Sensor-Guided Robot Hand Orientation for Secure Workpiece Pickup
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing robot systems fail to properly attract and hold workpieces of varying types and orientations due to fixed hand configurations, leading to inefficient picking and handling.
Innovation Solution
A robot system with a changeable hand orientation, equipped with an attraction pad and sensors, which adjusts its position and orientation to ensure proper contact and holding of workpieces by detecting surface contact and rotating accordingly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the hand orientation is fixed, then the device structure is simple, but the workpiece cannot be properly attracted and held for all types and orientations
Solution Approach 1:
The hand is made dynamically adjustable in orientation rather than fixed. The hand can rotate about the pickup axis and adjust its angle to match the orientation of the workpiece surface, allowing adaptation to various workpiece types and orientations while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The hand orientation parameter is made variable to match the workpiece surface orientation. By changing the hand's angular parameter to align with the detected workpiece surface angle, the system achieves versatility without requiring completely different mechanisms for each workpiece type.
2Productivity
If the hand approaches the workpiece quickly, then the picking speed is high, but the impact on the workpiece increases causing potential damage
Solution Approach 1:
A sensor detects the distance between the hand and workpiece, providing feedback to the control unit. When the sensor detects that the hand is close to the workpiece surface, the control unit automatically reduces the descending speed of the hand, preventing impact damage while maintaining high overall picking speed through the feedback control mechanism.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the hand orientation is adjusted to match workpiece orientation, then the workpiece can be properly held, but the control complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor provides feedback on the relative orientation between the hand and workpiece surface. The control unit uses this feedback to automatically adjust the hand orientation to match the workpiece, simplifying the control process compared to requiring precise pre-programming for each workpiece type.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs self-adjustment of hand orientation based on sensor feedback without requiring external intervention or complex pre-programming. The control unit automatically orients the hand to match the detected workpiece surface, making the system self-adapting to different workpiece configurations.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The system effectively attracts and holds workpieces by adjusting its hand orientation, ensuring secure contact and reducing the risk of damage during the picking process, even when workpieces are irregularly arranged.
Implementation Method 1
The attraction hand uses magnetic force generated by a magnet to attract the workpiece
Implementation Method 2
The optical sensor includes a light emitter and a light receiver. The optical sensor detects whether the light receiver received the light emitted from the light emitter
Data Source
AI summary
A robot system includes a robot, an attraction pad, a sensor, and a controller. The robot includes a hand whose orientation is changeable. The attraction pad is attached to the hand, attracts a workpiece, and holds the workpiece. The sensor is attached to the hand, includes a detection surface, and detects contact between the detection surface and the workpiece. The controller can determine whether the workpiece has been brought into surface contact with the detection surface based on a result of detection made by the sensor and changes the orientation of the hand, until the workpiece makes surface contact with the detection surface, and then makes the attraction pad hold the workpiece.