JP7391518B2 - Industrial machinery maintenance/diagnosis system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a maintenance/diagnosis system for industrial machinery.

In recent years, wearable HMDs (Head Mounted Displays) such as smart glasses and AR (Augmented Reality) technology have been used to diagnose alarms (including maintenance) for industrial machinery. A system has been proposed and put into practical use that supports operators in maintenance and diagnosis by displaying machine status and operation methods such as diagnosis on a screen overlaid with real images.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a system including a head mount device and an information processing device, in which the information processing device has a first communication unit that communicates with the head mount device, and a first communication unit that communicates with the head mount device. a determination unit that determines whether information indicating an abnormal state has been detected in relation to the equipment or work that has been carried out, and the first communication unit transmits information representing the result of the determination detected by the determination unit to the head mounted The head mounted device includes a display unit and a second communication unit that communicates with the information processing device, and the second communication unit transmits the determination result transmitted by the information processing device. A system is disclosed in which the display unit is configured to display information representing the result of the determination received by the second communication unit.

JP2017-182487A

On the other hand, in the conventional maintenance/diagnosis system for industrial machinery as described above, methods for creating and searching data to be referenced, such as simply displaying a reference table, and methods for applying it to an AR device, etc. It cannot be said that the relevant technology is sufficient.

In addition, in order to apply it to maintenance and diagnostic operations for various industrial machines, it takes a great deal of time and effort to build a database, alarm cause identification, maintenance methods, etc. at a practical level. There were also problems.

For this reason, there has been a strong desire to develop methods and means that can more efficiently and effectively maintain and diagnose industrial machinery using, for example, head-mounted displays and AR technology.

One aspect of the present disclosure is a system for maintaining or diagnosing an industrial machine, the system identifying parts of the industrial machine that require maintenance or diagnosis based on information acquired from the industrial machine. A maintenance/diagnosis flowchart that creates a flowchart showing a maintenance procedure for the industrial machine or a diagnosis/resolution procedure when an alarm occurs, based on a maintenance/diagnosis point identification unit and information related to maintenance or diagnosis accumulated in a database. a creation unit, a flowchart association unit that associates the location identified by the maintenance/diagnosis information identification unit with the flowchart created by the maintenance/diagnosis flowchart creation unit, and a display that displays information necessary for maintenance or diagnosis according to the flowchart. It is equipped with a section.

According to the present invention, a flowchart showing maintenance procedures for industrial machinery or diagnosis/resolution procedures when an alarm occurs is created based on information related to maintenance or diagnosis accumulated in a database, and a flowchart is created that shows a procedure for diagnosing and resolving an alarm. Information necessary for maintenance or diagnosis can be displayed according to the flowchart associated with.

This allows the operator to easily create and display information necessary for maintenance or diagnosis, and based on this information (using this information), the operator can efficiently and effectively operate the industrial machine. It becomes possible to perform maintenance and diagnosis.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a maintenance/diagnosis system for industrial machinery according to an embodiment. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an industrial machine maintenance/diagnosis system according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a flowchart created by the industrial machine maintenance/diagnosis system of one embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a flowchart created by the industrial machine maintenance/diagnosis system of one embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of information displayed on a display unit of the industrial machine maintenance/diagnosis system of one embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of information displayed on a display unit of the industrial machine maintenance/diagnosis system of one embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a flowchart created by the industrial machine maintenance/diagnosis system of one embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a modification example of the industrial machine maintenance/diagnosis system of one embodiment. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a modification example of the industrial machine maintenance/diagnosis system of one embodiment.

An industrial machine maintenance/diagnosis system according to an embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9.

Here, the present embodiment relates to an industrial machine maintenance/diagnosis system for supporting maintenance, operation, and alarm diagnosis by operators of industrial machines such as robots, CNC devices, and CNC machine tools. .

Further, the industrial machine maintenance/diagnosis system A of the present embodiment uses a wearable HMD (head mounted display) (1) such as smart glasses as a display unit (2), for example, as shown in FIG. Furthermore, using AR (virtual reality/augmented reality) technology and an AR device, the state of the machine (virtual reality image/video 3) and diagnostic operation method (code 4) are displayed on the HMD (1) of an actual industrial machine ( 5) is displayed in a superimposed manner with the actual image/video to assist the operator (user) M in maintenance and diagnosis.

Specifically, first, a real robot (real robot: industrial machine) 5, a control device 6 that controls the real robot 5, and a control device 6 that is connected to the control device 6 by wire or wirelessly, and images a scene including the real robot 5. The display device 1 includes a display device (in this embodiment, a virtual reality (AR) compatible display) 1 and 2 that has a function of capturing the video (image) 3 obtained through the process and displaying it in real time.

As mentioned above, the display device 1 of this embodiment is an HMD worn by the operator M, and by pointing the camera provided in the HMD toward the real robot 5 and the control device 6, It is possible to image a scene including the following and obtain (capture) the video of this scene in real time. The operator M can visually recognize the image/video that is displayed on the display unit (display) 2 by converting the acquired video into augmented reality.
Note that although this embodiment will be described using an HMD and an AR, it is not necessarily limited to this. Furthermore, although the description will be given assuming that the industrial machine is a robot, this does not require any limitation.

On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the industrial machine maintenance/diagnosis system A of this embodiment uses information such as various sensors and indicators acquired from the real robot 5 (and control device 6), for example. A maintenance/diagnosis location specifying unit 10 identifies a location (for example, reference numeral R in FIG. 1) of the real robot 5 that requires maintenance or diagnosis based on the information on the maintenance or diagnosis accumulated in the database 11. a maintenance/diagnosis flowchart creation section 12 that creates a flowchart showing the maintenance procedure for or a diagnosis/solution procedure when an alarm occurs; The system includes a flowchart association section 13 that associates the flowchart created with the flowchart, and HMDs 1 and 2 as display sections that display information necessary for maintenance or diagnosis according to the flowchart.

In addition, the operator M performs interactive operations according to information necessary for maintenance or diagnosis displayed on the HMDs 1 and 2, and a maintenance/diagnosis cause identification unit 14 is provided which identifies the cause requiring maintenance or diagnosis of the real robot 5 according to a flowchart. We are prepared.

Furthermore, the HMDs 1 and 2 of the display units display a virtual reality image (including images) 3 of the real robot 5 operated by the operator M using the AR device, and perform maintenance or diagnosis in association with the virtual reality image 3. The required location R and information 4 necessary for maintenance or diagnosis are displayed.

Here, the flowchart 15 is, for example, as shown in FIG. When the information is acquired and the location R that requires maintenance or diagnosis of the real robot 5 is specified as an alarm number, it is compared with information related to maintenance or diagnosis accumulated in the database 11, and the maintenance/diagnosis flowchart creation unit 12 determines the actual location R. Judgment elements (judgment 1, judgment 2) are set for determining the maintenance procedure for the robot 5 or the diagnosis/resolution procedure when an alarm occurs.

Furthermore, when a flowchart 15 is created up to the judgment elements indicating the maintenance procedure for the actual robot 5 or the diagnosis/resolution procedure when an alarm occurs, the flowchart association unit 13 selects the location R specified by the maintenance/diagnosis information identification unit 10. and the flowchart 15 created by the maintenance/diagnosis flowchart creation unit 12, and the maintenance/diagnosis cause identification unit 14 identifies causes (cause 1, cause 2, Identify/set cause 3).

At this time, in this embodiment, the operator M performs an interactive operation according to the information 4 necessary for maintenance or diagnosis displayed on the HMDs 1 and 2, and the judgment elements (determination 1, judgment 2) of the flowchart 15, the real robot 5 Identify/set the causes that require maintenance or diagnosis (Cause 1, Cause 2, Cause 3).

More specifically, FIG. 4 shows an example of a flowchart 11 and an element correspondence table that are created when alarm information about brake abnormality is acquired.

When creating this flowchart 15 by the maintenance/diagnosis flowchart creation unit 12 or the like, first, when the information of the brake abnormality alarm 1 is acquired (Step 1), an operation to disconnect the connector is performed based on the information in the database 11 corresponding to this information. 1 is issued (Step 2), and a flow of a judgment element (determination 1: Step 3) for determining whether or not alarm 1 has been resolved is created.

If the alarm is not resolved in Judgment 1, an instruction for operation 3 to unplug the connector is issued (Step 4), and a flow of elements for determining whether or not Alarm 1 is cleared (Decision 2: Step 5) is created.

If the alarm is resolved in Judgment 1, an instruction for operation 2 to replace the amplifier that is considered to be the cause is issued (Step 6), and the flow of the judgment element (Judgment 3: Step 7) to determine whether or not Alarm 1 is cleared is issued. Created.

If the alarm is resolved in Judgment 2, issue instructions for operation 4 to replace the motor that is thought to be the cause (Step 8), and if the alarm is not resolved in Judgment 2, perform the operation to replace the harness that is thought to be the cause. 5 is issued (Step 9), and a flow to a determination element (determination 3: Step 7) as to whether or not alarm 1 has been resolved is created.

If the alarm 1 is not resolved in the judgment 3 (Step 7) as to whether the alarm 1 has been resolved, an instruction for operation 6 to contact the service is issued (Step 10), and the process ends (Step 11). If alarm 1 is resolved, the process ends immediately (Step 11).

Such a flowchart 15 is created, and in this embodiment, the operator M visually recognizes an image as shown in FIG. 5 on the HMDs 1 and 2 as an instruction for operation 1 of the flowchart 15.
Further, when making a judgment/operation instruction for judgment 1 and operation 2 in flowchart 15, operator M visually confirms images as shown in FIG. 6 on HMDs 1 and 2, and interactively performs operations according to this information. .

Therefore, in the industrial machine maintenance/diagnosis system A of the present embodiment, maintenance procedures for the robot 5, etc., or diagnosis/resolution procedures when an alarm occurs, are determined based on information related to maintenance or diagnosis accumulated in the database 11. It is possible to create a flowchart 15 showing the flowchart 15 and display information necessary for maintenance or diagnosis according to the flowchart 15 associated with the location R that requires maintenance or diagnosis.

Furthermore, the search for the cause of the alarm can be easily described using the visually easy-to-understand flowchart 15, and the flow, display screen, and visual information can be associated with a simple operation. This makes it possible to easily create the database 11 that performs alarm search and maintenance for the robot 5 and the like.

Therefore, according to the industrial machine maintenance/diagnosis system A of this embodiment, information necessary for maintenance or diagnosis can be easily created and displayed to the operator M etc., and the operator M etc. can use this information. Based on this information (using this information), it becomes possible to efficiently and effectively perform maintenance and diagnosis of the robot 5 and the like.

Here, in the industrial machine maintenance/diagnosis system A of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 11, a database association unit 17 that associates sound and video records, and an operation status flowchart association unit 18 that associates the sound and video information recorded by the operation status recording unit 16 with the flowchart 15, and creates a maintenance/diagnosis flowchart. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the unit 12 may be configured to associate audio and video information and create a flowchart 15 with a new flow added.

In this case, for example, if an alarm does not go away even after identifying the cause and performing maintenance, the actual operation record of the sound and video during the maintenance or diagnostic operation may be recorded. Diagnostic information can be accumulated in addition to alarm diagnosis and maintenance information. If the alarm is not cleared even after identifying the cause and performing maintenance, an additional flowchart 15 based on sound and video information during maintenance and diagnostic operations can be created. This makes it possible to more accurately identify the cause of alarms, etc.

In the industrial machine maintenance/diagnosis system A of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. While viewing the image and/or video displayed on the remote display unit 19, the maintenance worker M' or the like adds a display to the image and/or video using an input device at a remote location (for example, the reference numeral R in FIG. 8). ') may also be provided.

In this case, for example, maintenance personnel M' such as skilled engineers located in remote locations can also share information, making it possible to provide accurate instructions and consideration for maintenance and diagnosis. Furthermore, maintenance information for industrial machines such as the robot 5 connected to the network can be shared among a plurality of industrial machines.

In the industrial machine maintenance/diagnosis system A of the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 9, the robot 5, etc. is It may also include an internal structure additional display function section 21 that displays the internal structure 5a on a display section such as the HMDs 1 and 2.

In this case, by projecting the internal structure 5a of the robot 5 or the like onto the virtual reality image/video 3, it becomes possible for the operator M and the like to make decisions. This makes it possible to more accurately identify/set the location R that requires maintenance and diagnosis, even in locations where the maintenance and diagnosis position changes depending on the posture of the robot 5 or the like, or where it cannot be seen. Moreover, since maintenance and diagnosis can be performed while comparing with the internal structure 5a, it is possible to significantly improve the accuracy of maintenance and diagnosis and the accuracy of identifying locations that require maintenance and diagnosis.

1 HMD (display device: display section)
2 Display section (display device)
3 Virtual reality images/videos 4 Information necessary for maintenance or diagnosis 5 Robots (industrial machines)
5a Internal structure 6 Control device 10 Maintenance/diagnosis point identification unit 11 Database 12 Maintenance/diagnosis flowchart creation unit 13 Flowchart association unit 14 Maintenance/diagnosis cause identification unit 15 Flowchart 16 Operation status recording unit 17 Database association unit 18 Operation status flowchart Association section 19 Remote display section 20 Additional display function section 21 Internal structure additional display function section A Industrial machine maintenance/diagnosis system M Operator (user)
M' Maintenance personnel R Areas requiring maintenance or diagnosis R' Areas requiring maintenance or diagnosis

Claims (7)

A system for maintaining or diagnosing industrial machinery,
a maintenance/diagnosis location identification unit that identifies locations that require maintenance or diagnosis of the industrial machine based on information acquired from the industrial machine;
a maintenance/diagnosis flowchart creation unit that creates a flowchart showing a maintenance procedure for the industrial machine or a diagnosis/resolution procedure when an alarm occurs, based on information related to maintenance or diagnosis accumulated in a database;
a flowchart association unit that associates the location identified by the maintenance/diagnosis location identification unit with the flowchart created by the maintenance/diagnosis flowchart creation unit;
a display section that displays information necessary for maintenance or diagnosis according to the flowchart;
an operation status recording unit that records sound and video information during maintenance or diagnostic operations;
an operation situation flowchart association unit that associates the sound and video information recorded by the operation situation recording unit with the flowchart;
Maintenance and diagnosis system for industrial machinery. The industrial machine maintenance/diagnosis system according to claim 1, further comprising a database association unit that associates information related to maintenance or diagnosis stored in the database with records of the audio and video information. The maintenance/diagnosis system for industrial machinery according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the maintenance/diagnosis flowchart creation section creates a flowchart by adding a new flow to the already created flowchart. A maintenance/diagnosis cause identifying unit is provided, in which an operator performs interactive operations according to information necessary for the maintenance or diagnosis displayed on the display unit, and identifies a cause requiring maintenance or diagnosis of the industrial machine according to the flowchart. , The maintenance/diagnosis system for industrial machinery according to any one of claims 1 to 3. Equipped with an AR device,
The display unit displays a virtual reality image of an actual industrial machine operated by an operator using the AR device, and displays locations that require the maintenance or diagnosis and information necessary for the maintenance or diagnosis in association with the virtual reality image. The industrial machine maintenance/diagnosis system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, which displays information. a remote display unit that simultaneously displays images and/or videos displayed on the display unit at a remote location;
An additional display function section that adds a display to the image and/or video on the display section using an input device at a remote location while viewing the image and/or video displayed on the remote display section. The industrial machine maintenance/diagnosis system according to claim 5. The industrial machine according to claim 5 , further comprising an internal structure additional display function unit that displays the internal structure of the industrial machine on the display unit in accordance with the posture of the virtual reality image of the industrial machine displayed on the display unit. Maintenance and diagnosis system for industrial machinery.

Images