JPH11207669A - Simulation method for assembling locus of parts - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily select an assembling path by selecting parts of near miss states and interference states and correcting the assembling path after a rough carrier path is prepared, parts are carried by a simulation based on this carrier path, near miss states and interference states are calculated and the result is displayed. SOLUTION: In a simulation of an assembling locus, a rough assembling locus is prepared by using an interference function of a graphic simulator at first (S1). Parts are automatically moved based on the prepared assembling locus (S7), the presence or absence of an interference is calculated and the result is listed and displayed (S8). If parts in which an interference occurs exist in this list, the parts are selected (S10). As a result, because the state of the list returns to an interference state (S11), a locus is corrected by a manual operation so as not to generate an interference (S12, S13). Thus, the assembling locus can be efficiently prepared because the defect of an automatic calculation is made up by the manual operation, making the most of the merit of the automatic calculation.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of simulating the arrangement of parts which makes it possible to relatively easily create, for example, an assembly trajectory (transport trajectory) of vehicle parts.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, it is common practice to assemble a vehicle using a robot. When assembling a vehicle, components must be attached to the vehicle body. However, if a robot attempts to assemble the components, there is a problem in selecting a component transport route to avoid interference. That is,
When the robot mounts the parts on the vehicle body, the parts should not interfere with the vehicle body, and the parts should not interfere with other production machines. It is necessary to select a transport route). Conventionally, this work has been performed by the following method.

<When using CAD> First, an image of the situation around the robot is developed on CAD based on data around the work area of the robot (data related to obstacles and the like existing around the robot), and data of parts is also displayed. The image of the state where the robot is gripping the part based on the
Expand on D. In this state, move the robot little by little in any direction and visually check the clearance between the parts held by the robot and the surrounding obstacles (interfering objects). If the clearance seems to be small, perform the manual operation. While confirming the distance (including checking the cross-sectional shape of the mounting object), the transport path of the component that does not cause interference is selected.

<Case of Using Graphic Simulator> First, similarly to CAD, an image of a situation around the robot and an image of a state in which the robot is holding the part are developed. Since a general graphic simulator is provided with an automatic near-miss check function and an interference check function, if a part held by the robot is near-missed by a nearby obstacle, the part is displayed in yellow, while When the interference occurs, the part is displayed in red. Therefore, by using these functions and moving the parts by a robot by manual operation so as not to cause interference, a part transfer path that does not cause interference or near-miss is selected. If the graphic simulator is provided with an automatic operation function for automatically calculating an assembling locus, the computer searches for an assembling locus that does not cause interference or near-miss according to a predetermined logic.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION As described above, CAD
In the case of CAD, conventional methods of selecting a transfer route using graphic simulation require that all humans perform the interference check in the case of CAD, not only in terms of reliability, but also in cases where measurement is necessary. Since entering and exiting the mode, selection of the transport route requires a very large number of man-hours.

In the case of a graphic simulator, a near-miss value is set for each component in order to cause a near-miss display (generally, a near-miss value can only be set uniformly).
If the near-miss value is not appropriate, it is necessary to confirm again the number of times the setting has been made again.To correct the transport position after interference once, use the automatic near-miss confirmation function or Since it is necessary to escape from the interference check function (a function for displaying a component in yellow when a near miss occurs and displaying a component in red when an interference occurs), complicated operations for entering and exiting these functions are required. .

Further, even when the automatic operation function is used,
Since the calculation of the transport route is enormous, it takes not only a much longer calculation time, which is three times that of a manual operation, but also an error is issued if the transport route is not found. Will end. No matter which method is used, a large number of man-hours and time are required for selecting a component assembling route.

The present invention is provided to solve such a conventional problem as much as possible, and a component placement simulation method capable of relatively easily selecting a component mounting path. The purpose is to provide.

[0009]

The present invention for achieving the above object is constituted as follows. According to the first aspect of the present invention, a component assembling route is created while displaying the peripheral status of the component transport route and moving the component within the display so as not to interfere with an interference object existing in the transport route. A method for simulating a trajectory of assembling parts used for performing a first step of creating a rough transport path;
Based on the rough transportation path thus created, the component is transported by simulation, a near-miss state between the component and the interference object, a second stage of calculating the interference state, and at any point on the rough transportation path A component having a third step of displaying a near-miss state and an interference state, and a fourth step of selecting a part in a near-miss state and an interference state and correcting an assembling route of the part. This is a simulation method of an assembly locus.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the first step is a step of setting a near miss value for each part, and the step of interfering with the part during creation of a part assembling path. And displaying a near miss when the distance to the object is smaller than a near miss value set for the part.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the second step further includes a step of designating a section for calculating a near miss state and an interference state for an arbitrary section. A simulation method of an assembly locus characterized by the following.

[0012]

The invention constructed as described above has the following effects for each claim. According to the first aspect of the present invention, based on the first step of creating a rough transport path and the created rough transport path, the part is transported by simulation, and a near mistake between the part and the interference object is made. A second stage for calculating the state and the interference state, a third stage for displaying the near-miss state and the interference state at an arbitrary point on the rough transport path, and selecting the near-miss and interference parts. And the fourth stage of correcting the assembling path of the part, so that a rough assembling trajectory may be created first, and a near-miss or interfering portion may be changed later, so that the complete trajectory may be changed later. It is not necessary to create a simple trajectory, and an assembly trajectory can be created efficiently (in a short time and with a small number of man-hours).

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in the first step, a near miss value is set for each part, and the distance between the part and the interfering object is set to the part during creation of the assembly path of the part. When the value becomes smaller than the set near miss value, a step of displaying that a near miss has occurred is included. Therefore, although it is a rough trajectory, it is possible to create an assembly trajectory with a high degree of perfection from the beginning.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the second step includes a step of designating a section for calculating the near miss state and the interference state for an arbitrary section, so that the time required for the interference check is reduced. Thus, the assembling trajectory can be created more efficiently.

[0015]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an apparatus for performing the method of the present invention. The graphic simulator 25 includes a keyboard 1, a mouse 3, a display device 45, and a storage device 35. The keyboard 1 and the mouse 3 give various instructions to the graphic simulator 25.
An image display device such as a T display or a liquid crystal display, and the storage device 35 is a portion that stores the method of the present invention as a program.

As will be described in detail later, the graphic simulator 25 has three typical functions: an assembly trajectory creation function, an assembly trajectory creation support function, and an interference confirmation function. Although the interference confirmation function is not shown, a near miss value setting function for each component that sets a near miss value for each component,
It has two functions, a real-time numerical display function of the interference / near-miss situation which can numerically display the situation of the interference and the near-miss in real time.

Therefore, the operator operates the keyboard 1
While using the mouse and the mouse 3 to move the parts held by the robot by the simulation operation, an optimal assembling path that does not interfere with other production equipment or a work (eg, a vehicle body) to be assembled is determined. It can be easily created in a relatively short time. What assists in the creation are an assembly trajectory creation support function and an interference confirmation function.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a specific configuration of an apparatus for carrying out the method of the present invention, and more specifically describes the apparatus of FIG. In the input processing unit 10 of the graphic simulator 25, according to the input from the keyboard 1 and the mouse 3, the setting of the parts to be paired (part pair setting), the setting of the near miss value for each paired part (the near miss value for each pair) ), Settings for executing the interference / near-miss mode (interference / near-miss active), mouse dragging (mouse dragging) that determines the position and orientation of the part, and settings for reproducing the selected (created) assembly trajectory (trajectory ( Various settings such as (path) definition), setting (selection from the graphics display) for moving and enlarging / reducing the screen displayed on the graphics display are performed.

The arithmetic unit 20 has a component shape database in which shape data for each component is stored. The data of the component pair set by operating the keyboard is taken out from this database, and the component pair data determined by mouse dragging is taken out. An interference / near-miss calculation between the component and another obstacle is performed based on the component position and orientation and the set near-miss value for each pair. When the setting of the trajectory (path) is completed, the moving and enlarging (zooming in) of the figure are performed in accordance with the calculation function for continuously moving the part based on the created assembling trajectory to perform the motion simulation and the selection from the graphic display. ) It also has a function of performing graphics processing for reducing (zooming out).

The output processing unit 30 stores the information of the set component pair as component pair information, stores the near miss value set for each paired component as near miss value information for each pair, and stores the interference / near miss The fact that the mode has been designated is stored as interference / near miss active information. That is, the storage device 35 is provided in the output processing unit 30,
These pieces of information are stored in the storage device 35. The interference / near-miss calculation is performed by the calculation unit 20,
The calculation result is used by the output unit 30 to calculate the presence / absence of interference / distance between paired parts.
To be displayed. The graphics display 50 is for processing and displaying graphic information such as parts displayed on the display 40.

The schematic configuration of the graphic simulator for carrying out the method of the present invention is as described above. Hereinafter, a set of parts of the present invention will be described based on the flowchart of FIG. 3 (assembly trajectory creation support function of FIG. 1). A method of simulating an attached locus will be described in detail.

First, an approximate assembling trajectory is created using the interference confirmation function (interference confirmation mode) of the graphic simulator. The assembling trajectory is created roughly as follows.

The user operates the mouse 3 or the keyboard 1 to select a component displayed on the display 40 and prepare to move the component. When this operation is started, a window is generated on a part of the screen of the display, and an interference / near-miss display window is displayed there. And
Be able to recognize the occurrence of interference and near miss. The operator creates an assembly trajectory of the component moved by operating the mouse 3 or the keyboard 1 while watching the display of the interference / near miss.

In the graphic simulator 25, the presence / absence of interference and the distance between the paired components calculated by the output unit 30 are displayed in the interference / near-miss display window. Such a function makes it possible to reduce the time required for the motion simulation. The operator moves the part while watching such a display, stores the coordinates of the trajectory as needed while selecting a path that does not cause near miss or interference, and creates an assembling trajectory of the part. Also, a rough assembly trajectory may be automatically created using a conventional automatic operation function. However, in this case, it is not necessary to create a trajectory capable of completely avoiding interference unlike the related art, and a trajectory that causes near miss or some interference may be used. This is because a suitable assembling trajectory can be created again by a later operation.

When a rough assembling trajectory is created in this way (S1), a pair of parts to be checked for interference is designated, and an interference check mode is entered. This designation is performed by operating the keyboard 1 as described above. The part pair is a work to be assembled and a part (including an obstacle) to be attached to the work (S2).

Next, a near miss value is set for each part pair. When the near miss value can be set for each component pair in this manner, it is possible to select an appropriate assembly path for each component. For example, for a certain component, the near-miss value may be set only to 10 mm, but if a near-miss value of 30 mm is set uniformly as in the related art, the degree of freedom in selecting an assembly path is reduced. However, if the optimum near miss value can be set according to the features such as the component shape, the degree of freedom in selecting the assembly path is increased (S3).

When the setting is completed, it is examined whether there is a section likely to cause interference in the trajectory created as described above (S4). If there is a section likely to cause interference, the section is designated ( S5) If there is no section likely to cause interference, the section from the start point to the end point of the created assembly trajectory is automatically set (S6).

Then, the component is automatically moved based on the created assembly locus (S7). The part is moved from the start point to the end point of the assembling trajectory to calculate the presence or absence of interference in the specified section, and the result is displayed in a list. In other words, when a section that is likely to interfere is specified, the result list of that section is displayed, and when the section from the start point to the end point of the created assembly trajectory is automatically set, Display the result list. This display is displayed on the display 40.
A window is formed on a part of the screen and displayed in the window. An example of this display is as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 (S8).

It is determined whether or not any of the displayed lists indicates collision or interference.
If there is no interfering part, the process is terminated because the created assembly trajectory may be left as it is.

On the other hand, if there is any interference, it is selected. For example, in the example of FIG. 4, when the parts P1 and P2 are 4.66 seconds in time from the start point of the created assembling trajectory, and the distance is 2 points from the start point.
Since it is known that interference occurs at the time of moving by 21 mm, this row is selected (S10).

When this line is selected, the state of both parts at the time when 4.66 seconds elapse from the start point of the created assembling trajectory and 221 mm from the start point as the distance is displayed on the display 40. (S11). The operator looks at this state, searches for a position and a posture of a part suitable for avoiding the interference state, and changes the position and the posture (S12). By replacing the changed position and posture with the position and posture of the interfering component, the mounting locus is corrected (S13). If there is any other interference, the same processing as in steps S10 to S13 is performed to correct the position and orientation of the component. For example, in the example of FIG. 4, the parts P1, P2, 7.56 that are 5.46 seconds in time.
Parts P1 and P3 after seconds, Parts P1 and P3 after 8.34 seconds
Is performed. Further, in the example of FIG. 5, the positions and postures of the lamp and the battery at 3.50 seconds and 6.76 seconds, the positions and postures of the hand and the bumper after 5.55 seconds and 7.43 seconds, and a period of 0. The position and orientation of the hand and the radiator after 89 seconds and 2.56 seconds are corrected so as not to interfere.

As described above, in the present invention, a rough assembling trajectory is first created using the interference confirmation function of the graphic simulator, and the state of near-miss or interference between the start point and the end point of the created assembling trajectory is determined. The operation is performed, the result is displayed as a list (it usually takes about 3 minutes from this operation to the display of the list), and an arbitrary line (a line where near miss or interference occurs) in the list is selected. . By this selection, the state returns to the state of the list (a state in which parts interfere with each other), and the operator corrects the trajectory by manual operation so that this part does not cause near miss or interference. In this order, the assembly locus of parts is created.

Therefore, while taking advantage of the automatic calculation,
The drawback of the automatic calculation can be compensated for by the manual operation, and as a result, the assembling trajectory can be created efficiently (in a short time and with a reduced number of man-hours).

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an apparatus for performing a method of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a specific configuration of an apparatus for performing the method of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed on the display of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating the method of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10: input unit, 20: arithmetic unit, 25: graphic simulator, 30: output processing unit, 40: display.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A peripheral state of a transport path of a component is displayed, and is used to create an assembly path of the component while moving the component within the display so as not to interfere with an interference object existing in the transport path. A method of simulating a component assembling trajectory, comprising: a first step of creating a rough transport path; and transporting the part by simulation based on the created rough transport path. A second stage for calculating the near-miss state and the interference state; a third stage for displaying the near-miss state and the interference state at an arbitrary point on the rough transport path; and selecting the parts in the near-miss state and the interference state. hand,
And a fourth step of correcting the assembly path of the component. 2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: setting a near-miss value for each component; and determining that a distance between the component and the interfering object is smaller than a near-miss value set for the component during creation of a component assembly path. Displaying a near-miss state. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of displaying a near miss. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the second step further comprises a step of designating a section for calculating the near miss state and the interference state for an arbitrary section. .