Control device, welding processing system, teaching point determination method, and teaching point determination program

Abstract

The present invention comprises a control unit that is capable of registering, in a welding processing program, a teaching point for a welding robot that holds a welding torch capable of irradiating a workpiece with laser light. The control unit is configured to be capable of executing: a teaching point candidate reception process for receiving a candidate for the teaching point, the candidate being designated by a user; a plane intersection assessment process for assessing whether the placement surface on which the workpiece is placed and the trajectory of the laser light when the laser light is emitted at the received teaching point candidate intersect; and a teaching point registration process for registering the teaching point candidate in the welding processing program as the teaching point for the welding robot when it is assessed in the plane intersection assessment process that the placement surface and the trajectory intersect.

Description

Control device, welding processing system, teaching point determination method, and teaching point determination program

[0001] The present invention relates to a control device, a welding processing system, a teaching point determination method, and a teaching point determination program.

[0002] Conventionally, there are laser robots controlled by a robot control device having software processing capabilities (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The laser robot of Patent Document 1 is equipped with a laser tool that selectively emits a processing laser beam and an aiming laser beam. The laser robot of Patent Document 1 can perform processing such as cutting and welding on a workpiece using the processing laser beam. Furthermore, the laser robot of Patent Document 1 can teach data for a processing program using the aiming laser beam.

[0003] Specifically, a coordinate system having an orientation related to the surface of the workpiece to be machined is first set prior to teaching. Then, the laser robot of Patent Document 1 can determine a teaching point for the laser robot while visually checking its correspondence with the actual irradiation point of the laser beam on the workpiece by jog-feeding the laser robot to align the irradiation point of the aiming laser beam with the desired machining point. This teaching point includes information about the position and orientation of the laser robot and the laser tool.

[0004] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 8-211921

[0005] However, conventional laser robots, including the laser robot of Patent Document 1, allow the user to set any teaching point, which poses a problem in that teaching points that pose a risk of the laser beam hitting the user can be taught into the data for the processing program.

[0006] To solve the above problem, it is conceivable to set a teaching point for emitting the laser beam only when the laser tool and the workpiece are in contact or when the distance between the laser tool and the workpiece is very close. However, even with specifications imposing such conditions, if the workpiece is thin or has a structure with gaps, there is a risk that the laser beam will penetrate the workpiece and hit the user.

[0007] One aspect of the present invention is a control device, a welding system, a teaching point determination method, and a teaching point determination program that can prevent dangerous teaching points from being registered in a welding program.

[0008] A control device according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a control unit capable of registering teaching points of a welding robot holding a welding torch capable of irradiating a workpiece with laser light in a welding processing program, and the control unit is configured to execute a teaching point candidate acceptance process that accepts candidates for the teaching points specified by a user, a plane intersection determination process that determines whether a placement surface on which the workpiece is placed intersects with the trajectory of the laser light when the laser light is irradiated at the accepted teaching point candidate, and a teaching point registration process that registers the teaching point candidate in the welding processing program as the teaching point of the welding robot if it is determined in the plane intersection determination process that the placement surface intersects with the trajectory.

[0009] A welding processing system according to one embodiment of the present invention comprises a welding torch capable of irradiating a workpiece with laser light, a welding robot that holds the welding torch, and a control device including a control unit that can register teaching points of the welding robot in a welding processing program, wherein the control unit is configured to execute a teaching point candidate acceptance process that accepts teaching point candidates specified by a user, a plane intersection determination process that determines whether a placement surface on which the workpiece is placed intersects with the trajectory of the laser light when the laser light is irradiated at the accepted teaching point candidate, and a teaching point registration process that registers the teaching point candidate in the welding processing program as the teaching point of the welding robot if it is determined in the plane intersection determination process that the placement surface intersects with the trajectory.

[0010] A teaching point determination method according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a teaching point candidate acceptance process for accepting teaching point candidates for a welding robot holding a welding torch capable of irradiating laser light onto a workpiece specified by a user, a plane intersection determination process for determining whether a placement surface on which the workpiece is placed intersects with a trajectory of the laser light when the laser light is irradiated at the accepted teaching point candidate, and a teaching point registration process for registering the teaching point candidate in a welding processing program as the teaching point of the welding robot if it is determined in the plane intersection determination process that the placement surface intersects with the trajectory.

[0011] A teaching point determination program according to one embodiment of the present invention causes a control device to execute a teaching point candidate acceptance process that accepts teaching point candidates for a welding robot that holds a welding torch capable of irradiating laser light onto a workpiece specified by a user; a plane intersection determination process that determines whether a placement surface on which the workpiece is placed intersects with the trajectory of the laser light when the laser light is irradiated at the accepted teaching point candidate; and a teaching point registration process that, if it is determined in the plane intersection determination process that the placement surface intersects with the trajectory, registers the teaching point candidate in a welding processing program as the teaching point of the welding robot.

[0012] According to one embodiment of the control device, welding processing system, teaching point determination method, and teaching point determination program of the present invention, it is determined whether the trajectory of the laser light when irradiated with laser light at a teaching point candidate specified by the user will intersect with the mounting surface, thereby preventing teaching points whose trajectory does not intersect with the mounting surface, i.e., dangerous teaching points that may be directed toward the user by the laser light, from being registered in the welding processing program.

[0013] According to the control device, welding system, teaching point determination method, and teaching point determination program of one aspect of the present invention, it is possible to prevent dangerous teaching points from being registered in a welding program.

[0014] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a welding processing system according to this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a welding robot and a mounting table according to this embodiment. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a welding torch according to this embodiment. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a mounting surface and a welding torch according to this embodiment. FIG. 5a is a diagram in the X-Z plane showing the trajectory of a laser beam when a laser beam is irradiated at teaching point candidate A according to this embodiment. FIG. 5b is a diagram in the X-Y plane showing the trajectory of a laser beam when a laser beam is irradiated at teaching point candidate A according to this embodiment. FIG. 6a is a diagram in the X-Z plane showing the trajectory of a laser beam when a laser beam is irradiated at teaching point candidate B according to this embodiment. FIG. 6b is a diagram in the X-Y plane showing the trajectory of a laser beam when a laser beam is irradiated at teaching point candidate B according to this embodiment. FIG. 7a is a diagram in the X-Z plane showing the trajectory of a laser beam when a laser beam is irradiated at teaching point candidate C according to this embodiment. FIG. 7b is a diagram in the X-Y plane showing the trajectory of a laser beam when a laser beam is irradiated at teaching point candidate C according to this embodiment. FIG. 8a is a diagram in the X-Z plane showing the trajectory of the laser beam when the laser beam is irradiated at teaching point candidate D of this embodiment. FIG. 8b is a diagram in the X-Y plane showing the trajectory of the laser beam when the laser beam is irradiated at teaching point candidate D of this embodiment. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a side region of this embodiment. FIG. 10 is a diagram in the X-Z plane showing the trajectory of the laser beam when the laser beam is irradiated at teaching point candidate E of this embodiment. FIG. 11 is a diagram in the X-Z plane showing the trajectory of the laser beam when the laser beam is irradiated at teaching point candidate F of this embodiment. FIG. 12a is a diagram in the X-Y plane showing a case where one end of the mounting table of this embodiment is in contact with a wall. FIG. 12b is a diagram in the X-Y plane showing a side region when one end of the mounting table of this embodiment is in contact with a wall. FIG. 13a is a diagram in the X-Z plane showing the trajectory of the laser beam when the laser beam is irradiated at teaching point candidate G of this embodiment. Fig. 13b is a diagram on the X-Y plane showing the trajectory of the laser light when the laser light is irradiated at teaching point candidate G of this embodiment. Fig. 14a is a diagram on the X-Z plane showing the trajectory of the laser light when the laser light is irradiated at teaching point candidate H of this embodiment. Fig. 14b is a diagram on the X-Y plane showing the trajectory of the laser light when the laser light is irradiated at teaching point candidate H of this embodiment. Fig. 15a is a diagram on the X-Y plane showing the case where the mounting table of this embodiment is in contact with an L-shaped wall.FIG. 15b is a diagram of the X-Y plane showing the lateral region when the mounting table of this embodiment is in contact with an L-shaped wall. FIG. 16a is a diagram of the X-Y plane showing the case when the mounting table of this embodiment is in contact with a U-shaped wall. FIG. 16b is a diagram of the X-Y plane showing the lateral region when the mounting table of this embodiment is in contact with a U-shaped wall. FIG. 17a is a diagram of the X-Y plane showing the case when the mounting table of this embodiment is separated from the wall. FIG. 17b is a diagram of the X-Y plane showing the lateral region when the mounting table of this embodiment is separated from the wall. FIG. 18a is a diagram of the X-Z plane showing the trajectory of the laser beam when the laser beam is irradiated at the teaching point candidate I of this embodiment. FIG. 18b is a diagram of the X-Y plane showing the trajectory of the laser beam when the laser beam is irradiated at the teaching point candidate I of this embodiment. FIG. 19 is a flowchart showing an example of the teaching point discrimination method of this embodiment. FIG. 20 is a diagram showing a program creation condition setting screen of this embodiment. FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a modified example of the program creation condition setting screen of this embodiment.

[0015] The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the following embodiments do not limit the inventions according to the claims, and not all of the combinations of features described in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the solution of the invention.

[0016] [Overall Configuration of Welding System] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a welding system according to this embodiment. The welding system 1 according to this embodiment is, for example, a welding system capable of welding multiple workpieces. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1 , the welding system 1 includes a welding machine 10 including a welding torch 11 capable of irradiating a workpiece with a laser beam, a welding robot 30 holding the welding torch 11, and a robot control device 40 that functions as a control device and is capable of controlling the welding robot 30. The welding system 1 also includes a welding machine control device 20 capable of controlling the welding machine 10, and a welding program setting device 50. In this embodiment, the welding machine control device 20 and the welding program setting device 50, and the robot control device 40 and the welding program setting device 50 are configured to be able to communicate with each other via a communication network NW.

[0017] [Configuration of Welding Machine] Fig. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a welding robot and a mounting table according to this embodiment. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, welding machine 10 includes welding torch 11 having a tip 11a capable of irradiating laser light toward welding portions of multiple workpieces, and oscillator 12 capable of emitting laser light based on welding processing conditions. In this embodiment, welding torch 11 and oscillator 12 are connected to each other via a cable (not shown). Therefore, the laser light emitted from oscillator 12 is supplied to welding torch 11 via the cable.

[0018] In this embodiment, the welding torch 11 is a handheld torch that can be held by the welding robot 30, and includes an irradiation switch that can turn on / off the irradiation of the laser light. However, the welding torch 11 is not limited to this. Various arbitrary configurations can be adopted for the welding torch 11. Note that, since known configurations can be adopted for the welding torch 11 and the oscillator 12, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0019] 1, welding machine control device 20 includes memory unit 21 (welding machine memory unit) that stores predetermined welding conditions, and welding machine control unit 22 that can control welding machine 10 based on commands received from welding program setting device 50. The predetermined welding conditions stored in memory unit 21 are standard welding conditions for welding. Welding machine control unit 22 is configured to be able to set the welding conditions based on commands received from welding program setting device 50.

[0020] The welding machine control device 20 according to this embodiment may be arranged independently of the welding machine 10, or may be stored inside the housing (not shown) of the welding machine 10 together with the oscillator 12.

[0021] [Configuration of Welding Robot] As shown in FIG. 1 , the welding robot 30 includes a robotic hand 31 that holds the welding torch 11, and a multi-joint robotic arm 32 that can move the robotic hand 31 to a predetermined position.

[0022] In this embodiment, "holding" includes not only a configuration in which the robot hand 31 detachably grasps the welding torch 11 configured as a separate body, but also a configuration in which the welding torch 11 is detachably attached to the robot hand 31 via a jig or the like, or a configuration in which the welding torch 11 is fixed to the robot hand 31.

[0023] 2, the welding robot 30 is disposed near a mounting table SP (e.g., a surface plate) including a mounting surface S on which a workpiece is placed. After a Cartesian coordinate system (described later) is set, the welding robot 30 is preferably fixed to the mounting table SP so that the coordinate data and the actual position of the welding robot 30 do not deviate from each other. However, this is not limitative.

[0024] In this embodiment, the welding robot 30 is a collaborative robot. However, the welding robot 30 is not limited to this, and may be an industrial robot that is not capable of collaborative operation.

[0025] In this embodiment, the robot hand 31 is configured to hold the welding torch 11 and to be able to operate an irradiation switch of the welding torch 11. However, this is not limiting, and the robot hand 31 does not have to be able to operate the irradiation switch. If the robot hand 31 cannot operate the irradiation switch, the ON / OFF of the laser light irradiation of the welding torch 11 can be controlled by an electrical signal.

[0026] In this embodiment, the robot arm 32 is a multi-joint arm having six control axes. However, the robot arm 32 is not limited to this, and various known configurations can be arbitrarily adopted. Note that since known configurations can be adopted for the robot hand 31 and the robot arm 32, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0027] 3 is a schematic diagram showing a welding torch according to this embodiment. A rectangular coordinate system is set in the welding robot 30 having the above-described configuration to control the operation of the robot arm 32. The rectangular coordinate system has an X-axis, a Y-axis, and a Z-axis that are orthogonal to one another. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the rectangular coordinate system is set such that the plane of the mounting surface S is the X-Y plane and the Z-axis is oriented perpendicularly toward the space above the mounting surface S (X-Y plane). However, the setting of the rectangular coordinate system is not limited to this.

[0028] As shown in FIG. 3, the welding robot 30 has a tip 11a of the welding torch 11 held by the robot arm 32 set as a tool center point (TCP), and a tool coordinate system is set in such a direction that the trajectory L of the laser light coincides with the Zt axis.

[0029] The direction of the Zt axis may be positive or negative in the direction of emission of the laser light. Similar to a Cartesian coordinate system, the tool coordinate system has an Xt axis, a Yt axis, and a Zt axis that are orthogonal to one another. In this embodiment, the X axis, Y axis, and Z axis of the tool coordinate system are referred to as the Xt axis, the Yt axis, and the Z axis, respectively, for convenience in order to distinguish it from a Cartesian coordinate system. However, the present invention is not limited to this.

[0030] [Configuration of Robot Control Device] The robot control device 40 is, for example, a numerical control device or an electronic computer such as a desktop personal computer, a laptop computer, a tablet terminal, etc. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1 , the robot control device 40 includes a memory unit 41 (robot memory unit) that stores operation information of the welding robot 30, and a control unit 44.

[0031] The storage unit 41 has a storage medium such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD), and stores various data in a readable and writable manner. The storage unit 41 is configured to store operation information taught to the welding robot 30 by various teaching operations (instruction operations) such as direct teaching. Specifically, the storage unit 41 is configured to store, as operation information, the movement process of the welding robot 30, the movement mode of the welding robot 30, the welding start position and welding end position in the movement process, and the welding mode for welding portions of multiple workpieces.

[0032] The "movement process" is information indicating the movement process of the robot hand 31 of the welding robot 30 from the movement start position to the movement end position. In the present embodiment, the storage unit 41 is configured to store, as the movement process, the movement start position of the robot hand 31, one or more movement reference positions of the robot hand 31, and the movement end position (final movement reference position) of the robot hand 31. The "movement reference position" is information indicating a position that serves as an index for the movement of the robot hand 31. For example, if the storage unit 41 stores a first movement reference position and a second movement reference position as the movement reference positions, the robot hand 31 first moves from the movement start position toward the first movement reference position, then moves from the first movement reference position toward the second movement reference position, and ends its movement at the second movement reference position (movement end position).

[0033] The number of movement reference positions can be changed as appropriate depending on the shape of the workpiece to be welded.

[0034] The "movement mode" is information indicating how the robot hand 31 of the welding robot 30 moves. In this embodiment, the storage unit 41 is configured to store a linear movement mode and a curved movement mode as the movement mode.

[0035] The movement mode can be changed as appropriate depending on the shape of the workpiece to be welded.

[0036] The "welding start position" is a position among the movement reference positions at which welding by the welding machine 10 starts. The number of welding start positions is changed as appropriate depending on the shape of the workpiece to be welded, etc. Therefore, the memory unit 41 may store only the first welding start position as the welding start position, may store the first welding start position and the second welding start position, or may store another welding start position (e.g., a third welding start position) in addition to the first welding start position and the second welding start position.

[0037] The "welding end position" is the position among the movement reference positions at which welding by welding machine 10 ends. This welding end position is stored in memory unit 41 only when the welding mode is the continuous irradiation mode described below, and is not stored in memory unit 41 when the welding mode is the spot irradiation (spot welding) mode described below.

[0038] The "welding mode" is information indicating how to weld the welding portions of multiple workpieces. In this embodiment, the memory unit 41 is configured to store, as the welding mode, a mode of continuous irradiation from the welding start position to the welding end position and a mode of spot irradiation at the welding start position.

[0039] The operation information of the welding robot 30 stored in the storage unit 41 is transmitted to the welding program setting device 50 and displayed on a program creation condition setting screen 51 a (to be described later) of the welding program setting device 50 .

[0040] 1, the storage unit 41 is configured to store a teaching point determination program 42. The teaching point determination program 42 causes the robot control device 40 to execute a teaching point candidate reception process that receives a teaching point candidate for the welding robot 30 that holds the welding torch 11 that can irradiate a laser beam onto a workpiece specified by a user, a plane intersection determination process that determines whether a placement surface S on which the workpiece is placed intersects with a trajectory L of the laser beam when the laser beam is irradiated at the received teaching point candidate, and a teaching point registration process that registers the teaching point candidate in the welding processing program 43 as a teaching point for the welding robot 30 if it is determined in the plane intersection determination process that the placement surface S intersects with the trajectory L.

[0041] Furthermore, the storage unit 41 is configured to store the welding processing program 43 created by the program creation unit 46. Furthermore, the storage unit 41 stores programs necessary for controlling each part of the welding processing program setting device 50.

[0042] The control unit 44 is configured by, for example, an integrated processing device having a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1 , the control unit 44 includes an area setting unit 45, a program creation unit 46, and a robot control unit 47. The program creation unit 46 can create the welding program 43 based on program creation conditions set by the welding program setting device 50. The robot control unit 47 can control the welding robot 30 based on the welding program 43 created by the program creation unit 46.

[0043] In this embodiment, the control unit 44 is configured to be able to register teaching points for the welding robot 30 in the welding processing program 43. The teaching points are registered in the welding processing program 43 as movement reference positions, movement end positions, welding start positions, or welding end positions of the robot hand 31.

[0044] In this embodiment, the teaching point and the teaching point candidate include information about the position and posture of the welding torch 11 in the space above the mounting surface S. Specifically, the teaching point and the teaching point candidate include the position and posture angle of the tip 11a of the welding torch 11, i.e., the tool center point. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the teaching point and the teaching point candidate include the x-coordinate, y-coordinate, and z-coordinate (x ｔ , y ｔ , z ｔ ) is included.

[0045] The teaching points and teaching point candidates are also determined based on the yaw angle, pitch angle, and roll angle (ψ ｔ , θ ｔ , φ ｔ) The yaw angle is the angle of rotation around the Xt axis. The pitch angle is the angle of rotation around the Yt axis. The roll angle is the angle of rotation around the Zt axis.

[0046] In this embodiment, the attitude angle is determined when the yaw angle, pitch angle, and roll angle are 0 degrees (ψ) in a state where the orientations of the X axis of the Cartesian coordinate system and the Zt axis of the tool coordinate system, the Y axis of the Cartesian coordinate system and the Yt axis of the tool coordinate system, and the Z axis of the Cartesian coordinate system and the Xt axis of the tool coordinate system are aligned. ｔ = 0, θ ｔ = 0, φ ｔ = 0). However, the basis for the attitude angle is not limited to this.

[0047] The area setting unit 45 is configured to set an area of ​​the mounting surface S for the program creation unit 46 to determine teaching point candidates and a side area SA, which will be described later. Specifically, the area setting unit 45 receives a user's designation of the range of each area and sets each area. In this embodiment, the area setting unit 45 sets the area of ​​the mounting surface S on the XY coordinate plane so that it coincides with the range of the mounting surface S of the mounting table SP.

[0048] Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, the area setting unit 45 sets the first corner C1 of the rectangular mounting surface S as the origin (0,0,Zs), and the coordinates of the remaining three corners as C2 (Xs,0,Zs), C3 (0,Ys,Zs), and C4 (Xs,Ys,Zs), respectively, and sets the range of the X coordinate in the X-Y coordinate plane where 0≦x≦Xs and the Y coordinate where 0≦y≦Ys as the area of ​​the mounting surface S.

[0049] Note that the specific coordinates for setting the area are set by the user by specifying numerical values ​​according to the shape and area of ​​the placement surface S. Therefore, the position of the origin and the coordinates of each corner are merely examples and are not limited to these. Also, in this embodiment, the area of ​​the placement surface S is set to the same area as the range of the placement surface S, but this is not limiting, and a partial range of the placement surface S may be set as the area of ​​the placement surface S.

[0050] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a side area in this embodiment. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 9 , the area setting unit 45 is configured to execute a side area setting process for setting the range of a virtual side area SA extending toward at least the space above the placement surface S. The area setting unit 45 is configured to set one or more side areas SA. In the example shown in FIG. 9 , four areas are set: a first side area SA along the edge connecting corners C1 and C2 of the placement surface S; a second side area SA along the edge connecting corners C1 and C3 of the placement surface S; a third side area SA along the edge connecting corners C3 and C4 of the placement surface S; and a fourth side area SA along the edge connecting corners C2 and C4 of the placement surface S. The first to fourth side areas SA are each set to have a rectangular area.

[0051] The side area SA has a predetermined height. The height of the side area SA is set to a finite height at which the laser light will not hit the user, such as 2 m or 3 m. The predetermined height can be set to any finite height at which the laser light will not hit the user, such as the height of a partition installed around the mounting table SP and the welding robot 30, the height of the ceiling of the partition, or the height of the building in which the welding processing system 1 is used.

[0052] Moreover, the side area SA has a predetermined width. The width of the side area SA is set to an arbitrary finite width. When the side area SA is set along the edge of the placement surface S, the width of the side area SA is set to a length at least equal to or greater than the width of the area of ​​the placement surface S. For example, the width of the side area SA is set to match the width of the area of ​​the placement surface S. Specifically, in the example shown in FIG. 9, the width of the first side area SA is set to the width W of the edge connecting the corner C1 and corner C2 of the placement surface S. １ The width of the second side area SA is set to the width W of the end connecting the corner C1 and the corner C3. ２ The width of the third side area SA is set to be equal to the width W of the end portion connecting the corners C3 and C4. ３ The width of the fourth side area SA is set to the width W of the end connecting the corner C2 and the corner C4. ４ is set to

[0053] The range of the side area SA having a predetermined height and a predetermined width is set by coordinates in a Cartesian coordinate system. For example, if the predetermined height is h and its z coordinate is Zh (where Zs<Zh), the coordinates of each vertex of the first side area SA are (Xa, Ya, Za), (Xa+W １ , Ya, Za), (Xa, Ya, Za+h), (Xa+W １ , Ya, Za+h). As described above, the first side area SA is set along the edge connecting the corner C1 and the corner C2 of the placement surface S. Therefore, the coordinates of each vertex can be rewritten as (0, 0, Zs), (Xs, 0, Zs), (0, 0, Zh), and (Xs, 0, Zh).

[0054] The coordinates of the vertices of the second side area SA are (Xb, Yb, Zb), (Xb, Yb+W ２ , Zb), (Xb, Yb, Zb+h), (Xb, Yb+W ２ , Zb+h), and the second side area SA is set along the edge connecting the corner C1 and the corner C3 of the placement surface S. Therefore, the coordinates of each vertex can be rewritten as (0, 0, Zs), (0, Ys, Zs), (0, 0, Zh), and (0, Ys, Zh).

[0055] Furthermore, the coordinates of each vertex of the third side area SA are (Xc, Yc, Zc), (Xc+W ３ , Yc, Zc), (Xc, Yc, Zc+h), (Xc+W ３ , Yc, Zc+h) (where Ya<Yc). As described above, the third side area SA is set along the edge connecting corner C3 and corner C4 of the placement surface S. Therefore, the coordinates of each vertex can be rewritten as (0, Ys, Zs), (Xs, Ys, Zs), (0, Ys, Zh), and (Xs, Ys, Zh).

[0056] Similarly, the coordinates of the vertices of the fourth side area SA are (Xd, Yd, Zd), (Xd, Yd+W ４ , Zd), (Xd, Yd, Zd+h), (Xd, Yd+W ４, Zd+h) (where Xb<Xd), and the fourth side area SA is set along the edge connecting corner C2 and corner C4 of the placement surface S. Therefore, the coordinates of each vertex can be rewritten as (Xs, 0, Zs), (Xs, Ys, Zs), (Xs, 0, Zh), and (Xs, Ys, Zh).

[0057] FIG. 12a is a diagram of the X-Y plane showing a case where one end of the mounting table of this embodiment is in contact with a wall. FIG. 12b is a diagram of the X-Y plane showing a lateral region when one end of the mounting table of this embodiment is in contact with a wall. The lateral region SA is preferably set around the entire periphery of the mounting surface S, as shown in FIG. 9 . However, this is not limited to this. If there is a direction where the risk of the laser beam hitting the user is low, such as when the mounting table SP is in contact with a wall surface that is safe for laser beam irradiation, the lateral region SA does not need to be set in that direction. For example, as shown in FIG. 12a , if one end of the mounting table SP (mounting surface S) (in this embodiment, the end connecting corners C2 and C4 of the mounting surface S) is in contact with a wall 80 that is thick enough to block laser beams, the lateral region SA may be set along three ends of the mounting table SP (mounting surface S) excluding the end that is in contact with the wall 80, as shown in FIG. 12b . That is, it is possible to set three sides, the first to third side areas SA, and not to set the fourth side area SA along the edge connecting the corners C2 and C4 that are in contact with the wall 80.

[0058] FIG. 15a is a diagram of the X-Y plane showing a case where the mounting table of this embodiment is in contact with an L-shaped wall. FIG. 15b is a diagram of the X-Y plane showing lateral regions when the mounting table of this embodiment is in contact with an L-shaped wall. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 15a, when the ends of the mounting table SP (in this embodiment, the end connecting corners C1 and C2 of the mounting surface S and the end connecting corners C2 and C4 of the mounting surface S) are in contact with the L-shaped wall 80, lateral regions SA may be set along two ends of the mounting table SP excluding the end that is in contact with the wall 80, as shown in FIG. 15b. That is, two surfaces, the second lateral region SA and the third lateral region SA, may be set, and the first lateral region SA and the fourth lateral region SA along the end that is in contact with the wall 80 may not be set.

[0059] FIG. 16a is a diagram of the X-Y plane showing a case where the mounting table of this embodiment is in contact with a U-shaped wall. FIG. 16b is a diagram of the X-Y plane showing lateral regions when the mounting table of this embodiment is in contact with a U-shaped wall. Similarly, as shown in FIG. 16a, when the ends of the mounting table SP (in this embodiment, the end connecting corners C1 and C2 of the mounting surface S, the end connecting corners C2 and C4 of the mounting surface S, and the end connecting corners C3 and C4 of the mounting surface S) are in contact with the U-shaped wall 80, a lateral region SA may be set along one end of the mounting table SP that is not in contact with the wall 80 (in this embodiment, the end connecting corners C1 and C3 of the mounting surface S). That is, only the second lateral region SA may be set, and the first lateral region SA, the third lateral region SA, and the fourth lateral region SA along the end that is in contact with the wall 80 may not be set.

[0060] 17a is a diagram of the X-Y plane showing a case where the mounting table SP of this embodiment is separated from the wall. Even when the mounting table SP and the wall 80 are separated from each other, if there is only a small gap between the mounting table SP and the wall 80 that prevents a user from entering, or if an intrusion prevention fence 90 is provided between the mounting table SP and the wall 80 as shown in FIG. 17a, it is not necessary to set the side area SA in a direction where there is a low risk of the user being hit by the laser light.

[0061] The intrusion prevention fence 90 is not limited to a fence and may be, for example, a chain pole, a rope, a belt pole, a partition, a screen, or the like, as long as it restricts user entry. In the example shown in FIG. 17a , a user cannot enter between the mounting table SP and the wall 80, so there is little risk of the user being hit by the laser light when the laser light is irradiated toward the wall 80. Therefore, it is not necessary to set a side area SA along the end of the mounting table SP facing the wall 80 (in this embodiment, the end connecting corners C2 and C4 of the mounting surface S). In other words, it is not necessary to set a fourth side area SA along the end connecting corners C2 and C4 facing the wall 80.

[0062] FIG. 17b is a diagram of the X-Y plane showing the side regions when the mounting table of this embodiment is separated from the wall. On the other hand, if a laser beam is irradiated toward the intrusion prevention fence 90, there is a risk that the laser beam will hit the user when the user stands near the intrusion prevention fence 90. Therefore, it is necessary to set the side region SA so that the laser beam cannot be irradiated toward the intrusion prevention fence 90. In the example shown in FIG. 9, the width of the side region SA is set to match the width of the mounting surface S, but it can be set to any width. Therefore, when the mounting table SP and the wall 80 are separated from each other, the widths of the first side region SA and the third side region SA are set to extend from corners C2 and C4 to the wall 80, respectively, as shown in FIG. 17b.

[0063] In this embodiment, since the planar shape of the mounting surface S of the mounting table SP is rectangular, up to four side areas SA can be set. However, this is not limited to this. For example, the planar shape of the mounting surface S may be quadrangular, triangular, pentagonal, hexagonal, circular, or the like, and any number of side areas SA can be set according to the planar shape of the mounting surface S. Furthermore, if the planar shape of the mounting surface S is circular, the side areas SA may be set as peripheral surfaces or in a dome shape. Furthermore, the side areas SA do not have to be rectangular. Furthermore, the side areas SA do not have to be set along the edges of the mounting surface S.

[0064] Program creation unit 46 is configured to create welding program 43 based on the program creation conditions acquired from welding program setting device 50. Specifically, program creation unit 46 is configured to create welding program 43 based on the operation information of welding robot 30 and the welding conditions of welder 10 included in the program creation conditions. In addition, the program creation conditions include teaching point candidates for welding robot 30.

[0065] The program creation unit 46 is configured to be able to register teaching points for the welding robot 30 in the welding processing program 43. The program creation unit 46 is also configured to be able to execute a teaching point candidate receiving process that receives teaching point candidates designated by the user. The user may designate teaching point candidates by directly teaching the welding robot 30, or may designate teaching point candidates on the program creation condition setting screen 51 a by operating the welding processing program setting device 50. When designating teaching point candidates, the user selects which position of the teaching point candidate they want to register in the welding processing program 43 as a teaching point from among a movement reference position, a movement end position, a welding start position, and a welding end position.

[0066] 4 is a schematic diagram showing a mounting surface and a welding torch according to this embodiment. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 4 , the program creation unit 46 is configured to execute a plane intersection determination process for determining whether a mounting surface S on which a workpiece is mounted intersects with a trajectory L of a laser beam when the laser beam is irradiated at a received teaching point candidate. Specifically, the program creation unit 46 draws an imaginary line of the trajectory L of the laser beam from the tip 11a of the welding torch 11 at the received teaching point candidate along the Zt axis of the tool coordinate system, and determines whether the imaginary line intersects with the mounting surface S (whether there is an intersection point within the region of the mounting surface S). More specifically, the program creation unit 46 determines whether the imaginary line (on the Zt axis) has coordinates (0≦x≦Xs, 0≦y≦Ys, Zs) within the region of the mounting surface S.

[0067] 5a is a diagram of the X-Z plane showing the trajectory of the laser beam when the laser beam is irradiated at the teaching point candidate A of this embodiment. FIG. 5b is a diagram of the X-Y plane showing the trajectory of the laser beam when the laser beam is irradiated at the teaching point candidate A of this embodiment. A case will be described where the teaching point candidate designated by the user is, for example, the teaching point candidate A shown in FIG. 5a. The position and attitude angle of the tip 11a of the welding torch 11 at the teaching point candidate A are expressed as (x Ａ , y Ａ , z Ａ , ψ Ａ , θ Ａ , φ Ａ) The x-coordinate, y-coordinate and z-coordinate of the tip 11a at the teaching point candidate A are 0≦x Ａ ≦Xs, 0≦y Ａ ≦Ys, Zs≦z Ａ Therefore, the tip 11a of the teaching point candidate A is located within the area of ​​the placement surface S.

[0068] The attitude angle of the tip 11a at the teaching point candidate A is ψ Ａ = 0, θ Ａ <0, φ Ａ = 0. The irradiation direction of the laser beam in the X-Z plane is downward, and the irradiation direction in the planar view of the X-Y plane is parallel to the X axis. When the laser beam is irradiated at such teaching point candidate A, the trajectory L of the laser beam is Ａ (0≦X １ ≦Xs, 0≦Y １ ≦Ys, Zs). That is, the coordinates within the area of ​​the mounting surface S are on the virtual line (on the Zt axis). Therefore, the program creation unit 46 determines that the mounting surface S intersects with the trajectory L of the laser light when the laser light is irradiated at the teaching point candidate A.

[0069] 6a is a diagram of the X-Z plane showing the trajectory of the laser beam when the laser beam is irradiated at the teaching point candidate B of this embodiment. FIG. 6b is a diagram of the X-Y plane showing the trajectory of the laser beam when the laser beam is irradiated at the teaching point candidate B of this embodiment. Next, a case where the teaching point candidate designated by the user is the teaching point candidate B as shown in FIG. 6a will be described. The position and attitude angle of the tip 11a of the welding torch 11 at the teaching point candidate B are as follows, as shown in FIG. 6a: Ｂ , y Ｂ , z Ｂ , ψ Ｂ , θ Ｂ , φ Ｂ ) The x-coordinate, y-coordinate and z-coordinate of the tip 11a at the teaching point candidate B are 0≦x Ｂ ≦Xs, 0≦y Ｂ ≦Ys, Zs≦z Ｂ Therefore, the tip 11a of the teaching point candidate B is located within the area of ​​the placement surface S, similar to the teaching point candidate A.

[0070] The y coordinate of the tip 11a of the teaching point candidate B is the same as that of the teaching point candidate A (y Ｂ = y Ａ ), but the x-coordinate is closer to the end connecting the points C2 and C4 on the placement surface S than the teaching point candidate A (x Ａ <x Ｂ ). The attitude angle of the tip 11a at the teaching point candidate B is the same as the attitude angle at the teaching point candidate A (ψ Ｂ = ψ Ａ , θ Ｂ = θ Ａ , φ Ｂ =φ Ａ ), the irradiation direction of the laser light in the XZ plane is downward, and the irradiation direction in the XY plane in plan view is parallel to the X axis.

[0071] The trajectory L of the laser light when the laser light is irradiated at such teaching point candidate B intersects with the XY plane outside the area of ​​the mounting surface S, and does not have an intersection point within the area of ​​the mounting surface S. In other words, since there are no coordinates within the area of ​​the mounting surface S on the virtual line (on the Zt axis), the program creation unit 46 determines that the mounting surface S and the trajectory L of the laser light when the laser light is irradiated at the teaching point candidate B do not intersect.

[0072] 7a is a diagram of the X-Z plane showing the trajectory of the laser beam when the laser beam is irradiated at the teaching point candidate C of this embodiment. FIG. 7b is a diagram of the X-Y plane showing the trajectory of the laser beam when the laser beam is irradiated at the teaching point candidate C of this embodiment. A case will be described where the teaching point candidate designated by the user is the teaching point candidate C as shown in FIG. 7a. The position and attitude angle of the tip 11a of the welding torch 11 at the teaching point candidate C are expressed as (x Ｃ , y Ｃ , z Ｃ , ψ Ｃ , θ Ｃ , φ Ｃ The x-coordinate, y-coordinate, and z-coordinate of the tip 11a of the teaching point candidate C are the same as the x-coordinate, y-coordinate, and z-coordinate of the tip 11a of the teaching point candidate A (x Ｃ = x Ａ , y Ｃ = y Ａ , zＣ =z Ａ 7b, the tip 11a of the teaching point candidate C is located within the area of ​​the placement surface S.

[0073] The attitude angle of the tip 11a at the teaching point candidate C is ψ Ｃ = ψ Ａ , θ Ａ <θ Ｃ <0, φ Ｃ =φ Ａ The irradiation direction of the laser light in the X-Z plane is downward, but is directed upward relative to teaching point candidate A. The trajectory L of the laser light when irradiating the laser light at such teaching point candidate C intersects with the X-Y plane outside the area of ​​the mounting surface S, and does not have an intersection within the area of ​​the mounting surface S. In other words, since there are no coordinates within the area of ​​the mounting surface S on the virtual line (on the Zt axis), the program creation unit 46 determines that the mounting surface S and the trajectory L of the laser light when irradiating the laser light at teaching point candidate C do not intersect.

[0074] When it is determined that the placement surface S and the trajectory L intersect, the program creation unit 46 is configured to be able to execute a teaching point registration process for registering the teaching point candidate in the welding processing program 43 as a teaching point for the welding robot 30. Furthermore, when it is determined that the placement surface S and the trajectory L do not intersect, the program creation unit 46 is configured to execute a side intersection determination process, which will be described later.

[0075] In the above example, when the teaching point candidate designated by the user is teaching point candidate A, the program creation unit 46 determines that the placement surface S intersects with the trajectory L and executes the teaching point registration process. On the other hand, when the teaching point candidate designated by the user is teaching point candidate B or teaching point candidate C, the program creation unit 46 determines that the placement surface S does not intersect with the trajectory L and executes the lateral intersection determination process.

[0076] Furthermore, program creation unit 46 is configured to be able to execute an in-area determination process for determining whether or not the position of tip 11a of welding torch 11, which emits laser light, at the teaching point candidate is located within placing surface S in a plan view. Specifically, program creation unit 46 determines whether or not the position of tip 11a in the XY plane is within the area of ​​placing surface S. In this embodiment, program creation unit 46 determines whether or not the x-coordinate and y-coordinate of tip 11a at the teaching point candidate are within the range of 0≦x ｔ ≦Xs, 0≦y ｔ If Ys≦Ys, it is determined that the position of the tip 11a at the teaching point candidate is located within the placement surface S.

[0077] The program creation unit 46 is configured to execute the above-described plane crossing determination process when it is determined that the position of the tip 11 a of the teaching point candidate is located within the placement surface S. Furthermore, the program creation unit 46 is configured to execute a danger avoidance process without executing the plane crossing determination process when it is determined that the position of the tip 11 a of the teaching point candidate is not located within the placement surface S. Specifically, the program creation unit 46 is configured to be able to execute a non-registration process that does not register the teaching point candidate in the welding processing program 43, or a warning display process that displays a warning to the user.

[0078] In the warning display process, the program creation unit 46 may display a warning to the user by registering the teaching point candidates in the welding processing program 43 in an unusual manner, or may display a warning on the display unit 51. Methods of registering the teaching point candidates in the welding processing program 43 in an unusual manner include, for example, displaying the code related to the teaching point candidates in a color different from other codes, writing a warning message in the code of the welding processing program 43, or registering the code related to the teaching point candidates in the welding processing program 43 as inexecutable code.

[0079] For example, if the teaching point candidate designated by the user is teaching point candidate A, the coordinates of the tip 11a on the X-Y plane are within the area of ​​the placing surface S, as described above. Therefore, the program creation unit 46 determines that the position of the tip 11a at teaching point candidate A is located within the placing surface S, and executes the plane intersection determination process. Similarly, if the teaching point candidates designated by the user are teaching point candidate B and teaching point candidate C, the coordinates of the tip 11a on the X-Y plane are within the area of ​​the placing surface S. Therefore, the program creation unit 46 determines that the positions of the tip 11a at teaching point candidate B and teaching point candidate C are located within the placing surface S, and executes the plane intersection determination process.

[0080] 8a is a diagram of the X-Z plane showing the trajectory of the laser beam when the laser beam is irradiated at the teaching point candidate D of this embodiment. Next, a case where the teaching point candidate designated by the user is the teaching point candidate D shown in FIG. 8a will be described. The position and posture angle of the tip 11a of the welding torch 11 at the teaching point candidate D are as follows, as shown in FIG. 8a: Ｄ , y Ｄ , z Ｄ , ψ Ｄ , θ Ｄ , φ Ｄ The attitude angle of the tip 11a at the teaching point candidate D is the same as the attitude angle of the tip 11a at the teaching point candidate A (ψ Ｄ = ψ Ａ , θ Ｄ = θ Ａ , φ Ｄ =φ Ａ ), the trajectory L of the laser beam when irradiating the teaching point candidate D is the intersection point P Ｄ (0≦X ２ ≦Xs, 0≦Y ２ ≦Ys, Zs) with the placement surface S. That is, the coordinates within the area of ​​the placement surface S exist on the virtual line (on the Zt axis).

[0081] 8b is a diagram of the XY plane showing the trajectory of the laser beam when the laser beam is irradiated at the teaching point candidate D of this embodiment. In addition, the y coordinate and z coordinate of the tip 11a at the teaching point candidate D are the same as those of the teaching point candidate A (y Ｄ = y Ａ , z Ｄ =zＡ However, the x coordinate of the tip 11a at the teaching point candidate D is x Ｄ < 0. Therefore, the program creating unit 46 determines that the tip 11a at the teaching point candidate D is not located within the area of ​​the placement surface S.

[0082] When a laser beam is emitted from a teaching point candidate such as teaching point candidate D, the trajectory L of the laser beam intersects with the mounting surface S, but there is a gap between the tip 11a and the mounting table SP where a user can stand. Therefore, there is a risk that the laser beam will hit the user if the user stands there. Therefore, it is preferable that such teaching point candidates cannot be registered in the welding processing program 43. In this embodiment, the program creation unit 46 is configured to execute a non-registration process or a warning display process after the in-area determination process so that such teaching point candidates are not erroneously registered as teaching points in the welding processing program 43.

[0083] The program creation unit 46 is configured to perform a non-registration process or a warning display process without performing a level intersection determination process after determining that the position of the tip 11a at the teaching point candidate D is not located within the mounting surface S.

[0084] The in-area determination process can also be executed after the plane crossing determination process. When the in-area determination process is executed after the plane crossing determination process, the program creation unit 46 is configured to register the teaching point candidate in the welding processing program 43 as a teaching point for the welding robot 30 when it determines in the plane crossing determination process that the placement surface S intersects with the trajectory L and determines in the in-area determination process that the position of the tip 11 a of the teaching point candidate is located within the placement surface S.

[0085] Next, the registration of exceptional teaching points according to this embodiment will be described. Instead of irradiating the laser beam downward toward the mounting surface S as in the above-described teaching point candidate A, a case can be considered in which the tip 11a is positioned within the mounting surface S and the laser beam is irradiated upward toward the space above the mounting surface S. For example, there are teaching point candidates that irradiate the laser beam in a direction that causes the laser beam to strike the ceiling surface, and there are teaching point candidates that have a posture angle that results in an irradiation direction that does not intersect with the mounting surface S and the trajectory L, but does not pose a risk of hitting the user. It is inconvenient for the user that teaching point candidates with such posture angles cannot be registered as teaching points in the welding processing program 43. It is preferable that even teaching point candidates that do not intersect with the mounting surface S and the trajectory L can be registered as exceptions in the welding processing program 43.

[0086] Therefore, the program creation unit 46 according to the present embodiment is configured to register exceptional teaching point candidates that satisfy predetermined safety conditions, among teaching point candidates where the placement surface S and the trajectory L do not intersect, in the welding processing program 43. In the present embodiment, the program creation unit 46 is configured to be able to execute a side intersection determination process that determines whether the trajectory L intersects with the side area SA, and an exceptional teaching point registration process that determines the teaching point candidate as an exceptional teaching point candidate and registers it in the welding processing program 43 when it is determined in the plane intersection determination process that the placement surface S and the trajectory L do not intersect and in the side intersection determination process that the trajectory L and the side area SA do not intersect.

[0087] In the side intersection determination process, the program creation unit 46 draws an imaginary line of the trajectory L of the laser light on the Zt axis of the tool coordinate system from the tip 11a of the welding torch 11 at the received teaching point candidate, and determines whether the imaginary line intersects with the side area SA (whether there is an intersection point within the side area SA). More specifically, the program creation unit 46 determines whether there are coordinates within the side area SA on the imaginary line (on the Zt axis). For example, when determining whether the trajectory L intersects with the first side area SA, the program creation unit 46 draws an imaginary line of the trajectory L of the laser light on the Zt axis of the tool coordinate system. ｔ ≦Xs, 0, Zs<z ｔ≦Zh).

[0088] When a plurality of lateral areas SA are set, in the lateral intersection determination process, the program creation unit 46 determines whether or not the trajectory L intersects with each lateral area SA. However, in the following example, the determination of whether or not the trajectory L intersects with some of the lateral areas SA will be described.

[0089] 10 is a diagram of the XZ plane showing the trajectory of the laser beam when the laser beam is irradiated at the teaching point candidate E of this embodiment. A case will be described in which the teaching point candidate designated by the user is, for example, the teaching point candidate E shown in FIG. 10. Note that the description will be made assuming that first to fourth side areas SA are set as shown in FIG. 9. The position and attitude angle of the tip 11a of the welding torch 11 at the teaching point candidate E are expressed as (x Ｅ , y Ｅ , z Ｅ , ψ Ｅ , θ Ｅ , φ Ｅ The x-coordinate, y-coordinate and z-coordinate of the tip 11a at the teaching point candidate E are 0≦x Ｅ ≦Xs, 0≦y Ｅ ≦Ys, Zs≦z Ｅ The tip 11a of the teaching point candidate E is located within the area of ​​the placement surface S.

[0090] The attitude angle of the tip 11a at the teaching point candidate E is ψ Ｅ = 0, 0 < θ Ｅ , φ Ｅ = 0. The irradiation direction of the laser light in the X-Z plane is upward. Furthermore, the irradiation direction of the laser light is oriented in the direction in which the fourth lateral area SA is set. When the laser light is irradiated at such teaching point candidate E, the trajectory L of the laser light does not intersect with the placement surface S. Therefore, in the plane intersection determination process, the program creation unit 46 determines that the placement surface S does not intersect with the trajectory L of the laser light when the laser light is irradiated at teaching point candidate E.

[0091] Next, the program creation unit 46 determines whether the trajectory L of the laser beam when irradiated with laser light at the teaching point candidate E intersects with the fourth lateral area SA. As shown in FIG. 10 , the trajectory L of the laser beam when irradiated with laser light at the teaching point candidate E passes through the space above the fourth lateral area SA, which is set at a predetermined height, and does not intersect with the fourth lateral area SA. Therefore, the program creation unit 46 determines that the trajectory L does not intersect with the fourth lateral area SA. Similarly, the program creation unit 46 determines that the trajectory L does not intersect with the first to third lateral areas SA.

[0092] In the plane intersection determination process, it is determined that the placement surface S does not intersect with the trajectory L of the laser light when the laser light is irradiated at the teaching point candidate E, and in the lateral intersection determination process, it is determined that the trajectory L of the laser light when the laser light is irradiated at the teaching point candidate E does not intersect with the lateral area SA. Therefore, the program creation unit 46 determines the teaching point candidate E to be an exceptional teaching point candidate and registers it in the welding processing program 43.

[0093] On the other hand, the program creation unit 46 is configured to be able to execute a danger avoidance process when a teaching point candidate determined not to intersect the placement surface S with the trajectory L does not satisfy the safety condition, i.e., when it is determined in the side intersection determination process that the trajectory L intersects with the side area SA. Specifically, when it is determined in the side intersection determination process that the trajectory L intersects with the side area SA, the program creation unit 46 is configured to be able to execute a non-registration process that does not register the teaching point candidate in the welding processing program 43, or a warning display process that displays a warning to the user.

[0094] In addition, the program creation unit 46 is configured to have multiple lateral areas SA set, and if it is determined in the lateral intersection determination process that the trajectory L intersects with the lateral area SA of one of the surfaces, it is capable of executing a non-registration process that does not register the teaching point candidate in the welding processing program 43, or a warning display process that displays a warning to the user.

[0095] 11 is a diagram of the XZ plane showing the trajectory of the laser beam when the laser beam is irradiated at the teaching point candidate F of this embodiment. A case will be described in which the teaching point candidate designated by the user is, for example, the teaching point candidate F shown in FIG. 11. Note that the description will be given assuming that the side area SA has first to fourth side areas SA set as shown in FIG. 9. The position and posture angle of the tip 11a of the welding torch 11 at the teaching point candidate F are expressed as (x Ｆ , y Ｆ , z Ｆ , ψ Ｆ , θ Ｆ , φ Ｆ The x-coordinate, y-coordinate, and z-coordinate of the tip 11a of the teaching point candidate F are the same as the x-coordinate, y-coordinate, and z-coordinate of the tip 11a of the teaching point candidate E (x Ｆ = x Ｅ , y Ｆ = y Ｅ , z Ｆ =z Ｅ Therefore, the tip 11a of the teaching point candidate F is located within the area of ​​the placement surface S.

[0096] The attitude angle of the tip 11a at the teaching point candidate F is ψ Ｆ = ψ Ｅ , 0<θ Ｆ <θ Ｅ , φ Ｆ =φ Ｅ The irradiation direction of the laser light in the X-Z plane is upward, but is directed downward relative to teaching point candidate E. Similarly to teaching point candidate E, the irradiation direction of the laser light is directed in the direction in which the fourth lateral area SA is set. When laser light is irradiated at such teaching point candidate F, the trajectory L of the laser light does not intersect with the placement surface S. Therefore, in the plane intersection determination process, the program creation unit 46 determines that the placement surface S and the trajectory L of the laser light when laser light is irradiated at teaching point candidate F do not intersect.

[0097] Next, the program creation unit 46 determines whether or not the trajectory L of the laser light when the laser light is irradiated at the teaching point candidate F intersects with each side area SA. The program creation unit 46 determines that the trajectory L of the laser light when the laser light is irradiated at the teaching point candidate F does not intersect with the first to third side areas SA. On the other hand, the trajectory L of the laser light when the laser light is irradiated at the teaching point candidate F does not intersect with the fourth side area SA set at a predetermined height as shown in FIG. Ｆ (Xs, 0≦Y ３ ≦Ys, Zs<Z ３ ≦Zh). That is, the coordinates within the fourth lateral area SA are on the virtual line (on the Zt axis). Therefore, the program creation unit 46 determines that the trajectory L intersects with the fourth lateral area SA. Therefore, the teaching point candidate F, which is determined not to intersect with the placement surface S and the trajectory L, does not satisfy the safety condition.

[0098] In the plane intersection determination process, it is determined that the placement surface S does not intersect with the trajectory L of the laser light when the laser light is irradiated at the teaching point candidate F, and in the lateral intersection determination process, it is determined that the trajectory L of the laser light when the laser light is irradiated at the teaching point candidate F intersects with the lateral area SA. Therefore, the program creation unit 46 executes a non-registration process that does not register the teaching point candidate F in the welding processing program 43, or a warning display process that displays a warning to the user.

[0099] 13a is a diagram of the X-Z plane showing the trajectory of the laser beam when the laser beam is irradiated at the teaching point candidate G of this embodiment. Next, a description will be given of the determination of the program creation unit 46 in the case where one end of the mounting table SP is in contact with the wall 80 as shown in FIG. 12a, and the fourth side area SA along the end connecting the corner C2 and the corner C4 that are in contact with the wall 80 is not set as shown in FIG. 12b. If the teaching point candidate designated by the user is, for example, the teaching point candidate G as shown in FIG. 13a, the position and attitude angle of the tip 11a of the welding torch 11 at the teaching point candidate G are expressed as follows, as shown in FIG. 13a: Ｇ , y Ｇ , z Ｇ , ψ Ｇ , θ Ｇ , φ Ｇ )

[0100] 13b is a diagram of the XY plane showing the trajectory of the laser beam when the laser beam is irradiated at the teaching point candidate G of this embodiment. The x, y and z coordinates of the tip 11a at the teaching point candidate G are in the range of 0≦x Ｇ ≦Xs, 0≦y Ｇ ≦Ys, Zs≦z Ｇ Therefore, the tip 11a at the teaching point candidate G is located within the area of ​​the placement surface S. In addition, the attitude angle of the tip 11a at the teaching point candidate G is ψ Ｇ = 0, θ Ｇ <0, φ Ｇ = 0. The irradiation direction of the laser light in the XZ plane is downward, and the irradiation direction in the XY plane in plan view is parallel to the X axis.

[0101] When a laser beam is irradiated at such a teaching point candidate G, the irradiation direction of the laser beam is directed toward the wall 80, as shown in Fig. 13a. Furthermore, the trajectory L of the laser beam intersects with the wall 80, but intersects with the X-Y plane outside the area of ​​the mounting surface S. Therefore, the trajectory L of the laser beam does not have an intersection within the area of ​​the mounting surface S. Therefore, in the plane intersection determination process, the program creation unit 46 determines that the mounting surface S and the trajectory L of the laser beam when the laser beam is irradiated at the teaching point candidate G do not intersect.

[0102] Furthermore, a fourth side area SA is not set along the edge connecting the corner C2 and the corner C4 that are in contact with the wall 80. Therefore, in the side intersection determination process, the program creation unit 46 determines whether or not the trajectory L of the laser light when the laser light is irradiated at the teaching point candidate G intersects with the first to third side areas SA.

[0103] 13b, the trajectory L of the laser beam when the laser beam is irradiated at the teaching point candidate G does not intersect with any of the set first to third side areas SA. Therefore, the program creation unit 46 determines that the trajectory L does not intersect with the side area SA, and determines the teaching point candidate G as an exceptional teaching point candidate and registers it in the welding processing program 43.

[0104] 14a is a diagram of the X-Z plane showing the trajectory of the laser beam when the laser beam is irradiated at the teaching point candidate H of this embodiment. FIG. 14b is a diagram of the X-Y plane showing the trajectory of the laser beam when the laser beam is irradiated at the teaching point candidate H of this embodiment. Next, a case will be described where the teaching point candidate designated by the user is the teaching point candidate H as shown in FIG. 14a. The position and attitude angle of the tip 11a of the welding torch 11 at the teaching point candidate H are expressed as (x Ｈ , y Ｈ , z Ｈ , ψ Ｈ , θ Ｈ , φ Ｈ ) The x-coordinate, y-coordinate and z-coordinate of the tip 11a at the teaching point candidate H are 0≦x Ｈ ≦Xs, 0≦y Ｈ ≦Ys, Zs≦z Ｈ Therefore, the tip 11a of the teaching point candidate H is located within the area of ​​the placement surface S.

[0105] The attitude angle of the tip 11a at the teaching point candidate H is 0<ψ Ｈ , θ Ｈ <0, φ Ｈ = 0. The irradiation direction of the laser light in the XZ plane is downward, and the irradiation direction in the XY plane as viewed in plan is directed toward one end of the wall 80 (the end on the corner C4 side of the mounting surface S).

[0106] When a laser beam is irradiated at such teaching point candidate H, the irradiation direction of the laser beam is directed toward the wall 80 as shown in FIG. 14a, and the trajectory L of the laser beam intersects with the wall 80 but intersects with the X-Y plane outside the area of ​​the mounting surface S. Therefore, there is no intersection within the area of ​​the mounting surface S. Therefore, in the plane intersection determination process, the program creation unit 46 determines that the mounting surface S and the trajectory L of the laser beam when the laser beam is irradiated at the teaching point candidate H do not intersect.

[0107] Next, the program creation unit 46 determines whether or not the trajectory L of the laser beam when the laser beam is irradiated at the teaching point candidate H intersects with the third lateral area SA. As shown in FIG. 14b, the trajectory L of the laser beam when the laser beam is irradiated at the teaching point candidate H intersects with the third lateral area SA.Ｈ (0≦X ４ ≦Xs, Ys, Zs<Z ４ ≦Zh). That is, the coordinates within the third lateral area SA are on the virtual line (on the Zt axis). Therefore, the program creation unit 46 determines that the trajectory L intersects with the third lateral area SA. Therefore, the teaching point candidate H, which is determined not to intersect with the placement surface S and the trajectory L, does not satisfy the safety condition.

[0108] In the plane intersection determination process, it is determined that the placement surface S does not intersect with the trajectory L of the laser light when the laser light is irradiated at the teaching point candidate H, and in the lateral intersection determination process, it is determined that the trajectory L of the laser light when the laser light is irradiated at the teaching point candidate H intersects with the lateral area SA. Therefore, the program creation unit 46 executes a non-registration process that does not register the teaching point candidate H in the welding processing program 43, or a warning display process that displays a warning to the user.

[0109] Next, we will explain the judgment of the program creation unit 46 when, as shown in Figure 17a, the mounting table SP is separated from the wall 80 and an intrusion prevention fence 90 is installed to prevent users from entering between the mounting table SP and the wall 80, and, as shown in Figure 17b, the fourth lateral area SA is not set along one end facing the wall 80 (the end connecting corner C2 and corner C4 of the mounting surface S).

[0110] 18a is a diagram of the XZ plane showing the trajectory of the laser beam when the laser beam is irradiated at the teaching point candidate I of this embodiment. When the teaching point candidate designated by the user is, for example, the teaching point candidate I shown in FIG. 18a, the position and posture angle of the tip 11a of the welding torch 11 at the teaching point candidate I are expressed as follows, as shown in FIG. Ｉ , y Ｉ , z Ｉ , ψ Ｉ , θ Ｉ , φ Ｉ )

[0111] 18b is a diagram of the XY plane showing the trajectory of the laser beam when the laser beam is irradiated at the teaching point candidate I of this embodiment. The x, y and z coordinates of the tip 11a at the teaching point candidate I are in the range of 0≦xＩ ≦Xs, 0≦y Ｉ ≦Ys, Zs≦z Ｉ Therefore, the tip 11a of the teaching point candidate I is located within the area of ​​the placement surface S. In addition, the attitude angle of the tip 11a of the teaching point candidate I is 0<ψ Ｉ , θ Ｉ <0, φ Ｉ = 0. The irradiation direction of the laser light in the XZ plane is downward, and the irradiation direction in the XY plane as viewed in plan is directed toward one end of the wall 80 (the end on the corner C4 side of the mounting surface S).

[0112] When a laser beam is irradiated at such teaching point candidate I, the irradiation direction of the laser beam is directed toward the wall 80, as shown in Fig. 18a. The trajectory L of the laser beam intersects with the wall 80, but intersects with the X-Y plane outside the area of ​​the mounting surface S. Therefore, the trajectory L of the laser beam does not have an intersection within the area of ​​the mounting surface S. Therefore, in the plane intersection determination process, the program creation unit 46 determines that the mounting surface S and the trajectory L of the laser beam when the laser beam is irradiated at the teaching point candidate I do not intersect.

[0113] Next, the program creation unit 46 determines whether or not the trajectory L of the laser beam when the laser beam is irradiated at the teaching point candidate I intersects with the third side area SA. As shown in FIG. 18b, the trajectory L of the laser beam when the laser beam is irradiated at the teaching point candidate I intersects with the third side area SA, which is an area of ​​the third side area SA and has a width extending from the corner C4 toward the wall 80. Ｉ (Xs<X ５ , Ys, Zs<Z ５ ≦Zh). That is, the coordinates within the third lateral area SA are on the virtual line (on the Zt axis). Therefore, the program creation unit 46 determines that the trajectory L intersects with the third lateral area SA. Therefore, the teaching point candidate I determined that the trajectory L does not intersect with the placement surface S does not satisfy the safety condition.

[0114] In the plane intersection determination process, it is determined that the placement surface S does not intersect with the trajectory L of the laser light when the laser light is irradiated at the teaching point candidate I, and in the lateral intersection determination process, it is determined that the trajectory L of the laser light when the laser light is irradiated at the teaching point candidate I intersects with the lateral area SA. Therefore, the program creation unit 46 executes a non-registration process that does not register the teaching point candidate I in the welding processing program 43, or a warning display process that displays a warning to the user.

[0115] The program creation unit 46 does not have to be able to execute the side intersection determination process. If the side intersection determination process cannot be executed, the program creation unit 46 is preferably configured to be able to immediately execute the danger avoidance process when it is determined that the placement surface S and the trajectory L do not intersect.

[0116] The robot control unit 47 is configured to control the welding robot 30 based on the welding processing program 43 stored in the storage unit 41 .

[0117] The robot control device 40 according to this embodiment may be disposed independently of the welding robot 30, or may be formed integrally with or as an integral part of the welding robot 30.

[0118] [Configuration of Welding Program Setting Device] Welding program setting device 50 is, for example, an electronic computer such as a desktop computer, a notebook computer, or a tablet terminal. In this embodiment, welding program setting device 50 is a tablet terminal that can be held and carried by a user. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1 , welding program setting device 50 includes a display unit 51 and a storage unit 52. Furthermore, welding program setting device 50 is configured to be able to set program creation conditions for welding program 43.

[0119] The display unit 51 is a display capable of displaying various types of information. In this embodiment, the display unit 51 is a touch panel capable of displaying various types of information and also accepting input operations by the user. In other words, the display unit 51 also functions as an operation unit that accepts input operations by the user.

[0120] In this embodiment, the display unit 51 and the operation unit are described as being configured as an integrated unit, but this is not limited to this. For example, the operation unit may be configured as an input device such as a keyboard, mouse, touchpad, or joystick, and may be configured independently of the display unit 51.

[0121] 20 is a diagram showing a program creation condition setting screen of this embodiment. Display unit 51 is configured to be able to display program creation condition setting screen 51 a for setting program creation conditions for welding program 43, including operation information of welding robot 30 holding welding torch 11 of welding machine 10 and welding conditions for welding machine 10, as shown in FIG.

[0122] The program creation condition setting screen 51a is configured to be able to display operation information of the welding robot 30 acquired from the robot control device 40. In the present embodiment, the program creation condition setting screen 51a is configured to be able to display a welding processing process list L1 that shows the operation information of the welding robot 30 acquired from the robot control device 40 as welding processing processes. This configuration has the advantage that the user can easily visually recognize the operation information of the welding robot 30.

[0123] 1, welding program setting device 50 includes a welding control unit 53 capable of controlling at least welding machine 10 based on welding program 43. That is, welding program setting device 50 according to this embodiment also functions as a welding control device capable of controlling at least welding machine 10 based on welding program 43.

[0124] In the present embodiment, the welding program setting device 50 is described as functioning as a welding control device, but this is not limiting. The welding program setting device 50 and the welding control device may be configured as independent devices. That is, the welding system 1 may include the welding program setting device 50 that can set the programming conditions for the welding program 43, and the welding control device that includes the welding control unit 53 that can control at least the welder 10 based on the welding program 43 that is created based on the programming conditions set by the welding program setting device 50.

[0125] Welding control unit 53 is configured to control welding machine 10 based on welding program 43 created by program creation unit 46 of control unit 44 of robot control device 40. Specifically, welding control unit 53 is configured to be able to change the settings of welding conditions in welding machine 10 in accordance with the welding start position while welding program 43 is being executed.

[0126] The memory unit 52 has a storage medium such as an HDD or SSD and stores various data in a readable and writable manner. The memory unit 52 stores a plurality of welding conditions. Furthermore, the memory unit 52 stores programs required to control each part of the welding program setting device 50.

[0127] [Teaching Point Determination Method According to the Present Embodiment] Next, a teaching point determination method of the robot control device 40 according to the present embodiment will be described. The teaching point determination method of the robot control device 40 according to the present embodiment is generally performed by the robot control device 40 through the following steps: a teaching point candidate receiving step of receiving a teaching point candidate for the welding robot 30 that holds the welding torch 11 that can irradiate a laser beam onto a workpiece specified by a user; a plane intersection determination step of determining whether a placement surface S on which the workpiece is placed intersects with a trajectory L of the laser beam when the laser beam is irradiated at the received teaching point candidate; and a teaching point registration step of registering the teaching point candidate in the welding processing program 43 as a teaching point for the welding robot 30 if it is determined in the plane intersection determination step that the placement surface S and the trajectory L intersect.

[0128] First, the user operates the welding processing program setting device 50 to input the range of a virtual side area SA extending toward the space above the mounting surface S (S1 in FIG. 19: side area input step). Specifically, the user specifies the range (height and width) of each side area SA by inputting the spatial coordinates of one or more side areas SA. Thereafter, the area setting unit 45 of the control unit 44 of the robot control device 40 sets the range of the input side area SA (S10 in FIG. 19: side area setting step).

[0129] Next, the user directly teaches the welding robot 30 or operates the welding program setting device 50 to specify candidates for teaching points of the welding robot 30 holding the welding torch 11 (S2 in FIG. 19: candidate teaching point specification step). The program creation unit 46 of the control unit 44 of the robot control device 40 receives the candidate teaching points specified by the user (S11 in FIG. 19: candidate teaching point acceptance step).

[0130] After receiving the teaching point candidate, the program creation unit 46 of the control unit 44 of the robot control device 40 determines the teaching point candidate. Specifically, the program creation unit 46 first determines whether the position of the tip 11a of the welding torch 11 that emits the laser light at the teaching point candidate is located within the placement surface S on which the workpiece is placed in a plan view (S12 in FIG. 19: in-area determination step). In this embodiment, the program creation unit 46 determines whether the X-Y plane coordinates of the tip 11a set as the tool center point are located within the area of ​​the X-Y plane coordinates of the placement surface S.

[0131] If it is determined that the position of the tip 11 a of the teaching point candidate is located within the placement surface S (YES in S12 of FIG. 19 ), the program creation unit 46 determines whether the placement surface S intersects with the trajectory L of the laser light when the laser light is irradiated at the teaching point candidate (S13: plane intersection determination step in FIG. 19 ). In this embodiment, the program creation unit 46 draws an imaginary line of the trajectory L of the laser light from the tip 11 a of the welding torch 11 at the teaching point candidate along the z-axis of the tool coordinate system, and determines whether the imaginary line intersects with coordinates within the region of the X-Y plane coordinates of the placement surface S. On the other hand, if it is determined in the in-region determination step that the position of the tip 11 a of the teaching point candidate is not located within the placement surface S (NO in S12 of FIG. 19 ), the program creation unit 46 executes a non-registration process that does not register the teaching point candidate in the welding processing program 43, or a warning display process that displays a warning to the user (S15 of FIG. 19 ).

[0132] If it is determined that the placement surface S and the trajectory L intersect (YES in S13 of Figure 19), the program creation unit 46 registers the teaching point candidate in the welding processing program 43 as a teaching point for the welding robot 30 (S14 of Figure 19: teaching point registration process).

[0133] On the other hand, if it is determined in the plane intersection determination step that the placement surface S and the trajectory L do not intersect (NO in S13 in FIG. 19 ), the program creation unit 46 determines whether the trajectory L of the laser beam when the laser beam is irradiated at the teaching point candidate intersects with the side area SA set in the side area setting step (S16 in FIG. 19 : side intersection determination step). In this embodiment, the program creation unit 46 draws an imaginary line of the trajectory L of the laser beam from the tip 11 a of the welding torch 11 at the teaching point candidate along the z-axis of the tool coordinate system, and determines whether the imaginary line intersects with spatial coordinates within the range of the side area SA.

[0134] When it is determined that the trajectory L and the side area SA do not intersect (NO in S16 in FIG. 19 ), the program creation unit 46 determines the teaching point candidate as an exceptional teaching point candidate and registers it in the welding processing program 43 (S17 in FIG. 19 : exceptional teaching point registration step). On the other hand, when it is determined that the trajectory L and the side area SA intersect (YES in S16 in FIG. 19 ), the program creation unit 46 executes a non-registration process that does not register the teaching point candidate in the welding processing program 43, or a warning display process that displays a warning to the user (S15 in FIG. 19 ).

[0135] The above steps constitute a series of teaching point determination methods performed by the robot control device 40 according to this embodiment. When repeatedly determining a plurality of teaching point candidates, the side area input step and the side area setting step only need to be performed once at the beginning, and therefore the teaching point candidate designation step and subsequent steps are repeatedly performed.

[0136] Advantages of the Control Device, Welding Processing System, Teaching Point Determination Method, and Teaching Point Determination Program According to the Present Embodiment As described above, the control device according to the present embodiment (in the present embodiment, the robot control device 40) includes a control unit 44 that can register, in the welding processing program 43, teaching points of the welding robot 30 that holds the welding torch 11 that can irradiate a workpiece with a laser beam. The control unit 44 is configured to execute a teaching point candidate reception process that receives teaching point candidates designated by a user, a plane intersection determination process that determines whether a placement surface S on which the workpiece is placed intersects with a trajectory L of the laser beam when the laser beam is irradiated at the received teaching point candidate, and a teaching point registration process that registers the teaching point candidate in the welding processing program 43 as a teaching point of the welding robot 30 if it is determined in the plane intersection determination process that the placement surface S and the trajectory L intersect. Furthermore, in the control device (robot control device 40) according to the present embodiment, the teaching points and teaching point candidates include information about the position and posture of the welding torch 11 in the space above the placement surface S.

[0137] Furthermore, by having such a configuration, the control device (robot control device 40) of this embodiment determines whether the trajectory L of the laser light when irradiated with laser light at a candidate teaching point specified by the user will intersect with the mounting surface S, thereby having the advantage of being able to prevent teaching points where the trajectory L does not intersect with the mounting surface S, i.e., dangerous teaching points at which the laser light may be directed toward the user, from being registered in the welding processing program 43.

[0138] Furthermore, in the control device (robot control device 40) according to this embodiment, the control unit 44 is configured to be able to execute a non-registration process of not registering the teaching point candidate in the welding processing program 43 or a warning display process of displaying a warning to the user when it is determined that the placement surface S and the trajectory L do not intersect. Such a configuration has the advantage of more reliably preventing dangerous teaching points from being registered in the welding processing program 43. Specifically, when the non-registration process is executed, there is no risk of a teaching point whose trajectory L does not intersect with the placement surface S, i.e., a dangerous teaching point that may be oriented in the direction of laser light irradiation toward the user, being automatically registered in the welding processing program 43. This has the advantage of more reliably preventing dangerous teaching points from being registered in the welding processing program 43. Furthermore, when the warning display process is executed, the user can recognize that the specified teaching point candidate is a dangerous teaching point, which has the advantage of more reliably preventing dangerous teaching points from being registered in the welding processing program 43.

[0139] Furthermore, in the control device (robot control device 40) according to this embodiment, the control unit 44 is configured to be able to execute an in-area determination process for determining whether the position of the tip 11a of the welding torch 11 that emits the laser light at the teaching point candidate is located within the mounting surface S in a plan view. With this configuration, even if the teaching point candidate is a teaching point candidate where the mounting surface S intersects with the trajectory L, it is possible to distinguish teaching point candidates where the user may stand between the welding torch 11 and the mounting surface S (teaching point candidates where the user may stand on the irradiation line of the laser light), which has the advantage of being able to prevent such dangerous teaching points from being registered in the welding processing program 43.

[0140] Furthermore, in the control device (robot control device 40) according to this embodiment, the control unit 44 is configured to execute a plane crossing determination process when it is determined that the position of the tip 11a of the teaching point candidate is located within the placement surface S. With this configuration, the plane crossing determination process is executed only for teaching point candidates other than the teaching point candidate where the user may stand between the welding torch 11 and the placement surface S. This eliminates the need to execute the plane crossing determination process for all teaching point candidates, which has the further advantage of shortening the time required for the determination flow for the teaching point candidates.

[0141] Furthermore, in the control device (robot control device 40) according to this embodiment, the control unit 44 is configured to register exceptional teaching point candidates that satisfy predetermined safety conditions, among teaching point candidates where the placement surface S and the trajectory L do not intersect, in the welding processing program 43. With this configuration, even teaching point candidates where the placement surface S and the trajectory L do not intersect, teaching point candidates that do not pose a risk of laser light hitting the user, can be exceptionally registered in the welding processing program 43, which has the further advantage of preventing dangerous teaching points from being registered in the welding processing program 43 while increasing the number of teaching point candidates that can be registered.

[0142] Furthermore, in the control device (robot control device 40) according to this embodiment, the control unit 44 is configured to execute a side area setting process that sets the range of a virtual side area SA extending toward at least the space above the mounting surface S, a side intersection determination process that determines whether the trajectory L intersects with the side area SA, and an exceptional teaching point registration process that determines a teaching point candidate as an exceptional teaching point candidate and registers it in the welding processing program 43 if the plane intersection determination process determines that the trajectory L does not intersect with the mounting surface S and the side intersection determination process determines that the trajectory L does not intersect with the side area SA, the side area SA having a predetermined height. This configuration provides an additional advantage of ensuring safety while increasing the number of teaching point candidates that can be registered, even if the teaching point candidate has a laser beam irradiation direction nearly parallel to the mounting surface S or a teaching point candidate has a laser beam irradiation direction directed toward the space above the mounting surface S, but does not pose a risk of the laser beam hitting the user.

[0143] Furthermore, in the control device (robot control device 40) according to this embodiment, the side area SA is set over the entire circumference of the mounting surface S. With this configuration, regardless of the direction in which the laser light irradiation direction of the teaching point candidate faces in the circumferential direction of the mounting surface S, it is possible to determine whether the teaching point candidate is dangerous by the side intersection determination process, thereby preventing dangerous teaching points from being registered in the welding processing program 43. Furthermore, there is an additional advantage that the risk of being hit by the laser light is reduced no matter where the user stands around the mounting surface S.

[0144] Furthermore, in the control device (robot control device 40) according to this embodiment, the control unit 44 is configured to be able to execute a non-registration process of not registering the teaching point candidate in the welding processing program 43 or a warning display process of displaying a warning to the user when a teaching point candidate determined to not intersect with the placement surface S and the trajectory L does not satisfy a safety condition. This configuration has the advantage of more reliably preventing dangerous teaching points from being registered in the welding processing program 43. Specifically, when the non-registration process is executed, a teaching point whose trajectory L does not intersect with the placement surface S, i.e., a dangerous teaching point that may be oriented in the direction of laser light irradiation toward the user, is not automatically registered in the welding processing program 43, thereby more reliably preventing dangerous teaching points from being registered in the welding processing program 43. Furthermore, when the warning display process is executed, the user can recognize that the specified teaching point candidate is a dangerous teaching point, thereby more reliably preventing dangerous teaching points from being registered in the welding processing program 43.

[0145] [Modifications] While the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the scope described in the above-described embodiments. Various modifications and improvements can be made to the above-described embodiments.

[0146] For example, in the above-described embodiment, the teaching points and teaching point candidates have been described as including information about the position and posture of the welding torch 11 in the space above the mounting surface S, but are not limited to this. The teaching points and teaching point candidates may not include information about the position and posture of the welding torch 11 in the space above the mounting surface S, but may include information about the position and posture of the welding robot 30, specifically, information about the position and posture of the robot hand 31 or robot arm 32 of the welding robot 30.

[0147] FIG. 21 is a diagram showing a modified example of the program creation condition setting screen of this embodiment. In the above-described embodiment, the control unit 44 is described as being configured to execute a non-registration process of not registering the teaching point candidate in the welding processing program 43 or a warning display process of displaying a warning to the user when it is determined that the placement surface S and the trajectory L do not intersect. However, this is not limited to this. The control unit 44 does not have to execute the non-registration process or the warning display process. For example, the determination result of the plane intersection determination process may simply be displayed on the program creation condition setting screen 51a of the display unit 51. The determination result may be displayed in text simply indicating whether or not the planes intersect, or may be displayed as a 2D or 3D simulation image, as shown in FIG. 21.

[0148] In the above-described embodiment, the control unit 44 has been described as being configured to be able to perform an in-area determination process for determining whether the position of the tip 11a of the welding torch 11 that emits the laser light at the teaching point candidate is located within the placement surface S in a plan view, but this is not limiting. The control unit 44 does not necessarily have to be able to perform the in-area determination process.

[0149] In the above-described embodiment, the control unit 44 is configured to execute the plane crossing determination process when it is determined that the position of the tip 11a of the teaching point candidate is located within the placement surface S. However, this is not limited to this. The control unit 44 may execute the plane crossing determination process for all teaching point candidates regardless of the result of the in-area determination process. Furthermore, after executing the plane crossing determination process, the control unit 44 may execute the in-area determination process for all teaching point candidates, or for teaching point candidates for which it is determined that the placement surface S and the trajectory L do not intersect.

[0150] In the above-described embodiment, the control unit 44 is described as being configured to register exceptional teaching point candidates that satisfy predetermined safety conditions among teaching point candidates where the placement surface S and the trajectory L do not intersect in the welding processing program 43, but this is not limiting. The control unit 44 does not have to register exceptional teaching point candidates in the welding processing program 43.

[0151] In the above-described embodiment, the control unit 44 is configured to execute a side area setting process that sets the range of a virtual side area SA extending toward at least the space above the mounting surface S, a side intersection determination process that determines whether the trajectory L intersects with the side area SA, and an exceptional teaching point registration process that determines a teaching point candidate as an exceptional teaching point candidate and registers the exceptional teaching point candidate in the welding processing program 43 if the plane intersection determination process determines that the mounting surface S and the trajectory L do not intersect and the side intersection determination process determines that the trajectory L and the side area SA do not intersect. While the description has been given assuming that the side area SA has a predetermined height, this is not limiting. The control unit 44 does not necessarily have to execute the exceptional teaching point registration process. Alternatively, the determination result of the side area setting process may simply be displayed on the program creation condition setting screen 51 a of the display unit 51. Furthermore, the user may check the determination result and manually register the exceptional teaching point candidate in the welding processing program 43.

[0152] In the above-described embodiment, the side area SA is described as being set around the entire periphery of the placement surface S, but this is not limitative. The side area SA does not have to be set around the entire periphery of the placement surface S. As described above, the side area SA can be set in various arbitrary ways.

[0153] In the above-described embodiment, the control unit 44 is described as being configured to be able to execute a non-registration process of not registering a teaching point candidate in the welding processing program 43 or a warning display process of displaying a warning to the user when the teaching point candidate determined not to intersect with the placement surface S and the trajectory L does not satisfy the safety condition, but this is not limiting. The control unit 44 does not have to be able to execute the non-registration process or the warning display process.

[0154] In the above-described embodiment, the robot control device 40 has been described as including the program creation unit 46 that can create the welding program 43 based on the program creation conditions set by the welding program setting device 50, but this is not limited to this. The robot control device 40 may not include the program creation unit 46, and the welding program setting device 50 may include the program creation unit 46. In the above-described embodiment, the robot control device 40 has been described as including the region setting unit 45, but this is not limited to this, and the welding program setting device 50 may include the region setting unit 45. Furthermore, the welding system 1 may include a teaching reflection unit that can register teaching points and determine teaching point candidates, separate from the program creation unit 46 that can create the welding program 43.

[0155] In the above-described embodiment, welding system 1 is described as including robot control device 40 that functions as a control device, and robot control device 40 is described as including control unit 44 that can register teaching points of welding robot 30 that holds welding torch 11 that can irradiate a workpiece with laser light in welding program 43. However, this is not limited to this. Welding system 1 may also function as a control device that includes a control unit that can register teaching points in welding program 43 using welding program setting device 50.

[0156] In the above-described embodiment, the program creation unit 46 has been described as performing the plane crossing determination process on all teaching point candidates or on teaching point candidates for which the position of the tip 11a of the teaching point candidate has been determined to be located within the placement surface S in the in-area determination process. However, this is not limited to this. The program creation unit 46 may perform the plane crossing determination process only on teaching point candidates that the user wants to register in the welding program 43 as teaching points for the welding start position and the welding end position. Similarly, the program creation unit 46 may perform the in-area determination process or the side crossing determination process only on teaching point candidates that the user wants to register in the welding program 43 as teaching points for the welding start position and the welding end position. In other words, the program creation unit 46 only needs to be configured to be able to perform each determination process on at least teaching point candidates related to laser light irradiation.

[0157] In the above-described embodiment, the side area SA is described on the assumption that it extends only toward the space above the mounting surface S, but this is not limited to this. The side area SA may extend toward the back surface of the mounting table SP in addition to the direction toward the space above the mounting surface S. Furthermore, the side area SA may be set outside the area of ​​the mounting surface S. In other words, the side area SA does not have to be in contact with the edge of the mounting surface S.

[0158] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Welding processing system 10 Welding machine 11 Welding torch 11a Tip 12 Oscillator 20 Welding machine control device 21 Memory unit 22 Welding machine control unit 30 Welding robot 31 Robot hand 32 Robot arm 40 Robot control device 41 Memory unit 42 Teaching point determination program 43 Welding processing program 44 Control unit 45 Area setting unit 46 Program creation unit 47 Robot control unit 50 Welding processing program setting device 51 Display unit 51a Program creation condition setting screen 52 Memory unit 53 Welding processing control unit 80 Wall 90 Intrusion prevention fence L Locus L1 Welding processing process list NW Communication network S Placement surface SA Side area SP Placement table

Claims

1. A control device comprising a control unit capable of registering teaching points of a welding robot holding a welding torch capable of irradiating a workpiece with a laser beam in a welding processing program, wherein the control unit is configured to be able to execute the following: a teaching point candidate reception process that receives candidates for the teaching point designated by a user; a plane intersection determination process that determines whether a placement surface on which the workpiece is placed intersects with a trajectory of the laser beam when the laser beam is irradiated at the received teaching point candidate; and a teaching point registration process that registers the teaching point candidate in the welding processing program as the teaching point of the welding robot when it is determined in the plane intersection determination process that the placement surface intersects with the trajectory.

2. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the teaching point and the teaching point candidate include information about the position and orientation of the welding torch in the space above the placement surface.

3. The control device according to claim 2, wherein the control unit is configured to be able to execute a non-registration process that does not register the teaching point candidate in the welding processing program, or a warning display process that displays a warning to the user, when it determines that the placement surface and the trajectory do not intersect.

4. The control device according to claim 3, wherein the control unit is configured to be able to execute an in-area determination process that determines whether the position of the tip of the welding torch that emits the laser light at the teaching point candidate is located within the placement surface in a planar view.

5. The control device according to claim 4, wherein the control unit is configured to execute the level intersection determination process when it is determined that the position of the tip of the teaching point candidate is located within the placement surface.

6. The control device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control unit is configured to register exceptional teaching point candidates that satisfy predetermined safety conditions among the teaching point candidates where the trajectory does not intersect with the placement surface in the welding processing program.

7. The control unit is configured to be able to execute the following: a side area setting process that sets the range of a virtual side area extending toward at least the space above the placement surface; a side intersection determination process that determines whether the trajectory intersects with the side area; and an exception teaching point registration process that determines the teaching point candidate as the exception teaching point candidate and registers it in the welding processing program if the plane intersection determination process determines that the placement surface and the trajectory do not intersect in the side intersection determination process and if the trajectory and the lateral area do not intersect in the side intersection determination process, the control unit described in claim 6, wherein the lateral area has a predetermined height.

8. The control device according to claim 7, wherein the side areas are set around the entire periphery of the placement surface.

9. The control device according to claim 7, wherein the control unit is configured to be able to execute a non-registration process of not registering the teaching point candidate in the welding processing program or a warning display process of displaying a warning to the user when the teaching point candidate, which is determined not to intersect with the placement surface and the trajectory, does not satisfy the safety condition.

10. A welding processing system comprising: a welding torch capable of irradiating a workpiece with a laser beam; a welding robot holding the welding torch; and a control device including a control unit capable of registering teaching points of the welding robot in a welding processing program, wherein the control unit is configured to be able to execute: a teaching point candidate reception process that receives candidates for the teaching point designated by a user; a plane intersection determination process that determines whether a placement surface on which the workpiece is placed intersects with a trajectory of the laser beam when the laser beam is irradiated at the received teaching point candidate; and a teaching point registration process that registers the teaching point candidate in the welding processing program as the teaching point of the welding robot if it is determined in the plane intersection determination process that the placement surface intersects with the trajectory.

11. A teaching point determination method in which a control device executes the following steps: a teaching point candidate receiving step for receiving teaching point candidates for a welding robot that holds a welding torch capable of irradiating a laser beam onto a workpiece specified by a user; a plane intersection determination step for determining whether or not a placement surface on which the workpiece is placed intersects with a trajectory of the laser beam when the laser beam is irradiated at the received teaching point candidate; and a teaching point registration step for registering the teaching point candidate in a welding processing program as the teaching point of the welding robot if it is determined in the plane intersection determination step that the placement surface intersects with the trajectory.

12. A teaching point determination program that causes a control device to execute the following steps: a teaching point candidate reception process that receives teaching point candidates for a welding robot that holds a welding torch capable of irradiating a laser beam onto a workpiece specified by a user; a plane intersection determination process that determines whether a placement surface on which the workpiece is placed intersects with a trajectory of the laser beam when the laser beam is irradiated at the received teaching point candidate; and a teaching point registration process that, if it is determined in the plane intersection determination process that the placement surface intersects with the trajectory, registers the teaching point candidate in a welding processing program as the teaching point of the welding robot.

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