Robot learning system, program and program editing device

Abstract

Robot teaching system (100) comprising: a program editing unit (20) that can edit an operating program for operating a robot (1); and an operating unit (10) that has a teaching input unit (14) through which teaching content can be entered and which can connect to at least the program editing unit (20), wherein, when a specific teaching command is added to the operating program, the program editing unit (20) activates a teaching process by means of the teaching input unit (14) and edits the operating program on the basis of the teaching content entered via the teaching input unit (14).

Description

The present disclosure relates to a robot teaching system, a program, and a program processing apparatus.Direct teaching including detecting the force applied by an operator with a built-in sensor and changing the position and posture of the robot according to the magnitude and direction of the detected force is known (see, e.g., PTL 1). The operator grasps a handle attached to the wrist tip of the robot, applies a force to the robot, and presses a teaching button near the handle at a required position to perform a teaching operation.[PTL 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. 2019-034 412 AThe operation of the robot by direct teaching is performed not only during teaching but also during automatic operation; thus, if a teaching key is provided near the handle through which a force is applied to the robot, it is possible that the teaching key is operated even during automatic operation. In order to avoid the problem of unintentional operation of the teaching key at times other than during the teaching operation using the teaching key and the unintentional modifications in the operation program resulting therefrom, it is possible to separately provide a switch which switches between activation and deactivation of the teaching key.However, such a switch would add additional switching operations to activate the teaching key at the beginning of the teaching and then deactivate the teaching key at the end of the teaching, and thus would lead to increased discomfort to the user.Furthermore, from DE 10 2018 205 209 A1 a teaching device is known which teaches functions to a polar robot having an extendable arm and generates and displays a working sequence diagram of the functions in a user-friendly manner.DE 10 2018 009 023 A1 describes a teaching device in which it is possible to easily determine whether or not it is necessary to correct an already set teaching point. For this purpose, after the teaching, when the taught points are taken again, position errors and alignment errors at the teaching points are calculated and, if appropriate, a renewed teaching is instructed.DE 10 2014 216 514 B3 discloses a method for programming an industrial robot, with which method the industrial robot can be programmed by manually guided movement of the manipulator arm and the programmed flexibility and / or rigidity can be checked. For this purpose, the program commands are assigned rigidity parameters and checked in checking poses.DE 690 30 318 T2 discloses an icon-based interactive user interface device representing steps to be performed by an automatic operating device.US 2018 / 0154517 A1 relates to a method for controlling a robot, in which a plurality of behavior objects are generated, each corresponding to a desired behavior of the robot, an expected execution duration is calculated for each of the behavior objects, the behavior objects are added to a time rail, which is subsequently displayed.U.S. Pat. No. 9,612,727 B2 discloses a task changing device for a robot, with which the tasks performed by the robot can be changed when ambient parameters change, which impede the further execution of a taught task.It is an object of the present invention to effectively prevent unintentional modification of the operation program without increasing inconvenience in user operations.To achieve the object, there is provided a robot teaching system including: a program processing device capable of processing an operation program for operating a robot; and an operation device having a teaching input unit through which teaching contents can be input and capable of connecting to at least the program processing device, wherein when a certain teaching command is added to the operation program, the program processing device activates a teaching operation by the teaching input unit and processes the operation program on the basis of the teaching contents input by the teaching input unit.The object is also achieved by a program according to claim 7 and by a program processing device according to claim 12. FIG. 1 is an overall diagram illustrating a robot teaching system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an example of the operation program processing screen displayed on a monitor in the robot teaching system illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of an icon representing an external teaching input command used in the robot teaching system illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating addition of the icon illustrated in FIG. 3 in a program line. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating addition of teaching content immediately before the icon illustrated in FIG. 4 by performing a teaching operation via an operation device of the robot teaching system illustrated in FIG. 1. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating addition of an external teaching input command to an intermediate position in an already existing operation program. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a state after the addition of the external teaching input command at the intermediate position illustrated in FIG. 6 in the already existing operation program. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating that learning content has been added immediately before the external learning input command added in FIG. 7. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a bracket-shaped icon that is another example of the icon illustrated in FIG. 5. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating that teaching content has been added between a start point and an end point of the bracket-shaped icon illustrated in FIG. 9. FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating that an external teaching input command has been placed outside the bracket-shaped icon illustrated in FIG. 9. FIG. 12 is a diagram illustrating an example of an operation program configured by text-like commands instead of icons. FIG. 13 is a diagram illustrating that a text-like external teaching input command has been added to an intermediate position of the operation program illustrated in FIG. 12.A robot teaching system 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to the drawings. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the robot teaching system 100 according to this embodiment includes an operation device 10 attached to a wrist unit 6 of a robot 1, and a controller (program processing device) 20 connected to the robot 1 and the operation device 10 and controlling the robot 1. The robot 1 includes a built-in sensor that detects the force applied to the operation device 10 by the operator, and can be operated by direct teaching including changing the position and posture of the robot 1 according to the magnitude and direction of the force detected with the sensor.In the example illustrated in FIG. 1, the robot 1 is a 6-axis vertical articulated robot including a base 2 mounted on a mounting surface f such as a floor, and a swing cylinder 3 rotatably supported about a first axis A with respect to the base 2. The robot 100 also includes a first arm 4 supported by the swing cylinder 3 rotatably about a second axis B, a second arm 5 supported by the first arm 4 rotatably about a third axis C, and a 3-axis wrist unit 6 supported by the tip of the second arm 5.The wrist unit 6 is equipped with a flange 7 that is rotatable about a rotational axis (sixth axis) X at the tip. The operation device 10 is equipped with a bracket 11 fixed to the flange 7, handles 12 and 13 fixed to the bracket 11, and an activation switch 15 and a teaching button (teaching input unit) 14 positioned to be operated by hands gripping the handles 12 and 13.The controller 20 of this embodiment serving as a program processing device is equipped with at least a processor and a memory. The controller 20 is also equipped with a teaching operation panel 21. The teaching operation panel 21 is equipped with a monitor (display unit) 22 capable of displaying the operation program and a touch panel 23 capable of inputting teaching commands and the like. In addition, the teaching operation panel 21 may also be equipped with a keyboard 24.The controller 20 displays content input in a program line on the monitor 22 via the touch panel 23 or the keyboard 24 of the teaching operation panel 21, which activates the processing of the operation program. Moreover, when an external teaching input command (specific teaching command) is input to the program line of the teaching operation panel 21, the controller 20 activates the teaching operation by means of the teaching key 14 in the operation device 10 attached to the wrist unit 6 of the robot 1. After the teaching operation by the teaching key 14 is activated, the controller 20 operates the operation program based on the teaching content input by the teaching key 14 until the teaching operation by the teaching key 14 is deactivated.For example, when the operator intends to process the operation program, it selects a processing mode in the teaching operation panel 21 of the controller 20. Once the machining mode is selected, as illustrated in FIG. 2, a three-dimensional model of the robot 1, a program line, and icons representing various commands constituting the operation program are displayed on the monitor 22. The icons may be selected via the touch panel 23 or the keypad 24, and the operation program may be processed by adding the selected icons to the program line and queuing the icons.In the case where the external teaching input commands are not present in the program line, that is, in the operation program being operated on, the controller 20 disables the teaching operation by the teaching key 14 on the operation device 10 attached to the tip of the wrist unit 6. However, during the time when the activation switch 15 in the operation device 10 is pressed, the operation of changing the position and posture of the robot 1 by direct teaching remains activated according to the force applied to the handles 12 and 13.To perform learning by the operation of the learning key, the operator selects, for example, an icon 30 illustrated in FIG. 3 representing an external learning input command, from among the icons displayed on the monitor 22. Then, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the operator adds the selected icon 30 in the program line 40. As a result, the controller 20 recognizes signals transmitted by pressing the teaching key 14 in the operation device 10, and activates the teaching operation by the teaching key 14 in the operation device 10.In a state where the teaching operation is activated by the teaching key 14, the operator pressing the activation switch 15 applies a force to the handles 12 and 13 to change the position and posture of the robot 1 to the desired position and posture, and then presses the teaching key 14 to cause the operation device 10 to transmit certain signals to the controller. In this case, learning points are learned. In other words, an operation command is added in the program line 40 to guide the robot 1 to a teaching point at which the position and posture of the robot 1 at the time when the teaching key 14 is pressed are recorded.As illustrated in FIG. 5, the position at which the operation command is added in the program line 40 is the position at which the icon 30 representing the external teaching input command has been displayed. When an operation command is added by pressing the teaching key 14, the icon 30 representing the external teaching input command moves back by one position, for example. In this case, the icon 30 indicates the position at which the next operation command is to be added when the teaching key 14 is pressed again. By repeatedly applying a force to the handles 12 and 13 of the operation device 10 to move the robot 1 and pressing the teaching key 14, icons 31 representing operation commands are sequentially added at the position of the icon 30 representing the external teaching input command, and thus the operation program in which a plurality of icons 30 and 31 are lined up is processed.Moreover, in order to add operation commands by the teaching key operation to an already existing operation program, as illustrated in FIG. 6, an icon 30 representing an external teaching input command is added to the operation program displayed on the monitor 22 at a position where the operation command is intended to be added. As a result, each time the teaching key 14 is pressed, an operation command taught by the teaching key operation is added to the position of the icon 30 representing the external teaching input command, and the icon 30 moves back by one position each time the operation command is added, as illustrated in FIG. 7.To end the teaching operation by the teaching key operation, the operator operates the touch panel 23 or the keyboard 24 in the teaching operation panel 21 to delete the icon 30 representing the external teaching input command from the program line 40. As a result, the controller 20 stops recognizing the transmitted signal when the teaching key 14 in the operation device 10 is pressed, and subsequent input operations are disabled by the teaching key 14 in the operation device 10. In order to prevent the operator from forgeting to delete the external teaching input command icon 30 from the program line 40, an automatic operation may be prohibited as long as the external teaching input command icon 30 is present in the program line 40.According to the robot teaching system 100 of this embodiment, the operation program per se can be processed by operating the teaching operation panel 21. Moreover, the operation program can be processed by adding an external teaching input command in the program line 40 on the monitor 22 of the teaching operation panel 21 using the teaching key 14 in the operation device 10.In other words, the operator simply adds the icon 30 representing the external teaching input command in the program line 40, and this illustrates the position at which an operation command is to be inserted by pressing the teaching key 14 and simultaneously activates the teaching by the teaching key operation. Moreover, the deletion of the icon 30 representing the external teaching input command after completion of the teaching by the teaching key operation from the program line 40 may disable the teaching by the teaching key operation.Here, the processing of the operation program using the teaching key 14 is prohibited during times other than the program processing including the addition of the icon 30 representing the external teaching input command in the program line 40. As a result, problems of unintentional modifications of the operation program by the operator during the automatic operation can be prevented.In addition, the operation of activating the teaching by the teaching key operation may be performed through a normal program editing operation of adding an icon in the program line 40. Since the operator does not need to switch between activating and deactivating the teaching by the teaching key operation with a switch operation separate from the program editing operation, there is an advantage of less inconvenience to the operator.Moreover, since the teaching by the teaching key operation is activated by inserting the icon 30 representing the external teaching input command at the position where the operation command taught by the teaching key operation is to be inserted, the operation command taught by the teaching key operation can be added from any desired position in the operation program. In addition, by pressing the teaching key 14 on the operation device 10, the operation program displayed on the monitor 22 is updated to an operation program including the operation command taught by the teaching key operation which has been added to the position of the icon 30 representing the external teaching input command.In this way, the operator can confirm the operation program processed by the teaching key operation in real time. For example, if the operator has learned a wrong teaching point during the teaching key operation, by looking for the icon 30 representing the external teaching input command in the operation program, the latest added wrong operation command can be immediately searched and the operator can be assisted to apply the correction quickly.Note that this embodiment describes the case where an operation command directed to a teaching point at which the position and posture of the robot 1 are recorded at the time of pressing the teaching key 14 is added by simply pressing the teaching key 14. Alternatively, the method of pressing the teach key 14 may be modified to allow for the addition of operational commands in another manner.For example, as illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 8, the teaching key 14 may be pressed and then immediately released (for example, within 1 second) (hereinafter, this is referred to as a short press) to insert an operation command representative icon 31 at the position of the external teaching input command representative icon 30. Meanwhile, as illustrated in FIG. 9, by releasing the teaching key 14 after pressing for one second (hereinafter, referred to as long pressing), for example, a bracket-shaped icon 32 representing a start point and an end point may be displayed at the position of the external teaching input command. The icon 30 may move to a position inside the bracket-shaped icon 32 when the bracket-shaped icon 32 is inserted at a position of the icon 30 representing the external teaching input command. The bracket-shaped icon 32 is, for example, a welding command, and welding points can be taught between the starting point and the ending point.Alternatively, as illustrated in FIG. 10, an icon 31 representing an operation command may be added at the position of the external teaching input command by briefly pressing the teaching key 14 while the icon 30 representing the external teaching input command is placed inside the bracket-shaped icon 32. Here, the icon 30 may move back by one position, for example. Alternatively, for example, the position of the end point of the icon 32 may be taught by long pressing the teaching key 14 while the icon 30 representing the external teaching input command is placed within the bracket-shaped icon 32. After learning the end point, the icon 30 representing the external learning input command may be moved outside the bracket-shaped icon 32 as illustrated in FIG. 11.The operation command added by pressing the teaching key 14 and its position can be specified for each application. For example, in the case of an arc welding application, the operation command may be an arc welding command or a movement command to a pass point during welding; and in the case of a handling application, the operation command may be a movement command to a teaching point or a hand opening / closing command. When the icon 30 representing the external teaching input command is selected, a detail setting screen may be displayed so that the operation command to be added by pressing the teaching key 14 may be set. The position to which the external teaching input command moves after the addition of the operation command may be different from application to application. For example, for an application in which an action is to be learned from an end point to a start point, the external learning input command may move forward after the addition of the operation command.Although the case where the program is indicated by lined icons is described as an example in this embodiment, the program may instead be displayed by text as illustrated in FIG. 12. For example, referring to FIG. 12, a list of commands that can be added may be displayed by pressing a "command" button ("command" button) displayed in the lower portion of the monitor 22, and an external teaching input command may be selected from the displayed list. As a result, as illustrated in FIGS. 12 and 13, text representing an external teaching input command is added at the cursor position in the operation program, and the teaching operation is activated by the teaching key 14.Moreover, in this embodiment, the case where one teaching key 14 is installed on the operation device 10 is described as an example; alternatively, a plurality of teaching keys 14 may be provided. Moreover, although the case where the operation program that is processed is displayed on the monitor 22 of the teaching operation panel 21 is described as an example, the monitor 22 may be included in the controller 20 or the operation device 10.Although a 6-axis articulated robot is described as an example of the robot 1, the robot 1 may be any other desired type. In addition, any desirable icon other than the above-described examples may be employed as the icon.In the present embodiment, direct teaching and an operation device 10 fixed to the flange 7 will be described as an example; alternatively, the robot 1 may be operated using an operation device not fixed to the flange 7 to perform the teaching. In such a case, the operation device may be connected to the controller 20 wirelessly or with wires, the operation device may be equipped with keys for manually operating the robot 1, and the robot 1 may be operated by pressing the keys. This operation device is equipped with a teaching key as in the operation device 10, and the operation can be performed as in the above-described embodiment.Although the robot teaching system of this embodiment is described above, this system may be configured as a program executable by a computer (one or more processors). Specifically, the program according to this embodiment includes a connection step of acquiring information indicating that an operation device 10 equipped with a teaching key 14 capable of inputting teaching contents has been connected. The program further includes a teaching command adding step of accepting addition of a certain teaching command to the operation program of the robot 1 from the teaching operation panel 21, and the program further includes a teaching operation activating step of activating the teaching operation by the teaching key 14 on the operation device 10 when a teaching command is added. The program further includes a processing step of processing the operation program based on the teaching content input via the teaching key 14.The program of this embodiment may also include a teaching content adding step of adding teaching content at a position of a teaching command. The program may further include an operation program display step for allowing a display unit to display the operation program, and the operation program display step may include displaying the operation program on the display unit by ranking icons specified for each command. The program may further include a learning operation disabling step of disabling the learning operation of the operation device 10 when the learning command is deleted from the operation program.List of reference characters1 Robot 10 Operation device 14 Teaching button (teaching input unit) 20 Controller (program processing device) 22 Monitor (display unit) 30, 31 Icon 100 Robot teaching system

Claims

A robot teaching system (100) comprising: a program processing device (20) capable of processing an operation program for operating a robot (1); and an operation device (10) including a teaching input unit (14) through which teaching contents can be input and at least connecting to the program processing device (20), wherein when a certain teaching command is added to the operation program, the program processing device (20) activates a teaching operation by the teaching input unit (14) and processes the operation program based on the teaching content input by the teaching input unit (14).The robot teaching system (100) according to claim 1, wherein the program processing device includes a display unit that displays the operation program.The robot teaching system (100) according to claim 2, wherein the program processing device (20) adds the teaching content at a position of the teaching command displayed on the display unit (22).The robot teaching system (100) according to claim 2 or 3, wherein when the teaching content is input to the teaching input unit (14), the program processing device (20) displays, on the display unit (22), the operation program with the input teaching content added.The robot teaching system (100) according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the program editing device (20) displays the operation program on the display unit (22) by ranking icons specified for each command.The robot teaching system (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein when the teaching command is deleted from the operation program processed by the program processing device (20), the program processing device (20) disables the teaching operation by the teaching input unit (14).A program to be executed by at least one processor, the program comprising: a connection step of detecting a connection with an operation device (10) having a teaching input unit (14) through which teaching content can be input; a teaching command addition step of accepting addition of a specific teaching command to the operation program of a robot (1); a teaching operation activation step of activating the teaching operation by the teaching input unit (14) of the operation device (10) when the teaching command is added; and a processing step of processing the operation program based on the teaching content input through the teaching input unit (14).The program according to claim 7, further comprising a teaching content adding step of adding teaching content at a position of a teaching command.The program according to claim 7 or 8, further comprising an operation program display step of allowing a display unit (22) to display the operation program.The program according to claim 9, wherein the operation program display step includes allowing the display unit (22) to display the operation program by ranking the icons specified for each command.The program according to any one of claims 7 to 10, further comprising a teaching operation disabling step of disabling the teaching operation of the operation device (10) when the teaching command is deleted from the operation program.A program processing device (20) capable of processing an operation program for operating a robot (1), the program processing device (20) comprising: an accepting unit that accepts connection to an operation device (10) including a teaching input unit (14) through which teaching content can be input; and a control unit that activates a teaching operation by the teaching input unit (14) of the operation device (10) when a certain teaching command is added in the operation program, and that processes the operation program based on the teaching content input through the teaching input unit (14).

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