Tools and Information Processing Equipment
The use of a tool with predetermined shaped singular parts for calibration addresses the need for repeated setup by enabling efficient data storage and application across multiple robots, thereby reducing work costs.
Patent Information
- Authority / Receiving Office
- JP · JP
- Patent Type
- Applications
- Current Assignee / Owner
- SUMITOMO HEAVY IND LTD
- Filing Date
- 2024-11-27
- Publication Date
- 2026-06-08
Smart Images
Figure 2026093189000001_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] The technology of the present disclosure relates to tools and information processing apparatuses.
Background Art
[0002] Conventionally, a robot has been disclosed that moves and contacts a workpiece attached to the tip of the robot with a rotary tool to perform processing such as polishing or grinding of the workpiece. In Patent Document 1, a calibration tool and a jig are arranged on each of the workpiece side and the rotary tool side, and the relative position is grasped by bringing the calibration tool and the jig into contact with each other to perform calibration.
Prior Art Documents
Patent Documents
[0003]
Patent Document 1
Summary of the Invention
Problems to be Solved by the Invention
[0004] However, in the calibration of the invention of Patent Document 1, it is necessary to install a tool and a jig on both the robot and the rotary tool each time, resulting in work costs.
[0005] The technology of the present disclosure aims to provide a tool and an information processing apparatus capable of reducing work costs.
Means for Solving the Problems
[0006] To achieve the above object, a tool according to a first aspect of the technology of the present disclosure includes a specific portion having a predetermined shape for calibration.
[0007] The information processing device of the second embodiment includes an acquisition unit that acquires a first position of the singular part of the first tool of the first embodiment by bringing the probe of the first robot into contact with the singular part and acquires teaching data taught to the first robot, and a storage unit that stores the acquired first position and the teaching data.
[0008] A third aspect is the second aspect, wherein the acquisition unit further includes a calculation unit that acquires a second position of a singular portion of a second tool having the same configuration as the first tool described in claim 1 by bringing a probe of a second robot into contact with the singular portion of the second tool, and calculates correction data for correcting the second position to the first position, and a correction unit that corrects the teaching data for the second robot based on the calculated correction data. [Effects of the Invention]
[0009] In a first aspect of the technology of this disclosure, the tool is equipped with a predetermined shaped singular part for calibration, so there is no need to set up a calibration tool each time calibration is performed. Therefore, the cost of the work can be reduced.
[0010] In the second embodiment, the first position of the singular part of the first tool of the first embodiment and the teaching data taught to the first robot are stored, and these can be used to calibrate the second robot.
[0011] In the third embodiment, in the second embodiment, the second position of the singular part of the second tool is acquired, correction data is calculated to correct the second position to the first position, and the teaching data is corrected for the second robot based on the calculated correction data. Thus, the teaching data taught to the first robot can be taught to the second robot. [Brief explanation of the drawing]
[0012] [Figure 1] Figure 1 is a block diagram of an example of an information processing system 100. [Figure 2] Figure 2 is a block diagram of an example of a slave robot 10S. [Figure 3] Figure 3 shows an example of the rotation axis 22A of the tool 22 and the probe 114 that the slave robot 10S will attach for calibration. [Figure 4A] Figure 4A is a block diagram of an example of the electrical system of the information processing system 100. [Figure 4B] Figure 4B is a block diagram of an example of a controller 51 of the slave system 120. [Figure 5] Figure 5 is a flowchart of an example of a direct teaching program 54P executed by the processor 52 of the controller 50 of the master-slave system 110. [Figure 6] Figure 6 is a flowchart of an example of a work processing program 54Q executed by the processor 52 of the controller 51 of the slave system 120. [Figure 7] Figure 7 shows an example of a singular part of the first modified example. [Figure 8] Figure 8 shows an example of a singular part of the second modified example. [Figure 9] Figure 9 shows an example of a singular part of the third modified example. [Modes for carrying out the invention]
[0013] [Embodiment] Embodiments of the technology of this disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings.
[0014] [First Embodiment] (composition) The configuration of the information processing system 100 according to this embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example of the information processing system 100. As shown in FIG. 1, the information processing system 100 includes a master-slave system 110 and a plurality of, for example, two slave systems 120 and 130. It is not limited to two slave systems 120 and 130, and three, four, five, ··· slave systems may be provided.
[0015] The master-slave system 110 includes a master robot 10M operated by an operator 5, a slave robot 10S that operates according to the command value of the master robot 10M, a controller 50, and a storage device 72.
[0016] The master robot 10M is provided with a display device 12.
[0017] The slave robot 10S holds a workpiece 14 to be processed such as polished or grinded by a tool 22. The slave robot 10S is provided with a camera 11C for photographing the tool 22 and the workpiece 14.
[0018] The slave systems 120 and 130 include slave robots 20S and 30S having the same configuration as the slave robot 10S. The slave systems 120 and 130 include controllers 51 and 53. The slave robots 20S and 30S include tools 22 and workpieces 14 having the same configuration as the tool 22 and the workpiece 14 of the slave robot 10S.
[0019] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example of the slave robot 10S. As shown in FIG. 2, the slave robot 10S holds the workpiece 14. The tool 22 processes the workpiece 14 held by the slave robot 10S such as polishing or grinding.
[0020] The tool 22 is not limited to processing the workpiece 14 held by the slave robot 10S such as polishing or grinding, and can be applied to a robot that acts on a cylindrical or rotating tool.
[0021] The tool 22 comprises a rotating shaft 22A that is rotated by a tool rotation motor 22M (see also Figure 4A), and a rotating tool body 20T that rotates around the rotating shaft 22A in conjunction with the rotation of the rotating shaft 22A. The position of the rotating tool body 20T is fixed at a position determined based on the reference position of the slave robot 10S. The reference positions of the slave robots 20S and 30S are predetermined to correspond to the reference positions of the slave robots 10S and 30S.
[0022] There are cases where the reference positions of the slave robots 10S, 20S, and 30S are not in the same corresponding position. In this case, if the teaching data for slave robot 10S is applied directly to slave robots 20S and 30S, the workpiece 14 cannot be machined in the same way due to the shift in reference positions. Therefore, in this embodiment, even if the reference positions of the slave robots 10S, 20S, and 30S are not in the same corresponding position, the teaching data for slave robot 10S can be applied directly to slave robots 20S and 30S.
[0023] The slave robot 10S includes a robot arm 10A having multiple arm sections 10p1 to 10p6 connected by multiple joints J11, J12, and J13. The arm section 10p6 at the tip of the robot arm 10A is a robot handle and holds the workpiece 14.
[0024] Each joint J11, J12, and J13 is equipped with a motor 64, an encoder 66, and a torque sensor 68.
[0025] The signals from each encoder are used to calculate the positions of the arm sections 10p1 to 10p6 and the workpiece 14 (based on the above reference positions).
[0026] Furthermore, the slave robot 10S is not limited to a structure equipped with a robot arm, and may also be a stack structure in which moving bodies that move in the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis directions are arranged in a stack.
[0027] The configuration of the master robot 10M is the same as that of the slave robot 10S, so we will omit the explanation.
[0028] Figure 3 shows an example of the rotation axis 22A of the tool 22 and the probe 114 that the slave robot 10S attaches for calibration. During calibration, the rotating tool body 20T is not attached to the rotation axis 22A. The tool 22 has a predetermined shaped singular part for calibration at the position where the rotating tool body 20T would be attached to the rotation axis 22A. The singular part consists of two grooves 22K1 and 22K2. During calibration, the probe 114 is attached to the slave robot 10S in place of the arm 10p6 that holds the workpiece 14.
[0029] Figure 4A is a block diagram of an example of the electrical system of the information processing system 100. As shown in Figure 4A, the information processing system 100 includes a controller 50 as described above. The controller 50 is a computer and includes a processor 52, NVM (Non-volatile memory) 54, RAM (Random Access Memory) 56, and input / output (I / O) ports 58. The processor 52, NVM 54, RAM 56, and input / output (I / O) ports 58 are interconnected by a bus 60.
[0030] The input / output (I / O) port 58 is connected to the electrical components of the master robot 10M, specifically the motors 64, encoders 66, and torque sensors 68 provided at each joint J11, J12, and J13. The input / output (I / O) port 58 is also connected to the storage device 72, input device 73, and display device 12.
[0031] The input / output (I / O) port 58 is connected to the electrical components of the slave robot 10S (specifically, the motors 64, encoders 66, and torque sensors 68 provided at each joint J11, J12, and J13).
[0032] The input / output (I / O) port 58 is connected to the camera 11C and the tool rotary motor 22M. The input / output (I / O) port 58 is also connected to the controllers 51 and 53 of the slave systems 120 and 130. The controllers 51 and 53 are connected to the electrical components of the slave robots 20S and 30S (specifically, the motors 64 for each joint, the encoders 66, and the torque sensors 68). The tool rotary motors 22M of the slave systems 120 and 130 are also connected to the controllers 51 and 53.
[0033] The processor 52 is a processing unit that includes a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), a CPU (Central Processing Unit), and a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit). In the processor 52, the DSP and GPU operate under the control of the CPU and are responsible for executing the processes described later. Here, a processing unit including a DSP, CPU, and GPU is given as an example of the processor 52, but this is only an example. The processor 52 may consist of one or more CPUs and DSPs with integrated GPU functionality, or one or more CPUs and DSPs without integrated GPU functionality. The processor 52 may also be equipped with a TPU (Tensor Processing Unit).
[0034] NVM54 is a non-volatile memory device that stores programs and various parameters. An example of NVM54 is flash memory (e.g., EEPROM (Electrically Erasable and Programmable Read Only Memory)). The NVM54 stores the directly taught program 54P.
[0035] RAM56 is memory that temporarily stores information and is used as work memory by the processor 52. Examples of RAM56 include DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) or SRAM (Static Random Access Memory).
[0036] Figure 4B is a block diagram of an example of the controller 51 of the slave system 120. Note that the controller 53 of the slave system 130 has the same configuration as the controller 51, so its explanation is omitted.
[0037] Controller 51 has the same configuration as controller 50, so its explanation will be omitted, but the NVM 54 of controller 51 stores the work processing program 54Q. The electrical components of the slave robot 20S, specifically the motor 64, encoder 66, and torque sensor 68, are connected to the input / output (I / O) port 58. The tool rotation motor 22M is also connected to the input / output (I / O) port 58.
[0038] (action) Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained.
[0039] Figure 5 is a flowchart of an example of a direct teaching program 54P executed by the processor 52 of the controller 50 of the master-slave system 110. The direct teaching program 54P starts when the start button (not shown) of the input device 73 is turned on. By executing the direct teaching program 54P, the processor 52 performs the direct teaching process and the direct teaching process method. The direct teaching process by the direct teaching program 54P includes a calibration process. During the direct teaching process, the display device 12 displays images of the workpiece 14 and the tool 22 of the slave robot 10S, which are captured by the camera 11C. Therefore, the operator can look at these images and understand the positions of the workpiece 14 and the tool 22. Direct teaching is a method in which an operator applies an external force to control and teach the robot.
[0040] During calibration, operator 5 first operates the master robot 10M so that the probe 114 of the slave robot 10S contacts the groove 22K1 (or K2) formed in the rotating shaft 22A, as shown in Figure 3. In step 82, the processor 52 contacts the probe 114 of the slave robot 10S with the groove 22K1 (or K2) of the rotating shaft 22A in response to this operation by operator 5. More specifically, when the master robot 10M is operated, the motors 64 provided in each joint J11, J12, and J13 of the master robot 10M operate, and signals are input to the controller 50 from each encoder 66. The processor 52 of the controller 50 understands the operation of the motors 64 provided in each joint J11, J12, and J13 of the master robot 10M based on the signals from each encoder 66. The processor 52 then calculates the position of each arm from this operation. The processor 52 outputs command values to the slave robot 10S for each arm of the slave robot 10S to be positioned at a position corresponding to the position of each arm of the master robot 10M. As a result, the probe 114 of the slave robot 10S makes contact with the groove 22K1 (or K2) of the rotating shaft 22A.
[0041] When the probe 114 makes contact with the groove 22K1 (or K2) in this manner, operator 5 operates the master robot 10M so that the probe 114 moves along the groove 22K1 (or K2). In step 84, the processor 52 moves the probe 114 of the slave robot 10S along the groove 22K1 (or K2) in response to this operation by operator 5.
[0042] In step 86, the processor 52 obtains reference trajectory data of the probe 114's movement path from the signals from each encoder 66 of the slave robot 10S.
[0043] The calibration process is performed through the above steps (steps 82-86).
[0044] Once the calibration process is complete, the process moves on to teaching. Therefore, in the slave robot 10S, operator 5 attaches the arm 10p6 that holds the workpiece 14 in place of the probe 114. Operator 5 also attaches the rotary tool body 20T to the rotary shaft 22A.
[0045] In step 88, the processor 52 directly teaches the master robot 10M and acquires direct teaching data. Specifically, the operator 5 directly operates the end-effector arm of the master robot 10M. When the end-effector arm of the master robot 10M is directly operated, each arm of the slave robot 10S moves in accordance with the movement of each arm, and direct teaching data showing the trajectory of each movement is calculated.
[0046] In step 88, the workpiece 14 in the master-slave system 110 is machined by the tool 22.
[0047] In the next step 90, the processor 52 stores the trajectory data and direct teaching data in the memory device 72.
[0048] Figure 6 is a flowchart of an example of a work processing program 54Q executed by the processor 52 of the controller 51 of the slave system 120. The work processing program 54Q starts when the start button (not shown) of the input device 73 is turned on. The work processing and work processing method are executed by the processor 52 of the controller 51 of the slave system 120 executing the work processing program 54Q.
[0049] Steps 82-86 are performed on the slave robot 10S of the slave system 120.
[0050] In step 92, the processor 52 calculates a correction value so that the trajectory data obtained in step 86 of Figure 6 overlaps with the reference trajectory data read from the storage device 72. For example, if the value at a predetermined position in groove 22K1 is p1 in the reference trajectory data and p1+dp in the trajectory data obtained in step 86 of Figure 6, the correction value is dp.
[0051] In step 94, the processor 52 corrects the direct teaching data with a correction value. In the above example, the position of the probe 114 of the slave system 120 is shifted by dp from the position of the probe 114 of the master-slave system 110. In other words, the position of the workpiece 14 of the slave system 120 relative to the above reference position is shifted by dp from the position of the workpiece 14 of the master-slave system 110 relative to the above reference position. Therefore, for example, if the value of the direct teaching data is p2, the value of the direct teaching data is corrected to p2-dp.
[0052] In step 96, the processor 52 moves the workpiece 14 of the slave system 120 according to the corrected direct teaching data. This causes the workpiece 14 in the slave system 120 to be machined by the tool 22.
[0053] The work processing program 54Q also executes the processor 52 of the other slave systems 130 besides the slave system 120. By applying the teaching operation based on the teaching data to the slave robots 10S of multiple slave systems 120 and 130 in this way, the productivity of machining the workpiece 14 can be increased.
[0054] (effect) As described above, in this embodiment, the tool 22 is equipped with predetermined shaped special parts (grooves 22K1, 22K2) for calibration, so it is not necessary to set up a calibration tool each time calibration is performed. Therefore, the cost of the work can be reduced.
[0055] In this embodiment, the positions of the special parts (grooves 22K1, 22K2) of the tool 22 of the slave robot 10S of the master-slave system 110 and the teaching data taught to the master robot 10M are stored, so that the slave robots 10S of the slave systems 120 and 130 can be calibrated using these.
[0056] In this embodiment, the positions of the special parts (grooves 22K1, 22K2) of the tool 22 of the slave robots 20S and 30S of the slave systems 120 and 130 are acquired. Correction data is then calculated to correct this position to the position of the special parts (grooves 22K1, 22K2) of the tool 22 of the slave robot 10S of the master-slave system 110. Based on the calculated correction data, the teaching data is then corrected for the slave robots 20S and 30S of the slave systems 120 and 130. The teaching data taught to the master robot 10M is corrected according to the amount of discrepancy between the position of the workpiece 14 in the master-slave system 110 and the position of the workpiece 14 in the slave robots 20S and 30S, and can then be taught to the slave robots 20S and 30S. Therefore, even if the inclination or position of the rotation axis 22A of the tool 22 in the slave robots 20S and 30S, the position on the rotation axis 22A, etc., differ from that of the master robot 10M due to timing degradation or impact, calibration can be performed.
[0057] [Differentiation] Next, various modifications of the above embodiment will be described. Since the configuration of each modification is substantially the same as that of the above embodiment, only the differences will be described.
[0058] The unique feature of the above embodiment is the two grooves 22K1 and 22K2 formed on the rotating shaft 22A at the position where the rotating tool body 20T is attached. The configuration of each modified example differs from the above embodiment in its unique feature.
[0059] (First variation) Figure 7 shows an example of a unique part of the first modified example. As shown in Figure 7, the unique part of the first modified example only needs to be easily traceable and its location easy to determine, for example, two holes 22L1 and 22L2 formed on the rotating shaft 22A at the position where the rotating tool body 20T is attached. The position and size of the holes 22L1 and 22L2 are predetermined.
[0060] In the first modified example, step 82 (see Figures 5 and 6) involves inserting the tip of the probe 114 into the hole 22L1 (or 22L2), step 84 is omitted, and step 86 involves acquiring the position of the hole 22L1 into which the tip of the probe 114 is inserted as position data.
[0061] In the first modified example, the singular parts are holes 22L1 and 22L2, and since positional data is acquired instead of trajectory data, the computational load can be reduced.
[0062] (Second variation) Figure 8 shows an example of a singular part of the second modified example. As shown in Figure 8, the singular part of the second modified example can be located anywhere as long as it does not interfere with calibration or direct teaching operations. For example, it can be located on the opposite side of the tip of the rotating shaft 22A, other than the position where the rotating tool body 20T is attached. The shape of the singular part of the second modified example is two grooves 22M1 and 22M2.
[0063] Since the two grooves 22M1 and 22M2 are formed at positions other than the position where the rotating tool body 20T is attached to the rotating shaft 22A, calibration can be performed with the rotating tool body 20T mounted on the rotating shaft 22A. Because it is not necessary to detach the rotating tool body 20T from the rotating shaft 22A, work costs can be reduced.
[0064] (Third variation) Figure 9 shows an example of a unique part of the third modified example. As shown in Figure 9, the unique part of the third modified example is the projection 22N on the tip side of the rotating shaft 22A, other than the position where the rotating tool body 20T is attached. The projection 22N is the part of the bolt with a threaded groove for fixing the rotating tool body 20T to the rotating shaft 22A.
[0065] Since the position of the projection 22N is a position on the rotating shaft 22A other than the position where the rotating tool body 20T is attached, calibration can be performed with the rotating tool body 20T mounted on the rotating shaft 22A. Because it is not necessary to detach the rotating tool body 20T from the rotating shaft 22A, work costs can be reduced.
[0066] Since the projection 22N is the bolt portion for fixing the rotating tool body 20T to the rotating shaft 22A, it is an existing component and does not need to be newly formed for calibration. Therefore, labor costs can be further reduced. [Explanation of symbols]
[0067] 5 Operator 10A Robot Arm 10M Master Robot 10p1~10p6 Arm section 10S Slave Robot 11C Camera 12 Display device 14 Work 20S Slave Robot 20T Rotary Tool Body 22 Tools 22A Rotating shaft 22K1 Groove 22K2 Groove 22L1 Hole 22L2 hole 22M Tool Rotating Motor 22M1 Groove 22M2 groove 22N protrusion 30S Slave Robot 50 controllers 51 Controllers 52 processors 53 Controllers 54P Direct Instruction Program 54Q Task Processing Program 64 motors 66 encoders 68 Torque Sensor 72 Storage device 73 Input device 100 Information Processing Systems 110 Master-Slave System 114 probes 120 slave systems 130 Slave Systems
Claims
1. A tool equipped with a predetermined, specificly shaped part for calibration.
2. The shape of the aforementioned special part is a hole, groove, or projection. The tool according to claim 1.
3. An acquisition unit that acquires the first position of the singular part of the first tool described in claim 1 by bringing the probe of the first robot into contact with the singular part of the first tool and acquires the taught teaching data of the robot, A storage unit that stores the acquired first position and the teaching data, An information processing device equipped with the following features.
4. The acquisition unit further acquires the second position of the singular portion of the second tool by bringing the probe of the second robot into contact with the singular portion of the second tool, which has the same configuration as the first tool described in claim 1. A calculation unit that calculates correction data for correcting the second position to the first position, A correction unit that corrects the teaching data for the second robot based on the calculated correction data, The information processing apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising: