JPH08286701A - Multi-robot control method and system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a multi-robot control method/system which can carry on the jobs of robots at every stage even when a robot under operation has its operating error. CONSTITUTION: It is detected by the detection value of a force sensor 3 whether a robot 1 under operation has its operating error. If an error of the robot 1 is detected, the state of a work 15 is decided based on the visual information of a visual sensor 6. Then it is decided whether the operation of the robot 1 can be corrected or not. If the correcting operation is possible, the robot 1 is made to perform its correcting operation and to try again an assembling job of the work 15. If the correcting operation is impossible, the robot 1 is reset at its original position and also a job end signal is outputted.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and system for controlling a plurality of robots, each of which sequentially and continuously performs its work while competing for interlocks.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, when inserting a plurality of side vent grilles into an instrument panel, a plurality of robots (for example, assembling robots) are used in a single stage to continuously perform simultaneous work. In this case, it is necessary to interlock each other in order to prevent interference (ensure safety) between robots (see, for example, FIG. 4). In this case, the next robot A to D cannot perform its own work (or motion) until the work (or certain motion) of one robot A to D is completed. In addition,
In FIG. 4, the four robots A to D are controlled by dedicated robot controllers A to D, respectively.

[0003]

However, when a plurality of robots are interlocked with each other in this way, if an operation error occurs in any one of the operating robots and the robots stop, Since the interlock signal is not sent to other robots and eventually all robots stop, it is necessary to perform all the work after the operation error occurs manually.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems of the prior art, and even if an operation error occurs in the operating robot, the work as the stage can be continued without stopping. An object is to provide a control method and system for a plurality of robots.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is a control method for a plurality of robots, which sequentially perform respective works while competing for interlocks. Detecting whether an error occurs in the operation of the robot, and returning the robot to the original position when detecting the occurrence of an error in the operation of the robot and outputting a work completion signal for the work. It is characterized by having.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for controlling a plurality of robots, each of which sequentially performs each work while competing for interlocks. The step of detecting whether or not an error has occurred in the operation of the robots. , A step of determining whether or not the correction operation of the robot is possible based on the visual information when it is detected that an error occurs in the operation of the robot, and an original operation of the robot when the correction operation of the robot is determined to be impossible. Returning to a position and outputting a work completion signal of the work.

The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that, in the invention according to claim 1 or 2, whether or not an error has occurred in the operation of the robot is detected based on force information of the robot.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the above-mentioned second aspect of the present invention, there is a step of correcting the operation of the robot based on visual information when it is determined that the correction operation of the robot is possible. Characterize.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a control system for a plurality of robots, which sequentially perform respective works while competing for interlocks. The operation error detection detects that an error has occurred in the operation of the robots. Means and
Robot control means for returning the robot to its original position when the operation error detection means detects a robot operation error, and completion of the work when the operation error detection means detects a robot operation error And output means for outputting a signal.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a control system for a plurality of robots, which sequentially perform respective works while competing for interlocks. The operation error detection detects that an error has occurred in the operation of the robots. Means and
Visual information detecting means for detecting visual information about the work, and when the operation error detecting means detects an operation error of the robot, it is determined whether or not the corrective operation of the robot is possible based on the detection result of the visual information detecting means. A determining means, a robot control means for returning the robot to the original position when the determining operation determines that the correcting operation of the robot is impossible; and a determining operation when the correcting operation of the robot is impossible. And output means for outputting a work completion signal of the work.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the above-mentioned fifth or sixth aspect of the invention, the motion error detecting means detects that an error has occurred in the motion of the robot based on the force information of the robot. Characterize.

According to an eighth aspect of the present invention, in the above-mentioned sixth aspect of the invention, the robot is based on the detection result of the visual information detecting means when the determining means determines that the corrective operation of the robot is possible. It has a correction means for correcting the operation of.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, in the above-mentioned fifth aspect of the invention, when the operation error detection means detects an operation error of the robot, the alarm means outputs an alarm to that effect. And

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, in the above-mentioned sixth aspect of the present invention, when the determining unit determines that the correction operation of the robot is impossible, the alarm unit outputs an alarm to that effect. Characterize.

[0015]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, in controlling a plurality of robots that successively perform their respective work while competing for interlocks, it is detected whether or not an error has occurred in the operation of the operating robots. Then, when it is detected that an error has occurred in the operation of the operating robot, the robot is returned to the original position and a work completion signal of the work is output. When the work completion signal is output,
The next robot starts its operation and continues to work as a stage.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in controlling a plurality of robots that sequentially perform their respective work while competing for interlocks, it is detected whether or not an error has occurred in the operation of the operating robots. Then, when it is detected that an error has occurred in the operation of the operating robot, it is determined whether or not the corrective operation of the robot is possible based on the visual information. When it is determined that the correction operation of the robot is impossible, the robot is returned to the original position and the work completion signal of the work is output. When the work completion signal is output, the next robot starts moving and the work as the stage is continued.

According to the third aspect of the invention, whether or not an error has occurred in the operation of the robot is detected based on the force information of the robot.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, when it is determined that the correction operation of the robot is possible, the operation of the robot is corrected based on the visual information. This allows
The robot tries the same work again.

According to the fifth aspect of the invention, the motion error detecting means detects that an error has occurred in the motion of the robot in motion. When the motion error detection means detects a motion error of the robot, the robot control means returns the robot to the original position, and the output means outputs a work completion signal for the work. As a result, the next robot starts operating and the work as the stage is continued.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the motion error detecting means detects that an error has occurred in the motion of the robot in motion, and the visual information detecting means detects visual information about the work. When the motion error detection unit detects a motion error of the robot, the determination unit determines whether or not the corrective motion of the robot can be performed based on the detection result of the visual information detection unit. When the determination unit determines that the correction operation of the robot is impossible, the robot control unit returns the robot to the original position, and the output unit outputs the work completion signal of the work. As a result, the next robot starts operating and the work as the stage is continued.

In the seventh aspect of the invention, the motion error detecting means detects that an error has occurred in the motion of the robot based on the force information of the robot.

According to another aspect of the invention, the correction means determines the movement of the robot based on the detection result of the visual information detection means when the determination means determines that the correction operation of the robot is possible. to correct. Thereby, the robot tries the same work again.

According to the ninth aspect of the invention, when the operation error detecting means detects an operation error of the robot, the alarm means outputs an alarm to that effect.

According to the tenth aspect of the present invention, the alarm means outputs an alarm to that effect when the determining means determines that the correction operation of the robot is impossible.

[0025]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. It should be noted that here, an example will be described of a stage in which a plurality of (four) side vent grills are inserted into an instrument panel (see FIG. 4 as appropriate).

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of each robot control system constituting the multi-robot control system of the present invention. This system works (side vent grill)
A robot body 1 (hereinafter, simply referred to as a robot) that grips the robot to perform an assembly operation, a robot controller 2 that comprehensively controls the operation of the robot 1, and force information (force information) regarding the operation of the robot 1. A force sensor 3 for detecting,
A force sensor controller 4 that controls the force sensor 3 and inputs and processes force data from the force sensor 3, and a sensor value monitoring unit 5 that receives and monitors the detection value (force sensor value) of the force sensor 3 from the force controller 4. A visual sensor 6 for detecting visual information (for example, image data) of a work, a visual controller 7 for controlling the visual sensor 6 and processing input data from the visual sensor 6, and a visual sensor for receiving visual information from the visual controller 7. And a work state determination unit 8 for determining the state. The robot controller 2 includes a continuation possibility determination unit 9 that determines whether work can be continued based on the results of the sensor value monitoring unit 5 and the work state determination unit 8, and an operation management unit 1 that manages the operation of the robot 1.
Contains 0 and. In addition, the robot controller 2 (or the operation management unit 10) uses the data from the position detectors (eg, encoders) attached to the respective axes (eg, axis motors) of the robot 1 to determine the current operation of the robot 1. We know the position, that is, the position of each axis.

The robot 1 is a normal playback robot, and the tasks (sequence,
In order to teach conditions, positions, and other information), the robot controller 2 is connected to a teaching board 11, which is a remote control device used for teaching.
The interlock between the robots 1A to 1D is performed by the robot 1
It is set at the stage of this teaching along with the sequence of operations between A and 1D. The robots 1A to 1D in the stage perform their taught work in accordance with a preset operation sequence between the robots while interlocking.

Furthermore, when an error occurs in the operation of the robot 1 and the operation cannot be corrected, the robot controller 2 is alerted to the operator by a buzzer, a display, or a combination thereof. Alarm device 1
2 is connected. The alarm device 12 may be provided exclusively for each robot, or may be provided commonly for several robots (for example, all robots in the same stage).

The robot controller 2 determines whether or not the correction operation is possible, not only when the robot 1 completes a predetermined work without any trouble but also when an error occurs during the operation as described later. When the correction operation is possible, when the work is completed by the correction operation, and when the correction operation is not possible, the work completion signal is output. . By outputting the work completion signal, the next robot operation becomes possible, and the work as the stage is continued.

The operation error detecting means is the force sensor 3
And force controller 4, sensor value monitoring unit 5, robot controller 2, output unit, and correction unit are robot controller 2, visual information detection unit is visual sensor 6 and visual controller 7, determination unit is work state determination unit 8, and alarm unit. Are each constituted by an alarm device 12.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing an arm portion of the robot 1. As shown in the figure, the force sensor 3 and the visual sensor 6 are attached to the wrist of the robot 1 (the connecting portion of the robot arm 13 and the hand 14). The assembled work (side vent grill) 15 is gripped by the hand 14 of the robot 1 and inserted into the mounting hole 17 of the instrument panel 16.

The force sensor 3 is, for example, a 6-axis force sensor that handles 6-dimensional information, and directly detects a reaction force or a moment (force information) acting on the hand 14. . The 6-dimensional force sense information includes, for example, loads and moments in the respective XYZ axis directions. The detection value of the force sensor 3 (force sensor value) is input to the force controller 4 and then sent to the sensor value monitoring unit 5. The sensor value monitoring unit 5 monitors the detected force sensor value and determines whether or not the side vent grill 15 has been inserted into the instrument panel 16. In this case, the robot 1
The only operation error is that the side vent grille 15 does not enter the mounting hole 17 of the instrument panel 16. Therefore, whether or not the side vent grille 15 has entered is determined by the force sensor value to detect the operation error of the robot 1. ing. Specifically, the determination as to whether or not the side vent grille 15 has been inserted into the instrument panel 16 is performed by measuring the force sensor value during normal assembly operation in advance and detecting the force sensor value actually detected. Is compared with the value at the time of normal operation to determine whether it is an abnormal value or not.

The visual sensor 6 is composed of, for example, a CCD camera, and detects image data relating to the state of the work 15 (grip posture and positional relationship). The detection signal from the visual sensor 6 is input to the visual controller 7, where appropriate image processing is performed and the result is sent to the work state determination unit 8. The work state determination unit 8 compares the obtained image data with data measured during a normal assembling operation in advance to determine whether it is in an abnormal state, that is, whether the operation can be corrected.
For example, the robot 1 works (side vent grill)
If the workpiece 15 cannot be gripped well and the gripping posture of the workpiece 15 touches the insertion direction to the left and right, it is determined that the correction operation is impossible. If the correction is possible, the correction amount is obtained from the image data and the assembling operation is performed again, as described later.

In this embodiment, as will be described later, the detection value of the force sensor 3 is constantly monitored to detect an operation error, and when the operation error is detected, the visual sensor 6 is driven and the image data is displayed. It is designed to read in and determine whether or not correction is possible.

Although the visual sensor 6 is attached to the wrist of the robot 1 in this embodiment, the present invention is not limited to this.
The visual sensor 6 is attached at an installation position by optically grasping the gripping posture of the work to be assembled (side vent grill) 15 and the positional relationship between the work to be assembled (side vent grill) 15 and the work to be assembled (instrument panel) 16. It can be anywhere as long as it can be detected.

Next, the operation of the present system configured as described above will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Here, four robots 1A in one stage
1D instrument panel 1 with 4 side vent grilles 15 while interlocking with 1D
An example is a work of sequentially and sequentially inserting into the mounting holes 17 of 6 (see FIGS. 2 and 4).

In order for the robots 1A to 1D to actually perform work, the required work is performed in advance for each of the robots 1A to 1D.
D must be taught. That is, by operating the teaching board 11 in advance and teaching the actual assembling work by moving the robots 1A to 1D, the order, condition, position, and other information of the work are predetermined in the robot controllers 2A to 2D. In a memory (not shown). At this time, an interlock between the robots 1A to 1D and a sequence of operations between the robots 1A to 1D are also set. Work as a stage is done by each robot 1
A to 1D are performed by sequentially performing the respective operations while competing for the interlock according to the order of the operations. At that time, each of the robots 1A to 1D
Information such as the taught order, condition, position, etc. is read out as necessary, and axis motor control and brake control are performed, so that each stage of the operation is sequentially advanced according to the read out information. In this embodiment, as will be described later, even if an operation error occurs during the robot operation, the operation as the stage is not stopped by moving to the next operation.

When an operation switch (not shown) is turned on,
One robot 1 to be operated is selected according to a preset order of operations, and the robot controller 2 causes the robot 1 to grip the work (side vent grille) 15 by the playback operation, and the instrument panel 16 is operated. Is inserted into the mounting hole 17 (step S1).

Then, during the operation, the detection data (force sensor value) of the force sensor 3 is fetched into the sensor value monitor 5 via the force controller 4 (step S2).

The sensor value monitoring section 5 monitors the force sensor value detected in step S2. Specifically, the detected force sensor value is compared with the force sensor value during normal operation that is measured and stored in advance to determine whether or not the value is normal (step S3). The determination of normality is made by, for example, whether or not those errors are within an allowable range. This makes it possible to detect whether the side vent grill 15 has entered the mounting hole 17 of the instrument panel 16, that is, whether an operation error has occurred.

If the force sensor value detected as a result of the determination in step S3 is normal, it is determined that the force sensor has been inserted properly and no operation error has occurred, and the process proceeds to step S4. In step S4, the continuation possibility determination unit 9 in the robot controller 2 determines whether to continue the work. This judgment is made, for example, by checking whether or not the work end point has been reached based on the teaching data. If the work is to be continued as a result of this determination, the process returns to step S1, and if the work is not to be continued, a work completion signal is output (step S5).

When the work completion signal is output in step S5, the next robot 1 on standby is selected, and the continuability determination unit 9 in the robot controller 2 determines whether or not all work as a stage is to be completed. Judge (Step S
6) If it is not completed, the next robot 1 is started (step S7), and the processes of step S1 and thereafter are executed. The determination in step S6 is made based on, for example, whether a stage work end signal or an abnormal stop signal is input.

The above is the flow in a normal state in which no operation error occurs during the operation of the robot 1, but when an operation error occurs, the following series of processing is performed. That is, if the force sensor value detected as a result of the determination in step S3 is not normal but abnormal, the side vent grill 15 is attached to the mounting hole 1 of the instrument panel 16.
Therefore, it is judged that the robot 1 is not properly entered, and therefore an operation error has occurred, and the robot 1 is temporarily stopped (step S8).

Then, the image sensor 6 fetches the image data of the work 15 or the like into the work state judging section 8 through the processing of the visual controller 7 by the visual sensor 6 (step S9).

The work state judging section 8 compares the obtained image data with the data for normal operation which is measured and stored in advance, and judges whether or not the correcting operation is possible (step S10). This determination is made, for example, by observing the gripping posture of the work 15. When the gripping posture of the work 15 is touching to the left and right with respect to the insertion direction, the work cannot be physically inserted, and it is determined that the correction operation is impossible.

If correction is possible as a result of the determination in step S10, the shift amount of the work 15 is checked from the image data, the movement correction amount of the robot 1 for compensating the shift amount is calculated, and the robot controller 2 is sent. Output (step S11). The operation management unit 10 in the robot controller 2 reduces the moving speed and moves the robot 1 according to the correction amount obtained in step S11, and causes the robot 1 to perform the inserting operation again while slowly moving (step S).
12). Then, the process returns to step S2, and step S2
The following processing is repeated.

On the other hand, if the result of determination in step S10 is that correction is not possible, the insertion operation is abandoned, the robot 1 is returned to its original position, and the work 15 is returned to its original position (step S13). The alarm device 12 outputs an alarm indicating that the assembly work has failed (step S1).
4) Proceed to step S5 to output a work completion signal. As a result, when it is determined in step S6 that the entire work is not completed, the next operation of the robot 1 is started,
The work as a stage will be continued. In addition,
The work 15 that has failed to be assembled is, for example, manually assembled to the instrument panel 16 later as an additional work.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, the work completion signal is output even when an operation error (assembly failure) occurs in one robot 1 during work, so that the next robot operation is performed. It becomes possible to continue the work as a stage, and it becomes unnecessary to manually perform all the work after the occurrence of the operation error as in the conventional case. Therefore, it is possible to continue to enjoy the improvement in work efficiency due to automation.

Further, in this embodiment, the presence or absence of an operation error (the side vent grill 15 is installed in the instrument panel 1)
The force sensor value is used to judge whether or not the robot has entered the mounting hole 17 of No. 6 and if the robot 1 is stopped immediately, it receives a large force from each other and the work 1
The robot 1 can be stopped before 5 and 16 are crushed, and even if the assembly fails, the work is not crushed 15 and 16.

Further, in this embodiment, when an operation error occurs, the visual information is used to judge whether or not the correction operation of the robot 1 is possible, and if the correction operation is possible, the assembling work is tried again. Since this is done, it is possible to minimize manual labor.

In the present embodiment, a plurality of (four) side vent grilles 15 are inserted into the instrument panel 16 as a stage consisting of a plurality of robots that successively perform their respective work while competing for interlocks. Although a stage for performing work is taken as an example, it is needless to say that the application of the present invention is not limited to such work.

[0052]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the invention, when an error occurs in the operation of the operating robot, the robot is returned to its original position and a work completion signal for the operation is sent. Since the output is made, the next robot operation becomes possible and the work as the stage is continued.
Therefore, even if an operation error occurs, high work efficiency can be secured without stopping the equipment.

According to the second aspect of the invention, when an error occurs in the motion of the robot in motion, it is determined whether or not the corrective motion of the robot is possible based on the visual information, and it is determined that the corrective motion is impossible. At this time, since the robot is returned to the original position and the work completion signal of the work is output, the next robot operation becomes possible and the work as the stage is continued. Therefore, even if an uncorrectable operation error occurs, high work efficiency can be secured without stopping the equipment.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, whether or not an error has occurred in the robot operation is detected based on the force information of the robot. Therefore, when the error occurs in the robot operation, the robot Combined with returning to the position, the work will not be crushed even if the work fails.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, even if an operation error occurs in the robot, if the corrective operation is possible, the operation of the robot is corrected and the same work is tried again. Can be kept to a minimum.

According to the fifth aspect of the invention, when the operation error of the robot is detected, the robot is returned to the original position and the work completion signal of the work is output, so that the next operation of the robot is possible. And the work on the stage continues. Therefore, even if an operation error occurs, high work efficiency can be secured without stopping the equipment.

According to the sixth aspect of the invention, when the operation error of the robot is detected, it is determined whether or not the corrective operation of the robot is possible based on the visual information, and when it is determined that the corrective operation is impossible, the corrective operation is performed. Since the robot is returned to the original position and the work completion signal of the work is output, the next robot operation becomes possible and the work as the stage is continued. Therefore, even if an uncorrectable operation error occurs, high work efficiency can be secured without stopping the equipment.

According to the invention described in claim 7, it is detected whether or not an error occurs in the operation of the robot based on the force information of the robot. Therefore, when the error occurs in the operation of the robot, Combined with returning to the position, the work will not be crushed even if the work fails.

According to the eighth aspect of the present invention, even if an operation error occurs in the robot, if the correction operation is possible, the operation of the robot is corrected and the same work is tried again, so that the manual work is performed. Can be kept to a minimum.

According to the invention described in claim 9, when a motion error occurs in the robot, an alarm to that effect is output, so that the work requiring additional work can be known.

According to the tenth aspect of the invention, when an operation error occurs in the robot and it is determined that the correction operation of the robot is impossible, an alarm to that effect is output, so that a work requiring additional work is I can know.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of each robot control system constituting a multi-robot control system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing an arm portion of a robot.

3 is a flowchart showing the operation of the control system of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of a robot configuration 1 ... Robot 2 ... Robot controller (robot control means, output means, correction means) 3 ... Force sensor (motion error detection means) 4 ... Force sensor (motion error detection) 5) Sensor value monitoring unit (operation error detection unit) 6 ... Visual sensor (visual information detection unit) 7 ... Visual controller (visual information detection unit) 8 ... Work state determination unit (determination unit) 12 ... Alarm device (alarm) Means) 15, 16 ... Work

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Claims (10)

[Claims] 1. A method for controlling a plurality of robots, each of which sequentially performs each work while competing for an interlock, wherein a step of detecting whether or not an error occurs in the operation of the robot and an error in the operation of the robot. And a step of outputting the work completion signal of the work when the occurrence of the occurrence is detected and the robot is returned to the original position. 2. A method of controlling a plurality of robots, each of which sequentially performs respective work while competing for an interlock, the steps of detecting whether or not an error has occurred in the operation of the robot, and an error in the operation of the robot. When it is detected that the corrective action of the robot is possible based on the visual information, and when the corrective action of the robot is determined to be impossible, the robot is returned to the original position and A method of controlling a plurality of robots, comprising: outputting a work completion signal of work. 3. The multi-robot control method according to claim 1, wherein whether or not an error has occurred in the operation of the robot is detected based on the force information of the robot. 4. The multi-robot control method according to claim 2, further comprising the step of correcting the operation of the robot based on visual information when it is determined that the correction operation of the robot is possible. 5. A control system for a plurality of robots, each of which sequentially performs each work while competing for an interlock, the operation error detecting means detecting an error in the operation of the robot, and the operation error. Robot control means for returning the robot to its original position when the robot operation error is detected by the detection means, and a work completion signal for the operation when the robot operation error is detected by the operation error detection means A plurality of robot control systems, comprising: 6. A control system for a plurality of robots, each of which sequentially performs each work while competing for an interlock, wherein motion error detection means for detecting that an error has occurred in a motion of the robot, and visual information about the work. Visual information detection means for detecting information, and determination means for determining whether or not a corrective movement of the robot is possible based on the detection result of the visual information detection means when a movement error of the robot is detected by the movement error detection means. A robot control means for returning the robot to its original position when the determination means determines that the correction operation of the robot is impossible; and a task when the determination means determines that the correction operation of the robot is impossible. And a means for outputting a work completion signal of the multi-robot control system. M 7. The multi-robot control system according to claim 5, wherein the motion error detecting means detects that an error has occurred in the motion of the robot based on the force information of the robot. 8. A correction means for correcting the operation of the robot based on the detection result of the visual information detection means when the determination means determines that the correction operation of the robot is possible. Item 6. Multiple robots 9. The multi-robot control system according to claim 5, further comprising alarm means for outputting an alarm to that effect when the operation error detection means detects a robot operation error. 10. The multi-robot control system according to claim 6, further comprising an alarm unit that outputs an alarm to that effect when the determining unit determines that the correction operation of the robot is impossible.