Robot programming device and programming method

Abstract

Provided are an apparatus and a method whereby it is possible to easily set whether or not some of the commands should be skipped when executing a program. A programming device that generates or edits an operation program of a robot includes: a display unit that displays a plurality of operation symbols each representing a plurality of operation commands included in the operation program; and an input unit that accepts an operation by a user with respect to the operation mark displayed on the display unit. The display unit is configured to display an execution setting change image in accordance with a predetermined operation by a user, the execution setting change image being an image in which the user can set whether or not a command included in an operation symbol selected by the user is skipped when the operation program is executed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a programming device and a programming method for a robot. Background Art

[0002] In the field of robot programming, icon-based programming technology is known. In this technology, an operator uses a portable terminal or the like to arrange icon-based commands on a timeline or operate icons displayed on a screen, thereby creating and editing a robot program.

[0003] In addition, a technology has been proposed for skipping some commands in a robot program according to predetermined conditions.

[0004] Prior art literature

[0005] Patent Literature

[0006] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2021-091025

[0007] Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2021-091026

[0008] Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2022-114299

[0009] Patent Document 4: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-136762

[0010] Patent Document 5: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2013-039626 Summary of the Invention

[0011] Problems to be solved by the invention

[0012] When programming a robot, you may want to skip over a portion of the program's instructions, such as when verifying the robot's program's behavior. In such cases, you might consider adding a branch statement to the program to skip some instructions, or temporarily deleting the corresponding instructions and then adding them again through re-teaching. However, both methods are time-consuming and inconvenient.

[0013] Therefore, a device and method are desired that can easily set whether a portion of instructions should be skipped when executing a program.

[0014] Means for solving problems

[0015] One embodiment of the present disclosure is a programming device for generating or editing a robot's action program, comprising: a display unit that displays a plurality of action marks respectively representing a plurality of action commands contained in the action program; and an input unit that accepts a user's operation on the action mark displayed on the display unit, the display unit being configured to display an execution setting change image in accordance with the user's prescribed operation, the execution setting change image being an image that allows the user to set whether to skip the action command contained in the action mark selected by the user when executing the action program.

[0016] Another embodiment of the present disclosure is a programming method for generating or editing an action program for a robot, comprising: displaying a plurality of action marks respectively representing a plurality of action commands contained in the action program on a display unit; and accepting a user's operation on the action mark displayed on the display unit, the display unit displaying an execution setting change image according to the user's specified operation, the execution setting change image being an image in which the user can set whether to skip the action command contained in the action mark selected by the user when executing the action program. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] Figure 1 This is a schematic structural diagram of a system including a programming device according to an embodiment.

[0018] Figure 2 It is a diagram showing a first embodiment of a programming device.

[0019] Figure 3 It means in Figure 2 A diagram showing some commands being commented out.

[0020] Figure 4 It is a diagram showing a second embodiment of the programming device.

[0021] Figure 5 This is a diagram showing an example of displaying an image for the user to confirm whether to annotate or cancel an annotation command.

[0022] Figure 6 It means in Figure 4 A diagram showing some commands being commented out.

[0023] Figure 7 It is a diagram showing a third embodiment of the programming device.

[0024] Figure 8 It means in Figure 7 Figure 1 shows the state where multiple icons are selected. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] Figure 1This is a schematic diagram of a robot system including a programming device of an embodiment. The robot system 2 includes: an industrial robot 4 such as a vertical multi-joint robot; a robot control device 6 having a processor and a memory, etc., which controls the robot 4; and a teaching device 8 such as a teaching operating panel, which is connected to the robot control device 6 in a manner capable of communicating by wire or wirelessly. At least one of the robot control device 6 and the teaching device 8 may also be connected to an arithmetic processing device 10 such as a personal computer (PC) having a processor, a monitor, and a memory, etc. in a manner capable of communicating by wire or wirelessly. The teaching device 8 is, for example, a portable terminal such as a tablet computer that can be operated by a user in order to teach the robot 4. In addition, in this specification, "user" is used as a term that includes people who can operate the teaching device, etc., such as users and operators.

[0026] Below, refer to Figure 2-8 , the units and processes for generating / editing robot motion programs are described. In this embodiment, the teaching pendant 8 functions as a programming device for generating or editing robot motion programs. The user can input various information used to generate / edit motion programs via a user interface (UI) 14 displayed on a display 12 of the teaching pendant 8. Specifically, the display 12 functions as a display unit that allows the user to visually recognize various information, and the UI 14 functions as an input unit that accepts various inputs / operations from the user.

[0027] (First embodiment)

[0028] The display 12 displays icons representing a plurality of action symbols that represent a plurality of action commands included in the action program. The UI 14 includes a timeline display area 16 that can display the icons displayed on the display 12 in a time series arrangement; and a menu display area 18 that can display each icon so that the user can select the desired icon. In the first embodiment, the user arranges icons (each axis) 22 containing instructions for moving each axis of the robot, an icon (register) 24 containing instructions for reading a specified value from a memory, etc., an icon (straight line) 26 containing instructions for linearly moving a representative point of the robot (tool tip point, etc.), and an icon (If) 28 for conditional branching in the timeline display area 16 by dragging and dropping, etc., to create a desired robot program.

[0029] Here, when executing the created program, it is necessary or required to skip the commands included in the icon 24. For example, when confirming the action of the program, sometimes it is desired to execute only the commands required for the action confirmation to efficiently confirm the action. In such a case, when the user first selects an icon 24 that is not required for the action confirmation by clicking, the icon 24 is highlighted by changing its color or density, and the icon 24 is displayed. Figure 2The pop-up menu 30 shown in the example above includes graphics and symbols that visualize various processes for the selected icon 24. In this embodiment, the menu 30 includes an execution setting change icon (button) 32 for annotating / cancelling the annotation, which will be described later, and buttons 34, 36, and 38 for deleting, copying, or cutting (for moving) the selected icon.

[0030] When the user presses or clicks the execution setting change button 32 while icon 24 is selected, the state of the command contained in icon 24 is changed. Specifically, if button 32 is pressed while the command of icon 24 is being executed during program execution, the command of icon 24 is not executed during program execution. This operation is also referred to as "annotation" in this specification. Therefore, in the first embodiment, when the action program is executed, after the process of icon 22 is executed, the process of icon 24 is not executed, and the process of icon 28 is executed next.

[0031] By selecting a specific icon and operating the execution setting change button, it is possible to skip the command included in the icon and execute the program. Figure 3 As illustrated, the selected icon 24 is preferably annotated so that its appearance, more specifically, its color or shading, is changed from before the annotation, so that the user can easily visually recognize that the icon 24 has been annotated.

[0032] Conversely, if button 32 is pressed while the command of icon 24 is not being executed during program execution (i.e., while icon 24 is annotated), the command of icon 24 is executed during program execution. This operation is referred to as "cancelling annotation" in this manual. Since canceling annotation can be performed with a simple operation, it is also very easy to restore skipped commands (to execute them during program execution).

[0033] Furthermore, it is preferable to store information of the annotated icon (command) in an appropriate memory, so that the icon can be immediately executed after the annotated icon is released.

[0034] (Second embodiment)

[0035] Figure 4 An example of converting or canceling annotations to multiple icons at the same time is shown.

[0036] In the second embodiment, after the icon (register) 24 including instructions for performing processing to read a specified value from a memory, etc., an action program is created to which an icon (take out / place) 40 including instructions for taking out a workpiece using a robot manipulator and an icon (robot open) 42 including instructions for releasing the taken out workpiece are added.

[0037] Here, when executing the created program, it is necessary or required to skip the commands included in the icons 24, 40, and 42. In this case, when the user selects the icons 24, 40, and 42 by clicking, the icons 24, 40, and 42 are highlighted by changing their colors or shades, and the icons 24, 40, and 42 are highlighted. Figure 5 The illustrated confirmation image (setting change execution image) 44 is displayed at an appropriate location.

[0038] When the user selects the "Annotate" button 46 included in the confirmation image 44 by clicking, the instructions included in the icons 24, 40, and 42 are annotated and skipped during program execution. In addition, the information of the annotated icons (commands) is preferably stored in an appropriate memory.

[0039] By selecting multiple icons and selecting the annotation button 46 from the confirmation image 44, the program can be executed by skipping the commands included in the multiple icons. Figure 6 As illustrated, it is preferable that the selected icons 24 , 40 , and 42 are annotated so that their appearance (color, shading, etc.) changes compared to before annotation, thereby allowing the user to easily visually recognize that the icons 24 , 40 , and 42 are annotated.

[0040] Conversely, when icons 24, 40, and 42 are annotated, if these icons are selected and the "Remove" button 48 on the confirmation image 44 is selected by clicking, the instructions included in icons 24, 40, and 42 are removed from being annotated, and are executed without being skipped during program execution. In this way, the annotation of multiple icons can be performed or removed with a simple user operation.

[0041] (Third embodiment)

[0042] Figure 7 and Figure 8 This shows another example of simultaneously annotating or de-annotating multiple icons. Note that descriptions of the third embodiment that are similar to the first embodiment are omitted. In the third embodiment, a robot program is created that includes multiple icons (straight lines) 26, each of which contains instructions for causing the robot to move in a straight line.

[0043] Here, when executing the created program, it is necessary or required to skip some of the multiple icons 26. In this case, the user first performs a predetermined operation such as long pressing or double clicking on one of the icons to be skipped (here, icon 26a). Figure 7 As shown, the icon 26a is highlighted, and a menu 30 including an execute setting change button 32 is displayed.

[0044] If in Figure 7 If the button 32 is operated in the state, only the selected icon 26a is annotated. Figure 7 From the state of , other icons 26b, 26c and 26d to be skipped are selected by clicking operation, etc., thereby Figure 8 As shown, icons 26a, 26b, 26c, and 26d are highlighted. In this state, by operating button 32, icons 26a, 26b, 26c, and 26d can be combined and annotated. The annotation can also be canceled by the same operation.

[0045] According to the present disclosure, when executing a robot motion program generated by arranging multiple icons containing robot motion commands on a timeline, it is possible to skip commands contained in some icons (annotate them) through simple user operations via the UI. Annotations can also be canceled with a similarly simple operation. This provides an extremely useful programming device for situations where it is not necessary to execute some commands, such as confirming the program's motions.

[0046] In the above-mentioned embodiment, the teaching device 8 functions as a programming device for generating or editing the motion program of the robot, but the present disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, the teaching device 8 can also function as a programming device for generating or editing the motion program of the robot. Figure 1 The PC 10 shown is used as a programming device. In addition, at least one of the teaching device 8, the control device 6, and the PC 10 can also function as an execution device for executing the generated or edited operating program.

[0047] The present disclosure has been described in detail, but the present disclosure is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments. These embodiments can be variously added, replaced, changed, partially deleted, etc. without departing from the scope of the main purpose of the present disclosure, or without departing from the scope of the main purpose of the present disclosure derived from the contents recorded in the claims and their equivalents. In addition, these embodiments can also be implemented in combination. For example, in the above-mentioned embodiments, the order of each action and the order of each processing are shown as an example and are not limited to this. In addition, the same applies to the case where numerical values or mathematical formulas are used in the description of the above-mentioned embodiments.

[0048] The following supplementary notes are also disclosed regarding the above-mentioned embodiment and modifications.

[0049] (Note 1)

[0050] A programming device for generating or editing a robot's motion program, comprising: a display unit that displays a plurality of motion marks that respectively represent a plurality of motion commands included in the motion program; and an input unit that accepts user operations on the motion marks displayed on the display unit, wherein the display unit is configured to display an execution setting change image based on the user's specified operations, wherein the execution setting change image is an image that allows the user to set whether to skip the motion commands included in the action mark selected by the user when executing the motion program.

[0051] (Note 2)

[0052] The programming device according to Supplementary Note 1, wherein the display unit displays each action mark in a manner having a different appearance depending on whether the action mark is set to be skipped during execution of the action program or the action mark is set to be executed.

[0053] (Note 3)

[0054] A programming method for generating or editing a robot's motion program, comprising: displaying a plurality of motion marks respectively representing a plurality of motion commands contained in the motion program on a display unit; and accepting a user's operation on the motion marks displayed on the display unit, the display unit displaying an execution setting change image according to the user's specified operation, the execution setting change image being an image in which the user can set whether to skip the motion command contained in the action mark selected by the user when executing the motion program.

[0055] Explanation of symbols

[0056] 2 Robotic System

[0057] 4. Robots

[0058] 6 Control device

[0059] 8 teaching operation panel

[0060] 10PC

[0061] 12 Display unit

[0062] 14 User Interface

[0063] 16 Timeline display area

[0064] 18 Menu display area

[0065] 22, 24, 26, 28, 40, 42 icons

[0066] 30 Menu

[0067] 32, 44 Execute settings to change the image

[0068] 46 Annotation Button

[0069] 48 Release button.

Claims

1. A programming device for generating or editing a robot motion program, characterized in that: have: a display unit that displays a plurality of action symbols each representing a plurality of action commands included in the action program; and an input unit that receives a user's operation on the action mark displayed on the display unit, The display unit is configured to display an execution setting change image in response to a predetermined operation by the user, wherein the execution setting change image is an image that allows the user to set whether to skip an action command included in an action mark selected by the user when executing the action program.

2. The programming device according to claim 1, characterized in that The display unit displays each action mark in a manner having a different appearance depending on whether the action mark is set to be skipped during execution of the action program or is set to be executed.

3. A programming method for generating or editing a robot motion program, characterized in that: Include: displaying a plurality of action marks respectively representing a plurality of action commands included in the action program on a display unit; as well as accepting a user's operation on the action mark displayed on the display unit, The display unit displays an execution setting change image in response to a predetermined operation by the user. The execution setting change image is an image that allows the user to set whether to skip an action command included in an action mark selected by the user when executing the action program.

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