Safety System for Hand-Guiding a Robot
AssigneeMantis Robotics, Inc.
InventorsGerry Vannuffelen, Pei Jui Wang
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A safety system for allowing a robot having a controller and at least one movable member to be manually guided by a user includes a sensor module is disposed on a surface of the robot that comprises a user-interaction sensor that produces a sensing signal. The sensor module further includes a resilient member having an outer surface. A motion control module is adapted to move the robot through the controller according to a first threshold of the sensing signal. A safety module is adapted for stopping movement of the robot through the controller according to a second threshold of the sensing signal and represents a potential threat of harm to the user.
Claims20
A safety cover for a robot, comprising:
- a sensor layer configured to detect a distance to an external object that applies a manual instruction of guiding the robot;
- and
- a resilient member coupled to the sensor layer, wherein the sensor layer is configured to generate a sensor signal having a first value when the sensor layer detects that the external object is at a first distance and having a second value when the sensor layer detects that the external object is at a second distance.
A method of operating a safety cover for a robot, the method comprising:
- generating, using a sensor layer coupled to a resilient member, sensor data indicative of a distance between the resilient member and an external object;
- instructing, using a control signal, the robot to move according to a manual instruction of guiding the robot when the sensor data has a first value;
- and
- instructing, using the control signal, the robot to stop a motion when the sensor data has a second value.
A safety cover for a movable part of a robot, comprising:
- a sensor configured to be mounted to the movable part of the robot;
- and
- a layer in the sensor and configured to generate a sensor signal indicative of depression of the layer relative to the movable part, wherein the sensor is configured to output a signal that
- causes the robot to move according to a manual instruction of guiding the robot when there is a first amount of depression of the layer relative to the movable part of the robot, and
- causes the robot to stop a motion when there is a second amount of depression of the layer relative to the movable part of the robot, the second amount of depression being greater than the first amount of depression.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.