JP5135081B2 - Centering method and automatic centering system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a centering method and an automatic centering system between a transport robot that transports a workpiece and a machine facility that transports the workpiece.

Conventionally, a transfer robot having a robot hand has been used for transferring and supplying a workpiece to mechanical equipment. If the mutual positional relationship changes due to the layout change or maintenance of these transfer robots and mechanical equipment, so-called centering is required to determine the mutual reference points so that the correct positional relationship can be finally realized. As a centering method, for example, holes and grooves are provided in advance on both adjacent arms of the transfer robot, and the rods are inserted so that these holes and grooves are aligned with each other. Is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Utility Model Publication No.59-171095

  However, in the centering method using the rod-shaped member as described in Patent Document 1 described above, the operator inserts the rod-shaped member by matching the positions of the holes and grooves while operating the transport robot in the vicinity of the transport robot. It is dangerous because work must be done. In addition, in order to superimpose holes and grooves so that rod-shaped members can be inserted, advanced robot operations for delicate positioning are required, and workers who are skilled in robot operations are required. If not, there is a problem that the work time becomes long and the work cost is high. Moreover, there is a limit in positioning accuracy due to the accuracy limit due to the tolerance between the hole or groove and the rod-shaped member, or the occurrence of play. Further, since it is a human work, the positioning accuracy may vary depending on the worker.

  The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems. With a simple configuration, it is safe and easy, and it is possible to realize centering safely and easily by reducing the working time and cost regardless of the skill level of the operator. It is an object of the present invention to provide a centering method and an automatic centering system between a transfer robot and mechanical equipment.

In order to achieve the above object, a first aspect of the present invention provides a centering method between a transfer robot that exchanges workpieces with each other and mechanical equipment, and a robot hand for transferring a workpiece in the transfer robot or the robot hand. A linear reference portion is provided on the jig gripped by the sensor, a sensor for detecting the reference portion is provided at a portion facing the robot hand on the machine facility side, and the robot hand is translated twice. the direction of the reference portion is detected by, based on the direction of the detection result, the robot hand, is moved relative to the linear direction of the reference portion in a straight direction orthogonal to detect the reference portion by the sensor Thus, centering in the moving direction is performed.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the centering method according to the first aspect, the reference portion is provided not on the transfer robot side but on the machine equipment side, and the sensor is provided on the robot hand side instead of the mechanical equipment side. The centering is performed.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the centering method according to the first or second aspect, in addition to the reference portion, a linear reference portion in a direction intersecting with the reference portion is further provided, and the two sensors are provided by the sensor. For each of the reference parts, the movement and the centering of the robot hand are performed.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the centering method according to the third aspect, the two reference portions are provided so as to be distinguishable from each other by the sensor.

The invention of claim 5 is the centering method according to claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the characteristic of the reference portion detected by the sensor has gradient information with respect to the line direction of the reference portion, by detecting the gradient in the movement of the straight direction orthogonal to relative linear direction of the reference portion, and performs centering also linear direction of the reference portion with the centering in the moving direction.

  The invention of claim 6 is the centering method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the centering is the first centering, and after the centering, the reference portion is different from the original position. The centering in two different directions is performed by performing the centering for the second time after rotating to the position.

  The invention of claim 7 is an automatic centering system that performs centering by the centering method according to any one of claims 1 to 6, and controls the transport robot or the mechanical equipment, An operation control device that relatively moves the reference portion and the sensor to detect the reference portion or rotates the reference portion to perform the second centering, and the sensor obtained at the time of the relative movement A calculation device that calculates the centering information by calculating the output from the storage, and a storage instruction device that stores the centering information calculated by the calculation device in the transport robot.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the accurate positioning function originally provided in the robot hand is utilized, the worker can simply and roughly perform positioning safely and easily without relying on a skilled worker. High-precision centering is possible, and man-hours and costs can be reduced.

  According to the invention of claim 2, the same effect as that of claim 7 can be obtained.

  According to the invention of claim 3, biaxial centering can be performed more easily. Further, it is not necessary to rotate the reference portion for biaxial centering, and man-hours can be reduced.

  According to the invention of claim 4, biaxial centering can be performed more reliably without being affected by the presence of other reference portions. For example, even if the movement trajectory of the robot hand when centering in one axial direction matches the reference part for the other axis, it is possible to identify the mutual reference part and recognize the intersection point. , Centering is possible.

  According to the invention of claim 5, two axes can be centered simultaneously by one movement of the robot hand, and the man-hours can be further reduced.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, centering in two axial directions is possible with a simple operation.

  According to the invention of claim 7, since a series of detailed centering can be automated, man-hours and costs can be reduced without relying on a safe, easy and skilled worker.

  Hereinafter, a centering method and an automatic centering system between a transfer robot and mechanical equipment according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
In the present embodiment, a centering method between the transfer robot 1 and the machine equipment 2 that exchange workpieces with each other will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. In this centering method, as shown in FIG. 1A, a linear reference portion 4 is provided on a jig 3 held by a robot hand 11 for transporting a workpiece in the transport robot 1, and the machine equipment 2 side A sensor 5 for detecting the reference portion 4 is provided at a portion facing the robot hand 11, the robot hand 11 is moved in a direction substantially orthogonal to the line direction of the reference portion 4, and the reference portion 4 is detected by the sensor 5. By detecting this, centering in the moving direction is performed.

  For example, the transport robot 1 takes out a work (electrical parts, mechanical parts, etc.) on which processing such as machining, assembly processing, inspection, measurement, adjustment, and display is performed from a predetermined storage shelf or a transport conveyor, It is an automatic device that is handed over to the machine facility 2. The transfer robot 1 includes a drive mechanism 12 that drives the robot hand 11 to move in space, and a robot controller 13 that controls the drive mechanism 12 based on a predetermined program to cause the robot hand 11 to transfer a workpiece. ing.

  The machine facility 2 is a device that performs the above-described processing or the like on the workpiece received from the transfer robot 1. The processed workpiece is removed from the machine facility 2 by the transfer robot 1 or another device.

  The mutual position of the robot hand 11 of the transfer robot 1 and the machine facility 2 is such that the workpiece is not damaged and the transfer of the workpiece is not failed between the transfer robot 1 and the machine facility 2. So-called centering is necessary to establish the relationship. The centering method of the present embodiment is used when the transport robot 1 or the machine equipment 2 is installed, or after maintenance inspection or rearrangement.

  In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the workpiece is held horizontally in the machine facility 2 and processed. Therefore, the robot hand 11 is, for example, a wall-hanging type or a structure that can be suspended from the upper part, and moves the workpiece in the three axial directions of the horizontal x and y axes and the vertical z axis. The workpiece is transferred to the workpiece mounting surface in. In this case, centering is performed between the robot hand 11 and the mechanical equipment 2 in the x-axis direction and the y-axis direction (these are not necessarily orthogonal). In other words, the centering operation is an operation for associating the coordinate system based on the position of the transport robot 1 with the coordinate system based on the position of the mechanical equipment 2. Here, the xyz coordinate system composed of the above-described three-axis directions is a coordinate system common to both. Moreover, the workpiece | work mounting surface in the mechanical equipment 2 shall exist in xy plane.

  The jig 3 used for centering has a disk shape as shown in FIGS. 1B and 1C, and a linear slit passing through the center of the disk is formed as a reference portion 4 on the surface thereof. Has been. The width of the slit is determined according to the required centering accuracy. For example, if the required centering accuracy is about ± 0.25 mm, the width of the slit is about 0.5 mm.

  The jig 3 is grasped by the robot hand 11 by the grasping part 11 a, and the surface of the jig 3 provided with the reference part 4 is parallel to the workpiece placement surface in the mechanical equipment 2. The linear direction of the reference portion 4 (slit) is a direction orthogonal to the x axis when centering about the x axis is performed. The distance between the reference unit 4 and the sensor 5 is set as close as possible. Such an arrangement of the jig 3 is performed by an operator operating the robot controller 13 of the transport robot 1.

  The sensor 5 is a distance sensor using a light beam, and is fixed to the workpiece placement surface by the workpiece fixing jig 21 in the mechanical equipment 2 while being attached to the sensor mounting substrate 51. The output of the sensor 5 is displayed on the output display device 50 in association with the detection location (for example, coordinate value).

  The operator performs a rough positioning and arrangement of the reference unit 4 and then moves the robot hand 11 in a predetermined range along the x-axis direction, for example, a range of about ± 5 mm, with the sensor 5 operated. Move. The movement of the robot hand 11 holding the jig 3 has the same effect as the movement of the sensor 5 along the straight line x1 as shown in FIG.

  By the movement along the straight line x1, the output V of the sensor 5 is displayed on the output display device 50 as shown in FIG. The output V is displayed as a larger value as the distance measured by the sensor 5 is longer. Therefore, the operator can determine the centering position x0 in the x-axis direction from the output position of the convex shape corresponding to the reference portion 4. Further, position adjustment in the z-axis (height) direction can be performed from output values other than the reference portion 4.

  When centering in the y-axis direction, as shown in FIG. 1C, the robot hand 11 holding the jig 3 is rotated by 90 ° to rotate the direction of the reference portion 4, The robot hand 11 is moved along the y-axis direction (straight line y1 direction). Then, as shown in FIG. 2 (b), a sensor output V in the y-axis direction is obtained, whereby the operator can determine the centering position y0. If the robot hand 11 does not have a rotation function, the operator can rotate the jig 3 and then hold the robot hand 11. In general, after the first centering, by rotating the reference portion 4 to a position different from the original position and then performing the second centering, the centering in two different directions can be performed.

  In the present embodiment, an example in which the reference portion 4 is provided on the jig 3 has been described. However, the reference portion 4 may be provided directly on the robot hand 11. Moreover, the reference | standard part 4 is good also as a reference | standard part which consists of not only a recessed part like a slit but a linear convex part. Moreover, it is good also as a combination of the visual sensor which reads the position of a linear to-be-detected mark and its mark instead of the combination of the slit and the linear convex part, and the sensor 5 which measures distance.

  Further, centering can be performed by providing the reference unit 4 on the machine equipment 2 side instead of the robot hand 11 side of the transfer robot 1 and providing the sensor 5 on the robot hand 11 side instead of the machine equipment 2 side. As a matter of course, the position of the sensor 5 is determined in advance with respect to the transport robot 1 or the mechanical equipment 2 that holds the sensor 5, and the position of the reference unit 4 is also determined in the same manner. The centering operation is an operation for determining the mutual positional relationship between the sensor 5 and the reference unit 4.

  According to the centering method of the present embodiment, by using the accurate positioning function that the robot hand 11 originally has, a skilled work can be performed in any axial direction only by the operator performing rough positioning. Without relying on the operator, high-precision centering can be performed safely and easily, and man-hours and costs can be reduced. Further, centering in a plurality of axial directions is possible by a simple operation such as rotating the jig 3.

(Second Embodiment)
With reference to FIG. 3 thru | or FIG. 7, the automatic centering system which concerns on 2nd Embodiment is demonstrated. The configurations of the transfer robot 1 and the machine equipment 2 to be centered are the same as those shown in the first embodiment. Further, although the jig 3 is held on the machine equipment 2 side and the sensor 5 is held by the robot hand 11, the principle of the centering method is explained in the first embodiment, although it is different from the first embodiment. It is the same as what I did.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the automatic centering system 6 in this embodiment controls the transport robot 1 or the mechanical equipment 2 to move the reference unit 4 and the sensor 5 relative to detect the reference unit 4. Alternatively, an operation control device 61 that rotates the reference unit 4 to perform the second centering, and an arithmetic device 62 that calculates the centering information by calculating the output from the sensor 5 obtained during the relative movement, A storage instruction device 63 for storing the centering information calculated by the arithmetic device 62 in the transport robot 1.

  More specifically, the motion control device 61 controls the robot controller 13 to cause the robot hand 11 to move relative to the machine facility 2. In addition, the operation control device 61 controls the motor driver 22 in the mechanical equipment 2 to rotate the jig 3 fixed by the work fixing jig 21 in the horizontal plane to set the second centering. .

  The automatic centering system 6 is configured as a general electronic computer including a CPU, a memory, an external storage device, a display device, an input / output device, an interface, an AD / DA converter, and a set of processes and functions thereon. can do.

  Here, automatic centering in the biaxial direction of the a-axis direction, which is an arbitrary direction different from the x-axis direction and the x-axis direction, performed using the automatic centering system 6 described above will be described. As shown in the flowchart of FIG. 4, a human (operator) operates a control device (for example, a robot controller 13) of the transfer robot 1 or a control device (for example, a motor driver 22) of the mechanical equipment 2 to transfer the transfer robot. Rough centering between 1 and mechanical equipment 2 is executed. Thereafter, the jig 3 and the sensor 5 are set, and the centering software installed in advance in the automatic centering system 6 is activated (S1).

  In setting the jig 3 in step S1, the operator does not have to set the direction of the reference portion 4 in a specific direction. That is, the automatic centering system 6 detects the direction of the reference portion 4 in the jig 3 and automatically sets the direction of the reference portion 4 in a direction orthogonal to the x axis (S2).

  In the above automatic setting, as shown in FIG. 5A, the robot hand 11 is moved by the motion control device 61 along the straight line x1 and the straight line x2 in the x-axis direction separated from each other by a predetermined distance d. As shown in FIG. 5B, two types of outputs V are measured. The arithmetic unit 62 detects the deviation amount Δx from the two types of outputs V, and calculates the inclination angle α from the x axis of the reference unit 4 from the deviation amount Δx and the predetermined distance d. When the angle α is obtained, the operation control device 61 controls the motor driver 22 to rotate the workpiece fixing jig 21 by the angle α, and sets the direction of the reference portion 4 in the jig 3 to a direction orthogonal to the x axis. To do.

  Next, the automatic centering system 6 moves the robot hand 11 and thus the sensor 5 along the straight line x1 in the x-axis direction as shown in FIG. The output V data of the sensor 5 shown in (b) is acquired, and the centering position x0 in the x-axis direction is detected and determined (S3). The centering position x0 is detected and determined automatically when the arithmetic unit 62 detects the peak position in the output V waveform of the sensor 5.

  Next, the automatic centering system 6 controls the motor driver 22 to rotate the workpiece fixing jig 21 by a predetermined angle θ as shown in FIG. Is set to a direction orthogonal to the a-axis (S4). Thereafter, the automatic centering system 6 moves the robot hand 11 and thus the sensor 5 along the straight line a1 in the a-axis direction while recording the sensor output, and outputs the output V data of the sensor 5 shown in FIG. 7B. The centering position a0 in the a-axis direction is acquired and determined (S5). The centering position a0 is detected and determined automatically by the arithmetic unit 62 as described above.

  When the centering position x0 in the x-axis direction and the centering position a0 in the a-axis direction are determined, the automatic centering system 6 stores the values of the positions x0 and a0 in the robot controller 13 (S6). ), The automatic centering process ends.

  According to the automatic centering system 6, a series of detailed centering in the subsequent two axis directions and teaching to the transfer robot 1 (storage of centering position information) are performed only by the operator performing the initial setting. Can be automated. Therefore, centering can be performed safely and easily without relying on a skilled worker, and man-hours and costs can be reduced.

(Third embodiment)
An automatic centering method according to the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. The centering method described in the present embodiment is characterized by the reference portion 4, and the other points are the same as those in the first and second embodiments. 8A, the jig 3 is held on the machine equipment 2 side and the sensor 5 is held by the robot hand 11. However, the reverse arrangement is the same.

  As shown in FIG. 8B, the jig 3 has a linear reference portion 41 in a direction intersecting with the reference portion 4 in addition to the reference portion 4. The two reference portions 4 and 41 are formed so as to be distinguishable from each other by the sensor 5. For example, in the present embodiment, the reference portion 4 is formed by a slit deeper than the reference portion 41, and both are identified by their depth.

  Therefore, when the robot hand 11 is moved so that the sensor 5 moves along the straight line x1, an output V of the sensor 5 as shown in FIG. 9A is obtained. Since it moves inside, an output V as shown in FIG. 9B is obtained.

  Further, when the robot hand 11 is moved so that the sensor 5 moves along the straight line y1, an output V of the sensor 5 as shown in FIG. 10 (a) is obtained. Therefore, a flat output V as shown in FIG. 10B is obtained.

  Except for the case of the flat output V shown in FIG. 10B described above, centering can be performed by movement of the sensor 5. If the output V becomes flat and cannot be centered, the position of the straight line for moving the robot hand 11 may be changed.

  Further, it can be seen from the output V as shown in FIG. 9B that the sensor 5 is moving inside the slit. This indicates that centering in the y-axis direction is performed. Therefore, with such an output V, centering is simultaneously performed on two axes, the x-axis direction and the y-axis direction, that is, centering data is obtained.

  According to the centering method of the present embodiment, since the two reference portions are provided, the biaxial centering is performed by changing the moving direction of the robot hand 11 without rotating the jig 3 and thus the reference portion 4. This can be done easily and the man-hours can be reduced. In addition, since the mutual reference portions can be identified, centering in the biaxial direction can be reliably performed without being influenced by each other except in special cases.

(Fourth embodiment)
The automatic centering method according to the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. The centering method described in this embodiment is obtained by adding further distinguishability to the two reference portions 4 and 41 in the third embodiment, and the other points are the same as in the third embodiment. That is, as shown in FIGS. 11A, 11B, and 11C, in addition to making the depths of the slit portions of the reference portions 4 and 41 in the jig 3 different from each other, The depth is different from the depth of each slit portion. In the example of the figure, the slit of the reference portion 41 is deeper than the slit of the reference portion 4, and the depth of these intersections 40 is further deeper than each slit.

  Then, the output V of the sensor 5 moving along the straight line x1 at the position where the slit portion is removed and the straight line x2 located inside the slit 41 is as shown in FIGS. 12 (a) and 12 (b), respectively. Further, the output V of the sensor 5 moving along the straight line y1 at the position where the slit portion is removed and the straight line y2 located inside the slit 4 are as shown in FIGS. 13 (a) and 13 (b), respectively. In either case, centering in the x-axis direction or the y-axis direction can be performed.

(Fifth embodiment)
An automatic centering method according to the fifth embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 14 and 15. The centering method described in this embodiment performs centering in the biaxial direction by moving one reference portion and one robot hand 11, and the other points are the first and second embodiments. It is the same.

  As shown in FIGS. 14A and 14B, this centering method is characterized by the reference portion 4 of the jig 3, and the characteristic of the reference portion 4 has gradient information with respect to the linear direction of the reference portion 4. By detecting the gradient in the movement in the direction (x direction) substantially orthogonal to the line direction (y direction) of the reference portion 4, the line of the reference portion 4 is aligned with the centering in the movement direction. The direction is also centered.

  More specifically, the reference portion 4 has a depth inclined along the y direction, and the depth h is a depth h1, at each of the positions p1, p2, and p3 along the y axis direction. It is uniquely determined as h2 and h3. Therefore, the position p1 and the like are determined from the depth h1 and the like.

  FIGS. 15A and 15B show how the centering in the x-axis direction and the y-axis direction is performed from the output V of the sensor 5. The centering in the x-axis direction is performed according to the peak position of the output V, as in the first embodiment. Further, the centering in the y-axis direction relates to the height ΔV of the peak of the output V, the height ΔV0 of a known peak (not shown) corresponding to the depth of the center portion of the slit of the reference portion 4, and the depth. Based on known gradient information.

  In order to have the gradient information with respect to the line direction of the reference portion 4, it may be a protrusion having a gradient in the line direction of the reference portion 4 instead of the slit whose depth changes as described above. A combination of a linear detected mark and a visual sensor may be used. According to the centering method of the present embodiment, two axes can be centered simultaneously by one movement of the robot hand 11, and man-hours can be further reduced.

(Sixth embodiment)
With reference to FIG. 16, an automatic centering method according to the sixth embodiment will be described. The centering method described in the present embodiment is one in which the slit width is changed in place of the slit having the depth gradient in the fifth embodiment, and the other points are the same as those in the third embodiment. It is the same. That is, when the sensor 5 is moved along the straight line x1 with respect to the reference portion 4 as shown in FIG. 16A, an output V shown in FIG. 16B is obtained, and the sensor 5 is moved along the straight line x2. When moved, an output V having a wider peak is obtained as shown in FIG.

  Therefore, centering in the x-axis direction can be performed according to the peak position of the output V, and centering in the linear direction of the reference portion 4 can be performed from the peak width of the output V.

(Seventh embodiment)
With reference to FIG. 17, an automatic centering method according to the seventh embodiment will be described. The centering method described in the present embodiment uses reference portions 4a and 4b formed by a light reflector instead of the reference portions 4 and 41 formed of slits in the third embodiment. This is the same as in the third embodiment.

  As shown in FIG. 17A, the sensor 5 measures the intensity of the reflected light from the jig 3 shown in FIG. The sensor 5 may have a function of measuring the distance to the jig 3 in addition to the reflection intensity. The distance between the sensor 5 and the jig 3 may be a distance at which a sufficient reflected light can be measured, for example, several centimeters. Thus, for example, it can be set to a distance close to about 1 mm.

  The jig 3 has a disk shape, and a light reflector is formed in a cross shape passing through the center thereof, and the light reflector constitutes the reference portions 4a and 4b. The light reflectance in the reference portions 4a and 4b is different from that of the other portion 4c of the jig 3, and is also different from the reflectance of the intersection portion of the reference portions 4a and 4b. The jig 3 having such a light reflector can easily manufacture the reference portions 4a and 4b having an arbitrary width required for normal mechanical accuracy by forming a metal film on a silicon semiconductor substrate or the like. Can do.

(Eighth embodiment)
An automatic centering method according to the eighth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The centering method described in the present embodiment uses a ring-shaped reference portion 4 as shown in FIG. 18A in place of the linear reference portions 4 and 41 formed of slits in the third embodiment. The other points are the same as in the third embodiment. The reference portion 4 is composed of a linear ring, and the ring is concentric with the disk-shaped jig 3.

  Therefore, when the sensor 5 is moved along the straight line x1, an output waveform having two peaks is obtained as shown in FIG. A centering position x0 is determined at the center of the two peaks. When the jig 3 having such a reference portion 4 is used, centering in an arbitrary direction can be performed without rotating the jig 3.

  The present invention is not limited to the configuration in each of the embodiments described above, and various modifications can be made. For example, although the jig 3 has been described as a disc shape, it may be a polygonal shape as long as the position of the reference portion 4 is determined with a good reproducibility and attached. Moreover, it can be set as the structure which mutually combined the structure in each embodiment mentioned above. For example, slits, protrusions, video marks, and the like as a configuration method of the reference unit 4 can be arbitrarily combined. Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, the centering method that is not specified to be performed manually or automatically can be performed manually as in the first embodiment, or automatically as in the second embodiment. You can also.

(A) is a side view of a transfer robot and mechanical equipment for explaining an automatic centering method according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and (b) is a jig provided with a linear reference portion used in the system. The top view of a tool, (c) is the top view which rotated the jig | tool of (a). (A) is a sensor output diagram at the time of centering in the x direction by the system, and (b) is a sensor output diagram at the time of centering in the y direction. The block block diagram of the automatic centering system which concerns on 2nd Embodiment. The flowchart of the centering process using a system same as the above. (A) is a top view of the jig | tool which shows the procedure which calculates | requires the inclination of a reference | standard part, (b) is a sensor output figure when calculating | requiring the inclination. (A) is a top view of the jig | tool which shows the centering procedure of x direction, (b) is a sensor output figure at the time of centering in x direction. (A) is a top view of the jig | tool which shows the centering procedure of a direction, (b) is a sensor output figure at the time of centering in a direction. (A) is a side view of a transport robot and mechanical equipment for explaining a centering method according to the third embodiment, and (b) is a plan view of a jig provided with two reference parts used in the method. FIG. 9A is a sensor output diagram when centering in the x1 direction in FIG. 8B, and FIG. 9B is a sensor output diagram when centering in the x2 direction. FIG. 9A is a sensor output diagram when centering in the y1 direction in FIG. 8B, and FIG. 9B is a sensor output diagram when centering in the y2 direction. (A) is a top view of the jig | tool which provided the reference | standard part used with the centering method which concerns on 4th Embodiment, (b) is a x direction center sectional view of (a), (c) is a y direction center cross section. Figure. FIG. 11A is a sensor output diagram when centering in the x1 direction in FIG. 11A, and FIG. 11B is a sensor output diagram when centering in the x2 direction. 11A is a sensor output diagram when centering in the y1 direction in FIG. 11A, and FIG. 11B is a sensor output diagram when centering in the y2 direction. (A) is a top view of the jig | tool which provided the reference | standard part used with the centering method which concerns on 5th Embodiment, (b) is the sectional view on the AA line of (a). 14A is a sensor output diagram at the time of centering at a position p1 in FIG. 14B, and FIG. 15B is a sensor output diagram at the time of centering at the same position p3. (A) is a top view of the jig | tool provided with the reference | standard part used with the centering method which concerns on 6th Embodiment, (b) is a sensor output figure at the time of centering in x1 direction of (a), (c). FIG. 8 is a sensor output diagram when centering in the x2 direction. (A) is a side view of a transport robot and mechanical equipment for explaining a centering method according to a seventh embodiment, and (b) is a plan view of a jig provided with a reference portion used in the method. (A) is a top view of the jig | tool which provided the reference | standard part used with the centering method which concerns on 8th Embodiment, (b) is a sensor output figure in the x1 direction in (a).

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Transfer robot 11 Robot hand 2 Mechanical equipment 3 Jig 4,41 Reference part 5 Sensor 6 Automatic centering system 61 Operation control device 62 Arithmetic device 63 Storage instruction device a1, x1, x2, y1, y2 Movement direction V output

Claims (7)

In the centering method between the transfer robot and machine equipment that exchange workpieces with each other,
A linear reference portion is provided on a robot hand for transporting a workpiece in the transport robot or a jig held by the robot hand,
A sensor for detecting the reference portion is provided at a portion facing the robot hand on the mechanical equipment side,
Detecting the direction of the reference portion by translating twice the robot hand, based on the direction of the detection result, the robot hand, is moved relative to the linear direction of the reference portion in a straight direction orthogonal A centering method in which centering in the moving direction is performed by detecting the reference portion by the sensor.   The centering method according to claim 1, wherein the centering is performed by providing the reference unit on the machine facility side instead of the transport robot side, and providing the sensor on the robot hand side instead of the machine facility side.   In addition to the reference portion, a linear reference portion in a direction intersecting with the reference portion is further provided, and the movement and the centering of the robot hand are performed for each of the two reference portions by the sensor. The centering method according to claim 1 or 2.   The centering method according to claim 3, wherein the two reference portions are provided so as to be distinguishable from each other by the sensor. Characteristics of the reference portion is detected by said sensor has a gradient information for the line direction of the reference portion, detecting the gradient in the movement of the straight direction orthogonal to relative linear direction of the reference portion The centering method according to claim 1, wherein centering is performed in the linear direction of the reference portion along with the centering in the moving direction.   The centering is performed in the first two times, and after the centering, the reference portion is rotated to a position different from the original position, and then the second centering is performed, whereby the centering in two different directions is performed. The centering method according to claim 1, wherein the centering method is performed. An automatic centering system that performs centering by the centering method according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
An operation of controlling the transport robot or the mechanical equipment to relatively move the reference unit and the sensor in order to detect the reference unit, or to rotate the reference unit to perform the second centering. A control device;
An arithmetic device that calculates the centering information by arithmetically processing the output from the sensor obtained during the relative movement;
An automatic centering system comprising: a storage instruction device that causes the transport robot to store the centering information calculated by the arithmetic device.

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