This invention concerns a method of inserting at least two objects into a common receiving device by means of a robot manipulator. Furthermore, the invention concerns a robot manipulator for carrying out such a method.

Various products, such as mobile phones, are packed together with their accessories, such as charging cables, adapters, headphones, operating instructions, SIM card connectors, etc., in a common packaging before they are delivered and offered.

The parts to be packaged usually have different dimensions and shapes, different weights and different material properties. Although the packaging with the corresponding inserts, which have compartments, chambers or other receptacle geometries for the individual parts, are pre-defined or matched to one another both individually and in their respective interaction, however, as regards their handling, the dimensions and weights of these can vary so greatly that packaging of the entire unit is still carried out almost completely manually to this day.

Such manual processes have the disadvantage that the speed of loading or placement is generally limited in relation to the packaging and depends on the skill of the packer.

Against this background, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a simple, robust and more cost-effective method for inserting several objects into a receiving device common to these objects by means of a robot manipulator.

Furthermore, it is an objective to provide a robot manipulator that is adapted to perform such a method. This objective is solved by a method of inserting objects into a common receiving device by means of a robot manipulator according to claim 1 and a robot manipulator according to claim 16.

In a first aspect, therefore, the invention concerns a method of inserting objects which differ in shape, dimensions, material properties and/or weight into a common receiving device, by means of an actuator-driven robot manipulator of a robot and for controlling the robot manipulator, the robot manipulator having an effector at its distal end, which is designed to receive and/or grip the objects, wherein an insertion trajectory is defined in relation to the receiving device and to each object, and a desired orientation of the object to be inserted along the insertion trajectory is defined for locations of the insertion trajectory, wherein the insertion trajectories for inserting each object differ from one another or run at least partly congruently.

In a further configuration of the inventive method, the target orientations of the insertion trajectories for inserting each object should differ from each other.

The objects to be inserted may differ not only in shape, dimensions and weight, but also in material properties. The objects can be made of a hard, unyielding material, if necessary with a high weight, or of a very light, if necessary resilient and flexible material, which in itself creates different conditions for handling by a robot manipulator.

The method according to the invention may also comprise the following method steps:

a) picking up a first object by the effector from a storage device associated with this object, b) transferring the object by means of the robot manipulator to a starting position of the insertion trajectory for this obj ect,

c) inserting the object by means of the robot manipulator along the insertion trajectory into a receptacle associated with this object within the receiving device until the object is fully accommodated in the receptacle associated with it, wherein the recognition of the state of how far the insertion of the object has progressed and/or the recognition of whether the insertion of the object has been successfully completed is defined in that at least one predetermined limit value

condition for a torque acting on the effector and/or a force acting on the effector is reached or exceeded, and/or a provided force/torque signature and/or a position/speed signature on the effector is reached or exceeded.

The definition or determination of the respective insertion trajectories depends on the type and condition of the objects on the one hand and on the design and position of the

receptacle intended for these objects within the receiving device on the other hand.

The receptacles can be structured in different ways. These can be simple compartments with a predefined depth into which the objects can be easily deposited, taking into account

predefined tolerances. The edges of such trays can be

contoured, tapered or chamfered to match the objects to be inserted, making insertion easier. It is also conceivable to form captive but detachable plug connections. The fixtures or receptacles may also have peripheral edges in the receptacle itself on which objects can be placed.

The receiving device, e.g. a packaging for several objects, forms the limited space, which is preferably positioned stationary to the robot and within which the robot manipulator is to place the individual objects sequentially in a sequence and arrangement provided for this purpose.

In addition, the individual receptacles provided for the individual objects within the receiving device each define a three-dimensional position in space itself.

This limited space, the packaging envelope so to speak, can also be used that the internal boundaries (walls) and/or the external boundaries (walls) of the receiving device serve at least partially as guide surfaces for the insertion of objects, the insertion trajectories being matched with respect to these objects to the orientation of the internal and/or external boundaries of the receiving device.

The procedure also includes the further steps:

d) after completion of the insertion of the object, release the object by the effector,

e) transferring the effector to another object by means of the robot manipulator along a predetermined transfer trajectory, g) picking up the further object by the effector from a storage device associated with said object; and

h) performing steps b) and c) for said object.

An essential feature of the invention is that step c) is carried out with force-controlled and/or impedance-controlled translatory movements of the robot manipulator in the desired orientation of the respective insertion trajectory for an obj ect .

In an advantageous variant of the method according to the invention, step c) can be performed additionally or

alternatively under force-controlled and/or impedance- controlled rotary/tilting movements and/or translatory lateral movements of the robot manipulator relative to the desired orientations of the insertion trajectories for an object.

Both the lateral translation and the rotary/tilting movements are used to counter tolerance deviations between the object and the insertion opening of the receptacle defined for this object in order to ensure that the object can be inserted more easily. On the other hand, they can be used during the

insertion process to overcome frictional resistances that occur with a strictly linear guidance between two surfaces.

The method may also be designed such that, if an error occurs when inserting the objects by means of the robot manipulator along the respective insertion trajectory into the receptacles provided for the objects in the receiving device, the

insertion of the object by means of the robot manipulator into the receptacle provided for this can be repeated with a modified insertion trajectory and/or with modified parameters for the force-controlled and/or impedance-controlled

translatory and/or rotary/tilting movements of the object relative to the respective nominal orientation.

In order that the above-mentioned individual method steps can be carried out automatically in the course of equipping a packaging with differently configured objects or individual parts, it is advantageous that these steps are preferably carried out using a robot that is compliantly and/or

sensitively designed.

Robots with position-controlled axes are generally not

suitable for such steps in the method, since the forces acting on the robot from outside must be measured for position control. These forces form the basis for the desired dynamic behavior, which is then transmitted to the robot via inverse kinematics, also known as admittance control. In the present case, due to the many operations which would have to be carried out at many different positions and which vary in nature, as for example

- the exact and non-destructive removal of objects from storage devices assigned to these objects, the storage devices being positioned differently in relation to the robot,

- the transfer of the picked up objects to an exact starting position of an insertion trajectory in relation to an

receptacle being individualized for the respective object with regard to design and position within the receiving device; and

- the exact and non-destructive insertion of the objects into these individual receptacles;

the programming efforts would be simply too high for a

strictly position-controlled robot.

The required position control would have to be so precise that the individual steps described above could be implemented at all, which is economically impossible to program in the context of position control, not to mention the susceptibility to errors .

Due to the control principle used, such position-controlled robots would also not be able to detect errors or deviations, for example if for any reason the actual position of the object to be inserted deviates slightly from the set position provided for this purpose when it is picked up by the effector from a storage device in order to react accordingly. It would only be possible to insert the objects correctly into the holder of the receiving device if the objects are deposited exactly in the position specified by the programming in the receiving devices arranged stationary in the working area of the robot. For carrying out the method it is a core of the invention that the robot used, at least one robot, has such an integrated compliance control or is equipped with an intrinsic compliance or with a combination of active and passive compliance, the method also preferably being carried out by such programmable, multi-axis robot manipulators of robots of the lightweight design .

In this context, it should be mentioned that the compliance control is based, for example, on the so-called impedance control, which, in contrast to the admittance control already mentioned, is based on torque control at joint level.

Depending on a desired dynamic behavior and taking into account the deviations of an actual position from a defined target position and/or an actual velocity from a target velocity and/or an actual acceleration from a target

acceleration, forces or torques are determined, which are then mapped via the known kinematics of the robot, which results from the number and arrangement of the joints and axes of the manipulator and thus degrees of freedom, to corresponding joint torques, which are set via the torque control. The torque sensor elements integrated in the joints record the one-dimensional torque prevailing at the output of the gear of the drive unit located in the joint, which can take into account the elasticity of the joint within the scope of control as a measured variable. In particular, the use of a corresponding torque sensor device, in contrast to the use of only one force moment sensor on the effector, as in admittance control, also allows the measurement of forces which are not exerted on the effector but on the links of the robot and on an object held by or to be processed by the robot when it is inserted into an object holder. The torques can also be measured via force sensors in the structure and/or base of the robot system. In particular, joint mechanisms between the individual axes of the manipulator can also be used, which allow multi-axis torque detection. Also conceivable are translatory joints equipped with corresponding force sensors.

The compliance control and sensitivity achieved in this way proves to be advantageous for this invention in many respects.

In principle, such a compliance control allows the robot used for the intended method or for individual method steps thereof to be able to carry out controlled internal movements, whereby these internal movements then correspond to individual steps of the method. In this context, such a robot would also be able to "search" independently and "feel" non-destructively the different positions of the objects and the storage devices as well as the holders within the receiving device, if

necessary, without causing damage, which proves to be

advantageous for differently configured and dimensioned objects of an assembly.

A further advantage of the compliance control is that it allows the objects to be inserted to be placed more

inaccurately or not exactly positioned, which means that both the depositing devices and the receptacles assigned to these objects can be manufactured in the receiving device with higher tolerances. Inaccuracies caused by this can be

compensated for in a corresponding manner by means of a correspondingly compliant control by reducing the associated contact forces when taking up and inserting the objects. It is also possible that the receptacles themselves can be made of a flexible material.

The robot manipulator is advantageously designed and set up to move a determined point of the effector, for example the so- called "Tool Center Point" (TCP) or a determined point of the object (for example its center of gravity or geometric center) along the given insertion trajectory, whereby the center of gravity is determined individually by the respective object.

The insertion trajectory is therefore advantageously

predetermined depending on the relative starting position of the object arranged at the effector for its reception in the receiving device, on the geometry of the object and on the geometry of the reception, such as the depth and whether edges are present or the opening width thereof.

When inserting objects, the insertion trajectory is preferably a straight line directed at the receptacle or its insertion opening. However, three-dimensional, single or multiple inclined curves are also conceivable until the object comes into contact with the receptacle. Further insertion into the receptacle can then be done strictly linearly along a linear insertion trajectory or via curved movements.

The effector can move along the respective insertion

trajectories at a relatively high speed until shortly before the receptacle is reached. Then the effector moves at a much slower speed towards the insertion opening of the receptacle until the object comes into contact with this insertion opening or its edges or a tapering taper thereof. An inwardly tapering insertion opening of the receptacle can also serve as a kind of guide for the object, with which a flexibly

controlled robot acts in interaction during insertion.

In principle, the robot manipulator must recognize what the actual state of the insertion process is, which, according to the invention, is realized by the aforementioned limit value conditions and/or individual signatures. These signatures are in principle concrete characteristic properties of forces and/or torques and/or positions and/or speeds detected on the robot manipulator that exceed a simple threshold value. These may include, for example, a certain time behavior of the measured forces, torques, positions and/or speeds, as well as characteristic properties that depend on these parameters.

The aforementioned measures can significantly increase the success rate of the insertion process. It is therefore not necessary for the objects to be inserted to be positioned exactly inside the storage device, nor is it necessary for the effector to pick up the objects exactly. The compliantly controlled robot manipulator is able to apply the above- mentioned compensatory measures during the insertion process.

In a further embodiment of the invention, an object to be inserted may have a reception for the object to be inserted subsequently. Furthermore, the last object to be attached may be designed to close the receiving device. For example, it could be a lid that is placed on top of or placed over the receiving device, whereby the receiving device is inserted into the lid, albeit in a stationary arrangement.

Another aspect of the invention concerns a computer system with a data processing device, wherein the data processing device is designed such that a method as described above is performed on the data processing device.

Another aspect of the invention concerns a digital storage medium with electronically readable control signals, whereby the control signals can interact with a programmable computer system in such a way that a method as described above is carried out.

Furthermore, the invention concerns a computer program product with a program code stored on a machine-readable medium for carrying out the method as described above when the program code is executed on a data processing device, and a computer program with program codes for carrying out this method when the program is executed on a data processing device.

A further aspect of the invention concerns a robot with an actuator-driven robot manipulator, the robot manipulator having at its distal end an effector designed to grip an object, comprising a control unit which is designed and arranged such that a method as described above is executable.

According to the invention, the robot is preferably an

articulated arm robot of lightweight construction with a robot manipulator with at least 6, preferably 7 degrees of freedom.

Since the effector of the robot manipulator must be able to grip objects of different configurations and dimensions, a vacuum lifter is preferably used in accordance with the invention. This is linked to the robot controller in such a way that the control unit detects when the vacuum lifter touches an object to pick up or lift it up, or when an object is completely placed in a compartment to activate or

deactivate it to form a captivated contact between it and the object. Both states can be detected and evaluated by counter forces and counter torques acting on the effector and thus on the robot manipulator via the vacuum lifter, which, for example, are detected by the joint sensors.

According to the invention, the robot is to be used in

connection with the loading of a packaging for a product with several components of any design. A preferred application concerns equipping a packaging for a mobile phone with it and several accessories.

Further advantages and features of the invention result from the description of the embodiment shown in the enclosed drawings . Fig. 1 schematically shows a configuration of a robot station for carrying out the inventive method;

Fig. 2a - 2e exemplarily show the handling of a first object according to the inventive-related method;

Fig. 3a - 3c exemplarily show the handling of a second object according to the invention-related method;

Fig. 4a - 4d exemplarily show the handling of a third object according to the invention-related method;

Fig. 5a - 5e exemplarily show the handling of a fourth object according to the invention-related method;

Fig. 6a - 6d exemplarily show the handling of a fifth object according to the invention-related method; and

Fig. 7a - 7e exemplarily show the handling of a sixth object according to the invention-related method.

Fig. 1 shows a schematic structure of a robot station for carrying out the inventive method using the example of

packaging a mobile radio device with its accessories in a single package.

The proposed method of inserting several objects into a common receiving device is implemented by means of an actuator-driven robot manipulator 1 of a robot, which has an effector 2 at its distal end, which is designed for receiving and/or gripping the objects. For this purpose, a vacuum generator 3 is provided, which is mounted directly on the effector 2 and has a vacuum lifter 4 with a suction button 5 opposite to it.

Several storage devices are arranged in defined stationary positions in front of the stationary robot.

A first depositing or storage device 6, on which the receiving device to be loaded is arranged, in this example the lower half of a packaging 7 with an insert 8, which already has receptacles or compartments 9.1 and 9.2 for further objects. Furthermore, a peripheral, set-off edge 10 is provided in the packaging 7, as the enlarged illustration of Fig. 2c shows.

In addition, there is a second storage device 11 in the form of a chute in which several objects are stored, headphone sets 12, adapter or plug 13 and mobile radio devices 14.

On the other side of the holder 6 there is a third holder 15 which holds an operating manual or an envelope 16 for the SIM card pin; a fourth holder 17 which holds an intermediate receptacle 18 with a compartment 19 for the mobile phone 14 and a fifth holder 20 which holds the lid 21 for the receiving device or packaging 7.

Figures 2a to 2d show the handling of a first object 12 by means of the robot manipulator 1.

The robot manipulator 1 moves to the depositing device 11 and picks up the headphone set 12 with its vacuum lifter 4, lifts it and transfers it to a starting point in the insertion trajectory Ti ₂ provided for this object (Fig. 2b, c).

This is shown schematically in Fig. 2c. In the simplest and therefore also preferred version, the insertion trajectory Ti ₂ is selected such that it has a common set orientation O _set for individual locations R _T of the insertion trajectory Ti ₂ , whereby the insertion trajectory Ti ₂ extends between

compartment 9.1 and effector 2 in such a way that it runs exactly perpendicularly above and centrally to compartment 9.1 on one side and is connected exactly to the Tool Center Point TCP of the effector 2 on the other side. Consequently, the insertion trajectory T ₁₂ and thus the set orientation O _set (RT) for individual locations RT is always oriented on the compartment 9.1 and the object to be inserted 12.

This allows the robot manipulator 1 in a subsequent step to feed and insert object 12 strictly linearly into compartment 9.1 via a downwardly directed translatory movement (Fig. 2d) . Then the vacuum generator 3 is deactivated, the vacuum lifter 4 releases the object 12 and the robot manipulator 1 moves along an output trajectory A ₁₂ , which is congruent with the input trajectory T ₁₂ , via a translatory movement upwards (see arrow in Fig. 2e) .

Figures 3a to 3c show the handling of a second object 13 using the robot manipulator 1.

After the robot manipulator 1 has placed object 12 in the compartment 9.1 provided for this purpose, it moves along a defined transfer trajectory (not shown) back to the depositing device 11 in order to receive the second object, a plug 13, in an analogous manner (Fig. 3a) and to transfer it to a starting point in the insertion trajectory T ₁₃ assigned to this object 13 (Fig . 3b) .

Here, too, the insertion trajectory T ₂₃ is selected such that for individual locations RT of the insertion trajectory T ₁₃ it has a common set orientation O _set/ whereby the insertion trajectory T ₁₃ extends between compartment 9.2 and effector 2 such that on one side it runs exactly perpendicularly above and centrally to compartment 9.2 and on the other side is connected exactly to the Tool Center Point TCP of the effector 2. Consequently, the insertion trajectory T ₁₃ and thus the set orientation O _set( RT) for individual locations RT is always oriented on compartment 9.2 and the object to be inserted 13. The insertion trajectory T ₁₃ therefore runs parallel to the insertion trajectory Ti ₂ .

Then the effector 2 releases the object 13 in an analogous manner and moves upwards along a corresponding output

trajectory A _{13 (} Fig. 3c) in order to move along a further (not shown) transfer trajectory to the depositing device 15 by means of the robot manipulator 1.

Figures 4a to 4d show the handling of a third object 16 using the robot manipulator 1.

This is a paper envelope 16, which is soft and flexible. When removing envelope 16, the robot manipulator 1 together with its effector 2 performs force- and/or impedance-controlled turning/tilting movements so that the envelope 16 does not tilt at the edges of the storage device 15 due to its material properties, as indicated by the arrow in Fig. 4b. This process has its own inventive significance. Then the robot manipulator 1 transfers the object 16 to a starting point in the insertion trajectory Ti ₆ assigned to this object, taking into account the corresponding set orientation O _set (Fig. 4c), and inserts it via a downwardly directed translatory movement, if necessary under the effect of further slight rotary/tilting movements (Fig . 4d) .

Figures 5a to 5e show the handling of a fourth object 18 using the robot manipulator 1.

This is an intermediate insert 18 with a compartment 19 to hold the mobile phone 14, which consists of a flexible but slightly more stable material than envelope 16.

The vacuum lifter 4 removes the insert 18 from the depositing device 17 (Fig. 5a) and transfers it to a starting point of the insertion trajectory Tig.i (Fig. 5b) assigned to this object 18. Here, the object 18 is slightly placed with one end face on the edge 10 of the receiving device 7 (Fig. 5b) and then moved along the insertion trajectory Tis.i by means of the robot manipulator 1 by a laterally directed translatory movement (in the illustration of Fig. 5b pointing backwards) until the insert 18 has reached the end face of the packaging 7 (Fig.

5c) . In addition to edge 10, the robot manipulator 1 can use the inner wall of packaging 7 as a guide along which the insert 18 is guided.

Then the robot manipulator 1 tilts the object 18 downwards along another T _18.2 insertion trajectory (Fig. 5d) until the insert 18 is completely deposited on the edge 10 (Fig. 5e) .

In the present case, the insertion process for object 18 consists of a combination of movements along differently aligned insertion trajectories, a two-dimensional

translational movement along the insertion trajectory Tis.i and a three-dimensional tilting movement along the insertion trajectory Ti _8.2 .

Figures 6a to 6d show the handling of a fifth object 14 by means of the robot manipulator 1.

In the known manner the robot manipulator 1 moves back to the depositing device 11 and picks up a mobile radio device 14 (Fig. 6a) by means of the vacuum lifter 4, which is known to be rigid and has a correspondingly higher weight than the previous parts. The advantage of the depositing device 11 designed as a sliding mechanism is that after removing the object 14 the next object 14 simply slips to the correct removal position for the robot manipulator 1 for subsequent pick-up processes (Fig. 6b), just as this is the case for the objects 12 and 13. Then the robot manipulator 1 transfers object 14 in the manner already described in analogy to a starting point in an

insertion trajectory Ti ₄ assigned to object 14 with

corresponding set orientations. By a simple, downwardly directed translatory movement (Fig. 6c) the mobile radio device 14 is inserted into the compartment 19 of the insert 18 provided for this purpose, before the vacuum lifter 4 releases the object 14 and the robot manipulator 1 retracts along a further output trajectory A _{14 (} Fig. 6d) .

Figures 7a to 7e show the handling of a last object 21 using the robot manipulator 1.

After the robot manipulator 1 has moved to another depositing device 20, it uses the vacuum lifter 4 to grip a lid 21 for packaging 7 (Fig. 7a), lifts it (Fig. 7b) and transfers it to a starting point in the insertion trajectory T _2i and moves it downwards along this insertion trajectory T _2i , whereby the robot manipulator 1 additionally makes slight turning/tilting movements, as indicated by corresponding arrows (Fig. 7c - 7e) . This makes the lid 21 easier to slide onto the package 7 by reducing friction and allowing air to escape from the inside, as would be the case if the lid 21 were pushed on by hand. When placing the lid 21, the robot manipulator 1 can use the outer walls of the packaging 7 for guidance, whereby the impedance- or force-controlled, translatory and/or

rotary/tilting movements allow the lid 21 to be displaced along the outer walls, two of which face each other. The process of alternatively or additionally carrying out

rotational and/or tilting movements by means of a robot manipulator when a lid or an object having at least two intersecting surfaces is pushed, possesses an own inventive significance . It can be seen that the insertion trajectories T _2i , Ti ₄ and Ti _¾ can have essentially the same orientation O _set/ while the insertion trajectories Ti ₂ and T ₁₃ are offset in parallel and the insertion trajectories Tis _.i and T _18.2 again differ from all of them with regard to their orientations.

All the above-mentioned insertion movements have in common that the robot manipulator 1 and its control unit are designed to recognize how far the insertion process has progressed or whether the respective object is completely inserted into the receptacle provided for this purpose on the basis of at least one predetermined ideal limit value condition Gi, e.g. a counter force resulting from an object completely inserted into the receptacle, or on the basis of an ideal force/torque signature and/or position/speed signature Si.

When the robot sensors detect, e.g. by means of the torque and, if necessary, force sensors arranged in the joints of the robot manipulator 1, that an insertion of the respective object into its receptacle was not easily possible, because the object could not exactly engage in the receptacle during the translatory or other insertion movement along the

respective insertion trajectory, which can also be defined by corresponding predetermined limit value conditions Gi and/or signatures Si, the robot manipulator 1, together with its effector 2, can perform force- and/or impedance-controlled rotary/tilting movements and/or lateral translational

movements (not shown in the figures) until the object engages precisely with the receptacle and before the robot manipulator 1 performs the final translational or other insertion

movement .

The robot manipulator 1 is therefore designed in such a way that it "feels" or "senses" the insertion opening of the respective receptacles or even of edge 10 itself during the insertion process. The turning/tilting movements can include a few degrees to less than 1 degree to the nominal orientation 0 _Set and the lateral movements a few millimeters or only a fraction thereof to the nominal orientation O _set ·

All movements of the above-mentioned method steps can be repeated as often as required, so that the packaging of such an object can be carried out automatically and reliably. The assembly cycle times can be reduced, which makes the automated process more economical.

The movements of robot manipulator 1 in all the method steps described above are force and/or impedance controlled and can be taught or programmed to the robot by a user, preferably by means of a predefined App control system which maps individual method steps within the entire invention-related method.