Method and apparatus for controlling and programming a robot or other moveable object
US5617515A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 11, 1994 |
| Grant date | Apr 1, 1997 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 11, 2014 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH01H2300/026
- WIPO fieldHandling
- WIPO sectorMechanical engineering
Abstract
A hand-held controller wand including three angular rate measurement sensors is coupled to a computational device for translating roll, pitch, and yaw data into translation and rotation signals or commands that effect the movement of an external device's control point, which may be an end effector of a robot. A transformation matrix is continually updated from the angular rate information obtained from the hand-held controller. This matrix is used to update a direction vector. A value may be stored in the computation device corresponding to a predetermined speed of movement. A button or other convenient control allows the operator to control translational movement of the end effector or other controlled device in a direction defined by the orientation of the hand held controller at the predetermined speed, thus providing an intuitive control input for real-time direction and programming of movement. Because the present orientation of the wand is also known to the computational device, rotational movement may also be directed. Translation and orientation motion input may be provided simultaneously or separately, in accordance with the programming and/or under control of the computat…
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.