CN109746942B

CN109746942B - Robot, motion control system and robot anti-collision method

Info

Publication number: CN109746942B
Application number: CN201811545248.0A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 丁建伟
Original assignee: MGA Technology Shenzhen Co Ltd
Current assignee: MGA Technology Shenzhen Co Ltd
Priority date: 2018-12-17
Filing date: 2018-12-17
Publication date: 2020-12-29
Anticipated expiration: 2038-12-17
Also published as: CN109746942A

Abstract

The invention provides a robot, a motion control system and a robot anti-collision method. The robot comprises at least one distance measuring sensor, at least one moving component, a motion control component and an alarm component, wherein the distance measuring sensor is used for measuring the spacing distance between the robot and an adjacent object and transmitting the spacing distance to the motion control component and the alarm component; the alarm component is used for executing multi-stage alarm according to the spacing distance; the motion control part is used for executing different control operations on the robot according to the spacing distance. By measuring the spacing distance between the robot and the adjacent object, judging the danger degree between the robot and the adjacent object according to the spacing distance, sending collision early warning of different levels by utilizing a multi-level threshold value and carrying out safe anti-collision processing, thereby providing a choice for carrying out anti-collision intervention processing for a user while ensuring that the robot cannot collide, improving the anti-collision processing capacity of the robot and simultaneously improving the user experience.

Description

Robot, motion control system and robot anti-collision method

Technical Field

The invention relates to the field of motion control, in particular to a robot, a motion control system and a robot anti-collision method.

Background

Robots generally have a defined working range. However, as the cooperation relationship between the robot and the user becomes more and more compact, the user may place the robot in an open space (e.g., a laboratory, a factory, a work site, etc.) to work. The working environment of the robot becomes more and more complex. The robot may collide with a person or other objects during the movement, and thus may cause damage to the robot, the person or other objects, which the robot needs to avoid to the utmost.

In the prior art, robots are controlled by robot control equipment and the like, and the robots can be stopped or powered off emergently by an emergency stop button on the robot control equipment to prevent the robots from colliding. However, the user needs to manually control the robot after seeing a dangerous situation, and when the user sees that the robot is about to collide, the user often has no time to perform effective intervention such as correcting the robot operation line. On the other hand, an emergency stop or power failure may cause damage to the mechanical and electrical components of the robot.

Therefore, a new robot collision avoidance technology is urgently needed to solve the above problems.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems. The embodiment of the invention provides a robot, a motion control system and a robot anti-collision method.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a robot including at least one ranging sensor, at least one moving part, a motion control part, and an alarm part, wherein,

the distance measuring sensor is used for measuring the spacing distance between the robot and an adjacent object and transmitting the spacing distance to the motion control component and the alarm component;

the alarm component is used for:

when the spacing distance measured by any one ranging sensor is smaller than the first threshold LT1 of the ranging sensor and not smaller than the second threshold LT2 of the ranging sensor, a primary collision early warning is sent out,

when the separation distance measured by any one of the ranging sensors is less than the second threshold LT2 of the ranging sensor and not less than the third threshold LT3 of the ranging sensor, a secondary collision warning is issued,

when the spacing distance measured by any one ranging sensor is smaller than a third threshold LT3 of the ranging sensor, a three-level collision early warning is sent out;

the motion control component is configured to:

when the spacing distance measured by any one of the ranging sensors is less than the second threshold LT2 of the ranging sensor and not less than the third threshold LT3 of the ranging sensor, a set of PWM wave table data with a period value gradually increased is generated for each moving part for controlling the moving part to decelerate and stop,

when the spacing distance measured by any one of the ranging sensors is less than the third threshold LT3 of the ranging sensor, immediately stopping generating the PWM waveform to stop the robot from moving;

wherein, for any one of the ranging sensors, the first threshold LT1 of the ranging sensor is greater than the second threshold LT2, and the second threshold LT2 of the ranging sensor is greater than the third threshold LT 3.

Exemplarily, the motion control means are specifically configured to, for each motion means, when the separation distance measured by any one of the ranging sensors is smaller than the second threshold LT2 of that ranging sensor and not smaller than the third threshold LT3 of that ranging sensor:

generating a set of PWM wave table data having a period value increased step by step according to the stopping distance L of the moving part, which is less than the second threshold LT2 of the ranging sensor.

Illustratively, the motion control means is further adapted to, for each motion means, when the separation distance measured by any one of the ranging sensors is less than the second threshold LT2 of that ranging sensor and not less than the third threshold LT3 of that ranging sensor:

converting the stopping distance L of the moving part into a micro-step value S of the moving part_step；

According to the microstep value S_stepA stop period threshold P of the moving part_stopAnd a minimum period value P of the moving part_minThe periodic variation value Δ P of the moving part is calculated by the following formula:

starting with the current period value P0 of the moving part, increasing by Δ P each period value until the last period value Pn is greater than or equal to the stop period threshold value P_stopThus, a set of period values P0, …, Pi, …, Pn is generated, where Pi represents the ith period value, Pn represents the nth period value, and the minimum period value P_minIs the period value corresponding to the maximum moving speed of the moving part;

and generating PWM wave table data with the period values increased step by step according to the period values P0, …, Pi, … and Pn for controlling the moving part to decelerate and stop.

Illustratively, the distance measuring sensor is a laser distance measuring sensor, an infrared distance measuring sensor or an ultrasonic distance measuring sensor.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a motion control system comprising a robot control apparatus and the robot described above, wherein,

the robot control device is configured to receive, for each ranging sensor, a first threshold LT1, a second threshold LT2 and a third threshold LT3 of the ranging sensor.

Illustratively, the robot control device is further configured to receive, for each ranging sensor, switching information of the ranging sensor, information on whether to be used for an alarm process, and/or information on whether to be used for a deceleration stop process.

Illustratively, the robot control device further includes a display for displaying warning information of each ranging sensor.

According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a robot collision avoidance method including:

measuring a separation distance of the robot from a neighboring object by at least one ranging sensor;

when the spacing distance measured by any one ranging sensor is smaller than a first threshold LT1 of the ranging sensor and not smaller than a second threshold LT2 of the ranging sensor, a primary collision early warning is sent out;

when the spacing distance measured by any one ranging sensor is smaller than a second threshold LT2 of the ranging sensor and not smaller than a third threshold LT3 of the ranging sensor, a secondary collision early warning is sent out, and a set of PWM wave table data with the period value gradually increased is generated for each moving part of the robot so as to drive the moving part to decelerate and stop;

when the spacing distance measured by any one ranging sensor is smaller than a third threshold LT3 of the ranging sensor, sending out a three-level collision early warning, and immediately stopping generating a PWM waveform to stop the robot moving;

Illustratively, the generating a set of PWM wave table data with a period value gradually increased for each moving part of the robot to drive the moving part to decelerate and stop includes:

Illustratively, the generating a set of PWM wave table data in which the period value is gradually increased according to the stopping distance L of the moving part includes:

converting the stopping distance L into a microstep value S of the motion of the moving part_step；

generating the set of PWM wavetable data with the period values gradually increased according to the set of period values P0, …, Pi, …, Pn.

Illustratively, the robot collision avoidance method further comprises:

for each ranging sensor, a first threshold LT1, a second threshold LT2, and a third threshold LT3 for that ranging sensor are received.

Illustratively, the robot collision avoidance method further comprises:

for each ranging sensor, switching information of the ranging sensor, information on whether to be used for an alarm process, and/or information on whether to be used for a deceleration stop process are received.

Illustratively, the robot collision avoidance method further comprises: and displaying the alarm state of each ranging sensor.

Illustratively, the ranging sensor is a laser ranging sensor, an infrared ranging sensor, or an ultrasonic ranging sensor.

According to the robot, the motion control system and the robot anti-collision method provided by the embodiment of the invention, the separation distance between the robot and the adjacent object is measured, the danger degree between the robot and the adjacent object is judged according to the separation distance, and collision early warnings of different levels are sent out by utilizing the multi-level threshold values to perform safe anti-collision processing, so that the selection of anti-collision intervention processing is provided for a user while the robot is ensured not to collide, the anti-collision processing capability of the robot is improved, and the user experience is improved.

The foregoing description is only an overview of the technical solutions of the present invention, and the embodiments of the present invention are described below in order to make the technical means of the present invention more clearly understood and to make the above and other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention more clearly understandable.

Drawings

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by describing in more detail embodiments of the present invention with reference to the attached drawings. The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the embodiments of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the invention and not to limit the invention. In the drawings, like reference numbers generally represent like parts or steps.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic block diagram of a robot according to one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 shows a schematic block diagram of a robot according to an embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 3 shows a schematic block diagram of a motion control component according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 shows a schematic block diagram of a motion control system according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 shows a schematic view of a control interface of a robot control device according to an embodiment of the invention; and

fig. 6 shows a schematic flow diagram of a robot collision avoidance method according to an embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more apparent, exemplary embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. It is to be understood that the described embodiments are merely a subset of embodiments of the invention and not all embodiments of the invention, with the understanding that the invention is not limited to the example embodiments described herein. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments of the invention described herein without inventive step, shall fall within the scope of protection of the invention.

The operation of the robot is generally achieved by controlling a motor in cooperation with a motion-performing member (e.g., a lead screw or a reducer, etc.). Taking a multi-joint robot (or called as a multi-joint manipulator, a multi-axis robot, a mechanical arm, etc.) which performs motion control by using a motor and a reducer as an example, the object is clamped from an initial position to a target position according to a predetermined route by controlling the operation of the motor and the reducer. Such articulated robots are commonly used for mechanical automation operations in many industrial fields.

The articulated robot may be, for example, a four-joint robot (four-axis robot), a six-joint robot (six-axis robot), or the like. They each include a base, an arm and a distal object holder. The number of joints on the arm determines the number of 'axes' of the robot, and each joint is driven by the rotation of one motor to realize the movement of the joint. Fig. 1 shows a schematic block diagram of a robot 100 according to an embodiment of the invention. As shown in fig. 1, the robot 100 is a four-joint robot, and includes a base 110, a large arm 120, a small arm 130, a motor 140, and a reducer 150. The small arm 130 may further be connected with a wrist (not shown), and the wrist may have a claw to perform a function of grabbing an object. Moving parts (a motor and a reducer) may be provided at each joint of the robot 100. For example, a set of motor and reducer (not shown) is provided in the housing of the base 110, and an output shaft of the reducer is connected to the upper cover of the base 110. The upper cover of the base 110 is provided with a large arm 120, the bottom of the large arm 120 is provided with another set of motor 140 and speed reducer 150, and the output shaft of the speed reducer 150 is connected with the body of the large arm 120. Another set of motor and reducer (not shown) is provided at the upper portion of the large arm 120, and the output shaft of the reducer is connected to the body of the small arm 130. Another set of motor and reducer (not shown) may be provided at the front end of the small arm 130, and the output shaft of the reducer is connected to the body of the wrist. Various end effectors, such as an object holder, may be mounted on the wrist. The motor in the base 110 can rotate to drive the upper cover of the base 110 to rotate 360 degrees in the horizontal direction, and further drive the large arm 120 and the small arm 130 of the robot 100 to rotate 360 degrees in the horizontal direction. The rotation of the motor 140 may drive the large arm 120 to move forward and downward along the direction of S1 or backward and upward along the direction of S2, and further drive the small arm 130 and so on to move along the direction of S1 or S2. The motor rotation of the upper part of the large arm 120 can drive the small arm 130 to rotate, thereby carrying the wrist and the like to rotate. The rotational movement of the motor at the other end of the arm 130 may drive the wrist to rotate, which in turn drives the end effector to rotate. The motor on the end effector can also drive the end effector to clamp objects and other operations.

The user can set and control the parameters of the robot through the robot control equipment (such as a computer, a demonstrator and the like). The user can control the motion of the robot by editing the motion parameters of each joint, which are actually the motion parameters controlling the moving parts (such as motors). After editing the motion parameters of the robot, the user sends the motion parameters to a motion control part (or called as a drive controller) of the robot, and the motion control part calculates the received motion parameters and then controls the motion of the motion part. The motion control component can be independently arranged outside the robot and connected with each motor on the robot through a connecting wire, and can also be arranged in a body shell of the robot. Each motor of the robot is controlled to move according to the movement route set by the user through different movement parameters, so that the robot can be accurately controlled, and the robot can complete various functions set by the user.

With the wide application of robots, the working environment of the robots is more and more complex. The robot may collide with a person or other object during movement, which may cause injury to the robot, person or other object. If the user finds that the robot may collide during the operation of the robot, the robot may be prevented from colliding by emergency stopping or powering off the robot through an emergency stop button on the robot control device. At the moment, the motor can be continuously driven to move due to the inertia of the working load of the robot. The greater the velocity of the load, the greater the inertia, and the greater the weight of the load. Such inertia may cause serious damage to mechanical structures such as a speed reducer of the robot. On the other hand, the motor of the robot continues to move along with inertia without a driving signal, so that the motor generates a reverse current, and the reverse current flows back into the motion control component, and then electronic components on the motion control component may be burned. In order to avoid the collision, the user must pay attention to the operation of the robot at all times, press an emergency stop button or power off immediately when the collision is likely, which is a test for the user's energy and physical strength. And for the collision danger caused by the problem existing in the setting of the robot running route, the user is difficult to acquire effective information to correct the running route of the robot.

Therefore, the invention provides the robot capable of intelligently preventing collision.

A robot according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to fig. 2. Fig. 2 shows a schematic block diagram of a robot 200 according to an embodiment of the invention. As shown in fig. 2, the robot 200 includes at least one ranging sensor 210, at least one moving part 220, a movement control part 230, and an alarm part 240.

The ranging sensor 210 is used to measure a separation distance between the robot 200 and an adjacent object and transmit the separation distance to the motion control part 230 and the alarm part 240. The robot 200 may be equipped with one or more ranging sensors 210. For complex working environments, ranging sensors 210 may be installed at multiple locations of the robot 200 to enable measurement of the separation distance of the robot 200 from neighboring objects at various orientations, thereby improving collision protection of the robot 200. For example, a ranging sensor 131 is mounted on the small arm 130 of the robot 100 in fig. 1.

According to the distance measured by the distance measuring sensor 210, the risk of collision between the robot and the adjacent object can be judged by using multi-level threshold setting, so that intelligent anti-collision processing can be performed. The warning part 240 is used to issue a primary collision warning when the separation distance measured by any one of the ranging sensors 210 is less than the first threshold LT1 of the ranging sensor 210 and not less than the second threshold LT2 of the ranging sensor 210. When the distance measured by any one of the ranging sensors 210 is less than the second threshold LT2 of the ranging sensor 210 and not less than the third threshold LT3 of the ranging sensor 210, the warning unit 240 is configured to issue a secondary collision warning, and the motion control unit 230 is configured to generate a set of PWM wave table data with a period value gradually increasing for each of the moving units 210, so as to control the moving units 210 to decelerate and stop. When the separation distance measured by any one of the ranging sensors 210 is less than the third threshold LT3 of the ranging sensor 210, the warning part 240 is configured to issue a three-level collision warning, and the motion control part 230 is configured to immediately stop generating the PWM wave table data to stop the robot 200 from moving.

It will be appreciated that for each ranging sensor, a first, second and third threshold may be set corresponding thereto. The first threshold value of each ranging sensor may be different or the same. Similarly, the second threshold value of each ranging sensor may also be different or the same. The third threshold value of each ranging sensor may also be different or the same.

When the robot is in operation, the warning part 240 is used to issue a primary collision warning when the separation distance measured by any one of the ranging sensors 210 is less than the first threshold LT1 of the ranging sensor 210 and not less than the second threshold LT2 of the ranging sensor. The first threshold LT1 for each ranging sensor 210 is the first safe distance for the bearing being measured by that ranging sensor. When the measured separation distance is less than the first threshold LT1 of the ranging sensor 210, a collision may occur as the robot continues to operate. The warning unit 240 may issue a primary collision warning by any existing or future developed technique. For example, the first-level collision warning may be issued by a warning light with a specific color, a warning light flashing at a specific frequency, a warning sound, or a voice. The warning component 240 may also send the primary collision warning to a remote user via a network connection, such as internet or WIFI, bluetooth, etc. Therefore, the user can be reminded that the robot 200 is likely to collide, and the user can adjust the running route of the robot 200 in time to avoid collision. Further, the user may check the preset motion parameters of the robot 200 for problems according to the coordinates when the primary collision warning is issued, so as to correct the running route where the collision may occur. For the robot 200 working in an open environment, the staff near the robot 200 can be reminded to keep a safe distance from the robot 200 through the primary collision warning.

When the robot continues to travel toward the neighboring object such that the separation distance measured by any one of the ranging sensors 210 is less than the second threshold LT2 of the ranging sensor 210 and not less than the third threshold LT3 of the ranging sensor 210, the warning part 240 serves to issue a secondary collision warning. The second threshold LT2 for each ranging sensor 210 is the second safe distance for the position being measured by that ranging sensor. When the measured separation distance is less than the second threshold LT2 of the ranging sensor 210, the robot 200 continues to operate and a collision will occur. The warning unit 240 may issue a secondary collision warning by any existing or future developed technique. For example, the secondary collision warning may be issued by a warning light with a specific color, a warning light flashing at a specific frequency, a warning sound, or a voice prompt. The warning component 240 may also send the secondary collision warning message to a remote user via a network connection, such as the internet or WIFI, bluetooth, etc. For any one ranging sensor, the first threshold LT1 of the ranging sensor is greater than the second threshold LT 2. The danger of the secondary collision warning prompt is greater than that of the primary collision warning, and the warning unit 240 may issue the secondary collision warning in the form of, for example, a color signal that is more dangerous than the primary collision warning, a flashing warning light with a higher frequency, or a more urgent warning sound prompt.

When the separation distance measured by any one of the ranging sensors 210 is less than the second threshold LT2 of that ranging sensor 210 and not less than the third threshold LT3 of that ranging sensor, the deceleration stop process will be started in addition to the secondary collision warning issued by the warning part 240. At this time, the collision may occur when the robot 200 continues to operate, and the user may not have time to adjust the operation route of the robot 200 to avoid the collision. To ensure that collision avoidance occurs, the motion control unit 230 will generate a set of PWM wave table data with a period value gradually increasing for each moving unit 220 to control the moving unit 220 to decelerate and stop.

The motion control part 230 is configured to solve a motion parameter set by a user to the robot 200 to obtain a Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) wave for driving and controlling the motion part 220. The operation state of each moving part 220 can be adjusted by adjusting the period and/or duty ratio of the PWM wave driving the moving part 220. The motion control component 230 may be a single axis motion control component or a multi-axis motion control component. A single axis motion control component may only enable actuation of one motion component 220 and a multi-axis motion control component may enable actuation of multiple motion components 220 simultaneously. A single axis motion control component may be coupled to each motion component 220 in robot 200 for control. Multiple motion components 220 in robot 200 may also be controlled simultaneously with only one multi-axis motion control component. The plurality of motion components 220 in the robot 200 may also be controlled by a combination of single axis motion control components and multi-axis motion control components.

The PWM wavetable data is a list of parameters that generate PWM waveforms. Corresponding PWM waveforms may be generated based on the PWM wave table data. Table 1 is PWM wave table data according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in table 1, the PWM wave table data includes two PWM waveform parameters. According to the first PWM waveform parameter, 50 working clocks with 10 periods and a duty ratio of 1 can be generated: PWM waveform of 1. According to the second PWM waveform parameter, 100 cycles of 20 working clocks with duty ratio of 1 can be generated: PWM waveform of 3. It is to be understood that the column of "number of PWM waveforms" in table 1 is not essential, and when there is no column of "number of PWM waveforms", 1 or N PWM waveforms are generated by default according to the parameters, and the value of N can be set by the user.

TABLE 1 PWM wavetable data

The different period values in the PWM wave table data indicate different speeds of operation of the motor in the moving part 220. The larger the period value, the slower the motor runs, thereby driving the moving part 220 to run at a reduced speed. By the motion control section 230, a set of PWM wave table data in which the period value is increased step by step is generated for each motion section 220, so that the motion section 220 is decelerated step by step. The maximum period value is such that slowing the motor in the moving part 220 sufficiently slow or even stopping the motor from running does not cause damage to the mechanics, circuitry, etc. of the robot. After the generation of the PWM waveform of the maximum period value, the motion control part 230 stops generating the PWM waveform, and the motor in each motion part 220 stops operating. The motion control part 230 thus effects the deceleration stop of the respective motion part 220. Thereby ensuring that the robot 200 decelerates and stops before a collision occurs while avoiding damage to the mechanical, electrical, etc. components of the robot.

When the robot continues to travel toward the neighboring object such that the separation distance measured by any one of the ranging sensors 210 is less than the third threshold LT3 of the ranging sensor 210, the warning part 240 serves to issue a three-level collision warning. The third threshold LT3 for each ranging sensor 210 is a third safe distance for the position being measured by that ranging sensor. When the measured separation distance is less than the third threshold LT3 of the ranging sensor 210, the robot 200 continues to operate with an imminent collision. The warning unit 240 may issue a tertiary collision warning by any existing or future developed technique. For example, the third-level collision warning may be given by a warning light with a specific color, a warning light flashing at a specific frequency, a warning sound, or a voice. The warning component 240 may also send the tertiary collision warning message to a remote user via a network connection, such as internet or WIFI, bluetooth, etc. For any one ranging sensor, the second threshold LT2 of the ranging sensor is greater than the third threshold LT 3. The risk of the tertiary collision warning prompt is greater than that of the secondary collision warning, and the warning unit 240 may issue the tertiary collision warning in the form of, for example, a color signal that is more dangerous than the secondary collision warning, a flashing warning light with a higher frequency, or a more urgent warning sound prompt.

When the separation distance measured by any one of the ranging sensors 210 is less than the third threshold LT3 of the ranging sensor 210, the robot will be started to stop running immediately in addition to the warning of the tertiary collision by the warning part 240. At which point the robot 200 may collide without having time to decelerate. For example, the robot 200 suddenly encounters an obstacle during high-speed operation, or the robot 200 suddenly encounters an obstacle approaching at a high speed during high-speed operation. Although the robot 200 starts the deceleration stop process when the separation distance measured by one of the distance measuring sensors 210 is smaller than the second threshold LT2 of the distance measuring sensor 210 and not smaller than the third threshold LT3 of the distance measuring sensor, the separation distance is smaller than the third threshold LT3 of the distance measuring sensor when the robot 200 has not decelerated to a sufficiently slow operation speed because the operation speed is too fast. At this time, the motion control part 230 immediately stops generating the PWM wave table data to stop the robot 200 from moving. Thereby realizing an emergency stop process of the robot 200.

Each moving part 220 of the robot 200 has a certain sudden stop distance from the moment when the movement control part 230 stops generating the PWM wave table data to the moment when it completely stops. It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that the greater the load on the motor of the moving part 220 in the robot 200, the greater the inertia the robot 200 exerts on the motor. The larger the inertia means the less likely the motor is to stop, and therefore the greater the scram distance of the moving part 220. The load of the motor of each moving part 220 can be calculated from data such as input current, return current, power utilization rate, etc. of the motor. Therefore, the sudden stop distance corresponding to each moving part 220 can be calculated according to the maximum rated load of the robot 200. It will be appreciated that the value of the third threshold LT3 for each ranging sensor 210 should be greater than the scram distance of the respective moving member 220. Thereby, it is ensured that the robot 200 can be safely stopped, ensuring that no collision occurs.

According to the robot provided by the embodiment of the invention, the spacing distance between the robot and the adjacent object is measured, the danger degree between the robot and the adjacent object is judged according to the spacing distance, and collision early warnings of different levels are sent out by utilizing the multi-level threshold values and safe collision prevention processing is carried out, so that the selection of collision prevention intervention processing is provided for a user while the robot is ensured not to collide, the collision prevention processing capacity of the robot is improved, and the user experience is improved.

In one embodiment, when the separation distance measured by any one of the ranging sensors 210 is less than the second threshold LT2 of that ranging sensor 210 and not less than the third threshold LT3 of that ranging sensor 210, the motion control component 230 is specifically configured to, for each motion component 220: a set of PWM wave table data in which the period value is increased step by step is generated according to the stopping distance L of the moving part 220, wherein the stopping distance L of the moving part 220 is less than the second threshold LT2 of the ranging sensor 210. The moving part 220 is driven by the PWM waveform obtained by the PWM wavetable data generated by the moving control part 230 according to a set of period values that are generated by the stopping distance L, and the motor is decelerated to a sufficiently slow speed after the stopping distance L is continuously operated, at this time, the generation of the PWM waveform is stopped, and the moving part 220 is stopped immediately. It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the larger the load of the motor of the moving part 220, the larger the inertia exerted on the motor by the robot 200, the larger the inertia means that the motor is less likely to stop, and therefore the larger the stopping distance L of the moving part 220. The load of the motor of each moving part 220 can be calculated from data such as input current, return current, power utilization rate, etc. of the motor. The stopping distance L corresponding to each moving part 220 can be determined according to the maximum rated load of the robot 200 and the structure of the robot.

The stopping distance L of each moving member 220 may be a rotation angle value or a displacement distance value, and may be represented by a rotation angle of a joint or a movement length of a lead screw, for example, which may be converted according to the structure of the robot 200. For example, a motor in the base 110 of the robot 100 may drive the robot 100 to rotate horizontally, so the stopping distance L of the base 110 may be set to a rotation angle. The stopping distance L may be calculated from data such as a maximum rated load of the motor of the base 110, for example, 1 °. When the extension of the large arm 120, the small arm 130, the wrist, etc. of the robot 100 is a maximum length, the base 110 rotates by 1 ° to drive the end effector of the robot 100 to move by 1cm, which is smaller than the third threshold LT3(5cm) of the ranging sensor 121 disposed at the end effector of the robot 100, thereby ensuring that the robot 100 decelerates and stops without collision. Similarly, the stopping distance L of the large arm 120 may be set to a rotation angle. The stopping distances L of the moving members such as the forearm 130 and the wrist joint may be set to the respective rotation angles. It will be appreciated that the second threshold LT2 for each ranging sensor 210 should be greater than the stopping distance L for the respective moving member 220.

The stopping distance L of each moving part 220 on the robot 200 can also be calculated in real time by the motion control part 230. The motion control unit 230 may obtain data such as the motion speed and torque of the motor of each motion unit 220 and the posture of the robot 200 in real time, calculate an appropriate stop distance L from the data, and then perform deceleration stop. It is understood that the stopping distance L calculated in real time by the motion control part 230 is smaller than the stopping distance L calculated according to the data such as the maximum rated load of the motor of the motion part 220 described above.

The above technical solution drives the moving part by the PWM wave table data whose period value is gradually increased according to the stopping distance L of the moving part, so that the motor of the robot is gradually decelerated, not suddenly stopped. Therefore, the speed of the load connected with the motor of the robot is greatly reduced, the robot is ensured not to collide, meanwhile, the inertia of the robot is reduced, and various damages caused by the inertia when the robot stops are reduced.

In one embodiment, when the separation distance measured by any one of the ranging sensors 210 is less than the second threshold LT2 of that ranging sensor 210 and not less than the third threshold LT3 of that ranging sensor 210, the motion control part 230 is further configured to perform the following operations for each motion part.

Operation 1, converting the stopping distance L of the moving part into the micro-step value S of the moving part_step。

Micro step number S_stepRefers to the number of steps taken by the motor to rotate for one turn (360 degrees).

Operation 2, according to the micro-step value S_stepA stop period threshold P of the moving part_stopAnd a minimum period value P of the moving part_minThe cyclic variation value Δ P of the moving member is calculated using the following equation.

Stop period threshold P_stopIt may be a system setting value or a parameter which can be set by the user. Minimum period value P_minIs the period value corresponding to the maximum moving speed of the motor and is a constant.

Operation 3, starting with the current period value P0 of the moving part, increasing Δ P per period value until the last period value Pn is greater than or equal to the stop period threshold value P_stopThus, a set of period values P0, …, Pi, …, Pn is generated. Where Pi denotes the ith cycle value and Pn denotes the nth cycle value.

And 4, generating a set of PWM wavetable data with the period values gradually increased according to the set of period values P0, …, Pi, … and Pn for driving the moving part to decelerate and stop.

Fig. 3 shows a schematic block diagram of the motion control section 230 according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 3, the motion control part 230 includes a control section 231, a waveform generation section 232, and a driving section 233.

The control unit 231 is used to realize the calculation of the motion parameters, and may calculate the motion parameters into corresponding wave table data for generating the PWM waveform. The difference in the period values in the wavetable data means that the motor of the driven moving part 220 operates at different speeds. The control unit 231 may be implemented by a DSP chip, an ARM chip, an FPGA chip, or the like.

The waveform generating section 232 is a PWM waveform generator. The waveform generating unit 232 is, for example, a PWM waveform generator realized by an FPGA chip, and can be used to generate a corresponding PWM waveform from the wave table data generated by the control unit 231. The PWM waveform is sometimes called as a pulse waveform, has two states of high and low levels, and achieves the purpose of controlling the rotating speed of the motor by adjusting the duty ratio, the period and the like of the PWM waveform in the field of motion control. The waveform generator 232 may be implemented by various conventional PWM waveform generators, such as a PWM waveform generator implemented by a Direct Digital Synthesis (DDS) signal generation technique, a PWM waveform generator implemented by a Digital counting technique, and the like.

The driving part 233 may be used to drive the motor of the moving part 220 to move according to the PWM waveform generated by the waveform generating part 232. The driving part 233 may be implemented using various types of motor driving chips.

In the robotic system 200, the moving part 220 may generally include a motor and a reducer, which is connected through an output shaft of the motor. The moving member 220 may also include only a motor, for example, a motor on the end effector may directly drive the end effector to perform a grasping operation, etc., without a reducer.

In one embodiment, the control unit 231 and the waveform generating unit 232 together form a control waveform generating unit, and are implemented by the same chip, for example, an FPGA chip embedded with an ARM core. The control waveform generating part is used for generating a PWM waveform according to the motion parameter set by the user for the driving part 233 to use.

Each ranging sensor 210 mayThe spacing distance detected in real time is transmitted to the control unit 231 of one or more motion control means 230. The control unit 231 stores therein the second threshold LT2 and the third threshold LT3 of the corresponding distance measuring sensor 210. When the control section 231 determines that the spaced distance measured by any one of the ranging sensors 210 is less than the second threshold LT2 of that ranging sensor 210 and not less than the third threshold LT3 of that ranging sensor 210, the control section 231 performs the following operations for each of the moving parts 220 that are driven: converting the stopping distance L of the moving part into a micro-step value S of the moving part_step(ii) a And according to the microstep value S_stepA stop period threshold P of the moving part_stopAnd a minimum period value P of the moving part_minCalculating to obtain a periodic variation value delta P of the moving part, wherein L<LT2。

In one embodiment, each ranging sensor 210 may also transmit the separation distance detected in real time to the waveform generation portion 232 in one or more motion control components 230. The waveform generating unit 232 stores therein the second threshold LT2 and the third threshold LT3 of the corresponding distance measuring sensor 210. The waveform generating part 232 determines whether any one of the ranging sensors 210 measures a spacing distance that is less than the second threshold LT2 of the ranging sensor 210 and not less than the third threshold LT3 of the ranging sensor 210, and then transmits the determination result to the control part 231. When the determination result is true, the control section 231 performs the following operation for each of the driven moving parts 220: converting the stopping distance L of the moving part into a micro-step value S of the moving part_step(ii) a And according to the microstep value S_stepA stop period threshold P of the moving part_stopAnd a minimum period value P of the moving part_minCalculating to obtain a periodic variation value delta P of the moving part, wherein L<LT2。

In one embodiment, each ranging sensor 210 may also transmit the real-time detected separation distance to the waveform generation part 232 of one or more motion control parts 230, and then the waveform generation part 232 transmits the separation distance to the control part 231. The control unit 231 stores therein the second threshold LT2 and the third threshold LT3 of the corresponding distance measuring sensor 210. When the control unit 231 determines that there is any oneWhen the separation distance measured by each of the distance measuring sensors 210 is smaller than the second threshold LT2 of the distance measuring sensor 210 and not smaller than the third threshold LT3 of the distance measuring sensor 210, the control section 231 performs the following operations for each of the driven moving parts 220: converting the stopping distance L of the moving part into a micro-step value S of the moving part_step(ii) a And according to the microstep value S_stepA stop period threshold P of the moving part_stopAnd a minimum period value P of the moving part_miCalculating to obtain a periodic variation value delta P of the moving part, wherein L<LT2。

In one embodiment, each ranging sensor 210 may also transmit the separation distance detected in real time to a separate data processing section (not shown). The data processing section stores therein the second threshold LT2 and the third threshold LT3 of the respective ranging sensors 210. When it is found that the spaced distance measured by any one of the ranging sensors 210 is less than the second threshold LT2 of the ranging sensor 210 and not less than the third threshold LT3 of the ranging sensor 210, the data processing section sends a trigger signal to each control section 231. The respective control section 231 performs the following operations for each of the driven moving parts 220 in accordance with the trigger signal: converting the stopping distance L of the moving part into the micro-step S of the moving part 220_step(ii) a And according to the microstep value S_stepA stop period threshold P of the moving part_stopAnd a minimum period value P of the moving part_minCalculating to obtain a periodic variation value delta P of the moving part, wherein L<LT2。

The control unit 231 converts the stop distance L of the moving member 220 into the micro-step value S of the motor motion of the corresponding moving member_stepIs a scaling process. The conversion of the stopping distance L to the microstep value S may be accomplished using any existing or future developed technique_stepAnd (4) conversion. The invention is not limited in this regard.

The period change value Δ P is the amount of change in the period value between each microstep. For each moving part 220, the microstep value S of the moving part 220 is determined_stepA stop period threshold P of the moving part 220_stopAnd minimum period of the moving part 220Value P_minThe cyclic variation value Δ P of the moving member 220 is calculated using the following equation. Wherein the minimum period value P_minIs the period value corresponding to the maximum moving speed of the moving part 220.

For each moving part 220, the waveform generating part 232 starts with the current period value P0 of the moving part 220, increases by Δ P for each period value until the last period value Pn is equal to or greater than the stop period threshold value P_stopThus, a set of cycle values P0, …, Pi, …, Pn is generated, where Pi represents the ith cycle value and Pn represents the nth cycle value.

Here, the current period value P0 may be a period value of the PWM waveform currently generated by the waveform generator 232 with respect to the driven motion member 220 when the controller 231 determines that the distance measured by any one of the distance measuring sensors 210 is smaller than the second threshold LT2 of the distance measuring sensor 210 and not smaller than the third threshold LT3 of the distance measuring sensor 210, when the controller 231 receives the determination result of the waveform generator 232, or when the controller 231 receives the trigger signal of the data processor, or may be a period value corresponding to the current operating speed of the motor of the driven motion member 220. When the robot system 200 finishes executing the motion parameter set by the user, the current period value P0 is the period value of the last wave table after the motion parameter is resolved into the wave table data.

Starting from the current period value P0 of the moving part 220, every next period value increases by Δ P, i.e. the subsequent period values increase continuously, the period values in the PWM wavetable data are: p0, P1 ═ P0+ Δ P, P2 ═ P0+ Δ P × 2, P3 ═ P0+ Δ P × 3, … …, Pn ═ P0+ Δ P × n (Pn ≧ P_stop). The driving part 233 generates the PWM waveform to drive the motor of the moving member 220 to move according to the PWM wave table data whose period value is increased, which means that the motor of the moving member 220 is decelerated. When a period value greater than or equal to the stop period threshold P of the moving part 220 occurs_stopThe motor of the moving part 220The moving speed is slow enough that the inertia of the robot is already small, and the driving part 233 stops the motor driving the moving part 220. Such a set of PWM waveforms with gradually increasing period values may cause the motor of the moving part 220 to gradually decelerate, with the speed of each microstep of the motor gradually decreasing, rather than abruptly stopping, significantly decreasing the speed of the load to which the motor of the moving part 220 is connected. Thereby reducing the inertia of the entire robot system 200 and thus reducing various damages caused by the inertia when the motor of the moving part 220 is stopped.

The ranging sensor 210 may employ any existing or future developed ranging sensor.

Illustratively, the ranging sensor 210 may be a laser ranging sensor. The laser ranging sensor uses laser pulses as a medium to carry out ranging by calculating the time difference between transmitting and receiving. The laser ranging sensor is small in size, light in weight, small in error and stable in performance, and is suitable for being installed at a position where the robot 200 needs to be subjected to anti-collision monitoring. Thereby ensuring that the robot 200 reliably achieves intelligent collision avoidance.

Illustratively, the ranging sensor 210 may be an infrared ranging sensor. The infrared distance measuring sensor measures distance by calculating the time difference between transmission and reception by using infrared rays as a medium. The infrared distance measuring sensor has wide measuring range and short response time, and is suitable for severe industrial environment. Thereby ensuring that the robot 200 reliably achieves intelligent collision avoidance.

Illustratively, the ranging sensor 210 may be an ultrasonic ranging sensor. The ultrasonic ranging sensor adopts the ultrasonic echo principle to measure the distance and has the advantages of accurate measurement, no contact, low cost and the like. Thereby ensuring that the robot 200 reliably achieves intelligent collision avoidance.

According to one aspect of the present invention, a motion control system is provided. The motion control system comprises a robot control device and the robot.

FIG. 4 shows a schematic block diagram of a motion control system 400 according to one embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 4, the motion control system 400 includes a robot control device 410 and a robot 420. Wherein the robot control device 410 is configured to receive, for each ranging sensor of the robot 420, a first threshold LT1, a second threshold LT2 and a third threshold LT3 of the ranging sensor. The robot control device 410 may transmit the received first threshold LT1, second threshold LT2, and third threshold LT3 to the robot 420 for robot control to prevent the robot from colliding.

The robot control device 410 may be a teach pendant, a computer with installed upper computer software, a mobile phone/Pad with installed APP, or the like. The robot control device 410 may be connected to the robot 420 through a Controller Area Network (CAN) bus, and is configured to implement human-computer interaction. Thereby enabling the user to implement the functions of configuring the motion parameters of the robot 420, controlling the operation state of the robot 420, and receiving and displaying the motion data, the motion state, and the like of the robot 420 through the robot control device 410.

When the user needs to control the robot 420 to move, the user may set various moving parameters of the robot 420 through the robot control device 410. The motion parameters may include displacement (rotation angle, etc.), time (or time of day), speed, etc. The robot control device 410 transmits the user-configured motion parameters to the motion control components of the robot 420. The motion control part of the robot 420 receives the relevant motion parameters and resolves the motion parameters into wavetable data containing period values, and generates corresponding PWM waveforms according to the wavetable data to drive each motion part of the robot 420 to move so as to drive the robot 420 to move according to the path required by the user.

The CAN bus described above enables communication between the robot control device 410 and the robot 420. The CAN bus is a standard bus, has a fixed format, and is widely applied to the fields of automobile electronics, industrial control, motion control and the like. The CAN bus may be a twisted pair or a coaxial line, etc. Alternatively, the communication between the robot control device 410 and the robot 420 may be realized by serial communication or the like instead of the CAN bus.

The first threshold LT1, the second threshold LT2, and the third threshold LT3 of each ranging sensor are fixed values, and can be set by the user through the robot control device 410. For example, a first threshold LT1 of one ranging sensor is set to 10cm, a second threshold LT2 is set to 5cm, and a third threshold LT3 is set to 2 cm. Meaning that the warning component of the robot 420 will issue a primary collision warning once the ranging sensor detects that an object is in close proximity to the robot 420 by less than 10 cm. Once the distance sensor detects that an object is closer than 5cm to the robot 420, the warning unit of the robot 420 may issue a secondary collision warning, and the motion control unit of the robot 420 may generate a set of PWM wave table data with a period value gradually increasing for each motion unit to control the motion unit to slow down and stop. Once the distance sensor detects that an object is close to the robot 420 by less than 2cm, the warning unit of the robot 420 may issue a three-level collision warning, and the motion control unit of the robot 420 may immediately stop generating the PWM waveform to stop the robot 420. Therefore, the user can set reasonable threshold parameters for each ranging sensor according to factors such as the actual working scene and the workload of the robot, and the adaptability of intelligent anti-collision of the robot is improved.

In one embodiment, the robot control device 410 is further configured to receive, for each ranging sensor of the robot 420, switching information of the ranging sensor, information on whether to be used for an alarm process, and/or information on whether to be used for a deceleration stop process. The user can open the ranging sensor that needs work, close unnecessary ranging sensor according to the actual work scene of robot. For the turned-on ranging sensor, the user may also set whether the separation distance measured by the ranging sensor is used for an alarm process, or a deceleration stop process. Therefore, the method gives a user sufficient anti-collision processing selection, thereby saving unnecessary power consumption of the robot and improving the flexibility of the anti-collision processing of the robot.

In one embodiment, the robot control device 410 further includes a display for displaying an alarm state of each ranging sensor of the robot 420. Therefore, the visibility of the robot anti-collision treatment is improved, and the user can conveniently and timely perform anti-collision intervention.

Fig. 5 shows a schematic view of a control interface of a robot control device 410 according to an embodiment of the invention. As shown in fig. 5, the robot control device 410 may set alarm states of ranging sensors, the level 1 alarm trigger distance, the level 2 alarm trigger distance, and the level 3 alarm trigger distance, at which the robot 420 is disposed at the upper arm, the lower arm, and the wrist, and display alarm information of each ranging sensor. Wherein the level 1 alarm trigger distance, the level 2 alarm trigger distance, and the level 3 alarm trigger distance correspond to the first threshold LT1, the second threshold LT2, and the third threshold LT3, respectively. The alarm state of the ranging sensor indicates whether the ranging sensor is used for alarm processing, ON indicates ON, and OFF indicates OFF. The alarm information of the ranging sensor is "normal" indicates that the spaced distance measured by the ranging sensor is not less than the first threshold LT1 of the ranging sensor, and the robot 420 operates normally. The warning message of the ranging sensor is "primary warning", which indicates that the separation distance measured by the ranging sensor is less than the first threshold LT1 of the ranging sensor and not less than the second threshold LT2 of the ranging sensor, and prompts the user that the robot 420 continues to operate and possibly collides. The warning information of the ranging sensor is "secondary warning", which indicates that the distance measured by the ranging sensor is less than the second threshold LT2 of the ranging sensor and not less than the third threshold LT3 of the ranging sensor, and prompts the user that the robot 420 will collide when continuing to operate, and the robot 420 autonomously starts deceleration stop processing to avoid collision. The warning information of the distance measuring sensor is 'three-level warning', which indicates that the distance measured by the distance measuring sensor is less than the third threshold LT3 of the distance measuring sensor, and prompts the user that the robot 420 continues to operate and is about to collide, and the robot 420 starts to stop processing immediately to avoid collision. Therefore, the user can conveniently set the anti-collision parameters of each distance measuring sensor of the robot according to factors such as the actual working scene, the working load and the like of the robot, and can conveniently monitor the alarm state of each distance measuring sensor of the robot, so that the appropriate anti-collision intervention treatment can be carried out in time. Therefore, the user experience is improved while the robot is ensured not to collide.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a robot collision avoidance method. Fig. 6 shows a schematic flow diagram of a robot collision avoidance method 600 according to an embodiment of the invention. As shown in fig. 6, the robot collision avoidance method 600 includes steps S610, S620, S630, S640, S650, S660, S670, and S680.

Step S610, measuring a separation distance between the robot and the adjacent object by at least one ranging sensor.

In step S620, it is determined whether the separation distance measured by any one of the ranging sensors is smaller than the first threshold LT1 of the ranging sensor according to the separation distance measured in step S610.

If the separation distance measured by any one of the ranging sensors is less than the first threshold LT1 of the ranging sensor, which indicates that the robot currently has a sufficiently safe separation distance from the adjacent object, the normal operation of step S680 may be continued; otherwise, the step S630 is continued for further judgment processing.

In step S630, it is determined whether the separation distance measured by any one of the ranging sensors is smaller than the second threshold LT2 of the ranging sensor according to the separation distance measured in step S610.

If the separation distance measured by any one of the ranging sensors is less than the second threshold LT2 of the ranging sensor, which indicates that the robot currently has a safer separation distance from the adjacent object, but the robot will possibly collide when continuing to operate, the step S640 of sending a primary collision warning may be continued; otherwise, the step S650 is continued to further determine processing.

And step S640, sending out a primary collision early warning.

The robot is prompted to possibly collide through primary collision early warning, and the user can adjust the running route of the robot in time to avoid collision. Furthermore, the user can check the problems of the preset motion parameters of the robot according to the coordinates when the primary collision early warning is sent out so as to correct the running route which is likely to collide. For the robot working in the open environment, the primary collision early warning can also remind workers nearby the robot to keep a safe distance from the robot.

In step S650, it is determined whether the separation distance measured by any one of the ranging sensors is not less than the third threshold LT3 of the ranging sensor according to the separation distance measured in step S610.

If none of the ranging sensors measures a separation distance less than the third threshold LT3 for that ranging sensor, it indicates that the robot will continue to operate and will collide, but that the robot currently has a sufficient separation distance from the nearby object for the deceleration stop process. The step S660 is continued to issue a secondary collision warning and start deceleration stop processing.

If the separation distance measured by any one of the ranging sensors is less than the third threshold LT3 of the ranging sensor, which indicates that the robot is about to collide, the step S670 is continued to issue a three-level collision warning and start the immediate stop process.

And step S660, sending out secondary collision early warning, and generating a set of PWM wave table data with the period value gradually increased aiming at each moving part of the robot so as to drive and control the moving part to decelerate and stop.

And step S670, sending out a three-level collision early warning, and immediately stopping generating PWM wave table data to stop the robot from moving.

In step S680, the robot operates normally.

According to the robot anti-collision method provided by the embodiment of the invention, the separation distance between the robot and the adjacent object is measured, the danger degree between the robot and the adjacent object is judged according to the separation distance, collision early warning of different levels is sent out by utilizing a multi-level threshold value, and safe anti-collision processing is carried out, so that the selection of carrying out anti-collision intervention processing is provided for a user while the robot is ensured not to collide, the anti-collision processing capability of the robot is improved, and the user experience is improved.

In one embodiment, the generating a set of PWM wave table data with period values gradually increasing for each moving part of the robot in step S660 to drive the moving part to decelerate and stop includes: generating a set of PWM wave table data having a period value increased step by step according to the stopping distance L of the moving part, which is less than the second threshold LT2 of the ranging sensor. This ensures that the robot 200 decelerates and stops before a collision occurs, while avoiding damage to the mechanical, electrical, etc. components of the robot.

In one embodiment, the generating a set of PWM wave table data with period values gradually increased according to the stopping distance L of the moving part of the robot includes the following sub-steps:

substep 1 of converting the stopping distance L into a microstep value S of the motion of the moving part_step。

Substep 2, obtaining the microstep value S according to the conversion of substep 1_stepA stop period threshold P of the moving part_stopAnd a minimum period value P of the moving part_minThe cyclic variation value Δ P of the moving member is calculated using the following equation.

Substep 3, starting with the current period value P0 of the moving part, increasing each period value by Δ P until the last period value Pn is greater than or equal to the stop period threshold value P_stopThus, a set of period values P0, …, Pi, …, Pn is generated, where Pi represents the ith period value, Pn represents the nth period value, and the minimum period value P_minIs the period value corresponding to the maximum moving speed of the moving part.

And a sub-step 4 of generating a set of PWM wavetable data with period values gradually increased according to the set of period values P0, …, Pi, …, Pn generated in the sub-step 3.

In one embodiment, the robotic collision avoidance method 600 further comprises: for each ranging sensor, a first threshold LT1, a second threshold LT2, and a third threshold LT3 for that ranging sensor are received. Therefore, the user can set reasonable threshold parameters for each ranging sensor according to factors such as the actual working scene and the workload of the robot, and the adaptability of intelligent anti-collision of the robot is improved.

In one embodiment, the robotic collision avoidance method 600 further comprises: for each ranging sensor, switching information of the ranging sensor, information on whether to be used for an alarm process, and/or information on whether to be used for a deceleration stop process are received. Therefore, the method gives a user sufficient anti-collision processing selection, thereby saving unnecessary power consumption of the robot and improving the flexibility of the anti-collision processing of the robot.

In one embodiment, the robotic collision avoidance method 600 further comprises: and displaying the alarm state of each ranging sensor. Therefore, the visibility of the robot anti-collision treatment is improved, and the user can conveniently and timely perform anti-collision intervention.

The range sensor may be any existing or future developed range sensor.

Illustratively, the ranging sensor may be a laser ranging sensor. The laser ranging sensor uses laser pulses as a medium to carry out ranging by calculating the time difference between transmitting and receiving. The laser ranging sensor is small in size, light in weight, small in error and stable in performance, and therefore the reliability of robot anti-collision processing is improved.

Illustratively, the ranging sensor may be an infrared ranging sensor. The infrared distance measuring sensor measures distance by calculating the time difference between transmission and reception by using infrared rays as a medium. The infrared distance measuring sensor has wide measuring range and short response time, and is suitable for severe industrial environment, so that the reliability of robot anti-collision treatment is improved.

Illustratively, the ranging sensor may be an ultrasonic ranging sensor. The ultrasonic ranging sensor adopts the ultrasonic echo principle to carry out ranging, and has the advantages of accurate measurement, no contact, low cost and the like, thereby improving the reliability of the robot anti-collision treatment.

The robot collision avoidance method described above may be used for the aforementioned robot. The detailed implementation and technical effects of the steps of the robot anti-collision method can be understood by those skilled in the art through the foregoing description of the robot. For brevity, no further description is provided herein.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the various illustrative elements and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware or combinations of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the implementation. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present invention.

In the several embodiments provided in the present application, it should be understood that the disclosed apparatus and method may be implemented in other ways. For example, the above-described device embodiments are merely illustrative, and for example, the division of the units is only one logical functional division, and other divisions may be realized in practice, for example, a plurality of units or components may be combined or integrated into another device, or some features may be omitted, or not executed.

In the description provided herein, numerous specific details are set forth. It is understood, however, that embodiments of the invention may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known methods, structures and techniques have not been shown in detail in order not to obscure an understanding of this description.

Similarly, it should be appreciated that in the description of exemplary embodiments of the invention, various features of the invention are sometimes grouped together in a single embodiment, figure, or description thereof for the purpose of streamlining the invention and aiding in the understanding of one or more of the various inventive aspects. However, the method of the present invention should not be construed to reflect the intent: that the invention as claimed requires more features than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as the following claims reflect, inventive aspects lie in less than all features of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus, the claims following the detailed description are hereby expressly incorporated into this detailed description, with each claim standing on its own as a separate embodiment of this invention.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that all of the features disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings), and all of the processes or elements of any method or apparatus so disclosed, may be combined in any combination, except combinations where such features are mutually exclusive. Each feature disclosed in this specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract and drawings) may be replaced by alternative features serving the same, equivalent or similar purpose, unless expressly stated otherwise.

Furthermore, those skilled in the art will appreciate that while some embodiments described herein include some features included in other embodiments, rather than other features, combinations of features of different embodiments are meant to be within the scope of the invention and form different embodiments. For example, in the claims, any of the claimed embodiments may be used in any combination.

The various component embodiments of the invention may be implemented in hardware, or in software modules running on one or more processors, or in a combination thereof. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that a microprocessor or Digital Signal Processor (DSP) may be used in practice to implement some or all of the functions of some of the modules in a visual positioning map loading apparatus according to embodiments of the present invention. The present invention may also be embodied as apparatus programs (e.g., computer programs and computer program products) for performing a portion or all of the methods described herein. Such programs implementing the present invention may be stored on computer-readable media or may be in the form of one or more signals. Such a signal may be downloaded from an internet website or provided on a carrier signal or in any other form.

It should be noted that the above-mentioned embodiments illustrate rather than limit the invention, and that those skilled in the art will be able to design alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims. In the claims, any reference signs placed between parentheses shall not be construed as limiting the claim. The word "comprising" does not exclude the presence of elements or steps not listed in a claim. The word "a" or "an" preceding an element does not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements. The invention may be implemented by means of hardware comprising several distinct elements, and by means of a suitably programmed computer. In the unit claims enumerating several means, several of these means may be embodied by one and the same item of hardware. The usage of the words first, second and third, etcetera do not indicate any ordering. These words may be interpreted as names.

The above description is only for the specific embodiment of the present invention or the description thereof, and the protection scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and any person skilled in the art can easily conceive of the changes or substitutions within the technical scope of the present invention, and the changes or substitutions should be covered within the protection scope of the present invention. The protection scope of the present invention shall be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A robot comprising at least one ranging sensor, at least one moving part, a motion control part and an alarm part, wherein,

the alarm component is used for:

the motion control component is configured to:

2. The robot of claim 1, wherein said motion control means are particularly adapted to, for each motion means, when the separation distance measured by any one ranging sensor is less than the second threshold LT2 of that ranging sensor and not less than the third threshold LT3 of that ranging sensor:

3. The robot of claim 2, wherein said motion control means are further for, for each motion means, when the separation distance measured by any one of the ranging sensors is less than the second threshold LT2 for that ranging sensor and not less than the third threshold LT3 for that ranging sensor:

4. The robot of any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the ranging sensor is a laser ranging sensor, an infrared ranging sensor, or an ultrasonic ranging sensor.

5. A motion control system comprising a robot control device and a robot according to any of claims 1 to 3,

6. The motion control system according to claim 5, wherein the robot control device is further configured to receive, for each ranging sensor, switching information of the ranging sensor, information on whether to be used for an alarm process, and/or information on whether to be used for a deceleration stop process.

7. The motion control system according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the robot control device further comprises a display for displaying warning information of each ranging sensor.

8. A robot collision avoidance method, comprising:

9. The robot collision avoidance method of claim 8, wherein the generating a set of PWM wave table data with a period value that is gradually increased for each moving part of the robot to drive the moving part to decelerate and stop comprises:

10. The robot collision avoidance method of claim 9, wherein the generating a set of PWM wave table data having a period value that is gradually increased according to the stopping distance L of the moving part comprises:

According to the microstep value S_stepA stop period threshold P of the moving part_stopAnd the fortuneMinimum period value P of moving part_minThe periodic variation value Δ P of the moving part is calculated by the following formula:

11. The robot collision preventing method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, further comprising:

12. The robot collision preventing method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, further comprising:

13. The robot collision preventing method according to any one of claims 8 to 10, further comprising:

and displaying the alarm state of each ranging sensor.

14. The robot collision avoidance method of any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein the ranging sensor is a laser ranging sensor, an infrared ranging sensor, or an ultrasonic ranging sensor.