US 11,911,891 B2
Actuator system
Katsuya Fukushima, Tokyo (JP); Masashi Ishii, Tokyo (JP); Hiroki Niwa, Tokyo (JP); Akira Suzuki, Tokyo (JP); Kazuto Oga, Tokyo (JP); Shogo Wakuta, Tokyo (JP); Satoshi Hara, Tokyo (JP); Tomofumi Mizuno, Tokyo (JP); and Shigeki Hayashi, Kawasaki (JP)
Assigned to THK CO., LTD., Tokyo (JP)
Appl. No. 17/284,886
Filed by THK CO., LTD., Tokyo (JP)
PCT Filed Oct. 17, 2019, PCT No. PCT/JP2019/040946
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Apr. 13, 2021,
PCT Pub. No. WO2020/080478, PCT Pub. Date Apr. 23, 2020.
Claims priority of application No. 2018-197709 (JP), filed on Oct. 19, 2018.
Prior Publication US 2021/0387353 A1, Dec. 16, 2021
Int. Cl. B25J 9/00 (2006.01); B25J 13/08 (2006.01); B25J 9/16 (2006.01); B25J 15/06 (2006.01); G01L 5/22 (2006.01)
CPC B25J 13/085 (2013.01) [B25J 9/16 (2013.01); B25J 15/0616 (2013.01); G01L 5/226 (2013.01)] 6 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. An actuator system comprising:
an actuator including a movable member that is a member that is movable in an axial direction, the movable member including a tip that is capable of holding a workpiece, the actuator being configured to pick up the workpiece by moving the movable member in the axial direction such that the tip of the movable member is moved to a predetermined position, and by generating a holding force at the tip of the movable member such that the workpiece is held by the tip;
a movement device configured to move the actuator between a predetermined pickup position and a predetermined placement position in a direction orthogonal to the axial direction of the movable member,
an external force detection sensor being configured to detect a physical quantity that is correlated with an external force that is applied to the workpiece;
a head unit that is connected to the actuator and the external force detection sensor without a communication network, the head unit being configured to cause the actuator to perform a pickup operation of the workpiece, by controlling movement of the movable member in the axial direction and/or the holding force at the tip of the movable member based on a sensing result from the external force detection sensor, when a pickup request signal that is a signal requesting pickup of the workpiece is received; and
a control device that is connected to the head unit and the movement device over the communication network, the control device being configured to control the movement device to move the actuator between the predetermined pickup position and the predetermined placement position and to transmit the pickup request signal to the head unit.