Method of deciding robot layout

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Details

36447426, G05B 1942

Patent

active

049791281

DESCRIPTION:

BRIEF SUMMARY
FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to a method of deciding a robot layout. More particularly, the invention relates to such method in which the range of motion of a robot is displayed and the layout of the robot is decided upon investigating interference with obstacles and whether the robot can perform an operation with respect to a workpiece.


DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART

In a case where parts at a work station are to be handled by a robot, path data for moving the robot to any point along any path and data stipulating robot motions are required to be fed into a robot controller. To this end, the usual practice is to create a robot control program by manipulating a teach pendant to actually move the robot and teach the coordinates of necessary points, motion speeds up to these points, type of movement which is indicative of linear movement or circular movement, and robot service codes at the abovementioned points. The robot control program is input to the robot controller so that the robot may be controlled.
However, this method of creating a robot control program is troublesome in terms of the teaching operation. For this reason, a method has been proposed in which a robot control program is created by an offline programming operation.
In offline programming, motion of a robot is defined using simple robot language and variables (e.g., each point is expressed in the form of a position variable P.sub.i), and a source program created in the robot language is translated by the translating function of an offline programming apparatus to create two files, namely (1) a motion file expressed in the form of predetermined codes executable by the robot controller, and (2) a variable file indicating variables used in the motion file, and these variables are subsequently specified by a keyboard or other means.
In accordance with this offline programming method, a source program for robot control can be readily created if only simple robot language is known, and merely entering the source program makes it possible for the offline programming apparatus to subsequently create the motion file, which comprises the predetermined codes executable by the robot controller, and the variable file.
In a case where the layout of the robot is studied after the layout of the work station, etc., has been decided, the fact that the conventional offline programming apparatus does not possess a function for displaying the range of robot motion makes it necessary for the applications designer to draw the range of robot motion at his desk, check for interference between the robot and structures at the work station and interference between the robot and other obstacles and then, upon reviewing placement, input the robot placement position to the offline programming apparatus. This is a very troublesome task.


SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a method of deciding robot layout in which range of robot motion, work station structures and other obstacles are displayed simultaneously on a display screen using an offline programming apparatus so that it is easy to perform a review operation for investigating whether the robot and obstacles will interfere and a review operation for investigating whether the robot can perform motions with respect to a workpiece, thereby making it possible for the robot to be disposed at the correct position.
In a method of deciding robot layout according to the present invention, range of robot motion at an inputted origin of robot layout is displayed, obstacles within this range of motion are displayed in a color different from that of obstacles outside the range of robot motion, and the origin of robot layout is decided, while reference is made to the display, in such a manner that the robot will not interfere with the obstacles and will be capable of performing motions with respect to a workpiece.


BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an offline programming apparatus for practicing the present invention;
FIG. 2 is

REFERENCES:
patent: 4571670 (1986-02-01), Kishi et al.
patent: 4633409 (1986-12-01), Sekikawa
patent: 4734845 (1988-03-01), Kawamura et al.
patent: 4831548 (1989-05-01), Matoba et al.
"Robot Task Planning System Based on Product Modelling", Kawabe et al., IEEE 1985 Compint-Computer Aided Technologies, Montreal, Canada, 9/85, pp. 471-476.
"A Computer-Aided Manipulation System for a Multi-Joint Inspection Robot", Tsuchihashi et al., 1985 Conference on Advanced Robotics, pp. 363-369.
"Robot Simulator in TIPS/Geometric Simulation", Okino et al., Robotics & Computer-Integrated Manufacturing, vol. 3, No. 4, pp. 429-437, 1907.

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