Robotic apparatus for painting

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9782789-B2
Application number	US-201314022301-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 10, 2013
Priority date	Sep 10, 2012
Publication date	Oct 10, 2017
Grant date	Oct 10, 2017

Abstract

A robotic apparatus for painting a workpiece includes a redundant axis robot for use in a robotic painting system. The redundant axis of rotation provides the robot arm additional flexibility in avoiding obstacles and reaching an interior of the workpiece to apply paint thereto. The robotic apparatus could be a seven-axis robot arm or a five-axis parallel link panel opener robot arm for opening and/or closing the panel. The robot arms are mounted on at least one vertically oriented column adjacent a path of travel of the workpiece through a painting booth and the robot arms can be mounted on a common base.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A redundant robot for performing an operation on a workpiece in a painting booth comprising:
a base mounted in a fixed position adjacent a side of a path of travel of the workpiece through the painting booth;
an articulated redundant robot arm rotatably attached to the base for performing the operation on the workpiece;
the articulated redundant robot arm including an inner arm portion having a first end rotatably coupled to the base at a shoulder axis of rotation and having a second end; and
the articulated redundant robot arm including an outer arm portion having a first end rotatably coupled to the inner arm portion second end at an elbow axis of rotation, wherein at least one of the inner arm portion and the outer arm portion is formed by first and second extensions having respective longitudinal axes angled relative to one another;
wherein the inner arm portion includes the first extension as a first inner extension and the second extension as a second inner extension, a first end of the first inner extension being rotatably coupled to the base at the shoulder axis of rotation and a second end of the first inner extension being statically secured to a first end of the second inner extension, the longitudinal axis of the second inner extension being angled with respect to the longitudinal axis of the first inner extension forming an offset of the second inner extension relative to the base.

2. The redundant robot according to claim 1 wherein the base is mounted on a vertical column positioned adjacent the side of the path of travel and the articulated redundant robot arm rotates about a waist axis of rotation that extends in a vertical direction transverse to a direction of the path of travel.

3. The redundant robot according to claim 2 wherein the articulated redundant robot arm is mounted in an invert mounting configuration.

4. The redundant robot according to claim 1 wherein the articulated redundant robot arm is a seven-axis paint robot arm that includes a redundant axis of rotation positioned between the shoulder axis of rotation and the elbow axis of rotation.

5. The redundant robot according to claim 4 wherein a waist axis of rotation of the seven-axis paint robot arm at the base and the shoulder axis of rotation are perpendicular and intersect.

6. The redundant robot according to claim 4 wherein a redundant axis of rotation of the seven-axis paint robot arm is oriented transverse to and intersects both the shoulder axis of rotation and the elbow axis of rotation of the robot arm.

7. The redundant robot according to claim 1 wherein the outer arm portion includes the first extension as a first outer extension and the second extension as a second outer extension, a first end of the first outer extension being coupled to the inner arm portion at the elbow axis of rotation and a second end of the first outer extension being adjustably coupled to a first end of the second outer extension for selectively adjusting an angular orientation between the longitudinal axes of the first and second outer extensions and fixing the selected angular orientation as a static connection therebetween.

8. The redundant robot according to claim 1 wherein the articulated redundant robot arm includes a painting line hose loom having a portion spanning two axes of the articulated redundant robot arm, which portion is detached from the articulated redundant robot arm, the two axes being a waist axis and the shoulder axis or a redundant axis and the elbow axis.

9. The redundant robot according to claim 1 wherein the articulated redundant robot arm includes a painting line hose loom attached thereto, the loom being formed of a plurality of paint lines routed together in a helix twist.

10. The redundant robot according to claim 1 wherein the base is a common base on which is mounted an opener robot arm.

11. The redundant robot according to claim 10 wherein the opener robot arm is a five-axis opener robot arm that includes three parallel links rotatably connected and an attached opener tool for opening at least one opening panel of the workpiece.

12. The redundant robot according to claim 11 wherein the three parallel links are offset from one another in a direction of an axis of rotation of the links.

13. The redundant robot according to claim 10 the robot arms share a common purge.

14. A redundant robot for performing an operation on a workpiece in a painting booth comprising:
a base mounted in a fixed position adjacent a side of a path of travel of the workpiece through the painting booth;
an articulated redundant robot arm rotatably attached to the base for performing the operation on the workpiece, the articulated redundant robot arm being mounted in an invert mounting configuration;
the articulated redundant robot arm including an inner arm portion having a first end rotatably coupled to the base at a shoulder axis of rotation and having a second end; and
the articulated redundant robot arm including an outer arm portion having a first end rotatably coupled to the inner arm portion second end at an elbow axis of rotation and a second end having a wrist axis of rotation, wherein at least one of the inner arm portion and the outer arm portion is formed by first and second extensions having respective longitudinal axes angled relative to one another;
wherein the inner arm portion includes the first extension as a first inner extension and the second extension as a second inner extension, a first end of the first inner extension being rotatably coupled to the base at the shoulder axis of rotation and a second end of the first inner extension being statically secured to a first end of the second inner extension, the longitudinal axis of the second inner extension being angled with respect to the longitudinal axis of the first inner extension forming an offset of the second inner extension relative to the base.

15. The redundant robot according to claim 14 wherein the base is mounted on a vertical column positioned adjacent the side of the path of travel and the articulated redundant robot arm rotates about a waist axis of rotation that extends in a vertical direction transverse to a direction of the path of travel.

16. The redundant robot according to claim 14 wherein the articulated redundant robot arm is a seven-axis paint robot arm that includes a redundant axis of rotation positioned between the shoulder axis of rotation and the elbow axis of rotation.

17. A redundant robot for performing an operation on a workpiece in a painting booth comprising:
a base mounted in a fixed position adjacent a side of a path of travel of the workpiece through the painting booth;
an articulated redundant robot arm rotatably attached to the base for performing the operation on the workpiece, the articulated redundant robot arm being mounted in an invert mounting configuration;
the articulated redundant robot arm including an inner arm portion having a first end rotatably coupled to the base at a shoulder axis of rotation and having a second end; and
the articulated redundant robot arm including an outer arm portion having a first end rotatably coupled to the inner arm portion second end at an elbow axis of rotation and a second end having a wrist axis of rotation, wherein at least one of the inner arm portion and the outer arm portion is formed by first and second extensions having respective longitudinal axes angled relative to one another;
wherein the outer arm portion includes the first extension as a first outer extension and the second extension as a second outer extensi

Assignees

• Fanuc America Corp

Inventors

• Bania Andrzej Grzegorz
• Beem Michael G
• Gerds Ii James Bryon
• Gora Marcin
• Mcclosky Stan Henry
• Moore David Michael
• Sikowski Matthew Ray

Classifications

• B05B13/0452

  the objects being vehicle components, e.g. vehicle bodies · CPC title

• B05B16/40 Primary

  Construction elements specially adapted therefor, e.g. floors, walls or ceilings (ceiling elements filtering inflow of air into the booth B05B16/60; walls specially adapted for promoting separation of excess material B05B14/44) · CPC title

• B05B13/0431 Primary

  with spray heads moved by robots or articulated arms, e.g. for applying liquid or other fluent material to three-dimensional [3D] surfaces · CPC title

• Y10S901/43

  Spray painting or coating · CPC title

• B05B15/1214 Primary

  Operations & Transport · mapped topic