JP2010089186A - Control device for changing robot arm turning range - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To suppress erroneous setting of a movable range area of a physical stopper for a movable control range area on the software control, and to reliably set a plurality of movable control range areas within the predetermined movable range of an arm. <P>SOLUTION: When a user sets any one of a plurality of movable control range areas, a control unit 9 obtains two physical stopper mid-angle values Kc [deg] set in the movable range area corresponding to the movable control range area. When the angle value at the present position of the physical stopper is expressed by X[deg], and the moving angle of an arm is expressed Q[deg], respectively. Q is obtained from the formula Q=Kc-X. When Q>0, the arm is turned in the other rotational direction by the angle of Q. When Q<0, the arm is turned in one rotational direction by the angle of Q. Thus, the stopper position is suggested. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an arm movable range change control device for a robot that changes a movable range area of an arm into a plurality of areas by selectively attaching a physical stopper to a stopper arrangement portion.

Conventionally, in a robot, a technique for limiting a movable range of a robot arm by a stopper is known. By the way, recently, there is a demand for appropriately changing the operation range of the arm in order to diversify the robot operation. In this case, it is conceivable to change the movable range of the arm as appropriate by changing the position of the stopper. The technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 discloses a configuration in which the movable range of the movable body is expanded / reduced by changing the position of the stopper.
JP 2006-62482 A

  The technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 is merely a technique for expanding / reducing the movable range of the operation lever of a ship, and cannot be applied to a stopper of a robot arm. That is, in the robot, it is desired to change the area of the movable range of the arm to a plurality of areas by largely changing the position of the stopper itself. In this case, when the arm is actually driven by the driving source. For soft control, each of the plurality of movable range areas is provided with a movable control range area that stops before the arm collides with the stopper. At this time, when a movable control range by arbitrary soft control is set, if the stopper position is wrong with respect to the set movable control range, that is, if the movable range by the stopper is wrong, the arm collides with the stopper and adjustment deviation occurs. May occur.

  On the other hand, the technique of Patent Document 1 is a marine stopper device that does not require much accuracy even when the operation lever collides with the stopper and causes an adjustment shift, and only a technique for changing the movable range of the stopper. Since it is not disclosed, this technique is not suitable for diverting to a robot that needs to prevent the difference between the arm movable range area and the arm movable control range area when changing the position of the stopper (physical stopper). It is enough.

  In particular, in the robot, when the movable range of the arm is finite, depending on the movement method when moving the arm from the movable control range area of any arm to the movable control range area of the next arbitrary arm, There is a possibility that the arm movable control range area does not fit within the movable range of the arm, and the arm may not operate within the predetermined movable control range area.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and its purpose is to change the stopper position and to set the physical stopper movable range area by mistake with respect to the movable control range area on the software control. In addition, when the arm is moved from the movable control range area of any arm to the movable control range area of the next arbitrary arm, the movable control range area of the next arm is reliably An object of the present invention is to provide a robot arm movable range change control device capable of moving an arm so as to be located within a range.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, when there are a plurality of movable range areas of the arm and the movable range of the arm is a finite predetermined movable range, the intermediate angle of the predetermined movable range is set as the origin, and the origin The rotation limit angle in one rotation direction of the arm from the origin is set as the minimum angle value of the predetermined movable range, the rotation limit angle in the other rotation direction of the arm from the origin is set as the maximum angle value, For the movable range area in which the physical stopper is at the origin and the other physical stopper is at a position obtained by rotating the movable range area from the origin in one rotational direction, the angle value of the one physical stopper is the angle of the origin. The angle value of the other physical stopper is the angle value obtained by subtracting the angle value obtained by rotating the movable range area from the origin in one rotation direction to the angle value of the origin. For a movable range area in which the hopper is at the origin and the other physical stopper is at a position rotated from the origin in the other rotational direction, the angle value of the one physical stopper is the angle value of the origin. The angle value of the other physical stopper is an angle value obtained by adding the angle obtained by rotating the movable range area from the origin to the other rotation direction with respect to the angle value of the origin. For a movable range area in which the movable range area is in a position rotated in one rotational direction and the other physical stopper is in a position in which the movable range area is rotated in the other rotational direction from the origin, the angle of the one physical stopper The angle value obtained by subtracting the angle obtained by rotating the movable range area from the origin in one rotation direction to the angle value of the origin, and the angle value of the other physical stopper, By setting the angle value obtained by adding the angle obtained by rotating the movable range area from the origin to the other rotation direction with respect to the angle value of the point, the angle value of the arm rotation in the robot matches the angle value of the control, The arm can be moved to the target angle value so that the operation range of the new physical stopper can be automatically set within the predetermined movable range by moving the arm rotation direction as it is. When the arm is moved to the movable control range area of any one of the arms, the arm can be moved so as to ensure that the movable control range area of the next arm is located within the predetermined movable range of the arm.

Further, according to the invention of claim 1, when the user sets any one of the plurality of options of the movable control range area, the control means is configured to perform the two set movement ranges in the movable range area corresponding to the movable control range area. When the physical stopper intermediate angle value Kc [deg] is obtained, the angle value of the current position of the physical stopper is X [deg], and the arm movement angle is Q [deg], Q is Q = Kc−X
When Q> 0, the arm is rotated by the angle of Q in the other rotation direction. When Q <0, the arm is rotated by the angle of Q in the one rotation direction. Since the stopper position is suggested by rotating, the arm can indicate an intermediate position between the movable range areas of the two physical stoppers. In the movable range area having this intermediate position, an isosceles triangle having the intermediate position as the apex of the apex angle and the two end points of the movable range area as the apex of the base angle is virtually formed in the arm rotation trajectory. Is done. Therefore, as long as an isosceles triangle is formed in which this intermediate position is the apex of the apex angle, the end points of the movable range area, that is, the physical stopper installation positions can be easily determined from this intermediate position, that is, The position of the physical stopper can be easily suggested by the arm indicating the intermediate position, and it is possible to suppress erroneous setting of the movable range of the physical stopper relative to the movable control range of the soft control.

  According to the invention of claim 2, the rotation limit angle in one rotation direction of the arm in the predetermined movable range of the arm is increased as the minimum angle value of the predetermined movable range in the other rotation direction according to the rotation of the arm. The predetermined movable range is specified so as to be an angle value to be set, a plurality of movable range areas are set in the predetermined movable range with the angle values of the predetermined movable range, and an intermediate position of the plurality of movable range areas is The angle value of the predetermined movable range is set, and the angle value of the predetermined movable range, the angle value of each movable range area, and the angle value of the intermediate position of each movable range area are stored in the storage unit. With respect to the range, the movable range areas of the plurality of arms can be properly stored without protruding from the predetermined movable range. Therefore, when the arm is moved from the movable control range area of any arm to the movable control range area of the next arbitrary arm, it is ensured that the movable control range area of the next arm is located within the predetermined movable range of the arm. You can move the arm.

Further, according to the invention of claim 2, when the user sets any one of the plurality of options of the movable control range area, the control means sets the intermediate position angle value of the movable range area corresponding to the set movable control range area. The arm movement destination angle value Q [deg] is read from the storage unit, and the arm position angle value Kr [deg] of the read movable range area and the current angle value X [deg] of the arm,
Q = Kr-X
When Q> 0, the arm is rotated by the angle of Q in the other rotation direction. When Q <0, the arm is rotated by the angle of Q in the one rotation direction. Since the stopper position is suggested by rotating the arm, the arm indicates the intermediate position of the movable range area of the two physical stoppers, and the arm can easily suggest the position of the physical stopper. It is possible to suppress erroneous setting of the movable range of the physical stopper with respect to the range.

  Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 schematically show the overall configuration of the robot 1. The linear moving rail 2 has a movable body 2a supported on its lower surface side so as to be linearly movable, and is provided with a drive mechanism for freely moving the movable body 2a. Although not shown in detail, the drive mechanism includes a motor 3 disposed at one end of the linear movement rail 2 and a ball screw mechanism (not shown).

  As shown in FIG. 3, an arm support base 4 is connected to the lower surface of the moving body 2a, and a horizontal swivel arm 5 serving as an arm extending in the horizontal direction on the lower surface of the arm support base 4 is at one end thereof. A certain base end side is attached so as to be pivotable about the vertical axis J1. A lifting / lowering body 6 is attached to a tip portion (tip surface) which is an end portion of the horizontal turning arm 5 opposite to the vertical axis J1 so as to be movable up and down. It is attached so as to be coaxially rotatable about the axis J2. Further, a work tool such as a chuck (hand) for gripping a work is detachably attached to the wrist portion 7.

In this case, although not shown, the horizontal turning arm 5 is finitely rotated (turned) in the horizontal direction by an arm rotation motor 8 (see FIG. 1) which is a drive source provided in the arm support base 4 and a rotation transmission mechanism. For example, 2 rotations (0 ° to 720 °).
The elevating body 6 is moved up and down at the tip of the horizontal revolving arm 5 by a motor and a rack-pinion mechanism built in the horizontal revolving arm 4, and the wrist portion 7 is coaxially rotated by a motor built in the elevating body 6. Is done.

  The operation of each robot 1 (the motor of each axis including the motor 3) is controlled by a control unit 9 (illustrated in FIG. 1) of the robot controller based on a work process program or the like. The control unit 9 includes a CPU, a ROM, a RAM, a nonvolatile memory serving as a storage unit, and the like, and corresponds to a control unit.

  A teaching pendant 10 shown in FIG. 6 is connected to the control unit 9. The teaching pendant 10 is provided with a switch group 11 and a display unit 12 as a display unit. Touch panel switches 13A, 13B, 14, 15A, 15B, and 16 (see FIG. 7) are formed in the portion 12. One switch 11a in the switch group 11 corresponds to a movable control range change request unit. The touch panel switch 13A corresponds to a selection determining unit. In FIG. 6, the deadman switch is indicated by reference numeral 11b.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the horizontal revolving arm 5 is provided with a physical stopper 18 facing upward. The physical stopper 18 is a line that connects the rotation center of the horizontal swivel arm 5 and the lifting body 6 at the tip (tip surface) that is the end of the horizontal swivel arm 5 opposite to the vertical axis J1 ( Therefore, the physical stopper 18 can indicate the directing direction of the horizontal swing arm 5.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the arm support base 4 has stopper placement portions 19, 20, 21, and 22 projecting in the radial direction at positions A, B, C, and D at intervals of 90 degrees from each other. Stopper mounting holes 19a to 22a to which the physical stoppers 23 and 23 can be attached and detached are respectively formed on the lower surfaces of the stopper placement portions 19 to 22. The stopper arrangement portions 19 to 22 are provided more than the physical stopper 23. 4 and 5 show a state in which the physical stoppers 23 and 23 are attached to the stopper placement portions 19 and 20. The physical stoppers 23 and 23 limit the rotational range of the physical stopper 18 to limit the movable range of rotation of the horizontal swing arm 5 to a predetermined movable range area. In FIG. 5, a line (virtual line) 5P connecting the rotation center 5c of the horizontal turning arm 5 and the physical stopper 18 indicates the position (angular position) of the horizontal turning arm 5.

  The horizontal swing arm 5, the stopper placement portions 19 to 22, the physical stoppers 23 and 23, the control portion 9, the switch 11a, the display portion 12, and the touch panel switch 13A constitute a robot arm movable range change control device 1A (see FIG. 1). Has been.

  Here, the movable range of the horizontal swivel arm 5 is the above-described finite predetermined movable range Z (for example, two rotations in this embodiment), and the origin is the intermediate angle of 360 °. It can be changed to a plurality of movable range areas by selecting the placement (mounting) position of the physical stoppers 23, 23 with respect to the stopper placement portions 19-22, and is movable as shown in FIGS. There are a range area K1, a movable range area K2, a movable range area K3, and a movable range area K4.

  In the movable range area K1, as shown in FIG. 9A, one physical stopper 23 is arranged at the stopper arrangement portion 19 at position A, and the other physical stopper 23 is arranged at the stopper arrangement portion 22 at position D. The physical stopper 18 is located on the position A-B-C-D (this is the area from position A to position B, passing through position C to position D, excluding the area between position A and position D. It is a form which can be moved.

  In the movable range area K2, as shown in FIG. 9B, one physical stopper 23 is arranged at the stopper arrangement portion 22 at the position D, and the other physical stopper 23 is arranged at the stopper arrangement portion 21 at the position C. The physical stopper 18 is located on the position D-A-B-C side (this is the area from position D to position A, passing through position B to position C, and excluding the area between position D and position C. (Shown) can be moved.

  In the movable range area K3, as shown in FIG. 9 (c), one physical stopper 23 is arranged at the stopper arrangement portion 21 at the position C, and the other physical stopper 23 is arranged at the stopper arrangement portion 22 at the position B. The physical stopper 18 is located at the position C-D-A-B (this is the area from position C to position D, passing through position A to position B, excluding the area between position C and position B. (Shown) can be moved.

  In the movable range area K4, as shown in FIG. 9 (d), one physical stopper 23 is arranged at the stopper arrangement portion 20 at the position B, and the other physical stopper 23 is arranged at the stopper arrangement portion 19 at the position A. The physical stopper 18 is located on the position B-C-D-A side (this is an area from the position B to the position C, passing through the position D to the position A, and excluding the area between the position B and the position A. (Shown) can be moved.

  The horizontal swing arm 5 is controlled to move by the control of the arm rotating motor 8 under the software control of the control unit 9. In this case, the control unit 9 is limited to the horizontal swing limited by the physical stoppers 23, 23. It functions as a control means for controlling the arm rotating motor 8 so as to drive the horizontal turning arm 5 in a movable control range area set so as not to exceed the movable range of the arm 5. As shown in FIGS. 9A to 9D, the movable control range area is selected as a movable control range area S1, a movable control range area S2, a movable control range area S3, and a movable control range area S4. It can be set.

The movable control range area S1 corresponds to the movable range area K1, and is set in a range in which the physical stopper 18 does not collide with the physical stopper 23 at the position A and the stopper 23 at the position D.
The movable control range area S2 corresponds to the movable range area K2, and is set in a range in which the physical stopper 18 does not collide with the physical stopper 23 at the position D and the stopper 23 at the position C.

The movable control range area S3 corresponds to the movable range area K3, and is set in a range where the physical stopper 18 does not collide with the physical stopper 23 at the position C and the stopper 23 at the position B.
The movable control range area S4 corresponds to the movable range area K4, and is set in a range in which the physical stopper 18 does not collide with the physical stopper 23 at the position A and the stopper 23 at the position B.

  The control unit 9 determines the angle value of the predetermined movable range Z as follows according to the rotation direction of the horizontal swing arm 5, and sets the angle value of these movable control range sections S1 to S2 as the predetermined value. Based on the angle value of the movable range Z, it is determined as follows.

  An intermediate angle of the predetermined movable range Z is set as an origin, and the origin is set as an angle value, for example, 360 °. One rotation direction of the horizontal swivel arm 5 from the origin is, for example, a left rotation direction (FIG. 8, FIG. The rotation limit angle in the direction of arrow L in FIG. 9 is set to the minimum angle value (in this case, 0 °), and the right rotation direction (the direction of arrow R in FIGS. 8 and 9) that is the other rotation direction of the horizontal swing arm 5 from the origin. ) Is the minimum angle value (in this case, 720 °). FIG. 8 shows a predetermined movable range Z of the horizontal turning arm 5 in an expanded manner.

  Among the movable range areas K1 to K4, the movable range area K4 in which one physical stopper is at the origin and the other physical stopper is rotated from the origin to the left in the movable range area. The angle value of one physical stopper 23 (physical stopper 23 at the origin) is set to 360 ° that is the angle value of the origin, and the angle value of the other physical stopper 23 (the physical stopper 23 in the stopper arrangement portion 20) is The angle value obtained by subtracting the angle obtained by rotating the movable range section K4 from the origin in the left rotation direction from the origin angle value is 90 °.

  Of the movable range areas K1 to K4, the movable range area K1 is located at the position where one physical stopper is at the origin and the other physical stopper is rotated from the origin to the right in the movable range area. The angle value of the one physical stopper 23 (physical stopper 23 at the origin) is set to 360 ° which is the angle value of the origin, and the angle value of the other physical stopper 23 (physical stopper 23 in the stopper arrangement portion 22) is set. Is an angle value obtained by adding an angle obtained by rotating the movable range area K1 from the origin in the left rotation direction with respect to the angle value of the origin.

  Of the movable range areas K1 to K4, one physical stopper is located at a position where the movable range area is rotated in the left rotation direction from the origin, and the other physical stopper is rotated in the right direction from the origin to the movable range area. The movable range areas K2 and K3 at the position rotated to the right are set as follows.

  First, regarding the movable range area K2, the angle value of the one physical stopper 23 is an angle value obtained by subtracting the angle obtained by rotating the movable range area K2 in the counterclockwise direction from the origin to the angle value of 360 ° of the origin. The angle value of the other physical stopper 23 is set to 540 °, which is an angle value obtained by adding an angle obtained by rotating the movable range section K2 in the clockwise direction from the origin to the angle value 360 ° of the origin. .

  For the movable range area K3, the angle value of the one physical stopper 23 is an angle value obtained by subtracting the angle obtained by rotating the movable range area K3 from the origin in the counterclockwise direction to the angle value of 360 ° of the origin. 180 °, and the angle value of the other physical stopper 23 is 450 °, which is an angle value obtained by adding an angle obtained by rotating the movable range area K3 from the origin in the clockwise direction with respect to the angle value 360 ° of the origin. Yes.

  Note that the movable range area and the movable control range area in FIG. 9A are referred to as a pattern 1, the movable range area and the movable control range area in FIG. 9B are referred to as a pattern 2, and the movable range in FIG. 9C. The area and the movable control range area are referred to as a pattern 3, and the movable range area and the movable control range area in FIG.

  Here, when the user changes the movable control range area of the horizontal turning arm 5 and wants to select the movable range area (mechanical stopper position selection) along with the change, the user uses the movable control range area change request means. A certain switch 11a is pushed. When the switch 11a is pressed, the control unit 9 firstly, as shown in FIG. 7A, the pattern 1, pattern 2, and pattern 3 that are options of the plurality of movable control range areas of the horizontal swivel arm 5. Pattern 4 is displayed on the display unit 12. In this case, touch panel switches 13A and 13B are also displayed on the display unit 12.

For example, when the user selects the pattern 2 with an appropriate switch or dial of the switch group 11 and determines with the touch panel switch 13A, the control unit 9 sets the movable control range area S2 of the selected pattern 2 as the movable control range area. Set as.
Then, as shown in FIG. 7B, the control unit 9 displays a message prompting the user to remove the physical stoppers 23 and 23 arranged in the current stopper arrangement unit, and confirms that the removal has been performed. A switch 14 is also displayed.

When the switch 14 is pushed by the user, the angle value on the larger side of the set angle values of the two physical stoppers 23, 23 in the movable range area K2 corresponding to the movable control range area S2 is set to Ka. [Deg] and when the angle value on the smaller side is Kb [deg], the intermediate angle value Kc [deg] of the two physical stoppers is
Kc = (Ka−Kb) / 2 + Kb
The following formula is used.

In this case, since Ka is 540 ° and Kb is 270 °, Kc is 405 °.
Then, the control unit 9 knows the current position of the physical stopper 18, sets the angle value of the physical stopper 18 to X [deg] (see FIG. 8), and moves the horizontal swing arm 5 (moving from now on). The control unit 9 sets Q to Q = Kc−X, where Q [deg] is an angle to be attempted.
The following formula is used.

  When Q> 0, the control unit 9 rotates the horizontal turning arm 5 in the clockwise direction by the angle of Q, and when Q <0, the horizontal turning arm 5 is rotated in the left direction. The stopper position is suggested by rotating the valve by the angle Q. Thereby, the horizontal turning arm 5 indicates 405 ° which is an intermediate position of the movable range K2 of the two physical stoppers 23 and 23 to be set.

  Here, for example, when setting the angle value of the pattern 2, as shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9B, the pattern includes the origin (360 °) of the predetermined movable range Z, and the physical stoppers 23, 23 Is a pattern in which the movable control range area S2 exists on the position D-A-B-C side, but the horizontal swivel arm 5 is 1 in the counterclockwise direction from FIG. 9B. The position of the rotated state (see the dotted lines in FIGS. 11 and 12) also appears to be the same as that in FIG. 9B. If the angle value of the physical stoppers 23, 23 is set with 0 ° in FIG. 11 as the origin position (when teaching is performed), the movable range zone K2 on the position D-A-B-C side accordingly. ′, The movable control range area S2 ′ is set, and the horizontal swing arm 5 can move only within the predetermined movable range Z as a whole, so that the movable control range can be obtained only within the range indicated by the symbol SE in FIGS. There is a risk of disappearing.

  In this embodiment, however, the intermediate angle of the predetermined movable range Z is set as the origin, the rotation limit angle in the left rotation direction of the horizontal swing arm 5 from this origin is set as the minimum angle value of the predetermined movable range Z, and from the origin The rotation limit angle in the right rotation direction of the horizontal swivel arm 5 is set as the maximum angle value, and the angle values of the physical stoppers 23 in the movable range areas K1 to K4 are set along the operation range areas from the origin as described above. Therefore, the rotation angle value of the horizontal turning arm 5 in the robot 1 coincides with the control angle value, and the rotation direction of the horizontal turning arm 5 is set. If it is operated as it is, the horizontal swing arm 5 can be moved to the target angle value so that the operation range of the new physical stoppers 23, 23 can be automatically set within the predetermined movable range Z. When moving the horizontal swivel arm 5 from the control area to the next arbitrary movable control range area, the horizontal swivel arm ensures that the next movable control range area is located within the predetermined movable range Z of the horizontal swivel arm 5. 5 can be moved. Therefore, when moving the horizontal swing arm 5 from any movable control range area to the next arbitrary movable control range area, the horizontal swivel arm ensures that the next movable control range area is located within the predetermined movable range Z. 5 can be moved.

Further, according to the present embodiment, as described above, when the user sets any one of the plurality of movable control range areas S1 to S4, the control unit 9 controls the movable range corresponding to the movable control range area. The two physical stopper intermediate angle values Kc [deg] set in the area are obtained, the angle value of the current position of the physical stopper 18 is X [deg], and the moving angle of the horizontal swivel arm 5 is Q [deg]. Q is Q = Kc-X
When Q> 0, the horizontal swivel arm 5 is rotated in the clockwise direction by the angle of Q. When Q <0, the horizontal swivel arm 5 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction. Since the stopper position is suggested by rotating by an angle of Q, the horizontal swing arm 5 can indicate the intermediate position of the movable range area of the two physical stoppers 23 and 23 to be installed. In the movable range area having the intermediate position, an isosceles triangle having the intermediate position as the apex of the apex angle and the two end points of the movable range area as the apexes of the two base angles is virtually formed in the arm rotation locus. The Therefore, as long as an isosceles triangle is formed in which this intermediate position is the apex of the apex angle, the end points of the movable range area, that is, the physical stopper installation positions can be easily determined from this intermediate position, that is, The position of the physical stoppers 23 and 23 can be easily suggested by the horizontal swivel arm 5 indicating the intermediate position, and the movable range area of the physical stoppers 23 and 23 is mistaken for the movable control range area in software control. Setting can be suppressed.

  Note that the virtually formed isosceles triangle is indicated by reference numerals U1, U2, U3, and U4 in FIGS. 9A to 9D, and reference numeral g1 indicates an arbitrary point on the intermediate position. The point g1 indicates the vertex of the apex angle of each isosceles triangle, the symbols g2 and g3 indicate the apex of the base angle of each isosceles triangle, and the shape of this virtual isosceles triangle U1, U2, U3, U4 is considered. If drawn, the placement positions of the physical stoppers 23 and 23 are suggested by the vertices g2 and g3 of the virtual base angle.

In this way, as long as the above-described specific (in this case, the above-described triangle) suggestion method is remembered, no matter which direction the horizontal swivel arm 5 is controlled in the directing direction, it is clear from the directing direction of the horizontal swivel arm 5. The positions of the physical stoppers 23 and 23 can be determined. As the suggestion method, in addition to the above-described triangle method, for example, a suggestion method based on the idea that the stopper placement portion on the side opposite to the directing direction of the horizontal swivel arm 5 is the placement position of the physical stoppers 23 and 23 to be set may be used. .
FIG. 10 shows the relationship between the selected movable control range area, the moving destination of the horizontal turning arm 5, and the stopper placement portion suggested by the arm 5.

  13 to 15 show a second embodiment of the present invention. In the second embodiment, the form of the movable range areas K11 to K15 of the horizontal swivel arm 5 is different from the form of the movable range areas K1 to K4 in the first embodiment, and accordingly, the movable control range. The forms of the sections S11 to S15 are also different from the movable control range sections S11 to S15 in the first embodiment. In the movable control range sections S11 to S15, angle values are set as follows with respect to the predetermined movable range Z of the horizontal turning arm 5.

  That is, the predetermined movable range Z of the horizontal swivel arm 5 is also set to two rotations in this embodiment, and the control unit 9 rotates, for example, counterclockwise in one rotation direction of the horizontal swivel arm 5 in the predetermined movable range Z. The rotation limit angle in the direction is set to a minimum angle value of the predetermined movable range Z, for example, 0 °, and the predetermined movable range is set to an angle value that increases in accordance with the rotation of the horizontal swivel arm 5 in the right rotation direction that is the other rotation direction. Z is specified, and therefore the predetermined movable range Z of the horizontal swivel arm 5 is two rotations, so the rotation limit angle in the right rotation direction is 720 ° in this case.

  Further, the control unit 9 sets the plurality of movable range areas K11 to K15 in the predetermined movable range Z by the angle value of the predetermined movable range Z, and the intermediate positions of the plurality of movable range areas K11 to K15 are also set. The control unit 9 includes the angle value of the predetermined movable range Z, the angle value of the predetermined movable range Z, the angle value of each movable range area K11 to K15, and the angle value of the intermediate position of each movable range area. It is stored in a non-volatile memory.

  In the movable range section K11, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14A, one physical stopper 23 is disposed at the stopper placement portion 19 at the position A (the angle value of the predetermined movable range Z is 360 °), and the other The physical stopper 23 is located at the stopper placement portion 21 at the position C (540 °), and the physical stopper 18 is located on the position ABC side (this is an area from the position A through the position B to the position C. , Indicating that the area between positions C-D-A is excluded). The angle value of the intermediate position of the movable range area K11 is 450 °.

  In the movable range section K12, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14B, one physical stopper 23 is disposed at the stopper placement portion 20 at the position B (450 °), and the other physical stopper 23 is located at the position D ( 630 °), the physical stopper 18 is located on the position B-C-D side (this is the area from position B to position C through position D, between position D-A-B) Is a form that can be moved). The angle value of the intermediate position of the movable range area K12 is 540 °.

  In the movable range section K13, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14C, one physical stopper 23 is disposed at the stopper placement portion 21 at the position C (180 °), and the other physical stopper 23 is located at the position A ( 360 °), the physical stopper 18 is located on the position CDA side (this is an area from the position C to the position D to the position A, between the positions A and B-C. Is a form that can be moved). The angle value of the intermediate position of the movable range area K13 is 270 °.

  In the movable range area K14, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14D, one physical stopper 23 is arranged at the stopper arrangement portion 22 at the position D (270 °), and the other physical stopper 23 is arranged at the position B ( 450 °), the physical stopper 18 is located on the position D-A-B side (this is an area from position D through position A to position B, between positions B-C-D. Is a form that can be moved). The angle value of the intermediate position of the movable range area K14 is 360 °.

  In the movable range section K15, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 (e), one physical stopper 23 is arranged at the stopper arrangement portion 22 at the position D (90 °), and the other physical stopper 23 is arranged at the position B ( 270 °) is disposed at the stopper arrangement portion 20 and the physical stopper 18 is located on the position D-C-B side (this is an area from position D through position C to position B, between positions B-A-D. Is a form that can be moved). The angle value of the intermediate position of the movable range area K15 is 180 °.

The movable control range areas S11 to S15 corresponding to the movable range areas K11 to K15 are as shown in FIGS.
Here, when the user changes the movable control range area of the horizontal turning arm 5 and wants to select the movable range area (mechanical stopper position selection) along with the change, the user uses the movable control range area change request means. A certain switch 11a is pushed. When the switch 11a is pressed, the control unit 9 firstly, as shown in FIG. 15A, pattern 1, pattern 2, and pattern 3 which are options of the plurality of movable control range areas of the horizontal swing arm 5. , Pattern 4 and pattern 5 are displayed on the display unit 12. In this case, touch panel switches 13A and 13B are also displayed on the display unit 12.

For example, when the user selects the pattern 2 with an appropriate switch or dial of the switch group 11 and determines with the touch panel switch 13A, the control unit 9 sets the movable control range area S12 of the selected pattern 2 as the movable control range area. Set as.
Then, as shown in FIG. 15B, the control unit 9 displays a message prompting the user to remove the physical stoppers 23 and 23 arranged in the current stopper arrangement unit and confirms that the removal has been performed. A switch 14 is also displayed.

When the switch 14 is pressed, the controller 9 reads the intermediate position angle value (in this case, 540 °) of the movable range area K12 corresponding to the set movable control range area S12 from the nonvolatile memory, From the read intermediate position angle value Kr [deg] of the movable range area and the current angle value X [deg] of the horizontal swivel arm 5, the arm movement destination angle value Q [deg] is obtained.
Q = Kr-X
When Q> 0, the horizontal swivel arm 5 is rotated by the angle of Q in the right rotation direction (arrow R direction in FIG. 13), which is the other rotation direction, and when Q <0, The stopper position is suggested by rotating the swivel arm 5 in the left rotation direction (direction of arrow L in FIG. 13), which is one rotation direction, by the angle Q.

  As a result, according to the second embodiment, the horizontal revolving arm 5 indicates the intermediate position of the movable range area of the two physical stoppers to be arranged, and the horizontal revolving arm 5 causes the physical stopper 23, Thus, it is possible to easily suggest the arrangement positions (stopper arrangement portions) 23 of the physical stopper, and to prevent erroneous setting of the movable range area of the physical stopper with respect to the movable control range area in software control.

  Moreover, since the angle value of the predetermined movable range Z, the angle value of each of the movable range sections K11 to K15, and the angle value of the intermediate position of each of the movable range sections K11 to K15 are stored in the nonvolatile memory, With respect to the predetermined movable range Z, the movable range areas K11 to K15 of the plurality of arms can be appropriately stored without protruding from the predetermined movable range Z. Therefore, when moving the horizontal swing arm 5 from any movable control range area to the next arbitrary movable control range area, the horizontal swivel arm ensures that the next movable control range area is located within the predetermined movable range Z. 5 can be moved.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to said each Example, It can implement by changing suitably. For example, the predetermined movable range may be two or more rotations. Further, the angle value of the origin of the predetermined movable range Z in the first embodiment may be 0 ° instead of 360 °, the minimum angle value may be −180 °, and the maximum angle value may be 180 °. Further, the present invention is not limited to the robot having the above-described embodiment structure, and can be widely applied to all robots provided with an arm support base that can rotate an arm.

Functional block diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention Robot perspective view Robot side view Perspective view of physical stopper, physical stopper, and stopper placement The top view which shows the arrangement | positioning relationship of the physical stopper in FIG. 4, a physical stopper, and a stopper arrangement | positioning part. Front view of teach pendant The figure which shows the change of the display content of the display part at the time of change of a movable control range area The figure which expand | deploys and shows the predetermined movable range of a horizontal revolving arm, each movable range area, and each movable control range area (A) thru | or (d) is a figure which shows the different pattern of a movable range area and a movable control range area. The figure which shows the relationship between the selected movable control range area, the moving destination of a horizontal swivel arm, and the suggested stopper arrangement | positioning part FIG. 9B equivalent diagram showing a reference example FIG. 8 equivalent diagram showing a reference example FIG. 8 equivalent view showing a second embodiment of the present invention. (A) thru | or (e) is a figure which shows the different pattern of a movable range area and a movable control range area. 7 equivalent diagram

Explanation of symbols

  In the drawings, 1 is a robot, 1A is a robot arm movable range change control device, 4 is an arm support base, 5 is a horizontal swing arm (arm), 8 is an arm rotation motor (drive source), and 9 is a control unit (control) 10 is a teaching pendant, 11a is a switch, 13 is a touch panel switch (selection determining means), 18 is a physical stopper, 19, 20, 21, and 22 are stopper placement portions, and 23 is a physical stopper. Indicates.

Claims (2)

An arm provided on an arm support base so as to be rotated by a driving source within a predetermined movable range;
A physical stopper provided on the arm;
By limiting the rotation range of the physical stopper provided on the arm support base, the movable range of rotation of the arm is limited to a movable range area of a movable range smaller than the predetermined movable range of the predetermined movable range. Two physical stoppers,
Control means for controlling the drive source to drive the arm in a movable control range area set so as not to exceed the movable range area of the arm limited by the physical stopper;
The physical stopper can be attached to and detached from a stopper placement portion provided more than the number of physical stoppers,
By selectively attaching the physical stopper to the stopper placement portion, the movable range of the arm is changed to a plurality of zones,
The control means is a robot arm movable range change control device configured to control the arm in a movable control range area corresponding to a plurality of movable range areas,
A selection decision means,
The control means includes
The intermediate angle of the predetermined movable range is set as the origin, the rotation limit angle in one rotation direction of the arm from the origin is set as the minimum angle value of the predetermined movable range, and the rotation limit angle in the other rotation direction of the arm from the origin Is the maximum angle value,
Among the movable range areas, one physical stopper is located at the origin and the other physical stopper is located at a position obtained by rotating the movable range area from the origin in one rotational direction. The angle value of the stopper is the angle value of the origin, the angle value of the other physical stopper is an angle value obtained by subtracting the angle obtained by rotating the movable range area from the origin in one rotation direction to the angle value of the origin,
For a movable range area where one physical stopper is at the origin and the other physical stopper is rotated from the origin in the other rotational direction, the angle value of the one physical stopper is set to the origin. An angle value, the angle value of the other physical stopper is an angle value obtained by adding an angle obtained by rotating the movable range area from the origin to the other rotation direction with respect to the angle value of the origin,
For a movable range area in which one physical stopper is at a position rotated from the origin to the movable range area in one rotational direction and the other physical stopper is at a position from the origin to the movable range area rotated in the other rotational direction. The angle value of the one physical stopper is an angle value obtained by subtracting the angle value obtained by rotating the movable range area from the origin in one rotation direction to the angle value of the origin, and the angle value of the other physical stopper is the An angle value obtained by adding an angle obtained by rotating the movable range area from the origin to the other rotation direction with respect to the angle value of the origin,
When there is a change request for the movable control range area of the arm from the movable control range area change request means, a plurality of arm movable control range area options are displayed on the display means,
When recognizing that an input for selecting and determining one option has been made by the selection determining means, the rotation control range area is set to the movable control range area of the selected and determined option,
Display on the display means to prompt the user to remove the physical stopper attached to the stopper placement part,
Of the angle values of the two physical stoppers set in the movable range area corresponding to the movable control range area, the larger angle value is Ka [deg], and the smaller angle value is Kb [deg]. When the intermediate angle value Kc [deg] of the two physical stoppers is
Kc = (Ka−Kb) / 2 + Kb
Is obtained by
When the angle value of the current position of the physical stopper is X [deg] and the arm movement angle is Q [deg], Q is Q = Kc−X
When Q> 0, the arm is rotated by the angle of Q in the other rotation direction. When Q <0, the arm is rotated by the angle of Q in the one rotation direction. A robot arm movable range changing control device characterized by suggesting a stopper position by rotating. An arm provided on an arm support base so as to be rotated by a driving source within a predetermined movable range;
A physical stopper provided on the arm;
By limiting the rotation range of the physical stopper provided on the arm support base, the movable range of rotation of the arm is limited to a movable range area of a movable range smaller than the predetermined movable range of the predetermined movable range. Two physical stoppers,
Control means for controlling the drive source to drive the arm in a movable control range area set so as not to exceed the movable range area of the arm limited by the physical stopper;
The physical stopper can be attached to and detached from a stopper placement portion provided more than the number of physical stoppers,
By selectively attaching the physical stopper to the stopper placement portion, the movable range of the arm is changed to a plurality of zones,
The control means is a robot arm movable range change control device configured to control the arm in a movable control range area corresponding to a plurality of movable range areas,
A selection decision means,
The control means includes a storage unit,
This control unit
The predetermined movable range is set so that the rotation limit angle in one rotational direction of the arm in the predetermined movable range of the arm is an angle value that increases in accordance with the rotation of the arm in the other rotational direction as the minimum angle value of the predetermined movable range. Specify a range, set a plurality of movable range areas in the predetermined movable range with an angle value of the predetermined movable range, and set an intermediate position of the plurality of movable range areas with an angle value of the predetermined movable range, The storage unit stores the angle value of the predetermined movable range, the angle value of each movable range zone, and the angle value of the intermediate position of each movable range zone,
When there is a change request for the movable control range area of the arm from the movable control range area change request means, a plurality of arm movable control range area options are displayed on the display means,
When recognizing that an input for selecting and determining one option has been made by the selection determining means, the rotation control range area is set to the movable control range area of the selected and determined option,
Display on the display means a prompt to remove the physical stopper mounted on the stopper placement portion;
The intermediate position angle value of the movable range area corresponding to the set movable control range area is read from the storage unit, and the read intermediate position angle value of the movable range area is set to Kr [deg], and the current angle of the arm When the value is X [deg] and the arm destination angle value is Q [deg], the Q is
Q = Kr-X
When Q> 0, the arm is rotated by the angle of Q in the other rotation direction. When Q <0, the arm is rotated by the angle of Q in the one rotation direction. A robot arm movable range changing control device characterized by suggesting a stopper position by rotating.

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