Patent abstracts

Citation

(2011), "Patent abstracts", Industrial Robot, Vol. 38 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/ir.2011.04938aad.003

Patent abstracts

Article Type: Patent abstracts From: Industrial Robot: An International Journal, Volume 38, Issue 1

Title: Material handling system and method using autonomous mobile drive units and movable inventory trays

Applicant: Kiva Systems Inc. (US)

Patent number: AT478021(T)

Publication date: September 15, 2010

Abstracts

An inventory system includes a plurality of mobile drive units with a processor control and with a positioning system that enables the mobile drive units to navigate a factory floor. The mobile drive units interface with a material handling system to receive order requests and deliver inventory items to pack stations located on the factory floor. The inventory items are stored in trays stacked into movable inventory pods, which may be transported by the mobile drive units throughout the factory floor. The mobile drive units dock and undock with the movable inventory pods using a docking mechanism. The movable inventory pods are stored in a virtual storage grid when they are not being transported by the mobile drive units.

Title: Autonomous robot and cooperative working system using a plurality of autonomous robots

Applicant: Yanmar Co. Ltd, Fukuda Toshio, Sekiyama Kosuke

Patent number: JP2009199359 (A)

Publication date: September 3, 2009

Problem to be solved: To provide autonomous robots for performing working in cooperation with a plurality of autonomous robots while considering working time in a working area, to provide a cooperative working system using the plurality of autonomous robots, and to optimize working efficiency.

Solution. A weeding robot for performing weeding work while successively moving in weed groups in a field in which a plurality of weed groups are present sets a distance from a present position up to a weed group as an evaluation distance, sets an area of the weed group as a weed area, sets a distance between the weed group and a weed group most close to the weed group concerned and weeded by another weeding robot as a dispersion distance, sets a linear combination of the evaluation distance using positive/negative coefficients which are different from each other for only the evaluation distance, the weed area and the dispersion distance as an evaluation value, and selects a weed group which is a weeding work area to be weeded next on the basis of the evaluation value.

Title: Robotized iron and steel plant

Applicant: SMS Siemag AG (DE); Plociennik Christian (DE); Schoeck Hans-Wilhelm (DE); Moors Mark (DE)

Patent number: WO2010049161 (A2)

Publication date: May 6, 2010

Abstracts

The invention relates to a robotized plant comprising an iron and steel work area having a hot and/or a danger zone, and further comprising at least one iron and steel operating unit and an industrial robot associated with the at least one iron and steel operating unit. The aim of the invention is to devise a plant which allows the work areas in an iron and steel factory to be designed in such a manner that they are safer and more ergonomical while preferably automating the work processes as far as possible. For this purpose the industrial robot carries out the processes associated in the iron and steel factory with the at least one iron and steel operating unit in the hot and/or danger zone of the iron and steel plant.

Title: Production system having cooperating process area between human and robot

Applicant: Fanuc Ltd (JP)

Patent number: US2010191372 (A1)

Publication date: July 29, 2010

Abstracts

A production system in which a human and a robot may simultaneously perform a cooperative task in the same area while ensuring human’s safety. A robot is positioned at one side of a working table, and an operator is positioned at the other side of the working table. The reachable area of the operator is limited by the working table. An area of the working table is divided into an area where only the operator may perform a task, an area where only the robot may perform a task, and an area where both the operator and the robot may enter. In a cooperation mode, the maximum movement speed of a component of the robot is limited lower than when the component of the robot is outside the cooperative task area, and, the motion of the robot is limited so that the robot does not enter a robot entry-prohibited area.

Title: Path planning method for mobile robots based on particle swarm optimization algorithm

Applicant: Univ Hangzhou Dianzi (CN)

Patent number: CN101604166 (A)

Publication date: December 16, 2009

Abstracts

The invention relates to a path planning method for mobile robots based on a particle swarm optimization algorithm. The prior path planning method for the mobile robots has single path selection and is easy to come to a dead end. The method comprises the concrete steps of: modeling the environment first; using a polygon to represent an obstacle; using a point to represent a robot, using a small square frame to represent the original position of the robot; and using a cross to represent a target point, wherein a starting point of the robot is marked as S, and the target point is marked as G; planning paths of the robot by utilizing the particle swarm optimization algorithm; and finally, performing the deep first search on the planned paths. The method adds the deep first search into a polar coordinate particle swarm. By the method, the robot can effectively find one collision-free path in most of complex environments, and finally, reach target points.

Title: Production facility, and production system

Inventor: NTN Toyo Bearing Co. Ltd (JP); Machida Takuya (JP); Matsushita Shigeki (JP); Inui Shinya (JP); Hatano Hiroshi (JP)

Patent number: JP2010082799 (A)

Publication date: April 15, 2010

Problem to be solved: To provide a production facility adapted to perform human works, such as restoration, setting change and manufacturing, without requiring an operator to enter a robot operating area.

Solution. The production facility includes a casing, a caulking device stored within the casing and serving as an exclusive device for caulking a boot band, and an internal transport device. The caulking device and the casing separate a human operating area on the front side of the production facility from an operating area of a transport robot on the back side of the production facility. The operator existing on the front side of the production facility operates the caulking device without entering the operating area of the transport robot, thus eliminating the need to stop the transport robot during the operation. Therefore, production efficiency is improved and the production area is reduced because neither a safety fence nor a partition wall is required to be installed besides the production facility.

Title: Miniature robot for self-determination grinding and casting operation of large-scale curve

Applicant: Univ Jilin (CN)

Patent number: CN201217175 (Y)

Publication date: April 8, 2009

Abstracts

The utility model relates to a micro-robot for large-size curved surface automatically polishing operation, which belongs to the mechanical manufacture field. The micro-robot includes a walking module and a polishing tool module. The structure of the walking module is that: a driving wheel system and a driven wheel system are fixed and connected on the robot body; a steering device is connected with the robot body; and the steering device is connected with a steering driving driven wheel belt in the driving wheel system. The polishing tool module includes a force control cylinder, a bracket and a driving shaft motor; the driving shaft is connected with the bracket through an angular contact ball bearing; a gimbal polishing head is fixedly connected with the driving shaft; and a guide shaft is movably connected with a guide shaft seat through a guide linear bearing. The micro-robot has the beneficial effects that: utilizing the micro-robot automatically positioning and planning on the large-size curved surface can realize the finishing processing of the large-size curved surface by small-size equipment; thus not only reducing the labor intensity and production cost, but also improving the processing flexibility and the processed surface stability.

Title: Intelligent moving cleaning robot for cleaning large-scale electric power plant condenser

Applicant: Univ Hunan (CN)

Patent number: CN201327346 (Y)

Publication date: October 14, 2009

Abstracts

The utility model discloses an intelligent moving cleaning robot for cleaning a large-scale electric power plant condenser, which can be applied to the field of large-scale cleaning devices and comprises a crawler walking mechanism, a cleaning mechanism and an electrical control mechanism. A spray gun is connected on a spray gun rotary bracket of a cleaning arm, an underwater video camera is arranged on the spray gun which is connected with cleaning media sources through a communicating hose, the cleaning arm is connected with a cleaning arm walking bracket component through a drive shaft, a cleaning arm drive shaft is connected with an electric push rod, the cleaning arm walking bracket component is mounted on a slewing bearing which is disposed on the crawler walking mechanism through the walking bracket component, sonar sensors are arranged at the front end on the top portion of the spray gun, at the front and the rear ends of a support board of the slewing bearing and at the front and the rear positions of a crawler frame. The utility model is small in robot joint quantity, simple in structure, convenient in processing and assembly, wide in application range and high in automation degree, capable of realizing the precise locating and highly effective cleaning of condenser copper pipes by means of self-moving inside a condenser water chamber.