Teaching arrangement for programmable manipulator

A method of programming a programmable manipulator having an arm movable in a plurality of axes and encoder means for each of said axes operative to develop position signals representing movement of said arm in each of said axes, the method comprising the steps of:

• programming a predetermined number of work path control parameters for one or more work paths along a work surface, each of said work paths being associated with the particular programmed work path control parameters, said work path control parameters being independent of the work path distance and orientation;
• teaching said manipulator the work paths to be performed in a sequential manner by leading said manipulator arm over said work paths with one end of said manipulator arm being in contact with the work surface along each of said work paths;
• recording a series of position signals during said teaching step representing data points along said work paths in a sequence corresponding to the programmed work path sequence;
• and
• recording said programmed work path control parameters for each of said associated work paths as each respective work path is taught during said teaching step and as the position signals are recorded representing the corresponding data points along said particular work paths for use in a reply cycle,
• said programming step comprising the steps of:
• selecting one or more control parameters for each work path;
• and
• storing said selected control parameters for each work path.

A supervisory programming unit for use in conjunction with a programmable manipulator movable in a plurality of axes and including signal producing apparatus and teach control apparatus to generate data signals representative of work path distance, the manipulator being programmed during a teaching phase over a plurality of work paths in a predetermined work path sequence by engagement of the end of said manipulator along the work path, said data signals being generated at predetermined incremental distances along said work path, said supervisory programming unit comprising:

• means for selecting control parameters representing movement and control of the manipulator independent of work path distance, said control parameter selecting means comprising manually actuable control parameter means operable by a supervisory/programmer during an initial programming phase prior to said teaching phase;
• means for associating said selected control parameters with predetermined work paths in the predetermined work path sequence during said initial programming phase, said work path associating means comprising means for displaying an element of a sequence associated with each of said work paths in the predetermined work path sequence;
• means for storing said selected control parameters and associated work path sequence elements in a predetermined addressable format, said storing means comprising means responsive to said work path associating means and said control parameter selecting means for storing representations of said selected control parameters and said displayed work path sequence element;
• and
• means responsive to said teach control apparatus during said teaching phase and for controlling the read out of said stored control parameters and associated work path sequence elements as said respective work paths are programmed during said teaching phase.

In a programmable manipulator having an arm movable in a plurality of axes,

• means for generating signals during a teach phase representing positions described by one end of said arm as the end of the arm is moved along a desired sequence of work paths in a work area over which said arm is to be moved during a subsequent playback cycle;
• manipulator memory means for storing said generated signals as digital position representation signals as the end of said arm is moved during said teach phase;
• teach control means manually operable by an operator during said teach phase for generating a predetermined signal as each different sequential work path is taught;
• supervisory programming means for storing different control parameter representation as one of a predetermined number of control data groups during an initial supervisory programming phase prior to said teach phase, said control data groups being stored in a sequence format corresponding to and being associated with said sequence of work paths, one or more of said control data groups being assigned, entered and stored in said supervisory programming means for one or more of said respective work paths by the programmer during said supervisory programming mode, said control parameters representing movement and control of said arm independent of work path distance and the position of said arm, said supervisory programming means comprising,
• control data group entering means actuable by a programmer for entering said control data groups during said supervisory programming phase,
• a predetermined number of control parameter setting means being associated with said control group entering means, one of said control parameter setting means being provided for and being associated with each of said control data groups,
• sequence element display means for identifying said sequence of work paths, one or more of said control data groups being entered and stored in said supervisory programming means for one or more of said work paths by the programmer during said supervisory programming mode,
• a predetermined number of function determining means, one of said function determining means being provided for and associated with each of said parameter setting means, and
• means responsive to said teach control means during said teach phase for outputting the stored control data groups associated with the corresponding work path to said manipulator memory means as each work path is being taught, said manipulator memory means storing said digital position representation signals representing positions along said work paths and said associated control data groups in a predetermined format;
• and
• playback control means being operative during a playback cycle and jointly responsive to said stored control data groups and said stored position representation signals for moving said arm along each of said work paths in said desired sequence, said playback control means comprising work path modification means responsive to said stored control data groups and said parameter function determining means for generating work path modification signals to move said arm along and about said taught work paths in accordance with the control parameters of said control parameter setting means.