Method of teaching robot

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11207775-B2
Application number	US-201716469184-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Dec 13, 2017
Priority date	Dec 13, 2016
Publication date	Dec 28, 2021
Grant date	Dec 28, 2021

Abstract

A method of teaching a robot, the robot including a first and second end effector that are mounted to a robotic arm wrist, the first and second end effector being rotatable about a same rotational axis independently of each other. The method includes: a first step of, in a state where rotational positions of the first and second end effectors about the rotational axis coincide with each other, attaching a relative motion preventing device to the first and second end effector, the relative motion preventing device preventing the first and second end effector from moving relative to each other; and a fourth step of generating a teaching point of the second end effector based on: a teaching point of the first end effector; and rotational position information about the first and second end effector that are stored in a storage unit in association with each other in a third step.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of teaching a robot,
the robot including:
a robotic arm;
a first end effector and a second end effector that are mounted to a wrist of the robotic arm, the first end effector and the second end effector being rotatable about a same rotational axis independently of each other;
a first driving motor and a second driving motor, the first driving motor being configured to rotate the first end effector about the rotational axis, the second driving motor being configured to rotate the second end effector about the rotational axis;
a first rotational position sensor and a second rotational position sensor, the first rotational position sensor being configured to detect a rotational position of the first end effector, the second rotational position sensor being configured to detect a rotational position of the second end effector;
a memory configured to store rotational position information about the first end effector and rotational position information about the second end effector, the rotational position information about the first end effector being based on an output from the first rotational position sensor, the rotational position information about the second end effector being based on an output from the second rotational position sensor; and
a robot controller configured to control the robotic arm, the first end effector, the second end effector, the first driving motor the second driving motor, and the memory,

the method comprising:
a first step of, attaching a relative motion preventing device together to both the first end effector and the second end effector in a state where the rotational position of the first end effector and the rotational position of the second end effector about the rotational axis coincide with each other, the relative motion preventing device preventing the first end effector and the second end effector from moving relative to each other;
a second step of rotating the first end effector and the second end effector after the first step, with the relative motion preventing device being attached to the first end effector and the second end effector;
a third step of, while performing the second step, storing rotational position information about the first end effector for a plurality of rotational positions of the first end effector and rotational position information about the second end effector for rotational positions of the second end effector in the memory, the rotational positions of the second end effector corresponding to the plurality of rotational positions of the first end effector, respectively, such that the rotational position information about the first end effector and the rotational position information about the second end effector are stored in the memory in association with each other for each of the plurality of rotational positions of the first end effector; and
a fourth step of generating a teaching point of the second end effector based on:
a teaching point of the first end effector, the teaching point being stored when teaching of the first end effector is performed; and
the rotational position information about the first end effector and the rotational position information about the second end effector that are stored in the memory in association with each other in the third step.

2. The method of teaching a robot according to claim 1 , wherein:
generating the teaching point of the second end effector is performed based on the teaching point of the first end effector by using an approximation equation that is an equation for deriving, from a rotational position of the first end effector, a corresponding rotational position of the second end effector, and
the approximation equation is created based on the rotational position information about the first end effector and the rotational position information about the second end effector that are stored in the memory in association with each other in the third step.

3. The method of teaching a robot according to claim 1 , wherein the relative motion preventing device is configured to hold the first end effector and the second end effector in a sandwiching manner from one side and another side with respect to the rotational axis.

4. The method of teaching a robot according to claim 1 , wherein the first end effector and the second end effector have a same contour when seen in a plan view.

5. The method of teaching a robot according to claim 1 , wherein the robot is a transfer robot for holding and transferring a semiconductor wafer in a clean room that is a semiconductor manufacturing site.

Assignees

• Kawasaki Heavy Ind Ltd
• Kawasaki Robotics Usa Inc

Inventors

• Shibata Takeshi
• Yamada Yukimasa
• Yamaguchi Takao
• Arita Tomokazu
• Chan Eric
• Duran Jr Francisco J
• Nakahara Hajime
• BHARWANI Avish Ashok
• Zeng Ming

Classifications

• G05B19/425 Primary

  Teaching successive positions by numerical control, i.e. commands being entered to control the positioning servo of the tool head or end effector · CPC title

• B25J11/0095

  Manipulators transporting wafers · CPC title

• B25J15/0061

  mounted on a modular gripping structure · CPC title

• G05B2219/45031

  Manufacturing semiconductor wafers · CPC title

• B25J9/163 Primary

  learning, adaptive, model based, rule based expert control · CPC title