MARKING OF THE TOOL CENTRE AND OF THE ORIENTATION OF AN ACOUSTIC PROBE IN A REFERENCE FRAME, BY ULTRASOUND METHOD

摘要

The invention consists of a process for marking the real position and real orientation of a tool in relation to the manipulator arm of a robot on which it is mounted, this tool incorporating an acoustic probe (11). The process consists, with the aid of measurements of amplitude of acoustic signals emitted by the acoustic probe (11) and reflected by fixed reference elements (22, 23) and of measurement of flight time of the acoustic waves emitted by the probe (11) and reflected by said fixed reference elements, in determining the position of the centre of reference of the acoustic probe (11) relative to the end of the manipulator arm of the robot and in orienting the axes X and Y defining the plane of the acoustic probe (11) along reference axes X' and Y' of known orientations so that the modification of the position and of the orientation of the acoustic probe in the reference frame can be defined with precision, by the automaton which manages the displacements of the manipulator arm, on the basis of the position of the probe in relation to the manipulator arm and of the reference orientation of the probe which are thus determined.