JP4462161B2 - Monitoring control apparatus and monitoring control method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a monitoring control device and a monitoring control method for controlling a facility or apparatus having a movable part, and more specifically, a movable part that moves by dividing a single operation of the facility into a plurality of operation steps. The present invention relates to a monitoring control device and a monitoring control method used for analyzing the cause of an abnormal operation of equipment.

  2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, automation has been increasingly progressed in manufacturing processes and inspection processes of various machines and devices, and facilities such as various automatic assembly apparatuses and automatic inspection apparatuses have been used. For example, in an automatic assembling apparatus, a captured part is captured, the captured part is transported to a predetermined assembly position, another part is incorporated into the part transported to the assembly position, and the finished product is discharged. Perform the action. In order to perform each of such operations, there are a plurality of movable parts such as a transport unit and an assembly unit, and they are required to operate accurately at a predetermined timing toward a predetermined position.

  Monitors whether such equipment is operating normally, acquires equipment image data with a surveillance camera, etc., to detect abnormalities such as failures, and stores the image data for cause analysis when an abnormality occurs It is known (see Patent Documents 1 and 2).

  For example, in the monitoring control device described in Patent Document 1, image data at the time of failure detection is stored in a database. In addition, in the trouble analysis support apparatus described in Patent Document 2, a person determines in advance whether or not there is a facility that causes a trouble, and for a facility that is known to cause a trouble, a moving image for a certain period before and after the trouble occurs. Voice, control information is stored. Then, the trouble is analyzed by simulation using the stored data.

  Furthermore, an apparatus is known that sequentially stores state transitions of a mechanical device and performs a simulation when a failure occurs using the storage, state transition diagram, and computer graphic image (see Patent Document 3).

  In order to appropriately grasp the situation when an abnormality occurs in the facility, it is desirable to store image data that indicates the operation status of a certain period immediately before the occurrence of the failure. However, if the image data for a certain period is stored as a moving image, the amount of data becomes enormous. On the other hand, in the case of storing as a still image, unless an image acquired at an appropriate timing is stored, the state at the time of occurrence of an abnormality cannot be grasped well, and it becomes difficult to specify the cause of the abnormality. End up. Therefore, it is desired to develop a monitoring control device and a monitoring control method that can reliably store image data useful for analyzing the cause of abnormality while suppressing an increase in storage capacity necessary for storing image data.

JP 2003-208218 A JP 2000-250775 A JP 11-259120 A JP 2000-326082 A

  In view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a monitoring control device or a monitoring control method capable of storing, as image data, the status of the equipment or device at the time of occurrence of an abnormality for the equipment or device having a movable part. And

  In addition, as another object of the present invention, a monitoring control device or a monitoring control method is provided that can reproduce the situation of the equipment or device at the time of occurrence of an abnormality when an abnormality occurs in the equipment or device having a movable part. The purpose is to do.

  Furthermore, as another object of the present invention, there is provided a monitoring control apparatus or a monitoring control method capable of suppressing an increase in storage capacity necessary for storing image data while storing image data useful for analyzing the cause of occurrence of an abnormality. For the purpose.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the monitoring and control apparatus according to the present invention takes an image with respect to a movable part that moves through a plurality of operation steps obtained by dividing one operation and repeats the operation. For each of a plurality of operation steps, a position detection unit that detects the position of the movable unit based on the image data acquired by the means, and determines whether the movable unit has reached the moving destination based on the position of the movable unit. If it is determined that the mobile destination has been reached, the image data used for the determination is temporarily stored in the storage means, and if the movable portion has not reached the mobile destination within a predetermined period after the movement starts, remembers the last parsed image data, a moving end determining unit for temporarily storing the image data of each operation steps included in a plurality of operation, when detecting an abnormality of a movable part, the abnormality is detected Is a temporarily stored image By having a control unit having an abnormality detection unit abnormality stored in the extracted and remembers means over a plurality of operation image data of the same operation step and the operation step is detected among the plurality of operation steps from over data The situation at the time of occurrence of an abnormality can be stored as image data while suppressing an increase in storage capacity necessary for image storage.

  Note that the image data temporarily stored in the above represents image data stored until it is deleted by being overwritten with another image data having the same image name. Extracting and storing image data means creating a copy of the image data to be stored, storing the copy, renaming the image data itself to be stored, or moving to another storage location To include.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, it is possible to reproduce the situation at the time of occurrence of an abnormality later by further including display means for displaying the image data stored in the storage means.

  According to the third aspect of the present invention, the abnormality detection unit has, in each of the plurality of operation steps, the required time from when the movable unit starts moving until it is determined that the movement destination is reached in advance. You may make it determine with abnormality, when longer than the defined value.

  Further, as described in claim 4, when the abnormality detection unit determines that the movable unit has moved beyond a predetermined boundary based on the position of the movable unit for each of the plurality of operation steps. You may make it determine with it being abnormal. By configuring the abnormality detection unit as described above, it is possible to detect an anomaly prophylactically until a failure is reached.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the monitoring control method according to the present invention, the position of the movable part is determined based on image data obtained by photographing the movable part that is moved by dividing one operation into a plurality of operation steps. For each of the position detection step to be detected and the plurality of operation steps, the movable portion moves in the movement end determination step for determining whether the movable portion has reached the moving destination based on the position of the movable portion, and the determination step. When it is determined that the destination has been reached, the image data used for the determination is temporarily stored, and when the movable part does not reach the moving destination within a predetermined period after starting to move, it was analyzed last. and storing image data, a first image storage step of temporarily storing image data of each operation steps included in a plurality of operation, an abnormality detecting step of detecting an abnormality of a movable part, different in the abnormality detecting step If but is detected temporary among the plurality of operation steps from the stored image data, abnormalities second extracting and storing across a plurality of operation image data of the same operation step and the operation step is detected Ri by that and an image storing step, while suppressing an increase in the storage capacity required for the storage of the image, it is possible to store the status at the time of occurrence of an abnormality as image data.

  In addition, according to the description of claim 6, the abnormality detection step includes, for each of the plurality of operation steps, the time required until it is determined that the movable part has reached the movement destination after the movement starts. You may make it determine with abnormality, when longer than the defined value.

  According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the abnormality detection step is abnormal when it is determined that the movable part has moved beyond a predetermined boundary based on the position of the movable part for each of the plurality of operation steps. May be determined. By configuring the abnormality detection step as described above, it is possible to detect an abnormality proactively in the stage up to the failure.

Hereinafter, a monitoring control apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
The monitoring control device 1 according to the present invention has a plurality of operation steps in one operation cycle, and the past image of the operation step in which an abnormality has occurred in equipment for confirming the end of each operation step using image data. This makes it possible to easily identify the cause of the abnormality.

FIG. 1 shows a configuration block diagram of a monitoring control device 1 according to the present invention.
The monitoring control device 1 according to the present invention includes an imaging unit 11, a control unit 12, a storage unit 13, and a display unit 14.

  The imaging means 11 is composed of a CCD camera or the like, and images the entire equipment to be monitored by the monitoring control device 1. The imaging means 11 is configured by one or a plurality of cameras, and all movable parts included in the facility are configured to be photographed by any camera. In addition, it is preferable to dispose the imaging unit 11 at a position away from the operation plane of each movable part that is a subject of photographing so that the movement of the movable part of the facility can be grasped as a change in the position on the image.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the imaging means 11 can be continuously photographed so that the operation of the movable part of the facility can be sequentially captured, for example, photographing at a video rate (30 Hz). The captured image is transmitted to the control means 12.

Next, the control means 12 will be described.
The control means 12 is a personal computer (PC) central processing unit (CPU), a primary storage device such as a read only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a program read into the PC, and an external output such as RS232C. It consists of ports. Furthermore, a driver for giving a control signal to the movable part of the equipment is incorporated.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the control unit 12 includes an operation instruction unit 121 that gives control signals such as movement and stop to each movable unit, and image data acquired from the imaging unit 11 stored in the storage unit 13. A position detection unit 122 that detects the position of each movable unit, a movement end determination unit 123 that determines whether each movable unit has moved to the movement destination based on the detected position, and a movable unit. Is configured by an abnormality detection unit 124 that detects an abnormality such as not reaching the moving destination within a predetermined time.

  For each operation step, the operation instruction unit 121 refers to the operation instruction information stored in the storage unit 13 and gives a control signal such as movement / stop in a predetermined direction to each movable unit. In addition, when a plurality of movable parts operate, the movement start timing is shifted as necessary, and control is performed so as not to cause physical interference. And those control signals are transmitted to each movable part through a built-in driver.

  The position detection unit 122 analyzes the image data received from the imaging unit 11 and recognizes the position of the movable unit on the image data.

  Here, the position of the movable part is represented as the position of a specific part in the movable part. The recognition of the specific part in the movable part is performed by, for example, extracting a pixel corresponding to the specific part in the binarization process by using a part that is clearly different in brightness or color tone from the surrounding as a specific part. This can be done by obtaining the center of gravity of the. Further, instead of the binarization process, an edge detection process may be performed to extract edge pixels corresponding to the boundary of the part, and the center of gravity of the edge pixels or the like may be obtained. Further, the above binarization processing and edge detection processing may be limited to a part of the region (region of interest) including the portion where the movable part of interest is shown. If processing is limited to the region of interest in this way, the amount of data used for processing can be reduced, so that high-speed processing is possible.

  The movement end determination unit 123 refers to the position of the movable unit detected by the position detection unit 122 and the operation instruction information stored in the storage unit 13 to determine whether or not the movable unit has reached the movement destination in each operation step. Determine whether. And when it determines with having reached | attained the movement destination, a movable part is stopped through the operation | movement instruction | indication part 121. FIG.

  If it is determined that the movable part has reached the moving destination, the image data used for the analysis is stored in the storage unit 13. On the other hand, in the analyzed image data, when it is determined that the moving part of interest has not reached the moving destination (for example, when the moving part is operating), the movement end determining unit 123 uses the image used for the analysis. Discard the data. Then, the image data is re-acquired from the imaging unit 11 and the above processing is repeated.

  Then, the image data of all the operation steps for the latest several cycles is stored in the storage means 13.

  In this way, by storing the image data when the movable part is at the moving destination after the operation is completed, even if the moving part does not store the operating image data, the equipment has an abnormality, The cause of the abnormality can be sufficiently identified by examining the image data stored later, and the amount of data to be stored can be minimized.

  The determination as to whether or not the movable part of interest is at the moving destination can be made by the method described below.

  The distance between the position on the image data of the specific part recognized by the position detector 122 and the moving destination obtained from the image data obtained by photographing the equipment in the ideal state is within a predetermined allowable range. It is determined whether or not. When the distance falls within the allowable range, it is determined that the movable part of interest is at a predetermined position.

  The moving destination and the allowable range are set for each movable part for each operation step, and are stored in advance in the storage unit 13 as a part of the operation instruction information.

  In addition, the abnormality detection unit 124 detects whether or not an abnormality has occurred in the equipment to be monitored. When an abnormality is detected, the image data corresponding to the operation step that detected the abnormality is extracted from the image data for several cycles stored in the storage means 13 and copied so as not to be erased. Store separately. Further, the equipment is stopped through the operation instruction unit 121 as necessary.

The detection of abnormality will be described below.
In the first example of the abnormality detection method, in each operation step, the determination is made based on the elapsed time required for the movable part from the start to the end of movement. That is, if the elapsed time is too long compared to normal, even if the movable part has moved accurately to the moving destination, it is highly likely that some abnormality has occurred. Judgment. If such a case is determined to be abnormal and can be notified to the manager of the facility, it is possible to take some measures before a fatal failure occurs in the facility, which is very beneficial.

  First, the average required time of each operation step when the movable part of the equipment is operating normally is determined in advance from measurement or specification. And based on said average required time, the allowable time T1 considered that the movable part of an installation is operating normally is determined. Further, a limit time T2 for determining that the movable part cannot finish moving is also determined. For example, the allowable time T1 is about 1.5 to several times the average required time, and the limit time T2 is longer than the allowable time T1 and has a value about several to several tens of the average required time. Can do.

  The allowable time T <b> 1 and the limit time T <b> 2 are set in advance for each movable part that moves in each operation step, and are stored in the storage unit 13.

  During facility monitoring, the abnormality detection unit 124 sequentially stores the time before the start of operation of each operation step (or the time when it is determined that the previous operation step has been completed). Then, the elapsed time from the start to the end of the operation step is calculated from the difference from the time at which the operation step is determined to be completed. If the calculated elapsed time exceeds the allowable time T1, or if it is not determined that the operation has ended even if the limit time T2 has elapsed, the abnormality detection unit 124 detects an abnormality.

Next, a second example of the abnormality detection method will be described.
In the second example, an abnormality is detected based on whether or not the movable part moves beyond a predetermined operation limit (overrun). In order to detect overrun, the operation limit of the movable part is set in advance as position coordinates on the image data for each operation step. Then, the abnormality detection unit 124, when the position of the movable part detected by the position detection unit 122 exceeds the operation limit (for example, when the movable part moves from the upper side to the lower side on the image data, When the position coordinates of the movable part move below the position coordinates of the operation limit), an abnormality is detected.

A third example of the abnormality detection method will be described below.
First, based on the reference image data, a region of interest to be analyzed in advance is set. For example, in a component assembly device or a component inspection device, a specific type of component should exist at a position determined for each operation step. Therefore, a region of interest is set at a place where such a part should exist on the image data.

  During facility monitoring, image data before or after the start of each operation step is acquired. Then, matching is performed between the corresponding reference image data and the image data in the region of interest. The matching result is obtained, for example, as an absolute average deviation of corresponding pixel values between the two image data, and when the absolute average deviation is larger than a predetermined threshold, it is determined that an abnormality has occurred. Note that image data that is determined to be before or after the start of the operation step by the above-described method and stored in the storage unit 13 may be used as the image data corresponding to before or after the start of each operation step.

  As another abnormality detection method, for example, the current value sent to the motor that moves the moving part of the equipment is monitored, and if the current value increases to a value that indicates an overload state of the motor, the abnormality is detected. It can be determined that it has occurred.

  The storage means 13 includes a semiconductor memory such as a RAM or a flash memory, or a hard disk, CD-ROM, CD-RAM, DVD-ROM, DVD-RAM, or the like. The storage unit 13 stores various control information such as operation instruction information and image data captured by the imaging unit 11. In particular, the image data corresponding to the operation steps from the latest operation step to all the operation steps before several operation cycles of the equipment (for example, three cycles) are always stored. In addition, it is preferable to store the positional information of the movable part recognized in the image data and the shooting time in association with the stored image data.

  Further, when an abnormality occurs in the facility, the storage means 13 separately stores the image data of the operation step in which the abnormality has been extracted, extracted from the stored image data so as not to be deleted. By storing these data, analysis when an abnormality occurs in the facility is facilitated.

  The display unit 14 functions as a display unit that displays image data. When reproducing an operation mainly for an abnormality analysis of equipment, the display unit 14 stores image data stored in the storage unit 13 and equipment focused on the image data. The position recognition result of the movable part is displayed. Moreover, it is preferable that statistical information such as a time-series change in the position recognition result of the movable part or a frequency distribution can be displayed for the operation step in which the abnormality has occurred.

  Below, the case where the monitoring control apparatus 1 which concerns on this invention is mounted in the assembly apparatus is demonstrated.

  FIG. 2 shows a configuration block diagram of an assembling apparatus 2 in which the monitoring control apparatus 1 according to the present invention is mounted. FIG. 3 shows a schematic top view of the assembling apparatus 2. FIG. 4 shows a schematic perspective view of the assembling apparatus 2 viewed from the imaging means 11 of FIG.

  As an example, the assembling apparatus 2 according to the present embodiment inserts a cylindrical part having a diameter of 20 mm and a height of 10 mm from above into the center of a cylindrical basic part (work) having a diameter of 50 mm and a height of 50 mm. The finished product is manufactured. In addition, the monitoring control device 1 according to the present embodiment stores image data for three cycles at the end of each operation step of the assembly device 2, and also performs drive control of the assembly device 2.

  The assembling apparatus 2 includes a transport unit 21, an upper and lower unit 22, a work carry-in unit 23, a component loading unit 24, an assembly unit 25, and a work discharge unit 26, and includes an imaging unit 11, a control unit 12, a storage unit 13, and a display unit 14. The monitoring control apparatus 1 is comprised by this.

  In the assembling apparatus 2 according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the workpiece 202 is loaded from the workpiece loading section 23 along the workpiece conveyance path 201 and is discharged by the workpiece discharge section 26. On the other hand, the component 203 is loaded by the component loading unit 24 from a direction substantially orthogonal to the workpiece carry-in unit 23 and is assembled to the workpiece 202 by the assembly unit 25 located between the workpiece carry-in unit 23 and the workpiece discharge unit 26.

  The workpiece carry-in unit 23 is configured by a belt conveyor that carries workpieces so that the workpieces sent from the previous process can be continuously carried into the assembling apparatus 2. The component loading unit 24 is a gentle downward slope from the component loading side to the assembly unit 25 side, and the loaded component 203 is gradually conveyed to the assembly unit 25 side by vibration. The workpiece discharge unit 26 is configured by a belt conveyor, like the workpiece carry-in unit 23. And if the conveyance unit 21 discharge | emits the workpiece | work (finished product) 204 by which components were assembled | attached to the exit 261 of the workpiece | work discharge | emission part 26 nearest to the assembly part 25 side, the completed product will be mounted and conveyed to the following process.

  The conveyance unit 21 is attached substantially parallel to the workpiece conveyance path 201, captures the workpiece 202 at the inlet 231 near the end of the workpiece carry-in section 23, moves in parallel toward the workpiece discharge section 26, and conveys it to the assembly section 25. To do. Further, the work (finished product) 204 with the assembled parts is conveyed to an outlet 261 present in the work discharge unit 26. The upper and lower unit 22 arranged in the assembly part 25 manufactures a finished product 204 by assembling the part 203 to the work 202 by the upper unit 221 capturing the part 203 and moving up and down, and the lower unit 222 fixing the work 202. To do.

  The transport unit 21 includes a member 211 having a length of 150 mm and a width of 50 mm in a substantially vertical direction substantially parallel to the workpiece transport direction, a gripper 212 attached to a lower portion of the member 211, and a driving servo motor. The gripper 212 is composed of two claws arranged at an interval substantially equal to the width of the workpiece in the workpiece conveyance direction, and two sets are arranged along the workpiece conveyance path 201 so that two workpieces can be held at the same time.

  Further, the transport unit 21 can move in a direction orthogonal to the work transport path 201 and in a direction parallel to the work transport path 201 in a plane where the work transport path 201 exists. Further, the origin position of the transport unit 21 is set at a position about 30 mm behind the work transport path 201 so that the transport unit 21 does not come into contact with the work 202 on the work transport path 201. Then, when a feeding operation is instructed to the transport unit 21 at the origin position, the transport unit 21 moves about 70 mm in the work discharge direction along the work transport path 201 (this destination is referred to as a feed position for convenience). Further, when a return operation is instructed to the transport unit 21 at the feed position, the transport unit 21 moves about 70 mm along the work transport path 201 in the work loading direction so as to return to the origin position. On the other hand, when a forward operation is instructed to the transport unit 21 at the origin position or the feed position, the transport unit 21 captures or holds the work 202 or the finished product 204 on the work transport path 201. In order to release the 202 or the finished product 204 onto the work conveyance path 201, it moves about 30 mm in a direction approaching the work conveyance path 201. On the contrary, when the backward movement operation is instructed to the transport unit 21 in the position close to the work transport path 201, the transport unit 21 moves about 30 mm in the direction away from the work transport path 201.

  The vertical unit 22 includes an upper unit 221 and a lower unit 222. The lower unit 222 fixes the workpiece 202 conveyed to the assembly unit 25. On the other hand, the upper unit 221 includes a work chuck 223 composed of a claw that can be opened and closed, a chuck cylinder 224 to which the work chuck 223 is attached, and a servo motor that drives them.

  In the initial state, the upper unit 221 is retracted above the assembly unit 25 so as not to collide with the workpiece 202 and the parts 203 conveyed to the assembly unit 25. When the part 203 comes to the assembly part 25, the upper unit 221 is lowered, the work chuck 223 is closed, and the part 203 is held. When the component 203 is held, the upper unit 221 moves upward. Thereafter, when the workpiece 202 is conveyed to the assembly unit 25, the upper unit 221 descends again, and the component 203 is inserted into the workpiece 202 and assembled. When the assembly of the parts is completed, the work chuck 223 opens to release the parts, and the upper unit 221 moves upward again. The moving distance in the vertical direction is about 10 mm when the work 202 is present in the assembly portion 25 and is about 60 mm when the work 202 is not present.

  According to the present embodiment, the detection mark is formed on the movable part that is the subject of monitoring and drive control. That is, the detection mark 213 is attached to the upper surface of the end portion on the carry-in portion 23 side of the member 211 of the transport unit 21, and the detection mark 214 is attached to the upper surface of the end portion on the discharge portion 26 side. The detection marks 213 and 214 are red circular stickers having a diameter of 5 mm, and one of the detection marks is reflected in any position of the transport unit 21 in the image taken by the imaging means 11. Note that the detection marks 213 and 214 are not limited to those described above, and any detection marks can be used as long as they can be clearly discriminated on the image.

  Also in the upper unit 221 of the vertical unit 22, a detection mark 225 is attached to the upper surface of the chuck cylinder 224 and a detection mark 226 is attached to the upper surface of the work chuck 223. The detection marks 225 and 226 are red circular seals having a diameter of 5 mm, like the detection marks attached to the transport unit. Further, in the image photographed by the imaging means 11, the detection marks 225 and 226 are reflected regardless of the position of the upper unit 221 and regardless of whether the chuck is opened or closed. The detection marks 225 and 226 do not have to be the same marks as the detection marks 213 and 214, and may be any marks that can be clearly distinguished on the image.

  Further, the image pickup means 11 which is a component of the monitoring control device 1 is arranged in a direction of about 30 ° obliquely above the assembly unit 25 and on the component input unit side. The transport unit 21, the upper and lower unit 22, the workpiece carry-in unit 23, the component loading unit 24, and the workpiece discharge unit 26 are all stored in one image, and the operation ranges of the respective units of the transport unit 21 and the upper and lower unit 22 are also stored. Can do. The control unit 12 receives the image signal from the imaging unit 11 and stores the image data satisfying a predetermined condition in the storage unit 13. The control means 12 also transmits a control signal to the servo motors of the transport unit 21 and the upper and lower units 22 in order to perform drive control of the assembly device 2.

  In this embodiment, the control means 12 and the storage means 13 are configured by a program built in a personal computer (PC), a memory, an external output port such as RS232C, and the like. Further, in the present embodiment, the control means 12 incorporates a motor driver that controls the servo motors of the movable parts (the transport unit 21 and the upper and lower unit 22) of the assembly device 2 in order to control the drive of the assembly device 2. The control unit 12 and the storage unit 13 and the motor driver may be configured as separate hardware so that they can communicate with each other. For example, the control unit 12 and the storage unit 13 may be configured by a PC and a built-in program, and the motor driver may be configured by a programmable logic controller (PLC).

  The image pickup means 11 is composed of a CCD camera, and during the operation of the assembling apparatus 2, the transport unit 21, the upper and lower unit 22, the work and parts being transported, and the assembled work to be discharged are all contained in one image. Still images are continuously acquired at a video rate (30 Hz) and transmitted to the control means 12. For this purpose, a CCD camera having a 1/4 inch 410,000 pixel CCD, a focal length of 4.3 mm (viewing angle of 69.8 °), and a 24-bit (RGB each of 8 bits) output is used. However, the imaging means 11 is not limited to this, and any means may be used as long as each part of the assembling apparatus 2 can be accommodated in one image and a detection mark or the like can be discriminated.

  Further, when the control unit 12 receives the image data from the imaging unit 11, the position detection unit 122 analyzes the image data, and recognizes the positions of the detection marks 213 and 214 for the movable unit such as the transport unit 21. Then, the movement end determination unit 123 determines whether or not the movable unit has reached the movement destination. When it is determined that the movable unit has reached the moving destination, the operation instruction unit 121 transmits a control signal to the servo motor built in the transport unit 21 or the upper / lower unit 22. In this way, the position of the detection mark 213 and the like is recognized, the position of the movable part is specified, and the next operation step is issued, thereby causing the assembly apparatus 2 to perform a sequence operation.

  Hereinafter, operations of the monitoring control device 1 and the assembly device 2 will be described with reference to a flowchart and a timing chart.

  5 and 6 show flowcharts of the operation of the assembling apparatus 2 according to the present embodiment. FIG. 7 shows a timing chart of the operation of the transport unit 21 which is a movable part of the assembling apparatus 2 and the upper unit 221 in the upper and lower units.

  In FIG. 7, a symbol 501 such as S02 shown at the top indicates completion timing of assembly preparation, which will be described later, or execution timing of an operation end determination step of each movable part. Further, the operation of each movable part is shown for each horizontal column, and when the timing chart line 502 is present in the horizontal column, it indicates that each movable unit performs the operation shown in the left column 503 of the horizontal column. When the timing chart line 502 exists on the intermediate line without belonging to the column indicating either operation, this indicates that the movable unit does not perform the operation and keeps the previous state.

  First, it is determined whether assembly preparation is complete (step S00). This determination is performed by the control means 12. Hereinafter, when all the three conditions (i) to (iii) are satisfied, it is determined that the preparation is completed.

(I) The work 202 exists at the inlet 231 of the work carry-in section 23. (ii) The finished product 204 does not exist at the outlet 261 of the work discharge section 26. (iii) The parts 203 exist in the part input section 24. The presence or absence of parts can be checked by the following procedure.

  First, as advance preparation, image data when the workpiece 202, the part 203, and the finished product 204 are present at the entrance 231 and the like are acquired through the imaging unit 11, respectively. As shown in FIG. 8, the acquired image data is referred to, the positions of the entrance 231 and the exit 261 and the position where the presence / absence of the part is checked are specified, and the positions on the image (for example, the region of interest) The upper left corner coordinates and the lower right corner coordinates) are stored in the storage means 13.

Next, when the workpiece 202, the part 203, or the finished product 204 exists in the regions of interest 001 to 003, an average signal value in each region of interest is obtained for each of the cases where the workpiece 202, the part 203, or the finished product 204 does not exist. Then, for each region of interest, calculates the average signal value when the workpiece 202, the component 203 or the finished product 204 is present, the average value of the average signal value in the absence, and the threshold value Thd ₀₀₁ ~Thd _003. The threshold values Thd _{001 to} Thd ₀₀₃ are stored in the storage means 13 in advance.

When the assembling apparatus 2 is in operation, the control unit 12 averages the region of interest 001 based on the positions of the regions of interest 001 to 003 stored in the storage unit 13 for the image data sent from the imaging unit 11. signal value AVG _001, calculates average signal value AVG ₀₀₂ within the region of interest 002, the average signal value AVG ₀₀₃ within the region of interest 003, respectively. The above-described threshold values Thd _{001 to} Thd ₀₀₃ are called from the storage means 13 and compared with the average signal values AVG _{001 to} AVG ₀₀₃ , respectively. When the average signal values AVG _{001 to} AVG ₀₀₃ are closer to the average signal value in the reference image data when the workpiece 202, the part 203 or the finished product 204 exists than the threshold values Thd _{001 to} Thd ₀₀₃ , the workpiece 202, the part 203 or the completed It is determined that the product 204 exists.

  The determination method is not limited to the above method, and another method may be used. For example, as described above, reference image data in which the workpiece 202, the part 203 or the finished product 204 exists is acquired in advance and stored in the storage unit 13. Similarly, the regions of interest 001 to 003 are set as described above.

  When the assembling apparatus 2 is in operation, the absolute value of the difference signal value is calculated for each pixel in the region of interest 001 to 003 between the image data received from the imaging unit 11 and the reference image data, and the average signal Calculate the value (average absolute deviation). If the average absolute deviation is within a predetermined allowable range, it is determined that the workpiece 202, the part 203, or the finished product 204 exists (or does not exist). Note that the allowable range is preferably determined experimentally because it may be affected by environmental conditions such as lighting of the place where the assembly apparatus is installed.

  Based on the determination method described above, sequential determination is performed on the image data continuously received from the imaging unit 11. If any of the conditions is not satisfied, the control unit 12 determines that the preparation for assembly is not completed, and maintains the idle state of the assembly apparatus 2. The received image data is discarded.

  On the other hand, when all the conditions (i) to (iii) are satisfied for the received image data at a certain time, the control means 12 determines that the assembly preparation is completed. The control means 12 stores the image data in the storage means 13 and transmits a control signal for causing the transfer unit 21 to move forward so as to approach the work transfer path 201 from the operation instruction unit 121. Based on the control signal, the transport unit 21 moves forward to grasp the workpiece (step S01).

  Next, the position detection unit 122 of the control unit 12 recognizes the position of the transport unit 210, and the movement end determination unit 123 determines whether or not the transport unit 21 has reached the moving destination and the forward movement operation has ended. . In addition, the abnormality detection unit 124 may detect that an abnormality such as the workpiece 202 or the component 203 falling or misaligned in the assembling apparatus 2 or an extremely long time is required for the transport unit 21 to reach the moving destination. Detect (step S02).

  For convenience of explanation, first, a procedure for determining whether or not the forward movement of the transport unit 21 has ended will be described, and then a determination regarding whether or not an abnormality has occurred will be described.

  This determination is performed by determining whether or not the position of the center of gravity and the area of the detection mark 213 attached to the transport unit 21 satisfy a predetermined condition. The method will be described in detail below.

As advance preparation, reference image data corresponding to the end of the forward movement operation of the transport unit 21 is acquired. Then, as shown in FIG. 8, the region of interest 101 including the position where the detection mark 213 should exist at the end of the forward movement operation of the transport unit 21 is set from the acquired reference image data. The set position / range of the region of interest 101 is stored in the storage unit 13. Here, since the region of interest 101 is a region used for detecting the position of the detection mark 213, it is preferable that the region of interest 101 has a size that can completely accommodate the detection mark 213 for accurate position recognition. On the other hand, the region of interest 101 is preferably narrow in order to reduce the calculation time required for the position recognition process. Specifically, the region of interest 101 is preferably set to a size of about 5 to 100 times the area of the detection mark 213 on the image. Further, based on the reference image data, the barycentric position of the pixel indicating the detection mark 213 at the end of the forward movement operation of the transport unit 21 and the area in the image are calculated as a standard barycenter G _org and a standard area D _org , respectively. Then, the reference center of gravity G _org and the reference area D _org are stored in the storage unit 13 in advance.

FIG. 9 shows a flowchart of the operation procedure of step S02.
In step S <b> 02, the control unit 12 calculates the gravity center position G / area D of the detection mark 213 for only the region of interest 101 for the image received by the position detection unit 122 from the imaging unit 11, and the movement end determination unit 123. Determines whether or not the operation is completed by comparison with the reference center of gravity and the reference area.

  First, the position detection unit 122 acquires the position and range of the region of interest from the storage unit 13 (step S201). Next, image data to be determined is acquired (step S202). After that, the position detection 122 binarizes the image data in the region of interest 101 so that it can be separated into the detection mark and the others (step S203). The binarization threshold is set empirically in consideration of the installation environment of the assembling apparatus 2 and the like.

In the present embodiment, data per pixel is represented by 8 bits each of red (R), green (G), and blue (B). Therefore, if the value P (= (R, G, B)) of an arbitrary pixel in the region of interest 101 and the arbitrary pixel value of the corresponding binarized image is P _bin , the detection mark 213 is red. For example

P _bin = 1 (R ≧ 128, G <32, B <32) (corresponding to the detection mark 213)
P _bin = 0 (other than above)
It can be.
When the binarization is completed, the centroid G of the pixel corresponding to the detection mark 213 (P _bin = 1) and the total (area) D of the number of pixels are calculated (step S204).

Next, the movement end determination unit 123 determines the distance ΔG (= ((G _x −G _orgx ) ² + (G _y −G _orgy ) ² ) ¹ between the center of gravity G and the reference center of gravity G _org acquired from the storage unit 13. ^{/ 2} ) (where G _x and G _y are the horizontal and vertical coordinates of the center of gravity G, respectively, while G _orgx and G _orgy are the horizontal and vertical coordinates of the reference center of gravity G _org , respectively). Similarly, an absolute value ΔD (= | D−D _org |) of an area difference between the area D and the reference area D _org acquired from the storage unit 13 is obtained (step S205). It is determined whether ΔG and ΔD are within an allowable error range (for example, within one pixel) (step S206). If both are within the allowable error range, it is determined that the transport unit 21 has normally finished the forward movement operation (S01). And the control means 12 outputs the synchronizing signal used as the control signal for performing the next operation | movement through the operation | movement instruction | indication part 121 (step S207).

  Further, the movement end determination unit 123 stores the image data determined to have completed the forward movement operation of the transport unit 21 in the storage unit 13 (step S208). At this time, a name corresponding to the operation step is given to the image data so that the stored image data corresponds to which operation step. In addition, since image data for a plurality of cycles is stored, a cycle difference is also reflected in the name. In this embodiment, the image name is represented by a 3-digit numerical value + extension. The first digit (the leftmost numerical value) is the cycle number, and the remaining two digits are the step number. The extension indicates the format (.jpg, .bmp, etc.) of the image data. For example, if the format of the image data is JPEG, the name of the image data stored in step S02 of the second cycle is represented as “202.jpg”. Regarding the cycle number, numbers from 1 to the number of cycles stored in order (3 in the present embodiment) are repeatedly used as follows.

1 → 2 → 3 → 1 → 2 → 3 → 1 → ・ ・ ・
Further, in association with the image data to be stored, control information such as the time determined to be the end of operation, the center G of the detection mark, the area D, the details of the control signal, etc. is added to the information table T held in the storage means 13. Go.

FIG. 10 shows an example of the information table T.
The information table T is created for each operation step. Then, as shown in FIG. 10, information on one step is held in one horizontal column, and information on the latest step is added to the bottom row. Further, in order from the left, the storage time of the image data, the horizontal of the center of gravity G for each movable part, the vertical coordinates G _x , G _y and the area D, the time required from the start to the end of the operation step, and abnormal in the operation step The stored image name when this occurs is stored. Note that information that is not obtained, such as the position of the upper and lower unit 21 that does not move in step S01, is blank (in the data, a value that is not normally set, such as -999).

  As described above, the control information is left in the storage unit 13 even after the related image data is discarded, so that it can be used to calculate the time series change of the position recognition result of the movable part, the frequency distribution, etc. Can be easily identified.

  On the other hand, when either one of ΔG and ΔD exceeds the allowable error range, the movement end determination unit 123 determines that the forward operation of the transport unit 21 is not completed. Then, the control means 12 discards the image data used for the determination, and similarly repeats the position recognition of the movable part and the determination procedure of the operation end for the image sent from the image pickup means 11 next.

Next, detection of an abnormality that has occurred in the assembling apparatus 2 according to the present embodiment will be described.
Abnormality detection is performed in the abnormality detection unit 124 of the control means 12 whether or not the movable part has moved beyond the standard range, or whether or not the determination that the operation of the movable part has been completed is obtained within a predetermined time, Alternatively, it is performed by determining whether or not there is an abnormality in the arrangement of the workpiece 202 and the part 203. (Steps S209, S210, S211).

  The time required for one operation of the movable unit such as the transport unit 21 and the upper unit 221 can be predicted in advance. Therefore, if it is not possible to determine the end of the operation even after the predictable time, it is considered that some abnormality has occurred.

  Therefore, the abnormality detection unit 124 compares the elapsed time after the condition of the preparation completion determination step (step S00) is satisfied with the above-described allowable time T1 and limit time T2 after the acquisition of image data (S202). I do. If the elapsed time is longer than the allowable time T1, or if the transport unit 21 does not end the movement even after the limit time T2, the abnormality is detected (step S209). Since the imaging interval of the imaging means 11 is constant, the number of image data acquired within one operation period is counted, and the total time is multiplied by the time of the imaging interval to know the elapsed time during the operation period. be able to. Therefore, the number of images for which the operation end determination has been performed may be used as an index instead of the elapsed time.

  When an abnormality is detected, the abnormality detection unit 124 stores the image data that has been analyzed last in the storage unit 13, and duplicates and stores the image of step S02 of the most recent cycle stored in the storage unit 13 separately. (Step S212). And the control means 12 stops the assembly apparatus 2 through the operation | movement instruction | indication part 121 (step S213). In addition, when the transfer unit 21 finishes moving before reaching the limit time T2, the assembly device 2 may not be stopped, and only a warning may be given via the display unit 14.

  Further, the abnormality detection unit 124 adjusts the equipment when the movable unit overruns, for example, when the transport unit 21 approaches the work transport path 201 beyond a preset advance limit position. Therefore, an abnormality is detected (step S210).

This determination is performed as follows.
First, the operation limit position _GL for each movable part is set in advance with respect to the position of the center of gravity on the image data of the detection mark and stored in the storage means 13. Step S210 is performed after the center of gravity G of the movable part is calculated by the position detection unit 122 in step S204, and the center of gravity G obtained from the above-described detection mark recognition result is compared with the movement limit position _GL . Then, for example, if G _L is set as the upper limit value of the vertical coordinate, the vertical coordinate G _y of the center of gravity G exceeds a movement limit position G _L, the abnormality detecting unit 124 detects an abnormality.

  Further, even if no abnormality is detected from the elapsed time and the position of the movable part, the abnormality is detected depending on whether or not the workpiece or component is present at a predetermined position (step S211). This determination is performed when the operation of the transport unit 21 is finished and the assembling apparatus 2 is in a stationary state. This is because even if the determination is made while the transport unit 21 is still moving forward, there is a possibility that an abnormality such as the workpiece 202 or the component 203 falling by the subsequent operation may occur. Therefore, step S211 is performed by the same method as the determination of whether or not the operation preparation in step S00 is completed based on the image data determined to have completed the operation after step S206. That is, when the assembling apparatus 2 is operating normally, at the end of each operation step, the work and parts should be present at predetermined positions. In step S <b> 02, the work 202 should be present at the entrance 231 of the work carry-in path 23, and the part 203 should be present in the part input unit 24.

  Therefore, the abnormality detection unit 124 applies the region of interest to the position where the workpiece 202 and the part 203 should be present during normal operation, with respect to the image data determined to have completed the forward movement operation of the carry-in unit 21. Is set, and the signal value in the region of interest is checked to determine whether a workpiece or the like exists. If it is determined that the workpiece 202 and the component 203 are respectively present at predetermined positions, it is determined that there is no abnormality. On the other hand, if either the workpiece 202 or the part 203 does not exist, it is determined that an abnormality has occurred, the image data used for the determination is stored in the storage unit 13, and the stored image data corresponding to step S02 is duplicated. It is memorized together with information that shows the time of occurrence of abnormality. (Step S212) Then, the assembling apparatus 2 is stopped (Step S213).

  When the abnormality detection unit 124 detects an abnormality in the assembling apparatus 2, the abnormality detection unit 124 separately copies the image data corresponding to the operation step, and stores the image data in the storage unit 13 with a different name. For example, to explain using the above-described example, if it is determined in step S02 that an abnormality has occurred, the image data “102.jpg”, “202.jpg”, “302.jpg” corresponding to step S02 are: Step number and time when each image is stored (for example, May 6, 13: 2: 10, May 6, 13: 2: 40, May 6, 13: 3: 20, Are stored as image names “020506130210.jpg”, “020506130240.jpg”, “020506130320.jpg”. Further, this image name is added to the related item of the information table T described above. In this way, image data stored with a separate name is stored without being erased.

  Note that a warning may be generated to the operator of the apparatus when the apparatus is stopped. Such a warning can be given by displaying a warning on the display means 14 for monitoring the operating state of the apparatus or generating a warning sound.

The operation end determination method and the abnormality occurrence determination method described above are similarly used in each operation end determination step of the movable part of the assembling apparatus 2 such as steps S04 and S06 described below. However, the detection mark of interest, the region of interest to be set, and the center-of-gravity position G _org and area D _{org as the reference} are optimized for each operation end determination step. Also for this optimization, reference image data indicating the end of the operation of the movable part that performs the operation end determination is acquired in advance by the same method as the above-described preparation, and the center of gravity of the detection mark of interest from the reference image data Check the area.

  In this way, by detecting the center of gravity and area of the detection mark and comparing them with those in the ideal state, it is possible to accurately determine the position of the movable part with the detection mark and improve the reliability of the device. It is possible to make it.

  When the movement end determination unit 123 of the control unit 12 determines that the forward operation of the transport unit 21 has ended, the control unit 12 causes the servo motor of the transport unit 21 to move backward through the operation instruction unit 121. Send a control signal. Based on the control signal, the transport unit 21 performs the backward movement while holding the workpiece (step S03). With this backward movement, the component 203 attached to the workpiece 202 moves from the component input unit to the assembly unit 25.

  Next, the movement end determination unit 123 determines whether or not the backward movement of the transport unit 21 has ended (step S04).

  The determination method is the same as in step S02. That is, using the gravity center position G and the area D of the detection mark 213 calculated by the position detection 122, it is determined whether or not the difference between those values obtained in advance falls within an allowable range. Similarly to step S02, image data that does not satisfy the operation end criterion is discarded, and image data that satisfies the criterion is stored in the storage unit 13. Similarly, the abnormality detection unit 124 checks whether or not an abnormality has occurred, and if an abnormality is detected, stores the predetermined image data and stops the equipment.

  When the movement end determination unit 123 determines that the backward movement of the transport unit 21 has ended, the control unit 12 transmits a control signal for lowering the upper unit 221 to the servo motor of the upper unit 221 through the operation instruction unit 121. Based on the control signal, the upper unit 221 descends (step S05).

  Thereafter, the movement end determination unit 123 determines whether or not the lowering operation of the upper unit 221 has ended (step S06). The determination method is the same as in step S02. That is, the center of gravity position and area of the detection mark 225 are calculated within a preset region of interest, and a determination is made based on whether or not the difference from those values obtained in advance falls within an allowable range. Similarly to step S02, image data that does not satisfy the operation end criterion is discarded, and image data that satisfies the criterion is stored in the storage unit 13. Furthermore, abnormality detection is performed in the same manner.

  In the present embodiment, the imaging unit 11 is arranged not in a position directly above the assembly unit 25 but in an oblique direction of 30 °, so that the vertical movement of the upper unit 221 can also be recognized as a change in position on the image. Therefore, it is not necessary to use a plurality of CCD cameras. In order to accurately grasp the position of the movable part, it is further preferable to arrange the movable parts so that the operating distance of all the movable parts is 10 pixels or more on the image captured by the imaging unit 11.

  When the movement end determination unit 123 determines that the lowering operation of the upper unit 221 has ended, a control signal is transmitted to the servo motor of the upper unit 221 through the operation instruction unit 121 so as to close the work chuck 223 as the next operation. . Based on the control signal, the work chuck 223 is closed and the component 203 in the assembly unit 25 is captured (chuck operation) (step S07).

  Thereafter, the movement end determination unit 123 determines whether or not the chuck operation of the work chuck 223 has ended (step S08). Note that the determination method is the same as in step S02, and the determination is made by examining the position of the center of gravity and the area of the detection mark 226 attached to the work chuck 223 within a preset region of interest. Similarly, image data that does not satisfy the operation end determination criterion is discarded, and image data that satisfies the determination criterion is stored in the storage unit 13. Furthermore, abnormality detection is performed in the same manner.

  When the movement end determination unit 123 determines that the chuck operation of the work chuck 223 has ended, the control unit 12 transmits a control signal to raise the upper unit 221 to the servo motor of the upper unit 221 through the operation instruction unit 121. . Based on the control signal, the upper unit 221 moves up while holding the component (step S09).

  Thereafter, the movement end determination unit 123 determines whether or not the ascending operation of the upper unit 221 has ended (step S10). This determination is performed in the same manner as S02 described above, except that the detection mark 225 attached to the upper unit 221 is used. Similarly, image data that does not satisfy the operation end determination criterion is discarded, and image data that satisfies the determination criterion is stored in the storage unit 13. Furthermore, abnormality detection is performed in the same manner.

  When the movement end determination unit 123 determines that the upward movement of the upper unit 221 has ended, the servo of the transfer unit 21 is moved through the operation instruction unit 121 so that the transfer unit 21 is moved forward and then moved forward as the next operation. Send a control signal to the motor. Based on the control signal, the transport unit 21 transports the workpiece 202 to the assembling unit 25, so that the transport unit 21 feeds along the workpiece transport path 201 while holding the parts, and then moves forward (step S11).

  By the same determination method as in step S02, the movement end determination unit 123 determines whether or not the movement of the transport unit 21 is completed (step S12). Similarly, the image data determined to have completed the movement of the transport unit 21 is stored, and other image data are discarded in the same manner. However, since the detection mark 213 on the workpiece carry-in portion side is hidden behind the upper unit 221 and cannot be seen because the transfer unit 21 has moved to the workpiece discharge portion side, the determination is performed using the detection mark 214 on the workpiece discharge portion side. The region of interest is also set to include the position where the detection mark 214 exists. Furthermore, abnormality detection is performed in the same manner.

  When the movement end determination unit 123 determines that the movement of the transport unit 21 has ended, a control signal is transmitted to the servo motor of the upper unit 221 through the operation instruction unit 121 so as to lower the upper unit 221 as the next operation. . Based on the control signal, the upper unit 221 descends, and the component 203 is attached to the workpiece 202 in the assembly unit 25 (step S13). At this time, the lower unit 222 fixes the workpiece 202.

  The movement end determination unit 123 determines whether or not the lowering operation of the upper unit 221 is ended by the same determination method as in step S04 (step S14). The same applies to the detection mark used for the determination. In addition, the image data that does not satisfy the operation end determination criterion is discarded, and the image data that satisfies the determination criterion is also stored in the storage unit 13. Furthermore, abnormality detection is performed in the same manner.

  When the movement end determination unit 123 determines that the lowering operation of the upper unit 221 has ended, the transport unit 21 is caused to move backward as the next operation, and then return. At the same time, the work chuck 223 is caused to open (unchuck) so as to release the component 203. Therefore, the control unit 12 transmits a control signal to the servo motor of the transport unit 21 through the operation instruction unit 121. Based on the control signal, the transport unit 21 releases the workpiece 202 and moves backward, and then returns to the original position. Similarly, a control signal is transmitted to the servo motor of the upper unit 221. Based on the control signal, the work chuck 223 performs an unchuck operation (step S15).

  Next, the movement end determination unit 123 determines whether or not the movement of the transport unit 21 has been completed and has returned to the origin position. At the same time, it is determined whether or not the unchuck operation of the work chuck 223 is completed (step S16).

  Completion of the movement of the transport unit 21 and completion of the unchucking operation are performed by the same method as the determination method described above, respectively, but in step S16, they can be simultaneously performed on the same image. That is, a region of interest for examining the center of gravity position and area of the detection mark 213 of the transport unit 21 and a region of interest for examining the center of gravity position and area of the detection mark 226 attached to the work chuck 223 are set. Judge every time. In addition, the detection of the abnormality due to the elapsed time and the detection of the abnormality due to overrun are performed for the transport unit 21 and the work chuck 223, respectively.

  As a result of each determination, if it can be confirmed that the movement of the transport unit has been completed and the unchucking operation has been completed, the control means 12 causes the servo of the upper unit 221 through the operation instruction unit 121 so as to raise the upper unit 221 as the next operation. Send a control signal to the motor. Based on the control signal, the upper unit 221 moves up (step S17).

  Thereafter, the movement end determination unit 123 determines whether or not the ascending operation of the upper unit 221 has been completed (step S18), similarly to step S10. Similarly, the image data that does not satisfy the operation end criterion is discarded and the image data that satisfies the criterion is stored in the storage unit 13 in the same manner. Furthermore, abnormality detection is performed in the same manner.

  When the movement end determination unit 123 determines that the ascending operation of the upper unit 221 has ended, the transport unit 21 is advanced to capture the workpiece (finished product) 204 that has already been assembled as the next operation. Therefore, the control unit 12 transmits a control signal to the servo motor of the transport unit 21 through the operation instruction unit 121. Based on the control signal, the transport unit 21 moves forward (step S19).

  Next, the movement end determination unit 123 determines whether or not the forward movement of the transport unit 21 is ended in step S19 (step S20). Similarly, the image data that does not satisfy the operation end criterion is discarded, and the image data that satisfies the criterion is stored in the storage unit 13 in the same manner. Furthermore, abnormality detection is performed in the same manner.

  In step S <b> 20, when the movement end determination unit 123 determines that the forward movement of the transport unit 21 has ended, the control unit 12 transmits a control signal that causes the servo motor of the transport unit 21 to move backward through the operation instruction unit 121. To do. Based on the control signal, the transport unit 21 moves backward while holding the finished product 204 (step S21).

  Then, the movement end determination unit 123 confirms that the transport unit 21 has moved back to a predetermined position (step S22). Similarly, the image data that does not satisfy the operation end criterion is discarded, and the image data that satisfies the criterion is stored in the storage unit 13 in the same manner. Furthermore, abnormality detection is performed in the same manner.

  In step S22, when the movement end determination unit 123 determines that the backward movement of the transport unit 21 has ended, the control unit 12 causes the servo motor of the transport unit 21 to perform a feed operation and a forward operation through the operation instruction unit 121. Send a control signal. Based on the control signal, in order to discharge the finished product 204 to the workpiece discharge unit 26, the transport unit 21 performs a feeding operation while holding the finished product 204, and then advances (step S23).

  Next, the movement end determination unit 123 determines whether or not the forward movement of the transport unit 21 in step S23 has ended (step S24). Similarly, the image data that does not satisfy the operation end criterion is discarded, and the image data that satisfies the criterion is stored in the storage unit 13 in the same manner. Furthermore, abnormality detection is performed in the same manner.

  When it is confirmed in step S <b> 24 that the conveyance unit 21 has finished moving forward, the finished product 204 is discharged to the work outlet 261 of the work discharge unit 26. Then, the control unit 12 transmits a control signal to the servo motor of the transport unit 21 through the motor driver so as to perform a return operation after the transport unit 21 moves backward. Based on the control signal, the transport unit 21 returns to the original position (step S25).

  Finally, it is confirmed whether or not the transport unit 21 has returned to the origin position (step S26). In step S26, determination is performed in the same manner as in other step S16 using the detection mark 213 attached to the transport unit 21. Similarly, the image data that does not satisfy the operation end criterion is discarded, and the image data that satisfies the criterion is stored in the storage unit 13 in the same manner. Furthermore, abnormality detection is performed in the same manner.

  As described above, instead of processing the moving image picked up by the image pickup means, by using the still image at the end of the operation and not using the entire image, the determination process is performed only on the region of interest, Processing can be performed at high speed, or processing can be performed using an inexpensive processor. In addition, as described above, by analyzing the image data and confirming the position of each movable part, it is possible to perform origin position confirmation and overrun detection without other sensors, and to complete the operation of each part. It is possible to prevent malfunction by issuing a command to perform the next operation after the determination. Furthermore, by using the position of the center of gravity and the area of the detection mark for determination, the position of each movable part can be accurately evaluated, and malfunction can be prevented more reliably. Further, in each operation end determination step of steps S02 to S26, by storing the image data determined as the operation completion of each movable part, the operation analysis of the assembling apparatus 2 can be easily performed by referring to those images afterwards. In particular, it is possible to easily investigate the cause when an abnormality occurs.

  Furthermore, for the operation step in which an abnormality has occurred, by separately storing only the images of the operation step for the past several cycles from the time of the occurrence of the abnormality, while suppressing an increase in memory capacity necessary for storing image data, Data necessary for investigating the cause of abnormality can be stored.

  Next, an operation for reproducing the operation state of the assembling apparatus 2 from the image data stored in the storage unit 13 will be described.

FIG. 11 shows a schematic configuration diagram of the screen of the display means 14 at the time of reproducing the operation.
The image display unit 141 displays the image data stored in the storage unit 13. The data display unit 142 displays information related to the image displayed on the image display unit 141 (for example, time, a position recognition result for the operation end determination target movable unit, and the like). In addition, the operation unit 143 provides a user with a function of continuously displaying image data to be displayed in time or calling and displaying specific image data. In addition, based on the called image data, a function of simulating the operation end determination process such as steps S02 and S04 described above is also provided.

  The user can easily display the cause of the abnormality by displaying the image data at the time of the abnormality occurrence, confirming the related information, and continuously displaying the images after each operation step for several cycles until the abnormality occurs. Can be determined.

  Further, the display unit 14 may display the position recognition results of the movable parts for the past several cycles in time series with reference to the information table T or display the frequency distribution of the position recognition results. Such time-series information or statistical information can be used as a reference for facilitating identification of the cause of abnormality or for optimizing a threshold value used for position recognition.

  In addition, since the stored image data is the image at the end of each operation, each moving part is also captured in a stationary state, so that it can be clearly seen on the image, and the problem location is found in the above operation analysis Easy to do.

  In addition, embodiment mentioned above is for demonstrating this invention, and this invention is not limited to these embodiment.

It is a block diagram of the configuration of the monitoring control device according to the present invention. It is a configuration block diagram of an assembling apparatus in which the monitoring control apparatus according to the present invention is mounted. It is a schematic top view of the assembly apparatus which mounted the monitoring control apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic perspective view of the assembly apparatus which mounted the monitoring control apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart of the assembly apparatus which mounted the monitoring control apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a flowchart of the assembly apparatus which mounted the monitoring control apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a timing chart of the assembly apparatus which mounted the monitoring control apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a figure which shows the outline of the setting range of a region of interest, and the gravity center of a detection mark. It is a flowchart of the movement end determination and abnormality detection procedure of each movable part of an assembly apparatus by the monitoring control apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is an example of an information table. It is a schematic block diagram of the monitor screen at the time of operation reproduction.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Monitoring and control apparatus 11 Imaging means 12 Control means 121 Operation instruction part 122 Position detection part 123 Movement end determination part 124 Abnormality detection part 13 Memory | storage means 14 Display means 2 Assembly apparatus 21 Conveyance unit 22 Vertical unit 213, 214, 225, 226 Detection Mark 101 Area of interest

Claims (7)

An imaging unit that moves through a plurality of operation steps obtained by dividing one operation, images a movable part that repeats the operation, and acquires image data;
Storage means for storing the image data;
A position detector for detecting the position of the movable part based on the image data;
For each of the plurality of operation steps, based on the position of the movable part, it is determined whether or not the movable part has reached the movement destination, and when it is determined that the movement destination has been reached, it is used for the determination The image data is temporarily stored in the storage means, and when the moving part does not reach the moving destination within a predetermined period after the movement starts, the last analyzed image data is stored , A movement end determination unit that temporarily stores image data of each operation step included in the operation;
When the abnormality of the movable part is detected, and the abnormality is detected, the image data of the same operation step as the operation step in which the abnormality is detected among the plurality of operation steps from the temporarily stored image data. A control unit having an abnormality detection unit that extracts and stores in a plurality of the operations in the storage unit;
A monitoring control apparatus comprising:   The monitoring control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising display means for displaying image data stored in the storage means. The abnormality detection unit determines that an abnormality occurs in each of the plurality of operation steps when the movement destination does not reach the moving destination even after the predetermined period has elapsed since the movable unit started moving. Or the monitoring control apparatus of 2.   The abnormality detection unit determines an abnormality when it is determined that the movable unit has moved beyond a predetermined boundary based on a position of the movable unit for each of the plurality of operation steps. The monitoring control apparatus according to 1 or 2. An image acquisition step of dividing a single operation and moving through a plurality of operation steps, photographing a movable part that repeats the operation, and acquiring image data;
A position detecting step for detecting the position of the movable part based on the image data;
For each of the plurality of operation steps, a movement end determination step for determining whether or not the movable part has reached a movement destination based on the position of the movable part;
When it is determined in the determination step that the movable part has reached the moving destination, the image data used for the determination is temporarily stored , and the moving destination is within a predetermined period after the moving part starts moving. A first image storage step of storing the image data analyzed last and temporarily storing the image data of each operation step included in the plurality of operations;
An abnormality detection step of detecting an abnormality of the movable part;
If an abnormality is detected in the abnormality detection step, a plurality of image data of the same operation step as the operation step in which the abnormality is detected is selected from the temporarily stored image data . A second image storage step for extracting and storing over the operation ;
A monitoring control method characterized by comprising: 6. The abnormality detection step determines that an abnormality occurs in each of the plurality of operation steps when the movable part does not reach the moving destination even after the predetermined period has elapsed after the movable part starts moving. The monitoring control method described in 1.   The abnormality detection step determines that an abnormality is detected when it is determined that the movable part has moved beyond a predetermined boundary based on the position of the movable part for each of the plurality of operation steps. 5. The monitoring control method according to 5.

Images