Rebar tying robot

Abstract

To provide a technique capable of interrupting reinforcement binding work and moving a reinforcement binding robot from a position where the reinforcement binding work is interrupted to a specific position during execution of the reinforcement binding work in the reinforcement binding robot.SOLUTION: The present specification discloses a reinforcement binding robot capable of performing reinforcement binding work in which an operation of moving on a primary reinforcement and a secondary reinforcement and an operation of binding a place where the primary reinforcement and the secondary reinforcement intersect with each other are alternately repeated. The reinforcement binding robot is equipped with a control unit, a longitudinal movement mechanism, a lateral movement mechanism, and a position information detection mechanism for detecting the current position of the reinforcement binding robot. The control unit is configured to be capable of executing a feedback process for driving at least one of the longitudinal movement mechanisms and the lateral movement mechanism such that the reinforcement binding robot operates moving from a current position of the reinforcement binding robot to a specific position without performing the reinforcement binding operation. The control unit executes the feedback processing when a predetermined condition is satisfied during the execution of the reinforcement binding work.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The technology disclosed in this specification relates to a rebar tying robot. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a rebar tying robot capable of performing rebar tying work by alternately moving over a plurality of primary rebars and a plurality of secondary rebars that intersect with the plurality of primary rebars and bundling the intersections of the plurality of primary rebars and the plurality of secondary rebars. The rebar tying robot includes a rebar tying unit, a transport unit that transports the rebar tying unit, and a control unit that controls the operation of the transport unit. The transport unit includes a vertical movement mechanism that can move the rebar tying robot forward and backward, and a horizontal movement mechanism that can move the rebar tying robot left and right. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-39174 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] With a reinforcing bar tying robot such as that disclosed in Patent Document 1, there are cases where it is desired to interrupt the reinforcing bar tying work while it is being performed and move the reinforcing bar tying work from the interrupted position to a specific position. This specification provides a technology that enables a reinforcing bar tying robot to interrupt the reinforcing bar tying work while it is being performed and move the reinforcing bar tying work from the interrupted position to a specific position. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] This specification discloses a rebar tying robot capable of performing rebar tying work for multiple primary rebars and multiple secondary rebars that intersect with the multiple primary rebars, by alternately moving over the multiple primary rebars and the multiple secondary rebars and tying the intersections of the multiple primary rebars and the multiple secondary rebars. The rebar tying robot may include a rebar tying unit, a transport unit that transports the rebar tying unit, and a control unit that controls the operation of the transport unit. The transport unit may include a vertical movement mechanism that can move the rebar tying robot forward and backward, a horizontal movement mechanism that can move the rebar tying robot left and right, and a position information detection mechanism that detects the current position of the rebar tying robot relative to the multiple primary rebars and the multiple secondary rebars. The control unit may be configured to execute a return process for driving at least one of the vertical movement mechanism and the horizontal movement mechanism so that the rebar tying robot moves from the current position of the rebar tying robot detected by the position information detection mechanism to a specific position without performing the rebar tying work. The control unit may execute the return process when a predetermined condition is satisfied during the rebar tying work.

[0006] According to the above configuration, the reinforcing bar binding robot can interrupt the reinforcing bar binding work while the reinforcing bar binding work is being performed, and can move from the position where the reinforcing bar binding work was interrupted to a specific position. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of a reinforcing bar binding robot 100 according to first and second embodiments, as viewed from above and to the front left. FIG. [Figure 2] 1 is a perspective view of a reinforcing bar binding machine 2 used in a reinforcing bar binding robot 100 according to first and second embodiments, viewed from above and behind on the left side. FIG. [Figure 3] 1 is a perspective view of the internal structure of a main body 4 of a reinforcing bar binding machine 2 used in a reinforcing bar binding robot 100 according to Examples 1 and 2, as viewed from above and to the rear right. [Figure 4]1 is a cross-sectional view of a front portion of a main body 4 of a reinforcing bar binding machine 2 used in a reinforcing bar binding robot 100 according to first and second embodiments. [Figure 5] 1 is a perspective view of the internal structure of the upper part of the main body 4 and the gripping part 6 of the reinforcing bar binding machine 2 used in the reinforcing bar binding robot 100 according to the first and second embodiments, viewed from above on the front left. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the power supply unit 102 of the reinforcing bar binding robot 100 according to the first and second embodiments, with the cover 112 open, as viewed from above and to the front right. [Figure 7] 1 is a perspective view of the reinforcing bar binding robot 100 according to the first and second embodiments, showing a state in which a reinforcing bar binding machine 2 is attached to an operation unit 104, as viewed from above and to the rear right. [Figure 8] 1 is a perspective view of the reinforcing bar binding robot 100 according to the first and second embodiments, showing a state in which a reinforcing bar binding machine 2 is attached to a gripping mechanism 132, as viewed from the rear right below. FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a side view of the operation unit 104 and the reinforcing bar binding machine 2 in the reinforcing bar binding robot 100 according to the first and second embodiments, when the reinforcing bar binding machine 2 is in a raised position. [Figure 10] FIG. 2 is a side view of the operation unit 104 and the reinforcing bar binding machine 2 in the reinforcing bar binding robot 100 according to the first and second embodiments, when the reinforcing bar binding machine 2 is in a lowered position. [Figure 11] 1 is a perspective view of a reinforcing bar binding robot 100 according to first and second embodiments, as viewed from the front right below. FIG. [Figure 12] 1 is a perspective cross-sectional view of the vicinity of a tensioner pulley 224 of the reinforcing bar binding robot 100 according to the first and second embodiments, as viewed from above on the front left. FIG. [Figure 13] FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a side stepper 196 of the reinforcing bar binding robot 100 according to the first and second embodiments, as viewed from the lower rear right. [Figure 14] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the front portion of the side stepper 196 of the reinforcing bar binding robot 100 according to the first and second embodiments, as viewed from above and to the rear right. [Figure 15]10 is a cross-sectional view of the front crank mechanism 276 of the reinforcing bar binding robot 100 according to the first and second embodiments, as viewed from behind. FIG. [Figure 16] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the rear portion of the side stepper 196 of the reinforcing bar binding robot 100 according to the first and second embodiments, as viewed from above and to the front right. [Figure 17] FIG. 10 is a front view of the reinforcing bar binding robot 100 according to the first and second embodiments, showing the state in which the step bars 272, 274 are raised. [Figure 18] FIG. 10 is a front view of the reinforcing bar binding robot 100 according to the first and second embodiments, showing the state in which the step bars 272, 274 are lowered, as viewed from the front. [Figure 19] 10 is a diagram schematically showing a grid map GM related to map information held by a control unit 126 in the rebar binding robot 100 according to the first and second embodiments. FIG. [Figure 20] 1 is a top view schematically showing an example of the relative positional relationship between the grid map GM and the primary reinforcing bars R1 and secondary reinforcing bars R2 in the reinforcing bar binding robot 100 according to the first and second embodiments. FIG. [Figure 21] 10 is a diagram showing a schematic view of how the control unit 126 identifies the current position small area DR and the forward angle α in the rebar binding robot 100 according to the first and second embodiments. FIG. [Figure 22] 10 is a diagram showing a schematic diagram of how the control unit 126 distinguishes between a bundled small area DA and an unbundled small area DB in the rebar binding robot 100 according to the first and second embodiments. FIG. [Figure 23] 1 is a flowchart showing processing performed by a control unit 126 in the rebar binding robot 100 according to the first and second embodiments. [Figure 24] 4 is a flowchart showing a return process performed by a control unit 126 in the rebar binding robot 100 according to the first embodiment. [Figure 25] 10 is a diagram schematically illustrating cost information, a return position, and a return path that the control unit 126 records in the grid map GM in the return position / path determination process in the rebar binding robot 100 according to the first embodiment. FIG. [Figure 26] 1 is a diagram schematically showing designated positions recorded in a grid map GM by a control unit 126 and paths G1, G2, and G3 that are candidate return paths in the rebar binding robot 100 according to the first embodiment. FIG. [Figure 27] 10 is a flowchart showing a return process performed by a control unit 126 in the rebar binding robot 100 according to the second embodiment. [Figure 28] 10 is a diagram showing a schematic view of how the control unit 126 determines the return position and return path based on preset rules in the return position / path determination process in the rebar binding robot 100 according to the second embodiment. FIG. [Figure 29] 10 is a diagram showing a schematic view of how the control unit 126 determines the return position and return path based on another rule set in advance in the return position / path determination process in the rebar binding robot 100 according to the second embodiment. FIG. [Figure 30] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a schematic view of the control unit 126 determining the return position and return path based on yet another rule set in advance in the return position / path determination process in the rebar binding robot 100 according to the second embodiment. [Figure 31] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a schematic diagram of how the control unit 126 determines the return position and return path based on yet another rule set in advance in the return position / path determination process in the rebar binding robot 100 according to the second embodiment. [Figure 32] 10 is a diagram schematically showing other cost information, candidate return positions, and return paths that the control unit 126 records in the grid map GM in the return position / path determination process in the rebar binding robot 100 according to a modified example. FIG. [Figure 33] 10 is a diagram schematically showing yet another cost information, return position, and return path that the control unit 126 records in the grid map GM in the return position / path determination process in the rebar binding robot 100 according to the modified example. FIG. [Figure 34]10 is a diagram schematically showing yet another cost information, candidate return positions, and return paths that the control unit 126 records in the grid map GM in the return position / path determination process in the rebar binding robot 100 according to the modified example. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] Representative, non-limiting examples of the present invention are described in detail below with reference to the drawings. This detailed description is intended simply to provide those skilled in the art with details for implementing preferred examples of the present invention, and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Additionally, the additional features and inventions disclosed can be used separately or in conjunction with other features and inventions to provide further improved rebar tying robots.

[0009] Furthermore, the combinations of features and steps disclosed in the following detailed description are not essential to practicing the invention in its broadest sense, but are described solely to specifically illustrate exemplary embodiments of the invention. Furthermore, the various features of the following exemplary embodiments and those described in the claims do not necessarily have to be combined in the exact embodiments described herein or in the exact order listed to provide additional and useful embodiments of the invention.

[0010] All features described in this specification and / or claims are intended to be disclosed individually and independently of one another as limitations to the specific features described in the original disclosure and claims, apart from the configuration of features described in the examples and / or claims. Furthermore, all numerical ranges and group or aggregate descriptions are intended to disclose intermediate configurations thereof as limitations to the specific features described in the original disclosure and claims.

[0011] In one or more embodiments, the control unit may be configured to further execute a continuation determination process for determining whether the rebar binding work can be continued. The predetermined condition may include a first predetermined condition that the control unit determines in the continuation determination process that the rebar binding work cannot be continued.

[0012] For example, if a malfunction occurs during rebar tying work that makes it impossible to continue, such as a lack of remaining wire, the user needs to perform maintenance work on the rebar tying robot to resolve the malfunction. At this time, depending on the location of the rebar tying robot, it may be difficult for the user to approach the rebar tying robot. With the above configuration, if a malfunction occurs in the rebar tying robot that makes it impossible to continue rebar tying work, the rebar tying robot can be automatically moved to a specific position where it is easy for the user to perform maintenance work. This makes it easier for the user to perform maintenance work on the rebar tying robot to resolve the malfunction.

[0013] In one or more embodiments, the control unit may be configured to receive a command signal from an external device, and the predetermined condition may include a second predetermined condition that the control unit receives the command signal from the external device.

[0014] According to the above configuration, if the user wishes to interrupt the rebar tying work in the middle of the work, the rebar tying work can be interrupted at the user's command, and the rebar tying robot can be moved to a specific position that is convenient for the user.

[0015] In one or more embodiments, the specific location may include a location specified by a user.

[0016] According to the above configuration, the rebar binding robot can be moved to a position designated by the user.

[0017] In one or more embodiments, the specific location may include a location of a rebar end specified by a user. Note that, in this specification, "rebar end" refers to the intersection of a primary rebar and a secondary rebar that is closest to each end of multiple primary rebars or each end of multiple secondary rebars. Therefore, it should be noted that "rebar end" in this specification is different from the end of the rebar.

[0018] According to the above configuration, the rebar tying robot can be moved to the end of the rebar specified by the user, allowing the user to safely retrieve the rebar tying robot or troubleshoot problems from outside the multiple primary rebars and multiple secondary rebars.

[0019] In one or more embodiments, the specific location may include the location of the end of the rebar that is the shortest path of travel from the current location.

[0020] According to the above configuration, the reinforcing bar binding robot can be moved to the position of the end of the reinforcing bar most efficiently.

[0021] In one or more embodiments, the position information detection mechanism may further detect bundled and unbundled areas of the plurality of primary rebars and the plurality of secondary rebars. The specific position may include a position of a rebar end within the bundled area that has the shortest moving path from the current position.

[0022] According to the above configuration, the rebar tying robot moves using the bound area, which is more robust than the unbound area, as a foothold during the return process, allowing the rebar tying robot to move more safely to the position of the end of the rebar.

[0023] In one or more embodiments, the rebar binding robot may be configured to alternately perform an action of moving over the plurality of primary rebars and the plurality of secondary rebars in the direction in which the plurality of primary rebars extend and an action of binding the intersections of the plurality of primary rebars and the plurality of secondary rebars in the rebar binding work. The specific position may include a position of a rebar end located in the front-to-rear direction from the current position, the position being the shortest movement path from the current position.

[0024] In a rebar tying robot that alternately moves over multiple primary and secondary rebars in the direction of extension of the multiple primary rebars and tying the intersections of the multiple primary and secondary rebars, forward and backward movement is often more stable than left and right movement. The above configuration minimizes the frequency with which the rebar tying robot drives the lateral movement mechanism. This allows the rebar tying robot to move more safely to the end of the rebar.

[0025] In one or more embodiments, the rebar tying robot may be configured to alternately perform an action of moving over the multiple primary rebars and the multiple secondary rebars in the direction in which the multiple primary rebars extend and an action of tying the intersections of the multiple primary rebars and the multiple secondary rebars during the rebar tying operation. The position information detection mechanism may further detect tied and untied areas of the multiple primary rebars and the multiple secondary rebars. The specific position may include the position of a rebar end that is located in the forward / backward direction from the current position and within the tied area, and that has the shortest movement path from the current position.

[0026] A rebar tying robot that alternately moves over multiple primary and secondary rebars in the direction of extension of the multiple primary rebars and tying the intersections of the multiple primary and secondary rebars often finds that forward and backward movement is more stable than left and right movement. This configuration minimizes the frequency with which the rebar tying robot operates its lateral movement mechanism. Furthermore, during the return process, the rebar tying robot uses the already-tied area, which is more robust than the untied area, as a foothold. This allows the rebar tying robot to move more safely to the end of the rebar.

[0027] In one or more embodiments, the control unit may be configured to execute a specific position determination process that calculates a cost of the rebar tying robot moving from the current position to at least one candidate position that is a candidate for the specific position, and determines the specific position from the at least one candidate position based on the calculated cost of the candidate position. The control unit may be configured to drive at least one of the vertical movement mechanism or the horizontal movement mechanism in the return process so that the rebar tying robot moves from the current position to the specific position.

[0028] According to the above configuration, the control unit can determine the specific position based on cost calculations even when there are multiple candidate positions for the specific position. In this specification, "cost" is a numerical value that is arbitrarily set in relation to various factors associated with the movement of the rebar tying robot. For example, the cost is a numerical value that is set in accordance with the risk associated with the movement of the rebar tying robot. Alternatively, the cost is a numerical value that is set in accordance with the power consumption associated with the movement of the rebar tying robot.

[0029] In one or more embodiments, the control unit may determine the candidate location with the lowest cost among the at least one candidate location as the specific location.

[0030] According to the above configuration, even when there are multiple positions that are candidates for the specific position, the control unit can determine the position with the lowest cost as the specific position.

[0031] In one or more embodiments, the control unit may calculate the cost of the rebar binding robot moving from the current position to the candidate position for each of at least one candidate movement path that is a candidate for the movement path from the current position to the candidate position, and calculate the cost of the candidate position based on the calculated cost of the candidate movement path.

[0032] According to the above configuration, the control unit can calculate the cost of positions that are candidates for the specific position based on the cost of the travel route, and thus the control unit can determine the specific position taking the travel route into consideration.

[0033] In one or more embodiments, the control unit may calculate the cost of the candidate location as the cost of the candidate path that has the lowest cost among the at least one candidate path.

[0034] According to the above configuration, the control unit can determine the specific position as the position along the route that has the lowest cost from the current position of the rebar tying robot, thereby enabling the rebar tying robot to move to the specific position at the lowest cost.

[0035] In one or more embodiments, in the specific position determination process, the at least one candidate position may be selected from among a plurality of positions of the end of the rebar.

[0036] According to the above configuration, the control unit can determine, through cost calculation, the position of the reinforcing bar end that has the lowest cost of movement from the current position of the reinforcing bar tying robot among multiple positions of the reinforcing bar end as the specific position, thereby making it possible to move the reinforcing bar tying robot to the position of the reinforcing bar end at the lowest cost.

[0037] In one or more embodiments, the control unit may be configured to execute a specific movement path determination process to calculate a cost for the rebar binding robot to move from the current position to the specific position for at least one candidate movement path that is a candidate for a movement path from the current position to the specific position, and to determine a specific movement path from the at least one candidate movement path based on the calculated cost of the candidate movement path. The control unit may be configured to drive at least one of the vertical movement mechanism or the horizontal movement mechanism in the return process so that the rebar binding robot moves from the current position to the specific position along the specific movement path.

[0038] According to the above configuration, even when there are multiple candidate routes for the travel route, the control unit can determine the travel route based on cost calculation.

[0039] In one or more embodiments, the control unit may determine the candidate travel route with the lowest cost among the at least one candidate travel route as the specific travel route.

[0040] According to the above configuration, even if there are multiple candidate paths for the movement path, the path with the lowest cost can be determined as the movement path, thereby making it possible to move the rebar binding robot to a specific position at the lowest possible cost.

[0041] In one or more embodiments, the position information detection mechanism may further detect tied and untied areas in the plurality of primary rebars and the plurality of secondary rebars. The control unit may set a higher cost for the rebar tying robot to move through the untied areas than a cost for the rebar tying robot to move through the tied areas.

[0042] With the above configuration, the control unit can calculate costs by assuming that the risk of moving through unbound areas is greater than the risk of moving through bound areas. This makes it possible to calculate costs that take into account the robustness of the movement route in relation to the risk of moving the rebar binding robot from its current position.

[0043] In one or more embodiments, the rebar tying robot may be configured to alternately perform an action of moving over the plurality of primary rebars and the plurality of secondary rebars in the direction in which the plurality of primary rebars extend and an action of tying together points where the plurality of primary rebars and the plurality of secondary rebars intersect. The control unit may set a higher cost for the rebar tying robot when moving in the left-right direction than when moving in the forward-backward direction.

[0044] With the above configuration, the control unit can calculate costs by assuming that the risk of moving left and right is greater than the risk of moving forward and backward. This makes it possible to calculate costs that take into account the stability of the means of transportation regarding the risk of moving the rebar binding robot from its current position.

[0045] Example 1 As shown in FIG. 1 , the rebar binding robot 100 of this embodiment includes a rebar binding machine 2, a power supply unit 102, an operation unit 104, and a transport unit 106. The rebar binding robot 100 moves over a plurality of primary rebars R1 arranged parallel to one another along the horizontal direction and secondary rebars R2 arranged parallel to one another along the horizontal direction, and uses the rebar binding machine 2 to bind the primary rebars R1 and R2 at their intersections. When viewed from above, the extension direction of the secondary rebars R2 is perpendicular to the extension direction of the primary rebars R1. The secondary rebars R2 are arranged above the primary rebars R1. The primary rebars R1 are arranged, for example, at intervals of 100 mm to 300 mm, and the secondary rebars R2 are arranged, for example, at intervals of 100 mm to 300 mm. The rebar binding robot 100 has a front-to-rear dimension of, for example, about 900 mm and a left-to-right dimension of, for example, about 600 mm.

[0046] (Configuration of rebar binding machine 2) The configuration of the rebar binding machine 2 will be described below with reference to Figures 2 to 5. Note that the front-rear direction, left-right direction, and up-down direction in the description of Figures 2 to 5 do not refer to the front-rear direction, left-right direction, and up-down direction relative to the rebar binding machine 2, but rather refer to the front-rear direction, left-right direction, and up-down direction relative to the rebar binding robot 100.

[0047] As shown in FIG. 2, the rebar tying machine 2 is an electric tool for tying mutually intersecting rebars R (e.g., primary rebars R1 and secondary rebars R2) using a wire W. The rebar tying machine 2 can be detached from the rebar tying robot 100 and held by a user, or it can be attached to the rebar tying robot 100 and used. The rebar tying machine 2 includes a housing 3. The housing 3 includes a main body 4, a gripping unit 6 provided at the bottom of the main body 4, and a battery attachment unit 8 provided at the bottom of the gripping unit 6. A battery pack B can be attached to the bottom of the battery attachment unit 8 as shown in FIG. 2, or a battery adapter 108 can be attached as shown in FIG. 1. The battery pack B incorporates a secondary battery cell (not shown), such as a lithium-ion battery cell, and can be charged by a charger (not shown). The main body 4, gripping unit 6, and battery attachment unit 8 are integrally formed.

[0048] As shown in Fig. 3, a reel 10 around which a wire W is wound is removably housed in the upper rear portion of the main body 4. As shown in Fig. 2, the housing 3 is provided with a reel cover 5 that covers the upper part of the reel 10. The reel cover 5 is rotatably held by cover holders 7 provided on the rear left and rear right portions of the main body 4. The reel cover 5 opens and closes by rotating relative to the main body 4.

[0049] As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the rebar binding machine 2 includes a feeding mechanism 12, a guide mechanism 14, a braking mechanism 16, a cutting mechanism 18, a twisting mechanism 20, and a control device 80.

[0050] As shown in FIG. 3 , the feed mechanism 12 feeds the wire W supplied from the reel 10 to the guide mechanism 14 in front of the main body 4. The feed mechanism 12 includes a feed motor 22, a driven roller 24, and a driven roller 26. The wire W is sandwiched between the driven roller 24 and the driven roller 26. The feed motor 22 is, for example, a DC brushed motor. The operation of the feed motor 22 is controlled by a control device 80. The feed motor 22 rotates the driven roller 24. When the feed motor 22 rotates the driven roller 24, the driven roller 26 rotates in the reverse direction, and the wire W sandwiched between the driven roller 24 and the driven roller 26 is fed to the guide mechanism 14, and the wire W is pulled out from the reel 10.

[0051] As shown in FIG. 4, the guide mechanism 14 guides the wire W fed from the feed mechanism 12 in a circular shape around the reinforcing bar R. The guide mechanism 14 includes a guide pipe 28, an upper curl guide 30, and a lower curl guide 32. The rear end of the guide pipe 28 opens toward the space between the drive roller 24 and the driven roller 26. The wire W fed from the feed mechanism 12 is fed into the guide pipe 28. The front end of the guide pipe 28 opens toward the interior of the upper curl guide 30. The upper curl guide 30 is provided with a first guide passage 34 for guiding the wire W fed from the guide pipe 28 and a second guide passage (not shown) for guiding the wire W fed from the lower curl guide 32.

[0052] 4, the first guide passage 34 is provided with a plurality of guide pins 38 that guide the wire W so as to curl the wire W downward, and a cutter 40 that constitutes part of the cutting mechanism 18, which will be described later. The wire W fed from the guide pipe 28 is guided by the guide pins 38 in the first guide passage 34, passes through the cutter 40, and is fed from the front end of the upper curl guide 30 toward the lower curl guide 32.

[0053] 5, a return plate 42 is provided in the lower curl guide 32. The return plate 42 guides the wire W fed from the front end of the upper curl guide 30 and returns it toward the rear end of the second guide passage of the upper curl guide 30.

[0054] The second guide passage of the upper curl guide 30 is disposed adjacent to the first guide passage 34. The second guide passage guides the wire W fed from the lower curl guide 32 and feeds it from the front end of the upper curl guide 30 toward the lower curl guide 32.

[0055] The wire W fed from the feeding mechanism 12 is wound in a circular shape around the reinforcing bar R by the upper curl guide 30 and the lower curl guide 32. The number of turns of the wire W around the reinforcing bar R can be set in advance by the user. When the feeding mechanism 12 has fed out the amount of wire W corresponding to the set number of turns, it stops the feed motor 22 and stops feeding out the wire W.

[0056] The brake mechanism 16 shown in FIG. 3 stops rotation of the reel 10 in conjunction with the feed mechanism 12 stopping the feeding of the wire W. The brake mechanism 16 includes a solenoid 46, a link 48, and a brake arm 50. The operation of the solenoid 46 is controlled by a control device 80. The reel 10 has engagement portions 10a with which the brake arms 50 engage, which are formed at predetermined angular intervals in the radial direction. When the solenoid 46 is not energized, the brake arm 50 is separated from the engagement portion 10a of the reel 10. When the solenoid 46 is energized, the brake arm 50 is driven via the link 48, and the brake arm 50 engages with the engagement portion 10a of the reel 10. When the feed mechanism 12 is feeding out the wire W, the control device 80 causes the brake arm 50 to be separated from the engagement portion 10a of the reel 10 without energizing the solenoid 46. This allows the reel 10 to rotate freely, and the feed mechanism 12 to pull out the wire W from the reel 10. Furthermore, when the feed mechanism 12 stops letting out the wire W, the control device 80 energizes the solenoid 46 to engage the brake arm 50 with the engaging portion 10a of the reel 10, thereby prohibiting rotation of the reel 10. This prevents the reel 10 from continuing to rotate due to inertia even after the feed mechanism 12 stops letting out the wire W, and prevents the wire W from becoming loose between the reel 10 and the feed mechanism 12.

[0057] The cutting mechanism 18 shown in Figures 4 and 5 cuts the wire W while the wire W is wound around the reinforcing bar R. The cutting mechanism 18 includes a cutter 40 and a link 52. The link 52 rotates the cutter 40 in conjunction with the twisting mechanism 20, which will be described later. The rotation of the cutter 40 cuts the wire W passing through the inside of the cutter 40.

[0058] The twisting mechanism 20 shown in Fig. 5 binds the reinforcing bars R with the wire W by twisting the wire W wound around the reinforcing bars R. The twisting mechanism 20 includes a twisting motor 54, a speed reduction mechanism 56, a screw shaft 58 (see Fig. 4), a sleeve 60, a push plate 61, and a pair of hooks 62.

[0059] The torsion motor 54 is, for example, a DC brushless motor. The operation of the torsion motor 54 is controlled by a control device 80. The rotation of the torsion motor 54 is transmitted to the screw shaft 58 via a reduction mechanism 56. The torsion motor 54 is rotatable in both forward and reverse directions, and accordingly, the screw shaft 58 is also rotatable in both forward and reverse directions. The sleeve 60 is disposed to surround the screw shaft 58. When the rotation of the sleeve 60 is prohibited, the sleeve 60 moves forward when the screw shaft 58 rotates in the forward direction, and moves backward when the screw shaft 58 rotates in the reverse direction. The push plate 61 moves forward and backward together with the sleeve 60 in response to the forward and backward movement of the sleeve 60. When the rotation of the sleeve 60 is permitted, the sleeve 60 rotates together with the screw shaft 58.

[0060] When the sleeve 60 advances from the initial position to a predetermined position, the push plate 61 drives the link 52 of the cutting mechanism 18 to rotate the cutter 40. A pair of hooks 62 is provided at the front end of the sleeve 60 and opens and closes depending on the position of the sleeve 60 in the front-to-rear direction. When the sleeve 60 moves forward, the pair of hooks 62 close and grip the wire W. Thereafter, when the sleeve 60 moves rearward, the pair of hooks 62 open and release the wire W.

[0061] The control device 80 rotates the twisting motor 54 with the wire W wound around the reinforcing bar R. At this time, rotation of the sleeve 60 is prohibited, and the rotation of the screw shaft 58 causes the sleeve 60 to move forward, and the push plate 61 and the pair of hooks 62 move forward, causing the pair of hooks 62 to close and grip the wire W. Then, when rotation of the sleeve 60 is permitted, the rotation of the screw shaft 58 causes the sleeve 60 to rotate, and the pair of hooks 62 to rotate. As a result, the wire W is twisted, and the reinforcing bar R is bound.

[0062] When twisting of the wire W is completed, the control device 80 rotates the twisting motor 54 in the reverse direction. At this time, rotation of the sleeve 60 is prohibited, and after the pair of hooks 62 open and release the wire W, the sleeve 60 is moved backward by the rotation of the screw shaft 58, and the push plate 61 and the pair of hooks 62 also move backward. As the sleeve 60 moves backward, the push plate 61 drives the link 52 of the cutting mechanism 18, returning the cutter 40 to its initial position. Thereafter, when the sleeve 60 moves backward to its initial position, rotation of the sleeve 60 is permitted, and the sleeve 60 and the pair of hooks 62 rotate by the rotation of the screw shaft 58, returning them to their initial angles.

[0063] The control device 80 is capable of determining the remaining amount of wire W wound on the reel 10 (see FIG. 3 ) and detecting abnormalities in the rebar binding machine 2. The remaining amount of wire W wound on the reel 10 can be determined, for example, by subtracting the cumulative amount of wire W fed out by the feed mechanism 12 from the remaining amount of wire W wound on an unused reel 10. The amount of wire W fed out by the feed mechanism 12 can be calculated, for example, based on a detection signal from a rotation speed sensor (not shown) that detects the rotation speed of the feed motor 22 or the driven roller 24. Furthermore, the control device 80 is configured to be able to communicate with a control unit 126 of the rebar binding robot 100 (described later), and can send a signal to the control unit 126 of the rebar binding robot 100 if an event occurs that makes it impossible for the rebar binding machine 2 to continue rebar binding work. Situations in which the rebar binding work cannot be continued include, for example, when the remaining amount of wire W wound on the reel 10 falls below a predetermined lower limit, or when an abnormality is detected in the rebar binding machine 2.

[0064] 2, a first operation unit 64 is provided on the upper part of the main body 4. The first operation unit 64 is provided with a main switch 74 for switching the main power supply on / off, a main power supply LED 76 for displaying the on / off state of the main power supply, etc. The first operation unit 64 is connected to a control device 80.

[0065] A second operation unit 90 is provided on the front upper surface of the battery attachment unit 8. A user can set the number of turns of the wire W around the rebar R, the torque threshold value when twisting the wire W, etc. via the second operation unit 90. The second operation unit 90 is provided with a setting switch 98 for setting the number of turns of the wire W around the rebar R and the torque threshold value when twisting the wire W, a display LED 96 for displaying the current setting, etc. The second operation unit 90 is connected to the control device 80.

[0066] As shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, when the rebar tying machine 2 is detached from the rebar tying robot 100, a user uses the rebar tying machine 2 while holding the gripper 6. A trigger 84 that can be pulled by the user is provided at the upper front part of the gripper 6. As shown in FIG. 5, a trigger switch 86 that detects whether the trigger 84 is on or off is provided inside the gripper 6. The trigger switch 86 is connected to the control device 80. When the user pulls the trigger 84 and the trigger switch 86 is turned on, the rebar tying machine 2 performs a series of operations, including winding the wire W around the rebar R using the feed mechanism 12, the guide mechanism 14, and the brake mechanism 16, cutting the wire W using the cutting mechanism 18 and the twisting mechanism 20, and twisting the wire W wound around the rebar R.

[0067] (Configuration of power supply unit 102) As shown in FIG. 1, the power supply unit 102 is held by the transport unit 106. The power supply unit 102 includes a housing 110 and a cover 112. A control unit 126 is housed in the housing 110. The control unit 126 controls the operations of the power supply unit 102, the operation unit 104, and the transport unit 106. The control unit 126 is also capable of detecting abnormalities in the power supply unit 102, the operation unit 104, and the transport unit 106. Furthermore, the control unit 126 is configured to be able to communicate with the control device 80 (see FIG. 5) of the rebar binding machine 2 and an external controller (not shown), and is able to send and receive signals between the control device 80 and the external controller.

[0068] The external controller (not shown) may be a controller dedicated to the rebar binding robot 100, or may be a general-purpose communication terminal such as a smartphone or tablet terminal. When the rebar binding robot 100 is performing rebar binding work, the external controller can send a command signal to the control unit 126 to interrupt the rebar binding work. The external controller can also send a command signal to the control unit 126 specifying a position to which the rebar binding robot 100 should return in a return process (see FIG. 24) that is executed after the rebar binding work is interrupted. The user can, for example, specify any small area D on a grid map GM (see FIG. 19) described below as the position to which the rebar binding robot 100 should return.

[0069] As shown in FIG. 6, a battery chamber 110a is formed in the housing 110. A plurality of battery attachment portions 114 are provided in the battery chamber 110a. A plurality of battery packs B can be attached and detached to each of the plurality of battery attachment portions 114. A cover 112 is attached to the housing 110 via a hinge 115 provided at the rear of the housing 110 near the upper end of the battery chamber 110a. The cover 112 can rotate about a rotation axis extending in the left-right direction relative to the housing 110. As shown in FIG. 6, when the cover 112 is open relative to the housing 110, each of the plurality of battery packs B can be attached and detached to and from the plurality of battery attachment portions 114 by sliding it up and down. As shown in FIG. 1, when the cover 112 is closed relative to the housing 110, the plurality of battery packs B attached to the plurality of battery attachment portions 114 are surrounded by the housing 110 and the cover 112. In this state, even if water gets on the power supply unit 102, it is possible to prevent the water from getting on the battery packs B inside the battery housing chamber 110a.

[0070] The cover 112 is biased in a direction to close relative to the housing 110 by a torsion spring (not shown). The cover 112 is provided with a latch member 116 that can be operated by a user. As shown in FIG. 6, the housing 110 is formed with a latch receiver 110b that corresponds to the latch member 116. When the user rotates the latch member 116 with the cover 112 in a closed state, the latch member 116 engages with the latch receiver 110b, thereby maintaining the cover 112 in a closed state relative to the housing 110. When the user rotates the latch member 116 in the opposite direction from this state, the latch member 116 and the latch receiver 110b are disengaged, allowing the user to open the cover 112 relative to the housing 110.

[0071] A plurality of remaining battery indicators 118, a remaining battery indicator button 120, and an operation execution button 122 are provided on the top surface of the housing 110 forward of the battery storage chamber 110a. Each of the plurality of remaining battery indicators 118 is arranged corresponding to a respective one of the plurality of battery attachment sections 114, and displays the remaining battery level of the battery pack B attached to the corresponding battery attachment section 114. The remaining battery indicator button 120 is a button that allows the user to switch on / off the display of the remaining battery level by the plurality of remaining battery indicators 118. The operation execution button 122 is a button that allows the user to switch between executing and stopping the operation of the rebar binding robot 100.

[0072] A power supply cable 124 is connected to the upper surface of the housing 110 forward of the battery storage chamber 110a. A battery adapter 108 is connected to the power supply cable 124. When the battery adapter 108 is attached to the rebar binding machine 2, power is supplied to the rebar binding machine 2 from multiple battery packs B.

[0073] The battery storage chamber 110a is provided with a key attachment portion 119 to which a key 117 can be attached or detached. The key 117 can be attached or detached by inserting or removing it from the key attachment portion 119. When the key 117 is removed from the key attachment portion 119, the supply of power from the multiple battery packs B to the rebar binding machine 2, the operation unit 104, and the transport unit 106 is cut off. When the key 117 is attached to the key attachment portion 119, the supply of power from the multiple battery packs B to the rebar binding machine 2, the operation unit 104, and the transport unit 106 is permitted.

[0074] (Configuration of operation unit 104) As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the operation unit 104 includes a lifting mechanism 130 and a gripping mechanism 132.

[0075] As shown in FIG. 7 , the lifting mechanism 130 includes a lower base member 134, an upper base member 136, support pipes 138 and 140, a lifting platform 142, a screw shaft 144, a motor connector 146, a lifting motor 148, a sensor support member 150, an upper limit detection sensor 152, and a lower limit detection sensor 154. The lower base member 134 is held by the transport unit 106. The lower ends of the support pipes 138 and 140 are fixed to the lower base member 134. The upper ends of the support pipes 138 and 140 are fixed to the upper base member 136. The support pipes 138 and 140 are arranged parallel to each other. The support pipes 138 and 140 are arranged at an angle in the front-to-rear and left-to-right directions relative to the up-to-down direction of the rebar binding robot 100. Hereinafter, the direction in which the support pipes 138 and 140 extend is also referred to as the lifting direction. The lifting platform 142 has through holes 142a and 142b through which the support pipes 138 and 140 pass. Holding members 156 and 158 that slidably hold the support pipes 138 and 140 are fixed in the through holes 142a and 142b. The holding members 156 and 158 may be, for example, linear bushings embedded with solid lubricant, linear ball bearings, or oil-less bearings. The lifting platform 142 is disposed between the lower base member 134 and the upper base member 136, with the support pipes 138 and 140 slidably passing through the corresponding holding members 156 and 158, respectively. The screw shaft 144 is disposed between the support pipes 138 and 140. The lower end of the screw shaft 144 is rotatably held by the lower base member 134. The vicinity of the upper end of the screw shaft 144 is rotatably held by the upper base member 136. The screw shaft 144 is disposed parallel to the support pipes 138, 140. A male thread is formed on the outer surface of the screw shaft 144 between the lower base member 134 and the upper base member 136. A through hole 142c through which the screw shaft 144 passes is formed in the lifting platform 142. A nut 160 is fixed to the through hole 142c. The nut 160 has a female thread formed therein that corresponds to the male thread of the screw shaft 144.The screw shaft 144 passes through the lift platform 142 with its male thread threadedly engaged with the female thread of the nut 160. The upper end of the screw shaft 144 is connected to the lift motor 148 via a motor connector 146. The lift motor 148 is, for example, a DC brush motor. When the lift motor 148 rotates in the forward direction, the rotation of the screw shaft 144 causes the lift platform 142 to descend from the upper base member 136 toward the lower base member 134. Conversely, when the lift motor 148 rotates in the reverse direction, the rotation of the screw shaft 144 causes the lift platform 142 to ascend from the lower base member 134 toward the upper base member 136. The sensor support member 150 has a lower end fixed to the lower base member 134 and an upper end fixed to the upper base member 136. An upper limit detection sensor 152 and a lower limit detection sensor 154 are each fixed to the sensor support member 150. The upper limit detection sensor 152 is normally off and turns on when the lifting platform 142 reaches its upper limit position and comes into contact with the lifting platform 142. The lower limit detection sensor 154 is normally off and turns on when the lifting platform 142 reaches its lower limit position and comes into contact with the lifting platform 142. The control unit 126 of the rebar binding robot 100 rotates the lifting motor 148 in the forward direction when lowering the rebar binding machine 2, and stops the lifting motor 148 when the lower limit detection sensor 154 turns on. Note that the control unit 126 also stops the lifting motor 148 if the rebar binding machine 2 collides with a primary rebar R1, a secondary rebar R2, or another obstacle during the lowering of the rebar binding machine 2, causing a sudden increase in the load on the lifting motor 148. The load on the lifting motor 148 can be determined, for example, from the current value of the lifting motor 148. Furthermore, when raising the rebar binding machine 2, the control unit 126 rotates the lift motor 148 in the reverse direction, and stops the lift motor 148 when the upper limit detection sensor 152 turns on.

[0076] As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 , in the rebar bundling robot 100 of this embodiment, when the rebar bundling machine 2 is lowered, the primary rebars R1 and secondary rebars R2 approach the rebar bundling machine 2 from the side of the lower curl guide 32, not the side of the upper curl guide 30. This makes it possible to prevent the primary rebars R1 and secondary rebars R2 from colliding with the upper curl guide 30 when the rebar bundling machine 2 is lowered. Also, in the rebar bundling robot 100 of this embodiment, when the rebar bundling machine 2 is raised, the primary rebars R1 and secondary rebars R2 move away from the side of the lower curl guide 32, not the side of the upper curl guide 30. This makes it possible to prevent the primary rebars R1 and secondary rebars R2 from getting caught in the upper curl guide 30 when the rebar bundling machine 2 is raised.

[0077] As shown in FIG. 8 , the gripping mechanism 132 includes a first support plate 162, a second support plate 164, connecting shafts 166 and 168, a pivot pin 170, a torsion spring 172, a support pin 174, a link 176, a plunger 178, an actuator 180, and a torsion spring 182. The first support plate 162 is disposed facing one outer surface of the gripping unit 6 of the rebar binding machine 2 (for example, the outer surface on the right side as viewed from the rebar binding machine 2). The second support plate 164 is disposed facing the other outer surface of the gripping unit 6 of the rebar binding machine 2 (for example, the outer surface on the left side as viewed from the rebar binding machine 2). The first support plate 162 and the second support plate 164 are fixed to each other via the connecting shafts 166 and 168 while sandwiching the gripping unit 6 of the rebar binding machine 2. The surface of the first support plate 162 facing the gripping portion 6 and the surface of the second support plate 164 facing the gripping portion 6 each have a plurality of protrusions (not shown) that fit into a plurality of recesses 6a (see FIG. 2) formed on the outer surface of the gripping portion 6 of the rebar binding machine 2. Therefore, the position of the gripping portion 6 of the rebar binding machine 2 is fixed relative to the first support plate 162 and the second support plate 164.

[0078] The first support plate 162 is connected to the lifting platform 142 of the lifting mechanism 130 via a pivot pin 170. One end of the pivot pin 170 is fixed to the lifting platform 142. The other end of the pivot pin 170 is rotatably held by the first support plate 162. Therefore, the rebar binding machine 2 held by the first support plate 162 and the second support plate 164 rises and falls in accordance with the rise and fall of the lifting platform 142, and can rotate about the pivot pin 170 relative to the lifting platform 142. The support pin 174 is fixed to the lifting platform 142 and extends from the lifting platform 142 toward the first support plate 162. The first support plate 162 is formed with an elongated hole 162a into which the support pin 174 is inserted, and a protrusion 162b that protrudes toward the lifting platform 142. The elongated hole 162a defines the range of rotation of the rebar binding machine 2 when it rotates around the pivot pin 170. The torsion spring 172 is disposed on the outside of the pivot pin 170 and biases the protrusion 162b toward the support pin 174 in a direction in which the protrusion 162b moves away from the support pin 174 (i.e., biases the first support plate 162 toward the lifting platform 142). If the rebar binding machine 2 were configured to be unable to rotate relative to the lifting platform 142, a large impact would be applied to the operation unit 104 if the rebar binding machine 2 were to collide with an obstacle. As described above, by configuring the rebar binding machine 2 to be rotatable relative to the lifting platform 142, it is possible to prevent a large impact from being applied to the operation unit 104 even if the rebar binding machine 2 collides with an obstacle.

[0079] The link 176 is held by the second support plate 164. The link 176 is rotatable around a rotation axis along the left-right direction relative to the second support plate 164. The link 176 includes a pressing portion 176a and an operating portion 176b. The pressing portion 176a is disposed opposite the trigger 84 of the rebar binding machine 2. The operating portion 176b is connected to an actuator 180 via a plunger 178. The actuator 180 is, for example, a solenoid. The operation of the actuator 180 is controlled by the control unit 126 of the rebar binding robot 100. The torsion spring 182 biases the link 176 toward the second support plate 164 in a direction in which the pressing portion 176a moves away from the trigger 84. When the actuator 180 is off, the biasing force of the torsion spring 182 moves the pressing portion 176a away from the trigger 84. When the actuator 180 is turned on, the link 176 rotates in the direction in which the operating part 176b approaches the actuator 180, causing the pressing part 176a to press the trigger 84. As a result, the trigger 84 of the rebar binding machine 2 is pulled.

[0080] (Configuration of transport unit 106) As shown in FIG. 11, the transport unit 106 includes a chassis 190, a right crawler 192, a left crawler 194, a side stepper 196, and rebar detection sensors 198, 200, and 202.

[0081] The chassis 190 includes a base plate 204, a right frame 206, a left frame 208, a right plate 210, a left plate 212, a front frame 214, and a rear frame 216. The base plate 204 is arranged along the front-rear and left-right directions. As shown in FIG. 1, the power supply unit 102 is held in the transport unit 106 by fixing the housing 110 to the upper surface of the base plate 204. A through hole 204a is formed in the base plate 204. As shown in FIG. 11, the operation unit 104 is held in the transport unit 106 by fixing the lower base member 134 to the edge of the through hole 204a. When the operation unit 104 raises or lowers the rebar binding machine 2, the rebar binding machine 2 passes through the through hole 204a.

[0082] The right frame 206 and the left frame 208 are fixed to the lower surface of the base plate 204. The right frame 206 extends in the front-rear direction from the right end of the base plate 204. The left frame 208 extends in the front-rear direction from the left end of the base plate 204. In the front-rear direction, the front ends of the right frame 206 and the left frame 208 are located at the same position as the front ends of the base plate 204, and the rear ends of the right frame 206 and the left frame 208 are located at the same position as the rear ends of the base plate 204. The right plate 210 is fixed to the right surface of the right frame 206. The right plate 210 is arranged along the front-rear direction and the up-down direction. The left plate 212 is fixed to the left surface of the left frame 208. The left plate 212 is arranged along the front-rear direction and the up-down direction. In the up-down direction, the upper ends of the right plate 210 and the left plate 212 are located at the same position as the upper surface of the base plate 204. In the front-rear direction, the front end of the right plate 210 and the front end of the left plate 212 protrude forward more than the front end of the base plate 204, and the rear end of the right plate 210 and the rear end of the left plate 212 protrude rearward more than the rear end of the base plate 204. The front frame 214 connects the vicinity of the front end of the right plate 210 to the vicinity of the front end of the left plate 212, forward of the front end of the base plate 204. The rear frame 216 connects the vicinity of the rear end of the right plate 210 to the vicinity of the rear end of the left plate 212, rearward of the rear end of the base plate 204. The front frame 214 and the rear frame 216 extend in the left-right direction. In the up-down direction, the front frame 214 and the rear frame 216 are disposed lower than the right frame 206 and the left frame 208.

[0083] The right crawler 192 includes a front pulley 218, a rear pulley 220, a plurality of auxiliary pulleys 222, a tensioner pulley 224, a rubber belt 226, a right crawler motor 228, and a gearbox 230. Teeth that mesh with the rubber belt 226 are formed on the outer surfaces of the front pulley 218, the rear pulley 220, and the plurality of auxiliary pulleys 222. The rubber belt 226 is looped around the front pulley 218, the rear pulley 220, the plurality of auxiliary pulleys 222, and the tensioner pulley 224. The front pulley 218 is rotatably supported by the right plate 210 via a bearing 232 near the front end of the right plate 210. The rear pulley 220 is rotatably supported by the right plate 210 via a bearing 234 near the rear end of the right plate 210. The multiple auxiliary pulleys 222 are rotatably supported on the right plate 210 between the front pulley 218 and the rear pulley 220 via corresponding bearings 236. The multiple auxiliary pulleys 222 are arranged side by side in the front-to-rear direction. The outer diameters of the front pulley 218 and the rear pulley 220 are substantially the same, and the outer diameters of the multiple auxiliary pulleys 222 are smaller than the outer diameters of the front pulley 218 and the rear pulley 220. In the up-down direction, the lower end of the front pulley 218, the lower end of the rear pulley 220, and the lower ends of the multiple auxiliary pulleys 222 are located at substantially the same position.

[0084] As shown in FIG. 12 , the tensioner pulley 224 is rotatably supported by a movable bearing 237. The movable bearing 237 is supported by the right plate 210 so as to be movable up and down. Note that the base plate 204 and the right frame 206 are cut out near the movable bearing 237 to prevent interference with the movable bearing 237. An adjustment bolt 238, a nut 240, and a bolt support member 242 are provided below the movable bearing 237. The bolt support member 242 is fixed to the right plate 210. A through hole 242a is formed in the bolt support member 242, through which the shaft portion 238a of the adjustment bolt 238 passes. A female thread corresponding to the male thread of the shaft portion 238a is formed on the inner surface of the through hole 242a. The nut 240 is disposed below the bolt support member 242. The head 238b of the adjustment bolt 238 is positioned below the nut 240, and the shaft 238a of the adjustment bolt 238 is threadedly engaged with the nut 240 and also threadedly engaged with the through-hole 242a of the bolt support member 242. Therefore, the vertical position of the adjustment bolt 238 is fixed in a so-called double-nut manner. The upper end of the shaft 238a of the adjustment bolt 238 abuts against the underside of the movable bearing 237. By adjusting the vertical position of the adjustment bolt 238 while the rubber belt 226 is looped around the tensioner pulley 224, the vertical position of the movable bearing 237 relative to the right plate 210 can be adjusted. This makes it possible to adjust the tension of the rubber belt 226.

[0085] 11 , the right crawler motor 228 is supported on the right plate 210 via a bearing 232 and a gearbox 230. The right crawler motor 228 is, for example, a DC brushless motor. The right crawler motor 228 is connected to the front pulley 218 via a reduction gear (not shown) built into the gearbox 230. When the right crawler motor 228 rotates in the forward or reverse direction, the front pulley 218 rotates in the forward or reverse direction, causing the rubber belt 226 to rotate in the forward or reverse direction around the front pulley 218, the rear pulley 220, the multiple auxiliary pulleys 222, and the tensioner pulley 224.

[0086] The left crawler 194 includes a front pulley 244, a rear pulley 246, a plurality of auxiliary pulleys 248, a tensioner pulley 250, a rubber belt 252, a left crawler motor 254, and a gearbox 256. Teeth that mesh with the rubber belt 252 are formed on the outer surfaces of the front pulley 244, the rear pulley 246, and the plurality of auxiliary pulleys 248. The rubber belt 252 is looped around the front pulley 244, the rear pulley 246, the plurality of auxiliary pulleys 248, and the tensioner pulley 250. The front pulley 244 is rotatably supported by the left plate 212 near the front end of the left plate 212 via a bearing 258. The rear pulley 246 is rotatably supported by the left plate 212 near the rear end of the left plate 212 via a bearing 260. The multiple auxiliary pulleys 248 are rotatably supported on the left plate 212 between the front pulley 244 and the rear pulley 246 via corresponding bearings 262. The multiple auxiliary pulleys 248 are arranged side by side in the front-to-rear direction. The outer diameters of the front pulley 244 and the rear pulley 246 are substantially the same, and the outer diameters of the multiple auxiliary pulleys 248 are smaller than the outer diameters of the front pulley 244 and the rear pulley 246. In the up-down direction, the lower end of the front pulley 244, the lower end of the rear pulley 246, and the lower ends of the multiple auxiliary pulleys 248 are located at substantially the same position.

[0087] As shown in FIG. 12 , the tensioner pulley 250 is rotatably supported by a movable bearing 264. The movable bearing 264 is supported by the left side plate 212 so as to be movable up and down. Note that the base plate 204 and the left side frame 208 are cut out near the movable bearing 264 to prevent interference with the movable bearing 264. An adjustment bolt 266, a nut 268, and a bolt support member 270 are provided below the movable bearing 264. The bolt support member 270 is fixed to the left side plate 212. A through hole 270a is formed in the bolt support member 270, through which the shaft portion 266a of the adjustment bolt 266 passes. A female thread corresponding to the male thread of the shaft portion 266a is formed on the inner surface of the through hole 270a. The nut 268 is disposed below the bolt support member 270. The head 266b of the adjustment bolt 266 is positioned lower than the nut 268, and the shaft 266a of the adjustment bolt 266 is threadedly engaged with the nut 268 and also threadedly engaged with a through-hole 270a of the bolt support member 270. Therefore, the vertical position of the adjustment bolt 266 is fixed in a so-called double-nut manner. The upper end of the shaft 266a of the adjustment bolt 266 abuts against the underside of the movable bearing 264. By adjusting the vertical position of the adjustment bolt 266 while the rubber belt 252 is looped around the tensioner pulley 250, the vertical position of the movable bearing 264 relative to the left plate 212 can be adjusted. This makes it possible to adjust the tension of the rubber belt 252.

[0088] 11 , the left crawler motor 254 is supported on the left plate 212 via a bearing 258 and a gearbox 256. The left crawler motor 254 is, for example, a DC brushless motor. The left crawler motor 254 is connected to the front pulley 244 via a reduction gear (not shown) built into the gearbox 256. When the left crawler motor 254 rotates in the forward or reverse direction, the front pulley 244 rotates in the forward or reverse direction, causing the rubber belt 252 to rotate in the forward or reverse direction around the front pulley 244, the rear pulley 246, the multiple auxiliary pulleys 248, and the tensioner pulley 250.

[0089] As shown in Fig. 13, the side stepper 196 includes step bars 272, 274, a front crank mechanism 276, a rear crank mechanism 277, a stepper motor 279, a gear box 281, a worm gear case 283, and a rotation transmission shaft 285. The step bars 272, 274 are rod-shaped members having a substantially rectangular cross section and extending in the front-rear direction. As shown in Fig. 11, in the left-right direction, the step bar 272 is disposed between the center and the right end of the base plate 204, and the step bar 274 is disposed between the center and the left end of the base plate 204.

[0090] As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 , the front crank mechanism 276 includes a support plate 278, pulleys 280 and 282, a belt 284, crank arms 286 and 288, crank pins 290 and 292 (see FIG. 15 ), a crank plate 294, rollers 296 and 298, and a guide plate 300. The support plate 278 is fixed to the lower surface of the base plate 204 near the front end of the base plate 204. The support plate 278 is arranged along the left-right and up-down directions. The pulley 280 is arranged near the right end of the support plate 278 and rearward of the support plate 278. The pulley 282 is arranged near the left end of the support plate 278 and rearward of the support plate 278. The pulleys 280 and 282 are each rotatably supported by the support plate 278. The diameter of pulley 280 is approximately the same as the diameter of pulley 282. Belt 284 is looped around pulleys 280 and 282. Therefore, when one of pulleys 280 and 282 rotates in the forward or reverse direction, the other also rotates in the forward or reverse direction at approximately the same rotation speed.

[0091] The crank arms 286, 288, crank pins 290, 292, crank plate 294, rollers 296, 298, and guide plate 300 are disposed forward of the support plate 278. As shown in Fig. 15, the crank arms 286, 288 have fitting holes 286a, 288a into which the shafts 280a, 282a of the pulleys 280, 282 are fitted, and elongated holes 286b, 288b extending in the longitudinal direction of the crank arms 286, 288. When the pulleys 280, 282 rotate, the crank arms 286, 288 rotate integrally with the pulleys 280, 282 around the shafts 280a, 282a. The crank pins 290, 292 are slidably inserted into the elongated holes 286b, 288b. The crank pins 290, 292 are fixed to the crank plate 294 while passing through it. The crank plate 294 is disposed forward of the crank arms 286, 288. The crank plate 294 extends in the left-right and up-down directions. The rollers 296, 298 (see FIG. 14) are attached to the crank pins 290, 292 forward of the crank plate 294. As shown in FIG. 14, the rollers 296, 298 fit into guide grooves 302, 304 formed in the rear surface of a guide plate 300. The guide plate 300 is fixed to the lower surface of the base plate 204 forward of the crank plate 294. The guide plate 300 extends in the left-right and up-down directions. As shown in FIG. 15, the guide grooves 302, 304 of the guide plate 300 are formed in a generally rectangular shape with rounded corners. Guide grooves 302, 304 define a side step path S, which is shown by a dashed line in Fig. 15. The side step path S has a generally rectangular shape with rounded corners, and has upper and lower sides extending in the left-right direction and right and left sides extending in the up-down direction.

[0092] In the front crank mechanism 276, when the pulleys 280, 282 rotate, the crank arms 286, 288 rotate, causing the crank pins 290, 292 to move in the rotational direction of the crank arms 286, 288. At this time, because the rollers 296, 298 are fitted in the guide grooves 302, 304, the crank pins 290, 292 slide inside the elongated holes 286b, 288b and move along the side step path S defined by the guide grooves 302, 304. As a result, the crank plate 294 to which the crank pins 290, 292 are fixed also moves along the side step path S defined by the guide grooves 302, 304.

[0093] As shown in FIG. 16, the rear crank mechanism 277 includes a support plate 306, pulleys 308 and 310, a belt 312, crank arms 314 and 316, crank pins 318 and 320 (see FIG. 15), a crank plate 322, rollers 324 and 326, and a guide plate 328. The support plate 306 is fixed to the lower surface of the base plate 204 near the rear end of the base plate 204. The support plate 306 is arranged along the left-right and up-down directions. The pulley 308 is arranged near the right end of the support plate 306 and forward of the support plate 306. The pulley 310 is arranged near the left end of the support plate 306 and forward of the support plate 306. The pulleys 308 and 310 are each rotatably supported by the support plate 306. The diameter of pulley 308 is approximately the same as the diameter of pulley 310, which is also approximately the same as the diameter of pulleys 280, 282 of front crank mechanism 276. Belt 312 is wound around pulleys 308, 310. Therefore, when one of pulleys 308, 310 rotates in the forward or reverse direction, the other also rotates in the forward or reverse direction at approximately the same rotation speed.

[0094] The crank arms 314, 316, crank pins 318, 320, crank plate 322, rollers 324, 326, and guide plate 328 are disposed rearward of the support plate 306. As shown in Fig. 15, the crank arms 314, 316 have fitting holes 314a, 316a into which the shafts 308a, 310a of the pulleys 308, 310 are fitted, and elongated holes 314b, 316b extending in the longitudinal direction of the crank arms 314, 316. When the pulleys 308, 310 rotate, the crank arms 314, 316 rotate integrally with the pulleys 308, 310 around the shafts 308a, 310a. The crank pins 318, 320 are slidably inserted into the elongated holes 314b, 316b. The crank pins 318, 320 are fixed to the crank plate 322 while passing through the crank plate 322. The crank plate 322 is disposed rearward of the crank arms 314, 316. The crank plate 322 extends in the left-right and up-down directions. The rollers 324, 326 (see FIG. 16) are attached to the crank pins 318, 320 rearward of the crank plate 322. As shown in FIG. 16, the rollers 324, 326 fit into guide grooves 330, 332 formed in the front surface of a guide plate 328. The guide plate 328 is fixed to the lower surface of the base plate 204 rearward of the crank plate 322. The guide plate 328 extends in the left-right and up-down directions. As shown in FIG. 15, the guide grooves 330, 332 of the guide plate 328 are formed in a generally rectangular shape with rounded corners. Guide grooves 330, 332 define a side step trajectory S, shown by a dashed line in Fig. 15. Side step trajectory S has a generally rectangular shape with rounded corners, with upper and lower sides aligned in the left-right direction and right and left sides aligned in the up-down direction. The side step trajectory S defined by guide grooves 330, 332 is the same as the side step trajectory S defined by guide grooves 302, 304.

[0095] In the rear crank mechanism 277, when the pulleys 308, 310 rotate, the crank arms 314, 316 rotate, causing the crank pins 318, 320 to move in the rotational direction of the crank arms 314, 316. At this time, because the rollers 324, 326 are fitted in the guide grooves 330, 332, the crank pins 318, 320 slide inside the elongated holes 314b, 316b and move along the side step path S defined by the guide grooves 330, 332. As a result, the crank plate 322 to which the crank pins 318, 320 are fixed also moves along the side step path S defined by the guide grooves 330, 332.

[0096] 13, each of the step bars 272, 274 has its front end fixed to a crank plate 294 of the front crank mechanism 276 and its rear end fixed to a crank plate 322 of the rear crank mechanism 277. Furthermore, the pulley 280 of the front crank mechanism 276 and the pulley 308 of the rear crank mechanism 277 are connected by a rotation transmission shaft 285. Therefore, the pulleys 280, 282 of the front crank mechanism 276 and the pulleys 308, 310 of the rear crank mechanism 277 rotate synchronously with each other, and the crank plate 294 of the front crank mechanism 276 and the crank plate 322 of the rear crank mechanism 277 operate synchronously with each other. A zero-point detection sensor (not shown) is provided in one of the front crank mechanism 276 and the rear crank mechanism 277 (for example, the front crank mechanism 276). The zero point detection sensor includes, for example, a permanent magnet (not shown) fixed to the crank plate 294 and a Hall element (not shown) fixed to the guide plate 300. The zero point detection sensor can detect whether the crank plates 294, 322 are at the zero point position, with the center in the left-right direction of the upper edge of the side step path S being the zero point position.

[0097] As shown in FIG. 13 , the worm gear case 283 is disposed rearward of the pulley 282 of the front crank mechanism 276. The worm gear case 283 is fixed to the support plate 278 of the front crank mechanism 276. The gear box 281 is disposed to the right of the worm gear case 283 and is fixed to the worm gear case 283. The stepper motor 279 is disposed to the right of the gear box 281 and is held by the gear box 281. The stepper motor 279 is, for example, a DC brushed motor. The stepper motor 279 is connected to the pulley 282 via a reduction gear (not shown) built into the gear box 281 and a worm gear (not shown) built into the worm gear case 283. When stepper motor 279 rotates forward or reverse, pulleys 280, 282, 308, 310 rotate forward or reverse, causing crank plates 294, 322 to move clockwise or counterclockwise along side step trajectory S, and step bars 272, 274 to also move clockwise or counterclockwise along side step trajectory S. As shown in FIG. 1, base plate 204 is formed with through-holes 204b to avoid interference with stepper motor 279, gear box 281, and worm gear case 283.

[0098] 17, when the crank plates 294, 322 are on the upper side of the side step track S (see FIG. 15) and the step bars 272, 274 are moving upward, the crank plates 294, 322 and the step bars 272, 274 are separated from the primary reinforcing bars R1 and the secondary reinforcing bars R2. In this state, the right crawler 192 and the left crawler 194 are in contact with the primary reinforcing bars R1 and the secondary reinforcing bars R2, so the reinforcing bar binding robot 100 can drive the right crawler 192 and the left crawler 194 to move forward and backward.

[0099] 17, when the stepper motor 279 is rotated, the crank plates 294, 322 move along the side step path S (see FIG. 15), and the step bars 272, 274 move downward accordingly, causing the crank plates 294, 322 and the step bars 272, 274 to come into contact with the secondary rebar R2. When the stepper motor 279 is further rotated from this state, the crank plates 294, 322 and the step bars 272, 274 move further downward, causing the right crawler 192 and the left crawler 194 to move away from the secondary rebar R2, as shown in FIG. By continuing to rotate the stepper motor 279, the rebar binding robot 100 moves to the right or left by a step width corresponding to the left-right width of the side step track S, and then the crank plates 294, 322 and step bars 272, 274 move upward, causing the right crawler 192 and left crawler 194 to again abut against the primary rebar R1 or secondary rebar R2, and the crank plates 294, 322 and step bars 272, 274 to move away from the secondary rebar R2. When the zero-point detection sensor detects that the crank plates 294, 322 have reached the zero-point position, the rotation of the stepper motor 279 stops. As described above, by driving the side stepper 196, the rebar binding robot 100 can move to the right or left by a predetermined step width.

[0100] The side step path S defined by the guide grooves 302, 304, 330, 332 is not limited to the generally rectangular shape described above and may have various other shapes. The side step path S may have any shape as long as, when the step bars 272, 274 move along the side step path S, the lower ends of the step bars 272, 274 move below the lower ends of the right crawler 192 and the left crawler 194, then the lower ends of the step bars 272, 274 move in the left-right direction, and then the lower ends of the step bars 272, 274 move above the lower ends of the right crawler 192 and the left crawler 194. For example, the side step path S may be circular, elliptical, triangular with a base at the bottom, or polygonal with pentagons or more sides.

[0101] 11 , the rebar detection sensor 198 is provided on the front surface of the front frame 214, near the center in the left-right direction of the front frame 214. The rebar detection sensor 200 is provided on the rear surface of the rear frame 216, near the center in the left-right direction of the rear frame 216. The rebar detection sensor 202 is provided on the underside of the base plate 204, near the center in the front-to-back direction of the left end of the base plate 204. The rebar detection sensors 198, 200, and 202 are each arranged facing downward. The rebar detection sensors 198, 200, and 202 are, for example, Time-of-Flight (TOF) sensors capable of acquiring range image data that measures the distance to a subject for each pixel. The control unit 126 of the rebar binding robot 100 can detect the relative positions of the primary rebars R1 and secondary rebars R2 with respect to each of the rebar detection sensors 198, 200, and 202 based on the range image data acquired by the rebar detection sensors 198, 200, and 202.

[0102] (Determine current location and orientation) As shown in FIG. 19, the control unit 126 stores map information about the surrounding environment in the form of a grid map GM. The X and Y directions of the grid map GM are orthogonal to each other. As will be described later, the control unit 126 refers to the grid map GM to determine the current position and orientation of the rebar binding robot 100 relative to the primary rebars R1 and secondary rebars R2. The current position here refers to the center position in the front-to-back and left-to-right directions of the base plate 204. The orientation here refers to the front-to-back and left-to-right directions of the rebar binding robot 100. Note that in FIG. 19 and subsequent figures, the current position of the rebar binding robot 100 is represented by a cross cursor C.

[0103] As shown in Figure 20, in this embodiment, the grid map GM is formed by line segments that vertically bisect the rebar spacing of the primary rebars R1 and the secondary rebars R2. The area where the primary rebars R1 and the secondary rebars R2 exist is divided into small areas D of equal area in a grid pattern by the line segments. In this case, the intersections of the primary rebars R1 and the secondary rebars R2 are located at the center of each small area D, and the center of each small area D that contacts the outer edge of the grid map GM corresponds to the position of the rebar end R0. The X direction indicates one of the directions in which the secondary rebars R2 extend, and the Y direction indicates one of the directions in which the primary rebars R1 extend.

[0104] As shown in Fig. 21, the control unit 126 identifies the current position of the rebar binding robot 100 relative to the primary rebars R1 and secondary rebars R2 in the grid map GM as a small area D (current position small area DR) that includes the current position of the rebar binding robot 100. The control unit 126 identifies the angle (forward angle α) between the forward direction of the rebar binding robot 100 and the Y direction of the grid map GM, with the counterclockwise direction being positive. Here, 0°≦α<360°. The control unit 126 identifies the forward / backward and left / right directions of the rebar binding robot 100 from the forward angle α.

[0105] Before the rebar binding robot 100 performs an operation, the user provides the current position small area DR and an initial value of the forward angle α to the rebar binding robot 100 using an external controller (not shown) or the like. As the rebar binding robot 100 performs an operation and moves over the primary rebars R1 and secondary rebars R2, the control unit 126 continuously updates the forward angle α based on the displacement of the relative positions of the primary rebars R1 and secondary rebars R2 detected by the rebar detection sensors 198, 200, and 202. In this way, the control unit 126 can identify the forward / backward and left / right directions of the rebar binding robot 100 while the operation is being performed. Furthermore, the control unit 126 can also identify the direction in which the rebar binding robot 100 is moving.

[0106] When the rebar detection sensors 198, 200, 202 detect a new intersection between the primary rebar R1 and the secondary rebar R2, the control unit 126 updates the current position small area DR to the small area D that surrounds the current position small area DR and that is located in the direction in which the rebar binding robot 100 is moving. In this way, the control unit 126 can identify the current position of the rebar binding robot 100 while it is performing its operation.

[0107] (Distinguishing between bound and unbound small areas) As shown in FIG. 22 , the control unit 126 can distinguish between small areas D (tied small areas DA) that include intersections that have been tied and small areas D (untied small areas DB) that include intersections that have not been tied. When the rebar detection sensors 198, 200, and 202 detect that an intersection between a primary rebar R1 and a secondary rebar R2 has been tied, the control unit 126 updates the small area D that includes the intersection as a tied small area DA. When the rebar detection sensors 198, 200, and 202 detect that an intersection between a primary rebar R1 and a secondary rebar R2 has not been tied, the control unit 126 updates the small area D that includes the intersection as an untied small area DB. Alternatively, the control unit 126 updates the untied area DB that includes the tied intersection as a tied small area DA every time the control unit 126 ties an intersection included in the untied area DB. In this way, the control unit 126 distinguishes between bounded small areas DA and unbounded small areas DB in the grid map GM.

[0108] (Operation of rebar binding robot 100) When the user operates the operation execution button 122 to instruct the rebar binding robot 100 to perform an operation, the control unit 126 executes the processing shown in FIG.

[0109] In S2, the control unit 126 starts acquiring and updating position information. The position information is a current position small area DR and a forward angle α that indicate the current position and orientation of the rebar binding robot 100 relative to the primary rebar R1 and the secondary rebar R2. The control unit 126 continues acquiring and updating the position information until it finishes acquiring and updating the position information in S14, which will be described later. After S2, the process proceeds to S4.

[0110] In S4, the control unit 126 starts the rebar binding work. In the rebar binding work, the control unit 126 controls the rebar binding robot 100 to bind the intersections of multiple primary rebars R1 and multiple secondary rebars R2 in a predetermined order. Details of the rebar binding work will be described later. After S4, the process proceeds to S6.

[0111] In S6, the control unit 126 determines whether or not the rebar binding work can be continued by the rebar binding robot 100. The determination of whether or not the rebar binding work can be continued may be made by whether or not the control unit 126 detects an abnormality in the power supply unit 102, the operation unit 104, or the transport unit 106. Alternatively, the control unit 126 may determine whether or not a signal has been received from the control device 80 indicating that an event has occurred in the rebar binding machine 2 that makes it impossible to continue the rebar binding work. If it is determined that the rebar binding work cannot be continued by the rebar binding robot 100 (if NO), the process proceeds to S50.

[0112] In S50, the control unit 126 executes a return process (see FIG. 24). In the return process, the rebar binding robot 100 stops the rebar binding work and moves toward a return position (or a designated position). Details of the return process will be described later. After S50, the process proceeds to S14.

[0113] If it is determined in S6 that the rebar binding robot 100 can continue the rebar binding work (if YES), the process proceeds to S8. In S8, the control unit 126 determines, via an external controller, whether or not a command signal to suspend the rebar binding work has been received from the user. If it is determined that a command signal to suspend the rebar binding work has been received (if YES), the process proceeds to S50. If it is determined that a command signal to suspend the rebar binding work has not been received (if NO), the process proceeds to S10.

[0114] In S10, the control unit 126 determines whether or not the bundling work at the intersections of the plurality of primary reinforcing bars R1 and the plurality of secondary reinforcing bars R2 has all been completed. If it is determined that the bundling work at the intersections has not all been completed (NO), the process returns to S6.

[0115] If it is determined in S10 that the bundling work at the intersections of the multiple primary rebars R1 and the multiple secondary rebars R2 has all been completed (YES), the process proceeds to S12. In S12, the rebar bundling work started in S4 is completed. After S12, the process proceeds to S14.

[0116] In S14, the acquisition and updating of the location information that was started in S2 is completed. After S14, the process in FIG. 23 is completed.

[0117] (rebar binding work) In the rebar binding work started in S4 of FIG. 23, the control unit 126 controls the rebar binding robot 100 to bind the intersections of the multiple primary rebars R1 and the multiple secondary rebars R2 in a predetermined order.

[0118] In this embodiment, the rebar binding robot 100 follows a predetermined sequence: it moves along the primary rebar R1' to be bound, binding the intersection of the primary rebar R1' and the secondary rebar R2, and after completing the binding of the primary rebar R1' to be bound, it binds another primary rebar R1 that has not yet been bound, and then repeats this operation. The rebar binding operation by the rebar binding robot 100 according to this sequence will be described in detail below.

[0119] When the rebar binding work process starts, the control unit 126 drives the side stepper 196 to move the rebar binding robot 100 left and right along the secondary rebar R2 until the rebar detection sensor 198 detects that the left and right position of the primary rebar R1' that is the target of the binding work among the multiple primary rebars R1 is near the rebar binding robot 100.

[0120] When the rebar detection sensor 198 detects that the left-right position of the primary rebar R1' to be bound is near the rebar binding robot 100, the control unit 126 moves the rebar binding robot 100 forward or backward while imparting a speed difference between the right crawler 192 and the left crawler 194. In this way, the rebar binding robot 100 adjusts the position and angle of the rebar binding machine 2 relative to the position of the intersection of the primary rebar R1' and the secondary rebar R2 so that it is within a range where binding work can be performed by the rebar binding machine 2. After adjusting the position of the rebar binding machine 2, the control unit 126 drives the right crawler 192 and the left crawler 194 at a constant speed to move the rebar binding robot 100 forward and backward along the primary rebar R1'. At this time, each time the control unit 126 detects an intersection of the primary reinforcing bar R1' and the secondary reinforcing bar R2, it temporarily stops driving the right crawler 192 and the left crawler 194 and performs the binding work using the reinforcing bar binding machine 2. When the control unit 126 detects an intersection of the primary reinforcing bar R1' and the secondary reinforcing bar R2, it drives the lifting mechanism 130 to lower the reinforcing bar binding machine 2, sets the reinforcing bar binding machine 2 at the intersection of the primary reinforcing bar R1' and the secondary reinforcing bar R2, and drives the gripping mechanism 132 to perform the binding work of the primary reinforcing bar R1' and the secondary reinforcing bar R2 using the reinforcing bar binding machine 2. Thereafter, the control unit 126 drives the lifting mechanism 130 to raise the reinforcing bar binding machine 2 and resumes driving the right crawler 192 and the left crawler 194.

[0121] When all intersections of the primary reinforcing bar R1' and the secondary reinforcing bar R2 have been bound, the control unit 126 determines that the binding work for the primary reinforcing bar R1' has been completed, and repeats the above process with another primary reinforcing bar R1 for which binding work has not yet been completed as the new target for binding work.

[0122] When all of the intersections of the plurality of primary reinforcing bars R1 and the plurality of secondary reinforcing bars R2 have been bound, the control unit 126 determines that the reinforcing bar binding work is complete and ends the processing of the reinforcing bar binding work.

[0123] (Return processing) In the feedback process shown in S50 of FIG. 23, the control unit 126 executes the process shown in FIG.

[0124] As shown in Figure 24, in S52, the control unit 126 suspends the rebar binding work started in S4 (see Figure 23). That is, after S52, even if the control unit 126 detects an intersection between the primary rebar R1 and the secondary rebar R2, the control unit 126 does not stop driving the right crawler 192, the left crawler 194, or the side stepper 196, and does not drive the lifting mechanism 130 or the gripping mechanism 132. After S52, the process proceeds to S54.

[0125] In S54, the control unit 126 determines whether a position to which the rebar binding robot 100 is to return has been specified. The determination of whether a position to which the rebar binding robot 100 is to return has been made by, for example, determining whether a command signal specifying a position to which the rebar binding robot 100 is to return has been received from an external controller. If it is determined that a position to which the rebar binding robot 100 is to return has been specified (YES), the control unit 126 records the small area D (specified position) specified in the command signal in the grid map GM, and the process proceeds to S58. Note that the user can specify any small area D on the grid map GM, and the small area D that includes the rebar end R0 may also be the specified position.

[0126] If it is determined that a position to which the rebar binding robot 100 is to return has not been specified (NO), the process proceeds to S56. In S56, the control unit 126 executes a return position / route determination process. In the return position / route determination process, the control unit 126 determines, from among a plurality of candidate return positions, a return position with the lowest cost for the return route from the current position small area DR. The control unit 126 records the determined return position and the lowest-cost return route in the grid map GM. Details of the return position / route determination process will be described later. After S56, the process proceeds to S60.

[0127] In S58, the control unit 126 executes a return route determination process. In the return route determination process, if there are multiple return routes from the current position small area DR to the specified position, the control unit 126 determines the return route with the lowest risk of movement from the current position small area DR by cost calculation, and records the determined return route in the grid map GM. Details of the return route determination process will be described later. After S58, the process proceeds to S60.

[0128] In S60, the control unit 126 refers to the grid map GM and starts driving the right crawler 192, the left crawler 194, and the side stepper 196 so that the rebar binding robot 100 heads toward the return position (or a specified position). Here, the control unit 126 drives the right crawler 192, the left crawler 194, and the side stepper 196 so that the rebar binding robot 100 moves along the return path determined in S56 or S58. After S60, the process proceeds to S62.

[0129] In S62, the control unit 126 determines whether the rebar binding robot 100 has reached the return position (or designated position). For example, the control unit 126 determines whether the rebar binding robot 100 has reached the return position (or designated position) by determining whether the current position small area DR matches the small area D of the return position (or designated position) recorded in the grid map GM. If it is determined that the rebar binding robot 100 has not reached the return position (or designated position) (NO), the process executes S62 again.

[0130] If it is determined in S62 that the rebar binding robot 100 has reached the return position (or the designated position) (YES), the process proceeds to S64. In S64, the control unit 126 stops driving the right crawler 192, the left crawler 194, and the side stepper 196. Thus, the rebar binding robot 100 stops at the return position (or the designated position). After S64, the process in FIG. 24 ends.

[0131] (Return position and route determination processing) In the return position / route determination process of this embodiment (see S56 in FIG. 24), the candidate return positions are set to small areas D that include each rebar end R0 in order to facilitate the recovery of the rebar binding robot 100 and the work of correcting any malfunctions. In the return position / route determination process of this embodiment, movement costs and area costs are set in order to make it possible to calculate the risks associated with the movement of the rebar binding robot 100.

[0132] When the rebar binding robot 100 moves over the primary rebar R1 and secondary rebar R2, the rebar binding robot 100 either drives the right crawler 192 and the left crawler 194 to move forward and backward along the primary rebar R1, or drives the side stepper 196 to move left and right along the secondary rebar R2. Therefore, the rebar binding robot 100 moves to a return position by repeatedly moving to adjacent small areas D on the grid map GM. When moving from the current position small area DR to the small areas D that include each rebar end R0, there may be multiple candidate return paths (candidate return paths) for each small area D that includes each rebar end R0.

[0133] Therefore, when the return position / path determination process shown in S56 of FIG. 24 starts, the control unit 126 calculates the cost of each candidate return path for the small area D containing each reinforcing bar end R0. The cost calculation is performed by referring to the grid map GM and adding up the product of the movement cost and the area cost for each adjacent small area D from the current position small area DR to each small area D (small area D containing each reinforcing bar end R0) that is adjacent to the outer edge of the map. The movement cost is set according to the movement direction of the reinforcing bar binding robot 100. In this embodiment, considering that left-right movement performed by driving the side stepper 196 involves more risk than forward-backward movement performed by driving the right crawler 192 and the left crawler 194, the movement cost in the forward-backward direction is set to 1, and the movement cost in the left-right direction is set to 2. The area cost is set according to the robustness of the intersections of the primary reinforcing bars R1 and the secondary reinforcing bars R2 contained in each small area D. In this embodiment, in consideration of the fact that the bounded small area DA is more robust than the unbounded small area DB, the area cost of the bounded small area DA is set to 1, and the area cost of the unbounded small area DB is set to 3.

[0134] As a result of the above cost calculation, the control unit 126 records in the grid map GM the cost information for moving along the candidate return route with the lowest cost for each small area D that includes each rebar end R0. That is, one piece of cost information is provided for each small area D that includes each rebar end R0. The cost information indicates the above-mentioned sum of costs from the current position small area DR to the small area D that includes each rebar end R0. For each small area D that includes each rebar end R0, the control unit 126 determines the cost of the candidate return route with the lowest cost as the cost of the small area D that includes each rebar end R0.

[0135] After recording the cost information in the grid map GM, the control unit 126 identifies the small area D with the lowest cost among the small areas D that include each rebar end R0, and determines the identified small area D as the return position. The control unit 126 determines the candidate return route with the lowest cost related to the determined return position as the return route. The control unit 126 records the determined return position and return route in the grid map GM.

[0136] 25 visually represents the cost information, return position, and return path recorded in the grid map GM. The control unit 126 determines the small area D48 showing the lowest cost of 4 among the small areas D that contact the outer edge of the map (small areas D that include each rebar end R0) as the return position, and determines the path G0 as the return path.

[0137] (Return route determination process) In the return route determination process of this embodiment (see S58 in FIG. 24), a movement cost and an area cost are set so that the risk associated with the movement of the rebar binding robot 100 can be calculated.

[0138] When the rebar binding robot 100 moves over the primary rebars R1 and secondary rebars R2, the rebar binding robot 100 either drives the right crawler 192 and the left crawler 194 to move forward and backward along the primary rebars R1, or drives the side stepper 196 to move left and right along the secondary rebars R2. Therefore, when the rebar binding robot 100 moves from the current position small area DR to the designated position, there may be multiple candidate return paths (candidate return paths), as shown in FIG.

[0139] Therefore, when the return route determination process shown in S58 of Fig. 24 is started, the control unit 126 calculates the cost of the above-mentioned multiple candidate return routes by adding up the results of multiplying the movement cost and area cost for adjacent small areas D from the current position small area DR to the specified position. As a result, the control unit 126 determines the candidate return route with the lowest cost as the return route and records the determined return route in the grid map GM. The movement cost and area cost are set in the same way as in the return position / route determination process (see S56 of Fig. 24).

[0140] 26 visually represents the designated position and candidate return routes recorded in the grid map GM. If the designated position is small area D48 and there are three candidate return routes G1, G2, and G3, the control unit 126 calculates the cost of route G1 to be 4, the cost of route G2 to be 5, and the cost of route G3 to be 7. The control unit 126 determines route G1, which has the lowest cost, as the return route.

[0141] Example 2 The reinforcing bar bundling robot 100 according to this embodiment has the same configuration as the reinforcing bar bundling robot 100 according to embodiment 1. Below, the reinforcing bar bundling robot 100 according to this embodiment will be described in terms of differences from the reinforcing bar bundling robot 100 according to embodiment 1.

[0142] (Return processing) In the rebar binding robot 100 according to this embodiment, in the return process shown in S50 of FIG. 23, the control unit 126 executes the process shown in FIG.

[0143] In S152, the control unit 126 suspends the rebar binding work started in S4 (see FIG. 23). That is, after S152, even if the control unit 126 detects an intersection between the primary rebar R1 and the secondary rebar R2, the control unit 126 does not stop driving the right crawler 192, the left crawler 194, or the side stepper 196, and does not drive the lifting mechanism 130 or the gripping mechanism 132. After S152, the process proceeds to S154.

[0144] In S154, the control unit 126 executes a return position / route determination process. In the return position / route determination process, the control unit 126 determines a return position and a return route with reference to the grid map GM based on a preset rule, and records the determined return position and return route in the grid map GM. Details of the return position / route determination process will be described later. After S154, the process proceeds to S156.

[0145] In S156, the control unit 126 refers to the grid map GM and starts driving the right crawler 192, the left crawler 194, and the side stepper 196 so that the rebar binding robot 100 heads toward the return position. Here, the control unit 126 drives the right crawler 192, the left crawler 194, and the side stepper 196 so that the rebar binding robot 100 moves along the return path determined in S154. After S156, the process proceeds to S158.

[0146] In S158, the control unit 126 determines whether the rebar binding robot 100 has reached the return position. For example, the control unit 126 determines whether the rebar binding robot 100 has reached the return position by determining whether the current position small area DR matches the small area D of the return position recorded in the grid map GM. If it is determined that the rebar binding robot 100 has not reached the return position (NO), the process executes S158 again.

[0147] If it is determined in S158 that the rebar binding robot 100 has reached the return position (YES), the process proceeds to S160. In S160, the control unit 126 stops driving the right crawler 192, the left crawler 194, and the side stepper 196. Therefore, the rebar binding robot 100 stops at the return position. After S160, the process in FIG. 27 ends.

[0148] (Return position and route determination processing) When the return position / route determination process shown in S156 of Fig. 27 is started, the control unit 126 refers to the grid map GM and determines the return position and return route based on a preset rule. The user can select one of the rules shown in Figs. 28 to 31 and set it as the rule. In this embodiment, the user sets the rule using an external controller (not shown) or the like.

[0149] According to the rule shown in FIG. 28, the control unit 126 refers to the grid map GM and determines, as the return position, the small area D that includes each rebar end R0 and that has the shortest movement path from the current position small area DR. The control unit 126 determines the shortest path to the return position as the return path. The control unit 126 records the determined return position and return path in the grid map GM. In the example of FIG. 28, if the current position small area DR is small area D75, the control unit 126 determines small area D95 as the return position and path G4 as the return path. If the current position small area DR is small area D43, the control unit 126 determines small area D41 as the return position and path G5 as the return path.

[0150] According to the rule shown in Figure 29, the control unit 126 refers to the grid map GM and determines, as the return position, the small area D among the bound small areas DA that include each rebar end R0, which has the shortest movement path from the current position small area DR. Of the paths to the return position, the control unit 126 determines, as the return path, the shortest path that passes only through the bound small area DA. The control unit 126 records the determined return position and return path in the grid map GM. In the example of Figure 29, if the current position small area DR is small area D45, the control unit 126 determines small area D15, which is the bound small area DA, as the return position and determines path G6 as the return path.

[0151] According to the rule shown in FIG. 30, the control unit 126 refers to the grid map GM and determines, among the small areas D that include each rebar end R0, the small area D that is located in the forward / backward direction as viewed from the current position small area DR and that has the shortest movement path from the current position small area DR as the return position. The control unit 126 determines the shortest path to the return position as the return path. The control unit 126 records the determined return position and return path in the grid map GM. In the example of FIG. 30, if the current position small area DR is small area D75, the control unit 126 determines small area D78 as the return position and path G7 as the return path. If the current position small area DR is small area D43, the control unit 126 determines small area D41 as the return position and path G8 as the return path.

[0152] According to the rule shown in FIG. 31, the control unit 126 refers to the grid map GM and determines, as the return position, a small area D, among the bound small areas DA that include each rebar end R0, that is located in the forward or backward direction as viewed from the current position small area DR and that has the shortest movement path from the current position small area DR. The control unit 126 determines, as the return path, the shortest path to the return position that passes only through the bound small area DA. The control unit 126 records the determined return position and return path in the grid map GM. In the example of FIG. 31, if the current position small area DR is small area D45, small area D41, which is the bound small area DA, is determined as the return position, and path G9 is determined as the return path.

[0153] (Variation) In the above embodiment, the rebar tying robot 100 moves along the primary rebar R1' to be tied, tying the intersection of the primary rebar R1' and the secondary rebar R2. After the primary rebar R1' to be tied is tied, another primary rebar R1 for which tying has not yet been completed is newly tied, and this operation is repeated. Alternatively, the rebar tying robot 100 may move along the primary rebar R1 closest to the end R0 of the untied primary rebars R1 to tie the intersection. After the primary rebar R1 is tied, the rebar tying robot 100 moves along the secondary rebar R2 closest to the end R0 of the untied secondary rebars R2 to tie the intersection. This operation may then be repeated.

[0154] In the above embodiment, the rebar binding robot 100 has been described as being configured to bind all intersections of the primary rebars R1 and secondary rebars R2. Alternatively, when repeatedly performing the binding work of the intersections of the primary rebars R1' and secondary rebars R2, the rebar binding robot 100 may bind the intersections of the primary rebars R1' and secondary rebars R2 by skipping every other intersection. In this case, the rebar binding robot 100 may select the intersections to be bound so that at least one of the adjacent intersections is ultimately bound.

[0155] In the above embodiment, the rebar binding machine 2 is equipped with a reel 10, and the rebar binding machine 2 binds rebars R using the wire W supplied from the reel 10. Alternatively, a wire supply unit (not shown) equipped with a large reel (not shown) may be mounted on the transport unit 106 of the rebar binding robot 100, and the rebar binding machine 2 may bind rebars R using the wire W supplied from the wire supply unit. In this case, the control unit 126 may be configured to detect the remaining amount of wire W in the wire supply unit. The remaining amount of wire W in the wire supply unit can be determined, for example, by subtracting the cumulative amount of wire W fed by the feed mechanism 12 from the remaining amount of wire W wound on an unused large reel. The amount of wire W fed by the feed mechanism 12 can be calculated, for example, based on a detection signal from a rotation speed sensor (not shown) that detects the rotation speed of the feed motor 22 or the driven roller 24.

[0156] In the above embodiment, the control unit 126 of the rebar binding robot 100 may detect the remaining battery power of the battery packs B attached to each of the plurality of battery attachment sections 114. In the process shown in S6 of Fig. 23, the control unit 126 may determine that the rebar binding work can be continued if the remaining battery power of each battery pack B exceeds a predetermined threshold, and may determine that the rebar binding work cannot be continued if the remaining battery power of each battery pack B is equal to or less than the predetermined threshold.

[0157] In the above embodiment, a case has been described in which a commercially available rebar binding machine 2 (for example, the TR180D sold by Makita Corporation) is detachably attached to the rebar binding robot 100. Alternatively, the rebar binding robot 100 may be configured such that a dedicated rebar binding unit (not shown) is permanently attached to it. In this case, the rebar binding unit may be configured integrally with the operation unit 104.

[0158] In the above embodiment, the rebar binding robot 100 (for example, on the housing 110 of the power supply unit 102) may be provided with an emergency stop button (not shown) that allows the user to emergency stop the operation of the rebar binding robot 100. In this case, when the user presses the emergency stop button, the control unit 126 stops the right crawler motor 228, the left crawler motor 254, the stepper motor 279, and the lift motor 148, and turns off the actuator 180. When the user presses the operation execution button 122 again after removing the danger, the control unit 126 first drives the stepper motor 279 to return the front crank mechanism 276 and the rear crank mechanism 277 to the zero point position, and then drives the lift motor 148 to return the lift mechanism 130 to the upper limit position. The control unit 126 then performs normal control to operate the rebar binding robot 100. The emergency stop button may be provided near the outer periphery of the rebar binding robot 100, for example, near the front-rear or left-right ends, so that the user can easily press it in an emergency. Multiple emergency stop buttons may also be provided. Furthermore, when the control unit 126 receives an emergency stop command signal and an action execution command signal from an external controller, it may cause the rebar binding robot 100 to perform the same action.

[0159] In the above-described embodiment, the rebar bundling robot 100 (e.g., on the housing 110 of the power supply unit 102) may be provided with an operation display indicator (not shown) that displays the operation status of the rebar bundling robot 100. In this case, the operation display indicator may display the status of the bundling work to the user. The bundling work status may include, for example, a state in which all intersections of the primary rebars R1 and the secondary rebars R2 have been bundled, or a state in which intersections of the primary rebars R1 and the secondary rebars R2 have been bundled without skipping a single one. The operation display indicator may also display to the user a state in which the rebar bundling robot 100 has stopped due to an abnormality. The operation display indicator may also display to the user a state in which the control unit 126 of the rebar bundling robot 100 is executing a return process (see FIGS. 24 and 27). The operation display indicator may also display to the user a state in which the rebar bundling robot 100 is stopped at the return position due to the control unit 126 having executed the return process (see FIGS. 24 and 27). The operation display indicator may indicate the operating state of the rebar binding robot 100, for example, by the light color, blinking pattern, or a combination of these of one or more light-emitting elements. When the operation display indicator is provided on the housing 110, the operation display indicator may be placed in a high position so that it is easily visible from a distance.

[0160] In the above embodiment, the transport unit 106 of the rebar binding robot 100 is described as having a right crawler 192 and a left crawler 194 as a vertical movement mechanism that can move the rebar binding robot 100 in the forward and backward directions. However, the transport unit 106 of the rebar binding robot 100 may be provided with another type of vertical movement mechanism.

[0161] In the above embodiment, the transport unit 106 of the rebar binding robot 100 is described as having a side stepper 196 as a lateral movement mechanism that can move the rebar binding robot 100 in the left and right directions. However, the transport unit 106 of the rebar binding robot 100 may have another type of lateral movement mechanism.

[0162] In the above embodiment, a configuration has been described in which an external controller (not shown) transmits to the control unit 126 a command signal to suspend the rebar tying work and a command signal specifying a position to which the rebar tying robot 100 should return. However, the external controller may transmit other types of command signals to the control unit 126.

[0163] In the above embodiment, the control unit 126 of the rebar tying robot 100 stores map information in the form of a grid map GM. However, the control unit 126 of the rebar tying robot 100 may store map information in other formats.

[0164] In the above embodiment, a configuration has been described in which the candidate return positions are small areas D that include each rebar end R0. Alternatively, the candidate return positions may be small areas D other than the small areas D that include each rebar end R0. For example, as shown in FIG. 32, multiple small areas D (D26, D52, D87) specified by the user may be set as candidate return positions. In the example of FIG. 32, the control unit 126 determines the small area D52, which has the lowest cost among the multiple small areas D (D26, D52, D87) specified by the user, as the return position, and determines the path G10 as the return path.

[0165] In the above embodiment, a configuration has been described in which the control unit 126 of the rebar binding robot 100 determines, as the return position, the small area D with the lowest cost among the candidate return positions (small areas D including each rebar end R0). Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 33 , the control unit 126 may determine, as the return position, a small area D other than the small area D with the lowest cost among the candidate return positions (small areas D including each rebar end R0). Generally, the power consumption required for moving by driving the right crawler 192 and the left crawler 194 is often less than the power consumption required for moving by driving the side stepper 196. In the example of FIG. 33 , the cost is set according to the risk associated with the movement of the rebar binding robot 100, not according to the power consumption. In this case, the control unit 126 determines, as the return position, the small area D61, which has a relatively low cost and is possible along a route G11 that can be traveled by driving only the right crawler 192 and the left crawler 194. With this configuration, the control unit 126 can determine the return position taking into account the movement risk and power consumption.

[0166] In the above embodiment, a configuration has been described in which the candidate return positions are selected as multiple small areas D. However, there may be only one candidate return position. For example, as shown in FIG. 34, the initial value DS of the current position small area DR may be set as the candidate return position. In other words, the position where the rebar binding robot 100 started work may be set as the candidate return position. In this case, the control unit 126 determines the path G12 as the return path.

[0167] In the above embodiment, a configuration has been described in which the movement cost in the forward / backward direction is set to 1, and the movement cost in the left / right direction is set to 2. However, the movement costs in the forward / backward direction and the left / right direction may be changed as appropriate.

[0168] In the above embodiment, a configuration has been described in which the area cost of the bound small area DA is set to 1 and the area cost of the unbound small area DB is set to 3. However, the area costs of the bound small area DA and the unbound small area DB may be changed as appropriate. Alternatively, the area costs may be set from other perspectives, such as by increasing the area cost of a small area D where an obstacle exists.

[0169] In the above embodiment, a configuration for setting a movement cost and an area cost has been described. Alternatively, costs relating to other elements involved in the movement of the rebar binding robot 100 may be set.

[0170] In the above embodiment, a configuration has been described in which the user selects and sets the rule based on which the control unit 126 determines the return position and return path from among the rules shown in Figures 28 to 31. Alternatively, the user may select and set a rule other than the rules shown in Figures 28 to 31.

[0171] (Correspondence) As described above, in one or more embodiments, the rebar binding robot 100 can perform rebar binding work by alternately repeating the following actions for multiple primary rebars R1 and multiple secondary rebars R2 that intersect with the multiple primary rebars R1: moving over the multiple primary rebars R1 and the multiple secondary rebars R2, and binding the locations where the multiple primary rebars R1 and the multiple secondary rebars R2 intersect. The rebar binding robot 100 includes a rebar binding machine 2 (an example of a rebar binding unit), a transport unit 106 that transports the rebar binding machine 2, and a control unit 126 that controls the operation of the transport unit 106. The transport unit 106 is equipped with a right crawler 192 and a left crawler 194 (examples of a vertical movement mechanism) that can move the rebar binding robot 100 in the forward and backward directions, a side stepper 196 (an example of a horizontal movement mechanism) that can move the rebar binding robot 100 in the left and right directions, a control unit 126 that detects a current position small area DR (an example of the current position of the rebar binding robot 100 relative to multiple primary rebars R1 and multiple secondary rebars R2) and rebar detection sensors 198, 200, 202 (examples of a position information detection mechanism). The control unit 126 is configured to be able to execute a return process that drives at least one of the right crawler 192 and the left crawler 194 or the side stepper 196 so that the rebar binding robot 100 moves from the current position of the rebar binding robot 100 detected by the control unit 126 and the rebar detection sensors 198, 200, 202 to a return position (or a designated position) (an example of a specific position) without performing the rebar binding work. The control unit 126 executes the return process when a predetermined condition is satisfied while the rebar binding work is being performed.

[0172] According to the above configuration, the rebar binding robot 100 can interrupt the rebar binding work while the rebar binding work is being performed, and move from the position where the rebar binding work was interrupted to a return position (or a designated position).

[0173] In one or more embodiments, the control unit 126 is further configured to determine whether the rebar tying work can be continued (an example of a continuation possibility determination process). The predetermined condition includes a first predetermined condition that the control unit 126 determines that the rebar tying work cannot be continued in determining whether the rebar tying work can be continued.

[0174] For example, if a malfunction occurs that makes it impossible to continue the rebar tying work, such as an insufficient remaining amount of wire W while the rebar tying work is being performed, the user needs to perform maintenance work on the rebar tying robot 100 to resolve the malfunction. At this time, depending on the position of the rebar tying robot 100, it may be difficult for the user to approach the rebar tying robot 100. With the above configuration, if a situation occurs in which the rebar tying robot 100 is unable to continue the rebar tying work (an example of a malfunction that makes it impossible to continue the rebar tying work), the rebar tying robot 100 can be automatically moved to a return position (or a specified position) where the user can easily perform maintenance work. This makes it easier for the user to perform maintenance work on the rebar tying robot 100 to resolve the malfunction.

[0175] In one or more embodiments, the control unit 126 is configured to receive a command signal (an example of a command signal) from an external controller to suspend the rebar tying operation. The predetermined condition includes a second predetermined condition in which the control unit 126 determines that it has received a command signal from the external controller to suspend the rebar tying operation.

[0176] According to the above configuration, if the user wishes to interrupt the rebar tying work in the middle of the work, the user can interrupt the work by issuing a command via an external controller, and the rebar tying robot 100 can be moved to a return position (or a specified position) that is convenient for the user.

[0177] In one or more embodiments, the designated location (an example of a specific location) includes a small area D (an example of a user-specified location) specified in the command signal.

[0178] According to the above configuration, the rebar binding robot 100 can be moved to the small area D (an example of a position designated by the user) designated in the command signal.

[0179] In one or more embodiments, the specified position includes a small region D that includes the rebar end R0 specified in the command signal (an example of the position of the rebar end specified by the user).

[0180] According to the above configuration, the rebar binding robot 100 can be moved to a small area D (an example of a rebar end specified by the user) that includes the rebar end R0 specified in the command signal. This allows the user to safely retrieve the rebar binding robot 100 and troubleshoot problems from outside the multiple primary rebars R1 and multiple secondary rebars R2.

[0181] In one or more embodiments, the return position (an example of a specific position) includes a small area D (an example of the position of the rebar end) that includes the rebar end R0, which is the shortest path of travel from the current position small area DR (an example of the current position).

[0182] According to the above configuration, the reinforcing bar binding robot 100 can be moved most efficiently to the small area D (an example of the position of the reinforcing bar end) that includes the reinforcing bar end R0.

[0183] In one or more embodiments, the control unit 126 and the rebar detection sensors 198, 200, 202 (examples of position information detection mechanisms) further detect a bundled small area DA and an unbundled small area DB (examples of a bundled area and an unbundled area in the plurality of primary rebars R1 and the plurality of secondary rebars R2) in the grid map GM. The return position (example of a specific position) includes a small area D (an example of a position of a rebar end within the bundled area that has the shortest travel path from the current position) that includes the rebar end R0 within the bundled small area DA that has the shortest travel path from the current position small area DR.

[0184] According to the above configuration, during the return process, the rebar binding robot 100 moves using the bound small area DA, which is more robust than the unbound small area DB, as a foothold. This allows the rebar binding robot 100 to move more safely to the small area D (an example of the position of the rebar end) that includes the rebar end R0.

[0185] In one or more embodiments, the rebar binding robot 100 is configured to alternately perform an operation of moving over the multiple primary rebars R1 and the multiple secondary rebars R2 along the direction in which the multiple primary rebars R1 extend, and an operation of binding the locations where the multiple primary rebars R1 and the multiple secondary rebars R2 intersect. The return position (an example of a specific position) includes a small area D (an example of the position of the rebar end located in the forward / backward direction from the current position, which is the shortest path from the current position) that includes the rebar end R0 located in the forward / backward direction from the current position small area DR.

[0186] In the rebar binding robot 100, which alternately performs the operation of moving over the multiple primary rebars R1 and the multiple secondary rebars R2 in the direction in which the multiple primary rebars R1 extend and the operation of binding the locations where the multiple primary rebars R1 and the multiple secondary rebars R2 intersect, movement in the forward / backward direction by driving the right crawler 192 and the left crawler 194 can be performed more stably than movement in the left / right direction by driving the side stepper 196. With the above configuration, the frequency with which the rebar binding robot 100 drives the side stepper 196 can be minimized. This allows the rebar binding robot 100 to move more safely to the small area D (an example of the position of the rebar end) that includes the rebar end R0.

[0187] In one or more embodiments, the rebar tying robot 100 is configured to alternately and repeatedly perform an operation of moving over the multiple primary rebars R1 and the multiple secondary rebars R2 along the direction in which the multiple primary rebars R1 extend and an operation of tying together the intersections of the multiple primary rebars R1 and the multiple secondary rebars R2. The control unit 126 and the rebar detection sensors 198, 200, and 202 (examples of position information detection mechanisms) further detect small tied areas DA and small untied areas DB (examples of tied areas and untied areas in the multiple primary rebars R1 and the multiple secondary rebars R2) in the grid map GM. The return position (an example of a specific position) includes a small area D (an example of the position of a rebar end that is located in the forward / backward direction from the current position small area DR and is within the tied small area DA, and that includes the rebar end R0 that has the shortest moving path from the current position, among the rebar ends R0 that are located in the forward / backward direction from the current position and are within the tied area).

[0188] The rebar binding robot 100 alternately moves over the multiple primary rebars R1 and the multiple secondary rebars R2 in the direction in which the multiple primary rebars R1 extend and binds the intersections of the multiple primary rebars R1 and the multiple secondary rebars R2. The forward / backward movement performed by driving the right crawler 192 and the left crawler 194 is more stable than the left / right movement performed by driving the side stepper 196. This configuration minimizes the frequency with which the rebar binding robot 100 drives the side stepper 196. Furthermore, during the return process, the rebar binding robot 100 moves using the bound sub-area DA, which is more robust than the unbound sub-area DB, as a foothold. This allows the rebar binding robot 100 to more safely move to the sub-area D containing the rebar end R0 (an example of the position of the rebar end).

[0189] In one or more embodiments, the control unit 126 is configured to execute a return position / path determination process (an example of a specific position determination process) that calculates the cost of the rebar binding robot 100 moving from the current position small area DR to at least one candidate return position (an example of a candidate position) that is a candidate for the return position (an example of a specific position), and determines a return position from among the at least one candidate return position based on the calculated cost of the candidate return position. In the return process, the control unit 126 is configured to drive at least one of the right crawler 192 and the left crawler 194 or the side stepper 196 so that the rebar binding robot 100 moves along the return path from the current position small area DR to the return position.

[0190] According to the above configuration, even when there are multiple candidate return positions, the control unit 126 can determine the return position based on cost calculation.

[0191] In one or more embodiments, the control unit 126 determines the candidate return location with the lowest cost among the at least one candidate return location as the return location.

[0192] According to the above configuration, even when there are a plurality of candidate return positions (examples of positions that are candidates for the return position), the control unit 126 can determine the candidate return position with the lowest cost as the return position.

[0193] In one or more embodiments, the control unit 126 calculates the cost of the rebar binding robot 100 moving from the current position sub-region DR to the candidate return position for each of at least one candidate return path that is a candidate for the return path from the current position sub-region DR to the candidate return position, and calculates the cost of the candidate return position based on the calculated cost of the candidate return path.

[0194] According to the above configuration, the control unit 126 can calculate the cost of candidate return positions, which are candidates for the return position, based on the cost of the movement route. Therefore, the control unit 126 can determine the return position taking the movement route into consideration.

[0195] In one or more embodiments, the control unit 126 calculates the cost of the candidate return location as the cost of the least costly candidate return path among the at least one candidate return path.

[0196] According to the above configuration, the control unit 126 can determine as the return position the candidate return position that has the lowest cost of the return route from the current position small area DR of the rebar binding robot 100. This allows the rebar binding robot 100 to move to the return position at the lowest cost.

[0197] In one or more embodiments, in the return position / route determination process, at least one candidate return position is selected from a small region D (an example of a plurality of rebar end positions) that includes each rebar end R0.

[0198] According to the above configuration, the control unit 126 can determine, through cost calculation, among the small areas D containing each reinforcing bar end R0, the small area D containing the reinforcing bar end R0 that has the lowest cost of the return route from the current position small area DR. Therefore, the reinforcing bar binding robot 100 can be moved to the small area D containing the reinforcing bar end R0 (an example of the position of the reinforcing bar end) at the lowest cost.

[0199] In one or more embodiments, the control unit 126 is configured to execute a return path determination process (an example of a specific movement path determination process) that calculates a cost for the rebar binding robot 100 to move from the current position small area DR to a specified position (an example of a specific position) for at least one candidate return path (an example of a candidate movement path) that is a candidate for a return path (an example of a movement path) from the current position small area DR to the specified position, and determines a return path (a specific movement path) from the at least one candidate return path based on the calculated cost of the candidate return path. In the return process, the control unit 126 is configured to drive at least one of the right crawler 192 and the left crawler 194 or the side stepper 196 so that the rebar binding robot 100 moves along the return path from the current position small area DR to the specified position.

[0200] According to the above configuration, even when there are multiple candidate return routes, the control unit 126 can determine the return route based on cost calculation.

[0201] In one or more embodiments, the control unit 126 determines the candidate return path with the lowest cost among the at least one candidate return path as the return path.

[0202] According to the above configuration, even if there are multiple candidate return routes, the candidate vaporization route with the lowest cost can be determined as the return route, thereby enabling the rebar binding robot 100 to move to the specified position at the lowest possible cost.

[0203] In one or more embodiments, the control unit 126 and the rebar detection sensors 198, 200, 202 (examples of position information detection mechanisms) further detect a small bound area DA and an unbound area DB in the plurality of primary rebars R1 and the plurality of secondary rebars R2. The control unit 126 sets a higher area cost when the rebar tying robot 100 moves through the small unbound area DB compared to the area cost when the rebar tying robot 100 moves through the small bound area DA.

[0204] According to the above configuration, the control unit 126 can perform cost calculations assuming that the risk of moving through the unbound small area DB is greater than the risk of moving through the bound small area DA. This makes it possible to calculate the cost of moving from the current position small area DR while taking into account the robustness of the movement route.

[0205] In one or more embodiments, the rebar binding robot 100 is configured to alternately perform an operation of moving over the multiple primary rebars R1 and the multiple secondary rebars R2 along the direction in which the multiple primary rebars R1 extend, and an operation of binding the intersections of the multiple primary rebars R1 and the multiple secondary rebars R2. The control unit 126 sets a higher movement cost for the rebar binding robot 100 when moving left and right compared to the movement cost for the rebar binding robot 100 when moving forward and backward.

[0206] According to the above configuration, the control unit 126 can calculate the cost by assuming that the risk of moving left and right is greater than the risk of moving forward and backward. This makes it possible to calculate the cost of moving from the current position small area DR while taking into account the stability of the means of transportation. [Explanation of symbols]

[0207] 2: Rebar binding machine 3: Housing 4: Main body 5: Reel cover 6: Grip part 6a: Recess 7: Cover holding part 8: Battery mounting section 10: Reel 10a: Engagement part 12: Feed mechanism 14: Guide mechanism 16: Brake mechanism 18: Cutting mechanism 20: Torsion mechanism 22: Feed motor 24: Driven roller 26: Driven roller 28: Guide pipe 30: Upper curl guide 32: Lower curl guide 34: First guide aisle 38: Guide pin 40: Cutter 42: Return board 46: Solenoid 48: Link 50: Brake arm 52: Link 54: Torsion motor 56: Reduction mechanism 58: Screw shaft 60: Sleeve 61: Push plate 62: Hook 64: 1st operation section 74: Main switch 76: Main power LED 80: Control device 84: Trigger 86: Trigger switch 90: 2nd operation section 96:Display LED 98: Setting switch 100: Rebar tying robot 102: Power supply unit 104: Operation unit 106: Transport unit 108: Battery adapter 110: Housing 110a: Battery compartment 110b: Latch receiver 112: Cover 114: Battery mounting part 115: Hinge 116: Latch member 117: Key 118: Remaining battery indicator 119: Key mounting part 120: Remaining battery level display button 122: Action execution button 124: Power supply cable 126: Control unit 130: Lifting mechanism 132: Gripping mechanism 134: Lower base member 136: Upper base member 138: Support pipe 140: Support pipe 142: Lift platform 142a: Through hole 142b: Through hole 142c: Through hole 144: Screw shaft 146: Motor connection part 148: Lifting motor 150: Sensor support member 152: Upper limit detection sensor 154: Lower limit detection sensor 156: Holding member 158: Holding member 160: Nut 162: First support plate 162a: Long hole 162b:Protrusion 164: Second support plate 166: Connecting shaft 168: Connecting shaft 170: Rotating pin 172: Torsion spring 174: Support pin 176: Link 176a: Pressing part 176b: Operation section 178: Plunger 180: Actuator 182: Torsion spring 190: Chassis 192: Right crawler 194: Left crawler 196: Side Stepper 198: Rebar detection sensor 200: Rebar detection sensor 202: Rebar detection sensor 204: Base plate 204a: Through hole 204b: Through hole 206: Right frame 208: Left frame 210: Right side plate 212: Left side plate 214: Front frame 216: Rear frame 218: Front pulley 220: Rear pulley 222: Auxiliary pulley 224: Tensioner pulley 226: Rubber belt 228: Right crawler motor 230: Gearbox 232: Bearing 234: Bearing 236: Bearing 237: Movable bearing 238: Adjustment bolt 238a: Shaft 238b:Head 240: Nut 242: Bolt support member 242a: Through hole 244: Front pulley 246: Rear pulley 248: Auxiliary pulley 250: Tensioner pulley 252: Rubber belt 254: Left crawler motor 256: Gearbox 258: Bearing 260: Bearing 262: Bearing 264: Movable bearing 266: Adjustment bolt 266a:Shaft part 266b :Head 268: Nut 270: Bolt support member 270a: Through hole 272: Step bar 274: Step bar 276: Front crank mechanism 277: Rear crank mechanism 278: Support plate 279: Stepper motor 280: Pulley 280a: Axis 281: Gearbox 282: Pulley 282a: Axis 283: Worm gear case 284: Belt 285: Rotation transmission shaft 286: Crank arm 286a: Fitting hole 286b: Long hole 288: Crank arm 288a: Fitting hole 288b: Long hole 290: Crank pin 292: Crank pin 294: Crank plate 296: Laura 298: Laura 300: Guide plate 302: Guide groove 304: Guide groove 306: Support plate 308: Pulley 308a: Axis 310: Pulley 310a: Axis 312: Belt 314: Crank arm 314a: Fitting hole 314b: Long hole 316: Crank arm 316a: Fitting hole 316b: Long hole 318: Crank pin 320: Crank pin 322: Crank plate 324: Laura 326: Laura 328: Guide plate 330: Guide groove 332: Guide groove

Claims

1. A rebar tying robot capable of performing rebar tying work by alternately repeating an action of moving over a plurality of primary rebars and a plurality of secondary rebars that intersect with the plurality of primary rebars and an action of tying together the intersections of the plurality of primary rebars and the plurality of secondary rebars, a rebar binding unit; A transport unit that transports the rebar binding unit; a control unit for controlling the operation of the transport unit; The transport unit is a longitudinal movement mechanism capable of moving the rebar binding robot in a forward and backward direction; a lateral movement mechanism capable of moving the rebar binding robot in the left and right directions; a position information detection mechanism for detecting a current position of the rebar tying robot relative to the plurality of primary rebars and the plurality of secondary rebars; The control unit the reinforcing bar binding robot is configured to be able to execute a return process of driving at least one of the vertical movement mechanism and the horizontal movement mechanism so that the reinforcing bar binding robot moves from the current position of the reinforcing bar binding robot detected by the position information detection mechanism to a specific position without performing the reinforcing bar binding work, The control unit executes the feedback process when a predetermined condition is satisfied during the execution of the rebar binding work, The control unit is further configured to be able to execute a continuation possibility determination process for determining whether or not the reinforcing bar binding work can be continued, The predetermined condition includes a first predetermined condition that the control unit determines in the continuation possibility determination process that it is not possible to continue the rebar tying work.

2. A rebar tying robot capable of performing rebar tying work by alternately repeating an action of moving over a plurality of primary rebars and a plurality of secondary rebars that intersect with the plurality of primary rebars and an action of tying together the intersections of the plurality of primary rebars and the plurality of secondary rebars, a rebar binding unit; A transport unit that transports the rebar binding unit; a control unit for controlling the operation of the transport unit; The transport unit is a longitudinal movement mechanism capable of moving the rebar binding robot in a forward and backward direction; a lateral movement mechanism capable of moving the rebar binding robot in the left and right directions; a position information detection mechanism for detecting a current position of the rebar tying robot relative to the plurality of primary rebars and the plurality of secondary rebars; The control unit the reinforcing bar binding robot is configured to be able to execute a return process of driving at least one of the vertical movement mechanism and the horizontal movement mechanism so that the reinforcing bar binding robot moves from the current position of the reinforcing bar binding robot detected by the position information detection mechanism to a specific position without performing the reinforcing bar binding work, The control unit executes the feedback process when a predetermined condition is satisfied during the execution of the rebar binding work, the control unit is configured to be able to receive a command signal from an external device, The rebar tying robot, wherein the predetermined condition includes a second predetermined condition that the control unit receives the command signal from the outside.

3. A rebar tying robot capable of performing rebar tying work by alternately repeating an action of moving over a plurality of primary rebars and a plurality of secondary rebars that intersect with the plurality of primary rebars and an action of tying together the intersections of the plurality of primary rebars and the plurality of secondary rebars, a rebar binding unit; A transport unit that transports the rebar binding unit; a control unit for controlling the operation of the transport unit; The transport unit is a longitudinal movement mechanism capable of moving the rebar binding robot in a forward and backward direction; a lateral movement mechanism capable of moving the rebar binding robot in the left and right directions; a position information detection mechanism for detecting a current position of the rebar tying robot relative to the plurality of primary rebars and the plurality of secondary rebars; The control unit the reinforcing bar binding robot is configured to be able to execute a return process of driving at least one of the vertical movement mechanism and the horizontal movement mechanism so that the reinforcing bar binding robot moves from the current position of the reinforcing bar binding robot detected by the position information detection mechanism to a specific position without performing the reinforcing bar binding work, The control unit executes the feedback process when a predetermined condition is satisfied during the execution of the rebar binding work, The specific position includes a position designated by a user.

4. A rebar tying robot capable of performing rebar tying work by alternately repeating an action of moving over a plurality of primary rebars and a plurality of secondary rebars that intersect with the plurality of primary rebars and an action of tying together the intersections of the plurality of primary rebars and the plurality of secondary rebars, a rebar binding unit; A transport unit that transports the rebar binding unit; a control unit for controlling the operation of the transport unit; The transport unit is a longitudinal movement mechanism capable of moving the rebar binding robot in a forward and backward direction; a lateral movement mechanism capable of moving the rebar binding robot in the left and right directions; a position information detection mechanism for detecting a current position of the rebar tying robot relative to the plurality of primary rebars and the plurality of secondary rebars; The control unit the reinforcing bar binding robot is configured to be able to execute a return process of driving at least one of the vertical movement mechanism and the horizontal movement mechanism so that the reinforcing bar binding robot moves from the current position of the reinforcing bar binding robot detected by the position information detection mechanism to a specific position without performing the reinforcing bar binding work, The control unit executes the feedback process when a predetermined condition is satisfied during the execution of the rebar binding work, The specific position includes a position of an end of a rebar specified by a user.

5. A rebar tying robot capable of performing rebar tying work by alternately repeating an action of moving over a plurality of primary rebars and a plurality of secondary rebars that intersect with the plurality of primary rebars and an action of tying together the intersections of the plurality of primary rebars and the plurality of secondary rebars, a rebar binding unit; A transport unit that transports the rebar binding unit; a control unit for controlling the operation of the transport unit; The transport unit is a longitudinal movement mechanism capable of moving the rebar binding robot in a forward and backward direction; a lateral movement mechanism capable of moving the rebar binding robot in the left and right directions; a position information detection mechanism for detecting a current position of the rebar tying robot relative to the plurality of primary rebars and the plurality of secondary rebars; The control unit the reinforcing bar binding robot is configured to be able to execute a return process of driving at least one of the vertical movement mechanism and the horizontal movement mechanism so that the reinforcing bar binding robot moves from the current position of the reinforcing bar binding robot detected by the position information detection mechanism to a specific position without performing the reinforcing bar binding work, The control unit executes the feedback process when a predetermined condition is satisfied during the execution of the rebar binding work, The specific position includes the position of the end of the rebar that is the shortest movement path from the current position.

6. A rebar tying robot capable of performing rebar tying work by alternately repeating an action of moving over a plurality of primary rebars and a plurality of secondary rebars that intersect with the plurality of primary rebars and an action of tying together the intersections of the plurality of primary rebars and the plurality of secondary rebars, a rebar binding unit; A transport unit that transports the rebar binding unit; a control unit for controlling the operation of the transport unit; The transport unit is a longitudinal movement mechanism capable of moving the rebar binding robot in a forward and backward direction; a lateral movement mechanism capable of moving the rebar binding robot in the left and right directions; a position information detection mechanism for detecting a current position of the rebar tying robot relative to the plurality of primary rebars and the plurality of secondary rebars; The control unit the reinforcing bar binding robot is configured to be able to execute a return process of driving at least one of the vertical movement mechanism and the horizontal movement mechanism so that the reinforcing bar binding robot moves from the current position of the reinforcing bar binding robot detected by the position information detection mechanism to a specific position without performing the reinforcing bar binding work, The control unit executes the feedback process when a predetermined condition is satisfied during the execution of the rebar binding work, The position information detection mechanism further detects bound areas and unbound areas in the plurality of primary reinforcing bars and the plurality of secondary reinforcing bars, The specific position includes the position of the rebar end within the bundled area that has the shortest movement path from the current position.

7. A rebar tying robot capable of performing rebar tying work by alternately repeating an action of moving over a plurality of primary rebars and a plurality of secondary rebars that intersect with the plurality of primary rebars and an action of tying together the intersections of the plurality of primary rebars and the plurality of secondary rebars, a rebar binding unit; A transport unit that transports the rebar binding unit; a control unit for controlling the operation of the transport unit; The transport unit is a longitudinal movement mechanism capable of moving the rebar binding robot in a forward and backward direction; a lateral movement mechanism capable of moving the rebar binding robot in the left and right directions; a position information detection mechanism for detecting a current position of the rebar tying robot relative to the plurality of primary rebars and the plurality of secondary rebars; The control unit the reinforcing bar binding robot is configured to be able to execute a return process of driving at least one of the vertical movement mechanism and the horizontal movement mechanism so that the reinforcing bar binding robot moves from the current position of the reinforcing bar binding robot detected by the position information detection mechanism to a specific position without performing the reinforcing bar binding work, The control unit executes the feedback process when a predetermined condition is satisfied during the execution of the rebar binding work, The reinforcing bar tying robot is configured to alternately and repeatedly perform an action of moving over the plurality of primary reinforcing bars and the plurality of secondary reinforcing bars in the direction in which the plurality of primary reinforcing bars extend and an action of tying the locations where the plurality of primary reinforcing bars and the plurality of secondary reinforcing bars intersect, during the reinforcing bar tying work, A rebar tying robot, wherein the specific position includes the position of the rebar end located in the forward and backward directions from the current position, the rebar end having the shortest movement path from the current position.

8. A rebar tying robot capable of performing rebar tying work by alternately repeating an action of moving over a plurality of primary rebars and a plurality of secondary rebars that intersect with the plurality of primary rebars and an action of tying together the intersections of the plurality of primary rebars and the plurality of secondary rebars, a rebar binding unit; A transport unit that transports the rebar binding unit; a control unit for controlling the operation of the transport unit; The transport unit is a longitudinal movement mechanism capable of moving the rebar binding robot in a forward and backward direction; a lateral movement mechanism capable of moving the rebar binding robot in the left and right directions; a position information detection mechanism for detecting a current position of the rebar tying robot relative to the plurality of primary rebars and the plurality of secondary rebars; The control unit the reinforcing bar binding robot is configured to be able to execute a return process of driving at least one of the vertical movement mechanism and the horizontal movement mechanism so that the reinforcing bar binding robot moves from the current position of the reinforcing bar binding robot detected by the position information detection mechanism to a specific position without performing the reinforcing bar binding work, The control unit executes the feedback process when a predetermined condition is satisfied during the execution of the rebar binding work, The reinforcing bar tying robot is configured to alternately and repeatedly perform an action of moving over the plurality of primary reinforcing bars and the plurality of secondary reinforcing bars in the direction in which the plurality of primary reinforcing bars extend and an action of tying the locations where the plurality of primary reinforcing bars and the plurality of secondary reinforcing bars intersect, during the reinforcing bar tying work, The position information detection mechanism further detects bound areas and unbound areas in the plurality of primary reinforcing bars and the plurality of secondary reinforcing bars, A rebar binding robot, wherein the specific position is located in the forward / backward direction from the current position and includes the position of the rebar end within the bound area that has the shortest movement path from the current position.

9. A rebar tying robot capable of performing rebar tying work by alternately repeating an action of moving over a plurality of primary rebars and a plurality of secondary rebars that intersect with the plurality of primary rebars and an action of tying together the intersections of the plurality of primary rebars and the plurality of secondary rebars, a rebar binding unit; A transport unit that transports the rebar binding unit; a control unit for controlling the operation of the transport unit; The transport unit is a longitudinal movement mechanism capable of moving the rebar binding robot in a forward and backward direction; a lateral movement mechanism capable of moving the rebar binding robot in the left and right directions; a position information detection mechanism for detecting a current position of the rebar tying robot relative to the plurality of primary rebars and the plurality of secondary rebars; The control unit the reinforcing bar binding robot is configured to be able to execute a return process of driving at least one of the vertical movement mechanism and the horizontal movement mechanism so that the reinforcing bar binding robot moves from the current position of the reinforcing bar binding robot detected by the position information detection mechanism to a specific position without performing the reinforcing bar binding work, The control unit executes the feedback process when a predetermined condition is satisfied during the execution of the rebar binding work, the control unit is configured to execute a specific position determination process that calculates a cost of the rebar binding robot moving from the current position to each of at least one candidate position that is a candidate for the specific position, and determines the specific position from among the at least one candidate position based on the calculated cost of the candidate position; The control unit is configured to drive at least one of the vertical movement mechanism or the horizontal movement mechanism so that the rebar tying robot moves from the current position to the specific position during the return process.

10. The rebar binding robot according to claim 9 , wherein the control unit determines the candidate location with the lowest cost among the at least one candidate location as the specific location.

11. 11. The rebar tying robot of claim 9 or 10, wherein the control unit calculates the cost of the rebar tying robot moving from the current position to the candidate position for each of at least one candidate movement path that is a candidate for the movement path from the current position to the candidate position, and calculates the cost of the candidate position based on the calculated cost of the candidate movement path.

12. The rebar tying robot according to claim 11 , wherein the control unit calculates the cost of the candidate position as the cost of the candidate path that has the lowest cost among the at least one candidate path.

13. The reinforcing bar binding robot according to claim 9 , wherein in the specific position determination process, the at least one candidate position is selected from among a plurality of positions of ends of reinforcing bars.

14. A rebar tying robot capable of performing rebar tying work by alternately repeating an action of moving over a plurality of primary rebars and a plurality of secondary rebars that intersect with the plurality of primary rebars and an action of tying together the intersections of the plurality of primary rebars and the plurality of secondary rebars, a rebar binding unit; A transport unit that transports the rebar binding unit; a control unit for controlling the operation of the transport unit; The transport unit is a longitudinal movement mechanism capable of moving the rebar binding robot in a forward and backward direction; a lateral movement mechanism capable of moving the rebar binding robot in the left and right directions; a position information detection mechanism for detecting a current position of the rebar tying robot relative to the plurality of primary rebars and the plurality of secondary rebars; The control unit the reinforcing bar binding robot is configured to be able to execute a return process of driving at least one of the vertical movement mechanism and the horizontal movement mechanism so that the reinforcing bar binding robot moves from the current position of the reinforcing bar binding robot detected by the position information detection mechanism to a specific position without performing the reinforcing bar binding work, The control unit executes the feedback process when a predetermined condition is satisfied during the execution of the rebar binding work, the control unit is configured to execute a specific movement path determination process that calculates a cost of the rebar binding robot moving from the current position to the specific position for at least one candidate movement path that is a candidate for a movement path from the current position to the specific position, and determines a specific movement path from the at least one candidate movement path based on the calculated cost of the candidate movement path; The control unit is configured to drive at least one of the vertical movement mechanism or the horizontal movement mechanism during the return process so that the rebar tying robot moves from the current position to the specific position along the specific movement path.

15. The rebar binding robot according to claim 14 , wherein the control unit determines the candidate movement path with the lowest cost among the at least one candidate movement path as the specific movement path.

16. The position information detection mechanism further detects bound areas and unbound areas in the plurality of primary reinforcing bars and the plurality of secondary reinforcing bars, 16. The rebar tying robot according to claim 9, wherein the control unit sets a higher cost for the rebar tying robot to move through the untied area than a cost for the rebar tying robot to move through the tied area.

17. The reinforcing bar tying robot is configured to alternately and repeatedly perform an action of moving over the plurality of primary reinforcing bars and the plurality of secondary reinforcing bars in the direction in which the plurality of primary reinforcing bars extend and an action of tying the locations where the plurality of primary reinforcing bars and the plurality of secondary reinforcing bars intersect, during the reinforcing bar tying work, 17. The rebar tying robot according to claim 9, wherein the control unit sets a higher cost for the rebar tying robot when moving in the left-right direction than a cost for the rebar tying robot when moving in the forward-backward direction.

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