AUTOMATIC PROGRAM-CORRECTION DEVICE, AUTOMATIC PROGRAM-CORRECTION METHOD, AND AUTOMATIC PATH-GENERATION DEVICE

• US 20200133276A1
• Filed: 10/08/2019
• Published: 04/30/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Fanuc Corporation
• Original Assignee: Fanuc Corporation
• Inventors: KIMOTO, Yuuki, NAGATSUKA, Yoshiharu, TAKEDA, Toshiya
• Granted Patent: US 11,579,587 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1664 characterised by motion, path, trajectory planning
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1666 Avoiding collision or forbidden zones
• CPC Class Codes: B25J 9/1671 characterised by simulation, either to verify existing program or to create and verify new program, CAD/CAM oriented, graphic oriented programming systems
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/4061 Avoiding collision or forbidden zones
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/40386 Search around teached point until operation has succes, correct program
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 2219/40476 Collision, planning for collision free path
• CPC Class Codes: G05D 1/02 Control of position or course in two dimensions

Abstract

An automatic program-correction device includes: a clearance detecting unit that detects an amount of clearance between a robot and a peripheral device in an operation program; a near-miss detecting unit that detects a near-miss section; a closest-point detecting unit that detects a pair of closest points, in the near-miss section; and a program updating unit that generates a new operation program having an intermediate teaching point to which the closest points have been moved, along a straight line passing through the detected pair of closest points, until the amount of clearance becomes greater than a minimum amount of clearance and equal to or less than the threshold. While gradually reducing, from the threshold, the amount of clearance at the intermediate teaching point, the program updating unit obtains an intermediate teaching point that provides a maximum amount of clearance at which a new near-miss section is not detected.

Claims

1. An automatic program-correction device comprising:

a clearance detecting unit that detects, at each position in a motion path of a robot set in an existing operation program, an amount of clearance between the robot and a peripheral device;

a near-miss detecting unit that detects a near-miss section in which the detected amount of clearance is less than a predetermined threshold;

a closest-point detecting unit that detects a pair of closest points having a minimum amount of clearance therebetween, in the detected near-miss section; and

a program updating unit that generates a new operation program having an intermediate teaching point at a position to which the closest points have been moved, along a straight line passing through the detected pair of closest points, until the amount of clearance becomes greater than the minimum amount of clearance and equal to or less than the threshold,

wherein, while gradually reducing, from the threshold, the amount of clearance at the intermediate teaching point, the program updating unit obtains an intermediate teaching point that provides a maximum amount of clearance at which a new near-miss section is not detected.

2. An automatic program-correction device comprising:

a processor; and

a memory,

wherein the processor detects, at each position in a motion path of a robot set in an existing operation program, an amount of clearance between the robot and a peripheral device;

detects a near-miss section in which the detected amount of clearance is less than a predetermined threshold stored in the memory;

detects a pair of closest points having a minimum amount of clearance therebetween, in the detected near-miss section;

sets an intermediate teaching point to which the closest points have been moved, along a straight line passing through the detected pair of closest points, until the amount of clearance becomes equal to the threshold;

and, while gradually reducing, from the threshold, the amount of clearance at the intermediate teaching point, generates a new operation program that has an intermediate teaching point that provides a maximum amount of clearance at which a new near-miss section is not detected.

3. An automatic program-correction method comprising:

detecting, at each position in a motion path of a robot set in an existing operation program, an amount of clearance between the robot and a peripheral device;

detecting a near-miss section in which the detected amount of clearance is less than a predetermined threshold;

detecting a pair of closest points having a minimum amount of clearance therebetween, in the detected near-miss section;

setting an intermediate teaching point to which the closest points have been moved, along a straight line passing through the detected pair of closest points, until the amount of clearance becomes equal to the threshold; and

while gradually reducing, from the threshold, the amount of clearance at the intermediate teaching point, generating a new operation program that has an intermediate teaching point that provides a maximum amount of clearance at which a new near-miss section is not detected.

4. An automatic path-generation device comprising:

a path search unit that searches, between two given motion points, for a motion path that satisfies a specified amount of clearance between a robot and a peripheral device; and

an amount-of-clearance adjustment unit that reduces the amount of clearance if the motion path is not found by the path search unit,

wherein the motion path is generated between the motion points by repeating the search for the motion path performed by the path search unit and the reduction of the amount of clearance performed by the amount-of-clearance adjustment unit.