Coordinated Robot Hand Control to Prevent Workpiece Damage
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing robot systems for transferring articles between two robots rely solely on operator checks to ensure synchronized operation, leading to potential errors that can result in damage to the article, robot hands, or the robots themselves.
Innovation Solution
A robot system with interconnected controllers and sensors that detect workpiece holding, requiring a coordination command for operation and prohibiting operation without it when the workpiece is detected, ensuring synchronized and safe handling.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If operator checks are used to ensure synchronized operation, then the system can detect potential errors, but the reliability is insufficient and damage can still occur
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements automatic feedback mechanisms through sensors that detect workpiece holding states and controller interconnections that monitor coordination commands. This closed-loop feedback system automatically detects and prevents unsynchronized operations, eliminating reliance on manual operator checks and significantly improving operational reliability while preventing damage to workpieces and robot components.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces intermediary elements including coordination commands as communication mediators between controllers and sensors as detection mediators between the physical workpiece state and the control system. These intermediaries enable automatic detection and prevention of unsynchronized operations, resolving the contradiction between manual checking limitations and the need for reliable synchronized operation.
2Ease of operation
If manual checking and setting are used for robot coordination, then the system can operate with simple control, but operator errors lead to unsafe operation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent enables the robot system to self-regulate coordinated operations through automatic detection of workpiece holding states and automated prohibition of unsynchronized movements. The system performs its own safety verification and control coordination without requiring manual intervention, maintaining ease of operation while dramatically improving reliability through self-monitoring and self-protection mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements preliminary anti-action by proactively prohibiting robot operations when unsynchronized conditions are detected before damage can occur. The coordination command mechanism and sensor-based detection system prevent unsafe operations in advance, countering potential operator errors before they result in harmful outcomes while maintaining simple operational procedures.
3Reliability
If synchronized operation is enforced through coordination commands, then safety is improved, but the system complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the safety control function into distinct modular components: coordination command generation in the control system, workpiece holding state detection by sensors, and automated prohibition logic in the controllers. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific safety function independently, improving overall reliability while managing system complexity through functional modularity and clear separation of concerns.
Data Source
AI summary
A robot system including a plurality of robots, controllers that respectively control the robots, hands attached to wrist ends of the robots and configured to hold and release a workpiece, and a sensor configured to detect that the workpiece is being held by the hands of the robots. The controllers are interconnected and configured to exchange signals so that the robots operate in coordination in response to an operation command that includes a coordination command, and prohibit operation of each of the robots based on an operation command that lacks a coordination command in a state in which the sensor detects the workpiece being held.