US 11,890,706 B2
Assembling parts in an assembly line
Jordi Artigas, Barcelona (ES); Roger Pons Bertran, La Torre de Calaramunt (ES); Jorge Vidal Ribas, Esplugues de Llobregat (ES); Biao Zhang, West Hartford, CT (US); and Ramon Casanelles Moix, Sant Cugat del Valles (ES)
Assigned to ABB Schweiz AG, Baden (CH)
Appl. No. 16/967,960
Filed by ABB SCHWEIZ AG, Baden (CH)
PCT Filed Feb. 6, 2019, PCT No. PCT/EP2019/052911
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Aug. 6, 2020,
PCT Pub. No. WO2019/154858, PCT Pub. Date Aug. 15, 2019.
Claims priority of application No. 18382065 (EP), filed on Feb. 6, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2020/0368861 A1, Nov. 26, 2020
Int. Cl. B23P 19/04 (2006.01); B62D 65/00 (2006.01); G05D 1/02 (2020.01)
CPC B23P 19/04 (2013.01) [B62D 65/00 (2013.01); G05D 1/0246 (2013.01)] 13 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method for assembling parts in an assembly line, comprising:
advancing a part along the assembly line with an Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV),
arranging a first real time vision system, provided with a vision sensor mounted stationary in the assembly line, to track movement of the AGV in at least two directions, and
providing readings of the first real time vision system to a visual servoing controller arranged to control an assembly unit of the assembly line to perform an automated operation on the part that is advanced or supported by the AGV;
the assembly unit comprising:
an industrial robot that is provided with a controller, a robot base and a robot wrist, and an end effector attached to the robot wrist, and
the part having a target area at which an assembly operation is to be performed, the method further comprising, while the part is advancing,
providing the readings of the first real time vision system to the controller of the industrial robot,
the controller of the industrial robot synchronizing a displacement of the industrial robot or a displacement of the end effector with an advance of the AGV along the assembly line in an advance direction based on the readings of the first real time vision system, and
the controller of the industrial robot further displacing the end effector of the robot with respect to the robot base, in a vertical direction, synchronized with vertical oscillations of the AGV based on the readings of the first real time vision system, and
performing the assembly operation at the target area with the industrial robot,
the assembly operation performed with the industrial robot comprising
a visual servoing process in which a movement of the end effector of the industrial robot is further controlled in real time based at least on readings of a second real time vision system comprising a vision sensor mounted on the robot so that it moves together with the end effector and arranged to monitor a position of the target area, and
a compliant behaviour process in which a movement of the end effector of the industrial robot is further controlled to allow compliant behaviour of the end effector in at least one direction.