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An industrial robot including a manipulator, a control unit for controlling the manipulator, a portable operating unit for teaching and manually operating the robot, which operating unit is adapted for wireless communication with the control unit, and an emergency stop unit. The emergency stop unit

An industrial robot including a manipulator, a control unit for controlling the manipulator, a portable operating unit for teaching and manually operating the robot, which operating unit is adapted for wireless communication with the control unit, and an emergency stop unit. The emergency stop unit is arranged movable and the portable operating unit includes a first receiving member for receiving the emergency stop unit.

대표청구항 ▼

The invention claimed is: 1. An industrial robot, comprising: a manipulator; a movable emergency stop unit comprising an emergency stop button configured when enabled to trigger an emergency stop of the manipulator upon activation; a control unit for controlling the manipulator, the control unit co

The invention claimed is: 1. An industrial robot, comprising: a manipulator; a movable emergency stop unit comprising an emergency stop button configured when enabled to trigger an emergency stop of the manipulator upon activation; a control unit for controlling the manipulator, the control unit comprising a first receiving member configured to receive the emergency stop unit, the control unit further comprising a sensor configured to detect the presence of the emergency stop button in the first receiving member and a processor configured to enable the emergency stop button upon detecting the presence of the emergency stop unit in the first receiving member; and a portable operating unit for teaching and manually operating the robot, the portable operating unit comprising a second receiving member configured to receive the emergency stop unit removed from the control unit, the portable operating unit further comprising a sensor configured to detect the presence of the emergency stop button in the second receiving member and a processor configured to enable the emergency stop button and establish wireless communication with the control unit upon detecting the presence of the emergency stop unit in the second receiving member, wherein the emergency stop unit is movable back and forth between the first receiving member of the control unit and the second receiving member of the portable operating unit. 2. The industrial robot according to claim 1, wherein said movable emergency stop unit comprises means for carrying information about an identity of the robot and the portable operating unit comprises means for reading the robot identity from the emergency stop unit. 3. The industrial robot according to claim 1, wherein the control unit comprises means for comparing an identity of the robot with an identity carried by the emergency stop unit and determining whether the identity of the robot and the identity carried by the emergency stop unit are equal. 4. The industrial robot according to claim 1, wherein the communication between the portable operating unit and the control unit is carried out via a base station and the movable emergency stop unit further comprises means for carrying information about the address of the base station. 5. The industrial robot according to claim 1, wherein the control unit further comprises means for measuring a time elapsed between a point of time when the emergency stop unit is removed from the second receiving member until when a wireless communication is established between the portable operating unit and the control unit. 6. The industrial robot according to claim 5, wherein the control unit further comprises means for comparing said time with a predetermined maximum time and activating the emergency stop unit depending on the result of said comparison. 7. The industrial robot according to claim 2, wherein the control unit further comprises means for detecting lack of robot identity in the emergency stop unit and means for transferring the identity of the robot to the emergency stop unit. 8. The industrial robot according to claim 2, wherein the control unit further comprises means for detecting lack of robot identity in the control unit itself and means for transferring the identity of the robot from the emergency stop unit to the control unit. 9. The industrial robot according to claim 1, further comprising: a spot welding apparatus. 10. A method for ensuring the functioning of a movable emergency stop unit for an industrial robot comprising a manipulator, a movable emergency stop unit comprising an emergency stop button configured when enabled to trigger an emergency stop of the manipulator upon activation, a control unit for controlling the manipulator, the control unit comprising a first receiving member configured to receive the emergency stop unit, the control unit further comprising a sensor configured to detect the presence of the emergency stop button in the first receiving member and a processor configured to enable the emergency stop button upon detecting the presence of the emergency stop unit in the first receiving member, a portable operating unit for teaching and manually operating the robot, the portable operating unit comprising a second receiving member configured to receive the emergency stop unit removed from the control unit, the portable operating unit further comprising a sensor configured to detect the presence of the emergency stop button in the second receiving member and a processor configured to enable the emergency stop button and establish wireless communication with the control unit upon detecting the presence of the emergency stop unit in the second receiving member, the method comprising: moving the emergency stop unit from the second receiving member of the control unit to the first receiving member of the portable operating unit; detecting the presence of the emergency stop unit in the first receiving member of the portable operating unit; establishing wireless communication between the portable operating unit and the control unit; enabling the emergency stop unit in the first receiving member of the portable operating unit; and actuating the emergency stop unit to stop movement of the manipulator. 11. The method according to claim 10, further comprising: transmitting information about the identity of the robot from the emergency stop unit to the portable operating unit. 12. The method according to claim 10, further comprising: measuring a time elapsed between a point of time when the emergency stop unit is being removed from the place at or in connection with the control unit until said communication is established between the operating unit and the control unit. 13. The method according to claim 10, further comprising: moving the emergency stop unit from the operating unit to said place at or in connection with the control unit and checking whether the received emergency stop unit carries the same identification as the robot connected to the control unit. 14. An industrial robot system, comprising: a plurality of industrial robots, each robot comprising a manipulator; a movable emergency stop unit comprising an emergency stop button configured when enabled to trigger an emergency stop of the manipulator upon activation, the emergency stop unit also configured to store information about an identity of the robot to which the emergency stop unit belongs; and a control unit for controlling the manipulator, the control unit comprising a first receiving member configured to receive the emergency stop unit, the control unit further comprising a sensor configured to detect the presence of the emergency stop button in the first receiving member and a processor configured to enable the emergency stop button upon detecting the presence of the emergency stop unit in the first receiving member; a portable operating unit for teaching and manually operating the robots, the portable operating unit comprising a second receiving member configured to receive the emergency stop unit removed from one of the control units, the portable operating unit further comprising a sensor configured to detect the presence of the emergency stop button in the second receiving member and a processor configured to read the identity of the robot to which the emergency stop unit belong and to enable the emergency stop button and establish wireless communication with the control unit of the robot to which the emergency stop button belongs upon detecting the presence of the emergency stop unit in the second receiving member. 15. The industrial robot system according to claim 14, wherein each of the robots comprises a processor configured to determine whether the received emergency stop unit carries the same identification as the robot. 16. The industrial robot according to claim 14, wherein one of the robots further comprises a spot welding apparatus.