EP0813457B1 - Method for assembling reinforcements for concrete elements, and apparatus therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PCT No. PCT/FR96/00318 Sec. 371 Date Aug. 29, 1997 Sec. 102(e) Date Aug. 29, 1997 PCT Filed Feb. 29, 1996 PCT Pub. No. WO96/27462 PCT Pub. Date Sep. 12, 1996A method for preparing and assembling a planar reinforcement for a concrete element according to a pre-determined design plan, wherein a full-sized plan including the position and type of each element in the reinforcent to be achieved is mapped onto a working surface (30) having two reference directions, a suitable reinforcement element is positioned in each of a plurality of crossing points. The method is characterised in that one or both of the mapping and assembling operations are performed by a tool attached to the carriage of a robot (10), said carriage (10) having at least two degrees of freedom parallel to the reference directions. The method further comprises storing all the design plan data in a storage area of the robot, and using the robot to move the carriage (10) automatically in accordance with said data.

Description

The invention relates to a method of preparation and assembly by welding by addition of metal from a flat reinforcement for the reinforcement of building elements or products that we want to realize in a so-called reinforced concrete as well as an installation for the preparation and assembling such a frame.

The structure of a structure to be produced is conventionally the subject of a study by a design office which determines, in particular as a result of strength calculations of the materials, the characteristics (constitution and geometry) of the framework (therefore the reinforcements) to integrate into each element (panel, slab, pre-slab, etc.) of the structure. These characteristics are notably materialized by a design plan.

The basic elements of a reinforcement are concrete rods of diameters various, and the design of the reinforcement of planar elements to be made of reinforced concrete may include the use of a wide variety of such concrete reinforcing bars to allow suitable reinforcement of each zone of each planar element (for example, it is easily understood that in a vertical panel reinforcement should be greater above the opening of a door than in a full area without opening). This reinforcement in each zone must be sufficient to guarantee good mechanical strength but with a sufficient safety coefficient moderate so as not to correspond to an unnecessary excess of reinforcement. Furthermore, this need for reinforcement exists in principle differently in different directions of an element any plane (for example along the horizontal directions and vertical of a vertical panel).

Optimal reinforcement of a given planar element therefore justifies choosing types, diameters, numbers and spacings of concrete circles that can vary significantly from one area to another.

The usual preparation procedures and of assembly do not lend themselves to great complexity in the reinforcement of any element.

Indeed, according to a first option, the elements of reinforcement are installed and assembled on site, in the formwork to receive concrete or in the immediate vicinity of this one, using a reduced scale plan provided to the chef of the reinforcement team. Position marking reinforcement is carried out by carrying forward the dimensions of the plans using meters or dekameters, then materialized by manual tracing using industrial chalks. When the reinforcement element is complex, it is sometimes produced a sketch on a concrete area, representing the points characteristics of the formwork. This implementation is long and delicate (notably involving various verifications), taking into account in particular the environment that exists on the site and the fact that the installation of reinforcement (or "reinforcement") is a low-valued profession generally entrusted to low-skilled (poorly motivated) staff, often in the context outsourcing. These circumstances explain why design offices sometimes simplify their plans, even if it means renounce the optimization of the reinforcement vis-à-vis needs, to best facilitate compliance when execution.

According to another, more recent option, frames are made using pieces of frame prefabricated which after cutting are placed on the part of work to be concreted and then completed by reinforcing elements which either could not be part of the pieces prefabricated, or are used to assemble the various pieces. Of course, this prefabrication requires heavy installations located at a distance from the site, which fact that this option is only possible provided that the prefabricated pieces are made in panels respecting the road gauge (to be able to be transported then cut on site), or be pre-cut in the workshop then transported (subject of course that the pieces thus precut themselves respect the road gauge. However, this option has the disadvantage of a low number of possible meshes for the prefabricated pieces and a small choice in the diameters of the rounds used; it is ultimately quite difficult to manage (supply, assembly, etc.)

Solutions have been proposed to try to combine flexibility in plan design with ease and reliability in the production of the frames. Their implementation work is done in principle in the workshop (which, as we have seen, implies taking into account the size constraints of the road).

For example, document FR-2.639.390 teaches to position reinforcement components, according to a previously defined distribution scheme which corresponds to particular to the longitudinal distribution of the components or families of components, by memorizing this diagram, by performing an electronic reading of the memory and transposing automatically the data on a support to display the distribution of at least one component or family of components. This display is done using longitudinal rulers provided with material markers, for example luminous (diodes) admitting several states. However, this solution the disadvantage of only applying to diagrams simple involving longitudinal components having an imposed initial configuration (in abutment against a crossbar) and transverse components in principle in front have fixed transverse positions. In addition, this solution does not overcome the obligation of a indirect identification when the reinforcement components are installed. It is the operator who positions each reinforcement element and performs the assembly by welding.

Furthermore, in the document BETONWERK + FERTIG-TEIL-TECHNIK, N ° 6, 1988, DE pages 51-54, XP000568790, WERNICKE: "AUTOMATISCHES BETONWERK: DER SCHALUNGS-ROBOTER SCHLIESST DEN KREIS, the formwork plan data, put in a computer memory are used for tracing locations, shapes, cuts with placement of concrete stops by a robot. But the fitting of the frames is performed manually, and there is no mention of any assembly of these frames.

The combination of the obligation to provide for simple plans (but respecting safety rules everywhere), difficulties related to preparation operations manual or additional costs imposed by more solutions rational, leads to a penalty that some masters of work evaluated at more than 8 kg per cubic meter of concrete.

• par ligature au fil de fer recuit,
• par soudure par résistance,
• par collage par apport de métal.

When the elements or pieces of reinforcement have been positioned, their assembly is conventionally carried out (see in particular document FR-2,691.996):

• by annealing with wire,
• by resistance welding,
• by gluing by adding metal.

• la ligature au fil de fer recuit est une opération manuelle dont la productivité est très faible,
• la soudure par résistance nécessite des puissances électriques augmentant très rapidement avec la dimension des diamètres à assembler,
• le collage par apport de métal, exécuté manuellement, est une méthode où la dextérité de l'opérateur constitue le facteur fondamental de la qualité des assemblages réalisés.

However, these assembly techniques each have their drawbacks:

• annealing with wire is a manual operation with a very low productivity,
• resistance welding requires electrical powers increasing very rapidly with the size of the diameters to be assembled,
• bonding by adding metal, carried out manually, is a method where the operator's dexterity is the fundamental factor in the quality of the assemblies produced.

During assembly operations, which are done in practice flat on the ground, as soon as the size of the frame exceeds 1 or 2 m ² , the movement of the operators responsible for this assembly creates the risk of displacement of the elements not yet fixed, which makes it necessary to provide each time with a very specific sequence for fixing the elements in order to guarantee as much as possible that the elements capable of being moved during an assembly operation are always fixed at at least two points at a given point, even in a central portion of the reinforcement. This results in great complexity and therefore risks of delay or error.

The object of the invention is to overcome the drawbacks aforementioned by a process, and by an installation intended for its implementation, which allows in a simple way, fast and yet reliable, the preparation and assembly of a frame for concrete, in strict accordance with a design plan, whatever the complexity of this plan (whether it corresponds to a slab, a pre-slab or a vertical panel). Consequently, it aims to alleviate the constraints practices that design offices have to take into consideration when determination of a reinforcement design plan and therefore allowing a better optimization of reinforcement taking into account the strength calculations of materials.

To this end, it offers a preparation process and assembly of a flat reinforcement for a concrete product according to a predetermined design, which places on a work surface having two reference directions the elements of the reinforcement to be produced in accordance with this design plan then we assemble two by two the elements of the reinforcement to perform at a plurality of crossing points, by a welding operation by adding metal produced by an assembly tool attached to the robot carriage, this carriage having at least two degrees of freedom parallel to the directions of reference and a degree of freedom in rotation, this method further comprising a operation consisting in putting in a memory area of this robot the whole design plan data, and an operation of moving the carriage by the robot, automatically in accordance with said data and comprising a sub-operation for supplying the assembly tool successively at each assembly point provided for in the design plan, and a sub-operation according to which an optical sensor is monitored attached to the tool, a surveillance field surrounding a specific area of action of said tool, and the configuration of the carriage is corrected by the robot if this punctual area of action is away from a crossover area between reinforcement elements detected in the surveillance field, so as to cancel this regard.

• le chariot comporte en outre un degré de liberté en translation verticale,
• on choisit pour le capteur optique un champ de vue interceptant sur le plan de travail une aire dont les dimensions sont sensiblement égales à des tolérances prédéterminées entre points réels d'assemblage et points théoriques conformes au plan de conception, et on provoque le déclenchement d'une alarme lorsqu'aucune zone de croisement n'est détectée dans le champ de surveillance et que l'outil est en un point d'assemblage prévu par le plan,
• on fait surveiller par ce capteur optique le diamètre des éléments d'armature à assembler,
• préalablement à l'opération de mise en place, on trace en grandeur réelle sur le plan de travail un plan indiquant l'emplacement et le type prévus par le plan de conception pour chaque élément de l'armature à réaliser, la mise en place de ces éléments d'armature se faisant en ces emplacements conformément aux types prévus, cette opération de traçage étant réalisé par un outil de traçage fixé au chariot d'un robot, ce chariot ayant au moins deux degrés de liberté parallèles aux directions de référence, ce procédé comportant en outre une opération consistant à mettre dans une zone de mémoire de ce robot l'ensemble des données du plan de conception, et une opération consistant à faire déplacer le chariot par le robot, de façon automatique conformément auxdites données,
• on connecte à l'outil de traçage une réserve d'encre ou de peinture dont la couleur est choisie comme représentative d'un type particulier d'éléments d'armature,
• on connecte successivement à l'outil de traçage des réserves d'encre ou de peinture ayant respectivement les couleurs représentatives des plusieurs types d'éléments d'armature,
• l'encre ou peinture de chaque réserve est lavable, grâce à quoi le plan de travail est réutilisable,
• chacune des opérations de traçage et d'assemblage est réalisée par un outil fixé au chariot d'un même robot,
• les opérations de traçage et d'assemblage sont réalisées par des outils fixés aux chariots de robots différents,
• ces robots différents ont des zones de travail différentes, et on fait passer le
• ces robots différents ont des zones de travail différentes, et on fait passer le plan de travail successivement par une zone de travail pour le robot de traçage, par une zone pour la pose des éléments d'armature, et par une zone de travail pour le robot d'assemblage,
• la mise en mémoire de l'ensemble des données est réalisée par introduction d'une disquette dans un lecteur de disquette,
• l'opération de traçage comporte une sous-opération de traçage de coffrage.

According to preferred teachings of the invention, possibly combined:

• the carriage further includes a degree of freedom in vertical translation,
• one chooses for the optical sensor a field of view intercepting on the work plan an area whose dimensions are substantially equal to predetermined tolerances between real assembly points and theoretical points in accordance with the design plan, and one triggers the triggering of an alarm when no crossing zone is detected in the surveillance field and the tool is at an assembly point provided by the plan,
• the diameter of the reinforcing elements to be assembled is monitored by this optical sensor,
• prior to the installation operation, a full-scale drawing is drawn on the work plan indicating the location and the type provided by the design plan for each element of the reinforcement to be produced, the installation of these reinforcing elements being made in these locations in accordance with the types provided, this tracing operation being carried out by a tracing tool fixed to the carriage of a robot, this carriage having at least two degrees of freedom parallel to the reference directions, this method further comprising an operation consisting in putting in a memory area of this robot all the data of the design plan, and an operation consisting in making the carriage move by the robot, automatically in accordance with said data,
• a supply of ink or paint is connected to the tracing tool, the color of which is chosen as representative of a particular type of reinforcing element,
• successively connecting to the tracing tool ink or paint reserves having respectively the colors representative of the several types of reinforcing elements,
• the ink or paint of each reserve is washable, thanks to which the work surface is reusable,
• each of the tracing and assembly operations is carried out by a tool fixed to the carriage of the same robot,
• the tracing and assembly operations are carried out by tools attached to different robot carriages,
• these different robots have different work areas, and we pass the
• these different robots have different work areas, and the work plan is passed successively through a work area for the plotting robot, through an area for installing the reinforcing elements, and through a work area for the assembly robot,
• all data is stored in memory by inserting a floppy disk into a floppy drive,
• the tracing operation includes a shuttering tracing sub-operation.

The invention also provides an installation for the preparation and assembly of a flat reinforcement for a concrete product according to a predetermined design plan, comprising a work plan having two reference directions and an assembly tool to assemble the elements of reinforcement previously placed on the work plan at a plurality of points of crossover, this assembly tool being a welding device by contribution of metal, this installation further comprising, for the assembly tool a robot comprising a memory zone intended to contain all of the data from the design plan, and a carriage carrying said assembly tool, having at least two degrees of freedom parallel to the reference directions and a degree of freedom in rotation, and adapted to be moved, with said tool assembly, by the robot in accordance with all the data in the memory area for assembly, this carriage also carrying equipment of vision integral with the tool having a surveillance field surrounding an area punctual action of said tool, the robot comprising a software making correct by the robot the configuration of the trolley if this point action area is out of the way of a crossover zone between reinforcing elements detected in the field of surveillance, so as to cancel this deviation.

• le chariot comporte en outre un degré de liberté en translation verticale,
• l'équipement de vision a un champ de vue interceptant sur le plan de travail une aire dont les dimensions sont sensiblement égales à des tolérances prédéterminées entre points réels d'assemblage et points théoriques conformes au plan de conception, et est adapté à déclencher une alarme lorsqu'aucune zone de croisement n'est détectée dans le champ de surveillance et que l'outil est en un point d'assemblage prévu par le plan,
• elle comporte en outre un outil de traçage pour tracer en grandeur réelle sur le plan de travail un plan indiquant l'emplacement et le type prévus par le plan de conception pour chaque élément de l'armature à réaliser, et un chariot portant ledit outil de traçage, ayant au moins deux degrés de liberté parallèles aux directions de référence, et adapté à être déplacé, avec ledit outil de traçage, par le robot en conformité avec l'ensemble des données de la zone de mémoire pour le traçage,
• l'outil de traçage comporte une réserve d'encre ou de peinture dont la couleur est choisie comme représentative d'un type particulier d'éléments d'armature,
• l'installation comporte, pour l'outil de traçage, des réserves d'encre ou de peinture ayant respectivement les couleurs représentatives des divers types d'éléments d'armature,
• l'installation comporte en outre une réserve d'encre ou de peinture pour un traçage de coffrage,
• l'encre ou peinture de chaque réserve est lavable, grâce à quoi le plan de travail est réutilisable,
• chacun des outils de traçage et d'assemblage est fixé au chariot d'un même robot,
• les outils de traçage et d'assemblage sont fixés aux chariots de robots différents,
• ces robots différents ont des zones de travail différentes, le plan de travail étant muni de moyens de déplacement permettant son déplacement depuis la zone de travail du robot de traçage jusqu'à la zone de travail du robot d'assemblage, en passant par une zone de pose pour les éléments d'armature.
• le robot comporte un portique mobile longitudinalement le long de sa zone de travail, et le chariot est mobile sur ce portique transversalement à cette zone de travail,
• le robot a, parallèlement à sa direction de déplacement, une dimension inférieure à sa dimension mesurée transversalement à cette direction de déplacement et à la largeur maximale du gabarit routier.

According to other preferred teachings of the invention possibly combined:

• the carriage further includes a degree of freedom in vertical translation,
• the vision equipment has a field of view intercepting on the work plan an area whose dimensions are substantially equal to predetermined tolerances between real assembly points and theoretical points in accordance with the design plan, and is adapted to trigger an alarm when no crossing zone is detected in the surveillance field and the tool is at an assembly point provided by the plan,
• it further comprises a tracing tool for drawing in real size on the work plan a plan indicating the location and the type provided by the design plan for each element of the reinforcement to be produced, and a carriage carrying said tool plotting, having at least two degrees of freedom parallel to the reference directions, and adapted to be moved, with said plotting tool, by the robot in accordance with all of the data in the memory area for plotting,
• the tracing tool includes a supply of ink or paint, the color of which is chosen as representative of a particular type of reinforcing element,
• the installation comprises, for the tracing tool, reserves of ink or paint having respectively the colors representative of the various types of reinforcing elements,
• the installation also includes a supply of ink or paint for tracing formwork,
• the ink or paint of each reserve is washable, thanks to which the work surface is reusable,
• each of the layout and assembly tools is fixed to the cart of the same robot,
• the layout and assembly tools are fixed to the different robot carts,
• these different robots have different work areas, the work surface being provided with displacement means allowing its movement from the work area of the plotting robot to the work area of the assembly robot, passing through an area of installation for the reinforcing elements.
• the robot has a gantry movable longitudinally along its working area, and the carriage is movable on this gantry transverse to this working area,
• the robot has, parallel to its direction of movement, a dimension smaller than its dimension measured transversely to this direction of movement and to the maximum width of the road gauge.

• de supprimer les temps de repérage et de traçage, ou de vérification, nécessaires à la pose ou à l'assemblage d'un ensemble d'armatures. Ceci entraíne des gains de productivité de l'ordre de 20 à 25 % du temps total de montage. Elle permet, de plus, de supprimer les erreurs éventuelles liées au calcul et à la mesure ou au contrôle manuel des intervalles ;
• de réduire les temps d'assemblage des ronds à béton ;
• de souder tous les diamètres de ronds à béton, y compris les gros ronds à béton (de 10 à 56 mm de diamètre, voire plus) ;
• de garantir la résistance de l'assemblage ;
• de garantir le respect des caractéristiques des armatures assemblées ;
• de réduire les temps de manutention ;
• de contrôler automatiquement, juste avant l'assemblage, le respect des tolérances de positionnement des armatures, et la conformité avec le plan de ferraillage du positionnement des armatures mises en place par les opérateurs ;
• d'améliorer la sécurité par diminution des manutentions et suppression de l'exposition des opérateurs aux rayons ionisants générés par l'arc de soudure.

It will be appreciated that the invention allows, in particular:

• to eliminate the tracking and tracing, or verification times, necessary for the installation or assembly of a set of reinforcements. This results in productivity gains of the order of 20 to 25% of the total assembly time. It also makes it possible to eliminate any errors linked to the calculation and to the measurement or manual control of the intervals;
• reduce assembly times of concrete bars;
• weld all diameters of concrete rods, including large concrete rods (from 10 to 56 mm in diameter, or even more);
• to guarantee the strength of the assembly;
• guarantee compliance with the characteristics of the assembled reinforcement;
• reduce handling times;
• to automatically control, just before assembly, compliance with the positioning tolerances of the reinforcements, and compliance with the reinforcement plan for the positioning of the reinforcements installed by the operators;
• improve safety by reducing handling and eliminating operator exposure to ionizing rays generated by the welding arc.

• la figure 1 est une vue en plan d'une possibilité de l'installation selon l'invention, destinée à la préparation et à l'assemblage des armatures ;
• la figure 2 représente la vue en plan de la première phase de travail, c'est-à-dire le traçage de la position des armatures par le portique à l'échelle 1 ;
• la figure 3 représente la vue en plan de la deuxième phase de travail, c'est-à-dire la mise en place des armatures selon les traçages réalisés en phase précédente ;
• la figure 4 représente la vue en plan de la troisième phase de travail, c'est-à-dire le collage des armatures par le port que robot de soudage ;
• les figures 5A, 5B, 5C représentent le robot de traçage en vue de face, en vue de côté et en vue de dessus ;
• les figures 6A, 6B et 6C représentent le robot de soudage en vue de face, en vue de côté et en vue de dessous ;
• les figures 7A et 7B représentent le schéma de la cinématique de la pose d'un rond à béton qui "roule" ;
• la figure 8 représente le champ de balayage du capteur optique ; et
• la figure 9 représente le champ du capteur optique avec l'extrémité du pistolet de soudure.

Objects, characteristics and advantages of the invention appear from the following description, given by way of example, with reference to the appended drawings in which:

• Figure 1 is a plan view of a possibility of the installation according to the invention, for the preparation and assembly of the frames;
• FIG. 2 represents the plan view of the first work phase, that is to say the tracing of the position of the reinforcements by the gantry on scale 1;
• FIG. 3 represents the plan view of the second work phase, that is to say the positioning of the reinforcements according to the tracings carried out in the previous phase;
• FIG. 4 represents the plan view of the third work phase, that is to say the bonding of the reinforcements by the port as the welding robot;
• FIGS. 5A, 5B, 5C represent the plotting robot in front view, in side view and in top view;
• FIGS. 6A, 6B and 6C represent the welding robot in front view, in side view and in bottom view;
• FIGS. 7A and 7B represent the diagram of the kinematics of the installation of a concrete rod which "rolls";
• FIG. 8 represents the scanning field of the optical sensor; and
• FIG. 9 represents the field of the optical sensor with the end of the welding gun.

According to the invention, it is therefore possible to trace directly the plan of the reinforcement panel from the established plan by the design office using a D.A.O. system specific for reinforcements (of any suitable known type).

Alternatively, the information is entered on place using a D.A.O.

The positioning of the reinforcements during the realization of the plan using the drawing system assisted by computer (DAO) is advantageously achieved by using specific points of the formwork (concreting stops, reservation, locations of incorporated metal parts). The concordance with the formwork plan which can be verified in detail, the only tracing of the reinforcements to scale 1 using a robot designed for this use becomes sufficient for positioning the reinforcements in perfect agreement with formwork plans.

The plotting robot is for example constituted by a gantry ensuring the tracing of the implantations of reinforcements to position to make the panel.

This robot is in the form of a gantry rolling whose chassis of mechanically welded design ensures both the framework of it, the support of the guides transverse with its tracing unit and the natural fairing mechanical transmissions and on-board equipment. Her width is adapted on a case by case basis according to the width panels to be produced.

The measurement along the longitudinal axis can be ensured either by a smooth large diameter wheel fitted with cleaning devices, located between the two wheels drive and rolling on the reference rail, either by a gear wheel also located between the two wheels and meshing on a shooting rack located along the track.

The transverse axis is materialized by two precision guides of length adapted to the width of the panels and between which a carriage mounted on precision rollers. On this axis, the measurement is taken directly on the engine, the drive being without slip.

The motorizations of the two axes are of the type robotics and transmissions are made by belts notched which allows the plotting robot to perform bias and curve plots with great precision.

The materialization of the tracing is done using water-based paint with the particularity of being very visible while permanently adhering to the surface of job.

The automation is managed by a central unit integrated into the chassis of the plotting robot. This one, part, stores the order of the plots of the panels in format HPGL and, on the other hand, manages all functionality manual and automatic.

Data transfer takes place by means of rigid magnetic cards or by serial link.

The power supply will be by reel.

The site manager who received from the design office a memory card containing the tracking data necessary for the implementation of the armatures of the panel a assemble, insert this card into the robot's reader tracing. The site manager transfers the data in the memory of the plotting robot. The robot tracing is then operational.

The plotting robot is positioned at the start of cleanliness by the site foreman using the controls manual. The plotting robot can be started.

The reinforcements are arranged by operators according to the traces of the armatures produced by the portico of tracing. The realization of the traces on the scale allows a quick visual check of the shape parameters of the reinforcement that he just put in place.

According to a preferred method of the invention, when the diameter of the reinforcement specified by the plan and its nomenclature allows it, the frames come from an unwinder-stiffener-moulder installed near work trays, using armatures supplied in reels. The characteristics of the reinforcements (length, shapes ...) come directly from the nomenclature established by the D.A.O. system

For reinforcement characteristics which do not allow it, the frames will be cut and shaped in traditional workshops.

The characteristics of the reinforcements can come from directly from the computerized nomenclature of the plan established by the D.A.O. without new entry operation.

According to the invention, the frames are bonded by metal input. The welding gun is, as for tracing, guided by information from the computer system used to draw the execution plan for reinforcement. One or more digital vision systems generally an optical sensor allowing shape recognition, allows to correct the trajectory of the welding gun in order to adapt the position of this welding gun relative to the intersection to be bonded (torch / point distance, approach angle, point of impact of the arc). When the carriage moves in two horizontal directions is preferably added rotation around an axis horizontal. There is also a vertical movement near each assembly to achieve.

A control unit manages the welding system and the sensor optical. Analysis of the diameters of the reinforcements constituting the intersection and the identification of the precise position of these reinforcements, the parameters are deduced welding conditions (gun positioning angle, current intensity welding speed, wire feed speed, etc.).

This self-adaptation capacity of the welding system allows to perform a quality bonding of the concrete reinforcing bars, whatever the diameter reinforcement, despite the shape parameters of the concrete reinforcing bars (height, spacing, length, tilt of locks or cavities) which cause a natural displacement of this concrete ring by compared to the theoretical positioning of the plan.

Adjustment of the digital vision system or optical sensor is made so that the bonding of reinforcement intersections only occur in tolerances defined by concrete calculation regulations armed or even within the narrower tolerances required for a particular work.

A work station, intended for the assembly of concrete reinforcing bars, is shown in figure 1. The gantry of layout for reinforcement 10 is positioned at the start of its raceway 20 which will allow it to cover the work platform 30. The site manager introduces the computer diskette 11 in a drive connected to the unit central 12 (Figure 5b) integrated into the frame of the gantry. The computer diskette 11 contains the tracking data of the reinforcement plan established using D.A.O. After transfer of data from the floppy disk to a memory of central unit, the site manager removes the diskette. The gantry tracing is operational.

In FIG. 2, the tracing gantry 10, at end of its raceway 20, materialized the positioning future of fittings on the work surface 30.

In FIG. 3, the plate 30 has been moved to the area where the reinforcements will be placed according to the traces made by the portal 10. According to a provision preferential, the work trays move along of the raceway 21 thanks to the roller skates on which they are set.

Reinforcements, when their characteristics allow, according to an example of a particular organization of the post for implementing the reinforcements of the invention, given for information only, are straightened, cut, shaped using the straightener-cutter-shaper 40 from reels of reinforcing wire 41. Characteristics of shaping these reinforcements can come from information contained on the floppy disk 11 and then loaded onto a central unit 42 ordering the straightening-cutting-shaping machine without having to re-enter is necessary. Portal 10, after loading the data, performs the tracing of another reinforcement element on the plate 31.

In FIG. 4, the plate 30 has been transferred to the zone of the welding gantry 50 which can move along the path of bearing 23.

The possibility of being able to move the tray 30 from the installation of reinforcements towards the evolution area of gantry 50 and vice-versa gives the possibility of assembling tablecloths with a number of beds greater than 2. For example, after assembling the first two beds, the tray is brought back to the laying area for the installation of a third bed which will be assembled on the second bed after moving in the evolution area of the portal 50. Also, it is possible to lay a second layer on the first, this second layer being supported by layer spacers, then to connect these two layers by pins, the heads of pins being glued by adding metal after a new transfer of the plate 30 into the area gantry evolution 50.

Computer disk 11, supporting information from the D.A.O. system, is introduced in the floppy drive 51 of the central unit 52 (FIG. 6).

The information transmitted helps guide the whole mobile 53 comprising an arm 54 articulated along 4 axes supporting a pistol welding 55 and an optical sensor 56.

The trajectory of the mobile assembly 53 is controlled by the information from the D.A.O. system next, in a way preferential, the trace of the upper reinforcements.

At intersections (see Figures 7A, 7B, 8 and 9), the optical sensor 56 analyzes the position of the armature upper 71 and the position of the lower armature 72, then compare their positions (identified by the centers) respective 73 with their theoretical positions 74 given by the information contained in the file computer generated by the CAD / CAM system.

• hauteur des verrous 81,
• écartement des verrous 82,
• longueur des verrous,
• orientation, au moment de la pose, des nervures 83,
• dimensions de ces nervures,
  engendrent une rotation 75 du rond à béton, entraínant un déplacement du rond à béton par rapport au positionnement théorique du plan. Parallèlement, le capteur optique 56 mesure le diamètre de l'armature 71 et celui de l'armature inférieure 72 constituant l'intersection. Il est important de noter ici qu'en pratique le roulage des barres au moment de la pose dépend de multiples paramètres et est donc en pratique impossible à modéliser.

Indeed, the shape parameters of the concrete bars:

• height of the locks 81,
• spacing of the locks 82,
• length of locks,
• orientation, at the time of installation, of the ribs 83,
• dimensions of these ribs,
  generate a rotation 75 of the concrete ring, causing a movement of the concrete ring relative to the theoretical positioning of the plane. In parallel, the optical sensor 56 measures the diameter of the armature 71 and that of the lower armature 72 constituting the intersection. It is important to note here that in practice the rolling of the bars at the time of installation depends on multiple parameters and is therefore in practice impossible to model.

The optical sensor 56 also compares these diameters measured with the theoretical diameters of these reinforcements given by the information contained in the computer file of the plan of the reinforcement element created by the D.A.O. system and transferred to the central unit 52 of the welding robot.

System programming is done in a way that the welding process can only be carried out if the diameters are in accordance with the plan and that the positioning of reinforcements constituting the intersection is within tolerances of execution defined. At this time, the optical sensor 56 acquires the profile of the intersection. The analysis allows deduce the optimal welding parameters, then adapt the welding gun trajectory for positioning optimal of this welding gun compared to the intersection to stick (torch / point distance, approach angle, point arc impact).

The invention provides a great improvement to the existing technique by providing a device for the manufacture of reinforcing elements for reinforced concrete, allowing very flexible assembly (and therefore, consequently, the design of plans with similarly a flexibility), with the possibility of manufacturing either in factory, or on site under the same quality conditions because using computerized self-checking.

It will be appreciated that the invention implements elements which, individually, are known per se.

• le système de vision est plus généralement un capteur optique : il s'agit par exemple du capteur optique à triangulation laser proposé par la Société canadienne SERVOROBOT sous la référence SPOT,
• les portiques sont par exemple du type utilisé dans une autre application, à savoir ROBOTRACE de la Société française ARIA (Automatismes Robotiques Informatiques Appliqués) à Avignon,
• en ce qui concerne les programmes commandant la marche des robots, il est à la portée de l'homme de métier de les élaborer, compte tenu des programmes utilitaires d'aide à la programmation et des éléments indiqués ci-dessus.

So, for example:

• the vision system is more generally an optical sensor: it is for example the optical laser triangulation sensor proposed by the Canadian company SERVOROBOT under the reference SPOT,
• the gantry cranes are, for example, of the type used in another application, namely ROBOTRACE from the French company ARIA (Automatismes Robotique Informatiques Appliqués) in Avignon,
• with regard to the programs controlling the operation of the robots, it is within the reach of the skilled person to develop them, taking into account the utility programs for programming assistance and the elements indicated above.

It goes without saying that the invention is not limited to the only production of flat panels, but that it applies also to manufacture, under the same conditions, at curved panels or other shapes with the use of negatives or conventional folding systems. Likewise productivity concerns can lead to climbing multiple tools on a gantry.

Claims (26)

1. Method of preparing and assembling a plane armature for a concrete product in accordance with a predetermined design drawing whereby elements of the armature to be made in accordance with the design drawing are laid out on a worksurface (30) having two reference directions and the elements of the armature to be made are then assembled two by two to obtain a plurality of crossover points, by a welding operation using a filler metal carried out by an assembly tool (55) fixed to the carriage of a robot (50), the carriage having at least two degrees of freedom parallel to the reference directions and one degree of freedom in rotation, the method further including an operation consisting in storing in a memory area (52) of the robot all the data (11) of the design drawing, and an operation consisting in having the carriage moved automatically by the robot in accordance with said data and including a sub-operation of moving the assembly tool (55) to each assembly point (74) on the design drawing in succession, and a sub-operation whereby an optical sensor (56) attached to the tool monitors a monitoring field around a localized area of action of said tool and, if the localized area of action is at a distance from a crossover area (73) between armature elements sensed in the monitoring field, the robot is caused to correct the configuration of the carriage to eliminate said distance.
2. Method according to claim 1 characterized in that the carriage (54) further has one degree of freedom in vertical translation.
3. Method according to claim 1 or claim 2 characterized in that the optical sensor (56) has a field of view intercepting on the worksurface an area with dimensions that are substantially equal to predetermined tolerances between real assembly points (73) and theoretical points (74) on the design drawing and an alarm is triggered if no crossover area is detected in the surveillance field and the tool is at an assembly point on the drawing.
4. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 3 characterized in that the optical sensor (56) checks the diameter of the armature elements (72) to be assembled.
5. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 4 characterized in that, prior to the laying out operation, a full-scale drawing is drawn out on the worksurface (30) indicating the location and the type from the design drawing for each element of the armature to be made, the laying out of these armature elements being effected at these locations in accordance with the specified types, this drawing out operation being performed by a drawing tool fixed to the carriage of a robot (10), this carriage having at least two degrees of freedom parallel to the reference direction, this method further including an operation consisting in placing all of the data of the design drawing in a memory area (12) of the robot and an operation consisting in the robot moving the carriage automatically in accordance with said data.
6. Method according to claim 5 characterized in that the drawing tool is connected to a tank of ink or of paint the color which represents a particular type of armature element.
7. Method according to claim 6 characterized in that the drawing tool is connected successively to tanks of ink or paint of respective colors representing a plurality of types of armature element.
8. Method according to claim 6 or claim 7 characterized in that the ink or paint from each tank is washable so that the worksurface (30) can be reused.
9. Method according to any one of claims 5 to 8 characterized in that the drawing and assembly operations are each carried out by a tool fixed to the carriage of the same robot.
10. Method according to any one of claims 5 to 8 characterized in that the drawing and assembly operations are carried out by tools fixed to the carriages of different robots.
11. Method according to claim 10 characterized in that the different robots have different working areas and the worksurface (30) is moved in succession to a working area of the drawing robot, an area for laying out the armature elements and a working area of the assembly robot.
12. Method according to any one of claims 1 to 11 characterized in that all of the data is loaded into memory by inserting a diskette (51) into a diskette drive (52).
13. Method according to any one of claims 5 to 8 characterized in that the drawing operation includes a shuttering drawing sub-operation.
14. Installation for preparing and assembling a plane armature for a concrete product in accordance with a predetermined design drawing, including a worksurface (30) having two reference directions and an assembly tool (55) for assembling armature elements previously laid out on the worksurface at a plurality of crossover points, this assembly tool (55) being a welding device using a filler metal, this installation further including, for the assembly tool (55), a robot (50) including a memory area (52) adapted to contain all of the data of the design drawing and a carriage (53, 54) carrying said assembly tool (55) having at least two degrees of freedom parallel to the reference directions and one degree of freedom in rotation and adapted to be moved with said assembly tool by the robot in accordance with all of the data from the memory area for the assembly, the carriage further carrying vision equipment (56) fastened to the tool and having a surveillance field around a localized working area (73) of said tool, the robot incorporating software for correction by the robot of the configuration of the carriage if this localized working area is offset from an area of crossover (74) between armature elements detected in the field of surveillance to eliminate this offset.
15. Installation according to claim 14 characterized in that the carriage (54) further has one degree of freedom in vertical translation.
16. Installation according to claim 14 or claim 15 characterized in that the vision equipment (56) has a field of view intercepting on the worksurface (30) an area having dimensions substantially equal to predetermined tolerances between real assembly points (74) and theoretical points (73) on the design drawing and is adapted to trigger an alarm if no crossover area is detected in the field of surveillance and the tool is at an assembly point on the drawing.
17. Installation according to any one of claims 14 to 16 characterized in that it further includes a drawing tool for drawing out on the worksurface (30) a full-scale drawing indicating the location and the type according to the design drawing for each element of the armature to be made and a carriage carrying said drawing tool having at least two degrees of freedom parallel to the reference directions and adapted to be moved with said drawing tool by the robot in conformance with all the data from the memory area for the drawing.
18. Installation according to claim 17 characterized in that the drawing tool includes a tank of ink or paint the color of which is chosen to represent a particular type of armature element.
19. Installation according to claim 18 characterized in that the installation includes tanks of ink or paint for the drawing tool having respective colors representing various types of armature element.
20. Installation according to claim 19 characterized in that the installation further includes a tank of ink or paint for a shuttering drawing.
21. Installation according to any one of claims 18 to 20 characterized in that the ink or paint from each tank is washable so that the worksurface (30) is reusable.
22. Installation according to any one of claims 1 to 21 characterized in that the drawing and assembly tools are each fixed to the carriage of the same robot.
23. Installation according to any one of claims 1 to 21 characterized in that the drawing and assembly tools are fixed to the carriages of different robots (10, 50).
24. Installation according to claim 23 characterized in that the different robots have different working areas, the worksurface being provided with displacement means enabling it to move from the working area of the drawing robot to the working area of the assembly robot via an area for laying out the armature elements.
25. Installation according to any one of claims 1 to 24 characterized in that the robot includes a gantry mobile longitudinally along its working area and the carriage is mobile on this gantry transversely to this working area.
26. Installation according to claim 25 characterized in that the robot has a dimension parallel to its direction of movement less than its dimension measured transversely to this direction of movement and to the maximal width of the road transport load gauge.

Images