US 12,076,857 B2
Method for precise, intuitive positioning of robotic welding machine
James Walter Beard, III, Cookeville, TN (US); Stephen Lee Canfield, Cookeville, TN (US); Stephen Giovanni Zuccaro, Cookeville, TN (US); and Nicholas Canfield, Cookeville, TN (US)
Assigned to Robotic Technologies of Tennessee, LLC, Cookeville, TN (US)
Filed by Robotic Technologies of Tennessee, LLC, Cookeville, TN (US)
Filed on Jan. 28, 2022, as Appl. No. 17/587,946.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/277,956, filed on Nov. 10, 2021.
Prior Publication US 2023/0142821 A1, May 11, 2023
Int. Cl. B25J 9/16 (2006.01); B25J 9/00 (2006.01); B25J 13/08 (2006.01)
CPC B25J 9/0081 (2013.01) [B25J 13/08 (2013.01)] 33 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method for intuitive control of a non-spherical wrist robot manipulator having a third-to-last revolute joint defining a third-to-last revolute joint axis, a second-to-last revolute joint defining a second-to-last revolute joint axis, and a last revolute joint defining a last revolute joint axis, wherein no more than two of the axes intersect at a common point, the robot manipulator further having a second-to-last rigid body link connecting the second-to-last and last revolute joints and a last rigid body link extending from the last revolute joint and defining an end-effector of the robot manipulator, the method comprising:
manipulating a motion sensor mounted on the second-to-last rigid body link of the robot manipulator between the second-to-last revolute joint and the last revolute joint and in-line with the last revolute joint, the motion sensor operably engaged with a controller of the robot manipulator to introduce sensed motions detected by the motion sensor that cause the robot manipulator to spatially correlate the sensed motions to movement of the robot manipulator.