Robot monitoring device

Abstract

A robot monitoring device according to one aspect of the present disclosure displays, on a display device, the operating status of at least one robot, said robot monitoring device comprising: a state information acquisition unit that acquires state information which indicates a state of the robot; a work determination unit that determines, on the basis of the state information, whether or not an operator is performing work on the robot; and a work display unit that displays, on the display device, that work is being performed if the work determination unit determines that the operator is performing work.

Description

Robot Monitoring Device

[0001] The present invention relates to a robot monitoring device.

[0002] In a system for controlling a robot, a technique has been proposed in which a plurality of images showing a plurality of functional units that control various control targets provided on the robot are displayed on the same screen, and functional units in which an abnormality has occurred are displayed in different ways from functional units in which an abnormality has occurred (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Typically, when an operator recognizes the occurrence of an abnormality, he or she stops the robot and performs recovery work to resolve the abnormality.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2021-120165

[0004] Robot monitoring devices that centrally manage multiple robots typically display whether the robot system is operating. Robot monitoring devices that manage multiple robots only need to understand declines in overall operating rates, and displaying the status of the numerous functional units of each robot makes it difficult to grasp the overall picture. For this reason, typical conventional robot monitoring devices only display information when an abnormality occurs in a robot and it has stopped.

[0005] The operator in charge of a robot that has experienced an abnormality needs to perform recovery work to resolve the abnormality, but if the operator is engaged in other work, they may not be able to begin the robot recovery work promptly. If the operator in charge is unable to begin the robot recovery work, it is desirable for the manager in the central control room to coordinate, such as having other operators assist. However, the manager cannot grasp whether the operator in charge has begun the robot recovery work. If the manager inquires about whether the operator in charge has begun the work to resolve the abnormality, the operator will have to interrupt their work to resolve the abnormality and return home, delaying the recovery. For this reason, a system is desired that allows the manager to easily grasp whether the operator is performing recovery work when an abnormality occurs in each robot.

[0006] A robot monitoring device according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a robot monitoring device that displays the operating status of one or more robots on a display device, and includes: a status information acquisition unit that acquires status information indicating the status of the robot; a work determination unit that determines whether an operator is performing work on the robot based on the status information; and a work display unit that causes the display device to display an indication that work is being performed when the work determination unit determines that work is being performed.

[0007] It is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a robot system including a robot monitoring device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. It is a diagram showing an example of a display screen in the robot monitoring device of Fig. 1. It is a flowchart showing a control procedure by the robot monitoring device of Fig. 1. It is a flowchart showing a control procedure different from Fig. 3 by the robot monitoring device of Fig. 1.

[0008]

[0023] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a robot system including a robot monitoring device 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The robot system includes multiple robots R1 to R9, the robot monitoring device 1, and a display device D.

[0009] The robot monitoring device 1 displays the operating status of one or more robots R1 to R9 on a display device D. The robot monitoring device 1 can be used, for example, in a factory where multiple lines equipped with any of the robots R1 to R9 are installed, as a device for remotely monitoring the status of each line collectively. Note that the robot monitoring device 1 may also be used to check the operating status of multiple robots R1 to R9 installed on a single line.

[0010] The robot monitoring device 1 may be realized by one or more computers having, for example, a memory, a processor, a communication interface, etc., and executing an appropriate control program. The robot monitoring device 1 may be configured to communicate with the robots R1 to R9 via a network, etc. Alternatively, the robot monitoring device 1 may not directly communicate with the robots R1 to R9, but may instead obtain information from an intermediate device that collects information from the robots R1 to R9 and provides the information to the robot monitoring device 1.

[0011] The robot monitoring device 1 includes a status information acquisition unit 11, a task determination unit 12, and a task display unit 13. Note that these components categorize the functions of the robot monitoring device 1 and do not necessarily have to be clearly distinguishable in terms of physical configuration and program configuration. Furthermore, the components of the robot monitoring device 1 described in this embodiment are only those characteristic of this disclosure, and the robot monitoring device 1 may further include components that realize other functions that may be included in well-known monitoring devices.

[0012] The status information acquisition unit 11 acquires one or more types of status information indicating the status of the robots R1 to R9. This information may include signals, variables, setting values, etc. used to control the robots R1 to R9. In particular, the status information preferably includes the operation mode of the robots R1 to R9. When an operator performs work, the operation mode of the robots R1 to R9 can be switched to a mode other than the automatic operation mode, such as a manual operation mode or a teaching mode, in which the robots R1 to R9 operate according to the operator's operation. Therefore, the operation mode of the robots R1 to R9 serves as a relatively accurate indicator of whether the operator is performing work on the robots R1 to R9, such as setting up the operation of the robots R1 to R9 or correcting any abnormalities.

[0013] Furthermore, the status information acquired by the status information acquisition unit 11 preferably includes a contact output value that confirms the safety of the robots R1 to R9. Examples of contact outputs that confirm the safety of the robots R1 to R9 include outputs from emergency stop buttons, limit switches that confirm the closure of the safety fences surrounding the robots R1 to R9, and area sensors that detect the intrusion of people or objects into the operating areas of the robots R1 to R9. The contact output is not limited to the output of a physical contact, but may also be a binary signal output by a semiconductor element. Such contact outputs that confirm safety are typically "open," indicating that safety is not ensured when an operator enters the operating areas of the robots R1 to R9 and performs work on the robots R1 to R9.

[0014] Furthermore, the status information acquired by the status information acquisition unit 11 may include the status of a teaching operation panel (not shown) for teaching the robot an operation. Examples of the status of the teaching operation panel include a setting as to whether or not operation of the teaching operation panel is enabled, the output of a deadman switch of the teaching operation panel, and a determination result as to whether communication is established between the main control units of the robots R1 to R9 and the teaching operation panel.

[0015] The work determination unit 12 determines whether an operator is working on each of the robots R1 to R9 based on the status information acquired by the status information acquisition unit 11. The work determination unit 12 may be configured to determine that an operator is working when at least one of the multiple pieces of status information acquired by the status information acquisition unit 11 suggests that the operator is working on the robots R1 to R9. The work determination unit 12 may also be configured to determine that an operator is working when two or more specific status information values ​​form a predetermined combination. Note that work on the robots R1 to R9 includes work on peripheral devices that may affect the operation of the robots R1 to R9.

[0016] When the work determination unit 12 determines that an operator is working on the robots R1 to R9, the work display unit 13 causes the display device D to display a message indicating that the robots R1 to R9 are working. The work display unit 13 may display a message indicating that the robots R1 to R9 are working on the normal screen displayed by the robot monitoring device 1, as shown in FIG. 2. In the example of FIG. 2, the entire configuration of the facility monitored by the robot monitoring device 1 is displayed as a tree, and a message indicating that the robot R2 is working among the robots R1 to R9 on the tree is displayed as a message indicating that the robot R2 is working. The work display unit 13 may also display a message indicating that the robots R1 to R9 are working by changing the color of the text or background of the text or background of the text or background of the robots R1 to R9, by adding text indicating that the robots are working, or by a combination of these. The work display unit 13 may also display a pop-up screen or the like that identifies the robots currently working, independent of the normal screen.

[0017] Figure 3 shows the control flow for the display indicating that work is in progress in the robot monitoring device 1. Figure 3 assumes that the robots R1 to R9 are non-collaborative robots. This control includes a status information acquisition step (step S01) for acquiring status information about the robots R1 to R9, a step (step S02) for checking whether the robots R1 to R9 are in maintenance mode, a step (step S03) for checking the output of the emergency stop buttons of the robots R1 to R9, a step (step S04) for checking whether the robots R1 to R9 are in teaching mode, a step (step S05) for checking whether the teaching operation panels of the robots R1 to R9 are enabled, a step (step S06) for changing the display to normal, and a step (step S07) for changing the display to non-working.

[0018] In this control, if the robot R1 to R9 is in maintenance mode, if the emergency stop button is pressed, if the robot R1 to R9 is in teaching mode, or if the teaching operation panel is enabled, a message is displayed indicating that work is being performed on the robot R1 to R9. Only if none of these conditions apply is the message not displayed indicating that work is being performed on the robot R1 to R9 (if the message was displayed, it is canceled).

[0019] 4 shows a control flow assuming that the robots R1 to R9 are collaborative robots. This control includes a status information acquisition step (step S11) for acquiring status information of the robots R1 to R9, a step (step S12) for checking whether the robots R1 to R9 are in maintenance mode, a step (step S13) for checking the output of the emergency stop buttons of the robots R1 to R9, a step (step S14) for checking the output of area sensors that detect intrusion into the operating areas of the robots R1 to R9, a step (step S15) for checking whether the robots R1 to R9 are in teaching mode, a step (step S16) for checking whether the deadman switches on the teaching operation panels of the robots R1 to R9 have detected an operator, a step (step S17) for changing the display to normal, and a step (step S18) for changing the display to in-work.

[0020] With this control, if the robot R1 to R9 is in maintenance mode, if the emergency stop button is pressed, if the area sensor detects some kind of intrusion, if the robot R1 to R9 is in teaching mode, or if the deadman switch on the teaching operation panel detects an operator, a message will be displayed indicating that work is being performed on the robot R1 to R9.Only when none of these conditions apply will the message be displayed indicating that work is being performed on the robot R1 to R9.

[0021] As described above, the robot monitoring device 1 according to this embodiment determines whether an operator is working on the robots R1 to R9 based on the status information of the robots R1 to R9, and displays on the display device D whether an operator is working on each of the robots R1 to R9, so that the manager can easily understand whether or not it is necessary to dispatch an operator to the robots R1 to R9.

[0022] The following supplementary notes are further disclosed regarding the above-described embodiments and modifications: (Supplementary Note 1) A robot monitoring device (1) is a robot monitoring device (1) that displays the operating status of one or more robots (R1 to R9) on a display device (D), and includes: a status information acquisition unit (11) that acquires status information indicating the status of the robots (R1 to R9), a work determination unit (12) that determines whether an operator is performing work on the robots (R1 to R9) based on the status information, and a work display unit (13) that causes the display device (D) to display an indication that work is being performed when the work determination unit (12) determines that work is being performed.

[0023] (Supplementary Note 2) In the robot monitoring device (1) of (Supplementary Note 1), the status information may include the operation mode of the robots (R1 to R9).

[0024] (Supplementary Note 3) In the robot monitoring device (1) of (Supplementary Note 1 or 2), the status information may include a value of a contact output that confirms the safety of the robots (R1 to R9).

[0025] (Supplementary Note 5) In the robot monitoring device (1) of (Supplementary Notes 1 to 3), the status information may include the status of a teaching pendant for teaching the robots (R1 to R9) to perform an operation.

[0026] 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 gist of the present disclosure derived from the content of the claims and their equivalents. 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.

[0027] 1 Robot monitoring device 11 Status information acquisition unit 12 Work determination unit 13 Work display unit D Display device R1 to R9 Robot

Claims

1. A robot monitoring device that displays the operating status of one or more robots on a display device, comprising: a status information acquisition unit that acquires status information indicating the status of the robot; a work determination unit that determines whether an operator is performing work on the robot based on the status information; and a work display unit that causes the display device to display an indication that work is being performed when the work determination unit determines that work is being performed.

2. The robot monitoring device of claim 1, wherein the status information includes an operating mode of the robot.

3. A robot monitoring device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the status information includes a contact output value that confirms the safety of the robot.

4. A robot monitoring device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the status information includes the status of a teaching pendant for teaching the robot an operation.

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