JP5746879B2 - Robot control device, teaching device, and robot system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a robot control device, a teaching device, and a robot system.

For a robot control system that wirelessly communicates between a robot control device and a portable teaching device (teach pendant), the prior art of Patent Document 1 has been proposed.
In the automatic machine system of Patent Document 1, when a teaching device and a specific control device among the control devices of a plurality of automatic machines are connected wirelessly, an arrangement diagram of the plurality of automatic machines and the plurality of control devices is shown. By displaying on the display unit of the teaching device, the operator can intuitively select a specific automatic machine and control device (prior art 1). As described above, in the prior art 1, a connection relationship is established between the control device selected by the operator and the teaching device from among the control devices of the automatic machine displayed on the display unit of the teaching device. Yes.

  Further, in Patent Document 2, a desired automatic machine is definitely specified from among a plurality of automatic machines, and a directivity directivity is established in order to establish a wireless communication connection between the control apparatus and the teaching apparatus of the automatic machine. A method has been proposed in which a wireless communication means is prepared in a control device and wireless communication is established based on information exchanged between the communication means and the teaching device (prior art 2).

  In the prior art 1, in the situation where some trouble occurs regarding the control of the automatic machine in the selected control device, the operator knows which control device has the trouble and then the trouble occurs. It is necessary to select a control device from among the display devices and establish a connection relationship by wireless communication between the teaching device and the control device. However, the prior art 1 does not describe a specific means for indicating which control device has the failure among the control devices output to the display unit of the teaching device.

  Also in the prior art 2, as in the prior art 1, after the operator knows in which control device the failure has occurred, the communication between the directional communication means of the control device and the teaching device is performed. The specific means for the operator to establish communication with the control device in which the failure has occurred quickly and accurately is not described.

JP 2008-197856 A JP 2007-42061 A

  In the robot control device (automatic machine) capable of wireless communication with the teaching device as described above, unlike the case of wired communication, there is no physical connection between the teaching device and the robot control device. For this reason, when the operator does not operate the robot control device using the teaching device, there is no need to establish communication between the teaching device and the robot control device.

  By the way, it is considered that a connection relationship by wireless communication between the teaching device and the robot control device is not established while the reproduction operation of the robot is executed according to the work program recorded in the robot control device in advance. It is done. However, if a failure occurs in the robot control device during the replay operation, the operator can use the robot control device in which the failure has occurred and the teaching device held by the worker to recover the failure. It is necessary to establish communication with the network and recover from the failure.

  However, the operator selects a robot control device to be connected to the teaching device by wireless communication from the plurality of robot control devices, and between the selected robot control device and the teaching device held by the worker, In order to establish wireless communication, first, it is necessary to quickly and accurately grasp which robot control device has a fault. However, there is a possibility that a connection with a robot control device in which no failure has occurred (unintentionally) may be attempted due to the operator's thoughts or operation mistakes. The failure mentioned here refers to various abnormalities (alarms, warnings, etc.) detected by the robot control device. If the cause is removed by a recovery operation, confirmation operation, etc. using the teaching device, it will continue to be used. Refers to possible obstacles.

  In a production site where a robot control device including a teaching device capable of wireless communication is used, in order for an operator to quickly and accurately recover the obstacle, the teaching device held by the operator and the obstacle It is necessary to quickly and accurately establish communication with the generated robot controller.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a robot control device in which a failure is generated by an operator from among a plurality of robot control devices when communication between the robot control device in which the failure has occurred and the teaching device has not been established. It is an object of the present invention to provide a robot control device, a teaching device, and a robot system that can quickly and accurately establish communication with a robot.

  In order to solve the above problems, the invention of claim 1 shows whether or not wireless communication is established with the teaching device in the robot control device that performs communication with the teaching device via wireless. First storage means for storing first status information, second storage means for storing connection destination information relating to a specific teaching device that is a connection request destination when a failure occurs in the robot, and when the failure occurs Determining whether or not wireless communication is established based on the first status information, and if not established, establishing communication with the specific teaching device based on connection destination information stored in the second storage means Wireless communication requesting means for outputting a request.

  The invention of claim 2 comprises the third storage means for storing transmission source information included in a communication establishment request response returned from the specific teaching device in response to the communication establishment request in claim 1. Features.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the portable teaching device having wireless communication means, the second status information indicating whether or not wireless communication is established with the robot control device using the wireless communication means. Fourth storage means for storing, fifth storage means for storing each unique connection destination information relating to one or a plurality of robot control devices that are connection request destinations when a failure occurs in the robot, and second status information is wireless In the case where communication is not established, when there is a communication establishment request from any one of the robot control devices via the wireless communication means, the transmission source information included in the communication establishment request and The collation means for collating the connection destination information stored in the fifth storage means, the transmission source information included in the communication establishment request, and the connection destination information stored in the fifth storage means match. The communication establishment request response is generated with the transmission source information included in the communication establishment request as the destination and the transmission source information including its own unique connection destination information. If the response means responding via the wireless communication means, the transmission source information included in the communication establishment request and the connection destination information stored in the fifth storage means match, the communication establishment request Storage means for storing the transmission source information included in the communication information, and after the communication establishment request response, with respect to the robot control apparatus that has requested communication establishment with the transmission source information stored in the sixth storage means as a destination. The gist of the teaching device is to perform communication.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect of the present invention, in the third aspect, manual operation operation means for outputting a jog feed signal for manually operating each joint of the robot to the robot control device via the wireless communication means, A teaching device having an emergency stop operation means for outputting an emergency stop signal via the wireless communication means for performing stop control, and when communication is established with the robot control device that has requested communication establishment, It is characterized by comprising invalidating means for invalidating the output of the jog feed signal and the emergency stop signal, and invalidation canceling means for canceling the invalidation state by the invalidating means.

The gist of a fifth aspect of the present invention is a robot system including a plurality of robot control devices according to the first aspect and including the teaching device according to the third or fourth aspect.
According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the robot system including a server and a plurality of robot control devices connected to the server via a wired LAN, each of the robot control devices is self-engaged when a failure related to robot control occurs. Included in the communication establishment request response sent back from the teaching device in response to the communication establishment request, and request means for transmitting a communication establishment request with the teaching device to the server using the unique connection destination information relating to the transmission source A response transmission source information storage means for storing specific transmission source information relating to the specific teaching device to be transmitted, and after the communication establishment request response is received, the specific teaching sent back with the transmission source information as a destination The server communicates with a device, and the server communicates with a plurality of monitoring target teaching devices by wireless communication, the monitoring target teaching device, and the L N monitoring means for monitoring whether or not the communication between the N connected robot control devices has been established, a monitoring result storage means for storing the monitoring results, and a plurality of teaching devices to be monitored Any one of the connection destination information storage means for preliminarily storing the unique connection destination information and the robot control device when the communication establishment request is received from any one of the robot control devices based on the monitoring result of the monitoring result storage means Specific connection destination information relating to a teaching device that has not been established with a communication device is selected from the connection destination information storage unit and included in the communication establishment request as a destination, and the communication establishment request is transmitted via the communication unit. Transfer means for transferring to a teaching device that has not been established for communication, and a communication establishment request response returned from the teaching device in response to the communication establishment request. It is summarized as robot system and transmits to the robot controller had the communication establishment request.

  According to the first and second aspects of the present invention, when communication between the robot control device where the failure has occurred and the teaching device is not established, communication is established from the robot control device side where the failure has occurred. Requested to establish a communication with a teaching device that is capable of wireless communication when not in use. By doing so, an operator from among the plurality of robot control devices can quickly and accurately establish communication between the robot control device in which the failure has occurred and the teaching device.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, after the communication establishment request response is received, it is possible to communicate with the specific teaching device that has returned the destination information as the destination.
According to the invention of claim 3, when communication between the robot control device in which the failure has occurred and the teaching device has not been established, communication from the robot control device in which the failure has occurred has not been established. When a communication establishment request is made to a teaching device capable of wireless communication, an operator from among a plurality of robot control devices establishes communication with a robot control device in which a failure has occurred quickly and accurately. It is possible to provide a teaching apparatus that can

  According to the invention of claim 4, in addition to the effect of claim 3, when communication is established with the robot control device in which the failure has occurred, the worker having the teaching device can quickly ensure his own safety. And precisely, communication can be established between the robot control device in which the failure has occurred and the teaching device held by the worker. In other words, since communication is automatically established between the teaching device and the robot control device in response to a communication establishment request from the robot control device, the operator can determine which robot control device is the teaching device he is holding. It is conceivable that it is not possible to accurately grasp whether or not communication has been established. In this case, the emergency stop operation means included in the teaching device in a state where the operator cannot accurately grasp to which robot control device the communication is established by the teaching device held by the operator, In addition, if the function of the manual driving operation means is valid, a robot unintended by the operator is operated by the operator's operation. The invention of claim 4 can prevent such a robot not intended by the operator from operating.

  According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the robot control device in which a failure has occurred requests a teaching device capable of wireless communication in a state where communication has not been established, It is possible to provide a robot system in which an operator can establish communication with a robot control device in which a failure has occurred quickly and accurately.

  According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, since communication with the teaching device capable of optimal wireless communication is established according to the use state of the teaching device capable of wireless communication, the robot control device in which a failure has occurred, Communication with the teaching device can be quickly established.

Schematic which shows the whole outline | summary of the robot system of 1st Embodiment. Electric block diagram of robot controller and teach pendant. The flowchart of the communication establishment request | requirement between the robot control apparatus of wireless communication, and a teach pendant. The schematic diagram of the robot system of a 2nd embodiment. The electric block diagram of the backbone server of 2nd Embodiment. (A) is an electrical block diagram of the teach pendant of the teach pendant 10, and (b) is an electrical block diagram of the robot controller.

(First embodiment)
Hereinafter, an embodiment of a robot system in an industrial robot embodying the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The industrial robot of this embodiment is, for example, a welding robot, a painting robot, a transfer robot, or the like.

<1. Overall system overview>
As shown in FIG. 1, the robot system 100 includes a backbone server 120 and a plurality of wireless LAN access points 130A, 130B, 130C connected to an Ethernet (registered trademark, hereinafter the same) network 110, and each wireless LAN access point 130A. , 130B, 130C, and a plurality of robot control devices 20 connected to each other. The Ethernet network 110 of the present embodiment is a local network, that is, an intranet, but is not limited.

  The Ethernet network 110 has a plurality of networks with different segments. Networks with different segments are networks with different IP addresses used in the network. Networks with different segments are branched by a router unit 132 (see FIG. 2) provided in the wireless LAN access points 130A, 130B, and 130C, and communication between networks is enabled by processing of the router unit 132. That is, when performing communication between different networks, the router unit 132 creates a routing table by a dynamic routing method that is periodically performed, refers to the created routing table (route information), and communicates with a communication destination. Communication is possible. Note that the routing table may be created by a static method that is manually performed by an operator.

  Each of the wireless LAN access points 130A, 130B, and 130C has a wireless area in a predetermined radio wave range, and can communicate wirelessly with the teach pendant 10 that is a portable teaching device. The wireless LAN access points 130A, 130B, and 130C include the router unit 132, the switching hub 134, and the wireless communication unit 136.

  The router unit 132 has a DHCP server function, and includes an IP address of each robot controller 20 connected to the switching hub 134 and a subnet mask for identifying a segment that branches the wireless LAN access point. Is transmitted to the subordinate robot controller 20.

  Further, the router unit 132 is connected to the Ethernet network 110, so that communication with the backbone server 120 connected to the Ethernet network 110 becomes possible. In FIG. 2, the router unit 132, the switching hub 134, and the wireless communication unit 136 are typically illustrated in the wireless LAN access point 130A.

  The core server 120 includes various subordinate devices connected to the Ethernet network 110, that is, the wireless LAN access points 130A, 130B, and 130C, the unique MAC address of the robot control device 20 in each segment, and the MAC address The associated IP address is stored and communication management between the various devices is performed.

A plurality of robot control devices 20 are connected to each segment via the switching hub 134. The robot controller 20 will be described later.
Next, the teach pendant 10, which is a portable teaching device capable of wireless communication with the wireless LAN access points 130A, 130B, and 130C, will be described.

<2. Teach pendant 10>
As shown in FIG. 2, the teach pendant 10 includes an emergency stop switch 11 having a contact 11a, various movement keys 15a for jogging the robot 50, various data input keys 15b for inputting teaching data, a release key 15c, and the like. Various key groups 15 including the display device 15d as shown in FIG. 1 are provided. The various movement keys 15a for performing the jog operation correspond to manual operation operation means. The release key 15c corresponds to invalidation release means.

  Further, the teach pendant 10 includes a control unit 12. The control unit 12 is a central processing unit (CPU) and includes a ROM and a RAM (not shown). The emergency stop switch 11 corresponds to an emergency stop operating means. The control unit 12 monitors the open / close state of the contact 11a of the emergency stop switch 11, and monitors the operation of the various movement keys and the operation of the various data input keys. The control unit 12 controls display of the display device 15d.

  The control unit 12 packetizes the monitoring result of the contact point 11a, the operation of various movement keys, and the monitoring result of the various data input keys as various movement commands and teaching data, respectively, according to a communication protocol described later. To do. Here, various movement commands output by operating various movement keys correspond to jog feed signals. In addition, the control unit 12 causes the emergency stop switch 11 and various movements when a failure occurs on the robot control device 20 side and wireless communication between the robot control device 20 and the teach pendant 10 is automatically established by the processing described later. The operation is shifted from the operation valid mode in which the operation of the key 15a is valid to the operation invalid mode in which these operations are invalid. In the operation invalid mode, even if the emergency stop switch 11 is opened, the monitoring result is invalidated, and an emergency stop command as an emergency stop signal is not output to the communication unit 14. Even if the various movement keys 15 a are jog-operated, the monitoring result is invalidated and the movement command is not output to the communication unit 14.

  Further, when the release key 15c is operated in the operation invalid mode, the control unit 12 is switched from the operation invalid mode to the operation valid mode so as to validate the operation of the emergency stop switch 11 and various movement keys 15a. I have to. The control unit 12 corresponds to invalidation means.

<3. Intranet communication>
Here, communication performed on the intranet will be described.
In the intranet of the present embodiment, the physical layer / data link layer of the OSI reference model is an Ethernet (registered trademark) communication protocol, and the transport layer / network layer is a TCP / IP communication protocol. Data units transmitted / received based on these communication protocols, that is, data frames (or data packets) are generated by encapsulating (packetizing) data according to each communication protocol, and communication is performed. Is called. Here, the communication data transmitted from the teach pendant 10 is referred to as a communication packet.

  In the data frame of the communication packet, the lowermost Ethernet frame is composed of an Ethernet header portion including a MAC (Media Access Control) address and the like, and an Ethernet data portion. The Ethernet data part is composed of an IP header part including an IP address and the like and an IP data part. The IP data part is composed of a TCP header part including a port number and a TCP data part. The port number is for designating one of a plurality of programs running on the computer as a communication partner.

  Further, the TCP data part is composed of a header part and a data part such as HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) and FTP (File Transfer Protocol) located in the application layer.

  In addition, network devices such as the backbone server 120 and the wireless LAN access points 130A, 130B, and 130C connected to the Ethernet network 110 in order to realize the LAN connection are transmitted on the communication line according to the level. The contents of the header part of each communication protocol described above are read from the frame.

  For example, the switching hub 134 of the wireless LAN access point extracts the MAC address from the Ethernet header part and performs path control. Further, the router unit 132 performs route control by extracting an IP address from the IP header unit.

<4. Communication unit 14>
A communication unit 14 is electrically connected to the control unit 12 of the teach pendant 10 so that communication is possible. As illustrated in FIG. 2, the communication unit 14 includes a communication control unit 16 that performs communication control and a wireless communication unit 17 that performs wireless communication with the wireless LAN access points 130A, 130B, and 130C. The communication control unit 16 includes a CPU and includes a memory 18. The communication control unit 16 corresponds to a verification unit and an answer unit. The wireless communication unit 17 corresponds to a wireless communication unit.

  The memory 18 is rewritable and includes a fourth storage unit 18a, a fifth storage unit 18b, and a sixth storage unit 18c. The 4th memory | storage part 18a is the 2nd communication establishment state as 2nd status information which shows whether the wireless communication is established using the said wireless communication part 17 between any robot control apparatuses 20. Remember the flag. When the wireless communication is not established, the communication control unit 16 resets the second communication establishment state flag to “0”, and when the wireless communication is established, the second communication establishment state flag is “1”. Is set. Note that the method of setting the second communication establishment state flag when the wireless communication is established and when it is not established may be opposite to the above. The fourth storage unit 18a corresponds to a fourth storage unit.

  The fifth storage unit 18b stores, for each segment, a table in which a MAC address, which is unique connection information regarding one or more robot control devices that are connection request destinations, and an IP address of a robot control device having the MAC address are associated with each segment. I remember it. The MAC address that is unique connection destination information related to one or more robot control devices stored in the fifth storage unit 18b corresponds to the third connection information. These are acquired when the communication control unit 16 performs ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) or RARP (Reverse Address Resolution Protocol). The MAC address of the robot control device and the IP address associated with the MAC address may be stored (registered) in the fifth storage unit 18b by operating the various key groups 15.

  In the ARP, the communication control unit 16 of the source host inquires (sends) a broadcast frame in which the destination IP address is set on the LAN, and the received destination host (robot control device, wireless LAN access point) itself This is a protocol that returns the MAC address of (ARP response).

  RARP is a protocol for obtaining an IP address from a MAC address. Specifically, the communication control unit 16 of the source host inquires (sends) a broadcast frame in which a destination MAC address is set on the LAN, and receives the received destination host (robot control device, wireless LAN access point). Is a protocol that returns its own IP address (ARP response).

  Inquiries by ARP and RARP are not sent to other segments by the router unit 132 of the wireless LAN access point. For this reason, the communication control unit 16 of the teach pendant 10 transmits an ARP or RARP broadcast frame within the wireless area for each segment, and the MAC address and IP address of the segment are associated based on the obtained response. Build a table. The fifth storage unit 18b corresponds to a fifth storage unit.

  The sixth storage unit 18c stores a MAC address and an IP address that are connection information transmitted from the robot control device with which the wireless communication has been established when the communication control unit 16 has established wireless communication with the robot control device. The sixth storage unit 18c corresponds to sixth storage means.

The memory 18 stores its own IP address and its own MAC address.
<5. Robot Control Device 20>
Next, the robot controller 20 connected to each wireless LAN access point will be described with reference to FIG.

  The robot control apparatus 20 receives a communication packet (communication data) transmitted from a wireless LAN access point, analyzes the received communication packet (communication data), and controls the robot 50. It has.

  The communication unit 21 includes a communication control unit 22 that performs communication control and an I / F (interface) unit 23 that includes a LAN board or the like that is connected to a wireless LAN access point by wire. The communication control unit 22 includes a CPU and includes a memory 24. Here, the communication control unit 22 corresponds to a wireless communication request unit.

The memory 24 is rewritable and includes a first storage unit 24a, a second storage unit 24b, and a third storage unit 24c.
The first storage unit 24a uses a first communication establishment state flag as first status information indicating whether or not wireless communication is established with any teach pendant 10 using the I / F unit 23. Remember. When the wireless communication is not established, the communication control unit 22 resets the first communication establishment state flag to “0”, and when the wireless communication is established, the first communication establishment state flag is “1”. Is set. Note that the method of setting the first communication establishment state flag when the wireless communication is established and when it is not established may be opposite to the above. The first storage unit 24a corresponds to first storage means.

  The second storage unit 24b stores, for each segment, a table in which the MAC address, which is unique connection information related to the specific teach pendant 10 that is the connection request destination, and the IP address of the teach pendant 10 having the MAC address are associated with each segment ( Registered). These are acquired when the communication control part 22 performs ARP or RARP mentioned above. Note that the MAC address of the teach pendant 10 and the IP address associated with the MAC address may be stored (registered) in the second storage unit 24b by an input of a keyboard or the like (not shown).

  Inquiries by ARP and RARP are not sent to other segments by the router unit 132 of the wireless LAN access point. For this reason, the communication control unit 22 of each robot control device in the segment makes an inquiry by ARP and RARP with each teach pendant 10 placed in the wireless area of the wireless LAN access point branching the segment. .

  The second storage unit 24b corresponds to a second storage unit. Further, the MAC address and the IP address, which are unique connection information regarding the specific teach pendant 10 stored in the second storage unit 24b, correspond to the connection destination information stored in the second storage unit.

  When the communication control unit 22 establishes wireless communication with the teach pendant 10, the third storage unit 24 c transmits information on a transmission source included in a communication establishment request response described later transmitted from the teach pendant 10 with which the wireless communication is established. That is, the MAC address and the IP address as the transmission source information are stored. The third storage unit 24c corresponds to a third storage unit.

  The memory 24 stores the IP address and subnet mask of the robot control apparatus 20 transmitted from the router unit 132 and also stores its own MAC address.

  The control unit 25 is a central processing unit (CPU) and includes a ROM and a RAM (not shown). The control unit 25 analyzes a communication packet (communication data) received from the wireless LAN access point via the communication unit 21.

  The robot controller 20 also includes an electromagnetic contactor 26 whose contacts are connected to a series circuit in order to cut off power from the three-phase power supply 40 to the servo amplifier 28, and an electromagnetic contactor control that controls the opening and closing of the electromagnetic contactor 26. A circuit 27 is provided. When the contact 26 a of the electromagnetic contactor 26 is closed, the control unit 25 controls the joint of the robot 50, that is, the joint axis (not shown) via the servo amplifier 28. Note that only one servo amplifier 28 in FIG. 2 is representatively shown for convenience of explanation.

That is, when a current is supplied from the servo amplifier 28 to the motor M41 as a drive source of the robot 50, the motor M41 is driven and the robot 50 operates.
The control unit 25 can output an ON / OFF control signal to the electromagnetic contactor control circuit 27 according to the analysis result of the received communication data. For example, when the emergency stop switch 11 is opened and an emergency stop command is input from the teach pendant 10 by wireless communication, emergency stop control is performed. That is, the electromagnetic contactor control circuit 27 is operated to open the contact 26a.

  When various movement keys are operated and an operation command is input from the teach pendant 10 by wireless communication, the electromagnetic contactor control circuit 27 is operated to close the contact 26a, and the servo amplifier 28 is used. The robot 50 is operated.

  Various data transmitted from the control unit 25 to the teach pendant 10 are packetized in accordance with the communication protocol described above and transmitted to the communication control unit 22 of the communication unit 21 by serial communication. The communication control unit 22 transmits to the wireless LAN access point connected by wire via the I / F unit 23.

(Operation of the first embodiment)
Next, the operation of the robot system 100 of the first embodiment will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. For convenience of explanation, a case will be described where a failure described later occurs in one robot control device 20 connected to the switching hub 134 of the wireless LAN access point 130A.

  In FIG. 3, the flowchart on the “RC” side is a flowchart of a communication management program executed by the communication control unit 22 of the robot control apparatus 20, and the control unit 25 executes control of the robot 50 according to the work program. Done when. In FIG. 3, the flowchart on the “wireless TP” side is a flowchart of a communication management program executed by the communication control unit 16 of the teach pendant 10.

  When this program is started, the communication control unit 22 of the robot control device 20 performs an initialization process in S10, and waits for an input of a signal indicating that a failure has occurred from the control unit 25 in S20. Here, when any failure occurs during the control of the robot 50 according to the work program, the control unit 25 signals the communication control unit 22 that a failure has occurred, that is, various abnormalities (alarms, warnings). ) Output the signal.

  In the case where the robot 50 is an arc welding robot, the failure includes a welding abnormality (arc breakage, arc start failure, chip welding, etc.) due to consumption of the power feed tip during welding. Further, when the robot 50 is a spot welding robot, there are welding abnormalities (insufficient pressure, chip welding, etc.) due to electrode tip wear. In addition, there are abnormalities in the drive system of the robot 50 (for example, motor abnormality), abnormalities in the drive control system (for example, servo amplifier abnormality), and the like. Since the detection of the occurrence of these faults is known, the description thereof is omitted.

  When a signal indicating that the failure has occurred is input, the communication control unit 22 stores in the first storage unit 24a whether or not communication with any teach pendant 10 is established in S30. 1st communication establishment state flag which is 1 status information is confirmed. If the first communication establishment state flag is “1”, it is determined that wireless communication with any teach pendant 10 has been established, the process proceeds to S35, and processing in the communication establishment state is performed.

  In S35, since the wireless communication with any teach pendant 10 has already been established, the third storage unit 24c stores (registers) the MAC address and IP address transmitted from the teach pendant 10 when the wireless communication is established. Has been.

  For this reason, the communication control unit 22 uses the MAC address and IP address of the teach pendant 10 registered in the third storage unit 24c as destinations, and in the communication data that uses the own IP address and MAC address as the transmission source. Then, wireless communication is performed with respect to the teach pendant 10 via the I / F unit 23 and the wireless LAN access point 130A by including data indicating the failure on the robot controller side.

  If the first communication establishment state flag is “0” in S30, the wireless communication is not established with any teach pendant 10, and the process proceeds to S40. In S40, it is determined whether the MAC address and the IP address relating to the specific teach pendant 10 are registered in the second storage unit 24b.

  If the MAC address and the IP address related to the specific teach pendant 10 are registered in the second storage unit 24b, the process proceeds to S50. If the MAC address and the IP address related to the specific teach pendant 10 are not registered in the second storage unit 24b, the process proceeds to S45.

  In S45, it waits until there is a communication establishment request from the teach pendant 10. In this processing, particularly before the communication control unit 16 performs ARP and RARP, the IP address and MAC address of the robot control device 20 subordinate to the wireless LAN access point are not registered in the fifth storage unit 18b. Or a specific teach pendant 10 may not be in the wireless area of the wireless LAN access point.

  In S50, the communication control unit 22 includes the MAC address and IP address registered in the second storage unit 24b as the destination of the connection destination teach pendant 10, and includes the MAC address in the Ethernet header unit. The IP address is included in the IP header part. Further, the communication control unit 22 creates a communication packet (communication data) by including an IP address and a unique MAC address as its own unique connection destination information indicating the transmission source, and creates the I / F unit 23 and the wireless Wireless communication of a communication establishment request is performed to the teach pendant 10 via the LAN access point 130A.

Then, in the next S60, it waits for data received from a specific teach pendant 10.
On the other hand, the following processing is performed on the teach pendant 10 side.

  The communication control unit 16 of the teach pendant 10 performs initialization in S110, and then waits for a communication establishment request from the robot control device 20 in S120. If a communication establishment request is received from the robot controller 20, the determination is “yes” and the process proceeds to S130.

  In S130, it is determined based on the second communication establishment state flag as the second status information stored in the fourth storage unit 18a whether communication is established. If the second communication establishment state flag is “1”, it is determined that wireless communication with the robot control device 20 has been established, and the process proceeds to S135 to perform processing in the communication establishment state.

  In S135, since the wireless communication with the robot control device 20 has already been established, the sixth storage unit 18c has the MAC address and the IP address that are the connection destination information transmitted from the robot control device 20 when the wireless communication is established. Memorized (registered). For this reason, the communication control unit 16 uses the MAC address and IP address of the robot control device 20 registered in the sixth storage unit 18c as destinations, and in the communication data with the own IP address and MAC address as the transmission source. And the created communication data is wirelessly communicated with the robot controller 20 via the wireless communication unit 17 and the wireless LAN access point 130A.

  If the second communication establishment state flag is “0” in S130, it is determined that wireless communication with the robot controller 20 has not been established, and the process proceeds to S140. In S140, the communication packet transmitted from the robot controller 20 is received. In this reception process, the communication control unit 16 reads the IP address of the transmission source and the MAC address included in the communication packet of the transmitted communication establishment request.

  In S150, the source IP address and the MAC address included in the received communication establishment request communication packet are compared with the IP address and MAC address registered in the fifth storage unit 18b, and they match. In this case, the determination is “yes” and the process proceeds to S160. In FIG. 6, “RC” in S150 and S160 indicates a robot controller. If the source IP address and the MAC address included in the received communication establishment request communication packet do not match the IP address and MAC address registered in the fifth storage unit, the process returns to S120.

In S160, the MAC address and the IP address as the transmission source information of the robot controller 20 that has requested communication establishment are recorded (registered) in the sixth storage unit 18c.
Next, in S170, communication establishment request response transmission processing is performed. In other words, the communication control unit 16 sends a response to the communication establishment request response with the MAC address and IP address of the robot control device 20 registered in the sixth storage unit 18c as the destination, and with its own IP address and MAC address as the transmission source. Communication data is created, and the created communication establishment request response (communication data) is transmitted to the robot controller 20 via the wireless communication unit 17 and the wireless LAN access point 130A.

  Thereafter, the communication control unit 16 performs communication processing in the communication established state. In this communication processing, the destination of the robot control device 20 in the communication established state has the MAC address and the IP address of the sixth storage unit 18c. An address is used.

  On the other hand, the communication establishment request response in S170 is transmitted to the robot controller 20 in which the failure has occurred via the wireless LAN access point 130A. For this reason, in the communication unit 21 of the robot control device 20 in which the failure has occurred, the communication control unit 22 determines “Yes” in S60 and performs the reception process in S70.

  In this reception process, the communication control unit 22 reads the source IP address and the MAC address included in the transmitted communication establishment request response communication packet. In S80, the communication control unit 22 records (registers) the MAC address and IP address of the teach pendant 10 that is the transmission source of the received communication packet (communication establishment request response) in the third storage unit 24c. In FIG. 3, “TP” in S80 indicates a teach pendant.

The source IP address and the MAC address included in the transmitted communication establishment request response communication packet correspond to source information.
Thereafter, the communication control unit 22 performs communication processing in the communication established state. In this communication processing, the MAC address registered in the third storage unit 24c as the destination of the teach pendant 10 in the communication established state An IP address is used. Further, in a state where communication has been established, a communication packet for notifying the teach pendant 10 that there has been an abnormality due to the failure is transmitted from the robot controller 20 in which the failure has occurred.

  Then, the control unit 12 automatically shifts from the operation valid mode in which the operation of the emergency stop switch 11 and the various movement keys 15a is valid to the operation invalid mode in which the operation is invalid. As a result, even if the operator having the teach pendant 10 operates the emergency stop switch 11 or the various movement keys 15a without confirming the robot controller 20 in which the failure has occurred, the operation invalid mode is set. Therefore, the robot 50 connected to the robot controller 20 in which the failure has occurred is not subjected to stop control or operation control.

  The operator can confirm the robot control device 20 with the failure and then operate the release key 15c to cancel the operation invalid mode and switch to the operation valid mode. Thereafter, an appropriate operation for avoiding a failure can be performed on the robot controller 20 in which an abnormality has occurred.

Now, according to this embodiment, there are the following features.
(1) The robot control device 20 of the present embodiment displays a first communication establishment state flag (first status information) indicating whether wireless communication has been established with a specific teach pendant 10 (teaching device). A first storage unit 24a (first storage means) for storing is provided. The robot control device 20 stores in advance a unique MAC address and IP address (connection destination information) related to the specific teach pendant 10 that is a connection request destination when a failure related to robot control occurs. Second storage means). Further, when a failure occurs, the robot controller 20 determines whether or not wireless communication is established based on the first communication establishment state flag, and the first communication establishment state flag indicates the specific teach pendant. 10 indicates that the wireless communication with the specific teach pendant 10 stored in the second storage unit 24b is the destination and the unique connection destination information about itself is transmitted. A communication control unit 22 (wireless communication requesting means) that generates a communication establishment request based on the request and outputs the communication establishment request is provided.

  As a result, according to the robot control device 20 of the present embodiment, in order to request communication establishment from the robot control device side where the failure has occurred to a teaching device capable of wireless communication in a state where communication has not been established, An operator from among a plurality of robot control devices can quickly and accurately establish communication between the robot control device in which a failure has occurred and the teaching device.

  (2) In the teach pendant 10 of the present embodiment, the robot control device 20 further specifies the connection destination specific teach included in the communication establishment request response returned from the specific teach pendant 10 in response to the communication establishment request. A third storage unit 24c (third storage unit) that stores a unique IP address of the transmission source regarding the pendant 10 (transmission source) and the MAC address (transmission source information) is provided.

  As a result, after receiving the communication establishment request response, the robot control apparatus 20 according to the present embodiment can communicate with the specific teach pendant 10 that has returned the destination information as the destination. .

  (3) The teach pendant 10 of the present embodiment stores a second communication establishment state flag indicating whether or not wireless communication is established with the robot control device 20 using the wireless communication unit 17. 4 storage unit 18a is provided. The teach pendant 10 also includes a fifth storage unit 18b that stores a MAC address that is unique connection information regarding one or a plurality of robot control devices 20 that are destinations of failure connection requests related to the control of the robot 50, and an IP address. In addition, the communication control unit 16 is a case where the second communication establishment state flag indicates that wireless communication has not been established with the robot control device 20, and from any one robot control device via the wireless communication unit 17. When there is a communication establishment request, the transmission source information included in the communication establishment request, the MAC address that is unique connection information related to the robot controller 20 stored in the fifth storage unit 18b, and the IP address (connection destination) Information).

  In addition, when the transmission source information included in the communication establishment request matches the connection destination information stored in the fifth storage unit 18b, the communication control unit 16 sends the transmission source information included in the communication establishment request to the destination. The communication control unit 16 generates a communication establishment request response as a transmission source including its own unique connection destination information, and responds via the wireless communication unit 17 to the robot control device 20 that has requested communication establishment. Answering means). Then, the teach pendant 10 stores the transmission source information included in the communication establishment request when the transmission source information included in the communication establishment request matches the connection destination information stored in the fifth storage unit 18b. A sixth storage unit 18c (sixth storage means) is provided.

  Then, after the communication establishment request response, the teach pendant 10 communicates with the robot control apparatus that has requested communication establishment, with the transmission source information stored in the sixth storage unit 18c as the destination. As a result, when communication between the robot controller 20 where the failure has occurred and the teach pendant 10 has not been established, the robot control device side where the failure has occurred has requested the teach pendant 10 to establish communication. Sometimes, an operator from among a plurality of robot control devices can quickly and accurately establish communication with a robot control device in which a failure has occurred.

  (4) The teach pendant 10 of the present embodiment outputs a command by operating the various movement keys 15a and the emergency stop switch 11 when communication is established with the robot controller 20 that has requested communication establishment. That is, a control unit 12 (invalidating means) that automatically invalidates the output of the emergency stop signal to perform the jog feed signal and the emergency stop control of the robot is provided. The teach pendant 10 also includes a release key 15c (invalidation release means) for manually canceling a state in which application of commands by operating the various movement keys 15a and the emergency stop switch 11 is invalidated.

As a result, the teach pendant 10 of the present embodiment can prevent a robot unintended by the operator from operating when communication is established.
(5) The robot system 100 of the present embodiment is a robot system including a plurality of the robot control devices 20 described in (1) above and including the teach pendant 10 described in (3) above.

  According to the invention of the robot system 100 of the present embodiment, since the robot controller 20 side where the failure has occurred requests communication establishment from the teach pendant 10 capable of wireless communication in a state where communication has not been established, It is possible to provide a robot system in which an operator from among a plurality of robot control devices 20 can establish communication with a robot control device 20 in which a failure has occurred quickly and accurately.

  (6) The robot system 100 of this embodiment is a robot system in which a plurality of robot control devices 20 are connected to a common wireless LAN access point or the like, and the wireless LAN access point sends a communication establishment request to the teach pendant 10. Send wirelessly. As a result, according to the robot system 100 of the present embodiment, in a robot system in which a plurality of robot control devices 20 are connected to a common wireless LAN access point, an operator can quickly move from the plurality of robot control devices 20. In addition, communication with the robot controller 20 in which a failure has occurred can be established accurately.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. In addition, about the same structure as 1st Embodiment or an equivalent structure, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected, the detailed description is abbreviate | omitted, and it demonstrates centering around a structure different from 1st Embodiment.

  In the first embodiment, the robot control device 20 and the teach pendant 10 perform wireless communication via a wireless LAN access point. On the other hand, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4, the robot control device 20 is connected to the server 70 via the relay device 60 so that network communication is possible, and the robot control device 20 and the teach pendant 10 are The difference is that wireless communication is performed via the server 70 connected via the relay device 60.

  The relay device 60 is different from the wireless LAN access point of the first embodiment in that the wireless communication unit 17 is omitted. The relay device 60 includes a router 132 and a switching hub 134 of the wireless LAN access point of the first embodiment. It has a corresponding configuration. Note that the relay device 60 may be configured to have a haptic function by omitting the router function, and may be connected to the server 70. The relay device 60 is not limited to the router or the hub.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the server 70 includes a control unit 72 as a monitoring unit and a transfer unit. The control unit 72 is a central processing unit (CPU), and includes a ROM, a RAM, and a memory 73 (not shown). The control unit 72 is connected to the Ethernet network 110 via an I / F (interface) unit 71. Further, the control unit 72 is connected to a wireless communication unit 74 as a communication unit, and can perform wireless communication with the teach pendant 10.

  The control unit 72 performs processing according to various requests from the robot control device 20 that is a subordinate client connected to the Ethernet network 110 and provides the processing result. The control unit 72 constantly monitors whether the managed teach pendant 10 and the robot control device 20 are in a communication established state, and stores (registers) the monitoring result in the monitoring result storage unit 73 a of the memory 73. To do. That is, in the monitoring result storage unit 73a, a communication status indicating whether communication is established or not established for all managed teach pendants 10 and all managed robot control devices 20 is displayed. Every time it is established and every time communication establishment is canceled, it is updated and stored.

  Note that the teach pendant 10 and the robot control device 20 are registered in the monitoring result storage unit 73a with their ID (identification) data. That is, in the communication packet communicated between the teach pendant 10 and the robot controller 20, ID (identification) data for identifying each is also packetized, and the analysis result of the communication packet exchanged between the two is included. Based on this, when communication is established, the teach pendant 10 with which communication is established and the robot controller 20 are associated and recorded in the monitoring result storage unit 73a. The monitoring result storage unit 73a corresponds to monitoring result storage means.

  In addition, the connection destination information storage unit 73b of the memory 73 stores unique IP addresses and MAC addresses related to a plurality of teach pendants 10 under management. The unique IP address and MAC address related to the teach pendant 10 stored in the connection destination information storage unit 73b correspond to unique connection destination information related to the teaching device. The connection destination information storage unit 73b corresponds to connection destination information storage means.

  As shown in FIG. 6B, the robot controller 20 according to the present embodiment includes a first storage unit 24a and a third storage unit 24c in which the first storage unit 24a and the second storage unit 24b are omitted in the memory 24. It is different from the robot control apparatus 20 of the embodiment, and other configurations are the same. The third storage unit 24c corresponds to a response transmission source information storage unit.

  In this embodiment, when the communication control unit 22 of the robot control device 20 inputs a signal indicating that a failure has occurred, the communication control unit 22 generates a communication packet for making a communication establishment request to the server 70 and sends it to the server 70. However, the transmission is different from the first embodiment. In this case, the destination of the communication packet of the wireless connection request is a unique IP address and MAC address of the server, and the transmission source is the unique IP address and MAC address of the robot control device 20. The communication control unit 22 corresponds to a request unit.

  Further, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6A, the teach pendant 10 includes a sixth storage unit 18c in which the fourth storage unit 18a and the fifth storage unit 18b are omitted in the memory 18. It differs from the teach pendant 10 of 1 embodiment, and other structures are the same.

(Operation of Second Embodiment)
In this embodiment, when a failure occurs in any robot control device 20, a communication establishment request is transmitted from the robot control device 20 to the server 70. When receiving the communication establishment request, the control unit 72 of the server 70 refers to the monitoring result storage unit 73a and searches for the teach pendant 10 that has not established communication. When there is a teach pendant 10 for which communication has not been established, the control unit 72 acquires the unique IP address and MAC address of the teach pendant 10 from the connection destination information storage unit 73b and receives the received communication establishment request. After rewriting as the destination, the communication establishment request is transferred to the teach pendant 10 of the search result via the wireless communication unit 74. When the teach pendant 10 receives the communication establishment request, it returns a communication establishment request response to the robot control device 20. The server 70 transmits the returned communication establishment request response to the robot controller 20 that has received the communication establishment request.

  When the robot control apparatus 20 receives the communication establishment request response, the robot control apparatus 20 stores the IP address and the MAC address, which are transmission source information of the teach pendant 10 included in the communication establishment request response, in the third storage unit 24c.

  When communicating with the teach pendant 10 that has made a communication establishment request response after establishing communication, the teach pendant 10 generates a communication packet with the IP address and MAC address stored in the third storage unit 24c as destinations. To communicate with the teach pendant 10.

The robot system 100 according to the second embodiment has the following features.
(1) The robot controller 20 of the robot system 100 according to the present embodiment communicates with the teach pendant in the server 70 by using the unique connection destination information regarding itself as a transmission source when a failure relating to the control of the robot 50 occurs. A communication control unit 22 (request means) that transmits an establishment request is provided. Further, the robot controller 20 responds to the communication establishment request with an IP address and a MAC address (transmission source information) that are unique transmission source information regarding the teach pendant 10 included in the communication establishment request response returned from the teach pendant 10. ) Is stored in the third storage unit 24c (response transmission source information storage unit). Then, after receiving a communication establishment request response, the robot control device 20 communicates with the teach pendant 10 that has returned the destination information as the destination.

  In addition, the server 70 is connected between a wireless communication unit 74 (communication means) capable of wireless communication with a plurality of teaching pendants to be monitored and a subordinate robot controller 20 connected to the monitoring target teach pendant 10 via a LAN. The control part 72 (monitoring means) which monitors the communication condition of whether communication of this is established is provided. The server 70 also includes a monitoring result storage unit 73a (monitoring result storage unit) that stores monitoring results, and a connection destination information storage unit 73b (preliminary storage of unique connection destination information regarding a plurality of teach pendants to be monitored. Connection destination information storage means). The control unit 72 establishes communication with any of the robot control devices based on the monitoring result of the monitoring result storage unit 73a as a transfer means when there is a communication establishment request from any one of the robot control devices 20. The unique connection destination information related to the teach pendant 10 is selected from the connection destination information storage unit 73b as a destination and included in the communication establishment request, and the communication establishment request is not established via the wireless communication unit 74. Transfer to the teach pendant. Then, the server 70 transmits a communication establishment request response returned from the teach pendant 10 in response to the communication establishment request to the robot controller 20 that has made the communication establishment request.

  As a result, according to the robot system of the present embodiment, communication with the teach pendant capable of optimal wireless communication is established according to the use status (communication status) of the teach pendant capable of wireless communication. It is possible to quickly establish communication between the robot control device 20 in which the occurrence occurs and the teach pendant.

  In this embodiment, unlike the first embodiment, the first storage unit 24a and the second storage unit 24b can be omitted on the robot control device 20 side, and the fourth storage unit 18a and the second storage unit 24b can be omitted on the teach pendant 10 side. 5 The storage unit 18b can be omitted. For this reason, since it becomes unnecessary to hold the status information and the connection destination information of the connection destination in each robot control device 20 and the teach pendant 10 to know whether or not wireless communication is established, Operation can be simplified.

In addition, you may change embodiment of this invention as follows.
In each of the above embodiments, the IP address and the MAC address are used as the connection information and the transmission source information. However, the present invention is not limited to these addresses. Needless to say, the ID information (identification information) unique to the robot control device and the ID information (identification information) unique to the teach pendant 10 (teaching device) can be used according to the communication protocol employed in the robot system.

  In each of the above embodiments, the control unit 12 is used as an invalidation unit and the release key 15c is used as an invalidation release unit. However, the release key 15c is omitted and the function of the control unit 12 as an invalidation unit is omitted. May be.

  In the first embodiment, instead of the I / F unit 23 of the robot control device 20, a wireless communication unit is provided, and instead of performing wireless communication with the teach pendant 10 via a wireless LAN access point, the wireless communication unit Thus, wireless communication with the teach pendant 10 is performed. In this case, the other configuration is the same as that of the first embodiment. Even if comprised in this way, there can exist an effect similar to 1st Embodiment.

17, 74, 136 ... wireless communication unit,
20 ... Robot controller,
50 ... Robot, 70 ... Server, 100 ... Robot system,
130A, 130B, 130C ... Wireless LAN access points.

Claims (6)

In a robot control device that performs communication with a teaching device via radio,
First storage means for storing first status information indicating whether or not wireless communication is established with the teaching device;
Second storage means for storing connection destination information relating to a specific teaching device as a connection request destination when a failure occurs in the robot;
When the failure occurs, it is determined whether or not wireless communication is established based on the first status information, and if not established, based on the connection destination information stored in the second storage means And a wireless communication requesting means for outputting a communication establishment request to a specific teaching device.   The robot control apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising third storage means for storing transmission source information included in a communication establishment request response returned from the specific teaching apparatus in response to the communication establishment request. . In a portable teaching device having wireless communication means,
Fourth storage means for storing second status information indicating whether or not wireless communication is established with the robot controller using the wireless communication means;
Fifth storage means for storing each unique connection destination information relating to one or more robot control devices that are connection request destinations when a failure occurs in the robot;
If the second status information indicates that wireless communication has not been established, and there is a communication establishment request from any one robot control device via the wireless communication means, the communication establishment request Collation means for collating the included transmission source information with the connection destination information stored in the fifth storage means;
When the transmission source information included in the communication establishment request matches the connection destination information stored in the fifth storage unit, the transmission source information included in the communication establishment request is set as a destination, and A response means that generates a communication establishment request response as a transmission source including unique connection destination information and responds to the robot control device that has requested communication establishment via the wireless communication means;
A sixth storage unit that stores the transmission source information included in the communication establishment request when the transmission source information included in the communication establishment request matches the connection destination information stored in the fifth storage unit; With
After the communication establishment request response, the teaching apparatus performs communication with the robot control apparatus that has requested communication establishment, with the transmission source information stored in the sixth storage unit as a destination. A manual driving operation means for outputting a jog feed signal for manually operating each joint of the robot to the robot control device via the wireless communication means, and an emergency stop signal for performing emergency stop control of the robot via the wireless communication A teaching device comprising emergency stop operating means for outputting via the means,
When communication is established with the robot controller that has requested communication establishment, invalidating means for invalidating the output of the jog feed signal and the emergency stop signal;
The teaching apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising invalidation canceling means for canceling the invalidation state by the invalidating means.   A robot system including a plurality of the robot control devices according to claim 1 and including the teaching device according to claim 3 or 4. In a robot system including a server and a plurality of robot control devices connected to the server via a wired LAN,
Each of the robot control devices, when a failure occurs in the robot, a request means for transmitting a communication establishment request with the teaching device to the server using a unique connection destination information relating to the robot, and the communication establishment request In response to the communication establishment request response, a response transmission source information storage unit for storing unique transmission source information related to a specific teaching apparatus included in the communication establishment request response returned from the teaching apparatus is provided. Communicates with the specific teaching device that has sent back, with the sender information as a destination,
Whether the server has established communication means capable of wireless communication with a plurality of monitoring target teaching devices and communication between the monitoring target teaching device and the robot controller connected via the LAN. Monitoring means for monitoring the communication status, monitoring result storage means for storing the monitoring results, connection destination information storage means for preliminarily storing respective connection destination information relating to the plurality of teaching devices to be monitored, When there is a communication establishment request from any one of the robot control devices, unique connection destination information related to the teaching device that has not established communication with any robot control device based on the monitoring result of the monitoring result storage means, The communication establishment request is included in the communication establishment request as a destination selected from the connection destination information storage unit, and the communication establishment is not established via the communication unit A robot having a transfer means for transferring to a display device, and transmitting a communication establishment request response returned from the teaching device in response to the communication establishment request to the robot control apparatus having the communication establishment request system.

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