arm used. This attachment element 110 allows the interposer 100 to be connected to a robot arm or other industrial robot (not shown). The attachment element 110 described above is only an example and other attachment elements can be used depending on the nature of the robot arm / industrial robot to which the interposer 100 is designed to connect.

[0027] Although the intervening joint 100 is described as having a flat circular surface 120 and a cylindrical wall 140, one skilled in the art will understand that the flat surfaces and walls may have other geometric shapes and may not be circular and cylindrical. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the flat surface 620 of the intervening joint 600 may be rectangular (including square) and the wall 640 may comprise a right angled (including square) post. The joint between the flat surface 620 and the wall 640 may be chamfered. One or more holes may be present in the flat surface 620. In this example, rather than using the wall as the positioning element 640, a corner on the wall 641 or between the wall and the flat surface 642 may function as the positioning element. In this case, the positioning element may be used to position a feature of the component, and the feature comprises a corner. Other shapes of flat surfaces and side walls may be used depending on the feature of the component to be aligned. For example, for component features with corners wider or narrower than 90°, the shape of the flat surfaces and sidewalls may be selected accordingly.

[0028] Similarly, although the intervening joint 100 is described as having a central hole 130 that may comprise a threaded hole, in some particular use cases, the intervening joint 100 may instead comprise a cup, such as a cone-shaped cup, that may be used to align a feature of a vehicle component that comprises a cone to enable alignment of the cone to the vehicle build volume. In other examples, the intervening joint 100 may comprise a protrusion and the feature of the component may comprise a matching cup of a shape other than a cone. In further examples, instead of a hole, a protrusion may be used as an alignment element in the intervening joint 100 to align with a corresponding / matching cup of the component. Alternatively, instead of the central hole 130, the flat surface 120 may comprise a plurality of holes, such as an array of holes. These holes may comprise different sized threaded holes, base circular holes, flat holes, blind holes, through holes, threaded holes, countersunk holes, countersunk holes, cups, etc. to enable alignment of different sized holes, tips, or protruding features of the component. When an array of screw holes is used, the array of screw holes may include at least one of 4 mm, 5 mm, 6 mm, and 7 mm screw holes.

[0029] Although exemplary mounting elements are described above, other mounting elements may be used. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the mounting element 710 of the intervening joint 700 may be integral with the side wall 140 instead of extending beyond the side wall 140. The mounting element may still include a clamp location 704 and a reference surface 702. Additionally, as shown in FIG. 8, while the mounting element 110 is described as being at the opposite end of the wall 140 relative to the flat surface 120, in some examples, the mounting element 810 of the intervening joint 800 may extend from the wall 140. The mounting element 810 may still include a clamp location 804 and a reference surface 802. The opposite surface 860 of the flat surface 120 may then be used to contain another positioning element. For example, this other positioning element may be a cup used to position / align / locate a cone of a vehicle component. The positioning element of 860 may also be another flat surface or another suitable positioning element.

[0030] In addition to the interposer 100, further examples described herein include a device for use as a reconfigurable support or as a reconfigurable alignment feature / fixture when building a vehicle, such as an aircraft or guided vehicle. The device includes an interposer 100, such as the interposer described above, and a robot arm or other suitable industrial robot. The interposer 100 is connected to the robot arm via an attachment element 110 of the interposer 100. For example, the attachment element 110 can be a zero point clamp or other fixture used to connect the interposer 100 to the robot arm via a robot end effector.

[0031] As shown in Figures 9 and 10, a method 200 of using an intervening section, such as the intervening section 100 described above, will now be described. Figure 9 shows an intervening section 900 being used to position / align a component 980 to a vehicle build volume / vehicle build assembly / partially completed vehicle 990. In the example shown in Figure 9, a flat surface 920 of the intervening section 900 is used as an alignment element. However, one skilled in the art will understand that this is exemplary and other alignment elements may be used. Figure 10 is a flow chart illustrating the method 200. In step 202, a component 980 of the vehicle that needs to be positioned relative to a build volume 990 of the vehicle is identified. The build volume 990 may be a construction assembly or a vehicle in the middle of production. This component 980 may be identified based on a plan of the vehicle or in any other suitable manner. This component 980 is the component that the intervening node 900 is used to place / position and represents a component that a user would like to place or position relative to the build volume / vehicle assembly 990 as part of vehicle manufacturing or otherwise. In step 202, a first feature of the component 980 is also identified. The first feature represents a feature of the component 980 that needs to be placed in a desired position relative to the build volume 990 to ensure that the component is in the correct position. The feature of the component 980 may be identified based on a plan of the vehicle or in any other suitable manner. The feature of the component 980 represents a feature of the component that a user would like to place or position relative to the build volume 990 or other partially completed vehicle to ensure that the component is in the correct position relative to the vehicle build volume or partially completed vehicle.

[0032] In optional step 204, intervening joint 900 is connected to a robotic arm or other industrial robot using an attachment element, such as attachment element 110. Intervening joint 900 comprises one or more positioning elements, such as positioning elements 120, 130, and 140 described above. In some examples this may form part of the method, but those skilled in the art will appreciate that in other examples intervening joint 900 may be attached to the robotic arm or other industrial robot prior to the start of the method.

[0033] The method 200 continues at step 206 where a first positioning element of the one or more positioning elements 120, 130, 140 on the intervening joint 900 is selected. The first positioning element is selected based on the first feature of the component 980 such that the first positioning element is suitable for positioning / aligning / locating the first feature of the component 980. For example, if the first feature of the component 980 is a face, a flat surface such as the flat surface 120 is selected as a suitable first positioning element. Similarly, if the first feature of the component is an edge, a cylindrical or circular wall such as the cylindrical wall 140 is selected as the first positioning element. In another example, if the first feature of the component is a point, e.g., a hole or other point, the hole 130 may be selected as the first positioning element. In all cases, the first positioning element is selected such that it is suitable for positioning / aligning / locating the first feature of the component, and the first positioning element and the first feature can be considered to correspond.

[0034] In step 208, the method 200 comprises determining a positioning location of the first positioning element based on a desired location of the feature of the component 980. As explained above, the desired location reflects a location where the first feature of the component 980 needs to be placed to ensure that the component is in the correct location relative to the vehicle build volume 990. The desired location may be obtained from a plan of the vehicle, other details of the vehicle structure, or in any other suitable manner. A positioning location may then be determined based on the desired location. The positioning location reflects a location where the first positioning element needs to be moved / held or possibly placed to ensure that the first feature of the component is in the desired location relative to the vehicle build volume when the first positioning element is used to position / align / locate. In some examples, the desired location and positioning location may be determined by a computer that calculates the desired location and positioning location based on other components in the vehicle build volume and information about the final vehicle, such as a plan of the vehicle. This improves the accuracy of the determined desired location and positioning location, thus aiding the use of intervening nodes to accurately place / locate components when building high precision vehicles.

[0035] The method then comprises, in step 210, moving the interpositional joint 100 using a robot arm or other industrial robot such that the first positioning element is in the positioning position. This may be done automatically by the control system of the robot arm or other industrial robot to ensure that the interpositional joint 100 is accurately positioned. The robot arm may move with six degrees of freedom (6DOF), and placing the interpositional joint may comprise moving the interpositional joint in any of these 6DOF. The 6DOF may be movement along the X, Y, and Z axes, as well as pitch (movement between the X and Y axes), yaw (movement between the X and Z axes), and roll (movement between the Z and Y axes). The reference plane may provide a known interpositional point that allows the interpositional joint 900 to be connected to the robot arm via the robot end effector. The robot arm may determine how to place / position the positioning element based on knowledge of the physical design of the interpositional joint 900 and its critical features, and a virtual robot point around which the robot is driven, called the "robot tool center point or TCP."

[0036] Once the intervening node 900 and the first positioning element are accurately positioned relative to the vehicle build volume 990 or the partially completed vehicle assembly / partially completed vehicle, the method 200 comprises, in step 212, using the first positioning element to position / locate / align the first feature of the component 980. This allows the first feature of the component 980, and thus the component 980 itself, to be positioned / aligned / located relative to the vehicle build volume 990. The use of the first positioning element depends on the morphology of the first positioning element and the first feature of the component 980.

[0037] For example, as shown in FIG. 9 , if the first feature of component 980 is surface 985, surface 985 may be aligned with flat surface positioning element 920. In some examples, this may involve placing surface 985 on flat surface 920 such that flat surface 920 supports surface 985 and component 980. Thus, no further support may be required and intervening member 900 may be used to align / locate and support component 980. However, in other examples, surface 985 may be aligned or positioned on or adjacent to flat surface 920, but flat surface 920 acts as an alignment and further support may be required to hold the component in place.

[0038] When the first feature of the component is a point, such as a hole, the point may be aligned with the positioning element of the hole 130. This may involve aligning the point with the hole 130 or the center of the hole 130. When the point on the component is itself a hole and the positioning element hole 130 is a threaded hole, this may involve using a screw to secure the component in place and thus support the component. In other examples, the positioning element hole 130 and the component hole may be attached using other means. In addition, a point on the component may be aligned with the hole 130 and during alignment, the component may be supported on the flat surface 920 of the interposer 900. Thus, in the above example, the interposer 100 may be used to align / locate and support the component. However, in other examples, the point may be aligned with the hole alignment element 130, but the hole alignment element 130 may function as an alignment and additional support may be required to hold the component in place.

[0039] When the first feature of the component is an edge, the edge may be aligned to a tangent to the cylindrical wall alignment component 140, allowing for precise point alignment as described with respect to Figure 5. This may involve using additional supports to hold the component in place.

[0040] Once the component is aligned to the vehicle build volume using the first feature of the component and the first alignment element of the intervening joint, the component may be secured in place relative to the vehicle build volume, for example, using screws, rivets, bolts, etc. The component may then be fully supported by the vehicle build volume. When the first feature of the component is supported by the first alignment element, any connection or attachment between the component and the intervening joint may be released. A robotic arm or other industrial robot may then be used to move the intervening joint away from the alignment position, thus leaving the component in place with the vehicle build volume. The above method may then be repeated with a second feature on the second component such that the second component may be positioned relative to the vehicle build volume.

[0041] In some examples, the above method 200 may further comprise a step of selecting an intervening joint 100 from the number of intervening joints. In this case, each intervening joint 100 of the number of intervening joints may comprise a positioning element of a different size. For example, the flat surface 120 on each intervening joint 100 may be differently sized to allow support of different sized surfaces of the vehicle component. In another example, the holes 130 on each intervening joint 100 may be differently sized to allow alignment of different sized holes or points on the component. Additionally or alternatively, each intervening joint 100 of the number of intervening joints may comprise a different positioning element. For example, one intervening joint may comprise a circular flat surface 120 and a cylindrical wall 140, and another intervening joint may comprise a rectangular (including square) flat surface and a right prism (including square prism) wall. The intervening joint may then be selected based on whether the user wishes to align an edge feature of the vehicle component or a corner feature of the vehicle component.

[0042] In addition, although the above method is described with respect to component features comprising faces, points, and edges, one skilled in the art will understand that other features of the component may be aligned depending on the intervening component. For example, if the first feature of the component is a corner, the corner of the intervening joint 100 may be selected as the first locating element. This corner may be on a right angle (including square) prism of the wall of the intervening joint 100, or between a rectangular flat surface (including square) and a right angle prism (including square prism) wall. To use the corner as the locating element, the corner of the first feature of the component may be aligned with the corner of the first locating element of the intervening joint 100. Similarly, if the first feature of the component is a cone, a corresponding / matching cup of the intervening joint 100 may be selected as the first locating element. The cup may be formed on the flat surface 120 or on the opposite surface of the flat surface 120. Aligning / positioning the cone of the component with the cup of the interposer 100 may comprise placing the cone of the component within the cup of the interposer 100.

[0043] The use of the above-described interposer 100 and method 200 is extremely versatile. Given that the interposer 100 comprises flexible positioning elements such as the flat surface 120, the hole 130, and the circular / cylindrical wall 140, the positioning elements can be used to align common features of components such as surfaces, points, and edges. Thus, there is no need to design and use a specific fixture / alignment tool for each component and / or each feature that needs to be aligned, or even for each type of feature that needs to be aligned. The interposer 100 can be used for multiple vehicles and / or vehicle types, eliminating the need for a specific fixture or alignment tool for each vehicle. In addition, in many instances, the interposer 100 comprises multiple different positioning elements. Thus, the same interposer can be used to align different features of a component. In addition, since the interposer 100 is designed to connect to a robot arm or other industrial robot via a robot end effector, the interposer 100 can be precisely repositioned. Thus, the interposer 100 and method 200 can be used to act as a support for multiple different components at different times based on different features of the components. Unlike traditional custom fixtures and jigs, this allows for easy adaptation of the support / alignment fixture to position the component relative to the vehicle build volume. This allows for easy adaptation to vehicle redesigns and also allows for custom features to be added to the vehicle without the need to create custom jigs / fixtures to build the vehicle.

[0044] The attachment / intermediate nodes of the above example help to be able to precisely position and maintain the precision of a particular unsupported aircraft component during the vehicle assembly process. In one example, an industrial robot is used and specifically designed intermediate nodes are attached to the industrial robot, allowing the technical engineer the ability to flexibly intermediate with typical features of the aircraft product. These features are typically holes, faces, and points on the surface (tangential interfaces) of the component. This example involves digitally precisely "driving" nodes to desired locations within the aircraft build volume, so that the once unsupported component can be digitally fixed in place via the precise location of the intermediate nodes before the component is finally assembled to its adjacent components to become "self-supporting". The intermediate nodes are infinitely programmable and essentially product agnostic, thus allowing the incorporation of recent vehicle designs without the traditional costly redesign of the aforementioned "bespoke" fixation solutions. While the overarching principle of this application is the transition to more digitally secure construction methods for next generation aircraft, this approach can be adapted across a myriad of industry sectors.

Claims

1. An interposer (100, 600, 700, 800, 900) for enabling a robotic arm to be used as a reconfigurable fixture for vehicle manufacturing, comprising: an attachment element (110, 710, 810) for attaching the intervention joint to the robot arm; a first positioning element comprising a flat surface (120, 620, 920), wherein said flat surface is adapted to position a first feature of a vehicle component (980), said first feature comprising a surface (985) of the vehicle component; a wall (140) extending substantially around said planar surface, said wall connecting said planar surface (120, 620, 920) to said mounting element (110, 710, 810), said wall defining a second positioning element, said second positioning element adapted to position a second feature of a vehicle component; The intervening joint (100, 600, 700, 800, 900) comprises:

2. A third positioning element The intervening joint (100, 600, 700, 800, 900) of claim 1, further comprising: the third positioning element comprises one or more holes (130) in the planar surface (120, 620, 920), each hole of the one or more holes (130) suitable for positioning a third feature of a vehicle component, the third feature of the vehicle component comprising a point of the vehicle component.

3. the second feature of the vehicle component is an edge (501) of the vehicle component (500); the flat surface is circular (120); said wall being cylindrical (140); 3. The intervening joint (100, 600, 700, 800, 900) of claim 1 or 2, wherein the second positioning element is the cylindrical wall (140), and a tangent to the cylindrical wall can be used to position the edge of the component of a vehicle.

4. the second feature of the vehicle component is a corner of the vehicle component; the planar surface is rectangular (620); The wall is a right-angled prism (640); The intermediate joint (100, 600, 700, 800, 900) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the second positioning element is a corner on the wall (641) or a corner joining the flat surface to the wall (642), and the corner on the wall (641) or the corner joining the flat surface and the wall (642) can be used to position the corner of the component of a vehicle.

5. The intermediate joint (100, 600, 700, 800, 900) of any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the attachment element (110, 710) is on an opposite side of the intermediate joint with respect to the flat surface (120).

6. The attachment element comprises: a clamp location (104, 704, 804) for clamping the intervertebral joint to the robot arm; a reference surface (102, 702, 802) to ensure a known intermediate point between the robot arm and the intermediate joint (100, 600, 700, 800, 900); The intervening joint (100, 600, 700, 800, 900) of any one of claims 1 to 5, comprising:

7. 1. A device for use as a reconfigurable support for vehicle manufacturing, said device comprising: A robot arm that can be moved with six degrees of freedom; 7. An intermediary joint (100, 600, 700, 800, 900) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the intermediary joint is connected to the robot arm via the attachment element of the intermediary joint. A device comprising:

8. 1. A method (200) for positioning a vehicle component (980) relative to a vehicle build volume (990), the method comprising: identifying (202) a first feature of the component (980), where the first feature of the component (980) needs to be positioned at a desired location relative to the vehicle build volume (990); selecting (206) a first positioning element of an intervening joint (100, 900) connected to a robotic arm, wherein the intervening joint (900) comprises one or more positioning elements (120, 130, 140, 620, 641, 642, 920), each positioning element of the one or more positioning elements (120, 130, 140, 620, 641, 642, 920) for positioning a feature of a component of the vehicle, and the first positioning element is selected from the one or more positioning elements (120, 130, 140, 620, 641, 642, 920) so as to be suitable for positioning the first feature of the component (980); determining (208) a positioning location for the first positioning element based on the desired location of the first feature of the component (980); moving (210) the interpositional joint (100, 900) using the robot arm to place the first positioning element at the positioning location; positioning (212) the component (980) relative to the vehicle build volume (990) using the first positioning element to position the first feature of the component (980), and thus the component (980), relative to the vehicle build volume (990); The method (200).

9. the one or more positioning elements comprise at least one of a flat surface (120, 620), a corner (641, 642), a hole (130), a circular wall (140), and a cup; the first feature of the component comprises at least one of a face, a corner, a point, an edge (501), and a cone; Identifying (202) a first locator element of the one or more locator elements on the interposed joint based on the first feature of the component, comprising: if the first feature of the component is a surface, selecting a flat surface (120, 620) of the intermediate joint as the first positioning element; if the first feature of the component is a corner, selecting a corner (641, 642) of the intermediate joint as the first positioning element; if the first feature of the component is a point, selecting a hole (130) in the interposed joint as the first positioning element; if the first feature of the component is an edge (501), selecting the circular wall (140) of the interposed joint as the first positioning element; if the first feature of the component is a cone, selecting a cup of the interposer as the first positioning element; 9. The method of claim 8, comprising:

10. Positioning the component relative to the vehicle build volume includes: Using the positioning element to support the component in the desired position.

10. The method (200) of claim 8 or 9, further comprising:

11. the first feature comprises a surface (985); the first positioning element comprises a flat surface (920); 11. The method (200) of claim 10, wherein using the first positioning element to support the component in the desired position comprises supporting the face of the component on the planar surface of the intervening node.

12. the first feature comprises a hole; The first positioning element comprises a screw hole (130); 12. The method (200) of claim 10 or 11, wherein using the first positioning element to support the component in the desired position comprises using a threaded joint to attach the component to the intermediate node via the hole and the threaded hole.

13. attaching the component (980) to the vehicle build volume (990) such that the component (980) is supported by the vehicle build volume (990); using the robotic arm to move the interpositional joint (900) away from the positioning location; The method (200) of any one of claims 8 to 12, further comprising:

14. Identifying (202) a second feature of a second component that needs to be positioned at a second desired location relative to the vehicle build volume; selecting (206) a second positioning element of the one or more positioning elements (120, 130, 140, 620, 641, 642, 920) on the interposed joint (900) based on the second feature of the second component; and determining (208) a second positioning position of the second positioning element based on the second desired position; moving (210) the interpositional joint (900) using the robotic arm to place the second positioning element at the second positioning location; positioning the second component relative to the vehicle build volume using the second positioning element to position the second feature of the second component, and thus the second component, relative to the vehicle build volume (212); The method (200) of any one of claims 8 to 13, further comprising:

15. moving the interpositional joint (900) using the robot arm to place the positioning element at the positioning position, 15. The method of any one of claims 8 to 14, comprising using the robot arm to move the interposed joint in six degrees of freedom to drive the interposed joint such that the positioning element is moved to the positioning position.

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