JP2016097467A - Robot system and control method of robot system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make it possible to efficiently perform work, which employs a robot, while ensuring a worker protected state within a robot operation range, and upgrading the degree of collaboration between a worker's manipulation and a monitoring person's manipulation.SOLUTION: Included are a robot drive unit 11 that controls the movement of a robot arm 1, a movement signal transmission unit 31 that transmits a movement signal, which instructs the movement of the robot arm 1, according to a worker's manipulation, a permission signal transmission unit 41 that transmits a permission signal, which permits the movement of the robot arm 1, according to a monitoring person's manipulation, and a robot control unit 2 that receives the movement signal and permission signal, and permits or prohibits the movement of the robot arm 1 which is controlled via the robot drive unit 11 and associated with the instruction of the movement signal. If both the movement signal and permission signal are not received, the robot control unit 2 prohibits the movement of the robot arm 1 which is controlled via the robot drive unit 11 and associated with the instruction of the movement signal.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

  The present invention relates to a robot apparatus including a control apparatus that prohibits or permits the operation of a robot arm, and a control method therefor.

  In robot devices such as industrial robots, when performing robot arm teaching work and operation check, there are cases where work is performed within the operating range of the operator robot, for example, within the reach of each part of the robot arm or the tip. . This operator is an operator who controls the operation of the robot apparatus using a robot operation apparatus called a teaching pendant (TP), for example. Here, the reason why the operator performs the robot operation within the operating range of the robot is, for example, to check the operation of each part of the robot from the very vicinity of the robot arm and to check whether the intended operation is being performed.

  When working within the operating range of the robot, there is a possibility that the robot and the worker may interfere within this operating range, and therefore it is necessary to ensure a sufficient protection state of the worker.

  When the worker performs work within the operating range of the robot as described above, for example, a supervisor is set up at a position outside the operating range of the robot and where the apparatus can be visually recognized. When an abnormality occurs, it is recommended that the robot is stopped by an emergency stop switch installed outside the operating range of the robot, and in some cases, rescue of the worker is performed (the following non-patent document) 1). Although a protection state of a temporary worker or person concerned is formed by such work rules, a system that can protect the worker or person concerned more reliably is desired.

  On the other hand, a system that performs (semi) automatic monitoring of the installation environment of the robot apparatus by the robot apparatus has also been proposed (for example, Patent Document 1 below). For example, when a security robot that circulates around a building detects an abnormality, the monitoring robot in the monitoring center is notified of that fact and urged to deal with the abnormality. There is a possibility that such a conventional technique can be used for monitoring the operating range of the robot and the workers in the robot.

JP 2008-242968 A

Central Industrial Accident Prevention Association “Indispensable Safety of Industrial Robots”

  In the technique described in Patent Document 1, a notification to the supervisor that the abnormality has occurred is performed. Therefore, in such a configuration, if the supervisor is not ready to immediately operate the emergency stop switch, the supervisor's response may be delayed. Further, in order to monitor the work environment, it is necessary to provide a means such as a sensor or a camera for the monitoring robot so that the occurrence of an abnormality can be detected, and it is not so easy to improve the operation reliability.

  In the first place, the above-described method of cooperative work between the worker and the supervisor is considered to be able to quickly respond to, for example, the abnormality of the worker or the robot. In other words, the purpose is to enable smooth robot work while ensuring the protection state of the worker by cooperation between the both based on the will and judgment unique to the worker and the supervisor. . Therefore, if an automatic detection process or the like is interposed in the robot operating range monitoring process using the technique described in Patent Document 1, the cooperation between the operator and the monitor may be reduced.

  An object of the present invention is to ensure a worker's protection state, particularly within the robot operating range, to improve the cooperation of the operations of the worker and the supervisor, and to perform work using the robot efficiently. It is in.

  In order to solve the above problems, in the robot apparatus of the present invention, a robot drive unit that controls the operation of the robot arm and an operation signal that transmits an operation signal that instructs the operation of the robot arm according to the operation of the first operator. A transmission unit, a permission signal transmission unit for transmitting a permission signal for permitting the operation of the robot arm in accordance with an operation of a second operator, the operation signal and the permission signal, the received operation signal and the permission A control device that permits or prohibits the operation of the robot arm corresponding to an instruction of the operation signal controlled via the robot drive unit according to a state of the signal, the control device includes the operation signal, and If both of the permission signals are not received, the robot arm corresponding to the instruction of the operation signal controlled via the robot drive unit And performing control to prohibit the work.

  With the above configuration, the present invention secures the worker's protection state within the robot operating range, improves the cooperation between the operator and the operator's operation, and can efficiently perform work using the robot. Has an excellent effect.

It is explanatory drawing which shows the whole structure of the robot apparatus which can implement this invention. It is explanatory drawing which showed an example of the operation surface of the robot operation apparatus which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. It is the block diagram which showed the functional structure of the robot apparatus which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which showed the control signal which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. FIG. 3 is a timing diagram illustrating a relationship among a robot operation, a control signal, and a robot operation according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is the block diagram which showed the functional structure of the robot apparatus which concerns on Example 1 of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which showed the control time which concerns on Example 2 of this invention. It is the timing figure which showed the relationship between the robot operation which concerns on Example 2 of this invention, a control signal, and robot operation | movement. It is the timing figure which showed the different relationship of the robot operation which concerns on Example 2 of this invention, a control signal, and robot operation | movement. It is the timing figure which showed the further different relationship of the robot operation which concerns on Example 2 of this invention, a control signal, and robot operation | movement. It is the timing figure which showed the relationship between the robot operation which concerns on Example 3 of this invention, a control signal, and robot operation | movement. It is the timing figure which showed the further different relationship of the robot operation which concerns on Example 3 of this invention, a control signal, and robot operation | movement. It is explanatory drawing which showed the control time which concerns on Example 3 of this invention. It is the block diagram which showed an example of the control system of the robot apparatus of FIG. It is the flowchart figure which showed the control procedure in Example 1 of this invention. It is the flowchart figure which showed the control procedure in Example 2 of this invention. It is the flowchart figure which showed the control procedure in Example 2 of this invention. It is the flowchart figure which showed the emergency stop control of the robot apparatus which concerns on this invention. FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a control procedure for selecting a mode using a permission signal or a mode not using the signal in the robot apparatus according to the present invention.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. The following embodiment is merely an example, and for example, a detailed configuration can be appropriately changed by those skilled in the art without departing from the gist of the present invention. Moreover, the numerical value taken up by this embodiment is a reference numerical value, Comprising: This invention is not limited.

  An example of the configuration of a robot apparatus to which the present invention is applicable is shown in FIG.

  The robot apparatus according to this embodiment includes a robot arm 1, a robot control apparatus 2, a robot operation apparatus 3, and a robot operation permission apparatus 4. A robot arm 1, a robot operation device 3, and a robot operation permission device 4 are connected to the robot control device 2. Communication between these devices can be performed by any communication method such as wired connection (for example, wired connection by a wired serial bus or parallel bus) or wireless connection. For example, when a network communication method or the like is used, a communication method such as IEEE802.3 can be used for wired connection and IEEE802.11 or 802.15 can be used for wireless connection.

  In the case of the present embodiment, the robot apparatus includes at least two persons: a worker (first operator) 71 who operates the robot operation apparatus 3 and a supervisor (second operator) 72 who operates the robot operation permission apparatus 4. Used by the cooperation of operators.

  The robot arm 1 is configured by an arbitrary hardware architecture such as a vertical articulated type or a parallel link type. The plurality of joints provided in the robot arm 1 are respectively driven by a drive source such as a servo motor. The robot arm 1 receives the operation command from the robot control device 2, operates the drive source of each joint in accordance with the received operation command, and is controlled to a position and orientation corresponding to the operation command.

  The robot control device 2 interprets the signals transmitted from the robot operation device 3 and the robot operation permission device 4 and generates an operation command to be transmitted to the robot arm 1.

  The robot operation device 3 is a user interface called a teaching pendant, for example, and is operated by an operator 71. FIG. 2 shows a configuration example of the operation surface of the robot operation device 3.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the robot operation device 3 includes a display device 314 configured from an LCD panel (or touch panel) or the like. The robot operation device 3 has the following button group operated by the worker 71.

  The servo button 311 is used to enable or disable the power of the robot arm 1. In particular, when a servo control system is used to drive the robot arm 1, the servo button 311 is used to servo ON (power is enabled) or servo OFF (power is disabled) of the robot arm 1. Specifically, it is used to transmit an operation signal for instructing servo ON (or servo OFF) to the robot control device 2 to a servo control circuit that controls each joint of the robot arm 1 by operating the servo button 311. The emergency stop switch 313 is an example of an emergency stop operation unit, and is used to transmit an operation signal for immediately stopping the operation of the robot arm 1 to the robot controller 2 in an emergency.

  The jog button 312 is a group of buttons used to send an operation signal for instructing the robot arm 1 to the operation content to be instructed to the robot control device 2. Is assigned. For example, in the example of FIG. 2, as the jog button 312, buttons having function displays such as + X direction, −X direction, + Y direction, −Y direction, + Z direction, and −Z direction (six in this example) are provided. Has been placed. In this example, an operation function is assigned to each button of the jog button 312 for each direction in which the robot arm 1 operates.

  An operation method in which a button is assigned to each joint axis of the robot arm 1 can also be adopted. For example, if the robot arm 1 is a 6-axis robot, a button to which an operation direction for each joint axis is assigned may be prepared as the jog button 312. In this case, the function display of the button is like + J1, -J1, + J2, -J2, + J3, -J3, + J4, -J4, + J5, -J5, + J6, -J6. In addition, the operation of the rotation axis of the base of the robot arm 1 can be assigned, or the robot operating device 3 may be provided with a function switching button (not shown), and the operation instruction assigned by this function switching button may be switched.

  In any case, the display in FIG. 2 is merely a conceptual display, and a person skilled in the art can arbitrarily configure the buttons arranged on the robot operation device 3 to generate an operation signal for operating the robot arm 1. You may change it.

  In FIG. 1 again, the robot operation permission device 4 is operated by the supervisor 72 when the operator 71 operates the robot arm 1 using the robot operation device 3, and sends a permission signal for permitting the operation to the robot control device. Used to send to 2. For such cooperative operation with the worker 71, the robot operation permission device 4 in FIG. 1 is provided with a permission button 40 and a monitor display 7.

  The permission button 40 is preferably configured by an operation method (for example, a momentor operation method) such as a push button switch or an electrostatic switch that is turned on when operated and turned off when not operated. For example, when the operator 71 operates any one of the servo button 311 and the jog button 312 as shown in FIG. 2 by the robot operation device 3, the monitor display 7 is turned on (or blinked) according to the operation timing. It can be a simple indicator to display. Or you may use the display system which displays the operation content in the robot operation apparatus 3 every moment using the display etc. which imitated the operation surface of the robot operation apparatus 3. FIG. In any case, the display state of the monitor display 7 is controlled by the robot control device 2 in accordance with the operation state of the robot operation device 3.

  The robot operation permission device 4 of this embodiment is provided with an emergency stop switch 5 as an emergency stop operation unit. The emergency stop switch 5 is used to transmit an operation signal for immediately stopping the operation of the robot arm 1 to the robot control device 2 in an emergency like the emergency stop switch 313 of the robot operation device 3. The emergency stop switch 5 may be arranged so that it can be operated by the supervisor 72 even in a known device arrangement, for example, outside the operating range 6 of the robot arm 1. Therefore, the emergency stop switch 5 is not necessarily configured as a part of the robot operation permission device 4. In that case, a configuration may be adopted in which the robot operation permission device 4 having the monitor display 7 and the permission button 40 is disposed in the vicinity of the emergency stop switch 5 (for example, already installed). Here, “near” the emergency stop switch 5 means that, for example, the supervisor 72 can access the robot operation permission device 4 and the emergency stop switch 5 using both hands, and issues a permission signal and an emergency stop at a necessary timing. An arrangement that can quickly transmit an operation signal.

  The emergency stop switch 5 is, for example, a so-called mushroom-type switch, and once operated, the button is pushed in and the operation state (emergency stop command state) is maintained. When the operation state of the emergency stop switch 5 is formed, the robot control device 2 immediately (emergency) stops the operation of the robot arm 1.

  In FIG. 1, the operating range 6 of the robot arm 1 means a range in which each part of the robot arm 1 (each link connected at each joint, a tip, a corner of the joint, etc.) can reach. In FIG. 1, the operating range 6 is indicated by a simple circular display, but actually corresponds to a three-dimensional spatial range. Depending on the configuration of each part of the robot arm 1 (corner part such as its tip or joint), for example, it is not necessarily a spherical space range and may have a complicated shape.

  In any case, in the operating range 6, any part of the robot arm 1 may occupy a space physically. For example, when the operator 71 and the robot arm 1 interfere (for example, collide), the event Occurs inside the operating range 6. Therefore, a protective fence (not shown) may be installed so as to surround the operating range 6 in order to ensure the protection state of the worker 71 or the supervisor 72 (or other related person).

  Here, the roles of the worker 71 and the supervisor 72 will be described. For example, when performing a teaching operation or operation check of the robot arm 1, the worker 71 operates the robot operation device 3 to operate the robot arm 1. At this time, the operator 71 performs the operation of the robot operation device 3 inside or outside the operation range 6 while entering / exiting the operation range 6 as necessary, for example. The robot operating device 3 is operated within the operating range 6 because the operator 71 confirms the operation of each part from the very vicinity of the robot arm 1 and instructs, for example, by a teaching operation via the robot operating device 3. This is for confirming whether or not the operation is performed. At this time, depending on circumstances, for example, the operator 71 moves the robot arm 1 by moving a part of the robot arm 1 or a part of the face that is operated by the robot arm 1 close to the limbs or a part of the face. You may want to confirm.

  On the other hand, the supervisor 72 operates the robot operation permission device 4 and the emergency stop switch 5 outside the operating range 6 and at a position where the states of the robot arm 1 and the worker 71 can be visually recognized. Here, for example, it is assumed that the worker 71 operates the robot arm 1 with the robot operation device 3 to generate an operation signal. Then, the robot control device 2 controls the monitor display 7 to a display state corresponding to the operation state of the worker 71 so that the supervisor 72 can visually recognize that in synchronism with this. For example, when the monitor display 7 is composed of an indicator lamp or the like, the monitor display 7 is turned on in synchronization during the button operation period in the robot operation device 3.

  In the present embodiment, basically, the robot control device 2 is configured such that, even when the operator 71 operates the robot operation device 3, the monitor 72 operates the permission button 40 of the robot operation permission device 4 and outputs a permission signal. Unless it occurs, control is performed so that the robot arm 1 is not actually operated. However, as will be described later, for some robot operations, the robot controller 2 does not wait for the operation of the permission button 40 in consideration of the operability (operation feeling) of the worker 71 and the like. It is possible to perform control for starting the robot operation corresponding to the operation.

  When the operator 71 operates the robot operation device 3 to generate an operation signal, the corresponding display is performed on the monitor display 7 as described above, so that the supervisor 72 can recognize the operation. Here, the supervisor 72 confirms the state of the robot arm 1 and the worker 71 from the outside of the operating range 6 and operates the permission button 40 when it is determined that the robot arm 1 may be operated. The robot operation permission device 4 transmits a permission signal to the robot control device 2.

  Except for a part of the robot control described later, the robot control device 2 responds to the motion signal generated in response to the operation of the robot operation device 3 on condition that the permission signal is received from the motion permission device 4. The robot arm 1 is caused to execute the robot operation. Conversely, even if the robot control device 2 receives the motion signal from the robot operation device 3 and does not receive both the motion signal and the permission signal, the robot control device 2 prohibits the robot motion corresponding to the motion signal. Control.

  FIG. 14 schematically shows a configuration example of a control system of the robot control apparatus 2. This control system includes a CPU 201 composed of a general-purpose microprocessor, ROM 202, RAM 203, external storage device 204, interfaces 205, 207, 208, network interface 206, RTC 209, and the like.

  The ROM 202 can be used, for example, for storing an access control program and control data described later. Note that the storage area for this purpose may be constituted by a storage device such as an E (E) PROM so that the access control program and control data stored in the ROM 202 can be updated later. The RAM 203 is composed of a DRAM element or the like, and is used as a work area for the CPU 201 to execute various controls and processes. The functions related to the robot control described later are realized by the CPU 201 executing the access control program of the present embodiment. The configuration equivalent to the hardware centered on the CPU (201) shown in FIG. 14 can be used as the control system of the robot operation device 3, for example.

  The external storage device 204 is configured by, for example, an SSD or HDD disk device. The external storage device 204 can store a robot control program, teaching point data, an access control program described later, and the like in a file format. The external storage device 204 may be configured by a recording medium such as various removable optical disks, or a removable SSD or HDD disk device, or a removable flash memory. Such various detachable computer-readable recording media are used, for example, for installing or updating an access control program constituting a part of the present invention in the ROM 202 (E (E) PROM area). it can. In this case, various detachable computer-readable recording media store the control program constituting the present invention, and the recording medium itself constitutes the present invention.

  As described above, the CPU 201 executes each robot control program, firmware, and access control program stored in the ROM 202 (or the external storage device 204). Thereby, each functional block of the above-mentioned robot control device 2 is realized.

  In FIG. 14, the robot control device 2 has interfaces 205, 207, and 208, and communicates with the robot operation device 3, the robot arm 1, and the robot operation permission device 4 through the interfaces 205, 207, and 208, respectively. These interfaces 205, 207, 208 are configured by any communication interface as described above (for example, a parallel or serial communication interface). The CPU 201 can receive the operation signal from the operation of the robot operation device 3 and the permission signal (or emergency stop signal) from the robot operation permission device 4 (emergency stop switch 5) via the interfaces 207 and 208, respectively. . Note that the interfaces 207 and 208 correspond to the interface 21 in the functional configuration shown in FIGS.

  The interface 205 corresponds to the interface 23 shown in FIGS. 3 and 6 to be described later, and is used to communicate with the robot drive unit (11) of the robot arm 1. The CPU 201 transmits a control signal in a predetermined signal format via the interface 205 to cause the robot arm 1 to execute a robot operation corresponding to an operation signal from the robot operation device 3 or a taught robot program. Can do.

  The network interface (NIF) 206 is used to communicate with other control terminals (not shown), other robot control devices, servers on the network, and the like. The network interface 206 can use a network communication system by wired or wireless connection, for example, a communication system such as IEEE802.3 for wired connection or IEEE802.11 or 802.15 for wireless connection. Communication with the robot operation device 3, the robot arm 1, the robot operation permission device 4, etc. may all be performed via the network interface 206.

  When a robot apparatus as shown in FIG. 1 is configured using a control system as shown in FIG. 14 in order to realize the control of the present embodiment described later, the functional configuration as shown in FIG. 3 is obtained. Hereinafter, the configuration of each functional block shown in FIG. 3 will be described in more detail.

  In FIG. 3, the robot arm 1, the robot control device 2, the robot operation device 3, the robot operation permission device 4, and the emergency stop switch 5 (on the robot operation permission device 4 side) are shown as functional blocks.

  In FIG. 3, the robot control apparatus 2 includes a control unit 22 and interfaces 21 and 23. Although the interface 21 is shown as one block, it corresponds to the interfaces 207 and 208 in FIG. 14, and the interface 23 corresponds to the interface 205 in FIG.

  The control unit 22 of the robot control apparatus 2 corresponds to a functional expression of control realized by, for example, the hardware of the CPU 201 in FIG. 14 and a control program described later executed by the CPU 201.

  In FIG. 3, the main function of the robot operating device 3 is indicated by the operation signal transmission unit 31. The operation signal transmission unit 31 generates an operation signal for designating a specific robot operation (including servo ON / OFF) of the robot arm 1 in accordance with the operation of the servo button 311 or the jog button 312 in FIG. 2 to send.

  The main function of the robot operation permission device 4 is indicated by a permission signal transmission unit 41. In FIG. 3, the function of the emergency stop switch 5 on the robot operation permission device 4 side is illustrated independently of the robot operation permission device 4, and is indicated by a stop signal transmission unit 51. The permission signal transmission unit 41 transmits a permission signal for permitting the robot operation of the robot arm 1 according to the operation of the permission button 40. In addition, the stop signal transmission unit 51 causes the robot arm 1 to perform an emergency stop in response to an operation of the emergency stop switch 5 to generate a signal.

  The robot arm 1 has a robot drive unit 11. The robot drive unit 11 controls the drive source of each joint unit based on the robot control signal transmitted from the robot control device 2, thereby controlling the robot arm 1 to perform an operation corresponding to the command of the robot control signal. The When the drive source of the robot arm 1 is constituted by a servo motor, the robot drive unit 11 is provided with a servo controller (not shown). In that case, the drive source of each joint part of the robot arm 1 is controlled in accordance with the robot control signal, and the control corresponding to the command of the robot control signal is performed. For example, if the received robot control signal is a servo-on instruction signal, the servo controller is controlled to a servo-on state.

  As shown in the functional expression of FIG. 3, the robot apparatus of the present embodiment includes a robot drive unit 11 that controls the operation of the robot arm 1. Moreover, it has the operation signal transmission part 31 which transmits the operation signal which instruct | indicates operation | movement of the robot arm 1 according to operation of the worker 71 (1st operator). Furthermore, it has the permission signal transmission part 41 which transmits the permission signal which permits operation | movement of the robot arm 1 according to operation of the supervisor 72 (2nd operator).

  Further, the robot control device 2 or the control unit 22 (specifically configured by the hardware and software of the CPU 201) constitutes a main control device of the robot device. The control device receives the operation signal and the permission signal, and the robot arm corresponding to the instruction of the operation signal controlled via the robot drive unit 11 according to the state of the received operation signal and the permission signal. Allow or prohibit operation. In particular, the control device receives an operation signal from the operation signal transmission unit 31 (first reception process) and also receives a permission signal from the permission signal transmission unit 41 (second reception process). In the basic control method of the present embodiment shown below, when the control device does not receive both the operation signal and the permission signal, the robot arm 1 corresponding to the instruction of the operation signal A control step for prohibiting the operation is included.

  FIG. 4 shows main control states (states) used in the robot control apparatus 2 of the present embodiment. Each state (211 to 214) in FIG. 4 is managed by the control unit 22 (FIG. 3) to the CPU 201 (FIG. 14). The robot operating device 3 and the robot permission signal transmission unit 41 (or the emergency stop switch 5). The value corresponding to the operation (right side of FIG. 4) is taken. Specifically, these control states are stored in, for example, a storage area (or a register of the CPU 201) reserved in advance in the RAM 203 of FIG. In order to facilitate understanding, these control states are expressed in Japanese in the figure, but in the memory, they are actually expressed by mnemonics based on appropriate binary codes or character strings.

  In order to realize the control described later, in FIG. 4, the control state managed by the control unit 22 (CPU 201) includes, for example, the signal state 211 of the robot operation device 3, the signal state 212 of the robot operation permission device 4, and the instruction content 213. , Comprising a servo state 214. These control states are controlled as follows, for example.

  The control state of the signal state 211 of the robot operation device 3 corresponds to the presence / absence of an operation signal transmitted from the robot operation device 3. The signal state 211 stores only information (ON / OFF) related to the presence / absence of an operation signal (whether or not an operation has been performed by the robot operation device 3) regardless of the content of the operation signal. The signal state 211 has a value (OFF) indicating a state in which no signal is received in the initial state. When an operation signal is transmitted from the robot operation device 3 in response to the operation of the servo button 311 or the jog button 312, the control unit 22 (CPU 201) updates the signal state 211 to a value (ON) corresponding to the reception state of the operation signal. To do.

  Further, the control state of the signal state 211 of the robot operation device 3 is controlled as a state representing an operation request of the robot operation device 3. As described above, in this embodiment, when the robot operation device 3 transmits an operation signal to request the operation of the robot arm 1, the robot operation is permitted by the permission signal from the robot operation permission device 4 and executed. Based on. For this reason, for example, when a permission signal is received from the robot operation permission device 4 in response to the operation of the permission button 40, the control unit 22 (CPU 201) returns 211 to a value (OFF) indicating that no signal is received. Control as follows.

  The control state of the signal state 212 of the robot operation permission device 4 corresponds to the presence / absence of a signal transmitted from the robot operation permission device 4. The initial value of the signal state 212 is a value (OFF) indicating that no signal is received. When the permission button 40 is operated in the robot operation permission device 4 and a permission signal is transmitted, the control unit 22 (CPU 201) receives the signal state 212 of the robot operation permission device as a value (ON) indicating that the signal is received. ) For example, when the permission button 40 is a momentary operation method as described above, when the supervisor 72 stops operating the permission button 40, the control unit 22 (CPU 201) has a value indicating that the permission signal is not received ( Return to OFF. In this way, the value of the signal state 212 of the robot operation permission device 4 is controlled to be synchronized with the operation (of the permission button 40) of the robot operation permission device 4.

  The state of the instruction content 213 is updated by the control unit 22 (CPU 201) so as to have a value corresponding to the content of the (latest) operation performed by the robot operation device 3 (or the emergency stop switch 5). The initial value of the instruction content 213 is controlled to a value (appropriate undefined value) indicating a state where there is no instruction. When the servo button 311 is operated by the robot operation device 3, the value of the instruction content 213 is controlled to “a value indicating that the servo is operated” (indicated as “servo ON” in FIG. 4). When the jog button 312 is operated by the robot operation device 3, the value of the instruction content 213 is controlled to “a value indicating that the jog button has been operated”. When the operation of the jog button 312 is finished, the value of the instruction content 213 is controlled to a value indicating a state before the jog button is pressed, for example. In addition, when the emergency stop switch 5 (same as in the case of the emergency stop switch 313) is operated, the value of the instruction content is forcibly “value indicating that the emergency stop switch has been operated”. Will be overwritten immediately. The state of the instruction content 213 is basically used to store the “instruction content” of the robot operating device 3. However, in the case of an emergency stop, the state of the instruction content 213 is as described above due to the nature of the operation. It is rather reasonable to control the storage area to be shared. As a result, a storage area such as the RAM 203 for storing the control state can be saved.

  Further, the state of the servo state 214 is managed by the control unit 22 (CPU 201) so as to hold the servo state of the robot arm 1. The servo state 214 is updated by the control unit 22 (CPU 201) to have values of “servo ON” if the robot arm 1 is in the servo ON state and “servo OFF” if the servo arm is OFF.

  A control example of this embodiment is shown in FIGS. FIG. 15 shows a robot control procedure executed by the CPU 201, for example, and FIG. 5 shows a robot control timing executed by the control procedure of FIG. The control procedure in FIG. 15 is described as a control program that can be executed by the CPU 201, and can be stored in the ROM 202 or the external storage device 204, for example. This also applies to the embodiments described later.

  The robot apparatus of the present embodiment uses a servo control system, and in order to cause the robot arm 1 to perform some kind of robot operation, a servo-on operation is required. Here, the robot operation to be performed by the robot arm 1 is assumed to move, for example, a reference portion (for example, a tip portion) of the robot arm 1 in the + X direction. This operation is performed by the operator 71 using the jog button 312 (+ X) of the robot operation device 3. Prior to this jog operation, the servo-ON operation is performed by the operator 71 operating the servo button 311 of the robot operation device 3.

  Further, the control procedure of FIG. 15 receives a permission signal from the robot operation permission device 4 according to the permission operation of the supervisor 72 for both the servo-on operation of the robot arm 1 and the jog operation from the robot operation device 3. It is configured to make this an essential requirement.

  The control loop of FIG. 15 includes steps S111 and S114 for detecting the robot operation by the robot operation device 3 of the worker 71. In step S <b> 111, the CPU 201 determines whether or not the worker 71 has performed a servo ON operation using the servo button 311 of the robot operation device 3. In step S <b> 114, the CPU 201 determines whether the worker 71 has performed a jog operation using the jog button 312 of the robot operation device 3.

  When the operator 71 performs any of the above operations with the robot operation device 3, an operation signal instructing each robot operation is transmitted to the robot control device 2. If any of the above operations has not been performed, the process waits while looping through steps S111 and S114. When the operator 71 performs any of the above operations with the robot operation device 3 and an operation signal instructing each robot operation is transmitted to the robot control device 2, the robot operation permission device of the supervisor 72 is transmitted in step S112 or S115. The presence or absence of the permission operation by 4 is detected.

  In steps S112 and S115, the CPU 201 determines whether or not the supervisor 72 has pressed the permission button 40 of the robot operation permission device 4 and has received a permission signal. Only when the permission signal is received in steps S112 and S115, a command is sent to the robot drive unit 11 of the corresponding robot arm 1, and the corresponding robot operation (steps S113 and S116) is executed. Here, the operation permitted in step S113 is servo-on, and the operation permitted in step S116 is a robot operation performed by a jog operation.

  The control of FIG. 15 returns to the loop of steps S111 and S114 when the permission operation is not performed in steps S112 and S115, and waits for the permission operation to be performed in steps S112 and S115. It is configured to be done.

  The robot control is executed as shown in FIG. 5 by the control procedure as shown in FIG. In the left end portion of FIG. 5, reference numerals of the above-described constituent members are shown in parentheses. In the example of FIG. 5, the worker 71 performs the jog operation (S4) after performing the servo ON operation (S1). Then, the CPU 201 performs the corresponding servo ON (S3) and the corresponding robot operation (S6) on condition that the supervisor 72 transmits a permission signal from the robot operation permission device 4 by the permission button 40 (S2, S5). The robot arm 1 is controlled to perform.

  In more detail in relation to the control state of FIG. 4, the control of FIG. 5 is performed as follows.

  When the operator 71 operates the servo button 311 provided on the robot operation device 3 (S1), an operation signal for instructing the operation of the robot arm 1 is transmitted from the operation signal transmitting unit 31 to the interface 21 by this robot operation. The Upon receiving this operation signal, the CPU 201 updates the signal state 211 of the robot operation device 3 to “ON” and the instruction content 213 to “servo ON”. As described above, at this stage, the CPU 201 does not actually execute the corresponding servo ON control.

  The state of the above robot operation is synchronously displayed on the monitor display 7 of the robot operation permission device 4. If it is determined that the robot operation may be permitted after visually confirming the monitor display or confirming the status of the operating range 6, the supervisor 72 operates the permission button 40 of the robot operation permission device 4 ( S2). In response to this, a permission signal is transmitted from the permission signal transmitter 41 to the robot controller 2 that permits the operation of the robot arm 1.

  When receiving this permission signal, the CPU 201 updates the control state of the signal state 212 of the robot operation permission device 4 to “ON”. When the CPU 201 confirms that the signal state 211 of the robot operation device 3 and the signal state 212 of the robot operation permission device 4 are “ON”, the CPU 201 permits the robot operation. Here, the signal state 211 of the robot operation device 3 is returned to “OFF”, and the instruction content 213 (servo ON) is transmitted to the robot drive unit 11 of the robot arm 1. Thereafter, the instruction content 213 is set to “no instruction”, and the value of the state of the servo state 214 is set to “ON” corresponding to the current state. The robot drive unit 11 of the robot arm 1 controls the servo controller to be in a servo-on state by the above control (S3). As described above, the servo of the robot arm 1 can be turned on from the robot operation device 3.

  Subsequently, the worker 71 operates a jog button 312 (for example, + X) provided on the robot operation device 3 (S4). By this operation, an operation signal for instructing the operation of the robot arm 1 is transmitted from the operation signal transmission unit 31. When the robot control device 2 receives the signal, the CPU 201 sets the signal state 211 of the robot operation device to “ON” and the instruction content 213 to “jog + X”. As described above, at this stage, the CPU 201 does not actually execute control of the corresponding jog operation.

  Also regarding the state of the jog operation, synchronous display is performed by the monitor display 7 of the robot operation permission device 4. If it is determined that the robot operation may be permitted after visually confirming the monitor display or confirming the status of the operating range 6, the supervisor 72 operates the permission button 40 of the robot operation permission device 4 ( S5). In response to this, a permission signal is transmitted from the permission signal transmitter 41 to the robot controller 2 that permits the operation of the robot arm 1.

  When this permission signal is detected, the CPU 201 turns on the signal state 212 of the robot operation permission device 4. Then, when the CPU 201 confirms that the signal state 211 of the robot operation device 3 is “ON”, the signal state 212 of the robot operation permission device 4 is “ON”, and the servo state 214 is “ON”, the robot operation concerned Allow. Here, the robot operation device signal state 211 is set to “OFF”, the instruction content 213 (jog + X) is transmitted to the robot arm 1 via the interface 23, and the instruction content 213 is returned to “no instruction”. As a result, a command to move the reference portion of the arm in the + X direction is transmitted to the robot drive unit 11 of the robot arm 1 (S6). As described above, the robot arm 1 can be moved (in the + X direction) in accordance with the jog operation of the robot operation device 3.

  As described above, the robot apparatus according to the present embodiment includes the robot drive unit 11 that controls the operation of the robot arm 1. Moreover, it has the operation signal transmission part 31 which transmits the operation signal which instruct | indicates operation | movement of the robot arm 1 according to operation of the worker 71 (1st operator). Furthermore, it has the permission signal transmission part 41 which transmits the permission signal which permits operation | movement of the robot arm 1 according to operation of the supervisor 72 (2nd operator).

  Further, the robot control device 2 to the control unit 22 (specifically configured by hardware and software of the CPU 201) constitute a main control device of the robot device. The control device receives the operation signal and the permission signal, and the robot arm corresponding to the instruction of the operation signal controlled via the robot drive unit 11 according to the state of the received operation signal and the permission signal. Allow or prohibit operation. In particular, the control device receives an operation signal from the operation signal transmission unit 31 (first reception process) and also receives a permission signal from the permission signal transmission unit 41 (second reception process). The basic control method of the present embodiment prohibits the operation of the robot arm 1 corresponding to the instruction of the operation signal when the control device does not receive both the operation signal and the permission signal. Including a control step.

  For example, in this embodiment, when the operator 71 performs a robot operation with the robot operation device 3, the supervisor 72 determines that the robot operation (operation) may be permitted, and operates the permission button 40. Control to execute the robot operation (motion) for the first time. For example, the supervisor 72 confirms the situation in the worker 71 or the operating range 6 and when the worker 71 is in a protected state or can operate the emergency stop switch 5 promptly ( Only), the permission button 40 is judged to be operated.

  For this reason, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to efficiently perform work using the robot while ensuring the protection state of the worker within the robot operating range. In this embodiment, since the robot operation permission device 4 is provided with the monitor display 7 for synchronously displaying the operation of the worker 71, the cooperation of the operations of the worker and the monitor is improved, and the robot is used efficiently. Work that was done.

  The emergency stop operation by the emergency stop switch 313 of the robot operation device 3 or the emergency stop switch 5 on the robot operation permission device 4 side is prepared as an interrupt routine to be executed by the CPU 201 as shown in FIG. Can be realized.

  Step S411 in FIG. 18 shows an emergency stop operation detection process by the emergency stop switch 313 of the robot operation device 3 or the emergency stop switch 5 on the robot operation permission device 4 side. The detection of the emergency stop operation can be implemented in the form of, for example, a hardware interrupt. When the emergency stop operation is performed, an interrupt is generated, and the control of the CPU 201 transitions to step S412. Both the operator 71 and the supervisor 72 can perform this emergency stop operation via the emergency stop switch 313 or the emergency stop switch 5. When these emergency stop switches are operated, an emergency stop signal is transmitted from the robot operation device 3 or the robot operation permission device 4 to the robot control device 2. This interrupt control is unconditionally executed in preference to any robot control currently being executed. In step S412, a robot operation unit 11 of the robot arm 1 stops all the robot operations being executed and transmits an emergency stop signal indicating that the servo is off.

  By preparing an emergency stop routine as shown in FIG. 18, both the supervisor 72 and the worker 71 operate the robot arm 1 using the emergency stop switch 313 or the emergency stop switch 5 according to the occurrence of an emergency. Can be stopped unconditionally. Thereby, the protection state of the worker 71 (or the monitor 72 or the related person) can be ensured.

  In the first embodiment, even if the operator 71 performs the robot operation with the robot operation device 3, the robot 72 corresponding to the operation signal transmitted to the robot control device 2 is permitted by the monitor 72 by the permission button 40. It occurs for the first time when the operation is performed.

  That is, an event (robot motion) corresponding to the robot operation of the worker 71 is not executed immediately after the operation, but occurs with some time lag. For robot operations that do not involve actual movement such as servo-on by the servo button 311, there is a possibility that such a robot control does not cause much problem. However, the robot operation accompanied by the actual movement such as the jog operation of the robot operation device 3 is still performed if, for example, the teaching operation of the robot arm 1 is being performed, and the robot control as in the first embodiment makes the operator 71 feel uncomfortable. There is a possibility to make it. It is considered that at least the operation feeling of the worker 71 is perceived as a delay in the response of the robot operation to the robot operation.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, the handling of the permission signal is differentiated between the servo ON operation and the jog operation. That is, at least a jog operation is controlled to start a corresponding robot operation without waiting for a permission signal (permission operation). However, the robot operation corresponding to the jog operation is not executed without the permission of the supervisor 72, and there is a restriction on “free operation time” in which the jog operation (motion) can be executed without the permission signal (permission operation). Then, if the permitting operation of the supervisor 72 is not performed within this free operation time, the jog operation (motion) once started is stopped.

  For the servo-ON operation of the worker 71, a grace period is provided for the permission operation of the supervisor 72 to be performed thereafter, and only when the supervisor 72 performs the permission operation within the grace period after the servo-on operation. Execute servo ON. Further, after the servo-on operation, if the supervisor 72 does not perform the permission operation within the grace period, the servo-on operation is invalidated and the servo-on is not executed.

  Different lengths of the free operation time and the grace time may be employed, but in this embodiment, the same setting of 1 (second) is used for the free operation time and the grace time. It should be noted that the “free operation time” in the present embodiment can be considered as a type of grace time in the sense that it waits for the permitting operation of the supervisor 72 within that time. However, with respect to the jog operation (motion) that acts on the free operation time, the robot operation corresponding to the robot operation is immediately started. For this reason, in this embodiment, different terms such as a grace time and a free operation time are used for the time for the servo ON operation and the jog operation.

  Hereinafter, the configuration and control of this embodiment will be described. In the following description, the same members as those in the above-described embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The configuration of the robot apparatus to which the control of this embodiment can be applied may be the same as that shown in FIG. The configuration of the control system may be the same as that shown in FIG. The control state (state) shown in FIG. 4 is also used in this embodiment.

  FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating the robot apparatus according to the present embodiment in terms of functions. The only difference from FIG. 3 of the first embodiment is that the time measuring unit 24 is shown in the block of the robot control apparatus 2 of FIG. For example, the time measuring unit 24 can be configured by an RTC 209 (real time clock) in the configuration of the control system shown in FIG. Alternatively, the time measuring unit 24 can be configured not only by the RTC chip but also by any other timer hardware. In short, it is only necessary that the time measurement unit 24 is mounted so that the CPU 201 can measure time information as shown in FIG.

  FIG. 7 shows time data measured using the time measuring unit 24. The time data used in this embodiment is a grace time 241, an elapsed time 242 and a free operation time 243 as shown in FIG.

  Among them, the grace period 241 corresponds to the operation of the permission button 40 from the robot operation permission device 4 after the operator 71 performs the robot operation (servo ON operation of the servo button 311 in this embodiment) with the robot operation device 3. It is time to accept the permission signal transmitted. The time information of the grace time 241 is a constant value (but may be changed by a setting operation), and is 1 (second) in the present embodiment.

  The elapsed time 242 corresponds to a timer that measures an elapsed time after the robot control device 2 receives an operation signal transmitted from the robot operation device 3 in response to the robot operation. Such a timer (elapsed time 242) can be realized by setting the function of the RTC 209, for example, and the value of the elapsed time 242 is updated as time passes. For example, the elapsed time 242 stores a value such as “0.5” when 0.5 seconds have elapsed and “10” when 10 seconds have elapsed.

  The free operation time 243 does not wait for the permission operation of the robot operation permission device 4 as described above, and after the operator 71 performs a robot operation (jogging operation in this embodiment) with the robot operation device 3, (robot operation permission) This is the time during which the robot operation can be performed (without permission operation of the device 4). At the same time, the free operation time 243 is also a time for receiving a permission signal transmitted in response to the operation of the permission button 40 from the robot operation permission device 4 after the start of the jog operation (jog operation). The time information of the free operation time 243 is a constant value (but may be changed by a setting operation), and is set to 1 (second) which is the same as the grace time 241 in this embodiment.

  Next, the robot control of this embodiment will be described. The robot control procedure executed by the CPU 201 (FIG. 14) in this embodiment is as shown in FIGS. 8 to 10 show control examples when the operator 71 moves the robot arm 1 in the + X direction using the robot operating device 3. FIG.

  FIG. 16 shows a control procedure related to a servo-on operation that causes a grace period 241 (1 (second)), and FIG. 17 shows a control procedure related to a jog operation that applies a free operation time 243, respectively.

  The control in FIG. 16 and FIG. 17 is similar, and the control elements include resetting the elapsed time 242 (timer) (S211, S311), servo ON operation (S212) in the robot operation device 3, or jog operation (S312). . When the servo ON operation (S212) or the jog operation (S312) is performed, the elapsed time 242 (timer) is started (S213, S313).

  Thereafter, in the control of the servo-ON operation in FIG. 16, the servo-ON is executed (S215) on condition that the permission signal is transmitted from the robot operation permission device 4 within the grace period 241 (S214).

  On the other hand, in the control of the jog operation in FIG. 17, the robot arm 1 is caused to immediately execute the jog operation corresponding to the jog operation without waiting for the permission signal to be transmitted from the robot operation permission device 4 (S313). If the permission signal is transmitted from the robot motion permission device 4 within the free operation time 243, the jog motion is continuously executed (S316 to S315). Further, when the elapsed time 242 (timer) times out without transmitting the permission signal within the free operation time 243, the jog operation is stopped as disallowed (prohibited) (S316 to S317).

  The robot control executed by the control procedure as shown in FIGS. 16 and 17 will be described with reference to the examples of FIGS.

  FIG. 8 shows an example in which a permission signal is transmitted from the robot operation permission device 4 within the grace time 241 and the free operation time 243 and a robot operation corresponding to the operation of the robot operation device 3 is executed. FIG. 9 shows an example in which the permission signal transmission from the robot operation permission device 4 is not in time for the delay time 241 regarding the servo ON operation. FIG. 10 similarly shows an example in which the permission signal transmission from the robot operation permission device 4 is not in time for the free operation time 243 regarding the jog operation.

  In FIG. 8, the worker 71 operates a servo button 311 provided in the robot operation device 3 (S7). As a result, a signal instructing the operation of the robot arm 1 is transmitted to the robot controller 2. In response to this, the CPU 201 sets the signal state 211 (FIG. 4) of the robot operation device 3 to “ON” and the instruction content 213 to “servo ON”. The control unit 22 transmits a command for measuring time to the time measuring unit 24, and the time measuring unit 24 updates the value of the elapsed time 242 as needed (timer start in FIG. 16).

  The supervisor 72 recognizes the above servo-on operation via the display on the monitor display 7, etc., and in the example of FIG. 8, the robot operation permission device 4 is operated within the grace period 241. A permission signal is transmitted from the device 4 to the robot control device 2 (S8). In response to this, the CPU 201 switches the signal state 212 of the robot operation permission device 4 to “ON”. The CPU 201 sets the robot operation device signal state 211 to “OFF”, the servo state 214 to “ON”, and the instruction content 213 (servo ON) on condition that the signal state 212 of the robot operation permission device 4 is “ON”. Transmit to the robot arm 1. As described above, the robot arm 1 is servo-ON from the robot operating device 3 (S9).

  Note that after the servo-ON is validated, a signal for ending the measurement is issued to the time measuring unit 24 (step S211 in FIG. 16), and the measurement of the elapsed time 242 is ended. As a result, the value of the elapsed time 242 is reset to “0”.

  On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 9, after the servo ON operation (S 13), when there is no permission operation of the robot operation permission device 4 and the elapsed time 242 becomes larger than the grace time 241, the CPU 201 does not permit the servo ON operation. . In the example of FIG. 9, the operation (S14) of the robot operation permission device 4 is delayed from the grace period 241. In this case, the CPU 201 does not turn on the servo but keeps the servo off state. Further, a signal to end the measurement is sent to the time measuring unit 24, the elapsed time 242 is reset to 0, and the time measurement is ended (S311 in FIG. 16).

  As described above, the CPU 201 performs servo control of the robot arm 1 only when the permission operation of the robot operation permission device 4 is performed within a certain grace period 241 after the servo ON operation of the robot operation device 3 is performed. Control to ON.

  In FIG. 8 again, the worker 71 operates the jog button (+ X) 312 provided on the robot operation device 3 (S10). In this embodiment, for the jog operation, the corresponding robot operation is immediately started (S12). Here, a signal for instructing the robot operation instructed by the operation signal from the robot operation device 3 is transmitted to the robot drive unit 11 of the robot arm 1. When an operation signal is received from the robot operation device 3, the signal state 211 (FIG. 4) of the robot operation device 3 is set to “ON”, the value of the instruction content 213 is set to “jog + X”, and the instruction content 213 (jog + X) is changed to the robot. Send to arm 1 As a result, the robot arm 1 jogs the reference portion in the + X direction. Prior to (or simultaneously with) the transmission of the instruction content 213, a command for measuring time is transmitted to the time measuring unit 24 to start updating the value of the elapsed time 242 (timer start of S311 in FIG. 17).

  The supervisor 72 recognizes the jog operation through the display on the monitor display 7 or the like. In the example of FIG. 8, the supervisor 72 performs the permission operation with the robot operation permission device 4 within the free operation time 243 (S11). When the robot control apparatus 2 receives the corresponding permission signal, the CPU 201 switches the signal state 212 of the robot operation permission apparatus 4 to “ON”. When the robot operation permission device signal state 212 is switched to “ON”, the CPU 201 acquires the value of the elapsed time 242 and if the value is within the free operation time 243 (the same value as or smaller than that), the CPU 201 Continuous jog operation is allowed. For example, the CPU 201 continues to transmit the instruction content 213 (jog + X) corresponding to the signal state 211 of the robot operation device 3 to the robot arm 1.

  In this case, the jog operation of the robot arm 1 is continuously performed by operating the jog button 312 of the robot operation device 3 (S12). When the operator 71 finishes operating the jog button 312, the operation of the robot arm 1 stops.

  On the other hand, in FIG. 10, similarly to FIG. 8, the jog operation of the robot arm 1 is started immediately in response to the jog operation (S15). However, in the example of FIG. 10, after the operation of the robot arm 1 is started by the operation of the jog button 312 (S15), the permission operation (S16) of the robot motion permission device 4 is not in time for the free operation time 243. In this case, the elapsed time 242 is larger than the free operation time 243, and the CPU 201 forcibly ends the jog operation of the robot arm 1 once started by the control of FIG. Here, the servo of the robot arm 1 is turned off, and as a result, the operation of the robot arm 1 is stopped (S17). Further, a signal to end the measurement is sent to the time measuring unit 24, the elapsed time 242 is reset to 0, and the time measurement is ended (S311 in FIG. 16).

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the point that the operator 71 permits the robot operation of the robot operation device 3 by the supervisor 72 one by one is allowed to execute the robot operation. It is the same. However, for a robot operation that affects the operability and operational feeling of the operator 71 such as a jog operation, the robot operation is started immediately without waiting for the permission operation of the supervisor 72. If the permission operation is performed within the free operation time 243, the robot operation is continued (permitted). If the permission operation is not performed within the free operation time 243 (not in time), the robot operation is performed. Stop (no more allowed). For this reason, the worker 71 can efficiently perform the robot work without causing the worker 71 to feel a time lag regarding the jog operation or the like and without impairing the operability and operation feeling of the worker 71.

  In addition, by setting a grace period 241 related to servo-on and a free operation time 243 related to a jog operation (motion) as in this embodiment, the supervisor 72 is urged to execute a permission operation as quickly as possible. effective. For example, by setting the grace time 241 related to the servo ON and the free operation time 243 related to the jog operation (motion) to a short time of about 1 second, the work concentration level of the supervisor 72 and the speed of the permission operation are set. There is a possibility that can be increased. For example, the supervisor 72 concentrates on the display on the monitor display 7 and the situation in the worker 71 and the operating range 6 in order to perform the permission operation in time for the grace period 241 and the free operation time 243, and promptly perform the permission operation. Judgment will be made.

  By providing a time measuring unit 24 (FIG. 6) such as the RTC 209 (FIG. 14) as in the second embodiment, the power maintenance time of the robot arm 1 is automatically set as shown in the following embodiment. It can also be managed. In this specification, since the control of the robot arm 1 is performed by a servo control system, this power maintenance time corresponds to, for example, a servo ON maintenance time for maintaining the servo ON. In the following description, only control related to the management of servo-on is shown, but with respect to the jog operation (operation), the same control as in the first and second embodiments can be performed.

  The hardware configuration of this embodiment and the control state configuration (FIG. 4) may be the same as those of the second embodiment.

  Time data as shown in FIG. 13 is used for management of the servo-on state in this embodiment. In FIG. 13, the use of the grace time 241 and the elapsed time 242 is the same as that in the second embodiment. In this embodiment, the servo ON maintenance time 244 is used in addition to these time data.

  The servo ON maintenance time 244 sets a time for maintaining the servo ON after the robot arm 1 is shifted to servo ON or after the jog operation by the robot operation device 3 is completed. In this embodiment, the servo arm 1 is automatically moved from the servo-on state to the servo-on state when the servo-on maintaining time 244 times out after shifting to servo-on or after the jog operation by the robot operation device 3 is completed. Transition to the OFF state.

  Since the management of the servo-on state in this embodiment is simply control that shifts to servo-off when the servo-on maintaining time 244 times out, no particular flowchart is prepared. Below, control is demonstrated using the example of FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 like a flowchart.

  FIG. 11 and FIG. 12 show control examples when the operator 71 operates the robot arm 1 in the + X direction using the robot operation device 3. FIG. 11 shows the control when the worker 71 performs the servo-ON operation (S18) with the robot operation device 3 and then does not perform any next operation including the jog operation. FIG. 12 shows control when the worker 71 does not perform any next operation after the jog operation (S20) of the robot operation device 3 is completed.

  In this embodiment, it is assumed that 1 (second) is set for the grace time 241 and 10 (second) is set for the servo ON maintenance time 244 as constant values.

  In the control of FIG. 11, the servo ON of the robot arm 1 is performed in the same procedure as in the second embodiment (S18). Here, the permission operation is performed within the grace period 241 and the servo-on state is formed. When the servo is turned on, the CPU 201 transmits an instruction content 213 (servo ON) to the robot arm 1. At the same time, a command for measuring the elapsed time after the servo is turned on is transmitted to the time measuring unit 24 (timer start). In response to this, the time measuring unit 24 updates the value of the elapsed time 242 as needed.

  In the example of FIG. 11, the worker 71 does not perform any subsequent operation after the servo-on operation. For this reason, when the value of the elapsed time 242 becomes larger than the value of the servo ON maintenance time 244, the CPU 201 automatically transmits a command to turn off the servo to the robot arm 1 and shifts the robot arm 1 to the servo OFF state ( S19). As in this example, when the jog operation of the robot operation device 3 is not performed beyond the servo ON maintenance time 244 after the servo of the robot arm 1 is turned ON, the robot arm 1 is shifted to the servo OFF state.

  In the present embodiment, the control after the jog operation is performed as shown in FIG. 12, for example, by the same time management. In FIG. 12, the jog operation is performed in the + X direction in the same procedure as in the second embodiment (S20). When the jog operation by the robot operation device 3 is completed, the operation of the robot arm 1 is also terminated here. In response to this, the CPU 201 transmits a time measurement command to the time measurement unit 24 (timer start). In response to this, the time measuring unit 24 sets the elapsed time 242 to “0” and then updates the value as needed. When the value of the elapsed time 242 becomes larger than the value of the servo ON maintaining time 244, the CPU 201 transmits a command to turn off the servo to the robot arm 1, and shifts the robot arm 1 to the servo OFF state (S21). As described above, when the robot arm 1 is in the ON state and the robot operating device 3 is jogged, when the subsequent operation is not performed for the servo ON maintenance time 244, the robot arm 1 is in the servo OFF state. To migrate.

  By performing the above control, once the robot arm 1 is controlled to be servo-on, the robot arm 1 can be automatically shifted to the servo-off state when there is no operator's intention to operate. When automatic servo OFF control using such a servo ON maintaining time 244 is not performed, once the robot arm 1 is turned on, the state is maintained. If the keyboard of the robot operation device 3 is inadvertently touched in this servo-on state, the robot arm 1 may perform an unexpected operation. On the other hand, by performing the automatic servo OFF control using the servo ON maintenance time 244 as in the present embodiment, it is possible to prevent an unexpected robot operation from being started due to an erroneous operation of the robot operation device 3 or the like. . On the other hand, by setting the servo ON maintenance time 244 to about 10 seconds, for example, the next jog operation can be started without performing the servo ON operation again during this period.

  As described above, the robot ON / OFF control of the robot arm 1 and the jog operation (jog operation) are taken as an example, and the robot operation (robot control) is permitted (or not permitted / prohibited) on condition that the supervisor 72 permits the operation. Three examples of performing the control have been described.

  However, the control for performing the permission operation of the supervisor 72 by the permission button 40 of the robot operation permission device 4 does not have to be performed so that the operation of the robot device is always performed. For example, as the first control mode, a permission device use mode for permitting / prohibiting robot operation (robot control) on the condition of the permission operation described above and a second control mode not requiring the permission operation are prepared. Then, the first control mode or the second control mode can be selected as follows. In the following, in order to avoid complication, whether the first control mode or the second control mode is selected is determined based on whether the first control mode is the ON state of the permission device use mode or the second control mode. Is associated with the OFF state of the permission device usage mode.

  One possible configuration for the permission device use mode is, for example, a configuration in which the permission device use mode is turned ON / OFF in response to a manual operation from the robot operation device 3 described above. If a permission device use mode that can be arbitrarily turned ON / OFF by manual operation is prepared in this way, the robot device can be operated more flexibly. For example, even if a situation arises in which the worker 71 inevitably has to perform the teaching work alone, it is possible to cope with it by turning off the permission device use mode.

  In each of the above embodiments, the jog operation (jog operation) is illustrated as a continuous (continuous) operation during the continuous operation of the robot operation (motion) by continuously pressing the jog button (311). This is because the operation of the robot arm 1 occurs. In such a robot operation (movement), a large movement (movement amount) may occur in the robot arm 1 by a simple operation, and in particular, it is necessary to ensure a sufficient protection state of the worker 71 or related persons. Therefore, the protection state of the worker 71 or the related person can be sufficiently ensured by performing the control for permitting or prohibiting the jog operation corresponding to the jog operation on the condition that the supervisor 72 permits the operation as described above.

  On the other hand, in the robot operating device 3, there are cases where not only a jog operation but also an operation mode such as a step operation (or inching) is prepared and can be switched to a jog operation mode in which buttons are continuously operated. In this step operation (or inching) mode, for example, control is performed such that the robot arm 1 is moved in a corresponding direction by a predetermined minute amount when the jog button 312 of the robot operation device 3 is pressed once. Such a step operation (or inching) mode may be used, for example, during a fine adjustment when the arm approaches the initial target position during the teaching operation of the robot arm 1.

  However, when the robot operation device 3 is set to the step operation (inching) mode, the robot operation (robot control) is permitted / prohibited on the condition that the supervisor 72 permits the operation as described in the above embodiments. Control to do is not always suitable. For example, in a situation where the arm is stepped by several millimeters to several centimeters for each step operation of the robot operation device 3, the workability is remarkably performed in the control that requires the permission operation of the supervisor 72 for each step operation. May be reduced.

  Therefore, in the configuration in which the permission device use mode is prepared as described above, the mode is controlled not only to be turned ON / OFF by manual operation but also to be automatically turned ON / OFF by the operation mode of the robot operation device 3. Also good. Depending on whether the operation mode of the robot operation device 3 is, for example, the jog operation or the step operation (inching) mode, the robot operation device 3 is automatically turned ON / OFF. For example, the control is performed so that the permission device use mode is valid only in the jog operation mode and invalid in the step operation (inching) mode. That is, the permission device use mode is automatically turned ON / OFF according to the control mode of the robot device, for example, the operation mode of the robot operation device 3. According to such control, the permission device use mode can be automatically enabled in the necessary control mode of the robot apparatus without manual operation, and the operability can be greatly improved.

  FIG. 19 shows an example of a control procedure for determining whether or not to use the permission device use mode as described above. In this case, the hardware configuration and the like can be the same as those in the above embodiments, and the control procedure of FIG. 19 can be prepared as a control program of the CPU 201 as described above.

  Step S511 in FIG. 19 shows processing for determining whether or not the CPU 201 uses the above-described permission device use mode. The determination in step S511 may be, for example, a determination as to whether or not an operation for turning ON / OFF the permission device use mode has been performed by manual operation as described above. Further, the determination in step S511 may be, for example, a determination as to whether the operation mode of the robot operation device 3 is a mode in which the permission device use mode should be validated or invalidated as described above. In this case, for example, the jog operation mode can be considered as a mode for enabling the permission device use mode, and the step operation (inching) mode can be considered as a mode for disabling the mode.

  In step S511, the CPU 201 performs the determination process as described above. When the permission device use mode is validated, the robot operation permission device 4 (or permission device use mode using the device) is enabled in step S512. If the permission device use mode is invalidated, the robot operation permission device 4 (or permission device use mode using the device) is disabled in step S513.

  By performing the control as described above, the permission device use mode can be turned ON / OFF according to the manual setting operation or according to the operation mode of the robot device, and as required for the robot operation (operation). Thus, the monitoring / permission operation of the supervisor 72 can be interposed. For this reason, the workability of the robot apparatus is not impaired, and the monitoring / permitting operation of the monitoring person 72 is interposed as necessary, and particularly the protection state of the worker and the related person can be ensured satisfactorily.

(Variations, etc.)
The various configurations shown in the above embodiments can be implemented in any combination as long as they do not contradict each other.

  The present invention supplies a program that realizes one or more functions of the above-described embodiments to a system or apparatus via a network or a storage medium, and one or more processors in a computer of the system or apparatus read and execute the program. It can also be realized by processing. It can also be realized by a circuit (for example, ASIC) that realizes one or more functions.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Robot arm, 2 ... Robot control apparatus, 3 ... Robot operation apparatus, 4 ... Robot operation permission apparatus, 5 ... Emergency stop switch, 6 ... Operating range, 11 ... Robot drive part, 21, 23 ... Interface, 22 ... Control Unit 24, time measurement unit 31, operation signal transmission unit 40 ... permission button 41 ... permission signal transmission unit 51 ... stop signal transmission unit 71 ... worker 72 ... supervisor 211 ... robot operating device signal State: 212 ... Robot operation permission device signal state, 213 ... Instruction content, 214 ... Servo state, 241 ... Delay time, 242 ... Elapsed time, 244 ... Servo ON maintenance time, 311 ... Servo button, 312 ... Jog button.

Claims (13)

A robot drive unit that controls the operation of the robot arm;
An operation signal transmitter for transmitting an operation signal instructing the operation of the robot arm according to an operation of the first operator;
A permission signal transmitter for transmitting a permission signal for permitting the operation of the robot arm according to the operation of the second operator;
Receiving the operation signal and the permission signal, and performing an operation of the robot arm corresponding to an instruction of the operation signal controlled via the robot drive unit in accordance with the state of the received operation signal and the permission signal. With a control device to allow or prohibit,
When the control device does not receive both the operation signal and the permission signal, the control device performs control for prohibiting the operation of the robot arm corresponding to the instruction of the operation signal controlled via the robot drive unit. A robot apparatus characterized by performing.   2. The robot apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control device is controlled via the robot drive unit on condition that the permission signal is received within a predetermined delay time after receiving the operation signal. A robot apparatus which permits an operation of the robot arm corresponding to an instruction of an operation signal.   2. The robot apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when the control device receives the operation signal instructing a specific robot operation of the robot arm from the operation signal transmission unit, after receiving the operation signal, Even if the permission signal is not received, the specific robot operation is permitted immediately, and if the permission signal is not received before the predetermined free operation time has elapsed, the specific robot operation is prohibited. The robot apparatus characterized by doing.   4. The robot apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the permission signal transmission unit includes a display device that displays an operation state of the operation signal transmission unit. 5.   5. The robot apparatus according to claim 1, wherein, when the control device receives the operation signal corresponding to an instruction to activate the power of the robot arm, the control device passes through the robot drive unit. In response to receiving the operation signal, the power of the robot arm is validated. After that, when a predetermined power maintenance time elapses without the operation of the robot arm, the robot arm A robot apparatus characterized by invalidating power.   6. The robot apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the operation signal transmission unit can be operated inside an operation range of the robot arm, and the permission signal transmission unit is arranged outside the operation range. The robot apparatus characterized by being made.   The robot apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein an emergency stop operation unit that performs an emergency stop of the operation of the robot arm is provided together with the operation signal transmission unit or the permission signal transmission unit. A robot apparatus characterized in that when the operation unit is operated, the operation of the robot arm is unconditionally stopped.   8. The robot apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the operation is controlled via the robot drive unit on condition that the control device receives both the operation signal and the permission signal. A first control mode for permitting an operation of the robot arm corresponding to an instruction of the signal, and the robot drive unit in response to reception of only the operation signal without being conditional on the control device receiving the permission signal. The operation of the robot arm is controlled via the robot drive unit according to any one of the second control mode and the second control mode permitting the operation of the robot arm corresponding to the instruction of the operation signal controlled via the robot. The robot apparatus characterized by doing.   9. The robot apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising setting means for selecting the first or second control mode according to a manual operation.   9. The robot apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the first or second control mode is selected according to an operation mode of the operation signal transmission unit.   A control program for a robot apparatus, which causes the control apparatus to perform the control according to any one of claims 1 to 10.   12. A computer-readable recording medium storing the control program for the robot apparatus according to claim 11. A robot driving unit for controlling the operation of the robot arm; an operation signal transmitting unit for transmitting an operation signal for instructing the operation of the robot arm according to an operation of a first operator; and the robot arm according to an operation of a second operator A permission signal transmission unit that transmits a permission signal for permitting the operation of the robot, and the operation signal and the permission signal are received, and control is performed via the robot driving unit according to the state of the received operation signal and the permission signal. In a control method of a robot apparatus including a control apparatus that permits or prohibits the operation of the robot arm corresponding to an instruction of the operation signal to be performed,
A first receiving step in which the control device receives the operation signal from the operation signal transmitter;
A second receiving step in which the control device receives the permission signal from the permission signal transmitter;
A control step of prohibiting the operation of the robot arm corresponding to an instruction of the operation signal controlled via the robot drive unit when the control device has not received both the operation signal and the permission signal; A control method for a robot apparatus, comprising:

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