Diagnosis of the joint backlash of a mechanism-wigner-ville distribution combined with correlation techniques

The aim of this paper is to develop appropriate techniques to detect and classify the joint backlash of a robot by monitoring its vibration response during normal operating conditions. In this investigation, Wigner-Ville distributions combined with two-dimensional correlation techniques have been employed to diagnose various degrees of single-joint backlash. The method also allows to detect and to single out backlash present in two joints of a multi-link mechanism. In the work reported here, the Wigner-Ville distribution based signal detection and the generalized symmetrical Itakura distance were proposed as tools for pattern differentiation. Initially the proposed methods have been applied to quantify the backlash of a single joint. Consecutively, the detection problem has been generalized to diagnose faults in two joints simultaneously. Due to the extra degree of freedom given by the 2D nature of the WVD’s, certain time-frequency regions were chosen as reference signatures in the case of single-joint backlash, and the signatures, spanning over two impact transients at the reverses of motion, were chosen in the cases of double-joint backlash. The proposed techniques have been successfully implemented on a two-link mechanism.