Safety control circuit and robot

Abstract

The invention provides a safety control circuit and a robot. The safety control circuit is used for safety control of the robot, the safety control circuit comprises a monitoring circuit and a plurality of safety evaluation circuits, and the monitoring circuit is configured to perform obstacle detection on a plurality of different detection areas of the robot at the same time; wherein different detection areas correspond to different safety control strategies; the multiple safety evaluation circuits are connected with the monitoring circuit, the safety evaluation circuits and the multiple different detection areas are arranged in a one-to-one correspondence mode, and the safety evaluation circuits output corresponding safety control strategies based on obstacle detection results of the corresponding detection areas so as to control the robot to execute safety operation. According to the safety control circuit, the safety performance of the robot can be enhanced, and the safety level of the robot is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the technical field of safety control of robots, and particularly to a safety control circuit and a robot. Background Art

[0002] With the rapid development of robot technology, more and more robots are being applied and popularized in the industrial field and the service field, and the opportunities for robots and humans to coexist in the same working scenario are also increasing. Among them, in order to achieve the safety control of robots, it is usually necessary to conduct safety monitoring on robots.

[0003] In the prior art, the safety control circuit has a slow obstacle detection speed for different detection areas of the robot, and the safety control strategy is single, resulting in a low safety level of the robot. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This application provides a safety control circuit and a robot, which can enhance the safety performance of the robot and improve the safety level of the robot.

[0005] To solve the above technical problems, this application provides a safety control circuit for the safety control of a robot. The safety control circuit includes a monitoring circuit and multiple safety evaluation circuits. The monitoring circuit is configured to simultaneously detect obstacles in multiple different detection areas of the robot; wherein, different detection areas correspond to different safety control strategies; the multiple safety evaluation circuits are connected to the monitoring circuit, and the safety evaluation circuits are arranged in one-to-one correspondence with the multiple different detection areas, and the safety evaluation circuits output corresponding safety control strategies based on the obstacle detection results of the corresponding detection areas to control the robot to perform safety operations.

[0006] In one embodiment, the safety control strategy corresponding to at least one detection area includes a torque-off signal; the safety control circuit further includes an output circuit, and the output circuit is connected to the safety evaluation circuit corresponding to at least one detection area, and the output circuit is further configured to be connected to the drive circuit of the motor of the robot to control the robot to perform torque-off.

[0007] In one embodiment, the safety control strategy corresponding to at least one detection area includes a deceleration signal; the safety control circuit further includes a communication circuit, and the communication circuit is connected to the safety evaluation circuit corresponding to at least one detection area, and the communication circuit is further configured to be connected to the controller of the robot to enable the controller to control the robot to decelerate.

[0008] In one embodiment, the safety evaluation circuit corresponding to at least one detection area is configured to obtain the speed information of the robot, and determine whether the robot decelerates abnormally or the deceleration duration reaches a preset duration based on the speed information, and generate a torque-off signal when the deceleration is abnormal or the deceleration duration reaches the preset duration.

[0009] In one embodiment, the detection area at least includes a first detection area and a second detection area that are distributed from far to near the robot. Among them, the safety control strategy corresponding to the second detection area includes a second torque-off signal; the safety control strategy corresponding to the first detection area includes a first deceleration signal and a first torque-off signal when deceleration is abnormal.

[0010] In one embodiment, the detection area further includes a third detection area distributed on the side of the first detection area away from the robot. The safety control strategy corresponding to the third detection area includes a second deceleration signal and a third torque-off signal when deceleration is abnormal. Among them, the deceleration ratio of the second deceleration signal is greater than the deceleration ratio of the first deceleration signal.

[0011] In one embodiment, the detection area further includes a fourth detection area located between the first detection area and the second detection area. The safety control strategy corresponding to the fourth detection area includes a third deceleration signal and a fourth torque-off signal after a preset deceleration duration.

[0012] In one embodiment, the safety control circuit includes two groups of monitoring circuits and two groups of multiple safety evaluation circuits. One group of monitoring circuits is correspondingly arranged with one group of multiple safety evaluation circuits, and the other group of monitoring circuits is correspondingly arranged with the other group of multiple safety evaluation circuits; the safety control circuit further includes a verification circuit, and the verification circuit is connected to the two groups of safety evaluation circuits for verifying whether the safety control strategies output by the two groups of safety evaluation circuits are consistent.

[0013] In one embodiment, the monitoring circuit includes a sensing circuit and multiple area monitoring circuits. The sensing circuit is configured to obtain the position information of the obstacle; the multiple area monitoring circuits are connected to the sensing circuit and are correspondingly arranged with the multiple safety evaluation circuits one by one, and are used to output the obstacle detection result based on different detection areas and position information.

[0014] In one embodiment, the sensing circuit includes a lidar.

[0015] To solve the above technical problems, the present application provides a robot, which includes a carrier, a main body, the above safety control circuit, a drive circuit, and a controller. The main body is installed on the carrier and performs motion control in combination with the carrier; the drive circuit is connected to the safety control circuit for receiving the safety control strategy output by the safety control circuit and performing safety operations; the controller is connected to the drive circuit and the safety control circuit for sending the safety control strategy output by the safety control circuit to the drive circuit, so that the drive circuit controls the motor of the robot based on the safety control strategy.

[0016] The beneficial effects of the present application are as follows: The safety control circuit of the present application includes a monitoring circuit and multiple safety evaluation circuits. Among them, the monitoring circuit simultaneously detects obstacles in multiple different detection areas of the robot, which can accelerate the detection speed of the robot's obstacles. In addition, different detection areas correspond to different safety control strategies. The safety evaluation circuits are arranged in one-to-one correspondence with multiple different detection areas. Each safety evaluation circuit can output the corresponding safety control strategy for the corresponding detection area, which can increase the safety control strategies of the robot. Therefore, it can accelerate the speed of the robot to respond to obstacles in different detection areas, enhance the safety performance of the robot, and improve the safety level of the robot. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application, the following will briefly introduce the drawings required for the description of the embodiments. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present application. For those of ordinary skill in the art, without creative efforts, other drawings can also be obtained based on these drawings, where:

[0018] Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of the safety control circuit provided by the present application;

[0019] Figure 2 is a schematic structural diagram of another embodiment of the safety control circuit provided by the present application;

[0020] Figure 3 is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of the robot provided by the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0021] The following will clearly and completely describe the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative efforts fall within the protection scope of the present application.

[0022] It should be noted that if there are directional indications (such as up, down, left, right, front, back...) involved in the embodiments of the present application, the directional indications are only used to explain the relative position relationship and movement conditions between components in a specific posture (as shown in the drawings). If the specific posture changes, the directional indications will also change accordingly.

[0023] In addition, if the embodiments of the present application involve descriptions such as "first" and "second", the descriptions of "first", "second", etc. are for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying their relative importance or implicitly specifying the quantity of the indicated technical features. Thus, features defined with "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one such feature. In addition, the technical solutions between various embodiments may be combined with each other, but it must be based on the fact that those of ordinary skill in the art can implement them. When the combination of technical solutions is contradictory or cannot be implemented, it should be considered that such a combination of technical solutions does not exist and is not within the scope of protection required by the present application.

[0024] The present application provides a safety control circuit for robot safety control. Refer to Figure 1 , Figure 1 which is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of the safety control circuit provided by the present application. The safety control circuit 100 includes a monitoring circuit 110 and a plurality of safety evaluation circuits 120.

[0025] The monitoring circuit 110 is configured to simultaneously detect obstacles in a plurality of different detection areas of the robot; wherein, different detection areas correspond to different safety control strategies. For example, different detection areas may be different areas at different distances from the robot in the forward direction of the robot; or different areas at different distances from the robot on the periphery of the robot. Among them, the obstacle may be stationary relative to the ground or moving relative to the ground. The obstacle may be an object, a person, etc., and is not limited herein. The monitoring circuit 110 of this embodiment simultaneously detects obstacles in a plurality of different detection areas of the robot, which can accelerate the speed at which the robot discovers obstacles; in addition, different detection areas correspond to different safety control strategies, enabling the robot to perform different safety operations on different detection areas, making the safety operations of the robot smoother and safer.

[0026] For example, different safety control strategies may be safety strategies such as torque shutdown, deceleration, deceleration anomaly monitoring, deceleration first and then torque shutdown, etc.

[0027] A plurality of safety evaluation circuits 120 are connected to the monitoring circuit 110. The plurality of safety evaluation circuits 120 are set in one-to-one correspondence with a plurality of different detection areas. Moreover, the safety evaluation circuit 120 outputs a corresponding safety control strategy based on the obstacle detection result of the corresponding detection area to control the robot to perform a safety operation. Among them, the plurality in the plurality of safety evaluation circuits 120 means at least two or more. The number of safety evaluation circuits 120 is set according to the detection area range or the area division accuracy, etc. It can be understood that one safety evaluation circuit 120 corresponds to one detection area. When the monitoring circuit 110 detects an obstacle in the detection area, the safety evaluation circuit 120 corresponding to the corresponding detection area can output a corresponding safety control strategy, which can increase the safety control strategy of the robot.

[0028] The safety control circuit 100 of this embodiment can accelerate the detection speed of the robot's obstacles by setting the monitoring circuit 110 to simultaneously detect obstacles in a plurality of different detection areas of the robot. In addition, different detection areas correspond to different safety control strategies, enabling the robot to perform different safety operations in different detection areas, making the robot's safety operations smoother. And the safety evaluation circuits 120 are set in one-to-one correspondence with a plurality of different detection areas, and each safety evaluation circuit 120 can output a corresponding safety control strategy for the corresponding detection area, which can increase the safety control strategy of the robot. Therefore, it can accelerate the speed of the robot to respond to obstacles in different detection areas, enhance the safety performance of the robot, and improve the safety level of the robot.

[0029] In one embodiment, the detection area at least includes a first detection area and a second detection area distributed from far to near the robot. Among them, the safety control strategy corresponding to the second detection area includes a torque-off signal; the safety control strategy corresponding to the first detection area includes a first deceleration signal and a torque-off signal for the first deceleration anomaly. Among them, the shape of the detection area can be rectangular, annular, circular, etc., which is not limited here. When the safety evaluation circuit 120 outputs the safety evaluation strategy corresponding to the first detection area, it first outputs the first deceleration signal and monitors whether the robot has deceleration anomalies. If so, it outputs the torque-off signal; if not, it does not output the torque-off signal. When the safety evaluation circuit 120 outputs the safety evaluation strategy corresponding to the second detection area, it directly outputs the torque-off signal. Among them, the deceleration anomaly can be that the speed of the robot is greater than the threshold after a preset time, or the robot does not stop after a preset duration.

[0030] The detection area of this embodiment includes at least two detection areas distributed from far to near the robot, and the safety control strategies corresponding to the two detection areas are different, which can expand the protection range of the robot and enhance the safety performance of the robot. In addition, when an obstacle is detected in the first detection area farther from the robot, the robot is first decelerated, and when the deceleration is abnormal, the torque of the robot is then turned off, which can improve the efficiency of the robot while ensuring the safety of the robot.

[0031] In order to further enhance the safety of the robot, in one embodiment, the detection area further includes a third detection area distributed on the side of the first detection area away from the robot to expand the protection range of the robot. The safety control strategy corresponding to the third detection area includes a second deceleration signal and a torque-off signal for abnormal second deceleration. Among them, the deceleration ratio of the second deceleration signal is greater than the deceleration ratio of the first deceleration signal. Since the distance between the third detection area and the robot is greater than the distance between the first detection area and the robot, when the distance between the obstacle and the robot is shortened, it takes a longer time, and the robot has more reaction time. Therefore, when the obstacle is in the third detection area, the deceleration ratio of the robot can be greater than when the obstacle is in the first detection area. When the safety evaluation circuit 120 outputs the safety evaluation strategy corresponding to the third detection area, it first outputs the second deceleration signal and monitors whether the robot has abnormal deceleration. If so, it outputs the torque-off signal; if not, it does not output the torque-off signal.

[0032] The detection area of this embodiment further includes a third detection area distributed on the side of the first detection area away from the robot, which can expand the protection range of the robot and enhance the safety of the robot. By setting at least two deceleration ratios in the first detection area and the third detection area, the robot can run more smoothly and efficiently while meeting safety standards.

[0033] In other embodiments, the third detection area can be the side of the first detection area away from the robot, that is, the first detection area is further divided.

[0034] In one embodiment, the detection area further includes a fourth detection area located between the first detection area and the second detection area. The safety control strategy corresponding to the fourth detection area includes a third deceleration signal and a torque-off signal after a preset time. When the obstacle enters the first detection area, the robot starts to decelerate. If there is no abnormal deceleration of the robot, when the obstacle enters the fourth detection area, when the safety evaluation circuit 120 outputs the safety evaluation strategy corresponding to the fourth detection area, it first outputs the third deceleration signal to make the robot continue to decelerate. After the preset time, if the robot has not been decelerated to torque-off, it outputs the torque-off signal; or makes the robot continue to decelerate and outputs the torque-off signal after the deceleration preset time to turn off the torque of the robot to ensure the safety of the robot.

[0035] The detection area of this embodiment further includes a fourth detection area located between the first detection area and the second detection area, and the safety control strategy corresponding to the fourth detection area is to first decelerate and then torque off, making the robot run more smoothly and efficiently while meeting safety standards.

[0036] In one embodiment, the deceleration ratio of the third deceleration signal is less than that of the first deceleration signal. Therefore, the robot decelerates from different deceleration ratios to torque off, making the robot run more smoothly and efficiently, and at the same time reducing the impact on the robot motor when the robot jumps from a high-speed motion state to torque off.

[0037] In one embodiment, the safety control circuit 100 further includes an output circuit 130. The output circuit 130 is connected to the safety evaluation circuit 120 corresponding to at least one detection area, and the output circuit 130 is further configured to be connected to the motor drive circuit of the robot to control the robot to perform torque off. Among them, the safety control strategy corresponding to at least one detection area includes a torque off signal. That is, when the safety control strategy of the detection area corresponding to the safety evaluation circuit 120 includes a torque off signal, the safety evaluation circuit 120 outputs a torque off signal to the motor drive circuit of the robot through the output circuit 130 to control the robot to perform torque off.

[0038] The safety control circuit 100 of this embodiment sets the safety control strategy of at least one detection area to include a torque off signal, and sets an output circuit 130 connected to the motor drive circuit of the robot. When the safety control strategy of the detection area corresponding to the safety evaluation circuit 120 includes a torque off signal, the safety evaluation circuit 120 outputs a torque off signal to the motor drive circuit of the robot through the output circuit 130 to control the robot to perform torque off. That is, the safety control circuit 100 can directly control the robot to perform torque off, which can enhance the safety of the robot.

[0039] For example, when the safety control strategies of multiple different detection areas of the robot all include a torque off signal, the safety evaluation circuits 120 corresponding to the detection areas are all connected to the output circuit 130. When the safety control strategy corresponding to the first detection area of the robot includes other safety signals or strategies except the torque off signal, and the safety control strategy corresponding to the second detection area includes a torque off signal, the safety evaluation circuit 120 corresponding to the second detection area is connected to the output circuit 130, and the safety evaluation circuit 120 corresponding to the first detection area does not need to be connected to the output circuit 130.

[0040] In other embodiments, the safety assessment circuit 120 is connected to the output circuit 130, and when modifying the safety control strategy to add a torque-off signal, it is not restricted by the connection between the safety assessment circuit 120 and the output circuit 130, which can reduce the hardware development cycle and cost.

[0041] In one embodiment, the safety control circuit 100 further includes a communication circuit 140. The communication circuit 140 is connected to the safety assessment circuit 120 corresponding to at least one detection area, and the communication circuit 140 is further configured to be connected to the controller of the robot. The safety control circuit 100 sends a deceleration signal to the controller through the communication circuit 140 to control the robot to decelerate through the controller. Among them, the safety control strategy corresponding to at least one detection area includes a deceleration signal. That is, when the safety control strategy of the detection area corresponding to the safety assessment circuit 120 includes a deceleration signal, the safety assessment circuit 120 communicates with the controller of the robot through the communication circuit 140 to notify the controller to control the robot to decelerate.

[0042] In this embodiment, the safety control circuit 100 sets the safety control strategy of at least one detection area to include a deceleration signal, and sets the communication circuit 140 for communicating with the controller of the robot. When the safety control strategy of the detection area corresponding to the safety assessment circuit 120 includes a deceleration signal, the safety assessment circuit 120 communicates with the control of the robot through the communication circuit 140 and notifies the controller to control the robot to decelerate, which can enrich the safety control strategy and reduce the probability of damage to the robot motor.

[0043] For example, the safety control strategy corresponding to the detection area A of the robot includes a torque-off signal, the safety control strategy corresponding to the detection area B includes a torque-off signal and a deceleration signal. The safety assessment circuit 120 corresponding to the detection area B is connected to the output circuit 130 and the communication circuit 140, and the safety assessment circuit 120 corresponding to the detection area A is connected to the output circuit 130. Or, the safety control strategy corresponding to the detection area A of the robot includes a torque-off signal, the safety control strategy corresponding to the detection area B includes a deceleration signal. The safety assessment circuit 120 corresponding to the detection area B is connected to the communication circuit 140, and the safety assessment circuit 120 corresponding to the detection area A is connected to the output circuit 130.

[0044] In one embodiment, the safety assessment circuit 120 is connected to the communication circuit 140, and when modifying the safety control strategy to add a deceleration signal, it is not restricted by the connection between the safety assessment circuit 120 and the communication circuit 140, which can reduce the hardware development cycle and cost.

[0045] Among them, when the communication circuit 140 is connected to the controller of the robot, it can be a wired communication connection or a wireless communication connection, which is not limited here. For example, the communication circuit 140 communicates with the controller through CANopen.

[0046] In one embodiment, the communication circuit 140 can be a dual-channel communication circuit 140. The communication circuit 140 performs dual-channel communication with the controller, which can improve the communication security between the safety control circuit 100 and the controller and enhance the safety of the robot.

[0047] In one embodiment, the communication circuit 140 can include multiple sub-communication circuits 140. Each sub-communication circuit 140 is configured to be connected to a safety assessment circuit 120 and the controller. Therefore, the safety assessment circuit 120 can directly communicate with the controller through its corresponding sub-communication circuit 140, and its safety control strategy can be directly sent to the controller, which can speed up the speed of the robot to perform safety operations and improve the safety of the robot.

[0048] In other embodiments, the communication circuit 140 can be provided in the safety assessment circuit 120.

[0049] In one embodiment, the communication circuit 140 is further configured to perform priority processing on the safety control strategies corresponding to different safety assessment circuits 120 and output the safety control strategy with a higher priority. For example, when the monitoring circuit 110 simultaneously detects obstacles in different detection area distributions, the communication circuit 140 receives deceleration signals corresponding to different safety control strategies simultaneously or within a preset time. The communication circuit 140 performs priority processing on the safety control strategies corresponding to the deceleration signals, and can preferentially or only output the deceleration signals corresponding to the safety control strategies with a higher priority; or when a deceleration signal with a higher priority is received during the period of outputting the deceleration signal, the communication circuit 140 interrupts the ongoing output and outputs the deceleration signal with a higher priority.

[0050] In one embodiment, the safety control circuit 100 further includes a processor (not labeled in the figure). The processor is configured to perform priority processing on the safety control strategies corresponding to different safety assessment circuits 120 and output the safety control strategy with a higher priority. For example, when the monitoring circuit 110 simultaneously detects obstacles in different detection areas, the processor receives deceleration signals corresponding to different safety control strategies simultaneously or within a preset time. The processor performs priority processing on the safety control strategies corresponding to the deceleration signals, and can preferentially or only output the deceleration signals corresponding to the safety control strategies with a higher priority to the communication circuit 140.

[0051] In one embodiment, the controller of the robot performs priority processing based on different safety control strategies and controls the robot to perform safety operations according to the safety control strategy with a higher level.

[0052] For example, since the third detection area is farther from the robot than the first detection area, the priority of the second deceleration signal in the safety control strategy corresponding to the third detection area is lower than the priority of the first deceleration signal in the safety control strategy corresponding to the first detection area. When obstacles are detected in both the third detection area and the first detection area simultaneously, the first deceleration signal is preferentially or only output.

[0053] In one embodiment, the monitoring circuit 110 performs obstacle detection in real time or periodically. Among them, if the controller of the robot receives a new safety control strategy during the execution of a safety operation, the controller of the robot can interrupt the current safety operation according to the priority of the safety control strategy and execute a new safety operation, or wait for the current safety operation to end and preferentially execute the safety control strategy with a higher level.

[0054] In one embodiment, the safety evaluation circuit 120 corresponding to at least one detection area is configured to obtain the speed information of the robot, and determine whether the robot decelerates abnormally or the deceleration duration reaches a preset duration based on the speed information, and generate a torque-off signal when the deceleration is abnormal or the deceleration duration reaches the preset duration. At this time, the safety evaluation circuit 120 is connected to the output circuit 130 and the communication circuit 140. For example, the safety evaluation circuit 120 outputs a deceleration signal, obtains the speed information of the robot after an interval, if the speed of the robot is greater than the threshold, it is considered that the robot decelerates abnormally, and a torque-off signal is generated to control the torque-off of the robot to ensure the safety of the robot. Or, the safety evaluation circuit 120 outputs a deceleration signal, obtains the speed information of the robot after an interval, when the deceleration duration reaches the preset duration, if the robot has not decelerated to torque-off, a torque-off signal is generated to control the torque-off of the robot to ensure the safety of the robot.

[0055] The safety evaluation circuit 120 of this embodiment determines whether the robot decelerates abnormally or the deceleration duration reaches the preset duration by obtaining the speed information of the robot, and generates a torque-off signal when the deceleration is abnormal or the deceleration duration reaches the preset duration, which can ensure that the robot's torque is turned off when decelerating abnormally and improve the safety of the robot.

[0056] In one embodiment, refer to Figure 2 , Figure 2It is a schematic structural diagram of another embodiment of the safety control circuit provided by this application. The safety control circuit 100 includes two groups of monitoring circuits 110 and two groups of multiple safety evaluation circuits 120. One group of monitoring circuits 110 is correspondingly arranged with one group of multiple safety evaluation circuits 120, and the other group of monitoring circuits 110 is correspondingly arranged with the other group of multiple safety evaluation circuits 120. Moreover, the detection areas of the two groups of monitoring circuits 110 are the same, and the safety control strategies corresponding to the detection areas are the same. That is, the safety control circuit 100 of this embodiment is designed for dual-channel area detection and safety evaluation output. When one of the groups fails, the other group can be used to continue monitoring and outputting safety control strategies, which can enhance the safety performance of the safety control circuit 100.

[0057] In one embodiment, the safety control circuit 100 further includes a verification circuit 150. The verification circuit 150 is connected to the two groups of safety evaluation circuits 120 and is used to verify whether the safety control strategies output by the two groups of safety evaluation circuits 120 are consistent. That is, the dual-channel area detection and safety evaluation output will monitor each other for faults and will also monitor whether the safety control strategy output is executed. The dual-channel safety architecture of the area detection and safety evaluation output in this embodiment meets the CAT3 architecture of ISO13849-1 and reaches the PLd / SIL2 level.

[0058] Among them, the verification circuit 150 can be set in one or more safety evaluation circuits 120 of any group, or the verification circuit 150 is independently set, and this is not limited here.

[0059] In one embodiment, the monitoring circuit 110 includes a connected sensing circuit 111 and multiple area monitoring circuits. The sensing circuit 111 is used to obtain the position information of the robot. Among them, the position information can be the distance, orientation, etc. between the obstacle and the robot. Among them, the sensing circuit 111 can determine the position information of the obstacle through image information, infrared information, etc., and this is not limited here.

[0060] In one embodiment, the sensing circuit 111 includes a lidar (not labeled in the figure), a laser scanner or a camera. For example, the sensing circuit 111 includes a laser scanner. The laser scanner is an optoelectronic sensor, where the emitter is a light emitter and the receiver is a light receiver, and is used to emit a light beam into the detection area and detect the light beam reflected by the obstacle in the detection area. Among them, the laser scanner is a time-of-flight sensor, that is, a laser scanner or a time-of-flight camera based on time-of-flight evaluation. In particular, the laser scanner is a safety laser scanner.

[0061] A plurality of area monitoring circuits 112 are connected to the sensing circuit 111 and are arranged in one-to-one correspondence with a plurality of safety evaluation circuits 120, and are configured to output an obstacle detection result based on the corresponding detection area and position information. That is, one area monitoring circuit 112 monitors one detection area, and when an obstacle enters the detection area, it notifies its corresponding safety evaluation circuit 120 to output a safety control strategy corresponding to the detection area. Therefore, each path of area monitoring circuit 112 and safety evaluation circuit 120 outputs a safety control strategy to form a safety path, so the safety control circuit 100 of this embodiment includes multiple safety paths, and the safety strategies of each safety path are different.

[0062] In this embodiment, by setting the sensing circuit 111 to obtain the position information of the obstacle and setting a plurality of area monitoring circuits 112 to detect obstacles in different detection areas simultaneously, the speed of obstacle discovery can be accelerated; in addition, each path of area monitoring circuit 112 and safety evaluation circuit 120 outputs a safety control strategy to form a safety path, so the safety control circuit 100 of this embodiment includes multiple safety paths, and the safety strategies of each safety path are different, which can enhance the safety of the robot.

[0063] For example, the monitoring circuit 110 includes two area monitoring circuits 112. One area monitoring circuit 112 is configured to detect a first detection area, and the other area monitoring circuit 112 is configured to detect a second detection area. One area monitoring circuit 112 determines whether the obstacle is in the first detection area based on the position information of the obstacle and the parameter information of the first detection area. If so, it sends a signal to the safety evaluation circuit 120 corresponding to the area monitoring circuit 112, and the safety evaluation circuit 120 outputs a safety control strategy corresponding to the first detection area. The other area monitoring circuit 112 determines whether the obstacle is in the second detection area based on the position information of the obstacle and the parameter information of the second detection area. If so, it sends a signal to the safety evaluation circuit 120 corresponding to the area monitoring circuit 112, and the safety evaluation circuit 120 outputs a safety control strategy corresponding to the second detection area. Among them, the parameter information may be one or more of the position, distance, azimuth, etc. of the detection area.

[0064] In one embodiment, the plurality of area monitoring circuits 112 and the plurality of safety evaluation circuits 120 are implemented by using function modules in the same processor, so that the area monitoring circuit 112 and the safety evaluation circuit 120 are connected by internal signals of the processor, without the need for external wiring harness connection, which can reduce the setting of signal wiring harnesses, common peripheral circuits and isolation circuits, and reduce the cost of the safety control circuit 100. For example, the internal signal connection of a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) is used.

[0065] In one embodiment, multiple area monitoring circuits 112 and a sensing circuit 111 may be provided in one processor, and multiple security evaluation circuits 120 are provided in another processor. The two processors are electrically connected through a printed circuit. This can reduce the wiring harness arrangement of the monitoring circuits and the multiple security evaluation circuits 120. In addition, the same peripheral circuits can be shared, which can reduce the cost of the security control circuit 100.

[0066] This application provides a robot. Refer to Figure 3 , Figure 3 FIG. is a schematic structural diagram of an embodiment of the robot provided by this application. The robot 10 includes a carrier (not labeled in the figure), a main body (not labeled in the figure), a security control circuit 100, a motion state monitoring circuit 200, a driving circuit 400, and a controller 300. The main body is mounted on the carrier and performs motion control in combination with the carrier. The motion state monitoring circuit 200 is connected to the security control circuit 100 and is used to monitor the motion state of the main body to monitor the movement data of the main body. The driving circuit 400 is connected to the security control circuit 100 and is used to receive the security control strategy output by the security control circuit 100 and execute a security operation. The controller 300 is connected to the driving circuit 400 and the security control circuit 100 and is used to send the security control strategy output by the security control circuit 100 to the driving circuit 400 so that the driving circuit 400 controls the motor of the robot 10 based on the security control strategy. Among them, the security control circuit 100 includes the security control circuit 100 of any embodiment of the above security control circuit 100.

[0067] Among them, the main body can be mounted on the carrier and perform motion control in combination with the carrier.

[0068] Optionally, at least one of the controller 300, the driving circuit 400, etc. of the robot can be provided on the carrier.

[0069] Among them, the main body or some components of the main body can be movably arranged; the motion of the main body includes rotation and / or movement, etc.; the motion data includes rotation data and / or movement data, etc.

[0070] The motion state monitoring circuit 200 is used to monitor the motion state of the main body to monitor the movement data of the robot 10. For example, when the moving devices of the robot 10 (not labeled in the figure) are the left wheel and the right wheel, the rotation speed and steering of the left wheel and the right wheel need to be monitored, and the current state of the robot 10 can be determined through the rotation speed and steering of the left wheel and the right wheel; or when the moving device is a lifting device, the lifting height and rotation angle of the lifting device need to be monitored, and the current state of the robot 10 can be determined through the lifting height and rotation angle of the lifting device. The safety evaluation circuit 120 judges whether the robot 10 decelerates abnormally by monitoring the movement data of the robot 10, that is, the speed information, so as to realize the safety speed monitoring of the robot, and output a torque off signal when the robot 10 decelerates abnormally to control the torque off of the robot 10.

[0071] In some embodiments, the carrier may include a moving device, and the moving device is used to drive the robot 10 to move in the horizontal direction or the direction of gravity. In this embodiment, the robot 10 is an overall mobile robot, and its specific working structure and control can refer to the above embodiments.

[0072] In some embodiments, the carrier may include a seat body. During the operation of the robot 10, the seat body can be fixed on a workbench, etc. to ensure the stability of the seat body. In this embodiment, the robot 10 is a partially movable robot, and the main body or some components of the main body can move relative to the seat body. For example, the main body may include a robotic arm, and the robotic arm can move relative to the seat body, or some joints of the robotic arm move relative to the seat body, and so on. The moving components of the main body may also include at least one of a cargo telescopic rack, an extension shaft, an end effector, a motor, etc.

[0073] In one embodiment, the safety control circuit 100 includes a monitoring circuit 110, four safety evaluation circuits 120, an output circuit 130, and a communication circuit 140. The monitoring circuit 110 includes a sensing circuit 111 and four area monitoring circuits 112. The four area monitoring circuits 112 are connected to the sensing circuit 111 and are arranged in one-to-one correspondence with the four safety evaluation circuits 120. The safety evaluation circuits 120 are also connected to the output circuit 130 and the communication circuit 140, and are connected to the motion state monitoring circuit 200 to obtain the speed information of the robot 10. The detection areas include a third detection area, a first detection area, a fourth detection area, and a second detection area distributed from far to near the robot 10. The third detection area is on the outermost side, and the second detection area is on the innermost side. The sensing circuit 111 calculates the distance and azimuth of objects in 360 degrees in real time, and the area monitoring circuit 112 performs logical calculations based on the obstacle position information and the information of the corresponding detection area, and outputs a safety signal when the obstacle is in the preset detection area.

[0074] The motion state monitoring circuit 200 includes an encoder (not labeled in the figure). The safety assessment circuit 120 calculates the speed and direction of the robot 10 based on the encoded signal of the encoder. The output circuit 130 is connected to the drive circuit 400. The drive circuit 400 is used to drive the motor of the robot 10. Pulling down the torque-off signal can turn off the motor torque. The communication circuit 140 is connected to the controller 300. The controller 300 is used to output a control signal to the drive circuit 400, and the drive circuit 400 controls the overall movement of the robot 10 based on the control signal. For example, the safety assessment circuit 120 sends a deceleration signal to the controller 300 through the communication circuit 140. The controller 300 issues a deceleration instruction to the drive circuit 400 in response to the deceleration signal, or the controller 300 controls the drive circuit 400 to decelerate in response to the deceleration signal.

[0075] First, different detection areas are preset into the corresponding area monitoring circuit 112, and the safety control strategies corresponding to the detection areas are preset into the safety assessment circuit 120. Among them, the safety control strategy can be a safety parameter. For example, the safety parameter 3 corresponding to the third detection area is SSM-S2, where SSM is safety speed monitoring and S2 is the speed threshold. When the threshold is exceeded, a safety signal will be issued; the safety parameter 1 corresponding to the first detection area is SSM-S1, the safety parameter 4 corresponding to the fourth detection area is SS1, where SS1 is to issue a torque-off signal after a preset deceleration duration; the safety parameter 2 corresponding to the second detection area is STO, and STO is the torque-off signal.

[0076] When it is monitored that an object has invaded the third detection area, the OSSD3 signal is pulled low. At this time, the SSM-S2 function is activated. The safety assessment circuit 120 will notify the controller to decelerate immediately through the communication circuit 140, and at the same time monitor the speed of the robot 10 to determine whether the robot 10 is decelerating. When the speed is higher than the threshold S2, it means that the deceleration of the robot 10 is abnormal, and a torque-off signal will be output to turn off the motor torque; if the deceleration is normal, no torque-off signal will be output.

[0077] When it is monitored that an object has invaded the first detection area, the OSSD1 signal is pulled low. At this time, the SSM-S1 function is activated. The safety assessment circuit 120 will notify the controller 300 to decelerate immediately through the communication circuit 140, and at the same time monitor the speed of the robot 10 to determine whether the robot 10 is decelerating. When the speed is higher than the threshold S1, it means that the deceleration of the robot 10 is abnormal, and a torque-off signal will be output to turn off the motor torque; if the deceleration is normal, no torque-off signal will be output.

[0078] Generally speaking, the threshold values S1 and S2 are equivalent to the reduction ratio of the robot 10. Since the third detection area is on the outermost side and farther from the robot 10, the reduction ratio is larger, and it can decelerate slowly. The reduction ratio of the detection area closer to the robot needs to be smaller, and it needs to decelerate faster. Therefore, the threshold value S2 is greater than the threshold value S1. It can be seen from this that multiple reduction ratios are set in this embodiment, making the operation of the robot 10 smoother and more efficient.

[0079] When it is monitored that an object has invaded the fourth detection area, the OSSD4 signal is pulled low. At this time, the SS1 function is activated, and the safety evaluation circuit 120 notifies the controller 300 to decelerate immediately through the communication circuit 140. After a period of delay, an output torque off signal will be output to turn off the motor torque. Since the fourth detection area is already relatively close to the robot 10, the speed is no longer monitored, and the motor torque is directly turned off after a period of delay.

[0080] When it is monitored that an object has invaded the second detection area, the OSSD2 signal is pulled low, and the safety evaluation circuit 120 directly outputs an output torque off signal to turn off the motor torque. Because the second detection area is very close to the robot 10, when an object invades at this time, the machine should stop immediately.

[0081] The above is only the implementation manner of this application, and does not limit the patent scope of this application. Any equivalent structure or equivalent process transformation made by using the content of the specification and drawings of this application, or directly or indirectly applied in other related technical fields, shall be equally included in the patent protection scope of this application.

Claims

1. A safety control circuit, characterized in that, For the safety control of a robot, the safety control circuit includes: A monitoring circuit configured to simultaneously detect obstacles in multiple different detection areas of the robot; wherein, different ones of the detection areas correspond to different safety control strategies; Multiple safety evaluation circuits connected to the monitoring circuit, the safety evaluation circuits being provided in one-to-one correspondence with the multiple different detection areas, and the safety evaluation circuits outputting corresponding safety control strategies based on the obstacle detection results of the corresponding detection areas to control the robot to perform safety operations.

2. The safety control circuit according to claim 1, characterized in that, The safety control strategy corresponding to at least one of the detection areas includes a torque-off signal; The safety control circuit further includes: an output circuit connected to the safety evaluation circuit corresponding to at least one of the detection areas, and the output circuit is further configured to be connected to the drive circuit of the motor of the robot to control the robot to perform torque-off.

3. The safety control circuit according to claim 2, wherein The safety control strategy corresponding to at least one of the detection areas includes a deceleration signal; The safety control circuit further includes: a communication circuit connected to the safety evaluation circuit corresponding to at least one of the detection areas, and the communication circuit is further configured to be connected to the controller of the robot to control the robot to decelerate through the controller.

4. The safety control circuit according to claim 3, characterized in that, The safety evaluation circuit corresponding to at least one of the detection areas is configured to obtain the speed information of the robot, and determine whether the robot decelerates abnormally or the deceleration duration reaches a preset duration based on the speed information, and generate a torque-off signal when the deceleration is abnormal or the deceleration duration reaches the preset duration.

5. The safety control circuit according to claim 1, characterized in that The detection area at least includes a first detection area and a second detection area distributed from far to near the robot, wherein, the safety control strategy corresponding to the second detection area includes a second torque-off signal; the safety control strategy corresponding to the first detection area includes a first deceleration signal and a first torque-off signal when deceleration is abnormal.

6. The safety control circuit according to claim 5, wherein The detection area further includes a third detection area distributed on the side of the first detection area away from the robot, the safety control strategy corresponding to the third detection area includes a second deceleration signal and a third torque-off signal when deceleration is abnormal, wherein, the deceleration ratio of the second deceleration signal is greater than the deceleration ratio of the first deceleration signal.

7. The safety control circuit according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that, The detection area further includes a fourth detection area located between the first detection area and the second detection area, the safety control strategy corresponding to the fourth detection area includes a third deceleration signal and a fourth torque-off signal after a preset deceleration duration.

8. The safety control circuit according to claim 1, wherein The safety control circuit includes two sets of the monitoring circuit and two sets of multiple safety evaluation circuits, one set of the monitoring circuit is provided in one-to-one correspondence with one set of the multiple safety evaluation circuits, and the other set of the monitoring circuit is provided in one-to-one correspondence with the other set of the multiple safety evaluation circuits; The safety control circuit further includes: A verification circuit connected to the two sets of safety evaluation circuits for verifying whether the safety control strategies output by the two sets of safety evaluation circuits are consistent.

9. The safety control circuit according to claim 1, wherein The monitoring circuit includes: A sensing circuit configured to obtain the position information of the obstacle; A plurality of area monitoring circuits, connected to the sensing circuit and arranged in one-to-one correspondence with the plurality of safety assessment circuits, for outputting the obstacle detection result based on different detection areas and position information.

10. The safety control circuit according to claim 9, wherein the sensing circuit includes a lidar.

11. A robot, characterized in that, Comprising: a carrier; a main body, mounted on the carrier and performing motion control in combination with the carrier; the safety control circuit according to any one of claims 1-10; a driving circuit, connected to the safety control circuit, for receiving the safety control strategy output by the safety control circuit and performing a safety operation; a controller, connected to the driving circuit and the safety control circuit, for sending the safety control strategy output by the safety control circuit to the driving circuit, so that the driving circuit controls the motor of the robot based on the safety control strategy.

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