Robot system and method of manufacturing workpiece

A robot system according to one aspect of an embodiment includes a robot and an instructing module. The robot holds one of a plurality of feed materials used for processing a workpiece. The instructing module gives instructions to the robot, when the feed materials are used for processing the single workpiece, for an operation in which the feed material held last in the previous round of processing a workpiece is used first in the subsequent round of processing a workpiece.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority of the prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2011-235203, filed on Oct. 26, 2011, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

The embodiment discussed herein is directed to a robot system and a method of manufacturing a workpiece.

BACKGROUND

Various technologies have been developed to automate a production line for workpieces by replacing manual labors with robots. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2008-009899 discloses an automatic teaching system for automatically teaching assembling work to an assembling work robot.

The automatic teaching system individually identifies various types of components randomly collected (hereinafter, referred to as workpieces) by using photographic images taken by a camera, for example, and compares them with correlate information of workpieces registered in advance so as to automatically generate a given procedure of assembling work per assembly.

However, conventional robot systems have room for improvement for enhancing throughput. For example, when a given procedure that the above-described automatic teaching system generates includes change of tools or materials to be held by the robot, the operation of the robot required for the change is likely to become a large overhead as the number of workpieces to manufacture increases.

SUMMARY

A robot system according to one aspect of an embodiment includes a robot and an instructing module. The robot holds one of a plurality of feed materials used for processing a workpiece. The instructing module gives an instruction to the robot, when the feed materials are used for processing the single workpiece, for an operation in which the feed material held last in a previous round of processing a workpiece is used first in a subsequent round of processing a workpiece.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENT

With reference to the accompanying drawings, an embodiment of a robot system and a method of manufacturing a workpiece disclosed in the present application will be described in detail hereinafter. However, the embodiment is not intended to be restricted by the embodiment described.

In the following, with masking tapes as feed materials and a circuit board for an electronic device as a subject of processing, a robot system that carries out a process of affixing masking tapes to predetermined positions on the circuit board will be exemplified.

The circuit board will now be described. The circuit board in the present robot system is a circuit board before being provided with electronic components. After the masking tapes are affixed at predetermined positions in the present robot system, solder is applied to the parts not masked in the subsequent process of soldering process. In the following, the circuit board may be referred to as a workpiece.

Overall Configuration

FIG. 1is a top view schematically illustrating an overall configuration of a robot system100according to the embodiment. InFIG. 1, to make the explanation easier to understand, a three-dimensional orthogonal coordinate system including a Z-axis with a vertical upward direction as a positive direction is indicated. Such an orthogonal coordinate system may be indicated in other drawings used in the following explanation. Furthermore, a positive direction of an X-axis is defined to point the front of a robot101in the following.

As illustrated inFIG. 1, the robot system100includes the robot101, a stage102, an unprocessed work cassette103, a processed work cassette104, a main stocker105, a sub-stocker107, and a camera109that are arranged at predetermined positions inside a partition wall100A.

On the partition wall100A, a gate100B is provided, and a carry-in carry-out path106is arranged inside and outside of the partition wall100A through the gate100B. On the outside of the partition wall100A, a control device108is arranged and is connected to the robot101to communicate with the robot101.

Configuration of Robot

The configuration of the robot101will be described with reference toFIG. 2.FIG. 2is a front view schematically illustrating principal parts of the robot101according to the embodiment.

As illustrated inFIG. 2, the robot101with a base1thereof is secured to a floor by anchor bolts not depicted and, on the base1, a body2is provided to rotate with respect to the base1via an actuator not depicted.

On the left and right sides of the body2, a first arm3L and a second arm3R are provided, respectively. On the first arm3L, a left shoulder unit4L is provided to rotate along a vertical plane (see an X-Z plane inFIG. 2). On the left shoulder unit4L, an upper left arm A unit5L is further provided to swing.

At the end of the upper left arm A unit5L, an upper left arm B unit6L is provided. The upper left arm B unit6L is given a twisting action to rotate. At the end of the upper left arm B unit6L, a lower left arm unit7L is provided to swing. At the end of the lower left arm unit7L, a left wrist A unit8L is provided, and at the end of the left wrist A unit8L, a left wrist B unit9L is provided.

As for the left wrist A unit8L, a twisting action to rotate is given, and as for the left wrist B unit9L, a rotating action that performs bending action is given. At the end of the left wrist B unit9L, a left flange10L is provided, and at the left flange10L, a left hand unit (hereinafter, may be described as a first hand mechanism)12is attached.

The second arm3R is bilaterally symmetric with the first arm3L, and the second arm3R is configured with a right shoulder unit4R, an upper right arm A unit5R, an upper right arm B unit6R, a lower right arm unit7R, a right wrist A unit8R, a right wrist B unit9R, and a right flange10R. On the right flange10R, a right hand unit (hereinafter, may be described as a second hand mechanism)11is attached.

Each of the moving units such as the rotating units and the swinging units of the robot101has an actuator (not depicted) built-in having a servo motor. The actuator further has an encoder built-in, and the encoder notifies the control device108of the rotational position of the respective moving units.

The detailed configurations of the right hand unit11and the left hand unit12will be discussed later. As illustrated inFIG. 2, the right hand unit11and the left hand unit12may be described as hands10collectively in the following.

Returning to the explanation with reference toFIG. 1, the stage102will be described. The stage102is disposed in front of the robot101, and has a flat workbench where a workpiece is placed. At a corner portion of the workbench, a positioning wall102A having a right angle is provided to stand thereon.

On the stage102, provided is a moving member102B that moves, by the drive of an actuator not depicted, to slide in a Y-axis direction (hereinafter, also referred to as a left-right direction) indicated by an arrow202inFIG. 1. Similarly, provided is a moving member102C that moves to slide in the X-axis direction (hereinafter, also referred to as a front-back direction) indicated by an arrow201inFIG. 1.

The unprocessed work cassette103is a storage case provided with a plurality of slots where stacks of unprocessed circuit boards are stored. The processed work cassette104is a storage case provided with a plurality of slots where processed circuit boards are stored. The unprocessed work cassette may be renamed as a first storage, and the processed work cassette may be renamed as a second storage.

As illustrated inFIG. 1, the unprocessed work cassette103is disposed near the first arm3L including the left hand unit12(seeFIG. 2). The processed work cassette104is disposed near the second arm3R including the right hand unit11(seeFIG. 2).

In other words, this allows an unprocessed circuit board to be moved from the unprocessed work cassette103and placed on the stage102using the left hand unit12, and then a processed circuit board to be moved from the stage102and placed on the processed work cassette104using the right hand unit11. Accordingly, the robot101and the hands10can be efficiently operated, thereby allowing overhead to be reduced and throughput to be increased. Furthermore, it is not necessary to reserve working areas of the robot101and the hands10to be wide and thus, the reduction in working space can be achieved.

In addition to the above-described operations of moving and placing unprocessed circuit boards and processed circuit boards, the operations of the robot101and the hands10are instructed by a later described instructing module108aeof the control device108(seeFIG. 8). The instructing module108aewill be described in detail with reference toFIG. 8and the subsequent drawings.

The main stocker105is disposed in an area where the robot101can hold, for example, above the unprocessed work cassette103. The main stocker105further has a plurality of holders, and each of the holders can store one of a plurality of types of winding roller mechanisms38(described later). On each winding roller mechanism38, fitted is a winding roller36(described later) having one of a plurality of types of masking tape in different width dimensions, materials, and such.

The sub-stocker107is disposed at a location closer to the robot101than the main stocker105(in the example inFIG. 1, between the robot101and the stage102). The sub-stocker107further has a plurality of holders. Each of the holders stores therein the winding roller mechanism38that is necessary corresponding to the type of circuit board and taken out in priority from the main stocker105in advance. Storing the mechanism in the sub-stocker107allows the working areas of the robot101and the hands10to be made small in affixing work, whereby the overhead can be reduced.

The control device108is configured with a computer having a storage device, an arithmetic processing unit, an input device, and such (none depicted), and is connected to the robot101to intercommunicate with each other.

On the control device108, aspects of processing operation performed on a circuit board (more specifically, information of affixing which type of masking tape onto which location on the circuit board and such) are registered as teaching data in advance through the input device (for example, a programming pendant and the like).

The control device108then generates and outputs an operating signal that operates each of the moving units of the robot101based on the registered teaching data. The detailed configuration of the control device108will be discussed later with reference toFIG. 8.

To simplify the explanation, a single control device108is illustrated in the present embodiment. However, the control device108may be configured with a plurality of individual devices separately controlling the robot101and the hands10, while the respective devices communicating with one another.

The camera109is an imaging device suspended above the robot101to take an image of a circuit board placed on the stage102. WhileFIG. 1illustrates a situation in which the camera109is disposed at the tip of the shoulder of the robot101, it is not intended to restrict the disposed location of the camera109. Furthermore, without suspending the camera109, other installation method may be used.

Configuration of Second Hand Mechanism

Next, the more detailed configuration of the right hand unit11will be described with reference toFIGS. 3A,3B, and4.FIG. 3Ais a front view schematically illustrating the principal parts of the right hand unit11and the left hand unit12according to the embodiment, andFIG. 3Bis a perspective view schematically illustrating the principal parts of the right hand unit11and the left hand unit12according to the embodiment.FIG. 4is a schematic diagram illustrating an end part of the right hand unit11.

As illustrated inFIGS. 3A and 3B, the right hand unit11includes a pressing mechanism20, a second holding mechanism21, an actuator22, an unprocessed work holding mechanism23, a processed work holding mechanism24, and a bracket25.

The bracket25is secured to the right flange10R, and the pressing mechanism20, the second holding mechanism21, the actuator22, the unprocessed work holding mechanism23, and the processed work holding mechanism24are separately attached to the bracket25.

The pressing mechanism20is configured with a pressing claw20A and a base part20C, and the base part20C secured to the bracket25is provided extending in a direction approximately the same as the rotation axis of the right flange10R.

At the end of the base part20C, the pressing claw20A is arranged towards the extending direction of the base part20C. The pressing claw20A is formed in a triangular prism shape with the tip thereof having an acute angle, and the base end thereof is secured to the base part20C.

The base part20C is formed of a hard material such as metal, and the pressing claw20A is formed of a soft material such as resin.

As illustrated inFIG. 4, on the pressing claw20A, a driven roller20D is pivotally supported to slightly protrude on the side where the pressing claw20A makes contact with a masking tape. The driven roller20D driven-rotates corresponding to changes in relative position with respect to a circuit board or a masking tape when the right hand unit11moves while pressing the masking tape onto the circuit board as described later.

The second holding mechanism21is provided in parallel with the base part20C of the pressing mechanism20, and is a forceps-like member formed with the leading end part thereof bent at an approximately right angle. The second holding mechanism21is further connected to the actuator22at the base end part thereof, and is designed to hold a masking tape by nipping or to release it by the drive of the actuator22switching to hold or to release the hold, respectively.

As illustrated inFIG. 3A, the unprocessed work holding mechanism23has a plurality of suction members23A (three pieces, here), and carries out holding a circuit board and releasing the hold by the suction members23A sucking the top surface of the circuit board and releasing the suction, respectively.

As illustrated inFIG. 3B, the processed work holding mechanism24is a tabular member secured to the bracket25, and is formed with an engaging part24A having a bend at the end thereof. Meanwhile, a circuit board is provided with a hole formed, and operating the second arm3R to make the engaging part24A engage with the hole of the circuit board allows holding the processed circuit board.

Consequently, the circuit board can be held without contacting the surface of the circuit board on which masking tapes are affixed, whereby the masking tapes affixed on the processed circuit board can be prevented from being stained and such.

Configuration of First Hand Mechanism

Next, the more detailed configuration of the left hand unit12will be described with reference to the above-mentionedFIGS. 3A and 3Band newly exhibitedFIGS. 5A and 5B.FIG. 5Ais a schematic diagram illustrating the condition of the winding roller mechanism38being removed from the left hand unit12, andFIG. 5Bis a schematic diagram illustrating the winding roller mechanism38.

As illustrated inFIG. 3A, the left hand unit12includes a first holding mechanism31, a cutting mechanism32, a bracket35, a detaching mechanism37, the winding roller mechanism38, and a cassette holding unit39.

The first holding mechanism31is provided parallel to a feed direction of a masking tape, and is a forceps-like member formed with the leading end part thereof bent at an approximately right angle. The first holding mechanism31is further connected to an actuator (not depicted) at the base end part thereof, and is configured to hold a masking tape by nipping or to release it by the drive of the actuator switching to hold or to release the hold, respectively.

The cutting mechanism32is attached with a cutter blade32A at the leading end thereof, and the cutting mechanism32slides up and down to make the cutter blade32A enter to a masking tape at the downstream of the first holding mechanism31(on a feeding side of masking tape) to cut the masking tape.

The winding roller mechanism38is, as described above, a member to which a winding roller36is attached. The winding roller mechanism38is a mechanism that feeds a masking tape from the winding roller36in a given feed direction.

As illustrated inFIG. 5A, the winding roller mechanism38is detachable with respect to the left hand unit12by the detaching mechanism37.

The winding roller mechanism38will now be described in more detail. As illustrated inFIG. 5B, the winding roller mechanism38includes the winding roller36attached to rotate, a guide roller33, and a guide roller34, and is provided to operate in conjunction with the above-described first holding mechanism31.

The winding roller36is wound with a masking tape T on a core member, and the masking tape T rolled out from the winding roller36is guided towards the first holding mechanism31side while an appropriate tensile force being applied by the driven guide roller33and the guide roller34. In other words, the winding roller36, the guide roller33, and the guide roller34constitute a feed mechanism of the masking tape T.

As illustrated inFIG. 3A, the cassette holding unit39is a tabular member secured to the bracket35, and has an engaging part39A formed with a bend at the end part thereof.

Explanation of a Series of Operations

Next, with reference to the above-mentioned drawings andFIGS. 6,7A, and7B, a series of operations of the robot system100according to the embodiment will be described in detail.FIG. 6is part one of schematic diagrams illustrating a series of operations in the robot system100according to the embodiment.FIGS. 7A and 7Bare part two of the schematic diagrams illustrating the series of operations in the robot system100according to the embodiment.

The robot system100according to the present embodiment operates as follows in accordance with the teaching data registered in advance to the control device108. First, before starting work, by a carrier device not depicted, the unprocessed work cassette103and the processed work cassette104are carried in to the gate100B.

At the start of the work, the robot system100disposes the unprocessed work cassette103and the processed work cassette104carried in to the predetermined locations indicated inFIG. 1by holding them with the engaging part24A (seeFIG. 3B) and the engaging part39A (seeFIG. 3A).

The robot system100then drives the first arm3L to take out a top most circuit board in the unprocessed work cassette103by pressing the suction members23A (seeFIG. 3A), and place it on the stage102such that the processing surface of the circuit board faces upwards.

The robot system100then activates the moving member102B and the moving member102C (seeFIG. 1) to press the circuit board against the positioning wall102A (seeFIG. 1) to complete the positioning operation of the circuit board on the stage102. At this time, the circuit board is imaged by the camera109(seeFIG. 1), and the type of the circuit board is identified.

Meanwhile, in parallel with the positioning operation, the first arm3L is driven and the winding roller mechanism38necessary corresponding to the type of circuit board is taken out from the main stocker105(seeFIG. 1) via the detaching mechanism37(seeFIG. 5A). The winding roller mechanism38taken out is then stored in the sub-stocker107(seeFIG. 1).

At this time, in the sub-stocker107, a plurality of winding roller mechanisms38necessary for the types can be stored in advance. In the following, the winding roller mechanism38necessary corresponding to the type of circuit board may be described as a necessary tape.

The robot system100then makes the first arm3L and the second arm3R wait at their preset waiting positions in a given waiting posture. The waiting positions here are set at positions where the right hand unit11and the left hand unit12do not interfere with each other, for example, the positions where the right hand unit11is offset from the left hand unit12on the positive direction side of the X-axis (seeFIG. 3B).

The robot system100then operates the second arm3R, as illustrated inFIG. 6, to make the second holding mechanism21in an opened state enter between the first holding mechanism31and the guide roller33, and thereafter, makes the second holding mechanism21close to nip a masking tape T to hold the masking tape T.

After the holding operation is completed, the robot system100then opens the first holding mechanism31to release the hold of the masking tape T by the first holding mechanism31. Then, while the position of the first arm3L is maintained, the robot system100makes the second arm3R move towards the leading end side of the masking tape T to roll out the masking tape T for a predetermined length.

At this time, the leading end part of the second holding mechanism21passes through the holding unit of the first holding mechanism31being opened without making contact. The predetermined length of the masking tape T rolled out is based on the teaching data registered in advance. The detail of this point will be described later with reference toFIGS. 9A and 9B.

When the masking tape T is rolled out for the predetermined length, the masking tape T is held by the first holding mechanism31again while the hold of the masking tape T by the second holding mechanism21is released.

Then, the robot system100makes the first arm3L move to a predetermined masking start position. As illustrated inFIG. 7A, the robot system100then operates the second arm3R to press the adhesive side of the leading end portion of the masking tape T rolled out onto the circuit board with the pressing claw20A. The predetermined masking start position is also based on the teaching data preset.

When the pressing operation of the masking tape T is completed, the robot system100then, as illustrated inFIG. 7A, makes both the first arm3L and the second arm3R move in the left-right direction for a preset length.

At this time, along with the movement of the first arm3L, the masking tape T is rolled out from the winding roller36. The masking tape T rolled out is then pressed onto the circuit board by the pressing claw20A and the driven roller20D along with the movement of the second arm3R. In other words, the masking tape T is affixed onto the circuit board while a constant tensile force is applied, whereby the occurrence of wrinkles and such of the masking tape T can be effectively prevented.

When the movement of the first arm3L and the second arm3R is completed, the robot system100then makes the first holding mechanism31close and makes the cutting mechanism32cut the masking tape T. The robot system100then makes the first arm3L retract in the left-right direction, for example, in a direction indicated by an arrow203inFIG. 7A.

When the masking tape T is cut, the robot system100then makes the second arm3R move in the left-right direction for a preset length, as indicated by an arrow204inFIG. 7B, to press the masking tape T onto the circuit board up to the cut end portion of the masking tape T.

Thereafter, the robot system100makes the second arm3R move at least to the above-described masking start position while a given pressing force is applied to the masking tape T by the pressing claw20A so as to sufficiently fix the masking tape T to the circuit board.

When the affixing of the masking tape T is completed, the robot system100then makes the first arm3L and the second arm3R move to the above-described waiting positions. When the replacement of the winding roller mechanism38is necessary, an exchanging operation of changing the winding roller mechanism38into a winding roller mechanism38corresponding to another necessary tape stored in the sub-stocker107is carried out. The affixing of the masking tape T is then carried out at the masking position preset for the exchanged winding roller mechanism38.

When affixing to all masking positions of the circuit board is completed, the robot system100then gives instructions to drive the second arm3R to make the engaging part24A (seeFIG. 3B) engage with the hole of the processed circuit board, and to transfer the processed circuit board to an empty slot of the processed work cassette104to store it. Subsequently, the work of taking out a new unprocessed circuit board from the unprocessed work cassette103and affixing the masking tapes T is repeated until all unprocessed circuit boards are processed.

Explanation of Instruction Control

At the time the affixing work for a single circuit board is finished, by affixing the masking tape T of the winding roller mechanism38attached to the left hand unit12first on the subsequent circuit board, it is possible to reduce the overhead caused by exchanging the winding roller mechanisms38.

Therefore, in the robot system100according to the present embodiment, the affixing work is not always carried out in a given sequence, but the instruction control is carried out to affix the masking tape T from the winding roller mechanism38currently attached to the left hand unit12. This point will be explained with reference toFIGS. 8 to 14.

To make the following explanation easy to understand, as the definition of a term, the winding roller mechanism38attached to the left hand unit12may be described as a holding tape for the meaning of currently holding it.

FIG. 8is a block diagram illustrating an example of configuration of the robot system100according to the embodiment. InFIG. 8, only the constituent elements necessary for explaining the instruction control of the robot system100are illustrated, and the description for general constituent elements is omitted.

As illustrated inFIG. 8, the robot system100includes the hands10, the robot101, the sub-stocker107, the control device108, and the camera109. The description of the other constituent elements illustrated inFIG. 1is omitted here.

The control device108includes a control module108aand a storage module108b. The control module108afurther includes a circuit board identifying module108aa, an affixing preparing module108ab, a holding condition acquiring module108ac, an instruction determining module108ad, the instructing module108ae, and a tape subtracting module108af.

The storage module108bstores therein circuit board identifying information108ba, teaching information by circuit board108bb, and remaining tape information108bc.

The hands10, the robot101, the sub-stocker107, and the camera109have been explained already and thus, their explanations in detail are omitted here.

The control module108acarries out an overall control of the control device108. The circuit board identifying module108aareceives image data of a circuit board from the camera109and matches the image data received to the circuit board identifying information108bato identify the type of circuit board that is a workpiece.

The circuit board identifying information108bais the information for identifying the type of circuit board such as the shape of circuit board, the positions and number of holes of the circuit board, and the like. The circuit board identifying information108bais stored in the storage module108bin advance.

The circuit board identifying module108aafurther notifies the affixing preparing module108abof the type of circuit board identified.

The affixing preparing module108abcarries out affixing preparation work based on the type of circuit board notified and the teaching information by circuit board108bb. More specifically, the affixing preparing module108abnotifies the later discussed instructing module108aeof instructions to take out necessary tapes corresponding to the type of circuit board from the main stocker105(seeFIG. 1) and store them in the sub-stocker107. At this time, when there is an unnecessary tape that is not necessary with respect to a necessary tape, the affixing preparing module108abnotifies of instructions to return the unnecessary tape to the main stocker105in addition.

In the teaching information by circuit board108bb, types of necessary tapes corresponding to the type of circuit board are defined. The detail of the teaching information by circuit board108bbwill be described later with reference toFIG. 9B.

The affixing preparing module108abfurther notifies the holding condition acquiring module108acof a completion notice after the affixing preparation work is completed. The completion notice may include the presence of holding tape, the type of holding tape when the holding tape is present, a storage condition of necessary tapes in the sub-stocker107, and such.

The holding condition acquiring module108acacquires the condition concerning a holding tape such as the presence of holding tape from the hands10and the condition concerning the sub-stocker107such as a storage condition of necessary tapes from the sub-stocker107, and notifies the instruction determining module108ad. While the acquiring of such holding condition can be realized by mounting respective detecting devices such as a pressure sensor to the hands10and the sub-stocker107, it is not intended to restrict the method.

The instruction determining module108addetermines instructions for the robot101and the hands10concerning affixing of the masking tape T based on the notice indicative of the holding condition received from the holding condition acquiring module108ac, the teaching information by circuit board108bb, and the remaining tape information108bc. The instruction determining module108adthen notifies the instructing module108aeof the instructions determined.

With reference toFIGS. 9A to 9C, and10, the contents of instructions that the instruction determining module108addetermines will be described in detail.FIG. 9Ais a diagram illustrating an example of difference in type of circuit board,FIG. 9Bis a table illustrating an example of the teaching information by circuit board108bb, andFIG. 9Cis a table illustrating an example of the remaining tape information108bc.FIG. 10is a diagram illustrating an example of an instruction control sequence in the robot system100according to the embodiment.

As illustrated inFIG. 9A, it is assumed that there are a circuit board α and a circuit board β of different types. On the circuit board α, it is assumed that there are five points a to e for affixing the masking tape T (hereinafter, described as teaching points). Similarly, on the circuit board β, it is assumed that there are three teaching points f to h.

Between the circuit board α and the circuit board β depicted inFIG. 9A, it is assumed that, other than the respective teaching points, there is a difference in shape of whether there is a cutout at a corner. Accordingly, in the circuit board identifying information108ba, defined is identifying information such as the circuit board α having no cutout at a corner thereof and the circuit board β having a cutout at a corner thereof.

Next, as illustrated inFIG. 9B, in the teaching information by circuit board108bb, the information concerning teaching by type of circuit board is defined. For example, the example here indicates that the teaching information by circuit board108bbincludes type of necessary tape by type of circuit board, and a teaching data set by the type of necessary tape.

For example, as for the circuit board α, a tape A and a tape B are defined as the type of necessary tape. As for the tape A, a teaching data set that teaches the affixing using the tape A in a sequence starting from a teaching point a, going through a teaching point b, and then reaching a teaching point c is defined.

The teaching data set includes not only the sequence of affixing but also positions, predetermined lengths, directions of affixing, and such of the respective teaching points.

As for the tape B used for the same circuit board α, a teaching data set that teaches the affixing using the tape B in a sequence from a teaching point d to a teaching point e is defined.

Similar definitions can be applied to the circuit board β. For example, as illustrated inFIG. 9B, it is defined that the circuit board β requires two types of tapes of the tape A and a tape C as necessary tapes. A teaching data set in a sequence from a teaching point f to a teaching point g is defined for the tape A, while a teaching data set with only a teaching point h is defined for the tape C.

However, the example illustrated inFIG. 9Bis not intended to restrict the configuration of the teaching information by circuit board108bb. For example, by storing the information of “tape type” and “teaching data set” in a manner associated with each other as teaching information and further storing the teaching information linked with “circuit board type” as information by circuit board or information by workpiece, a configuration similar to that of the teaching information by circuit board108bbmay be arranged.

In the following explanation, the teaching data set indicated inFIG. 9Bis given a symbol by the rule of “circuit board type+tape type”. Accordingly, for example, the teaching data set for the tape A for the circuit board α indicated inFIG. 9Bis given a symbol of αA.

Next, as illustrated inFIG. 9C, in the remaining tape information108bc, a remaining amount of the masking tape T is stored for each tape type. For example,FIG. 9Cillustrates an example of the remaining tape information108bcincluding “tape type”, “remaining amount”, and “threshold” associated with one another for each “stocker holder No.” indicative of an identifier for a holder of the main stocker105. While the remaining amount and the threshold are indicated in units of millimeters (mm) here, it is not restricted to this.

The remaining amount of the remaining tape information108bcis updated as appropriate by the later described tape subtracting module108af. The threshold is a lower limit threshold of the remaining amount, and the tape with its remaining amount lower than threshold is replaced with that of the same type with more remaining amount in the main stocker105.

With the assumption of the foregoing, an instruction control sequence performed in the affixing work of the robot system100will be described. InFIG. 10, a sequence with the circuit board α as a workpiece is illustrated.

As illustrated inFIG. 10, the robot system100first makes the hands10hold a predetermined necessary tape for the first circuit board α as a holding tape. At this time, when there is a holding tape in the hands10already due to work in the previous process and such and when the holding tape is a necessary tape for the circuit board α, the robot system100makes the hands10continuously hold the holding tape. It is assumed that the tape A is used as the first holding tape here.

For the first circuit board α, the instruction determining module108adfirst determines the teaching data set αA as instructions based on the teaching information by circuit board108bb, and notifies the instructing module108aeto make the instructing module108aeexecute the instructions.

Then, after the affixing work based on the teaching data set αA is executed, the instruction determining module108adnotifies the instructing module108aeof instructions to exchange the holding tape with the tape B to make the instructing module108aeexecute the exchange. After the exchange is completed, the instruction determining module108adsubsequently determines a teaching data set αB as instructions and then makes the instructing module108aeexecute the instructions.

As illustrated inFIG. 10, at the step of finishing the affixing work for the first circuit board α, the hands10are holding the tape B as a holding tape. Accordingly, the instruction determining module108adfirst determines the teaching data set αB as instructions for the second circuit board α, and notifies the instructing module108aeto make the instructing module108aeexecute the instructions. After the execution of the teaching data set αB is completed, the instruction determining module108admakes the instructing module108aeexchange the holding tape with the tape A and execute the teaching data set αA.

Subsequently, in a similar sequence, the instruction determining module108addetermines instructions for the robot101and the hands10while switching instructions corresponding to the type of holding tape, and the instructing module108aeactivates the robot101and the hands10based on the instructions.

More specifically, the robot system100according to the present embodiment carries out, when a plurality of masking tapes are used for processing a single circuit board, the instruction control that gives instructions to the robot101and the hands10for an operation in which the masking tape held last in the previous round of processing a circuit board is used first in the subsequent round of processing a circuit board.

Carrying out such instruction control allows, in the example illustrated inFIG. 10, for example, the exchange timing exT of holding tapes to be once per one circuit board α. In other words, as compared with a case when executing in the order of the teaching data set αA and the teaching data set αB for each single circuit board α, the number of exchange timings exT can be reduced. Consequently, the overhead by the operations of the robot101and the hands10required for exchanging holding tapes can be reduced, whereby the throughput can be increased.

While a case in which necessary tapes used by the type of circuit board are of two types is exemplified here (seeFIG. 9B), the embodiment is obviously applicable even when tapes are of three types or more. In this case, for example, by defining the teaching information by circuit board108bbto include executed flags, the instruction determining module108admay determine the subsequent teaching data set to be instructed based on the type of holding tape and on/off statuses of the executed flags.

Returning to the explanation with reference toFIG. 8, the instructing module108aeof the control device108will be described. While it is mentioned in the explanation with reference toFIG. 10, the instructing module108aeactually activates the robot101and the hands10based on the instructions concerning affixing the masking tape T determined by the instruction determining module108ad. The instructing module108aefurther notifies the tape subtracting module108afof the actual affixed amount of the masking tape T.

The tape subtracting module108afsubtracts the amount of masking tape T notified from the instructing module108aefrom the remaining amount of the corresponding remaining tape information108bc, and updates the remaining amount of the remaining tape information108bc. Accordingly, because it calculates the remaining amount, the tape subtracting module may be renamed as a remaining amount calculating module.

The storage module108bis a storage device such as a hard disk drive and a non-volatile memory, and stores therein the circuit board identifying information108ba, the teaching information by circuit board108bb, and the remaining tape information108bc. The contents of the circuit board identifying information108ba, the teaching information by circuit board108bb, and the remaining tape information108bchave been explained already and thus, their explanations are omitted here.

The respective constituent elements illustrated inFIG. 8may not be arranged in the single body of control device108. For example, any of or all of the circuit board identifying information108ba, the teaching information by circuit board108bb, and the remaining tape information108bcthat are stored in the storage module108bmay be stored in an internal memory of the robot101to achieve an increase in throughput and a reduction of overhead.

Explanation of Processing Procedure

Next, the processing procedure executed by the robot system100according to the embodiment will be described with reference toFIG. 11.FIG. 11is a flowchart illustrating processing procedure executed by the robot system100according to the embodiment. The following flowchart illustrates the processing procedure for one type of circuit board.

As illustrated inFIG. 11, the circuit board identifying module108aaidentifies the type of circuit board that is a workpiece based on image data of the camera109and the circuit board identifying information108ba(Step S101). The affixing preparing module108abthen executes an unnecessary tape returning process (Step S102) and a necessary tape fetching process (Step S103) based on the type of circuit board.

The unnecessary tape returning process and the necessary tape fetching process are the affixing preparation process carried out for each type of circuit board. The unnecessary tape returning process will be described later with reference toFIG. 12, and the necessary tape fetching process will be described later with reference toFIG. 13.

The holding condition acquiring module108acthen acquires a holding condition from the hands10and the sub-stocker107(Step S104). Based on the holding condition acquired, the instruction determining module108ad, the instructing module108ae, and the tape subtracting module108afexecute tape affixing process (Step S105). The processing procedure of the tape affixing process will be described later with reference toFIG. 14.

Then, it is determined whether there is an unprocessed circuit board for one type of circuit board (Step S106), and when there is an unprocessed circuit board (True at Step S106), the processes at Step S104and the subsequent steps are repeated. When there is no unprocessed circuit board (False at Step S106), the process is finished.

Next, the processing procedure of the unnecessary tape returning process indicated inFIG. 11will be described with reference toFIG. 12.FIG. 12is a flowchart illustrating the processing procedure of the unnecessary tape returning process indicated inFIG. 11.

InFIG. 12, a variable M uniquely identifying each of the holders of the sub-stocker107will be used. The description of sub-stocker M means the M-th holder of the sub-stocker107.

As illustrated inFIG. 12, the affixing preparing module108abdetermines whether the current holding tape is unnecessary (Step S201). When the judgment condition at Step S210is satisfied (True at Step S201), the affixing preparing module108absets the holding tape to be returned (Step S202). When the judgment condition at Step S201is not satisfied (False at Step S201), the affixing preparing module108abmoves the control to Step S203.

The affixing preparing module108abthen sets the variable M to an initial value of 1 (Step S203), and determines whether a tape in the sub-stocker M is unnecessary (Step S204). When the judgment condition at Step S204is satisfied (True at Step S204), the affixing preparing module108abdetermines whether there is no holding tape (Step S205). When the judgment condition is not satisfied (False at Step S204), the affixing preparing module108abmoves the control to Step S210.

When the judgment condition at Step S205is satisfied (True at Step S205), the affixing preparing module108abthen moves the control to Step S206. When the judgment condition is not satisfied (False at Step S205), the affixing preparing module108abdetermines whether there is any empty holder of the sub-stocker107available (Step S207).

When the judgment condition at Step S207is satisfied (True at Step S207), the affixing preparing module108absets the holding tape to be stored in an empty holder of the sub-stocker107(Step S208). When the judgment condition at Step S207is not satisfied (False at Step S207), the affixing preparing module108absets the holding tape to be returned to the main stocker105(Step S209).

The affixing preparing module108abthen sets the tape in the sub-stocker M to be returned to the main stocker105(Step S206).

Then, the affixing preparing module108abadds 1 to the variable M (Step S210), and determines whether the variable M exceeds the number of holders of the sub-stocker107(Step S211). When the judgment condition at Step S211is satisfied (True at Step S211), the affixing preparing module108abfinishes the process. When the judgment condition at Step S211is not satisfied (False at Step S211), the affixing preparing module108abrepeats the processes from Step S204.

Next, the processing procedure of the necessary tape fetching process indicated inFIG. 11will be described with reference toFIG. 13.FIG. 13is a flowchart illustrating the processing procedure of the necessary tape fetching process indicated inFIG. 11.

InFIG. 13, a variable N uniquely identifying a necessary tape that is required for one type of circuit board will be used. The description of necessary tape N means the N-th necessary tape to be fetched.

As illustrated inFIG. 13, the variable N is set to an initial value of 1 (Step S301), and it is determined whether there is not a necessary tape N on hand (Step S302). The on hand here means both the hands10and the sub-stocker107.

When the judgment condition at Step S302is satisfied (True at Step S302), the affixing preparing module108abdetermines whether there is no holding tape (Step S303). When the judgment condition at Step S302is not satisfied (False at Step S302), the affixing preparing module108abmoves the control to Step S311.

When the judgment condition at Step S303is satisfied (True at Step S303), the affixing preparing module108abmoves the control to Step S307. When the judgment condition at Step S303is not satisfied (False at Step S303), the affixing preparing module108abdetermines whether there is any empty holder of the sub-stocker107available (Step S304).

When the judgment condition at Step S304is satisfied (True at Step S304), the affixing preparing module108absets the holding tape to be stored in an empty holder of the sub-stocker107(Step S305). When the judgment condition at Step S304is not satisfied (False at Step S304), the affixing preparing module108abraises an alarm and waits for a change in condition (Step S306), and then repeats the process from Step S304.

The affixing preparing module108abthen determines whether the necessary tape N is in the main stocker105(Step S307). When the judgment condition at Step S307is satisfied (True at Step S307), the affixing preparing module108absets the necessary tape N to be fetched from the main stocker105(Step S309). When the judgment condition at Step S307is not satisfied (False at Step S307), the affixing preparing module108abraises an alarm and waits for a change in condition (Step S310), and repeats the process from Step S307.

Then, the affixing preparing module108abadds 1 to the variable N (Step S311), and determines whether the variable N exceeds the number of necessary tapes (Step S312). When the judgment condition at Step S312is satisfied (True at Step S312), the affixing preparing module108abfinishes the process. When the judgment condition at Step S312is not satisfied (False at Step S312), the affixing preparing module108abrepeats the processes from Step S302.

Next, the processing procedure of the tape affixing process indicated inFIG. 11will be described with reference toFIG. 14.FIG. 14is a flowchart illustrating the processing procedure of the tape affixing process indicated inFIG. 11.

As illustrated inFIG. 14, the instruction determining module108addetermines whether there is no holding tape based on the holding condition acquired by the holding condition acquiring module108ac(Step S401). When the judgment condition at Step S401is satisfied (True at Step S401), the instruction determining module108adsets a predetermined necessary tape to be held via the instructing module108ae(Step S402). When the judgment condition at Step S401is not satisfied (False at Step S401), the instruction determining module108admoves the control to Step S403.

The instruction determining module108adthen sets affixing of the holding tape to be performed via the instructing module108ae(Step S403). After the affixing of the holding tape is completed, the tape subtracting module108afsubtracts the amount of tape affixed (i.e., the affixed amount) (Step S404) and updates the remaining tape information108bc.

Then, the instruction determining module108addetermines, based on the remaining tape information108bc, whether the remaining amount of the holding tape is a threshold or more (Step S405). When the judgment condition at Step S405is satisfied (True at Step S405), the instruction determining module108admoves the control to Step S407. When the judgment condition at Step S405is not satisfied (False at Step S405), the instruction determining module108adsets the holding tape to be returned via the instructing module108ae(Step S406).

The instruction determining module108adthen determines whether there is another necessary tape different from the holding tape (Step S407). When the judgment condition at Step S407is satisfied (True at Step S407), the instruction determining module108adsets the holding tape to be exchanged via the instructing module108ae(Step S408), and repeats the processes from Step S403. When the judgment condition at Step S407is not satisfied (False at Step S407), the instruction determining module108adfinishes the process.

As described in the foregoing, the robot system according to the embodiment includes a robot and an instructing module. The robot holds one of a plurality of types of feed materials used for processing a workpiece. The instructing module gives instructions to the robot, when a plurality of feed materials are used for processing a single workpiece, for an operation in which the feed material held last in the previous round of processing a workpiece is used first in the subsequent round of processing a workpiece.

Consequently, in accordance with the robot system according to the embodiment, an increase in throughput can be achieved.

While an example in which the workpiece is a circuit board for an electronic device and the masking tapes that are the feed materials are affixed to predetermined positions of the circuit board is exemplified in the above-described embodiment, it is not intended to restrict the workpiece, the feed materials, the aspect of processing, and such. For example, by defining the workpiece as a wafer and the feed material as adhesive, the disclosed technology in the present application may be applied when performing a process of applying the adhesive on the wafer.

While an example of exchanging the same type of feed materials that is masking tape is exemplified in the above-described embodiment, it is not intended to restrict as such. For example, the disclosed technology in the present application may be applied when exchanging a masking tape with adhesive and vice versa.

In the above-described embodiment, a so-called dual-arm robot is exemplified. However, it is not restricted to this and, for example, the disclosed technology in the present application may be applied when a single-arm robot performs a process to a workpiece while exchanging feed materials, or it may be applied to a robot including three arms or more.