Safety sensor and robot system

Abstract

The invention provides a safety sensor and a robot system. The safety sensor includes: a first sensing circuit configured to acquire first sensing information of a detection area; and the first safety operation circuit is connected with the first sensing circuit and is configured to output first safety control information based on the first sensing information and the current state information of the robot so as to control the robot to execute safety operation. In this way, the integration level of the safety sensor and the robot system can be improved, and the cost and the structural complexity are reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates to the field of robot technology, and particularly to a safety sensor and a robot. Background Art

[0002] The functional safety system of a robot generally includes sensors (such as lidar), a safety controller, and safety actuators (such as safety servo drivers). The sensor is used to process and evaluate the sensing signal and send the evaluation result to the safety controller; the safety controller processes the evaluation result of the sensor and issues a control instruction to the safety actuator.

[0003] In related technologies, the sensor and the safety controller are respectively provided with communication circuits and / or cables, etc. to achieve data transmission with the host computer and between each other, which has problems such as high total cost, large overall volume, and high complexity of system connection and installation. Summary of the Invention

[0004] This application provides a safety sensor and a robot system to improve the integration of the safety sensor and the robot system, and reduce costs and structural complexity.

[0005] To solve the above technical problems, this application provides a safety sensor, which includes: a first sensing circuit configured to obtain first sensing information of a detection area; a first safety operation circuit connected to the first sensing circuit and configured to output first safety control information based on the first sensing information and the current state information of the robot to control the robot to perform a safety operation.

[0006] In some embodiments, the first safety operation circuit includes: a first evaluation circuit connected to the first sensing circuit and configured to output a first safety control strategy based on the first sensing information and a region switching instruction; a safety control circuit connected to the first evaluation circuit and configured to obtain the state information, transmit the region switching instruction corresponding to the state information to the first evaluation circuit, and output the first safety control information based on the first safety control strategy.

[0007] In some embodiments, the first evaluation circuit includes: a first point cloud computing sub-circuit, connected to the first sensing circuit and configured to perform point cloud computing based on the first sensing information to obtain first point cloud data of the detection area; a first area configuration sub-circuit, connected to the security control circuit and configured to select area configuration information corresponding to the status information based on the area switching instruction; a first security evaluation sub-circuit, respectively connected to the first point cloud computing sub-circuit, the first area configuration sub-circuit and the security control circuit, and configured to obtain a first security control policy corresponding to the area where the obstacle is located based on the first point cloud data and the area configuration information; wherein, the security control circuit is configured to output the first security control information based on the status information and the first security control policy.

[0008] In some embodiments, the security control circuit includes: an area switching logic sub-circuit, connected to the first area configuration sub-circuit and configured to obtain the status information and obtain a monitoring case corresponding to the status information, so that the first area configuration sub-circuit obtains area configuration information corresponding to the monitoring case; the area switching instruction includes the monitoring case; a security control logic sub-circuit, further connected to the first security evaluation sub-circuit and configured to output the first security control information based on the first security control policy.

[0009] In some embodiments, the first security operation circuit further includes: a first diagnostic circuit, respectively connected to the first evaluation circuit and the security control circuit, configured to perform anomaly detection on the first evaluation circuit and the security control circuit, and output second security control information when an anomaly occurs.

[0010] In some embodiments, the security sensor includes at least two of the first security operation circuits, respectively connected to the first sensing circuit, and the two first security operation circuits respectively output corresponding first security control information based on the first sensing information and the status information.

[0011] In some embodiments, the security sensor includes a peripheral circuit, respectively connected to the first sensing circuit and the first security operation circuit, wherein the peripheral circuit includes at least one of a power supply circuit, a communication circuit, and a storage circuit.

[0012] In some embodiments, the security sensor includes a lidar, and the first sensing circuit includes a photoelectric conversion circuit.

[0013] In some embodiments, the security sensor further includes: a first input / output circuit, connected to the first security operation circuit, at least for outputting the first security control information.

[0014] To solve the above technical problems, the present application provides a robot system, which includes: a first safety sensor, where the first safety sensor is the above-mentioned safety sensor; a robot, and the first safety operation circuit outputs the first safety control information to the safety actuator to control the robot to perform safety operations.

[0015] In some embodiments, the first safety sensor further includes: a first input / output circuit, connected to the first safety operation circuit, and configured to output and the first safety control information.

[0016] In some embodiments, the robot system further includes: an input / output component, connected to the first safety operation circuit, and configured to at least output and the first safety control information.

[0017] In some embodiments, the input / output component includes: a second input / output circuit, connected to the first safety operation circuit, and configured to at least output and the first safety control information; a second diagnostic circuit, connected to the second input / output circuit, and configured to perform anomaly detection on the second input / output circuit and output a third safety control information when an anomaly occurs.

[0018] In some embodiments, the robot system further includes: at least one second safety sensor, where the second safety sensor is communicatively connected to the first safety operation circuit, and the first safety sensor serves as the master device of the second safety sensor, and the second safety sensor serves as the slave device of the first safety sensor; wherein, the second safety sensor detects a detection area under the control of the first safety operation circuit and feeds back the detection result to the first safety operation circuit.

[0019] In some embodiments, the first safety operation circuit includes: a first evaluation circuit, connected to the first sensing circuit, and configured to output a first safety control strategy based on the first sensing information and the area switching instruction; a safety control circuit, connected to the first evaluation circuit, and configured to obtain the status information and transmit the area switching instruction corresponding to the status information to the first evaluation circuit; the second safety sensor includes: a second sensing circuit, configured to obtain second sensing information of the corresponding detection area; a second evaluation circuit, connected to the second sensing circuit and the safety control circuit, and outputting a second safety control strategy to the safety control circuit based on the area switching instruction and the second sensing information, so that the safety control circuit outputs the first safety control information based on the first safety control strategy and the second safety control strategy.

[0020] In some embodiments, the second safety sensor further includes: a third diagnostic circuit, connected to the second evaluation circuit respectively, configured to detect an abnormality in the second evaluation circuit and output fourth safety control information when an abnormality occurs; the first safety sensor further includes: a first input / output circuit, connected to the third diagnostic circuit, for outputting the fourth safety control information.

[0021] In some embodiments, the second safety sensor further includes: a third diagnostic circuit, connected to the second evaluation circuit, configured to detect an abnormality in the second evaluation circuit and output fourth safety control information when an abnormality occurs; the robot system further includes: an input / output component, connected to the third diagnostic circuit, for outputting the fourth safety control information.

[0022] The beneficial effects of the present application are as follows: The safety sensor provided by the present application includes a first sensing circuit and a first safety operation circuit. The first sensing circuit is configured to obtain first sensing information of a detection area. The first safety operation circuit is connected to the first sensing circuit and is configured to output first safety control information based on the first sensing information and the current state information of the robot of the safety sensor, so as to control the carrier to perform safety operations. In this way, the safety sensor provided by the present application is provided with a first sensing circuit for obtaining first sensing information of a detection area and a first safety operation circuit for processing the first sensing information and the current state information of the robot to output first safety control information for controlling the robot to perform safety operations, enabling the safety sensor to have a safety sensing function and a safety control function, that is, the safety sensing and safety control of the robot can be realized through the safety sensor provided by the present application. Compared with the existing scheme in which the sensors and safety controllers of robots are separately arranged, the safety sensor of the present application has a high integration degree, and can at least reduce the complexity and cost of the communication link and connection structure between the two, so it can improve the integration degree, reduce the cost and structural complexity, etc. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] 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 following drawings 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 according to these drawings, where:

[0024] Figure 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a safety sensor according to one or more embodiments;

[0025] Figure 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a safety sensor according to one or more embodiments;

[0026] Figure 3Schematic structural diagram of a safety sensor according to one or more embodiments;

[0027] Figure 4 Schematic structural diagram of a safety sensor according to one or more embodiments;

[0028] Figure 5 Schematic structural diagram of a safety sensor according to one or more embodiments;

[0029] Figure 6 Schematic structural diagram of a safety sensor according to one or more embodiments;

[0030] Figure 7 Schematic structural diagram of a robot system according to one or more embodiments;

[0031] Figure 8 Schematic structural diagram of a robot system according to one or more embodiments;

[0032] Figure 9 Schematic structural diagram of a robot system according to one or more embodiments;

[0033] Figure 10 Schematic structural diagram of a robot system according to one or more embodiments;

[0034] Figure 11 Schematic structural diagram of a robot system according to one or more embodiments. Detailed implementation manners

[0035] Next, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be clearly and completely described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present application. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part 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 shall fall within the protection scope of the present application.

[0036] 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.

[0037] In addition, if there are descriptions involving "first", "second", etc. in the embodiments of the present application, such descriptions of "first", "second", etc. are only for descriptive purposes and should not be construed as indicating or implying their relative importance or implicitly specifying the quantity of the indicated technical features. Thus, the 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 results in contradictions 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.

[0038] The functional safety system of a robot generally includes sensors (such as lidar), a safety controller, and safety actuators (such as safety servo drives), etc. The sensors are used to process and evaluate sensing signals and send the evaluation results to the safety controller; the safety controller processes the evaluation results of the sensors and issues control instructions to the safety actuators.

[0039] In the actual application of the robot functional safety system, the sensor and the safety controller are two independent components located in two separate housings. Each of them uses its own auxiliary circuits, such as power supply, communication circuit, diagnostic circuit, and storage circuit, etc. They need to be connected through a safety signal transmission or a safety communication circuit. The sensor and the safety controller each have a communication circuit and a cable to achieve data transmission with the upper computer and between each other, resulting in problems such as a relatively high total cost, a large overall volume, and a high complexity of system connection and installation.

[0040] Therefore, the present application proposes a safety controller integrated with safety sensing and safety control to solve the above problems. The safety sensor proposed in the present application can be used in robots such as Automated Guided Vehicle (AGV) and Autonomous Mobile Robo (AMR).

[0041] The present application further proposes a robot system including a robot and a safety sensor. There may be one or more safety sensors and one or more safety actuators in this robot system.

[0042] The present application first proposes a safety sensor, such as Figure 1 As shown, the safety sensor 1 of this embodiment includes a first sensing circuit 10 and a first safety operation circuit 20. The first sensing circuit 10 is configured to obtain first sensing information of the detection area; the first safety operation circuit 20 is connected to the first sensing circuit 10 and is configured to output first safety control information based on the first sensing information and the current state information of the robot (not shown in the figure) to control the robot to perform safety operations.

[0043] Among them, the robot serves as the carrier of the safety sensor 1, and the safety sensor 1 serves as the component for safety sensing and safety control of the robot.

[0044] Among them, the connection between two circuits in the embodiments of the present application means an electrical connection or other forms of communication connection between the two circuits, so that an electrical signal can be transmitted between them.

[0045] Among them, the first sensing circuit 10 serves as the sensor unit of the safety sensor 1 and is used to obtain the first sensing information of the detection area in the robot operating environment. For example, the first sensing circuit 10 emits a laser beam to a target, then receives the signal reflected from the target, and calculates the distance between the target and the sensor unit by comparing the time difference between the emitted and received signals. In addition, the first sensing circuit 10 can also perform point-by-point ranging on the surrounding environment through a scanning mechanism to form a three-dimensional point cloud image, so as to obtain more detailed environmental information, etc.; the first sensing information can be used for ranging, speed measurement, obstacle avoidance, navigation, etc. of the robot.

[0046] Among them, the first safety operation circuit 20 serves as the data processing unit of the safety sensor 1, can process and evaluate the first sensing information, and perform certain logical operations and / or numerical operations on the evaluation result to generate corresponding safety control information, such as control instructions, etc., and send control instructions to the safety actuator (not shown in the figure) of the robot, the main controller of the robot, etc. (not shown in the figure) to control the robot to perform safety operations, such as deceleration, shutdown, etc. For example, the first safety operation circuit 20 can output a deceleration instruction to the main controller of the machine, and the main controller controls the motor of the robot to decelerate, or the first safety operation circuit 20 can directly output a torque shutdown signal to control the motor in the safety actuator to stop.

[0047] The safety sensor 1 provided in this embodiment is provided with a first sensing circuit 10 for obtaining the first sensing information of the detection area and a first safety operation circuit 20 for processing the first sensing information and the current state information of the robot to output the first safety control information for controlling the robot to perform safety operations, which can enable the safety sensor to have safety sensing and safety control functions, that is, the safety sensing and safety control of the robot can be realized through the safety sensor 1 provided in this embodiment. Compared with the existing solution of separately setting the sensor and safety controller of the robot, the safety sensor 1 in this embodiment has a high integration degree, and can at least reduce the complexity and cost of the communication link and connection structure between the two, so it can improve the integration degree, reduce the cost and structural complexity, etc.

[0048] In some embodiments, the first security operation circuit 20 includes: a first evaluation circuit 21 and a security control circuit 22. The first evaluation circuit 21 is connected to the first sensing circuit 10 and is configured to output a first security control strategy based on the first sensing information and the area switching instruction output by the first sensing circuit 10. The security control circuit 22 is connected to the first evaluation circuit 21, is configured to obtain status information, transmit the area switching instruction corresponding to the status information to the first evaluation circuit 21, and is configured to output first security control information based on the first security control strategy.

[0049] To improve the security of robot control, the robot can obtain a first security control strategy that matches the current status information and the first sensing information based on the first sensing information in different states. Therefore, in this embodiment, multiple status information of the robot, multiple first configuration information, and a first mapping relationship between the two can be pre-stored in the security control circuit 22, and multiple first configuration information, multiple first security control strategies, and a second mapping relationship between the two can be pre-stored in the first evaluation circuit 21. Among them, the second mapping relationship can be which first configuration information is used in different speed states, loading states, etc. of the robot. For the security function configuration, it is mainly necessary to determine which first configuration information the robot switches to in its different states.

[0050] The security control circuit 22 obtains the current status information of the robot, determines the first configuration information corresponding to the status information based on the first mapping relationship, and generates an area switching instruction (the area switching instruction may include the first configuration information) to the first evaluation circuit 21 based on the first configuration information. The first evaluation circuit 21 obtains the first configuration information from the area switching instruction, generates a first security control strategy that matches the first configuration information and the first sensing information based on the second mapping relationship and the first sensing information, so that the first security control strategy is not only associated and matched with the first sensing information, but also associated and matched with the current status information of the robot, and transmits the first security control strategy back to the security control circuit 22. Therefore, this embodiment can improve the security of the security sensor for robot control.

[0051] This embodiment realizes the first security operation circuit 20 through the first evaluation circuit 21 and the security control circuit 22, can connect security control and security sensing through the first configuration information, and can improve the reliability of robot security control.

[0052] In some embodiments, such as Figure 2As shown in the figure, the first evaluation circuit 21 of this embodiment includes: a first point cloud computing sub-circuit 211, a first area configuration sub-circuit 212, and a first security evaluation sub-circuit 213; wherein, the first point cloud computing sub-circuit 211 is connected to the first sensing circuit 10 and is configured to perform point cloud computing based on the first sensing information to obtain the first point cloud data of the detection area; the first area configuration sub-circuit 212 is connected to the security control circuit 22 and is configured to select area configuration information corresponding to the status information based on the area switching instruction; the first security evaluation sub-circuit 213 is respectively connected to the first point cloud computing sub-circuit 211, the first area configuration sub-circuit 212, and the security control circuit 22, and is configured to obtain the first security control strategy corresponding to the area where the obstacle is located based on the first point cloud data and the area configuration information; wherein, the security control circuit 22 is configured to output the first security control information based on the status information and the first security control strategy.

[0053] For example, different security control strategies can be torque off, deceleration, deceleration anomaly monitoring, torque off after deceleration, etc. The security control information is a control signal corresponding to the security control strategy, etc., and is an electrical signal corresponding to the security control strategy.

[0054] Among them, the status information and the area configuration information can be associated through the above-mentioned first configuration information. The first configuration information, as an intermediate quantity, may not carry information related to control.

[0055] To improve the safety of the robot, the detection area of the robot can usually be divided into multiple area groups, and each area group can be further divided. For example, each area group can include a warning area and a protection area. The area configuration information can be the division information of the detection area of the robot, the corresponding area information, and the corresponding security control strategy. For example, the detection area can be divided into 8 area groups, and each area group contains a warning area and a protection area. Of course, the area configuration information can be adjusted based on the actual needs of the application scenario of the robot. For different states of the robot, different security control strategies can be set for these area groups. That is to say, the same area group has different security control strategies under different status information, and for the same status information, different area groups may also have different security control strategies.

[0056] Among them, the first point cloud computing sub-circuit 211 can obtain the point cloud data of the entire detection area of the robot; the security control circuit 22 determines the area switching instruction based on the current state of the robot, the first area configuration sub-circuit 212 obtains the corresponding area configuration information based on the first configuration information carried in the switching instruction and transmits it to the first security evaluation sub-circuit 213. The first security evaluation sub-circuit 213 determines the area where the obstacle is located based on the first point cloud data and obtains the first security control strategy corresponding to the area where the obstacle is located based on the area configuration information.

[0057] Among them, the first area configuration sub-circuit 212 determines information on the area group of the detection area and the safety control strategy of the area group corresponding to the current state information of the robot based on the area configuration information. The first safety assessment sub-circuit 213 determines the area where the obstacle is located based on the first point cloud data, and selects the safety control strategy corresponding to the area where the obstacle is located in the safety control strategy of the area group determined by the first area configuration sub-circuit 212 as the first safety control strategy.

[0058] In some embodiments, the safety control circuit 22 includes: an area switching logic sub-circuit 221 and a safety control logic sub-circuit 222; the area switching logic sub-circuit 221 is connected to the first area configuration sub-circuit 212 and is configured to obtain the state information and obtain the monitoring case corresponding to the state information, so that the first area configuration sub-circuit 212 obtains the area configuration information corresponding to the monitoring case; the area switching instruction includes the monitoring case; the safety control logic sub-circuit 222 is also connected to the first safety assessment sub-circuit 213 and outputs the first safety control information based on the first safety control strategy.

[0059] Among them, the above-mentioned first configuration information may include the monitoring case. Multiple monitoring cases can be configured for the area switching logic sub-circuit 221, and the above-mentioned multiple area groups are respectively configured for each monitoring case; and the third mapping relationship between the monitoring case and the state information of the robot is pre-stored in the area switching logic sub-circuit 221. The area switching logic sub-circuit 221 can determine the corresponding monitoring case based on the current state information of the robot and the third mapping relationship, and generate an area switching instruction corresponding to the monitoring case (the area switching instruction may include the monitoring case). The first evaluation circuit 21 (specifically, refer to the above-mentioned embodiment introduction) determines the first safety control strategy corresponding to the monitoring case and corresponding to the area where the obstacle is located based on the first sensing information and the area switching instruction. The safety control logic sub-circuit 222 outputs the first safety control information based on the first safety control strategy.

[0060] The third mapping relationship can be which monitoring case to use when the robot is in different speed states, loading states, etc. For the safety function configuration, it is mainly necessary to switch to which monitoring case when the robot is in different states of itself.

[0061] In an application scenario, the monitoring case configuration information may be a kind of number information, etc.

[0062] In an application scenario, the area switching logic sub-circuit 221 first obtains the current state of the robot, determines the monitoring case corresponding to the current state, and transmits the monitoring case switching signal corresponding to the monitoring case, that is, the area switching signal, to the first evaluation circuit 21 to control the first evaluation circuit 21 to switch the monitoring case; if an obstacle enters a certain area group, the first evaluation circuit 21 obtains the first safety control strategy, such as OSSD, etc., of this area group of this monitoring case, and the first evaluation circuit 21 transmits the OSSD back to the safety control logic sub-circuit 222, and the safety control logic sub-circuit 222 performs safety output based on the OSSD to control the robot to implement the corresponding safety application.

[0063] In some embodiments, such as Figure 3 As shown, the first safety operation circuit 20 of this embodiment further includes, on the basis of the above embodiment: a first diagnostic circuit 23, which is respectively connected to the first evaluation circuit 21 and the safety control circuit 22, and is configured to perform anomaly detection on the first evaluation circuit 21 and the safety control circuit 22, and output a second safety control strategy when an anomaly occurs.

[0064] The first safety operation circuit 20 of this embodiment also integrates a first diagnostic circuit 23, and further performs anomaly detection on other circuit structures in the first safety operation circuit 20, such as the first evaluation circuit 21 and the safety control circuit 22, etc., through the first diagnostic circuit 23, and directly outputs the second safety control information when these circuits are abnormal. In this way, the reliability and safety of the safety sensor can be improved.

[0065] Furthermore, the first diagnostic circuit 23 can perform anomaly detection on each sub-circuit in the first evaluation circuit 21 and each sub-circuit in the safety control circuit 22, etc. The circuit structure can be specifically referred to in the following embodiments.

[0066] Among them, the first diagnostic circuit 23 can specifically include a current acquisition circuit, a voltage acquisition circuit, a control circuit, etc.

[0067] In some embodiments, such as Figure 4 As shown, the safety sensor 1 of this embodiment includes at least two first safety operation circuits 20, which are respectively connected to the first sensing circuit 10, and the two first safety operation circuits 20 respectively output corresponding first safety control information based on the first sensing information and the state information.

[0068] This embodiment can implement a dual-channel redundant architecture for the safety operation of the safety sensor 1, which can improve its reliability and safety.

[0069] In other embodiments, a dual-channel redundant architecture can also be adopted for the first sensing circuit 10 to improve the reliability and safety of the sensing of the safety sensor 1.

[0070] In some embodiments, the two first security operation circuits 20 can also be connected to perform cross-monitoring of information. For example, cross-verification is performed between the same two sub-circuits in the two first security operation circuits 20. For example, the two first evaluation circuits 21 in the two first security operation circuits 20 are connected, and at least one first evaluation circuit 21 performs a horizontal comparison on the output information and / or intermediate information of the two first evaluation circuits 21 to determine whether the first evaluation circuit 21 is abnormal. For example, a vertical logic check is performed on the signals of the first evaluation circuit 21 and other sub-circuits to determine whether the first security operation circuit 20 is abnormal.

[0071] In some embodiments, the security sensor 1 of this embodiment can further include a cross-checking circuit (not shown in the figure) on the basis of the above security sensor. The cross-checking circuit is respectively connected to the two first security operation circuits 20 to perform a horizontal comparison or a vertical logic check on the output information and / or intermediate information of the two first security operation circuits 20 to determine whether the first security operation circuit 20 is abnormal. Among them, the cross-checking circuit can respectively perform information verification on the sub-circuits in the two first security operation circuits 20.

[0072] In some embodiments, the security sensor 1 of this embodiment further includes a peripheral circuit (not shown in the figure), which is respectively connected to the first sensing circuit 10 and the first security operation circuit 20. Among them, the peripheral circuit includes at least one of a power supply circuit, a communication circuit, and a storage circuit.

[0073] The security sensing part of the security sensor 1 in this embodiment, that is, the first sensing circuit 10 and the security control part, that is, the first security operation circuit 20 share the peripheral circuit, which can not only simplify the circuit structure, reduce circuit elements, improve the integration degree, reduce the volume, but also facilitate centralized monitoring.

[0074] Among them, the power supply circuit can provide electrical energy for each circuit of the sensor; the storage circuit can store the data in each circuit; the communication circuit can at least realize the data communication between the security sensor 1 and an external device.

[0075] In some embodiments, the communication circuit is used to connect to a host computer to configure or control the security sensor 1 through the host computer. The communication circuit can be a commonly used industrial Ethernet, serial port (RS-232), etc.; the host computer can be a computer, installed with configuration software, providing a human-machine interface, and the user can configure the security sensor 1. The host computer can also be a higher-level controller. In this case, the security controller of this embodiment serves as a sub-controller and accepts the control of the higher-level controller.

[0076] In some embodiments, the peripheral circuit further includes: a second diagnostic circuit (not shown in the figure), which is respectively connected to the power supply circuit, the communication circuit, the storage circuit, and the first sensing circuit 10, and is used to implement the abnormal detection of these circuits. In other embodiments, the second diagnostic circuit and the first diagnostic circuit 23 can also be integrally arranged.

[0077] In some embodiments, the safety sensor 1 includes a lidar. The lidar detects characteristic quantities such as the position and speed of a target by emitting laser beams, and can obtain information about the target, such as parameters like target distance, azimuth, altitude, speed, attitude, and even shape, so as to detect, track, and identify the target. The lidar has advantages such as high measurement accuracy, wide detection range, strong anti-interference ability, strong three-dimensional imaging ability, and strong intelligent application ability. In the field of robotics, the lidar is widely used in aspects such as map building, environmental perception, navigation, and obstacle avoidance, providing important support for the autonomous operation of robots.

[0078] In some embodiments, the first sensing circuit 10 includes a photoelectric conversion circuit, which is used to realize the conversion between optical signals and electrical signals.

[0079] An electro-optical conversion circuit is an electronic device that converts electrical signals into optical signals, and its core component is an optoelectronic converter. The working principle of the optoelectronic converter is to convert optical signals into electrical signals using the photoelectric effect, or to convert electrical signals into optical signals using the electro-optical effect. The drive circuit generally uses circuit elements such as transistors and operational amplifiers to achieve precise control of the optoelectronic converter.

[0080] In some embodiments, the first sensing circuit 10 can also be other sensing circuits, or a combination of other sensing circuits and the photoelectric conversion circuit, to implement other safety sensors, such as a safety image sensor, a safety ultrasonic sensor, or a combined sensor of a lidar and other sensors, etc.

[0081] In some embodiments, the first sensing circuit 10 can be designed for safety, such as performing safety verification or redundant sensing on sensing signals, etc., or performing safety verification on the output signal of the first sensing circuit 10, etc., to implement the safety sensing function of the first sensing circuit 10. For the specific circuit design, reference can be made to the existing relevant technologies.

[0082] In some embodiments, the safety control logic sub-circuit 222 can include a processor, such as a micro-control unit, etc., which can perform safety operation control on the robot; and the safety control logic sub-circuit 222 itself can also be designed for safety, such as redundant channel design, data cross-verification of redundant channels, or matching verification between intermediate data, transmitted and received data, etc. For the specific circuit design, reference can be made to the existing relevant technologies.

[0083] In some embodiments, the safety control logic sub-circuit 222 can be implemented with devices such as an MCU, CPU, FPGA, CPLD, ASIC, etc.; the safety control logic sub-circuit 222 can adopt the Cat 3 architecture specified in ISO 13849-1 to achieve a safety performance level of PL d.

[0084] In some embodiments, as Figure 5 shown, the safety sensor 1 of this embodiment further includes, on the basis of the above-mentioned safety sensor 1: a first input / output circuit 24, connected to the first safety operation circuit 20, and at least used for outputting first safety control information.

[0085] Among them, the first input / output circuit 24 has a data input function and an output function, and can realize two-way data communication between the safety sensor 1 and external devices such as a safety actuator, safety equipment, and main controller. Among them, the safety actuator can include a drive of a robot, etc. Among them, the safety actuator, safety equipment, and main controller of the robot can also be designed for safety. For example, a dual-redundancy design can be carried out, or information verification, diagnosis, etc. can be carried out.

[0086] The first input / output circuit 24 is also used for outputting the second safety control information of the above-mentioned first diagnosis circuit 23. The first input / output circuit 24 is also used for inputting the status information of the robot.

[0087] The first input / output circuit 24 of this embodiment can also be designed for safety. For example, a dual-redundancy design can be carried out, or information verification, diagnosis, etc. can be carried out.

[0088] In some embodiments, as Figure 6 shown, the safety sensor 1 of this embodiment includes a first sensing circuit 10, two first safety operation circuits 20, and two first input / output circuits 24, forming a safety operation unit with a dual-redundancy architecture to improve the reliability and safety of the safety sensor 1; among them, the first safety operation circuit 20 includes: a first evaluation circuit 21, a safety control circuit 22, and a first diagnosis circuit 23; among them, ( Figure 8 ) the first input / output circuit 24 includes: a first output circuit 241 and a first input circuit 242. The first output circuit 241 is respectively connected to the first diagnosis circuit 23 and the safety control logic sub-circuit 222, and is used for outputting the second safety control information generated by the first diagnosis circuit 23, the first safety control information generated by the safety control logic sub-circuit 222, etc.; the first input circuit 242 is connected to the area switching logic sub-circuit 221, and is used for inputting the status information of the robot to the area switching logic sub-circuit 221; the first diagnosis circuit 23 is also respectively connected to each sub-circuit in the first evaluation circuit 21 and each sub-circuit in the safety control circuit 22, and is used for detecting abnormalities in these sub-circuits and generating second safety information to the first output circuit 241.

[0089] Among them, the second safety control information includes diagnostic information and feedback information; the first safety control information can be output in the form of control signals and instructions; the state information of the robot can specifically include encoder information, safety information of safety devices, external monitoring signals, etc.

[0090] In some embodiments, the first safety control information may include a STO (Safe Torque Off) signal, an SBC (Safe Brake Control) signal, an SS1 (Safe Stop 1) signal, and so on.

[0091] In some embodiments, the second safety control information may include diagnostic information and feedback information, such as diagnostic results of power-on self-check, diagnostic results of periodic self-check, diagnostic results of overvoltage and undervoltage of the power supply, outputs of watchdog, and so on.

[0092] For the specific circuit structures of the first evaluation circuit 21 and the safety control circuit 22, reference can be made to the above embodiments.

[0093] Information cross-verification can also be performed between the two first safety operation circuits 20. For example, it includes verifying the point cloud calculation results, safety evaluation results, safety control logic operation results of the two circuits, and so on.

[0094] In some embodiments, the first input / output circuit 24 can also be separately arranged from the safety sensor 1.

[0095] In some embodiments, the safety sensor 1 simultaneously detects multiple areas in the detection area. In different states of the robot, different safety control strategies are corresponding to different areas. The first evaluation circuit 21 may include multiple first safety evaluation sub-circuits 213, and the safety control circuit 22 includes multiple safety control logic sub-circuits 222. The multiple first safety evaluation sub-circuits 213 and the safety control logic sub-circuits 222 are arranged in one-to-one correspondence. The first safety evaluation sub-circuits 213 and the safety control logic sub-circuits 222 are arranged in one-to-one correspondence with different areas, and corresponding safety control strategies are output based on the obstacle detection results of the corresponding areas to control the robot to perform safety operations.

[0096] Different areas correspond to different safety control strategies. The first safety evaluation sub-circuits 213 and the safety control logic sub-circuits 222 are arranged in one-to-one correspondence with different areas. Each first safety evaluation sub-circuit 213 can output corresponding safety control strategies for the corresponding areas, which can increase the safety control strategies of the robot. Therefore, the speed of the robot in dealing with obstacles in different areas can be increased, the safety performance of the robot can be enhanced, and the safety level of the robot can be improved.

[0097] In some embodiments, the detection area at least includes a first area and a second area that are distributed from far to near to the robot. Among them, the safety control strategy corresponding to the second area includes a torque-off signal; the safety control strategy corresponding to the first area includes a first deceleration signal and a torque-off signal for abnormal first deceleration. When the first safety assessment sub-circuit 213 outputs the safety assessment strategy corresponding to the first area, it first outputs the first 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. When the first safety assessment sub-circuit 213 outputs the safety assessment strategy corresponding to the second area, it directly outputs the torque-off signal. Among them, abnormal deceleration may be that the speed of the robot is greater than the threshold after a preset time, or that the robot does not stop after a preset duration.

[0098] In some embodiments, in one embodiment, the detection area further includes a third area distributed on the side of the first area away from the robot to expand the protection range of the robot. The safety control strategy corresponding to the third area includes a second deceleration signal and a torque-off signal for abnormal second deceleration, where the deceleration ratio of the second deceleration signal is greater than that of the first deceleration signal. Since the distance between the third area and the robot is greater than the distance between the first area and the robot, when the distance between the obstacle and the robot shortens, it takes a longer time, and the robot has more reaction time. Therefore, the deceleration ratio of the robot when the obstacle is in the third area can be greater than the deceleration ratio of the robot when the obstacle is in the first detection area. When the first safety assessment sub-circuit 213 outputs the safety assessment strategy corresponding to the third 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.

[0099] In one embodiment, the detection area further includes a fourth area located between the first area and the second area. The safety control strategy corresponding to the fourth area includes a third deceleration signal and a torque-off signal after a preset duration. When the obstacle enters the first area, the robot starts to decelerate. If the robot does not have abnormal deceleration, when the obstacle enters the fourth area, when the first safety assessment sub-circuit 213 outputs the safety assessment strategy corresponding to the fourth area, it first outputs the third deceleration signal to make the robot continue to decelerate. If the robot has not decelerated to torque-off after the preset duration, it outputs the torque-off signal; or it makes the robot continue to decelerate and outputs the torque-off signal after the deceleration preset duration to make the robot torque-off to ensure the safety of the robot.

[0100] In one embodiment, the communication circuit is connected to the first safety assessment sub-circuit 213 corresponding to at least one area, and the communication circuit is further configured to be connected to the main controller of the robot, and send a deceleration signal to the main controller through the communication circuit to control the robot to decelerate through the main controller. Among them, the safety control strategy corresponding to at least one area includes a deceleration signal. That is, when the safety control strategy of the detection area corresponding to the first safety assessment sub-circuit 213 includes a deceleration signal, the first safety assessment sub-circuit 213 communicates with the main controller of the robot through the communication circuit, and notifies the main controller to control the robot to decelerate. Among them, when the communication circuit is connected to the main 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 communicates with the controller through CANopen.

[0101] The area detection and safety assessment of this embodiment can be set with a dual-channel safety architecture, meeting the CAT3 architecture of ISO13849-1 and reaching the PLd / SIL2 level.

[0102] The circuits with data processing functions in the present application can be implemented by devices such as a microprogrammed control unit (MCU), a central processing unit (CPU), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), and an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The above dual redundant architecture adopts the Cat 3 architecture of ISO 13849-1 and can reach the PL d level.

[0103] The safety sensing part and the safety control part of the present application share a large number of circuits, thus effectively simplifying the robot functional safety system, reducing the number of devices, reducing the circuit complexity, reducing the failure rate, and reducing costs, power consumption, volume, etc.

[0104] Furthermore, the safety sensing part and the safety control part are no longer connected through safety input / output (I / O), but are changed to the connection between circuits within the same device, thus reducing the complexity of on-site installation, reducing the transmission delay between circuits, reducing costs, power consumption, and volume, and improving the anti-electromagnetic interference ability.

[0105] Furthermore, the security sensing part and the security control part are no longer connected through secure communication, but are changed to be connected between the internal circuits of the same device. Secure communication is characterized by complex technology, high cost, and long authentication cycle.

[0106] The present application further proposes a robot system, as Figure 7 shown, the robot system of this embodiment (not labeled in the figure) includes a first safety sensor 71 and a robot (not shown in the figure). The first safety operation circuit 20 outputs first safety control information to the robot to control the robot to perform safety operations. Among them, the structure and working principle of the first safety sensor 71 can refer to the above embodiment.

[0107] The robot is provided with a driver 201 and a main controller (not shown in the figure). The robot system further includes a safety device 202.

[0108] The first safety sensor 71 of this embodiment can realize the safety sensing and safety control of the robot. Compared with the existing solution where the sensors and safety controllers of the robot are separately arranged, the first safety sensor 71 of this embodiment has a high integration level, and can at least reduce the complexity and cost of the communication link and connection structure between the two, so it can improve the integration level, reduce the cost, and reduce the structural complexity, etc.

[0109] In some embodiments, when controlling the robot to execute a safety deceleration strategy, the first safety control information is given to the robot main control, and then the robot main control controls the driver; while when executing STO, the first safety control information is directly given to the driver.

[0110] In some embodiments, the main controller, driver 201, and safety device 202 of the robot can also be designed for safety. For example, a dual redundant design can be carried out, or information verification, diagnosis, etc. can be carried out. The safety device 202 can include an emergency stop switch, a relay, a touch edge sensor, etc. The safety sensor 71 can output the above safety control information to the main controller, driver 201, or safety device 202.

[0111] Among them, the driver 201 can drive the motor of the robot to work; a safety signal can be sent to the safety sensor 71 through the safety device 202, such as emergency stop, enable abort, etc.

[0112] Optionally, the main controller in this embodiment can be an MCU, etc.

[0113] In some embodiments, as Figure 8 shown, the first safety sensor 71 of this embodiment further includes: a first input / output circuit 24, connected to the first safety operation circuit 20, and used for at least outputting the first safety control information.

[0114] Among them, the first output circuit 241 in the first input / output circuit 24 is also connected to the driver 201 and the safety device 202, and the first input circuit 242 in the first input / output circuit 24 is also connected to the driver 201 and the safety device 202, so that data such as safety I / O signals, STO signals, EDM signals, and encoder signals are communicated between the first input / output circuit 24 and the driver 201, and safety I / O signals are communicated between the first input / output circuit 24 and the safety device 202.

[0115] In some embodiments, the safety device includes two categories: safety input and safety output. Examples of safety input include emergency stop buttons, edge sensors, etc., and examples of safety output include linked drivers, brake brakes, etc.

[0116] Regarding the connection structure and working principle between the first input / output circuit 24 and other circuits in the first safety sensor 71, reference can be made to the above embodiments.

[0117] The first input / output circuit 24 can also implement an I / O isolation circuit by adding components such as electrical isolation, which is integrated into the safety sensor 71, with a simpler structure, higher integration, smaller volume, and lower cost. The safety sensor 71 with this structure is more suitable for application scenarios with fewer and simpler external devices.

[0118] In some embodiments, as Figure 9 shown, the difference between this embodiment and the above embodiments is that the first input / output circuit 24 is not integrally provided in the safety sensor 71 of this embodiment, and the robot system of this embodiment further includes an input / output component 25, which is connected to the first safety operation circuit 20 and is used to at least output and first safety control information.

[0119] In this embodiment, the input / output component 25 is set separately from the safety sensor 71 as an independent module, and it can be communicatively connected to the first diagnostic circuit 23, the safety control circuit 22, etc. for data transmission. In this way, the flexibility of the circuit can be improved, and the convenience of circuit maintenance and repair can be enhanced. The input / output component 25 can also implement an I / O isolation circuit by adding components such as electrical isolation. For the robot system with this structure, it is more convenient to change the type of the I / O isolation circuit and expand the number of modules, and it is more suitable for application scenarios with more and more complex external devices.

[0120] The above I / O isolation circuit provides an external interface, which is not only used to output safety control signals, but also used to connect safety devices (such as emergency stop buttons, enable buttons, reset buttons, edge sensors, etc.), and is also used for STO output and EDM input (communicating with actuators such as servo motor drivers), and encoder input signal input. The type and number of the I / O isolation circuit can be changed and expanded according to the actual application scenario.

[0121] In some embodiments, the input / output component 25 includes: a second input / output circuit (not labeled in the figure) and a second diagnostic circuit (not shown in the figure). The second input / output circuit is connected to the first secure operation circuit 20 and is configured to at least output first secure control information. The second diagnostic circuit is connected to the second input / output circuit and is configured to detect anomalies in the second input / output circuit and output third secure control information when an anomaly occurs.

[0122] Among them, as Figure 9 shown, the second input / output circuit includes a second input circuit 252 and a second output circuit 251.

[0123] The overall structure and functions of the second input / output circuit are similar to those of the first input / output circuit 24 described above and will not be elaborated here.

[0124] In this embodiment, the circuit for secure input / output of the secure sensor 71, i.e., the input / output component 25, is provided as an independent module separate from the secure sensor 71, and a second diagnostic circuit is provided for the second input circuit 252 and the second output circuit 251 to improve the reliability and security of the input / output component 25. For the design of diagnosis and security, reference can be made to the above embodiments.

[0125] In some embodiments, as Figure 10 shown, on the basis of the above embodiments, the robot system of this embodiment further includes: a host computer 100. The host computer 100 is configured to obtain secure configuration information. The first secure sensor 71 is configured with a secure sensing function and a secure control function. The first secure sensor 71 obtains the secure configuration information from the host computer 100 and outputs secure control information based on the current state information of the robot, the current first detection information of the first secure sensor 71, and the secure configuration information to control the robot to perform secure operations.

[0126] The secure configuration information of the first secure sensor 71 in this embodiment is obtained from the same host computer 100, which can implement the secure sensing configuration and the secure control configuration of the robot through the host computer 100, can improve the flexibility of the secure function configuration of the robot, and can improve the secure control ability of the robot in various complex application scenarios. Moreover, during the secure control process of the robot, the first secure sensor 71 does not need to interact with the host computer 100 for data anymore. Therefore, this embodiment can improve the efficiency of the robot's secure control.

[0127] In some embodiments, the host computer 100 can be a device independent of the robot, or an information configuration software system provided on the robot, or an information configuration software system provided on the control cabinet of the robot, etc.

[0128] In some embodiments, the safety configuration information includes at least area configuration information and monitoring case configuration information. The first area configuration sub-circuit 212 obtains the area configuration information from the host computer 100, and the area switching logic sub-circuit obtains the monitoring case configuration information from the host computer.

[0129] In an application scenario, for the monitoring case configuration, it is mainly necessary to configure 8 area groups for each monitoring case, and each area group includes a warning area and a protection area. The configuration is shown in Table 1.

[0130] Table 1

[0131]

[0132] In this embodiment, the first evaluation circuit 21 is configured with area configuration information and monitoring case configuration information, which can improve the reliability of robot safety control.

[0133] In some embodiments, the area switching logic sub-circuit 221 is further configured with first configuration information. The first configuration information can be which monitoring case to use when the robot is in different speed states, load states, etc. For the safety function configuration, it is mainly necessary to configure which monitoring case the robot switches to in its different states. The configuration is shown in Table 2.

[0134] Table 2

[0135]

[0136] In some embodiments, further, the host computer 100 can be used to configure information for separately provided input / output components, drivers, main controllers, safety devices, etc.

[0137] In some embodiments, as Figure 11 shown, on the basis of the above embodiments, the robot system of this embodiment further includes at least one second safety sensor 110. The second safety sensor 110 is communicatively connected to the first safety operation circuit 20, and the first safety sensor 71 serves as the master device of the second safety sensor 110, and the second safety sensor 110 serves as the slave device of the first safety sensor 71; wherein, the second safety sensor 110 detects the detection area under the control of the first safety operation circuit 20 and returns the detection result to the first safety operation circuit 20.

[0138] The robot system of this embodiment includes the first safety sensor 71 as the master device and the second safety sensor 110 as the slave device, realizing the safety sensing system of the main control structure of the robot system, which can increase the detection range of the robot system, such as the area range or information range, etc., thereby improving the safety of the robot.

[0139] In some embodiments, the detection area of the second safety sensor 110 may be the same as or different from that of the first safety sensor 71, and the detection information of the two may be the same or different.

[0140] In some embodiments, the first safety operation circuit 20 includes: a first evaluation circuit 21 and a safety control circuit 22; the first evaluation circuit 21 is connected to the first sensing circuit 10 and is configured to output a first safety control strategy based on the first sensing information and the area switching instruction; the safety control circuit 22 is connected to the first evaluation circuit 21 and is configured to obtain the status information and transmit the area switching instruction corresponding to the status information to the first evaluation circuit 21; the second safety sensor 110 includes: a second sensing circuit 111 and a second evaluation circuit 112, the second sensing circuit 111 is configured to obtain the second sensing information of the detection area; the second evaluation circuit 112 is connected to the second sensing circuit 111 and the safety control circuit 22, and outputs a second safety control strategy to the safety control circuit 22 based on the area switching instruction and the second sensing information, so that the safety control circuit 22 outputs the first safety control information based on the first safety control strategy and the second safety control strategy.

[0141] The difference between the second safety sensor 110 and the first safety sensor 71 in this embodiment is that the second safety sensor 110, as a slave device, does not need to be provided with a safety control circuit 22, and the second evaluation circuit 112 directly performs data interaction with the safety control circuit 22 of the first safety sensor 71 to realize the control of the second safety sensor 110 through the first safety sensor 71.

[0142] In some embodiments, the second evaluation circuit 112 includes a second point cloud computing sub-circuit 114, a second area configuration sub-circuit 115 and a second safety evaluation sub-circuit 116; wherein, the second point cloud computing sub-circuit 114 is connected to the second sensing circuit 111 and is configured to perform point cloud computing based on the second sensing information to obtain the second point cloud data of the detection area; the second area configuration sub-circuit 115 is connected to the safety control circuit 22 and is configured to select the area configuration information corresponding to the status information based on the area switching instruction; the second safety evaluation sub-circuit 116 is respectively connected to the second point cloud computing sub-circuit 114, the second area configuration sub-circuit 115 and the safety control circuit 22, and is configured to obtain the second safety control strategy corresponding to the area where the obstacle is located based on the second point cloud information and the area configuration information; wherein, the safety control circuit 22 is configured to output the first safety control information based on the status information, the first safety control strategy and the second safety control strategy.

[0143] For the introduction of the second sensing circuit 111, reference can be made to the above-mentioned first sensing circuit 10, and for other introductions of the second evaluation circuit 112, reference can be made to the above-mentioned first evaluation circuit 21.

[0144] The second area configuration sub - circuit 115 is connected to the area switching logic sub - circuit 221 to obtain an area switching instruction; the second security assessment sub - circuit 116 is connected to the security control logic sub - circuit 222, and is configured to output a second security control policy to the security control logic sub - circuit 222, so that the security control logic sub - circuit 222 outputs first security control information based on the status information, the first security control policy, and the second security control policy.

[0145] In some embodiments, the second security sensor 110 further includes: a third diagnostic circuit 113, which is respectively connected to the second assessment circuit 112, and is configured to perform anomaly detection on the second assessment circuit 112 and output fourth security control information when an anomaly occurs; the first security sensor 71 further includes: a first input / output circuit 24, which is connected to the third diagnostic circuit 113 and is used to output the fourth security control information.

[0146] The third diagnostic circuit 113 performs anomaly detection on each sub - circuit in the second assessment circuit 112 and outputs the fourth security control information to the first output circuit 241 of the first security sensor 71.

[0147] In some embodiments, the second security sensor 110 further includes: a third diagnostic circuit 113, which is connected to the second assessment circuit 112 and is configured to perform anomaly detection on the second assessment circuit 112 and output fourth security control information when an anomaly occurs; the robot system further includes: an input / output component 25, which is connected to the third diagnostic circuit 113 and is used to output the fourth security control information. The difference between this embodiment and the above - mentioned embodiment is that: in the security sensor 71 of this embodiment, the first input / output circuit 24 is not integrally provided, and the robot system of this embodiment further includes an input / output component 25, which is connected to the first security operation circuit 20 and is used to at least output the first security control information. The input / output component 25 is set separately from the security sensor 71 as an independent module, and it can be communicatively connected to the first diagnostic circuit 23, the second diagnostic circuit, the security control circuit 22, etc. for data transmission. In this way, the flexibility of the circuit can be improved, and the convenience of circuit maintenance and repair can be enhanced.

[0148] In some embodiments, the robot system may include one first security sensor 71 and multiple (two or more) second security sensors 110 connected in a hierarchical structure. The security control circuit of the first security sensor 71 can be respectively connected to the second assessment circuits 112 of the multiple second security sensors 110 through a communication bus, and the second diagnostic circuits of the multiple second security sensors 110 and the first diagnostic circuit 23 of the first security sensor 71 are connected to the first input / output circuit 24 or the input / output component 25 of the first security sensor 71.

[0149] In some embodiments, the second sensing circuit 111 is a photoelectric conversion circuit, and the second safety sensor 110 can be a lidar.

[0150] The main safety lidar, i.e., the first safety sensor 71, has a built-in safety control circuit and can be connected to a safety driver (safety servo driver) and safety input / output devices (such as a main controller, safety devices, etc.). The secondary safety lidar, i.e., the second safety sensor 110, does not have a built-in safety control circuit and cannot be connected to a safety servo driver and safety input / output devices. It can only be connected to the main safety lidar in a multi-stage cascading manner.

[0151] In some embodiments, the switching of the above-mentioned main safety lidar and secondary safety lidar can be consistent, receiving instructions simultaneously and switching according to the instructions simultaneously.

[0152] In some embodiments, the configurations of the above-mentioned main safety lidar and secondary safety lidar may not be completely the same. For example, after receiving instructions, they switch to monitor different areas according to different corresponding area configuration information.

[0153] The main and secondary safety lidars are respectively installed at different parts of the robot or in the working environment around the robot, and sense the surrounding environment or the pose of the robot from different angles.

[0154] Although the main safety lidar only provides one connection interface, through the cascading of multiple secondary safety lidars, the main safety lidar can obtain the information provided by all secondary safety lidars and more comprehensively sense the environmental information around the robot. After obtaining this information, the built-in safety control circuit executes corresponding safety control logic operations and issues safety instructions to the safety servo driver, which can meet the requirements of multi-lidar linkage in some complex application scenarios of robots.

[0155] The above are only the implementation manners of the present application and do not limit the patent scope of the present application. Any equivalent structure or equivalent process transformation made using the content of the specification and drawings of the present application, or directly or indirectly applied in other related technical fields, shall be included in the patent protection scope of the present application by the same token.

Claims

1. A safety sensor, characterized in that, The safety sensor includes: A first sensing circuit configured to obtain first sensing information of a detection area; A first safety operation circuit connected to the first sensing circuit and configured to output first safety control information based on the first sensing information and the current state information of the robot, so as to control the robot to perform safety operations.

2. The safety sensor according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first safety operation circuit includes: A first evaluation circuit connected to the first sensing circuit and configured to output a first safety control strategy based on the first sensing information and a region switching instruction; A safety control circuit connected to the first evaluation circuit and configured to obtain the state information, transmit the region switching instruction corresponding to the state information to the first evaluation circuit, and output the first safety control information based on the first safety control strategy.

3. The safety sensor according to claim 2, characterized in that, The first evaluation circuit includes: A first point cloud computing sub-circuit connected to the first sensing circuit and configured to perform point cloud computing based on the first sensing information to obtain first point cloud data of the detection area; A first region configuration sub-circuit connected to the safety control circuit and configured to select region configuration information corresponding to the state information based on the region switching instruction; A first safety evaluation sub-circuit connected to the first point cloud computing sub-circuit, the first region configuration sub-circuit and the safety control circuit respectively, and configured to obtain a first safety control strategy corresponding to the area where the obstacle is located based on the first point cloud data and the region configuration information; Wherein, the safety control circuit is configured to output the first safety control information based on the state information and the first safety control strategy.

4. The safety sensor according to claim 3, wherein, The safety control circuit includes: A region switching logic sub-circuit connected to the first region configuration sub-circuit and configured to obtain the state information and obtain a monitoring case corresponding to the state information, so that the first region configuration sub-circuit obtains region configuration information corresponding to the monitoring case; the region switching instruction includes the monitoring case; A safety control logic sub-circuit further connected to the first safety evaluation sub-circuit and outputting the first safety control information based on the first safety control strategy.

5. The safety sensor according to claim 2, wherein The first safety operation circuit further includes: A first diagnostic circuit connected to the first evaluation circuit and the safety control circuit respectively, configured to perform abnormality detection on the first evaluation circuit and the safety control circuit, and output second safety control information when an abnormality occurs.

6. The safety sensor according to claim 1, wherein The safety sensor includes at least two of the first safety operation circuits, which are respectively connected to the first sensing circuit, and the two first safety operation circuits respectively output corresponding first safety control information based on the first sensing information and the state information.

7. The safety sensor according to claim 1, characterized in that, The safety sensor includes a peripheral circuit, which is respectively connected to the first sensing circuit and the first safety operation circuit. Among them, the peripheral circuit includes at least one of a power supply circuit, a communication circuit, and a storage circuit.

8. The safety sensor according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, The safety sensor includes a lidar, and the first sensing circuit includes a photoelectric conversion circuit.

9. The safety sensor according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, The safety sensor further includes: The first input / output circuit is connected to the first secure operation circuit 0 and is at least used to output the first security control information.

10. A robot system, characterized in that, The robot system includes: A first safety sensor, where the first safety sensor is the safety sensor according to any one of claims 1 to 8; A robot, and the first secure operation circuit outputs the first security control information to the robot to control the robot to perform a safety operation.

11. The robot system according to claim 10, characterized in that, The first safety sensor further includes: A first input / output circuit, which is connected to the first secure operation circuit and is used to at least output the first security control information.

12. The robot system according to claim 10, characterized in that, The robot system further includes: An input / output component, which is connected to the first secure operation circuit and is used to at least output the first security control information.

13. The robot system according to claim 12, characterized in that, The input / output component includes: A second input / output circuit, which is connected to the first secure operation circuit and is used to at least output the first security control information; A second diagnostic circuit, which is connected to the second input / output circuit and is configured to perform an abnormality detection on the second input / output circuit and output a third security control information when an abnormality occurs.

14. The robot system according to claim 10, characterized in that, The robot system further includes: At least one second safety sensor, where the second safety sensor is communicatively connected to the first secure operation circuit, and the first safety sensor serves as the master device of the second safety sensor, and the second safety sensor serves as the slave device of the first safety sensor; Wherein, the second safety sensor detects a detection area under the control of the first secure operation circuit and feeds back the detection result to the first secure operation circuit.

15. The robot system according to claim 14, wherein, The first secure operation circuit includes: A first evaluation circuit, which is connected to the first sensing circuit and is configured to output a first security control strategy based on the first sensing information and the area switching instruction; A security control circuit, which is connected to the first evaluation circuit and is configured to obtain the status information and transmit the area switching instruction corresponding to the status information to the first evaluation circuit; The second safety sensor includes: A second sensing circuit, which is configured to obtain second sensing information of the corresponding detection area; A second evaluation circuit, which is connected to the second sensing circuit and the security control circuit, and outputs a second security control strategy to the security control circuit based on the area switching instruction and the second sensing information, so that the security control circuit outputs the first security control information based on the first security control strategy and the second security control strategy.

16. The robot system according to claim 14, wherein The second safety sensor further includes: A third diagnostic circuit, which is respectively connected to the second evaluation circuit and is configured to perform an abnormality detection on the second evaluation circuit and output a fourth security control information when an abnormality occurs; The first safety sensor further includes: A first input / output circuit, which is connected to the third diagnostic circuit and is used to output the fourth security control information.

17. The robot system according to claim 14, wherein The second safety sensor further includes: A third diagnostic circuit, which is connected to the second evaluation circuit and is configured to perform an abnormality detection on the second evaluation circuit and output a fourth security control information when an abnormality occurs; The robot system further includes: An input / output component, connected to the third diagnostic circuit, for outputting the fourth safety control information.

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