# US 12,179,366 B2 · Method for avoiding interference of welding equipment, and device for controlling welding equipment

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- Number: US 12,179,366 B2
- Document ID: US12179366B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/792,904
- Filed: 2020-12-02
- Published: 2023-03-02
- Granted: 2024-12-31
- Earliest claimed: 2020-01-21
- Assignees: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
- Applicants: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
- Inventors: Wenhao Zhang; Shinji Aoki; Wataru Toyama
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12179366B2

## CPC

- B25J 9/1666: {Avoiding collision or forbidden zones}
- B23K 11/24: Electric supply or control circuits therefor
- B25J 15/0019: {End effectors other than grippers}
- B23K 11/115: {by means of two electrodes placed opposite one another on both sides of the welded parts}
- G05B 2219/45104: Lasrobot, welding robot
- B25J: MANIPULATORS; CHAMBERS PROVIDED WITH MANIPULATION DEVICES ({manipulators specially adapted for use in surgery A61B34/70; manipulators used in cleaning hollow articles B08B9/04}; manipulators associated with rolling mills B21B39/20; manipulators associated with forging machines B21J13/10; {manipulators associated with picking-up and placing mechanisms B23P19/007}; means for holding wheels or parts thereof B60B30/00; {vehicles with ground-engaging propulsion means, e.g. walking members B62D57/02, B62D57/032; devices for picking-up and depositing articles or materials between conveyors B65G47/90, B65G47/91; manipulators with gripping or holding means for transferring packages B65H67/065}; cranes B66C; {manipulators used in the protection or supervision of pipe-line installations F17D5/00; walking equipment adapted for nuclear steam-generators F22B37/006}; manipulators specially adapted for, or associated with, nuclear reactors G21C; {apparatus used for handling wafers during manufacture or treatment of semiconductor H10P72/50})
- B23K: SOLDERING OR UNSOLDERING; WELDING; CLADDING OR PLATING BY SOLDERING OR WELDING; CUTTING BY APPLYING HEAT LOCALLY, e.g. FLAME CUTTING; WORKING BY LASER BEAM
- G05B: CONTROL OR REGULATING SYSTEMS IN GENERAL; FUNCTIONAL ELEMENTS OF SUCH SYSTEMS; MONITORING OR TESTING ARRANGEMENTS FOR SUCH SYSTEMS OR ELEMENTS (systems for controlling or regulating non-electric variables G05D; systems for regulating electric or magnetic variables G05F; control devices or systems insofar as characterised by mechanical features only G05G)

## Abstract

The present invention includes a reference parallel line creation step of creating a pair of parallel lines that are respectively in contact with outer edges of a workpiece cross-section without traversing the workpiece cross-section and that are located on an extension plane of the workpiece cross-section, a first determination step of comparing a width between the pair of parallel lines that have been created in the reference parallel line creation step with a maximum separation threshold of the welding electrodes, and determining whether the maximum separation threshold is larger than the width between the parallel lines, and a pull-out direction determination step of determining a direction of the parallel lines as a pull-out direction, in a case where the maximum separation threshold is larger than the width between the parallel lines in the first determination step.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method for avoiding interference of welding equipment, when the welding equipment including an articulated robot having a pair of welding electrodes capable of changing a distance between tip ends thereof is pulled out of a workpiece, for avoiding the interference between the pair of welding electrodes and the workpiece, the method comprising:
with a workpiece cross-section as a reference, the workpiece cross-section being cut along a plane including an electrode straight line and a pull-out straight line, the electrode straight line connecting the tip ends of the pair of the welding electrodes separated from each other, the pull-out straight line intersecting with the electrode straight line and extending in a direction of pulling out the welding equipment from the workpiece,
a reference parallel line creation step of creating a pair of parallel lines that are respectively in contact with outer edges of the workpiece cross-section without traversing the workpiece cross-section and that are located on an extension plane of the workpiece cross-section;
a first determination step of comparing a width between the pair of parallel lines that have been created in the reference parallel line creation step with a maximum separation threshold of the welding electrodes, the maximum separation threshold of the welding electrodes being a value obtained by subtracting a minimum clearance necessary when the pair of welding electrodes are pulled out of the workpiece from a maximum distance between the tip ends, and determining whether the maximum separation threshold is larger than the width between the parallel lines;
a pull-out direction determination step of determining a direction of the parallel lines as a pull-out direction, in a case where the maximum separation threshold is larger than the width between the parallel lines in the first determination step; and
a control step of controlling the articulated robot to move the pair of welding electrodes in the pull-out direction determined in the pull-out direction determination step to pull the pair of welding electrodes out of the workpiece.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method for avoiding the interference of the welding equipment according to claim 1, wherein
a region including an entirety of the workpiece cross-section is set as an interference avoidance region into which an entry of the welding electrodes of the welding equipment while making a pull-out movement is avoided, and
in a case where it is determined in the first determination step that the maximum separation threshold is not larger than the width between the parallel lines, the interference avoidance region is divided, the parallel lines that are respectively in contact with the outer edges of the workpiece cross-section are created again in the reference parallel line creation step for each divided interference avoidance region, and then the first determination step is performed again.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The method for avoiding the interference of the welding equipment according to claim 1, wherein
a region including an entirety of the workpiece cross-section is set as an interference avoidance region into which an entry of the welding electrodes of the welding equipment while making a pull-out movement is avoided, and
in a case where it is determined in the first determination step that the maximum separation threshold is not larger than the width between the parallel lines, the direction of the parallel lines is changed, and the process is performed again from the reference parallel line creation step in the interference avoidance region.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The method for avoiding the interference of the welding equipment according to claim 1, comprising
a second determination step of determining whether an outer edge of another part of the welding equipment excluding the welding electrodes interferes with the workpiece cross-section during an operation of pulling out the welding electrodes from the workpiece cross-section.

### Claim 5

A device for controlling welding equipment for avoiding interference between a pair of welding electrodes and a workpiece, when the welding equipment including an articulated robot having the pair of welding electrodes capable of changing a distance between tip ends thereof is pulled out of the workpiece, the device comprising:
a control unit comprising at least one processor configured to:
with a workpiece cross-section as a reference, the workpiece cross-section being cut along a plane including an electrode straight line and a pull-out straight line, the electrode straight line connecting the tip ends of the pair of the welding electrodes separated from each other, the pull-out straight line intersecting with the electrode straight line and extending in a direction of pulling out the welding equipment from the workpiece,
create a pair of parallel lines that are respectively in contact with outer edges of the workpiece cross-section without traversing the workpiece cross-section and that are located on an extension plane of the workpiece cross-section;
compare a width between the pair of parallel lines that have been created with a maximum separation threshold of the welding electrodes, the maximum separation threshold of the welding electrodes being a value obtained by subtracting a minimum clearance necessary when the pair of welding electrodes are pulled out of the workpiece from a maximum distance between the tip ends, and determine whether the maximum separation threshold is larger than the width between the parallel lines; and
determine a direction of the parallel lines as a pull-out direction, in a case where the maximum separation threshold is larger than the width between the parallel lines; and
a robot control unit including a processor configured to control the articulated robot to move the pair of welding electrodes in the pull-out direction to pull the pair of welding electrodes out of the workpiece.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The device for controlling the welding equipment according to claim 5, wherein
a region including an entirety of the workpiece cross-section is set as an interference avoidance region into which an entry of the welding electrodes of the welding equipment while making a pull-out movement is avoided, and
the control unit is further configured to, in a case where it is determined that the maximum separation threshold is not larger than the width between the parallel lines, divide the interference avoidance region, again create the parallel lines that are respectively in contact with the outer edges of the workpiece cross-section for each divided interference avoidance region, and then again whether the maximum separation threshold is larger than the width between the parallel lines.

### Claim 7 (depends on 5)

The device for controlling the welding equipment according to claim 5, wherein
a region including an entirety of the workpiece cross-section is set as an interference avoidance region into which an entry of the welding electrodes of the welding equipment while making a pull-out movement is avoided, and
the control unit is further configured to, in a case where it is determined that the maximum separation threshold is not larger than the width between the parallel lines, change the direction of the parallel lines, and again create the pair of parallel lines in the interference avoidance region.

### Claim 8 (depends on 5)

The device for controlling the welding equipment according to claim 5, wherein the control unit is further configured to:
determine whether an outer edge of another part of the welding equipment excluding the welding electrodes interferes with the workpiece cross-section during an operation of pulling out the welding electrodes from the workpiece cross-section.