US 11,717,969 B1
Cooperative high-capacity and high-dexterity manipulators
Timothy J. Mourlam, Shawnee, KS (US); David Lindquist, Cameron, MO (US); William Naber, Saint Joseph, MO (US); and Jonathan Westin Sykes, Gower, MO (US)
Assigned to Altec Industries, Inc., Birmingham, AL (US)
Filed by Altec Industries, Inc., Birmingham, AL (US)
Filed on Jul. 28, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/875,743.
Int. Cl. B25J 9/16 (2006.01); H02G 1/02 (2006.01); B25J 9/00 (2006.01)
CPC B25J 9/1682 (2013.01) [B25J 9/1669 (2013.01); B25J 9/1689 (2013.01); B25J 9/0084 (2013.01); H02G 1/02 (2013.01)] 18 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A system for cooperative robotic aerial line work in an aerial work environment, the system comprising:
a robot unit disposed on a boom tip of an aerial device, the robot unit comprising:
at least one first manipulator;
a tool for performing aerial line work and coupled to the at least one first manipulator;
at least one second manipulator proximate the robot unit;
at least one sensor disposed on the at least one second manipulator configured to detect a geometry of the at least one second manipulator and a load on the at least one second manipulator,
wherein the geometry of the at least one second manipulator is autonomously controlled based on a location and movement of the robot unit and to limit stress on the at least one second manipulator; and
a platform supporting the robot unit and the at least one second manipulator on the boom tip,
wherein the at least one second manipulator is configured to support a high-capacity load and lock into a position while the robot unit performs high-dexterity work, and
wherein the high-capacity load is at least five hundred pounds, and the high-dexterity work requires the robot unit to have at least six degrees of freedom.