Operation device of robot

Abstract

To provide an operation device of a robot that can stop motion of the robot by a method that is different from methods using an emergency stop switch and an enable switch.SOLUTION: An operation device comprises: a display unit that displays information; an input unit that receives operation-input from an operator; a stop processing unit that executes stop processing for stopping a robot on the basis of software processing; and an abnormality monitoring unit that monitors occurrence of an abnormality on the display unit or on the input unit. When the abnormality monitoring unit senses occurrence of an abnormality on the display unit or on the input unit, the stop processing unit executes the stop processing.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] An embodiment of the present invention relates to a robot manipulation device. [Background technology]

[0002] To ensure the safety of workers, the operating device used to teach the robot is equipped with an emergency stop switch to bring the robot to an emergency stop and an enable switch to allow the robot to operate only while the worker is operating it as intended. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2020-110873 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in order to further improve safety and convenience for workers, there is a demand for a method of stopping the operation of a robot that differs from conventional methods such as an emergency stop switch or an enable switch.

[0005] The present disclosure has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a robot operating device that can stop the robot's operation using a method different from an emergency stop switch or an enable switch. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] A robot operating device according to an embodiment includes a display unit that displays information, an input unit that accepts operational input from an operator, a stop processing unit that executes a stop process to stop the robot based on software processing, and an abnormality monitoring unit that monitors occurrence of an abnormality in the display unit or the input unit. The stop processing unit executes the stop process when the abnormality monitoring unit detects occurrence of an abnormality in the display unit or the input unit. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an example of a robot operation device according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an electrical configuration of an example of a robot operating device according to an embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing monitoring details of an abnormality monitoring unit in an example of a robot operating device according to an embodiment. [Figure 4] A flowchart showing an example of control executed by the operation device of the robot according to one embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] An example in which the robot manipulation device of the present disclosure is applied to a teaching device such as a teaching pendant will be described with reference to the drawings. The manipulation device 10 shown in Figures 1 and 2 is communicably connected to a robot controller 91, and manipulates the movement of a robot 92 via the robot controller 91. The robot 92 is the object to be manipulated by the manipulation device 10, and is envisioned to be an industrial robot, such as a vertically articulated robot, a horizontally articulated robot, or a parallel link robot.

[0009] The robot controller 91 includes a non-safety system control device 911 and a safety system control device 912. The non-safety system control device 911 is a device that mainly controls the operation of the robot 92, such as by generating and outputting control commands based on settings and instructions from the operation device 10. The safety system control device 912 is a device that mainly performs safety-related control, such as by cutting off the power supply to the robot 92 to stop it when an emergency stop operation is input, for example.

[0010] As shown in FIG. 1 , the operation device 10 includes a housing 11, a power switch 12, physical buttons 13, an emergency stop switch 14, an enable switch 15, a display unit 16, and an input unit 17. The housing 11 is configured to be sized so that an operator can hold it in his / her hand. The power switch 12 is used to turn the power of the operation device 10 on and off. When the power switch 12 is operated to turn on the power, the operation device 10 executes a process to safely start up the operation device 10. When the power switch 12 is operated to turn off the power, the operation device 10 executes a process to safely shut down the operation device 10. The physical buttons 13 are made up of a plurality of physical buttons that receive input operations from the operator.

[0011] The emergency stop switch 14 is for bringing the robot 92 to an emergency stop according to stop category 0 or 1 in accordance with the IEC 60204-1 standard. Stop category 0 is a stop mode in which the robot 92 is stopped by cutting off its drive source. Stop category 1 is a stop mode in which the robot 92 is stopped by control and then its drive source is cut off. And stop category 2 is a stop mode in which the robot 92 is stopped by control while its drive force is still applied.

[0012] The emergency stop switch 14 is configured, for example, by an electromechanical switch having normally closed physical contacts. Each contact of the emergency stop switch 14 is connected to the safety system control device 912. When the emergency stop switch 14 is not operated, the contacts are closed and the switch is on, allowing the safety system control device 912 to supply power to the robot 92. When the emergency stop switch 14 is operated by an operator, the contacts are opened and the switch is turned off, thereby cutting off the power supply to the robot 92 from the safety system control device 912 and bringing the robot 92 to an emergency stop. Stopping the robot 92 by operating the emergency stop switch 14 takes priority over all other functions. In other words, the emergency stop switch 14 plays a role in reliably stopping the robot 92 in an emergency.

[0013] The enable switch 15 is used to stop the robot 92 in either stop category 0, 1, or 2 according to the IEC 60204-1 standard, and enables the execution of functions when operated continuously. The enable switch 15 is provided, for example, on the back side of the housing 11. The enable switch 15 enables the execution of functions such as manually operating the robot 92 only when, for example, an operator holding the operating device 10 continues to operate the enable switch 15 intentionally. In other words, the enable switch 15 serves as an interlock to prevent accidents due to operator operation errors.

[0014] The enable switch 15 is configured as an electromechanical switch such as a three-position switch. In this case, the enable switch 15 is turned off when it is pressed firmly and not pressed firmly, and turned on when it is pressed lightly, i.e., in the intermediate position between the two off positions. The safety system control device 912 permits manual operation of the robot 92 when the enable switch 15 is turned on, and prohibits, i.e., stops, manual operation of the robot 92 when the enable switch 15 is turned off. Note that the execution of other functions can be permitted or prohibited depending on the operation of the enable switch 15. Furthermore, a configuration may be provided in which multiple enable switches 15 are provided to accommodate cases where the robot is held with the right hand and cases where it is held with the left hand, for example.

[0015] The display unit 16 is a user interface capable of displaying images, etc., and can be configured, for example, by a liquid crystal display, an organic EL display, etc. The input unit 17 is a user interface that receives operational input from the user in response to information displayed on the display unit 16, and can be configured, for example, by a mouse, a keyboard, or a touch panel, etc. The input unit 17 includes at least a pointing device or a touch device that can specify a specific position on the screen displayed on the display unit 16.

[0016] When a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display is used as the display unit 16 and a touch panel is used as the input unit 17, the display unit 16 and the input unit 17 can be configured as an integrated touch panel display. The display unit 16 can also be configured as a wearable display that is worn on the worker's head, for example. In this case, the input unit 17 can be configured to detect the operation input by the worker based on the movement of the worker's fingers wearing the display unit 16 or the movement of a pointing device used by the worker. In this configuration, the worker inputs an operation to the input unit 17 by virtually touching, for example, an icon displayed on the display unit 16 with the worker's fingers or a pointing device.

[0017] As shown in Fig. 2, the operation device 10 further includes a control unit 20, an input processing unit 21, a display processing unit 22, and a stop processing unit 23. The control unit 20 is housed inside the housing 11. The control unit 20 is mainly composed of a microcomputer having, for example, a CPU 201 and a storage area 202 such as a ROM, a RAM, and a rewritable flash memory, and controls the operation of the entire operation device 10. The storage area 202 stores computer programs. The display unit 16 and the input unit 17 operate under the control of the control unit 20. The display unit 16 and the input unit 17 operate based on the control of the control unit 20.

[0018] The control unit 20 virtually realizes the input processing unit 21, the display processing unit 22, the stop processing unit 23, etc. by software by executing a computer program in the CPU 201. Note that the input processing unit 21, the display processing unit 22, and the stop processing unit 23 may also be realized by hardware including electrical components such as integrated circuits, transistors, or switching relays that operate in cooperation with the control unit 20.

[0019] The input processing unit 21 has a function of generating commands for controlling the operation of the robot 92 based on operation inputs received by the input unit 17, and transmitting the commands to, for example, a non-safety control device 911 of the robot controller 91. The non-safety control device 911 operates the robot 92 based on commands received from the operation device 10, for example, when the operation of the robot 92 is permitted.

[0020] The stop processing unit 23 executes stop processing to stop the robot 92 based on software processing. Here, "based on software processing" means that the operation by the operator does not directly cause the robot 92 to stop, as in the case of the electromechanically configured emergency stop switch 14, but rather the operation by the operator goes through software processing in the CPU 201 and the stop processing is executed by an instruction from the CPU 201. The stop processing is processing to stop the operation of the robot 92 in stop category 0 or 1 according to the IEC 60204-1 standard.

[0021] In this embodiment, the stop processing by the stop processing unit 23 is assumed to be configured such that an instruction to stop the robot 92 is output from the stop processing unit 23 to the robot controller 91. In this case, the safety system control device 912 stops the robot 92 when it receives the instruction to stop from the stop processing unit 23.

[0022] It is also possible to configure the robot 92 such that a normally closed switch connected to the safety system controller 912 is provided inside the housing 11. In this configuration, when the stop processing unit 23 executes the stop processing, it turns off the switch provided inside the housing 11 in response to an instruction from the CPU 201. Then, the safety system controller 912 stops the robot 92 based on the fact that the switch has been turned off. This makes it possible to realize the stop processing of the robot 92 in the same manner as the emergency stop switch 14.

[0023] The display processing unit 22 executes a display process that controls the display content of the display unit 16. The display process includes, for example, a process of displaying on the display unit 16 figures and numerical values ​​indicating the posture of the robot 92, various setting information and input information, etc., according to the operating status of the robot 92. The display process also includes, for example, a process of displaying on the display unit 16 a stop button 30 that is operated to execute a stop process, as shown in Fig. 1. When the stop button 30 displayed on the display unit 16 is operated by the worker, the stop processing unit 23 executes the stop process that stops the robot 92 in accordance with a stop category that has been set in advance for the stop process.

[0024] Here, since the stop button 30 is a virtual button displayed on the display unit 16, if any malfunction occurs in the display unit 16 or the input unit 17, there is a risk that the stop button 30 will not be displayed on the display unit 16, or that the stop button 30 displayed on the display unit 16 will not respond when operated. As a result, a malfunction occurs in which the robot 92 cannot be stopped as intended by the operator.

[0025] Therefore, the operating device 10 of this embodiment further includes an abnormality monitoring unit 40, as shown in Fig. 2. The abnormality monitoring unit 40 is configured to monitor the occurrence of an abnormality in the display unit 16 and the input unit 17. The abnormality monitoring unit 40 can be virtually realized by executing a computer program in the CPU 201, or can be realized in hardware by including electrical components such as integrated circuits, transistors, or switching relays that operate in cooperation with the control unit 20. When the abnormality monitoring unit 40 detects that an abnormality has occurred in the display unit 16 or the input unit 17, the stop processing unit 23 executes a stop process and stops the robot 92 in the same way as when the stop button 30 is pressed.

[0026] 3, the abnormality monitoring unit 40 can monitor the display unit 16 and the input unit 17 and detect abnormalities in the display unit 16 and the input unit 17. The abnormality monitoring unit 40 can be configured to detect the occurrence of an abnormality in the display unit 16 or the input unit 17 based on, for example, physical damage to the display unit 16 or the input unit 17.

[0027] If the display unit 16 is, for example, a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display, the abnormality monitoring unit 40 can detect physical damage to the display unit 16 by monitoring the voltage related to the drive of, for example, a liquid crystal element or an organic EL element in the drive circuit for driving the display unit 16. That is, the abnormality monitoring unit 40 monitors the drive voltage of, for example, a liquid crystal element or an organic EL element in the drive circuit of the display unit 16, and can determine that physical damage has occurred in the display unit 16 if the drive voltage is no longer detected.

[0028] Furthermore, if the input unit 17 is, for example, a touch panel, the abnormality monitoring unit 40 can detect physical damage to the input unit 17 by monitoring the voltage of a drive circuit for driving the input unit 17. The abnormality monitoring unit 40 monitors the drive voltage of the drive circuit of the input unit 17, and can determine that physical damage has occurred in the input unit 17 when the drive voltage is no longer detected.

[0029] The abnormality monitoring unit 40 can also be configured to detect the occurrence of an abnormality in the display unit 16, for example, when the screen of the display unit 16 freezes, that is, when the screen is not updated. The abnormality monitoring unit 40 can be configured to monitor the contents of the storage area 202, or so-called frame buffer, which stores the image content to be displayed on the display unit 16, and detect that the display unit 16 has frozen if the information in the frame buffer has not been updated for a certain period of time.

[0030] Furthermore, for example, if the display unit 16 is a liquid crystal display or an organic EL display, the abnormality monitoring unit 40 can detect that the screen of the display unit 16 has frozen by monitoring the voltage related to the driving of, for example, a liquid crystal element or an organic EL element in the drive circuit for driving the display unit 16, and the content of the display processing by the display processing unit 22. In this case, the abnormality monitoring unit 40 can be configured to detect that the screen of the display unit 16 has frozen, for example, when the voltage of the drive circuit does not change despite the display being updated by the display processing unit 22.

[0031] The abnormality monitoring unit 40 can also be configured to detect the occurrence of an abnormality in the display unit 16, for example, based on a decrease in the illuminance of the display unit 16 or the display going out, i.e., a blackout state. For example, if the display unit 16 is a liquid crystal display, the abnormality monitoring unit 40 can detect that the illuminance of the display unit 16 has decreased or that the display has gone out, by monitoring the voltage of the backlight power supply for driving the backlight of the liquid crystal display and the content of the display processing by the display processing unit 22. That is, the abnormality monitoring unit 40 can monitor the voltage of the backlight power supply for the display unit 16, and determine that the illuminance of the display unit 16 has decreased or that the display has gone out, if the voltage of the backlight power supply becomes lower than normal.

[0032] The operating device 10 may also be configured to include an illuminance sensor that detects the illuminance of the display unit 16. In this case, the abnormality monitoring unit 40 can determine that the display unit 16 is not displayed when, for example, the detection result of the illuminance sensor is the same as when the display unit 16 is not displayed, even though the display processing unit 22 is displaying the image.

[0033] The abnormality monitoring unit 40 can also be configured to detect the occurrence of an abnormality in the input unit 17 based on a failure of the input unit 17. In this case, the abnormality monitoring unit 40 can be configured to detect the occurrence of an abnormality in the input unit 17 based on the voltage status of a drive circuit for driving the input unit 17. The abnormality monitoring unit 40 monitors the drive voltage of the drive circuit of the input unit 17, and can determine that the display unit 16 has failed if the drive voltage becomes larger or smaller than a predetermined normal voltage range.

[0034] Next, an example of the control content executed by the operation device 10 will be described with reference to Fig. 4 as well. When the operation device 10 is started up and the operator is ready to use the operation device 10 (start), the abnormality monitoring unit 40 monitors the display unit 16 and the input unit 17. When the abnormality monitoring unit 40 detects an abnormality in the display unit 16 or the input unit 17 (YES in step S11), the process proceeds to step S12. In step S12, the stop processing unit 23 executes a stop process to stop the robot 92.

[0035] Next, in step S13, the control unit 20 executes a notification process. The notification process is a process of notifying the operator that an abnormality has occurred in the display unit 16 or the input unit 17 by using a means other than the display unit 16, such as a buzzer, vibration, or LED light provided in the operation device 10. Then, the control unit 20 ends the series of processes (END).

[0036] According to the embodiment described above, the operation device 10 includes the display unit 16, the input unit 17, the stop processing unit 23, and the abnormality monitoring unit 40. The display unit 16 displays information. The input unit 17 accepts operation input from the operator. The stop processing unit 23 executes stop processing to stop the robot 92 based on software processing. The abnormality monitoring unit 40 monitors the occurrence of an abnormality in the display unit 16 or the input unit 17. Then, the stop processing unit 23 executes stop processing when the abnormality monitoring unit 40 detects that an abnormality has occurred in the display unit 16 or the input unit 17.

[0037] This allows the operation of the robot 92 to be stopped by a method different from the emergency stop switch 14 or the enable switch 15. Furthermore, even if an abnormality occurs in the display unit 16 or the input unit 17 and the stop processing unit 23 is unable to execute the stop processing depending on the operation of the operator, the stop processing is executed without the operation of the operator. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the robot 92 from continuing to operate even if an abnormality occurs in the display unit 16 or the input unit 17 and the stop processing unit 23 is unable to execute the stop processing depending on the operation of the operator. As a result, the safety of the operation of the robot 92 can be improved.

[0038] The abnormality monitoring unit 40 detects the occurrence of an abnormality in the display unit 16 or the input unit 17 based on the occurrence of physical damage to the display unit 16 or the input unit 17. Accordingly, when physical damage occurs to the display unit 16 or the input unit 17, a stop process is executed to stop the operation of the robot 92. This makes it possible to prevent the robot 92 from continuing to operate when physical damage occurs to the display unit 16 or the input unit 17 and the operation of the operating device 10 becomes impossible. As a result, it is possible to improve the safety of the operation of the robot 92.

[0039] The abnormality monitoring unit 40 detects the occurrence of an abnormality in the display unit 16 based on the fact that the screen of the display unit 16 has frozen. Accordingly, when the screen of the display unit 16 has frozen, a stop process is executed to stop the operation of the robot 92. This makes it possible to prevent the robot 92 from continuing to operate when the screen of the display unit 16 has frozen and the operation of the operating device 10 has become impossible. As a result, it is possible to improve the safety of the operation of the robot 92.

[0040] The abnormality monitoring unit 40 detects the occurrence of an abnormality in the display unit 16 based on a decrease in illuminance of the display unit 16 or the disappearance of the display. Accordingly, when the illuminance of the display unit 16 decreases or the display unit 16 disappears, a stop process is executed to stop the operation of the robot 92. This makes it possible to prevent the robot 92 from continuing to operate when the illuminance of the display unit 16 decreases or the display unit 16 disappears, making it impossible to operate the operating device 10. As a result, the safety of the operation of the robot 92 can be improved.

[0041] The abnormality monitoring unit 40 detects the occurrence of an abnormality in the input unit 17 based on the occurrence of a failure in the input unit 17. Accordingly, when the input unit 17 fails, a stop process is executed to stop the operation of the robot 92. This makes it possible to prevent the robot 92 from continuing to operate when the input unit 17 fails and the operation of the operating device 10 becomes impossible. As a result, it is possible to improve the safety of the operation of the robot 92.

[0042] Although the present disclosure has been described with reference to the embodiments, it is understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments or structures. The present disclosure also encompasses various modifications and equivalent modifications. In addition, various combinations and forms, including only one element, more than one element, or less than one element, are also within the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. [Explanation of symbols]

[0043] 10...operation device, 14...emergency stop switch, 15...enable switch, 16...display unit, 17...input unit, 23...stop processing unit, 40...abnormality monitoring unit, 92...robot

Claims

1. a display unit that displays information; an input unit that receives operation input from an operator; a stop processing unit that executes a stop process to stop the robot based on software processing; an abnormality monitoring unit that monitors occurrence of an abnormality in the display unit or the input unit, the stop processing unit executes the stop processing when the abnormality monitoring unit detects that an abnormality has occurred in the display unit or the input unit. Robot operating device.

2. the abnormality monitoring unit detects the occurrence of an abnormality in the display unit or the input unit based on physical damage to the display unit or the input unit; The robot operating device according to claim 1 .

3. the abnormality monitoring unit detects the occurrence of an abnormality in the display unit based on the screen of the display unit freezing; The robot operating device according to claim 1 .

4. The abnormality monitoring unit detects the occurrence of an abnormality in the display unit based on a decrease in illuminance of the display unit or a disappearance of the display unit. The robot operating device according to claim 1 .

5. the abnormality monitoring unit detects the occurrence of an abnormality in the input unit based on a failure of the input unit; The robot operating device according to claim 1 .

6. further comprising an enable switch and an emergency stop switch configured as physical switches for stopping the robot; The operating device according to any one of claims 1 to 5.

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