Security device, control device, teaching device, method, and computer program for preventing misuse of teaching device

Abstract

There is the possibility that a third person who is not authorized to operate a robot may incorrectly use a teaching device of a robot. Conventionally, technology for preventing the misuse of such a teaching device is required.　A security device 60 for preventing the misuse of a teaching device 14 includes: a data acquisition unit 66 for acquiring use state data representing a use state of a teaching device 14; a use determination unit 68 for determining whether or not the teaching device 14 is in use on the basis of the use state data acquired by the data acquisition unit 66; and a logout execution unit 70 for shifting the operation stage of the teaching device 14 to a logout stage, in which the operation of the robot 12 through the teaching device 14 is prohibited and authentication is requested of a user, when it is determined by the use determination unit 68 that the teaching device 14 is not in use.

Description

Security device, control device, teaching device, method, and computer program for preventing misuse of teaching device

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a security device, a control device, a teaching device, a method, and a computer program for preventing misuse of a teaching device.

[0002] A device for ensuring the safety of work by a robot is known (for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] JP 2015-188990 A

[0004] There is a possibility that a robot teaching device may be misused by a third party who has no authority to operate the robot. Conventionally, there has been a demand for technology to prevent such misuse of the teaching device.

[0005] In one aspect of the present disclosure, a security device for preventing misuse of a teaching device that teaches a robot how to operate includes a data acquisition unit that acquires usage status data representing the usage status of the teaching device, a usage determination unit that determines whether the teaching device is in use or not based on the usage status data acquired by the data acquisition unit, and a logout execution unit that, when the usage determination unit determines that the teaching device is not in use, transitions the operating stage of the teaching device to a logout stage that prohibits operation of the robot through the teaching device and requests authentication from the user.

[0006] In another aspect of the present disclosure, a method for preventing misuse of a teaching device that teaches a robot how to operate includes a processor acquiring usage status data representing the usage status of the teaching device, determining whether the teaching device is in use based on the acquired usage status data, and if it is determined that the teaching device is not in use, transitioning the operation stage of the teaching device to a logout stage that prohibits operation of the robot through the teaching device and requests authentication from the user.

[0007] 12 is a schematic diagram of a robot system according to an embodiment. FIG. 13 is a block diagram of a robot system according to an embodiment. FIG. 14 is a front view of the teaching device shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 15 is a rear view of the teaching device shown in FIG. 3. FIG. 16 is a flowchart showing a security function according to an embodiment. FIG. 17 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of step S1 in FIG. 5. FIG. 18 is a flowchart showing an example of the flow of step S2 in FIG. 5. FIG. 19 is a block diagram of a robot system according to another embodiment. FIG. 19 is a front view of the teaching device shown in FIG. 8. FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing another example of the flow of step S2 in FIG. 5. FIG. 20 is a block diagram of a robot system according to yet another embodiment. FIG. 21 is a flowchart showing yet another example of the flow of step S2 in FIG. 5. FIG. 22 is a flowchart showing the flow of step S43 in FIG. 12. FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing the flow of step S44 in FIG. 12. FIG. 24 is a block diagram showing other functions of the robot system shown in FIG. 11. FIG. 25 is an example of image data for setting a judgment criterion. FIG. 26 is another example of image data for setting a judgment criterion. FIG. 27 is an example of image data for selecting whether a security function is enabled or disabled. FIG. 28 is a block diagram showing still other functions of the robot system shown in FIG. 11.

[0008] Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. In the various embodiments described below, like elements will be designated by like reference numerals, and redundant description will be omitted. First, a robot system 10 according to one embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4. The robot system 10 includes a robot 12, a teaching device 14, and a control device 16. The robot 12 is, for example, a vertical articulated robot, and includes an end effector 12A that performs a predetermined task on a workpiece (such as workpiece handling, welding, laser processing, or cutting), and a movement mechanism 12B that moves the end effector 12A.

[0009] The teaching device 14 operates the robot 12 via the control device 16, teaches the robot 12 movements for a task, and generates an operation program for the task. More specifically, as shown in Fig. 2, the teaching device 14 is a computer having a processor 20, a memory 22, an I / O interface 24, a display device 26, an input device 28, a vibration sensor 30, an attitude sensor 32, and a biosensor 34. Note that the teaching device 14 may be any type of computer, such as a teaching pendant or a notebook or tablet PC.

[0010] The processor 20 includes a CPU or a GPU, and is communicatively connected to a memory 22, an I / O interface 24, a display device 26, an input device 28, a vibration sensor 30, a posture sensor 32, and a biosensor 34 via a bus 36. The memory 22 includes a RAM or a ROM, and temporarily or permanently stores various data. The memory 22 may be a non-transitory computer-readable recording medium, such as a semiconductor memory, a magnetic recording medium, or an optical recording medium.

[0011] The I / O interface 24 has, for example, an Ethernet (registered trademark) port, a USB port, an optical fiber connector, or an HDMI (registered trademark) terminal, and communicates data with external devices via a wired or wireless connection under instructions from the processor 20. The display device 26 has a display such as an LCD or LED, and visibly displays various data under instructions from the processor 20. The input device 28 has push buttons, switches, a touch panel, or the like, and receives data input from an operator.

[0012] The vibration sensor 30 detects the vibration V of the teaching device 14. Specifically, the vibration sensor 30 has, for example, an acceleration sensor built into the teaching device 14, and detects a change in acceleration a of the teaching device 14 over time as the vibration V of the teaching device 14. Detection data Dv of the vibration V detected by the vibration sensor 30 (time-series data of the acceleration a) is stored in the memory 22. Note that the vibration sensor 30 may also detect a change in jerk or speed of the teaching device 14 over time as the vibration V.

[0013] The attitude sensor 32 detects the attitude O of the teaching device 14. For example, the attitude sensor 32 has a gyro sensor built in the teaching device 14, and detects, as detection data Do of the attitude O of the teaching device 14, an angle θx from a vertically downward direction in the positive direction of the x-axis of a two-dimensional orthogonal coordinate system C shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 and an angle θz from a vertically downward direction in the positive direction of the z-axis of the coordinate system C.

[0014] The positive x-axis direction of the coordinate system C is defined as the direction in which the screen of the display device 26 faces (i.e., the normal direction of the screen). Therefore, when the angle θx = 0°, the positive x-axis direction of the coordinate system C1, i.e., the screen of the display device 26, faces vertically downward. On the other hand, the positive z-axis direction is defined as the upward direction of the screen of the display device 26. Therefore, when the angle θz = 0°, the positive z-axis direction of the coordinate system C1, i.e., the screen of the display device 26, faces upside down. In this manner, the coordinate system C representing the orientation O may be set in the teaching device 14. The detection data Do (angles θx and θz) of the orientation O detected by the orientation sensor 32 is stored in the memory 22.

[0015] The biometric sensor 34 detects the user's biometric information B. As an example, the biometric sensor 34 has a capacitive, optical, or ultrasonic fingerprint sensor 34A, and detects the user's fingerprint information as the biometric information B. For example, the fingerprint sensor 34A may be provided in a surface area 38 ( FIG. 3 ) that comes into contact with the user's thumb when the user holds the teaching device 14.

[0016] The fingerprint sensor 34A may also be provided on an emergency stop button 37 provided on the front surface of the teaching device 14. This emergency stop button 37 is used to urgently stop the operation of the robot 12. The fingerprint sensor 34A may also be provided on an enable switch 39 provided on the rear surface (FIG. 4) of the teaching device 14. This enable switch 39 can be pressed into three positions, and when in the second position, the operation of the robot 12 is permitted, while when in the first or third position, the operation of the robot 12 is prohibited.

[0017] As another example, the biometric sensor 34 has a visible light or infrared camera 34B and detects an image of the user's face or iris as biometric information B. For example, the camera 34B may be provided on the front side of the teaching device 14, near the display device 26. The biometric information B (fingerprint information, face or iris image) detected by the biometric sensor 34 (fingerprint sensor 34A, camera 34B) is stored in the memory 22.

[0018] The control device 16 controls the operation of the robot 12. Specifically, the control device 16 is a computer having a processor 40, a memory 42, an I / O interface 44, a display device 46, and an input device 48. Note that the configurations of the processor 40, the memory 42, the I / O interface 44, the display device 46, and the input device 48 are similar to those of the processor 20, the memory 22, the I / O interface 24, the display device 26, and the input device 28 described above, and therefore redundant explanations will be omitted.

[0019] A user operates the input device 28 of the teaching device 14 to operate the robot 12 and teach the robot 12 how to operate. At this time, the user may leave the teaching device 14 in an arbitrary location and interrupt the teaching operation. In such a case, an unauthorized third party may operate the teaching device 14 and operate the robot 12. In this embodiment, the robot system 10 executes a security function to prevent such misuse of the teaching device 14. The security function of the robot system 10 will be described below with reference to FIG. 5 .

[0020] In this embodiment, the processor 40 of the control device 16 executes the flow of Fig. 5. The processor 40 starts the flow of Fig. 5 when the teaching device 14 is started. At the start of the flow of Fig. 5, the operation phase OP of the teaching device 14 is a logout phase OP1. In this logout phase OP1, any operation of the robot 12 through the input device 28 of the teaching device 14 is prohibited, and the processor 20 of the teaching device 14 requests authentication from the user. Specifically, the processor 20 activates the biometric sensor 34 and starts detecting biometric information B. At this time, the processor 20 may generate image data ID1 of the logout phase OP1 that requests authentication from the user, and display it on the display device 26.

[0021] After the flow of Fig. 5 starts, the processor 40 of the control device 16 executes the flow of a logout phase OP1 in step S1. This step S1 will be described with reference to Fig. 6. In step S11, the processor 40 determines whether or not user authentication has been completed. In this embodiment, the processor 40 executes biometric authentication to authenticate the user. Specifically, the processor 20 of the teaching device 14 acquires biometric information B of the user (fingerprint information, face or iris image) through the biometric sensor 34 (fingerprint sensor 34A, camera 34B) and supplies the acquired biometric information B to the control device 16.

[0022] Meanwhile, templates Bt of biometric information B of multiple users who have the authority to operate the robot are registered in a user database and stored in the memory 42 of the control device 16. The processor 40 of the control device 16 performs biometric authentication by matching the acquired biometric information B with the templates Bt. As described above, in this embodiment, the processor 40 functions as an authentication execution unit 62 ( FIG. 2 ) that performs biometric authentication of the user in the logout stage OP1.

[0023] If the acquired biometric information B matches the template Bt, the processor 40 determines that user authentication is complete (i.e., YES) and proceeds to step S13, whereas if the processor 40 determines NO, it proceeds to step S12. In step S12, the processor 40 determines whether the operation of the teaching device 14 has ended. If the processor 40 determines YES, it ends the flow of Fig. 6, thereby ending the flow of Fig. 5. On the other hand, if the processor 40 determines NO, it returns to step S11.

[0024] In step S13, the processor 40 transitions the operation phase OP of the teaching device 14 to a login phase OP2 (i.e., login). Specifically, the processor 40 transmits a login command CM1 to the teaching device 14, and in response to the login command CM1, the processor 20 of the teaching device 14 transitions to the login phase OP2.

[0025] In the login stage OP2, operation of the robot 12 through the input device 28 of the teaching device 14 is permitted, and the user can operate the input device 28 to operate the robot 12 and perform a teaching task of teaching the robot 12 how to operate. In this manner, in this embodiment, the processor 40 of the control device 16 functions as a login execution unit 64 ( FIG. 2 ) that transitions the operation stage OP of the teaching device 14 from the logout stage OP1 to the login stage OP2 when biometric authentication is completed.

[0026] When the teaching device 14 transitions to the login stage OP2, the processor 20 of the teaching device 14 may stop the detection of the biometric information B by the biometric sensor 34. The processor 20 may also generate image data ID2 of the login stage OP2 (i.e., a graphical user interface (GUI) for the teaching operation) and display it on the display device 26.

[0027] After step S13, the processor 40 of the control device 16 executes the flow of the login stage OP2 in step S2. This step S2 will be described with reference to Fig. 7. In step S21, the processor 40 starts an operation of acquiring usage status data D. Here, in this embodiment, the processor 40 acquires, as the usage status data D, the detection data Dv of the vibration sensor 30 and the detection data Do of the attitude sensor 32.

[0028] Here, when a user holds the teaching device 14 in his / her hand and uses it, a sway V occurs in the teaching device 14. However, when the user leaves the teaching device 14 in a location without using it, the teaching device 14 remains stationary and does not generate a sway V. Furthermore, when the orientation O of the teaching device 14 is such that the display device 26 faces vertically downward or is upside down, it is highly likely that the user has left the teaching device 14 in a location without using it. In this way, the sway V and orientation O of the teaching device 14 are closely related to the usage state of the teaching device 14. Therefore, the detection data Dv of the sway V detected by the sway sensor 30 and the detection data Do of the orientation O (specifically, the angles θx, θz) detected by the orientation sensor 32 constitute usage state data D that represents the usage state of the teaching device 14.

[0029] In step S21, the processor 40 of the control device 16 transmits a data acquisition command CM2 to the teaching device 14. Upon receiving the data acquisition command CM2, the processor 20 of the teaching device 14 activates the vibration sensor 30 and the attitude sensor 32, and periodically acquires the detection data Dv of the vibration sensor 30 and the detection data Do of the attitude sensor 32. The processor 20 then sequentially transmits the acquired detection data Dv and Do to the control device 16.

[0030] In this way, the processor 40 of the control device 16 periodically acquires the detection data Dv and Do as the usage status data D and stores them in the memory 42. In this way, in the present embodiment, the processor 40 functions as a data acquisition unit 66 ( FIG. 2 ) that acquires the usage status data D (specifically, the detection data Dv and Do) that represent the usage status of the teaching device 14.

[0031] In step S22, the processor 40 determines whether or not the swing V of the teaching device 14 has not been detected over a predetermined period T1. Specifically, the processor 40 refers to the detection data Dv acquired after the start of step S21, and determines whether or not the acceleration a indicated in the detection data Dv is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold a over a predetermined period T1 (for example, 3 seconds). ｔｈ If the determination result is YES, the processor 40 proceeds to step S25, whereas if the determination result is NO, the processor 40 proceeds to step S23.

[0032] In step S23, the processor 40 determines whether the orientation O of the teaching device 14 is in a predetermined orientation Ou that indicates non-use of the teaching device 14. For example, the orientation Ou that indicates non-use is determined when the angle θx is -θx ｔｈ ≦0≦θx ｔｈ Range [-θx ｔｈ , θx ｔｈ ], and the above angle θz is −θz ｔｈ ≦0≦θz ｔｈ Range [-θz ｔｈ , +θz ｔｈ ] is defined as the posture in which

[0033] As described above, in this embodiment, when the angle θx=0°, the teaching device 14 (display device 26) is oriented vertically downward, and when the angle θz=0°, the teaching device 14 (display device 26) is oriented upside down. ｔｈ , θx ｔｈ ], a threshold value θx ｔｈ and the range [-θz ｔｈ , +θz ｔｈ ], the threshold θz ｔｈ is predetermined by the user (for example, θx ｔｈ = 10°, θz ｔｈ = 45°).

[0034] The processor 40 determines whether the most recently acquired angle θx is in the range [−θx ｔｈ , θx ｔｈ ], or the angle θz is in the range [-θz ｔｈ, +θz ｔｈ ], the processor 40 determines that the orientation O of the teaching device 14 is in the orientation Ou indicating non-use (i.e., YES). If the processor 40 determines YES, the process proceeds to step S25, whereas if the processor 40 determines NO, the process proceeds to step S24. The processor 40 determines that the orientation O (angles θx, θz) of the teaching device 14 remains in the orientation Ou (range [-θx ｔｈ , θx ｔｈ ], or the range [-θz ｔｈ , +θz ｔｈ ]), the result may be YES.

[0035] In step S24, the processor 40 determines that the teaching device 14 is in use. For example, the processor 40 may set a flag FL indicating that the teaching device 14 is in use to "enabled." While this flag FL is set to "enabled," the processor 40 may transmit a usage signal SG1 indicating that the teaching device 14 is in use to the teaching device 14, a higher-level controller, a manager's PC, or the like. In this case, the processor 40 of the teaching device 14 may, for example, display on the display device 26 an image indicating that the teaching device 14 is in use or identification information of the user using the teaching device (such as a name or employee ID) in response to the usage signal SG1.

[0036] On the other hand, in step S25, the processor 40 determines that the teaching device 14 is not in use. At this time, the processor 40 may set the above-mentioned flag FL to "invalid." As described above, in this embodiment, the processor 40 executes steps S22 and S23 based on the usage status data D (detection data Dv and Do) acquired after the start of step S1 to determine whether the teaching device 14 is in use. Therefore, the processor 40 functions as a usage determination unit 68 ( FIG. 2 ) that determines whether the teaching device 14 is in use based on the usage status data D.

[0037] After determining in step S24 that the teaching device 14 is in use, in step S26 the processor 40 determines whether the operation of the teaching device 14 has ended (specifically, whether the power has been turned off). If the processor 40 determines YES, it ends the flow of FIG. 7 and thereby ends the flow of FIG. 5, whereas if the processor 40 determines NO, it returns to step S22. Thus, the processor 40 repeats the loop of steps S22 to S24 and S26 while it determines NO in step S22, S23, or S26. Note that the processor 40 may repeatedly execute the loop of steps S22 to S24 and S26 at a predetermined cycle τ (for example, 3 seconds).

[0038] On the other hand, when it is determined in step S25 that the teaching device 14 is not in use, in step S27, the processor 40 transitions the operation phase OP of the teaching device 14 from the login phase OP2 to the logout phase OP1 (so-called logout). Specifically, the processor 40 transmits a logout command CM3 to the teaching device 14. In accordance with the logout command CM3, the processor 20 of the teaching device 14 transitions to the logout phase OP1, thereby prohibiting any operation of the robot 12 through the input device 28 of the teaching device 14.

[0039] Furthermore, the processor 20 displays the image data ID1 of the logout stage OP1 on the display device 26, activates the biometric sensor 34 to start detecting biometric information B, and requests authentication (biometric authentication) from the user. Meanwhile, the processor 20 stops detection of the usage status data D (detection data Dv and Do) by the vibration sensor 30 and the attitude sensor 32. As described above, in this embodiment, the processor 40 of the control device 16 functions as a logout execution unit 70 ( FIG. 2 ) that transitions the operation stage OP of the teaching device to the logout stage OP1 when it determines in step S25 that the teaching device 14 is not in use. After step S27, the processor 40 proceeds to step S1.

[0040] When determining in step S25 that the teaching device 14 is not in use (i.e., when the flag FL is "invalid"), the processor 40 may transmit a non-use signal SG2 indicating that the teaching device 14 is not in use. When the non-use signal SG2 is received, the processor 40 of the teaching device 14 may display, on the image data ID1 of the logout stage OP1 described above, an image indicating that the teaching device 14 has automatically transitioned to the logout stage OP1 due to non-use.

[0041] As described above, in this embodiment, the processor 40 functions as the authentication execution unit 62, the login execution unit 64, the data acquisition unit 66, the use determination unit 68, and the logout execution unit 70 to execute security functions to prevent misuse of the teaching device 14. Therefore, the authentication execution unit 62, the login execution unit 64, the data acquisition unit 66, the use determination unit 68, and the logout execution unit 70 constitute a security device 60 ( FIG. 2 ) to prevent misuse of the teaching device 14.

[0042] In this security device 60, the data acquisition unit 66 acquires usage status data (detection data Dv, Do) indicating the usage status of the teaching device 14 (step S1). Furthermore, the usage determination unit 68 determines whether the teaching device 14 is in use based on the usage status data D acquired by the data acquisition unit 66 (steps S22 and S23).

[0043] When the use determination unit 68 determines that the teaching device 14 is not in use (step S25), the logout execution unit 70 transitions the operation stage OP of the teaching device 14 to a logout stage OP1 in which operation of the robot 12 through the teaching device 14 is prohibited and authentication is requested from the user. This configuration reliably prevents an unauthorized third party from erroneously using the teaching device 14 while the teaching device 14 is left unused by the user.

[0044] In addition, in the security device 60, the data acquisition unit 66 acquires the detection data Dv of the vibration sensor 30 that detects the vibration V of the teaching device 14 as usage status data D, and the usage determination unit 68 determines that the teaching device 14 is not in use (step S25) if the vibration V (in this embodiment, acceleration a) is not detected over a predetermined period T1 (if YES is determined in step S22).

[0045] That is, the use determination unit 68 determines whether the teaching device 14 is in use or not in accordance with a determination criterion STv related to the swing V, that is, whether the swing V (acceleration a) is detected over the period T1. According to this configuration, it is possible to determine with high accuracy whether the teaching device 14 is in use or not, based on the swing V, which is closely related to the usage state of the teaching device 14.

[0046] In addition, in the security device 60, the data acquisition unit 66 acquires the detection data Do of the attitude sensor 32 that detects the attitude O of the teaching device 14 as the usage status data D, and the usage determination unit 68 determines that the teaching device 14 is not in use (step S25) if the attitude O is the predetermined attitude Ou that indicates that the teaching device 14 is not in use (if YES is determined in step S23).

[0047] That is, the use determination unit 68 determines whether the teaching device 14 is in use or not in accordance with the determination criterion STo for the attitude O, i.e., whether the attitude O is in attitude Ou. With this configuration, whether the teaching device 14 is in use or not can be determined with high accuracy based on the attitude O, which is closely related to the use state of the teaching device 14. Furthermore, the above-mentioned predetermined attitude Ou is an attitude in which the display device 26 provided on the teaching device 14 faces vertically downward, or an attitude in which the teaching device 14 is upside down. With this configuration, whether the teaching device 14 is in use or not can be determined more reliably.

[0048] In the security device 60, the authentication execution unit 62 executes biometric authentication of the user to authenticate the user in the logout phase OP1 (step S11). Then, when the biometric authentication by the authentication execution unit 62 is completed (when the determination in step S11 is YES), the login execution unit 64 transitions the operation phase OP from the logout phase OP1 to the login phase OP2 in which operation of the robot 12 through the teaching device 14 is permitted (step S13).

[0049] According to this configuration, even if the logout execution unit 70 automatically transitions from the operation phase OP to the logout phase OP1, authentication can be quickly executed without requiring the user to input a password or the like, and the transition to the login phase OP2 can be quickly made. Such biometric authentication is particularly advantageous when the cycle τ for determining whether the device is in use or not is set to a relatively short time (for example, τ = 3 seconds).

[0050] 7, when the processor 40 determines "NO" in step S22, it executes step S23 to determine whether the teaching device 14 is in use or not. At a work site, various industrial machines, such as the robot 12, a belt conveyor, or heavy machinery, are in operation, which may cause minute vibrations to constantly occur at the work site. In such a case, even if the teaching device 14 is left unused, vibrations V of the teaching device 14 will occur.

[0051] In this embodiment, even if the determination in step S22 is NO due to such shaking V, the determination of use / non-use can be reliably performed even at a work site where minute vibrations are occurring by performing the determination of use / non-use in step S23 based on the posture O. Note that in the flow of Fig. 7, step S23 may be performed before step S22, and step S22 may be performed when the determination in step S23 is NO.

[0052] 7, either step S22 or S23 may be omitted. In this case, the processor 40 acquires only one of the detection data Dv of the swing V and the detection data Do of the orientation O in step S21. That is, in this case, the swing sensor 30 or the orientation sensor 32 can be omitted from the teaching device 14. Also, the range [-θx ｔｈ , θx ｔｈ ] or [-θz ｔｈ , +θz ｔｈ ] threshold θx ｔｈ or θz ｔｈ may be set to any value.

[0053] In step S1, the processor 40 may request input of a password via the image data ID1 and authenticate the user using the input password. In this case, the biometric sensor 34 may be omitted from the teaching device 14. The authentication execution unit 62 and the login execution unit 64 may also be omitted from the security device 60. In this case, the functions of the authentication execution unit 62 and the login execution unit 64 may be implemented in an external device (such as a PC). For example, the biometric sensor 34 may be provided in the external device, and the external device may perform the functions of the authentication execution unit 62 and the login execution unit 64.

[0054] Next, a robot system 80 according to another embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 8. In the robot system 80, a teaching device 82 differs from the teaching device 14 described above in that it further includes a tactile sensor 84 and an optical sensor 86. The tactile sensor 84 and the optical sensor 86 are communicatively connected to the processor 20 via the bus 36.

[0055] The tactile sensor 84 detects a touch H to the teaching device 82. Specifically, the tactile sensor 84 has, for example, a capacitance or piezoelectric force sensor, and is provided in a portion that the user's hand touches when the user grips the teaching device 82. In the present embodiment, the tactile sensor 84 is provided on a side surface 88 of the teaching device 82, as shown in FIG. 9 . Alternatively, the tactile sensor 84 may be provided on the enable switch 39 ( FIG. 4 ) on the rear side of the teaching device 82. The tactile sensor 84 detects a touch H when the user touches the teaching device 82. Detection data Dh of the touch H detected by the tactile sensor 84 is stored in the memory 22.

[0056] The optical sensor 86 detects the brightness B (luminous flux, luminous intensity, luminance, illuminance, etc.) around the teaching device 82. Specifically, the optical sensor 86 has, for example, a photoelectric conversion element (a photodiode, a phototransistor, etc.), and is provided near the screen of the display device 26 on the front side of the teaching device 82. Detection data Db of the brightness B detected by the optical sensor 86 is stored in the memory 22.

[0057] Next, a description will be given of the security function of the robot system 80. In this embodiment, the processor 40 of the control device 16 executes the flow shown in Fig. 10 as step S2 in Fig. 5. In the flow shown in Fig. 10, the same processes as those in the flow shown in Fig. 7 are assigned the same step numbers, and duplicated explanations will be omitted.

[0058] In step S31, the processor 40 functions as the data acquisition unit 66 and starts an operation to acquire usage status data D. In this embodiment, the processor 40 acquires, as the usage status data D, the detection data Dh of the tactile sense H detected by the tactile sensor 84 and the detection data Db of the brightness B detected by the optical sensor 86 in addition to the detection data Dv and Do described above.

[0059] When a user is using the teaching device 82, the user's hand touching the teaching device 82 generates a tactile sensation H, whereas when the user leaves the teaching device 82 unattended, no tactile sensation H is generated on the teaching device 82. Furthermore, for example, when the lights are off at a work site outside of operating hours, the area around the teaching device 82 becomes dark and the brightness B decreases. In such a case, it is highly likely that the user is not using the teaching device 82. In this way, the tactile sensation H and the surrounding brightness B of the teaching device 82 are closely related to the usage state of the teaching device 82. Therefore, the detection data Dh of the tactile sensation H detected by the tactile sensor 84 and the detection data Db of the brightness B detected by the optical sensor 86 constitute usage state data D that represents the usage state of the teaching device 82.

[0060] The processor 40 of the control device 16 transmits a data acquisition command CM2 to the teaching device 82, and in response to the data acquisition command CM2, the processor 20 of the teaching device 82 activates the vibration sensor 30, the attitude sensor 32, the tactile sensor 84, and the optical sensor 86. The processor 20 then periodically acquires the detection data Dv, Do, Dh, and Db and sequentially supplies them to the control device 16. The processor 40 of the control device 16 periodically acquires the detection data Dv, Do, Dh, and Db as usage status data D and stores them in the memory 42. After step S31, the processor 40 sequentially executes the above-mentioned steps S22 and S23.

[0061] If the determination in step S23 is NO, in step S32, the processor 40 functions as the use determination unit 68 and determines whether or not a tactile sensation H to the teaching device 82 has not been detected over a predetermined period T3. Specifically, the processor 40 references the detection data Dh acquired after the start of step S31, and determines YES if the tactile sensation H indicated in the detection data Dv has not been detected over the predetermined period T3. If the determination in step S23 is YES, the processor 40 proceeds to step S25, whereas if the determination in step S32 is NO, the processor 40 proceeds to step S33.

[0062] In step S33, the processor 40 functions as the use determination unit 68 and determines whether the brightness B around the teaching device 82 is equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold B for a predetermined period T4. ｔｈSpecifically, the processor 40 determines whether the brightness B indicated in the detection data Db acquired after the start of step S21 is equal to or less than the threshold value B over the period T4. ｔｈ If the result is equal to or less than the above, the processor 40 determines it as YES. If the result is YES, the processor 40 proceeds to step S25, whereas if the result is NO, the processor 40 proceeds to step S24. Note that at least two (e.g., all) of the above-mentioned periods T1, T2, T3, and T4 may be the same (e.g., T1=T2=T3=T4=3 seconds).

[0063] As described above, in this embodiment, the data acquisition unit 66 acquires the detection data Dh of the tactile sensor 84 that detects tactile sensation H to the teaching device 82 as usage status data D, and the usage determination unit 68 determines that the teaching device 82 is not in use (step S25) if tactile sensation H is not detected for a predetermined period T3 (if YES is determined in step S32).

[0064] That is, the use determination unit 68 determines whether the teaching device 82 is being used or not in accordance with the determination criterion STh for the tactile sense H, which is whether the tactile sense H has not been detected over the period T3. According to this configuration, it is possible to determine with even higher accuracy whether the teaching device 82 is being used or not, based on the tactile sense H, which is closely related to the usage state of the teaching device 82.

[0065] In this embodiment, the data acquisition unit 66 acquires detection data Db of the optical sensor 86 that detects the brightness B around the teaching device 82 as the use state data D, and the use determination unit 68 determines whether the brightness B is equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold B for a predetermined period T4. ｔｈ If the following is true (YES in step S33), it is determined that the teaching device 82 is not in use.

[0066] That is, the use determination unit 68 determines whether the ambient brightness B is equal to or lower than the threshold value B over the period T4. ｔｈ Whether the teaching device 82 is in use or not is determined in accordance with a determination criterion STb regarding brightness B, which is whether or not the brightness B is below 0. With this configuration, whether the teaching device 82 is in use or not can be determined with even higher accuracy based on the ambient brightness B, which is closely related to the usage state of the teaching device 82.

[0067] Note that, in the flow of FIG. 10 , steps S22, S23, S32, and S33 may be executed in any order. For example, the processor 40 may execute steps S32 → S22 → S23 → S33 in this order. Furthermore, at least one of steps S22, S23, S32, and S33 may be omitted from the flow of FIG. 10 . For example, steps S22, S23, and S33 may be omitted from the flow of FIG. 10 , and the processor 40 may execute only step S32 after step S31. In this case, in step S31, the processor 40 acquires only the detection data Dh of the tactile sensor 84 as the usage state data D. That is, in this case, the vibration sensor 30, the attitude sensor 32, and the optical sensor 86 can be omitted from the teaching device 82.

[0068] Next, a robot system 90 according to yet another embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 11 . The robot system 90 differs from the above-described robot system 80 in that it further includes a force sensor 92. The force sensor 92 detects an external force F applied to the robot 12. For example, the force sensor 92 may include a six-axis force sensor provided at a position on the robot 12. Alternatively, the force sensor 92 may include a torque sensor provided on a servo motor (not shown) that drives each joint of the robot 12. The force sensor 92 supplies detection data Df of the detected external force F to the control device 16.

[0069] In this embodiment, the processor 40 of the control device 16 operates the robot 12 in a plurality of operation modes DM. The operation modes DM include, for example, a jog teach mode DM1 and a direct teach mode DM2. The jog teach mode DM1 is an operation mode DM that causes the robot 12 to perform a jog operation in response to an input operation to the input device 28 of the teaching device 82. In this jog teach mode DM1, a user performs an input operation on the input device 28 of the teaching device 82, and the processor 40 of the control device 16 causes the robot 12 to perform a jog operation in response to the input to the input device 28.

[0070] On the other hand, direct teach mode DM2 is an operation mode DM in which the robot 12 moves in the direction of an external force F applied to the robot 12. In direct teach mode DM2, the user applies an external force F to the robot 12 in any direction. The processor 40 of the control device 16 identifies the direction of the applied external force F based on the detection data Df of the force sensor 92, and moves the robot 12 in the direction of the external force F.

[0071] A user can select either the jog teach mode DM1 or the direct teach mode DM2 by operating the input device 28 of the teaching device 82. When the jog teach mode DM1 is selected, the processor 20 of the teaching device 82 supplies operation mode data Dd1 indicating the jog teach mode DM1 to the control device 16. On the other hand, when the direct teach mode DM2 is selected, the processor 20 of the teaching device 82 supplies operation mode data Dd2 indicating the direct teach mode DM2 to the control device 16.

[0072] Next, the security function of the robot system 90 will be described. In this embodiment, the processor 40 of the control device 16 executes the flow of FIG. 12 as step S2 in FIG. 5. In step S41, the processor 40 functions as the data acquisition unit 66 and starts an operation to acquire the usage status data D. Here, in this embodiment, the processor 40 acquires the operation mode data Dd1 or Dd2 as the usage status data D in addition to the above-mentioned detection data Dv, Do, Dh, and Db.

[0073] In step S42, the processor 40 determines whether the first operation mode DM1 has been selected. Specifically, if the processor 40 has acquired the operation mode data Dd1 indicating the jog teach mode DM1 in step S41, the determination is YES, and the process proceeds to step S43. On the other hand, if the processor 40 has acquired the operation mode data Dd2 indicating the direct teach mode DM2, the determination is NO, and the process proceeds to step S44.

[0074] In step S43, the processor 40 executes a first determination process. The flow of this step S43 is shown in Figure 13. In the flow shown in Figure 13, processes similar to those in the flow of Figure 10 are assigned the same step numbers, and duplicated explanations will be omitted. In this step S43, the processor 40 sequentially executes the above-mentioned steps S32 and S24 to S26, and if it determines YES in step S26, it ends the flows of Figures 13 and 12, and thus ends the flow of Figure 5.

[0075] On the other hand, if the processor 40 determines NO in step S26, the process returns to step S32. In this way, in step S43, the processor 40 functions as the use determination unit 68 and determines whether the teaching device 82 is in use or not in accordance with the determination criterion STh regarding the tactile sense H (whether the tactile sense H has not been detected over the period T3 or not).

[0076] On the other hand, if the determination in step S42 in Fig. 12 is NO, the processor 40 executes a second determination process in step S44. The flow of this step S44 is shown in Fig. 14. In the flow shown in Fig. 14, processes similar to those in the flow in Fig. 10 are assigned the same step numbers, and duplicated explanations will be omitted. In this step S44, the processor 40 sequentially executes the above-mentioned steps S22, S23, S33, and S24 to S27, and if the determination in step S26 is YES, the flows in Fig. 14 and Fig. 12 are terminated, thereby terminating the flow in Fig. 5.

[0077] In this way, in step S44, the processor 40 functions as the use determination unit 68, and determines the determination criterion STv regarding the sway V (whether or not the sway V has been detected over the period T1), the determination criterion STo regarding the posture O (whether or not the posture O has become the posture Ou), and the determination criterion STb regarding the ambient brightness B (whether or not the ambient brightness B has exceeded the threshold B over the period T4). ｔｈ Whether the teaching device 82 is in use or not is determined based on whether the following condition is met:

[0078] As described above, in this embodiment, the data acquiring unit 66 acquires, as the use state data D, the operation mode data Dd1 or Dd2 indicating the operation mode DM of the robot 12. When the data acquiring unit 66 acquires the operation mode data Dd1 indicating the first operation mode (specifically, the jog teach mode) DM1, the use determining unit 68 determines whether the teaching device 82 is in use in accordance with the first determination criterion STh (step S32 in FIG. 13 ).

[0079] On the other hand, when the data acquisition unit 66 acquires the operation mode data Dd2 indicating the second operation mode (specifically, the direct teach mode) DM2, the use determination unit 68 determines whether the teaching device 82 is in use or not in accordance with second determination criteria STv, STo, and STb that are different from the first determination criteria STh (steps S22, S23, and S33 in FIG. 14).

[0080] When the jog teach mode DM1 is executed, the user performs the teaching task by holding and operating the teaching device 82 in his / her hand, so that it is possible to determine with high accuracy whether the teaching device 82 is in use or not simply by monitoring the tactile sensation H of the teaching device 82. On the other hand, when the direct teach mode DM2 is executed, the user directly operates the robot 12 while holding the teaching device 82 or placing it in a predetermined location. In this direct teach mode DM2, it is possible to determine with high accuracy whether the teaching device 82 is in use or not by monitoring the swing V, posture O, and ambient brightness B of the teaching device 82.

[0081] It should be noted that various modifications can be made to the flows of Figures 13 and 14. For example, step S22, S23, or S33 in Figure 14 may be applied to step S43 in Figure 13, and step S22, S23, or S33 may be executed before or after step S32. Alternatively, step S32 in Figure 13 may be applied to step S44 in Figure 14. The criteria for determination in steps S43 and S44 are set arbitrarily by the user.

[0082] Next, other functions of the robot system 90 will be described with reference to FIG. 15 . In this embodiment, the robot system 90 executes a function of setting a judgment criterion ST. As described above, minute vibrations may occur at a work site. In this embodiment, the processor 40 of the control device 16 automatically sets the judgment criterion STv for the vibration V in step S22 based on the detection data Dv of the vibration sensor 30.

[0083] For example, the processor 20 of the teaching device 82 displays image data 200 shown in Fig. 16 on the display device 26 in response to a user's input operation on the input device 28 for automatically setting the judgment criterion STv. The image data 200 is a GUI for automatically setting the judgment criterion STv and includes a detection start button image 202 and a judgment criterion result image 204. The user places the teaching device 82 at a desired position in the work site where microvibrations are occurring, and operates the input device 28 to operate the detection start button image 202 on the image.

[0084] In response to an input operation on the detection start button image 202, the processor 20 activates the vibration sensor 30 and detects the detection data Dv (acceleration a) over a predetermined period T5 (for example, 10 seconds). The processor 20 supplies the acquired detection data Dv to the control device 16. The processor 40 of the control device 16 functions as the data acquisition unit 66, acquires the detection data Dv from the teaching device 82, and determines a threshold value a as a judgment criterion STv based on the detection data Dv. ｔｈ is set automatically.

[0085] For example, the processor 40 calculates the average value (or effective value) of the acceleration a indicated in the detection data Dv detected during the period T5, and calculates the average value (or effective value) as the threshold value a ｔｈ Then, the processor 40 automatically sets the automatically set threshold value a ｔｈ The data is supplied to the teaching device 82, and the processor 20 of the teaching device 82 calculates the obtained threshold value a ｔｈ is displayed on the judgment criterion result image 204 of the image data 200. In this way, the processor 40 of the control device 16 determines the judgment criterion STv (threshold value a ｔｈ) can be automatically set. Therefore, the processor 40 functions as a criterion setting unit 102 (FIG. 15) that automatically sets the criterion STv based on the detection data Dv.

[0086] Next, a function of the robot system 90 in which a user manually sets the judgment criteria ST will be described. For example, the processor 40 of the control device 16 generates image data 210 for setting the judgment criteria ST in response to a user's input operation on the input device 48 to set the judgment criteria ST, and displays the image data 210 on the display device 46. An example of this image data 210 is shown in FIG. 17. The image data 210 shown in FIG. 17 is a GUI for setting the judgment criteria STv, STo, and STb for the judgments in steps S22, S23, and S33 described above. In this way, the processor 40 functions as the image generation unit 104 ( FIG. 15 ) that generates the image data 210.

[0087] The image data 210 includes a swing input image 212, posture input images 214 and 216, and a brightness input image 218. The swing input image 212 is input to a threshold a ｔｈ On the other hand, the orientation input image 214 is a GUI for inputting the above-mentioned range of angle θx [−θx ｔｈ , θx ｔｈ ], a threshold value θx ｔｈ Similarly, the orientation input image 216 is a GUI for inputting the above-mentioned range of angle θz [−θz ｔｈ , θz ｔｈ ], the threshold θz ｔｈ This is a GUI for inputting the above.

[0088] The processor 40 may generate image data ID3 of a three-dimensional virtual space in which a teaching device model 82M that models the teaching device 82 and a coordinate system C (FIG. 9) are arranged as a GUI for setting the determination criterion STo for the attitude O. Then, the user may set a range [-θx ｔｈ , θx ｔｈ ] and the range [-θz ｔｈ , θz ｔｈ] may be configured to be settable.

[0089] The brightness input image 218 is determined by a threshold value B as a criterion STb for brightness B. ｔｈ The GUI is used to input the luminous flux (in the example of FIG. 17 ) in the image data. The user operates the input device 48 to input numerical values ​​into the vibration input image 212, the attitude input images 214 and 216, and the brightness input image 218. The processor 40 determines the criterion STv (threshold a ｔｈ ), the judgment criterion STo (threshold θx ｔｈ , θz ｔｈ ), and the judgment criterion STb (threshold B ｔｈ ) is received. Therefore, the processor 40 functions as the input receiving unit 106 (FIG. 15) that receives the input IP1 for setting the criteria STv, STo, and STb.

[0090] Then, the processor 40 functions as the judgment criterion setting unit 102, and determines the judgment criterion STv (threshold a ｔｈ ), the judgment criterion STo (threshold θx ｔｈ , θz ｔｈ ), and the judgment criterion STb (threshold B ｔｈ ) are set as the determination criteria STv, STo, and STb for the use state data D (detection data Dv, Do, Db) for the determinations in steps S22, S23, and S33 described above.

[0091] As described above, in this embodiment, the processor 40 functions as the authentication execution unit 62, the login execution unit 64, the data acquisition unit 66, the use determination unit 68, the logout execution unit 70, the criterion setting unit 102, the image generation unit 104, and the input acceptance unit 106 to execute a security function for preventing misuse of the teaching device 82. Therefore, the authentication execution unit 62, the login execution unit 64, the data acquisition unit 66, the use determination unit 68, the logout execution unit 70, the criterion setting unit 102, the image generation unit 104, and the input acceptance unit 106 constitute a security device 100 ( FIG. 15 ) for preventing misuse of the teaching device 82.

[0092] In the security device 100, the judgment criterion setting unit 102 automatically sets the judgment criterion STv related to the sway V for the judgment by the use judgment unit 68 (step S22) based on the detection data Dv of the sway V. With this configuration, it is possible to automatically set the judgment criterion STv that takes into account actual micro-vibrations at a work site where micro-vibrations are occurring as described above. This allows for more accurate judgment of the sway V.

[0093] Furthermore, in the security device 100, the image generation unit 104 generates image data 210 for setting the criteria STv, STo, and STb related to the usage status data D (detection data Dv, Do, and Db) for determination by the usage determination unit 68 (steps S22, S23, and S33). Furthermore, the input reception unit 106 receives an input IP1 for setting the criteria STv, STo, and STb through the image data 210. With this configuration, the user can easily set the desired criteria STv, STo, and STb while visually checking the image data 210.

[0094] In the robot system 90, the processor 40 may function as the input receiving unit 106 to further receive an input IP2 for enabling or disabling a security function that executes a transition to the logout stage OP1. For example, the processor 40 may function as the image generating unit 104 to generate image data 220 for selecting whether to enable or disable the security function and display it on the display device 46. An example of this image data 220 is shown in FIG. 18 .

[0095] 18 includes a setting button image 222. The user can select whether to enable or disable the security function by operating the setting button image 222 on the image by operating the input device 48. The processor 40 functions as the input receiving unit 106 and receives an input IP2 for enabling or disabling the security function via the setting button image 222.

[0096] When the processor 40 receives an input IP2 that enables the security function, the processor 40 starts up the teaching device 82 and then executes the flow of Fig. 5. On the other hand, when the processor 40 receives an input IP2 that disables the security function, the processor 40 does not execute the flow of Fig. 5 after starting up the teaching device 82. In this case, operation of the robot 12 through the teaching device 82 is permitted regardless of the state of use. According to this embodiment, the user can arbitrarily select whether or not to execute the security function as described above depending on the task.

[0097] In the above-described embodiment, the processor 40 may execute the criterion setting function described with reference to the flow of Fig. 5, Fig. 16 and Fig. 17, and the security selection function described with reference to Fig. 18 in accordance with a computer program PG pre-stored in the memory 42. The functions of the security device 60 or 100 (authentication execution unit 62, login execution unit 64, data acquisition unit 66, use determination unit 68, logout executor 70, criterion setting unit 102, image generation unit 104, input acceptance unit 106) executed by the processor 40 may be functional modules realized by the computer program PG.

[0098] In the above-described embodiment, the functions of the security devices 60 and 100 are implemented in the control device 16, and the processor 40 of the control device 16 executes the functions of the security devices 60 and 100. However, this is not limiting, and the functions of the security device 60 or 100 may be implemented in the teaching device 14 or 82. In this case, the processor 20 of the teaching device 14 or 82 functions as the security device 60 or 100 and executes the flow of FIG. 5 in accordance with the computer program PG stored in the memory 22. The processor 20 also functions as the image generation unit 104, generates the above-described image data ID1, ID2, ID3, 200, 210, or 220, and displays it on the display device 26.

[0099] Alternatively, some of the functions of the security device 60 or 100 may be implemented in the teaching device 14 or 82, and other functions of the security device 60 or 100 may be implemented in the control device 16. Such a configuration is shown in FIG. 19. In the configuration shown in FIG. 19, the functions of the authentication executor 62, data acquirer 66, usage determination unit 68, determination criterion setting unit 102, image generator 104, and input receiver 106 of the security device 100 are implemented in the teaching device 82. Meanwhile, the functions of the login executor 64 and logout executor 70 of the security device 100 are implemented in the control device 16.

[0100] In the present embodiment, the processor 20 of the teaching device 82 and the processor 40 of the control device 16 communicate with each other and cooperatively execute the flow of Fig. 5. For example, in step S1 of Fig. 6, the processor 20 of the teaching device 82 executes steps S11 and S12, and if a determination of YES is made in step S11, the processor 20 transmits an authentication completion signal SG3 to the control device 16. Upon receiving the authentication completion signal SG3, the processor 40 of the control device 16 functions as the login execution unit 64 and executes step S13, thereby transitioning the operation phase OP of the teaching device 82 to a login phase OP2.

[0101] 7, 10, 13, or 14, and when it is determined in step S25 that the teaching device 82 is not in use, the processor 20 transmits a non-use signal SG2 to the control device 16. Upon receiving the non-use signal SG2, the processor 40 of the control device 16 functions as the logout execution unit 70, executes step S27, and transitions the operation stage OP of the teaching device 82 to a logout stage OP1.

[0102] In the above embodiment, the detection data Dv of the swing V, the detection data Do of the posture O, the detection data Dh of the tactile sense H, and the detection data Db of the brightness B are acquired as the usage state data D. However, any parameter that changes depending on the usage state of the teaching device 14 or 82, such as the temperature of the teaching device 14 or 82, may be acquired as the usage state data D. Furthermore, the posture Ou indicating that the teaching device 14 or 82 is not in use is not limited to a posture in which the display device 26 faces vertically downward or a posture in which the teaching device 14 or 82 is upside down, and may be any posture determined by the user.

[0103] Although the present disclosure has been described in detail above, the present disclosure is not limited to the individual embodiments described above. Various additions, substitutions, modifications, partial deletions, etc. are possible in these embodiments without departing from the gist of the present disclosure or the spirit of the present disclosure derived from the content of the claims and their equivalents. These embodiments can also be implemented in combination. For example, in the above-described embodiments, the order of each operation and the order of each process are shown as examples and are not limited to these. The same applies when numerical values ​​or mathematical expressions are used in the description of the above-described embodiments.

[0104] The present disclosure describes the following aspects: (Aspect 1) A security device 60, 100 for preventing misuse of a teaching device 14, 82 that teaches a robot 12 how to operate, the security device 60, 100 comprising: a data acquisition unit 66 that acquires usage status data D representing the usage status of the teaching device 14, 82; a usage determination unit 68 that determines whether the teaching device 14, 82 is in use based on the usage status data D acquired by the data acquisition unit 66; and a logout execution unit 70 that, when the usage determination unit 68 determines that the teaching device 14, 82 is not in use, transitions an operation phase OP of the teaching device 14, 82 to a logout phase OP1 that prohibits operation of the robot 12 through the teaching device 14, 82 and requests authentication from the user. (Aspect 2) The security device 60, 100 according to Aspect 1, wherein the data acquisition unit 66 acquires, as the usage status data D, detection data Dv of the sensor 30 that detects sway V of the teaching device 14, 82, and the usage determination unit 68 determines that the teaching device 14, 82 is unused if the sway V is not detected over a predetermined period T1. (Aspect 3) The security device 100 according to Aspect 2, further comprising a determination criterion setting unit 102 that automatically sets, based on the detection data Dv, a determination criterion STv regarding the sway V for determination by the usage determination unit 68. (Aspect 4) The security device 60, 100 according to any one of Aspects 1 to 3, wherein the data acquisition unit 66 acquires, as the usage status data D, detection data Do of the sensor 32 that detects the orientation O of the teaching device 14, 82, and the usage determination unit 68 determines that the teaching device 14, 82 is unused if the orientation O is a predetermined orientation Ou that indicates that the teaching device 14, 82 is unused. (Aspect 5) The security device 60, 100 according to Aspect 4, wherein the predetermined orientation Ou is an orientation in which the display device 26 provided on the teaching device 14, 82 faces vertically downward, or an orientation in which the teaching device 14, 82 is upside down. (Aspect 6) The security device 60, 100 according to any one of Aspects 1 to 5, wherein the data acquisition unit 66 acquires, as the usage state data D, detection data Dh of the sensor 84 that detects tactile sensation H on the teaching device 82, and the usage determination unit 68 determines that the teaching device 82 is unused if tactile sensation H is not detected over a predetermined period T3.(Mode 7) The data acquisition unit 66 acquires detection data Db of the sensor 86 that detects the brightness B around the teaching device 82 as usage status data D, and the usage determination unit 68 determines whether the brightness B is greater than or equal to a predetermined threshold B for a predetermined period T4. ｔｈThe security device 60, 100 according to any one of Aspects 1 to 6, wherein the security device 60, 100 determines that the teaching device 82 is not in use when the following occurs: (Aspect 8) The security device 60, 100 according to any one of Aspects 1 to 7, wherein the data acquisition unit 66 acquires, as the usage state data D, driving mode data Dd1, Dd2 indicating the driving mode DM of the robot 12, and the usage determination unit 68 determines whether the teaching device 82 is in use in accordance with first determination criteria STh when the data acquisition unit 66 acquires driving mode data Dd1 indicating a first driving mode DM1, and determines whether the teaching device 82 is in use in accordance with second determination criteria STv, STo, STb that are different from the first determination criteria STh when the data acquisition unit 66 acquires driving mode data Dd2 indicating a second driving mode DM2. (Aspect 9) The security device 100 according to any one of Aspects 1 to 8, further comprising: an image generation unit 104 that generates image data 210 for setting a determination criterion ST for the usage state data D for determination by the use determination unit 68; and an input acceptance unit 106 that accepts an input IP1 for setting the determination criterion ST through the image data 210. (Aspect 10) The security device 60, 100 according to any one of Aspects 1 to 9, further comprising: an authentication execution unit 62 that performs biometric authentication of the user as authentication in a logout phase OP1; and a login execution unit 64 that, when the biometric authentication by the authentication execution unit 62 is completed, transitions the operation phase OP from the logout phase OP1 to a login phase OP2 that permits operation of the robot 12 via the teaching device 14, 82. (Aspect 11) The security device 100 according to any one of Aspects 1 to 10, further comprising: an input acceptance unit 106 that accepts an input IP2 for enabling or disabling a security function that causes the logout execution unit 70 to transition to the logout phase OP1. (Aspect 12) A control device 16 or a teaching device 14, 82 of a robot 12, comprising a security device 60, 100 according to any one of aspects 1 to 11.(Aspect 13) A method for preventing misuse of a teaching device 14, 82 that teaches a robot 12 how to operate, wherein the processor 20, 40 acquires usage status data D representing the usage status of the teaching device 14, 82, determines whether the teaching device 14, 82 is in use based on the acquired usage status data D, and if it is determined that the teaching device 14, 82 is not in use, transitions the operation phase OP of the teaching device 14, 82 to a logout phase OP1 that prohibits operation of the robot 12 through the teaching device 14, 82 and requests authentication from the user. (Aspect 14) A computer program PG that causes the processor 20, 40 to execute the method described in Aspect 13.

[0105] 10, 80, 90 Robot system 12 Robot 14, 82 Teaching device 16 Control device 20, 40 Processor 30, 32, 34, 84, 86, 92 Sensor 60, 100 Security device 62 Authentication execution unit 64 Login execution unit 66 Data acquisition unit 68 Use determination unit 70 Logout execution unit 102 Determination criterion setting unit 104 Image generation unit 106 Input reception unit

Claims

1. A security device for preventing misuse of a teaching device that teaches a robot how to operate, comprising: a data acquisition unit that acquires usage status data indicating the usage status of the teaching device; a usage determination unit that determines whether the teaching device is in use or not based on the usage status data acquired by the data acquisition unit; and a logout execution unit that, when the usage determination unit determines that the teaching device is not in use, transitions the operating stage of the teaching device to a logout stage that prohibits operation of the robot through the teaching device and requests authentication from the user.

2. A security device as described in claim 1, wherein the data acquisition unit acquires detection data from a sensor that detects shaking of the teaching device as the usage status data, and the usage determination unit determines that the teaching device is unused if the shaking is not detected for a predetermined period of time.

3. The security device according to claim 2, further comprising a criterion setting unit that automatically sets a criterion for determining the shaking for the determination by the use determining unit based on the detection data.

4. A security device as described in claim 1, wherein the data acquisition unit acquires detection data from a sensor that detects the attitude of the teaching device as the usage status data, and the usage determination unit determines that the teaching device is not in use when the attitude is a predetermined attitude indicating that the teaching device is not in use.

5. A security device as described in claim 4, wherein the predetermined orientation is an orientation in which a display device provided on the teaching device faces vertically downward, or an orientation in which the teaching device is upside down.

6. A security device as described in claim 1, wherein the data acquisition unit acquires detection data from a sensor that detects tactile sensation on the teaching device as the usage status data, and the usage determination unit determines that the teaching device is unused if the tactile sensation is not detected for a predetermined period of time.

7. A security device as described in claim 1, wherein the data acquisition unit acquires detection data from a sensor that detects the brightness around the teaching device as the usage status data, and the usage determination unit determines that the teaching device is not in use when the brightness is below a predetermined threshold for a predetermined period of time.

8. A security device as described in claim 1, wherein the data acquisition unit acquires, as the usage status data, driving mode data indicating a driving mode of the robot, and the usage determination unit, when the data acquisition unit acquires the driving mode data indicating a first driving mode, determines whether or not the teaching device is in use according to a first determination criterion, and when the data acquisition unit acquires the driving mode data indicating a second driving mode, determines whether or not the teaching device is in use according to a second determination criterion different from the first determination criterion.

9. The security device of claim 1, further comprising: an image generating unit that generates image data for setting a judgment criterion regarding the usage status data for the judgment by the usage judgment unit; and an input accepting unit that accepts an input for setting the judgment criterion through the image data.

10. A security device as described in claim 1, further comprising: an authentication execution unit that performs biometric authentication of the user as the authentication in the logout stage; and a login execution unit that transitions the operation stage from the logout stage to a login stage that permits operation of the robot through the teaching device when the biometric authentication by the authentication execution unit is completed.

11. The security device according to claim 1, further comprising an input receiving unit that receives an input for enabling or disabling a security function that causes the logout execution unit to execute the transition to the logout stage.

12. A robot control device or teaching device comprising the security device according to claim 1.

13. A method for preventing misuse of a teaching device that teaches a robot how to operate, comprising: a processor acquires usage status data indicating the usage status of the teaching device; determines whether the teaching device is in use or not based on the acquired usage status data; and if it determines that the teaching device is not in use, transitions the operation stage of the teaching device to a logout stage that prohibits operation of the robot through the teaching device and requests authentication from the user.

14. A computer program product causing said processor to carry out the method of claim 13.