Patents Assigned to UNIVERSAL ROBOTS A/S
  • Patent number: 12638823
    Abstract: The invention relates to a robot arm comprising a plurality of robot joints mechanically connecting a robot base to a robot tool flange wherein a robot controller is configured for controlling movement of said plurality of robot joints and thereby movement of said robot tool flange. The robot controller is connected to an interface device comprising an input device via which a user is able to communicate with said robot controller and thereby change mode of operation of the robot arm. The input device is a mechanical multifunctional input device and in response to a first predetermined sequence of activation applied to the input device, the robot controller is arranged to change mode of operation to a stop mode, and in response to a second predetermined sequence of activation applied to the input device, the robot controller is arranged to change mode of operation to a second mode of operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 17, 2021
    Date of Patent: May 26, 2026
    Assignee: Universal Robots A/S
    Inventor: Jos Mirth
  • Patent number: 12576530
    Abstract: The invention relates to a robot system for detection of an operation anomaly. The robot system comprises: an industrial robot; a robot controller configured to control operation of said industrial robot; a robot operation program which is executable by said robot controller to operate said industrial robot according to a robot operation cycle; respective program nodes integrated in said robot operation program, wherein each of said respective program nodes is associated with a separate operational element of said robot operation cycle; wherein said robot controller is configured to obtain reference data based on operation parameters associated with execution of said robot operation program; and an anomaly detection block which for at least one of said respective program nodes is configured to evaluate an operation anomaly of said robot operation parameters relative to a representation of said reference data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 10, 2022
    Date of Patent: March 17, 2026
    Assignee: Universal Robots A/S
    Inventors: Søren Goddiksen Graabæk, Andreas Rune Fugl, Emil Vincent Ancker
  • Publication number: 20260064099
    Abstract: The invention relates to a robot user interface configured for presenting a control program to a programmer, the control program being displayable to the programmer via a program view of said user interface. The control program controls operations of a robot, wherein at least some parts of the control of said robot is defined via an 5 argument of one or more operation parameter. The user interface is further configured to present a part of said one or more operation parameters to an operator of said robot via an operator view of said user interface. The operator view is configured for displaying arguments of said one or more operation parameters, and the operator view is configured for allowing said operator to change said argument of said part of said 10 one or more operation parameters. Further the invention relates to a method of configuring the robot control program using the user interface.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 12, 2023
    Publication date: March 5, 2026
    Applicant: Universal Robots A/S
    Inventor: Anders Kromann Nielsen
  • Patent number: 12508711
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method for monitoring a robot system comprising a robot arm and a peripheral device, the method comprising the steps of: providing a communicative peripheral connection between the peripheral device and a robot controller; establishing an operation signal history in a digital storage wherein the operation signal history is based on operation representations; executing a robot operation process on the robot controller; establishing a peripheral signal associated with the peripheral connection; recording the peripheral signal to obtain a peripheral signal representation; updating the operation signal history by providing the peripheral signal representation as an operation representation of the operation representations; and tracking operation of the robot system based on the operation signal history. The invention further relates to a robot system.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 5, 2021
    Date of Patent: December 30, 2025
    Assignee: Universal Robots A/S
    Inventors: Ievgen Kravchenko, Kasper Tofte
  • Publication number: 20250375906
    Abstract: A robot element for a robot arm where the robot element is connectable to at least another robot element via a connecting flange having a central axis, wherein the robot element comprises: # an annular light source array comprising a plurality of light sources arranged around the central axis and where the plurality of light sources is configured to emit light in a direction along the central axis; # at least one optical component arranged above the light source array and configured to direct at least a part of the light in a direction away from the central axis.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 19, 2023
    Publication date: December 11, 2025
    Applicant: UNIVERSAL ROBOTS A/S
    Inventors: Rasmus Borgbjerg NIELSEN, Anders Elsøe
  • Patent number: 12480568
    Abstract: A strain wave gear includes an outer ring and an inner ring rotatably arranged in the outer ring. The inner ring includes an internally toothed gear and a flex spline is arranged in the inner ring and includes a flexible part that includes an external toothed gear. A wave generator is rotatable in relation to the flex spline and is configured to flex the flexible part in a radial direction to partly mesh the external toothed gear with the internally toothed gear causing rotation of the inner ring in relation to the outer ring. A part of the inner ring extends out of the outer ring and includes an outwardly protruding output flange. An encoder reader can be disposed on the outer ring and an encoder track can disposed on the inner ring. A robot joint that includes the strain wave gear is also disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 11, 2024
    Date of Patent: November 25, 2025
    Assignee: Universal Robots A/S
    Inventor: Steffen Henrik Johansen
  • Patent number: 12397414
    Abstract: The invention relates to a robot controller controlling a robot arm, the robot controller is configured to maintain the robot arm in a static posture when only gravity is acting on the robot arm and allow change in posture of the robot arm when an external force different from gravity is applied to the robot arm. The free-drive mode of operation is activatable by a user establishing a free-drive activation signal to the robot controller, which then is configured to:—monitor a value of at least one joint sensor parameter;—compare the value of the mode of joint sensor parameter to a maintain free-drive joint sensor parameter threshold value;—maintain the robot arm in said free-drive mode of operation for a predetermined maintain free-drive period of time; and—leave the free-drive mode of operation if the value of the joint sensor parameter does not exceed the maintain free-drive joint sensor parameter threshold value within the maintain free-drive period of time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 26, 2025
    Assignee: Universal Robots A/S
    Inventor: Jacob Gregers Hansen
  • Patent number: 12384030
    Abstract: A method of detecting change in contact between a contact part of a robot arm and an object as defined by the independent claims, by obtaining a contact force provided at the contact part of the robot arm by sensing a force provided to a part of said robot arm; and by obtaining the part acceleration 5 of the contact part of the robot arm by sensing the acceleration of at least a part of the robot arm and then indicate if a change in contact between the contact part of the robot arm and the object has occurred based on the obtained contact force and the obtained contact part.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 12, 2025
    Assignee: Universal Robots A/S
    Inventor: Rune Søe-Knudsen
  • Patent number: 12384019
    Abstract: The invention relates to a robot controller controlling a robot arm, the robot controller is configured to maintain the robot arm in a static posture when only gravity is acting on the robot arm and allow change in posture of the robot arm when an external force different from gravity is applied to the robot arm. The free-drive mode of operation is activatable by a user establishing a free-drive activation signal to the robot controller, which then is configured to initiate a free-drive mode activation sequence including the steps of: in a predetermined activation sequence period of time monitor a value of at least one joint sensor parameter, and compare this value to a free-drive activation joint sensor parameter threshold value. The robot controller is configured to switch to the free-drive mode of operation if the at least one value does not exceed the free-drive activation joint sensor parameter threshold value within the predetermined activation sequence period of time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2020
    Date of Patent: August 12, 2025
    Assignee: Universal Robots A/S
    Inventor: Jacob Gregers Hansen
  • Patent number: 12370675
    Abstract: A method and robot controller configured to obtain an inertia-vibration model of the robot arm. The inertia-vibration model defines a relationship between the inertia of the robot arm and the vibrational properties of said robot arm and have been by setting the robot arm in a plurality of different physical configurations and for each of said physical configurations of said robot arm obtaining the vibrational properties and the inertia the robot arm. The inertia-vibration model makes it possible to in a simple and efficient way to obtain the vibrational properties of different physical configurations of the robot arm whereby the robot arm can be controlled according to the vibrational properties of the robot arm. This makes it possible to reduce the vibrations of the robot arm during movement of the robot arm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2020
    Date of Patent: July 29, 2025
    Assignee: Universal Robots A/S
    Inventor: Dan Kielsholm Thomsen
  • Publication number: 20250230866
    Abstract: The invention relates to as a cap removably connectable to a robot arm element, the robot arm element comprises a housing having an outer surface and an inner surface. The cap is removably connectable to the outer surface via an upper cavity connectable to an upper protrusion and via at least a first lower cavity connectable to a first lower protrusion. When the cap is connected to the robot arm element, the upper protrusion is fixed in an engaged position in the upper cavity and the first lower protrusion is fixed in an engaged position in the at least first lower cavity by a flexible suspension element.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 13, 2023
    Publication date: July 17, 2025
    Applicant: UNIVERSAL ROBOTS A/S
    Inventor: Rasmus Borgbjerg NIELSEN
  • Patent number: 12350838
    Abstract: A robot controller for controlling a robot arm includes a first space shaping module configured to provide a shaped first space target motion by convolving a first space target motion with an impulse train, where the first space target motion defines a target motion in a first reference space; a second space shaping module configured to provide a shaped second space target motion by convolving a second target motion with the impulse train; where the second target motion defines the target motion in a second reference space; and a motor controller module to generate motor control signals to the joint motors based on the shaped first space target motion and the shaped second space target motion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 2021
    Date of Patent: July 8, 2025
    Assignee: Universal Robots A/S
    Inventors: Dan Kielsholm Thomsen, Rune Søe-Knudsen, Jeppe Barsøe Jessen, Christian Valdemar Lorenzen
  • Patent number: 12330306
    Abstract: A method of obtaining the gear stiffness of a robot joint gear of a robot joint of a robot arm, where the robot joint is connectable to at least another robot joint. The robot joint comprises a joint motor having a motor axle configured to rotate an output axle via the robot joint gear. The method comprises the steps of: —applying a motor torque to the motor axle using the joint motor; —obtaining the angular position of the motor axle; —obtaining the angular position of the output axle; —determining the gear stiffness based on at least the angular position of the motor axle, the angular position of the output axle and a dynamic model of the robot arm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 10, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 17, 2025
    Assignee: Universal Robots A/S
    Inventor: Emil Madsen
  • Publication number: 20250187188
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method for configuring a robot system, wherein said robot system comprises a robot arm and a robot controller configured to control operation of said robot arm. The method comprises the steps of: communicatively connecting each of at least one peripheral device to a respective peripheral port of a plurality of peripheral ports of said robot system: interactively engaging said at least one peripheral device to establish a test sequence of device states based on inputs of said at least one peripheral device to said plurality of peripheral ports: monitoring said inputs of said at least one peripheral device to said plurality of peripheral ports to identify one or more input-receiving peripheral ports of said plurality of peripheral ports; and configuring a robot system control process of said robot system based on said device states of said test sequence and based on said one or more input-receiving peripheral ports. The invention further relates to a robot system.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 6, 2023
    Publication date: June 12, 2025
    Applicant: Universal Robots A/S
    Inventor: Rune Søe-Knudsen
  • Publication number: 20250162159
    Abstract: An example robotic system includes a robotic arm configured to move in multiple degrees of freedom and a control system including one or more processing devices. The one or more processing devices are programmed to perform operations including: identifying an object in the environment accessible to the robotic arm based on sensor data indicative of the environment; determining that a component associated with the robotic arm is within a predefined distance of the object; and controlling the robotic arm to move the component toward or into alignment with the object in response to the component being within the predefined distance of the object.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 16, 2023
    Publication date: May 22, 2025
    Applicant: Universal Robots A/S
    Inventors: Chu-Yin CHANG, Bruce BLUMBERG, David Demirdjian, Andrew PETHER, Ralph F. POLIMENI, JR., Daniel SMITHWICK
  • Patent number: 12296485
    Abstract: The invention relates to a robot controller controlling a robot arm, the robot controller is configured to maintain the robot arm in a static posture when only gravity is acting on the robot arm and allow change in posture of the robot arm 5 when an external force different from gravity is applied to the robot arm. The free-drive mode of operation is activatable by a user establishing a free-drive activation signal to the robot controller, which in free-drive mode of operation is configured within at a free-drive safety period to allow a part of said robot arm to be moved within a virtual three-dimensional geometric shape 10 surrounding the part of the robot arm.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 9, 2020
    Date of Patent: May 13, 2025
    Assignee: Universal Robots A/S
    Inventor: Jacob Gregers Hansen
  • Patent number: D1082878
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 2022
    Date of Patent: July 8, 2025
    Assignee: Universal Robots A/S
    Inventors: Malin Grummas, Johan Bohman, Anja Saabye, Michael Sjørup Christiansen, Steffen Johansen, Michael Fair
  • Patent number: D1092475
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 2021
    Date of Patent: September 9, 2025
    Assignee: Universal Robots A/S
    Inventor: Jos Mirth
  • Patent number: D1093393
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 2022
    Date of Patent: September 16, 2025
    Assignee: UNIVERSAL ROBOTS A/S
    Inventors: Bruce Blumberg, James Swanbeck, Elliot Kindt, Alexander Munkholm Madsen, Michael Sjørup Christiansen, Anders Kromann Nielsen
  • Patent number: D1099187
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 2022
    Date of Patent: October 21, 2025
    Assignee: Universal Robots A/S
    Inventors: Malin Grummas, Amanda Bjurenborg, Anja Saabye, Michael Sjørup Christiansen, Steffen Johansen, Rasmus Borgbjerg Nielsen, Michael Fair