JPH06282317A - Console panel for mechatoronics apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a mechatoronics apparatus console panel having compact and light-weight constitution, capable of acquiring necessary operation and information and enabling an operator to easily concentrate his (or her) attention on the movement of a mechatoronics apparatus such as a robot at the time of its operation. CONSTITUTION:A display 3 for displaying various operation items as a menu, switches 2 for selecting a required operation item in the menu displayed on the display 3, a voice generating speaker 4 for generating various announcement to the operator so as to request the selection of any one of items in the menu displayed on the display 3, and so on are arranged on the surface of the console panel and a control means for controlling menu display on the display 3 and the generation of voice from the speaker 4 based upon the operation of the switches 2 is included in the panel.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a control panel for mechatronics equipment, and is particularly useful when applied to a portable control panel which an operator can carry and operate.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A portable operation panel for a mechatronics device such as a robot according to the prior art includes a switch for inputting an operation item and an operation amount, and a display for an operator to confirm the operation item and the operation amount. It consists of and.

[0003]

In the portable operation panel according to the prior art as described above, when there are a large number of operation items and operation amounts to be operated, switches for inputting these operation items and operation amounts. increase the number of, not only or make a mistake press the switch or no longer know whether to be operated which for this switch, and the like operability portable control panel is less likely to have large in size becomes worse.

Further, in order to prevent the number of switches from increasing as described above, various menus of various operation items are displayed on the display and a desired operation item is selected from the menus by the switch, whereby various types of operation items are selected. The number of switches may be reduced by using the same switch for the same operation, but if the number of operation items to be displayed in the menu increases, the display inevitably becomes larger accordingly, and the size of the portable control panel becomes large. However, the screen is hierarchized and the viewability of the menu is sacrificed, and the operability is deteriorated in any case.

Furthermore, when operating a robot, the robot is often operated while actually operating it. In particular, when a portable operation panel is used, the operator is required to teach a playback robot, for example. Often, the robot is operated close to the robot. Therefore, if the operator is operating while watching the display, his / her eyes may move away from the movement of the robot, and even if the robot approaches due to an erroneous operation or the like, the operator may not notice this and may contact the robot. .

In view of the above-mentioned prior art, the present invention provides a mechatronics device which is small and lightweight, which enables necessary operations and information to be obtained, and which allows an operator to concentrate on movements of the mechatronics device such as a robot during the operation. The purpose is to provide a control panel.

[0007]

Means for Solving the Problems The structure of the present invention which achieves the above object is a display for displaying various operation items on a control panel of a mechatronics device operated by an operator, and a display displayed on the display. A switch to select the desired operation item from the menu,
A voice generator that makes various announcements to the operator by voice, such as requesting the operator to select one from the menu displayed on the display, and the display of the display based on the operation by the switch. And a control means for controlling the sound generation from the sound generating device.

[0008]

According to the present invention having the above-described structure, when any one of the menus of various operation items is displayed on the display, the voice generating device selects one from the displayed menus by voice. Request the operator to do so. Then, when the operator selects a desired operation item with the switch, the voice generation device informs the operator which one is selected by the voice. After that, the operator performs a desired operation with the switch.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a front view of a portable operation panel of a robot according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the portable operation panel 1 according to the present embodiment is provided inside with a switch 2, a display 3, a voice generating speaker 4, an emergency stop switch 5 and a cable 1-1 which are appropriately arranged on the panel surface. Control means (not shown).

Of these, the display 3 displays a menu of various operation items and an operation amount, and when any operation item is selected from the displayed menu of operation items, this selection is made. The form of the character representing the operation item is changed and the operator is informed of this.

When the robot is operated without actually operating it, that is, when the operation announcement by voice is not necessary, the operation items are displayed in as much detail as possible within the range permitted by the screen size of the display 3. This is because the human being, who is the operator, has a higher ability to acquire information by the visual sense than by the voice, that is, the auditory sense.
This is because it is easier to make an operation by selecting while looking at the menu displayed on the display 3 as in the conventional case.

On the other hand, a menu for operating the robot by actually operating it is simply displayed by frequently using voice operation announcements. A specific example of the display content of the display 3 will be described later.

The switch 2 includes right direction key 2-1, left direction key 2-2, up direction key 2-3, down direction key 2-4, upper right direction key 2-5, lower left direction key 2-6, and return. The key 2-7 and the voice generation request key 2-8 are composed of a total of eight switches. Of these, the right direction key 2-1, the left direction key 2-2, the up direction key 2-3, and the down direction key 2-4.
Selects a desired operation item from the menu displayed on the display 3, and moves each axis of the robot or the like in the left / right or up / down plus direction (right direction or upward direction) or according to the selected operation item. It is a switch for operating in the minus direction (leftward or downward). The upper right direction key 2-5 and the lower left direction key 2-6 are switches for operating each axis of the robot in a diagonal plus direction (upper right direction) or a minus direction (lower left direction) according to the selected operation item. Is.

The return key 2-7 is the rightward key 2-
This is a switch for confirming the selection of the operation item by 1, the left direction key 2-2, the up direction key 2-3 or the down direction key 2-4. The voice generation request key 2-8 is a switch for requesting the operation announcement when the operator wants to hear the operation announcement again (details will be described later).

The voice generating speaker 4 is a voice generating device and requests the operator to make a selection according to various menus displayed on the display 3 by voice and informs the operator which one is selected. . Control means 5
A microcomputer is used to control the menu display of the display 3 and the sound generation from the sound generating speaker 4 based on various operations of the switch 2 described above.

The emergency stop switch 5 is a switch for forcibly stopping the robot in an emergency. The cable 1-1 transmits signals between the portable operation panel 1 and the robot.

A specific example of robot operation by the portable operation panel as described above will be shown below. Table 1 shows an example of selecting an operation mode as an example of operating the robot without actually operating it. As shown in the table, the operations are performed in the order of 1 to 5 (hereinafter simply referred to as steps 1 to 5) shown in the operation procedure number column.

[0019]

[Table 1]

First, in procedure 1, the power is turned on. Step 2
Then, as shown in the display display content column (hereinafter simply referred to as the display column), the operation mode selection menu, that is, "parameter setting", "hand coordinate operation", "joint axis operation", and "end" items are displayed. 3 is displayed, and subsequently, as shown in the voice generation content column (hereinafter, simply referred to as voice column), the voice generation speaker 4 announces a selection request "Please select an operation mode".

In procedure 3, the down key 2-4 is pressed once as shown in the key operation column. Then, as shown in the display field, the cursor located at the "parameter setting" position moves to the next "hand coordinate operation" position, and the character form changes. In step 4, the down key 2-4 is further pressed once. As a result, the cursor is moved to the position of "motion of each axis of joint", and the character form is changed. At this time, the character form of "hand coordinate operation" is restored.

Finally, in step 5, the return key 2-8 is pressed to confirm the selection of "motion of each joint axis", and then the voice generation speaker 4 announces that "motion of each joint axis has been selected". Then, the operator is informed that the “motion of each joint axis” has been selected.

The above is an example of the case where the robot is operated without actually operating it. At this time, not only the menu is displayed on the display 3 but also the voice is generated from the voice generating speaker 4 so that the operation can be performed more easily. This is to make it efficient.

Next, Tables 2 and 3 show, as an example of the case where the robot is actually operated and operated, a case where the third axis, which is the third joint of the robot, is moved by a certain angle. As shown in both tables, the operation is 1 in the operation procedure number column.
.About.13 (hereinafter simply referred to as steps 1 to 13). It should be noted that steps 1 to 5 in Table 2 are the same as steps 1 to 5 in Table 1, and duplicate description will be omitted.

[0025]

[Table 2]

[0026]

[Table 3]

In step 6, as shown in the voice column, the voice generation speaker 4 announces a selection request "Please select an axis". Then, in step 7, as shown in the display column, the axis selection menu, that is, “1
2 3 4 5 6 7 ”is displayed. At this time, the cursor is at the position of "1", and this character form has changed.

In step 8, the voice generating speaker 4 outputs "1".
The axis is selected "is announced, and the operator is informed that the cursor is at the position" 1 "and one axis is currently selected. In step 9, the right direction key 2-1 is pressed once as shown in the key operation and robot operation column. Then, the cursor moves to the position of "2" and this character form changes, and at the same time, the character form of "1" returns to the original. Then, the announcement "The two axes will be selected" is issued from the voice generation speaker 4,
The operator is informed that the two axes are currently selected.

In step 10, the right direction key 2-1 is further pressed.
Press twice. As a result, the cursor is moved to the position of "3", the character form is changed, and then the announcement "Three axes are selected" is issued from the voice generating speaker 4, and currently three axes are selected. The operator is informed that it is in a ready state.

In step 11, the return key 2-7 is pressed to confirm the selection of the three axes. Subsequently, in step 12, the voice generation speaker 4 announces that "three axes move" to inform the operator that the selection of the three axes is confirmed and the three axes are operable. Then, the voice generation speaker 4 announces “Please press a direction key”, and requests the operator to press any direction key to operate the three axes.

Finally, in step 13, the up arrow key 2-
Continue to press 3. As a result, the three axes continue to rotate in the positive direction. Further, during this period, the voice generating speaker 4 repeatedly announces that "the three axes are rotating" to notify the operator that the three axes are rotating. Then, when the three axes are rotated by a desired angle, the up arrow key 2-3 is released. As a result, rotation of the three axes stops. Then, the voice generation speaker 4 announces "stopped" to inform the operator that the rotation of the three axes has stopped.

The above is an example of the case where the robot is actually operated and operated.

As another characteristic of the portable operation panel 1, as described above, the voice generation request key 2 is used.
Equipped with -8. This voice generation request key 2-8
The reason for the provision is that, as described above, the operator is announced by voice, such as a selection request, but it is assumed that the operator may overlook this, and the operation is continued even in such a case. It is a consideration to prevent it from becoming impossible.

That is, the voice generation request key 2-8
By pressing once, the announcement of the immediately previous operation request is generated again from the voice generating speaker 4. By further pressing the voice generation request key 2-8 twice in succession, an announcement of all information related to the operation currently requested is generated from the voice generation speaker 4.

For example, when the voice generation request key 2-8 is pressed only once in the procedure 9 of Table 3, the operation request immediately before that is "select axis" (see procedure 6 of Table 2).
Is announced again from the voice generating speaker 4. If the voice generation request key is pressed twice in succession in step 9, the contents of steps 5 and 6 in Table 2 are combined as all the information related to the operation request at this time, and "current joint axis movements" The announcement "The axis is being selected" is emitted from the voice generation speaker.

Actually, by changing the software of the microcomputer used as the control means built in the portable operation panel 1, the concrete menu display contents on the display 3 and the voice generating speaker 4 are displayed. It is possible to flexibly respond to any operation condition by changing the sound generation content. Note that it is possible to generate not only an operation item but also an operation amount announcement from the voice generation speaker 4.

Further, the present invention is remarkably effective in the portable operation panel as shown in the above-mentioned embodiment, but of course can be applied to the stationary operation panel.

[0038]

As described above in detail with reference to the embodiments, the present invention can reduce the number of switches by displaying a menu on the display, and further, by using a voice generating device, a voice operation request or the like can be performed. By making an announcement, the display can be downsized. For this reason, mistakes in pressing the switch are reduced, and particularly when applied to a portable operation panel, it is easy to carry and the operability is improved.

When operating the robot while actually moving it, the operator can operate without looking at the display and pay attention to the movement of the robot. Therefore, even if the robot approaches the operator due to an erroneous operation or the like while operating the portable operation panel near the robot, the operator can easily prevent the robot from coming into contact with the robot.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a portable operation panel of a robot according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Portable operation panel 1-1 Cable 2 Switch 2-1 Right direction key 2-2 Left direction key 2-3 Up direction key 2-4 Down direction key 2-5 Right upper direction key 2-6 Left lower direction key 2-7 Return key 2-8 Voice generation request key 3 Display 4 Voice generation speaker 5 Emergency stop switch

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. On a control panel of a mechatronic device operated by an operator, a display for displaying various operation items as a menu, and a switch for selecting a desired operation item from the menu displayed on the display. A voice generator that makes various announcements to the operator by voice, such as requesting the operator to select one from the menu displayed on the display, and the display of the display based on the operation by the switch. And a control means for controlling the sound generation from the sound generating device, a control panel for a mechatronic device.