TWI839528B - Removal system and control device - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided is a removal system and a control device capable of removing a foreign object attaching to an adhesion surface of a jig. There is provided a removal system for removing a foreign object attached to a machine tool, comprising: a surface sensor configured to detect a surface state of an adhesion surface among surfaces of a jig of the machine tool, which is in close contact with at least one of a member constituting the jig and a workpiece gripped by the jig; a foreign object removing device configured to remove the foreign object from the adhesion surface; and a control device including a surface state storage member configured to store the surface state of the adhesion surface in a state in which no foreign object is attached, a foreign object detection member configured to detect the foreign object attached to the adhesion surface based on a comparison between a surface state of the adhesion surface detected by the surface sensor and a surface state stored in the surface state storage member, and an operation instruction member configured to output an operation instruction to the foreign object removing device when the foreign object removing device detecting a foreign object.

Description

Removal systems and controls

The present invention is a removal system and a control device.

In a machine tool such as a lathe or a machining center, if chips adhere to a gripping surface for gripping a workpiece, or if chips get entangled in a chuck or a tool, the machine tool may not operate normally.

Therefore, there have been inventions that propose a technology for preventing chips from entering a predetermined space (such as reference to patent document 1) and a technology for removing attached chips (such as reference to patent document 2). [Prior technical document] [Patent document]

[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-277012

[Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-150537

[The problem that the invention wants to solve]

However, even in the fixtures of machine tools such as chucks, NC round tables, vises, fixed chucks, pallet fixtures, etc., if foreign objects such as chips are attached to the contact surfaces between the parts constituting these machine tools, the workpiece may be poorly gripped, which may reduce the processing accuracy of the workpiece. Similarly, when gripping a workpiece, if foreign objects such as chips are attached to the contact surface with the workpiece, the workpiece may be poorly gripped and the processing accuracy of the workpiece may be reduced. In addition, the adhesion of foreign objects may also cause damage to the workpiece and the fixture itself.

Therefore, it is important to remove foreign matter even on the contact surface of the clamp.

However, the technique described in Patent Document 1 cannot completely prevent chips from entering the predetermined space. Therefore, when this technique is used, when installing or replacing a component constituting the fixture or gripping a workpiece, foreign matter may be attached to the contact surface with the fixture.

Furthermore, in the technology described in Patent Document 2, since the chips are removed by grabbing with a chip removal hand, it is difficult to remove smaller foreign objects.

Furthermore, in the technology described in Patent Document 2, since the chips are detected by physically inserting the chips into the sensor, it is difficult to detect smaller foreign objects. For example, when saw teeth are formed on the contact surface of the fixture, it is almost impossible to detect foreign objects in the tooth valley.

The present invention is completed in view of the above situation, and its purpose is to provide a removal system and control device capable of removing foreign matter attached to the contact surface of the clamp. [Means for solving the problem]

According to one embodiment of the present invention, there is a system for removing foreign matter attached to a working machine, which comprises a surface sensor, a foreign matter removal device, and a control device. The surface sensor is configured to detect the surface state of a contact surface in the fixture surface of the working machine, wherein the contact surface is at least one of the surfaces between the components constituting the fixture and the surface in contact with the workpiece grasped by the fixture; the foreign matter removal device is configured to remove foreign matter from the contact surface; the control device comprises a surface state storage unit, a foreign matter detection unit, and an action indication unit, wherein the surface The state storage unit stores the surface state of the contact surface when no foreign matter is attached. The foreign matter detection unit is configured to detect foreign matter attached to the contact surface based on a comparison between the surface state of the contact surface detected by the surface sensor and the surface state stored in the surface state storage unit. The action indication unit is configured to send an action indication to the foreign matter removal device when the foreign matter detection unit detects a foreign matter.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, foreign matter attached to the contact surface is detected based on a comparison between the surface state of the contact surface detected by the surface sensor and the surface state stored in the surface state storage unit. Thus, not only can smaller foreign matter such as shavings be detected, but also foreign matter can be detected even when there are marks or scratches on the contact surface.

The following is an explanation of the embodiments of the present invention using the accompanying drawings. The various features shown in the embodiments shown below can be combined with each other.

The program for implementing the software in this embodiment can be provided as a non-temporary recording medium readable by a computer, can be provided so as to be downloaded from an external server, or can be provided so that the program is started by an external computer and implements its functions on the client terminal (i.e., cloud computing).

In addition, in the present embodiment, "unit" may include, for example, a combination of hardware resources implemented by circuits in a broad sense and information processing of software implemented specifically by these hardware resources. In addition, various information is processed in the present embodiment, but this information includes physical values such as signal values representing voltage/current, the high or low signal values of a binary bit set composed of 0 or 1, or through quantum superposition (i.e., quantum bits), and communication/calculations on circuits can be performed in a broad sense.

In addition, in a broad sense, a circuit is a circuit that is realized by at least appropriately combining circuits, circuit systems, processors, and memories. That is, it includes application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable logic devices (for example, simple programmable logic devices (SPLDs), complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs), and field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs).

1. Configuration example First, the configuration of the removal system will be described. FIG1 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the removal system 1.

As shown in FIG. 1 , a removal system 1 includes a control device 2, a robot arm 3, a surface sensor 4, and a foreign matter removal device 5, and is a system for removing foreign matter attached to a working machine 6.

The control device 2 controls the robot arm 3 , the surface sensor 4 , and the foreign matter removal device 5 , and includes a surface state storage unit 21 , a foreign matter detection unit 22 , and an operation instruction unit 23 .

The robot arm 3 is a robot that can perform various actions on the working machine 6. It not only has a front-end actuator that can be loaded and unloaded on the front end of the robot arm 3, but also can be installed with a surface sensor 4 or a foreign object removal device 5 near the front end of the robot arm 3. In addition, the removal system 1 can have multiple robot arms 3 to achieve the simultaneous use of the robot arm 3 with the surface sensor 4 installed and the robot arm 3 with the foreign object removal device 5 installed. The surface sensor 4 and the foreign object removal device 5 can also be loaded and unloaded on the robot arm 3 as the front-end actuator.

The surface sensor 4 is configured to be able to detect the surface state of the contact surface of the component constituting the fixture of the working machine 6. Specifically, the surface sensor 4 is implemented by a camera, a displacement meter, etc. As a displacement meter, various types such as optical, eddy current, ultrasonic, laser, etc. can be used as long as it is non-contact, and for example, a two-dimensional laser displacement meter or a three-dimensional laser displacement meter can also be used. In addition, the surface sensor 4 can be arranged at the front end or periphery of the robot arm 3, and can also be arranged in the processing area of the working machine 6, as long as it can detect the surface state of the contact surface of the component constituting the fixture of the working machine 6. When the surface sensor 4 is arranged in this processing area, a plurality of surface sensors 4 can be used. The fixture and its contact surface will be explained later.

The foreign body removal device 5 removes foreign bodies from the contact surface of the parts constituting the clamp of the working machine 6, and has a rotating brush, a brush, a clamp, a blower, a liquid ejector, a suction device, etc. These can be used alone or in combination. In addition, a combination such as a blower with a built-in clamping claw can also be used.

In addition, the removal system 1 can be provided with a plurality of foreign matter removal devices 5, and they can be used separately and appropriately, for example, respectively for removing relatively large foreign matter and for removing relatively small foreign matter.

The surface state storage unit 21 stores the surface state of the contact surface of the parts constituting the clamp of the working machine 6 in a state without foreign matter attached. Specifically, the result of the surface state of the contact surface detected by the surface sensor 4 is stored when the clamp is newly used or immediately after the inspection. When the surface sensor 4 is a camera, the surface state storage unit 21 stores an image in a state without foreign matter attached.

In addition, when the surface sensor 4 is a two-dimensional laser displacement meter, the surface state storage unit 21 causes the robot arm 3 to move so that the two-dimensional laser displacement meter can measure the entire contact surface and store the measured contour image of the surface state of the contact surface without foreign matter attached. Here, instead of the contour image, the numerical data measured by the two-dimensional laser displacement meter can also be stored.

When the surface sensor 4 is a three-dimensional laser scanner, the surface state storage unit 21 stores the two-dimensional profile as an image or stores numerical data.

The foreign object detection unit 22 detects foreign objects attached to the contact surface based on a comparison between the surface state of the contact surface of the component constituting the fixture of the working machine 6 detected by the surface sensor 4 and the surface state stored in the surface state storage unit 21. Specifically, the foreign object detection unit 22 uses the image of the surface state stored in the surface state storage unit 21 as a background image and the image of the surface state detected by the surface sensor 4 as a foreground image to detect foreign objects by background difference.

When the surface sensor 4 is a camera, the foreign object detection unit 22 detects foreign objects attached to the contact surface based on the difference between the image taken by the camera and the image stored in the surface state storage unit 21. In addition, when the surface sensor 4 is a two-dimensional laser displacement meter, the foreign object detection unit 22 moves the robot arm 3 so that the two-dimensional laser displacement meter can measure the entire contact surface, and detects foreign objects attached to the contact surface based on the difference between the contoured image of the measurement result obtained by the measurement and the image stored in the surface state storage unit 21.

When the foreign matter detecting unit 22 detects a foreign matter, the action instruction unit 23 sends an action instruction to the robot arm 3 and the foreign matter removing device 5. The action instruction sent by the action instruction unit 23 to the robot arm 3 includes position information indicating the position of the foreign matter detected by the foreign matter detecting unit 22, and is a movement instruction for causing the foreign matter removing device 5 to move to the vicinity of the foreign matter based on the position information through the robot arm 3. The action instruction sent by the action instruction unit 23 to the foreign matter removing device 5 is a driving instruction for driving the foreign matter removing device 5. For example, if the foreign matter removing device 5 is composed of a rotating brush, the action instruction is a driving instruction for driving the rotating brush.

The operation instruction unit 23 can communicate with the machine tool 6 to be linked with the machine tool 6, and at least can confirm whether the machine tool 6 is in an operation state such as cutting or in a stopped state.

The operation instruction to the foreign object removal device 5 may be notified from the operation instruction unit 23 to the foreign object removal device 5 via the robot arm 3 on which the foreign object removal device 5 is mounted.

Furthermore, when a plurality of foreign body removal devices 5 are used, the action instruction unit 23 selects any one of the plurality of foreign body removal devices 5 based on at least one of the position and size of the foreign body detected by the foreign body detection unit 22, and then sends an installation instruction to the robot arm 3 to install the selected foreign body removal device. The action is performed according to the selection of the position of the foreign body, for example, when a saw tooth is formed on the contact surface, the foreign body is removed using the most suitable material.

Furthermore, when the surface sensor 4 is mounted on the robot arm 3, the action instruction unit 23 sends an action instruction to the robot arm 3 to detect the surface state of the contact surface.

2. Contact surface Next, the contact surface of the removal system 1 for removing foreign matter will be described. The contact surface is the surface between the components that constitute the fixture and the surface between the components and the workpiece. The fixture may be, for example, a chuck, an NC round table, a vise, a fixed chuck, a tray fixture, etc. Here, the contact surface will be described using the chuck as an example. It should be noted that although the description of fixtures other than the chuck is omitted, fixtures other than the chuck can also be used as the object of the removal system 1 for removing foreign matter.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the chuck. As shown in Fig. 2, the chuck 7 can include a main body 71, a main jaw 72, and a top jaw 73. Any of the main body 71, the main jaw 72, and the top jaw 73 is equivalent to a component constituting a clamp.

Next, the contact surface is described. FIG3 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the main claw 72. FIG4 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the top claw 73. As shown in FIG3, the main claw 72 has a saw tooth 721 and a groove 722. As shown in FIG4, the top claw 73 has a saw tooth 731.

The saw teeth 721 and the saw teeth 731 are both contact surfaces. When the top claw 73 is mounted on the main claw 72, the peak portion of the saw teeth 721 and the valley portion of the saw teeth 731 engage with each other to achieve the mounting.

In addition, the groove 722 is also a contact surface. The groove 722 is a part into which a T-shaped nut as a component (not shown) can be inserted, that is, an inverted T-shaped groove.

When the workpiece is grasped with the top claw 73, a positioner (not shown) is installed to position the workpiece. The surface of the positioner in contact with the workpiece is also a contact surface, and the surface of the top claw 73 in contact with the workpiece is also a contact surface.

3. Image Next, the image of the state detected by the surface sensor 4 is described. FIG5 is an example of an image of the surface state of the contact surface without foreign matter attached. FIG6 is an example of an image of the surface state of the contact surface when foreign matter is detected.

When the surface sensor 4 is a camera, the images shown in FIG5 and FIG6 both correspond to images of the saw tooth 721 taken from the front. When the surface sensor 4 is a two-dimensional laser displacement meter, the images are equivalent to the profile of the saw tooth 731 measured from the front.

The contour map can be produced by the foreign object detection unit 22, for example, and pixels showing grayscale corresponding to the measured distance are generated corresponding to each resolution measured by the two-dimensional laser displacement meter, and the pixels are combined to generate an image.

The foreign body detection unit 22 extracts background difference by using the image shown in Fig. 5 as the background image and the image shown in Fig. 6 as the foreground image. Here, although appropriate image processing is performed on each image, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 7 is an example diagram showing an image of the difference between the image shown in FIG. 5 and the image shown in FIG. 6. The image shown in FIG. 7 is obtained by binarizing the difference between the image shown in FIG. 5 and the image shown in FIG. 6 based on a predetermined threshold, and shows foreign matter such as chips. Preferably, the threshold is appropriately adjusted according to the dynamic range of the surface sensor 4 used. In addition, the threshold can be adjusted so that it detects chips instead of detecting water drops of chip water. Moreover, the algorithm can be designed so that information such as the color or shape of the foreign matter can be used as needed.

4. Action Next, the action of the removal system 1 will be described. FIG8 is an activity diagram showing the action flow of the removal system 1. Here, it is assumed that the surface sensor 4 is mounted on the outer peripheral surface near the front end of the robot arm 3.

When the removal system 1 needs to replace a component constituting a fixture, the robot arm 3 first removes the target component (A101).

Then, the robot arm 3 moves the surface sensor 4 to the vicinity of the contact surface of the component removed from A101, and the surface sensor 4 detects the surface state of the contact surface (A102).

Thus, the foreign matter detection unit 22 extracts the background difference based on the image stored in the surface state storage unit 21 and the image detected by the surface sensor 4 (A103).

When no foreign object is detected, the robot arm 3 installs the replacement target component (A104).

On the other hand, when a foreign object is detected, the robot arm 3 installs the foreign object removal device 5 from the front end thereof (A105).

Then, the robot arm 3 moves the foreign matter removal device 5 to the vicinity of the contact surface of the component removed from A101 to try to remove the foreign matter ( A106 ).

Next, the robot arm 3 moves the surface sensor 4 to the vicinity of the contact surface of the component removed from A101, and the surface sensor 4 detects the surface state of the contact surface (A107).

Then, the foreign matter detecting unit 22 extracts a background difference based on the image stored in the surface state storing unit 21 and the image detected by the surface sensor 4 (A108).

When no foreign matter is detected, the robot arm 3 removes the foreign matter removal device 5 (A109) and installs the replacement target component (A104).

When foreign matter is detected as a result of background difference extraction in A108, if the foreign matter removal attempt has not reached a predetermined number of times, the foreign matter removal device 5 is moved again to the vicinity of the contact surface of the component removed from A101 to try to remove the foreign matter (A106).

A106 executes a predetermined number of attempts to remove foreign matter. If the foreign matter cannot be removed during this period, the removal system 1 stops the action and issues a warning, etc.

When a plurality of foreign matter removal devices 5 are used, a different foreign matter removal device 5 may be used in each foreign matter removal attempt when the foreign matter removal attempt of A108 is repeatedly performed multiple times.

5. Others In summary, the present invention meets the requirements for invention patents, and a patent application is filed in accordance with the law. However, although the present invention has been described above in terms of implementation, it is not intended to limit the present invention. Any person with ordinary knowledge in the relevant technical field can implement the implementation described in the present invention in various other ways and make various omissions, substitutions and changes without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. The implementation and its variations are included in the scope and gist of the invention, and are included in the invention described in the scope of the invention patent application and its equivalent scope.

In addition, the present invention also provides the following various implementation methods. In the removal system, the surface sensor is a camera, the surface state storage unit stores an image of the contact surface in a state where no foreign matter is attached, and the foreign matter detection unit detects foreign matter attached to the contact surface based on the difference between the image taken by the camera and the image stored in the surface state storage unit. In the removal system, the surface sensor is a displacement meter, the surface state storage unit stores a contoured image of the surface state of the contact surface in a state without foreign matter attached measured by the displacement meter, and the foreign matter detection unit detects foreign matter attached to the contact surface based on the difference between the image contoured by the displacement meter's measurement result and the image stored in the surface state storage unit. In the removal system, the foreign matter removal device is mounted on a robot arm that performs a predetermined operation on the working machine, and the action instruction unit is configured to send a movement instruction to the robot arm based on position information indicating the position of the foreign matter detected by the foreign matter detection unit. In the removal system, the surface sensor is mounted on the robot arm. In the removal system, the foreign body removal device is configured in multiple numbers, and the action instruction unit selects any one of the foreign body removal devices based on at least one of the position and size of the foreign body detected by the foreign body detection unit, and sends an installation instruction to the robot arm to instruct the installation of the selected foreign body removal device. A control device for a foreign body removal device for removing foreign bodies attached to a working machine, which comprises a surface state storage unit, a foreign body detection unit, and an action instruction unit, wherein, in the surface of the clamp of the working machine, in a state where there is no foreign body attached to the contact surface with at least one of the components constituting the clamp and the workpiece gripped by the clamp, the surface state storage unit stores the foreign body state information generated by the surface sensor. The foreign matter detecting unit is configured to detect foreign matter attached to the contact surface based on a comparison between the surface state of the contact surface detected by the surface sensor and the surface state stored in the surface state storage unit, and the action indicating unit is configured to send an action instruction to the foreign matter removal device when the foreign matter detecting unit detects a foreign matter. In the control device, the foreign matter removal device is mounted on a robot arm that performs a predetermined operation on the working machine, and the action indicating unit is configured to send a movement instruction to the robot arm based on position information indicating the position of the foreign matter detected by the foreign matter detecting unit. In the control device, the surface sensor is mounted on the robot arm. Of course, it is not limited to this.

1: Removal system 2: Control device 21: Surface state storage unit 22: Foreign object detection unit 23: Action instruction unit 3: Robot arm 4: Surface sensor 5: Foreign object removal device 6: Working machine

FIG. 1 is a structural diagram showing the functional configuration of the removal system 1. FIG. 2 is a three-dimensional diagram showing the appearance of the chuck. FIG. 3 is a three-dimensional diagram showing the appearance of the main claw 72. FIG. 4 is a three-dimensional diagram showing the appearance of the top claw 73. FIG. 5 is an example diagram showing an image of the surface state of the contact surface in a state where no foreign matter is attached. FIG. 6 is an example diagram showing an image of the surface state of the contact surface when a foreign matter is detected. FIG. 7 is an example diagram showing an image of the difference between the image shown in FIG. 5 and the image shown in FIG. 6. FIG. 8 is an activity diagram showing the action flow of the removal system 1.

1: Remove the system

2: Control device

21: Surface state storage unit

22: Foreign matter detection department

23: Action instruction section

3: Robotic arm

4: Surface sensor

5: Foreign matter removal device

6: Working machinery

Claims (5)

A system for removing foreign matter attached to a working machine comprises: a robot arm, a surface sensor, a foreign matter removal device, and a control device, wherein: the robot arm is configured to install or remove a component on one side relative to a component of a plurality of components constituting a fixture of the working machine, the surface sensor is mounted on the robot arm, and is configured to detect the surface state of a contact surface on the surface of the fixture, wherein the contact surface is a surface between components mounted or removed by the robot arm, and the foreign matter removal device is configured to be detachably mounted on the robot arm, and is configured to detect the surface state of a contact surface on the surface of the fixture when the foreign matter is removed. When mounted on the robot arm, the control device can remove foreign matter from the contact surface. The control device has a surface state storage unit, a foreign matter detection unit, and an action instruction unit, wherein: the surface state storage unit stores the surface state of the contact surface without foreign matter attached, the foreign matter detection unit is configured to detect foreign matter attached to the contact surface based on a comparison between the surface state of the contact surface detected by the surface sensor and the surface state stored in the surface state storage unit, and the action instruction unit is configured to send an action instruction to the foreign matter removal device when the foreign matter detection unit detects a foreign matter. The removal system as described in claim 1, wherein: the surface sensor is a camera, the surface state storage unit stores an image of the contact surface without foreign matter attached, and the foreign matter detection unit detects foreign matter attached to the contact surface based on the difference between the image taken by the camera and the image stored in the surface state storage unit. The removal system as described in claim 1, wherein: the surface sensor is a displacement meter, the surface state storage unit stores a contoured image of the surface state of the contact surface without foreign matter attached measured by the displacement meter, and the foreign matter detection unit detects foreign matter attached to the contact surface based on the difference between the image contoured by the measurement result of the displacement meter and the image stored in the surface state storage unit. The removal system as described in claim 1, wherein: the foreign object removal device is configured as a plurality of devices, the action instruction unit selects any one of the foreign object removal devices based on at least one of the position and size of the foreign object detected by the foreign object detection unit, and sends an installation instruction to the robot arm to instruct the installation of the selected foreign object removal device. A control device for a foreign matter removal device for removing foreign matter attached to a working machine comprises: a surface state storage unit, a foreign matter detection unit, and an action indication unit, wherein: the surface state storage unit stores the surface state of the contact surface detected by a surface sensor in a state where no foreign matter is attached to the contact surface of the clamp of the working machine, wherein the contact surface is a surface between parts installed or removed by the robot arm, and the surface sensor The sensor is mounted on the robot arm, the foreign matter detection unit is configured to detect foreign matter attached to the contact surface based on a comparison between the surface state of the contact surface detected by the surface sensor and the surface state stored in the surface state storage unit, and the action instruction unit is configured to send an action instruction to the foreign matter removal device when the foreign matter detection unit detects a foreign matter. Here, the foreign matter detection unit is mounted on the robot arm.

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