JPS61270093A - Three-dimensional posion setting auxiliary equipment - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to a three-dimensional method used to set the three-dimensional position of a head in a predetermined relative positional relationship with respect to a position setting point displayed on an object. This invention relates to improvements to an auxiliary position setting device.

[Technical background of the invention and its problems]

For example, in industrial robots installed in the product assembly process, material cutting process, and processing process on a jaw construction line, the movement path and operation procedure of the work head are 3D shown to the robot before it is actually operated. It is necessary to teach according to the shape of the workpiece. This work of teaching the three-dimensional movement of the work head is called teaching, and this teaching has conventionally been generally performed manually by the operator. For example, when teaching a CO2 laser cutting robot, the operator approaches the teaching point of the marking line drawn on the surface of the workpiece while operating the Teing pendant, and then Teaching is performed by setting the three-dimensional position of the processing head so as to have a predetermined relative positional relationship and storing the three-dimensional position information at this time. However, in this conventional teaching work, the operator directly visually observes the three-dimensional position of the machining head relative to the teaching point, which requires time and effort. In order to improve efficiency, for example, a magnetic sensor is placed near the machining head, and this magnetic sensor detects the size of the eddy current generated in the workpiece, and the distance between the machining radius and the workpiece surface is determined from the detected value. The opposing distance of the processing head with respect to the workpiece is set based on the calculation result. However, when using such a conventional position setting auxiliary device, it is certainly possible to set the opposing distance of the processing head to the workpiece relatively easily, but since the magnetic sensor has a large detection area, The accuracy of measuring the distance of the workpiece relative to the area is low, and the attitude of the processing head relative to the workpiece still has to be determined visually by the operator, making it impossible to expect a significant improvement in teaching efficiency and accuracy. On the other hand, recently, a device has been proposed that detects the relative positional relationship of the head to the workpiece by projecting measurement light onto the surface of the workpiece and comparing the position of the bright spot with a reference position. The detection accuracy of species Iff tends to change due to disturbance light such as the sun or indoor light.
It was not possible to perform teaching with stable accuracy.

[Purpose of the invention]

The present invention makes it possible to perform teaching accurately in a short time and without requiring skill, and also to reduce the influence of ambient light and to perform stable teaching under sufficient illuminance. The object of the present invention is to provide a three-dimensional position setting auxiliary device that can significantly improve work efficiency and accuracy.

[Summary of the invention]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a head with a first projector that projects light onto an object from an oblique direction to form a first bright spot for setting the facing distance, and a first projector that projects light onto the object. and a second projector that forms a plurality of second jII points forming at least a triangle together with the first bright point, and each bright point formed on the object by these projectors and the object An image carrier is provided that takes a WI image of a position setting point displayed in advance on an object, and each of the above-mentioned bright spots and position setting points imaged by this image pickup device is displayed on an image display, and the image display is displayed. The positioning point is set as a positioning target on the screen and is positioned so as to coincide with the first bright spot when the three-dimensional position of the head with respect to the positioning point on the object reaches a predetermined relative positional relationship. The first reference position mark is displayed in a fixed manner, and when the three-dimensional position of the head with respect to the position setting point on the object reaches a predetermined relative positional relationship, it is arranged to coincide with the plurality of second bright points. A plurality of reference position marks positioned at the target object are fixedly displayed, and when setting the head position, the head is positioned relative to the object while visually checking the image display so that each bright spot coincides with each of the reference position marks. The three-dimensional position of the head can be set by adjusting the facing distance and facing attitude, and an optical filter is disposed in front of the light-receiving surface of the imager, and this optical filter allows the output light of each of the projectors to be adjusted. By blocking light other than wavelength components, the influence of disturbance light and illumination light is reduced.

[Embodiments of the invention]

FIG. 2 shows the structure of the head portion of a cutting robot equipped with a three-dimensional position setting assisting device in one embodiment of the present invention, and 1 indicates the head body. A laser processing head 2 is attached to one surface of the head body 1, and a teaching head 3 is attached to the opposite surface of the laser processing head 2. Further, the head body 1 is rotatably connected to a rotation mechanism 6 with respect to the robot arm 4, and by rotating the head body 1, the teaching head 3 is rotated during teaching.
is made to face the surface of the workpiece 9 as an object, and the laser processing head 2 can be made to face the surface of the workpiece 9 during cutting.

Now, as shown in FIG. 1, the three-dimensional position setting auxiliary device of this embodiment includes an image display device 7 consisting of a CRT display that displays image signals captured by an image pickup device (to be described later) inside the teaching head 3; The reference position pattern generation circuit 8 displays the reference position pattern on the image display 7.

The teaching head 3 houses four projectors 31 to 34, an image pickup device 35, and an illuminator 36 for illuminating the surface of the workpiece 9 in a head housing 30, and its configuration is shown in FIG. (I-■ cross-sectional view in Figure 1) and 4th
It is as shown in the figure (I-I cross-sectional view in FIG. 3).

Each of the projectors 31 to 34 includes a semiconductor laser device 31
a to 34a1 and reflection al131b to 34b, and the semiconductor laser devices 31a to 34a are
is fixed to the middle part of the inner wall surface of the tli31b~
34b is a holder 31c to 3 at the tip of the head housing 30.
It is fixed by 4C. These floodlights 31-34
In this method, laser beams of specific wavelengths generated from semiconductor laser devices 318 to 34a are reflected by reflecting mirrors 31b to 34b and projected onto the surface of the workpiece, thereby forming a bright spot on the surface of the workpiece 9, The projector 31 has a bright spot S1 for distance setting as shown in FIG. 1, and other projectors 32 to 34.
form bright spots S2 to S4 for attitude setting, respectively. On the other hand, the imager 35 is a solid-state imaging camera using a solid-state AM device 35a, and is fixed to the center of the head housing 30 by a camera holder 35b.

This imager 35 is installed on the surface of the workpiece 9 by each of the above-mentioned light projectors 31.
The upper teaching points P are placed on each of the bright spots S1 to S4 formed by ~34 and the scribing lines previously formed on the surface of the workpiece 9! ffl image. Further, an illuminator 36 that illuminates the surface of the workpiece 9 is fixed to the tip of the head housing 30 by a holder 36a. Further, an optical filter 39 is disposed in front of the solid-state image sensor 35a. This optical filter 39 is used for each of the above-mentioned light projection! S31-34
It passes only the wavelength component of the output light of , and blocks light other than the output light of the projectors 31 to 34, such as disturbance light such as sunlight and illumination light of the illuminator 36. Note that 37 is a glass window for dustproofing, and 38 is a mounting member for mounting the teaching head 3 to the head main body 1.

The reference position pattern generation circuit 8 has a first reference position mark M1 used to set the facing distance of the head with respect to the workpiece 9, and three second reference position marks M1 used to set the facing attitude of the head with respect to the workpiece 9. Reference position mark M2
-M4, respectively, and superimposes these reference position marks M1-M4 on the captured image signal from the AM unit 35 at predetermined positions on the display screen of the image display 7, as shown in FIG. and display it.

A case will be explained taking as an example a case where the three-dimensional position of the teaching head 3 is set with respect to the teaching point PO above the slope line displayed on the surface of the axis 9.

On the display screen of the image display 7, reference position marks M1 to M4 generated by the reference position pattern generation circuit 8 are fixedly displayed at predetermined positions as shown in FIG. In this state, when the operator operates the teaching pendant to bring the teaching head 3 close to the teaching point PO on the surface of the workpiece 9, the laser light generated from each of the projectors 31 to 34 of the teaching head 3 irradiates the surface of the workpiece 9. As a result, bright spots S1 to S4 are formed. These bright spots S1 to S4 are imaged by the m-device 35 along with the scribing lines displayed on the surface of the workpiece 9 and the teaching points PO, and are displayed as images on the image display 7.

Now, in this state, the operator operates the teaching pendant while visually viewing the displayed image on the image display 7, and first images the teaching point PO at the first reference position mark M1 fixedly displayed on the display screen. The teaching head 3 is moved along the surface of the workpiece 9 so that the images match. When the display positions of the image of the teaching point PO and the first reference position mark M1 match, the next step is to pay attention to the bright spot S1 on the display screen and compare the bright spot S1 and the first reference position mark M1. Based on the positional relationship, the bright spot S1 is the first reference position mark M.
The distance of the head 3 to the workpiece 9 is adjusted so that it matches the distance of the head 3 with respect to the workpiece 9. For example, as shown in FIG. 5(b), the bright spot S1
If the head 3 is shifted downward from the first reference position mark M1 on the screen, it means that the head 3 is still too far from the surface of the workpiece 9 as shown in Fig. 5(a), so visually check the displayed image. While moving the head 3 closer to the workpiece 9 little by little,
The head 3 is stopped when the bright spot S1 coincides with the first reference position mark M1. Note that 9' indicates the position of the work 9 from the head 3 when the bright spot S1' coincides with the mark M1. Head 3 against workpiece 9
The facing distance is set. ) and the operator now sets the bright points S2 to S.
4, determine the attitude of the head 3 with respect to the surface of the workpiece 9 from the positional relationship between these bright spots S2 to S4 and the second reference position marks M2 to M4, and operate the teaching pendant while visually viewing the displayed image. and each of the above bright spots S2 to S
The attitude of the head 3 is adjusted so that the position of the head 4 coincides with the reference position marks M2 to M4. For example, if only the position of the bright spot S2 is deviated from the mark M2 as shown in FIG. 6(1)), the head 3 will move between the bright spots S1 and S2 with respect to the surface of the workpiece 9 as shown in FIG. 6(a). The inclination of the head 3 with respect to the surface of the workpiece 9 is changed until the bright spot S2 is aligned with the mark M2. Set to . On the other hand, as shown in Fig. 7 <b>, the bright spot 33.8
If 4 is off from the corresponding mark M3°M4,
The head 3 has a bright spot 83.81.8 as shown in Fig. 7<a).
It is determined that the head 3 is tilted in the direction of the line passing through M3. The head 3 is changed until it matches M4, thereby setting the state of the head 3 facing the surface of the workpiece 9 perpendicularly. In addition, bright spot S2i
and bright spots 83 and 84 respectively correspond to reference position marks M2 and M3. If it deviates from the position M4, the attitude of the head 3 with respect to the surface of the workpiece 9 is adjusted by adjusting the above-mentioned inclination in each direction. In this way, the attitude of the head 3 facing the surface of the workpiece 9 is set. Then, as described above, when all the bright spots S1 to $4 coincide with the positions of the reference position marks M1 to M4, the setting of the three-dimensional position of the head 3 with respect to the teaching point PO is completed. When the setting of the three-dimensional position of the head 3 with respect to the teaching point PO is completed, the operator operates the teaching button on the teaching pendant to store information on the three-dimensional position of the head 3 at this time in the controller of the robot. With this, the teaching operation of the three-dimensional position of the head 3 with respect to the teaching point PO is completed.

In this embodiment, the operator visually checks the display screen of the image display 7 and adjusts the workpiece 9 so that each of the bright spots S1 to S4 coincides with the display position of the reference position marks M1 to M4.
All you have to do is adjust the three-dimensional position of the head 3 with respect to the surface.
As a result, both the facing distance and facing posture can be set accurately and in a short time without relying on the operator's ribs, thereby greatly improving teaching efficiency and accuracy.

Further, by providing the bright spot S1 and the first reference mark M1 dedicated to setting the facing distance, the following effects are achieved.

That is, depending on the surface shape of the workpiece 9, there may be small irregularities, and the teaching point P may be set on such a convex part as shown in FIG. 8(a). As shown in FIG. 9, when attempting to set the facing distance and facing attitude from the bright spot S1 for setting facing distance and the reference position mark M1, the facing distance between the teaching point on the convex portion and the head 3 is a predetermined distance. Even if there is no bright spot, the positions of each bright spot and the reference position mark may coincide. If teaching is performed in this state, when performing laser cutting, etc., the distance from the processing head to the teaching point may differ from the specified value, causing the laser focus to shift and making it impossible to perform the desired cutting, or in severe cases. In this case, there is a risk that the tip of the processing head may come into contact with the convex portion of the warp, resulting in damage to the head. In contrast, in the present invention, the opposing distance is set by aligning the positions of the teaching point P and the reference position mark M1, and aligning the bright spot S1 with this reference position mark. Even if the teaching point P is located on a small convex portion as shown in the figure, it is possible to always set the opposing distance to the teaching point on this convex portion.

Therefore, the problem of teaching in an incorrect position is prevented, and accurate teaching can always be performed without being affected by the state of the workpiece surface.

Furthermore, in the present invention, an optical filter 39 is disposed in front of the solid-state image sensor 35a, and this optical filter 39 allows the projector to
Since only the wavelength components of the output light 1 to 34 are guided to the image pickup device 35a, even if there is strong disturbance light such as sunlight, this extraneous light is filtered out.

The light is attenuated by the light beam 39 to an extremely low level, so that the bright spots from the projectors 31 to 34 can be clearly displayed on the image display 7 without being affected by the disturbance light. The same applies to the illumination light of the illuminator 36, and as a result, each bright spot can be clearly displayed without suppressing the illuminance of the illumination light, so teaching can be performed with sufficient illumination at all times. The position of the head 3 can be adjusted, which allows for smooth teaching with good operability.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. For example, in the above embodiment, the case was described in which three reference position marks and bright spots were set for setting the facing position, but the number could be two (-as an example, either M3 or M4 is omitted). The number may be four or more.

Further, the arrangement of the reference position mark and the bright spot does not necessarily have to be set to form a right triangle, and may be arranged at any position as long as it is a triangle. In addition, the image display device is equipped with an image processing circuit and an arithmetic circuit, and the image processing circuit determines the positional coordinates of each bright spot on the display screen, and from these position coordinates, the above arithmetic circuit calculates the three-dimensional position. Alternatively, the distance and attitude of the head 3 facing the workpiece 9 may be detected and adjusted. Furthermore, the optical filter may also be used as a dustproof window. In this way, the structure can be simplified and realized without increasing the number of parts. In addition, a projector (a beam of light by passing the light from a lamp through a slit hole may be used without using a laser device), an imager (an industrial television camera may also be used), and an image display device (CRT) In addition to the display, a liquid crystal display may also be used, and the structure, type, etc. can be modified in various ways without departing from the gist of the present invention.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, it is possible to perform teaching accurately in a short time and without requiring a long line, and also to reduce the influence of ambient light and perform stable teaching under sufficient illuminance. This makes it possible to provide a three-dimensional position setting auxiliary device that can significantly improve the efficiency and accuracy of teaching work.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The figures are for explaining a three-dimensional position setting assisting device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the device, and FIG. 2 is a diagram of a robot adopting the device shown in FIG. 1. A perspective view showing the structure of the head portion, and FIGS. 3 and 4 respectively show the structure of the teaching head. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II in FIG. 1, and FIG. I of
-I cross-sectional view, Fig. 5 (a>, (b) to Fig. 8 (a)
). (b) is used to explain the function, each figure (a) is a schematic diagram showing the positional relationship between the head and the workpiece, and (b) is a schematic diagram showing the positional relationship between the head and the workpiece.
) is a schematic diagram showing a display image of an image display device, and FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing an example of the arrangement of conventional reference position marks and bright spots used to explain the effect. 1... Head body, 2... Processing head, 3... Teaching head, 4... Robot arm, 7...
Image display, 8... Reference position pattern generation circuit, 9.
...Work, 30...Head housing, 31-34...
Floodlight, 31a to 34a... semiconductor laser device, 31
b~34b... Reflector, 35... Imager, 35a.
. . . Solid-state image sensor, 36 . . . Illuminator, 37 . . . Dust-proof glass window, 39 . Bright spot for setting, Ml...first reference position mark, M2 to M4.
...Second reference position mark, K...Scribbling line, P, P
O...Teaching point. Applicant's representative Patent attorney Takehiko Suzue Figure 1 Figure 2 (a) Figure 6 (b) (a) (b) Figure 7 Figure 8 Figure 9 Procedure amendment, 8.11, 614P, 1 Director General of the Japan Patent Office Michibe Uga 1, Indication of the case Japanese Patent Application No. 110909/1986 2, Name of the invention Three-dimensional position detection device 3, Person making the amendment Relationship with the case Patent applicant (307) Toshiba Corporation 4. Agent 5. Voluntary amendment. 7. Contents of amendment (1) The name of the invention is corrected to "three-dimensional position detection device." (2) The scope of claims is amended in Appendix 9. (3) Specification, page 3, line 5 to line 6, “
"Three-dimensional position setting auxiliary device" should be corrected to "Three-dimensional position detection device." (4) In the specification, on page 4, line 17, the statement 1=position setting auxiliary device is corrected to read ``position detection device.'' (5) In the specification, page 5, line 19, the phrase "three-dimensional position setting auxiliary device" is corrected to "three-dimensional position detection device." (6) In the specification, from page 7, line 12 to line 13, the phrase ``three-dimensional position setting auxiliary device'' is corrected to read ``1 three-dimensional position detection device''. (7) In the specification, page 8, line 5, the phrase "three-dimensional position setting assisting device" is corrected to read "three-dimensional position detecting device." (8) In the specification, from page 18, line 19 to line 20, the phrase “three-dimensional position setting assist device” has been replaced with “three-dimensional position setting assist device.”
t-detection device”. (9) In the specification, page 19, line 2 to line 3, the phrase ``1 Three-dimensional position setting auxiliary device'' is corrected to read ``Three-dimensional position detection device.'' 2. Claims (]) In a three-dimensional position detection device used to set a three-dimensional position yt of a head to a predetermined relative positional relationship with respect to a set point ttit displayed on an object, a first light projector provided on the head and projecting light obliquely onto the object to form a first bright spot for setting a facing distance; a second light projector forming a plurality of second leg points for setting a facing posture forming a triangle with a bright spot; and a second light projector provided on the head and formed on the object by the first and second light projectors. an imager that captures images of each of the first and second bright spots and the position setting point displayed on the object, and displays each of the bright spots and the position setting point imaged by the imager; Ill do it
1Il image display and this tuf+ <* When the position setting point displayed on the display becomes the alignment target and the three-dimensional position of the head with respect to the position setting point on the object becomes a predetermined relative positional relationship. a first reference position mark that is fixedly displayed at a predetermined position on the display screen of the image display to coincide with the first bright spot; A plurality of second bright spots are fixedly displayed at predetermined positions on the display screen of the image display device so as to coincide with the plurality of second bright spots when the original positions reach a predetermined relative positional relationship. A three-dimensional device characterized by comprising a reference position mark and an optical filter disposed in front of the light receiving surface of the image pickup device to block light other than wavelength components of the output light of the first and second projectors. Position detection device. (2) Claim (1), wherein the image display device is equipped with an image processing unit that electrically detects the positions of the first and second bright spots displayed on the display plane. The three-dimensional position detection device described. (8) The optical filter also serves as a window for preventing the head.
□ A three-dimensional position detection device according to claim (1).

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) In a three-dimensional position setting auxiliary device used when setting the three-dimensional position of a head to a position setting point displayed on a target object in a predetermined relative positional relationship, the three-dimensional position setting auxiliary device is provided on the head and a first projector that projects light obliquely to form a first bright spot for setting a facing distance; and a first projector that is provided on the head and projects light onto the object to form a triangle with the first bright spot. a second projector forming a plurality of second bright spots for setting a facing attitude; and first and second projectors provided on the head and formed on the object by the first and second projectors. an imager that images each bright spot and the position setting point displayed on the object; an image display device that displays each bright spot and the position set point imaged by the image pickup device; The image serves as a positioning target for the position setting point to be displayed and is arranged so that the three-dimensional position of the head with respect to the position setting point on the object coincides with the first bright spot when a predetermined relative positional relationship is achieved. When the first reference position mark fixedly displayed at a predetermined position on the display screen of the display device and the three-dimensional position of the head with respect to the position setting point on the object reach a predetermined relative positional relationship. a plurality of second reference position marks fixedly displayed at predetermined positions on the display screen of the image display to coincide with the plurality of second bright spots, respectively; and a plurality of second reference position marks in front of the light receiving surface of the image pickup device. A three-dimensional position setting auxiliary device characterized by comprising: an optical filter disposed in the auxiliary projector for blocking light other than wavelength components of the output light of the first and second projectors. (2) The image display device is provided with an image processing unit that electrically detects the positions of the first and second bright spots displayed on the display screen. Three-dimensional position setting assist device. (3) The three-dimensional position setting assisting device according to claim (1), wherein the optical filter also serves as a dustproof window for the head.