# US 9,339,934 B2 · Method for manually adjusting the pose of a manipulator arm of an industrial robot and industrial robots > Agents: this data is available as JSON from the patentgrep API and MCP server — see https://patentgrep.com/llms.txt - Number: US 9,339,934 B2 - Document ID: US9339934B2 - Status: Granted - Kind: B2 - Application number: 14/491,460 - Filed: 2014-09-19 - Published: 2015-03-19 - Granted: 2016-05-17 - Earliest claimed: 2013-09-19 - Assignees: KUKA Roboter GmbH - Applicants: KUKA Laboratories GmbH - Inventors: Yevgen Kogan - Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US9339934B2 ## CPC - B25J 13/085: {Force or torque sensors (B25J13/082, B25J13/084 take precedence)} - B25J 9/1656: {characterised by programming, planning systems for manipulators} - G05B 19/423: Teaching successive positions by walk-through, i.e. the tool head or end effector being grasped and guided directly, with or without servo-assistance, to follow a path - G05B 2219/36432: By putting some constraints on some DOF, move within limited volumes, areas, planes, limits motion in x, y or z planes, virtual reality constraints - G05B 2219/39346: Workspace impedance control - Y02P 80/10: Efficient use of energy, e.g. using compressed air or pressurized fluid as energy carrier - Y10S 901/09: Closed loop, sensor feedback controls arm movement - Y10S 901/46: Sensing device - 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}) - 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) - Y02P: CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS - Y10S: TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS ## Abstract A method for manually guided adjustment of the pose of a manipulator arm of an industrial robot includes detecting a guidance force applied to the manipulator arm by an operator of the industrial robot, determining one of at least two degrees-of-freedom of a reference coordinate system as a selected freedom direction, wherein the selected freedom direction corresponds to the degree-of-freedom in which the guidance force has its greatest force vector component, and controlling the drives of the industrial robot using force control in such a manner that a pre-specified reference point associated with the manipulator arm is moved only in the selected freedom direction as a result of movement of the manipulator arm by an operator during a manually-guided adjustment of the pose of the manipulator arm. ## Claims ### Claim 1 A method for manually guided adjustment of the pose of a manipulator arm of an industrial robot, the method comprising: detecting with a robot controller a guidance force applied to the manipulator arm by an operator of the industrial robot; in a reference coordinate system having at least two degrees-of-freedom, determining with the robot controller one of the at least two degrees-of-freedom as a selected freedom direction, wherein the selected freedom direction corresponds to the degree-of-freedom in which the guidance force has its greatest force vector component; and controlling the drives of the industrial robot with a robot controller using force control in such a manner that a pre-specified reference point associated with the manipulator arm is moved only in the selected freedom direction as a result of movement of the manipulator arm by an operator during a manually-guided adjustment of the pose of the manipulator arm. ### Claim 2 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, further comprising: controlling drives of the industrial robot, which are designed and configured to automatically adjust the pose of the manipulator arm, using force control prior to the detection of a guidance force applied to the manipulator arm by an operator of the industrial robot. ### Claim 3 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein the determining the degree-of-freedom in the reference coordinate system in which the guidance force has its greatest force vector component is only carried out once the detected guidance force applied to the manipulator arm by an operator exceeds a pre-specified minimum force. ### Claim 4 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein controlling the drives of the industrial robot using force control is only carried out once the detected guidance force applied to the manipulator arm by an operator exceeds a pre-specified minimum force. ### Claim 5 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, further comprising: once the pre-specified minimum force has been reached and/or exceeded, and during the application of the guidance force, reducing a rigidity of the force controlled industrial robot that has been parameterized prior to the pre-specified minimum force being reached. ### Claim 6 (depends on 5) The method according to claim 5, wherein the rigidity of the force controlled industrial robot is reduced gradually. ### Claim 7 (depends on 6) The method according to claim 6, wherein the rigidity of the force controlled industrial robot is reduced within about 0.1 to 2.0 seconds. ### Claim 8 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein a rigidity which is parameterized prior to the pre-specified minimum force being reached is maintained during the application of the guidance force, and the rigidity is only then reduced if the guidance force is once more reduced after the pre-specified minimum force has been reached and/or exceeded. ### Claim 9 (depends on 8) The method according to claim 8, wherein the rigidity set to zero if the guidance force is once more reduced after the pre-specified minimum force has been reached and/or exceeded. ### Claim 10 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein the force control of the drives of the industrial robot is implemented by means of impedance control or admittance control. ### Claim 11 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein detecting the guidance force applied to the manipulator arm by an operator of the industrial robot comprises detecting the guidance force with respect to the pre-specified reference point of the manipulator arm. ### Claim 12 (depends on 11) The method according to claim 11, wherein detecting the guidance force with respect to a pre-specified reference point of the manipulator arm comprises measuring or calculating the guidance force. ### Claim 13 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, further comprising: initially controlling the drives of the industrial robot using force control in such a manner that the pre-specified reference point associated with the manipulator arm is moved only in the selected freedom direction as a result of movement of the manipulator arm by an operator during a manually-guided adjustment of the pose of the manipulator arm; and when the force vector component of the guidance force applied by the operator of the industrial robot to the manipulator arm in a direction that corresponds to one of the other, non-selected degrees-of-freedom exceeds the pre-specified minimum force, utilizing the other degree-of-freedom as the new selected freedom direction. ### Claim 14 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, further comprising: triggering at least one of a setting or changing of the selected freedom direction based on a minimum time duration of a force applied in a direction which corresponds to a momentary movement direction of the pre-specified reference point. ### Claim 15 (depends on 1) The method according to claim 1, wherein the reference coordinate system is a three-dimensional Cartesian coordinate system with six degrees-of-freedom. ### Claim 16 (depends on 15) The method according to claim 15, wherein the reference coordinate system is one of: a world coordinate system of a workplace of the industrial robot; a basic coordinate system in a base of the industrial robot; or a tool coordinate system of a tool, a grip, or another device attached to the industrial robot. ### Claim 17 An industrial robot having a robot control that is designed and configured to carry out a robot program, and also having a manipulator arm with at least three joints that can be automatically moved according to the robot program and/or can be automatically moved in a hand-guided operation mode, wherein the robot control is designed and configured to: detect a guidance force applied to the manipulator arm by an operator of the industrial robot; determine a selected direction of motion from the available degrees of freedom in a reference coordinate system which corresponds to the direction in which the guidance force has its greatest force vector component; and control the drives of the industrial robot using force control in such a manner that a pre-specified reference point associated with the manipulator arm is moved only in the selected freedom direction as a result of movement of the manipulator arm by an operator during a manually-guided adjustment of the pose of the manipulator arm.