JPS59115146A - Work judgement and control device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent interruption of service in an unmanned operation by skipping any work to be processed, if the dimensions of a work on pallet can not be found in the memory of a handling robot, in which all dimensions of works to be processed here are stored. CONSTITUTION:When a work 32 on a pallet 9a comes up to the handling position, a measuring device 10 measures the length LH and diameter D of the work 32. The measurements are compared with data LHW, DW of work dimensions in two or more working programs PRO, and it shall be scanned whether there is a corresponding working program. If existing, the work is carried into the machine tool to undergo an intended processes, and if not existing, the symbol [X] is indicated at the flag FLG in the memory for the corresponding pallet number PANO. This pallet will thereafter be skipped in the measuring and handing processes.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (a) Technical Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a workpiece determination control method suitable for use when loading and unloading sorters from a plurality of pallets to and from a machine tool using a /% handling robot.

(b) Background of the technology Recently, handling robots have been used to transport unprocessed workpieces placed on multiple pallets to machine tools, perform rolling on the specified machine, and then transfer the processed workpieces back to the robot. Proposals have been made to use this method to return to l<let, and to process a large number of workpieces continuously without any manual intervention. .

If such a method is used, the operator may mistakenly prepare operation programs for machining and loading/unloading that are not used for the machine in question during the setup stage when setting unprocessed workpieces on the pallet. No raw workpiece (
Hereinafter referred to as "non-conforming work". ) is placed, the problem is how to deal with it.

That is, when continuous manual processing is performed using a handling robot, the robot is unmanned during processing. Therefore,
When a non-conforming workpiece is detected, if a control is performed to stop the subsequent loading/unloading operation of the Roht machine tool, the machine tool will be able to complete all machining operations, i.e.
Even if the worker returns to the machine tool after a certain period of time after setting the unprocessed workpieces on the pallet, there are many There is a risk that many unprocessed workpieces will remain, which may cause major problems in subsequent machining processes.1 In particular, if the same machine tool is used to process different types of unprocessed workpieces, each of them has different contents. When an operator attempts to make a workpiece with a different shape, it is extremely difficult for the operator to determine which of the unprocessed workpieces having various shapes is a non-conforming workpiece during the setup stage.

(C) Invention 1 In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present invention is to provide a workpiece determination control method that does not stop the operation of a handling robot midway even if a nonconforming workpiece exists. It is something.

(d) Configuration of the Invention In other words, the present invention stores the dimensions of the unprocessed workpiece targeted by the operation program in a memory, and also provides a workpiece measuring device, and uses the workpiece measuring device to measure the unprocessed workpiece on the pallet. Measure the dimensions of the workpiece, compare the measured dimensions with the dimensions in the memory, and if there are no dimensions in the memory that match the measured dimensions, the unprocessed workpiece on the pallet is treated as a nonconforming workpiece. From then on, the handling robot is controlled and configured in a manner that ignores it.

(e) Examples of the invention Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a handling robot to which the present invention is installed on a numerically controlled lathe, FIG. 2 is a front view of the conveyor unit of the handling robot shown in FIG. 1, and FIG. 2 is a control block diagram of the handling robot shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, in the handling robot 1, a main body 3, which constitutes a handling means together with a main arm 5, a sub-arm 6, and a hand 7, which will be described later, is attached to the front of a numerically controlled lathe 2, which is a machine tool, in the direction of arrows A and B. The main arm 5 is provided on the main body 3 so as to be rotatable in the directions of arrows E and F and extendable and retractable in the directions of arrows C and D. The main arm 5 is provided with a sub-arm so as to be rotatable in the directions of arrows G and H, and the sub-arm 6 is provided with a hand 7 which is detachable and replaceable.

On the other hand, a conveyor unit 9 constituting the handling robot 1 is installed on the left side of the main body 3 in FIG. 1, and the conveyor unit 9 has a main body 9b movably supported by wheels 9C. On the main body 9b, as shown in FIG.
It is provided movably in the J direction, and each pallet 9a is given a unique pallet number PANO to distinguish between the pallets. Further, a workpiece measuring device 10 is provided at the robot gripping position X of the conveyor unit 9, and the measuring device 10 has contacts 11 and 12, as shown in FIG. The contactor 11 is provided movably in the directions of arrows M and N, and the contactor 12 is provided so as to be movable in the directions of arrows P and Q.
It is movable in the direction. In addition, contactor 11.
Rack 13.15 is formed in 12, and rack 1
At 3°15 is the shaft 16a of the variable resistor 16.17.

Binion gear 16b is attached to the tip of gear 17a.

17b are engaged. Variable resistor 16.17 has A/
D converters 19 and 20 are connected, and A/D converter 19
A workpiece length calculation circuit 21 is connected to the converter 20, and a workpiece diameter calculation circuit 22 is connected to the converter 20. A workpiece determination section 23 is connected to the workpiece length calculation circuit 21 and the workpiece diameter calculation circuit 22. A main control section 26 is connected to the workpiece determination section 23 via a bus line 25, and a program memory 27, a work pallet memory 29, a conveyor control section 30, A hand control unit 31, a keyboard 33, etc. are connected.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, the numerically controlled lathe 2 is provided with a rotatable chuck 2a attached to the main shaft, and an air cylinder 2e provided above the machine body 2d with a door 2b. It is provided so that it can be opened and closed freely in the L direction, as indicated by the arrow.

Since the handling robot 1 and the like have the above-described configuration, when carrying the workpiece 32 into and out of the numerically controlled lathe 2, first the ball l-
, 9a, there is a whole cylindrical unprocessed workpiece 32 to be processed.
are placed as shown in FIG. Next, keyboard 3
3, the main controller 26 is instructed to start carrying the workpiece 32 into the lathe 2. Then, the main control section 26 drives the conveyor control section 30 to perform a positioning operation of sequentially moving and positioning the pallet 9a to the robot gripping position X.

In this way, the workpiece 32 to be processed first is placed on the bar)
9a is positioned at the gripping position
2 and protrudes until it comes into contact with an abutting guide 14 provided on the opposite side of the contact 12. When the abutting guide 14 prevents further protrusion in the Q direction, the contact 11 starts descending in the N direction, comes into contact with the upper surface 32b of the workpiece 32, and stops. When the contacts 11.12 move in the N and Q directions, the shafts 16a and 17a of the variable resistors 16.17 move through the racks 13 and 15 and the pinion gears 16b and 17b to correspond to the amount of movement of each contact 11.12. The output voltage VOLj'rz of resistor 16.17, Votr
rt changes accordingly. That is, resistors 16.17
The output voltage VOUT2, VOUTI li, the distance Li2 between the abutment guide 14 of the workpiece 32 and the contact tip 128, therefore, here the diameter D% of the workpiece 32 and the distance L2 between the workpiece mounting surface 9d of the pallet 9a and the contact tip 11a. , therefore, here it changes in a manner corresponding to the length LH of the workpiece 32.

Output voltage VOUT2 + Vout is converted into a digital value by the A/D converter 19 and 20 and output to the workpiece length calculation circuit 21 and workpiece diameter calculation circuit 22, and the circuits 21 and 22 convert it into a digital value. Output voltage VO
Distances Ll and L2 corresponding to the voltage values are calculated and determined from UTI and VOUT2, and output to the workpiece determination section 23. The workpiece determination unit 23 determines the input distances Ll, L2,
That is, the program memory 27 is searched based on the diameter and length LH of the workpiece 32.

The handling robot 1 is stored in the program memory 27.
All operation programs PR,0 executed by the lathe 2 are stored with program numbers PNO assigned for each type of workpiece, and each operation program PR,0 includes:
The length LHW, diameter DW, etc. of the unprocessed workpiece 32 to be processed by the program PRO are stored. Therefore, the workpiece determination unit 23 determines the length LHW and diameter DW in each program P, and the workpiece measuring device lO.
Unprocessed workpiece 32 on ballen) 9a measured by
The length LH and diameter of the program are compared, and if a program with matching values exists in the memory 27, the program number PNO of the program P0 is notified to the main control unit 26.

In response to this, the main control unit 26 receives the program number PN.
The program PRO corresponding to O is read from the memory 27, and based on the program PRO, the hand control unit 31 is instructed to execute the operation of carrying the workpiece 32 into and out of the lathe 2, and the measurement data in the workpiece pallet memory 29 is The flag FLG indicating machining (indicated as rMJ in the figure) is set to the address corresponding to the pallet number PANO of the pallet 9a on which the unprocessed workpiece 32 is mounted, and the flag FLG indicating unprocessed (indicated as rUJ in the figure) ), put up in a rewritten form.

The workpiece 32 is carried into the lathe 2 as shown in FIG.
The main body 3 of the handling robot 1 is rotated in the A direction to position the hand 7 to the gripping position X, and the main arm 5
is moved in the C direction, the hand 7 grasps the workpiece 32 measured by the workpiece measuring device 10 on the baren) 9a, and the arm 5 is returned to the D direction, and the main body 3
Rotate in direction B. In addition, when operating hand 7,
Since the guide 14 and the contacts 11, 12 of the workpiece measuring device 10 and the abutment are retracted to a position where they do not interfere with the hand 7, the hand 7 can smoothly grasp the unprocessed workpiece on the barrel 9a. .

When the main body 3 rotates in the B direction, the main arm 5 is rotated in the E direction, and the hand 7 and the workpiece 32 enter the inside of the lathe through the door 2b which is opened by the cylinder 2e. The chucks 2a are faced to each other. In this state, move the main arm 5 in the C direction,
The workpiece 32 held by the hand 7 is held on the chuck 2a for one pause. When the chuck 2a holds the workpiece 32, the main arm 5 moves in the direction D and rotates in the direction F, thereby retracting the knife 7 from the body of the lathe 2. Then, the air cylinder 24 is driven to close the door 2b, and a predetermined machining operation is performed on the workpiece 32 held by the chuck 2a.

When the machining is completed, the door 2b opens, the main arm 5 rotates in the E direction, and the sub arm 6 rotates 18 in the C direction.
00 rotations, and the main arm 5 further moves in the C direction.

At this time, the machine 7 grips the workpiece 32 that has been processed on the opposite side to the side opposite to the one used when the workpiece is being carried in, and places the machined workpiece 32 on the workpiece 32 before carrying it in, in the reverse procedure from when the workpiece is carried in.
・Return it to the top of the baren) 9a on which it was installed. Work 32
When the workpiece is returned to the pallet 9a, the machining end signal FS is output from the workpiece control unit 31 to the main control unit 26, and in response to this, the main control unit 26 outputs the machining completion signal FS in the workpiece pallet memory 29. The flag FLG at the address corresponding to the pallet number PANO of the pallet 9a on which the processed work 32 is mounted is rewritten from the display of rMJ in progress to the display of "F" indicating completion of processing.

By the way, the length LH of the unprocessed workpiece 32 measured by the workpiece measuring device 10 and the length LH that matches the diameter
If the program PRO in which W and diameter DW are stored does not exist in the program memory 27, the work determination unit 23 selects the work 32 on the pallet 9ah from the corresponding 7
'l=It is determined that the non-conforming work does not exist with Durham PRO, and a non-conforming determination signal JS is output to the main control unit 26. Then, the main control unit 26 immediately stores the pallet number P of the pallet 9a on which the nonconforming workpiece is mounted in the pallet memory 29.
An "X" indicating non-conforming work is set at the address corresponding to ANO as flag FLG.

When rXJ, which is the flag FLG indicating a nonconforming work, is set, the main control unit 26 thereafter controls the no-end control unit 31 and the conveyor control in a manner that ignores the pallet 9a corresponding to the pallet number PANO where the flag FLG is set. 30, the non-conforming workpiece on the pallet 9a is sent as it is in the direction of ■ or J without being carried into the lathe 2 by the no. Measurement of the unprocessed workpiece 32 is started. Flag F of pallet 9a on which non-conforming workpieces are loaded
L G r Even if it passes through position X, it is never positioned at position X, and therefore no measurement is performed by the work measuring device IO.

In addition, in the above-mentioned embodiment, a case has been described in which dimensions such as the length LHW and the diameter DW of the unprocessed workpiece targeted by the operation program PRO are stored in the operation program PRO. As long as the dimensions correspond to the operating program PRO, they do not necessarily need to be stored in the operating program P90, and may of course be stored separately (therefore, in a separate memory). be.

(0) According to the present invention, the dimensions such as the diameter DW, length LHW, etc. of the raw workpiece 32 targeted by the operation program PRO are stored in the memory such as the program memory 27. barre measured by the work measuring device 10)
Compare the dimensions such as the diameter D1 and length LH of the unprocessed workpiece 32 on the pallet 9a with each dimension in the memory, and if there is no dimension in the memory that matches the measured dimension, the unprocessed workpiece 32 on the pallet 9a Since the handling robot 1 is controlled in such a manner that the processing workpiece 32 is ignored from now on as a nonconforming workpiece, the operator may mistakenly place the nonconforming workpiece on the pallet 9.
Even if the non-conforming workpiece is placed on top a, the non-conforming workpiece will be ignored, and the handling robot 1 will carry it in and out of the numerically controlled lathe 2, etc., so that the processing operation will not be interrupted and the non-conforming workpiece will be removed. This continues until the end, greatly improving the reliability of unmanned work.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a no-ndling robot to which the present invention is applied when installed on a numerically controlled lathe, and Fig. 2 is a front view of the conveyor unit of the no-ndling robot shown in Fig. 1; FIG. 3 is a control block diagram of the handling robot shown in FIG. 1. 1... Handling robot 2...
...Machine tool (numerically controlled lathe) 3...
・・・・Handling means (main body) 5・・・・・・・・・
No-ndling means (main arm) 6...
・・Handling means (sub arm) 7・・・・・・・
...No-ndling means ()-nd) 9a...
Pallet 10... Work measuring device 27... Memory (program memory) 32...
...Workpiece DW, LHW, D, LH...Dimension P
RO... Operating program patent applicant Yamazaki Iron Works Co., Ltd. Agent Patent attorney Shinji Aida (and one other person)

Claims (1)

[Claims] In a non-handling robot having a program memory storing a plurality of operation programs, a plurality of pallets on which workpieces can be mounted, and a handling means for loading and unloading the workpieces on the pallets into and out of a machine tool, the In addition to storing the dimensions of the unprocessed workpiece targeted by the operation program, a workpiece measurement device is installed.
The dimensions of the unprocessed workpiece on the pallet are measured by the workpiece measuring device, the measured dimensions are compared with the dimensions in the memory, and if there is no dimension in the memory that matches the measured dimension, the corresponding A workpiece determination control method in which a handling robot is configured to treat unprocessed workpieces on a pallet as nonconforming workpieces and then ignore them.