Robot system

• US 20050071048A1
• Filed: 09/29/2004
• Published: 03/31/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fanuc Ltd (Fanuc Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Fanuc Ltd (Fanuc Corporation)
• Inventors: Ban, Kazunori, Watanabe, Atsushi, Kanno, Ichiro
• Granted Patent: US 7,590,468 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 700/259
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1664 characterised by motion, path, trajectory planning
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1674 characterised by safety, monitoring, diagnostic
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/4069 Simulating machining process on screen G05B19/4068 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/37555 Camera detects orientation, position workpiece, points of workpiece
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/40053 Pick 3-D object from pile of objects
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/40125 Overlay real time stereo image of object on existing, stored memory image argos
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/40213 Record history, log of instructions sent from task planner to path planner

Abstract

A robot system can grasp and take out one of a plurality of workpieces placed in a basket-like container by a hand mounted at the forward end of a robot arm. The workpiece is detected by a visual sensor, and the robot is controlled depending on a position and an orientation of the workpiece. When a problem such as interference or the like occurs, information relating to the problem is stored in a robot control unit or a visual sensor control unit. Information relating to the problem includes a predetermined amount of the latest data retrospectively traced from the time point of problem occurrence, a position which the robot has reached, the target position data, the content of the process executed by the visual sensor, and the detection result. When the problem is reproduced, these data are used to simulate the situation at the time of problem occurrence by using simulation unit. The situation at the time of problem occurrence can also be reproduced by using the actual robot without using the simulation unit.

Claims

1. A robot system capable of reproducing a situation at the time of alarm occurrence, said robot system comprising:

a robot; and

a visual sensor connected to said robot through a data transmitting means and for measuring one or both of a position and an orientation of an object in accordance with a command from said robot and transmitting a measurement result to said robot,

said robot comprising;

a means for sending, upon occurrence of a predefined alarm in said robot in operation, a notification of the alarm occurrence, and an operating condition of said robot at the time of alarm occurrence as robot history information, to said visual sensor;

a means for receiving the robot history information from the visual sensor; and

a means for reproducing the operating condition of said robot at the time of alarm occurrence using the received robot history information, and

said visual sensor comprising;

an accumulation means for accumulating measurement processing information obtained by measurement;

a recording means for recording, upon receipt of the notification of the alarm occurrence and the robot history information from said robot, the robot history information, while selecting measurement processing information associated with the robot operation at the time of alarm occurrence from the measurement processing information accumulated in said accumulation means and recording the selected measurement processing information as sensor history information;

a means for sending the robot history information recorded in the recording means to said robot; and

a means for reproducing a processing process of said visual sensor using the sensor history information.

2. The robot system according to claim 1, wherein the robot history information includes information representing at least one of a position which said robot has reached, a target position at which said robot aimed, an interpolation mode used by said robot to operate, an alarm generated in said robot, and a time of alarm occurrence.

3. The robot system according to claim 1, wherein the sensor history information includes information representing at least one of an image taken by said visual sensor, a content processed by said visual sensor, and a result of measurement processing in said visual sensor.

4. A robot system capable of reproducing a situation at the time of alarm occurrence, said robot system comprising:

a robot; and

a visual sensor connected to said robot through a data transmitting means for measuring one or both of a position and an orientation of an object in accordance with a command from said robot and transmitting a measurement result to said robot,

said robot comprising;

a means for temporarily storing a predetermined amount of the latest executed operation commands as executed command information;

a means for sending, upon occurrence of a predefined alarm in said robot in operation, a notification of an alarm occurrence, the executed command information, and an operating condition of said robot at the time of alarm occurrence as robot history information, to said visual sensor;

a means for receiving the executed command information and the robot history information from said visual sensor; and

a means for reproducing the operating condition of said robot before and at the time of alarm occurrence using the received executed command information and robot history information, and

said visual sensor comprising;

an accumulation means for accumulating the measurement processing information obtained by measurement;

a recording means for recording, upon receipt of the notification of the alarm occurrence, the executed command information and the robot history information from said robot, the executed command information and the robot history information, while selecting measurement processing information associated with the robot operation at the time of alarm occurrence from the measurement processing information accumulated in said accumulation means and recording the selected measurement processing information as sensor history information;

a means for sending the executed command information and robot history information recorded in the recording means to said robot; and

a means for reproducing a processing process of said visual sensor using the sensor history information.

5. The robot system according to claim 4, wherein the robot history information includes information representing at least one of a position which said robot has reached, a target position at which said robot aimed, an interpolation mode used by said robot to operate, an alarm generated in said robot, and a time of alarm occurrence.

6. The robot system according to claim 4, wherein the sensor history information includes information representing at least one of an image taken by said visual sensor, a content processed by said visual sensor, and a result of measurement processing in said visual sensor.

7. A robot system capable of reproducing a situation at the time of alarm occurrence, said robot system comprising:

a robot; and

a simulation unit connected to said robot through a communication line and for simulating operations of said robot,

said robot comprising;

a means for recording, upon occurrence of a predefined alarm in said robot in operation, an operating condition of the robot at the time of alarm occurrence as robot history information; and

a means for transmitting the robot history information through said communication line to said simulation unit, and

said simulation unit comprising;

a means for receiving the robot history information transmitted from said robot; and

a means for reproducing the operating condition of said robot at the time of alarm occurrence by simulation using the received robot history information.

8. The robot system according to claim 7, wherein the robot history information includes information representing at least one of a position which said robot has reached, a target position at which said robot aimed, an interpolation mode used by said robot to operate, an alarm generated in said robot, and a time of alarm occurrence.

9. The robot system according to claim 7, wherein said communication line is adapted to be able to switch between a connected state and a disconnected state.

10. The robot system according to claim 7, wherein said simulation unit is adapted to be able to load a robot program describing the operation of said robot through said communication line, and has a function to change a teaching content of the robot program on said simulation unit and then apply the changed robot program to said robot.

11. A robot system capable of reproducing a situation at the time of alarm occurrence, said robot system comprising:

a robot; and

a simulation unit connected to the robot through a communication line and for simulating operations of the robot,

said robot comprising;

a means for temporarily storing a predetermined amount of the latest executed operation commands as executed command information;

a means for recording, upon the occurrence of a predefined alarm in said robot in operation, an operating condition of said robot at the time of alarm occurrence as robot history information; and

a means for transmitting the executed command information and the robot history information through said communication line to said simulation unit, and

said simulation unit comprising;

a means for receiving the executed command information and robot history information transmitted from said robot; and

a means for reproducing the operating condition of said robot before, and at the time of, the alarm occurrence by simulation using the received executed command information and robot history information.

12. The robot system according to claim 11, wherein the robot history information includes information representing at least one of a position which said robot has reached, a target position at which said robot aimed, an interpolation mode used by said robot to operate, an alarm generated in said robot, and a time of alarm occurrence.

13. The robot system according to claim 11, wherein said communication line is adapted to be able to switch between a connected state and a disconnected state.

14. The robot system according to claim 11, wherein said simulation unit is adapted to be able to load a robot program describing the operation of said robot through said communication line, and has a function to change a teaching content of the robot program on said simulation unit and then apply the changed robot program to said robot.

15. A robot system capable of reproducing a situation at the time of alarm occurrence, said robot system comprising:

a robot;

a visual sensor connected to said robot through a data transmitting means and for measuring one or both of a position and an orientation of an object in accordance with a command from said robot and transmitting a measurement result to said robot; and

a simulation unit connected to said robot through a communication line and for simulating one or both of operations of said robot and processes of said visual sensor,

said robot comprising;

a means for notifying, upon occurrence of a predefined alarm in said robot in operation, an alarm occurrence to said visual sensor and recording an operating condition of said robot at the time of alarm occurrence as robot history information;

a means for receiving measurement processing information of said visual sensor associated with the robot operation at the time of alarm occurrence from said visual sensor and recording the measurement processing information as sensor history information; and

a means for transmitting the robot history information and the sensor history information through said communication line to said simulation unit, and

said visual sensor comprising;

an accumulation means for accumulating the measurement processing information obtained by measurement; and

a means for selecting, upon receipt of the notification of the alarm occurrence from said robot, the measurement processing information associated with the robot operation at the time of alarm occurrence from the measurement processing information accumulated in said accumulation means, and transmitting the selected measurement processing information to said robot, and

said simulation unit comprising;

a means for receiving the robot history information and sensor history information transmitted from said robot;

a means for reproducing the operating condition of said robot at the time of alarm occurrence by simulation using the received robot history information; and

a means for reproducing the processing process of said visual sensor by simulation using the received sensor history information.

16. The robot system according to claim 15, wherein the robot history information includes information representing at least one of a position which said robot has reached, a target position at which said robot aimed, an interpolation mode used by said robot to operate, an alarm generated in said robot, and a time of alarm occurrence, and

wherein the sensor history information includes information representing at least one of an image taken by said visual sensor, a content processed by said visual sensor, and a result of measurement processing in said visual sensor.

17. The robot system according to claim 15, wherein said communication line is adapted to be able to switch between a connected state and a disconnected state.

18. The robot system according to claim 15, wherein said simulation unit is adapted to be able to load a robot program describing the operation of said robot through said communication line, and has a function to change a teaching content of the robot program on said simulation unit and then apply the changed robot program to said robot.

19. The robot system according to claim 15, wherein said simulation unit is adapted to be able to load visual sensor processing parameters defining a process of said visual sensor through said communication line, and has a function to change a content of said visual sensor processing parameters on said simulation unit and then apply the changed visual sensor processing parameters to said visual sensor.

20. A robot system capable of reproducing a situation at the time of alarm occurrence, said robot system comprising:

a robot;

a visual sensor connected to said robot through a data transmitting means and for measuring one or both of a position and an orientation of an object in accordance with a command from said robot and transmitting a measurement result to said robot; and

a simulation unit connected to said robot through a communication line and for simulating one or both of operations of said robot and processes of said visual sensor,

said robot comprising;

a means for temporarily storing a predetermined amount of the latest executed operation commands as executed command information;

a means for notifying, upon occurrence of a predefined alarm in said robot in operation, an alarm occurrence to said visual sensor and recording an operating condition of said robot, at the time of alarm occurrence, as robot history information;

a means for receiving measurement processing information of said visual sensor associated with the robot operation at the time of alarm occurrence and recording the measurement processing information as sensor history information; and

a means for transmitting the executed command information, the robot history information and the sensor history information through said communication line to said simulation unit,

said visual sensor comprising;

an accumulation means for accumulating the measurement processing information obtained by measurement; and

a means for selecting, upon receipt of the notification of the alarm occurrence from said robot, the measurement processing information associated with the robot operation at the time of alarm occurrence from the measurement processing information accumulated in said accumulation means and transmitting the selected measurement processing information to said-robot, and

said simulation unit comprising;

a means for receiving the executed command information, the robot history information and the sensor history information transmitted from said robot;

a means for reproducing the operating condition of said robot before and at the time of alarm occurrence by simulation using the received executed command information and robot history information; and

a means for reproducing the processing process of said visual sensor by simulation using the received sensor history information.

21. The robot system according to claim 20, wherein the robot history information includes information representing at least one of a position which said robot has reached, a target position at which said robot aimed, an interpolation mode used by said robot to operate, an alarm generated in said robot, and a time of alarm occurrence, and

wherein the sensor history information includes information representing at least one of an image taken by said visual sensor, a content processed by said visual sensor, and a result of measurement processing in said visual sensor.

22. The robot system according to claim 20, wherein said communication line is adapted to be able to switch between a connected state and a disconnected state.

23. The robot system according to claim 20, wherein said simulation unit is adapted to be able to load a robot program describing the operation of said robot through said communication line, and has a function to change a teaching content of the robot program on said simulation unit and then apply the changed robot program to said robot.

24. The robot system according to claim 20, wherein said simulation unit is adapted to be able to load visual sensor processing parameters defining a process of said visual sensor through said communication line, and has a function to change a content of said visual sensor processing parameters on said simulation unit and then apply the changed visual sensor processing parameters to said visual sensor.

25. A robot system capable of reproducing a situation at the time of alarm occurrence, said robot system comprising:

a robot;

a visual sensor connected to said robot through a data transmitting means and for measuring one or both of a position and an orientation of an object in accordance with a command from said robot and transmitting a measurement result to said robot; and

a simulation unit connected to said robot through a communication line and for simulating one or both of operations of said robot and processes of said visual sensor,

said robot comprising;

a means for sending, upon the occurrence of a predefined alarm in said robot in operation, a notification of the alarm occurrence, and an operating condition of said robot at the time of alarm occurrence as robot history information, to said visual sensor,

said visual sensor comprising;

an accumulation means for accumulating measurement processing information obtained by measurement;

a means for recording, upon receipt of the notification of the alarm occurrence and the robot history information from said robot, the robot history information, while selecting measurement processing information associated with the robot operation at the time of alarm occurrence from the measurement processing information accumulated in said accumulation means and recording the selected measurement processing information as sensor history information; and

a means for transmitting the robot history information and the sensor history information through said communication line to said simulation unit,

said simulation unit comprising;

a means for receiving the robot history information and sensor history information transmitted from said visual sensor;

a means for reproducing the operating condition of said robot at the time of alarm occurrence by simulation using the received robot history information; and

a means for reproducing the processing process of said visual sensor by simulation using the received sensor history information.

26. The robot system according to claim 25, wherein the robot history information includes information representing at least one of a position which said robot has reached, a target position at which said robot aimed, an interpolation mode used by said robot to operate, an alarm generated in said robot, and a time of alarm occurrence, and

wherein the sensor history information includes information representing at least one of an image taken by said visual sensor, a content processed by said visual sensor, and a result of measurement processing in said visual sensor.

27. The robot system according to claim 25, wherein said communication line is adapted to be able to switch between a connected state and a disconnected state.

28. The robot system according to claim 25, wherein said simulation unit is adapted to be able to load a robot program describing the operation of said robot through said communication line, and has a function to change a teaching content of the robot program on said simulation unit and then apply the changed robot program to said robot.

29. The robot system according to claim 25, wherein said simulation unit is adapted to be able to load visual sensor processing parameters defining a process of said visual sensor through said communication line, and has a function to change a content of said visual sensor processing parameters on said simulation unit and then apply the changed visual sensor processing parameters to said visual sensor.

30. A robot system capable of reproducing a situation at the time of alarm occurrence, said robot system comprising:

a robot;

a visual sensor connected to said robot through a data transmitting means and for measuring one or both of a position and an orientation of an object in accordance with a command from said robot and transmitting a measurement result to said robot; and

a simulation unit connected to said visual sensor through a communication line and for simulating one or both of operations of said robot and processes of said visual sensor,

said robot comprising;

a means for temporarily storing a predetermined amount of the latest executed operation commands as executed command information; and

a means for sending, upon occurrence of a predefined alarm in said robot in operation, the notification of the alarm occurrence, the executed command information, and an operating condition of said robot at the time of alarm occurrence as robot history information, to said visual sensor,

said visual sensor comprising;

an accumulation means for accumulating measurement processing information obtained by measurement;

a means for recording, upon receipt of the notification of the alarm occurrence, the executed command information and the robot history information from said robot, the executed command information and the robot history information, while selecting measurement processing information associated with the robot operation at the time of alarm occurrence from the measurement processing information accumulated in said accumulation means and recording the selected measurement processing information as sensor history information; and

a means for transmitting the executed command information, the robot history information and the sensor history information through said communication line to said simulation unit, and

said simulation unit comprising;

a means for receiving the executed command information, the robot history information and the sensor history information transmitted from said visual sensor;

a means for reproducing the operating condition of said robot before and at the time of alarm occurrence by simulation using the received executed command information and robot history information; and

a means for reproducing the processing process of said visual sensor by simulation using the received sensor history information.

31. The robot system according to claim 30, wherein the robot history information includes information representing at least one of a position which said robot has reached, a target position at which said robot aimed, an interpolation mode used by said robot to operate, an alarm generated in said robot, and a time of alarm occurrence, and

wherein the sensor history information includes information representing at least one of an image taken by said visual sensor, a content processed by said visual sensor, and a result of measurement processing in said visual sensor.

32. The robot system according to claim 30, wherein said communication line is adapted to be able to switch between a connected state and a disconnected state.

33. The robot system according to claim 30, wherein said simulation unit is adapted to be able to load a robot program describing the operation of said robot through said communication line, and has a function to change a teaching content of the robot program on said simulation unit and then apply the changed robot program to said robot.

34. The robot system according to claim 30, wherein said simulation unit is adapted to be able to load visual sensor processing parameters defining a process of said visual sensor through said communication line, and has a function to change a content of said visual sensor processing parameters on said simulation unit and then apply the changed visual sensor processing parameters to said visual sensor.