SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR PERFORMING ASSEMBLY TASKS USING A ROBOT - Patent application

Abstract

A system for performing assembly or production tasks in a verified method includes an n-axis robot having a base and an articulating arm connected to the base and capable of being moved in n mechanical axes relative to the base, the articulating arm including a first articulating arm portion and a second articulating arm portion. The system also includes a tool having a first functional element and a second functional element. The first functional element is coupled to the first articulating arm portion such that it participates in movements that can be performed by the first articulating arm portion. The second functional element is coupled to the second articulating arm portion such that it participates in movements that can be performed by the second articulating arm portion relative to the first articulating arm portion and the first functional element at a robot joint.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The invention relates to a system and a method for performing assembly or production tasks in a validated manner. The assembly task may in particular be the application of a fluid medium, such as an adhesive or glue, to a workpiece. This may be applied, for example, by depositing or spraying. However, the assembly task may instead also be the gripping, reshaping or joining of one or more workpieces. The system comprises an n-axis robot, preferably an industrial robot or a universal robot, which has a base and an articulated arm, which is connected to the base and can be moved relative to the base in n mechanical axes of the robot. The system also comprises a robot controller for controlling and / or regulating the movement of the articulated arm in the n mechanical axes. The robot controller may in particular be designed to control and / or regulate the robot in all degrees of freedom of movement of the robot. [Background technology]

[0002] Articulated arm robots (such as, for example, Universal Robots or industrial robots) that are suitable for the purposes of the present invention typically comprise a final articulated arm section designed to accommodate tools for performing assembly tasks such as those mentioned above as examples. Typical tools, such as, for example, grippers, welding tools, hemming tools and adhesive application tools, comprise functional elements that can be moved relative to one another and also comprise their own drives with one or more rotational and / or translational motors or actuation elements, or drives and / or one or more drive units for one or more of the functional elements. Examples of such tools are known from WO 2014 / 126675 A1, EP 2 307 167 B1 and EP 2 117 745 B1. The drive of the tool itself requires a drive controller, which must essentially be adapted to the provided robot controller, whereby the movements of the functional elements of the tool and the movements of the robot for performing the assembly tasks are coordinated. The effort and / or cost involved in this is significant. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2014 / 126675 [Patent Document 2] European Patent No. 2307167 [Patent Document 3] European Patent No. 2117745 Summary of the Invention [Means for solving the problem]

[0004] It is an object of the present invention to provide a system of the type described which exhibits reduced effort and / or cost.

[0005] One objective may be to reduce the effort and / or expense that needs to be expended in controlling and / or regulating the tool.

[0006] It is desirable to reduce the number of components and / or simplify one or more components of the tool.

[0007] The subject of the invention is a system with an articulated arm robot of the type described in the introduction. The n-axis articulated arm of the robot comprises a first articulated arm part and a second articulated arm part connected at a robot joint so that it can be rotated around one of the mechanical axes and / or translated and axially moved along said mechanical axis within the range of said total of n mechanical axes. The system also comprises a tool for assembly tasks, having a first functional element and a second functional element, at least one of which can be moved relative to the other in a manner adjusted for the purpose of performing the assembly task. The first functional element is coupled to the first articulated arm part so that it participates in the movements that can be performed by the first articulated arm part. The second functional element is coupled to the second articulated arm part so that it participates in the movements that can be performed by the second articulated arm part relative to the first articulated arm part and the first functional element at the robot joint in order to perform the assembly task. The first functional element may in particular be fixedly connected to the first articulating arm portion and / or the second functional element may in particular be fixedly connected to the second articulating arm portion.

[0008] The first functional element can be, for example, a housing that cannot be moved relative to the first articulating arm portion when it is properly connected to the first articulating arm portion, or a part of the welding tongs, or some other element.

[0009] The robot controller is designed to control and / or adjust the position and / or speed of movements that may be performed by the second articulated arm part relative to the first articulated arm part at the robot joints so as to activate and perform the movements and / or functions of the second functional element in a verified manner.

[0010] The invention uses one of the mechanical axes of the robot, i.e. one of the mechanical axes inherently possessed by the robot, to perform the function of the tool. At the same time, the effort and / or cost required to control and / or regulate the system comprising the robot and the tool is reduced by integrating the robot controller already provided on the robot directly into the function of the tool. The robot drive for the robot joint connecting the first and second articulated arm parts, i.e. the robot drive for the associated articulated axis, can replace a drive motor that would otherwise have to be provided on the tool, e.g. an electric, pneumatic or hydraulic rotary or linear motor.

[0011] At least one of the direction of movement following a predetermined movement curve, the pressure with which the second functional element acts on the workpiece, the period of time during which it acts on the workpiece at a point, the rotational angular position of the second functional element and numerous other movement parameters, time parameters and pressure parameters of the second functional element can be controlled or adjusted, for example according to the assembly task to be performed.

[0012] Preferably, either the first articulated arm section or, in particular, the second articulated arm section is the last articulated arm section of the robot separated from the base by n mechanical axes, which may also be referred to as a robot hand.

[0013] The first functional element can be equipped with a device for protecting the second functional element, which can for example be elastically expandable or can be moved laterally relative to the first articulated arm part to expose the second functional element when a tool for performing an assembly task is guided to the workpiece. Even in that case, the first functional element does not move relative to the first articulated arm part within the meaning of the present application. The protection device can for example be equipped with a suction device so that chips accumulating during the machining process and / or the supplied coolant can be removed at their point of origin. The protection device can also seal the processing space and thus be able to operate, for example, in a protective gas atmosphere or with liquid coolant.

[0014] Sensors, for example imaging sensors, can also be connected to the first functional element and / or the first articulated arm part and can be used to check or monitor, inter alia, the quality of the work performed, the state of the treatment area prior to treatment and / or the position of the second functional element relative to the workpiece. The sensors can also be used to document the quality of the work in a reproducible way.

[0015] Preferably, the associated mechanical axis along which the second articulated arm part can be moved relative to the first articulated arm part is the n-th mechanical axis of the robot, n being a natural number greater than 2 and preferably equal to 6. The robot hand or the second articulated arm part, respectively, can then for example be provided with a sixth mechanical axis, and the robot hand can be connected in a fifth mechanical axis to the adjacent articulated arm part in the proximal direction or to the first articulated arm part, or to the penultimate articulated arm part if the second articulated arm part is the last articulated arm part of the articulated arm of the robot.

[0016] The nth mechanical axis or mechanical axis of the robot hand can be a rotation axis, a sliding axis, or a rotation-slide axis of the second or kth articulated arm section or robot hand, and the number of mechanical axes, n, can represent a natural number other than k, the number of articulated arm sections.

[0017] The tool can be a processing tool, e.g., welding tongs, hollow rivet punching tongs, a polishing device, a material dispensing tool, e.g., for dispensing a fluid material, a material testing tool, or some other tool that can be used to perform an assembly task in a validated manner.

[0018] The tool and / or a second functional element of the tool can be connected to the nth machine axis directly or via a coupling element, a gear system or the like.

[0019] The tool can in particular be designed to convert a predetermined movement, e.g. a rotational or linear movement, of the system of the nth machine axis into a resulting movement, e.g. a linear or rotational movement, of a second functional element, which resulting movement differs from the predetermined movement.

[0020] The first and second functional elements can then form a threaded pair, an intermediate gear system, a sliding block guide, or a rigid chain, and the first functional element can form a stator while the second functional element forms a rotor or a tool part that can be moved linearly. The first functional element can for example form a guide for the second functional element, which for example guides the second functional element so that it can be moved linearly and / or in rotation.

[0021] The assembly or production task may be an assembly or production task within the field of manufacturing, particularly body manufacturing, for missiles, land vehicles, and ships, among others. The assembly task may involve connecting two workpieces, for example, filling unavoidable assembly gaps, applying markers, compression molding, breaking open prepared apertures, preparing surfaces for subsequent processing steps, and numerous other tasks.

[0022] A second aspect of the invention relates to a method for performing an assembly or production task in a verified manner using a robot, for example an industrial robot, having at least one articulated arm and at least one robot hand having a mechanical axis connected to the articulated arm in a movement axis and moved linearly or rotationally, wherein a tool comprising a first functional element and a second functional element is connected to the articulated arm via the first functional element, the second functional element is coupled to the robot hand, the robot hand is activated and coordinated by a robot controller, the movements of the mechanical axes of the robot hand predetermined by the robot controller are transformed into resulting movements of the second functional element coupled by the tool, and the assembly or production task is performed in a verified manner by the second functional element. The tasks can for example involve applying glue, flanging or hemming, welding or some other joining task.

[0023] The predetermined movement of the mechanical axis of the robot hand can be, for example, one of a linear movement and a rotational movement. The resulting movement of the second functional element is therefore the other of a linear movement and a rotational movement. The resulting movement can also differ from the predetermined movement of the mechanical axis only in its speed, force, etc., while maintaining the predetermined linear or rotational movement. It may preferably be the case that the predefined movement differs from the resulting movement.

[0024] In other words, the movement of the last mechanical axis can be transformed into a resulting movement according to the coupling used, the gear system used, the guides used, or the force transmission (toggle lever, etc.), e.g. a linear movement can be transformed into a rotational movement, a rotational movement into a linear movement, a rotational movement into a linear movement, a rotational movement into a linear and rotational movement, or a rotational movement into a rotational and linear movement, to name only a few examples, which resulting movement preferably differs from the movement of the connected mechanical axis in at least one parameter, e.g. its speed or force.

[0025] The first functional element can then form a guide for the second functional element, which linearly and / or rotationally guides the second functional element. The first functional element can comprise two or more elements that can be moved relative to each other, for example a stretchable device for protecting the second functional element.

[0026] For example, to monitor the quality of work performed using the tool, the industrial robot may be equipped with a sensor device, such as an imaging sensor, that monitors and / or inspects the workpiece area being processed by the second functional element before, during and after processing.

[0027] The sensor device can be attached to the robot or, for example, to the first articulated arm part or the first functional element, respectively. The second articulated arm part and the first functional element can also each be equipped with a sensor device. Finally, the sensors can also be installed anywhere, for example, on a separate robot or on a workpiece bracket that only supports the sensor device, as long as they can perform the inspection task intended for them.

[0028] The system also comprises a controller or regulator for the robot. This can be a robot controller that the robot comprises, for example, in its base or that is arranged adjacent to the robot. The controller or regulator comprises a storage unit and an interface through which a program can be loaded into the storage unit and modified, for example adapted or updated. The controller can also comprise a computer unit that converts the individual program steps into action commands for the system or, respectively, the individual parts of the system. The controller preferably also controls or regulates the function of optional sensor devices and / or required devices, for example for supplying pressure medium for opening and / or closing valves of the tool or for supplying consumables to the tool that are directly connected to the tool.

[0029] The industrial robot used for the method may comprise a base and n mechanical or movement axes for a robot arm having k articulated arm sections, the kth articulated arm section preferably forming a robot hand, the number of movement axes n being equal to or different from the number k of articulated arm sections.

[0030] The method can be used for assembly tasks within the field of manufacturing, particularly body manufacturing, for missiles, land vehicles, and ships, including connecting two workpieces, for example filling unavoidable assembly gaps, applying markers, compression molding, breaking open prepared apertures, preparing surfaces for subsequent processing steps, and numerous other tasks. The present specification also provides, for example, the following items: (Item 1) 1. A system for performing assembly or production tasks in a verified manner, the system comprising: An n-axis robot (1), preferably an industrial robot or a universal robot, comprising a base (B) and an articulated arm (20), the articulated arm being connected to the base (B) and having n mechanical axes (R 1 -R n ), and comprises a first articulated arm part (26) and a second articulated arm part (27) connected at a robot joint, whereby the first articulated arm part and the second articulated arm part are movable along the mechanical axis (R n ) and / or around one of the mechanical axes (R n ) and an n-axis robot that can be translated and moved axially along the b. The n mechanical axes (R 1 -R n a robot controller for controlling and / or coordinating the movement of the articulated arm (20) in c. a tool (9) for said assembly task having a first functional element (91) and a second functional element (92); Equipped with d. the first functional element (91) is coupled to the first articulated arm portion (26), whereby the first functional element is involved in the movements that can be performed by the first articulated arm portion (26); e. the second functional element (92) is coupled to the second articulated arm portion (27), whereby the second functional element is involved in movements that can be performed by the second articulated arm portion (27) relative to the first articulated arm portion (26) and the first functional element (91) at the robot joint in order to perform the assembly task; f. The system, wherein the robot controller is designed to control and / or adjust the position and / or speed of movements that can be performed by the second articulated arm portion (27) relative to the first articulated arm portion (26) at the robot joints and to activate movements and / or functions of the second functional element (92) in a verified manner. (Item 2) Either the first articulated arm portion (26), or preferably the second articulated arm portion (27), is adapted to rotate about one of the n mechanical axes (R 1 -R n 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the final articulated arm portion (27) of the robot (1) is moved away from the base (B) by a (Item 3) The second articulated arm portion (27) can be moved relative to the first articulated arm portion (26) along the associated mechanical axis (R 6 ) is the n-th mechanical axis (R 6 3. The system according to any one of items 1-2, wherein n is a natural number greater than 2 and preferably equal to 6. (Item 4) The nth mechanical axis (R 6 4. The system of any one of claims 1-3, wherein the second articulated arm portion (27) has a rotation axis, a sliding axis, or a rotation-slide axis. (Item 5) 5. The system according to any one of claims 1-4, wherein the tool (9) is a processing tool, such as welding tongs, a polishing device, such as an application or dispensing tool for dispensing a fluid material, or a material testing tool. (Item 6) The nth mechanical axis (R 6 6. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the first functional element (92) is connected or can be connected to the second functional element (92) directly or via a coupling element. (Item 7) The tool (9) is connected to the n-th machine axis (R 6 7. The system according to any one of items 1-6, wherein the system (92) is designed to convert a predetermined movement, e.g., a rotational or linear movement, into a resultant movement, e.g., a linear or rotational movement, of the second functional element (92), the resultant movement being different from the predetermined movement. (Item 8) 8. The system according to any one of claims 1-7, wherein the first functional element (91) and the second functional element (92) form a threaded pair, an intermediate gear system, a sliding block guide, or a rigid chain. (Item 9) The system according to any one of items 1-8, wherein the first functional element (91) forms a guide (10) for the second functional element (92), which guides, for example, the second functional element (92) linearly and / or so that it can be moved rotationally. (Item 10) 10. The system of any one of claims 1-9, wherein the second articulated arm portion is a robotic hand (27). (Item 11) The system of any one of items 1-10, wherein the assembly task is an assembly task within the field of manufacturing, in particular body manufacturing, for missiles, land vehicles, and ships. (Item 12) A method for performing an assembly or production task in a verified manner using a robot (1), said robot having at least one articulated arm (20) and at least one robot hand (27) connected to said articulated arm (20) at a movement axis and driven in rotation, a tool (9) having a first functional element (91) and a second functional element (92) is connected to the articulated arm (20) via the first functional element (91); the second functional element (92) is coupled to the robot hand (27); The robot hand (27) is activated and coordinated by a robot controller; movements of the robot hand (27) predetermined by the robot controller are transformed into resulting movements of the coupled second functional element (92) by the tool (9); The assembly or production task is performed in a verified manner by the second functional element (92). (Item 13) 13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the predetermined movement of the robot hand (27) is one of a linear movement and a rotational movement, and the resulting movement of the second functional element (92) is the other of a linear movement and a rotational movement. (Item 14) 14. The method according to any one of items 12-13, wherein the second functional element (92) is linearly or rotationally guided by the first functional element (91). (Item 15) 15. The method according to any one of items 12-14, wherein the industrial robot (1) has a base and n axes of movement for a robot arm (20) having k articulated arm sections, the kth articulated arm section forming the robot hand (27). [Brief description of the drawings]

[0031] Exemplary embodiments of the invention are explained in more detail below on the basis of the figures, which show:

[0032] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a robot having n mechanical axes and k articulated arm segments. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a tool connected to an nth machine axis and a kth articulated arm segment. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a tool for dispensing fluid materials such as glue in a validated manner. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 shows a hollow rivet punching tongs or welding tongs as a tool. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0033] 1 shows an example of an articulated-arm robot 1, such as one used in industry for assembly tasks. The articulated-arm robot 1 can be connected to a base B. The base B can be fixedly connected, for example, to the floor, wall or ceiling of a hall, so that the articulated-arm robot 1 is installed such that it is spatially fixed. The base B can be designed to be moved on rails or on an overhead crane, so that the articulated-arm robot 1 as a whole can be moved spatially.

[0034] The articulated arm robot 1 comprises k articulated arm sections GAA and n mechanical axes A. Every two articulated arm sections GAA that are directly successive along the articulated arm are connected to each other at a robot joint, so that they can each be moved around at least one of the mechanical axes A. In the exemplary embodiment, k=n=6. In principle, the number of articulated arm sections GAA can also deviate from the number of mechanical axes A and can be, for example, less than the number of mechanical axes A, for example if one of the robot joints has more than one degree of freedom of movement (for example a spherical joint, etc.). However, in the exemplary embodiment, each of the joints has only one degree of freedom of movement. Each of them can in particular be formed as a revolute joint, as is typical for example for industrial robots.

[0035] The articulated arm part GAA is successively represented by GAA1, GAA2, GAA3, GAA4, GAA5 and GAA6 and runs from the base B to the free end of the robot arm. The mechanical axis A is successively represented by A1, A2, A3, A4, A5 and A6 and runs from the base B to the free end of the robot arm. The articulated arm part GAA1 rotates around the mechanical axis A1 which extends axially through the center point of the articulated arm part GAA1. The mechanical axis A2 extends transversely to the mechanical axis A1 and is a pivot axis about which the articulated arm part GAA2 can be pivoted relative to the articulated arm part GAA1. The mechanical axis A3 extends transversely to the mechanical axis A2 and is a pivot axis about which the articulated arm part GAA3 can be pivoted relative to the articulated arm part GAA2. The mechanical axis A4 is the axis of rotation of the articulated arm part GAA4 relative to the articulated arm part GAA3. The mechanical axis A5 is a pivot axis transverse to the mechanical axis A4, along which the articulated arm part GAA5 can be pivoted relative to the articulated arm part GAA4. The last mechanical axis A6 is the axis of rotation along which the last articulated arm part GAA6 can be moved in rotation relative to the penultimate articulated arm part GAA5.

[0036] 2 shows a first articulated arm section 26 and a second articulated arm section 27 of an articulated arm 20 of a universal or industrial robot 1 having k articulated arm sections. The robot 1 in FIG. 1 can, for example, form said universal or industrial robot. The second articulated arm section 27 can then in particular be the one furthest from the robot base, such as, for example, base B in FIG. 1 (in this sense, the last articulated arm section GAA6), and the first articulated arm section 26 can be the penultimate articulated arm section GAA5 of the robot 1.

[0037] The first articulated arm portion 26 is connected to the other, i.e., second, articulated arm portion 27 at a robot joint, which is axially aligned along a mechanical axis R n-1 The second articulated arm portion 27 can be pivoted about a mechanical axis R n which in the exemplary embodiment shown is a sixth mechanical axis R6 that rotationally drives the second articulated arm section 27. The second articulated arm section 27 is the last articulated arm section of the robot arm 20 and is therefore often also referred to as the robot hand 27.

[0038] The tool 9 comprising a first functional element 91 and a second functional element 92 is connected to the articulating arm 20, the first functional element 91 being in particular connected to the first articulating arm part 26 in such a way that it is resistant to movements, i.e. the first functional element 91 in particular directly follows all movements of the first articulating arm part 26. In other words, the first functional element 91 is fixedly connected to the first articulating arm part 26 and, when connected, cannot be moved relative to the first articulating arm part 26.

[0039] The second functional element 92 is connected to the second articulated arm portion 27, more specifically, the second functional element 92 is connected to the mechanical axis R of the second articulated arm portion 27. nA driven machine axis R coupled with respect to the movement to n outputs onto a second functional element 92, either directly or, preferably, via a coupling device.

[0040] The coupling device is connected to the machine axis R. n into a resulting movement of the second functional element 92. In the exemplary embodiment shown, the predetermined movement is a rotational movement or a rotation and the resulting movement is a linear movement or a sliding movement, the first functional element 91 forming a guide 10 for the second functional element 92 in the movement direction of the sliding movement.

[0041] The first functional element 91 comprises a material chamber 910, which can be filled, for example, with a fluid material, to perform a given assembly task. The material chamber 910 has an inlet 911 for the material and an outlet 912 for the material. In the illustrated exemplary embodiment, the material chamber 910 is connected to a material source for the material used via an inlet valve VE, which can be switched by air pressure. The outlet 912 is provided with a corresponding outlet valve VA. When the inlet valve VE is open to allow material into the material chamber 910, the outlet valve VA is preferably closed. When the outlet valve VA is opened to drain material from the material chamber 910, the inlet valve VE is preferably closed. When the material chamber 910 is to be cleaned, the inlet valve VE and the outlet valve VA can be opened simultaneously.

[0042] 2, 3 and 4 show three exemplary applications of the functional principle, in which a tool 9 is connected to a robot 1 as described, and which is connected to a second functional element 92, the mechanical axis R n The predetermined movement of the second functional element 92 is converted into a resulting movement of the second functional element 92 along the respective mechanical axis R. n The predetermined movements of the first and second functional elements 92 are different from the respective resulting movements of the second functional elements 92 .

[0043] In Fig. 3, tool 9 is a tool by which fluid materials can be dispensed or applied to a workpiece in a verified manner. The fluid materials can be, for example, glues, paints, powders, cleaning agents, etc., which need to be applied to the workpiece at precise points.

[0044] The tool 9 comprises a first functional element 91 connected to the first articulated arm part 26 so that it is resistant to movement, and a second functional element 92 coupled to the mechanical axis R6 of the second articulated arm part 27, as already described.

[0045] The first functional element 91 comprises a container 910 for the fluid material. The material can be provided in cartridges that need to be introduced into the container 910. This includes automatically exchanging cartridges from a connected cartridge magazine.

[0046] The container 910 can be refillable, which may mean that the material needs to be replenished regularly or as needed, e.g. manually by an operator, or it may mean that it is permanently connected to a material source and the material is automatically replenished into the container 910 according to requirements. Which is the preferred variant depends on the type of assembly task and the amount of material consumed.

[0047] The container 910 can be connected to a material source via a conduit system and can be automatically replenished with material. To this end, the container 910 comprises an inlet 911 for the material flowing from the material source and an outlet 912 through which the material is dispensed from the container 910. The container 910 can also be connected to two or more material sources, which are the starting materials that are initially mixed in the container 910 to form the material for the assembly task. A mixing device can be placed in the container 910 for mixing purposes, and the container 910 can be heatable or can have a cooling system. If the container 910 is heatable, the nozzle 913 can also be heatable to prevent the material from hardening or thickening before it is applied, and the material is dispensed through the nozzle 913.

[0048] The inlet 911 and outlet 912 can be opened and closed, for example, by air pressure. Preferably, the inlet 911 is closed when the outlet 912 is open, and the outlet 912 is closed when the inlet 911 is open, i.e., material cannot be applied directly from the material source to the workpiece.

[0049] The first functional element 91 can form a housing for the tool 9, which in particular protects the second functional element 92 from damage and / or dirt. A guide 10 is formed on the inner circumferential wall of the first functional element 91, and a traveling nut 13 acting on the second functional element 92 has the effect of moving the second functional element 92 linearly into the container 910.

[0050] The second functional element 92 comprises an ejection piston 920 that extends into the container 910 and can be moved into the container 910 to dispense material from the container 910 through an outlet 912. The ejection piston 920 is coupled to the mechanical axis R of the second articulated arm portion 27 via the stem 11. nThe axle 11 is mounted by means of bearings 14, by means of which the axle 11 can be moved in rotation within the first functional element 91, and is provided with a free end 12 having an external thread, on which a traveling nut 13 can be twisted. The traveling nut 13 is provided with a guiding element 15 which cooperates with a guide 10 in the first functional element 91.

[0051] If the axle 11 is then driven in rotation by the mechanical axis R6 of the second articulated arm part 27, the traveling nut 13 cannot rotate together with the axle 11, since this is prevented by the connection between the guide 10 and the guiding element 15. The traveling nut 13 is instead made to move linearly along the end 12. Preferably, the traveling nut 13 is fixedly connected to the ejection piston 920 or is molded integrally with the ejection piston 920 in a casting or sintering process, whereby the movement of the traveling nut 13 is transmitted onto the ejection piston 920, i.e. the ejection piston 920 is driven in rotation along the mechanical axis R n Depending on the direction of rotation of the container 910, the container 910 can be moved in and out of the container 910.

[0052] In the embodiment of the tool 9 shown in FIG. 3, the rotation axis of the mandrel 11, the central longitudinal axis of the second functional element 92 and the rotation or mechanical axis R6 of the second articulated arm portion 27 are coincident.

[0053] 4 shows another tool 9', which is in particular a pair of welding tongs for resistance welding. In the case of this tool 9', the second functional element 92' forms the moving electrode arm and the first functional element 91' forms the fixed counter electrode.

[0054] In this tool 9', a first functional element 91' is connected to the first articulated arm part 26 such that it is involved in every movement of the first articulated arm part 26. A second functional element 92' is coupled to the second articulated arm part 27 and is connected to the mechanical axis R of the second articulated arm part 27. n, whereby a rotational movement of the mechanical axis R6 is transformed into a linear movement of the second functional element 92'. This transformation principle corresponds to the one explained with respect to FIG. 3 and therefore will not be explained again.

[0055] A similar design can be used, for example, for a pair of hollow rivet punching tongs (not shown), where the second functional element can form the actuated rivet setting unit and the anvil is formed by the first functional element.

[0056] (Reference sign) 1 Robot, articulated arm robot, industrial robot 9, 9' Tools 10 Guide 11 Mandrel 12 End 13 Traveling nut 14 Bearings 15 Induction Elements 20 Articulated Arm, Robot Arm 26 First articulated arm section 27 Second Articulated Arm Section, Robot Hand 91, 91' First functional element 910 Material Chamber 911 Inlet 912 Outlet 913 Nozzle 92, 92' Second functional element A Machine Axis B base GAA Articulated Arm Section R Machine Axis VA Outlet Valve VE inlet valve k Number of articulating arm segments n Number of machine or movement axes

Claims

1. 1. A system for performing assembly or production tasks in a verified manner, the system comprising: a. An n-axis robot (1), preferably an industrial robot or a universal robot, said n-axis robot having a base (B) and an articulated arm (20), said articulated arm being connected to said base (B) and having n mechanical axes (R) relative to said base (B). １ -R ｎ ), and comprises a first articulated arm part (26) and a second articulated arm part (27) connected at a robot joint, whereby the first articulated arm part and the second articulated arm part are movable along the mechanical axis (R ｎ ) and / or around one of the mechanical axes (R ｎ ) an n-axis robot that can be translated and axially moved along the b. The n mechanical axes (R １ -R ｎ a robot controller for controlling and / or coordinating the movement of said articulated arm (20) in c. a tool (9) for said assembly task having a first functional element (91) and a second functional element (92); Equipped with d. The second articulated arm portion (27) is connected to the n mechanical axes (R １ -R ｎ ) is the last articulated arm section (27) of the n-axis robot (1) separated from the base (B), and the first articulated arm section (26) is the penultimate articulated arm section of the n-axis robot (1); e. said first functional element (91) is coupled to said first articulated arm portion (26), whereby said first functional element is involved in the movements that can be performed by said first articulated arm portion (26); f. the second functional element (92) is coupled to the second articulated arm portion (27), whereby the second functional element is involved in movements that can be performed by the second articulated arm portion (27) relative to the first articulated arm portion (26) and the first functional element (91) at the robot joint in order to perform the assembly task; g. the robot controller is designed to control and / or regulate the position and / or speed of movements that can be performed by the second articulated arm portion (27) relative to the first articulated arm portion (26) at the robot joints and to activate the movements and / or functions of the second functional element (92) in a validated manner; h. A system wherein the first functional element (91) is fixedly connected to the first articulating arm portion (26) and is not movable relative to the first articulating arm portion (26).

2. The second articulated arm portion (27) can be moved relative to the first articulated arm portion (26) along the associated mechanical axis (R ６ ) is the n-th mechanical axis (R ６ 2. The system of claim 1 , wherein n is a natural number greater than 2 and preferably equal to 6.

3. The n-th mechanical axis (R ６ 3. The system of claim 2, wherein the second articulated arm portion (27) has a rotation axis, a sliding axis, or a rotation-slide axis.

4. The n-th mechanical axis (R ６ 4. The system according to claim 2, wherein the first functional element (92) is connected or can be connected to the second functional element (92) directly or via a coupling element.

5. The tool (9) is connected to the n-th machine axis (R ６ 5. The system according to claim 2, wherein the system is designed to convert a predetermined movement, e.g. a rotational or linear movement, into a resultant movement, e.g. a linear or rotational movement, of the second functional element (92), the resultant movement being different from the predetermined movement.

6. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the tool (9) is a processing tool, such as welding tongs, a polishing device, an application or dispensing tool, such as for dispensing a fluid material, or a material testing tool.

7. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the first functional element (91) and the second functional element (92) form a threaded pair, an intermediate gear system, a sliding block guide, or a rigid chain.

8. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the first functional element (91) forms a guide (10) for the second functional element (92), which guides, for example, the second functional element (92) linearly and / or so that it can be moved rotationally.

9. The system of any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the second articulated arm portion is a robotic hand (27).

10. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the assembly tasks are assembly tasks within the field of manufacturing, in particular body manufacturing, for missiles, land vehicles and ships.

11. 8. The system according to claim 7, wherein the first functional element (91) forms a stator, while the second functional element (92) forms a rotor or tool part that is linearly movable.

12. The first articulated arm section (26) is connected to the penultimate mechanical axis (R ５ 12. The system of claim 1, wherein the robot joint is rotatable about the penultimate robot joint.

13. The n-th mechanical axis (R ６ ) is the axis of rotation of the second articulated arm section (27), and the second articulated arm section (27) rotates in the n-th mechanical axis (R ６ ), and the tool (9) is movable in rotation about the n-th machine axis (R ６ 4. The system of claim 3, wherein the rotational movement of the first functional element (92) is designed to convert the rotational movement of the second functional element (92) into a linear-only movement of the second functional element (92).

14. The system according to any one of claims 1 to 13, wherein the tool (9) is a tool by which a fluid material can be dispensed or applied to a workpiece in a verified manner.

15. 15. The system of claim 14, wherein the first functional element (91) comprises a material chamber (910) that can be filled with the fluid material, the material chamber (910) having an inlet (911) for the fluid material and an outlet (912) for the fluid material.

16. 16. The system of claim 15, wherein the second functional element (92) comprises an ejection piston (920) that extends into the material chamber (910) and can be moved into the material chamber (910) to dispense material from the material chamber (910) through the outlet (912).

17. A method for performing an assembly or production task in a verified manner using a robot (1), said robot having at least one articulated arm (20) and at least one robot hand (27) connected to said articulated arm (20) at a movement axis and driven in rotation, a tool (9) comprising a first functional element (91) and a second functional element (92) is connected to the articulated arm (20) via the first functional element (91), the second functional element (92) is coupled to the robot hand (27); The robot hand (27) is activated and coordinated by a robot controller, movements of the robot hand (27) predetermined by the robot controller are transformed by the tool (9) into resulting movements of the coupled second functional element (92); the assembly or production task is performed in a verified manner by the second functional element (92); The method, wherein the first functional element (91) is not movable relative to the articulating arm (20).

18. 18. The method according to claim 17, wherein the predetermined movement of the robot hand (27) is one of a linear movement and a rotational movement and the resulting movement of the second functional element (92) is the other of a linear movement and a rotational movement.

19. The method according to any one of claims 17-18, wherein the second functional element (92) is linearly or rotationally guided by the first functional element (91).

20. The method according to any one of claims 17 to 19, wherein the robot (1) has a base and n axes of movement for a robot arm (20) having k articulated arm sections, the kth articulated arm section forming the robot hand (27).

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