Robotic stitching apparatus and end effector therefor
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorsBranko Sarh, Ray Palmer
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A stitching apparatus and end effector system particularly suited for stitching composite preforms includes a six-degree-of-freedom manipulator arm and an end effector that is releasably coupled to the end of the manipulator arm by a quick-change coupler system. The end effector comprises a C-shaped bow having a pair of spaced-apart legs the free ends of which support a stitching head and a bobbin in opposing relation so that a workpiece to be stitched can be received between the stitching head and bobbin. In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, a plurality of bows of different configurations are provided, each having a quick-change coupler on each leg for releasably coupling the stitching head and the bobbin to the bow.
Claims14
A stitching end effector for a robotic stitching apparatus having a manipulator arm for positioning the end effector, the end effector comprising:
- a bow having a distal end and a proximal end and including spaced-apart first and second legs defining a workpiece-receiving space therebetween, the legs having spaced-apart free ends at the distal end of the bow such that a portion of a workpiece to be stitched can pass between the free ends of the legs into the workpiece-receiving space;
- a stitching head affixed to the first leg proximate the distal end of the bow and operable for supporting and driving a needle for stitching a workpiece;
- a bobbin affixed to the second leg opposite and spaced from the stitching head such that said portion of the workpiece can be positioned between the stitching head and the bobbin, the bobbin being operable to coact with the stitching head for stitching the workpiece;
- a pair of cooperative stitching head couplers, one of the stitching head couplers being affixed to the first leg and the other stitching head coupler being affixed to the stitching head, the stitching head couplers being operable to releasably engage each other so as to secure the stitching head to the first leg of the bow;
- and
- a bow coupler affixed to the bow and adapted to releasably couple the bow to the manipulator arm of the robotic sewing apparatus.
A robotic stitching apparatus for stitching three-dimensional workpieces, comprising:
- a six-degree-of-freedom manipulator having a manipulator arm with an end effector coupler attached to a free end of the manipulator arm;
- a stitching end effector formed as a generally C-shaped bow having spaced-apart first and second legs defining a workpiece-receiving space therebetween, the legs having spaced-apart free ends such that a portion of a workpiece to be stitched can pass between the free ends of the legs into the workpiece-receiving space, the first and second legs respectively supporting a stitching head that drives a needle along a stitching axis and a bobbin that are cooperable for stitching said portion of the workpiece positioned between the free ends of the legs, the stitching end effector having an end effector coupler affixed to the bow and cooperable with the end effector coupler on the manipulator arm so as to releasably secure the stitching end effector to the free end of the manipulator arm;
- and
- the manipulator arm being operable to continuously adjust the position and orientation of the end effector relative to the workpiece such that the needle axis is maintained substantially perpendicular to an outer surface of the portion of the workpiece.
A bow for a stitching end effector, comprising:
- spaced-apart first and second legs defining a workpiece-receiving space therebetween, and a connector beam extending generally in a transverse direction between and joined to the legs, the legs having spaced-apart free ends such that a portion of a workpiece to be stitched can pass between the free ends of the legs into the workpiece-receiving space, the connector beam and legs defining a generally C-shaped bow having a proximal end at the connector beam and a distal end at the free ends of the legs, wherein the bow is configured such that the workpiece-receiving space has a width in the transverse direction that is smaller at the distal end than at medial portions of the bow;
- a stitching head coupler affixed to the first leg proximate the distal end of the bow and operable to releasably engage a coupling device on a stitching head so as to secure the stitching head to the first leg of the bow;
- a bobbin coupler affixed to the second leg proximate the distal end of the bow and operable to releasably engage a coupling device on a bobbin so as to secure the bobbin to the second leg of the bow;
- and
- a bow coupler affixed to the bow at a location spaced from the distal end toward the proximal end and adapted to releasably couple the bow to a manipulator arm of a robotic sewing apparatus.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.