Detection and measurement of wear of robotic manipulator touch points

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11691301-B2
Application number	US-201916694923-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Nov 25, 2019
Priority date	Nov 29, 2018
Publication date	Jul 4, 2023
Grant date	Jul 4, 2023

Abstract

A robotic system includes a robotic manipulator having one or more contact pads. The contact pads have features therein that are detectable to determine or measure a degree to which they have worn down. Such features may include fluorescent materials, colorful materials, and/or RFID tags. A robotic environment may include one or more sensors to detect such features, and may be configured to generate a signal indicating that one or more contact pads are in need of maintenance.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A contact pad for use in a robotic manipulator, comprising:
a body having a proximal end and a distal end opposite to the proximal end across a length of the contact pad, a first side and a second side opposite to the first side across a thickness of the contact pad, and a first edge and a second edge opposite to the first edge across a width of the contact pad;
a touch point at the distal end of the body; and
a layer of fluorescent material embedded within the body.

2. The contact pad of claim 1 wherein the layer of fluorescent material has a visible color that is different than a visible color of the rest of the body of the contact pad.

3. The contact pad of claim 1 , wherein:
the layer of fluorescent material includes an embedded radio-frequency identification tag; and
a sensor external to the body is configured to detect incident radio waves emitted from the embedded radio-frequency identification tag such that a degree of wear of the body can be determined based on an intensity of incident radio waves detected by the sensor.

4. The contact pad of claim 1 wherein the contact pad is formed from an electrically conductive material.

5. The contact pad of claim 1 wherein the contact pad includes an aperture that extends from the first side to the second side.

6. The contact pad of claim 1 wherein the contact pad includes a distal layer of material and a proximal layer of material, and the layer of fluorescent material is located between the distal layer of material and the proximal layer of material.

7. The contact pad of claim 6 wherein a length of the layer of fluorescent material along the length of the body of the contact pad is less than 25% of a length of the distal layer of material along the length of the contact pad and less than 25% of a length of the proximal layer of material along the length of the contact pad.

8. The contact pad of claim 6 wherein a length of the distal layer of material along the length of the body of the contact pad is less than 25% of a length of the proximal layer of material along the length of the body of the contact pad.

9. The contact pad of claim 6 wherein the layer of fluorescent material is oriented substantially parallel to the thickness of the body of the contact pad, within 30° of perpendicular to the length of the body of the contact pad, and within 30° of parallel to the width of the body of the contact pad.

10. The contact pad of claim 6 wherein the layer of fluorescent material is oriented within 30° of parallel to the touch point at the distal end of the body of the contact pad.

11. A robotic system comprising:
a robotic manipulator including a contact pad, wherein the contact pad includes a body having a proximal end and a distal end opposite to the proximal end across a length of the contact pad, a first side and a second side opposite to the first side across a thickness of the contact pad, and a first edge and a second edge opposite to the first edge across a width of the contact pad;
a touch point at the distal end of the body of the contact pad; and
a radio-frequency identification tag embedded within the body of the contact pad.

12. The robotic system of claim 11 wherein the radio-frequency identification tag is embedded within a layer of fluorescent material within the body of the contact pad.

13. The contact pad of claim 12 wherein the layer of fluorescent material has a visible color that is different than a visible color of the rest of the body of the contact pad.

14. A robotic system, comprising:
a robotic manipulator including a contact pad, wherein the contact pad includes a body having a proximal end and a distal end opposite to the proximal end across a length of the contact pad, a first side and a second side opposite to the first side across a thickness of the contact pad, and a first edge and a second edge opposite to the first edge across a width of the contact pad;
a touch point at the distal end of the body of the contact pad;
a source of electromagnetic radiation embedded within the body of the contact pad; and
a sensor configured to detect electromagnetic radiation generated by the source of electromagnetic radiation embedded within the body of the contact pad and communicate a measurement of the electromagnetic radiation to a control system.

15. The robotic system of claim 14 , wherein the source of electromagnetic radiation is a layer of fluorescent material embedded within the body of the contact pad.

16. The robotic system of claim 15 , wherein the sensor is a photodiode.

17. The robotic system of claim 14 wherein the source of electromagnetic radiation is a layer of material that has a visible color different than a visible color of the rest of the body of the contact pad.

18. The robotic system of claim 17 , wherein the sensor is a camera.

19. The contact pad of claim 14 wherein the source of electromagnetic radiation is an embedded radio-frequency identification tag.

20. The robotic system of claim 19 , wherein the sensor is a radio-frequency identification reader.

Assignees

• Kindred Sys Inc
• Ocado Innovation Ltd

Inventors

• Hallock David Gabriel

Classifications

• B25J19/023

  including video camera means · CPC title

• B25J19/0066 Primary

  Means or methods for maintaining or repairing manipulators · CPC title

• B25J15/00

  Gripping heads {and other end effectors (grippers used in machine tools B23Q7/04; gripping members fitted on cranes B66C1/42, B66C1/44; gripping means used for mounting electrical components H05K13/04; gripping means used in the manufacture of semiconductors H10P72/7602)} · CPC title

• B25J19/027

  Electromagnetic sensing devices · CPC title

• B25J15/0475 Primary

  Exchangeable fingers · CPC title