Robot having a controller protected for a network failure
A robot having actuator-driven elements, actuators to drive the elements, and brakes to decelerate the elements, the robot requiring voltage U B and/or current I B , the robot including: a source having an input to which voltage U P and current I P are applied, wherein, during normal operation, U P is equal to voltage U P,desired and I P is equal to current I P,desired , and having an output to which voltage U actual and current I actual are supplied, wherein during normal operation: U actual =U B and I actual =I B , an energy store integrated into the source for maintaining U B and I B for time Δt following failure or drop in U P and/or I P , a unit for monitoring U P , wherein as soon as U P deviates by amount ΔU from U P,desired , a signal is generated, and a control unit connected to the unit for controlling the robot and its elements into a predefined safe state upon receipt of the signal.
1. A robot comprising actuator-driven elements, actuators to drive the actuator-driven elements, and mechanical brakes to decelerate the actuator-driven elements, the robot requiring a desired operating voltage U B and/or a desired operating current I B in order to operate, wherein the robot comprises:
a voltage and current source comprising:
an input interface to which a primary voltage U P and a primary current I P are applied, wherein, during normal operation, the primary voltage U P is equal to a desired primary voltage U P,desired and the primary current I P is equal to a desired primary current I P,desired , and
an output interface to which an actual voltage U actual and an actual current I actual arm supplied, wherein during normal operation: U actual =U B and I actual =I B ;
an energy store integrated into the voltage and current source and configured to maintain the operating voltage U B and the operating current I B for a predefined period of time Δt following a failure or a drop in the primary voltage U P and/or primary current I P ;
a monitoring unit configured to monitor the primary voltage U P applied to the input interface and configured to generate a stop signal as soon as the applied primary voltage U P deviates by a predefined amount ΔU from the desired primary voltage U P,desired ; and
a control unit connected to the monitoring unit and configured to control the robot and its actuator-driven elements, wherein the control unit is further configured to control the robot with its actuator-driven elements into a predefined safe state upon receipt of the stop signal, wherein control of the robot into the predefined safe state comprises driving the actuators of the actuator-driven elements such that the robot decelerates into a dynamic state characterized by a sum of kinetic energy of at least a plurality of the actuator-driven elements, wherein the sum is less than a predefined boundary kinetic energy, and triggering one or more of the mechanical brakes to further decelerate the actuator-driven elements into the predefined safe state only when the robot has been decelerated by the actuators into the dynamic state.
2. The robot according to claim 1 , wherein the actuators of the actuator-driven elements are connectable to the integrated energy store to recuperate electrical energy.
3. The robot according to claim 1 , wherein the energy store comprises one or more capacitors, and/or one or more inductors, and/or one or more accumulators.
4. The robot according to claim 1 , wherein the stop signal is transmitted as a symmetrical and encrypted data signal from the monitoring unit to the control unit via a data link configured to transmit symmetrical and encrypted data signals.
5. The robot according to claim 1 , wherein the stop signal is transmitted as an optical signal from the monitoring unit to the control unit via an optical data link configured to transmit optical signals.