Akira Nagayama

Positioning method using polarization-detecting optical sensor for precision robot systems

A new positioning method using an optical pick-up sensor is demonstrated for an automated subscriber wire distributing frame at the front-end of a telephone switching station called Automated Main Distributing Frame. The wiring operation has been replaced by automated pin insertion into a matrix board which has recently been developed from printed circuit board technology. This positioning method achieves two-dimensional positioning accuracy of 15 im on dynamic strokes across an area of a few meters square. Optical disk pick-up and printed circuit board technologies are employed to achieve such accuracy on a wide stroke. A sensor employing two polarized lights and three position-sensitive devices can detect three-dimensional displacement and two-dimensional inclination from the target guide pattern on the matrix board. We applied this new positioning method to an automated main distributing frame prototype system. Positioning experimerits performed using a cylindrical coordinate motion mechanism with a stroke of 1 . 8 m have obtained two-dimensional p0- sitioning accuracy within 1 5pm. The results confirm the feasibility of highly accurate positioning and insertion of a small pin into a closely spaced crosspoint hole in a matrix board. This will lead to precise and reliable positioning for an automated main distributing frame in an automated subscriber wiring operation in a telephone switching station.