Systems, Methods, and Apparatus for Providing Continuous Power to a Fixture in a Manufacturing Process

Abstract

Embodiments of the invention are directed to systems, methods, and apparatus for providing continuous power and utilities to a fixture in a manufacturing process. In one embodiment of the invention, a system with robot, such as a robotic arm, and a workstation can be deployed in a manufacturing process. A fixture associated with the manufacturing process can include a mount operable for receiving power from the robot or robot arm, and another mount operable for receiving power from the workstation. An associated control device, such as a programmable logic circuit, can selectively provide power via either mount depending on whether the fixture is mounted to the robot or robotic arm, or to the workstation.

1 . A system for providing continuous power from a power source to a fixture in a manufacturing process, the system comprising:
 a workstation;   a robot;   a fixture comprising:
 at least one mount operable with the robot; and 
 at least one mount operable with the workstation; and 
 a local control device operable for signal transmission with at least one main control device; and 
   the at least one main control device operable to selectively transmit power to the fixture via at least one mount when the fixture is mounted to both the workstation and the robot.