Tile pasting information generating device and program

Abstract

To provide "tile pasting information" required to appropriately pasting a plurality of tile materials to a panel member curved in a vertical direction or a horizontal direction.SOLUTION: A tile pasting information generation device (20A) includes: tile condition calculation means (172) for calculating a depth value and tangential line inclination from a virtual plane at each reference point to be used as a pasting reference of tile materials in a curved direction of the panel member; and generation means (174) for generating tile pasting information including the depth value and the tangential line inclination at each reference point calculated by the tile condition calculation means.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 16

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a tile pasting information generating device and program, and in particular to a tile pasting information generating device and program for a "curved panel body" manufactured by pasting multiple tile materials onto a panel member that is curved in the vertical or horizontal direction. [Background technology]

[0002] Tiles are sometimes used as finishing materials for building panels such as exterior wall panels. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-275983 (Patent Document 1) and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2020-149465 (Patent Document 2) disclose tile allocation methods for calculating tile allocation for a tile application surface of an exterior wall.

[0003] Furthermore, in order to make it easier to attach tiles to curved wall surfaces, Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2005-83031 (Patent Document 3) discloses a tile material in which a flexible substrate is provided on the back surface of the tile. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-275983 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2020-149465 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2005-83031 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Recently, some buildings have curved interior and exterior walls for the purpose of improving design, etc. When tiles are used as finishing materials for curved interior and exterior walls, it is necessary to select tiles of an appropriate size for each application location, and it is not possible to use the tile layout methods described in Patent Documents 1 and 2.

[0006] Furthermore, although Patent Document 3 proposes a tile structure suitable for curved wall surfaces, the tile is generally applied manually on-site, regardless of whether the surface to be applied is flat or curved.

[0007] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to provide a tile pasting information generation device and program that can generate the ``tile pasting information'' necessary to properly paste multiple tile materials onto a panel member that is curved in the vertical or horizontal direction. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] A tile pasting information generation device according to one aspect of the present invention is a tile pasting information generation device for a curved panel body manufactured by attaching a plurality of tile materials to a panel member curved in the vertical or horizontal direction, and is equipped with a tile condition calculation means that calculates a depth value and a tangent slope from a virtual plane for each reference point that serves as a basis for attaching the tile material in the curved direction of the panel member, and a generation means that generates tile pasting information including the depth and tangent slope for each reference point calculated by the tile condition calculation means.

[0009] Preferably, the tile condition calculation means includes a first calculation means that calculates a depth value and a tangent slope from the virtual plane for each first reference point, which has a predetermined size equal to the width of the tile material; a determination means that determines whether or not each tile material satisfies the tile installation conditions when the first reference point is used as the reference position for attachment, based on the calculation results by the first calculation means; and a second calculation means that, if the determination means determines that the tile material does not satisfy the tile installation conditions, calculates a standard size that satisfies the tile installation conditions and recalculates the depth value and the tangent slope from the virtual plane for each second reference point, which has the standard size equal to the width of the tile material.

[0010] Preferably, the tile application conditions include that the back surface of the tile material is within the virtual thickness range of the adhesive.

[0011] Preferably, the tile installation information generating device further includes a selection means for selecting either a first pattern in which the tile material width is constant or a second pattern in which the tile material width is not constant. In this case, it is preferable that the second calculation means, when the first pattern is selected by the selection means, subject all of the first reference points to recalculation, and, when the second pattern is selected, subject some of the reference points, including the first reference points determined not to satisfy the tile installation conditions, to recalculation.

[0012] Preferably, the tiling information generating device further comprises grouping calculation means for grouping the reference points based on the number of hand units of the tiling robot in the production line. In this case, the tiling information further includes group information of the reference points.

[0013] A tile pasting information generation program according to another aspect of the present invention causes a computer to execute the steps of calculating a depth value and a tangent slope from a virtual plane for each reference point that serves as a basis for pasting tile material in the curvature direction of a panel member that is curved vertically or horizontally, and generating tile pasting information that includes the calculated depth and tangent slope for each reference point. [Effects of the Invention]

[0014] According to the present invention, it is possible to generate "tile attachment information" necessary for properly attaching a plurality of tile materials to a panel member that is curved in the vertical or horizontal direction.

[0015] Furthermore, by using this "tile placement information," it becomes possible to efficiently manufacture curved panel bodies in factories, improving the productivity of curved panel bodies. In this case, it is possible to reduce the number of people required for on-site construction. It also makes mass-customized production possible, rather than standardized factory-manufactured panels. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0016] [Figure 1]1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of an "exterior wall panel production system" that is the premise of a curved panel body production system according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] 2A and 2B are diagrams showing an example of the configuration of an exterior wall panel (tile exterior wall panel) in the system shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 3] 2A is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration and functional configuration of a manufacturing condition information generating device in the system shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 2B is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration and functional configuration of a tile pasting information generating device in the system shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 4] 2 is a flowchart showing a manufacturing condition information generation process in the system shown in FIG. [Figure 5] 2A and 2B are explanatory diagrams showing a method for detecting position information in the system shown in FIG. [Figure 6] 2A and 2B are explanatory diagrams showing items of condition data included in manufacturing condition information in the system shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 7] 2A to 2D are explanatory diagrams showing a method for determining an edge condition in the system shown in FIG. [Figure 8] 2A and 2B are explanatory diagrams showing a method for determining the type of an end tile in the system shown in FIG. [Figure 9] 10 is a flowchart showing a tile pasting information generation process in the system shown in FIG. [Figure 10] 2A and 2B are explanatory diagrams showing a partition processing method in the system shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 11] 1A is a diagram showing specific examples of multiple combination patterns in the system shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 1B is a diagram showing a schematic example in which numbers representing the work order are assigned to some virtual areas in the system shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 12] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a specific example of a production line for exterior wall panels in a factory in the system shown in FIG. [Figure 13]2A is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a pattern generating station in the system shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 2B is a diagram showing a specific example of a tile unit in the system shown in FIG. [Figure 14] 10 is a flowchart showing a tile unit generation process in the pattern generation station in the system shown in FIG. [Figure 15] 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of a curved panel body production system according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 16] FIG. 1A is a functional block diagram showing the functional configuration of a tile placement information generation device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a flowchart showing the tile condition calculation process executed by a tile condition calculation unit of the tile placement information generation device. [Figure 17] 1A to 1C are diagrams illustrating a tile condition calculation method according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 18] 1A and 1B are diagrams schematically showing tile installation conditions in an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 19] FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing a first pattern in which the width of the tile material is constant, and a second pattern in which the width of the tile material is not constant. [Figure 20] FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining a grouping calculation method according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 21] FIG. 1A is a diagram showing a schematic diagram of a tiling line on which a tiling device according to an embodiment of the present invention is installed, and FIG. 1B is a functional block diagram showing the functional configuration of a control device that controls the tiling device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 22] 1 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing an example of the configuration of a panel support device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 23] 1A and 1B are diagrams showing an example of the configuration of a gripping unit of a tile pasting robot according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which (A) is a front view and (B) is a side view. [Figure 24](A) is a diagram showing a schematic diagram of the state in which the height and inclination angle of the hand part of a tile pasting robot have been adjusted in an embodiment of the present invention, and (B) is a diagram showing the suction surface of the hand part as seen from diagonally below. [Figure 25] 1A is an image diagram of a curved panel body manufactured by a curved panel body production system according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is an image diagram showing a curved panel body of a comparative example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0017] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like or corresponding parts are designated by like reference numerals and will not be described repeatedly.

[0018] In this embodiment, a curved panel production system is described that produces "curved panel bodies" in a factory by attaching flat tile materials as finishing materials to panel members that are curved in the vertical or horizontal direction. The curved panel body is, for example, the exterior wall panel of a building. The basic configuration and operation of the curved panel body production system according to this embodiment may be similar to the systems (hereinafter referred to as the "basic system") described in the patent application specifications filed by the applicant as Japanese Patent Application Nos. 2021-160274, 2021-160275, and 2021-160276. This basic system is a panel body (exterior wall panel) production system in which flat panel members are used as surfaces to which tile materials are attached. Prior to a detailed description of the curved panel body production system according to this embodiment, the configuration and operation of the basic system will be described.

[0019] <Overall configuration of the basic system> Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of an exterior wall panel production system 1, which is the premise of the curved panel body production system of this embodiment. The exterior wall panel production system 1 is a system for automatically producing exterior wall panels (hereinafter referred to as "tile exterior wall panels") using multiple tile materials such as bricks as finishing materials in a factory, and is mainly equipped with a teaching data generation system 2 and an exterior wall panel manufacturing device 3 installed in the factory.

[0020] FIG. 2 shows an example of the configuration of a tile exterior wall panel P, where (A) is an exploded view of the tile exterior wall panel P and (B) is a front view of the tile exterior wall panel P. Referring to FIG. 2(A), the tile exterior wall panel (hereinafter abbreviated as "exterior wall panel") P comprises a panel member 110 including a frame member 101, such as a steel frame, and a ceramic base material (hereinafter referred to as "siding") 105, and a finishing material 120 made of a number of tile materials BT attached to the panel member 110. Each tile material BT is a plate-shaped member and may be formed, for example, by cutting brick BR ​​to a predetermined thickness. As shown in FIG. 2(B), a number of tile materials BT are laid over the surface of the panel member 110.

[0021] The exterior wall of a house is formed by connecting multiple exterior wall panels P at least horizontally. Figure 5(A) shows a plan view of the first floor of a house 9, and each exterior wall panel P that makes up the exterior wall of the house 9 is assigned a symbol W1..., S1..., E1..., N1... according to its direction.

[0022] 1 again, the exterior wall panel manufacturing apparatus 3 is an apparatus that manufactures an exterior wall panel P in a factory by attaching a plurality of tile materials BT to a panel member 110, and includes a plurality of machines and equipment. Specifically, the exterior wall panel manufacturing apparatus 3 is equipped with a tile unit generating apparatus 30 that generates "tile units" by unitizing a plurality of tile materials, a tile unit supplying apparatus 40 that supplies the tile units generated by the tile unit generating apparatus 30 to a tiling station, and a tile applying apparatus 50 that applies the tile units supplied to the tiling station to the panel member 110. The apparatus also includes a control device 60 that controls these devices 30, 40, and 50.

[0023] The teaching data generation system 2 generates data (teaching data) necessary to operate the exterior wall panel manufacturing device 3. As shown in Fig. 1, the teaching data generation system 2 includes a manufacturing condition information generation device 10 that generates "manufacturing condition information" for the exterior wall panel P based on basic design information for the building, and a tile pasting information generation device 20 that generates "tile pasting information" for each exterior wall panel P based on the manufacturing condition information generated by the manufacturing condition information generation device 10.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 2(B), the panel members 110 of the exterior wall panel P are generally covered with tile materials BT of the same shape and width, but it is desirable to arrange them in a staggered pattern so that the vertical joints are not continuous. Therefore, tile materials BT of different widths are alternately used in the vertical direction at the widthwise ends of each exterior wall panel P. Furthermore, for exterior wall panels P placed at corners (external or internal corners) of a building, it is desirable to use L-shaped tile materials BT or sized-adjusted tile materials BT at the corner ends of the exterior wall panel P to prevent the joints between panels from being noticeable. For these reasons, the type of tile material BT to be used at the ends of the exterior wall panel P must be determined depending on the location where the exterior wall panel P is placed, the presence or absence of an opening 130, and its installation position. It should be noted that sized-adjusted tile materials BT are also used at both ends of the opening.

[0025] Therefore, the manufacturing condition information generating device 10 identifies the end conditions of each exterior wall panel P by detecting the "panel installation information" described below from the basic design information for each exterior wall panel P, and determines the type of tile material BT to be used at the end (at least the starting point position) of the exterior wall panel P according to the identified end conditions. Then, manufacturing condition information including the determined type of tile material BT (information on the end tile type) is generated for each exterior wall panel P, and output (transmit) it to the tile pasting information generating device 20.

[0026] The tile pasting information generating device 20 acquires (inputs) manufacturing condition information, and determines the arrangement pattern of the tile material BT for each exterior wall panel P based on the acquired manufacturing condition information and "tile size information" that specifies the width dimension and shape of each type of tile material BT. Then, it generates "tile pasting information" including the determined arrangement pattern for each exterior wall panel P, and outputs (transmits) it to an exterior wall panel manufacturing device 3 installed in the factory. The tile pasting information is a type of "teaching data," and is transmitted to the control device 60 via a network such as the Internet.

[0027] As a result, under the control of the control device 60, the exterior wall panel manufacturing device 3 can attach multiple types of tile materials BT to the panel component 110 based on a preset arrangement pattern of the tile materials BT for each exterior wall panel P. Therefore, according to the exterior wall panel production system 1, the tile materials BT can be attached to the panel component 110 automatically and appropriately without the need for manual teaching work. As a result, the production line for the exterior wall panel P can be fully automated.

[0028] The manufacturing condition information generating device 10 and the tile pasting information generating device 20 are configured by an information processing device such as a general-purpose computer. Although these devices 10 and 20 are shown as separate devices in terms of functionality, they may also be realized by a common information processing device.

[0029] <Basic system manufacturing condition information generation device> 3A is a block diagram showing the hardware and functional configurations of the manufacturing condition information generating device 10. The manufacturing condition information generating device 10 includes, as its hardware configuration, a central processing unit (CPU) 11 that executes various arithmetic operations, a storage unit 12 that stores various data and programs, an operation unit 13 that accepts instructions from a user, a display unit 14 that displays various information, and a communication I / F (interface) 15 that communicates with other information processing devices via a network. The storage unit 12 includes a volatile memory such as a random access memory (RAM) and a non-volatile memory such as a read-only memory (ROM). The operation unit 13 includes, for example, a keyboard or a mouse. The display unit 14 includes, for example, a liquid crystal display (LCD).

[0030] The manufacturing condition information generating device 10 includes, as its functional components, a detecting section 161, a condition determining section 162, a type determining section 163, a generating section 164, and an output processing section 165.

[0031] The detection unit 161 extracts information about the exterior wall panels P that make up the exterior walls from the "basic design information" of the building input via the communication I / F 15, for example, and, based on the extracted information, detects the panel construction information necessary for constructing the exterior wall panels P. Here, "detection" includes both the meaning of determining the necessary information by calculation based on the information extracted from the basic design information, and the meaning of identifying the information extracted from the basic design information as is (without calculation).

[0032] The "panel construction information" includes "position information" that indicates the placement position of the exterior wall panel P, and "shape information" that indicates the size and opening range of the exterior wall panel P. When the input basic design information is design data of a three-dimensional model such as BIM (Building Information Modeling) data, the detection unit 161 has a function to extract and identify the "position information" defined in the design data as is, and a function to convert the numerical value that is the basis of the "shape information" defined in the design data (for example, the numerical value that indicates the opening range) into a numerical value used in the construction drawing.

[0033] The condition determination unit 162 determines the edge condition of each exterior wall panel P based on the panel installation information (mainly position information) detected by the detection unit 161. Specifically, the edge condition is determined to be either a straight line section, an inside corner section, or an outside corner section, and the interface conditions with adjacent panels are calculated based on the determination result and the above-mentioned position information. The interface conditions include the "win / lose" with the adjacent panel and the degree of this. Note that the condition determination unit 162 may determine the conditions not only for both widthwise ends but also for both vertically opposite ends.

[0034] The type determination unit 163 determines, as an "end tile type," the type of tile material BT to be used at least at the start point position for each exterior wall panel P, based on the end point condition determined by the condition determination unit 162. The start point position will be described later.

[0035] The generation unit 164 generates manufacturing condition information for each exterior wall panel P. Specifically, the generation unit 164 generates the manufacturing condition information by integrating multiple items of condition data, including i) at least a portion of the panel installation information detected by the detection unit 161, ii) the end condition determined by the condition determination unit 162, and iii) the end tile type determined by the type determination unit 163.

[0036] FIG. 6B lists the items (ID symbols) of condition data included in the manufacturing condition information. Examples of ID symbols include: Wid: exterior wall panel position (orientation and number); Ws: edge condition on the starting point; XP: panel width; We: edge condition on the ending point; Wu: upper condition; H: panel height; Wd: lower condition; Ow: opening width; Oh: opening height; Osx: x-coordinate of opening start point; Osy: y-coordinate of opening start point; and Bs: type of tile material BT (end tile type) used at the starting point. An ID code is generated from the ID symbol and its corresponding code information. The code information includes at least one of a number, a symbol (e.g., + or -), or a character (e.g., alphabet). The items included in the manufacturing condition information are not limited to those listed in FIG. 6B and may include other items.

[0037] The generation unit 164 generates manufacturing condition information by integrating the ID codes for each exterior wall panel P. In this way, the manufacturing condition information is, more specifically, information consisting of an identifier of the exterior wall panel P and multiple condition data indicated by multiple ID codes. Such manufacturing condition information is used in the tile installation information generation device 20, as will be described later.

[0038] The output processing unit 165 executes a process of outputting the manufacturing condition information for each exterior wall panel P generated by the generation unit 164. Specifically, the output processing unit 165 executes a process of transmitting the manufacturing condition information for each exterior wall panel P to the tile installation information generation device 20 via the communication I / F 15 or the like. Alternatively, the output processing unit 165 may execute a process of writing the manufacturing condition information for each exterior wall panel P to a removable recording medium (not shown). Alternatively, the output processing unit 165 may execute a process of recording the manufacturing condition information for each exterior wall panel P in the manufacturing condition storage unit 18 and outputting the information in response to a request from the tile installation information generation device 20. The manufacturing condition storage unit 18 may be realized by a non-volatile storage device (not shown) such as a hard disk, or may be realized by a cloud server.

[0039] The functions of the above-described detection unit 161, condition determination unit 162, type determination unit 163, generation unit 164, and output processing unit 165 are realized by the execution of software by the CPU 11. Note that at least one of these functional units may be realized by hardware.

[0040] 4 is a flowchart showing the manufacturing condition information generation process, which is implemented by the CPU 11 of the manufacturing condition information generation device 10 reading and executing a program stored in the storage unit 12, for example.

[0041] First, the manufacturing condition information generating device 10 inputs, for example, BIM basic design data via the communication I / F 15 (step S2). The BIM basic design data is design data for the entire building created using BIM, a 3D, real-time, dynamic modeling software. It includes the building shape, spatial relationships, geographic information, and the quantity and characteristics of building components. Note that although the basic design information created using BIM is input here, this is not limited to this. The input basic design information may be, for example, design data created using other types of 3D building design software, or design data read from scanned data of the building. It is also possible to scan 2D drawing data and paper-based drawings to read only the necessary information.

[0042] When the basic design data is input, the detection unit 161 detects information about the exterior wall panels P that constitute the exterior walls of the building from the input basic design data. Specifically, the detection unit 161 identifies the module (basic dimensional unit of the building) of each exterior wall panel P (step S4), and detects position information and shape information for each exterior wall panel P (steps S6 and S8).

[0043] "Location information" includes floor information such as the first floor, second floor, etc., orientation information indicating whether it is east, west, north, or south, information indicating which part of the building it is located in (hereinafter referred to as "attribute information"), etc. The symbols shown in Figure 5(A) represent the location information ("Wid" code information) of each exterior wall panel P, with orientation information represented by the letters N, W, S, and E, and attribute information represented by numbers (numbers).

[0044] As shown by arrow A1 in FIG. 5(B), the numbers representing the attribute information are assigned in a counterclockwise or clockwise order, starting from a corner (protruding corner) on the front side of the building, for each direction. That is, the detection unit 161 identifies the placement position of each exterior wall panel P along a predetermined numbering direction starting from the corner on the front side of the building, and detects the identified placement position as "position information." The protruding corner serving as the starting point is one end of the front exterior wall (e.g., the northwest corner), and the numbering direction is set so that the numbering starts from the exterior wall panel P on the front side. As an example, the numbering direction is counterclockwise, and the numbering is performed from left to right on each side of the building. Therefore, the left side of each exterior wall panel P is referred to as the starting point, and the right side is referred to as the ending point. The numbering direction indicated by arrow A1 determines the order of determining the edge condition, which will be described later.

[0045] When the above-mentioned position information is defined in the basic design data, such as BIM data, the detection unit 161 simply extracts (specifies) the position information directly from the basic design data in step S6.

[0046] The "shape information" includes the panel width ("XP" code), panel height ("H" code), and opening range. The opening range is specified by the scale of the opening ("Ow" and "Oh" code), the coordinate position of the opening ("Osx" and "Osy" code), and so on. Figure 6(A) shows a schematic representation of the width XP and height H of the exterior wall panel P, the width Ow and height Oh of the opening, and the X-coordinate Osx and Y-coordinate Osy of a specific point (bottom left) of the opening. When detecting shape information based on BIM basic design data, in step S8, the detection unit 161 calculates values ​​taking into account the dimensional information of the window mounting frame (sash), etc.

[0047] Next, the condition determination unit 162 determines (calculates) the end condition for each exterior wall panel P based on the position information detected in step S6 and the shape information detected in step S8 (step S10). Specifically, first, it is determined whether both end portions (starting point side end portion and ending point side end portion) of each exterior wall panel P correspond to a straight line portion, an inside corner portion, or an outside corner portion as shown in Figure 7(A).

[0048] Next, the condition determination unit 162 calculates the matching conditions for both ends of the exterior wall panel P according to the predetermined order indicated by the position information detected in step S6, i.e., according to the numbering direction indicated by arrow A1 in Figure 5(B). The "matching conditions" include the "win / lose" and the degree of "win / lose" with adjacent panels. For example, as shown in Figure 7(B), if the start-side end of a certain exterior wall panel Pa is a straight section, there is no "win / lose" with another adjacent exterior wall panel Pb, so the matching condition is determined to be "0" (no + or -).

[0049] On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7(C), when the starting end of a certain exterior wall panel Pa is an outside corner, there are two conditions: a "win" condition (pattern on the left side of the drawing) in which the panel overlaps the reference line of the other exterior wall panel Pc that intersects with it, and a "lose" condition (pattern on the right side of the drawing) in which the panel does not overlap the reference line of the other exterior wall panel Pc. The same is true for an inside corner, as shown in FIG. 7(D). In these figures, a "win" condition is represented by a "+" and a "lose" condition is represented by a "-". Because the degree of win or lose varies in both the "win" and "lose" conditions, the condition determining unit 162 calculates the win / lose degree as a numerical value (mm). The condition determining unit 162 calculates the conditions so that the exterior wall panel P that is located on the front side meets the "win" condition.

[0050] Once the end condition (at least the code information of "Ws" and "We") of each exterior wall panel P has been determined by the above-described process, the type determination unit 163 determines the type of tile material BT used at the start position of the start-side end as the end tile type (step S12). The start position is typically the lower end position of the start-side end. The end position is the lower end position of the end-side end.

[0051] 8(A) is a diagram showing examples of types of tile material BT. If there are multiple types of tile materials BTa, BTb, BTc, BTd, etc. with different dimensions or shapes, information about these is stored as "tile size information" in the storage unit 12 or a non-volatile storage device (not shown). Note that the "tile size information" is information that indicates the width dimension and shape (width dimension or shape) for each type of tile material.

[0052] As shown in the figure, both tile materials BTa and BTb are L-shaped, and both tile materials BTc and BTd are linear (I-shaped). For example, linear tile material BTc may be the basic type. L-shaped tile material BTa may have the same width as tile material BTc. Although not shown, other types of tile material BT may include round or polygonal tile materials.

[0053] FIG. 8(B) is a correspondence table that defines the type of tile material BT that can be used at the starting position for each end condition (specifically, the connection condition) of the exterior wall panel P. In this example, if the starting end of the exterior wall panel P is a "win" condition, it is determined that one of the L-shaped tile material and the tile material of a shape other than L will be selected depending on the degree of the win condition (positive width) and the connection condition of the end end. If the starting end of the exterior wall panel P is a "lose" condition, it is determined that one of the tile materials of a shape other than L will be selected depending on the degree of the lose condition (negative width) and the connection condition of the end end. If the connection condition of the starting end of the exterior wall panel P is "0", it is determined that one of the tile materials of a shape other than L will be selected.

[0054] The type determination unit 163 determines the type of tile material BT (the "Bs" code information) to be used at the starting point for each exterior wall panel P by referring to the tile size information and the correspondence table. The selection of the end tile type is also performed according to a predetermined determination order, that is, according to the numbering direction indicated by arrow A1 in FIG. 5(B). This prevents problems such as adjacent tile materials BT interfering with each other or gaps larger than the joints during construction on site.

[0055] When the processing by the type determination unit 163 is completed, the generation unit 164 integrates all the ID codes for each exterior wall panel P to generate "manufacturing condition information" (step S14). The output processing unit 165 outputs the integrated panel ID code, i.e., the "manufacturing condition information" (step S16). This completes the manufacturing condition information generation process.

[0056] In this way, the manufacturing condition information generating device 10 can generate the "manufacturing condition information" necessary to generate tile pasting information for the exterior wall panel P directly from the basic design information, thereby eliminating the process of generating design drawings by an architect.

[0057] <Basic system tile placement information generation device> 3(B) is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration and functional configuration of the tile pasting information generation device 20. The hardware configuration of the tile pasting information generation device 20 may be the same as that of the manufacturing condition information generation device 10, and includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 21 that executes various types of calculation processing, a storage unit 22 that stores various types of data and programs, an operation unit 23 that receives instructions from a user, a display unit 24 that displays various types of information, and a communication I / F (interface) 25 that communicates with other information processing devices via a network.

[0058] The tiling information generating device 20 includes, as functional components, an acquisition unit 261, a partition unit 262, a pattern determination unit 263, an order determination unit 264, a generation unit 265, and an output processing unit 266.

[0059] The acquiring unit 261 acquires the manufacturing condition information generated by the manufacturing condition information generating device 10 via the communication I / F 25 or the like. That is, it acquires condition data of multiple items that are ID-coded for each exterior wall panel, as shown in Fig. 5(B). Note that the manufacturing condition information acquired by the acquiring unit 261 is typically information generated by the manufacturing condition information generating device 10, but may also be information extracted from design drawing information created by a design drawing creating device (not shown) or the like.

[0060] The dividing unit 262 divides the exterior wall panel P (panel member 110) into a plurality of virtual regions based on the shape information indicating the panel width, panel height, and opening range from among the acquired manufacturing condition information. Examples of dividing the virtual regions will be described later.

[0061] The pattern determination unit 263 determines the arrangement pattern of the tile materials BT for each exterior wall panel P, preferably for each virtual area partitioned by the partitioning unit 262, based on the manufacturing condition information acquired by the acquisition unit 261 and the above-mentioned tile size information. In this case, the pattern determination unit 263 preferably determines the arrangement pattern of the tile materials by selecting one or more combination patterns from a plurality of predetermined combination patterns for each virtual area. Details of the combination patterns will be described later.

[0062] The order determination unit 264 determines the order in which the tile materials are to be applied to the multiple virtual areas based on the placement position information of the tiling device 50 (FIG. 1) on the production line.

[0063] The generation unit 265 generates tile pasting information for each exterior wall panel P. The tile pasting information corresponds to teaching data for the exterior wall panel manufacturing apparatus 3, and includes the arrangement pattern determined by the pattern determination unit 263 and the pasting order determined by the order determination unit 264.

[0064] The output processing unit 266 executes a process of outputting the tile pasting information for each exterior wall panel P generated by the generation unit 265. Specifically, the output processing unit 266 executes a process of transmitting the tile pasting information for each exterior wall panel P to the control device 60 of the exterior wall panel manufacturing device 3 via the communication I / F 25 or the like. Alternatively, the output processing unit 266 may execute a process of writing the tile pasting information for each exterior wall panel P to a removable recording medium (not shown). Alternatively, the output processing unit 266 may execute a process of recording the tile pasting information for each exterior wall panel P in the pasting information storage unit 28 and outputting it in response to a request from another device such as the control device 60. The pasting information storage unit 28 may be realized by, for example, a non-volatile storage device (not shown) such as a hard disk, or may be realized by a cloud server.

[0065] The functions of the above-described acquisition unit 261, partition unit 262, pattern determination unit 263, order determination unit 264, generation unit 265, and output processing unit 266 are realized by the execution of software by the CPU 21. Note that at least one of these functional units may be realized by hardware.

[0066] 9 is a flowchart showing the tile pasting information generation process. The process shown in FIG. 9 is realized by the CPU 21 of the tile pasting information generation device 20 reading and executing a program stored in the storage unit 22, for example.

[0067] First, the tiling information generating device 20 inputs the panel ID codes of all exterior wall panels P to be used in a building via the communication I / F 25 (step S2). As a result, the acquiring unit 261 acquires, for each exterior wall panel P, code information regarding Wid: exterior wall panel position (orientation and number), Ws: end condition on the starting point side, XP: panel width, We: end condition on the ending point side, Wu: upper side condition, H: panel height, Wd: lower side condition, Ow: opening width, Oh: opening height, Osx: x coordinate of opening start point, Osy: y coordinate of opening start point, and Bs: type of tile material BT to be used at the starting point (end tile type).

[0068] Next, based on the information representing shape information (XP: panel width, H: panel height, Ow: opening width, Oh: opening height, Osx: x coordinate of opening start point, Osy: y coordinate of opening start point) among the ID code information acquired by the acquisition unit 261, the division unit 262 executes a process of dividing each exterior wall panel P into a plurality of virtual regions (step S24). This process will be described with reference to Fig. 10. Note that in Fig. 10(A), the number of tile materials BT is shown reduced to avoid cluttering the drawing.

[0069] 10(A), the dividing unit 262 first divides the exterior wall panel P vertically (up and down) at the position of the opening 130, and then divides the remaining area according to a predetermined rule. Specifically, the dividing unit 262 divides the exterior wall panel P into sections based on the size that can be adsorbed (held) at one time by the tiling device 50 installed in the factory. More specifically, the dividing unit 262 calculates the area that can be adsorbed at one time by the tiling device 50, and then, based on the calculated area and the maximum size of the virtual area, divides the remaining area vertically.

[0070] Assuming that the maximum size of the virtual area is X columns by Y rows (when using the basic type of tile material BTc), as shown in FIG. 10(B), the remaining area of ​​the exterior wall panel P is vertically partitioned to a maximum of Y rows (where X and Y are natural numbers, and typically Y>X). In the example shown in FIG. 10(A), the exterior wall panel P is vertically divided into five areas, with four division lines B1 to B4 as boundaries. In each of the five areas, the panel's edge area and the opening lateral area adjacent to the opening are partitioned, and then the remaining area is horizontally partitioned to a maximum of X columns. FIG. 10(A) shows an arbitrary virtual area VA.

[0071] When the exterior wall panel P is divided into multiple virtual areas by the above-mentioned process, the dividing unit 262 temporarily stores the coordinate position data of each virtual area in its internal memory as "pasting position information." Note that the tile materials BT are arranged with a half-pitch offset so that the vertical joints are not continuous, so the ends of horizontally adjacent virtual areas overlap by half a pitch.

[0072] The pattern determination unit 263 determines the arrangement pattern of the tile materials BT for each virtual area partitioned as described above (step S26). At this time, it is desirable that the pattern determination unit 263 determine the arrangement pattern of the tile materials BT in the following order: the virtual areas at both ends of the exterior wall panel P (end areas), the virtual areas at both ends of the opening 130 (opening lateral areas), and the remaining area (central area). Since the ID code information acquired by the acquisition unit 261 includes the end tile type (Bs: type of tile material BT used at the start point), it is possible to determine the arrangement pattern of the end area on the start point side based on the end tile type of the target exterior wall panel P, and to determine the arrangement pattern of the end area on the end point side based on the end tile type of the exterior wall panel P with the next number after the target exterior wall panel P.

[0073] As described above, the pattern determination unit 263 determines the arrangement pattern of the tile materials BT by selecting one or more combination patterns from a plurality of combination patterns for each virtual area. Specific examples of the plurality of combination patterns are shown in Fig. 11(A). The plurality of combination patterns shown in Fig. 11(A) are pre-patterned ways of combining tile materials BT (BTa, BTb, BTc, BTd, ...) of different types (dimensions or shapes), and each combination pattern is formed by combining one or more tile materials from the plurality of types of tile materials BT.

[0074] The multiple combination patterns include a pattern in which the same tile type is used in all rows, a pattern in which different tile types are used in every other row, and a pattern in which three or more types of tile material BT are arranged randomly. There is also a pattern in which tile material BT is placed only in odd or even rows (joint straddling pattern). Note that while combinations for five rows are shown here, similar patterns can be formed depending on the number of rows in the virtual area.

[0075] The pattern determination unit 263 selects one or more combination patterns from the multiple combination patterns described above according to the size of each virtual area. At this time, the pattern determination unit 263 performs the selection process so as to reduce (preferably minimize) the number of combination patterns in each virtual area. This makes it possible to efficiently determine the arrangement pattern of the tile materials BT for each virtual area. A group of multiple (patterned) tile materials BT for each virtual area is called a "tile unit." Note that the combination patterns for the edge area and / or the opening side area may be predetermined.

[0076] The pattern determination unit 263 temporarily stores in its internal memory tile pattern information indicating the arrangement pattern of multiple tile materials BT according to the combination pattern selected for each virtual area, in association with an identifier unique to each virtual area. The "tile pattern information" includes the type, number, and arrangement of the tile materials BT.

[0077] Next, the order determination unit 264 determines the order in which tile units will be pasted to multiple virtual areas based on the placement position information of the tiling device 50 (FIG. 1) on the production line (step S28). In other words, the order in which virtual areas will be worked is determined so that the tiling device 50 can efficiently (in the shortest time) perform the work of pasting tiles to all virtual areas. Figure 11(B) schematically shows an example in which numbers indicating the work order are assigned to some virtual areas.

[0078] As will be described later, a plurality of tiling devices 50 are installed at a tiling station in the factory, and these tiling devices 50 operate simultaneously to perform the work of tiling one exterior wall panel P. Therefore, the order determination unit 264 assigns a number indicating the order of placement to each virtual area based on such placement position information.

[0079] Typically, two tiling devices 50 are arranged facing each other with a panel mounting table (panel transport section 300 shown in FIG. 12) in between. For example, one tiling device 50 (50a) is arranged at the lower end side of the exterior wall panel P placed on the panel mounting table, and the other tiling device 50 (50b) is arranged at the upper end side of the exterior wall panel P placed on the panel mounting table. In this case, for example, after provisionally determining the virtual areas to be worked on by each tiling device based on a reference line passing through the approximate center of the exterior wall panel P, the work areas may be adjusted so that the number of virtual areas to be worked on is approximately the same, and a number may be assigned to each work area.

[0080] The order determination unit 264 temporarily stores in its internal memory order information indicating the determined order of pasting, in association with an identifier unique to each virtual area. The "order information" includes identification information for identifying the tiling device 50 that will perform the work, and the work order.

[0081] Once the arrangement pattern and pasting order for each virtual area have been determined by the above-described processing, the generation unit 265 generates "tile pasting information" (step S30). That is, the information (paste position information, tile pattern information, and order information) temporarily stored in the internal memory by the processing of steps S24, S26, and S28 is integrated for each virtual area to generate the tile pasting information. The output processing unit 266 outputs the tile pasting information generated by the generation unit 265 (step S32). This completes the tile pasting information generation processing.

[0082] In this way, the tile pasting information generating device 20 can generate "tile pasting information" suitable for the exterior wall panel manufacturing device 3 installed in the factory. Therefore, by using this tile pasting information as teaching data for the exterior wall panel manufacturing device 3, it becomes possible to automatically and efficiently paste the tile material BT onto the panel component 110.

[0083] <Basic system exterior wall panel manufacturing equipment> 12 is a diagram showing an overview of a production line for exterior wall panels P in a factory. The production line includes a panel component production line that produces panel components 110 for the exterior wall panels P along a centrally located panel conveyor (belt conveyor, etc.) 300, and a tile application line that applies tile material BT, which becomes the finishing material 120, to the panel components 110. The panel component production line is made up of, for example, stations ST101 and ST102 that process the basic components of the panel components 110, and an assembly station ST103 on the panel conveyor 300.

[0084] The tiling line is mainly composed of a pattern generating station ST1 and a tiling station ST2. A tile unit generating device 30 and a tile unit supplying device 40 are arranged in the pattern generating station ST1. A tiling device 50 serving as a tile applying robot is arranged in the tiling station ST2. The tiling station ST2 is provided at a position including the downstream area of ​​the panel transport section 300 (the downstream area of ​​the assembly station).

[0085] In the tiling station ST2, tile pasting devices 50a and 50b are arranged on both sides of the panel transport section 300. Therefore, two pattern generation stations ST are provided, and in the pattern generation station ST1a, an arrangement pattern of the tile materials BT to be pasted by one tile pasting device 50a is generated, and in the other pattern generation station ST1b, an arrangement pattern of the tile materials BT to be pasted by the tile pasting device 50b is generated.

[0086] 13(A) is a diagram showing the schematic configuration of pattern generation station ST1 (ST1a or ST1b). Pattern generation station ST1 is provided with a tile supply line 61 having supply lanes for each type of tile material BT, and a unit transport section 62 is provided downstream of the tile supply line 61. The tile unit generation device 30 is installed upstream of the unit transport section 62, and the tile unit supply device 40 is installed downstream of the unit transport section 62.

[0087] At least a portion of the tile placement information (tile pattern information and order information) generated by the tile placement information generation device 20 is input in advance as teaching data into the control device of the tile unit generation device 30. Alternatively, the teaching data may be received from the tile placement information generation device 20 while the production line is operating. The tile unit generation device 30 generates tile units by arranging multiple tile materials BT for each virtual area according to the input or received tile placement information. In other words, the tile units are generated in a predetermined placement order and according to a predetermined arrangement pattern. The tile unit generation device 30 is configured, for example, by a known picking robot such as a delta-type picking robot.

[0088] The tile unit supply device 40 receives the tile units generated by the tile unit generation device 30 and supplies the tile units in the order in which they were received to a pick-up position 64 (see FIG. 12) of the tile pasting device 50. In other words, the tile units are sequentially supplied to the pick-up position 64 in accordance with a predetermined pasting order (order information).

[0089] The tile unit supply device 40 includes, for example, a transport control section (not shown) that operates the unit transport section 62, a mounting table 41 on which the tile units TU transported by the unit transport section 62 are placed one by one, and a standby mechanism 42 that enables the tile units TU placed on the mounting table 41 to wait and be supplied to the pickup position 64. The standby mechanism 42 includes, for example, an elevator that raises and lowers the mounting table 41.

[0090] 13(B) shows a specific example of a tile unit TU. A formwork pallet 70 is used to place the tile unit TU generated by the tile unit generating device 30 as is on the mounting table 41 of the tile unit supplying device 40 and supply it as is to the tile pasting device 50. The formwork pallet 70 may be determined according to the type of tile pattern.

[0091] 14 is a flowchart showing the tile unit generation process in the pattern generation station ST. This process is executed by the tile unit generation device 30, the tile unit supply device 40, and devices (or workers) linked to these devices 30, 40, under the control of, for example, a control device 60. Note that the control device 60 is typically configured by a PLC (Programmable Logic Controller).

[0092] Referring to Fig. 14, the tile unit generating device 30 receives tile application information for an exterior wall panel P to be manufactured (hereinafter referred to as the "target panel") (step S42). The pattern generating station ST has a pallet supply line (not shown), to which multiple types of pallets 70 are supplied (step S44). Based on the tile application information for the target panel, a pallet 70 to be used is determined from the multiple types of pallets 70 (step S46). The determined pallet 70 is placed on the upstream portion of the unit transport section 62.

[0093] Furthermore, the tile unit generating device 30 first reads the information on the tile pattern that is first in the pasting order, identifies the type of tile material BT from the tile pattern information, and transmits the identified type and number of tile material BT to the tile supply line 61. As a result, the tile material BT of the specified type is supplied to the tile supply line 61 (step S48), and the tile material BT is placed on the supply lane by type (step S50). Note that the supply of the tile material BT may also be performed manually by an operator.

[0094] When the tile unit generating device 30 confirms that all tile materials BT have been supplied (YES in step S52), it picks the tile materials BT on the supply lanes, for example, one by one (step S54), and arranges the picked tile materials BT on the pallet 70 placed on the unit transport section 62 (step S56). In this way, the tile unit generating device 30 picks up multiple types of tile materials BT that make up the tile unit TU from the supply lanes provided for each type of tile material BT, and arranges the multiple types of tile materials BT on the pallet 70 in an arrangement defined by the tile pattern information.

[0095] The picking and placement of the tile materials BT is repeated until placement of all the tile materials BT according to the tile pattern information is completed (NO in step S60).

[0096] It is desirable to check the placement of the tile material BT using detection means provided on the pallet supply line or the like each time a tile material BT is placed on the pallet 70 (step S58). This prevents incomplete tile units TU from being sent to the next process. The detection means may include a camera 63 as shown in Fig. 13, for example, and may detect whether or not the tile material BT has been placed based on an image captured by the camera 63, or may detect whether or not the tile material BT has been placed using a sensor such as an infrared sensor.

[0097] When all tile materials BT have been placed on the pallet 70, for example, when the first tile unit TU is complete (YES in step S60), the tile unit supply device 40 starts operating. After confirming the placement of the tile pattern according to the tile pattern information (step S62), the tile unit supply device 40 starts operating the belt conveyor serving as the unit transport section 62 and also starts operating the elevator that constitutes the standby mechanism 42 (steps S64, S66).

[0098] The tile unit supply device 40 uses the standby mechanism 42 to supply the first tile unit TU together with the pallet 70 to the pickup position 64. When the tile unit supply device 40 confirms that the tile applying device 50 has picked it up (step S68), it determines that the supply of the first tile unit TU is complete, and executes the supply process for the second and subsequent tile units TU (step S70).

[0099] 12, as described above, a tile pasting device 50 is disposed in each tile pasting station ST2. The tile pasting device 50 includes a tile pasting robot 51 that picks up tile materials BT and places them on the panel component 110, and a moving member 52 that moves the tile pasting robot 51 along the conveying direction of the panel conveying section 300 (along the width direction of the panel component 110). This allows the tile pasting robot 51 to move back and forth along the panel conveying section 300 between a pick-up position 64 in the pattern generating station ST1 and a pasting work position in the tile pasting station ST2.

[0100] As shown schematically in Fig. 12, the tile pasting robot 51 has a hand unit 51h that holds a plurality of tile materials BT. The hand unit 51h is configured to hold a plurality of tile materials BT at once by suctioning the tile materials BT from above, and has a suction surface (not shown) that comes into contact with the plurality of tile materials BT. Note that the "tile pasting device 50" mentioned in this specification primarily refers to the tile pasting robot 51.

[0101] 12, the tiling robot 51 picks up the tile units TU supplied to the pick-up position 64 by the tile unit supply device 40, and attaches the picked-up tile units TU to a specified area (an area corresponding to a virtual area) on the panel member 110. As described above, because the tile unit supply device 40 supplies the tile units TU to the pick-up position 64 in accordance with a predetermined attachment order, the tiling device 50 can also pick up the tile units TU and attach them to the panel member 110 in accordance with the predetermined attachment order.

[0102] At least a portion of the tile pasting information (pasting position information) generated by the tile pasting information generation device 20 is input as teaching data into the control device of the tile pasting robot 51 in advance. Alternatively, the tile pasting information may be received from the tile pasting information generation device 20 while the production line is in operation. Therefore, the tile pasting robot 51 can appropriately place tile units TU, each made of a plurality of tile materials BT that have been patterned in advance, in each virtual area that has been calculated in advance, in accordance with the input or received tile pasting information.

[0103] It is assumed that adhesive is applied to the surface of the panel member 110 before the tiling work begins at the tiling station ST2. The position where the adhesive is applied can be calculated based on the arrangement pattern of the tile materials BT. When the tile-pasting robot 51 has finished pasting the tile materials BT, the exterior wall panel P is complete.

[0104] [Curved Panel Body Production System According to the Present Embodiment] <Overall structure> FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram showing the overall configuration of a curved panel production system 1A according to this embodiment. Similar to the system 1, the curved panel production system 1A includes a teaching data generation system 2A and a curved panel manufacturing apparatus 3A installed in a factory. The following describes in detail the configuration and operation specific to the case where the above-described panel member 110 is a panel member 111 (see FIG. 21) curved in the horizontal (width) or vertical (height) direction. In this embodiment, the panel member 111 is assumed to be curved along the horizontal direction. However, the panel member 111 may also be curved along the vertical direction.

[0105] The curved panel body manufacturing apparatus 3A manufactures a curved panel body PA by attaching a plurality of tile materials BT to a curved panel member (hereinafter referred to as "curved panel member") 111. The curved panel body PA is typically an exterior wall panel, as in the basic system 1. The shape of the tile material BT is a linear, flat plate shape (I-shape), as shown in FIG. 8(A) for the tile materials BTc, BTd, etc. Furthermore, the tile material BT has a rectangular shape (including a rectangle and a square) in plan view.

[0106] The teaching data generation system 2A includes a tile placement information generation device 20A that generates tile placement information for the curved panel member 111 when the basic design information for a building includes information that indicates "curved panels are included." The tile placement information generation device 20A is an information processing device that can execute the functions of both the manufacturing condition information generation device 10 and the tile placement information generation device 20 shown in the system 1 of FIG.

[0107] The curved panel body manufacturing apparatus 3A is an apparatus that manufactures a curved panel body PA in a factory by attaching multiple tile materials BT to a curved panel member 111. Similar to the system 1 of FIG. 1, the apparatus includes a tile unit generating apparatus 30A that generates "tile units" by unitizing multiple tile materials BT, a tile unit supplying apparatus 40A that supplies the tile units generated by the tile unit generating apparatus 30A to a tiling station, and a tile applying apparatus 50A that applies the tile units supplied to the tiling station to the curved panel member 111. The apparatus also includes a control device 60A that controls these devices 30A, 40A, and 50A. The configurations and operations of the tile unit generating apparatus 30A and the tile unit supplying apparatus 40A can be similar to those of the tile unit generating apparatus 30 and the tile unit supplying apparatus 40 in the system 1 of FIG. 1.

[0108] <Tile Pasting Information Generator> 16(A) is a functional block diagram showing the functional configuration of the tile pasting information generation device 20 A. The tile pasting information generation device 20 A includes a detection unit 171, a tile condition calculation unit 172, a grouping calculation unit 173, a generation unit 174, and an output processing unit 175.

[0109] The detection unit 171 corresponds to the detection unit 161 shown in FIG. 3(A). The detection unit 171 detects panel installation information required for installing the curved panel body PA. The panel installation information includes position information indicating the placement position of the curved panel body PA and shape information of the curved panel body PA (curved panel member 111). The shape information includes the size and curvature information of the curved panel member 111 (for example, the direction of curvature, the degree of curvature, etc.). As an example, the curved panel member 111 is assumed to be curved in the horizontal direction.

[0110] The tile condition calculation unit 172 calculates a depth value (hereinafter referred to as a "z value") and a tangent slope (hereinafter referred to as an "m value") from a virtual plane, which will be described later, for each reference point (x coordinate) that serves as a reference for attaching the tile material BT in the horizontal direction (curvature direction) of the curved panel member 111. When the tile materials BT are arranged in a staggered pattern, the z value and m value for each reference point in the odd-numbered rows and the z value and m value for each reference point in the even-numbered rows are calculated. The specific calculation method used by the tile condition calculation unit 172 will be described later.

[0111] The grouping calculation unit 173 groups the pasting reference positions for each tile material BT based on the number of tile materials BT that the tile pasting robot 51A on the production line can hold at one time. The pasting reference position corresponds to, for example, the center point of the tile material BT and is specified by an x-coordinate (horizontal reference point) and a y-coordinate (vertical point). Note that, considering variations in the specifications of the tile pasting robot 51A, the pasting reference position may be synonymous with the x-coordinate (reference point). In other words, the grouping calculation unit 173 may simply group the horizontal reference points.

[0112] The generation unit 174 generates "tile pasting information" that includes the calculation results by the tile condition calculation unit 172 and the calculation results by the grouping calculation unit 173. In other words, the tile pasting information includes the z value and m value for each reference point, as well as group information to which each pasting reference position belongs. Note that this tile pasting information includes an identifier for the curved panel body PA and multiple pieces of condition data indicated by multiple ID codes as shown in FIG. 6(B).

[0113] The output processing unit 175 outputs the tile pasting information generated by the generation unit 174. Specifically, the tile pasting information for each curved panel body PA may be recorded in a pasting information storage unit (not shown) (corresponding to the pasting information storage unit 28 in FIG. 3(B)), or may be sent directly to the control device 60A of the curved panel body manufacturing apparatus 3A. The tile pasting information is used as teaching data for the curved panel body manufacturing apparatus 3A.

[0114] FIG. 16(B) is a flowchart showing the tile condition calculation process executed by the tile condition calculation unit 172. The tile condition calculation unit 172 first calculates the reference point when the width dimension (size in the y direction) of the tile material BT is set to a predetermined size (step S61). The predetermined size here is, for example, a default size. Alternatively, it may be a size input via an operation unit (not shown), or a size predetermined in the panel installation information. This process will be described with reference to FIG. 17.

[0115] As shown in FIG. 17(A), first, a virtual plane 113 having the same width and height as the curved panel member 111 is set symmetrically in front of a virtual curved surface 112 that reproduces the curved shape of the curved panel member 111. Then, as shown in FIG. 17(B), a straight line (a cross-sectional line extending in the horizontal direction) representing the virtual plane 113 is set as the x-axis, and points Pa are calculated at equal intervals in the x-direction. The x-direction corresponds to the curvature direction A2 of the curved panel member 111. The point on the virtual curved surface 112 with the same x-coordinate as point Pa is the reference point Pb that serves as the reference for attaching the tile material BT. The interval (pitch) between adjacent points Pa is, for example, equivalent to the default size (width dimension) of the tile material BT. More specifically, it corresponds to the distance between the center points of adjacent tile materials BT when tile materials BT of the default size are lined up exactly horizontally on the virtual plane 113.

[0116] In actual processing, the point Pa is calculated taking into consideration the joint dimensions between the tiles BT. The joint dimensions may be predetermined default dimensions or dimensions input via an operation unit (not shown).

[0117] Referring again to FIG. 16(B), the tile condition calculation unit 172 calculates, for each reference point Pb on the virtual curved surface 112, a depth value (z value) from point Pa on the virtual plane 113 and a slope (m value) of a tangent line of the virtual curved surface 112 tangent to the reference point Pb (step S62). As shown in FIG. 17(C), the m value is a value that can be positive or negative, and is "±0" when the tangent line is parallel to the virtual plane 113. In this manner, the z value and m value are calculated for each reference point Pb taken at the default size. The tangent line is calculated with the reference point Pb as the tangent point, and specifically, is a straight line perpendicular to the normal line passing through the reference point Pb.

[0118] Next, based on the z and m values ​​when the tile width is set to the default size, it is determined whether all tile materials BT satisfy predetermined tile application conditions when the reference point Pb is set as the reference position (center point) for attaching the tile material BT (step S64). The "tile application conditions" include the back surface of the tile material BT being within the virtual thickness range D of the adhesive. The thickness range D is assumed to be, for example, about 8 to 10 mm.

[0119] 18(A) and 18(B), when the width x of the default size tile material BT is expressed as 100%, for example, it is determined whether the back surface 181 of the tile material BT fits within the virtual thickness range D of the adhesive 180 without protruding. Because the back surface of each tile material BT coincides with the tangent of each reference point Pb, such tile installation conditions can be determined based on the m value, z value for each adjacent reference point Pb, and the default size of the tile material BT.

[0120] In the case of Figure 18(A), the degree of curvature of the imaginary curved surface 112 is gentle, so the back surface 181 falls within the imaginary thickness range D, and the tile installation conditions are met. On the other hand, in the case of Figure 18(B), the degree of curvature of the imaginary curved surface 112 is steep (severe), so the back surface 182 does not fall within the imaginary thickness range D. In this case, both ends of the tile BT cannot be properly adhered, and the tile installation conditions are not met.

[0121] If the tile application conditions are met at all reference points Pb (YES in step S64), proceed to step S72. On the other hand, if the tile application conditions are not met at least at some reference points Pb (NO in step S64), change the width x of the tile material BT from the default size to a regular size that satisfies the tile application conditions (step S68). In the lower diagram of FIG. 18(B), the width x of the tile material BT has been changed to 50%. The width x of the tile material BT is selected from four options, for example, 100%, 75%, 50%, and 25%, depending on the dimensions of standard (commercially available) tile material BT. Alternatively, the desired width x may be achieved by cutting the standard size tile material BT as appropriate.

[0122] As shown in the left diagram of Figure 19, when a region "A" that satisfies the tile installation conditions and a region "B" that does not are mixed, it is desirable to be able to select between a "first pattern" in which the width x of the tile material BT is constant for both regions "A" and "B" as shown in the upper right diagram, and a "second pattern" in which the width x of the tile material BT is not constant and the tile size is changed only for region "B" as shown in the lower right diagram. In this case, when the first pattern is selected, the tile condition calculation unit 172 recalculates all of the reference points Pb. When the second pattern is selected, the tile condition calculation unit 172 recalculates some of the reference points, including the reference points Pb determined not to satisfy the tile installation conditions. Pattern selection can be achieved, for example, using the operation unit 13 or 23 shown in Figure 3. Regarding the location where the tile size is changed, the position of the reference point Pb(Pa) changes depending on the tile size. The changed reference point Pb' corresponds to the center point of the tile material BT when the tile size is normalized.

[0123] Once the tile size that satisfies the tile application conditions has been calculated, the z value and m value are recalculated for each of the changed reference points Pb' (step S70).

[0124] In step S72, the z value·m value for each reference point Pb calculated in step S62 or the z value·m value for each reference point Pb′ calculated in step S70 is output to the generation unit 174. This completes the tile condition calculation process.

[0125] Referring to FIG. 16(A), once the above-described tile condition calculation process is completed, the grouping calculation unit 173 first calculates the vertical point (y coordinate) of the reference attachment position based on the size of the curved panel member 111 detected by the detection unit 171 and the specified vertical dimension of the tile material BT. The vertical point can be identified by the y coordinate of horizontal lines 190 taken at equal intervals along the y direction, as shown in FIG. 20(B). This identifies the reference attachment position (center point) of each tile material BT. The reference attachment position is ID coded.

[0126] The grouping calculation unit 173 groups the reference positions for pasting the tile materials BT according to the number of tile materials BT that the tile pasting robot 51A on the production line can hold at one time. That is, the ID codes of the reference positions for pasting, i.e., the position coordinate identification codes, are grouped. For example, if the tile pasting robot 51A has three hand units 51h, the position coordinate identification codes are grouped, with three tile materials in one group in the x direction, as shown in the conceptual diagrams of FIGS. 20(A) and 20(B). If the suction surface of the hand unit 51h is long in the y direction, the number of tile materials that can be picked up along the y direction (e.g., Ny) is calculated, and 3 × Ny tile materials are classified into one group. Note that if the tile materials BT are arranged in a staggered pattern, 3 × (Ny / 2) tile materials may be classified into one group. Furthermore, the number of tile materials BT in the x direction included in one group does not have to match the number of hand units 51h (3 tile materials). For example, if the size of the tile materials BT is small, the number of tile materials BT included in one group may be greater than the number of hand units 51h.

[0127] The grouping calculation unit 173 assigns a group number (group identification code) to each position coordinate identification code, and outputs the assigned group number to the generation unit 174.

[0128] The generation unit 174 generates tile pasting information including z values, m values, and group information (group number) for each ID code (position coordinate identification code) of the reference position for pasting the tile material BT. The tile pasting information further includes the size (at least the width dimension) of the tile material BT. The output processing unit 175 executes processing to transmit the tile pasting information to, for example, the control device 60A of the curved panel body manufacturing apparatus 3A.

[0129] The tile pasting information generating device 20A according to this embodiment generates tile pasting information required for pasting the tile material BT according to the curved shape of the curved panel member 111, thereby enabling automatic pasting by the tile pasting robot 51A. Note that the tile material BT may also be pasted manually based on the tile pasting information generated by the tile pasting information generating device 20A.

[0130] <Curved panel manufacturing equipment> As shown in FIG. 15, the curved panel body manufacturing apparatus 3A includes a tile unit generating device 30A, a tile unit supplying device 40A, a tile pasting device 50A, and a control device 60A that controls these.

[0131] 21(A) is a diagram schematically illustrating a tiling line on which a tiling device 50A is installed. The tiling line includes, in this order, a "panel setting process" for setting curved panel members 111, and a "tiling process" for attaching tile materials BT to the curved panel members 111 set in the panel setting process.

[0132] The tile pasting device 50A includes a panel support device 80 that supports the curved panel member 111 from below, and a tile pasting robot 51A that pastes the tile material BT. The panel support device 80 is adjusted in height during a panel setting process, as described below. The panel support device 80 is provided so that it can move from the panel setting process to the tile pasting process, and during the tile pasting process, the tile material BT is pasted by the tile pasting robot 51A while the panel support device 80 supports the curved panel member 111 from below.

[0133] The tile pasting robot 51A picks up the tile units (a plurality of tile materials BT included in one group) sequentially supplied to a pick-up position 64 (see FIG. 12) by the tile unit supply device 40A, and performs pasting processing on the curved panel member 111. Note that the tile pasting robot 51A is not limited to an arm-type robot, and may be, for example, a gantry-type robot.

[0134] FIG. 21(B) is a functional block diagram showing the functional configuration of a control device 60A that controls the tile pasting device 50A. The control device 60A includes a non-volatile storage device 601 that stores tile pasting information, a support adjustment control unit 602 that adjusts and controls the panel support device 80, and a hand adjustment control unit 603 that adjusts and controls the hand unit 51h of the tile pasting robot 51A. The functions of the support adjustment control unit 602 and the hand adjustment control unit 603 are realized by a processor executing software. The storage device 601 may be realized by a cloud server. Note that the function of the support adjustment control unit 602 may be realized by a control unit installed in the panel support device 80, and the function of the hand adjustment control unit 603 may be realized by a control unit installed in the tile pasting robot 51A.

[0135] 22 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration example of a panel support device 80. The panel support device 80 includes a plurality of support rod members 81 arranged in a matrix along both the vertical and horizontal directions of the curved panel member 111. The curved direction (horizontal direction) of the curved panel member 111 is indicated by arrow A2.

[0136] The support rod members 81 are formed, for example, by height-adjusting bolts. In this case, the panel support device 80 further includes a cylindrical member 82 having an inner peripheral surface that screws onto the outer peripheral surface of the support rod members 81, and a rotation drive unit 83 that rotates the cylindrical member 82. The horizontal arrangement pitch of the support rod members 81 may be fixed or may be adjustable according to reference points Pb, Pb' of the attachment reference positions. The cylindrical member 82 and the rotation drive unit 83 function as height adjustment means that adjusts the height of the support rod members 81. The rotation drive unit 83 includes multiple rotation shafts 83a, rotation motors (not shown) that rotate each rotation shaft 83a, and a case unit 83b that houses the rotation motor.

[0137] In the panel setting process, the support adjustment control section 602 of the control device 60A reads out the tile pasting information stored in the storage device 601, and adjusts the height of the support rod members 81 of the panel support device 80 based on the information for each position coordinate identification code (information on the pasting reference position). Specifically, the number of rotations of the rotation shaft 83a of the rotation drive section 83 is adjusted in accordance with the z value for each x coordinate (reference points Pb, Pb'), thereby individually adjusting the height of the corresponding support rod members 81.

[0138] When there is a one-to-one relationship between the reference point and the support rod members 81, the support rod members 81 that support the curved panel member 111 may be selected from a large number of support rod members 81 (and cylindrical members 82), and the placement interval of the support rod members 81 may be adjusted. On the other hand, when there is not a one-to-one relationship between the reference point and the support rod members 81 and the positions of the support rod members 81 are fixed, the height of the support rod members 81 may be calculated based on the distance from the reference point and the z value of the reference point. The same applies to the rotation shaft 83a included in the rotation drive unit 83.

[0139] This allows the curved panel member 111, which is curved in the horizontal direction, to be properly supported by the multiple support rod members 81. For example, casters 86 are provided at the lower end of the panel support device 80, and the panel support device 80, which is supporting the curved panel member 111, can be moved automatically or manually to the tiling process.

[0140] The rotation shaft 83a of the rotation drive unit 83 may be detachable from the cylindrical member 82. In this case, the main body unit having the support rod member 81 and the cylindrical member 82 and having the casters 86 at the lower end thereof and the rotation drive unit 83 are separably provided, and therefore the rotation drive unit 83 may be fixed to the panel setting station.

[0141] As shown in the partially enlarged view of Fig. 22, it is desirable that an elastic member 84 such as rubber is provided at the tip (upper end) of each support rod member 81. This prevents the curved panel member 111 from sliding on the support rod member 81 and shifting laterally. Also, as shown in Fig. 22, the panel support device 80 may further include a pair of panel stoppers 85 that clamp the curved panel member 111 from both sides in the lateral direction.

[0142] 23A and 23B are diagrams showing an example of the configuration of the gripping unit 500 of the tile pasting robot 51A, with (A) being a front view and (B) being a side view. As shown in FIG. 23A, the gripping unit 500 includes three hand units 51h provided independently of one another and a support unit 510 that supports the three hand units 51h via a hanging member 520. The hanging member 520 may also be formed, for example, of a height-adjustable bolt. In this case, the gripping unit 500 further includes a cylindrical member 521 having an inner peripheral surface that screws into the outer peripheral surface of the hanging member 520, and a rotation drive unit (not shown) that rotates the cylindrical member 521.

[0143] An angle adjustment member 530 is provided at the connection between the tip (lower end) of the hanging member 520 and the hand unit 51h to change the inclination of the hand unit 51h. The angle adjustment member 530 is formed, for example, by a ball joint. The rotation drive unit that rotates the cylindrical member 521 and the angle adjustment member 530 function as a hand adjustment means that adjusts the height and inclination angle of the hand unit 51h.

[0144] The hand unit 51h has an adsorption surface 540 that is long in the vertical direction (indicated by arrow A3). It is desirable to provide an elastic member 543, such as a spring, between a lower plate-shaped portion 541 including the adsorption surface 540 and an upper plate-shaped portion 542 connected to the angle adjustment member 530. By providing the elastic member 543 on all of the hand units 51h, it is possible to absorb errors in the z value when attaching multiple tiles BT at once.

[0145] During the tiling process, the hand adjustment control unit 603 of the control device 60A reads out the tile pasting information stored in the storage device 601 and adjusts the height and tilt angle of each hand unit 51h of the tile pasting robot 51A based on the information for each position coordinate identification code (information on the pasting reference position). The adjustment control by the hand adjustment control unit 603 is performed after the hand unit 51h has adsorbed multiple tile materials BT (included in one group) supplied from the tile unit supply device 40A. When the tile materials BT are arranged in a staggered pattern on the curved panel member 111, the tile unit supply device 40A supplies even-numbered rows of tile materials BT separately from odd-numbered rows of tile materials BT, so that, as shown in FIG. 24(B), multiple tile materials BT are adsorbed onto the adsorption surface 540 of the hand unit 51h at intervals (one tile) apart in the vertical direction.

[0146] As shown in Fig. 24(A), the hand adjustment control unit 603 individually adjusts the height of each hand unit 51h according to the corresponding z value. By making the above-described virtual plane 113 and the support unit 510 that supports the hand unit 51h parallel to each other, the height of the hand unit 51h can be adjusted according to the z value calculated based on the virtual plane 113. The hand adjustment control unit 603 also individually adjusts the tilt angle of each hand unit 51h according to the corresponding m value.

[0147] As a result, the suction surface 540 of the hand unit 51h (i.e., the tile material BT sucked onto the suction surface 540) is positioned parallel to a tangent to the attachment reference point (corresponding to reference point Pb or Pb') on the curved panel member 111 and at a certain distance from the reference point. Therefore, by lowering the entire gripping unit 500 having multiple hand units 51h at once, multiple tile materials BT can be attached to the curved panel member 111 efficiently and accurately.

[0148] The curved panel production system 1A according to this embodiment can produce a smooth curved panel PA with reduced irregularities and gaps, as shown in Fig. 25(A). Fig. 25(B) shows a comparative example in which default-sized (unadjusted) tile material BT is laid on a curved panel member 111. It can be seen that the curved panel PB of the comparative example has large irregularities and gaps in areas with a steeper degree of curvature.

[0149] By using the curved panel PA manufactured by the curved panel production system 1A on the exterior walls of a building, the work of attaching tile materials BT on-site can be eliminated (only some parts such as joints can be attached manually). Therefore, the curved panel production system 1A according to this embodiment can simplify the construction of exterior walls on-site, thereby reducing labor costs and shortening the construction period.

[0150] Furthermore, when an exterior wall is constructed using (sliced) bricks as the tile material BT, it gives the impression that the exterior wall is made by stacking actual bricks. Therefore, the design of the building can be improved without increasing labor costs. Note that the curved panel body PA is not limited to panels for exterior walls, but may also be other types of surface materials such as partition panels, floor panels, and ceiling panels.

[0151] <Modification> In this embodiment, an example has been described in which the material of the tile material BT is brick, but it may be formed from other materials such as ceramic material, stone, etc. In other words, the tile material BT is not limited to components generally called "tiles," and may be any material that functions as a "finishing material" that divides the decorative surface of the curved panel body and can form a pattern (decorative pattern) by assembling multiple pieces.

[0152] The tile placement information generation method executed by the tile placement information generation device 20A according to this embodiment can also be provided as a program. Such a program can be provided by being recorded on an optical medium such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc-ROM) or a computer-readable non-transitory recording medium such as a memory card. The program can also be provided by downloading it over a network.

[0153] The program according to the present invention may execute processing by calling necessary modules in a predetermined sequence at a predetermined timing among program modules provided as part of a computer's operating system (OS). In this case, the program itself does not include the modules, and executes processing in cooperation with the OS. Programs that do not include such modules may also be included in the program according to the present invention.

[0154] Furthermore, the program according to the present invention may be provided as a part of another program. In this case, the program itself does not include the modules included in the other program, and executes processing in cooperation with the other program. Such a program incorporated in another program may also be included in the program according to the present invention.

[0155] The embodiments disclosed herein should be considered to be illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the claims, not by the above description, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope of the claims. [Explanation of symbols]

[0156] 1A curved panel body production system, 2A teaching data generation system, 3A curved panel body manufacturing apparatus, 20A tile pasting information generation device, 50A tile pasting device, 51A tile pasting robot, 51h hand unit, 80 panel support device, 111 panel member, 112 virtual curved surface, 113 virtual plane, 172 tile condition calculation unit, 173 grouping calculation unit, 174 generation unit, 175 output processing unit, 602 support adjustment control unit, 603 hand adjustment control unit, BT tile material, PA curved panel body, Pb, Pb' reference points.

Claims

1. A tile pasting information generating device for a curved panel body manufactured by pasting a plurality of tile materials onto a panel member curved in a vertical or horizontal direction, a tile condition calculation means for calculating a depth value and a tangent slope from a virtual plane for each reference point that serves as a reference for attaching the tile material in the curved direction of the panel member; a generating unit that generates tiling information including the depth and tangent gradient for each of the reference points calculated by the tile condition calculating unit.

2. The tile condition calculation means a first calculation means for calculating a depth value and a tangent gradient from a virtual plane for each first reference point, the first reference point having a predetermined size equal to the width of the tile material; a determining means for determining whether each tile material satisfies a tile installation condition when the first reference point is set as a reference position for attachment, based on the calculation result by the first calculating means; and second calculation means for calculating a normal size that satisfies the tile installation conditions when the determination means determines that the conditions are not satisfied, and recalculating a depth value and a tangent slope from the virtual plane for each second reference point whose width is the normal size.

3. The tile mounting information generating device according to claim 2 , wherein the tile mounting conditions include a condition that the rear surface of the tile material is within a virtual thickness range of the adhesive.

4. Further, a selection means is provided for selecting either a first pattern in which the width of the tile material is constant or a second pattern in which the width of the tile material is not constant, 4. The tile pasting information generating device according to claim 2, wherein the second calculation means, when the first pattern is selected by the selection means, subjects all of the first reference points to recalculation, and, when the second pattern is selected, subjects some of the reference points including the first reference points that are determined not to satisfy the tile installation conditions to recalculation.

5. The method further comprises a grouping calculation means for grouping the reference points based on the number of hand units of the tile pasting robots in the production line, 5. The tiling information generating device according to claim 1, wherein the tiling information further includes group information of the reference points.

6. A step of calculating a depth value and a tangent slope from a virtual plane for each reference point that serves as a reference for attaching a tile material in the curved direction of a panel member that is curved in the vertical or horizontal direction; and generating tiling information including the calculated depth and tangent slope for each of the reference points.

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