JP5774317B2 - Robot control system - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a robot control system that transmits and receives various data using network communication technology for communication between a robot control device and a portable operation device.

  In recent years, communication between a robot control device for controlling the operation of a robot and a portable operation device for operating the robot has been realized by network communication technologies such as wired LAN and wireless LAN corresponding to the IEEE 802 standard. A robot control system has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram of a robot control system in which communication between the portable operation device and the robot control device is performed, for example, wirelessly. As shown in the figure, the robot control system 51 controls the operation of the robot R that performs operations such as arc welding and spot welding, the portable operating device TP that is used when the worker HM performs teaching operations, and the robot R. The robot control device RC is generally configured. The portable operation device TP and the robot control device RC can perform wireless communication, and one-to-one opposing communication is performed.

  The robot R has a work tool such as an arc welding torch or a spot welding gun attached to the tip of the wrist, and is installed in an inner region of the safety fence 2.

  The portable operating device TP includes a display 5 as a display unit for displaying various data, a keyboard 6 for performing a teaching operation on the robot R, and an emergency stop switch 4 for emergency stopping the robot R. A signal from the portable operation device TP (hereinafter referred to as a teaching operation signal) is transmitted to the robot control device RC by wireless communication. The teaching operation signal includes a jog feed signal for moving the robot R by manual operation, a teaching signal for storing the work position of the robot R, an emergency stop signal for emergency stop of the robot R in an emergency, and the like. By transmitting these teaching operation signals, the robot controller RC performs various processes such as jog feed operation of the robot R, creation of teaching data, and emergency stop. Hereinafter, these processes are collectively referred to as a teaching function.

  The robot control device RC creates teaching data in accordance with an input from the portable operation device TP and stores it in an internal storage unit (not shown). In addition, the teaching data is reproduced when an activation signal is input from the outside. As a result, the robot R is automatically operated. The LAN cable C is a cable for connecting the robot control device RC and the portable operation device TP to perform wired communication during automatic operation of the robot R, and is a connector (not shown) to the portable operation device TP. ) Is removable.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining transmission / reception data between the portable operation device TP and the robot control device RC. FIG. 4A is a block diagram showing a state of transmission / reception, and FIG. 4B shows one form of a communication packet to be transmitted. As shown in FIG. 6A, the portable operation device TP generates operation data Ds (teaching operation signal) based on the input from the worker HM, and transmits the operation data Ds to the robot control device RC via the transmission unit 72. . The robot controller RC receives the operation data Ds by the receiving unit 62, interprets it, and performs teaching processing. The robot control device RC generates display data Dh and transmits the display data Dh by the transmission unit 61. The portable operation device TP receives the display data Dh by the reception unit 71, and a display control unit (not shown) causes the display 5 to display the display data Dh. .

  When the emergency stop switch 4 provided in the portable operating device TP is pressed, the transmission unit 72 generates operation data Ds indicating that the emergency stop switch 4 has been pressed, and transmits the operation data Ds to the robot controller RC. To do. The robot control device RC performs a process for emergency stopping the robot R based on the received operation data Ds. That is, the robot R is immediately stopped by stopping the power supply to the drive motor of the robot R. Hereinafter, this series of processing may be referred to as an emergency stop function. Even if the emergency stop switch 4 is not pressed, the robot R is configured to perform an emergency stop when the communication is temporarily interrupted due to noise, insufficient radio field strength, or the like during wireless communication. Yes.

  Here, the operation data Ds is generated in a packet format by a predetermined communication protocol and transmitted to the robot controller RC as shown in FIG. The operation data Ds includes a transmission destination address 80 that identifies the robot controller RC that is the transmission destination, a transmission source address 81 that identifies the transmission source itself, data 82 indicating the type of the operated key, input data, and the like. It is included.

JP 2008-80475 A

  In a conventional robot control system using network communication technology for communication between a robot control device and a portable operation device, the robot control device and the portable operation device are in one-to-one opposing communication. If network communication technology is used, for example, a plurality of portable operation devices can be simultaneously connected to one robot control device for operation. However, in a production site using an industrial robot, it is necessary to increase the safety of the worker to the maximum. For example, if a plurality of portable operation devices are connected to one robot control device so that the robot can perform jog feed operation freely from each portable operation device, it goes without saying that it is extremely dangerous. . For this reason, in industrial robots, the robot control device and the portable operation device are always configured to have one-to-one opposing communication, and teaching functions such as robot jog feed operation and emergency stop operation are possible. It is necessary to take care not to function from other portable operation devices while ensuring the function according to the will of the operator having the portable operation device.

  However, in recent years, there is a need to simultaneously connect a plurality of portable operation devices to one robot control device. For example, there is a need to perform teaching education while monitoring the state of this teaching work with another portable operating device B while connecting the portable operating device A to the robot controller. Alternatively, there is a need to connect to a currently operating (production) robot control device from a remote location using a portable operation device and monitor internal information. However, as described above, the prior art does not consider connecting a plurality of portable operating devices to one robot control device at the same time.

  In consideration of connecting a plurality of portable operating devices at the same time, the portable operating device that enables the teaching function (allows teaching work) is limited to one in consideration of safety as described above. There is a need to. For this reason, when a plurality of portable operation devices are actually connected to one robot control device at the same time, which portable operation device has an effective teaching function, or is simply used as a monitor. There arises a problem that it is not possible to easily identify the operation device.

  Therefore, the present invention makes it possible to simultaneously communicate a plurality of portable operating devices and one robot control device, and to use the portable operating devices (valid / invalid of teaching function, valid / invalid of monitoring function, etc.) It is an object of the present invention to provide a robot control system that can easily discriminate.

In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1
A manipulator having a drive mechanism, one or more portable operating devices that transmit a teaching operation signal including an emergency stop signal, and the portable operating device connected to the portable operating device via network communication means, and receiving the teaching operation signal In a robot control system comprising a robot control device having a teaching function for performing a teaching operation to the manipulator,
Communication establishment means for establishing network communication between the portable operation device and the robot control device and enabling or disabling the teaching function for each portable operation device;
First display means for indicating an established state of the network communication;
Second display means for indicating whether the teaching function is enabled or disabled;
Display control means for controlling the first display means and the second display means ,
The second display means is an emergency stop switch provided in the portable operating device;
The display control means turns on the emergency stop switch of the portable operating device that has established communication with the teaching function enabled, while the communication control unit of the portable operating device that has established communication with the teaching function disabled. The robot control system is characterized in that the emergency stop switch is not turned on .

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the communication establishment means validates or invalidates the teaching function based on the current number of communication connections when a request for connection of the network communication is made from the portable operating device. The robot control system according to claim 1, wherein:

  The invention according to claim 3 is the robot control system according to claim 2, wherein the communication establishing means validates the teaching function when the current number of communication connections is zero.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided another portable operation device that is different in a state where network communication has already been established between the portable operation device and the robot control device and the teaching function is enabled. When a connection request for network communication is made from the monitor mode, the communication establishment means invalidates the teaching function and obtains and displays only the state of the robot controller for another different portable operation device. The robot control system according to claim 2, wherein communication is established.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, when a connection request for network communication is made from the portable operating device in a reproduction mode for reproducing the teaching data created in the teaching work, the communication establishing means invalidates the teaching function. 2. The robot control system according to claim 1, wherein communication in a monitor mode for acquiring and displaying only the state of the robot control device is established.

The invention of claim 6, wherein the first display hand stage is a robot control system according to claim 1, characterized in that provided in the Allowed transportable operating device.

The invention of claim 7, wherein the first display means and second display means is a robot control system according to claim 6, characterized in that is shared by prior Kihi emergency stop switch.

  According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, the first display means is a display unit of the portable operation device, and the display control means displays identification information of the robot control device during network communication on the display unit. 7. The robot control system according to claim 6, wherein

  The invention according to claim 9 is characterized in that the network communication is established by remote desktop connection using the portable operation device as a client and the robot control device as a server. It is a robot control system given in.

According to the present invention, when a plurality of portable operation devices are simultaneously connected to one robot control device through network communication, the teaching function is enabled / disabled and the monitoring function is enabled / disabled. By displaying the usage mode of the portable operation device that is present, it is possible to easily determine the portable operation device that the operator can use for the teaching work. In particular, since it is possible to easily determine which of the portable operating devices the emergency stop switch functions, safety can be improved.

It is a block diagram of the robot control system which concerns on this invention. 1 is a block diagram of a robot control system according to the present invention. 4 is a flowchart of communication establishment processing according to the first embodiment. 6 is an external view of a portable operating device according to Embodiment 2. FIG. 10 is a flowchart of communication establishment processing according to the second embodiment. 10 is a flowchart of communication establishment processing according to the third embodiment. It is a figure which shows a mode that the connection state and the identification information were displayed on the portable operating device which concerns on Embodiment 4. FIG. It is a block diagram of the robot control system which performed communication between a portable operating device and a robot control apparatus by radio | wireless. It is a block diagram for demonstrating the transmission / reception data between portable operating device TP and robot control apparatus RC.

  DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiments of the present invention will be described based on examples with reference to the drawings.

[Embodiment 1]
FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a robot control system according to the present invention. As shown in the figure, the robot control system 1 is roughly composed of a robot R that performs operations such as arc welding and spot welding, a plurality of portable operation devices TP, and a robot control device RC that controls the operation of the robot R. Is done. Hereinafter, the difference from the prior art will be mainly described. In addition, in the same figure, although each code | symbol of TP1-TP3 and TPn is described as a some portable operation apparatus, when it is not necessary to distinguish these in the following description, it is only as portable operation apparatus TP. write.

  The portable operation device TP includes a display 5 on which various data such as teaching data are displayed, a keyboard 6 for inputting a jog feed signal and a teaching signal to the robot R, and an emergency stop switch 4 for emergency stop of the robot R. In addition, a communication status indicator lamp 3 that displays whether or not communication with the robot controller RC has been established is provided. The communication status indicator lamp 3 is covered with a transparent material or a translucent material, and has a built-in light emitter made of, for example, a yellow LED. The communication status indicator lamp 3 is lit yellow when the communication with the robot controller RC is established by the light emitter, and is turned off when communication is not established. The communication status indicator lamp 3 corresponds to first display means.

  The emergency stop switch 4 has a light-emitting body made of, for example, a red LED in an operation portion (not shown) made of a transparent material or a translucent material. The emergency stop switch 4 is lit in red when the teaching function is valid, and is turned off when the teaching function is invalid. The emergency stop switch 4 corresponds to second display means.

  In the present invention, it is possible to prepare a plurality of portable operating devices TP configured as described above, for example, TP1 to TP3, and to connect them simultaneously to one robot control device RC. In this case, the portable operation device TPn carried by the worker HM is only one of the TP1 to TP3 in which the teaching function is valid. For other portable operation devices, only the monitor function is effective. For example, during teaching work, the same screen as the portable operation device TPn carried by the worker HM is displayed. If teaching data is being reproduced (during automatic operation), the teaching data being reproduced and internal information in the robot controller RC are displayed.

  In the figure, a teaching operation signal from a portable operation device TPn carried by a worker HM is transmitted to the robot control device RC by wireless communication. The teaching operation signal includes a jog feed signal for moving the robot R by manual operation, a teaching signal for inputting teaching data of the robot R, an emergency stop signal for stopping the robot R in an emergency, and the like. By transmitting these teaching operation signals, the robot controller RC performs various processes such as jog feed operation of the robot R, creation of teaching data, and emergency stop.

  In the above description, the case where wireless communication is performed between the robot control device RC and the plurality of portable operation devices TP has been described, but wired communication may be used instead of wireless communication. In this case, as shown in the figure, the hub H is connected to the robot control device RC, and the LAN cable C is connected to a plurality of connection ports of the hub H, whereby the wired communication between the robot control device RC and each portable operation device TP. To realize.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the robot control system according to the present invention. Hereinafter, the portable operation device TP and the robot control device RC will be described in detail.

  First, the portable operating device TP will be described. In addition to the communication status indicator lamp 3, emergency stop switch 4, display 5 and keyboard 6, the portable operating device TP includes a central processing unit CPU 33, a temporary calculation area RAM 34, and a robot controller RC. And the like, a secondary battery 36 as a drive source of the portable operating device TP, a hard disk 15 for storing various data, and a main control unit 35 that is a control center. Each unit is connected via a bus 39.

  The transceiver 32 has a wireless LAN interface 32A and a wired LAN interface 32B. When the robot controller RC and the portable operation device TP are connected via the hub H by the LAN cable C, wired communication is performed. When not connected, the wireless communication is configured. The secondary battery 36 is charged by being electrically connected to a charging device (not shown) and operates the portable operation device TP.

  The connection information storage unit 47 of the hard disk 15 stores connection information for communicating with the robot controller RC. The connection information indicates, for example, an IP address, a subnet mask, a default gateway, a MAC address, and the like.

  The main control unit 35 controls the above-described units collectively, and includes a display control unit 45, a key input monitoring unit 46, and a communication processing unit 41 as software programs that operate on an operating system (not shown). The display control unit 45 displays display data on the display 5. The key input monitoring unit 46 monitors key input from the keyboard 6. The communication processing unit 41 performs processing for establishing / blocking communication with the robot controller RC and processing for controlling communication itself. In addition, a process of storing the network connection information such as the identification number and IP address of the connected robot controller RC in the hard disk 15 or the RAM 34 is performed. Various data input by the keyboard 6 are transmitted in packet format to the robot controller RC via the communication processing unit 41 and the transceiver 32.

  Next, the robot controller RC will be described. The robot controller RC includes a central processing unit CPU 13, a temporary calculation area RAM 14, a main control unit 16 serving as a control center, a hard disk 19 for storing various data such as teaching data, constants, and the like, a robot An operation control unit 17 that performs an R trajectory calculation and outputs the calculation result as a drive signal to the drive command unit 18; a drive command unit 18 that outputs a servo control signal for controlling the rotation of each servo motor of the robot R; Each part of the transceiver 12 for communicating with the portable operating device TP is provided. Each unit is connected via a bus 9.

  The transceiver 12 has a wireless LAN interface 12A and a wired LAN interface 12B. When the robot control device RC and the portable operation device TP are connected via the hub H by the LAN cable C, wired communication is performed. When not connected, the wireless communication is configured.

  The teaching data storage unit 30 of the hard disk 19 stores teaching data created in response to an input from the portable operating device TP. The connection information storage unit 27 stores connection information for communicating with the portable operating device TP. The connection information is information such as its own identification number in addition to information necessary for network communication such as an IP address, a subnet mask, a default gateway, and a MAC address.

  The main control unit 16 controls the above-described units collectively, and includes a communication processing unit 21, a display processing unit 25, and an interpretation execution unit 26 as software programs that operate on an operating system (not shown). The communication processing unit 21 performs communication processing with the portable operation device TP. The display processing unit 25 generates display data to be displayed on the display 5 of the portable operating device TP. The interpretation execution unit 26 interprets the teaching data stored in the teaching data storage unit 30 and outputs an operation control signal to the operation control unit 17.

  Here, a method for realizing communication between one robot control device RC and a plurality of portable operation devices TP will be described. In this embodiment, Windows (registered trademark) is adopted as an operating system (hereinafter referred to as OS), and communication using a remote desktop provided by this OS is performed. Specifically, wired or wireless communication is enabled by a method of remotely connecting the portable operation device TP to the robot control device RC using the portable operation device TP as a client and the robot control device RC as a server. In this case, the portable operation device TP serves as a means for displaying a virtual work space screen generated by the robot control device RC and transmitting operation information from the keyboard 6 to the robot control device RC. The simultaneous connection of a plurality of portable operation devices TP can be realized by a multi-session function that the remote desktop has. However, when a plurality of portable operation devices TP are connected simultaneously, it is necessary to limit the number of portable operation devices TP for enabling the teaching function to one in consideration of safety. Therefore, in the present invention, the validity / invalidity of the teaching function is set at the stage of communication establishment processing for connecting the portable operating device TP.

  The operation of the robot control system 1 configured as described above will be described. In the present embodiment, when the communication processing unit 21 of the robot control device RC establishes communication between the portable operation device TP and the robot control device RC, the teaching function is enabled according to the current number of communication connections. Enable or disable. Moreover, the communication status indicator lamp 3 provided in the portable operating device TP displays the communication establishment status. Further, the emergency stop switch 4 provided in the portable operating device TP displays whether the teaching function is enabled or disabled.

  Here, “validating the teaching function” means permitting a teaching operation by the portable operating device TP. As already described with reference to FIG. 9A, when a teaching operation signal (operation data Ds) is transmitted from the portable operating device TP to the robot controller RC based on the teaching operation of the worker HM, the robot controller RC interprets the received operation data Ds to perform processing according to the teaching operation result. That is, “to enable the teaching function” means that various processes (jog feed, emergency stop, etc.) by the robot controller RC are normally performed in accordance with the teaching operation from the portable operating device TP. .

  Conversely, “invalidating the teaching function” means prohibiting the teaching operation by the portable operating device TP. Specifically, the robot control device RC performs a process of ignoring the operation data Ds from the portable operation device TP. More specifically, it is assumed that when the portable operating devices TP1 to TP3 are connected at the same time, the teaching function of the portable operating device TP1 is valid and the teaching functions of the portable operating devices TP2 and TP3 are disabled. . The robot controller RC interprets the transmission source address 81 (see FIG. 9B) of the operation data Ds, and performs a process of ignoring the teaching operation signal from the portable operation devices TP2 and TP3. By this processing, the teaching operation from the portable operating device TP in which the teaching function is invalidated can be prohibited. Even if the teaching function is invalidated, the display data Dh is transmitted as it is from the robot controller RC to the portable operating device TP, so that only the monitor function for acquiring and displaying the state of the robot controller RC is activated. Is possible. Instead of ignoring the operation data Ds from the portable operation device TP based on the transmission source address 81, the operation data Ds itself is not generated, or the operation data Ds is not transmitted to the robot controller RC. May be.

(1.1 Establish communication of the first portable operating device)
(1.1 Communication establishment process)
FIG. 3 is a flowchart of communication establishment processing according to the first embodiment. In the following, the flow of processing will be described taking as an example the case where the portable operating device TP1 shown in FIG. 1 is connected from the state where no portable operating device TP is connected. In the first embodiment, the teaching function is unconditionally enabled if no portable operation device TP is connected, and the teaching function is unconditionally disabled if it is already connected. I have decided. It is assumed that the number of communication connections and various flags described later are stored in the RAM 14.

  In step S1 in the figure, a connection request is waited. Here, assuming that there is a connection request from the portable operating device TP1, the process proceeds to step S2. In step S2, a teaching function enabling flag described later is initialized. In step S <b> 3, the current communication connection number is read from the RAM 14. At this stage, it is “0” because it is not connected at all. Therefore, the number of communication connections is recognized as “0” and the process proceeds to step S4. In step S4, it is determined whether or not the number of communication connections is “0”. Here, since the number of communication connections is “0”, the process proceeds to step S5 in order to validate the teaching function. In step S5, a flag for enabling the teaching function (hereinafter referred to as a teaching function enabling flag) is turned on and stored in the RAM. In step S6, communication establishment processing is performed in the same manner as in the prior art. At the same time, the communication connection count is incremented by 1 and stored in the RAM 14. In step S7, it is determined whether or not the teaching function enable flag is on. Since it is on here, the process proceeds to step S8. In step S8, the teaching function is validated. Thereafter, in step S10, the portable communication device TP1 is notified of the communication establishment state (during communication / disconnection) and the teaching function state (valid / invalid). Here, “in communication” and “teaching function valid” are notified.

(1.2 Illuminant lighting process)
In the portable operating device TP1 that has received the notification, the display control unit 45 turns on the light emitters provided in the communication state indicator lamp 3 and the emergency stop switch 4 respectively. As a result, the communication status indicator lamp 3 is lit yellow, and the emergency stop switch 4 is lit red.

  Through the above processing, the portable operating device TP1 connected first is established with the teaching function enabled. In this state, the communication status indicator lamp 3 and the emergency stop switch 4 of the portable operating device TP1 emit light, so that it can be determined that communication is established and the teaching function is enabled. Therefore, the operator HM can carry the portable operating device TP1 and can enter the safety fence 2 to perform teaching work.

(Establish communication of portable operating devices after 2.2)
(2.1 Communication establishment process)
Next, communication establishment processing when a connection request is made from the second portable operation device TP2 will be described with reference to the flowchart. This will be described from step S3.

  In step S <b> 3, the current communication connection number is read from the RAM 14. Since it is “1” at this stage, the process proceeds to step S6. In step S6, communication establishment processing is performed. Further, the number of communication connections is incremented by 1 and stored in the RAM 14. In step S7, it is determined whether or not the teaching function enable flag is on. Since it is off here, the process proceeds to step S9. In step S9, the teaching function is invalidated and only the monitor function is activated (this state may be referred to as a monitor mode below). Thereafter, in step S10, the portable communication device TP2 is notified of the communication establishment state (during communication / disconnection) and the teaching function state (valid / invalid). Here, “in communication” and “teaching function invalid” are notified.

(2.2 Illuminant lighting process)
In the portable operation device TP2 that has received the notification, the display control unit 45 turns on only the communication status indicator lamp 3. As a result, only the communication status indicator lamp 3 is lit and the emergency stop switch 4 remains off.

  As a result of the above processing, the portable operation device TP2 connected to the second unit has the teaching function disabled and communication is established with only the monitor function activated (the same applies to the third and subsequent units). In this state, since the communication status indicator lamp 3 of the portable operating device TP2 emits light and the emergency stop switch 4 remains off, communication is established but the teaching function is disabled. (That is, the monitor mode). That is, while the teaching operation is performed by the portable operation device TP1 having the effective teaching function, the state of the teaching operation can be monitored by the portable operation device TP2. In the portable operation device TP2, the teaching function is disabled, so that the jog feed operation or the like of the robot R is prohibited. Therefore, even if the worker HM is performing the teaching work in the inner area of the safety fence 2, the robot R cannot be operated by the portable operating device TP2, so that there is no danger to the worker HM.

(3. Communication interruption of portable operation device)
When a communication cutoff request is made from the portable operating device TP1, the teaching function is invalidated, and the communication connection number is reduced by −1 to cut off the communication. At this time, it is desirable not to perform the processing for enabling the teaching function of the portable operating device TP2 in consideration of safety. When a communication cutoff request is made from the portable operation device TP2, the communication connection is cut by −1.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, when a plurality of portable operating devices TP are simultaneously connected to one robot control device RC through network communication, the teaching function is enabled / disabled and monitored. By displaying the usage mode of the connected portable operating device, such as whether the function is valid or invalid, it is possible to easily determine the portable operating device that can be used for the teaching work by the operator.

  In addition, the teaching function is enabled only for the first portable operation device TP that has established communication, and the second and subsequent units are disabled. That is, a plurality of portable operation devices TP can be simultaneously connected to one robot control device RC and used without the operator HM being aware of whether or not to enable the teaching function.

  In the first embodiment described above, the communication status indicator lamp 3 is provided as the first display means, and the emergency stop switch 4 is provided as the second display means. However, the first display means and the second display means are emergency The stop switch 4 may be shared. In this case, the emergency stop switch 4 is turned on when the teaching function is valid, and the emergency stop switch 4 is blinked when the teaching function is invalid and only the monitor function is valid. Alternatively, another LED different from red may be built in and the emission color may be changed.

[Embodiment 2]
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the first embodiment, the teaching function is unconditionally enabled if the number of communication connections is 0, and the teaching function is unconditionally disabled if the number of communication connections is 1 or more. On the other hand, in the second embodiment, a switch for selecting whether the teaching function is valid / invalid is provided. If a connection request is made from a different portable operation device when the teaching function is already valid, The function is disabled and communication is established.

  FIG. 4 is an external view of the portable operation device TP according to the second embodiment. In the figure, the communication status indicator lamp 3, the emergency stop switch 4, the display 5, and the keyboard 6 are the same as those given the same reference numerals in FIG.

  The teaching function selection switch 7 is a valid / invalid two-way switch. If the valid side is selected, data indicating the setting state is notified to the robot controller RC when communication is established. The teaching function selection switch 7 is not limited to this form, and may be a toggle type switch or a so-called software switch. In the case of using a switch by software, when the connection request operation is performed from the portable operation device TP, the teaching function is selected to be validated or invalidated.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart of the communication establishment process according to the second embodiment. Hereinafter, processing in the second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In order to clarify the difference from the first embodiment, the first portable operation device TP1 invalidates the teaching function, and the second portable operation device TP2 validates the teaching function. explain.

(3.1 Establish communication of the first portable operating device)
(3.1 Communication establishment process)
In step S11 in the figure, a connection request is waited. Here, assuming that there is a connection request from the portable operating device TP1, the process proceeds to step S12. In step S12, a teaching function enabling flag to be described later is initialized. In step S13, according to the setting state of the teaching function selection switch 7 notified from the portable operating device TP1 at the time of the connection request, it is determined whether it is set to the valid side or the invalid side. Here, it is assumed that the invalid side is set, and the process proceeds to step S16. In step S16, communication establishment processing is performed in the same manner as in the prior art. In step S17, it is determined whether or not the teaching function enable flag is on. Since it is off (not activated) here, the process proceeds to step S19. In step S19, the teaching function is invalidated and only the monitor function is activated. Thereafter, in step S20, the communication establishment state (during communication / disconnection) and the teaching function state (valid / invalid) are notified to the portable operating device TP1. Here, “in communication” and “teaching function invalid” are notified.

(3.2 Illuminant lighting process)
In the portable operating device TP1 that has received the notification, the display control unit 45 turns on only the communication status indicator lamp 3. As a result, only the communication status indicator lamp 3 is lit and the emergency stop switch 4 remains off.

  With the above processing, the portable operating device TP1 connected to the first unit has the teaching function disabled, and communication is established with only the monitoring function activated.

(4.2 Establishing communication of the second portable operating device)
(4.1 Communication establishment process)
For the first portable operating device TP1, the teaching function is disabled and communication is established. A process for establishing communication by enabling the teaching function for the second portable operation device TP2 will be described using the flowchart. This will be described from step S13.

  In step S13, it is determined whether the teaching function selection switch 7 is set to the valid side or the invalid side according to the setting state of the teaching function selection switch 7 notified from the portable operating device at the time of the connection request. Here, it is assumed that the effective side is set, and the process proceeds to step S14.

  In step S <b> 14, a flag indicating whether or not the teaching function is currently valid (hereinafter referred to as a valid flag) is read from the RAM 14. Since the first portable operation device TP1 is connected with the teaching function disabled, the valid flag is off. Therefore, the process proceeds to step S15. In step S15, in order to validate the teaching function with the portable operating device TP2, the teaching function validation flag is turned on. In step S16, communication establishment processing is performed. In step S17, it is determined whether or not the teaching function enable flag is on. Since it is on here, the process proceeds to step S18. In step S18, the teaching function is validated and the valid flag is turned on. Thereafter, in step S20, the communication establishment state (communication / disconnection) and the teaching function state (valid / invalid) are notified to the portable operation device TP2. Here, “in communication” and “teaching function valid” are notified.

(4.2 Illuminant lighting process)
In the portable operation device TP2 that has received the notification, the display control unit 45 turns on the light emitters provided inside the communication status indicator lamp 3 and the emergency stop switch 4. As a result, the communication status indicator lamp 3 is lit yellow, and the emergency stop switch 4 is lit red.

Through the above processing, the portable operating device TP2 establishes communication in a state where the teaching function is valid. In this state, the communication status indicator lamp 3 and the emergency stop switch 4 of the portable operating device TP2 emit light, so that it is possible to determine that communication is established and the teaching function is enabled.
(Establish communication of the third portable operating device)

  It is assumed that the teaching function selection switch 7 is set to the valid side and a connection request is made, even though the teaching function is already valid. For example, when the teaching function selection switch 7 is set to the effective side when the third portable operating device TP3 is connected even though the teaching function is enabled in the portable operating device TP2. It is. In this case, Yes is selected in step S14. However, as a subsequent process, an error message or the like may be output and then the process may return to step S11.

  As described above, also in the second embodiment, the same effects as in the first embodiment can be obtained. Also, more flexible operation can be performed, such as disabling the teaching function for the first device and enabling the teaching function for the second device.

[Embodiment 3]
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the first and second embodiments, the communication establishment process that is preferable when performed in the teaching mode for generating teaching data has been described. On the other hand, in the third embodiment, communication establishment processing in a reproduction mode in which teaching data is reproduced and the robot R performs continuous operation will be described.

  When the teaching function (especially the emergency stop function) described above is enabled in the playback mode in which the robot R performs continuous operation, the robot R stops when a communication failure due to noise or the like occurs. affect. Since the portable operation device TP mainly used for teaching work is often not required in the reproduction mode, it is desirable to block communication itself. However, there are many cases where it is desired to monitor the internal information of the robot controller RC during continuous operation in the regeneration mode. Therefore, in the third embodiment, when a connection request is made from the portable operating device TP in the reproduction mode, the monitor mode in which the teaching function is invalidated unconditionally is selected.

  FIG. 6 is a flowchart of the communication establishment process according to the third embodiment.

  In step S21 in the figure, a connection request is waited. Here, assuming that there is a connection request from the portable operation device TP1, the process proceeds to step S22. In step S22, it is determined whether or not the playback mode is set. If it is not the reproduction mode (the teaching mode), the processing described in the first or second embodiment is performed. If the playback mode is set, the process proceeds to step S23. In step S23, communication establishment processing is performed. In step S24, the teaching function is invalidated and only the monitor function is activated. Thereafter, in step S25, the state of communication (during communication / disconnection) and the state of the teaching function (valid / invalid) are notified to the portable operating device TP. Here, “in communication” and “teaching function invalid” are notified.

  In the portable operating device TP that has received the notification, the display control unit 45 turns on only the communication status indicator lamp 3. That is, only the communication status indicator 3 is lit and the emergency stop switch 4 remains off.

  As described above, in the third embodiment, when a connection request is made from the portable operation device TP in the reproduction mode for reproducing the teaching data, the teaching function is invalidated and only the state of the robot control device RC is acquired. The communication in the monitor mode to be displayed is established. By doing so, the robot R does not stop due to a communication failure during the regeneration operation.

[Embodiment 4]
Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described. In the first to third embodiments, the portable operation device TP includes the communication state indicator lamp 3 as the first display means. In Embodiment 4, it replaces with the communication status indicator lamp 3, and the display 5 which is a display part of the portable operating device TP is used as the first display means, and the communication status is displayed on the display 5. Further, when a plurality of portable operation devices TP are connected to one robot control device RC, it may be difficult to easily determine which portable operation device TP is connected to which robot control device RC. In particular, if there are a plurality of robot control devices RC and a plurality of portable operation devices TP are connected to each of them, there is a possibility that it will not be possible to make a judgment at all. Therefore, more preferably, the identification information of the robot control device RC with which communication is currently established may be displayed on the display 5.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a state where the connection state and the identification information are displayed on the portable operation device according to the fourth embodiment. FIG. 6A shows the portable operating device TP1 in which communication is established with the teaching function enabled. FIG. 5B shows the portable operating device TP2 in which communication is established in the monitor mode in which the teaching function is invalidated.

  In FIG. 9A, the emergency stop switch 4 is lit because the teaching function is enabled. The display 5 displays “Connecting to robot 01 (teaching operation valid)”, indicating that communication is established with the teaching function enabled for the robot 01. The robot 01 is an identification number of the robot controller RC stored in advance in the connection information storage unit 27.

  On the other hand, in FIG. 5B, the emergency stop switch 4 is turned off because the teaching function is invalidated. The display 5 also displays “Connecting to robot 01 (monitor mode)”, indicating that communication is established with the robot 01 in the monitor mode in which the teaching function is disabled. .

  Note that the display on the display 5 may be represented by a figure or a color instead of a character. Further, in the figure, for the convenience of explanation, the characters are displayed with relatively large characters, but the size should be adjusted to such an extent that the operator HM can visually recognize them.

  As described above, in the fourth embodiment, the communication establishment state is displayed on the display 5 which is the display unit of the portable operation device TP, and further, the identification information of the robot control device in communication is displayed. I did it. By doing so, the operator HM can easily determine which portable operating device is connected to which robot control device.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Robot control system 2 Safety fence 3 Communication status indicator light 4 Emergency stop switch 5 Display 6 Keyboard 7 Teaching function selection switch 9 Bus 12 Transceiver 12A Wireless interface 12B Wired interface 13 CPU
14 RAM
15 hard disk 16 main control unit 17 operation control unit 18 drive command unit 19 hard disk 21 communication processing unit 25 display processing unit 26 interpretation execution unit 27 connection information storage unit 30 teaching data storage unit 32 transceiver 32A wireless interface 32B wired interface 33 CPU
34 RAM
35 main control unit 36 secondary battery 39 bus 41 communication processing unit 45 display control unit 46 key input monitoring unit 47 connection information storage unit 51 robot control system 61 transmission unit 62 reception unit 71 reception unit 72 transmission unit 80 transmission destination address 81 transmission Original address 82 Data C LAN cable Ds Operation data Dh Display data H Hub HM Worker R Robot RC Robot controller TP Portable controller TP1 Portable controller TP2 Portable controller TP3 Portable controller TPn Portable controller

Claims (9)

A manipulator having a drive mechanism, one or more portable operating devices that transmit a teaching operation signal including an emergency stop signal, and the portable operating device connected to the portable operating device via network communication means, and receiving the teaching operation signal In a robot control system comprising a robot control device having a teaching function for performing a teaching operation to the manipulator,
Communication establishment means for establishing network communication between the portable operation device and the robot control device and enabling or disabling the teaching function for each portable operation device;
First display means for indicating an established state of the network communication;
Second display means for indicating whether the teaching function is enabled or disabled;
Display control means for controlling the first display means and the second display means ,
The second display means is an emergency stop switch provided in the portable operating device;
The display control means turns on the emergency stop switch of the portable operating device that has established communication with the teaching function enabled, while the communication control unit of the portable operating device that has established communication with the teaching function disabled. A robot control system that does not light the emergency stop switch .   The communication establishment means determines whether to enable or disable the teaching function based on the current number of communication connections when a connection request for the network communication is made from the portable operating device. The robot control system according to claim 1.   3. The robot control system according to claim 2, wherein the communication establishment unit validates the teaching function when the current communication connection number is zero.   When network communication has already been established between the portable operation device and the robot control device and the teaching function is enabled, a connection request for network communication is received from another different portable operation device. When made, the communication establishment means invalidates the teaching function and establishes communication in a monitor mode for acquiring and displaying only the state of the robot control device with respect to another different portable operation device. The robot control system according to claim 2.   When a connection request for network communication is made from the portable operating device in a reproduction mode for reproducing the teaching data created in the teaching work, the communication establishing means invalidates the teaching function and the state of the robot control device The robot control system according to claim 1, wherein communication in a monitor mode for acquiring and displaying only the information is established. The first display hand stage, a robot control system according to claim 1, characterized in that provided in the Allowed transportable operating device. The first display means and second display means, robotic control system according to claim 6, wherein the shared by prior Kihi emergency stop switch.   The said 1st display means is a display part of the said portable operation apparatus, The said display control means displays the identification information of the said robot control apparatus in network communication on the said display part. Robot control system.   The robot control system according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein the network communication is established by remote desktop connection using the portable operation device as a client and the robot control device as a server.

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