JP5083617B2 - Remote control robot device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a remote operation robot apparatus, and more particularly to a remote operation robot apparatus that allows an operator to operate a robot by remote operation via an operation means.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a robot control system has been proposed in which a robot is operated to follow up by a remote operation following the movement trajectory of an operating means that is held and moved by an operator (for example, Patent Document 1).
In the robot control system disclosed in Patent Document 1, when an operator moves while pressing a control switch of an operation unit, the movement locus is detected by a sensor, and the operation unit detected by the sensor is detected. In accordance with the movement trajectory, the robot is made to follow by the control means.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-7786

By the way, in the robot control system of Patent Document 1, the robot hand follows the operation means while the operator presses the control switch, and does not follow the operation when the operator releases the control switch. When operating the means, the operator moves the operating means while constantly confirming the robot's follow-up operation visually. At that time, the robot hand may stop following operation for some reason.
As this cause, the following causes (1) to (4) are considered.
(1) Since the upper limit of the moving speed and acceleration is set for safety, the robot does not follow if the operator moves the operating means at a speed or acceleration higher than the upper limit.
(2) Since there is a limit to the detection range in which the operation means can be detected by the sensor, the robot does not follow up if the operation means is out of the detection range. Further, even if the operating means is moved outside the detection range of the sensor, the robot does not follow up.
(3) Since a conventional general 6-axis articulated robot has a limit of the axis movement range, the robot cannot operate beyond that range.
(4) If the control switch is not pushed completely by the operator, the robot will not follow up.
Conventionally, the above (1) to (3) are generally called operator abnormality.
Even if the operator moves the operating means in this way, the robot may not follow up due to the above (1) to (4). Conventionally, even in such a case, the operator is Since the operation means is moved over and over again by misunderstanding that the response is poor, there is a drawback that the burden on the operator is heavy.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a remote operation robot apparatus that allows an operator to easily recognize whether a robot is in a normal follow-up operation or whether an operator abnormality as described above has occurred.

In view of the circumstances described above, the present invention provides a robot main body that performs a required process by a robot hand, an operation means that has a control switch and is moved by an operator, and an operation in a position where the robot main body is visible. A sensor for detecting the position and orientation of the operating means possessed by the user and a control means for controlling the operation of the robot body , and the operator switches the control switch of the operating means within the detectable range of the sensor. When the signal is input to the control means, the control means remotely controls the operation of the robot body so that the robot hand follows changes in the position and posture of the operation means detected by the sensor. In the remote control robot device,
When the operator moves the operation means, a display means for displaying operation information of the operation means by the operator is provided at a position visible from the operator,
When the control means is turned on within the detectable range of the sensor, the control means causes the display means to display that it is in a normal follow-up operation state, and the control switch is turned on when the control switch is turned on. When the operation means is moved out of the detectable range, the occurrence of abnormality is displayed on the display means .

According to such a configuration, it can be easily recognized by the display means whether the operator is moving the operation means within the detectable range of the sensor , and the operator is moving the operation means. When the operating means is sometimes moved from within the detectable range to the outside of the range, this is displayed by the display means, so that the operator can easily recognize that the operating means has been moved from the within the detectable range to the outside of the range. be able to. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the work burden on the operator when moving the operation means as compared with the above-described conventional one.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a remote control robot device. The remote control robot device 1 changes the position and posture of the operation means 2 possessed by the operator. The change in the position and posture of the robot body 5 is detected by the sensor 3 so that the control means 4 follows the change in the position and posture of the operation means 2 so that the position and posture of the robot hand 5a follow. The operation is controlled.
The remote operation robot apparatus 1 includes a 6-axis multi-joint robot main body 5 having a basic configuration similar to that conventionally known, and operation means 2 that the operator carries and moves to operate the robot main body 5 by remote operation. And a sensor 3 for detecting the position and orientation of the operating means 2 in the reference coordinate system B indicated by XYZ, and operating the robot hand 5a based on the change in the position and orientation of the operating means 2 detected by the sensor 3. And a control means 4 that operates so as to follow the movement of the means 2.

The robot body 5 is an industrial six-axis articulated robot, and a robot hand 5a for holding an article is provided at the tip of the robot body 5. In the present embodiment, a green display lamp 5G and a red display lamp 5R as display means are provided adjacent to each other in an easily visible place on the robot hand 5a.
When the operator presses the control switch 2A provided in the operation means 2 within the range that can be detected by the sensor 3, the control means 4 turns on the green lamp 5G. Then, when an operator abnormality occurs such that the operating means 2 is moved at a speed higher than the upper limit movement speed of the robot hand 5a, the red display lamp 5R is turned on by the control means 4.
Thereby, when the operator presses the control switch 2A of the operation means 2 to move the operation means 2, whether or not the robot body 5 is in a normal operation state while visually confirming the movement of the robot hand 5a and It is possible to easily check whether or not an operator abnormality has occurred. Since the configuration of the robot body 5 is the same as that of a conventionally known industrial robot except that the display lamps 5G and 5R are provided, detailed description thereof is omitted. As the robot hand 5a, in addition to a gripper for gripping an article, a spraying means for painting, a gun for welding, and the like can be attached.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the operation means 2, and the operation means 2 includes a substantially rectangular parallelepiped case 11 that can be gripped by an operator, and a control switch 2 </ b> A provided on the top of the case 11. The signal is transmitted to the control means 4 only while being pressed by the operator.
Next, the sensor 3 is provided in the origin portion 12 installed at the position adjacent to the operator who holds the operating means 2 as shown in FIG. 1, and in the case 11 of the operating means 2 as shown in FIG. And a main body portion 14 to which the origin portion 12 and the moving portion 13 are connected.
The sensor 3 is installed at a position where the robot body 5 can be viewed by an operator who has the moving unit 13 and wants to operate the robot body 5.
The origin portion 12 includes three coils (not shown), and each coil is horizontally oriented in the X-axis direction, horizontally oriented, in the Y-axis direction perpendicular to the X-axis direction, and in the vertical direction. Each of the X-axis, Y-axis, and Z-axis coordinate axes points in the Z-axis direction, and a reference coordinate system B having the origin at the intersection of these coordinate axes is set.
In the reference coordinate system B, rotational coordinates with the respective coordinate axes as the rotation center are set, and the Ψ coordinate that rotates about the X axis, the Θ coordinate that rotates about the Y axis, and the rotation about the Z axis. Each Φ coordinate is set. The position and orientation of the operating means 2 are detected using this reference coordinate system B as a reference.
The robot body 5 is set with a robot coordinate system R. The position and orientation of the robot hand 5a change based on the robot coordinate system R, and the reference coordinate system B is changed to the robot coordinate system R. Set parallel.

Next, the moving unit 13 is also provided with three coils (not shown), and these coils are oriented in directions orthogonal to each other at the origin, like the origin unit 12.
In addition, a fixing piece 13a for fixing the moving part 13 to the case 11 is provided on both sides of the lower part of the moving part 13, and the direction in which the fixing piece 13a extends is defined as the Y axis, The vertical direction of the moving unit 13 that is orthogonal is the Z axis, and the direction that is orthogonal to the Y and Z axes is the X axis.
Then, the orientation of the operating means 2 when the direction of the XYZ axes by the three coils of the moving part 13 and the direction of the XYZ axes by the three coils of the origin part 12 coincide, that is, the direction of the XYZ axes of the reference coordinate system B The posture when the moving unit 13 and the X, Y, and Z directions coincide with each other, and further, the posture where the moving unit 13 and the X, Y, and Z directions coincide with the robot coordinate system R are hereinafter referred to as a reference posture of the operation means 2. Shall.
The main body 14 supplies electric power to the origin 12 to generate a magnetic field from the three coils, and the moving unit 13 detects an induced current generated in each coil of the moving unit 13 by the magnetic field. Thus, the position and orientation of the moving unit 13 with respect to the reference coordinate system B set at the origin 12 are detected. The sensor 3 is a six-degree-of-freedom magnetic sensor, and its configuration is conventionally known, and thus detailed description thereof is omitted.

Next, the control means 4 is configured to output a signal necessary for controlling the robot body 5 from the position and posture of the operation means 2 detected by the sensor 3 and a signal from the command output section 21. A robot controller 22 is provided that controls the robot body 5 so that the position and posture of the robot hand 5a follow the changes in the position and posture of the operation means 2.
Further, the command output unit 21 includes a position recognition unit 23 that recognizes a change in the position of the moving unit 13 detected by the sensor 3, a posture recognition unit 24 that recognizes a change in the posture of the moving unit 13, and a posture recognition. A posture conversion unit 25 is provided for converting the posture for causing the posture of the robot hand 5a to follow the change in the posture of the operation means 2 recognized by the unit 24.

The position recognizing unit 23 recognizes a coordinate value where the origin of the moving unit 13 with respect to the reference coordinate system B set in the origin unit 12 is located as a position vector, and the operator controls the operation means 2. The position vector when the switch 2A is turned on is recognized as an initial position, and when the position of the operating means 2 changes in a state where the control switch 2A is pressed, the change in the position vector is obtained to indicate the change in position. It is recognized as a displacement vector.
The posture recognizing unit 24 recognizes an angle difference of the XYZ axes of the moving unit 13 with respect to the XYZ axes of the reference coordinate system B due to a change in the posture of the moving unit 13 as a posture vector. The attitude vector when the control switch 2A of the means 2 is turned on is recognized as the initial attitude, and when the attitude of the operation means 2 changes while the control switch 2A is pressed, the difference between the changing attitude vectors is obtained, It is recognized as a displacement vector indicating a change in posture from the posture.

The posture conversion unit 25 converts the displacement vector of the posture from the initial posture recognized by the posture recognition unit 24 into the displacement vector from the reference posture.
The robot controller 22 recognizes the position and orientation of the robot hand 5a when the operator presses the control switch 2A as an operation start point with reference to the robot coordinate system R, and then the control switch 2A is pressed. In this state, the position of the robot hand 5a is changed according to the displacement vector of the position recognized by the position recognition unit 23, and the posture of the robot hand 5a is changed according to the displacement vector of the posture from the reference posture converted by the posture conversion unit 25. The robot body 5 is controlled so as to change.
Then, when the operator turns off the control switch 2A, the robot controller 22 immediately stops the operation of the robot body 5.
Thus, when the operator changes the position and posture of the operation means 2 in a state where the operator presses the control switch 2A of the operation means 2, the remote operation robot apparatus 1 detects the change in the position and posture by the sensor 3. The control unit 4 controls the operation of the robot body 5 so that the position and posture of the robot hand 5a follow the change in the position and posture of the operation unit 2. Note that such a control technique of the robot body 5 by the control means 4 is already known in Patent Document 1.

  In the present embodiment, on the premise of the above-described configuration, as described above, the green display lamp 5G and the red display lamp 5R as display means are provided adjacent to the robot hand 5a. Thereby, when the operator moves the operation means 2 while pressing the control switch 2A of the operation means 2, whether the green lamp 5G or the red lamp 5R as the display means is lit. Thus, it is possible to easily confirm whether or not the robot body 5 is in a normal follow-up operation state and whether or not an operator abnormality has occurred.

As described above, when the control switch 2A of the operation means 2 is pressed within the range that can be detected by the sensor 3, a signal is input to the control means 4, and the control is performed while the signal is input. The means 4 continuously lights the green lamp 5G. For this reason, when the green lamp 5G is lit, the operator can recognize that the control switch 2A has been completely pressed, and can recognize that the operating means 2 is within the detectable range of the sensor 3. .
When the green lamp 5G is turned on in this way, the operator can easily visually confirm that the robot body 5 is in a state in which the robot body 5 can normally follow and operate. Thereafter, the operator moves the operation means 2 while pressing the control switch 2A as described above, so that the position and posture of the operation means 2 are detected by the sensor 3, and the robot hand 5a is moved to the operation means 2 by the control means 4. It is operated following.
As described above, when the operator moves the operation means 2 to cause the robot hand 5a to follow up, for example, an operator abnormality occurs due to the following (1) to (3), and the robot body 5 is normally operated. When the tracking operation is not performed, the control unit 4 turns off the green display lamp 5G and turns on the red lamp 5R.
(1) The case where the operator moves the operating means 2 at a speed higher than the upper limit of the moving speed of the robot body 5 and the case where the operating means 2 is moved more rapidly than the upper limit acceleration. (2) When the operation means 2 is moved outside the range detectable by the sensor 3. (3) When the operation means 2 is moved so as to exceed the axis movement limit of the robot body 5.
As described above, when the robot main body 5 does not normally follow up due to an abnormality of the operator, the red display lamp 5R is lit. At that time, the operator is abnormal and the robot main body 5 operates normally. It can be easily confirmed by visual observation that the state has not been reached. An operator who recognizes that an operator abnormality has occurred turns off the control switch 2A of the operation means 2 at that time. In addition, after the operator abnormality occurs, the operator resets again by pressing the control switch 2A. If the sensor 3 can be detected, the green lamp 5G is lit and the follow-up operation is possible. It is supposed to become a state.

And if it is a stop by the cause of said (1), after an operator presses control switch 2A again, it will move the operation means 2 more slowly than the time of abnormality occurrence. If the stop is caused by the cause (2), the operator moves the operating means 2 closer to the origin 12 of the sensor 3 and then presses the control switch 2A. Furthermore, if the stop is caused by the above (3), the operator temporarily moves the operation means 2 in the opposite direction to that at the time of occurrence of the abnormality.
As described above, according to the present embodiment, when the operator pushes and moves the control switch 2A of the operation means 2, the green display lamp 5G is turned on, and when an operator abnormality occurs, the red display lamp 5R is turned on. Therefore, the operator can easily confirm visually whether or not the robot body 5 is in a normal follow-up operation state.
Therefore, the operator does not need to repeatedly move the operating means 2 unnecessarily as in the above-described prior art, and the work burden when the operator moves the operating means 2 compared to the conventional technique can be greatly reduced. Can do.

In the above embodiment, the green and red display lamps 5G and 5R are provided on the robot hand 5a as display means. However, four display lamps of green, yellow, red and orange are provided on the robot hand 5a, and the operator malfunctions. Different display lamps may be lit for each cause.
In the above embodiment, the green display lamp 5G may be omitted, and only the red display lamp 5R may be provided, and the display lamp 5R may be turned on when the above-described abnormal situation occurs.
Further, instead of the display lamps 5G and 5R, a small liquid crystal monitor is embedded in the robot hand 5a, and when the above-described abnormal situation occurs, numbers and characters corresponding to the cause are displayed on the liquid crystal monitor. You may do it.
The installation position of the display means may be any position that can be viewed by the operator, such as the base portion of the robot body 5, instead of being provided in the robot hand 5 a. Further, for example, a support column may be set up within the range of the visual field of the operator, and the above-described display lamp may be provided thereon. In this case, if it is within the operating range of the robot hand 5a, the operator can easily recognize it.
Furthermore, if the display means is provided not only at one place but at a plurality of places, the operator can surely see the robot body 5 regardless of the system.

1 is an overall view showing an embodiment of the present invention. The enlarged view of the operation means shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Remote operation robot apparatus 2 ... Operation means 2A ... Control switch 3 ... Sensor 4 ... Control means 5 ... Robot main body 5G ... Display lamp 5R ... Display lamp

Claims (3)

A robot body that performs a required process by the robot hand, an operation means that has a control switch and is carried by the operator, and a position of the operation means possessed by the operator who is in a position where the robot body can be visually recognized. A sensor for detecting the posture and a control means for controlling the operation of the robot body , and an operator inputs a signal to the control means when the operator turns on a control switch of the operation means within a detectable range of the sensor. In the remote operation robot apparatus, the operation of the robot body is remotely controlled so that the robot hand follows changes in the position and posture of the operation means detected by the sensor.
When the operator moves the operation means, a display means for displaying operation information of the operation means by the operator is provided at a position visible from the operator,
When the control means is turned on within the detectable range of the sensor, the control means causes the display means to display that it is in a normal follow-up operation state, and the control switch is turned on when the control switch is turned on. A remote control robot apparatus, wherein when the operation means is moved from the detectable range to the outside of the range, an abnormality occurrence is displayed on the display means . The control means, when the operator moves the operation means at a moving speed or acceleration exceeding the upper limit of the robot body in a state where the control switch is turned on within the detectable range of the sensor, The remote operation robot apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an abnormality occurrence is displayed on the display means . The control means displays the display when the operator moves the operating means beyond the axis movement limit of the robot body while the operating switch is turned on within the detectable range of the sensor. The remote control robot apparatus according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein an abnormality occurrence is displayed on the means.

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