JP2009166172A - Simulation method and simulator for robot - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a simulation method for a robot, which facilitates simulation of the robot and simplifies the management of programs and data for the simulation. <P>SOLUTION: Information on the structure, attributes, etc., in a robot drive unit 11 of a multi-articulated robot constituting the robot 10 is stored as initial robot data in a memory 12B of a controller 12 in the robot 10. Based on teaching-based instructions, manual operations, a control program providing the operation contents of the robot drive unit 11, etc., operations including a move path of the robot drive unit 11 are simulated with respect to reference robot data in the robot 10 and are sequentially converted into drawing data Dd. Drawing information based on the converted drawing data Dd is displayed by a drawing display device 21 outside the robot 10. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

The present invention relates to a simulation method for a robot, particularly an industrial robot, and a robot simulation apparatus using the method.

In general, various types of robots such as industrial robots are configured such that their required operation contents are defined based on a predetermined control program. Usually, such a control program is created by online programming or offline programming.

Here, online programming is a method of creating a control program by actually operating a robot. For example, teaching that records a motion of a robot that is manually operated to create a control program is known. According to this teaching, since the robot is actually operated, it is possible to create a control program that takes into account the actual position and posture of the robot, the actual position and shape of the workpiece, the actual arrangement of peripheral devices, etc. It becomes possible.

On the other hand, as offline programming, for example, a method of creating a robot control program while simulating a robot operation in a simulation apparatus is known, as described in Patent Document 1. In the simulation apparatus described in Patent Document 1, the robot operation is simulated while displaying the three-dimensional models of the robot and the workpiece on the screen in the same positional relationship as the actual one, and the robot 3 displayed on the screen is displayed. A robot control program is created with reference to the dimensional model. In other words, in this offline programming, by referring to the simulation results of each three-dimensional model of the robot and workpiece displayed on the simulation device, the robot operation considering the arrangement of the robot and workpiece without using the actual robot. It is possible to create a program.
JP-A-2005-135278

However, the apparatus described in Patent Document 1 requires a simulation apparatus for performing a simulation including its movement path, etc., separately from the robot. In addition, the simulation apparatus requires a robot simulation program for performing simulation, three-dimensional model data of the robot set in the simulation program, and the like. In other words, since many different types of robots are usually arranged on the production line, it is necessary to prepare a simulation program for each of the robots and 3D model data of the robot set in the programs. Yes, the management becomes complicated.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to make it easier to simulate a robot and to simplify the management of programs and data for that purpose. A simulation method and a robot simulation apparatus are provided.

In the robot simulation method of the present invention, information on the structure and attributes of the robot is stored in the memory of the robot as initial robot data, and an operation including the movement path of the robot to be instructed or operated each time is performed. The gist of the invention is to sequentially convert it into line drawing information while simulating on the basis of the robot data in the robot, and to display the converted line drawing information on a line drawing display device outside the robot.

According to such a method, in the combination of the robot and the line drawing display device (CAD system), the operation is simulated in the robot and is sequentially converted into line drawing information.
The converted line drawing information (simulation information converted into a line drawing) is sent to the CAD system and displayed. This method also supports not only instructions, that is, teaching, but also operations, that is, transfer of line drawing information (simulation information converted into line drawing) generated by manual operation of the robot to the CAD system. . In any of these cases, the simulation information converted into a line drawing is displayed on the line drawing display device (CAD system), preferably displayed in real time, so that the robot operation can be more easily grasped. Development of a control program to be performed becomes easier. In addition, even if there are many different types of robots on the production line in an industrial robot, such simulation functions are provided for each robot to simplify the management of simulation programs and various data. Can be achieved. This method merely displays the simulated line drawing information on the line drawing display device, and it is not necessary to accompany the actual operation of the robot even during teaching.

On the other hand, the robot simulation method of the present invention is a robot simulation method for simulating the operation of a robot controlled based on a control program for instructing the operation of a drive unit including a movement path of the robot, and the structure of the robot And information on attributes are stored in the memory of the robot as initial robot data, and the command is given with reference to the stored robot data in the robot as the control program given to the robot is executed. The gist is to sequentially convert the simulated robot motion into line drawing information while simulating the robot motion corresponding to the contents, and to display the converted line drawing information on a line drawing display device outside the robot.

According to such a method, along with the execution of the control program, the robot operation corresponding to the command content is all simulated on the robot side and converted into line drawing information (simulation information converted into line drawing). The line drawing information is sent to a line drawing display device, that is, a CAD system, and displayed. The simulation information thus converted into a line drawing is displayed on a line drawing display device (CAD system), preferably in real time, so that it becomes easier to grasp the operation of the robot, development of the control program for defining the robot operation, etc. Will also be easier. In addition, even if there are many different types of robots on the production line in an industrial robot, such simulation functions are provided for each robot to simplify the management of simulation programs and various data. Can be achieved. It should be noted that even though “with the execution of the control program”, it is not necessary to involve the actual operation of the robot.

The robot simulation method of the present invention is the robot simulation method described above, wherein the robot data includes information on a work handled by the robot, and the line drawing information includes appearance information of the robot and the work, and information on the robot and the work. Two types of information including only the movement path information are generated, and the line drawing display device displays the appearance information of the robot and the workpiece and the information of only the movement path of the robot and the workpiece in a selectable manner. The gist.

According to such a method, it is possible to confirm the shape and operation of the robot and the workpiece together from the display of the line drawing display device from the appearance information of the robot and the workpiece. Further, only the movement path of the robot or the work can be confirmed from the display of the line drawing display device without being disturbed by the appearance of the robot or the like from the information of only the movement path of the robot and the work.

According to the robot simulation method of the present invention, in the robot simulation method, the line drawing information is converted into solid (3D) information including the appearance of the robot and the workpiece and displayed on the line drawing display device. This is the gist.

According to such a method, a solid line drawing such as the appearance of a robot based on line drawing information including appearance information can be displayed on the line drawing display device like an animation tool. By displaying such a solid line drawing, it is possible to more easily grasp the operation such as the appearance of the robot, and the development of the control program can be further facilitated.

On the other hand, the robot simulation apparatus according to the present invention includes a robot data memory in which information on the structure and attributes of the robot is stored as initial robot data as a built-in memory of the robot, and movement of the robot that is instructed or operated each time. Through a line drawing information generating means for simulating an operation including a route on the basis of the robot data in the robot and sequentially converting it into line drawing information, a line drawing display device for displaying the line drawing information, and the line drawing information generating means And a line drawing information output unit that outputs line drawing information that is sequentially converted to the line drawing display device.

According to such a configuration, in the combination of the robot and the line drawing display device (CAD system), the operation is simulated in the robot and sequentially converted into line drawing information,
The converted line drawing information (simulation information converted into a line drawing) is sent to the CAD system and displayed. In addition to this configuration, each instruction, that is, teaching, as well as the operation each time, that is, the transfer of line drawing information (simulation information converted into line drawing) generated by manual operation of the robot to the CAD system, etc. . In any of these cases, the simulation information converted into a line drawing is displayed on the line drawing display device (CAD system), preferably displayed in real time, so that the robot operation can be more easily grasped. Development of a control program to be performed becomes easier. In addition, even if there are many different types of robots on the production line in an industrial robot, such simulation functions are provided for each robot to simplify the management of simulation programs and various data. Can be achieved. Note that this configuration merely displays the simulated line drawing information on the line drawing display device, and it is not necessary to accompany the actual operation of the robot even during teaching.

On the other hand, the robot simulation apparatus of the present invention includes a control program providing means for giving a control program for instructing the operation of the drive unit including the movement path of the robot to the robot, and information on the structure and attributes of the robot as the built-in memory of the robot. Corresponds to the content of the command in the robot with reference to the robot data stored in the robot data memory as a reference to the robot data memory stored as initial robot data and the execution of the given control program. A line drawing information generating unit that sequentially converts the simulated robot movement into line drawing information while simulating the movement of the robot, a line drawing display device that displays the line drawing information, and line drawing information that is sequentially converted through the line drawing information generating unit. Output to the line drawing display device And summarized in that comprises a picture information output means.

According to such a configuration, along with the execution of the control program, the simulation of the robot operation corresponding to the command content is all performed on the robot side and converted into line drawing information (simulation information converted into line drawing). The line drawing information is sent to a line drawing display device, that is, a CAD system, and displayed. The simulation information thus converted into a line drawing is displayed on a line drawing display device (CAD system), preferably in real time, so that it becomes easier to grasp the operation of the robot, development of the control program for defining the robot operation, etc. Will also be easier. In addition, even if there are many different types of robots on the production line in an industrial robot, such simulation functions are provided for each robot to simplify the management of simulation programs and various data. Can be achieved. It should be noted that even though “with the execution of the control program”, it is not necessary to involve the actual operation of the robot.

In the robot simulation apparatus according to the present invention, in the robot simulation apparatus, the robot data stored in the robot data memory includes information on a work handled by the robot, and the line drawing information generation unit includes the line drawing information Generating the robot and workpiece appearance information and only the movement path of the robot and workpiece, and the line drawing information output means sends the robot and workpiece appearance information and the robot to the line drawing display device. And information on only the movement route of the workpiece is output in a selectable manner.

According to such a configuration, it is possible to confirm the shape and operation of the robot and the workpiece together from the display of the line drawing display device from the appearance information of the robot and the workpiece. Further, only the movement path of the robot or the work can be confirmed from the display of the line drawing display device without being disturbed by the appearance of the robot or the like from the information of only the movement path of the robot and the work.

In the robot simulation apparatus according to the present invention, in the robot simulation apparatus, the line drawing information generation unit generates the line drawing information as solid (3D) information including appearances of the robot and the workpiece. The gist.

According to such a configuration, a solid line drawing such as the appearance of the robot based on the line drawing information including the appearance information can be displayed on the line drawing display device like an animation tool. By displaying such a solid line drawing, it is possible to more easily grasp the operation such as the appearance of the robot, and the development of the control program can be further facilitated.

DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of a robot simulation apparatus according to the invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a robot simulation apparatus according to this embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 1, the robot 10 is roughly composed of a robot drive unit 11 and a controller 12.
It is the composition provided with.
Here, the robot 10 is a multi-joint type robot in which a plurality of arms are connected by joints, and the robot drive unit 11 sets the arms connected at the joints to a predetermined relative angle. It is a part which processes and conveys the workpiece | work W by rotating and moving the front-end | tip to a target position. Further, the controller 12 connected to the robot drive unit 11 is instructed or operated each time by teaching or the like, or based on the instruction content of a control program in which the operation content required for the robot drive unit 11 is defined. Thus, it is a part that controls the above-described operation by the robot drive unit 11.

On the other hand, an input / output device 20 outside the robot 10 is connected to the controller 12. The input / output device 20 is a device corresponding to a user interface with the robot 10. For example, a teaching pendant that gives instructions to the robot 10 each time during teaching or a control program for the robot 10 is created and downloaded (input) to the robot 10. This corresponds to a development computer or the like.

On the other hand, a line drawing display device 21 outside the robot 10 is connected to the controller 12. The line drawing display device 21 is a device that displays a line drawing created based on line drawing data Dd as line drawing information input from the robot 10 on the display unit 22.
It consists of an AD system, preferably a 3D CAD system. By adopting a three-dimensional CAD system as the line drawing display device 21, when line drawing data Dd including three-dimensional information is input, a three-dimensional image (three-dimensional line drawing) based on the three-dimensional line drawing data Dd is displayed on the display unit 22. Will be able to. The three-dimensional CAD system used here is a system that can arbitrarily change the viewpoint position of the display image.

Next, the electrical configuration of the robot simulation apparatus will be described mainly.
The controller 12 of the robot 10 includes a control unit 12A as a line drawing information generation unit and a control program giving unit, a storage unit 12B as a robot data memory, and an external interface unit (hereinafter referred to as an external IF unit) 12C as a line drawing information output unit. Have. Of these, the control unit 12A is mainly configured of a microcomputer having a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, and the like. Then, the CPU performs predetermined calculations based on various programs stored in the ROM while using the RAM as a data memory, thereby generating a motion instruction for the robot drive unit 11 and a three-dimensional view showing the appearance of the robot drive unit 11. The line drawing data Dd including information and the like is created. Then, such line drawing data Dd by the control unit 12A.
Robot data to be referred to when creating the data, that is, structure data Df, work data Dw
And the peripheral data Ds are stored in the storage unit 12B together with their attribute information. Here, the structure data Df is composed of a plurality of data (information) groups as initial values indicating the structure of the robot drive unit 11 as the robot 10 and its attributes, and the three-dimensional information of the robot drive unit 11 is based on this. The robot line drawing data (solid line drawing data) can be generated. Incidentally, the data indicating the structure of the robot drive unit 11 is data determined by the shape of each arm or the like, and includes data indicating the vertical, horizontal, length, distance between joints (effective length), and the like. Further, the data indicating the attribute of the robot drive unit 11 is data determined by the configuration and performance of the robot drive unit 11 including each arm, and the rotation direction (tilt of the rotation axis) of each joint portion of each arm, It consists of data indicating a rotatable angle range, maximum angular velocity, maximum angular acceleration, and the like.
The workpiece data Dw is data indicating the structure of the workpiece W to be processed or transported by the robot drive unit 11, for example, the vertical, horizontal, height, etc. of the workpiece W. Data, that is, work line drawing data can be generated. The peripheral data Ds includes data indicating the structure and arrangement of peripheral devices and the like of the robot drive unit 11, for example, data indicating the vertical, horizontal, height, arrangement position, and the like of the peripheral devices. Etc., that is, peripheral line drawing data can be generated. Each line drawing data generated in this way is transferred to the line drawing display device 21 via the external IF unit 12C.

By the way, as various programs executed through the control unit 12A, for example,
There are a teaching program, a drive control program, a simulation program, a line drawing data creation program, and the like. Of these, the teaching program is executed by the control unit 12A to sequentially create program steps for a control program for controlling the operation of the robot drive unit 11 instructed by teaching, and a newly created program This is a program for additionally recording steps in a control program. In addition, the drive control program is executed by the control unit 12A, thereby generating a rotation drive signal Cd for rotating and driving each joint of the robot drive unit 11 based on the control program.
This is a program for instructing the operation of each unit including the movement path of the robot drive unit 11 by transmitting to. In addition, the simulation program is executed by the control unit 12A, so that the rotation and work of each joint unit of the robot drive unit 11 is performed based on the instruction or operation of each time or the command contents of the control program based on the robot data. Simulate the movement of W etc. And it is a program which calculates sequentially a virtual movement path | route, attitude | position, tip position, etc. when the robot drive part 11 moves by the simulation. In addition, the line drawing data creation program is executed by the control unit 12A, so that the appearance information including the line drawing data indicating the appearance of the robot driving unit 11, the appearance of the workpiece, the appearance of the peripheral device, and the like, and the information on the movement path are included. As a line drawing data Dd. The robot line drawing data showing the appearance of the robot drive unit 11 is generated based on the structure data Df, the movement path, posture, tip position, etc. of the robot drive unit 11 calculated by the simulation program. The work line drawing data related to the work W is generated based on the work data Dw and the robot line drawing data indicating the appearance of the robot drive unit 11. Further, peripheral line drawing data related to the peripheral device is generated based on the peripheral data Ds. In addition, FIG.
The signal Se output from the robot drive unit 11 to the controller 12 is an angle signal indicating the value of each rotation angle of each joint portion of the robot drive unit 11.
Based on the angle signal Se, the rotation angles of the joints are recognized.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a processing mode by the apparatus when, for example, teaching is performed using the robot simulation apparatus. FIG. 3 shows a perspective structure of an example of each of the work tables T1 and T2 as the actual robot drive unit 11, the actual work W, and the actual peripheral devices to be taught. Further, FIG.
, (B) shows how the robot drive unit 11, the workpiece W and the work tables T1 and T2 illustrated in FIG. 3 are displayed on the display unit 22 of the line drawing display device 21 as a three-dimensional line drawing through simulation by the same device in such teaching. It shows how it is done. In the present embodiment, teaching is given to the teaching program as an instruction to move the predetermined movement path from the teaching pendant (input / output device 20) to the robot drive unit 11. At that time, in the teaching program, as described above, a program step for causing the robot drive unit 11 to perform the instructed operation is created and added to the control program. At this time, the above-described RA which is a data memory in the control unit 12A.
M is provided with an area for setting a flag indicating that teaching is in progress.
This flag is normally set to “0”, and when teaching is started, it is set to “1” until it is ended. And especially in this embodiment, in the case of such teaching,
In the robot 10, the operation of the robot drive unit 11 is prohibited.

When teaching is started in this way, the apparatus first determines whether teaching is being performed through the controller 12 (control unit 12A) with reference to the flag (step S1 in FIG. 2). If the flag indicating teaching is “0” (NO in step S1 in FIG. 2), it is determined that teaching is not being performed, and the process ends.

On the other hand, if the flag indicating teaching is “1” and it is determined that teaching is in progress (YES in step S1 in FIG. 2), the apparatus instructs the robot drive unit 11 to move from the teaching pendant through the controller 12. (Instruction data) is received. Based on the instruction, the apparatus adds a new program step for moving the robot drive unit 11 created by the teaching program to the control program. That is, a new control program is created (step S2 in FIG. 2). If there is no instruction from the teaching pendant, no new program step is added here.

Next, the apparatus determines whether or not a new program step has been added to the control program through the controller 12 (step S3 in FIG. 2). If it is determined that no new program step is added to the control program (NO in step S3 in FIG. 2)
The apparatus returns to the process of step S1, and repeats the processes after step S1 described above.

On the other hand, if it is determined that a new program step has been added to the control program (YES in step S3 in FIG. 2), the apparatus uses the controller 12 to simulate the added instruction content through the controller 12. Then, by executing the added program step by this simulation program, the movement path of the robot drive unit 11 based on the robot data stored in the storage unit 12B,
The posture, the tip position, etc. are calculated (step S4 in FIG. 2). At this time, in this embodiment, the simulation program is executed, but the drive control program is not executed. Therefore, the rotation drive signal Cd for actually operating the robot drive unit 11 is transmitted to the robot drive unit 11. There is no. That is, the robot drive unit 11 does not actually operate and remains in the posture illustrated in FIG. 3 even during teaching.

Thus, the movement path, posture, and position of the robot drive unit 11 based on the new program step
When the tip position and the like are calculated, the apparatus next generates line drawing data Dd including stereoscopic information through the line drawing data generation program based on the calculation result, that is, the simulation result (step S5 in FIG. 2). The generated line drawing data Dd is stored in the external IF
It is output to the line drawing display device 21 via the section 12C (step S6 in FIG. 2). As a result, the line drawing display device 21 creates a solid line drawing from the input line drawing data Dd. For example, FIG.
In the modes illustrated in (a) and (b), the display unit 22 includes a robot drive unit 11, a work W,
And the solid line drawing of each work table T1, T2 will be displayed. That is,
Teaching can be performed while referring to a solid line drawing by simulation without actually operating the robot drive unit 11. For example, as shown in FIG. 4A, when the work W is moved from the work table T1 to the position indicated by the two-dot chain line of the work table T2, the robot is referred to the solid line image displayed on the display unit 22 while referring to this solid line drawing. It can be easily understood that teaching may be performed such that the moving path of the tip of the drive unit 11 is the path R1. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4B, in the teaching of moving the workpiece W from the work table T1 to the position indicated by the two-dot chain line of the work table T2, the movement path of the tip of the robot drive unit 11 is set as a path R2. It is also possible to do. However, if the movement path of the tip of the robot drive unit 11 is set as the path R2, the tip of the robot drive unit 11 and the workpiece W can come into contact with the side surface of the work table T2 by this simulation. To understand.

As described above, according to the robot simulation method or simulation apparatus of the present embodiment, the effects listed below can be obtained.
(1) In this embodiment, the robot 10 and the line drawing display device 21 are combined, the operation is simulated in the robot 10, and the simulation result is shown as line drawing data Dd.
The converted line drawing data Dd is sent to the line drawing display device 21 to be displayed. Thus, by displaying the line drawing data Dd on the line drawing display device 21, it becomes easier to grasp the operation of the robot 10 (robot drive unit 11), for example, development of a control program for defining the operation of the robot, etc. It becomes easy.

(2) In this embodiment, the robot 10 itself is caused to simulate its operation. Therefore, in the case of an industrial robot, even if a large number of various robots are arranged on the production line, such a simulation function is provided for each robot.
It is possible to simplify the management of simulation programs and various data.

(3) In the present embodiment, the line drawing data Dd includes line drawing data (appearance information) indicating the appearance of the robot drive unit 11 and the work W including the three-dimensional information. Thereby, from the line drawing data Dd, the three-dimensional appearance shapes and movements of the robot drive unit 11 and the workpiece W can be confirmed through the display unit 22 of the line drawing display device 21.

(4) In this embodiment, the line drawing data Dd is displayed in real time on the display unit 2 of the line drawing display device 21.
2 is displayed. That is, a stereoscopic line drawing such as the appearance of the robot drive unit 11 based on the stereoscopic information of the line drawing data Dd can be displayed like an animation tool. This
The operation such as the appearance of the robot drive unit 11 can be grasped more easily, and the development of the control program can be further facilitated.

In addition, the said embodiment can also be implemented in the following aspects, for example.
In the above embodiment, the line drawing display device 21 is a three-dimensional CAD system, but the line drawing display device 21 may be a two-dimensional CAD system. That is, the line drawing data Dd including stereoscopic information such as the robot driving unit 11, the work W, and peripheral devices is generated. However, when only the display of the two-dimensional line drawing is sufficient, the robot driving unit 11, the work W, Also, the line drawing data Dd of peripheral devices and the like may be generated as line drawing data by a two-dimensional expression.

In the above embodiment, the line drawing data Dd includes line drawing data (appearance information) indicating the respective appearances of the robot drive unit 11 and the workpiece W. However, as the line drawing data Dd, only the movement path is displayed. You may make it selectable with the line drawing data which consists of information. Then, it is possible to check only the tip of the robot drive unit 11 or the movement path of the workpiece W on the display unit 22 of the line drawing display device 21 without being disturbed by the appearance of the robot drive unit 11.

In the above embodiment, the control program is created from the instruction data by teaching and the operation of the robot drive unit 11 is simulated based on the instruction content of the control program. However, the simulation is performed directly from the instruction data by teaching. May be.

In the above embodiment, the data indicating the structure of the robot drive unit 11 is composed of the vertical, horizontal, length of each arm, the distance between joints (effective length), and the like. Further, the data indicating the attributes of the robot drive unit 11 includes the rotation direction (tilt of the rotation axis) of each joint portion of each arm, the rotatable angle range, the maximum angular velocity, the maximum angular acceleration, and the like. However, the present invention is not limited thereto, and the data indicating the structure and attributes of the robot drive unit 11 may be a part of the above, or may include other data.

In the above embodiment, the line drawing display device 21 displays a solid line drawing in real time based on the line drawing data Dd input in real time. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and it is not always necessary to display the line drawing information through the line drawing display device 21 in real time, such as displaying a solid line drawing on the line drawing display device 21 based on the line drawing data accumulated in the simulation performed earlier.

In the above embodiment, the case where the simulation is performed based on the instruction by teaching is illustrated, but the robot drive unit 11 is moved based on the manual operation, the result is converted into the line drawing information, and this is converted into the line drawing display device 21. You may make it display on. Further, the operation of the robot drive unit 11 may be simulated based on a control program already stored in the robot 10. Incidentally, at this time, connection of the input / output device 20 to the robot 10 becomes unnecessary.

The block diagram which shows the structure of the simulation apparatus of the robot of this embodiment. The flowchart which shows the process sequence in the case of especially teaching by the simulation apparatus of the robot of the embodiment. The perspective view which shows an example of the robot taught by the embodiment, a workpiece | work, and a peripheral device. (A), (b) is a figure which shows an example of the line drawing information displayed on a line drawing display apparatus in the embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Robot, 11 ... Robot drive part, 12 ... Controller, 12A ... Control part, 12
B ... Storage unit, 12C ... External interface unit, 20 ... I / O device, 21 ... Line drawing display device, 22 ... Display unit, Se ... Angle signal, T1 ... Work table, T2 ... Work table, W ... Workpiece.

Claims (8)

Information on the structure and attributes of the robot is stored in the memory of the robot as initial robot data, and the operation including the movement path of the robot to be instructed or operated each time is referred to the robot data in the robot. This is a robot simulation method in which this is sequentially converted into line drawing information while being simulated, and the converted line drawing information is displayed on a line drawing display device outside the robot. A robot simulation method for simulating a robot operation controlled based on a control program for instructing an operation of a drive unit including a movement path of the robot,
Information related to the structure and attributes of the robot is stored as initial robot data in a memory in the robot, and along with the execution of the control program given to the robot,
While simulating the operation of the robot corresponding to the contents of the command with reference to the stored robot data in the robot, the simulated robot operation is sequentially converted into line drawing information, and the converted line drawing information is A robot simulation method characterized by displaying on a line drawing display device. The robot data includes information on a workpiece handled by the robot, and generates two types of information, that is, the appearance information of the robot and the workpiece and information on only the movement path of the robot and the workpiece as the line drawing information. The robot simulation method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the display device displays the appearance information of the robot and the workpiece and information on only the movement path of the robot and the workpiece so as to be selectable. The robot simulation method according to claim 3, wherein the line drawing information is converted into solid (3D) information including the appearance of the robot and the workpiece and displayed on the line drawing display device. Robot data memory in which information about the structure and attributes of the robot is stored as initial robot data as the built-in memory of the robot;
Line drawing information generation means for sequentially converting the movement including the movement path of the robot to be instructed or operated each time into the line drawing information while simulating the movement within the robot based on the robot data;
A line drawing display device for displaying the line drawing information;
Line drawing information output means for outputting line drawing information sequentially converted through the line drawing information generation means to the line drawing display device;
A robot simulation apparatus comprising: Control program giving means for giving a control program to the robot to instruct the operation of the drive unit including the movement path of the robot;
Robot data memory in which information about the structure and attributes of the robot is stored as initial robot data as the built-in memory of the robot;
In accordance with the execution of the given control program, the robot operation stored in the robot data memory is used as a reference to simulate the robot operation corresponding to the command content in the robot. Line drawing information generating means for sequentially converting into line drawing information;
A line drawing display device for displaying the line drawing information;
Line drawing information output means for outputting line drawing information sequentially converted through the line drawing information generation means to the line drawing display device;
A robot simulation apparatus comprising: The robot data stored in the robot data memory includes work information handled by the robot, and the line drawing information generation means includes only the appearance information of the robot and the work and the movement path of the robot and the work as the line drawing information. The line drawing information output means outputs to the line drawing display device such that the appearance information of the robot and the workpiece and only the movement path of the robot and the workpiece can be selected. The robot simulation apparatus according to claim 5 or 6. The robot simulation apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the line drawing information generation unit generates the line drawing information as solid (3D) information including appearances of the robot and a workpiece.

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