JP2005342891A - Hand held operation machine and robot control system for industrial robot - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a hand held operation machine capable of performing many operations only by a thumb while retaining the hand held operation machine by both hands of a worker. <P>SOLUTION: The hand held operation machine is provided with an operation input means (5) at a lower part of a display picture (4); gripping parts (6) at left and right sides of the operation input means (5); and a cross cursor key (7) and a selection key (8) in a range that the thumbs of the left hand and the right hand of the worker reach when the left and right gripping parts (6) are gripped by the left hand and the right hand of the worker respectively. Since the operation can be performed while retaining the hand held operation machine by both hands, fatigue of the worker is less and since vibration of the hands is less, the display picture (4) is easily visually recognized. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a handheld operating device, and more particularly to a handheld operating device used for teaching work of a robot.

  A conventional industrial robot is configured as follows. FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a conventional industrial robot. In FIG. 5, 1 is a manipulator, 2 is a control panel, and 3 is a hand-held operating device generally called a teaching box. The manipulator 1, the control panel 2, and the handheld operating device 3 are coupled to each other by a cable. The control panel 2 includes an input unit 2a and a display unit 2b. The input unit 2a includes switches for starting and stopping the robot, setting various parameters, and creating and editing programs. The display unit 2b includes a CRT display and displays a robot program and an operation state with characters or symbols. The handheld operating device 3 includes an input unit 3a and a display unit 3b. The input unit 3a is operation input means for inputting the operation of the manipulator 1, and is a keyboard on which a large number of switches are arranged. The display unit 3b is a display screen that displays the control state of the robot and the like with characters or symbols. An operator who teaches the robot holds the hand-held operating device 3 with one hand and operates the input unit 3a with another hand.

  In recent years, the input unit 2a, the input unit 3a, the display unit 2b, and the display unit, which have been conventionally divided into the control panel 2 and the handheld operating unit 3, in order to cope with the advancement of the functions of the robot and to facilitate teaching work. A configuration in which the functions of 3b are integrated in the input unit 3a and the display unit 3b of the handheld operating device 3 is becoming mainstream. That is, all the operations from the input of the operation of the manipulator 1 to the creation and editing of the program are processed by the handheld operating device 3.

  However, when the input unit and the display unit are integrated into the handheld operating device in this way, the handheld operating device inevitably tends to increase in size. In particular, since the display unit is required to display more information, it tends to be larger. When the handheld operating device is enlarged, it is difficult to hold it with one hand, and there is a problem that the worker's fatigue increases. In addition, holding with one hand is unstable, there is a problem that camera shake is likely to occur, it is difficult to visually recognize the display unit, and the eye fatigue of the operator increases. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a handheld operating device that can perform many of the operations while being held with both hands.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is configured as follows.
According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a robot hand-held operating device including a display screen for displaying characters or graphics, and a grip portion disposed on the left and right sides, and the left and right grip portions are respectively connected to an operator. The manipulator speed adjustment dial disposed within a range where the left hand or right hand thumb of the operator can reach when the left hand and the right hand are gripped, and when the speed adjustment dial is rotated in one direction, the operating speed of the manipulator The speed of the manipulator becomes low when the speed of the manipulator is rotated in the other direction.
The invention described in claim 2 is a display screen for displaying an operation menu, four keys for moving a cursor displayed on the display screen, and a selection for inputting execution of the operation menu item designated by the cursor. In an industrial robot hand-held operating device comprising operation input means including keys and gripping portions arranged on the left and right sides, the four keys are respectively connected to the left and right gripping portions of the operator. It is arranged in a range where the operator's left thumb can reach when grasped with the left hand and the right hand, and has a function of inputting an axis operation of the manipulator.
The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that the four keys are cross cursor keys or cursor keys having switches arranged in a substantially cross shape.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, when the left and right gripping portions are gripped by the left hand and the right hand of the operator, the speed adjusting means of the manipulator is disposed within a range where the left hand or the right hand of the worker can reach. It is characterized by.
According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, when the display screen for displaying characters or graphics, the gripping portions disposed on the left and right side portions, and the left and right gripping portions are gripped with the left hand and the right hand of the operator, respectively, A speed adjustment dial of the manipulator arranged in a range where the left hand of the worker or the thumb of the right hand can reach, and when the speed adjustment dial is rotated in one direction, the operation speed of the manipulator becomes high, and in the other direction An industrial robot hand-held operation device that reduces the operating speed of the manipulator when rotated, a control panel connected to the hand-held operation device, and an industrial robot connected to the control panel. It is a feature.

  As described above, according to the present invention, many operations can be performed only with the operator's thumb while the operator holds the hand-held operation device with both hands, so that the operation efficiency is improved and the operator's fatigue is also reduced. There is an effect that there is little. In addition, since the handheld operating device is stably held with both hands, there is an effect that camera shake is small and it is easy to visually recognize the display unit.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a plan view of a handheld operating device according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG. In FIG. 1, 3 is a handheld operating device. The handheld operating device 3 includes a display unit 4, an input unit 5, and a grip unit 6. The display unit 4 is a display screen for displaying characters and graphics, and is arranged on the upper part of the handheld operating device 3. The input unit 5 is disposed below the display unit 4, and a gripping unit 6 is provided on the left and right sides of the input unit 5. The input unit 5 is provided with a cross cursor key 7 and a selection key 8. The cross-cursor key 7 and the selection key 8 are used to hold the handheld operating device 3 by the operator attaching the second to fifth fingers of the hand to the back surface of the gripping unit 6 and placing the palm on the surface of the gripping unit 6. The first finger (thumb) of the operator's hand is placed in a range that can be reached. The cross cursor key 7 has four contacts (not shown) inside, and when the upper portion 7a is pressed, the cursor displayed on the display unit 4 moves upward on the screen. Similarly, when the right part 7b, the lower part 7c, and the left part 7d are pressed, the cursor moves to the right, lower and left of the screen.

  Next, an operation procedure by the handheld operating device 3 will be described. FIG. 2 is an operation menu displayed on the display unit 4 of the handheld operating device 3, (a) is a first operation menu, and (b) is a state where the cursor of the first operation menu is moved. (C) is a 2nd operation menu, (d) is a figure which shows the state which moved the cursor of the said 2nd operation menu. When the control panel 2 is turned on, the handheld operating device 3 is also turned on. The operation menu displayed on the display unit 4 at this time is the first operation menu shown in FIG. In FIG. 2A, 9 is an icon indicating each item of the operation menu, and a picture display is provided so that the contents of each item can be intuitively understood. Here, the cursor is at the position of “job contents” at the upper left corner. The item on which the cursor is placed is displayed in black or white reversed characters or graphics. Now, the cross cursor key 7 is operated to select “variable” among the items of the first operation menu. That is, when the middle part between the right part 7b and the lower part 7c is pressed once, the cursor moves to the lower right, and the display in FIG. 2A changes to the display in FIG. Further, when the selection key 8 is pressed, a subordinate menu of “variable”, that is, a second operation menu shown in FIG. 2C is displayed. In FIG. 2C, reference numeral 10 denotes a character display indicating a sub-item obtained by further dividing the “variable” item of the first operation menu. When moving from the first operation menu to the second operation menu, the cursor is at the position of “byte type variable” at the top left end of the screen. Now, in order to select “positional variable base” among the items of the second operation menu, when the middle part of the right part 7b and the lower part 7c of the cross cursor key 7 is pressed once, the cursor is moved to the lower right. The display shown in FIG. 2C is changed to the display shown in FIG. As described above, a desired operation item can be selected and operated by repeating the operation of the cross cursor key 7 and the selection key 8.

  The cross cursor key 7 can be used not only to move the cursor but also to input the operation of the manipulator. By inputting from the input unit 5, the cross cursor key 7 is switched from the cursor movement mode to the operation input mode, and the relationship between the operation of the cross cursor key 7 and the manipulator 1 is defined. For example, it is defined that the manipulator 1 moves up when the upper portion 7a is pushed, moves down when the lower portion 7c is pushed, moves right when the right portion 7b is pushed, and moves left when the left portion 7d is pushed. In this way, the manipulator 1 can be moved up, down, left and right by operating the cross cursor key 7. Although one crosshair cursor key can input an operation with two degrees of freedom, in general, the manipulator 1 has at least six degrees of freedom (three movements, three rotations). In order to input a 6-degree-of-freedom operation with the cross cursor key 7, a selector switch may be provided in the input unit 5 to switch the setting of the cross cursor key 7 in three ways. A configuration with three cross cursor keys can also be selected.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an internal circuit of the handheld operating device 3 of the first embodiment. The handheld operating device 3 exchanges signals with the control panel 2, but the connection with the control panel 2 is omitted. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 12 denotes a central processing unit, which is a circuit that controls input / output of the handheld operating device 3. A key input unit 13 is a circuit that receives inputs from the cross cursor key 7, the selection key 8, and other keys of the input unit 5 and sends signals to the central processing unit 12. Reference numeral 14 denotes a cursor control unit, which is a circuit that moves the cursor in response to a command from the central processing unit 12. A menu control unit 15 has font data for displaying an operation menu, and is a circuit for controlling the operation menu according to a command from the central processing unit 12. Reference numeral 16 denotes a display control unit, which is a circuit that outputs an image on the display screen to the display unit 4 in response to commands from the central processing unit 12, the cursor control unit 14, and the menu control unit 15.

  FIG. 4 is a plan view of the handheld operating device 3 showing the second embodiment of the present invention. In addition to the cross cursor key 7 and the selection key 8 of the first embodiment, the handheld operating device 3 includes a speed adjustment dial 11 so that the operator can operate with the thumb while holding the handheld operating device 3. ing. The speed adjusting dial 11 is a speed adjusting means for the manipulator 1. When the dial is rotated to the right, the operating speed of the manipulator 1 is increased, and when it is rotated to the left, the operating speed is decreased. Therefore, when teaching the manipulator 1, it is possible to efficiently teach by selecting a high speed for a moving operation that does not require much accuracy and a low speed for a positioning operation that requires accuracy.

It is a top view of the handheld operating device which shows the 1st Example of this invention. It is a figure of the operation menu of the handheld operating device which shows 1st Example of this invention, (a) is a 1st operation menu, (b) is the state which moved the cursor of the said 1st operation menu (C) is a 2nd operation menu, (d) is a figure which shows the state which moved the cursor of the said 2nd operation menu. It is a block diagram of the internal circuit of the handheld operating device which shows the 1st Example of this invention. It is a top view of the handheld operating device which shows the 2nd Example of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the industrial robot by a prior art.

Explanation of symbols

1: Manipulator 2: Control panel 2a: Input unit 2b: Display unit 3: Handheld controller 3a: Input unit 3b: Display unit
4: Display part 5: Input part 6: Grasping part 7: Cross cursor key 7a: Upper part 7b: Right part 7c: Lower part 7d: Left part 8: Selection key 9: Operation menu item 10: Operation menu sub-item 11: Speed adjustment dial 12: Central processing unit 13: Key input unit 14: Cursor control unit 15: Menu control unit 16: Display control unit

Claims (5)

In a robot hand-held operating device comprising a display screen for displaying characters or figures and a gripping part arranged on the left and right sides,
When the left and right gripping parts are gripped by the operator's left hand and right hand, respectively, the manipulator speed adjustment dial disposed within a range that the operator's left hand or right hand thumb can reach,
An industrial robot hand-held operation device, wherein when the speed adjustment dial is rotated in one direction, the operation speed of the manipulator becomes high, and when the speed adjustment dial is rotated in the other direction, the operation speed of the manipulator becomes low. An operation input means including a display screen for displaying an operation menu, four keys for moving a cursor displayed on the display screen, and a selection key for inputting execution of the operation menu item designated by the cursor; In a hand-held operating device for an industrial robot provided with gripping portions arranged on the left and right sides,
The four keys are arranged in a range where the left thumb of the operator can reach when the left and right gripping parts are gripped by the left hand and the right hand of the worker, respectively, and have a function of inputting an axis operation of the manipulator. A hand-held controller for industrial robots. 3. The handheld operating device for an industrial robot according to claim 2, wherein the four keys are cross cursor keys or cursor keys having switches arranged in a substantially cross shape. When the left and right gripping parts are gripped by the left and right hands of the operator, respectively
The industrial robot hand-held operation device according to any one of claims 2 to 3, wherein a speed adjusting means of the manipulator is arranged in a range where the left hand or the right hand of the worker can reach. A display screen for displaying characters or figures, a grip portion disposed on the left and right sides, and the left and right thumbs of the operator when the left and right grip portions are gripped by the operator's left hand and right hand, respectively. A speed adjustment dial of the manipulator arranged in a reachable range, and when the speed adjustment dial is rotated in one direction, the operation speed of the manipulator becomes high, and when the speed adjustment dial is rotated in the other direction, the operation speed of the manipulator is A low-speed industrial robot handheld controller,
A control panel to which the handheld controller is connected;
And a robot for industrial use connected to the control panel.

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