Measuring arrangement for position determination in manipulators

摘要

For the determination of the end-effector position in manipulators, such as robots, it is customary to use signals from sensors directly associated with the drives. Errors due to elasticities, play and friction are not determined or determined only by additional sensors. The new measuring arrangement is intended to enable the actual position of the end effector of manipulators to be determined and also to be usable during normal operation of the manipulator. To be able to use the measuring arrangement of measuring systems for precise position measurement, its structure must correspond to that of the manipulator. For simple mounting and in order to determine the individual joint positions, the individual measuring systems are connected to the manipulator at selected points. The functional regions of the measuring systems are supported, especially in the case of revolute joints of the manipulator, by an independent drive system for the positioning of the measuring system. The measuring-system drive is equipped with a suitable activation means. The arrangement of the measuring-system elements may be used, in principle, on any manipulator and in many cases may also be integrated. Both prismatic and revolute joints in each case exclusively or also in combination may be considered. <IMAGE>