TW202411036A - Robotic arm operation system including a control device, multiple joint devices, and a brake release monitoring device - Google Patents

Abstract

The robotic arm operation system of the invention includes a control device, multiple joint devices, and a brake release monitoring device. The control device is used to generate an operation command. The joint devices are coupled to the control device. Each joint device includes a motor and a driver. The drivers of the multiple joint devices receive the operation command to generate corresponding multiple brake release signals. The multiple brake release signals are used to release a brake state of the motor of the corresponding joint devices. The brake release monitoring device is coupled to the control device and the joint devices and includes multiple monitoring circuits. When one of the multiple monitoring circuits does not receive the corresponding brake release signal, the brake release monitoring device notifies the control device that the execution of the operation command is not allowed.

Description

Robot arm operation system

The present invention relates to a robot arm, and in particular to an operating system of the robot arm.

The operation of the robot arm is controlled by the axis drive devices of each axis (joint) of the robot arm through the operation instructions of the control device. The axis drive device includes a motor and a driver. When the robot arm is powered off or the previous operation is completed, the brake mechanism of the motor will close to lock the motor. Therefore, when a new operation instruction is to be executed, after the control device sends the operation instruction to the driver of the axis drive device, the driver will supply the brake release power to the motor to allow the brake mechanism to release the brake and release the motor. In this way, the motor can operate normally according to the operation instruction.

However, in practice, the driver may fail or malfunction without sending the release power, which means that the motor has not been released. Then, the driver continues to execute the operation command of the control device to drive the motor. In this way, forcing the locked motor to run will cause wear or burning problems.

In view of the above shortcomings, the object of the present invention is to provide a reliable and safe operation system of a robot arm.

Therefore, the operation system of the robot arm according to the present invention includes a control device, multiple axis drive devices and a brake release monitoring device. The control device is used to generate an operation instruction. Multiple axis drive devices are coupled to the control device. Each axis drive device includes a motor and a driver. The drivers of the multiple axis drive devices receive the operation instruction to generate corresponding multiple brake release signals. The multiple brake release signals are used to release a braking state of each corresponding motor. The brake release monitoring device is coupled to the control device and the multiple axis drive devices, and includes multiple monitoring circuits. The plurality of monitoring circuits correspond to the plurality of axis drive devices and are used to receive a plurality of brake release signals to release the brake state, and notify the control device to allow the execution of the operation command, so that each motor of the plurality of axis drive devices operates according to the operation command. When one of the plurality of monitoring circuits does not receive the corresponding brake release signal, the brake release monitoring device notifies the control device not to allow the execution of the operation command.

In this way, the operation system of the robot arm of the present invention can monitor whether the driver normally outputs the release signal in a one-to-one manner through the monitoring circuit of the release monitoring device corresponding to the number of axis drive devices to confirm the status of the driver, and then feedback the status of receiving the release signal to the control device to avoid motor damage or burning.

The following describes in detail the technical content and features of the present invention through several examples and drawings. The terms "connection" or "coupling" mentioned in this specification are only terms for normal electrical conduction or connection, and are not intended to limit the scope of the claims.

In order to explain the technical features of the present invention in detail, the following embodiments are provided with accompanying drawings, wherein:

As shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2, Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of the operation system 10 of the present invention applied to a robot arm 50, and Fig. 2 is a block diagram of the operation system 10. In this embodiment, the robot arm 50 can operate in six-axis directions.

The operating system 10 includes a control device 30 , six joint devices 51 - 56 and a brake release monitoring device 70 .

The control device 30 is used to generate an operation instruction. The operation instruction includes the release of the brakes of each axis drive control device 51-56 that needs to be operated during operation and the operation plan, so that each axis drive control device 51-56 performs actions according to the operation plan.

Each of the axis drive devices 51-56 is coupled to the control device 30. Each axis drive device 51-56 includes a driver 511-561 and a motor 513-563. The driver 511-561 of each of the axis drive devices 51-56 receives an operation instruction to generate six corresponding release signals, and each of the release signals is used to release a braking state of the motor 513-563 of the corresponding axis drive device 51-56. In the braking state, the motor 513-563 cannot be operated or run. After the braking state is released, the motor 513-563 is released to be freely operated or run, that is, to execute the operation plan.

The brake release monitoring device 70 is coupled to the control device 30 and each of the shaft drive devices 51-56, and includes six monitoring circuits 71-76. Each of the monitoring circuits 71-76 is connected to each of the shaft drive devices 51-56, and receives the corresponding brake release signal to release the brake state, and informs the control device 30 to allow the execution of the operation command, so that the motor 513-563 operates according to the operation command.

When one of the monitoring circuits 71-76 does not receive the release signal, the release monitoring device 70 notifies the control device 30 that the operation command is not allowed to be executed. One of the monitoring circuits 71-76 indicates any one or more (for example, two, three, four, five, six). In this case, the control device 30 does not allow the shaft drive devices 51-56 to execute the operation plan in the operation command to avoid damage caused by the motor 513-563 being forced to operate in the braking state.

In addition, the determination of whether the release signal is received is for the selected activated monitoring circuits 71-76. In other embodiments, when only three of the six are selected to be activated, the determination of whether the release signal is received is for the activated monitoring circuits, and the remaining unactivated monitoring circuits are not determined or confirmed. Of course, in other embodiments, the number of selected activated monitoring circuits 71-76 can be more or less, and is not limited to the above examples.

As shown in Fig. 3, Fig. 3 is a circuit diagram of the first embodiment of the brake release monitoring device. Each of the monitoring circuits 71-76 is of the same composition, each of which includes a signal detection unit 711-761, a switch unit 713-763, a notification unit 715-765 and a power processing unit 717-767.

The signal detection units 711-761 are connected to the drivers 511-561 and are used to receive the release signal. In this embodiment, the signal detection units 711-761 include input transistors Q1-Q6, and the input transistors Q1-Q6 are P-channel field effect transistors (PMOSFET). The gates of the input transistors Q1-Q6 are connected to the drivers 511-516 to receive the release signal. The sources of the input transistors Q1-Q6 are connected to the release power supply _VB .

The switch units 713-763 are connected to the signal detection units 711-761 and the notification units 715-765. The drains of the input transistors Q1-Q6 are connected to the input ends of the switch units 713-763, and the notification units 715-765 are connected to the output ends of the switch units 713-763. In this embodiment, the switch units 713-763 are, for example, toggle switches for selecting the monitoring circuits 71-76 to be used and unused. For example, when only three of the six axis drive devices are to be used, the switches corresponding to the three axis drive devices are turned on through the switch units 713-763, and the switch units 713-763 corresponding to the unused axis drive devices remain disconnected to retain the flexibility of the use of the axis drive devices.

The notification units 715-765 are connected to the control device 30, and notify the control device 30 whether a release signal is received according to the operation of the signal detection units 711-761. In this embodiment, each notification unit 715-765 is composed of the same circuit, such as a diode and a light-emitting diode. The diode is connected to the switch unit 713-763 and the control device 30 to change the voltage or signal level (such as high voltage and low voltage) to notify the control device 30. The light-emitting diode can remind through light for maintenance and monitoring.

When the gate of the input transistor Q1-Q6 receives the release signal, the input transistor Q1-Q6 becomes cut-off state, so the drain of the input transistor Q1-Q6 does not supply power to the switch unit 713-763 and the notification unit 715-765, but notifies the control device 30 with a low voltage.

On the contrary, in an abnormal state, for example, when the gate of input transistor Q3 does not receive the release signal, but the gates of other input transistors Q1-Q2 and Q4-Q6 receive the release signal, input transistor Q3 will be turned on, and input transistors Q1-Q2 and Q4-Q6 will be turned off. Therefore, the drains of input transistors Q1-Q2 and Q4-Q6 will not be connected to switch unit 71. 3-723, 743-763 and notification units 715-725, 745-765 are powered, but the drain of the input transistor Q3 can power the switch unit 733 and the notification unit 735. Therefore, the notification unit 735 will notify the control device 30 of the abnormality with a high voltage, so that the control device 30 outputs a stop command to prevent the drivers 511-561 from executing or stopping the operation command.

The power processing units 717-767 are connected to the release power supply _VB , the drivers 511-561 and the motors 513-563 of the corresponding axis drive control devices 51-56, and supply the release power supply _VB to the motors 513-563 corresponding to the release signal to release the brake mechanism of the motors 513-563.

In this embodiment, the power processing circuit 717-767 includes a trigger element and a power supply transistor Q7-Q12. The trigger element is connected to the power supply transistor Q7-Q12 and the driver 511-561 corresponding to each of the axis drive control devices 51-56. The trigger element triggers the power supply transistor Q7-Q12 to conduct according to the release signal to supply the release power _VB to the motor 513-563. Wherein, when the release signal is not received, the trigger element will not trigger the power supply transistor Q7-Q12 to conduct.

The trigger element is, for example, an N-channel field effect transistor (NMOSFET) Q13-Q18, and the power supply transistor Q7-Q12 is, for example, a P-channel field effect transistor (PMOSFET). The gate of the N-channel field effect transistor Q13-Q18 is connected to the driver 511-561 of each of the axis drive devices 51-56, the source of the N-channel field effect transistor Q13-Q18 is connected to the ground terminal, the drain of the N-channel field effect transistor Q13-Q18 is connected to the release power supply _VB and the gate of the power supply transistor Q7-Q12, the source of the power supply transistor Q7-Q12 is connected to the release power supply _VB , and the drain of the power supply transistor Q7-Q12 is connected to the motor 513-563 of each of the axis drive devices 51-56.

When the gates of the N-channel field effect transistors Q13-Q18 all receive the release signal normally, the N-channel field effect transistors Q13-Q18 trigger the power supply transistors Q7-Q12 to turn on, so that the drains of the power supply transistors Q7-Q12 supply the release power _VB to the motors 513-563 of the axis drive devices 51-56, so that the motors 513-563 complete the release. Subsequently, the motors 513-563 can execute the operation instructions normally.

Continuing with the above abnormal example, when an abnormality occurs, the release power _VB cannot be transmitted to the motor 533.

As shown in FIG4, FIG4 is a circuit diagram of the second embodiment of the brake release monitoring device. Compared with FIG3, the difference lies in the trigger element. The trigger element of FIG3 is a field effect transistor as an example, and the trigger element of FIG4 is an optocoupler U1-U6 as an example. The composition and operation of the same parts are not repeated here.

When the drivers 511-561 of the axis drive devices 51-56 output the release signal normally, the photocouplers U1-U6 are turned on to trigger the power supply transistors Q7-Q12 to turn on, so that the drains of the power supply transistors Q7-Q12 supply the release power _VB to the motors 513-563 of the axis drive devices 51-56 to release the motors 513-563. Subsequently, the motors 513-563 can execute the operation instructions normally.

Similarly, when at least one of the drivers 511-561 of the axis drive control devices 51-56 does not normally output the release signal, the optocouplers U1-U6 that have not received the release signal will not be turned on, and therefore, the power supply transistors Q7-Q12 will not be triggered.

As shown in FIG5 , FIG5 is a circuit diagram of the third embodiment of the brake release monitoring device. Each monitoring circuit 71-76 includes a relay K1-K6 and a switch unit 713-763. The switch unit 713-763 connects the relay K1-K6 and the control device 30. The relay K1-K6 includes a control coil, a first common contact C1, a first normally closed contact NC1, a first normally open contact NO1, a second common contact C2, a second normally closed contact NC2, and a second normally open contact NO2. The control coil is connected to the driver 511-561 of the corresponding axis drive device 51-56. The first common contact C1 is connected to the ground terminal. The first normally open contact NO1 is connected to the switch unit 713-763. The second common contact C2 is connected to the brake release power supply _VB . The second normally open NO2 contact is connected to the motor 513-563 of the six-axis drive device.

When the control coil receives the release signal sent by the driver 511-561 normally, the switch of the relay K1-K6 will switch from the normally closed contact NC1, NC2 to the normally open contact NO1, NO2, and notify the control device 30 through the first normally open contact NO1 and the switch unit 713-763, so that the control device 30 controls the driver 511-561 of the shaft drive device 51-56 to execute the operation instruction. The release power supply _VB can be supplied to the motor 513-563 through the second normally open contact NO2 to release the motor 513-563.

Similarly, when the control coil of any relay K1-K6 does not receive the release signal, the switch of the relay K1-K6 that has not received the release signal remains in the normally closed contact NC1, NC2 position. In this way, the state (e.g., high voltage level) fed back to the control device 30 by the relay K1-K6 that has not received the release signal is different from the state (e.g., low voltage level) fed back to the control device 30 by other relays K1-K6 that have received the release signal. Therefore, the control device 30 outputs a stop command but does not allow the execution of the run command to avoid wear or burning of the motor 513-563.

Although the above-mentioned embodiments are based on a six-axis robot arm, in other embodiments, the number of axis drive devices and monitoring circuits can be more or less, such as more than six axes, or only two axes, three axes, four axes or five axes. Therefore, the operating system of the present invention is not limited to six axes.

Through the above-mentioned embodiments, it is shown that those skilled in the art can understand the technology and purpose of the hardware configuration of the operating system of the robot arm of the present invention. Therefore, the above-mentioned configuration of transistors (including N-channel or P-channel) or relays can also be changed in the hardware through the number or arrangement of logic elements to achieve the same technology and purpose. Therefore, the transistors and relays described in the embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the claims. In addition, the above-mentioned confirmation of the transmission status of the release signal by the high and low voltage levels is only used to illustrate the present invention. In other embodiments, the judgment can be made through the opposite logic of the present invention, for example, the low voltage level represents that the release signal has not been received.

10: Operation system 30: Control device 50: Robot arm 51-56: Axis drive device 511-561: Driver 513-563: Motor 70: Brake release monitoring device 71-76: Monitoring circuit 711-761: Signal detection unit 713-763: Switch unit 715-765: Notification unit 717-767: Power processing unit Q1-Q6: Input transistor Q7-Q12: Power supply transistor Q13-Q18: N-channel field effect transistor U1-U6: Optocoupler K1-K6: Relay _VB : Brake release power supply

The detailed structure, features and operation of the operating system of the robot arm will be described in the following embodiments. However, it should be understood that the embodiments and drawings described below are only for exemplary purposes and should not be used to limit the scope of the patent application of the present invention.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the operating system of the robot arm of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the operating system in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram of the first embodiment of the brake release monitoring device in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram of the second embodiment of the brake release monitoring device in FIG. 2. FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram of the third embodiment of the brake release monitoring device in FIG. 2.

10: Operation system

30: Control device

50:Robotic arm

51-56: Axis drive control device

70: Brake release monitoring device

Claims (7)

A robot arm operation system, comprising: a control device for generating an operation instruction; a plurality of axis drive devices, coupled to the control device, each axis drive device comprising a motor and a driver, the drivers of the plurality of axis drive devices receiving the operation instruction to generate a plurality of corresponding release signals, the plurality of release signals being used to release a brake state of each corresponding motor; and A brake release monitoring device is coupled to the control device and the multiple axis drive devices, and includes multiple monitoring circuits. The multiple monitoring circuits correspond to the multiple axis drive devices and are used to receive the multiple brake release signals to release the brake state, and notify the control device to allow the execution of the operation instruction, so that each of the motors of the multiple axis drive devices operates according to the operation instruction. When one of the multiple monitoring circuits does not receive the corresponding brake release signal, the brake release monitoring device notifies the control device not to allow the execution of the operation instruction. An operating system for a robot arm as described in claim 1, wherein each of the multiple monitoring circuits includes a signal detection unit, a switch unit, a notification unit and a power processing unit, the signal detection unit is connected to each of the drivers corresponding to the multiple axis drive devices and is used to receive the release signal, the switch unit is connected to the signal detection unit and the notification unit, the notification unit is connected to the control device and notifies the control device whether the release signal is received based on the operation of the signal detection unit, and the power processing unit is connected to a release power source, each of the drivers and each of the motors corresponding to the multiple axis drive devices, and supplies the release power source to the motor corresponding to the release signal. An operating system for a robot arm as described in claim 2, wherein the signal detection unit includes a transistor, and the transistor operates according to the release signal. An operating system for a robot arm as described in claim 2, wherein the power processing circuit includes a trigger element and a power supply transistor, the trigger element is connected to the power supply transistor and each of the drivers corresponding to the multiple axis drive control devices, the trigger element triggers the power supply transistor to conduct according to the release signal to supply the release power to the motor, and the trigger element cannot trigger the power supply transistor to conduct when the release signal is not received. An operating system for a robot arm as described in claim 4, wherein the trigger element includes a transistor. An operating system for a robot arm as described in claim 4, wherein the trigger element includes a photocoupler. An operating system for a robot arm as described in claim 1, wherein each of the multiple monitoring circuits includes a relay and a switch unit, the switch unit is connected to the relay and the control device, the relay includes a control coil, a first common contact, a first normally closed contact, a first normally open contact, a second common contact, a second normally closed contact and a first normally open contact, the control coil is connected to each of the drivers corresponding to the multiple axis drive devices, the first common contact is connected to a ground terminal, the first normally open contact is connected to the switch unit, the second common contact is connected to a brake release power source, and the second normally open contact is connected to each of the motors corresponding to the multiple axis drive devices.

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