Robot control device and robot control system

Abstract

A robot control system that offers a great degree of freedom for processing to be performed when an alarm is generated is a robot control device for controlling a robot, and comprises: a database storage unit capable of storing a plurality of alarm attribute information databases which store a plurality of pieces of alarm attribute information, respectively; a database addition processing unit for adding the alarm attribute information database to the database storage unit in accordance with an input of a user; and an alarm processing unit for generating an alarm on the basis of the alarm attribute information.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a robot control device and a robot control system. [Background technology]

[0002] The robot control device that controls the robot is configured to issue an alarm when it detects an abnormality in the robot or peripheral devices while the robot is operating, and to perform predetermined processing such as stopping the robot, issuing a warning, displaying a message, etc. Furthermore, the robot control device can be configured so that a user program created by the user can specify what kind of alarm should be issued in what circumstances (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2-243290 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the robot control device described in Patent Document 1, user alarm commands including an alarm number and a display message are written in the user program. However, the alarm commands in the user program alone cannot describe complex processing, such as making the robot perform a specific action when an alarm occurs or when the alarm is restored. For this reason, a technology that allows greater flexibility in the processing that can be specified when an alarm occurs is desired. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] A robot control device according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a robot control device that controls a robot, and includes: a database storage unit that can store multiple alarm attribute information databases, each storing multiple pieces of alarm attribute information; a database addition processing unit that adds the alarm attribute information database to the database storage unit in accordance with user input; and an alarm processing unit that generates an alarm based on the alarm attribute information.

[0006] A robot control system according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a robot control system including a robot control device that controls a robot and a management device that manages the robot control device, wherein a database storage unit that can store multiple alarm attribute information databases, each storing multiple pieces of alarm attribute information, a database addition processing unit that adds the alarm attribute information database to the database storage unit in accordance with user input, and an alarm processing unit that generates an alarm based on the alarm attribute information are each provided in at least one of the robot control device and the management device. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to a robot control device and a robot control system according to an aspect of the present disclosure, there is a high degree of freedom in processing when an alarm occurs. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a robot control device according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. [Figure 2] FIG. 10 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a robot control system according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a robot control device 10 according to a first embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0010] The robot control device 10 controls the robot R in accordance with a user program. The robot control device 10 can be realized by causing a computer device equipped with a memory, a processor (CPU), an input / output interface, etc. to execute an appropriate control program. The robot control device 10 may also be equipped with an input device (keyboard, touchpad, etc.) and a display device (display panel, etc.), and may be connected to external input devices and display devices. An example of an integrated input device and display device connected to the robot control device 10 is a teaching pendant used to teach the robot R how to operate.

[0011] The robot control device 10 includes a program storage unit 11, a database storage unit 12, a program teaching processing unit 13, a database addition processing unit 14, a program execution unit 15, and an alarm processing unit 16. Note that these components categorize the functions of the robot control device 10, and do not necessarily have to be clearly distinguishable in terms of physical configuration and program configuration. The robot control device 10 may also include other components.

[0012] The program storage unit 11 stores a user program that describes the operations to be taught to the robot R. More specifically, the program storage unit 11 secures a storage area in the memory of the computer device and controls writing and reading of the user program to and from this storage area.

[0013] The user program may include not only instructions that specify the operation of the robot R, but also instructions that specify the operation of peripheral devices such as the work head attached to the tip of the robot, and alarm call instructions that specify the alarm generation conditions and alarm processing.

[0014] The database storage unit 12 stores a plurality of alarm attribute information databases, each storing a plurality of pieces of alarm attribute information. Similar to the program storage unit 11, the database storage unit 12 secures a storage area in the memory of the computer device and controls writing and reading of the alarm attribute information database to this storage area. The database storage unit 12 only needs to be configured to be able to store a plurality of alarm attribute information databases, and is not required to actually store a plurality of alarm attribute information databases.

[0015] Each piece of alarm attribute information is a record in the alarm attribute information database, and the content of each data item is information that identifies the event to be executed in one alarm action. Each alarm attribute information database may be recorded as a single file. In this way, by describing the content of the alarm action in a single record, the content of the alarm action to be executed can be specified simply by identifying the record, so various alarm actions can be executed appropriately without creating redundant user programs.

[0016] The database storage unit 12 also stores multiple alarm attribute information databases. The alarm attribute information databases can be a collection of records of alarm actions that have something in common, such as a collection of alarm actions required for each part or device that causes an alarm. This allows for hierarchical management of a large number of records, making it easy to store and specify records and preventing the alarm attribute information database from increasing in number of fields and thereby unnecessarily increasing its capacity.

[0017] The alarm attribute information includes at least one of the following: text to be displayed, alarm severity, alarm occurrence procedure, and alarm recovery procedure. In other words, the alarm attribute information database includes at least one of a field for text to be displayed, a field for alarm severity, a field for alarm occurrence procedure, and a field for alarm recovery procedure. This makes it possible to specifically identify the content of alarm processing.

[0018] The alarm attribute information may include multiple display texts for different languages. In other words, the alarm attribute information database may include multiple fields corresponding to each language in order to register display texts in different languages. This facilitates multilingual support. The field for recording the display text in the desired language may be specified in the alarm call statement that specifies the alarm processing. However, from the perspective of simplifying the user program and reducing creation errors, it is preferable to specify the field by a method such as initial setting of the robot controller 10, specification in the header of the user program, or setting by a switching operation on a teaching operation panel connected to the robot controller 10.

[0019] The program teaching processing unit 13 creates a user program in accordance with input from a teaching operation panel or the like, and transfers the created user program to the program storage unit 11. The program teaching processing unit 13 may also transfer all or part of a user program that has been created in advance and input from outside to the program storage unit 11 as is.

[0020] The user program may include a condition setting statement that sets one or more alarm generation conditions, and an alarm call statement that specifies alarm attribute information that identifies the alarm processing to be performed when each alarm generation condition is met. To identify the alarm attribute information, the alarm call statement may specify as arguments the number or file name of the alarm attribute information database, the number or unique key (e.g., ID) of the alarm attribute information (record), and, if necessary, a character string to be added to the display text.

[0021] For example, if the alarm call command is "alarm_post," the argument number of the alarm attribute information database is "DatabaseID," the number of the alarm attribute information is "AlarmNumber," and the string to be added to the display text is "Param_str," the alarm call command statement would be written as follows: "alarm_post[DatabaseID, AlarmNumber, Param_str]." Using this command, it is possible to create a user program that, when an alarm generation condition is detected during execution, branches and executes the alarm call command statement without performing normal processing, thereby alerting the operator and suspending program execution.

[0022] The database addition processing unit 14 adds an alarm attribute information database to the database storage unit 12 in accordance with a user input. The database addition processing unit 14 may have a function of creating an alarm attribute information database in accordance with a user input, or may read an alarm attribute information database created by another computer device or the like and transfer it to the database storage unit 12. The database addition processing unit 14 may use an output device to provide a user interface that enables assistance in creating an alarm attribute information database, confirmation of the alarm attribute information database stored in the database storage unit 12, etc.

[0023] The database addition processing unit 14 is preferably configured to be able to add a new alarm attribute information database or add new alarm attribute information to an existing alarm attribute information database, as long as the storage capacity secured by the database storage unit 12 allows. This makes it possible to easily create an appropriate user program when changing the specifications of equipment including the robot R, such as a processing system or a handling system, or when changing the workpieces handled in the equipment, by adding a new alarm attribute information database or alarm attribute information and using an alarm call statement that generates an alarm using the added alarm attribute information.

[0024] The program execution unit 15 controls the robot R etc. in accordance with the user program stored in the program storage unit 11. The control of the robot R etc. in accordance with the user program is similar to that of a conventional robot control device, and therefore a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0025] The alarm processing unit 16 can be configured to monitor signals input from the robot R, etc., and generate an alarm based on alarm attribute information specified in an alarm call statement written in a user program. That is, the alarm processing unit 16 can be configured to generate an alarm in accordance with an alarm call statement written in a user program. This makes it possible to create a user program that, when an alarm generation condition is detected during execution of the user program, branches, executes an alarm call statement without performing normal processing, and generates an alarm, thereby alerting the operator and suspending program execution.

[0026] The alarm processing unit 16 can be configured to determine how to change the program execution state, how to display the display text, and whether to report a system error, depending on the alarm severity of the alarm attribute information. The "change in the program execution state" refers to, for example, whether to continue the operation of the robot R, etc., based on the user program, whether to pause the operation of the robot R, etc., based on the user program, or whether to forcefully terminate the execution of the user program. The "display method of the display text" refers to, for example, the size, color, and whether or not to highlight the display text. In this way, by determining part of the alarm processing depending on the alarm severity, the capacity of the alarm attribute information database can be reduced.

[0027] The alarm processing unit 16 can be configured to add related information corresponding to the situation at the time of alarm occurrence to the display text of the alarm attribute information, and display the added information on the display device of the robot control device 10 or a display device connected to the robot control device 10. The related information added to the display text can be, for example, a character string identifying the device, component, etc. that emitted the signal that caused the alarm. The device, etc. that caused the alarm can be described in advance in the alarm call command statement corresponding to the condition setting statement. As an example of implementation, a special character string such as "%s" can be embedded in the alarm display text in advance, and when a "character string to be added to the display text and displayed" is specified when the alarm call command is executed, the special character string is replaced with the specified additional display character string and displayed; however, the implementation method is not limited to this.

[0028] The alarm processor 16 may be configured to execute an alarm occurrence processing procedure specified in the alarm attribute information when an alarm occurs. The alarm processor 16 may also be configured to execute an alarm recovery processing procedure specified in the alarm attribute information when recovering from an alarm. The alarm occurrence processing procedure may be directly written in the alarm attribute information, or may be defined in a program that describes the robot R's behavior and input / output processing in a language similar to the user program, or in a subroutine within the user program. The alarm recovery processing procedure may also be defined in a script, program, or subroutine within the user program that not only describes the robot R's behavior and input / output processing, but also interactively interacts with the operator to present alarm-specific recovery methods for smooth alarm recovery. The alarm attribute information preferably includes information identifying the program, such as the program's file name and the starting line number of the subroutine. In this way, specifying the alarm occurrence processing procedure and the alarm recovery processing procedure using the alarm attribute information makes it relatively easy to create a user program that executes appropriate processing when an alarm occurs, and prevents the alarm attribute information database from becoming unnecessarily large.

[0029] As described above, the robot controller 10 includes the database storage unit 12 that stores alarm attribute information specifying the processing to be performed when an alarm occurs as a database, and the alarm processing unit 16 that generates an alarm based on the alarm attribute information specified in an alarm call statement written in a user program. This allows the robot controller 10 to generate alarms that involve complex processing that would be impossible to write in a user program, providing a high degree of freedom in the processing to be performed when an alarm occurs. Furthermore, the robot controller 10 also makes it easy to create appropriate user programs.

[0030] Next, an embodiment of a robot control system according to the present disclosure will be described. Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a robot control system 100 according to a second embodiment of the present disclosure. Note that, in the robot control system 100 in Fig. 2, components similar to those in the robot control device 10 in Fig. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals, and duplicated explanations may be omitted.

[0031] The robot control system 100 includes one or more robot control devices 110 that control the robots, and a management device 120 that manages the robot control devices 110. The robot control devices 110 and the management device 120 communicate with each other via a network or the like. The robot control system 100 may include multiple management devices 120. In the robot control system 100, the multiple management devices 120 may be arranged hierarchically to share functions.

[0032] The illustrated robot control device 110 has a program storage unit 11, a database storage unit 12, a program teaching processing unit 13, a database addition processing unit 14, a program execution unit 15, and an alarm processing unit 16. On the other hand, the management device 120 has a network database storage unit 22 and a network database addition processing unit 24. The database storage unit 12 and the database addition processing unit 14 on the robot control device 110 may be omitted. Therefore, in the robot control system 100, the robot control device 110 and the management device 120 cooperate to control the robot R, etc., and issue alarms.

[0033] As a specific example, when an alarm occurs in one robot controller 110, the alarm processing unit 16 of that robot controller 110 first searches the network database storage unit 22 for alarm attribute information for that alarm, and if found, performs alarm processing based on that alarm attribute information. If the alarm attribute information for the alarm is not found in the network database storage unit 22, the alarm processing unit 16 searches the database storage unit 12 within the robot controller 110 for alarm attribute information for that alarm, and if found, performs alarm processing based on that alarm attribute information. If the alarm attribute information is not found in either place, the system performs standard alarm processing (for example, displaying the alarm number and suspending execution of the user program).

[0034] The advantage of this processing method is that it enables an operation method in which the minimum required alarm attribute information that should be installed as standard is stored on the robot control device 110, and alarms required for the application are additionally stored in the network database storage unit 22 on the management device 120.

[0035] Furthermore, in this processing method, if alarm attribute information with the same unique key such as an ID exists on both the robot control device 110 and the management device 120, the information on the management device 120 is used with priority. This has the advantage that the alarm processing method can be changed from the standard one simply by changing the information on the management device 120.

[0036] Furthermore, in the robot control system 100, multiple robot control devices 110 share the database storage unit 12 and database addition processing unit 14 provided in the management device 120. With this configuration, in a factory or the like with multiple production lines, there is no need to register an alarm attribute information database in each robot control device 110, making management easier.

[0037] Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. Furthermore, the effects described in the above-described embodiments are merely a list of the most preferable effects resulting from the present invention, and the effects of the present invention are not limited to those described in the above-described embodiments.

[0038] In the robot control system, the components of the program storage unit, database storage unit, program teaching processing unit, database addition processing unit, program execution unit, and alarm processing unit may be provided in either the robot control device or the management device, or the components may be distributed between the robot control device and the management device. Furthermore, when database storage units are provided in both the robot control device and the management device, priority may be given to either the alarm attribute information stored in the database storage unit of the robot control device or the alarm attribute information stored in the database storage unit of the management device. [Explanation of symbols]

[0039] 10,110 Robot control device 11 Program storage unit 12 Database storage section 13 Program teaching processing section 14 Database addition processing section 15 Program Execution Unit 16 Alarm processing section 17 Temporary Database Storage 22 Network database storage unit 24 Network database additional processing unit 120 Management device R Robot

Claims

1. A robot control device for controlling a robot, a database storage unit capable of storing a plurality of alarm attribute information databases each storing a plurality of alarm attribute information; a database addition processing unit that adds the alarm attribute information database to the database storage unit in accordance with a user's input; an alarm processing unit that generates an alarm based on the alarm attribute information; an input / output interface capable of communicating with an external management device; Equipped with the alarm attribute information includes at least one of a display text, an alarm severity, an alarm occurrence processing procedure, and an alarm recovery processing procedure; The robot control device, wherein the alarm processing unit first searches for alarm attribute information stored in the management device when the alarm occurs, and if the corresponding alarm attribute information is not found, searches the database storage unit.

2. The robot control device according to claim 1 , wherein the alarm attribute information includes a plurality of the display texts for different languages.

3. The robot control device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the alarm processing unit determines, in accordance with the severity of the alarm, how to change the program execution state, how to display a display text, and whether to treat the alarm as a system error.

4. The robot control device according to claim 1 , wherein the alarm processing unit is capable of adding related information according to a situation at the time of alarm occurrence to the display text and displaying the added information.

5. The robot control device according to claim 1 , wherein the alarm processing unit executes the alarm occurrence processing procedure when an alarm occurs.

6. The robot control device according to claim 1 , wherein the alarm processing unit executes the alarm recovery processing procedure when recovering from an alarm.

7. 7. The robot control device according to claim 1, wherein the alarm processing unit generates an alarm in accordance with an alarm call command written in a user program.

8. A robot control system including a robot control device that controls a robot and a management device that manages the robot control device, a database storage unit capable of storing a plurality of alarm attribute information databases each storing a plurality of pieces of alarm attribute information is provided in each of the robot control device and the management device; a database addition processing unit that adds the alarm attribute information database to the database storage unit in accordance with a user's input, and an alarm processing unit that issues an alarm based on the alarm attribute information, each of which is provided in at least one of the robot control device and the management device; the alarm attribute information includes at least one of a display text, an alarm severity, an alarm occurrence processing procedure, and an alarm recovery processing procedure; In a robot control system, when an alarm occurs, the alarm processing unit first searches the database storage unit of the management device, and if the corresponding alarm attribute information is not found, searches the database storage unit of the robot control device.

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