JP2010089200A - Method and device for preventing interference of scara type robot device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a device for working a workpiece by using a plurality of SCARA type robots capable of eliminating defects of a conventional interference preventive device in which the occurrence of a deadlock state or the like has been found due to a time lag. <P>SOLUTION: In an interference preventive method of a device for performing the work by arraying a plurality of SCARA type robots sharing the working area, the space between a workpiece presently under working and a next workpiece is determined, a boundary is determined on the workpiece under working, the operational range of robot hands adjacent to front and rear sides of the boundary is determined, and a mechanical stopper for selectively stopping the operation of robot arms is provided at a position not reaching the hand of the adjacent robot. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a SCARA robot device that shares a work area, and more particularly, to a work area interference prevention method and interference prevention apparatus for a SCARA robot apparatus.

  Conventionally, an apparatus for processing a workpiece (hereinafter referred to as a workpiece) using a plurality of SCARA robots that share a work area is well known. At this time, the arms or robot hands of adjacent robots contact each other. Various prevention methods and devices are known to prevent interference.

For example, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 08-036410, interference management is performed by a controller that requires a shared interference check memory unit, and it is determined that individual robot position detectors or other robots exist in the interference area. It is managed by motion analysis and is controlled so that a plurality of robot arms do not enter the interference zone by determining the time difference of the movement of the single robot.
Further, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-192554, there is an interference check method based on an allowable time difference determination by a simulation computer or the like.
Furthermore, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 09-305210, there is a method of aligning the working directions of the robots before or during the operation.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 08-036410 JP 2006-192554 A JP 09-305210 A

  However, in all of the above-mentioned techniques, it is difficult to make the continuous operation time uniform due to the control time lag of each robot controller, and the first round is good. The robot's movements were not uniform, and deadlocks were frequently seen. Further, when the posture is changed by teaching, there is still a risk of collision between the arms due to an unexpected movement, and the solution of such a problem has been a problem to be solved by the invention.

In order to eliminate the aforementioned drawbacks, the present inventor
1) Determine the interval between the workpiece currently being machined and the next workpiece.
2) Each robot's hand operates only within a predetermined range within this interval.
3) Provide a mechanical stopper to stop the movement of the robot arm so that it does not reach the hand of the adjacent robot so that it does not enter the operation area with the adjacent robot.
We obtained knowledge such as. As a result, it has been concluded that the drawbacks of the interference prevention device in the conventional device are eliminated, and the present invention has been achieved.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an interference prevention method for a SCARA robot apparatus configured to process a work by arranging a plurality of SCARA robots so as to share a work area. Determine the interval between the workpiece currently being processed and the workpiece to be processed next, determine the boundary line defining the boundary of the work area on the workpiece currently being processed, and before and after the boundary line flow direction, respectively A machine for determining the operation range of the SCARA robot hand and selectively stopping the operation of the robot arm at a position where each SCARA robot hand does not reach the work area of the opponent. The present invention is characterized in that an interference stopper is provided to prevent interference of the work of each robot in the work area of the plurality of SCARA robots. And an interference preventing method of the color type robot apparatus.

Furthermore, in the method for preventing interference of a SCARA robot apparatus configured to process a workpiece by arranging two SCARA robots side by side so as to share a work area, the two SCARA robots are processed next to a workpiece currently being processed. And determining a boundary line A that defines the boundary of the work area on the workpiece currently being processed, and before and after the boundary line A before and after the flow direction of the workpiece being processed, respectively. The operation range L1 or L2 of the hand of the SCARA robot is determined, and further, the operation of the arm of the robot is moved to a position where the respective hands of the two robots do not reach the work range L1 or L2 of the opponent, respectively. It is configured with a mechanical stopper for selectively stopping, and the work of each robot in the work area of the two SCARA robots. And an interference preventing method of the SCARA type robot apparatus characterized by preventing Wataru.

  An apparatus for preventing interference of a SCARA robot apparatus configured to process a workpiece by arranging a plurality of SCARA robots so as to share a work area, wherein the SCARA robot and a workpiece currently being processed Workpiece interval determining means for determining an interval between the workpiece to be processed next, boundary line determining means for determining a boundary line for defining a boundary of a work area on the workpiece currently being processed, and before and after the flow direction of the boundary line In addition, work range determination means for determining the work range of each SCARA robot hand, and further, each SCARA robot hand moves to a position that does not reach the opponent's work range. And a mechanical stopper that selectively stops the movement of the plurality of SCARA robots. Was interference preventing apparatus.

Still further, in the interference prevention device of the SCARA robot device configured to process two SCARA robots side by side so as to share the work area, the interval between the workpiece currently being processed and the next workpiece to be processed A workpiece interval determining means for determining L, a work boundary determining means for determining a boundary line A for defining a boundary of a work area on the workpiece currently being machined, and before and after the flow direction of the workpiece on the boundary line A, The work range determining means for determining the own operation range L1 or L2 of each SCARA robot hand and the respective SCARA robot hands at positions where they do not reach the opponent's work range L1 or L2, respectively. A mechanical stopper that selectively stops the movement of the arms of the two SCARA robots,
The apparatus for preventing interference of the SCARA robot device is characterized in that the interference of the work in the work area of the two SCARA robots is prevented.

According to the present invention, during the operation of each robot, a mechanical stopper is present even in the case of a malfunction due to a single failure of the controller, which is a safe method.
In addition, it is possible to control the movement posture of each robot arm by teaching along each mechanical stopper, so that the teacher can teach without being aware of the posture of each robot arm in the vicinity of the interference area. .

Next, the case where two robots are used among the apparatuses constituted by a plurality of SCARA robots according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 denotes an apparatus (hereinafter simply referred to as a processing apparatus) that arranges a plurality of SCARA robots (hereinafter simply referred to as robots) 11 and 12, and performs a work process, and a work 14 mounted on a processing plate 13. The next work 14a and the finished work 14b are supplied to the processing apparatus 10 from the direction of arrow B.
An interval L between the workpiece 14 and the next workpiece 14a is set in advance. Also, a boundary line A indicating the basic boundary of the work area of each robot is determined on the workpiece 14. Furthermore, the ranges in which the hands 11a and 12a of the robot 11 and the robot 12 operate before and after the boundary A in the workpiece flow direction (left and right in FIG. 1) are set as L1 and L2, respectively. Further, mechanical stoppers 16 and 17 for limiting the operating ranges of the robot arms 11b and 12b so that the hands 11a and 12a installed at the ends of the arms of the robots do not collide with each other in the interference area 15 indicated by a chain line. The robots 11 and 12 are provided.

The above-described mechanical stopper 16 will be described. Here, the stopper 17 has the same configuration as the stopper 16 and performs the same operation.
As shown in FIG. 2, the mechanical stopper 16 is attached to a piston rod 20 of an air cylinder 19 that is moved up and down by switching of the electromagnetic valve 18 and has a buffering rubber 16 a or the like attached to the side in contact with the robot arm 11 b. When the mechanical stopper 16 is in the lower position, the arm 11b can be moved without contacting the stopper. ing.

Here, the robot 11 is controlled by the control device 21. Here, since the robot 12 has the same configuration and the same operation, detailed description is omitted.
More specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the robot control device 21 includes a servo CPU 22 that controls a servo motor (not shown) that drives a robot arm and the like, and a sequence controller that controls the sequence relationship of the entire robot 11. CPU 23, machine interface 24, display / operation panel 25, and the like, which are connected via a bus 26.

  Therefore, the servo motor (not shown) is connected to the servo control unit 28 and then the servo CPU 22 via the servo driver 27 and controlled. Further, data such as the aforementioned movement interval L of the workpiece, the boundary line A on the workpiece 14, and the ranges L1 and L2 that define the operation areas of the robot hands adjacent to each other before and after the boundary line A are displayed on the display / operation panel 25. Is stored in the storage unit 30 via the data interface 29 in the servo CPU 22 via the machine interface 24. Further, the rotation of the servo motor is controlled via the servo control unit 28 and the servo driver 29 to control the movement and operation of the arm 11b and the hand 11a.

  In addition, the electromagnetic switching valve 18 for controlling on / off of the mechanical stopper 16 is connected to the sequence control CPU via the input / output module 31 in the control device 21, and in cooperation with the servo CPU 22 by changing the workpiece or the like. The mechanical stopper 16 can be moved up and down. That is, when the work areas are basically two robots and the work areas are distinguished from each other, there is no mechanical interference if the mechanical stoppers 16 are turned on, that is, upward. When one robot needs to enter the processing area of the other work in the interference area and perform processing, if the mechanical stopper 16 is turned off, that is, lowered, one robot can work on the other robot. Allows processing of work in the area. When changing the operating range of the arm 11b or the hand 11a, the mechanical stopper 16 can be moved up and down by a signal from the display / operation panel 25, that is, one robot can process the other work. When entering, the sequence control circuit of the sequence controller activates the interlock so as to prohibit the work of the other robot, and the safety area (outside the area where the work of both robots interfered by the one-dot chain line in FIG. ) Can be controlled so as to remain in the work processing of the area.

  This interlock will be described in more detail. A priority flag table for the operation of each robot is prepared, and an operator arbitrarily sets it. That is, in the two robots, a combination of 2-bit priority flags of 00, 01, 10, and 11 determines which of the robots preferentially performs work processing in the buffer area. When the priority flag is 00, priority is not given to both robots, and only the work process in the self work area can be performed. When the work process in the work area of the other robot is instructed, the servo CPU 30 Thus, the determination process is performed, the data is output to the sequence control CPU, and stopped by the stopper. When the priority flag table data is 01, determination processing is similarly performed by the servo CPU 30 so that the robot on the right side shown in FIG. As a result, the mechanical stopper 16 of the right robot is lowered. The robot on the left side performs work processing outside the buffer area, or waits at a safe position other than the interference area. When the value is 10, the left robot preferentially performs the same work process. Furthermore, when the priority flag table data is 11, both the left and right robots can perform work processing in the interference area, but they interfere with each other, so care must be taken in creating the work program. Further, this priority flag data mode is advantageously used in combination with other interference prevention techniques.

  Since it is configured as described above, it is a safe method because there is a mechanical stopper even during the operation of each robot and in the case of malfunction due to a single failure of the controller. In addition, since the robot arm's movement posture can be controlled by teaching along each mechanical stopper, the teacher can teach without being aware of the posture of each robot arm in the vicinity of the interference zone. .

  In this embodiment, an example in which two SCARA robots are configured is shown. However, an example of a robot apparatus configured by using a plurality of SCARA robots using three or more robots is configured in the same manner. realizable. In such a case, the number of boundary lines, the number of work areas of each robot, and the number of bits in the priority flag table may be increased. In addition, as a way of using the priority flag in the control configuration, if there is no interference between adjacent robots, the priority flag may be used at the same time. It can also be used. This is the case, for example, in a processing apparatus in which a plurality of robots are used, in which every other robot priority is set.

It is explanatory drawing of the outline of the apparatus which processes a workpiece | work using several SCARA type robots which share the work area to which this invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a schematic explanatory view of an apparatus for processing a work using a plurality of SCARA robots sharing a work area to which the present invention is applied, and is an enlarged side view of the Z arrow view of FIG. 1. . It is explanatory drawing of the control apparatus of this apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

10 a plurality of SCARA robots 11 and 12 SCARA robots 13 SCARA robot 13 processing plate 14 work piece 15 interference area,
16, 17 Mechanical stopper 18 Electromagnetic switching valve 19 Air cylinder 20 Piston rod 21 Controller 22 Servo CPU
23 Sequence controller CPU
24 Machine Interface 25 Display / Operation Panel 26 Bus 27 Servo Driver 28 Servo Control Unit 29 Data Conversion Means 30 Storage Unit 31 Input / Output Module

Claims (6)

In the method of preventing interference of a SCARA robot apparatus configured to process a workpiece by arranging a plurality of SCARA robots so as to share a work area,
A plurality of SCARA robots determine an interval between a workpiece currently being processed and a workpiece to be processed next;
On the workpiece currently being processed, determine a boundary line that defines the boundary of the work area,
Determine the operating range of each SCARA robot hand before and after the boundary flow direction,
Each hand of the SCARA robot is provided with a mechanical stopper for selectively stopping the operation of the arm of the robot at a position that does not reach the work range of the opponent.
An interference prevention method for a SCARA robot apparatus, wherein interference of the work of each robot in the work area of the plurality of SCARA robots is prevented. In the method of preventing interference of a SCARA robot apparatus configured to process a workpiece by arranging two SCARA robots so as to share a work area,
The interval L between the workpiece currently processed by the two SCARA robots and the workpiece to be processed next is determined.
Determining a boundary A that defines the boundary of the work area on the workpiece currently being machined;
Determine the operating range L1 or L2 of the hand of each SCARA robot before and after the flow direction of the workpiece being processed at the boundary A,
Each hand of the two robots is configured using a mechanical stopper for selectively stopping the operation of the arm of the robot at a position not reaching the work range L1 or L2 of the opponent,
An interference prevention method for a SCARA robot apparatus, wherein interference between the work of each robot in the work area of the two SCARA robots is prevented.   The mechanical stopper for selectively stopping the operation of the arm of the robot is controlled by using a priority flag table so that one SCARA robot can preferentially work in an interfering work area. The method for preventing interference of the SCARA robot device according to item 2 or 3. A control device for preventing interference of a SCARA robot device configured to process a work by arranging a plurality of SCARA robots so as to share a work area,
A workpiece interval determining means for determining an interval between a workpiece currently processed by the plurality of SCARA robots and a workpiece to be processed next;
Boundary line determination means for determining a boundary line that defines the boundary of the work area on the workpiece currently being processed;
Work range determination means for determining the work range of each SCARA robot hand before and after the flow direction of the boundary line; and
A mechanical stopper that selectively stops the operation of the arm of the robot at a position where each hand of the SCARA robot does not reach the work range of the opponent;
A collision preventive device for a SCARA robot, characterized in that it prevents interference of operations of a plurality of SCARA robots. A control apparatus for preventing interference of a SCARA robot apparatus configured to process a workpiece by arranging two SCARA robots so as to share a work area,
A workpiece interval determining means for determining an interval L between a workpiece currently being processed and a workpiece to be processed next;
Work boundary determination means for determining a boundary line A that defines a boundary of a work area on the workpiece currently being processed;
Work range determination means for determining the own operation range L1 or L2 of each SCARA robot hand before and after the boundary A in the workpiece flow direction;
A mechanical stopper for selectively stopping the movement of the arms of the two SCARA robots at a position where each hand of the two SCARA robots does not reach the work range L1 or L2 of the opponent;
Configured with
An interference prevention control device for a SCARA robot device, wherein interference between operations in a work area of the two SCARA robots is prevented.   3. The interference prevention control device for a SCARA robot device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the mechanical stopper means for selectively stopping the operation of the robot arm is moved to the interference work area. A control device for preventing interference of a SCARA robot device, further comprising a priority flag table for use so that the SCARA robot can be preferentially operated.

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