Design support device and design support method for manufacturing equipment

Abstract

To allow for teaching a movement path for interference avoidance on a virtual space in consideration of an element incidental to a movable structure.SOLUTION: A manufacturing facility design support device composed of a plurality of components including a movable part comprises: an input unit which inputs facility design information containing shapes and position attitudes of components constituting the manufacturing facility and at least one of a rotation mechanism and a translation mechanism between the components, and facility measurement information containing a measurement position attitude representing a measurement view point when a real machine of the manufacturing facility is measured and measurement data of the components which are measurement results; a real machine difference calculation unit which extracts a difference using the facility design information and the facility measurement information and obtains a difference list; a difference reflection model calculation unit which calculates a difference reflection model reflecting the difference of the difference list in the facility design information; and a storage unit which stores the facility design information, the facility measurement information, the difference list, and the difference reflection model.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

Technical Field

[0004]

[0001] The present invention relates to a manufacturing facility design support apparatus and a design support method.

Background Art

[0002] When designing a manufacturing facility, an operation teaching of a movable structure such as a robot is performed before manufacturing a physical machine using a virtual model of the manufacturing facility created in a virtual space based on design information such as CAD data.

[0003] When reflecting the operation teaching in the virtual space on the physical machine of the manufacturing facility, if there is a difference between the virtual model and the physical machine, the movable structure may interfere with peripheral structures such as the equipment housing and wiring. Examples of differences include differences in shape due to machining errors of the physical machine, differences in dimensions due to cumulative assembly errors, and differences in the presence or absence of elements such as wiring and piping that exist in the physical machine but are not modeled in the virtual model. To avoid interference due to these differences, it is necessary to teach an interference avoidance operation by manually operating the physical machine, resulting in additional man-hours.

[0004] Regarding this point, for example, in Patent Document 1, regarding the difference between the virtual model and the measured value of the physical machine, "a virtual model acquisition means for acquiring a virtual model that virtually shows the shape of the peripheral structure of the robot, a movement path acquisition means for acquiring data regarding the movement path of the robot, a measured model acquisition means for acquiring a measured model showing the shape of the peripheral structure of the robot in the physical machine, and based on the difference between the virtual model and the measured model, when a movement path shorter than the movement path can be generated, or when interference occurs between the robot and the peripheral structure due to the movement of the robot along the movement path, there is described a correction means for correcting the data regarding the movement path."

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0005]

Patent Document 1

[0006] Patent Document 1 describes how to correct the robot's movement path based on the difference between the shape of a virtual model and an actual measured model of the robot's surrounding structures, in cases where the robot's movement path can be shortened or where the robot interferes with the surrounding structures.

[0007] However, Patent Document 1 does not provide an actual measured model of the robot, which is a movable structure. If the shapes of elements attached to the movable structure, such as end effectors and wiring mounted on the robot's tip, differ from the virtual model, these elements may interfere with the movement path based solely on the surrounding structures.

[0008] Furthermore, since elements attached to movable structures also move as they operate, interference may occur unless the movement of these elements is reproduced before generating the movement path.

[0009] Therefore, in this invention, the difference between a virtual model and a measured model is extracted, and connection relationships between the movable structure and the elements attached to the movable structure are assigned to the elements attached to the movable structure, thereby reproducing the operation of the elements attached to the movable structure. This makes it possible to teach a movement path in virtual space that avoids interference while taking into account the elements attached to the movable structure. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] Based on the above, in the present invention, A design support device for manufacturing equipment composed of multiple components including movable parts, comprising: an input unit for inputting equipment design information including the shape and position orientation of the components constituting the manufacturing equipment, and at least one of a rotation mechanism and a translation mechanism between the components, and equipment measurement information including a measurement position orientation representing the measurement viewpoint when the actual manufacturing equipment is measured, and measurement data of the components which are the measurement results; an actual machine difference calculation unit for extracting differences using the equipment design information and the equipment measurement information and obtaining a difference list; a difference reflection model calculation unit for calculating a difference reflection model that reflects the differences in the difference list in the equipment design information; and the equipment design information, the equipment measurement information, the difference list and A design support device for manufacturing equipment, comprising: a storage unit for storing a difference reflection model; the actual equipment difference calculation unit generates link structure information by integrating elements without movable parts among the components of the equipment design information into a single element, thereby converting the equipment design information into a link structure; using the link structure information, it searches the link structure in an order that traces links having a connection relationship as parent elements, starting from a base link element without a parent element; and for each link constituting the link structure, it extracts the difference between the link and the corresponding element included in the equipment measurement information by superimposing it with a measurement target included in the equipment measurement information. This is what it means.

[0011] Furthermore, in the present invention, A design support method for a design support device for a manufacturing equipment composed of multiple components including movable parts, comprising an input unit, an actual machine difference calculation unit, a difference reflection model calculation unit, and a storage unit, wherein the input unit receives equipment design information including the shape and position orientation of the components constituting the manufacturing equipment, and at least one of a rotation mechanism and a translation mechanism between the components, and equipment measurement information including a measurement position orientation representing the measurement viewpoint when the actual manufacturing equipment is measured, and measurement data of the components which are measurement results, the actual machine difference calculation unit extracts differences using the equipment design information and the equipment measurement information and obtains a difference list, the difference reflection model calculation unit calculates a difference reflection model that reflects the differences in the difference list in the equipment design information, and the storage unit A design support method for a design support device for manufacturing equipment, characterized in that the device stores the equipment design information, the equipment measurement information, the difference list, and the difference reflection model; the actual machine difference calculation unit generates link structure information by integrating elements without movable parts among the components of the equipment design information into a single element, thereby converting the equipment design information into a link structure; using the link structure information, it searches the link structure in an order that traces links having a connection relationship as parent elements, starting from a base link element that does not have a parent element; and for each link constituting the link structure, it extracts the difference between the link and the corresponding element included in the equipment measurement information by superimposing it with the measurement target included in the equipment measurement information. This is what it means. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] According to the present invention, it is possible to generate a differential reflection model in which equipment design information including information on the mechanism of movable components is associated with elements extracted as the difference between the equipment design information and the equipment measurement information, and the elements attached to the movable components move in联动.

[0013] Thereby, by inputting the operation of the movable part into the differential reflection model, it becomes possible to perform an operation instruction for avoiding interference caused by the difference between the equipment design information and the equipment measurement information in the virtual space, and there is an effect of reducing the man-hour for teaching interference avoidance by operating the equipment at the site.

[0014] Problems, configurations, and effects other than those described above will be clarified by the description of the following embodiments.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0015] [Figure 1] A diagram showing a configuration example of a manufacturing equipment design support device 10 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. [Figure 2] A diagram showing an example of equipment design information D1 stored in the storage unit. [Figure 3] A diagram showing an example of equipment measurement information D2 stored in the storage unit. [Figure 4] A diagram showing an example of the difference list LS stored in the storage unit. [Figure 5] A diagram showing an example of the differential reflection model MD stored in the storage unit. [Figure 6] A flowchart showing an overview of the differential reflection model generation process of the design support device. [Figure 7] A flowchart showing an example of actual machine difference calculation. [Figure 8] A diagram showing an example of a method for determining a common plane. [Figure 9] A flowchart showing an example of differential reflection model calculation. [Figure 10] A diagram showing a method for classifying shape differences and element differences based on the presence or absence of contact and the presence or absence of a common plane. [Figure 11] A diagram showing an example of an input / output screen presented to the user by the display unit. [Figure 12]Figure showing a configuration example of the manufacturing equipment design support device 10 according to Example 2 of the present invention. [Figure 13] Figure showing an example of the link LK stored in the storage unit. [Figure 14] Flowchart showing an example of actual machine difference calculation in Example 2. [Figure 15] Figure showing an example of the input / output screen in Example 2. [Figure 16] Figure showing a configuration example of the manufacturing equipment design support device 10 according to Example 3 of the present invention. [Figure 17] Figure showing an example of the equipment operation information D6 stored in the storage unit. [Figure 18] Figure showing an example of the interference avoidance trajectory K stored in the storage unit. [Figure 19] Flowchart showing an overview of the interference avoidance trajectory generation process. [Figure 20] Flowchart explaining an example of interference avoidance trajectory calculation. [Figure 21] Conceptual diagram showing an example of interference processing in the interference avoidance trajectory generation process. [Figure 22] Figure showing an example of the input / output screen of the design support device having a function of outputting an interference avoidance trajectory. [Figure 23] Figure showing a configuration example of the manufacturing equipment design support device 10 according to Example 4 of the present invention. [Figure 24] Flowchart showing an overview of the process for avoiding interference in the deformable space of the element spanning the movable part. [Figure 25] Flowchart showing an example of differential deformation calculation. [Figure 26] Conceptual diagram showing an example of the differential with deformation and the differential without deformation. [Figure 27] Conceptual diagram showing an example of differential deformation calculation. [Figure 28] Figure showing an example of the input / output screen for avoiding interference in the deformable space of the element spanning the movable part.

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0016] [[ID=Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. [Examples]

[0017] Figure 1 shows an example configuration of a design support device 10 for manufacturing equipment according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. In this case, the manufacturing equipment to be supported in the design is, for example, a robot (not shown) composed of multiple components mechanically linked together, and is equipped with movable parts such as arms. In contrast, the design support device 10 for manufacturing equipment, which is composed of a computer, comprises an input unit 11, a storage unit 12, a calculation unit 17, an output unit 20, and a display unit 21.

[0018] The storage unit 12 of the design support device 10 stores equipment design information D1, which includes the position, orientation, shape, and movable parts information of the components of the manufacturing equipment, as input information via the input unit 11, and equipment measurement information D2, which is obtained by three-dimensional measurement of the actual manufacturing equipment, as input information. In addition, it stores a difference list LS, which is a list of differences between the equipment design information D1 and the equipment measurement information D2, and a difference reflection model MD, which reflects the difference list LS in the equipment design information D1, as output information. It is preferable that the equipment design information D1 be CAD data. It is also preferable to use a scanner for three-dimensional measurement of the equipment.

[0019] The calculation unit 17 includes an actual machine difference calculation unit 18 that extracts the difference between equipment design information D1 and equipment measurement information D2 and outputs a difference list LS, and a difference reflection model calculation unit 19 that classifies the differences stored in the difference list LS into shape differences and element differences, adds connection information, and calculates a difference reflection model MD that reflects the differences in equipment design information D1.

[0020] The output unit 20 outputs a difference list LS and a difference reflection model MD, and presents the output results to the user via the display unit 21.

[0021] Figure 2 shows an example of equipment design information D1. Equipment design information D1 includes an element ID (D10), position and orientation D11, shape D12, parent element D13, rotation data D14 between parent elements, and translation data D15 between parent elements, which are assigned to each component (hereinafter sometimes simply referred to as an element) of the manufacturing equipment.

[0022] The element ID (D10) is represented by a unique number, letter, or combination of numbers and letters for each element. The position and orientation D11 is the position and orientation of the element in three-dimensional space, and is represented, for example, by a rotation matrix or quaternion indicating the origin coordinates and orientation of the element in the parent element's coordinate system. The shape D12 is represented by a numerical value that represents the points, triangular mesh, quadrilateral mesh, or face composed of lines and curves on the element's surface. The parent element D13 is represented by the element ID of the parent element of the assembly or by a specific symbol indicating that no data exists. The rotation data D14 and translation data D15 are represented, for example, by an axis vector, rotation matrix, quaternion, or by a specific symbol indicating that no data exists, and may include numerical values ​​for the rotation angle range or translation distance range.

[0023] Furthermore, the fact that the equipment design information D1 contains rotational data D14 and translational data D15 means that the manufacturing equipment has movable parts, and these movable parts include at least one of a rotational mechanism and a translational mechanism between components, which means that the position and orientation of the manufacturing equipment can be changed.

[0024] Figure 3 shows an example of equipment measurement information D2. Equipment measurement information D2 includes measurement position and orientation D20 and measurement data D21. Measurement position and orientation D20 represents the measurement viewpoint when the actual equipment is measured, for example, by a scanner. Measurement data D21 is represented by numerical values ​​that represent points, triangles, or lines and curves on the surface of the equipment.

[0025] Figure 4 shows an example of a difference list LS. The difference list LS includes a difference ID (D30), position / orientation D31, shape D32, common surface D33, contact D34, difference type D35, and parent element D36.

[0026] The difference ID (D30) is the same as the element ID (D10), position / orientation D31 is the same as the position / orientation D11, and shape D32 is the same as shape D12, so their explanations are omitted. The common face D33 is represented by a list of element IDs (D10) of parent elements that share a face with the difference. The contact D34 is represented by a list of element IDs of parent elements that are in contact with the difference. The difference type D35 is represented by a string or number that distinguishes whether the difference is a shape difference or an element difference. The parent element D36 is represented by a list of element IDs (D40) of the difference reflection model MD, which is the parent element of the difference.

[0027] Figure 5 shows an example of a differential reflection model MD. Note that the data items of the differential reflection model MD are the same as the data items of the equipment design information D1, but the symbols are distinguished here. The differential reflection model MD includes the element ID (D40), position and orientation D41, shape D42, assembly parent element D43, rotation D44 between parent elements, and translation D45 between parent elements, which are assigned to each element of the equipment.

[0028] The element ID (D40) is represented by a unique number, letter, or combination of numbers and letters for each element. The position and orientation (D41) is the position and orientation of the element in three-dimensional space, and is represented, for example, by a rotation matrix or quaternion indicating the origin coordinates and orientation of the element in the parent element's coordinate system. The shape (D42) is represented by a numerical value representing the points, triangular mesh, quadrilateral mesh, or face composed of lines and curves on the element's surface. The parent element (D43) is represented by the element ID of the parent element of the assembly, or by a specific symbol indicating that no data exists. The rotation (D44) and translation (D45) are represented, for example, by an axis vector, rotation matrix, quaternion, or by a specific symbol indicating that no data exists, and may include numerical values ​​for the rotation angle range or translation distance range.

[0029] Figure 6 is a flowchart showing an overview of the differential model generation process of the manufacturing equipment design support device 10.

[0030] The difference reflection model generation process is initiated, for example, in response to user input for the design file path 71 on the input / output screen 70 in Figure 11, which will be described later. First, in step S1, the input unit 11 acquires the equipment design information D1 and equipment measurement information D2 input by the user and stores them in the storage unit 12. Next, in step S2, the actual equipment difference calculation unit 18 calculates the actual equipment difference. Then, in step S3, the difference reflection model calculation unit 19 calculates the difference reflection model. Finally, in step S4, the created difference reflection model is presented to the user. The specific processing details of step S2 are shown in Figure 7, and the specific processing details of step S3 are shown in Figure 9.

[0031] Figure 7, which shows the details of step S2, is a flowchart of an example of calculating the difference in actual equipment. Here, in step S21, the equipment measurement information D2 is superimposed on the equipment design information D1.

[0032] Specifically, the measurement position and orientation D20 of the equipment measurement information D2 is modified so that the shape D12, with the position and orientation D11 of the elements in the equipment design information D1 as the origin, overlaps with the measurement data D21, with the measurement position and orientation D20 of the elements in the equipment measurement information D2 as the origin. Overlapping means that the numerical coordinates representing the surface of the elements included in the measurement data D21, with the measurement position and orientation D20 of the equipment measurement information D2 as the origin, match the numerical values ​​representing the shape D12, with the position and orientation D11 of the elements in the equipment design information D1, by a difference of less than or equal to a set threshold. A common method for overlapping can be, for example, ICP (Iterative Closest Points).

[0033] Next, in step S22, the portion of the equipment measurement information D2 that does not overlap with the equipment design information D1 is clustered and converted into the difference.

[0034] Specifically, the portion of the measurement data D21, with the measurement position and orientation D20 of the equipment measurement information D2 as the origin, that does not overlap with the shape D12, with the position and orientation D11 of the equipment design information D1 as the origin, is clustered and extracted as a difference. The difference's measurement position and orientation and measurement data are then added to the difference list LS, with position and orientation D31 and shape D32 being the same.

[0035] When adding elements, ensure that element IDD30 is not the same as one already listed in the difference list LS. For example, one method is to increment the value of element IDD30 by 1. Clustering is performed using common methods such as DBSCAN (Density-Based Spatial Clustering of Applications with Noise).

[0036] Next, a loop process is performed on all these differences, executing the series of processes from step S23 to step S27. In the loop process, first in step S23, the common surfaces and contacts are initialized. For example, for all differences included in the difference list LS, the common surface D33, contact D34, difference type D35, and parent element D36 are initialized by either deleting all the data entered or replacing it with a specific symbol that indicates the absence of data.

[0037] Next, in step S24, for all differences included in the difference list LS, it is determined whether or not there is a common surface with the equipment design information D1. That is, it is determined whether or not there is a plane or curved surface that is continuous with the plane or curved surface of the element of the equipment design information. If there is, in step S25, the element ID (D10) of the element that was determined to have a common surface is added to the common surface D33.

[0038] Figure 8 shows an example of a method for determining common surfaces in step S24. When a plane 800 included in the shape D12 of the element of the equipment design information D1 and a plane 801 included in the shape D32 of the difference lie on the same plane, it is determined that there is a common surface between the element and the difference; otherwise, it is determined that there is no common surface.

[0039] Determining whether two objects lie on the same plane can be done, for example, by checking if the angle between the normal vector 802 of plane 800 and the normal vector 803 of plane 801 is less than or equal to a threshold, and the distance between plane 800 and plane 801 is less than or equal to a threshold. For example, if shapes D12 and D32 are represented by triangular meshes, the normal vectors of those triangular meshes can be used to calculate normal vectors 802 and 803.

[0040] Furthermore, if shapes D12 and D32 are represented by the coordinates of points on their surfaces, for example, the normal vector in the neighborhood of a certain point can be calculated using a general method such as the least squares method for k neighboring points. It is also conceivable to combine the multiple determination methods given as examples as necessary or sufficient conditions for the determination.

[0041] Returning to Figure 7, in step S26, the presence or absence of contact with the components of the equipment design information D1 is determined for all differences included in the difference list LS, and in step S27, the element ID (D10) of the elements determined to have contact is added to contact D34. A possible method of determination at this time is to determine that contact exists if the shortest distance in three-dimensional space between the shape D32 of the difference and the shape D12 of the elements included in the equipment design information D1 is smaller than a threshold.

[0042] Returning to Figure 6, the details of how the difference reflection model calculation unit 19 performs the difference reflection model calculation will be explained using the difference reflection model calculation flowchart in Figure 9. In the process in Figure 9, first, in step S31, the differences are classified into shape differences and element differences.

[0043] Figure 10 is a flowchart illustrating a method for classifying shape differences and element differences. The process in Figure 10 involves a loop that processes all differences in the difference list, and within this larger loop, a smaller loop processes all elements of the equipment design information D1. This ensures that all combinations of differences and elements are considered.

[0044] In the processing within the large and small loops of the flow in Figure 10, first, in step S41, for all differences e included in the difference list LS, it is determined whether the element ID (D11) of the equipment design information D1 is included in both the common surface D33 and the contact D34. If it is included, in step S42, the difference type D35 of that difference is changed to a shape difference, and the process moves to the next difference e. If it is not included, in step S43, the difference type D35 of that difference is changed to an element difference, and the process moves to the next element p.

[0045] Returning to Figure 9, in step S32, the equipment design information D1 is copied to the difference reflection model MD. Then, in step S33, the shape differences are reflected in the contacting components. For example, if the difference type D35 among the differences included in the difference list LS is a shape difference, and the element ID (D40) of the difference reflection model MD is included in contact D34, then the element ID (D40) is added to the parent element D36, the coordinate system of shape D32 is changed to position and orientation D41 using a coordinate transformation matrix that converts position and orientation D31 to position and orientation D41, and the changed shape D32 is added to shape D42.

[0046] Next, a loop is executed that applies to all elements p and differences e. In this loop, first, in step S34, the processing is divided for differences included in the difference list LS whose difference type D35 is an element difference, depending on whether a contact D34 exists.

[0047] If contact D34 does not exist, in step S35 it is determined to be an independent component, a row is added to the difference reflection model MD, the element ID (D40) of the added row is set to a value 1 greater than the maximum value of the other element IDs (D40), element ID (D40) is added to the parent element D36, position / orientation D31 is copied to position / orientation D41, and shape D32 is copied to shape D42. Parent element D43, rotation D44, and translation D45 are either filled with a specific symbol indicating that no data exists, or left blank.

[0048] If contact D34 exists, in step S36 it is determined to be a component connected to another component, a row is added to the difference reflection model MD, the element ID (D40) of the added row is set to a value 1 greater than the maximum value of the other element IDs (D40), the element ID (D40) is added to the parent element D36, position / orientation D31 is copied to position / orientation D41, and shape D32 is copied to shape D42. Contact D34 is copied to the parent element D43, and rotation D44 and translation D45 are either filled with a specific symbol indicating that no data exists, or left blank.

[0049] Returning to Figure 6, we will now explain how, in step S4, the display unit 21 presents the difference list and the difference reflection model to the user. Figure 11 is an example of the input / output screen 70 presented to the user by the display unit 21.

[0050] The input / output screen 70 in Figure 11 displays a design file path input section 71, a measurement file path input section 72, a calculation start button 73, a difference display section 74, and a difference correction button 75. The design file path input section 71 receives equipment design information D1 from the user. The measurement file path input section 72 receives equipment measurement information D2 from the user. The calculation start button 73 receives a command from the user to start the difference reflection model generation process. The difference ID 74 displays the difference ID (D30) of the difference list LS.

[0051] Furthermore, the position, orientation, and shape 76 of the input / output screen 70 display the shape D42 in three-dimensional space based on the position, orientation D41 of the element indicated by the element ID (D40) contained in the parent element D36 of the difference list LS. At this time, other elements of the difference reflection model may also be displayed in the same three-dimensional space in a way that makes them visually distinguishable, such as by diagonal hatching or color coding. The difference type 77 displays the difference type D35 of the difference list LS. The parent element 78 indicates the parent element D36 of the difference list LS.

[0052] According to the embodiment 1 described above, a difference reflection model can be generated by classifying the difference between equipment design information D1 and equipment measurement information D2 of manufacturing equipment including movable parts such as robots into shape differences and element differences and reflecting them in the equipment design information D1.

[0053] Furthermore, by inputting the movement of movable parts into the differential reflection model MD, it becomes possible to perform motion teaching that avoids interference caused by the difference between equipment design information D1 and equipment measurement information D2, which has the effect of reducing the man-hours required to operate the equipment on-site and teach interference avoidance. [Examples]

[0054] If a manufacturing facility includes a linkage mechanism such as an articulated robot, and the orientation of the linkage mechanism differs between the facility design information D1 and the facility measurement information D2, then matching elements cannot be extracted unless the position and orientation of the linkage mechanism at the time of facility measurement are reproduced and then the superposition shown in step S21 in Figure 7 is performed. However, since there are infinitely many possible positions and orientations for the linkage mechanism, reproducing the position and orientation requires an enormous amount of computation.

[0055] In Example 2, as an example of a method to reproduce the position and orientation of the link mechanism during equipment measurement while reducing the computational load, we describe a design support device that reduces the computational load for searching for the robot's orientation in equipment measurement information D2 by converting equipment design information D1 into links separated by movable parts, and associating it with equipment measurement information D2 while tracing the connection order of the links starting from a base link that does not have a parent element.

[0056] Figure 12 shows an example configuration of the design support device 10 for manufacturing equipment according to Embodiment 2. The difference between Figure 12 and Figure 1 is the addition of link LK to the output information. Link LK is data obtained by converting the equipment design information D1 into a link structure. The other components are the same as those in Figure 1, so their explanation is omitted.

[0057] The flowchart illustrating an example of the difference reflection model generation process of the manufacturing equipment design support device 10 in this embodiment is the same as in Embodiment 1 and is shown in Figure 6. Since the processing of steps S1 to S4 is the same as in Embodiment 1, the explanation is omitted.

[0058] Figure 13 shows an example of the data structure of Link LK in Example 2. Link LK is data obtained by converting Equipment Design Information D1 into a link structure by integrating elements of Equipment Design Information D1 that do not have movable parts into a single element. The Link ID (D50) of Link LK is represented by an independent number, letter, or combination of number and letter for all elements. Position / orientation D51, shape D52, parent element D53, rotation D54, and translation D55 are the same as those in Equipment Design Information D1, so their explanation is omitted. However, the element ID list D56 is a list of element IDs (D10) of Equipment Design Information D1 included in that link.

[0059] Figure 14 is a flowchart detailing the actual machine difference calculation in this embodiment, relating to the actual machine difference calculation shown in step S2 of Figure 6. In this process, the first loop process, the second loop process, and the first loop process are executed sequentially.

[0060] First, in the first loop process, the conversion from equipment design information D1 to link LK is performed sequentially while changing element e of the equipment design information. Regarding the order of element changes, the loop starts with a base element that does not have a parent element of equipment design information D1, and the parent element D13 of equipment design information D1 is searched for by element ID (D10) repeatedly. In step S210, if rotation D14 or translation D15 exists, it is determined to be a movable part, and if it does not exist, it is determined not to be a movable part.

[0061] If it is determined to be a movable part, in step S211, the link ID (D50) is incremented and added as a new link, the position / orientation D51, shape D52, rotation D54, and translation D55 of that link are copied to the position / orientation D11, shape D12, rotation D14, and translation D15, the previous link is entered into the parent element D53, and element ID 130 is added to the element ID list D56.

[0062] On the other hand, if it is determined that it is not a movable part, in step S212 the shape D12 is coordinate-transformed so that the position and orientation D51 is the origin and added to the shape D52, and element ID 130 is added to the element ID list D56.

[0063] Next, in the second loop process, the links l are changed sequentially in indirect adjacency order. Specifically, in step S213, the links of link LK and the equipment measurement information D2 are superimposed in indirect adjacency order, starting from the base link which has no parent element and going to the link that has the previous link as parent element D53.

[0064] The overlapping state and the method of overlapping are the same as in step S21 of Figure 7, so a further explanation is omitted. Also, steps S22 to S27 in Figure 14 are the same as in steps S22 to S27 in Figure 7, so an explanation is omitted. During these processes, the third loop process is executed while sequentially changing the difference e.

[0065] Figure 15 shows an example of an input / output screen 70 presented to the user by the display unit 21. The input / output screen in Figure 15 displays the input / output screen 70 of Figure 11 with added link LK-related information. Link ID 79 displays each link LK's link ID (D50) one by one. Link 80 displays the shape D52 in three-dimensional space with the position and orientation D51 of the link included in link ID 79 as the origin.

[0066] According to the embodiment described above, by converting the equipment design information D1 into links separated by movable parts, and associating it with the equipment measurement information D2 while tracing the link connection order from a base link that does not have a parent element, the amount of computation required to search for the position and orientation of the links can be reduced. As a result, the link state at the time of equipment measurement can be reproduced in the equipment design information D1, and the equipment design information D1 and the equipment measurement information D2 can be superimposed. [Examples]

[0067] If the movement of a movable part, such as a robot, within a manufacturing facility is designed on a computer using only the equipment design information D1, interference may occur when the movable part is operated on the actual machine due to the difference between the equipment design information and the actual machine, which may require additional effort to correct the equipment's operation on the actual machine.

[0068] This embodiment describes a design support device that can reduce the man-hours required to correct equipment operation on the actual machine by correcting the operation of movable parts on a computer using a difference reflection model MD obtained from equipment design information D1 and equipment measurement information D2.

[0069] Figure 16 shows an example of a configuration diagram in this embodiment. Compared to Figure 1, equipment operation information D6 is added as input information, an interference avoidance trajectory calculation unit 24 is added to the calculation unit, and interference avoidance trajectory K is added as output information. Equipment operation information D6 is the operation information of the movable parts included in the equipment design information D1. The interference avoidance trajectory calculation unit 24 performs interference calculation by inputting the difference list LS, the difference reflection model MD, and the equipment operation information D6, and outputs the interference avoidance trajectory K. The other components are the same as those in Figure 1, so their explanation is omitted.

[0070] Figure 17 shows an example of the data structure of equipment operation information D6. In Figure 17, the link ID (D60) is the same as the link ID (D50) in Figure 13, so its explanation is omitted. Rotational motion D61 is the time-series data of the rotation angle D14 of the equipment design information D1 corresponding to link ID (D60), and is defined as an array listing combinations of time and angle. Rotational motion D61 can also be calculated from data formats other than those described above, and can be calculated in the format of rotational motion D61 outside of the design support device. For example, it can be calculated by the first integral of time-series data of angular velocity, the second integral of time-series data of angular acceleration, or by integration from the initial angle, target angle, angular velocity, and angular acceleration.

[0071] Translational motion D62 is time-series data of the translational position of translation D15 in equipment design information D1 corresponding to link ID (D60), and is defined as an array that enumerates combinations of time and position. Translational motion D62 can be calculated, for example, by the first integral of the time-series data of translational velocity, the second integral of the time-series data of translational acceleration, or by the integral from the initial translational position, the target translational position, velocity, and acceleration.

[0072] Figure 18 shows an example of the data structure of the interference avoidance trajectory K output by editing the equipment operation information D6 using the interference avoidance trajectory generation process described later. The link ID (D70) to translational motion D72 is the same as the link ID (D60) to translational motion D62 in Figure 17, so the explanation is omitted.

[0073] Figure 19 is a flowchart outlining the interference avoidance trajectory generation process in this embodiment. First, steps S1 to S4 are the same as S1 to S4 in Figure 6, so their explanation is omitted. Step S5 is the interference avoidance trajectory calculation by the interference avoidance trajectory calculation unit 24. Here, a loop process with a variable time t is executed.

[0074] Figure 20 is a flowchart of an example of interference avoidance trajectory calculation in this embodiment. First, at a predetermined time step, in step S51, rotational motion D71 and translational motion D72 are applied to the rotation D44 and translational motion D45 of the difference reflection model MD corresponding to all link IDs (D60) included in the equipment operation information D6, and the amount of movement of position and orientation D41 is determined. One possible method for determining this amount of movement is to find a rotation matrix that rotates by the angle indicated by rotational motion D71 around the rotation axis vector indicated by rotation D44.

[0075] Next, in step S52, it is determined whether interference occurs when the position and orientation D41 are moved by the rotational movement D71 and the translational movement D72. For example, interference can be determined if the spaces occupied by the shapes D42 overlap. If no interference occurs, the process moves on to the determination in the next time step. If interference occurs, in step S53, the equipment operation information D6 is modified to avoid the interference and output to the interference avoidance trajectory K.

[0076] Figure 21 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of the processing at the time step in which interference occurs during the interference avoidance trajectory generation process, and it shows the detailed processing content of step S53 in Figure 20.

[0077] In the trajectory 100 drawn by the differential reflection model MD based on the equipment operation information D6, the shape D42 of element 101 included in the differential reflection model MD and the shape D42 of element 102, which is the element difference, interfere at a certain time step. To avoid this interference, the rotational motion D71 or translational motion D72 is modified, and the modified equipment operation information D6 is output to the interference-avoiding trajectory K. A general trajectory planning method such as RRT (Rapidly-exploring Random Tree) can be used for this modification. The trajectory 103 drawn by the differential reflection model MD based on the interference-avoiding trajectory K does not experience interference.

[0078] Figure 22 shows an example of an input / output screen 70 presented to the user by the display unit 21. The input / output screen 70 to the parent element model 78 is the same as in Figure 11, so its explanation is omitted. The interference avoidance trajectory 81 is a display of the interference avoidance trajectory K in three-dimensional space based on the position and orientation D41 and shape D42 of the difference reflection model MD. The display format can be, for example, a video, or a general format such as superimposing images at regular time intervals to create a single image.

[0079] According to this embodiment, the operation of movable parts can be modified on a computer using a difference reflection model MD obtained from equipment design information D1 and equipment measurement information D2. This solves the problem that when the operation of movable parts such as robots within equipment is designed on a computer using only equipment design information D1, interference occurs due to the difference between the equipment design information D1 and the actual equipment when the movable parts are operated on the actual equipment, requiring the time and effort to correct the equipment operation on the actual equipment. [Examples]

[0080] In the movable parts of manufacturing equipment such as robots, which are composed of multiple linkage mechanisms, if the wiring attached to the links is treated as a rigid body that does not deform during trajectory calculations in virtual space, there is a problem in that the deformed wiring interferes in the actual machine, resulting in increased labor for adjustments to the actual machine.

[0081] This embodiment describes a design support device that can reduce the actual adjustment time by calculating the space in which deformable elements may exist in accordance with the movement of the movable part, thereby avoiding interference between deformable elements and surrounding elements.

[0082] Figure 23 shows an example of the configuration of the design support device 10 for manufacturing equipment according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention. Compared with Embodiments 1, 2, and 3, a difference deformation calculation unit 26 has been added to the calculation unit 17. The other configurations have already been described and will be omitted here.

[0083] The difference deformation calculation unit 26 uses the difference list LS, the difference reflection model MD, the link LK, and the equipment operation information D6 to calculate the space in which elements attached to the link may exist in a deformed state.

[0084] Figure 24 is a flowchart of an example of a design support device that avoids interference, including the space in which elements attached to a link may exist. Steps S1 to S4 are the same as S1 to S4 in Figure 19, so their explanation is omitted. Step S6 shows a differential deformation calculation that calculates the deformation of elements attached to a link. Step S5 is the same as S5 in Figure 19, so its explanation is omitted.

[0085] Figure 25 is a flowchart of an example of difference deformation calculation. First, in step S50, the difference to be deformed is extracted from the difference list LS.

[0086] Figure 26 is a conceptual diagram showing a method for extracting deformable and non-deformable differences. Difference 91 is an element difference that does not exist in the equipment design information D1 and is connected to multiple links LK1, LK2, LK3, and LK4 included in link LK. Difference 93 is an element difference that does not exist in the equipment design information D1 and is connected to a single link. Difference 92 is a shape difference of an element that exists in the equipment design information D1. In this case, difference 91 is attached across links and deforms with movement, but difference 93 moves attached to the link but does not deform. Also, shape differences like difference 92 are part of a rigid body element and do not deform. Therefore, if difference type D35 is an element difference and there are multiple link IDs included in contact D34, that difference can be considered to deform.

[0087] Return to Figure 25. Next, in step S51, any link of link LK is designated as a child link, and the link indicated by the child link's parent element D53 is designated as the parent link. The determination is then made as to whether the connection is rotational or translational. The determination is made by checking whether data exists in the child link's rotation D54 or translation D55.

[0088] Next, in steps S52 and S53, the basis transformation matrices are calculated for the case where the connection relationship is rotational and the case where it is translational. Figure 27 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of difference deformation calculation when two links are connected in a rotational or translational relationship. The Z axis 181, Y axis 182, and X axis 183 represent the orthogonal coordinate system of the link connection. The α axis 184 indicates the direction in which the volume change of the element is interpolated so that the deformation of the element due to the basis transformation by rotation or translation becomes zero.

[0089] If the connection is rotational, the rotation axis of the link LK element is defined as the Z-axis 181, the axis direction of the other link connecting across the rotation axis is defined as the Y-axis 182, and the X-axis 183 perpendicular to each is defined. At this time, whether it is a right-handed or left-handed coordinate system is aligned with the equipment design information D1. A deformation direction axis α184 is defined as an axis on the XY plane that bisects the Y-axis 182 and the axis obtained by rotating the X-axis 183 by the angle of rotational movement D61 of the equipment operation information D6. A basis transformation matrix is ​​calculated in the XY plane where the X-axis 183 is rotated by the angle of rotational movement D61 of the equipment operation information D6.

[0090] If the connection relationship is translational, the translation axis of the elements of link LK is defined as the X-axis 183, the centroid direction of the deforming elements perpendicular to the translation axis is defined as the Y-axis 182, and the X-axis 183 perpendicular to each is defined. At this time, whether it is a right-handed or left-handed coordinate system is aligned with the equipment design information D1. The deformation direction axis α184 is defined to be the same as the Y-axis 182. A basis transformation matrix in the XY plane is calculated that scales in the direction of the X-axis 183 by the distance of the translational motion D62 of the equipment operation information D6.

[0091] Return to Figure 25. Next, in step S54, regardless of whether the connection relationship is rotational or translational, deformation is performed using the basis transformation matrix, and the wiring deformation direction and the Z-axis direction are expanded or contracted to make the volume change zero. The deformation method and the expansion or contraction method will be described later in Figure 27.

[0092] In Figure 27, whether the connection is rotational or translational, the position / orientation D42 and shape D43 of the deformed element are multiplied by the calculated basis transformation matrix to deform it on the XY plane, and the volume change due to this deformation is calculated. Next, the position / orientation D42 and shape D43 are expanded in the α-axis 186 and Z-axis 181 directions until the volume change becomes sufficiently small. It is also conceivable that multiple position / orientation D42 and shape D43 values ​​can be calculated by adding or subtracting a certain noise value to the basis transformation matrix at this time.

[0093] Returning to Figure 25, in step S55, the position / orientation D42 and shape D43 are output to the difference reflection model. Figure 28 is an example of the input / output screen 70 presented to the user by the display unit 21. The input / output screen 70 to the parent element model 78 is the same as in Figure 11, so the explanation is omitted.

[0094] The interference avoidance trajectory 82 displays the interference avoidance trajectory K in three-dimensional space based on the position / orientation D41 and shape D42 of the differential reflection model MD. At this time, the deformation caused by the movement of elements across links, the space in which the deformed elements may exist, the result of interference between the deformed elements and other elements, or a combination thereof is displayed. The display format could be, for example, a video, or a method of superimposing images at regular time intervals to create a single image.

[0095] According to this embodiment, by calculating the space in which deformable elements may exist in accordance with the movement of the movable part, interference between deformable elements and surrounding elements can be avoided. This solves the problem in which, in a movable part of a device such as a robot composed of multiple link mechanisms, if the wiring attached to the links is treated as a rigid body that does not deform when calculating the trajectory in virtual space, the deformed wiring interferes in the actual device, resulting in increased adjustment time for the actual device.

[0096] It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications are included. For example, the embodiments described above are described in detail to make the present invention easier to understand, and are not necessarily limited to those having all the configurations described. Furthermore, it is possible to replace a part of the configuration of one embodiment with the configuration of another embodiment, and it is also possible to add the configuration of another embodiment to the configuration of one embodiment. Furthermore, it is possible to add, delete, or replace parts of the configuration of each embodiment with other configurations. In addition, each of the above configurations and functions may be implemented in software by having the processor interpret and execute a program that realizes each function. Information such as programs, tables, and files that realize each function can be stored in memory, a recording device such as a hard disk or SSD (Solid State Drive), or a recording medium such as an IC card, SD card, or DVD. [Explanation of symbols]

[0097] 11...Input unit, 12...Storage unit, D1...Equipment design information, D2...Equipment measurement information, LS...Difference list, MD...Difference reflection model, 17...Calculation unit, 18...Actual machine difference calculation unit, 19...Difference reflection model calculation unit, 20...Output unit, 21...Display unit

Claims

1. A design support device for manufacturing equipment composed of multiple components including movable parts, The system comprises: an input unit that inputs equipment design information including the shape and position and orientation of the components constituting the manufacturing equipment, and at least one of a rotation mechanism and a translation mechanism between the components, and equipment measurement information including a measurement position and orientation representing the measurement viewpoint when the actual manufacturing equipment is measured, and measurement data of the components which are the measurement results; an actual machine difference calculation unit that extracts the difference using the equipment design information and the equipment measurement information and obtains a difference list; a difference reflection model calculation unit that calculates a difference reflection model that reflects the difference in the difference list in the equipment design information; and a storage unit that stores the equipment design information, the equipment measurement information, the difference list, and the difference reflection model. The aforementioned actual machine difference calculation unit is: By integrating the elements of the equipment design information that do not have movable parts into a single element, link structure information is generated by converting the equipment design information into a link structure. Using the link structure information, the link structure is explored in order, starting with the base link element that does not have a parent element, and following the links that have a connection relationship as parent elements. For each link constituting the link structure, the difference between the link and the corresponding element included in the equipment measurement information is extracted by superimposing it with the measurement target included in the equipment measurement information. A design support device for manufacturing equipment, characterized by the following features.

2. A design support device for manufacturing equipment according to claim 1, The manufacturing equipment design support device is characterized in that the actual machine difference calculation unit calculates a difference by associating the measurement target included in the equipment measurement information with one or more components included in the equipment design information, and calculates whether there is a plane or curved surface included in the equipment design information that is common with the plane or curved surface of the component of the difference, and whether there is contact between the difference and the component included in the equipment design information.

3. A design support device for manufacturing equipment according to claim 2, The design support device for manufacturing equipment is characterized in that the difference reflection model calculation unit classifies the difference into a shape difference, which is a difference in the shape or dimensions of the constituent elements, and an element difference, which is a new constituent element, based on the presence or absence of common surfaces and the presence or absence of contact calculated by the actual machine difference calculation unit, changes the shape of the contacting constituent elements based on the shape difference, and adds the element difference as a new constituent element.

4. A design support device for manufacturing equipment according to claim 3, A design support device for manufacturing equipment, characterized in that, after the correspondence of the components of the equipment design information, if the position and orientation of the components differ from those of the equipment design information, the difference reflection model calculation unit reflects the position and orientation of the components after the correspondence in the position and orientation of the components of the difference reflection model.

5. A design support device for manufacturing equipment according to claim 1, A design support device for manufacturing equipment, comprising: an interference avoidance trajectory calculation unit that modifies equipment operation information indicating the operation of the movable parts of the equipment stored in the storage unit through the input unit, so as to avoid interference if there is interference when the difference reflection model is operated based on the equipment operation information.

6. A design support device for manufacturing equipment according to claim 5, A design support device for manufacturing equipment, characterized in that, when there are element differences connecting across components that operate according to the equipment operation information, the difference reflection model calculation unit performs a coordinate transformation on the movable surface on the element differences and predicts the deformation of the components by performing coordinate transformations in the direction perpendicular to the movable surface and in the direction perpendicular to the movable axis on the movable surface so that the volume after the coordinate transformation is preserved.

7. A design support device for manufacturing equipment according to claim 5, The aforementioned interference avoidance trajectory calculation unit is characterized in that, when a deformation element attached to the link exists, it calculates the space in which the deformation element exists in accordance with the movement of the movable part, thereby avoiding interference between the deformation element and surrounding components.

8. A design support device for manufacturing equipment according to claim 1, A design support device for manufacturing equipment, characterized by comprising a display unit that displays the data of the differential reflection model stored in the memory unit, including the relationship between the position, orientation and shape of the manufacturing equipment.

9. A design support method for a design support device for a manufacturing facility composed of a plurality of components including a movable part, It comprises an input unit, a real-device difference calculation unit, a difference reflection model calculation unit, and a storage unit. The input unit receives equipment design information including the shape and position / orientation of the components constituting the manufacturing equipment, and at least one of a rotation mechanism and a translation mechanism between the components, and equipment measurement information including the measurement position / orientation representing the measurement viewpoint when the actual manufacturing equipment was measured, and measurement data of the components which are the measurement results. The actual equipment difference calculation unit extracts the difference using the equipment design information and the equipment measurement information, obtains a difference list, The difference reflection model calculation unit calculates a difference reflection model that reflects the differences in the difference list to the equipment design information, The storage unit stores the equipment design information, the equipment measurement information, the difference list, and the difference reflection model. The aforementioned actual machine difference calculation unit is: By integrating the elements of the equipment design information that do not have movable parts into a single element, link structure information is generated by converting the equipment design information into a link structure. Using the link structure information, the link structure is explored in order, starting with the base link element that does not have a parent element, and following the links that have a connection relationship as parent elements. For each link constituting the link structure, the difference between the link and the corresponding element included in the equipment measurement information is extracted by superimposing it with the measurement target included in the equipment measurement information. A design support method for a design support device for manufacturing equipment, characterized by the following features.

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