Data collection system and method

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11131977-B2
Application number	US-201515303242-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 31, 2015
Priority date	Apr 8, 2014
Publication date	Sep 28, 2021
Grant date	Sep 28, 2021

Abstract

This system is a data collection system collecting a robot operation-related data/signal from a robot controller. The data collection system includes a data collection condition setting unit setting a collection condition of the robot operation-related data/signal from the robot controller and a data storage unit storing the robot operation-related data/signal collected from the robot controller. A shared memory inside which the data storage unit and the data collection condition setting unit are formed is formed in a substrate which can be mounted on an expansion slot of the robot controller. According to this system, a data collection function can be post-installed to an existing robot controller so as to arbitrarily select and collect various data on the robot operation.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A data collection system configured to collect a data or a signal on a robot operation from a robot controller, comprising:
a non-volatile memory;
a shared memory having:
a data storage configured to store the data or signal on the robot operation collected from the robot controller, the data storage having:
a collected data area of the shared memory in which the data or signal is directly written;
a buffer in which the data or signal is temporarily written from the collected data area; and
a file system receiving a prescribed amount of the data or signal written in the buffer from the buffer and saving the same;

program instructions to:
set a collection condition of the data or signal, including:
setting a first collection condition that the data or signal is collected in a designated cycle and a second collection condition that the data or signal is collected under a specific condition on the robot operation as a trigger; and
collecting another data on a drive of the robot in addition to a current value, a speed, and a deviation of a servo motor driving an arm of the robot;

set an off-line system in which the data or signal in the data storage is stored in the non-volatile memory and thereafter transmitted to a communication network; and
set an on-line system in which the data or signal in the data storage is directly transmitted to the communication network; and

a substrate on which the non-volatile memory and shared memory are disposed, the shared memory being configured to connect to a bus of the robot controller when the substrate is mounted on an expansion slot of the robot controller.

2. The data collection system according to claim 1 , wherein the specific condition includes at least one of a trigger invalidity, a program number, a special signal, an I/O signal designation, a data channel number, a threshold of a data channel number, an error number, a pre-trigger time, and a trigger measurement finish time.

3. The data collection system according to claim 1 , wherein the other data on the drive of the robot includes at least one of an intermediate arithmetic value when determining a drive condition of the robot, a program number, D/A data format, a XYZOAT, a tool tip speed, an overload arrival rate, a regeneration time over arrival rate, a number of ENC communication error, an output signal, an input signal, an internal signal, and a trigger signal.

4. The data collection system according to claim 1 , wherein the substrate has a network communication function configured to transmit the data or signal stored in the data storage to the communication network.

5. The data collection system according to claim 1 , wherein the shared memory includes a program written in a collection condition data area of the shared memory using one of a plurality of robot control programs included in the robot controller.

6. The data collection system according to claim 1 , wherein the data or signal relates to reduction gear expected life diagnosis, duty diagnosis, peak torque diagnosis, or reduction gear failure prediction diagnosis.

7. A data collection method configured to collect a data or a signal on a robot operation from a robot controller, the method comprising:
setting, inside a shared memory, a data collection condition to set a collection condition of the data or signal on the robot operation from the robot controller, including:
setting a first collection condition that the data or signal is collected in a designated cycle and a second collection condition that the data or signal is collected under a specific condition as a trigger; and
collecting another data on a drive of the robot in addition to a current value, a speed, and a deviation of a servo motor driving an arm of the robot;

storing, inside the shared memory, a data to store the data or signal according to the set data collection condition;
setting an off-line system in which the data or signal stored in the shared memory is stored in a non-volatile memory and thereafter transmitted to a communication network; and
setting an on-line system in which the data or signal stored in the shared memory is directly transmitted to the communication network,
wherein the shared memory is formed in a substrate, the shared memory being configured to connect to a bus of the robot controller when the substrate is mounted on an expansion slot of the robot controller, and
the shared memory has a data storage having:
a collected data area of the shared memory in which the data or signal is directly written;
a buffer in which the data or signal is temporarily written from the collected data area; and
a file system receiving a prescribed amount of the data or signal written in the buffer from the buffer and saving the same.

8. The data collection method according to claim 7 , wherein the substrate has a network communication function configured to transmit the stored data or signal to the communication network.

9. The data collection method according to claim 7 , the step of setting the data collection condition is performed by a program written in a collection condition data area of the shared memory using one of a plurality of robot control programs included in the robot controller.

Assignees

• Kawasaki Heavy Ind Ltd

Inventors

• Nakamura Kazuyuki

Classifications

• G05B2219/40273

  Wire manipulator, crane type manipulator with three wires · CPC title

• G05B2219/35291

  Record history, log, journal, audit of machine operation · CPC title

• G05B2219/33297

  Diagnostic, test, debug · CPC title

• G05B19/4063

  Monitoring general control system (G05B19/4062 takes precedence) · CPC title

• G05B2219/50102

  Store history of operation, after power failure, restart from history, journal · CPC title