JPH02299005A - Operation device with visual function - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To automate the conveyance, recognition, and fitting of subordinate works to be fitted to a main work by conveying subordinate works by as many as works that a recognizing means can recognize and arranging the conveyed subordinate works discretely. CONSTITUTION:When a program starts, a camera 11 inputs an image of works 4 on a pallet 3 and a computer processes the image and stores information after the processing on an image memory. A robot controller recognizes the presence positions of the works according to the image information stored on this memory and moves a hand to suck the works 4. Then the hand 2 is moved on a table 5 while sucking the works and the sucked works are scattered on the table 5. Then the robot controller moves the hand 2 onto the table 5 to grip and set a work 7 at a fixed position of a jig 8 where a panel 9 is fixed. Then a robot 1 takes a welding machine 15 out to weld the work 7 and panel 9 together.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (Industrial Field of Application) The present invention involves transporting sub-works to be attached to a main workpiece to a predetermined position by a transporting means such as an electromagnet in a number that can be recognized by a recognition device. A visual function that allows the conveyance of the sub-work, recognition of its position, posture, etc., and furthermore, the attachment of the sub-work to the main work, to be carried out automatically by arranging the sub-work in a discrete manner. Related to attached work equipment.

(Prior Art and Problems to be Solved by the Invention) Recently, work devices having visual functions are being introduced to automobile production lines in order to save labor and improve production efficiency.

Such a work device with a visual function is characterized in that it can recognize the position and orientation of a workpiece, and can perform a predetermined work based on this recognition. In other words, even if there is a slight deviation in the position or posture of a workpiece during transport, the deviation can be automatically absorbed, so even if the workpiece is in a form that is difficult to accurately position during transport, it will not be able to move around other workpieces. Attachment to the workpiece can be easily carried out.

However, in such conventional work devices with visual functions, although the visual device allows the position and posture of the workpiece to be grasped, accurate grasping of the position and posture is difficult for each workpiece. Since it is difficult to do this in an overlapping state, conventionally, when making a visual device recognize multiple relatively small works, the multiple works are arranged discretely in advance so that they do not overlap each other, and the workpieces are Since it is necessary to place the pallets arranged in this manner within the field of view of the visual device, it is necessary to align the workpieces on the pallets and to replace empty pallets. Since these tasks must be performed by humans, there is a problem in that the effectiveness of using work equipment with visual functions is not fully demonstrated when recognizing multiple relatively small works like this. .

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the conventional art, and it involves transporting and discretely arranging the number of sub-works to be attached to a main workpiece to a predetermined position that can be recognized by a recognition device. It is an object of the present invention to provide a working device with a visual function that enables recognition by the recognition device and automatically attaches a sub-work to a main work.

(Means for Solving the Problems) To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a work device with a visual function that recognizes the position and orientation of a workpiece and performs a predetermined work based on information on this recognition. a first conveyance means for conveying a main workpiece to be processed to a predetermined position;
a second transport means for discretely arranging sub-works to be attached to the main work at predetermined positions; a recognition means for recognizing the position and orientation of the sub-works discretely arranged by the second transport means; The apparatus is characterized by comprising a working means for clamping the sub-workpiece based on information on the position and orientation of the sub-workpiece recognized by the recognition means and attaching it to the main workpiece in a predetermined attitude. be.

(Function) The working device with a visual function of the present invention having the above-described configuration functions as follows.

The first conveyance means conveys the main work to be assembled or the like to a predetermined position, and waits until the work is finished before attaching the sub-work. On the other hand, the second W! The feeding means takes out an appropriate number of sub-works from a pallet on which a large number of sub-works are stored, and discretely arranges them at predetermined positions. Then, the recognition means recognizes the position and orientation of each of the discretely arranged sub-works, and based on this recognition, the working means clamps the sub-work and attaches the sub-work to the main work.

In this way, the secondary workpieces are transported by the second transport means to a predetermined position in a number that can be recognized by the recognition means, and based on this recognition, the work means attaches the secondary workpieces to the main workpiece. Transporting the workpiece, recognizing its position and orientation, and attaching it to the main workpiece can all be performed automatically.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an overall view of a working device with a visual function according to the present invention applied to a welding line for welding small parts to automobile panels, and this working device with a visual function is configured as follows. There is.

As shown in the figure, a hand 2 with a parallel wind 20 is attached to a robot 1 that forms the center of this device.
This hand 2 is provided with an electromagnet 6 that attracts a large number of sub-works 4 stored in a pallet 3 and conveys a suitable number of them onto a table 5. This parallel wind 20 is a claw for clamping the work 7 on the table 5 and transporting it to a panel 9 as the main work fixed to the jig 8.

A light 10 and a camera 1 are installed on the pallet 3 so that the position of the work 4 stored in the pallet 3 can be detected.
1 is provided. The image inside the pallet captured by this camera 11 is image-processed by an image processing computer, which will be described later, to calculate the coordinates where the workpiece 4 is located, and the robot 1 positions the electromagnet 6 at the coordinates. ing. Also, there is a camera 1 on the stand 5.
2 is provided, and the image captured by this camera 12 is image-processed by the above-mentioned image processing computer, thereby calculating the position and orientation of each workpiece 7 existing on the table 5.

The panel 9 to which the workpiece 7 is to be welded is conveyed to a predetermined position by a conveyor 13, and after this conveyed panel is once fixed to a jig 8 and welding is performed, it is placed on a conveyor 14 to be conveyed to the next process. be done. This conveyor 13
The robot 1 automatically performs fixing to the jig 8 and carrying out from the jig 8 to the conveyor 14. A welding machine 15 that performs this welding is placed near the robot 1 and is gripped by fingers provided on the hand 2 of the robot 1.

2A and 2B are a front view and a side view of the hand 2 that the robot 1 shown in FIG. 1 has.

The hand 2 is provided with the above-mentioned parallel type 20, electromagnet 6, and a proximity switch 21 that detects the positional relationship between the hand 2 and the workpiece 4 when adsorbing the workpiece 4.
As shown in the figure, the workpiece on the stand 5 shown in FIG. When conveying the panel 7 to the panel 9, the parallel workpiece claw 2OA is used, and when placing the panel on the conveyor 13 on the jig or carrying out the panel on the jig to the conveyor 14, the main workpiece parallel claw is used. 20
B is used. Further, the electromagnet 6 is energized while the work 4 is being transported to the table 5, and during this transport, the hand 2 of the robot 1 changes from the normal fixed position state A to the state B as shown in FIG. , the electromagnet 6 is moved to be positioned opposite the workpiece 4, and the proximity sensor 21
While the distance between the hand 2 and the workpiece 4 is detected, the hand 2 is operated in a floating manner so that an appropriate number of workpieces are attracted. When a suitable number of workpieces are attracted in this manner, the robot 1 positions the hand 2 on the stand 5 and de-energizes the electromagnet 6 while moving the hand 2 in an arbitrary direction. As a result, the works 4 are scattered on the table 5 as shown in FIG. 4, and the positions and postures of the individual works can be accurately recognized by the camera 12. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 4,
If multiple workpieces happen to interfere with each other and are scattered, it will be difficult to recognize the position and orientation of each workpiece. A process is performed to adsorb the workpiece and disperse the workpiece.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of a control system of a working device with a visual function according to the present invention.

The illumination 10 and camera 11.12 shown in FIG. 1 are connected to an image processing computer 30 and the camera 11.12
The image captured by the image processing computer 30 undergoes image processing and is stored in the image information memory 31. Further, this image information memory 31 is connected to a robot controller 32, and the information in this memory 31 is used by the robot controller 32. The robot controller 32 includes an electromagnet 6. Proximity switch 21. conveyor 13
A detection switch 33 detects the presence of the panel 9 above.
and motors that drive the hand 2 and the like of the robot 1 are connected, and the operations of the electromagnet 6 and each part of the robot 1 are controlled by information from these switches and information from the image information memory 31.

On the other hand, the controller 33 that controls operations related to the jig and welding includes a detection switch 34 that detects presence on the jig 8. A detection switch 35 installed in the welding machine 15 to detect the presence of a welding gun; a motor that drives the conveyor 13; a jig actuator 36 that clamps the panel 9 to the jig 8; and a welding device 37 that controls the welding machine 15. are connected, and the operations of the conveyor 13 and the like are controlled based on the detection states of these switches and commands from the robot controller 32.

Then, an image processing computer 30. The robot controller 32 and the jig and welding related controller 33 are each connected to three system control computers to which a host computer 38 is connected, and this system control computer 39 collectively controls all operations of the visual function working device. Ru. The host computer 38 outputs information regarding the production plan, the system control computer 39 controls the operating status of the work equipment based on this information, the system control computer 39 outputs the production status, and the system control computer 39 outputs the production status and outputs it to the host computer. 38 can know the production situation based on this information.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are flowcharts schematically showing the operation of the visual function working device configured as described above.

First, when the program of the above-mentioned work device with visual function starts, the camera 11 inputs an image of the work 4 placed on the pallet 3 illuminated by the illumination 10, and the image is transferred to the image processing computer 30. performs image processing and stores the processed information in the image memory 31.

The robot controller 32 uses this image information memory 31
The location of the workpiece 4 is recognized based on the image information stored in the image information.This recognition is performed by binarizing the image information. That is, the part of the input image where brightness and darkness are mixed is determined to be the part where the work exists, and the part where the brightness and darkness are uniform is determined to be the part without the workpiece. ), the hand 2 is moved to this position, the electromagnet 6 is energized, and the hand 2 is moved while taking into account the information regarding the distance between the hand 2 and the workpiece output from the proximity switch 21.
is lowered to adsorb the workpiece 4. During this adsorption,
The hand 2 is operated in a floating manner so that an appropriate number (about 3 to 4) of workpieces are attracted to the electromagnet 6. next,
The hand 2 is raised, the state in which the workpieces are attracted is captured by the camera 11, and the image is processed to confirm that an appropriate number of workpieces are attracted to the electromagnet 6. Then, the hand 2 is moved onto the stand 5 with the workpiece being attracted, and when the hand 2 reaches the top of the stand 5, the excitation of the electromagnet 6 is cut off, and the workpieces that have been attracted are scattered onto the stand 5. If the workpieces interfere with each other at this time, the electromagnet 6 attracts the workpieces and scatters them again. The camera 12 inputs images of the workpieces placed discretely on the table 5, and the image processing computer 30 recognizes the coordinates and orientation of one of the workpieces located on the table 5. This recognized information is stored in the image information memory 31. Next, the robot controller 32 moves the hand 2 to the stand 5 based on this recognition.
Move to the position of the upper workpiece 7, and use the parallel claw 2O for the sub-workpiece.
The workpiece 7 is held at the part A and set at a predetermined position on the jig 8 fixed to the panel 9. still,
During this time, the image processing computer 30 recognizes the coordinates and postures of other workpieces placed on the table 5.

When the workpiece 7 is set in the predetermined position in this way,
The robot 1 takes out the welding machine 15 with the hand 2, and the controller 33 operates the welding machine 15 in response to a signal from the robot controller 32 to weld the work 7 and the panel 9 together. When this welding is completed, the robot 1 returns the welding machine 15 to its normal position, the controller 33 unloads the panel 9 fixed on the jig 8, and the robot 1 places the welded panel 9 on the conveyor 14. do.

Next, the robot 1 clamps the panel 9 that has been conveyed onto the conveyor 13 and conveys it to the jig 8. And again 2
Based on information on the coordinates and posture of the workpiece placed on the table 5, which is recognized by the image processing computer 30 and stored in the image information memory 31, the robot controller 32 moves the hand 2 onto the table 5. Move the workpiece 7 to the position of the workpiece 7, grip the workpiece 7 with the sub-workpiece parallel claws 2OA, and hold the workpiece 7 with the jig 8 to which the panel 9 is fixed.
Set it in the specified position and perform welding work.

The above operations are repeated until there are no more workpieces left on the table 5, and when there are no more workpieces left, the workpieces 4 placed on the pallet are again scattered on the table 5 through the process described above, and then again as described above. This action can be continued.

In this way, we used an electromagnet to take out the number of workpieces that can be recognized by the camera from a place where a large number of workpieces are stored on the panel.The first step is to arrange the workpieces to be stored on the pallets in advance and replace the pallets. Second, even if the workpiece to be welded changes due to a model change or the like, there is no need to modify the hand.

In addition, since the workpieces taken out by the electromagnet are stacked in an appropriate number, the height of each workpiece becomes uniform, making it easy to clamp by hand.Also, the welding machine can be separated from the robot. This makes it possible to back up workers in the event of a breakdown of a welding machine, etc.

In this embodiment, a working device with a visual function is illustrated in which the visual device and the robot body are separated.
The present invention is not limited to this, and the robot body may have a visual device as long as the visual recognition time recognized by the visual device is included in the robot's working time. Also,
Although the example uses two cameras, one for the pallet and one for the table, one camera may be used to input both images. Further, in this embodiment, the case where the work device with visual function of the present invention is applied to a welding line is illustrated, but it goes without saying that it can also be applied to other lines such as assembly and transportation lines. .

(Effects of the Invention) As is clear from the above description, according to the working device with a visual function of the present invention, the second conveyance means carries out a predetermined number of sub-workpieces to be attached to the main workpiece by the second conveyance means. Since the sub-workpieces are transported to the desired position and placed in a discrete manner, the transport of the sub-workpieces,
Recognizing its position and orientation and attaching it to the main workpiece can all be done automatically.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an overall view of a welding line in which a work device with a visual function according to the present invention is applied to a welding line for welding small parts to automobile panels. A front view and a side view of the hand of the robot 1 shown in the figure, FIG. 3 is a state diagram when a workpiece is attracted by an electromagnet attached to the hand, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of the control system of the working device with visual function according to the present invention, and FIGS. 6A and 6B are state diagrams of the working device with visual function according to the present invention. It is a flowchart showing a schematic operation. 1...Robot (second conveyance means 1 working means), 4.7
... Work (secondary work), 9... Panel (main work), 12... Camera (recognition means), 13... Belt conveyor (first conveyance means), 15...
・Welding machine (work means),

Claims (1)

[Claims] A work device with a visual function that recognizes the position and orientation of a workpiece and performs a predetermined work based on this recognition information, which transports a main workpiece to be subjected to various processing to a predetermined position. a first transport means; a second transport means for discretely arranging sub-works to be attached to the main work at predetermined positions; and recognizing the position and orientation of the sub-works discretely arranged by the second transport means; and a working means for clamping the secondary workpiece based on information on the position and orientation of the secondary workpiece recognized by the recognition means and attaching it to the main workpiece in a predetermined posture. A work device with a visual function featuring: