Teaching device

Abstract

A teaching device (40, 10A) for performing program creation using an icon representing a function constituting a control program for an industrial machine is provided, the teaching device (40, 10A) including: a state information acquisition unit (156, 115) that acquires state information indicating whether or not the icon constituting the control program can execute an anticipated action, or has performed execution thereof or not; and an information display creating unit (157, 117) that creates a display relating to the icon, so that whether or not the icon making can execute the anticipated action or has performed execution thereof or not can be visually recognized on the program creating screen, on the basis of the state information.

Description

Technical Field

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

Background Art

[0002] In order to intuitively teach a control program of a robot, a teaching device has been proposed that enables programming using icons representing functions constituting the control program of the robot (for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] Regarding the use of icons, there are the following prior documents. Patent Document 2 relates to a user interface in an arc welding system, and describes that "it may include a display that graphically presents parameters such as robot parameters, welding parameters, and plasma cutting parameters to an operator in the form of emojis, and visually shows the operator how changes to the parameters will affect the robot process, welding process, plasma process, etc." (paragraph 0023).

[0004] Patent Document 3 relates to an operating state analysis device that records information during the operation of a robot and analyzes the state of the robot based on the recorded information, and describes that "next, as shown in FIG. 6, image data and elapsed time (or time) information are arranged in time series on the display screen of the operating state analysis device 1 in the order in which the data was acquired and displayed as a list of icons" (paragraph 0014), and "when an analysis button is selected (step 208). As shown in FIG. 11, the display color of the icon button for the time exceeding the set allowable value regarding speed and acceleration is changed and displayed" (paragraph 0017).

[0005] Patent Document 4 describes the display on a touch panel of a work machine display device as follows: "An operator can check the status of a desired soft button (selectable state (Figure 2) or unselectable state (Figures 3 to 5)) simply by looking at the touch panel 5. At the same time, if the desired soft button is in an unselectable state (Figures 3 to 5), the operator can check the operating conditions necessary to switch it to a selectable state (Figure 2) by looking at the operating condition icons" (paragraph 0034).

[0006] Patent Document 5, relating to a method for displaying a tree structure of a document, states: "As shown in Figure 6, for example, the icon for a page that does not have annotation data or variable print data set is the page icon 61. Furthermore, for pages that do have annotation data or variable print data set, as shown in Figures 71 and 72, a pencil mark is placed on the icon of the page that does not have such data set, so that it can be clearly distinguished from pages that do not contain annotation data or variable print data." (Paragraph 0023). [Prior art documents] [Patent Documents]

[0007] [Patent Document 1] Republished Bulletin No. WO20 / 012558 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2018-058117 [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2004-174662 [Patent Document 4] Republished Gazette No. 2015 / 136671 [Patent Document 5] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2004-252725 [Overview of the project] [Problems that the invention aims to solve]

[0008] Consider a scenario in which a control program is created or executed on a teaching device that enables programming using icons representing the functions that make up the robot's control program. The user places icons on the program creation screen and sets the parameters of the functions represented by the icons as needed to perform the program. In such a scenario, the user wants to know immediately whether the icon can or has performed the intended action. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] One aspect of the present disclosure is a teaching device for creating a program using icons that represent functions constituting a control program for industrial machinery, the control program constituting Demonstrates the operation of industrial machinery. A status information acquisition unit that acquires status information indicating the execution result of an icon, The aforementioned work The execution result Information regarding whether it was a success or a failure The teaching device includes an information display creation unit that creates a display related to the aforementioned icon so that it can be visually recognized on the program creation screen. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] With the above configuration, users can instantly and visually understand whether an icon is capable of performing or has performed its intended action.

[0011] These and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become even clearer from the detailed description of typical embodiments of the present invention shown in the accompanying drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0012] [Figure 1] This diagram shows the overall configuration of a robot system including a teaching device according to the first embodiment. [Figure 2] This diagram shows an example of the hardware configuration of a robot control device and teaching control panel. [Figure 3] This is a functional block diagram showing the functional configuration of the teaching device. [Figure 4]It is a diagram showing a program creation screen displayed on the display unit of the teaching operation panel. [Figure 5] It is a diagram showing an example in which a mark (attached icon) indicating the occurrence of an alarm error is displayed on the view icon in a program by an icon arranged in the program creation area. [Figure 6] It is a diagram showing a state in which a pop-up screen showing the content of an alarm error is displayed by selecting the view icon. [Figure 7] It is a diagram showing another example of a screen showing the content of an alarm error displayed by selecting the view icon. [Figure 8] It is a diagram showing a state in which a mark indicating the occurrence of an alarm error is displayed on the call icon in a program by an icon arranged in the program creation area. [Figure 9] It is a diagram showing a state in which a pop-up screen showing the content of an alarm error is displayed by selecting the call icon. [Figure 10] It is a diagram showing another example of a screen showing the content of an alarm error displayed by selecting the call icon. [Figure 11] It is a diagram showing an example of a parameter setting screen displayed by selecting the open button. [Figure 12] It is a diagram showing an example of a program creation screen further including a preview screen of a robot, which is displayed on the display unit by the teaching device according to the second embodiment. [Figure 13] It is a flowchart showing the state display process of an icon by the teaching device according to the second embodiment. [Figure 14A] It is a diagram showing an example in which a camera icon indicating a successful state as the execution result of an icon is displayed on the preview screen. [Figure 14B] It is a diagram showing an example in which a camera icon indicating a failed state as the execution result of an icon is displayed on the preview screen. [Figure 15A]This diagram shows an example of displaying a camera icon in the program creation area, indicating a successful execution result. [Figure 15B] This diagram illustrates an example of displaying a camera icon in the program creation area to indicate a failed state as a result of icon execution. [Figure 16] This diagram shows the equipment configuration of a robot system including a teaching device according to the third embodiment. [Figure 17] This is a functional block diagram of the teaching device according to the third embodiment. [Figure 18] This flowchart illustrates the process for determining whether or not to assign an associated icon to a function icon. [Figure 19] This figure shows an example where an attached icon is added to an icon placed in the program creation area if there are unconfigured items in that icon. [Figure 20] This figure shows the state after selecting a "view icon" in the program creation area of ​​Figure 19, which displays the parameter setting screen for the "view icon." [Figure 21] This diagram shows an example where an additional icon is added to an icon placed in the program creation area when there are items that require setting changes. [Figure 22] This figure shows the state after selecting a "view icon" in the program creation area of ​​Figure 21, which displays the parameter setting screen for the "view icon." [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0013] Next, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. In the drawings, similar components or functional parts are given the same reference numerals. For ease of understanding, the scale of these drawings has been appropriately changed. Furthermore, the embodiments shown in the drawings are just one example of how to carry out the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the illustrated embodiments.

[0014] The following describes a teaching device that enables programming using icons representing functions that constitute a robot's control program. This teaching device is configured to include a state information acquisition unit that acquires state information indicating whether or not the icons constituting the control program can perform a desired operation or have performed it, and an information display creation unit that creates a display related to the icons based on the state information so that the user can visually recognize on the program creation screen whether or not the icons can perform a desired operation or have performed it. With this configuration, the user can instantly and visually grasp whether or not the icons can perform a desired operation or have performed it during the control program creation or execution process.

[0015] First Embodiment Figure 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a robot system 100 including a teaching device 40 according to the first embodiment. In this embodiment, the teaching device 40 for teaching the robot 30 is configured by a robot control device 50 and a teaching operation panel 10. The teaching device 40 is a teaching device that enables programming using icons that represent functions constituting the control program of the robot 30 (i.e., representing robot control commands).

[0016] When an abnormal operation occurs during the creation or execution of a control program using icons, the user desires to be able to immediately check the location and content of the abnormality. The teaching device 40 according to this embodiment is configured to acquire alarm or error information that occurs in connection with the processing of an icon as state information indicating an abnormality in the operation of the icon, and to change the display manner of the icon or add an image according to the content of the alarm or error.

[0017] While various configurations are possible for a robot system including such a teaching device 40, in this embodiment, the robot system 100 shown in Figure 1 will be described as an example. The robot system 100 includes a robot 30 with a hand 33 mounted on the tip of its arm, a robot control device 50 that controls the robot 30, a teaching control panel 10 connected to the robot control device 50, a vision sensor 70 attached to the tip of the arm of the robot 30, and a vision sensor control device 20 that controls the vision sensor 70. The robot system 100 can detect an object 1 on the workbench 2 using the vision sensor 70 and handle the object 1 with the hand 33 mounted on the robot 30.

[0018] The vision sensor control device 20 has the function of controlling the vision sensor 70 and the function of performing image processing on the image captured by the vision sensor 70. The vision sensor control device 20 detects the position of the object 1 from the image captured by the vision sensor 70 and provides the detected position of the object 1 to the robot control device 50. This allows the robot control device 50 to correct the taught position and perform the object retrieval operation. The vision sensor 70 may be a camera that captures grayscale images or color images, or a stereo camera or 3D sensor that can acquire depth images or 3D point clouds. Multiple vision sensors may be arranged in the robot system 100. The vision sensor control device 20 holds a model pattern of the object and performs image processing to detect the object by matching the image of the object in the captured image with the model pattern.

[0019] In addition to the detection described here, other examples of processing using visual sensors, such as judgment, are also possible. In Figure 1, the visual sensor control device 20 is configured as a separate device from the robot control device 50, but the functions of the visual sensor control device 20 may also be incorporated into the robot control device 50.

[0020] Figure 2 shows an example of the hardware configuration of the robot control device 50 and the teaching control panel 10. The robot control device 50 may have a general computer configuration in which a processor 51 is connected to a memory 52 (ROM, RAM, non-volatile memory, etc.), an input / output interface 53, an operation unit 54 including various operation switches, etc., via a bus. The teaching control panel 10 is used as a device for inputting operations and displaying screen information for teaching the robot 30 (i.e., creating a control program). The teaching control panel 10 may have a general computer configuration in which a processor 11 is connected to a memory 12 (ROM, RAM, non-volatile memory, etc.), a display unit 13, an operation unit 14 consisting of an input device such as a keyboard (or software key), an input / output interface 15, etc., via a bus. In addition to the teaching control panel 10, various information processing devices such as tablet terminals, smartphones, and personal computers may be used.

[0021] Figure 3 is a functional block diagram showing the functional configuration of the teaching device 40, which consists of a robot control device 50 and a teaching operation panel 10. As shown in Figure 3, the robot control device 50 has a robot motion control unit 151, a program creation unit 152, a state information acquisition unit 156, and an information display creation unit 157.

[0022] The robot motion control unit 151 controls the movement of the robot 30 according to a control program or commands from the teaching control panel.

[0023] The program creation unit 152 provides various functions for the user to perform programming using icons via the user interface (display unit 13 and operation unit 14) of the teaching operation panel 10. The program creation unit 152 includes an icon data storage unit 153, an icon control unit 154, and a screen display creation unit 155 as components that provide such functions.

[0024] The icon data storage unit 153 stores various information related to each icon, such as data on the shape (image) of each icon and setting parameters. The icon data storage unit 153 is configured, for example, within the non-volatile memory of the memory 52.

[0025] The screen display creation unit 155 presents various user interface screens used for programming with icons and provides a function to accept user input. The various user interface screens may be configured as touch-operable screens.

[0026] Figure 4 shows an example of a program creation screen 400 created by the screen display creation unit 155 and displayed on the display unit 13 of the teaching operation panel 10. As shown in Figure 4, the program creation screen 400 includes an icon display area 200 that displays a list of various icons that can be used for programming, and a program creation area 300 for creating a control program by arranging the icons in order. The program creation area 300 is an area where icons are arranged in the order of execution, and is sometimes referred to as a timeline. In the example in Figure 4, the icon display area 200 includes a hand close icon 201 representing a command to close the hand, a hand open icon 202 representing a command to open the hand, a linear movement icon 203, an arc movement icon 204, an add waypoint icon 205, and a rotation icon 206 for rotating the hand.

[0027] Users can select icons, for example, by hovering their cursor over them. Users can also program by selecting desired icons from the icon display area 200 and placing them in the program creation area 300, for example, using drag-and-drop operations.

[0028] On the program creation screen 400, the user selects the Programming tab 261 when programming. The user can open the parameter settings screen to configure the detailed settings (parameter settings) of an icon by selecting an icon within the program creation area 300 and then selecting the Details tab 262. Furthermore, the user can execute a control program by performing a predetermined operation while an icon is placed in the program creation area 300.

[0029] The icon control unit 154 controls user operations when the user operates the operation unit 14 of the teaching operation panel 10 to perform various operations on icons, tabs, etc. on the program creation screen 400. With the support of the icon control unit 154, the user can sequentially select desired icons from a list of icons placed in the icon display area 200, place them in the program creation area 300, and create a control program.

[0030] The execution of the control program is performed under the control of the robot motion control unit 151.

[0031] The status information acquisition unit 156 acquires status information indicating abnormal operation for icons that constitute the control program. More specifically, in this embodiment, the status information acquisition unit 156 acquires alarm or error information for icons when the control program is executed. Information regarding alarms or errors can be acquired by monitoring the execution status of the control program in cooperation with the robot motion control unit 151 (and the visual sensor control device 20) which is in charge of executing the control program.

[0032] The information display creation unit 157 creates a display for an icon whose status information has been acquired, so that it is visually recognized that there is an abnormality in its operation. That is, when an alarm or error occurs for an icon that constitutes a control program, the information display creation unit 157 creates a display for that icon so that it is visually recognized that an alarm or error has occurred for that icon. The information display creation unit 157 may also be configured to display at least one of the following: the content of the alarm or error, guide information for resolving the alarm or error, or a selection button for transitioning to a parameter setting screen for resolving the alarm or error. As an example, the following are examples of how the information display creation unit 157 creates a visually recognizable display for an icon that has caused an alarm or error. (1) Add an image of a specific mark to the icon. (2) Change the display method of the icon (change the color, highlight it, etc.).

[0033] The following describes an example of how icons can be used to visually indicate the occurrence of an alarm or error.

[0034] Referring to Figures 5 to 7, a first example of adding a specific mark to an icon that has caused an alarm or error will be explained. Figure 5 shows program 501 with icons placed in the program creation area 300. Program 501 includes a view icon 211, three linear movement icons 212, a pick-up / place icon 213, and a hand-close icon 201. The view icon 211 corresponds to the visual detection function (a function that detects the position of an object using the visual sensor 70). The linear movement icon 212 corresponds to the function of moving the robot. The pick-up / place icon 213 corresponds to the function of correcting the robot's position (teaching position) using the position of the object detected by the visual detection function. By including the hand-close icon 201 as an internal function of the pick-up / place icon 213, the action of picking up the object with the hand based on the position of the object obtained by the visual detection function is realized.

[0035] Assuming that an alarm occurs on the view icon 211 as a result of the execution of program 501, the information display creation unit 157 adds a mark 601 (in this case, an icon with an "!" mark attached) to the view icon 211 that caused the alarm to draw the user's attention. Since the mark 601 that draws attention is added to the icons displayed in the program creation area 300 (timeline), the user can visually and immediately recognize which of the icons constituting program 501 has an alarm or error.

[0036] In the display state shown in Figure 5, the user can display the content of the alarm error occurring in the view icon 211 by performing a predetermined operation. The predetermined operation is, for example, selecting the icon or tapping any location within the program creation area 300. The operation of selecting an icon may also be an operation of hovering the cursor over the icon or an operation of touching the icon. Figure 6 shows the state in which a pop-up screen 650 showing the content of the alarm is displayed when the user selects the view icon 211 in the display state shown in Figure 5. The pop-up screen 650 includes the alarm code "CVIS-038" and a message 651 indicating the content of the alarm ("Too many candidates"). Here, "Too many candidates" means that there are too many candidate objects detected by the visual detection function (pattern matching) in the image captured by the visual sensor 70. Such an alarm may occur, for example, when the threshold of the score, which is a detection parameter for objects, is low.

[0037] Figure 7 shows a pop-up screen 660 as another example of a screen that displays the content of an alarm or error regarding the view icon 211, which is displayed when the user performs a predetermined operation in the display state of Figure 5. Pop-up screen 660 includes message 661, which has the same content as message 651, as well as guide information 662 for resolving the alarm or error. Specifically, guide information 662 includes the text information "Pattern matching error." as an explanation of the alarm or error, and the message "Adjust so that there are fewer search candidates." as a guide for resolving the alarm or error. Pop-up screen 660 also includes an open button 663 for transitioning to a parameter setting screen containing the setting items to be corrected. By viewing this guide information 662, the user can understand how to resolve the alarm or error and take the necessary action.

[0038] Furthermore, by selecting the Open button 663, the user can access, for example, the parameter settings screen for the View icon 211. • Items for teaching the model used for pattern matching. • Items for setting the pattern matching score • Items for setting the angle of pattern matching, search window, etc. The user can transition to a screen that includes the above information. On such a parameter setting screen, the user can appropriately set the pattern matching score by referring to the alarm and error information mentioned above.

[0039] Furthermore, the message 661 explaining the content of the alarm error, as exemplified in Figure 7, could also be changed to something like "Please readjust the model" or "Please readjust the score."

[0040] Next, a second example of adding a specific mark to an icon that has caused an alarm or error will be described with reference to Figures 8 to 11. Figure 8 shows a program 502 with icons placed in the program creation area 300. Program 502 includes two linear movement icons 212, a call icon 215 for calling another program, a take / place icon 214, and a hand close icon 201.

[0041] As a result of the execution of program 502, an alarm or error occurs in the call icon 215. In this case, the information display creation unit 157 adds a mark 601 to the call icon 215 that caused the alarm or error to draw the user's attention. Since a mark is added to the icon displayed on the program creation area 300 (timeline), the user can visually and immediately recognize which of the icons constituting program 502 has an alarm or error.

[0042] In the display state shown in Figure 8, the user can display the details of the alarm error occurring in the call icon 215 by performing a predetermined operation. Figure 9 shows the state in which, for example, the user selects the call icon 215 in the display state shown in Figure 8, and a pop-up screen 670 showing the details of the alarm error is displayed. The pop-up screen 670 includes, as a message 671 indicating the details of the alarm error, information about the alarm error code "Jikkou-222", information about the location where the alarm error occurred "DEFAULT,3", and information indicating the details of the error alarm "Subprogram cannot be called".

[0043] Figure 10 shows a pop-up screen 680 as another example of a screen displaying the content of an alarm error for the call icon 215, which is displayed when the user performs a predetermined operation in the display state of Figure 8. Pop-up screen 680 includes message 681, which has the same content as message 671, as well as guide information 682 for resolving the alarm error. Specifically, guide information 682 includes the text information "The specified subprogram could not be called" as an explanation of the alarm error, and the text information "Check the subprogram specified on the details screen of the icon on DEFAULT row 3" as a guide for resolving the alarm error. Pop-up screen 680 also includes an open button 683 to transition to a parameter setting screen containing the setting items to be corrected. By looking at this guide information 682, the user can understand how to resolve the alarm error and take the necessary action.

[0044] Furthermore, by selecting the Open button 683, the user can transition to a parameter setting screen that includes an item for specifying a subprogram, for example, as the parameter setting screen for the call icon 215. Figure 11 shows the parameter setting screen 690 for the call icon 215, which is opened by selecting the Open button 683 in the pop-up screen 680 shown in Figure 10. The parameter setting screen 690 has a setting item 691 for specifying the subprogram name. The user can specify the appropriate subprogram by directly writing the name of the subprogram in the input field of setting item 691, or by selecting the desired program from the list of subprograms displayed by selecting the menu display button. Figure 11 shows the state where "SUB_PRO" is specified as the subprogram. Note that the display of information related to the content of status information (alarm / error information, guide information, parameter setting screen, etc.) based on predetermined user operations, as explained with reference to Figures 6-7 and 9-11, can be realized as a function of the information display creation unit 157.

[0045] Examples of visually recognizing icons that have caused alarms or errors can be implemented for various icons other than the viewing and calling icons mentioned above. Here, we will describe an example related to icons that represent robot movements. Icons that have the function of specifying the robot's position will be called position icons. For example, if the robot's position specified by a position icon is outside the robot's operating range or is a singularity, a visual indication (such as the addition of an accompanying icon) may be provided to allow users to recognize that an alarm or error has occurred at that position icon. Another example is when a program includes two position icons (a first position icon and a second position icon), and the robot moves from the position specified by the first position icon to the position specified by the second position icon. If the robot enters an area outside the operating range or a singularity, an image (such as an accompanying icon) indicating the occurrence of an alarm or error may be displayed between the first and second position icons. In these cases, when the user selects the position icon that has caused the alarm or error, information indicating the content of the alarm or error, such as that the robot's position is outside the operating range or is a singularity, may be displayed in a pop-up window or the like.

[0046] As described above, according to the first embodiment, icons that are malfunctioning can be visually and immediately recognized by the user. In particular, by changing the display mode or adding an image to icons that are causing alarm errors in the program creation area 300, the user performing the programming can visually and immediately recognize icons that are causing alarm errors in the control program. Therefore, the convenience of the user performing the programming is improved, and programming can be performed efficiently.

[0047] Second Embodiment Next, a second embodiment will be described. The teaching device according to the second embodiment can be realized with the same configuration as the equipment configuration, hardware configuration, and functional block diagram of the teaching device 40 and robot system 100 shown in Figures 1 to 3. Therefore, this embodiment will also be described with reference to Figures 1 to 3.

[0048] At each teaching position in the control program, the robot may perform some operation, such as detecting a workpiece or retrieving a workpiece. In this case, such operations may result in some outcome (success / failure of detection, success / failure of retrieval). Users want to know the results of such operations immediately. In the teaching device 40 according to this embodiment, the state information acquisition unit 156 acquires state information indicating the execution result for icons that constitute the control program. Such information can be acquired by the state information acquisition unit 156 cooperating with the robot motion control unit 151 (and the visual sensor control device 20), which is responsible for the operation of the control program, and monitoring the operation results of the control program. The information display creation unit 157 creates a display for the icon for which state information has been acquired so that the execution result can be visually recognized.

[0049] In this embodiment, the information display creation unit 157 displays the results of icon execution in the program creation area and / or in the model image display screen (hereinafter also referred to as the preview screen) which displays the movements of the robot that operates in accordance with the execution of the control program using the movements of a 3D robot model.

[0050] Figure 12 shows the program creation screen 400 displayed on the display unit 13 by the teaching device 40 according to this embodiment. The program creation screen 400 includes a preview screen 450 that displays a robot model 30M, which is a 3D model of the robot 30. As shown in Figure 12, the program creation screen 400 includes an icon display area 200, a program creation area 300, and a preview screen 450. When a control program is executed using icons placed in the program creation area 300, the robot model 30M placed on the preview screen 450 moves in accordance with the movement of the robot 30.

[0051] The function of making the robot model 30M move in accordance with the movements of the robot 30 on the preview screen 450 may be implemented as a function of the screen display creation unit 155. In this case, the screen display creation unit 155 acquires information about the movements of the robot 30 in cooperation with the robot motion control unit 151.

[0052] In Figure 12, the program 503 created in the program creation area 300 includes axis movement icons, register icons for setting register values, label icons for specifying label numbers, conditional branch icons corresponding to conditional branch instructions, pick / place icons, hand close icons, and linear movement icons 212. In the preview screen 450, position P3, represented by the circled number 3, corresponds to the teaching position set for the linear movement icon 212. Here, the circled numbers displayed in the program creation area 300 and the preview screen 450 indicate the teaching position numbers. In program 503, the third teaching position is set for the linear movement icon 212.

[0053] In this embodiment, the teaching device 40 (information display creation unit 157) provides the following functions (A1) to (A3) for displaying the execution results of icons on the program creation screen 400.

[0054] (A1) When displaying the teaching position specified by the user as a 3D graphic on the preview screen 450, an icon is displayed that allows the user to visually understand what processing (work) is performed at that teaching position. Here, it is assumed that the linear movement icon 212 includes a visual detection program (visual detection function) as a command. In this case, since imaging and detection are performed by the visual detection function at the teaching position P3 of the linear movement icon 212, a camera icon 701 representing the camera is associated with that teaching position P3. This makes it possible for the user to intuitively and instantly understand what processing is performed at each teaching position.

[0055] (A2) After the control program is executed, a visual indicator should be displayed to show whether the processing at the taught position was successful or not. The following are examples of how this indicator can be displayed. (A-2-1) In the preview screen 450, if the icon processing is successful, the camera icon will be displayed in a specific color (e.g., green), and if the icon processing fails, it will be displayed in a different color (e.g., red). (A-2-2) Depending on the detection result, the display mode of the icon (linear movement icon 212) corresponding to the teaching position placed in the program creation area 300 is changed, or a specific mark (e.g., a camera icon) is added to the icon. For example, the mark is displayed in green if successful, and in red if unsuccessful. (A-2-3) Use (A-2-1) and (A-2-2) above in combination. These examples allow users to intuitively and instantly grasp the results of the processing performed at each teaching location.

[0056] (A3) After the control program is executed, selecting (for example, tapping) the icon will display information about the execution results, for example, in a pop-up window. The information about the execution results may include, for example, the number of workpieces detected or images of the detected workpieces.

[0057] Figure 13 is a flowchart illustrating the icon status display process by the teaching device 40 in this embodiment. This process is executed under the control of the processor of the teaching device 40 (in this case, the processor 51 of the robot control device 50).

[0058] First, the user is taught the control program (step S1). Here, the user inputs parameters such as programming by placing icons and setting the teaching position for each icon. Next, the teaching device 40 displays icons corresponding to the processing (task) at each teaching position (step S2). Here, as illustrated in Figure 12, a display is made that adds a camera icon 701 to the third teaching position P3.

[0059] Next, for example, in response to a predetermined operation by the user, the program of the icon placed in the program creation area 300 is executed (step S3). Next, an icon is displayed according to the result of the processing (step S4). Here, as an example of displaying an icon according to the result of the processing, an example of displaying a camera icon 701 corresponding to the teaching position P3 by changing its color is explained. Figure 14A shows the case where, when the detection result of the visual detection function as a processing at the teaching position P3 is successful, the camera icon 701 attached to the teaching position P3 is displayed in a specific color (for example, green) on the preview screen 450. In Figure 14A, the code for the camera icon with the specific color indicating success is 701a, and the display manner of this specific color is represented by shading.

[0060] Figure 14B shows a case in the preview screen 450 where the color of the camera icon 701 is changed to a different color (e.g., red) than when it is successful, to indicate that the visual detection function at the teaching position P3 has failed. In Figure 14B, the code for the camera icon with the specific color indicating failure is 701b, and the display of this specific color is represented by shading. This allows the user to instantly and visually recognize whether the execution result of the visual detection function, which is included as a function of the linear movement icon 212, has been successful or failed by looking at the preview screen 450.

[0061] Figures 15A and 15B show examples of displaying the results of the visual detection function in both the preview screen 450 and the program creation area 300 (timeline).

[0062] Figure 15A shows an example of the display when the visual detection function executed at the teaching position P3 is successful. As shown in Figure 15A, in the preview screen 450, a camera icon 701a with a specific color indicating success is displayed in association with the teaching position P3. In addition, in the program creation area 300, a camera icon 702 with a color indicating success is added to the linear movement icon 212 corresponding to the teaching position P3.

[0063] Figure 15B shows an example of how the display looks when the visual detection function executed at the teaching position P3 fails. As shown in Figure 15B, in the preview screen 450, a camera icon 701b with a specific color indicating failure is displayed in association with the teaching position P3. In addition, in the program creation area 300, a camera icon 703 with a color indicating failure is added to the linear movement icon 212 corresponding to the teaching position P3. This allows the user to visually and immediately recognize that the visual detection function included as a function of the linear movement icon 212 has been successfully executed by looking at the program creation area 300 or the preview screen 450.

[0064] In addition, Figures 15A and 15B show examples where the display for recognizing the execution result of the icon is shown in both the preview screen 450 and the program creation area 300. However, there may also be examples where the display for recognizing the execution result of the icon is shown only in the program creation area 300.

[0065] Returning to the explanation in Figure 13, when the icon in question (linear movement icon 212 or camera icon 701) is selected (for example, tapped) (step S5), information regarding the execution result is displayed, for example, in a pop-up window (step S6).

[0066] In addition, the above describes an example of displaying the execution result of an icon (linear movement icon 212) that includes processing by the visual sensor by changing the display mode of the camera icon in the program creation area 300 and the preview screen 450. However, it is also possible to display thumbnails of the captured images and graphics on the thumbnails as the result of processing by the visual sensor in the program creation area 300 and the preview screen 450 instead of the camera icon (701a, 701b, 702, 703).

[0067] As described above, according to the second embodiment, the user can visually and immediately recognize the result of the icon processing. In particular, the result of the icon processing can be visually and immediately recognized in the program creation area 300. Therefore, the convenience of the user performing the programming is improved, and programming can be performed efficiently.

[0068] Third Embodiment The third embodiment will now be described. Figure 16 is a diagram showing the equipment configuration of a robot system 100A including a teaching device 10A according to the third embodiment. Since the robot system 100A has the same equipment configuration as the robot system 100 according to the first embodiment, the same reference numerals are used in Figure 16 for the same equipment as in the robot system 100 shown in Figure 1. As shown in Figure 16, the robot system 100A includes a robot 30 equipped with a hand 33, a robot control device 50A that controls the robot 30, a vision sensor 70, a vision sensor control device 20 that controls the vision sensor 70, and a teaching device 10A connected to the robot control device 50A. In the robot system 100A according to the third embodiment, the teaching device 10A is configured as a standalone device connected to the robot control device 50A. The teaching device 10A can be configured as a teaching control panel, a tablet terminal, a personal computer, or various other information processing devices.

[0069] The hardware configurations of the robot control device 50A and the teaching device 10A are equivalent to the hardware configurations of the robot control device 50 and the teaching control panel 10 shown in Figure 2.

[0070] Similar to the teaching device 40 in the first embodiment, the teaching device 10A functions as a programming device that enables the creation of control programs using icons. In such a teaching device, users often want to know if the settings for the control program icons are complete. In this embodiment, the teaching device 10A displays a visual indication that the settings for an icon constituting the control program are incomplete when the settings for that icon are incomplete. Here, the incomplete state of settings includes cases where there are unset items and cases where there are items that require setting changes.

[0071] Figure 17 is a functional block diagram of the teaching device 10A. The teaching device 10A includes a program creation unit 111, a state information acquisition unit 115, and an information display creation unit 117. The program creation unit 111 includes an icon data storage unit 112, an icon control unit 113, and a screen display creation unit 114. The program creation unit 111 has the same functions as the program creation unit 152 in the first embodiment. Furthermore, the icon data storage unit 112, the icon control unit 113, and the screen display creation unit 114 have the same functions as the icon data storage unit 153, the icon control unit 154, and the screen display creation unit 155 in the first embodiment, respectively. In other words, the program creation unit 111 has the function of supporting programming using icons by presenting the program creation screen 400 shown in Figure 4.

[0072] The status information acquisition unit 115 acquires status information indicating the incomplete state of settings for icons that constitute the control program. Such status information can be obtained from information regarding the detailed settings of the icon stored in the icon data storage unit 112. In this embodiment, the status information acquisition unit 115 has the function of determining whether there are any unset items for icons that constitute the control program, and the function of determining whether there are any items that require setting changes. The determination unit 116 is responsible for performing these determinations.

[0073] The information display creation unit 117 creates a display for icons whose status information has been acquired, so that it is visually clear that the settings are incomplete. More specifically, the information display creation unit 117 creates a visually recognizable display for icons that the determination unit 116 has determined to have unset settings, or for icons that the determination unit 116 has determined to require a setting change. In this embodiment, icons that constitute the control program may be referred to as function icons.

[0074] Furthermore, methods for visually indicating that there are items that are not set or need to be changed for an icon may include changing the display manner of the icon or adding an image to the icon. Changing the display manner of an icon may include highlighting it by changing the color of the icon. Adding an image to an icon may include adding a specific mark, icon, etc. to the icon. In the operation example described below, we will describe a method for visually indicating that there are items that are not set or need to be changed for the icon being judged by adding an attached icon with a specific mark.

[0075] Figure 18 is a flowchart showing the determination process performed by the determination unit 116 to determine whether or not an accompanying icon should be attached to an icon (function icon). This determination process is performed under the control of the processor of the teaching device 10A. This determination process is performed for each icon placed in the program creation area 300.

[0076] First, the determination unit 116 determines whether or not there are any unset items in the parameter setting screen of the icon placed in the program creation area 300 (step S11). If there are unset items for the icon (S11: YES), the information display creation unit 117 adds an auxiliary icon to the icon to indicate that there are unset items (step S14).

[0077] If it is determined that there are no unset items for the icon (S11: NO), the determination unit 116 then determines whether there are any items that need to be changed among the already set items for that icon (step S12). If it is determined that there are items that need to be changed among the already set items (S12: YES), the information display creation unit 117 adds an auxiliary icon to indicate that there are items that need to be changed for that icon (step S14).

[0078] In step S12, if it is determined that there are no items in the configured settings that need to be changed (S12: NO), that is, if both the results of steps S11 and S12 are NO, the information display creation unit 117 does not assign an associated icon to the icon (step S13). Then, this determination process ends.

[0079] Through the above determination process, if there are any unconfigured items or settings that need to be changed regarding the detailed settings of an icon, the user can immediately recognize this visually.

[0080] The timing for executing the above determination process is as follows: (1) When an instruction is given to run the program of the icon placed in the program creation area 300, it will be executed. (2) Execute each time a new icon is placed in the program creation area 300. (3) Execute when parameter settings are made for an icon via the parameter setting screen. (4) When the program is running, it will be executed periodically and repeatedly. Such examples are possible.

[0081] Figure 19 shows an example where an attached icon is added to an icon placed in the program creation area 300 when there are unset items in that icon. The program 504 shown in Figure 19 includes a view icon 211 and two linear movement icons 212. When the user performs a predetermined operation to run program 504, an attached icon 711 is added to the view icon 211 to indicate that there are unset items in the view icon, because there are unset items in the view icon 211. This allows the user to immediately recognize that there are unset items in the view icon 211.

[0082] To resolve the incomplete setting state of the View icon 211, the user can open the parameter setting screen by selecting the View icon 211. Figure 20 shows the state in which the parameter setting screen 800 for the View icon 211 is displayed after selecting the View icon 211 in the program creation area 300 of Figure 19.

[0083] As shown in Figure 20, the parameter setting screen 800 includes "Camera Initial Settings" and "Detection Settings" (code 801) as setting items. In this example, the "Detection Program" (code 802) and "Output Register for Detection Count" (code 803) in "Detection Settings" (code 801) are not set. In the parameter setting screen 800, an accompanying icon 712 is added next to the "Detection Settings" item to draw the user's attention, indicating that "Detection Settings" is not set. The accompanying icon 712 displayed next to the detection settings item may be the same as the accompanying icon 711 attached to the view icon 211, or it may be different from the accompanying icon 711.

[0084] Figure 21 illustrates an example where an attached icon is added to an icon placed in the program creation area 300 when there are items that require setting changes. The program 505 shown in Figure 21 includes a view icon 211, a view icon 211b, and a linear movement icon 212. When the user performs a predetermined operation to run program 505, the view icon 211b has setting items that require setting changes, so an attached icon 713 is added to the view icon 211b to indicate that there are setting items that require setting changes. In addition, the view icon 211 has unset items, so the attached icon 711 is added to the view icon 211 as well. With this configuration, the user can immediately recognize that there are items that require setting changes for the view icon 211b.

[0085] Here, the accompanying icon 713, which represents an icon with items that require setting changes, is made to have a different appearance from the accompanying icon 711 that is added to icons with unset items. As a result, even when icons with unset items and icons that require setting changes are mixed together, as shown in Figure 21, users can visually and immediately distinguish between icons with unset items and icons that require setting changes. Furthermore, even when a method of displaying the incomplete state of an icon is used by changing the display appearance of the icon, the display appearance of the icon with unset items and the display appearance of the icon that requires setting changes will be made to have different appearances.

[0086] The user can open the parameter settings screen for the view icon 211b by selecting the view icon 211b. Figure 22 shows the state in which the parameter settings screen 800 for the view icon 211b is displayed after selecting the view icon 211b in the program creation area 300 of Figure 21.

[0087] In the parameter setting screen 800 in Figure 22, the specified program name 'VP2S12' for "Detection Program" is displayed in a specific color (e.g., red), indicating that a setting change is immediately apparent for the "Detection Program" specification in "Detection Settings." This situation can occur, for example, if the detection program 'VP2S12' does not exist. The display of information related to the content of status information (parameter setting screen, etc.) based on predetermined user operations, as explained with reference to Figures 20 and 22, can be realized as a function of the information display creation unit 117.

[0088] Here, we have used the "View" icon as an example of an icon with unconfigured or required configuration changes. However, various other icons, including those related to robot operation commands, may also have unconfigured or required configuration changes.

[0089] As one example, in the case of the "linear movement icon," if there is no value in the register that specifies the destination position, it may be determined that there is an unset item. In this case, the information display creation unit 117 adds the aforementioned attached icon 711 to the "linear movement icon" located in the program creation area 300.

[0090] As another example, there may be cases where an item needs to be changed in the settings of an icon that is the target of judgment, depending on its relationship with the icons before and after it. For example, consider the "imaging icon" that instructs the camera to take an image, and the "picking icon" that uses the result of object detection by the imaging icon to retrieve the workpiece. Normally, the "imaging icon" and the "picking icon" are arranged in order in the program. However, if the content of the "imaging icon" is changed for some reason, the position register in the "picking icon" may not contain a valid value. In this case, the judgment unit 116 can determine that there is an item in the settings of the "picking icon" that needs to be changed by checking the setting information of these icons. Then, in this case, the information display creation unit 117 adds the above-mentioned auxiliary icon 713 to the "picking icon" located in the program creation area 300.

[0091] The teaching device 10A may also be configured to display a visual indication that the settings are complete for icons where all setting items have been completed. In this case, the status information acquisition unit 115 (determination unit 116) determines whether the icon settings have been properly completed based on information regarding the icon's setting status. For example, the information display creation unit 117 may add an auxiliary icon (various marks, characters, etc. that can represent a completed state) to icons where the settings have been completed on the program creation area 300.

[0092] The display examples explained with reference to Figures 19 to 20 were for cases where one auxiliary icon is added to an icon that has unset settings. Instead of such display examples, the information display creation unit 117 may add a display to an icon that allows the number of unset settings to be recognized when the icon has unset settings. For example, one method is to add an auxiliary icon ("!" mark) equal to the number of unset settings to an icon that has unset settings, or to add an auxiliary icon that displays the number of unset settings. Similarly, in the case of an icon that requires a setting change, as explained with reference to Figures 21 to 22, one method is to add an auxiliary icon to the icon so that the number of items that require a setting change can be recognized. For icons that contain both unset settings and settings that require a setting change, both an auxiliary icon indicating the existence (number) of unset settings and an auxiliary icon indicating the existence (number) of items that require a setting change may be added.

[0093] As described above, according to the third embodiment, the user can visually and immediately recognize whether the icon setting is complete or incomplete. In particular, in the program creation area 300, it becomes possible to visually and immediately recognize whether the icon setting is complete or incomplete. Therefore, the convenience of the user performing the programming is improved, and programming can be performed efficiently.

[0094] According to the configurations of each embodiment described above, in the process of creating or executing a control program, the user can instantly and visually grasp whether the icon can or has performed the intended operation.

[0095] Although the present invention has been described above using typical embodiments, those skilled in the art will understand that modifications to the above embodiments and various other modifications, omissions, and additions can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0096] The configuration described in the above embodiment can be applied not only to robot systems but also to systems that include programming devices for generating programs for various industrial machines.

[0097] In the second embodiment described above, an example was explained in which information representing the execution result of the function of the icon is displayed on the preview screen. A teaching device that performs such a function can be represented as follows, for example. A teaching device for creating programs using icons that represent functions constituting the control program of industrial machinery, A state information acquisition unit that acquires information about the execution results of icons that make up the control program, Information display creation unit that displays information regarding the execution results on a screen that displays a 3D model of the industrial machine operating according to the control program, A teaching device equipped with the following features.

[0098] This configuration allows users to instantly understand what processing is performed at each teaching position on a screen displaying the robot's 3D model, and to instantly determine whether the processing at each teaching position was successful or unsuccessful. Furthermore, detailed information regarding the results of the processing at that teaching position can be obtained immediately. Therefore, the convenience for programmers is improved.

[0099] In the above configuration, the information display creation unit may display the result of executing the function of the icon on the screen displaying the 3D model, corresponding to the position where the function of the icon is executed. In this case, the position where the function of the icon is executed is, for example, the taught position taught as part of the settings of the icon. The display showing the execution result is, for example, by changing the display manner of the mark indicating the function of the icon according to the execution result.

[0100] In the embodiments described above, the program creation area and the model image display screen were described as areas or screens that are integrally configured with the program creation screen. However, these areas or screens may also be presented as separate screens from the program creation area.

[0101] The arrangement of functional blocks as a teaching device shown in Figure 3 or Figure 17 is illustrative and does not mean that the system is limited to such configurations. For example, in the configuration of the teaching device 40 shown in Figure 3, it is also possible to arrange at least some of the functions located on the robot control device 50 side on the teaching control panel 10 side.

[0102] The functional blocks in the functional block diagram of the teaching device shown in Figure 3 or Figure 17 may be realized by the processor of the equipment constituting the teaching device (robot control device 50 or teaching device 10A) executing various software stored in a memory device, or they may be realized by a hardware-based configuration such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit).

[0103] Various programs executed on the teaching device, including the icon status display process shown in Figure 13 and the icon determination process shown in Figure 18, can be recorded on various computer-readable recording media (e.g., semiconductor memory such as ROM, EEPROM, and flash memory, magnetic recording media, and optical discs such as CD-ROM and DVD-ROM). [Explanation of Symbols]

[0104] 1. Object 2 Workbenches 10. Instructional control panel 11 processors 12 memory 13 Display section 14 Control section 15 Input / Output Interfaces 20. Visual sensor control device 30 robots 30M Robot Model 33 Hand 40 Teaching device 50 Robot control devices 51 processors 52 memory 53 Input / Output Interfaces 54 Control section 70. Vision Sensors 100 Robot Systems 111 Program Creation Department 112 Icon data storage unit 113 Icon Control Unit 114 Screen display creation section 115 Status Information Acquisition Unit 116 Judgment section 117 Information Display Creation Department 151 Robot motion control unit 152 Program Creation Department 153 Icon data storage unit 154 Icon Control Unit 155 Screen display creation section 156 Status Information Acquisition Unit 157 Information Display Creation Department 200 icon display area 261 Programming tab 262 Details tab 300 Program creation area 400 Program creation screen 450 Preview screen Programs 501, 502, 503, 504, and 505 601 Mark 650, 660, 670, 680 Pop-up screen 663, 683 Open button 690 Parameter setting screen 701, 701a, 701b, 702 Camera icon 711, 713 Included Icons 800 Parameter setting screen

Claims

1. A teaching device for creating programs using icons that represent functions constituting the control program of industrial machinery, A state information acquisition unit that acquires state information indicating the execution result of an icon representing the work of an industrial machine that constitutes the control program, Based on the status information, an information display creation unit creates a display related to the icon so that information regarding whether the execution result of the operation is successful or unsuccessful can be visually recognized on the program creation screen. A teaching device equipped with the following features.

2. The teaching device according to claim 1, wherein the information display creation unit creates a display relating to the icon by changing the display manner for the icon or adding an image to the icon.

3. The teaching device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the information display creation unit displays information relating to the content of the status information on a display screen in response to a predetermined operation via the operation unit.

4. A teaching device for creating programs using icons that represent functions constituting the control program of industrial machinery, A state information acquisition unit acquires state information indicating whether or not the icons constituting the control program can perform or have performed the intended operation, The system includes an information display creation unit that creates a display related to the icon so that, based on the status information, it can be visually recognized on the program creation screen whether or not the icon can perform or has performed the intended operation, and The status information is information about alarms or errors that occur in conjunction with the operation commands specified in the icon. The icons constituting the control program include a position icon that has the function of specifying the position of the industrial machine. If information is obtained regarding the alarm or error related to the position icon indicating that the position specified by the position icon is outside the operating range of the industrial machine or is a singularity, the information display creation unit creates a display for the position icon that allows the occurrence of the alarm or error to be recognized. Teaching device.

5. The teaching device according to claim 4, wherein the information display creation unit adds an image representing a specific mark to the icon where the alarm or error occurred.

6. The teaching device according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the information display creation unit further creates a display of at least one of the following: the content of the alarm or error, guide information for resolving the alarm or error, or a selection button for transitioning to a parameter setting screen for resolving the alarm or error.

7. A teaching device for creating programs using icons that represent functions constituting the control program of industrial machinery, A state information acquisition unit acquires state information indicating whether or not the icons constituting the control program can perform or have performed the intended operation, The system includes an information display creation unit that creates a display related to the icon so that, based on the status information, it can be visually recognized on the program creation screen whether or not the icon can perform or has performed the intended operation, and The status information is information about alarms or errors that occur in conjunction with the operation of the icon. The icons constituting the control program include a first position icon and a second position icon, both of which have the function of specifying the position of the industrial machine. If information is obtained regarding the alarm or error information relating to the first position icon and the second position icon that indicates that the industrial machine's position is outside the operating range or becomes a singularity as the industrial machine moves between the position specified by the first position icon and the position specified by the second position icon, the information display creation unit creates a display on the program creation screen between the first position icon and the second position icon that allows recognition of the occurrence of the alarm or error. Teaching device.

8. A teaching device for creating programs using icons that represent functions constituting the control program of industrial machinery, A state information acquisition unit acquires state information indicating whether or not the icons constituting the control program can perform or have performed the intended operation, The system includes an information display creation unit that creates a display related to the icon so that, based on the status information, it can be visually recognized on the program creation screen whether or not the icon can perform or has performed the intended operation, and The aforementioned icon represents a command related to processing by a visual sensor. The aforementioned status information is information indicating whether the execution result of the processing using the visual sensor was successful or unsuccessful. The information display creation unit performs one of the following operations: changes the display manner of the icon depending on whether the execution result is successful or unsuccessful; adds an image representing a different mark to the icon depending on whether the execution result is successful or unsuccessful; or displays a thumbnail of the image captured by the visual sensor as the execution result, associated with the icon. Teaching device.

9. The teaching device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a program creation unit that generates a program creation screen having a program creation area for creating the control program by arranging the aforementioned icons in order.

10. The teaching device according to claim 9, wherein the information display creation unit creates a display relating to the icon in the program creation area.

11. The program creation screen further includes a model image display screen that displays a 3D model of the industrial machine that operates by the execution of the control program. The teaching device according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the information display creation unit creates a display relating to the execution result of the icon on the model image display screen.

12. The teaching device according to claim 11, wherein the information display creation unit creates the display on the model image display screen in association with a position corresponding to the teaching position set for the icon.

Images