JP3140561U - Apparatus and method for controlling robot by wireless teach pendant - Google Patents

Abstract

The robot controller includes a control unit (3) for controlling at least one industrial robot and a TPU (4) for performing teaching and manual control of the robot. The TPU is an enable device (16a- b), this device, when activated, allows manual control of the robot using the TPU. TPU: a plurality of detection means (18a-b) for detecting the status of the enable device, at least one communication data generation means (20) for generating communication data including status information of the detected enable device, and the communication data Is transmitted to the control unit, and the control unit includes at least one reception unit (22) for receiving communication data from the transmission unit, and is received by the enable device. Based on the status, the manual control of the robot using the TPU is permitted or not permitted.

Description

The present invention relates to a robot controller including a control unit that controls at least one industrial robot, and a portable motion control device that performs teaching and manual control of the robot. This controller can also be used for control equipment attached to the robot.

Prior Art Industrial robots are programmed to work along an operating path. In order to program or teach a path to the robot, the robot is steered to a desired position on the motion path. These positions are stored as program instructions in the memory of the controller. By operating these programs while operating the robot, the robot can be made to perform a desired work.
The industrial robot can be operated in at least two different modes: automatic mode and manual mode. When the robot is controlled in manual mode, the robot is controlled by a portable control device for the operator, generally meaning a teach pendant unit. This device is referred to herein as a TPU. The robot operator manually manipulates the robot using the TPU, for example teaching or programming the robot to follow the motion path. The TPU can also be used to monitor the robot's program, change certain variables in the program, start, stop, and edit the program. When the robot is in the manual mode, the occupation right of the robot operation is in the TPU, and therefore, no other control device can control the robot.

A TPU typically includes operator control means such as joysticks, balls, buttons, or combinations thereof, a display, and safety devices such as enable devices. The enable device permits or disallows manual control of the robot by the TPU. The enable device controls the motor current of the robot. When the manual mode is selected and the enable device is activated, the robot can be manually operated by the TPU. If the enabling device is not activated, the robot cannot be manually operated. If manual mode is selected, the robot can be moved, for example using a joystick, once the TPU enable device is activated. In the automatic mode, even if the enabling device is activated, the robot cannot be moved using the TPU. The enabling device is, for example, a switch or a push button, which must be pressed by the operator to allow the TPU to control the robot.
The status of the enable device is a start state or a non-start state. When the enabling device is a push button, the status of the enabling device is in an activated state while the operator is pressing the button, and is deactivated when the button is released. Some enable devices have three switch positions. They are a first position where the button is not pressed, a second position where the button is pressed, and a third position where the button is pressed more strongly. In such a case, the enable device stops operating when the button is in the first position and the third position.

From the viewpoint of safety, the TPU is equipped with an emergency stop device or a stop device.
A robot can be placed in a robot cell to automatically perform a series of complex operations in a safe state. In a robot line in which a plurality of robots are arranged close to each other, there is a possibility that cables may be entangled with each other, so that it is extremely advantageous to use a wireless TPU.

International patent application WO03036324 discloses the use of wireless communication in information exchange between a TPU and a robot controller.
JP-A-11-73201 and European Patent Application EP1407860 have already disclosed control systems using radio. The purpose of these applications is to provide a communication system in which specific communication such as emergency stop control is performed by wireless means in a manner similar to wired communication.

OBJECT AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a controller having a wireless TPU.
This object is achieved by a controller according to claim 1. The TPU according to the present invention includes a plurality of detecting means for detecting the status of the enable device, at least one communication data generating means for generating communication data including information on the status of the detected enable device, and the control unit A robot using a TPU based on the status of the received enable device, and having at least one receiving means for receiving the communication data from the transmitting means. Permits or disallows manual control.

The detecting means detects whether the enabling device is activated. In order to improve safety and achieve redundancy, the TPU includes a plurality of redundant detection means for detecting the status of the enable device. The TPU includes at least one communication data generation unit, and generates communication data including information on the status of the detected enable device. The communication data generation means includes a software process for generating communication data or a communication data generation circuit. As described above, the communication data generating means is executed by software or hardware.
The communication data generation unit generates a message including communication data using any known wireless communication protocol, and transmits the message to the control unit. The message can include information on the detected status from all the detecting means or information on the detected status from a single detecting means. If the information is from a single detection means, one message is generated for each detection means. The control unit includes receiving means for receiving communication data from the TPU and means for permitting or not permitting manual operation of the robot using the TPU based on the received status information of the enabling device. The receiving means generates an enable signal based on the received communication data.

The present invention provides a portable TPU having a wireless enable device. Thereby, even if the emergency stop button is eliminated, the security and safety defined by the standard rules can be ensured.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the control unit permits manual control of the robot when the status information received from at least two of the detection means indicates that the enabling device is activated. . If the status received from at least one of the detection means indicates that the enabling device has not been activated, the control unit disallows manual control of the robot. Therefore, even if any of the detection means fails, detection is possible, and the safety of the controller is improved.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the TPU includes a plurality of communication data generation means, which correspond to the plurality of detection means, respectively. The communication data generation means has redundancy. By having a plurality of redundant communication data generation means, it is possible to detect even when a failure occurs in any of the communication data generation means, and thus the safety of the controller is improved.
According to one embodiment of the present invention, the TPU has a plurality of wireless communication means, which respectively correspond to the plurality of communication data generation means. The wireless transmission means has redundancy. By possessing a plurality of redundant transmission means, it is possible to detect a failure in any of the transmission means, thereby improving the safety of the controller.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the receiving means includes a plurality of receiving modules, which correspond to each of the plurality of transmitting means and receive communication data from the transmitting means. The receiving means has redundancy. By possessing a plurality of redundant receiving means, it is possible to detect when a failure occurs in any of the receiving means, thereby improving the safety of the controller.
According to an embodiment of the present invention, the control unit permits manual control of the robot as long as status information indicating that the enabling device is activated is received within a certain period. If the control unit cannot receive the status information from the enable device within a certain period, the control unit does not permit manual control of the robot. Thereby, safety is further improved.

  According to an embodiment of the present invention, the robot controller includes a control unit that controls at least one industrial robot or an accessory device, and a portable operation device that can communicate with each other via at least one wireless network. The portable operation device includes a manually operated enable device that permits operation of the robot and / or an accessory when continuously activated, and a status command of the enable device according to the operating state of the enable device. A plurality of communication data generation software processes or communication data generation circuits for generating communication data representing the communication data, and transmission means for transmitting communication data representing a status command of the enable device to the control unit via a wireless communication network And have. The control unit includes a reception unit that receives communication data representing a status command of the enable device from the transmission unit. The receiving unit sets the robot or the accessory device to an enable state based on the received status command of the enable device. Accordingly, even when only one set of communication data representing the status command of the enable device generated by the plurality of communication data generation software processes or the communication data generation circuit is received, the operation of the robot or the accessory device is performed. Allowed or suspended.

The above object is also achieved by a method for controlling an industrial robot according to claim 9.
The invention will be described in more detail by describing a plurality of different embodiments of the invention and referring to the attached drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION FIG. 1 is hereinafter referred to as a TPU (teaching pendant unit) for teaching a manipulator 1, a controller having a control unit 3 for controlling the manipulator, and teaching or manual operation of the manipulator. An industrial robot having a portable operation device 4 is shown. The TPU 4 communicates with the control unit 3 via the wireless data link 5. The TPU includes a display screen 6, function keys 8, a joystick 10, and an enable device 12. The TPU also includes an antenna 14 and a radio module for performing wireless communication with the control unit 3. The operator can select various states of the control system with the function keys 8. The joystick 10 is used to control the movement of the manipulator when the robot is manually operated. The enabling device has a button 12, which must be activated by the operator in order to manually control the robot with the TPU. When the operator deactivates the button of the enable device 12, the robot operation by the TPU becomes impossible.

FIG. 2 shows a controller according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The enable device has two switches 16a, 16b connected to the button 12 of the enable device. When the operator activates the button 12, the switches 16a and 16b are closed, and when the button 12 is deactivated, the switches 16a and 16b are opened. The TPU 4 further comprises two detection means 18a, 18b corresponding to the switches 16a, 16b, respectively, which detect the status of the enabling device, i.e. whether the switches 16a, 16b are closed or open. By detecting, it is detected whether the button 12 is pressed or released. Redundancy is achieved by two switches and two detection means, thus improving safety.
The TPU 4 further includes communication data generation means 20 that generates communication data including information regarding the status of the detected enable device. The data generation means is implemented by hardware or software. The communication data generation means 20 generates communication data including one or more messages including information on the status of the detected enable device from both detection means 18a, 18b. The wireless communication means 14 transmits communication data to the controller 3 of the controller. The communication data is optically transmitted by radio frequency (RF) or infrared (IR) such as “Bluetooth” or WLAN. The communication data may include other types of information such as a checksum for improving communication safety, an operator ID, a robot name, an IP address, and the like.

The control unit 3 is connected to a data communication link 21 such as a data bus. For example, the data communication link 21 is part of a communication network. Another control unit can be connected to the same communication network. The antenna 22 connected to the data communication link 21 receives communication data from the TPU. The control unit 3 includes receiving means 24 that receives communication data from the TPU and generates an enable signal ES based on the received communication data. The enable signal ES is a hardware signal and is based on the received status information of the enable device. The enable signal ES indicates whether manual control of the robot by the TPU is permitted or not permitted.
The receiving unit 24 extracts information on the status of the detected enable device from the received communication data. The receiving unit 24 extracts the status information detected by both the detecting units 18a and 18b. The receiving means compares the statuses from both detection means 16a and 16b. If the status information received from both detection means indicates that the enabling device is in an operating state, the control unit permits manual control of the robot if the robot is in the manual mode. When the status information received from any detection means indicates that the enabling device is not in the activated state, the control unit does not permit manual control of the robot. The receiving means 24 is preferably executed as program instructions in a computer program.

The controller is also often referred to as an enable chain and includes a single enable circuit 26 that permits or disallows manual operation of the robot. The enable circuit 26 includes a switch 28 that opens and closes according to the status of the enable device, and a switch 30 that opens and closes depending on whether the robot is in the automatic mode or the manual mode. A power supply V is connected to the enable circuit. The enable signal ES generated by the receiving means 24 controls the switch 28. When the robot is in automatic mode, the switch 28 is open and the robot cannot be controlled by the TPU. The enable circuit 26 is connected to the motor M of the robot. When the robot is in manual mode and the switch 28 is open, the motor is braked. Therefore, in order for the operator to manually operate the robot, the robot must be in the manual mode and the enable device must be activated.
The receiving means 24 includes a timer that detects whether communication data is continuously received within a certain period. The receiving unit 24 permits manual operation of the robot as long as status information indicating that the enabling device is activated within a certain period, and communication data is not received from the enabling device within the certain period. And do not allow manual operation. This certain period is selected as the time for the robot to move a certain distance determined in consideration of safety.

  The function of the controller according to the invention will be described below with reference to FIG. When the robot is in manual mode and the switch 30 is closed, it activates the enable chain. The switches 16a and 16b are open unless the enable device 12 is activated, and the switches 16a and 16b are closed as long as the operator activates the enable device 12. The detecting means 18a detects the status of the switch 16a, and the detecting means 18b detects the status of the switch 16b. The communication data generation means 20 generates communication data including information related to the detected status of the switches 16a and 16b, which corresponds to the status of the enable device. The receiving unit 24 of the control unit 3 receives communication data including information regarding the status of the switches 16a and 16b from the TPU. The receiving means 24 determines whether to close the switch 28 based on the received status of the switches 16a and 16b. If both switch 16a, 16b status received indicates that the enabling device is activated, switch 28 is closed and manual operation of the robot by the TPU is allowed, eg, the robot using TPU joystick It can be moved. If at least one of the received statuses of switches 16a, 16b indicates that the enabling device has not been activated, switch 28 is opened and manual control of the robot by the TPU is not permitted.

FIG. 3 shows a robot controller according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Components corresponding to those in FIG. 2 are given the same reference numerals and further detailed description is omitted here. As shown in the figure, the TPU 4 has two communication data generation means 20a and 20b, which correspond to the two detection means 18a and 18 respectively. The TPU has two wireless communication means in the form of two antennas 14a and 14b, which correspond to the communication data generation means 20a and 20b, respectively. The receiving means includes two receiving modules 25 a and 25 b and a comparator 27. The reception modules 25a and 25b correspond to the transmission units 14a and 14b, respectively. The reception modules 25a and 25b are connected to the data communication link 21 and receive communication data from the transmission means 14a and 14b.
The reception module 25a extracts information on the status of the detected enable device from the communication data received from the communication data generation unit 20a, and the reception module 25b is detected from the communication data received from the communication data generation unit 20b. Extract information about the status of the enable device. The reception modules 25a and 25b generate enable signals ES1 and ES2 indicating whether or not manual control of the robot by the TPU is permitted. The comparator 27 compares the signals ES1 and ES2 and outputs an enable signal ES to the enable circuit. When both signals ES1 and ES2 permit manual control, the enable signal ES permits manual operation of the robot, and otherwise does not permit initiative control.

The invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments, but can be variously modified and changed within the scope of the claims. For example, in another embodiment, the number of switches of the enabling device and the number of detection means can be three or more, for example three or four. In another embodiment, the control unit may have two or more antennas corresponding to each of the plurality of transmission units.
The enabling device does not need to be a push button or switch, for example, a plate placed on the floor that is activated when the operator stands on it and deactivated otherwise. Can do. In addition, the enabling device can be set as a predetermined area, and when the operator enters the area, the activated apparatus is activated, and when the operator leaves the area, the activated apparatus can be deactivated.

1 shows an industrial robot including a control unit and a TPU. 1 shows a robot controller according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 3 shows a robot controller according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

Claims (12)

A robot controller including a control unit (3) for controlling at least one industrial robot, and a portable operation device (4) (hereinafter referred to as TPU) for performing teaching and manual control of the robot, When activated, the TPU includes a manually operated enable device (12, 16a-b) that enables manual control of the robot by the TPU, the control unit and the TPU can communicate wirelessly, and the TPU A plurality of detection means (18a-b) for detecting the status of
TPU further
-At least one communication data generating means (20) for generating communication data including information on the status of the detected enable device; and-at least one wireless transmitting means (14) for transmitting the communication data to the control unit.
And the control unit
-Comprising at least one receiving means (24; 25a-b, 27) for receiving the communication data from the transmitting means;
A robot controller characterized by permitting or not permitting manual control of the robot by the TPU based on the status of the received enable device.   The information related to the status of the enable device includes information related to whether the enable device is activated or not activated, and the status information received by the control unit from at least two of the detection means is obtained when the enable device is activated. Indicates that the robot is manually controlled, and if the status received from at least one of the detection means indicates that the enabling device is not activated, the robot is not permitted to be manually controlled. Item 2. The robot controller according to item 1.   The robot controller according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the TPU includes a plurality of communication data generation means (20a-b) corresponding to each of the plurality of detection means (18a-b).   The robot controller according to claim 3, wherein the TPU comprises a plurality of wireless transmission means (14) corresponding to each of the plurality of communication data generation means (18a-b).   The robot controller according to claim 4, wherein the receiving unit includes a plurality of receiving modules (24a-b) corresponding to each of the plurality of transmitting units (14a-b) and receiving communication data from the transmitting unit. .   The robot controller according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the communication data generation means (20) comprises a software process for generating communication data or a communication data generation circuit.   The robot according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the control unit permits manual control of the robot as long as status information indicating that the enabling device is activated is received within a certain period. controller.   The robot controller according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the control unit does not permit manual control of the robot if status information indicating the status of the enable device is not received within a certain period. An industrial robot control method comprising a control unit for controlling a robot and a portable operation device (hereinafter referred to as TPU) for performing teaching and manual operation of the robot, wherein the TPU is manually operated The enabling device, when activated, enables manual control of the robot by the TPU and controller,
-Detecting the status of the enabling device by means of at least two independent detection means;
-Generating communication data including information on the status of the detected enable device;
-Wirelessly transmitting the communication data to the control unit; and-permitting or disallowing manual control of the robot by the TPU based on the communication data received from the TPU.   The information regarding the status of the enable device includes information regarding whether the enable device is activated or not activated, and the status information received from the two detection means indicates that the enable device is activated. 10. The robot according to claim 9, wherein manual control of the robot is permitted, and when the status received from at least one of the detection means indicates that the enabling device is not activated, manual control of the robot is not permitted. Method.   The method according to claim 9 or 10, wherein manual control of the robot is permitted as long as status information indicating that the enabling device is activated is received within a certain period of time.   12. The method according to any one of claims 9 to 11, wherein manual control of the robot is not permitted if status information from the enabling device is not received within a certain period of time.

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