Simulation device

Abstract

Provided is a simulation device with which the cause of an emergency shutdown and the priority of countermeasures can be intuitively recognized. The simulation device comprises: an influence degree calculation unit that calculates, upon occurrence of an emergency shutdown of a robot, a degree of influence on a shaft of the robot; and a display control unit that displays an object corresponding to the degree of influence in a three-dimensional space.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a simulation device.

Background Art

[0002] Robots have an emergency stop function for safety, but when an emergency stop occurs, parts of the robot's axis may be damaged due to impacts, etc., which can cause the robot to malfunction. As a prior art, in order to reduce the impact on the robot caused by an emergency stop, a technique has been proposed to record the load and speed of the axis at the time of the emergency stop together with the cause of the stop and display a graph (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] The causes of an emergency stop include problems in the design of the robot system, operation programs, etc. However, in the prior art, it has been difficult to identify where the problem lies. Therefore, a robot simulation device that can intuitively grasp the cause of an emergency stop and the priority of countermeasures is desired.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] A simulation device according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes an influence degree calculation unit that calculates the degree of influence on the axis of the robot when an emergency stop of the robot occurs, and a display control unit that displays an object corresponding to the influence degree in a three-dimensional space.

Effects of the Invention

[0006] According to the present invention, the cause of the emergency stop and the priority of countermeasures can be intuitively understood. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0007] [Figure 1] This is a block diagram showing the configuration of the simulation device according to this embodiment. [Figure 2] This figure shows an example of displaying an object in three-dimensional space according to this embodiment. [Figure 3] This figure shows an example of dividing a three-dimensional space into a grid-like region according to this embodiment and displaying objects within that region. [Figure 4] This flowchart shows the processing of the simulation device according to this embodiment. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0008] An example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described below. Figure 1 is a diagram showing an overview of the simulation device 1 according to this embodiment. The simulation device 1 may be, for example, a robot control device for controlling a robot, a teaching pendant, a robot, or a computer device connected to a robot control device. Alternatively, the simulation device 1 may be a simulation device such as RoboGuide, or a computer device for simulation that is not connected to a robot.

[0009] Display device 2 displays various information based on signals transmitted from simulation device 1. Display device 2 is composed of, for example, an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display), a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube), etc.

[0010] The simulation device 1 comprises a control unit 11 and a storage unit 12. The control unit 11 is composed of a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and performs various controls in the simulation device 1. The control unit 11 comprises an emergency stop detection unit 111, an impact calculation unit 112, and a display control unit 113.

[0011] The memory unit 12 consists of storage devices such as ROM (Read Only Memory), RAM (Random Access Memory), HDD (Hard Disk Drive), and SSD (Solid State Drive), and stores various types of information.

[0012] The emergency stop detection unit 111 detects an emergency stop of the robot and notifies the impact calculation unit 112 of the robot's emergency stop. Here, the robot's emergency stop may be an actual emergency stop of the robot, or it may be an emergency stop of the robot in software or simulation.

[0013] In this specification, an emergency stop of a robot includes stopping by an emergency stop button on the teaching control panel and the control panel, stopping by an external emergency stop signal, stopping by cutting off the power to the servos and causing the robot to stop momentarily or decelerate rapidly in a short time, stopping by operating the dead man's switch on the teaching control panel, stopping due to collision detection, emergency stop by software, stopping due to malfunction of amplifiers, motors, etc. In other words, an emergency stop of a robot means an unexpected stop in relation to the robot's operation.

[0014] The impact calculation unit 112 calculates the degree of impact on the robot's axes when an emergency stop occurs. The display control unit 113 displays objects in three-dimensional space corresponding to the degree of impact calculated by the impact calculation unit 112. The display control unit 113 transmits signals for displaying the three-dimensional space and objects to the display device 2, and the display device 2 displays the three-dimensional space and objects based on the signals transmitted from the simulation device 1.

[0015] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of displaying objects 34 and 35 on a three-dimensional space 3 according to the present embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, the influence degree calculation unit 112 calculates the radius r of a sphere as the influence degree, and the display control unit 113 displays spheres having the radius r as objects 34 and 35 on the three-dimensional space 3.

[0016] In the example shown in FIG. 2, when an emergency stop of the robot occurs, the influence degree calculation unit 112 calculates the influence degree on the axis of the robot based on the number of stop times when the emergency stop of the robot occurs.

[0017] More specifically, the influence degree calculation unit 112 calculates the influence degree based on at least one of the load on the axis of the robot and the speed of the axis together with the number of stop times. For example, as shown in the following mathematical formula, the influence degree calculation unit 112 calculates the radius r of the sphere by weighting the number of stop times of each axis of the robot using the magnitudes of the load on the axis of the robot and the speed at the time of emergency stop.

Equation

[0018] Here, r is the radius of the sphere, e is a correction coefficient, i is the range of the load and speed on the axis of the robot, WT is the weight of the load, WS is the weight of the speed, and E is the number of emergency stops (number of stop times). The correction coefficient e is a coefficient for displaying the sphere and is used to determine the relative size with respect to the three-dimensional model 31 of the robot. Further, the load weight WT and the speed weight WS vary according to the range i of the load and speed on the axis of the robot, respectively.

[0019] Furthermore, the display control unit 113 superimposes the three-dimensional model 31 of the robot and the motion trajectory 33 for each motion program of the robot on the objects 34 and 35 and displays them on the three-dimensional space 3. Here, the three-dimensional model 31 of the robot is, for example, a model of an articulated robot and has a center point (TCP: Tool Center Point) 32 at the tip of the robot arm (hereinafter referred to as TCP 32). The motion trajectory 33 indicates the trajectory of the TCP 32 that operates according to the motion program of the robot. As a result, it becomes easier for the user to grasp the positions of the objects 34 and 35 displayed in the three-dimensional space 3.

[0020] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of dividing the three-dimensional space 3 according to the present embodiment into grid-like regions and displaying objects. In the example shown in FIG. 3, the influence degree calculation unit 112 divides the three-dimensional space 3 into a grid region 4 including a plurality of grid-like regions (for example, region 41).

[0021] When displaying an object in the same manner as the example shown in FIG. 2, the influence degree calculation unit 112 calculates the influence degree on the axis of the robot based on the number of stop times when the robot's emergency stop occurs. In this case, the display control unit 113 displays a plurality of objects 42a, 42b, 42c, 42d, and 42e within the same region 41 according to the number of stop times. However, when a large number of objects are displayed in this way, it may be difficult for the user to grasp the influence degree from the objects 42a - 42e displayed in the three-dimensional space 3.

[0022] Therefore, in the example shown in FIG. 3, when the position of the robot's TCP 32 at the time of an emergency stop exists within the same region, the influence degree calculation unit 112 accumulates the number of stop times within the same region. For example, when the position of the robot's TCP 32 at the time of an emergency stop exists within the same region 41, the influence degree calculation unit 112 accumulates (counts) the number of stop times within the same region 41. For example, in the example of FIG. 3, the count number within the region 41 is 5.

[0023] As a result, the display control unit 113 displays a sphere as an object 43 within the area 41 according to the cumulative count of the number of stops. Therefore, the user can easily understand the location of the emergency stop from the object 43 displayed in the three-dimensional space 3.

[0024] Figure 4 is a flowchart showing the processing of the simulation device 1 according to this embodiment. In step S1, the emergency stop detection unit 111 detects the emergency stop of the robot and notifies the impact calculation unit 112 of the emergency stop of the robot. In step S2, the impact calculation unit 112 counts the number of times the robot has stopped due to an emergency stop.

[0025] In step S3, the impact calculation unit 112 obtains the load on the robot's axis and the axis speed when the robot's emergency stop occurs.

[0026] In step S4, the influence calculation unit 112 calculates the radius r as the influence based on the number of stops, the load on the robot's axis and the speed of the axis, and the formula for calculating the radius r of the sphere described above.

[0027] In step S5, the display control unit 113 displays objects 34 and 35 in three-dimensional space 3 using the radius r of the sphere as the degree of influence. Furthermore, the display control unit 113 displays the robot's three-dimensional model 31 and the motion trajectory 32 for each robot motion program superimposed on objects 34 and 35 in three-dimensional space 3.

[0028] In the embodiment described above, a sphere was displayed as the object, but the object is not limited to a sphere. For example, the object may be another three-dimensional shape such as an ellipsoid, cuboid, cube, cone, cylinder, triangular pyramid, or triangular prism.

[0029] As described above, according to this embodiment, the simulation device 1 includes an impact calculation unit 112 that calculates the degree of impact on the robot's axes when an emergency stop occurs, and a display control unit 113 that displays objects corresponding to the degree of impact in the three-dimensional space 3. As a result, the simulation device 1 can quantify the degree of impact on the axes of the emergency-stopped robot and display it in the three-dimensional space, allowing the user to intuitively understand the cause of the emergency stop and the priority of countermeasures.

[0030] Furthermore, the display control unit 113 displays the robot's three-dimensional model 31 and the robot's motion trajectory 33 for each motion program superimposed on the object in the three-dimensional space 3. As a result, the simulation device 1 displays not only the object but also the three-dimensional model 31 and motion trajectory 33 in the three-dimensional space 3, making it easier for the user to understand the position of the object displayed in the three-dimensional space 3.

[0031] Furthermore, the impact calculation unit 112 calculates the impact based on the number of times the robot has stopped due to an emergency stop. This allows the simulation device 1 to display an object with a size corresponding to the number of stops.

[0032] Furthermore, the impact calculation unit 112 divides the three-dimensional space 3 into multiple grid-like regions, and if the robot's operating parts are located within the same region when an emergency stop occurs, it accumulates the number of stops within that region. As a result, the simulation device 1 displays a single sphere as an object 43 within region 41 according to the accumulated count of stops, making it easier for the user to understand the location of the emergency stop from the object 43 displayed in the three-dimensional space 3.

[0033] Furthermore, the impact calculation unit 112 calculates the impact based on the number of times the robot made an emergency stop, as well as at least one of the load on the robot's axes and the speed of the axes. This allows the simulation device 1 to display an object that takes into account the load on the robot's axes and the speed of the axes.

[0034] Furthermore, the impact calculation unit 112 calculates the radius of the sphere as the degree of impact, and the display control unit 113 displays the sphere with a radius as an object in the three-dimensional space 3. As a result, the simulation device 1 can quantify the degree of impact by the size of the sphere, allowing the user to intuitively understand the cause of the emergency stop and the priority of countermeasures.

[0035] Although embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the simulation device 1 described above can be realized by hardware, software, or a combination thereof. Furthermore, the control method performed by the simulation device 1 can also be realized by hardware, software, or a combination thereof. Here, "realized by software" means realized by a computer reading and executing a program.

[0036] Programs can be stored and supplied to a computer using various types of non-transitory computer-readable media. Non-transitory computer-readable media include various types of tangible storage media. Examples of non-transitory computer-readable media include magnetic recording media (e.g., hard disk drives), magneto-optical recording media (e.g., magneto-optical disks), CD-ROMs (Read Only Memory), CD-Rs, CD-R / Ws, and semiconductor memory (e.g., mask ROMs, PROMs (Programmable ROMs), EPROMs (Erasable PROMs), flash ROMs, and RAMs (random access memory)).

[0037] Furthermore, while the embodiments described above are preferred embodiments of the present invention, the scope of the present invention is not limited to these embodiments alone. Various modifications can be made to the present invention without departing from its spirit. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0038] 1. Simulation device 2 Display device 3 Three-dimensional space 4 Grid area 11 Control Unit 12 Storage section 31 Three-dimensional models 32 TCP 33 Operation trajectory 34,35,43 objects 42a,42b,42c,42d,42e objects 111 Emergency Stop Detection Unit 112 Impact calculation part 113 Display Control Unit

Claims

1. An impact calculation unit that calculates the degree of impact on the robot's axis when an emergency stop occurs, A display control unit that displays an object corresponding to the aforementioned influence level in three-dimensional space, Equipped with, The display control unit displays the three-dimensional model of the robot and the motion trajectory for each motion program of the robot on the three-dimensional space by superimposing them onto the object. Simulation device.

2. The simulation apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the impact calculation unit calculates the impact based on the number of times the robot has stopped due to an emergency stop.

3. The simulation apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the influence calculation unit divides the three-dimensional space into a plurality of grid-like regions, and if the positions of the robot's operating parts when an emergency stop occurs are within the same region, it accumulates the number of stops within the same region.

4. The simulation apparatus according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the influence calculation unit calculates the influence based on the number of stops, and at least one of the load on the shaft and the speed of the shaft.

5. The influence calculation unit calculates the radius of the sphere as the influence, The simulation apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the display control unit displays the sphere having the radius as the object in the three-dimensional space.

Images