Robot-based gauging system
Robot-based gauging systemKeywords:Robots, 3-D measurement
Applicant: Perceptron Inc. (US)Patent number: US6166811Publication date: 26 December 2000Title: Robot-based gauging system for determining three-dimensional measurement data
The robot-based gauging system of the present invention accurately determines three-dimensional measurement data for a workpiece through the use of a synchronized scanning process without the need for an expensive motion device,such as a CMM. The gauging system includes a robot having at least one movable member and a robot controller for controlling the movement of the movable member in relation to the surface of an object. A non-contact sensor is coupled to the movable member of the robot for capturing image data representative of the surface of the object. A position reporting device is used to report position data representative of the position of the non-contact sensor.
In addition, a synch signal generator is used to generate and transmit a synch signal to the non-contact sensor and the position reporting device,wherein the non-contact sensor reports image data in response to the synch signal and the position reporting device reports position data in response to the synch signal. The gauging system further includes a vision system adapted to retrieve image data from the non-contact sensor and position data from the position reporting device. As the non-contact sensor scans the surface of the object, there is a time latency between when the sensor strobes its laser to when processed image data are available to the vision system.
In other words, the image data reported by the sensor lags in time behind the position data reported by the position reporting device. Therefore, the vision system must be able to synchronize the image data with the position data. A memory storage space is used to store position data so that the vision system can synchronize the image data with the position data. In this way, the robot-based gauging system of the present invention is able quickly and accurately to determine three-dimensional measurement data for the object.
Jack Hollingum
