WO2016131921A1

WO2016131921A1 - Method for operating a robot, and machinery

Info

Publication number: WO2016131921A1
Application number: PCT/EP2016/053461
Authority: WO
Inventors: Roman Ranzinger; Christoph Schneider
Original assignee: Audi Ag
Priority date: 2015-02-20
Filing date: 2016-02-18
Publication date: 2016-08-25
Also published as: CN107251301A; CN107251301B; DE102015002197B4; DE102015002197A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for operating a robot (2), which has a tool for moving objects, in order to assist a person when manually working on at least one part of voltage-conducting elements (13) of a workpiece, each said element being protected against contact by at least one cover (14). The method has the following steps: - receiving at least two covers (14) that cover voltage-conducting elements (13), which are required for the manual work, by means of the tool; and - placing down the at least two covers (14) by means of the tool as soon as a trigger event occurs which indicates that the work has been completed.

Description

Method for operating a robot and plant

The invention relates to a method for operating a robot having a tool for moving objects to assist a person in manual operations on at least a part of live elements of a workpiece, which are protected by at least one cover from contact. In addition, the invention relates to a plant.

The protection of persons during manual operations on workpieces which have touchable live elements is a central point of occupational safety measures in industry. In this case, the persons are to be protected from the harmful physiological effects of electrical energy, such as body perfusion and combustion by the occurrence of an arc. In the automotive industry, this topic has become more important through the use of traction batteries designed to drive electric vehicles. Such batteries may have mutual potential differences of up to several hundred volts at their live elements. However, their production requires non-automatable manufacturing steps that are performed manually by persons.

It is known to provide personal occupational safety measures wherein the person wears protective equipment, such as gloves made of an electrically insulating material, during their operations. It is also known to provide protective coverings against the live elements which are removed only from those live elements on which the respective manual operation is performed. Because the arrangement of the covers by the person himself is made, this is an organizational occupational safety measure.

However, such personal or organizational occupational safety and health measures are regarded as unfavorable and only as measures which are recommended as subordinate in the classical hierarchy of occupational health and safety. This is because their protection in the event of human error, such as incorrect attachment of the cover due to carelessness or negligence, fails. In addition, personal protective clothing severely restricts manual mobility, especially in filigree assembly processes.

The invention is therefore based on the object to propose a technical safety measure, which achieves improved protection of working on live elements of a workpiece persons and facilitates the implementation of manual operations.

To achieve this object, a method of the aforementioned type is provided according to the invention, comprising the following steps: receiving at least two live elements, which are required for the performance, covering covers by means of the tool; and once a triggering event indicating completion of the operation has occurred, placing the at least two covers by means of the tool.

The invention is based on the idea of using a robot to assist the person, which is designed to move the covers by means of a suitable effector. The robot is operated in such a way that it picks up only those two live elements that are touched by the person within the scope of the required performance by means of the tool and then places these again on the at least two covers. However, this only happens when a trigger event occurs, indicating that the person has completed the activities provided on the live elements. For example, if the workpiece is a battery, it is safe to be made that only such live elements are revealed, between which no dangerous voltage is applied. An electrical connection as well as a simultaneous touching of these potentials is therefore safely possible. Moreover, it is of particular advantage if the robot is specially designed for a human-machine interaction, in particular has a self-sensor system for detecting a contact with a body part of the person and is stopped in this case.

It is therefore of particular advantage that no more personal and / or organizational occupational safety measures are provided, but technical measures are taken to protect the person from hazardous effects of electrical energy. In particular, the source of human error is eliminated. Since it is ensured that there are no impermissible contact voltages between uncovered live elements of the workpiece, it is equally possible to dispense with protective clothing which restricts the person's freedom of movement when carrying out the manual operations. Advantageously, an increased efficiency in carrying out the manual operations can thus be achieved with an improved occupational safety level.

Within the scope of the method according to the invention, it is of particular advantage if the triggering event used is an operator's input command input by means of an input device. It is provided that the person enters the completion of the task itself by an operator command and thus causes the robot to put the covers back on the live elements. For this purpose, the person transmits this operating command serving as trigger event by operating the input device. As such, for example, a push button can be provided, which is operated manually or is designed as a foot switch. It is particularly useful if the input device is designed so that it is ensured when entering the operating command that no body parts of the person are located in the action area of the tool of the robot. This can be achieved for example by an input device that can only be operated with both hands, ie for example, comprises two spatially separated provided for the operation by hand push buttons.

Alternatively or additionally, it may be provided in the context of the method according to the invention that the workpiece and / or activities of the person are detected by means of a sensor and the trigger event used is the achievement of a target state of the workpiece and / or of the person detected by the sensor. It can thus be provided, for example, that the sensor is selected so that it detects that the intended manual operation has been completed, that is, for example, it is determined that two live elements of the workpiece are electrically conductively connected to each other. Alternatively or additionally, it can also be provided that the sensor, for example a camera, detects whether there are still body parts, ie in particular the hands, of the person in the action area of the robot, which is interpreted as meaning that the functions have not yet been completed. This can be improved by the sensor being designed to detect whether the manual activities have been completely completed by the activities performed by the person. Of course, it is also possible to detect the presence of the trigger event both with a sensor and with an additional input device.

Conveniently, it can be provided that the covers are locked non-positively and / or positively when placed. The robot is thus controlled so that the tool during placement applies sufficient force to secure the correspondingly formed covers on the workpiece. This avoids that the person unintentionally moves the covers by movement and thus exposing live elements again. Not only could this cause disruptions to the operation of the robot, but it could also create new sources of danger for the person.

It is particularly preferred in the context of the method according to the invention if the steps relating to further live elements be repeated until a predetermined amount of operations is completed. Since a large number of manual operations are generally to be carried out on a workpiece, it is advisable, if necessary, to perform the described method steps repeatedly on further live elements and to end the method by carrying out a predetermined amount of operations. Advantageously, the method can then also be used in more complex assembly activities.

It is particularly advantageous if the amount of operations in a flowchart with respect to different elements on the same workpiece are specified in an order. Thus, even before carrying out the operations, an optimal sequence of the operations, which is represented by the flowchart, can be specified under occupational health and safety aspects. The source of the error of human error is effectively eliminated even during extensive operations on the workpiece. This relates in particular to the risk of an arc generating short circuit when two active, so a potential difference between them having, elements of the workpiece are inadvertently connected.

In addition, provision may be made for all covers to be picked up and removed after the last repetition of the steps. This is particularly useful when the covers are only for occupational safety and after completion of the activities have no further task for the workpiece more. In this case, the robot may expediently remove all covers after completion of the operations. Advantageously, it can be dispensed with so that the covers must be removed manually, creating a new source of danger would arise.

Finally, in the case of a method according to the invention, it is particularly preferred if a battery with a plurality of battery modules is used as the workpiece, wherein the operations involve contacting between elements assigned to different battery modules. delt. As already mentioned at the beginning, occupational safety in the case of operations on batteries is a particularly useful field of application of the method according to the invention. In particular, this relates to batteries comprising a plurality of battery modules to generate particularly high voltages, such as those needed for traction purposes in the automotive industry. The required operations there usually consist in contacting live elements of different battery modules. Especially here occur particularly high voltages that can produce a dangerous body flow. Furthermore, in the case of electrochemical batteries with their typically very high short-circuit currents, in particular the risk of an arc causing burns is particularly prominent. Therefore, the use of the method according to the invention within the manufacturing process of batteries with multiple battery modules is of particular advantage.

In addition, the invention relates to a working device for assisting a person in manual operations on at least a part of live elements of a workpiece, which are protected by at least one cover from contact, comprising at least one tool having a tool for attaching objects, a positioning means for at least a workpiece and a robot controlling the control device, which is designed for carrying out a method according to one of the preceding claims. A work device according to the invention is in particular designed so that it offers the person a job to carry out their tasks, ie in particular a suitably manufactured production place. It initially comprises the robot and a control device which is designed to carry out the method according to the invention. This may in particular be a programmable logic controller, a microcontroller or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The plant further comprises a positioning means into which the workpiece is receivable. It can be provided, for example, that the positioning means is or includes a receptacle into which a workpiece can be inserted and for an effector of the robot can be reached. In the case of an intended assembly line production, it is particularly preferred that the positioning means comprises a conveyor or is formed as part of a conveyor, so that the work can be fed continuously workpieces on which the intended operations are performed.

It is particularly preferred if the tool is designed as a gripper. In principle, all gripping effectors known from the prior art are suitable, in particular mechanical or pneumatic grippers being preferred. This is to be chosen so that he can perform the tasks of receiving and placing the covers reliably, so in particular is able to reliably lock the covers when placed on the workpiece.

In addition, it is particularly preferred if the operating device comprises an input device which is designed to detect an operating command of the person and is connected to the control device. Alternatively or additionally, it can be provided that the working device comprises a sensor which is designed to detect the workpiece and / or the activities of the person and connected to the control device. It is therefore proposed to connect the sensor or the input device, which has already been described above within the scope of the method, to the control device, which is then configured by means of sensor data acquired by the sensor and / or an operating command input by means of the input device Detect trigger event.

In a work device according to the invention with a sensor, it is furthermore particularly preferred if a camera is provided as the sensor, and the control device comprises an image processing unit which is designed for the evaluation of data detected by the camera for recognizing a target state of the workpiece and / or the person , By means of the camera can be recognized so that a performance abge For example, the image processing unit analyzes, for example, data acquired by the camera as to whether an intended connection between two live elements has been correctly realized and / or if body parts, in particular the person's hands, are located in the action area of the robot's effector.

Incidentally, all embodiments of the method according to the invention can be analogously transferred to the inventive device, so that even with this already mentioned advantages can be achieved.

Further advantages and details of the invention will become apparent from the embodiments described below and from the drawing. Showing:

1 shows an embodiment of a device according to the invention;

Fig. 2 is a detail view of the work device shown in Fig. 1 in

Area of two live elements when picking up a cover;

FIG. 3 shows the detailed illustration shown in FIG. 2 after completion of the manual operation; FIG.

4 shows the detailed illustration shown in Figure 2 after placing the covers. and

5 shows a flow chart of an exemplary embodiment of the method according to the invention.

1 shows a plant device 1, comprising a robot 2, an input device 5 having two pushbuttons 3, 4, and a camera 6 as a sensor, which are arranged on a workbench 7. In this is a posi- tioning means 8 for receiving a battery 9 inserted as a workpiece. In addition, the factory device 1 has a control device 10 shown schematically.

The robot 2 comprises a robot arm 1 1 and a gripper 12 as a tool, which serves as an end effector. The battery 9 has a plurality of battery modules, not shown, which are connected to a plurality of live elements 13 on the exterior of the battery 9. The live elements 13 are each secured by means of a cover 14 against touching. Finally, the control device 10 is connected to the robot 2 so that it controls its movements and in particular also the actions of the gripper 12. It also has an input for the operating device 5 so that operating commands can be processed by it. In addition, the control device 10 comprises an image processing unit 15 which receives and processes image signals of the camera 6.

FIGS. 2 to 4 show a detailed representation of the working device 1 in the region of two live elements 13 of the battery 9 in different states. Here, Fig. 2 shows the gripper 12, which has received from the right live element 13 whose cover 14, wherein the left live element 13 is further secured by its cover 14 against contact. In Fig. 3, both covers are removed. The live elements 13 were connected by means of a contact element 16 by a person using the device 1 not shown in detail. Fig. 4 shows a subsequent state in which already the left voltage-carrying element 13 is secured by its cover 14 against touching, the right live element 13 is being secured again by placing its cover 14 by the gripper 12.

5 shows a flowchart of a method for operating the robot 2 having the tool for moving objects for assisting the person with manual operations on the voltage-carrying device. the elements 13 of the workpiece, which are protected by the covers 14 from touching. After the beginning of the method in step S1, all covers 14 are first placed on all live elements 1 in a step S2, so that all live elements 13 are protected against contact of the person and thus the state shown in Fig. 1 is reached. Alternatively, it is of course also possible for a battery which has already been secured with covers to be the starting point of the method.

In the subsequent step S3, as shown in Fig. 2, two covers 14 are removed from the live elements 13. For this purpose, the robot 2 moves the gripper 12 by means of the robot arm 1 1 in each case to a cover 14, wherein the gripper 12 grips, picks up and stores it at a storage position (not shown) in the area of the workbench 7.

If both covers 14 are removed, it is continuously queried in a step S4 whether a trigger event indicating the completion of actions of the person has occurred. During this step, the person has the opportunity to connect the live elements 13 by means of the contact element 16. This process is monitored by the camera 6, which detects the area of the operation and checks whether the contact element 16 is correctly attached. If this is the case and the person has the pushbuttons 3 and 4 of the input device 5, which are arranged at a distance from each other on the workbench 7 that the person must operate them with both hands, then this is interpreted as a control command and an entry of the Detected trigger event so that the process continues.

This is done in a step S5 in which now the gripper, the cover 14 touches again on the live elements 13. These are thereby led to the battery 9 that they are non-positively and positively connected with this. Thus, accidental movement of the covers 14 is prevented by the person. In a subsequent step S6, a check is made as to whether a previously established sequence plan, which contains all the operations to be performed on the battery 9 in their sequence, has been completed. If this is not the case, there is a return to step S3 and the method is continued by this step with respect to further not provided with reference numerals covers the battery 9. If all the activities provided for in the schedule have been completed, there will be no further return but a continuation of the procedure.

In a step S7, the robot 2 removes, by means of the gripper 12, all the covers 14 from the battery 9, which merely have the purpose of preventing contact by the person during the operations, but are not required for subsequent production measures. The covers 14 are removed, the robot 2 returns to an inoperative position, and the process is ended in step S8.

Claims

PATENT APPLICATIONS

1 . A method of operating a robotized article handling robot (2) to assist a person in manual operations on at least part of live elements (13) of a workpiece which are protected from contact by at least one cover (14) following steps:

- Receiving at least two live elements (13), which are required for the performance, covering covers (14) by means of the tool; and

- Once a triggering event indicating the completion of the operation has occurred, placing the at least two covers (14) by means of the tool.

2. The method according to claim 1,

characterized,

in that a person's operator input entered by means of an input device (5) is used as trigger event.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2,

characterized,

that the workpiece and / or activities of the person are detected by means of a sensor and the trigger event used is the achievement of a target state of the workpiece and / or the person detected by the sensor.

4. The method according to any one of the preceding claims,

characterized,

that the covers (14) are locked non-positively and / or positively when placed.

5. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized,

the steps relating to further live elements (13) are repeated until a predetermined amount of operations have been completed.

6. The method according to claim 5,

characterized,

that the set of operations in a flowchart with respect to different elements (13) on the same workpiece are given in an order.

7. The method according to claim 5 or 6,

characterized,

after the last repetition of the steps, all covers (14) are picked up and removed.

8. The method according to any one of the preceding claims,

characterized,

in that a battery (9) with a plurality of battery modules is used as the workpiece, the operations being a contact between different battery modules associated elements (13).

9. A device (1) for assisting a person in manual operations on at least part of live elements (13) of a workpiece, which are protected from contact by at least one cover (14), comprising at least one tool for moving objects Robot (2), a positioning means (8) for at least one workpiece and a control device (10) controlling the robot (2), which is designed to carry out a method according to one of the preceding claims.

10. works device (1) according to claim 9, characterized,

that the tool is designed as a gripper (12).

1 1. Plant device (1) according to claim 9 or 10,

characterized,

in that it comprises an input device (5) which is designed to detect an operating command of the person and is connected to the control device (10).

12. Plant device (1) according to one of claims 9 to 1 1,

characterized,

that it comprises a sensor which is designed to detect the workpiece and / or the activities of the person and connected to the control device (10).

13. Plant device (1) according to claim 12,

characterized,

in that a camera (6) is provided as the sensor and the control device (10) comprises an image processing unit (15) which is designed to evaluate data acquired by the camera (6) for recognizing a target state of the workpiece and / or the person.