KR102170590B1 - Cooperative Robot Control System and Cooperative Robot Clustering Method - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a cooperative robot control system for more conveniently managing a process line using a cooperative robot, and a cooperative robot clustering method. The cooperative robot control system according to an embodiment of the present invention comprises: a first robot control unit for controlling a first cooperative robot; and a second robot control unit for controlling a second cooperative robot. The first robot control unit and the second robot control unit are communicatively connected. The first robot control unit transmits a first signal to the second robot control unit. The second robot control unit loads a program corresponding to the first signal from among a plurality of programs stored in the second robot control unit based on the first signal received from the first robot control unit. In addition, the second robot control unit controls the second cooperative robot based on the loaded program.

Description

Cooperative Robot Control System and Cooperative Robot Clustering Method

The present invention relates to a cooperative robot control system and a cooperative robot clustering method, and more particularly, to a cooperative robot control system and a cooperative robot clustering method used in a process line using a plurality of cooperative robots.

Recently, cooperative robots that can work in the same space as humans have emerged. The cooperative robot is a robot that operates in close proximity to a person, and is manufactured to operate at a slower speed and smaller than that of a conventional industrial robot for the safety of humans.

The cooperative robot does not require a safety fence compared to the existing expensive general industrial robots, so it is not necessary to prepare a large space for the cooperative robot separately, and it has a direct teaching function, so it is simpler to use compared to the existing industrial robots, and even for non-professionals. It can be maintained and managed at relatively low cost.

Therefore, the demand for cooperative robots of small and medium-sized enterprises is increasing.

However, small and medium-sized enterprises often produce small quantities of various kinds, and the process line is frequently changed according to production demand.

However, when the position of the cooperative robot set in the process line is changed or a new process line is constructed using the cooperative robots owned, the inconvenience of resetting each cooperative robot occurs.

The problem to be solved by the present invention is to minimize individual settings for the replaced cooperative robot even if at least some cooperative robots and robot control units are replaced in a process line including a plurality of cooperative robots and a plurality of robot control units that control them. It is to provide a cooperative robot control system and cooperative robot clustering method that enable more convenient management of process lines using robots.

The problems of the present invention are not limited to the problems mentioned above, and other problems that are not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

A cooperative robot control system according to an embodiment of the present invention for solving the above problem includes a first robot control unit for controlling a first cooperative robot and a second robot control unit for controlling a second cooperative robot, and the first robot The control unit and the second robot control unit are communicatively connected, the first robot control unit transmits a first signal to the second robot control unit, and the second robot control unit transmits the first signal received from the first robot control unit. A program corresponding to the first signal among a plurality of programs stored in the second robot control unit is loaded based on a signal, and the second cooperative robot is controlled based on the loaded program.

The first cooperative robot and the second cooperative robot are used in one process line that performs a series of tasks, the first cooperative robot performs a first task among the series of tasks, and the second cooperative robot is Of the series of tasks, a second task following the first task may be performed.

A third robot control unit for controlling a third cooperative robot; further comprising, the second robot control unit and the third robot control unit are communicatively connected, and the second robot control unit is a second signal to the third robot control unit. And the third robot control unit loads a program corresponding to the second signal among a plurality of programs stored in the third robot control unit based on the second signal received from the second robot control unit, and loads The third cooperative robot can be controlled based on the programmed program.

The first cooperative robot. The second cooperative robot and the third cooperative robot are used in one process line that performs a series of tasks, the first cooperative robot performs a first task among the series of tasks, and the second cooperative robot is the A second task following the first task among a series of tasks may be performed, and the third cooperative robot may perform a third task following the second task among the series of tasks.

The second signal may be determined by the first signal received by the second robot control unit from the first robot control unit.

A cooperative robot control system according to an embodiment of the present invention for solving the above problem includes: a first robot control unit; And a second robot control unit communicatively connected to the first robot control unit, wherein the second robot control unit includes a plurality of programs capable of controlling a cooperative robot connected to the second robot control unit, and 1 A program to be loaded is selected from among the plurality of programs based on a signal received from the robot controller, and a cooperative robot connected to the second robot controller is controlled based on the selected program.

And a third robot control unit communicatively connected to the second robot control unit, wherein the second robot control unit is a signal determined as a signal to be transmitted to the third robot control unit based on a signal received from the first robot control unit. May be transmitted to the third robot control unit.

The third robot control unit includes a plurality of programs capable of controlling a cooperative robot connected to the third robot control unit, and selects a program to be loaded from among the plurality of programs based on a signal received from the second robot control unit. , Based on the selected program, the cooperative robot connected to the third robot control unit may be controlled.

A cooperative robot clustering method according to an embodiment of the present invention for solving the above problem is a cooperative robot clustering method including a plurality of robot controllers each storing a plurality of programs capable of controlling a cooperative robot, and the plurality of robot controllers Setting a randomly selected first robot control unit as a master control unit, connecting a randomly selected second robot control unit from among the plurality of robot control units to the first robot control unit in a communication manner, the first robot control unit and the second Connecting a robot control unit to a cooperative robot, respectively, setting a task to be performed by the cooperative robots connected to the first robot control unit and the second robot control unit through the first robot control unit, and the first robot control unit Controlling a cooperative robot connected to the first robot control unit with a program corresponding to the set task among a plurality of programs, and the first robot control unit transmits a first output signal corresponding to the set task to the second robot control unit And controlling, by the second robot control unit, a cooperative robot connected to the second robot control unit with a program corresponding to the first output signal received from among the plurality of programs.

Connecting a third robot control unit arbitrarily selected from among the plurality of robot control units to enable communication with the second robot control unit, connecting the third robot control unit to a cooperative robot, and the first received by the second robot control unit Transmitting a second output signal corresponding to an output signal to the second robot control unit, and a program corresponding to the second output signal received from the plurality of programs by the third robot control unit and connected to the third robot control unit It may further include controlling the cooperative robot.

Other specific details of the present invention are included in the detailed description and drawings.

According to the embodiments of the present invention, there are at least the following effects.

Even if at least some of the cooperative robots and the robot control unit are replaced in the process line including a plurality of cooperative robots and a plurality of robot control units that control them, individual settings for the replaced cooperative robot are minimized to improve the management of the process line using cooperative robots. Make it simple.

The effects according to the present invention are not limited by the contents exemplified above, and more various effects are included in the present specification.

1 is a block diagram schematically showing a cooperative control robot system according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of the robot control unit of FIG. 1.
3 is a flowchart illustrating a cooperative robot clustering method according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 is a block diagram schematically showing two different process lines to which the cooperative control robot system according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.
5 is a block diagram schematically showing a state in which some robot controllers of the second process line of FIG. 4 and a cooperative robot are installed in the first process line.
6 is a flowchart illustrating a cooperative robot clustering method according to an embodiment of the present invention applied to the case of direct teaching.

Advantages and features of the present invention, and a method of achieving them will become apparent with reference to the embodiments described below in detail together with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but may be implemented in a variety of different forms, and only these embodiments make the disclosure of the present invention complete, and are common knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention pertains. It is provided to completely inform the scope of the invention to those who have, and the invention is only defined by the scope of the claims.

Further, the embodiments described in the present specification will be described with reference to sectional views and/or schematic diagrams, which are ideal exemplary diagrams of the present invention. Therefore, the shape of the exemplary diagram may be modified by manufacturing technology and/or tolerance. In addition, in each of the drawings shown in the present invention, each component may be somewhat enlarged or reduced in consideration of convenience of description. The same reference numerals refer to the same components throughout the specification.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings for explaining a cooperative control robot system according to an embodiment of the present invention and a cooperative robot clustering method using the same.

1 is a block diagram schematically showing a cooperative control robot system according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing the configuration of the robot controller of FIG. 1.

As shown in Figure 1, the cooperative control robot system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a robot controller 11, 12, 13, 14, a cooperative robot 21, 22, 23, 24, and a teaching pendant. It includes (30).

The cooperative robot 10 operates by sharing a work space with an operator, unlike a conventional industrial robot that operates in a space separated from an operator by a fence or the like. Accordingly, the cooperative robot 10 is designed to operate at a speed at which injury will not be inflicted to the operator even if a collision with the operator occurs during operation in preparation for a possible collision with the operator, and to detect a collision with the operator and stop the operation immediately. .

Although not shown, the cooperative robots 21, 22, 23, and 24 may include a plurality of arms, a joint connecting the plurality of arms, and an end tool that is interchangeably installed on an arm located at an end of the plurality of arms. have

Each joint is provided with a motor that can relatively move (rotate) two arms connected to the joint.

End tools may be replaced with various types of end arms depending on the tasks performed by the cooperative robots 21, 22, 23, and 24.

As shown in Figure 1, the cooperative control robot system 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of robot controllers 11, 12, 13, 14 and a plurality of cooperative robots 21, 22, 23, 24 ).

A plurality of cooperative robots (21, 22, 23, 24) are arranged in one process line that performs a series of tasks, and the robot controllers (11, 12, 13, 14) are cooperative robots (21, 22, 23, respectively). 24) and one-to-one correspondence.

The robot control unit (11, 12, 13, 14) is communicatively connected with the cooperating robots (21, 22, 23, 24) so that the connected cooperating robots (21, 22, 23, 24) perform the required operation within the Control the cooperative robots 21, 22, 23, 24 to perform.

1 shows an example in which the robot control unit 11, 12, 13, 14 and the cooperative robots 21, 22, 23, and 24 are configured to correspond one-to-one, but according to the embodiment, one robot control unit is two or more cooperative robots. May be configured to control. Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, an example in which the robot controllers 11, 12, 13, 14 and the cooperative robots 21, 22, 23, and 24 are configured to correspond one-to-one will be described based on an example.

As shown in FIG. 2, the robot control unit 12 includes a plurality of programs 111, 112, and 113, and includes a communication unit 114 and an operation unit 115. 2 shows the second robot control unit 12, which is one of the plurality of robot control units 11, 12, 13, 14, but all of the plurality of robot control units 11, 12, 13, and 14 are the same or similar. Have a composition. Hereinafter, for convenience of description, the second robot controller 12 will be described in the description of FIG. 2.

The plurality of programs 111, 112, 113 stored in the robot control unit 12 are commands for executing specific operations of the cooperative robots 21, 22, 23, 24, and the cooperative robots 21, 22, 23, 24 A plurality of programs 111, 112, and 113 may be stored in the robot control unit 12 in advance according to operations that can be performed.

For example, the first program 111 is a program that causes the cooperative robots 21, 22, 23, 24 to execute a pick and place operation, and the second program 112 is a cooperative robot 21, 22, 23, 24) may be a program that executes a bolt fastening operation. In addition, various actions that can be implemented by the cooperative robots (21, 22, 23, 24), for example, welding, polishing, packaging, assembly, molding, inspection, CNC (Computerized Numerical Control), etc. Programs may be stored in the robot controllers 11, 12, 13, and 14, respectively.

In addition, some of the programs 111, 112, and 113 may be for executing the operation taught by the operator using the teaching pendant 30, and another part is for the operator to execute the cooperative robots 21, 22, 23, 24 It may be for holding the arm of) or the end tool and performing the teaching directly.

The communication unit 114 manages communication between the robot controller 12 and the cooperative robot 22 and communication between the robot controllers 11, 12, 13, and 14.

That is, the communication unit 114 transmits the control command according to the programs 111, 112, 113 to the cooperative robot 22 connected to the robot control unit 12, and the control result and cooperation according to the control command from the cooperative robot 22 State information of the robot 22 may be transmitted.

In addition, the communication unit 114 receives a signal from another robot control unit 11 that is communicatively connected with the robot control unit 12 or transmits a signal to the other robot control unit 13. Details on this will be described later.

The operation unit 115 loads a program 111, 112, 113 to execute an operation of the cooperative robot 22 connected to the robot control unit 12 among a plurality of programs 111, 112, 113 based on a user's input, etc. , It is possible to check the execution status of the loaded programs 111, 112, 113, the control status of the cooperative robot 22, whether a collision occurs in the cooperative robot 22, and the like.

In addition, the operation unit 115 is a cooperative robot 22 connected to the robot control unit 12 among a plurality of programs 111, 112 and 113 based on a signal received from the other robot control unit 11 through the communication unit 114 The programs 111, 112, and 113 to execute the operation of can be loaded.

For example, when a first signal is received from the first robot control unit 11, the first program 111 is loaded to control the cooperative robot 22, and a second signal is transmitted from the first robot control unit 11 When received, the second program 112 may be loaded to control the cooperative robot 22.

In addition, the operation unit 115 may specify a signal to be transmitted to another robot control unit 13 based on a signal received from the other robot control unit 11 through the communication unit 114 and transmit the signal to the robot control unit 13. .

For example, when a first signal is received from the first robot control unit 11, a second signal is transmitted to the third robot control unit 13, and a second signal is received from the first robot control unit 11 In this case, a third signal may be transmitted to the third robot controller 13.

As shown in Fig. 1, the first robot control unit 11, the second robot control unit 12, the third robot control unit 13, ... , When the Nth robot control unit 14 is sequentially connected in one process line, the user uses the teaching pendant 30 or directly controls the first robot control unit 11, which is a master control unit, to be performed within the process line. When a job is set, the first robot control unit 11 loads a program of a job to be performed by the first cooperative robot 21 from among a plurality of stored programs 111, 112, and 113 to perform the first cooperative robot 21. Control and transmits a specific signal to the second robot control unit 12.

The second robot control unit 12 loads a program corresponding to the transmitted signal among a plurality of programs 111, 112 and 113 stored based on the signal transmitted from the first robot control unit 11, 22). Since the correlation between the signal received by the second robot control unit 12 from the first robot control unit 11 and the program loaded corresponding thereto is preset, the second robot control unit 12 is the first robot control unit 11 Control is performed so that the execution operation of the second cooperative robot 22 is changed according to the type of the signal transmitted from.

In addition, the second robot control unit 12 transmits a specific signal to the third robot control unit 13 based on the signal transmitted from the first robot control unit 11. Since the correlation between the signal received by the second robot control unit 12 from the first robot control unit 11 and the signal to be transmitted to the third robot control unit 13 in response is preset, the first robot control unit 11 A signal to be transmitted from the second robot control unit 12 to the third robot control unit 13 is specified according to the type of the transmitted signal.

The third robot control unit 13 loads a program corresponding to the transmitted signal among a plurality of programs 111, 112 and 113 stored based on the signal transmitted from the second robot control unit 12, 23) and transmits a signal specified by the signal transmitted from the second robot control unit 12 to the fourth robot control unit.

In this way, the Nth robot control unit 14 loads a program corresponding to the transmitted signal among a plurality of programs 111, 112, and 113 stored based on the signal transmitted from the preceding robot control unit, 24).

As a result, the user only selects or sets a task to be performed in the process line using the first robot control unit 11 serving as the master control unit, and the second robot control unit 12, the third robot control unit 13, ... , Programs 111, 112, and 113 to control the cooperative robots 12, 13, and 14 connected to the Nth robot control unit 14 are automatically loaded to control the cooperative robots 12, 13, and 14.

Accordingly, the user drives the cooperative robots 21, 22, 23, 24 through each robot control unit 11, 12, 13, 14 to control the cooperative robots 21, 22, 23, 24 constituting the process. Since there is no need to individually set the program to be performed, etc., the process can be configured more easily.

In addition, the dependency between the robot control unit and the cooperative robot is released, so even if some cooperative robots in the process line are replaced, the replaced cooperative robot can perform the required operation without setting individual programs for the replaced cooperative robot. have.

In addition, the user can manage one process line using one teaching pendant 30.

As a result, the cooperative robot control system according to an embodiment of the present invention enables flexible and dynamic clustering of a plurality of cooperative robots in a process line.

Hereinafter, a method for clustering a cooperative robot according to an embodiment of the present invention using the cooperative robot control system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described.

3 is a flowchart illustrating a cooperative robot clustering method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in Figure 3, the cooperative robot clustering method according to an embodiment of the present invention, the step of setting the first robot control unit as a master control unit (S11), the step of communicatively connecting the robot control units (S12), Connecting the robot control unit and the cooperative robot (S13), setting the tasks to be performed by the cooperative robots (S14), controlling the first cooperative robot (S15), and transmitting the first output signal (S16) , Controlling a second cooperative robot (S17), transmitting a second output signal (S18), controlling a third cooperative robot (S19), transmitting a third output signal (S20), and It includes a step (S21) of controlling the N cooperative robot.

In the step of setting the first robot control unit as the master control unit (S11), the user may set any one arbitrarily selected from among the plurality of robot control units 11, 12, 13, and 14 as the master control unit. The robot control unit set as the master control unit becomes the first robot control unit 11.

The plurality of robot controllers 11, 12, 13, 14 may all have previously stored a plurality of programs 111, 112, 113 for controlling the cooperative robots 21, 22, 23, 24 in the same manner, and receive A signal specified according to the type of signal received by loading any one of a plurality of programs 111, 112, 113 according to the type of signal to control the cooperative robots 21, 22, 23, and 24 It may be set to output.

Alternatively, the first robot control unit 11, which may become the master control unit, may be predetermined according to an embodiment.

In the step of communicatively connecting the robot control units (S12), a plurality of robot control units 11, 12, 13, and 14 included in one process line are communicatively connected.

In step S12, the user may connect the robot controllers 11, 12, 13, 14 for controlling the cooperative robots 21, 22, 23, 24 required for one process line to communicate with each other. For example, if 5 robot controllers are needed to control the cooperative robots 21, 22, 23, 24 required for one process line, 5 robot controllers can be connected to enable communication, and the 5 robot controllers It may be arbitrarily selected from among a plurality of robot controllers 11, 12, 13, and 14.

The second robot control unit 12 receives the selected robot control unit 11, 12, 13, and 14, the output signal of the first robot control unit 11 as shown in FIG. 1, and the second robot control unit 12 The output signal of) may be connected in series so that the third robot controller 13 can receive it, and may be connected to the Nth robot controller 14 in a similar manner.

In the step of connecting the robot control unit and the cooperative robot (S13), each of the robot control units 11, 12, 13, 14 and the cooperative robots 21, 22, 23, and 24 are connected. The meaning of connecting the robot control unit 11, 12, 13, 14 and the cooperative robot 21, 22, 23, 24 means that the cooperative robots 21, 22, 23, and the robot control unit 11, 12, 13, 14 are connected. It means connecting so that you can control 24).

In step S14 of setting a task to be performed by cooperative robots, the user sets a task to be performed in the process line by using the teaching pendant 30 or by directly controlling the first robot control unit 11 as a master control unit.

In step S14, the user may set a program to be loaded by each of the robot controllers 11, 12, 13, 14 by using the teaching pendant 30 or by directly controlling the first robot controller 11, which is a master controller.

In the step of controlling the first cooperative robot (S15), the first robot control unit 11 loads the program set by the user in step S14, and is connected to the first robot control unit 11 according to the loaded program. Control (21). The first robot control unit 11 loads a program corresponding to the task set in step S14 from among the plurality of programs 111, 112, and 113 to cause the first cooperative robot 21 to operate.

In the step of transmitting the first output signal (S16), the first robot control unit 11 transmits the first output signal to the second robot control unit 12. The type of the first output signal is determined by the operation set in step S14. The first output signal determines a program to be loaded by the second robot control unit 12.

In the step of controlling the second cooperative robot (S17), the second robot control unit 12 corresponds to the first output signal received from the first robot control unit 11 among a plurality of stored programs 111, 112, and 113. The program is loaded, and the second cooperative robot 22 connected to the second robot control unit 12 is controlled according to the loaded program.

In the step of transmitting the second output signal (S18), the second robot control unit 12 transmits a second output signal corresponding to the first output signal received from the first robot control unit 11 to the third robot control unit 13. send. The type of the second output signal is determined according to the type of the first output signal. The second output signal determines the program to be loaded by the third robot control unit 13.

In the step of controlling the third cooperative robot (S19), the third robot control unit 13 corresponds to a second output signal received from the second robot control unit 12 among a plurality of stored programs 111, 112, and 113. The program is loaded, and the third cooperative robot 23 connected to the third robot control unit 13 is controlled according to the loaded program.

In the step S20 of transmitting the third output signal, the third robot control unit 13 transmits a third output signal corresponding to the second output signal received from the second robot control unit 12 to the fourth robot control unit. The type of the third output signal is determined according to the type of the second output signal. The third output signal determines a program to be loaded by the fourth robot controller.

In this way, the robot controllers 11, 12, 13, 14 after the third robot controller 13 load a program to control the connected cooperative robots 21, 22, 23, 24 based on the received signals, respectively. The cooperative robots 21, 22, 23, and 24 are controlled, and an output signal is transmitted to the next robot controllers 11, 12, 13, and 14.

In the step of controlling the N-th cooperative robot (S21), the N-th robot control unit 14 loads a program corresponding to the signal received from the previous robot control unit among a plurality of stored programs 111, 112, and 113, and The Nth cooperative robot 24 connected to the Nth robot control unit 14 is controlled according to the program. The Nth cooperative robot 24 performs the last task to be performed by the cooperative robots 21, 22, 23, and 24 in the process line.

Therefore, the user connects the robot controllers 11, 12, 13, and 14 necessary for one process line to communicate with each other, and connects the cooperative robots 21, 22, 23, 24 to the robot controllers 11, 12, 13, respectively. , After connecting to 14), each robot control unit (11, 12, 13, 14) is not individually set, but only to complete the setting required in the process line through the first robot control unit 11, which is a master control unit. As a result, the robot controllers 12, 13, and 14 afterwards automatically load a program to control the cooperative robots 21, 22, 23, and 24 through signals transmitted to each other, and the cooperative robots 21, 22, and 23 , 24).

4 is a block diagram schematically showing two different process lines to which the cooperative control robot system according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

As shown in FIG. 4, two process lines A and B in which cooperative robots 21, 22, 23, 24, 51, 52, 53, and 54 are used may be configured. The two process lines A and B are applied to the cooperative robot control system and the cooperative robot clustering method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Therefore, each robot control unit (11, 12, 13, 14, 41, 42, 43, 44) is all essential information about the cooperative robots (21, 22, 23, 24, 51, 52, 53, 54) (encoder , Control gain, etc.).

And each robot control unit (11, 12, 13, 14, 41, 42, 43, 44) is a plurality of programs that can control the cooperative robots (21, 22, 23, 24, 51, 52, 53, 54) 111, 112, 113) may be stored.

Alternatively, the robot controllers 11, 12, 13, and 14 of the first process line A store programs necessary for the work of the cooperative robots 21, 22, 23, 24 in the first process line A, and 2 The robot controllers 41, 42, 43, and 44 of the process line B may store programs necessary for the work of the cooperative robots 51, 52, 53, and 54 in the second process line B.

According to the cooperative robot control system and the cooperative robot clustering method according to an embodiment of the present invention, since the dependency between the robot control unit and the cooperative robot is released, some cooperative robots in the first process line (A) are second Even if it is replaced with the cooperative robot of the process line (B), it is not necessary to re-set the robot control unit that takes control of the replaced cooperative robot and controls the replaced cooperative robot.

This is a cooperative robot control system according to an embodiment of the present invention and a cooperative robot clustering method by loading a program based on a signal transmitted from a robot control unit that controls a cooperative robot performing a preceding task. Because it controls the robot.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a state in which some robot controllers of the second process line of FIG. 4 and a cooperative robot are installed on the first process line.

As shown in Fig. 5, not only some of the cooperative robots 22, 23, 24 of the first process line A are replaced with the cooperative robots 52, 53, 54 of the second process line B, Some of the robot controllers 11 and 13 of the first process line A may be replaced with the robot controllers 41 and 42 of the second process line B.

If the replaced robot control unit 41, 42 stores programs necessary for the work of the cooperative robots 21, 22, 23, 24 in the first process line A, the master control unit has been replaced, so that the user is newly After the above-described step S14 is performed on the second robot control unit 42 that has become the master control unit, steps S15 to S21 may be automatically performed.

When using the teaching pendant 30 in which the setting information for the first process line A is already stored, the master control unit newly connects the teaching pendant 30 to the second robot control unit 42 to connect the teaching pendant 30 to the first process line ( Step S14 is completed simply by uploading the setting information for A) to the second robot control unit 42.

On the other hand, if the replaced robot control unit (41, 42) does not store programs necessary for the work of the cooperative robots (21, 22, 23, 24) in the first process line (A), the user ) To the robot control unit 41 and 42 to upload programs necessary for the first process line A is additionally required.

6 is a flowchart illustrating a cooperative robot clustering method according to an embodiment of the present invention applied to the case of direct teaching.

6, when direct teaching occurs, the cooperative robot clustering method according to an embodiment of the present invention includes direct teaching (S31), generating a new program (S32), each robot The method may further include transmitting a new program to the control unit (S33) and setting a correspondence relationship between the signal and the new program (S34).

In the direct teaching step (S31), the operator holds the arm or the end tool of the cooperative robot and directly proceeds with the teaching.

In the step S32 of creating a new program, the robot control unit for controlling the cooperative robot, which has been directly taught, creates and stores a new program capable of controlling the cooperative robot in response to the direct teaching made in step S31.

In the step of transmitting a new program to each robot control unit (S33), the new program generated in step S32 is transmitted to another robot control unit included in the same process line.

In this case, the user connects the teaching pendant 30 to the robot control unit that controls the cooperative robot on which teaching has been performed directly after step S31, step S32, or step S32, and stores the new program in the teaching pendant 30, and then the teaching pendant Using (30), a new program can be transmitted to another robot control unit.

Alternatively, after uploading a new program generated to a server communicatively connected with each robot control unit, the new program may be transmitted to another robot control unit.

Alternatively, when a new program is generated, it may be configured to perform a synchronization operation between robot controllers included in the process line.

In the step of setting the correspondence between the signal and the new program (S34), in the robot control unit that controls the cooperative robot that has been directly taught, when a signal is received from the preceding robot control unit, it is generated in step S32, not the program corresponding to the received signal. The correspondence between signals and programs can be reset so that a new program is loaded.

As described above, when direct teaching for the cooperative robot in the process line occurs, a new program corresponding to the direct teaching is created and shared by the robot control unit and the teaching pendant in the process line, so that at least some of the robot control units will be replaced in the future. You can be prepared for it.

In addition, when direct teaching for the cooperative robot in the process line occurs, the same signal as before is transmitted from the preceding robot control unit to the robot control unit that resets the correspondence between the received signal and the new program and controls the cooperative robot in which the direct teaching has been performed. Even so, since a new program is loaded instead of the existing program to control the cooperative robot, the cooperative robot proceeds the work according to the intention of the operator.

Those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains will appreciate that the present invention can be implemented in other specific forms without changing the technical spirit or essential features thereof. Therefore, it should be understood that the embodiments described above are illustrative in all respects and not limiting. The scope of the present invention is indicated by the claims to be described later rather than the detailed description, and all changes or modified forms derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and their equivalent concepts should be interpreted as being included in the scope of the present invention. do.

Claims (10)

A first robot control unit for controlling a first cooperative robot;
A second robot control unit controlling a second cooperative robot; And
Including; a third robot control unit for controlling the third cooperative robot,
The first robot control unit and the second robot control unit are communicatively connected,
The second robot control unit and the third robot control unit are communicatively connected,
The first robot control unit transmits a first signal to the second robot control unit,
The second robot control unit loads a program corresponding to the first signal from among a plurality of programs stored in the second robot control unit based on the first signal received from the first robot control unit, and based on the loaded program To control the second cooperative robot,
The second robot control unit transmits a second signal determined by the first signal received by the second robot control unit from the first robot control unit to the third robot control unit,
The third robot control unit loads a program corresponding to the second signal from among a plurality of programs stored in the third robot control unit based on the second signal received from the second robot control unit, and based on the loaded program And controlling the third cooperative robot. delete delete The method of claim 1,
The first cooperative robot, the second cooperative robot, and the third cooperative robot are used in one process line performing a series of tasks,
The first cooperative robot performs a first task among the series of tasks,
The second cooperative robot performs a second task following the first task among the series of tasks,
The third cooperating robot performs a third task following the second task among the series of tasks. delete delete delete delete A cooperative robot clustering method comprising a plurality of robot controllers each storing a plurality of programs capable of controlling a cooperative robot,
Setting a first robot control unit arbitrarily selected from among the plurality of robot control units as a master control unit;
Communicatively connecting a second robot control unit selected from the plurality of robot control units to the first robot control unit;
Connecting a third robot control unit arbitrarily selected from among the plurality of robot control units to communicate with the second robot control unit;
Connecting the first robot control unit, the second robot control unit, and the third robot control unit to a cooperative robot, respectively;
Setting a task to be performed by the cooperative robots each connected to the first robot control unit, the second robot control unit, and the third robot control unit through the first robot control unit;
Controlling, by the first robot control unit, a cooperative robot connected to the first robot control unit with a program corresponding to the set task among the plurality of programs;
Transmitting, by the first robot control unit, a first output signal corresponding to the set task to the second robot control unit;
Controlling, by the second robot control unit, a cooperative robot connected to the second robot control unit with a program corresponding to the first output signal received from among the plurality of programs;
Transmitting a second output signal corresponding to the first output signal received by the second robot control unit to the second robot control unit; And
And controlling, by the third robot control unit, a cooperative robot connected to the third robot control unit with a program corresponding to the second output signal received from among the plurality of programs. delete

Images