JP2014184519A - Robot control system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve problems associated with operation training by simultaneously connecting to a single robot control apparatus, an operation device A carried by a beginner and an operation device B carried by a skilled operator, a problem in which the skilled operator cannot emergency-stop a robot using the operation device B if the beginner jog-feeds it in a wrong direction because the emergency stop can only be possible by the operation device A, plus another problem in which the extension or addition of the emergency stop switch causes a cost increase.SOLUTION: A robot control system 1 includes: a robot R; an operation device TP for transmitting an emergency stop signal and an operation signal; and a robot control apparatus RC enabled for simultaneous communication connections to plural operation devices TP. The robot control apparatus RC has a teaching function for teaching by receiving an operation signal and an emergency stop function for emergency-stopping by receiving an emergency stop signal, and is enabled to establish communication with a second and thereafter operation devices TP with only an emergency stop function enabled. This makes it possible to add an emergency stop switch in a simple method, thus improving safety.

Description

  The present invention relates to a robot control system that transmits and receives various data using network communication technology for communication between a robot control device and a portable operation device.

  In recent years, communication between a robot control device for controlling the operation of a robot and a portable operation device for operating the robot has been realized by network communication technologies such as wired LAN and wireless LAN corresponding to the IEEE 802 standard. A robot control system has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of a robot control system in which communication between the portable operation device and the robot control device is performed, for example, wirelessly. As shown in the figure, the robot control system 51 controls the operation of the robot R that performs operations such as arc welding and spot welding, the portable operating device TP that is used when the worker HM performs teaching operations, and the robot R. The robot control device RC is generally configured. The portable operation device TP and the robot control device RC can perform wireless communication, and one-to-one opposing communication is performed.

  The robot R has a work tool such as an arc welding torch or a spot welding gun attached to the tip of the wrist, and is installed in an inner region of the safety fence 2.

  The portable operating device TP includes a display 5 as a display unit for displaying various data, a keyboard 6 for performing a teaching operation on the robot R, and an emergency stop switch 4 for emergency stopping the robot R. A signal from the portable operation device TP (hereinafter referred to as a teaching operation signal) is transmitted to the robot control device RC by wireless communication. The teaching operation signal includes a jog feed signal for moving the robot R by manual operation, a teaching signal for storing the work position of the robot R, an emergency stop signal for emergency stop of the robot R in an emergency, and the like. By transmitting these teaching operation signals, the robot controller RC performs various processes such as jog feed operation of the robot R, creation of teaching data, and emergency stop. Hereinafter, these processes are collectively referred to as a teaching function.

  The robot control device RC creates teaching data in accordance with an input from the portable operation device TP and stores it in an internal storage unit (not shown). In addition, the teaching data is reproduced when an activation signal is input from the outside. As a result, the robot R is automatically operated. The LAN cable C is a cable for connecting the robot control device RC and the portable operation device TP to perform wired communication during automatic operation of the robot R, and is a connector (not shown) to the portable operation device TP. ) Is removable.

  FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining transmission / reception data between the portable operation device TP and the robot control device RC. FIG. 4A is a block diagram showing a state of transmission / reception, and FIG. 4B shows one form of a communication packet to be transmitted. As shown in FIG. 6A, the portable operation device TP generates operation data Ds (teaching operation signal) based on the input from the worker HM, and transmits the operation data Ds to the robot control device RC via the transmission unit 72. . The robot controller RC receives the operation data Ds by the receiving unit 62, interprets it, and performs teaching processing. The robot control device RC generates display data Dh and transmits the display data Dh by the transmission unit 61. The portable operation device TP receives the display data Dh by the reception unit 71, and a display control unit (not shown) causes the display 5 to display the display data Dh. .

  When the emergency stop switch 4 provided in the portable operating device TP is pressed, the transmission unit 72 generates operation data Ds indicating that the emergency stop switch 4 has been pressed, and transmits the operation data Ds to the robot controller RC. To do. The robot control device RC performs a process for emergency stopping the robot R based on the received operation data Ds. That is, the robot R is immediately stopped by stopping the power supply to the drive motor of the robot R. Hereinafter, this series of processing is referred to as an emergency stop function. Even if the emergency stop switch 4 is not pressed, the robot R is configured to perform an emergency stop when the communication is temporarily interrupted due to noise, insufficient radio field strength, or the like during wireless communication. Yes.

  Here, the operation data Ds is generated in a packet format by a predetermined communication protocol and transmitted to the robot controller RC as shown in FIG. The operation data Ds includes a transmission destination address 80 that identifies the robot controller RC that is the transmission destination, a transmission source address 81 that identifies the transmission source itself, data 82 indicating the type of the operated key, input data, and the like. It is included.

  As described above, in the conventional robot control system using the network communication technology for communication between the robot control device and the portable operation device, the robot control device and the portable operation device have one-to-one opposing communication. It has become. In this regard, if network communication technology is used, for example, a plurality of portable operation devices can be connected to a single robot control device and operated. However, in a production site using an industrial robot, it is necessary to increase the safety of the worker to the maximum. Needless to say, it would be extremely dangerous if a plurality of portable operation devices were connected to a single robot controller so that the robot could perform jog feed operations and the like freely from each portable operation device. Yes. For this reason, in industrial robots, the robot control device and the portable operation device are always configured to have one-to-one opposing communication, and teaching functions such as robot jog feed operation and emergency stop operation are possible. It is necessary to take care not to function from other portable operation devices while ensuring the function according to the will of the operator having the portable operation device.

  On the other hand, there is a conventional technique that allows a plurality of portable operation devices to be simultaneously connected to one robot control device (for example, see Patent Document 2). This corresponds to the need for a skilled person to perform an operation education while monitoring a state in which a beginner connects a portable operation device A to a robot control device and performs a teaching operation with another portable operation device B. Because. Specifically, when a plurality of portable operation devices are simultaneously connected to one robot control device, the number of portable operation devices having an effective teaching function is limited to one, and the second and subsequent portable operation devices. For this, the connection mode is permitted in the monitor mode in which the teaching function is disabled and only the internal information can be monitored.

JP 2008-80475 A JP 2012-148350 A

  In Patent Document 2 described above, since the connection in the monitor mode is permitted for the second and subsequent portable operation devices (that is, the above-described teaching function is prohibited), the portable operation device is not permitted. An emergency stop of the robot R is also prohibited by this operation. In such a situation, for example, even if a beginner unfamiliar with the operation jogs the robot R in the wrong direction by the portable operating device A, the skilled person can use the portable operating device B that the expert R Since the emergency stop cannot be performed, the robot R may interfere with peripheral devices.

  In this regard, from the viewpoint of securing a method for emergency stop, an approach of adding a hard-wired emergency stop switch is also conceivable. However, this method has a problem in terms of cost, such as remodeling the robot controller for expansion or arranging a long cable length so that it can reach the hands of skilled workers. It's hard to say.

  Therefore, the present invention limits the number of portable operating devices having an effective teaching function to one when two or more portable operating devices and one robot controller are simultaneously connected. It is an object of the present invention to provide a robot control system capable of improving safety by enabling connection of the first and subsequent portable operation devices in a form in which only the emergency stop function is enabled.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1
A manipulator, one or more portable operation devices that transmit a teaching operation signal including an emergency stop signal, and the portable operation device are connected to the portable operation device via network communication means, and receive the teaching operation signal to teach the manipulator In a robot control system comprising a teaching function for performing work and a robot control device having an emergency stop function for receiving the emergency stop signal and performing an emergency stop of the manipulator,
A robot control system comprising communication control means for communication connection in a form in which only the emergency stop function is enabled.

  The invention of claim 2 is another portable operation device that is different in a state where network communication is already connected between the portable operation device and the robot control device and the teaching function is enabled. 2. The robot control system according to claim 1, wherein, when a connection request for network communication is made, the communication control unit performs communication connection in a form in which only the emergency stop function is enabled.

  The invention according to claim 3 selects either the form in which both the teaching function and the emergency stop function are enabled, or the form in which the teaching function is invalid and only the emergency stop function is enabled. The robot control system according to claim 1, further comprising a connection form selection unit, wherein the communication control unit performs communication connection in a connection form according to a selection result.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the portable operating device according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the portable operating device includes notifying means that indicates that the emergency stop function is enabled. It is a robot control system.

  A fifth aspect of the present invention is the robot control system according to the fourth aspect, wherein the notification means is provided in the portable operating device.

  A sixth aspect of the present invention is the robot control system according to the fifth aspect, wherein the notification means is an emergency stop switch provided in the portable operating device.

  According to the present invention, when a plurality of portable operating devices are simultaneously connected to one robot control device, the number of portable operating devices effective for the teaching function is limited to one, while the second Since subsequent portable operation devices can be connected in a form in which only the emergency stop function is enabled, a simple extension of an emergency stop switch can be realized, and safety can be improved.

It is a block diagram of the robot control system which concerns on this invention. 1 is a block diagram of a robot control system according to the present invention. 3 is a flowchart of communication establishment processing according to the first embodiment. 10 is a flowchart of communication establishment processing according to the second embodiment. It is a block diagram of the robot control system which performed communication between a portable operating device and a robot control apparatus by radio | wireless. It is a block diagram for demonstrating the transmission / reception data between portable operating device TP and robot control apparatus RC.

[Embodiment 1]
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a robot control system 1 according to the present invention. As shown in the figure, the robot control system 1 includes a robot R that performs operations such as arc welding and spot welding, a plurality of portable operation devices TP1 to TP3 and TPn, and a robot control device that controls the operation of the robot R. Roughly composed of RC. Hereinafter, the difference from the prior art will be mainly described. In addition, in the same figure, although each code | symbol of TP1-TP3 and TPn is described as a some portable operation apparatus, when it is not necessary to distinguish these in the following description, it is only as portable operation apparatus TP. write. Further, the notations of TP1 to TP3 and TPn do not limit the upper limit and lower limit of the number of connected units, but are merely illustrated for convenience of explanation.

  The portable operation device TP includes a display 5 on which various data such as teaching data are displayed, a keyboard 6 for inputting a jog feed signal and a teaching signal to the robot R, and an emergency stop switch 4 for emergency stop of the robot R. In addition, a communication status indicator lamp 3 that displays whether or not communication with the robot controller RC has been established is provided. The communication status indicator lamp 3 is covered with a transparent material or a translucent material, and has a built-in light emitter made of, for example, a yellow LED. The communication status indicator lamp 3 is lit yellow when the communication with the robot controller RC is established by the light emitter, and is turned off when communication is not established.

  The emergency stop switch 4 has a light-emitting body made of, for example, a red LED in an operation portion (not shown) made of a transparent material or a translucent material. The emergency stop switch 4 is lit red when the teaching function and the emergency stop function are both enabled by the light emitter, and when the emergency stop function is enabled even if the teaching function is disabled. Turns off when both teaching and emergency stop functions are disabled. As described above, the emergency stop switch 4 also functions as a notification unit that indicates whether or not the emergency stop function is enabled. It may replace with this and you may alert | report by displaying whether the emergency stop function is validated on the display 5 of portable operation device TP. In addition, a dedicated light emitter may be separately provided, and notification may be made by turning on or blinking the light emitter.

  In the present invention, it is possible to prepare a plurality of portable operating devices TP configured as described above, for example, TP1 to TP3, and to connect them simultaneously to one robot control device RC. When simultaneous connection is performed, the portable operation device TPn brought into the protective fence 2 by the worker HM is only one of the TP1 to TP3 in which both the teaching function and the emergency stop function are enabled. Other portable operation devices TP are effective only for the emergency stop function.

  Here, a connection mode (hereinafter referred to as an emergency stop mode) in which only the emergency stop function is effective will be described. In the emergency stop mode, input from the keyboard 6 provided in the portable operating device TP is ignored and teaching work cannot be performed (that is, the teaching function is invalid), but the emergency stop by pressing the emergency stop switch 4 Only the operation indicates a form that can be performed. As the display of the display 5 in this form, the same screen as the portable operation device TPn carried by the worker HM may be displayed. However, preferably, the current screen such as “only the emergency stop function is valid” is used instead of the same screen. It is preferable to make the display simple enough to display only the information on the connection form. The reason for this is as follows. That is, when the same screen as the portable operation device TPn is displayed, a screen transfer process from the robot control device RC occurs. If the amount of screen transfer information at this time is large, a large load is applied to the communication processing and arithmetic processing of the robot control device RC, which is a factor in disconnecting communication.

  Returning to FIG. 1, the teaching operation signal from the portable operation device TPn carried by the worker HM is transmitted to the robot control device RC by wireless communication. The teaching operation signal includes a jog feed signal for moving the robot R by manual operation, a teaching signal for inputting teaching data of the robot R, an emergency stop signal for stopping the robot R in an emergency, and the like. By transmitting these teaching operation signals, the robot controller RC performs various processes such as jog feed operation of the robot R, creation of teaching data, and emergency stop.

  In the above description, the configuration in the case where wireless communication is performed between the robot control device RC and the plurality of portable operation devices TP is shown, but wired communication may be used instead of wireless communication. In this case, as shown in the figure, the hub H is connected to the robot control device RC, and the LAN cable C is connected to a plurality of connection ports of the hub H, whereby the wired communication between the robot control device RC and each portable operation device TP. To realize.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the robot control system 1 according to the present invention. Hereinafter, the portable operation device TP and the robot control device RC will be described in detail.

  First, the portable operating device TP will be described. In addition to the communication status indicator lamp 3, emergency stop switch 4, display 5 and keyboard 6, the portable operating device TP includes a central processing unit CPU 33, a temporary calculation area RAM 34, and a robot controller RC. And the like, a secondary battery 36 as a drive source of the portable operating device TP, a hard disk 15 for storing various data, and a main control unit 35 that is a control center. Each unit is connected via a bus 39.

  The transceiver 32 has a wireless LAN interface 32A and a wired LAN interface 32B. When the robot controller RC and the portable operation device TP are connected via the hub H by the LAN cable C, wired communication is performed. When not connected, the wireless communication is configured. The secondary battery 36 is charged by being electrically connected to a charging device (not shown) and operates the portable operation device TP.

  The connection information storage unit 47 of the hard disk 15 stores connection information for communicating with the robot controller RC. The connection information indicates, for example, an IP address, a subnet mask, a default gateway, a MAC address, and the like.

  The main control unit 35 controls the above-described units collectively, and includes a display control unit 45, a key input monitoring unit 46, and a communication processing unit 41 as software programs that operate on an operating system (not shown). The display control unit 45 displays display data on the display 5. The key input monitoring unit 46 monitors key input from the keyboard 6. The communication processing unit 41 performs processing for establishing / blocking communication with the robot controller RC and processing for controlling communication itself. In addition, a process of storing the network connection information such as the identification number and IP address of the connected robot controller RC in the hard disk 15 or the RAM 34 is performed. Various data input by the keyboard 6 are transmitted in packet format to the robot controller RC via the communication processing unit 41 and the transceiver 32.

  Next, the robot controller RC will be described. The robot controller RC includes a central processing unit CPU 13, a temporary calculation area RAM 14, a main control unit 16 serving as a control center, a hard disk 19 for storing various data such as teaching data, constants, and the like, a robot An operation control unit 17 that performs an R trajectory calculation and outputs the calculation result as a drive signal to the drive command unit 18; a drive command unit 18 that outputs a servo control signal for controlling the rotation of each servo motor of the robot R; Each part of the transceiver 12 for communicating with the portable operating device TP is provided. Each unit is connected via a bus 9.

  The transceiver 12 has a wireless LAN interface 12A and a wired LAN interface 12B. When the robot control device RC and the portable operation device TP are connected via the hub H by the LAN cable C, wired communication is performed. When not connected, the wireless communication is configured.

  The teaching data storage unit 30 of the hard disk 19 stores teaching data created in response to an input from the portable operating device TP. The connection information storage unit 27 stores connection information for communicating with the portable operating device TP. The connection information is information such as its own identification number in addition to information necessary for network communication such as an IP address, a subnet mask, a default gateway, and a MAC address.

  The main control unit 16 controls the above-described units collectively, and includes a communication processing unit 21, a display processing unit 25, and an interpretation execution unit 26 as software programs that operate on an operating system (not shown). The communication processing unit 21 performs communication processing with the portable operation device TP. The display processing unit 25 generates display data to be displayed on the display 5 of the portable operating device TP. The interpretation execution unit 26 interprets the teaching data stored in the teaching data storage unit 30 and outputs an operation control signal to the operation control unit 17.

  Here, a method for realizing communication between one robot control device RC and a plurality of portable operation devices TP will be described. In this embodiment, Windows (registered trademark) is adopted as an operating system (hereinafter referred to as OS), and communication using a remote desktop provided by this OS is performed. Specifically, wired or wireless communication is enabled by a method of remotely connecting the portable operation device TP to the robot control device RC using the portable operation device TP as a client and the robot control device RC as a server. In this case, the portable operation device TP serves as a means for displaying a virtual work space screen generated by the robot control device RC and transmitting operation information from the keyboard 6 to the robot control device RC. The simultaneous connection of a plurality of portable operating devices TP can be realized by the multi-session function of the remote desktop. However, when connecting a plurality of portable operating devices TP at the same time, safety is ensured. Considering it, it is necessary to limit the portable operation device TP for enabling the teaching function to one. Therefore, in the present invention, the validity / invalidity of the teaching function is set at the stage of communication establishment processing for connecting the portable operating device TP. Note that the above-described communication using the remote desktop is merely an example and is not limited, and other communication modes may be employed.

  The operation of the robot control system 1 configured as described above will be described. In the present embodiment, when the communication processing unit 21 of the robot control device RC establishes communication between the portable operation device TP and the robot control device RC, the current communication connection number is 0 (zero). For example, if the teaching function and the emergency stop function are validated and the number of communication connections is 1 or more, the teaching function is invalidated and a transition is made to the emergency stop mode in which only the emergency stop function is validated. The communication status indicator lamp 3 provided in the portable operating device TP displays a status indicating whether communication between the portable operating device TP and the robot controller RC is established. Further, the emergency stop switch 4 provided in the portable operating device TP displays whether or not the teaching function and the emergency stop function are enabled. When the emergency stop mode in which only the emergency stop function is effective is enabled, that effect is displayed on the display 5 of the portable operating device TP.

  Here, “validating the teaching function” means permitting a teaching operation by the portable operating device TP. As already described with reference to FIG. 6A, when a teaching operation signal (operation data Ds) is transmitted from the portable operating device TP to the robot controller RC based on the teaching operation of the worker HM, the robot controller RC interprets the received operation data Ds to perform processing according to the teaching operation result. That is, “to enable the teaching function” means that various processes (jog feed, emergency stop, etc.) by the robot controller RC are normally performed in accordance with the teaching operation from the portable operating device TP. . Unless otherwise specified, “validate the teaching function” means that the emergency stop function is also activated at the same time.

  Conversely, “invalidating the teaching function” means prohibiting the teaching operation by the portable operating device TP. Specifically, the robot control device RC performs a process of ignoring the operation data Ds from the portable operation device TP. In order to explain in more detail, when the portable operating devices TP1 to TP3 are connected simultaneously, the teaching function of the portable operating device TP1 is set to be valid, and the teaching functions of the portable operating devices TP2 and TP3 are set to be invalid. Assuming that In this case, the robot controller RC interprets the transmission source address 81 (see FIG. 6B) of the operation data Ds, and performs a process of ignoring if it is a teaching operation signal from the portable operation devices TP2 and TP3. . By this processing, the teaching operation from the portable operating device TP in which the teaching function is invalidated can be prohibited. Even if the teaching function is invalidated, the display data Dh is transmitted as it is from the robot controller RC to the portable operating device TP, so that the state of the robot controller RC is obtained as described in Patent Document 2. Thus, it is possible to activate the monitor mode to be displayed. Instead of ignoring the operation data Ds from the portable operation device TP based on the transmission source address 81, the operation data Ds itself is not generated, or the operation data Ds is not transmitted to the robot controller RC. May be.

  Further, “validate only the emergency stop function” is a special state (emergency stop mode) in which the teaching function is invalidated. In the emergency stop mode, input from the keyboard 6 provided in the portable operation device TP is ignored and teaching work cannot be performed, but an emergency stop operation by pressing the emergency stop switch 4 can be performed. That is, only the operation signal of the emergency stop switch is accepted among the operation signals included in the operation data Ds from the portable operation device TP. To describe in more detail, when the portable operating devices TP1 to TP3 are connected simultaneously, the teaching function of the portable operating device TP1 is set to be effective, and the portable operating devices TP2 and TP3 are set to the emergency stop mode. Assuming that In this case, when the robot controller RC interprets the transmission source address 81 (see FIG. 6B) of the operation data Ds and determines that the transmission is from the portable operation devices TP2 and TP3, the data 82 And accepting only the operation of the emergency stop switch. By this processing, the emergency operation can be accepted while the teaching operation of the portable operating device TP in which the teaching function is disabled is prohibited.

(1.1 Establish communication of the first portable operating device)
(1.1 Communication establishment process)
FIG. 3 is a flowchart of the communication establishment process according to the first embodiment. In the following, the communication processing unit 21 of the robot control device RC performs an example in which the portable operating device TP1 shown in FIG. 1 is connected from the state where no portable operating device TP is connected. The flow of processing will be described. In the first embodiment, the teaching function and the emergency stop function are enabled unconditionally if no portable operating device TP is connected, and the teaching function is unconditionally enabled if already connected. It is decided to disable and enable only the emergency stop function. It is assumed that the number of communication connections and various flags described later are stored in the RAM 14.

  In step S1 in the figure, a connection request is waited. Here, assuming that there is a connection request from the portable operating device TP1, the process proceeds to step S2. In step S2, a teaching function enabling flag described later is initialized. In step S <b> 3, the current communication connection number is read from the RAM 14. At this stage, it is “0” because it is not connected at all. Therefore, the number of communication connections is recognized as “0” and the process proceeds to step S4. In step S4, it is determined whether or not the number of communication connections is “0”. Here, since the number of communication connections is “0”, the process proceeds to step S5 in order to validate the teaching function. In step S5, a flag for enabling the teaching function (hereinafter referred to as a teaching function enabling flag) is turned on and stored in the RAM. In step S6, communication establishment processing is performed in the same manner as in the prior art. At the same time, the communication connection count is incremented by 1 and stored in the RAM 14. In step S7, it is determined whether or not the teaching function enable flag is on. Since it is on here, the process proceeds to step S8. In step S8, the teaching function is validated. Thereafter, in step S10, the communication establishment state (during communication / disconnection), the teaching function state (valid / invalid), and the emergency stop function state (valid / invalid) are notified to the portable operating device TP1. Here, “in communication”, “teaching function valid” and “emergency stop function valid” are notified.

(1.2 Illuminant lighting process)
In the portable operating device TP1 that has received the notification, the display control unit 45 turns on the light emitters provided in the communication state indicator lamp 3 and the emergency stop switch 4 respectively. As a result, the communication status indicator lamp 3 is lit yellow, and the emergency stop switch 4 is lit red.

  Through the above processing, the portable operating device TP1 connected first is established with the teaching function and the emergency stop function enabled. In this state, the communication status indicator lamp 3 and the emergency stop switch 4 of the portable operating device TP1 emit light to determine whether communication is established and the teaching function and emergency stop function are enabled. be able to. Therefore, the operator HM can carry the portable operating device TP1 and can enter the safety fence 2 to perform teaching work.

(Establish communication of portable operating devices after 2.2)
(2.1 Communication establishment process)
Next, communication establishment processing when a connection request is made from the second portable operation device TP2 will be described with reference to the flowchart. This will be described from step S3.

  In step S <b> 3, the current communication connection number is read from the RAM 14. Since it is “1” at this stage, the process proceeds to step S6. In step S6, communication establishment processing is performed. Further, the number of communication connections is incremented by 1 and stored in the RAM 14. In step S7, it is determined whether or not the teaching function enable flag is on. Since it is off here, the process proceeds to step S9. In step S9, the teaching function is invalidated and only the emergency stop function is validated. Thereafter, in step S10, the portable operating device TP2 is notified of the communication establishment state (during communication / disconnection), the teaching function state (valid / invalid), and the emergency stop function state (valid / invalid). Here, “communication”, “teaching function invalid” and “emergency stop function valid” are notified.

(2.2 Illuminant lighting process)
In the portable operation device TP2 that has received the notification, the display control unit 45 turns on the light emitters provided inside the communication status indicator lamp 3 and the emergency stop switch 4. As a result, the communication status indicator lamp 3 is lit yellow, and the emergency stop switch 4 is lit red. The display control unit 45 also displays on the display 5 that it is connected in the emergency stop mode. The operator can identify the connection in the emergency stop mode by the display on the display 5. The emergency stop switch 4 may be blinked instead of lit to make it possible to identify the emergency stop mode.

  With the above processing, the portable operating device TP2 connected to the second unit establishes communication with the teaching function disabled and only the emergency stop function enabled (the same applies to the third and subsequent units). ).

(3. Communication interruption of portable operation device)
In the state where the portable operating devices TP1 and TP2 are simultaneously connected for communication, when a communication disconnection request is made from the portable operating device TP1 that is initially connected for communication, the teaching function of the portable operating device TP1 is invalidated, Decrease the number of communication connections and cut off the communication. At this time, it is desirable not to perform the processing for enabling the teaching function of the portable operating device TP2 in consideration of safety. When a communication cutoff request is made from the portable operation device TP2, the communication connection is cut by −1.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, when communication between a plurality of portable operation devices and one robot control device is simultaneously connected, one portable operation device with an effective teaching function is provided. On the other hand, since the second and subsequent portable operation devices can be connected in a form in which only the emergency stop function is enabled, a simple extension of the emergency stop switch can be realized. As a result, safety can be improved. For example, even if a beginner is carrying a portable operating device TP1 with an effective teaching function and performing an operation training, even if an operator accidentally enters a dangerous state, the skilled person uses the portable operating device TP2. Emergency stop operation can be performed at any time.

  In addition, the teaching function and the emergency stop function are enabled only for the first portable operation device TP that has established communication, and only the emergency stop function is enabled for the second and subsequent units. That is, a plurality of portable operation devices TP can be simultaneously connected to one robot control device RC and used without the operator HM being aware of whether or not to enable the teaching function and the emergency stop function.

[Embodiment 2]
Next, Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described. In Embodiment 1, if the number of communication connections is 0, the teaching function and the emergency stop function are enabled unconditionally. If the number of communication connections is 1 or more, the teaching function is disabled unconditionally and only the emergency stop function is enabled. Turned into. On the other hand, in the second embodiment, means (connection form selection means) for selecting validity / invalidity of the teaching function and the emergency stop function is provided so that the operator can select the connection form.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart of communication establishment processing according to the second embodiment. Hereinafter, processing in the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. Hereinafter, in order to clarify the difference from the first embodiment, the first portable operation device TP1 is connected by enabling only the emergency stop function, and the second portable operation device TP2 is provided with the teaching function and A case where both emergency stop functions are enabled and connected will be described as an example.

(3.1 Establish communication of the first portable operating device)
(3.1 Communication establishment process)
In step S11 in the figure, a connection request is waited. Here, assuming that there is a connection request from the portable operating device TP1, the process proceeds to step S12. In step S12, a function activation flag initialization process is performed. In step S13, connection type inquiry processing is performed. This process allows the operator to select “a connection mode in which both the teaching function and the emergency stop function are enabled” or “a connection mode in which the teaching function is disabled and only the emergency stop function is enabled”. .

  In step S14, the selection result in step S13 is confirmed. That is, the selected connection form is determined. Here, it is assumed that “the connection form in which the teaching function is invalid and only the emergency stop function is enabled” is selected (No is selected), and the process proceeds to step S16.

  In step S16, communication establishment processing is performed in the same manner as in the prior art. In step S17, it is determined whether or not the teaching function enable flag is on. Since it is off here (only the emergency stop function is enabled), the process proceeds to step S19. In step S19, the teaching function is invalidated and only the emergency stop function is validated. Thereafter, in step S20, the communication establishment state (during communication / disconnection) and the teaching function state (valid / invalid) are notified to the portable operating device TP1. Here, “communication”, “teaching function invalid” and “emergency stop valid” are notified.

(3.2 Illuminant lighting process)
In the portable operating device TP1 that has received the notification, the display control unit 45 turns on the light emitters provided in the communication state indicator lamp 3 and the emergency stop switch 4 respectively. As a result, the communication status indicator lamp 3 is lit yellow, and the emergency stop switch 4 is lit red. The display control unit 45 also displays on the display 5 that it is connected in the emergency stop mode. The operator can identify the connection in the emergency stop mode by the display on the display 5.

  With the above processing, the portable operating device TP1 connected to the first unit has the teaching function disabled, and communication is established with only the emergency stop function enabled.

(4.2 Establishing communication of the second portable operating device)
(4.1 Communication establishment process)
For the first portable operation device TP1, the teaching function is disabled and only the emergency stop function is enabled to establish communication. A process for establishing communication by enabling both the teaching function and the emergency stop function for the second portable operation device TP2 will be described using the flowchart. This will be described from step S13.

  In step S13, connection type inquiry processing is performed. It is assumed that the operator selects “a connection form in which both the teaching function and the emergency stop function are enabled”. In step S14, the selection result in step S13 is confirmed. Here, since “a connection form in which both the teaching function and the emergency stop function are enabled” is selected (Yes is selected), the process proceeds to step S15.

  In step S15, in order to validate the teaching function with the portable operating device TP2, the teaching function validation flag is turned on. In step S16, communication establishment processing is performed. In step S17, it is determined whether or not the teaching function enable flag is on. Since it is on here, the process proceeds to step S18. In step S18, the teaching function is validated and the valid flag is turned on. After that, in step S20, the portable operating device TP1 is notified of the communication establishment state (during communication / disconnection), the teaching function state (valid / invalid), and the emergency stop function state (valid / invalid). Here, “in communication”, “teaching function valid” and “emergency stop function valid” are notified.

(4.2 Illuminant lighting process)
In the portable operation device TP2 that has received the notification, the display control unit 45 turns on the light emitters provided inside the communication status indicator lamp 3 and the emergency stop switch 4. As a result, the communication status indicator lamp 3 is lit yellow, and the emergency stop switch 4 is lit red.

  Through the above processing, the portable operating device TP2 establishes communication in a state where both the teaching function and the emergency stop function are valid. In this state, the communication status indicator lamp 3 and the emergency stop switch 4 of the portable operating device TP2 emit light, so that it is possible to determine that communication is established and the teaching function is enabled.

(Establish communication of the third portable operating device)
Thereafter, it is assumed that the third portable operation device TP3 is further connected in the emergency stop mode. In this case, even though the teaching function is already valid, a connection request may be made by erroneously selecting “a connection configuration in which both the teaching function and the emergency stop function are enabled” in step S13 described above. . In this case, Yes is selected in step S14. However, as a subsequent process, an error message or the like may be output and then the process may return to step S11.

  As described above, also in the second embodiment, the same effects as in the first embodiment can be obtained. In addition, by making it possible to select the connection form, the first unit disables the teaching function (only the emergency stop function is enabled), the second unit enables the teaching function, and more flexible operation is performed. be able to.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Robot control system 2 Safety fence 3 Communication status indicator light 4 Emergency stop switch 5 Display 6 Keyboard 7 Teaching function selection switch 9 Bus 12 Transceiver 12A Wireless interface 12B Wired interface 13 CPU
14 RAM
15 hard disk 16 main control unit 17 operation control unit 18 drive command unit 19 hard disk 21 communication processing unit 25 display processing unit 26 interpretation execution unit 27 connection information storage unit 30 teaching data storage unit 32 transceiver 32A wireless interface 32B wired interface 33 CPU
34 RAM
35 main control unit 36 secondary battery 39 bus 41 communication processing unit 45 display control unit 46 key input monitoring unit 47 connection information storage unit 51 robot control system 61 transmission unit 62 reception unit 71 reception unit 72 transmission unit 80 transmission destination address 81 transmission Original address 82 Data C LAN cable Ds Operation data Dh Display data H Hub HM Worker R Robot RC Robot controller TP Portable operating device TP1 Portable operating device TP2 Portable operating device TP3 Portable operating device TPn Portable operating device

Claims (6)

A manipulator, one or more portable operation devices that transmit a teaching operation signal including an emergency stop signal, and the portable operation device are connected to the portable operation device via network communication means, and receive the teaching operation signal to teach the manipulator In a robot control system comprising a teaching function for performing work and a robot control device having an emergency stop function for receiving the emergency stop signal and performing an emergency stop of the manipulator,
A robot control system comprising communication control means for communication connection in a form in which only the emergency stop function is enabled.   When network communication is already connected between the portable operation device and the robot control device and the teaching function is enabled, a connection request for network communication is received from another different portable operation device. The robot control system according to claim 1, wherein when the communication control unit is made, the communication control unit performs communication connection in a form in which only the emergency stop function is enabled.   A connection form selection means for selecting either the form in which both the teaching function and the emergency stop function are enabled, or the form in which the teaching function is invalid and only the emergency stop function is enabled; The robot control system according to claim 1, wherein the communication control unit performs communication connection in a connection form according to a selection result.   The robot control system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the portable operating device includes a notification unit that indicates that the emergency stop function is enabled.   The robot control system according to claim 4, wherein the notification unit is provided in the portable operation device.   6. The robot control system according to claim 5, wherein the notification means is an emergency stop switch provided in the portable operating device.

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