Tracking robot apparatus

Claim 2

A tracking robot apparatus comprising: a first manipulator for performing a predetermined operation on an object, said first manipulator being a robot, a second manipulator, a signal input device (1) for designating operations of said first manipulator and of said second manipulator, characterized in that said second manipulator is comprised of a movable device (9) for moving an object, said movable device (9) being different from said robot (8) in construction and operation, said apparatus further comprises: first operating means (3) for receiving an input signal from said signal input device (1) and calculating an operation instruction value for said movable device (9); a first control device (6) for driving said movable device (9) in accordance with the operation instruction value; second operating means (4) for calculating a position/posture instruction value in accordance with said operation instruction value for said movable device (9) so as to keep relative position and posture of said robot (8) and said movable device (9) unchanged upon operation of said movable device (9), the position/posture instruction value serving as an operation instruction value for said robot (8); and a second control device (5) for driving said robot (8) in response to the position/posture instruction value, said movable device (9) being operated in response to the input signal from said signal input device and at the same time said robot (8) being operated such that the relative position and posture of said robot (8) and said movable device (9) are kept unchanged.

Claim 3

An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said second operating means (4) comprises means (414) for calculating difference between the pre-operation and post-operation position and posture of said movable device (9) when the position and posture of said movable device (9) are changed, and for calculating the position/posture instruction value as the operation instruction value of said robot (8) in accordance with the pre-operation position and posture of said robot (8) and the differences, said movable device (9) being operated in response to the signal from said signal input device (1), and at the same time said robot (8) being operated such that the relative position and posture of said robot (8) and said movable device (9) are kept unchanged.

Claim 4

An apparatus according to claim 2, wherein said first operating means (3) comprises a position/posture memory device (34) for storing the pre-operation position and posture of said movable device (9) when said movable device (9) is moved and operation instruction value calculating means (31, 32) for calculating the operation instruction value in accordance with the signal from said signal input device (1) and the pre-operation position and posture of said movable device (9) which are stored in said position/posture memory device (34).

Claim 5

An apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said movable device (9) comprises a rotary table (9), said movable device position/posture memory device (34) comprises a table angle memory device for storing a table angle instruction value as an output generated from said operation instruction value calculating means (31, 32) and table angle retrieving means (33) for reading out a storage content from said table angle memory device (34), and said operation instruction value calculating means (31, 32) comprises table velocity calculating means (31) for calculating a rotational velocity of said rotary table (9) in accordance with a signal which represents rotational operation of said rotary table (9) and which is supplied from said signal input device (1), and table angle calculating means (32) for calculating the table angle instruction value in accordance with a table angle signal from said table angle retrieving means (33) and a table rotational velocity signal generated from said table velocity calculating means (31).

Claim 6

An apparatus according to claim 3, wherein said second operating means (4) comprises: movable device relative position calculating means (413) for calculating the differences between the pre- and post-operation position and posture of said movable device (9) in accordance with the signal which represents the pre-operation position and posture of said movable device (9) and which is generated from said movable device position/posture memory device (34) and with the signal representing the operation instruction value, i.e. the post-operation position and posture which is generated from said operation instruction value calculating means (3); a robot position/posture memory device (28) for storing the pre-operation position and posture of said robot (8); and tracking calculating means (414) for calculating the position/posture instruction value in accordance with the signal which represents the pre-operation robot position and posture and which is retrieved from said robot position/posture memory device (28) and the signal representing the differences generated from said movable device relative position/posture calculating means (413).

Claim 7

An apparatus according to claim 4, wherein said second operating means (4) comprises: a robot matrix memory device (28) for storing a robot matrix signal which represents the robot position and posture and which is generated from said tracking calculating means (414); robot matrix retrieving means (27) for retrieving a storage content of said robot matrix memory device (28); table relative matrix calculating means (413) for calculating a table relative matrix representing the pre- and post-operation position and posture of said rotary table (9) in accordance with the table angle instruction value calculated by said table angle calculating means (32) and a pre-operation table angle retrieved by said table angle retrieving means (33) from said table angle memory device (34); and tracking calculating means (414) for calculating a robot matrix instruction value as the position/posture instruction value of said robot (9) in accordance with the signal representing the robot matrix retrieved by said robot matrix retrieving means (27) from said robot matrix memory device (28) and the signal representing the table relative matrix calculated by said table relative matrix calculating means (413).

Claim 8

An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said second operating means (4) comprises operating means (426) for calculating the position/posture instruction value as the operation instruction value of said robot (8) by using relative position and posture of said movable device (9) and said robot (8) and the post-operation position and posture of said movable device (9), said movable device (9) being operated in response to the signal from said signal input device (1), and at the same time said robot (8) being operated such that the relative position and posture of said robot (8) and said movable device (9) are kept unchanged.

Claim 9

An apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said first operating means (3) comprises a movable device position/posture memory device (34) for storing a pre-operation position/posture of said movable device (9) upon operation thereof, and operation instruction value calculating means (31, 32) for calculating the operation instruction value in accordance with the signal from said signal input device (1) and the pre-operation position and posture which are stored in said movable device position/posture memory device (34); and said second operation means (4) comprises a robot position/posture memory device (8) for storing the pre-operation position and posture of said robot (8), relative position/posture calculating means (424) for calculating the relative position and posture of said robot (8) and said movable device (9) in accordance with the signal which represents the pre-operation position and posture of said movable device (9) and which is generated from said movable device position/posture memory device (34) and the signal which represents the pre-operation position and posture of said robot (8) and which is read out from said robot position/posture memory device (28), and robot position/posture calculating means (426) for calculating the robot position/posture instruction value in accordance with the signal which represents the operation instruction value of said movable device (9) and which is generated from said operation instruction value calculating means (31, 32) and the signal which represents the position and posture of said robot (8) relative to said movable device (9) and which is generated from said relative position/posture calculating means.

Claim 10

An apparatus according to claim 8, wherein said movable device (9) comprises a rotary table, said movable device position/posture memory device (34) comprises a table angle memory device for storing a table angle instruction value as an output from said operation instruction value calculating means (31, 32) and table angle retrieving means (33) for retrieving a storage content from said table angle memory device (34), said operation instruction value calculating means (31, 32) comprises table velocity calculating means (31) for calculating a rotational velocity of said rotary table (9) in accordance with a signal which represents rotational operation of said rotary table (9) and which is supplied from said signal input device (1), and table angle calculating means (32) for calculating the table angle instruction value in accordance with the table angle signal retrieved from said table angle retrieving means (33) and the table rotational velocity signal generated from said table velocity calculating means (31), said robot position/posture memory device (28) comprises a robot matrix memory device for storing a robot matrix signal which represents the position and posture of said robot (8) and which is generated from said tracking calculating means (426), and robot matrix retrieving means (27) for retrieving a storage content of said robot matrix memory device (28), said relative position/posture calculating means (4) comprises previous table matrix calculating means (423) for calculating the table matrix representing the position and posture of said table (9) in accordance with the table angle retrieved from said table angle retrieving means (33), and relative matrix calculating means (424) for calculating a relative matrix representing relative position and posture of said robot (8) and said rotary table (9) in accoordance with the robot matrix retrieved by said robot matrix retrieving means (27) from said robot matrix memory device (28) and the table matrix signal generated from said previous table matrix calculating means (425), and said robot position/posture calculating means (4) comprises table matrix calculating means (425) for calculating a table matrix instruction value corresponding to the position and posture of said table (9) in accordance with the table angle instruction value calculated by said table angle calculating means (31, 32), and tracking calculating means (426) for calculating a robot matrix instruction value as the position/posture instruction value of said robot (8) in accordance with the table matrix instruction value calculated by said table matrix calculating means (425) and the relative matrix which represents the relative position and posture of said rotary table (9) and said robot (8) and which is calculated by said relative matrix calculating means (424).

Claim 11

An apparatus according to claim 7, wherein said second operating means has means (434, 439) for always calculating and storing a relative matrix representing the relative position and posture of said movable device (9) and said robot (8).

Claim 12

An apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: third operating means (2) in addition to said second operating means (4) for calculating the position/posture instruction value as the robot operation instruction value, for calculating a position/posture instruction value for operating said robot (8) independently of said movable device (9) in response to the input signal from said signal input device; and switching means (13) for selecting one of said second (4) and third operating means (4, 2).

Claim 13

An apparatus according to claim 11, wherein said apparatus has means (434, 439) for calculating and storing a relative matrix representing the relative position and posture of said movable device (9) and said robot (8).

Claim 14

An apparatus according to claim 11, wherein said switching means (13) comprises: a switch (13) arranged in said signal input device (1) for generating a signal representing one of an independent operation mode for independently operating said robot (8) and said movable device (9) and a tracking operation mode for causing said robot (8) to track said movable device (9), operating signal output means (411; 421; 431) for generating an operating signal to determine in response to a signal from said switch (13) whether said second or third operating means (4, 2) is operated; and robot position/posture instruction value switching means (415; 427; 436) for supplying one of outputs from said second and third operating means (4, 2) to said second control device (5) in response to the signal from said switch (13).

Claim 15

An apparatus according to claim 13, wherein said third operating means (2) comprises: positional velocity calculating means (21) for calculating a positional velocity of said robot (8) in accordance with signals which represent movement and a maximum operating velocity of said robot (8) and which are supplied from said signal input device (1); rotational velocity calculating means (22) for calculating a robot rotational velocity in accordance with signals which represent rotational operation and the maximum operating velocity of said robot (8) and which are supplied from said input device (1); separating means (23) for separating the pre-operation position/posture signal of said robot read out from said robot position/posture memory device (28) into a robot position component and a robot posture component; position calculating means (24) for calculating a robot position component instruction value in accordance with the robot position component generated from said separating means (27) and the robot positional velocity generated form said positional velocity calculating means (21); posture calculating means (25) for calculating a robot posture component instruction value in accordance with the robot posture component generated from said separating means (23) and the robot rotational velocity generated from said rotational velocity calculating means (22); and combining means (26) for combining the position/posture instruction value of said robot (8) in accordance with the robot position component instruction value calculated by said position calculating means (24) and the robot posture component instruction value calculated by said posture calculating means (25), said positional velocity calculating means (21) and said rotational velocity calculating means (22) being controlled to be operative or inoperative in response to an output from said operating signal output means (411; 421).

Claim 16

An apparatus according to claim 14, wherein said second calculating means (4) comprises table matrix calculating means (432) for calculating a table matrix instruction value corresponding to the position and posture of said table in accordance with the table angle instruction value calculated by said table angle calculating means (32), relative matrix calculating means (434) for calculating a relative matrix as the relative position and posture of said robot (8) and said rotary table (9) in accordance with the robot matrix instruction value as the robot position/posture instruction value generated from said third operating means (2) and the table matrix instruction value generated from said table matrix calculating means (432), a relative matrix memory device (439) for storing the relative matrix of said robot (8) and said rotary table (9), relative matrix retrieving means (438) for retrieving the relative matrix from said relative matrix memory device (439), and tracking operating means (435) for calculating a robot matrix instruction value as the robot position/posture instruction value in accordance with the table matrix instruction value generated from said table matrix calculating means (432) and the relative matrix retrieved by said relative matrix retrieving means (43) from said relative matrix memory device (439); and said switching means (13) comprises table matrix switching means (433) for supplying the output from said table matrix calculating means (432) to said relative matrix calculating means (434) in the independent operation mode and to said tracking calculating means (435) in the tracking operation mode in response to the signal from said switch (13), and relative matrix switching means (437) for supplying an output from said relative matrix calculating means (434) to said relative matrix memory device (439) in the independent operation mode and an output from said relative matrix retrieving means (438) to said relative matrix memory device (439) in the tracking operation mode in response to the output from said switch (13).

Claim 17

An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said movable device (9) comprises a slide table (9) which is linearly driven.