JPS59124540A - Method of processing by robot - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make a robot completely unmanned, by using a plural-workpiece identification means to obtain identification data on a workpiece delivered by a feed means, and by comparing the identification data with workpiece discrimination data to read out an operation program corresponding to the workpiece. CONSTITUTION:A workpiece measuring unit 10 is provided as a workpiece identification means in the robot holding position of a workpiece feed means including many pallets 9a endlessly coupled to one another. The length and diameter of a workpiece 32 are calculated by circuits 21, 22 from the displacements of the contact members 11, 12 of the workpiece measuring unit 10, which are caused until the contact members have come into contact with the workpiece. A workpiece discriminator 23 makes a search in a program memory 27 on the basis of the outputs of the circuits 21, 22 and compares the identification data IDT of operation programs in the memory with discrimination data on the length and diameter of the workpiece 32 to find out the program for the workpiece. A main control section 26 regulates a hand control section 31 in accordance with the found-out operation program to control the conveyance of the workpiece 32 into and out of a lathe or the like.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention (a) Technical Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a processing method using a robot, which is suitable for use when a workpiece is carried into a machine tool, processed, and carried out by a robot. .

(b) Background of the technology Recently, robots have been used to transport unprocessed workpieces to machine tools, perform predetermined processing, and then remove the processed workpieces from the machine tools, making it possible to perform a wide variety of applications without any human intervention. Proposals have been made to continuously process various workpieces.

In such cases, what about conveyor units, etc.? The problem is how to select an operation program corresponding to each workpiece from among the various workpieces supplied by the various supply means, and it has been desired to develop a processing method that allows such selection.

(C) Purpose of the Invention In view of the above circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to provide a processing method using a robot that can discriminate between various workpieces supplied by a supply means and execute an operation program corresponding to the discriminated workpieces. The purpose is to

(d) Structure of the Invention In other words, the present invention provides a memory storing a plurality of operation programs corresponding to various types of workpieces and workpiece identification data corresponding to each operation program, and also includes a workpiece identification means. The identification means obtains discrimination data of the workpiece supplied by the supply means, compares the discrimination data with the identification data, and reads out and executes an operation program corresponding to the identification data that matches the discrimination data from the memory. It consists of

(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 robot in which the present invention is properly angled and installed on a numerically controlled lathe, Fig. 2 is a front view of the conveyor unit of the robot shown in Fig. 11, and Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the robot shown in Fig. 1. FIG. 2 is a control block diagram of the robot.

As shown in FIG. 1, the robot 1 has 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, on the front side of a numerically controlled lathe 2, which is a machine tool, as indicated by arrow A.

It is rotatable within a range of approximately 90° in the B direction,
A 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. A sub-arm 6 is provided on the main arm 5 so as to be rotatable in the directions of arrows G and H, and a hand 7 is provided on the sub-arm 6 so as to be detachable and replaceable.

On the other hand, on the left side of the main body 3 in FIG. are doing. As shown in FIG. 2, on the main body 91), a large number of pants) 9a connected in an endless manner are provided so as to be movable in the directions of arrows I and J. A unique pallet number PANO is attached to distinguish between the two. Also,
A workpiece measuring device 10, which is a workpiece identifying means, is provided at the robot gripping position X of the conveyor unit 9, and the measuring device 10, as shown in FIG.
have. The contactor 11 is provided so as to be movable in the directions of arrows M and N, and the contactor 12 is provided so as to be freely movable in the directions of arrows P and Q.

Further, a rack 13.15 is formed on the contactor 11.12, and a variable resistor 16.1 is formed on the rack 13.15.
Pinion gears 16b and 17b attached to the tips of shafts 16a and 17a of No. 7 are engaged with each other. Variable resistor 16.
A/D converter 19.20 is connected to 17, and A/D converter 19.20 is connected to
A workpiece length calculation circuit 21 is connected to the D converter 19, and a workpiece diameter calculation circuit 22 is connected to the converter 20. The workpiece length calculation circuit 21 and the workpiece diameter calculation circuit 22 include a workpiece determination section 2.
3 is connected. A main control section 26 is connected to the workpiece determination section 23 via a bus line 25, and to the main control section 26, a program memory 27, a work pallet memory 29, a lathe control section 40, A conveyor control section 30, a hand control section 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 robot 1 etc. has the above-mentioned configuration, when carrying the workpiece 32 into and out of the numerically controlled lathe 2, first the entire cylindrical shape to be machined is placed on the pant) 9a of the conveyor unit 9. Unprocessed workpieces 32 are placed randomly as shown in FIG. Next, the controller 26 instructs the main controller 26 via the keyboard 33 to start carrying the workpiece 32 into the lathe 2 . Then, the main control section 26 drives the conveyor control section 30 and performs a positioning operation to sequentially move and position the pants 9a to the robot grip position X.

In this way, the workpiece 32 to be processed first is placed on the pants)
9a is positioned at the gripping position
2 and protrudes until it abuts against the abutment guide 14 provided on the opposite side of the contact 12. When the guide 14 prevents further protrusion in the C direction at the abutment, 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 C directions, the shafts 16a and 17a of the variable resistors 16 and 17 move to each contact 1 via the racks 13 and 15 and the pinion gears 16b and 17b.
1.12, and the output voltages VOUT2 and V0UTI of the resistors 16.17 also change accordingly. That is, the output voltages VOUT2 and VOUTI of the resistors 16 and 17 are the distance L1 between the abutment guide 14 of the workpiece 32 and the contact tip 12a, and therefore the diameter Ds of the workpiece 32 and the workpiece mounting surface 9d of the pant) 9a. The distance L2 between the contact tip 11a and the length LH of the workpiece 32 changes here.

Output voltage VOUT2 and VOUTI are A/D converter 1
At 9°20, it is converted into a digital value and output to the workpiece length calculation circuit 21 and workpiece diameter calculation circuit 22.
．． 22 is the output voltage VOUT2 converted into a digital value
, distance L corresponding to the voltage value from votyrl
2. Calculate and determine Ll (7, output to the workpiece determining unit 23. The workpiece determining unit 23 calculates the input distances LL and L2, that is, the diameter and length LH as discrimination data of the workpiece 32.
The program memory 27 is searched based on.

In the program memory 27, robots 1 and C) [board 2
All operation programs PRO executed by the machine are stored in the form of a program number 1) NO for each type of workpiece, and each operation program PR,0 contains the program PR,O for machining. Target raw workpiece 32
Length LHW.

Identification data I'DT such as diameter DW is set and stored. Therefore, the workpiece identification section 23 uses identification data IDT such as the length LHW and diameter DW in each program memory, and the length LH and diameter of the unprocessed workpiece 32 on the pants) 9a measured by the workpiece measuring device 10. If there is a program in the memory 27 that matches the discrimination data, the program PRO
The main control unit 26 is notified of the program number PNO.

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 robot 1 is rotated in the direction A, the hand 7 is positioned at the gripping position is grasped by the hand 7, and the arm 5 is further returned to the D direction, and the main body 3 is rotated to the B direction. Note that when the hand 7 is in operation, the contacts 11 and 12 of the workpiece measuring device 10 and the abutting guide 14 are
Since the hand 7 is retracted to a position where it does not interfere with the hand 7, the hand 7 can smoothly grip the unprocessed workpiece 32 on the panties 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, the main arm 5 is moved in the C direction to hold the workpiece 26 held by the hand 7 on the chuck 2a. When the chuck 2a holds the workpiece 26, the main arm 5 moves in the D direction and rotates in the F direction, thereby retracting the hand 7 from the body of the lathe 2. Then, the air cylinder 2e is driven to close the door 2b in the opposite direction, and the main controller 26, via the lathe controller 40, performs machining work on the workpiece 26 held by the chuck 2a based on the operation program PRO. Let's do it.

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.
After rotating by 0°, the main arm 5 further moves in the C direction.

At this time, the hand 7 grasps the processed workpiece 32 on the side opposite to when the workpiece was carried in, and moves the processed workpiece 32 in the reverse procedure from the time of carrying it in. Return it to the pallet 9a where it was placed. When the workpiece 32 is returned onto the pallet 9a, a machining end signal FS is output from the hand control section 31 to the main control section 26, and in response to this, the main control section 26 registers the machining end signal in the workpiece pallet memory 29. pallet 9a on which the workpiece 32 is loaded
Flag F of the address corresponding to the pallet number PANO
The LG is rewritten from the rMJ display being processed to the rFJ display indicating completion of processing.

By the way, the program P stores the identification data IDT that matches the discrimination data such as the length LH and diameter of the unprocessed workpiece 32 measured by the workpiece measuring device 10.
If R,0 does not exist in the program memory 27, the workpiece determination unit 23 selects the workpiece 32 on the pallet 9a.
is determined to be a non-conforming work for which there is no corresponding program PRO, and a non-conforming determination signal JS is output to the main control unit 26. Then, the main control block 26 immediately stores the pallet memory 2.
A flag FLG is placed in the address corresponding to the pallet number PANO of 9a) on which the non-conforming work is mounted.
, set rXJ to display nonconforming work.

When rXJ, which is a flag FLG indicating a nonconforming work, is set, the main control unit 26 thereafter ignores the pallet 9a corresponding to the pallet number PkNO on which the flag FLG is set. 30, the non-conforming work on the punch) 9a is sent as it is in the machining or J direction without being carried into the lathe 2 by the hand 7, and the work measuring device 10 immediately measures the unconforming work on the next punch) 9a. Measurement of the processed workpiece 32 is started. Flag FL of pallet 9a on which non-conforming workpieces are loaded
G rXJ is not cleared until all workpieces 32 other than the non-conforming work on the conveyor unit 9 have been processed and a series of processing operations are completed, so the non-conforming work on the relevant pan) 9a is moved to the gripping position again. Even if it passes through X, it will not be positioned at position 1tX,
Therefore, measurement by the work measuring device 10 is not performed either.

Nao, the above-mentioned embodiment has 4
We have described the case where the identification data IDT such as the length LHW and diameter DW of the raw workpiece targeted by the operation program PRO is stored, but as long as the identification data IDT corresponds to the operation program PRO, it is not necessarily the case that the identification data IDT is stored in the operation program PRO. It goes without saying that it does not have to be stored in P-box 0 and may be stored separately (therefore, in another memory).

Further, the workpiece determination means such as the workpiece measuring device IO does not necessarily need to measure the length LH and diameter of the workpiece 32, and may be of any type as long as it can identify each workpiece 32, such as displaying a bar code. Work the label you created 3
2 and read it using a barcode reader.

(f) As described in detail, according to the present invention, various workpieces 32
A plurality of motion programs PRO corresponding to the above, and identification data II of the workpiece 32 corresponding to each motion program PRO.
) A memory, such as the program memory 27, which stores T, and a workpiece identification means, such as the workpiece measuring device 10, are provided, and the workpiece 32 that is supplied by the workpiece supply means, such as the conveyor unit 9, is provided.
Determine data such as the diameter and length LH from the workpiece using the workpiece identification means, compare the data with the identification data IDT, and read out the operation program PRO corresponding to the identification data IDT that matches the determination data from the memory. Since the various workpieces 32 supplied by the supplying means are discriminated, the loading, processing, and unloading operations based on the corresponding operation program PRO can be performed continuously without any manual intervention. It can contribute to the realization of completely unmanned work by robots. Furthermore, when setting the unprocessed workpieces 32 on the supply means, the operator can set them randomly without paying any attention to the type of each workpiece, which contributes to a significant reduction in setup time. obtain.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of a 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 robot in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is the same as in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a control block diagram of the robot. 1......Robot 3...Handling means (main body)
5... Handling means (main arm) 6... Handling means (sub arm) 7... Handling means (...nd) 9... Supply means (conveyor unit) 10... Identification means (work measuring device) 27... ···memory(
Program memory) 32...Work PRO...Movement program IDT...Identification data D...Discrimination data (diameter) LH・
・・・・・・Discrimination data (length) Patent applicant Yamazaki Iron Works Co., Ltd. Agent Patent attorney Shinji Aida (and 1 other person)

Claims (1)

[Claims] In a robot having a workpiece supply means and a handling means for carrying the workpiece supplied by the supplying means into and out of a machine tool, a plurality of operation programs corresponding to various workpieces and identification of the workpiece corresponding to each operation program are provided. A memory storing data is provided, and a workpiece identification means is provided, and the identification means determines discrimination data of the workpiece supplied by the supplying means, and the discrimination data is compared with the discrimination data to determine whether the discrimination data matches the discrimination data. A processing method using a robot configured to read an operation program corresponding to identification data from the memory and execute it.