Method of generating robot operation command and robot operation command generation device

Abstract

A method of generating a robot operation command includes extracting a work command from an overall work flow; extracting, from a command definition database, a command definition corresponding to the extracted work command, the work command having been read; generating, by referring to the read work command, a set of unit jobs in which at least one work command is arranged in order, based on the extracted command definition; generating, for a plurality of unit jobs, a connecting job for causing a robot to be moved from an end position of a previous unit job to a start position of a subsequent unit job; and generating a robot operation command in which the unit jobs and the connecting job are continuous.

1 . A method of generating a robot operation command, the method comprising:
 extracting, with at least one processor operating with a memory device in a computer, a work command from an overall work flow;   extracting, from a command definition database, a command definition corresponding to the extracted work command with the at least one processor operating with the memory device in the computer;   generating, by referring to the read work command, a set of unit jobs in which at least one work command is arranged in order, based on the extracted command definition with the at least one processor operating with the memory device in the computer;   generating, for a plurality of unit jobs, a connecting job for causing a robot to be moved from an end position of a previous unit job to a start position of a subsequent unit job with the at least one processor operating with the memory device in the computer;   storing, with the at least one processor operating with the memory device in the computer, the generated connecting job;   generating, with the at least one processor operating with the memory device in the computer, a robot operation command in which the unit jobs and the connecting job are continuous;   generating, with the at least one processor operating with the memory device in the computer, state information representing at least states of a work device and the robot at a start time point and an end time point of the unit jobs;   using, with the at least one processor operating with the memory device in the computer, a stored already generated connecting job when, for consecutive unit jobs, state information at an end time point of a previous unit job and at a start time point of a next unit job is the same as state information which represents at least states of the work device and the robot at a start time point and an end time point of the stored already generated connecting job; and   controlling a robot based on the robot operation command.   
     
     
         2 . The method of generating a robot operation command according to  claim 1 , wherein the generating a robot operation command includes calling the unit jobs from a unit job group stored in advance. 
     
     
         3 . The method of generating a robot operation command according to  claim 1 ,
 wherein the command definition defines at least one order and combination of unit jobs to be used for each work command, and   wherein the at least one order and combination of unit jobs to be used for each work command are selected in accordance with a work condition of each work command.   
     
     
         4 . The method of generating a robot operation command according to  claim 3 ,
 wherein the command definition includes, in addition to information representing the unit jobs that have been arranged in order for execution, control information for changing the unit jobs to be executed, and   wherein the generating a set of unit jobs includes converting the work command into the unit jobs arranged in series.   
     
     
         5 . The method of generating a robot operation command according to  claim 1 , wherein the generating a connecting job includes referring to a work model to generate the connecting job for moving along a path in which interference between work models is inhibited from occurring. 
     
     
         6 . The method of generating a robot operation command according to  claim 5 ,
 wherein the command definition includes robot held-object information, and   wherein the generating a connecting job includes generating the connecting job based on the robot held-object information.   
     
     
         7 . The method of generating a robot operation command according to  claim 1 , further comprising calculating, with the at least one processor operating with the memory device in the computer, an overall work time, which is a time required to execute the overall work flow, by adding up a time, which is stored in advance and required to execute the unit jobs, and a time required to execute the connecting job. 
     
     
         8 . The method of generating a robot operation command according to  claim 7 , wherein calculating an overall work time includes:
 calculating the time required to execute the connecting job by simulating operation of the generated connecting job; and   calculating the overall work time, which is the time required to execute the overall work flow, by adding up the time, which is stored in advance and required to execute the unit jobs, and the calculated time required to execute the connecting job.   
     
     
         9 . The method of generating a robot operation command according to  claim 7 , further comprising storing, with the at least one processor operating with the memory device in the computer, the time required to execute the generated connecting job. 
     
     
         10 . The method of generating a robot operation command according to  claim 5 , further comprising generating, with the at least one processor operating with the memory device in the computer, state information representing at least states of a work device and the robot at a start time point and an end time point of the work command, and
 wherein the generating a connecting job includes generating, based on the state information, the connecting job for moving along a path in which interference between work models is inhibited from occurring.   
     
     
         11 . The method of generating a robot operation command according to  claim 1 , further comprising skipping generation of the connecting job or discarding the generated connecting job when, for consecutive work commands, an end position of a previous work command and a start position of a next work command are the same with the at least one processor operating with the memory device in the computer. 
     
     
         12 . The method of generating a robot operation command according to  claim 1 , further comprising discarding, when, for consecutive unit jobs, a previous unit job and a subsequent unit job are the same and only a work position has been offset, a movement command to an end position included in the previous unit job and a movement command to a start position included in the subsequent unit job with the at least one processor operating with the memory device in the computer. 
     
     
         13 . The method of generating a robot operation command according to  claim 1 , wherein the unit jobs each include a coordinate system specification command for specifying a local coordinate system and a movement command that is based on the local coordinate system. 
     
     
         14 . A robot operation command generation device, comprising a special purpose computer, which includes a central processing unit and a memory, programmed to:
 extract a work command from an overall work flow;   extract, from a command definition database, a command definition corresponding to the extracted work command;   generate, by referring to the read work command, a set of unit jobs in which at least one work command is arranged in a defined order, based on the extracted command definition;   generate, for a plurality of unit jobs, a connecting job for causing a robot to be moved from an end position of a previous unit job to a start position of a subsequent unit job;   generate state information representing at least states of a work device and the robot at a start time point and an end time point of the unit jobs;   generate, for a plurality of unit jobs, a connecting job for causing a robot to be moved from an end position of a previous unit job to a start position of a subsequent unit job;   store the generated connecting job; and   generate a robot operation command in which the unit jobs and the connecting job are continuous, wherein   use a stored already generated connecting job when, for consecutive unit jobs, state information at an end time point of a previous unit job and at a start time point of a next unit job is the same as state information which represents at least states of the work device and the robot at a start time point and an end time point of the stored already generated connecting job   control a robot based on the robot operation command.   
     
     
         15 . The robot operation command generation device according to  claim 14 , further programmed to store a plurality of unit jobs generated in advance, and
 refer to the plurality of unit jobs stored in the unit job group storage unit when generating the robot operation command.