Patents Examined by Kira Nguyen
  • Patent number: 11626713
    Abstract: A substation containing a switch-gear or control-gear system, in particular a switch-gear or control-gear system includes at least one low voltage switch-gear or control-gear, with unmanned operation and maintenance. The inner room, where the switch-gear or control-gear are located in, is hermetically enclosed by an outer housing, the switch-gear or control-gear system is provided for unmanned operation and maintenance with a robotic system or manipulator, and/or the robotic system or manipulator is provided with a camera system, and/or an image recognition system and/or the inner room is locked against the outer housing by an inner, automatically operated door, and/or the robot system is implemented in such, that the robot systems acting area is extended from the inner room, partly in the area outside the inner room, but inside the outer housing, where spare parts are stored in a spare parts hand over area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 23, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2023
    Assignee: ABB Schweiz AG
    Inventors: Tomas Kozel, Thomas Schmidtchen, Martin Stefanka
  • Patent number: 11618166
    Abstract: A robot operating device includes a camera that is attached to a distal end of a robot arm or a position adjacent to the distal end and that acquires an image; a display which displays the image acquired by the camera; an operation-accepting unit which accepts an operation that is performed by an operator on the image displayed on the display unit; and a controller which moves the robot arm based on the operation accepted by the operation-accepting unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 14, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 4, 2023
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventors: Tingting Zhong, Shouta Takizawa
  • Patent number: 11612450
    Abstract: Systems and methods for camera control within surgical robotic systems are provided. One system includes a computing device, multiple robot assemblies, and a surgeon console. Each robot assembly among the multiple robot assemblies includes a robotic arm. A robotic arm of a first robot assembly is coupled to an image capture device. Robotic arms of at least a subset of robot assemblies, different from the first robot assembly, are coupled to surgical instruments. The surgeon console includes multiple handles, each communicatively coupled to a robot assembly coupled to a surgical instrument. The surgeon console is configured to transmit to the computing device one or more packets that include data related to a movement of at least one handle. The computing device configured to calculate a new position of the image capture device and transmit instructions to the first robot assembly to move the image capture device to the new position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 4, 2018
    Date of Patent: March 28, 2023
    Assignee: Covidien LP
    Inventors: William Peine, Albert Dvornik
  • Patent number: 11614730
    Abstract: Embedded and/or pooled robotic process automation (RPA) robots are disclosed. A master robot initiates one or more RPA robots in a deterministic and/or probabilistic manner. For instance, when a step in an RPA workflow of the master robot is encountered where an action is not clear, some data is missing, there are multiple possible branches, etc., one or more embedded and/or pooled minion robots may be called upon by the master robot to determine the next action to take, to retrieve missing data, to determine which branch is appropriate, etc. The master robot may perform orchestration functionality with respect to the minion robot(s).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 6, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 28, 2023
    Assignee: UiPath, Inc.
    Inventors: Umesh Amin, Danut Boanta
  • Patent number: 11609545
    Abstract: A method for preemptive control planning can include: optionally determining a graph that defines dependencies between behaviors; executing an execution plan for an executing behavior; generating a set of predictions with the executing behavior; propagating the set of predictions to child behaviors of the executing behavior; determining child execution plans and child predictions with the child behaviors; repeating the above for descendant behaviors of each child behavior; determining a realized world state associated with completion of the execution plan; and executing a child execution plan associated with a world state prediction matching the realized world state.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 29, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2023
    Assignee: Intrinsic Innovation LLC
    Inventor: Kenneth Alan Kansky
  • Patent number: 11607810
    Abstract: Robots, including robot arms, can interface with other modules to affect the world surrounding the robot. However, designing modules from scratch when human analogues exist is not efficient. In an embodiment, a mechanical tool, converted from human use, to be used by robots includes a monolithic adaptor having two interface components. The two interface components include a first interface component cabal be of mating with an actuated mechanism on the robot side, the second interface capable of clamping to an existing utensil. In such a way, utensils that are intended for humans can be adapted for robots and robotic arms.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2023
    Assignee: The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc.
    Inventors: David M.S. Johnson, Justin Rooney, Syler Wagner, Steven Lines, Cody Chu, Anthony Tayoun
  • Patent number: 11607816
    Abstract: A plurality of sensors are configured to provide respective outputs that reflect a sensed value associated with engagement of a robotic arm end effector with an item. The respective outputs of the plurality of sensors are used to make a determination associated with engagement of a robotic arm end effector with an item. A first value measured by a first sensor is used to determine a first input associated with a first factor. A second value measured by a second sensor is used to determine a second input associated with a second factor. The first input and the second input are provided to a multi-factor model configured to provide, based at least in part on the first input and the second input, an output associated with engagement of the robotic arm end effector with the item. The output of the multi-factor model is used to make the determination associated with engagement of the robotic arm end effector with the item.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 21, 2023
    Assignee: Dexterity, Inc.
    Inventors: Samir Menon, Zhouwen Sun, Harry Zhe Su
  • Patent number: 11602847
    Abstract: Robots are deployed for handling different tasks in various field of applications. For the robots to function, task planning is required to be done. During the task planning, goal setting is done, as well as actions to be executed for corresponding to each goal are decided. Traditionally, this is carried out first and then the robots start executing the task plan, thereby failing to capture any change in the environment the robots operate, post the task plan generation. Disclosed herein is a method and system for robotic task planning in which a task plan is generated and is executed. However if the task execution fails due to change in any of the parameters/factors, then the system dynamically invokes an adaptation and re-planning mechanism which either updates the already generated task plan (by capturing the change) or generates a new task plan, which the robot can execute to achieve the goal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 29, 2020
    Date of Patent: March 14, 2023
    Assignee: Tata Consultancy Services Limited
    Inventors: Ajay Kattepur, Balamuralidhar Purushothaman
  • Patent number: 11603006
    Abstract: The vehicle dispatching system accepts a dispatch request from a user, selects an autonomous vehicle matching with the dispatch request from among a plurality of autonomous vehicles, and dispatches a selected autonomous vehicle to the user. The plurality of autonomous vehicles include a plurality of battery-mounted vehicles having an in-vehicle battery capable of being charged externally as an energy source. Each of the plurality of battery-mounted vehicles performs charging at a charging station when a charging level of the in-vehicle battery decreases. The vehicle dispatching system comprises a management server including a processor for executing programs stored in memory, the management server programmed to act as a charging planning unit that changes an upper limit charging level of the in-vehicle battery when charging at the charging station according to a time slot.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 14, 2023
    Assignee: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Koji Taguchi, Makoto Morita
  • Patent number: 11597085
    Abstract: Current technologies allow a robot to acquire a tool only if the tool is in a set known location, such as in a rack. In an embodiment, a method and corresponding system, can determine the previously unknown pose of a tool freely placed in an environment. The method can then calculate a trajectory that allows for a robot to move from its current position to the tool and attach with the tool. In such a way, tools can be located and used by a robot when placed at any location in an environment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 7, 2023
    Assignee: The Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc.
    Inventors: David M. S. Johnson, Syler Wagner, Justin Rooney, Steven Lines, Anthony Tayoun, Mitchell Hebert
  • Patent number: 11597079
    Abstract: A robot apparatus includes a storage that stores first instructional information which serves as a guide to first work operation, an acquirer that acquires second instructional information which serves as a guide to second work operation similar to the first work operation or second work operation related to the first work operation from a different apparatus having the second instructional information, and a work controller that performs the first work operation based on the first instructional information stored in the storage and the second work operation based on the second instructional information acquired by the acquirer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 7, 2023
    Assignee: HONDA MOTOR CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Naoko Imai, Takeyuki Suzuki, Yasushi Ikeuchi
  • Patent number: 11594132
    Abstract: A parking facility management server for a parking facility, including a communication interface, which is designed to receive a request via a communication network from a user of the communication network to carry out at least one vehicle-specific service for a vehicle in the parking facility, and a processor, which is designed to process the request, in order to check whether or not the at least one service may be carried out in the parking facility for the vehicle in accordance with the request, the processor being further designed to ascertain a response as a function of the check. The communication interface further being designed to transmit the response via the communication network back to the user, the processor further being designed to plan and to coordinate the carrying out of the service in the event of a positive response that at least one service may be carried out.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2023
    Assignee: Robrt Bosch GmbH
    Inventors: Stefan Nordbruch, Albrecht Irion, Hans-Joerg Mathony, Holger Mielenz, Rolf Nicodemus, Stefan Hoffmann
  • Patent number: 11584008
    Abstract: A machine learning system builds and uses computer models for controlling robotic performance of a task. Such computer models may be first trained using feedback on computer simulations of the robotic system performing the task, and then refined using feedback on real-world trials of the robot performing the task. Some examples of the computer models can be trained to automatically evaluate robotic task performance and provide the feedback. This feedback can be used by a machine learning system, for example an evolution strategies system or reinforcement learning system, to generate and refine the controller.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2020
    Date of Patent: February 21, 2023
    Assignee: Amazon Technologies, Inc.
    Inventors: Brian C. Beckman, Leonardo Ruggiero Bachega, Brandon William Porter, Benjamin Lev Snyder, Michael Vogelsong, Corrinne Yu
  • Patent number: 11581713
    Abstract: Methods of operating a robotic breaker-racking apparatus are provided. A method of operating a robotic breaker-racking apparatus includes controlling a motor to drive the robotic breaker-racking apparatus to a first circuit breaker. The method includes accessing the first circuit breaker via remote or autonomous control of the robotic breaker-racking apparatus. Moreover, the method includes visually inspecting, via a camera of the robotic breaker-racking apparatus, a first relay of the first circuit breaker and/or a second relay of a second circuit breaker. Related robotic breaker-racking apparatuses are also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2023
    Assignee: Duke Energy Corporation
    Inventors: Sandra Hall, Steve Hinkel, Doug Durst
  • Patent number: 11574830
    Abstract: A substrate transport apparatus including, a torsional motion driver member having an exterior perimeter circumscribing an axis of rotation of the torsional motion driver member, and a torsional motion follower member including a body portion and a bearing collar rotatably coupled to the body portion, the torsional motion follower member being coupled to the torsional motion driver member with a dimensionally substantially invariant interface, wherein the bearing collar is decoupled from the exterior perimeter of the torsional motion driver member so that the exterior perimeter, as a whole, is free of the bearing collar.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2023
    Assignee: Brooks Automation US, LLC
    Inventors: Christopher A. Bussiere, Blake R Tashjian
  • Patent number: 11565422
    Abstract: A controller of the robot apparatus performs approaching control for making a second workpiece approach a first workpiece and position adjustment control for adjusting a position of the second workpiece with respect to a position of the first workpiece. The approaching control includes control for calculating a movement direction and a movement amount of a position of the robot based on an image captured by a first camera, and making the second workpiece approach the first workpiece. The position adjustment control includes control for calculating a movement direction and a movement amount of a position of the robot based on an image captured by the first camera and an image captured by the second camera, and precisely adjusting a position of the first workpiece with respect to the second workpiece.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 19, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 31, 2023
    Assignee: FANUC CORPORATION
    Inventor: Masafumi Ooba
  • Patent number: 11554489
    Abstract: Systems, methods, devices, and other techniques are described for planning motions of one or more robots to perform at least one specified task. In some implementations, a task to execute with a robotic system using a tool is identified. A partially constrained pose is identified for the tool that is to apply during execution of the task. A set of possible constraints for the unconstrained pose parameter are selected for each unconstrained pose parameter. The sets of possible constraints are evaluated for the unconstrained pose parameters with respect to one or more task execution criteria. A nominal pose is determined for the tool based on a result of evaluating the sets of possible constraints for the unconstrained pose parameters with respect to the one or more task execution criteria. The robotic system is then directed to execute the task, including positioning the tool according to the nominal pose.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 10, 2021
    Date of Patent: January 17, 2023
    Assignee: Intrinsic Innovation LLC
    Inventor: Ryan Butterfoss
  • Patent number: 11554483
    Abstract: Deep machine learning methods and apparatus, some of which are related to determining a grasp outcome prediction for a candidate grasp pose of an end effector of a robot. Some implementations are directed to training and utilization of both a geometry network and a grasp outcome prediction network. The trained geometry network can be utilized to generate, based on two-dimensional or two-and-a-half-dimensional image(s), geometry output(s) that are: geometry-aware, and that represent (e.g., high-dimensionally) three-dimensional features captured by the image(s). In some implementations, the geometry output(s) include at least an encoding that is generated based on a trained encoding neural network trained to generate encodings that represent three-dimensional features (e.g., shape). The trained grasp outcome prediction network can be utilized to generate, based on applying the geometry output(s) and additional data as input(s) to the network, a grasp outcome prediction for a candidate grasp pose.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 17, 2023
    Assignee: GOOGLE LLC
    Inventors: James Davidson, Xinchen Yan, Yunfei Bai, Honglak Lee, Abhinav Gupta, Seyed Mohammad Khansari Zadeh, Arkanath Pathak, Jasmine Hsu
  • Patent number: 11548155
    Abstract: The present invention relates to an interaction training system of a robot with a Mixed Reality (MR) environment, and to a training system in which a robot including a camera and a sensor is driven in a training space and a virtual environment like an actual environment is provided to a trainee to train the trainee.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2023
    Assignee: KOREA INSTITUTE OF ROBOT & CONVERGENCE
    Inventors: Seung Sub Oh, Kyon Mo Yang, Kap Ho Seo, Dong Gi Gwak
  • Patent number: 11541532
    Abstract: A carrying device includes a swivel that swivels around a central axis line of a revolution orbit that passes through a workpiece transfer area and a workpiece work area for a workpiece to be worked on by a robot, multiple workpiece holders positioned on the swivel such that when a first one of the workpiece holders is positioned in the workpiece transfer area, a second one of the workpiece holders is positioned in the workpiece work area, a revolution driver that causes the swivel to swivel around the central axis line of the revolution orbit, and a tilting driver that tilts each of the workpiece holders with respect to the central axis line of the revolution orbit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2023
    Assignee: KABUSHIKI KAISHA YASKAWA DENKI
    Inventors: Katsuhiko Yoshino, Naoyuki Ohtsubo