William John Eakins, 49Coventry, CT

8606398, Dec 10, 2013

Aug 29, 2008

13/061245

William Eakins - Bloomfield CT, US
Thomas A. Fuhlbrigge - Ellington CT, US
Carlos Martinez - West Hartford CT, US
Heping Chen - Austin TX, US
Gregory Rossano - Enfield CT, US

ABB Research Ltd. - Zurich

G06F 19/00

700245, 700117, 700256, 700900, 901 29, 901 31

A robot () is used to pick parts from a bin ( in FIG. ). The robot has a compliant apparatus () and one or more tools are connected to the apparatus to perform the picking. The compliant apparatus has mechanisms for monitoring and/or controlling its compliance. The compliant apparatus can have various embodiments. Force sensing can be used during removal of grasped parts from the bin to determine the force exerted on the picking tool (s). The signal indicative of the exerted force can be used by the robot controller to determine the weight of the parts that may be held by the picking tool(s). The robot has one or more devices (FIG. ) which can be the picking tool to stir the parts in the bin.

2010031, Dec 9, 2010

Jun 5, 2009

12/479185

Sangeun Choi - Simsbury CT, US
Thomas A. Fuhlbrigge - Ellington CT, US
William Eakins - Bloomfield CT, US
Gregory Rossano - Enfield CT, US

ABB Research Ltd. - Zurich

G06F 19/00

700254, 901 5, 901 9, 901 42, 901 46

A lead-through teaching device for an industrial robot is calibrated by moving the device to each of a predetermined number of reference poses. A controller responds to a signal from the device induced by gravity at each of the reference poses to calibrate the device to a predetermined coordinate frame. If necessary, a removable weight can be mounted to the device. The robot can hold either the tool that is to perform work on a workpiece or the workpiece. In those applications where the tool has a removable component, the lead-through teaching device can replace the removable component during its calibration to the predetermined coordinate frame.

2011022, Sep 15, 2011

Aug 29, 2008

13/061342

Carlos Martinez - West Hartford CT, US
Thomas A. Fuhlbrigge - Ellington CT, US
William Eakins - Bloomfield CT, US
Heping Chen - Austin TX, US
Gregory Rossano - Enfield CT, US
Steven West - Howell MI, US

ABB RESEARCH LTD. - Zurich

B25J 9/16
G05B 19/00
G06F 19/00

414730, 700250

A robot is used to pick parts from a bin. The robot has a compliant apparatus and one or more tools are connected to the apparatus to perform the picking. The compliant apparatus has mechanisms for monitoring and/or controlling its compliance. The compliant apparatus can have various embodiments. Force sensing can be used during removal of grasped parts from the bin to determine the force exerted on the picking tool(s). The signal indicative of the exerted force can be used by the robot controller to determine the weight of the parts that may be held by the picking tool(s). The robot has one or more devices which can be the picking tool to stir the parts in the bin.

2011022, Sep 15, 2011

Aug 29, 2008

13/061437

Carlos Martinez - West Hartford CT, US
Thomas A. Fuhlbrigge - Ellington CT, US
William Eakins - Bloomfield CT, US
Heping Chen - Austin TX, US
Gregory Rossano - Enfield CT, US
Steven West - Howell MI, US

ABB RESEARCH LTD. - Zurich

B25J 9/16
B25J 9/00
G06F 19/00
G05B 19/00

414730, 700250

A robot for picking one or more parts () randomly distributed in a bin (), this robot comprising a moveable arm (), a computing device () connected to said robot for controlling motion of said moveable arm and a tool () connected to said moveable arm for picking one or more of said parts from said bin,—said robot using said picking tool by itself or another tool () mounted on the robot or grasped by the picking tool to stir one or more of said one or more randomly distributed parts in said bin when said computing device determines that a predetermined event requiring stirring of said parts has occurred.

2014005, Feb 20, 2014

Oct 30, 2013

14/067549

William Eakins - Bloomfield CT, US
Thomas A. Fuhlbrigge - Ellington CT, US
Carlos Martinez - West Hartford CT, US
Heping Chen - Austin TX, US
Gregory Rossano - Enfield CT, US

ABB RESEARCH LTD. - Zurich

B25J 9/16

700258, 901 31

A robot is used to pick parts from a bin. The robot has a compliant apparatus and one or more tools are connected to the apparatus to perform the picking. The compliant apparatus has mechanisms for monitoring and/or controlling its compliance. The compliant apparatus can have various embodiments. Force sensing can be used during removal of grasped parts from the bin to determine the force exerted on the picking tool(s). The signal indicative of the exerted force can be used by the robot controller to determine the weight of the parts that may be held by the picking tool(s). The robot has one or more devices which can be the picking tool to stir the parts in the bin.

2022041, Dec 29, 2022

Oct 29, 2019

17/772370

Biao Zhang - West Hartford CT, US
- Baden, CH
Yixin Liu - Houghton MI, US
Jianjun Wang - West Hartford CT, US
William J. Eakins - Coventry CT, US
Andrew M. Salm - West Hartford CT, US
Yun Hsuan Su - Seattle WA, US
Jorge Vidal-Ribas - Esplugues de Llobregat, ES
Jordi Artigas - Barcelona, ES
Ramon Casanelles - Sant Cugat del Vellès, ES

ABB Schweiz AG - Baden

B25J 9/16

A system and method for use of artificial and nature racking features to calibrate sensors and tune a robotic control system of a sensor fusion guided robotic assembly. The artificial tracking features can have a configuration, or be at a location, that may be less susceptible to noise and error. Thus, the sensors can at least initially be calibrated, and the control system initially tuned, using the first tracking features until the sensors and control system satisfy operation performance criteria. Second tracking features, which may correspond to features on a workpiece that will be utilized in an assembly operation performed by the robot. By pre-calibrating the sensors, and pre-tuning the control system prior to calibration using the second tracking features, sensor calibration and system tuning based on the second tracking features can be attained faster and with less complexity.

2022021, Jul 7, 2022

Jan 5, 2021

17/141397

- Baden, CH
Harshang Shah - Bloomfield CT, US
William J. Eakins - Coventry CT, US
Saumya Sharma - Albany NY, US
Thomas A. Fuhlbrigge - Ellington CT, US

ABB Schweiz AG - Baden

G05D 1/00
G05D 1/02
G01C 21/20
E05F 15/73

A system for servicing a data center using an autonomous vehicle (AV) is provided. The system comprises the AV and the AV is configured to: receive a task to perform within the data center, wherein the data center comprises a plurality of servers associated with a plurality of enterprise organizations; navigate from an initial location within the data center to a new location within the data center along a path extending through a portion of the data center, the path being determined automatically; and while navigating the path and in response to encountering a movable barrier disposed along the path, performing a procedure to bypass the movable barrier such that the AV can continue navigating along the path.

2021034, Nov 11, 2021

May 8, 2020

16/869725

- Baden, CH
Matthew Hetrich - Raleigh NC, US
Gregory A. Cole - West Hartford CT, US
William J. Eakins - Coventry CT, US

ABB Schweiz AG - Baden

B60L 53/35
B60L 53/16
H02K 7/116
H02J 7/00
B25J 9/16
B25J 13/08
B25J 9/10
B25J 18/00

A charging device autonomously charges an electric vehicle. The charging device includes: a main body and an arm coupled to the main body. The main body is controllably moveable, and the arm is controllably extendable and retractable in a longitudinal direction. A charging plug is included at a distal end of the arm. The charging plug is controllably moveable and insertable into a charging portal of the electric vehicle. The arm comprises: a rigid chain, the rigid chain being compliant in a first direction from a neutral axis and resistant in an opposite second direction past the neutral axis, or at least one scissor arm.