METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR CONTINUOUSLY STORING AND LATER FOR VISUALLY REPRESENTING INTERNAL OPERATING STATES OF A ROBOT

Abstract

A method for the continuous storage of internal operating states and visualization of past sequences of operations, as well as to a robot and/or robot controller, wherein the robot is preferably mounted on or next to a processing machine, in particular an injection molding machine and serves for the removal, handling, manipulation or further processing of injection molded parts which have just been produced. The robot controller records data, in particular changes of state, positions, internal parameters, time stamps, etc., and in case of occurrence of an error this most recently recorded information is linked to the error and stored, whereby the changes of state until the occurrence of the respective error are simulated and visually displayed for an analysis on the basis of a virtual model of the physical robot.

Claims

1. A method for the continuous storage of internal operating states and for the visualization of past sequences of operations, in particular for a robot and/or robot controller, wherein the robot is preferably mounted on or next to a processing machine, in particular an injection molding machine, and used for the removal, handling, manipulation or further processing of injection molded parts which have just been produced, wherein the robot controller stores data, in particular changes of state, positions, internal parameters, time stamps, etc., and, in the event of occurrence of an error, links this most recently recorded information to the error and stores it, whereby the changes of state up to the occurrence of the respective error are simulated and visually displayed for analysis on the basis of a virtual model of the physical robot.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the data storage is carried out directly in the robot controller and the visualization is displayed with the aid of a virtual robot model at the output unit of the robot controller.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the virtual robot model can execute the movements of the robot at any speed, in particular in slow motion.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein respective changes in the operating states and relevant data are stored for a period of time between 100 ms and one minute, preferably the injection cycle of the processing machine, before the occurrence of an error.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the data storage takes place or is carried out, respectively, independently of the operating state of the robot.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein further states or changes of state of the robot, such as digital or analog inputs and outputs or their changes, respectively, are overlaid onto the virtual model.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein the traversing parameters, equipment features and functionalities of the robot are stored in a configuration file which the robot accesses on the control side, wherein the robot controller creates a virtual robot model from this configuration file, which is displayed directly on the robot controller for the validation and/or visualization of sequences of operations.

8. A robot and/or robot controller for the continuous storage of internal operating states and visualization of past sequences of operations, wherein the robot is preferably mounted on or next to a processing machine, in particular an injection molding machine, and designed for the removal, handling, manipulation or further processing of injection molded parts which have just been produced, wherein the robot controller is designed for the recording and storage of data, in particular changes of state, positions, internal parameters, time stamps, etc., wherein, in the event of occurrence of an error, this is designed for linking and storing the most recently recorded information with the error, whereby the changes of state up to the occurrence of the respective error can be simulated and visually displayed for analysis on the basis of a virtual model of the physical robot.

9. The robot and/or robot controller designed to carry out the method according to claim 1, wherein the robot is preferably mounted on or next to a processing machine, in particular an injection molding machine, and designed for the removal, handling, manipulation or further processing of injection molded parts which have just been produced, wherein the robot controller is designed for the recording and storage of data, in particular changes of state, positions, internal parameters, time stamps, etc., wherein, in the event of occurrence of an error, this is designed for linking and storing the most recently recorded information with the error, whereby the changes of state up to the occurrence of the respective error can be simulated and visually displayed for analysis on the basis of a virtual model of the physical robot.

Description

[0020] The invention is now explained in more detail by means of an exemplary embodiment shown in the drawings, wherein the invention is not limited to the illustration shown, in particular not to the structure and composition of the system.

[0021] The figures show:

[0022] FIG. 1—an overview illustration of a plastics-processing industrial installation in a work cell, simplified, for illustrative purposes only;

[0023] FIG. 2—a schematic representation of a virtual robot model or twin on a robot controller, respectively, simplified, for illustrative purposes only;

[0024] FIG. 3—a schematic representation of the virtual robot model or twin on a robot controller, respectively, with a list of additional data, simplified, for illustrative purposes only;

[0025] FIG. 4—a schematic enlarged representation of the virtual robot model or twin on the robot controller, respectively, with data displayed at the individual components, in particular stored actual values from sensors, simplified, for illustrative purposes only.

[0026] It should be stated by way of introduction that, in the individual embodiments, the same parts are provided with the same reference numbers or same component designations, wherein the disclosures contained in the entire description can, by analogy, be transferred to identical parts with identical reference numbers or identical component designations, respectively. The position details selected in the description, such as, e.g., top, bottom, lateral, etc., likewise relate to the figure described, and in the event of a change of position, they are to be transferred to the new position by analogy. Individual features or feature combinations from the exemplary embodiments shown and described may also represent independent inventive solutions.

[0027] FIG. 1 shows an industrial installation 1, in particular a work cell 2 for injection molding applications, in which the individual components/devices for producing one or several products/semi-finished products or injection molded parts 3 are interconnected in work cell 2. Preferably, an injection molding machine 4 is used as the processing machine, to which a robot 5 or handling robot, respectively, for removing the produced injection molded part 3 is assigned. Here, the injection molded part 3 is removed from an opening injection mold 7 by a removal device 6, in particular equipped with a gripper with gripping tongs and/or suction nozzles, and deposited on a device, in particular a conveyor belt 8.

[0028] For example, it is possible that for the production of an injection molded part 3 plastic granules 9 are fed to the processing machine 4 via a granulate conveyor 10 and possibly via a metering device 11 or from a supply store. By means of a temperature control unit 13 and/or cooling unit, the injection mold 7 can be kept at operating temperature by feeding a temperature control medium or heated or cooled accordingly, respectively, so that optimum processing of the plastic granules 9, which must be plasticized for injection into the injection mold 7, is made possible.

[0029] In addition, the system can be equipped with a monitoring device 15, in particular a camera system, in order to be able to carry out an automatic quality control of the manufactured product 3. Very often there are also upstream or downstream automation systems 18, e.g. sprue cut-off 19, centering, separating, feeding, crate and pallet stacking stations, etc., which are directly integrated into the robot controller or industrial installation 1, respectively, and controlled by it via digital or analog signals or other communication interfaces. The creation of the sequence and control logic for the robot 5 or handling robot 5, respectively, and any connected automation components 18 or systems is typically carried out in a teach-in procedure. Likewise, the programming of the sequence and control logic can first be done offline on a PC. The system-specific values, e.g. the actual positions of the axes, are then added in turn in the teach-in procedure.

[0030] In order for the individual devices to be adjusted or programmed, respectively, they are preferably equipped with corresponding control electronics, wherein the setting or programming, respectively, is entered and displayed via displays 16 or a robot controller 17 arranged on the devices. A connection can be established with the individual components, preferably wirelessly, via the robot controller 17, so that a correspondingly stored surface for this device is invoked. Of course, it is also possible to program or adjust, respectively, the units via an external component connected to the units via an interface.

[0031] For the sake of completeness, it is also mentioned that all devices are connected to corresponding lines, in particular power supply, network and connection lines, liquid supply lines, material lines, etc., which in the interest of clarity were not displayed in the representation shown.

[0032] According to FIGS. 1 to 4, a method for the continuous storage of internal data 20 of the robot 5 or of any connected automation components 18 or systems 6, 8, 15, 19, respectively, in the robot controller 17, in particular operating states for the visualization of past sequences of operation and logic for this purpose, according to the present invention is shown.

[0033] The robot controller 17 is designed to reproduce a virtual twin or robot model 21, respectively, in particular a virtual representation of the system or work cell 2, respectively, at the output point, in particular a touch screen 22, wherein all connected automation components 18 or systems 6, 8, 15, 19, respectively, of work cell 2 or industrial installation 1, respectively, are automatically read in via configuration files 27 or manually inserted into the model and displayed.

[0034] The data 20 important for error analysis and virtual representation of operating states are read in directly by the robot controller 17 and stored in the log file 23. The robot controller 17 creates a virtual robot model 21 from the configuration file 27 and the corresponding sequences of operations and operating states of the virtual robot model 21 from a log file 23, which are displayed directly on the robot controller 17 for validation or visualization. Here, the virtual twin or the virtual robot model, respectively, 21 shown on the display 22 can be enlarged or reduced at will, and its viewing position can be changed, for which purpose the display is preferably designed as touch display 22. Thus, a user, in particular a maintenance staff, can operate and adjust the virtual robot model 21 in a simple way via the robot controller 17.

[0035] In systems or work cells, respectively, 2 that operate automatically in this way, it is possible that a wide variety of errors 24 may occur during operation, for example due to faulty signal transmission in the communication between machine 4 and robot 5, time delays in the execution of functions, non-constant injection parameters that cause, for example, molded items 3 to be removed to become stuck, or worn components in the mechanical interfaces between injection molded article 3 and the automation components 18 or systems 6, 8, 15, 19, etc., so that the system is automatically stopped, wherein usually upon occurrence of an error condition an error message or error 24, respectively, in particular one or more error notifications, are issued. The maintenance staff or trained personnel can often look up in a corresponding error list 24 which error 24 it is and what the cause is. However, in many cases this is not helpful, since an error 24 can often have a variety of causes, or it can be caused only by a certain combination of states of robot 5 and/or injection molding machine 4 and/or automation components 6, 8, 15, 18, which must be determined by the maintenance staff themselves in order to ensure continued error-free operation. Here, it is very important that the downtime or failure time, respectively, of the entire work cell 2 be kept as short as possible in order to keep the loss of production and the lost production capacity as small as possible.

[0036] According to the present invention, the robot controller 17 records data 20, in particular state changes, positions, internal parameters, time stamps, etc., in the log file 23 and, in case of the occurrence of an error 24, links the data 20 with the error 24, in particular the error messages, whereby the changes of state up to the occurrence of the respective error 24 are simulated and visually displayed for an analysis based on the virtual model 21 of the physical robot 5. This means that during the functioning production process of work line 2, one device, preferably the robot controller 17, constantly stores specially defined data 20 or all available data 20 for a short time, in particular over a defined period of time. If an error 24 suddenly occurs in the system, the recently stored and relevant data 20 are linked to error 24, wherein preferably an error message is simultaneously output. If the error 24 is serious, the entire system, in particular the work cell 2, is stopped.

[0037] In order to determine the cause of the error as quickly as possible, it is now possible to run a simulation on the robot controller 17 with the stored data 20, i.e., a so-called virtual twin or robot model, respectively, 21 is invoked on the robot controller 17, which accesses the stored data 20 in the log file 23 with the error code 24 and loads it for simulation. This allows the maintenance staff to observe by means of the virtual process how the error 24 occurred, and to take countermeasures accordingly quickly so that the system is ready for operation again.

[0038] It turned out to be very helpful that in addition to the virtual sequence further data 20, in particular the currently running sequence and control sequences with the associated actual states, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, are displayed. This makes it easy to compare the mechanical position with the electrical and numerical actual values of encoders and sensors. For the sake of completeness, it is pointed out that it is possible to switch between the virtual robot model 21 and the actual robot 5 at any time on the robot controller 17.

[0039] In order to enable exact error detection, it is also possible that the virtual robot model 21, in particular the virtual twin 21, can execute the movements of the robot 5 at any speed, especially in slow motion. Here preferably the speed is reduced in order to be able to observe the exact motion sequence on the robot model 21. It is possible that in turn one or more speed buttons 26, as shown schematically in FIG. 4, are present in order to allow fast and easy reduction of the playback speed of robot model 21. Thus, the observer can reliably detect the most minute changes in the virtual robot model 21 or even short-term changes of inputs and outputs, sensor or encoder values, etc.

[0040] It is also possible that any states of data 20 of the inputs and outputs, sensors or encoders, can be selected by the user and displayed during the process. This is advantageous if the cause of the error 24 was supposedly not found after a run, so that further or other data 20 are displayed for a repeated run, in order to detect any occurring irregularities in the actual values. For this purpose, it is possible that a sub-menu can be invoked from the robot controller 17, from which data 20 can be selected.

[0041] In order to enable quick access to the stored data 20, the data 20 are stored directly in the robot controller 17. Of course, it is also possible to store the data 20 on an external storage medium, e.g. PC or laptop, in order to ensure long-term storage.

[0042] For the sake of completeness, it is mentioned that in the case of recorded data 20 these are preferably recorded over a defined period of time in order to limit the amount of data accordingly. It is also essential that the data are automatically time-stamped so that always the values occurring at the respective points in time are displayed and shown during the simulation. For this purpose, maintenance staff or skilled staff can freely set the duration for the recording points, i.e. the time between two storages, wherein with smaller time intervals higher accuracy of the representation is achieved, but a larger amount of data must be stored.

[0043] It is also possible that the data storage takes place or is carried out, respectively, independently of the operating states of the robot 5, i.e. that, for example, a manual triggering of the data storage can be initiated by a maintenance staff, whereupon a data recording is carried out over the defined period of time even without error 24. It is also possible that the manually started data recording is ended again only by a manual stop, so that the maintenance staff records the data for as long as it is necessary for you.

[0044] It is pointed out that the invention is not limited to the embodiments shown, but may comprise further embodiments.