DE102015117306B4 - Multi-axis mouse for a multi-axis robot - Google Patents

Abstract

Operating pad for controlling a multi-axis robot comprising a multi-axis mouse, wherein the multi-axis mouse (M) is connected via a security interface with the operating pad, characterized in that the multi-axis mouse (M) is reversibly connected to the security interface of the control pad, said the multi-axis mouse (M) additionally has a radio data connection or a cable connection to the security interface.

Description

The present invention relates to a control pad according to claims 1 and 2 and a use according to claim 4.

STATE OF THE ART

Handling systems and in particular industrial robots are known from the prior art. Handling systems can, for example, serve to handle parts, they can carry out work steps such as welding, soldering, painting, coating, gluing or the like, they can be used in assembly work, and they can also carry out further processing, measuring or testing work.

Handling systems can be classified into manually controlled handling systems and program-controlled handling systems.

Manually controlled handling systems are referred to as manipulators. They are usually controlled under visual control of a machine operator. However, there are also remote-controlled manipulators, for example, for working underwater in great depths, in space or in radioactive contaminated environment.

Program-controlled handling systems can in turn be subdivided into fixedly programmed handling systems on the one hand and freely programmed or sensor-guided handling systems on the other hand.

Hard-coded handling systems are, for example, so-called pick-and-place systems. These often practice the same, mostly simple, working steps many times in succession. For example, a pick and place of workpieces.

Freely programmed or sensor-guided handling systems are usually referred to as robots. Mixed forms are also known, for example, in that robots are both freely programmed at the same time and operate in a sensor-guided manner.

With regard to their mode of operation or their intended use, robots can be subdivided, for example, into exploration robots, industrial robots, medical robots, assistance robots or "personal robots, service robots, toy robots and transport robots.

In particular, in industrial robots but of course in all other program-controlled handling systems programming is a difficult task.

There are several types of programming known, which are roughly divided into offline programming and online programming, with mixed formers of both types are known. The programming is explained below with reference to the programming of industrial robots.

Offline programming is independent of the industrial robot. The offline programming can be done, for example, by textual programming, with the help of macros or CAD-supported.

Online programming is typically done using and / or with the help of the robot itself. The most common types of online programming are the teach-in method and the playback method.

In the teach-in process, an input device connected to the robot receives commands from an operator. For example, the operator may use a joystick, a control panel, or the like to input the commands. The positions and orientations that the robot takes on the operator's commands are appropriately stored so that the robot can assume the taught positions and orientations at a later time without corresponding commands from an operator.

In the playback method, the robot is aligned by an operator, i. H. brought into the desired positions and orientations. Most sensors detect these positions and orientations during the playback process, so that they can also be stored here in a suitable manner.

The playback method has long been established for simply built robots such as painting robots.

However, with larger and more complex industrial robots, there are some hurdles to the use of the playback method. Numerous prior art methods and devices address these hurdles.

That's how it describes EP 0 108 348 B1 a remote control device which can be used inter alia for programming movements, forces and torques of an industrial robot. According to the EP 0 108 348 B1 For example, a sensor handle may be attached to the end effector of a robot. The programming of the robot can thus take place by being guided by means of the sensor attached to the end effector.

According to the EP 2 131 257 A1 a manipulator is controlled by an operator exerting a force on this manipulator. The EP 2 131 257 A1 proposes to provide for this motion and force detection devices each unspecified in each case on a member and / or a drive axle of the manipulator. For example, then an operator can exert a certain force on the manipulator, whereupon this moves by a predetermined distance in the desired direction of movement.

The EP 2 299 344 B1 discloses an input device for the combined input of control and program commands for a manipulator, wherein control commands are to be understood in particular target poses to be approached and program commands, in particular instructions to the manipulator tool. The input device has a manual control lever for detecting control commands and a finger input device for detecting program commands.

Furthermore, the DE 10 2013 019 869 A1 which discloses a manually operable input module for controlling a robot arm.

From the WO 2010 018 279 A1 In addition, a precision joystick is known, which can be connected to an input device.

Last will be on the DE 10 2007 026 299 A1 which discloses a multi-axis robot, as well as a method for programming the multi-axis robot.

TASK

The object of the present invention is to overcome the disadvantages of the prior art. In particular, the programming, learning or setting a multi-axis robot should be facilitated.

SOLUTION OF THE TASK

To achieve the object, the features of claim 1, and the independent claims.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a multi-axis mouse is proposed, which cooperates with a control pad for the control of a multi-axis robot and can be used to control a multi-axis robot. The multi-axis mouse may be attachable to an end effector of the multi-axis robot and comprise an attachment.

In another embodiment, the multi-axis mouse according to the invention comprises a 3-axis acceleration sensor. In this case, the acceleration sensor can be provided either directly in the housing of the multi-axis mouse. However, it is also conceivable that the 3-axis acceleration sensor is provided in an additional part which is in operative connection with the multi-axis mouse. For example, it is possible for multiple multi-axis robots to have fasteners at their respective end-effectors to quickly and easily connect or disconnect the multi-axis mouse with the respective end-effectors. In this case, the 3-axis acceleration sensor can also be provided, for example, on the fastening part.

The multi-axis mouse is preferably a so-called 6D mouse, as it is widely used for example in CAD drawing programs in industry. Such a 6D mouse is operated manually by an operator and detects movements in three axes of rotation and three translation axes. Such a 6D mouse is therefore suitable for the programming and / or control of industrial robots and has been used for this purpose for some time.

However, according to alternative embodiments of the present invention, for example, joysticks or other input devices may be used.

Although the present invention is preferably used in multi-axis mice of multi-axis robots, other industrial robots known in the art may also be envisioned. The following comments on robots therefore apply equally to all handling systems.

Preferably, however, the present invention is used in multi-axis robots, especially in articulated arm robots.

In this case, the term end effector is preferably the last term of a kinematic chain. The end effector can usually be equated with the tool of the robot. For the assessment of the presence of an end effector, it is essential that the end effector defines the Tool Center Point (TCP). The excellent point at the end of the kinematic chain, designated in English as TCP, is the target system for which the positioning requirements resulting from the given task apply. Task specific, the TCP can also be outside the robot, examples would be the focus of a gripped laser or the center of the currently transported object.

Although the multi-axis mouse can be integrally formed with the essay. Preferably, however, the attachment is removable. By this is preferably understood that the article is reversibly fastened. This means in more detail that the attachment is removable and attachable again. In this case, for example, the attachment can only be attached and removed manually without tools. The article can also have an adjustment. In this case, in particular, a probe rod of the essay on the adjustment, wherein the adjustment of the better adaptation of the article serves to different, perhaps protruding contours of an object to be processed. In this way, for example, a protruding or protruding contour of an object can be overlapped because duch the adjusting a kinked pin-shaped attachment can be reached.

An inventive multi-axis mouse is designed such that the attachment is substantially pin-shaped and has a mounting structure. The attachment structure may in this case be, for example, a clip connection. In the commercially available multi-axis mouse, either the attachment can be clipped directly onto the actuating button, in which case a correspondingly necessary number of clip legs are formed on the attachment as clip connection, which are adapted to the shape and mass of the activation button and make it possible in that the attachment can be clipped onto the commercially available activation button without tools and removed again.

For example, the article can also be attached by magnetic forces on the multi-axis mouse. Furthermore, it can be thought of all positive or non-positive connections. Thus, the multi-axis mouse can have an internal thread and the attachment a corresponding external thread or vice versa. It can also be thought of snap closures and the like. Finally, it is also conceivable that the operating knob integrally forms an essay and the operating knob together with the essay on the remaining construction of the multi-axis mouse up and is abbringbar.

According to one embodiment, it is contemplated that the attachment is substantially pin-shaped. This, in turn, means that the attachment, when attached to the actuating button, projects from the actuating button in a substantially pin-shaped manner. For this purpose, the essay regularly has a substantially smaller circumference than the actuating button, which has approximately the same diameter as higher.

According to another embodiment, it is envisaged that a shape of the attachment is modeled after a tool.

Both essays are preferably used to perform playback programming of the multi-axis robot.

The substantially pin-shaped attachment is here preferably used flexibly and suitable for programming a variety of operations of the multi-axis robot. In contrast, the tool-based article is less flexible, but tailored specifically to an application or for the programming of a particular operation.

When programming a multi-axis robot, it does not essentially depend on the movement and position of, for example, each individual joint, but rather on the movement and position of a so-called Tool Center Point (TCP). This is a tool reference point. It is located at a suitable point on the tool or end effector and is usually selected depending on the tool, in particular of a place of action of the tool. If the tool is a spot welding gun, its electrode is preferably chosen as TCP. If, on the other hand, the tool is a laser, then the TCP is at the point of action of the laser, ie in its focus.

Both in a pen-shaped essay as well as in an essay, which is modeled after a tool, a multi-robot remote end or a certain multi-robot remote point of the essay serves as TCP. Programming is carried out by a user guiding the attachment according to the movements to be performed later by the multi-axis robot.

Due to the connection between the attachment and the multi-axis mouse, the latter captures all movement and position data and can pass these on to suitable devices for storage and processing. The attachment can be easily handled by the pen form by the user.

• – Ermitteln einer Soll-Bewegung des Mehrachsroboters sowie anschliessendes
• – Bewegen des Mehrachsroboters entsprechend der ermittelten Soll-Bewegung,
• – wobei das Ermitteln der Soll-Bewegung teilweise oder ausschliesslich durch In-Kontakt-Bringen des Aufsatzes mit einem zu bearbeitenden oder zu handhabenden Gegenstand erfolgt.

An inventive method is used for controlling and / or programming a multi-axis robot. For this purpose, the following steps are carried out by means of the multi-axis mouse:

• - Determining a target movement of the multi-axis robot and then
• Moving the multi-axis robot according to the determined target movement,
• - Wherein the determination of the desired movement is done partially or exclusively by contacting the article with an object to be processed or handled.

It is advantageous in the prior art that the multi-axis mouse when learning the multi-axis robot or when controlling and / or programming the multi-axis robot stores the fine motor movements of the user for driving a contour or an object to be processed directly into the computer of the multi-axis robot and thus represents an exact repetition of the fine motor movements of the user in a later step.

For this purpose, a correction is also provided in the computer software, since the fine motor movements of the user are not exactly mapped. This inaccuracy arises from the fact that the multi-axis mouse undergoes a slight tilting movement in the switching movements before a circuit takes place. The slight tilting movement means that even if the user stops moving his hand and thus the attachment should not move anymore, the mouse still travels a very short time until it reaches a slope at which a circuit is triggered.

The circuit would then mean that a few milliseconds after stopping the user's hand and the multi-axis robot comes to a standstill. In the computer, the corresponding correction software is oriented such that a compensation of the tilting movement time of the multi-axis mouse is compensated accordingly and eliminated.

As a result, an exact reproduction is achieved in a later repetition of the movement of the user's hand or the article moved by the user's hand through the multi-axis robot. The programming is done manually, in which the user simply leaves the object to be handled or processed with the aid of the attachment. In the same way he can also specify, for example, welding points in which he taps the object at different points with the tip of the pin-shaped attachment and at a later movement of the tool, eg. The welding head, all the necessary welding points by tapping the tip of the pin-shaped attachment are defined and the multi-axis robot nachzufährt these points accordingly.

In another embodiment of the method according to the invention, the desired movement is determined with the aid of a second multi-axis mouse. For this purpose, the second multi-axis mouse is added to another section of the last part of the kinematic chain of the multi-axis robot.

In the computer software, the data of the further multi-axis mouse and the multi-axis mouse are combined with one another in order to detect the object to be processed or handled or to detect points or contours of the object. This is an advantage for particularly complicated objects.

In addition, separate protection for a control pad for the control of a multi-axis robot is claimed. The control panel is usually connected via a power and data cable to the multi-axis robot or its computer.

In the operating pad, the user can manually define the movement of the multi-axis robot by entering various coordinates and the coordinate system. By defining different points, the motion of the multi-axis robot between the two points is also defined.

The operating pad has a safety interface which complies with all legal requirements, so that no persons or things can be harmed during operation of the multi-axis robot. This safety interface prevents unintentional and / or uncontrolled swinging out of the multi-axis robot. The operating pad includes a multi-axis mouse, with the multi-axis mouse connected to the operating pad via the security interface.

This means that the multi-axis mouse included in the control pad meets all safety requirements. Here, the multi-axis mouse is reversibly connected to the security interface of the control pad. This means that the multi-axis mouse is also reversibly connected to the operating pad. The multi-axis mouse has a radio connection to the security interface in this embodiment. This means that after disconnection or removal of the multi-axis mouse from the control pad, a radio link to the security interface is still available.

The uncoupled or reversed from the control pad multi-axis mouse can now be attached to a part of the multi-axis robot to move eg. With the help of an attached to the multi-axis essay essay the multi-axis robot while learning or program.

In another embodiment, it is provided that in addition to the multi-axis mouse of the control pad another multi-axis mouse is connected via a radio link with the security interface of the control pad. The advantage here is the The fact that the multi-axis mouse on the control pad can be used as usual to control the multi-axis robot. The further multi-axis mouse can, for example, be attached directly to the multi-axis robot.

The user then decides whether he would like to operate, program and / or control the multi-axis robot using the multi-axis mouse on the operating pad or via the additional multi-axis mouse on the multi-axis robot. It can also be provided that the further multi-axis mouse is connected to a further security interface of the control pad.

An advantage of the inventive control pads is the fact that control pads, as they are common today, can achieve greater functionality through a simple radio data connection. This is achieved, for example, by the radio data connection of the multi-axis mouse with the operating pad or the further multi-axis mouse with the operating pad. The control pad remains almost identical, whereby the possibility of the radio data connection of the multi-axis mouse or the further multi-axis mouse, a greater functionality is achieved. Another advantage is that an intuitive guidance of the multi-axis robot is achieved by the attached multi-axis mouse by attaching the multi-axis mouse to the last link of the kinematic chain and a corresponding deposited software and adjustment of the multi-axis mouse.

Finally, the use of a multi-axis mouse for controlling a multi-axis robot is claimed. The multi-axis mouse is attached to an end effector of a multi-axis robot, wherein the multi-axis mouse is connected via the wireless data connection with a safety interface of a control panel of a multi-axis robot, the multi-axis mouse is either previously decoupled from the control pad and / or another multi-axis Mouse is connected via a wireless data connection with the security interface of the control pad.

As a radio data connection come connection types, such as WLAN, Bluetooth, infrared, ultrasound or other free wireless connection into consideration. In addition, however, a cable connection may also be present in order to transmit the data of the multi-axis mouse or further multi-axis mouse attached to the end effector to the security interface of the control pad.

It is irrelevant here whether the data is transmitted directly to the operating pad or via a multi-axis robot computer to the operating pad as long as the existing security interface of the operating pad is used.

This use allows the user a high flexibility and functionality of the control pad thus the multi-axis robot. The current use is designed such that a fixed multi-axis mouse is provided on the control pad. Depending on the position of the user to the multi-axis robot or the end effector of the multi-axis robot, an intuitive guidance of the multi-axis robot is difficult and only by trained professionals perform.

When using a multi-axis mouse, which is attached to the end effector of the multi-axis robot, an intuitive guidance of the multi-axis robot is possible. To do this, the multi-axis mouse must be taught in. This is done by attaching the multi-axis mouse to the end effector.

The attachment is attached to the multi-axis mouse. The movements of the attached multi-axis mouse are adjusted, in which the multi-axis robot undergoes a three-dimensional movement, thereby moving off the X, Y and Z axes. A ring is pushed over the attachment. The multi-axis robot moves the X, Y and Z axes. The attachment abuts the inner rounding of the ring, defining the position of the multi-axis robot and the multi-axis mouse on the multi-axis robot. After adjustment, the multi-axis robot can be intuitively moved over the multi-axis mouse attached to the end effector.

In addition to the manual adjustment described above, an automatic adjustment is possible. For this purpose, the multi-axis mouse or a component connected directly to the multi-axis mouse comprises a 3-axis acceleration sensor. The 3-axis acceleration sensor uses defined movements of the end effector to determine the position of the multi-axis mouse in the room and thus also at the end effector and transmits the data to a multi-axis mouse software of the multi-axis mouse, in order to then intuitively guide the end effector enable. The multi-axis mouse software is embedded in the multi-axis robot computer. By the movement of the multi-axis mouse or the further multi-axis mouse, which is attached to the end effector of the multi-axis robot, the movement commands are passed from the multi-axis mouse software to the multi-axis robot computer, which in turn adapted the multi-axis robot and the individual members moved to the movements of the attached to the end effector multi-axis mouse and / or the other multi-axis mouse. In this case, the data of the radio data connection or the cable connection is transmitted via the existing safety interface of the multi-axis robot or the associated operating pad.

figure description

Further advantages, features and details emerge from the following description of the figures. These show in detail

1 a side view of a multi-axis mouse according to the invention;

2 a side view of an inventive multi-axis mouse with an essay;

3 a plan view of an embodiment of a fastening part.

In the 1 a multi-axis mouse (M) according to the invention is shown. This multi-axis mouse M has a hull 1 and a push button 2 ,

The push button 2 is opposite the hull 1 six-dimensionally movable. The hull includes unspecified electronic components that control the movement of the push button 2 opposite the fuselage 1 convert into electronic signals and forward. The forwarding can take place here via a wireless data connection or a cable connection not described in detail. In addition, the embodiment of a multi-axis mouse shown here has a coupling section 3 on, which with the fastening part 4 from the 3 reversibly connectable. In this case, the coupling section 3 in the fastening part 4 pushed in, with the fastening part 4 for example, fixed or releasably attached to an end effector of the multi-axis robot.

In 2 the multi-axis mouse M is shown again. Again, the hull is 1 and the operation button 2 to recognize. On the operation button 2 is a pen-shaped attachment 5 attached.

The pen-shaped attachment 5 is here about a mounting structure 6 in the form of a clip connection with the push button 2 connected. The clip connection forms three clip legs 7.1 . 7.2 out, being in the 2 only two of the three clip legs 7.1 . 7.2 can be seen. The three clip legs 7.1 . 7.2 are about a connection plate 8th in one piece with a probe 9 educated. The clip legs 7.1 . 7.2 , the connection plate 8th and the probe bar 9 together form the pen-shaped attachment 5 , Pin-shaped is defined such that each of the connecting plate 8th protruding stylus 9 , which is designed such that it can be gripped and held by a user, including fall.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

1

hull

2

push-button

3

coupling portion

4

attachment portion

5

essay

6

mounting structure

7

clip leg

8th

connecting plate

9

testrod

Claims (4)

Operating pad for controlling a multi-axis robot comprising a multi-axis mouse, wherein the multi-axis mouse (M) is connected via a security interface with the operating pad, characterized in that the multi-axis mouse (M) is reversibly connected to the security interface of the control pad, said the multi-axis mouse (M) additionally has a radio data connection or a cable connection to the security interface. Operating pad for controlling a multi-axis robot comprising a multi-axis mouse (M), wherein the multi-axis mouse is connected via a security interface with the operating pad, characterized in that another multi-axis mouse (M) via a radio data connection or the cable connection to the security interface of the control pad is connected. Control pad according to claim 1, characterized in that the further multi-axis mouse (M) is connected to a further security interface. Use of a multi-axis mouse (M) for controlling a multi-axis robot, wherein the multi-axis mouse (M) is attached to an end effector of a multi-axis robot, wherein the multi-axis mouse (M) via a radio data connection or a cable connection with a security interface of a control panel of the multi-axis robot wherein the multi-axis mouse (M) is either previously decoupled from the control pad and / or another multi-axis mouse (M) is connected via the radio data connection or the cable connection to the security interface of the control pad.

Images