ROBOT ARM WITH IMAGE CAPTURING FUNCTION

A robot arm with an image capturing function includes a body, a capture control device, a controller, and a display. When the robot arm is in an operation mode, the controller automatically controls the body to move a movable portion at one terminal of the body to move an eye in hand device disposed on the movable portion to capture images and search for objects. When the robot arm is in a manual mode, the movable portion is moved manually, and the capture control device next to the eye in hand device is controller manually to activate the eye in hand device to capture images and generate image files of predetermined objects, thereby simplifying the operation process of robot arm.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention relates to a robot arm, especially relates to a robot arm with an image capturing function.

2. Description of the Prior Art

In factories, robot arms are usually used for increasing the efficiency of production. Smart robot arms can be installed with visual devices to detect the external environment or features of objects for avoiding obstacles or planning the moving paths automatically, thereby improving the production efficiency of the automatic production process.

FIG. 8shows a robot arm1of prior art. During automatic operations, the controller2controls the robot arm1to move the eye in hand (EIH) device3to capture an image of the external environment and stores the image to the memory4temporarily. Then, the controller2controls the image processor5to process the image stored in the memory4. The processed images are compared with the image file of a target object6stored in the memory4previously for identification. If the target object6is identified in the processed image, the controller2controls the robot arm1to pick up and put down the target object6automatically.

For the image file of the object6stored in the memory4, the prior art uses an external camera7to capture the image of object6, and processes the image by an external image processor8to generate its image file including the characteristic information relating to the shape and the size of the object6. The external image processor is connected to the interface9of the robot arm1, thereby transmitting the image file from the external image processor8to the robot arm1. After the controller2receives the image file, the file is stored to the memory4temporarily, and is shown on the display10. The image file of the object6is classified manually and stored to the memory4for the use of future identification.

In the prior art, the robot arm1uses the external camera7and the external image processor8to generate and process the image file of the object6. However, the external image processor may require higher processing ability. Also, to transfer the image file of the object6and to store the image file to the robot arm1may need professional techniques. The complicate processes may become obstacles for a general user and may lower the production efficiency. Therefore, there are still issues to be solved for the image capturing and processing on the robot arm.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One embodiment of the present invention discloses a robot arm with an image capturing function. The robot arm includes a body, a capture control device, a controller, and a display.

The body has a first terminal fixed at a base, and a second terminal being a movable portion. The movable portion has an eye in hand device disposed thereon. The capture control device is disposed next to the eye in hand device and activates the eye in hand device to capture images. The controller is coupled to the body and controls the body to move the movable portion. The display is controlled by the controller and is used for displaying images captured by the eye in hand device.

When the robot arm is in an operation mode, the controller controls the eye in hand device to capture images. When the robot arm is in a manual mode, the capture control device activates the eye in hand device to capture images.

Another embodiment of the present invention discloses a method for using a robot arm to capture images. The method includes switching the robot arm to a manual mode, moving the robot arm manually to bring an eye in hand device close to a target object, a display displaying an image captured by the eye in hand device, a capture control device activating the eye in hand device to capture an image of the target object when the target object shows up in the display, storing the image of the target object temporarily, processing the image of the target object to generate an image file of a predetermined object, storing the image file in a memory, switching the robot arm to an operation mode, the robot arm controlling the eye in hand device to capture an image of an object, and identifying the object according to the image file of the predetermined object.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1shows a robot arm20according to one embodiment of the present invention.FIG. 2shows the function blocks of the robot arm20. The robot arm20includes a body21, a controller22, and a display23. The body21has a terminal fixed at a base24, and a terminal being a movable portion25. The movable portion25has an eye in hand device26disposed thereon, and a clamp claw27for clamping objects. A capture control device28is disposed next to the eye in hand device26on the movable portion25. The capture control device28can be a push button or a switch. The capture control device28is for activating the eye in hand device26manually to capture images.

The controller22of the robot arm20is connected to the body21. The controller22includes the memory29and the image processor30. The memory29is controlled by the controller22for storing image files of predetermined objects beforehand and storing images captured by the eye in hand device26temporarily. The image processor30is controlled by the controller22for processing the images temporarily stored in the memory29. Also, the display23is controlled by the controller22for displaying the images captured by the eye in hand device26on the robot arm20and the user interface.

When the robot arm20is in an operation mode, the controller22controls the body21to move the eye in hand device26and the clamp claw27on the movable portion25. The controller22controls the eye in hand device26to capture images of the working environment surrounding the robot arm20, and controls the display23to display the captured images for searching a target object32on a machine31in the working environment. When the object32is captured by the eye in hand device26, the image containing the object32captured by the eye in hand device26is stored to the memory29temporarily. The controller22controls the image processor30to process the image temporarily stored in the memory29, and compares the image with the image files of the predetermined objects stored in the memory29previously to identify if the object32is the targeted object. If the object32is the target object, then the controller22drives the movable portion25of the robot arm20to approach the object32, and clamps the object32by the clamp claw27for processing the following assembling or transferring process.

FIG. 3shows the target object on the machine31, andFIG. 4shows the image of the target object shown in the display23. When the robot arm20is switched to a manual mode, the eye in hand device26is controlled by the capture control device28to capture images. By moving the movable portion25manually, the eye in hand device26on the movable portion25can approach the object32and make the object32appear in the view window of the eye in hand device26as the dotted line shown inFIG. 3. Therefore, the object32would be displayed on the display23. The operator can see the object32displayed on the display23and confirm if the object32is the target object. The operator can further clear the unrelated objects out of the view window of the eye in hand device26, and ensure that the target object32remains in the view window completely. In this case, the operator can hold the eye in hand device26at a fixed position to capture the image of the target object32shown on the display23, and can control the capture control device28without leaving the robot arm20for operating other devices. Also, the operator may capture images of the target object32from multiple angels. After the eye in hand device26captures the image of the target object32, the image is stored to the memory29temporarily and processed by the image processor30under the control of the controller22. The image processor30processes the image of the target object32to generate the image file of a predetermined object, and image file of the predetermined object is stored to the memory29for future identification.

FIG. 5shows a flowchart of the method for using a robot arm to capture images according to one embodiment of the present invention. The method for using the robot arm to capture images includes steps S1to S7. In step S1, the robot arm is switched to a manual mode. In step S2, the robot arm is moved manually to bring the eye in hand device close to a target object. In step S3, the display displays the image captured by the eye in hand device. Step S4would check whether the target object shows up in the display or not. If the target object does not show up in the display, go back to step S2, and continue moving the robot arm to bring the eye in hand device close to the target object. Otherwise, if the target object shows up in the display, go to step S5to control the capture control device to activate the eye in hand device to capture the image of the target object. In step S6, the captured image of the target object is stored to the memory of the robot arm temporarily and is processed to generate the image file of the predetermined object. In step S7, the image file of the predetermined object is stored to the memory. In step S8, the robot arm is switched to the operation mode, and the robot arm can control the eye in hand device to capture images of objects automatically and identify the objects according to the image file of the predetermined object stored previously.

FIG. 6shows the robot arm33according to another embodiment of the present invention, andFIG. 7shows the upper portion of the movable portion of the robot arm33inFIG. 6. The robot arm33and the robot arm20have similar structures; however, the displays and the captured control devices of the robot arm33and the robot arm20are disposed in different positions. In the robot arm20, the capture control device is disposed next to the movable portion25. For example, when moving the movable portion25manually, the operator may use one hand to hold the eye in hand device26at a fixed position, and use another hand to control the capture control device28to active the eye in hand device26for capturing images without affecting the position of the eye in hand device26. However, the present invention is not limited to the robot arm20as shown inFIG. 1. InFIG. 6, the capture control device28is disposed on the body21next to the eye in hand device26of the robot arm33. Therefore, the operator can still use one hand to hold the eye in hand device26at a fixed position and use another hand to control the capture control device28to active the eye in hand device26for capturing images without affecting the position of the eye in hand device26, thereby making it easy to control the capture control device28to activate the eye in hand device26for capturing images. Furthermore, inFIG. 7, the display34is disposed on the eye in hand device26directly. Therefore, when moving the movable portion25, the operator can see the display and focus on adjusting the eye in hand device26at the same time. In addition, the display34can be disposed in parallel with the view of the eye in hand device26so the moving direction of an object shown in the display would be intuitively corresponding to the moving direction of the eye in hand device26, thereby preventing disorientation of the operators due to the changing space when searching the object with the eye in hand device.

Since the capture control device is disposed on the robot arm directly, the user can use the capture control device to activate the eye in hand device to capture images when moving the robot arm. Therefore, the robot arm with an image capturing function and the method for using a robot arm to capture images provided by the embodiments of the present invention can help the users to operate the robot arm in a much easier way. Furthermore, in the operation mode, the robot arm can control the eye in hand device to capture images automatically. In the manual mode, the operator can control the capture control device disposed on the robot arm to activate the eye in hand device to capture the image of a predetermined object and the captured image can be processed to generate the image file of the predetermined object. The image file of the predetermined object is stored directly as the comparing basis for the future identification so the external image processing operations can be reduced, thereby simplifying the process of operating the robot arm and increasing the usage flexibility of the eye in hand device.