This application is based on and claims the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2017-098861, filed on 18 May 2017, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a programming device and a robot control method for controlling a robot such as an industrial robot.

Related Art

Conventionally, a method called teaching playback for teaching to a robot has been widely employed. With teaching playback, predetermined operations are taught to a robot by moving the robot according to manipulations made by the user using a teaching control panel. Alternatively, predetermined operations are taught to a robot by the user directly pushing and pulling to move the robot. The robot generates an operating program for performing the predetermined operation based on these teachings. Then, by using this operating program, the robot can accurately repeat the predetermined operation even after teaching is completed.

However, performing teaching playback using the actual machine of such a robot on each of a plurality of robots becomes burdensome to the user. Therefore, technology has been utilized that creates an operating program by generating a virtual space on a computer, and then causing the robot to operate virtually in this virtual space. Such technology is disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example, and is called by the title of off-line programming system (hereinafter referred to as “OPS” as appropriate). By utilizing OPS, it becomes possible to generate an operating program without performing teaching playback using the actual machine of a robot.Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. 2009-119589

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

However, in the case of causing the robot to actually operate using an operating program generated by way of OPS, it is often not possible for the robot to execute the work as expected, for reasons such as dimensional error or assembling error of the robot, or the relative position between the robot and surrounding environment differing from that expected. For this reason, work in which the user performs teaching playback using the actual machine of the robot, and adjusts the operating program generated by way of OPS has been required after all. The teaching and programming performed upon starting up a robot are not easy, and are complicated for the user.

Therefore, the present invention has an object of providing a programming device and robot control method capable of performing the start-up operation of a robot more simply than conventionally.

A programming device (for example, the programming device10described later) according to a first aspect of the present invention includes: a program generation unit (for example, the program generation unit13described later) that generates a program for causing a predetermined operation passing through a plurality of movement destination points to be executed by a robot (for example, the robot20described later); a robot control unit (for example, the robot control unit14described later) that causes the predetermined operation to be executed by the robot according to control based on the program; an image acquisition unit (for example, the image acquisition unit16described later) that acquires a photographed image capturing a reference point that is arranged at a position having a predetermined relative relationship with a position of the movement destination point; and a movement destination point correction unit (for example, the movement destination point correction unit15described later) that corrects information of the movement destination point included in the program, based on the photographed image and the predetermined relative relationship, in which the robot control unit controls the robot based on corrected information of the movement destination point.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the programming device as described in the first aspect may be configured so that the program generation unit: stores a plurality of movement destination points specified based on information grouping a position of the reference point and the predetermined relative relationship, as candidates for the movement destination point; and selects any movement destination point from the candidates for the movement destination point, and generates a program for causing a predetermined operation passing through the movement destination point thus selected to be executed by the robot, during program generation.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the programming device as described in the first or second aspect may be configured so that the program generation unit, in a case of the robot and another article interfering if the robot moves between the movement destination points, generates the program by inserting a relay point passed through during movement between the movement destination points, so that the robot moves on a path on which the interfering does not occur.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the programming device as described in the third aspect may be configured so that the movement destination point correction unit does not correct information for the relay point.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, the programming device as described in any one of the first to fourth aspects may be configured so that the movement destination point correction unit, while the robot is executing the predetermined operation, corrects information for movement destination points through which the robot subsequently moves.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, the programming device as described in any one of the first to fifth aspects may be configured so that a plurality of the reference points is present, and image information for identifying respective reference points is included in each of the reference points; the image acquisition unit also captures image information for identifying the respective reference points; and the movement destination point correction unit identifies a reference point based on image information for identifying the respective reference points, and corrects information of the movement destination point corresponding to the reference point thus identified which is included in the program, based on the photographed image and the predetermined relative relationship.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, the programming device as described in any one of the first to sixth aspects may be configured so that, in a case of the robot operating under different conditions, the program generation unit reproduces the program thus generated in a number corresponding to each of the different conditions; and the movement destination point correction unit generates a plurality of corrected programs corresponding to each of the different conditions, by correcting each of the programs thus reproduced to correspond to each of the different conditions.

A robot control method according to an eighth aspect of the present invention, which is performed by a computer (for example, the programming device10described later), includes the steps of: generating a program for causing a predetermined operation which passes through a plurality of movement destination points to be executed by a robot; executing the predetermined operation by the robot according to control based on the program; acquiring a photographed image capturing a reference point which is disposed at a position having a predetermined relative relationship with a position of the movement destination point; and correcting information of the movement destination point included in the program, based on the photographed image and the predetermined relative relationship, in which the robot is controlled based on corrected information of the movement destination point, in the step of executing.

According to the present invention, it is possible to perform the start-up operation of a robot more simply than conventionally.

