Robot Conveyor Tracking With Velocity Vector Matching
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Solution Overview
Problem
In production systems where the movement direction of an article conveyed by a conveyance device differs from the movement direction of a robot moved by a movement device, maintaining a positional relationship for the robot to perform a work on the article effectively is challenging due to deviations caused by factors like operation accuracy and vibration.
Innovation Solution
A production system that includes a sensor to acquire position information of the conveyed article, a calculation unit to compute its velocity vector, and a control unit to adjust the robot's velocity vectors to match the article's velocity vector, ensuring accurate alignment despite directional differences.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If the robot is controlled to track the article using only encoder-measured conveyance speed, then the control system remains simple, but the robot cannot maintain accurate positional relationship when movement directions differ
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback control by continuously measuring the actual position of both the article and robot using sensors, calculating their respective velocity vectors, and adjusting the robot's movement based on the difference between desired and actual positional relationships. This closed-loop feedback mechanism enables accurate tracking even when movement directions differ, resolving the contradiction between simple control and high precision.
2Manufacturing precision
If sensors and velocity vector control are implemented to handle directional differences, then positional accuracy is maintained, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces complex mechanical coupling and physical synchronization mechanisms with computational methods. By using sensors to detect positions and calculating velocity vectors through software, the system achieves precise coordination between article and robot movement without requiring complex mechanical linkages or physical synchronization devices, thus reducing overall device complexity while maintaining high positional accuracy.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the robot tracks an article moving in a different direction, then the system becomes more versatile, but maintaining positional relationship becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements dynamic control by continuously calculating velocity vectors based on real-time position measurements and adjusting the robot's movement parameters on-the-fly. This dynamic adaptation allows the system to handle various movement directions and scenarios (straight line, curved path, inclined conveyance) while maintaining stable positional relationships through continuous recalculation and adjustment of control parameters.
Data Source
AI summary
A production system includes a conveyance device, a robot, a movement device, a sensor acquiring position information regarding an article conveyed by the conveyance device, a calculation unit calculating a velocity vector for the article conveyed by the conveyance device based on the position information acquired by the sensor, and a control unit that, when the direction of movement of the article conveyed by the conveyance device and the direction of movement of the robot moved by the movement device differ, controls a velocity vector for the robot moved by the movement device and a velocity vector for the position of an end effector of the robot so that the sum of the velocity vector for the robot moved by the movement device and the velocity vector for the position of the end effector of the robot matches the velocity vector of the article conveyed by the conveyance device.