US 12,440,911 B2
Robotic welding systems
Haruhiko Harry Asada, Lincoln, MA (US); and Haruhiko Eto, Yokosuka (JP)
Assigned to Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA (US); and SUMITOMO HEAVY INDUSTRIES, LTD., Tokyo (JP)
Filed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA (US); and Sumitomo Heavy Industries Limited, Yokosuka (JP)
Filed on Oct. 14, 2020, as Appl. No. 17/070,652.
Claims priority of provisional application 63/067,973, filed on Aug. 20, 2020.
Prior Publication US 2022/0055138 A1, Feb. 24, 2022
Int. Cl. B23K 9/095 (2006.01); B23K 37/02 (2006.01)
CPC B23K 9/0953 (2013.01) [B23K 9/0956 (2013.01); B23K 37/0247 (2013.01)] 9 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A robotic welding system comprising:
a welding torch;
a support configured to support the welding torch during a welding operation; one or more actuators operatively coupled to the support, wherein the one or more actuators are configured to control a movement of the welding torch in one or more directions;
an input device configured to receive operator input related to manual operation of the welding torch, wherein the operator input includes manual operation of repeatedly moving the welding torch along a commanded trajectory by an operator; and
a processor operatively coupled to the one or more actuators and the input device, wherein the processor is configured to perform the steps of:
automatically estimating a repetitive trajectory based at least partially on the commanded trajectory, and approximating the repetitive trajectory as a target trajectory during the manual operation of moving the welding torch along the commanded trajectory; and
operating the one or more actuators to control movement of the welding torch based at least partly on the target trajectory upon approximating the repetitive trajectory as the target trajectory.