Patent Application
20140277729
The present application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to Japanese Patent Application No. 2013-052034, filed Mar. 14, 2013. The contents of this application are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a robot system and a method for producing a workpiece.
2. Discussion of the Background
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2010-12535 discloses a robot system including a plurality of robot cells and an interlock server having a shared memory map accessible from each robot cell.
According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a robot system includes robot and at least one control apparatus. The robot includes a sensor configured to constantly detect the robot. The control apparatus includes a control device and a first storage device. The control device is configured to control the robot. The first storage device is configured to store a plurality of operation modes of the robot and standard data associated with at least one operation mode among the plurality of operation modes. When the robot has performed an operation corresponding to the at least one operation mode associated with the standard data, the control device is configured to compare the standard data with a result of detection by the sensor, and is configured to control a display device to display a result of comparison.
According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method is for producing a workpiece in a robot system including a robot and a control apparatus configured to control the robot. The method includes constantly detecting the robot using a sensor disposed in the robot. When the robot performs an operation corresponding to at least one operation mode among a plurality of operation modes of the robot, standard data associated with the at least one operation mode is acquired from a storage device of the control apparatus using a control device of the control apparatus. When the robot has performed the operation corresponding to the at least one operation mode associated with the standard data acquired from the storage device, the standard data is compared with a result of detection by the sensor using the control device, and a display device is controlled to display a result of comparison using the control device.
A more complete appreciation of the present disclosure and many of the attendant advantages thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
The embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals designate corresponding or identical elements throughout the various drawings.
First, the robot 10 will be described. The robot 10 is a dual arm robot including a base 11, a body 12, and two arms 13 and 14. The robots 10 have the same configuration.
The base 11 is secured to an installment surface (such as floor) with an anchor bolt or similar means not shown. The body 12 includes a first joint including an actuator Ac1. The actuator Ac1 provides rotational drive about a rotation axis Ax1. The body 12 is rotatably disposed on the base 11 via the first joint. The body 12 is driven by the actuator Ac1, which is disposed in the first joint into rotation, in a direction approximately parallel to the installment surface. The aims 13 and 14 are separate from the body 12. The arm 13 is supported on one side (right side in
The arm 13 is a manipulator disposed on one side of the body 12, and includes a shoulder 130, an upper arm A 131, an upper arm B 132, a lower arm 133, a wrist A 134, a wrist B 135, a robot hand 136, and second to eighth joints respectively incorporating actuators Ac2 to Ac8. The actuators Ac2 to Ac8 provide rotational drive to these elements of the arm 13.
The shoulder 130 is rotatably coupled to the body 12 via the second joint, and is driven by the actuator Ac2, which is disposed in the second joint, into rotation about a rotation axis Ax2, which is approximately parallel to the installment surface. The upper arm A 131 is rotatably coupled to the shoulder 130 via the third joint, and is driven by the actuator Ac3, which is disposed in the third joint, into rotation about a rotation axis Ax3, which is orthogonal to the rotation axis Ax2. The upper arm B 132 is rotatably coupled to the distal end of the upper arm A 131 via the fourth joint, and is driven by the actuator Ac4, which is disposed in the fourth joint, into rotation about a rotation axis Ax4, which is orthogonal to the rotation axis Ax3.
The lower arm 133 is rotatably coupled to the upper arm B 132 via the fifth joint, and is driven by the actuator Ac5, which is disposed in the fifth joint, into rotation about a rotation axis Ax5, which is orthogonal to the rotation axis Ax4. The wrist A 134 is rotatably coupled to the distal end of the lower arm 133 via the sixth joint, and is driven by the actuator Ac6, which is disposed in the sixth joint, into rotation about a rotation axis Ax6, which is orthogonal to the rotation axis Ax5. The wrist B 135 is rotatably coupled to the wrist A 134 via the seventh joint, and is driven by the actuator Ac7, which is disposed in the seventh joint, into rotation about a rotation axis Ax7, which is orthogonal to the rotation axis Ax6.
The robot hand 136 includes a gripper 137 and a pair of bits 138a and 138b. The gripper 137 is rotatably coupled to the distal end of the wrist B 135 via the eighth joint, and is driven by the actuator Ac8, which is disposed in the eighth joint, into rotation about a rotation axis Ax8, which is orthogonal to the rotation axis Ax7. The gripper 137 causes the pair of bits 138a and 138b to reciprocate. The pair of bits 138a and 138b are mounted on the distal end of the gripper 137 and face each other. The pair of bits 138a and 138b are driven by an actuator, not shown, to move toward and away from each other.
The arm 14 is a manipulator disposed on the other side of the body 12 and has a configuration similar to that of the arm 13. Specifically, the arm 14 includes a shoulder 140, an upper arm A 141, an upper arm B 142, a lower arm 133, a wrist A 144, a wrist B 145, a robot hand 146, and ninth to fifteenth joints respectively incorporating actuators Ac9 to Ac15. The actuators Ac9 to Ac15 provide rotational drive to these elements of the arm 14.
The shoulder 140 is rotatably coupled to the body 12 via the ninth joint, and is driven by the actuator Ac9, which is disposed in the ninth joint, into rotation about a rotation axis Ax9, which is approximately parallel to the installment surface. The upper arm A 141 is rotatably coupled to the shoulder 140 via the tenth joint, and is driven by the actuator Ac10, which is disposed in the tenth joint, into rotation about a rotation axis Ax10, which is orthogonal to the rotation axis Ax9. The upper arm B 142 is rotatably coupled to the distal end of the upper arm A 141 via the eleventh joint, and is driven by the actuator Ac11, which is disposed in the eleventh joint, into rotation about a rotation axis Ax11, which is orthogonal to the rotation axis Ax10.
The lower arm 143 is rotatably coupled to the upper arm B 142 via the twelfth joint, and is driven by the actuator Ac12, which is disposed in the twelfth joint, into rotation about a rotation axis Ax12, which is orthogonal to the rotation axis Ax11. The wrist A 144 is rotatably coupled to the distal end of the lower arm 143 via the thirteenth joint, and is driven by the actuator Ac13, which is disposed in the thirteenth joint, into rotation about a rotation axis Ax13, which is orthogonal to the rotation axis Ax12. The wrist B 145 is rotatably coupled to the wrist A 144 via the fourteenth joint, and is driven by the actuator Ac14, which is disposed in the fourteenth joint, into rotation about a rotation axis Ax14, which is orthogonal to the rotation axis Ax13.
The robot hand 146 includes a gripper 147 and a pair of bits 148a and 148b. The gripper 147 is rotatably coupled to the distal end of the wrist B 145 via the fifteenth joint, and is driven by the actuator Ac15, which is disposed in the fifteenth joint, into rotation about a rotation axis Ax15, which is orthogonal to the rotation axis Ax14. The gripper 147 causes the pair of bits 148a and 148b to reciprocate. The pair of bits 148a and 148b are mounted on the distal end of the gripper 147 and face one another. The pair of bits 148a and 148b are driven by an actuator, not shown, to move toward and away from each other.
The actuators Ac1 to Ac15 each include a servomotor (not shown). Each of the actuators Ac1 to Ac15 incorporates an encoder (not shown) that outputs a rotational position of the corresponding actuator in the foim of a signal to the robot controller 30.
In this embodiment, the arms 13 and 14 each have seven joints, that is, seven degrees of freedom (redundant degree of freedom). The degrees of freedom of the arms 13 and 14 not be limited to seven.
Metal material such as iron and aluminum is an exemplary structural material of the shoulders 130 and 140, the upper anus A 131 and 141, the upper arms B 132 and 142, the lower arms 136 and 146, the wrist As 134 and 144, the wrists B 135 and 145, and the robot hands 136 and 146 of the arms 13 and 14.
As shown in
The shape of the upper arm B 142 is designed such that the positions of the rotation axis Ax11 of the eleventh joint and the rotation axis Ax12 of the twelfth joint are offset from each other by a distance D2 in plan view. The shape of the lower arm 143 is designed such that the positions of the rotation axis Ax13 of the thirteenth joint and the rotation axis Ax12 of the twelfth joint are offset from each other by a distance D3 in plan view. Thus, when the robot 10 takes such a posture that the rotation axes Ax11 and Ax13 are approximately parallel to each other, the offset length between the rotation axes Ax11 and Ax13 is (D2+D3). Thus, when the twelfth joint, which corresponds to the human “elbow”, is bent, a large clearance is secured between the lower arm 143, which corresponds to the human “lower arm”, and the upper arm A 141 and the upper arm B 142, which correspond to the human “upper arm”. Thus, the arm 14 has a larger movable degree of freedom even when the robot hand 146 moves closer to the body 12.
The arm 13 has a similar configuration, which is not clearly shown in
The robot 10 includes a first sensor 20, second sensors 21, third sensors 22, and fourth sensors 23. The first sensor 20 is disposed in the body 12. The second sensors 21 are respectively disposed in the base ends of the arms 13 and 14. The third sensors 22 are respectively disposed in distal ends of the wrists B 135 and 145. The fourth sensors 23 are respectively disposed in the robot hands 136 and 146. The first to the fourth sensors 20 to 23 detect the operations of the corresponding portions of the robot 10 in real time. It is also possible to provide other sensors in portions other than the portions described above.
Each of the first to fourth sensors 20 to 23 is a force sensor having a piezoelectric element. The piezoelectric element is made of a material having a larger specific frequency (or rigidity) than the specific frequency of the metal material constituting the structural material of the constituent portions of the robot 10. In this embodiment, the piezoelectric element of each sensor is a crystal. The crystal has a larger specific frequency than the specific frequency of the metal material as the structural material of the constituent portions of the robot 10. A sensor with a larger specific frequency is able to detect fluctuating force with higher frequency components. Thus, the sensors 20 to 23 are capable of detecting fine high frequency oscillation transmitted to the structural material of the constituent portions of the robot 10.
Each of the sensors 20 to 23 detects, as a voltage, the amount of distortion in a radial direction produced on the sensor fixing jig (not shown) by force (impact and oscillation) applied to the corresponding portion (detection result). The voltage detected by each of the sensors 20 to 23 is amplified by an amplifier not shown, and input into a high-pass filter. Then, the voltage is output to the robot controller 30 as an output value V.
The control device 31 controls an operation of the robot 10. Through an input device (not shown), the control device 31 receives operation information (operation start position and operation complete position) corresponding to a job of the robot 10. Based on the operation information, the control device 31 calculates a position command (operation command) for each of the actuators Ac1 to Ac15. Based on the calculated position command, the control device 31 generates a torque command for the servomotor of each of the actuators Ac1 to Ac15 so as to control the actuators Ac1 to Ac15.
The control device 31 detects contact (collision) between an object and the arms 13 and 14 while the robot 10 is in motion.
When the robot 10 performs a particular job, the control device 31 acquires a standard waveform associated with the particular job from the storage device 32. Examples of the particular job include, but are not limited to, a pipetting operation of injecting liquid into a test tube with a pipette, and an operation using laboratory instruments arranged around the robot 10. The control device 31 calculates the difference |D| between the standard waveform (standard data) and a time history waveform of the output value V output from each of the first to the fourth sensors 20 to 23. Then, the control device 31 compares the calculated difference |D| with a threshold value Dth set in advance to determine whether the arm 13 or 14 is in contact with an object. When every difference |D| corresponding to the first to the fourth sensors 20 to 23 is within the threshold value Dth, the control device 31 determines that the arm 13 or 14 is not in contact with the object. When any one difference |D| corresponding to any of the first to the fourth sensors 20 to 23 exceeds the threshold value Dth, the control device 31 determines that the arm 13 or 14 is in contact with the object.
The exemplary time history waveform of the sensor output value V shown in
The threshold value Dth is conveniently set based on input information input through the input device. As shown in
When the control device 31 detects contact between the arm 13 or 14 and the object, the control device 31 stops outputting the torque command value to the servomotors of the actuators Ac1 to Ac15, and thus stops the operation of the robot 10. Alternatively, when the control device 31 detects contact between the arm 13 or 14 and the object, the control device 31 may change the torque command value output to the servomotors of the actuators Ac1 to Ac15 into such a torque command value that makes the robot 10 avoid its current state.
The control device 31 outputs, to a display device 40, the result of comparison between the calculated difference |D| and the threshold value Dth set in advance. The display device 40 receives information indicating the result of comparison output from the control device 31, and displays the comparison information. The comparison information may be displayed in the form of a result of calculation by the control device 31 calculating an error percentage (%) of the waveform of the output value V of each of the first to the fourth sensors 20 to 23 relative to the threshold value Dth. When the error percentage of the waveform of the output value V of each of the first to the fourth sensors 20 to 23 relative to the threshold value Dth is equal to or higher than a predetermined level, it is possible to display this result (OK, NG, or a similar form). The control device 31 may also evaluate the acceptability of the operation of the robot 10 based on the comparison information. When the operation of the robot 10 is NG (that is, when precision of the work is low), the control device 31 may control the display device 40 to display instruction information (a warning, for example).
The control device 31 may store the information indicating the result of comparison output to the display device 40. In response to a request made through an input from the input device, the control device 31 may control the display device 40 to display the stored comparison information. The control device 31 may also learn from the results of comparison that are in store. The control device 31 may also reflect the result of learning on a particular job and the threshold value Dth.
The storage device 32 stores jobs as operation modes of the robot 10, and stores the above-described standard waveform associated with (linked to) a particular job (at least one job) among the plurality of jobs. The stored jobs are associated with all the operations of the robot 10. The standard waveform is obtained for each of the first to the fourth sensors 20 to 23 by recording the time history of the output value V output from each of the first to the fourth sensors 20 to 23. The history is recorded while the arm 13 or 14 performs the particular job during a predetermined recording period (operation period of the particular job) with the robot 10 in its normal state, that is, with the arm 13 or 14 out of contact with the object.
As shown in
Next, an operation of the robot system 1 will be described.
As shown in
Next, the control device 31 compares the calculated difference |D| with the threshold value Dth set in advance, and controls the display device 40 to display the result of comparison (step S03).
Also, based on the result of comparison between the calculated difference |D| and the threshold value Dth set in advance, the control device 31 determines whether the arm 13 or 14 of the robot 10 is in contact with an object (step SO4). When the control device 31 determines that the arm 13 or 14 is in contact with the object, the control device 31 stops the operation of the robot 10 (step S05). When the control device 31 determines that the arm 13 or 14 is not in contact with the object, the control device 31 ends the processing.
As has been described hereinbefore, in the robot system 1 of this embodiment, the robot controller 30 includes the control device 31 and the storage device 32. The control device 31 controls the robot 10. The storage device 32 stores jobs of the robot 10. The storage device 32 also stores a standard waveform associated with a particular job. When the robot 10 performs the particular job associated with the standard waveform, the control device 31 compares the standard waveform with the result of detection by each of the first to the fourth sensors 20 to 23, and controls the display device 40 to display the result of comparison.
Thus, in the robot system 1, the operation state of the robot 10 can be checked on the display device 40. Thus, the robot system 1 ensures recognition of how accurate the operation of the robot 10 is, and ensures checking of the precision of the work performed by the robot 10. Checking the precision of the work in the robot system 1 facilitates improvement of the operation of the robot 10. This, in turn, improves the precision of the work performed by the robot 10. As a result, the robot system 1 improves the quality of an end product (examples including, but not limited to, a pretreated sample).
When the robot system 1 of this embodiment determines that the arm 13 or 14 of the robot 10 is in contact with an object, the robot 10 stops its operation. Thus, the robot system 1 eliminates or minimizes an erroneous operation of the robot 10, and ensures a safe and highly precise operation.
In the robot system 1 of this embodiment, the server 50 at the storage device 51 stores all standard waveforms associated with a particular job of the robot 10. Thus, the robot system 1 ensures that the storage device 32 of the robot controller 30 does not need to store all of the standard waveforms; a desired standard waveform can be acquired from the server 50 when necessary. Thus, it is not necessary to increase the storage capacity of the storage device 32, and this eliminates or minimizes enlargement of the equipment for the robot controller 30.
In the robot system 1 of this embodiment, the first to the fourth sensors 20 to 23 each include a crystal piezoelectric element having a higher specific frequency than the specific frequency of the structural material of the robot 10. This ensures that the first to the fourth sensors 20 to 23 precisely detect the operation of the robot 10.
The above-described embodiment should not be construed in a limiting sense. For example, in this embodiment, the piezoelectric element of each of the first to the fourth sensors 20 to 23 has been illustrated as a crystal. This, however, should not be construed as limiting the configuration of each of the first to the fourth sensors 20 to 23. Any other configuration is possible insofar as it is a force sensor made of a piezoelectric element having a higher specific frequency than the specific frequency of the structural material of the constituent portions of the robot 10.
The exemplary application of the robot system 1 of this embodiment has been illustrated as a system of processing a liquid biological material. Another possible application of the robot system 1 is a method for producing a workpiece.
Obviously, numerous modifications and variations of the present disclosure are possible in light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims, the present disclosure may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described herein.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013-052034 | Mar 2013 | JP | national |
