JP2000322245A - Programming device and storage medium - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable even a person, who does not know a program language, to easily generate or correct a program for machine control. SOLUTION: A conversion definition storage means 4 where arbitrary words W in a natural language which is the language for understanding between persons are set correspondingly to a command S in the program language is provided as a file 4a. A natural language file 12 where machine control operations are described in arbitrary words W in the natural language is prepared. A language conversion means 5 is provided which converts this natural language file 12 to a control program 3 in the program language in accordance with the conversion definition file 4a. A definition registration processing means 6 is provided which registers arbitrary word W in the conversion definition file 4a as the command S in the program language.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a programming device for creating a program for controlling various machines, for example, a processing machine, a work transfer device for loading and unloading a work into and out of the processing machine, in a general language, and the like. The present invention relates to a storage medium for creating an apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general,
The control of the automatic machine is performed by an NC (numerical control) program. This NC program is complicated and complicated because a series of operations of the machine is indicated by a ladder program. Further, unless the user is familiar with the dedicated NC language, not only the program creation but also the change cannot be easily performed.

[0003] An object of the present invention is to provide a programming device that allows a person who does not know a programming language to easily create or modify a program for controlling a machine. Another object of the present invention is
An object of the present invention is to provide a storage medium that can easily configure the programming device of the present invention.

[0004]

A programming device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 1 corresponding to an embodiment. This programming device (1) is a programming device for generating a program (3) for controlling a machine (2), and is responsive to a single or a series of commands (S) in a programming language, A conversion definition storage unit (4) in which a word (W) is set correspondingly, and a natural language file (12) in which a machine control operation is described with an arbitrary word (W) in the natural language, is stored in the conversion definition storage unit. Language conversion means (5) for converting the program (3) into the program (3) of the command (S) in accordance with the stored contents of (4). In this specification,
“Natural language” means a language used for communication between humans, such as Japanese, English, and other foreign languages. According to this configuration, the natural language file (12)
Are converted by the language conversion means (5) into instructions (S) in a programming language according to the definition contents stored in the conversion definition storage means (4).
Therefore, the program (3) can be created and modified in natural language, and even a person who does not know the programming language can easily create or modify the program (3) for controlling the machine.

In the present invention, an arbitrary word (W) in the natural language is stored in the conversion definition storage means (4).
May be provided in correspondence with an arbitrary or a series of instructions (S) in the program language. By providing the definition registration processing means (6) in this way, the machine control program (3) can be created with an arbitrary word (W) desired by the user.

When the storage medium of the present invention is installed in a computer, the conversion definition storage means (4), language conversion means (5), and definition registration processing means (6) of the programming device of the present invention are provided. The program and data to be configured are stored.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. This programming device 1
Is a programming device that generates a program 3 for controlling the machine 2 and includes a conversion definition storage unit 4, a language conversion unit 5, and a definition registration processing unit 6. The generated program 3 is executed by the control program execution means 8 in the machine control device 7 for controlling the machine 1. The machine control device 7 is a control device that performs program control, such as a sequencer or an NC device (numerical control device). The programming device 1 may be configured as a computer device such as a personal computer independent of the machine control device 7, or may be configured as a part of the machine control device 7.
The machine 1 may be a processing machine such as a punch press, a machine tool such as a lathe, or various other machines. In this example, the work Q is carried in and out of a processing machine (not shown). Work transfer device. Specifically, Machine 1
The work gripper 11 is provided on a traveling body 10 that moves forward and backward along the rail 9 so as to be able to move up and down, and the work gripper 11 performs a gripping and gripping release operation.

The conversion definition storage means 4 is a storage means in which an arbitrary word or phrase W in a natural language is set corresponding to a single or a series of commands S in a program language. The conversion file 4a is configured. The definition conversion file 4a has a table structure and is a definition conversion table. “Natural language” means a language that allows humans to communicate as described above. The above command S
In this example, is a command indicating one module which is a module of a series of commands for performing a single or a series of machine operations. For example, each command S is a command indicating an ascent processing module Ma, a descent processing module Mb, a forward processing module Mc, a grasp processing module Md, and the like.
The programming language is not particularly limited, and is, for example, a general NC language (numerical control language).

The language conversion means 5 includes a natural language file 12 which describes a machine control operation with an arbitrary word W in a natural language.
Is converted into the control program 3 in accordance with the contents stored in the conversion definition storage means 4. The control program 3 is a file in which instructions in a programming language are described side by side. Further, the converted control program 3 may be an intermediate file described by a macro command for converting into an individual sequence code or the like. Language conversion means 5
Retrieves whether each phrase W included in the natural language file 12 corresponds to the phrase W stored in the conversion definition storage unit 4, and converts the corresponding phrase W into a command S corresponding to the phrase W Therefore, it is preferable that even if a phrase not stored in the conversion definition storage unit 4 is included in the natural language file 12, the phrase is ignored. Thus, the description content of the natural language file 12 can be a content including a commentary description. Further, the language conversion means 5 may convert the natural language file 12 in a lump or may convert the natural language file 12 in synchronization with the execution of the machine control.

The natural language file 12 is a file in which a machine control operation is described with an arbitrary word W in a natural language, and includes, for example, “up”, “forward”, “down”, “grab”.
Is described as a phrase replacing the control command S. The natural language file 12 is, for example, a file in a text format, but may be a file in other various formats.

The definition registration processing means 6 is a means for causing the conversion definition storage means 4 to store an arbitrary word or phrase W in a natural language in correspondence with an arbitrary or a series of commands S in a programming language. The registration processing is performed according to the input from the input unit 13 and other input means. The definition registration processing means 6 has a command S to be associated with a word W in a natural language set in advance, and causes the display means 14 to display guidance for inputting a desired word W in response to the command S. Is preferred. The display unit 14 is a unit that can display a screen, such as a CRT or a liquid crystal panel.

The file management means 15 is a language conversion means 5
Are means provided in the programming device 1 when the conversion is performed in synchronization with the execution of the control. Each time the command S of the control program 3 converted by the language conversion means 5 is executed by the control program execution means 8, the file management means 15 increments the executed line, and causes the language conversion means 5 to execute the next line in the natural language file 12. Is given.

According to the programming device 1 having this configuration, the word / phrase W described in the natural language file 12 such as a text format file is converted into the program language command S by the language conversion unit 5 in accordance with the contents stored in the conversion definition storage unit 4. Is done. For example, the phrase “up” in the natural language file 12 is converted into a command S of the up processing module Ma. Also, the phrase “forward” is converted into a command S of the forward processing module Mc. As described above, by preparing the natural language file 12 and the rules of the format after conversion in the definition conversion file 4a, the programming of machine control, which could be performed only by writing a dedicated NC language or the like, can be performed in the natural language. Can be done with When a series of machine operations are configured by a ladder program as in the related art, it is complicated and complicated. However, according to the programming device 1, the sequence processing can be modularized, and the control program 3 including the sequence program can be created or changed. Easy to do. In this case, since the actual operation of the machine 2 depends on the natural language file 12, the operation order can be easily changed only by changing the contents of the natural language file 12.

Furthermore, since the definition registration processing means 6 is provided and an arbitrary word W can be associated with each command S, the word W in the natural language file 12 necessarily expresses the operation of the machine 2. Not only words such as "up" and "down", but any words W that the user can easily remember are stored in the program 3.
Can be defined corresponding to the above-mentioned command, and free expression can be linked to free sequence operation. The phrase W may not have any particular meaning as words. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, in the definition conversion file 4a, the personal name "Hideko Kawashima" is made to correspond to the command "G0" in the NC language, and the personal name "Taro Murata" is made the command in the "X-axis movement" command in the NC language. Assume that they are defined in correspondence. In this case, the phrase W of “Kawashima Hidetsugu” described in the natural language file 12 is “G
The word S of “Taro Murata” is converted into the command S of “X-axis movement” in the command S of “0”. In this way, programming can be performed with a free expression that is easy for the user to understand.

When the natural language file 12 includes a numerical phrase Wn, the language converting means 5 converts the numerical expression into a command representing the amount of movement of the control program 3 by using the numerical value. Is preferred. For example, if there is a numeric word Wn after the phrase W indicating the axis movement, a rule is defined that converts the numeric word Wn into a command indicating the amount of the axis movement. The conversion rule for this numerical value may be stored in the conversion definition storage unit 4 or may be included in the language conversion unit 5. By defining the conversion rule of the phrase Wn relating to the numerical value in this way, it is possible to generate not only the sequence control but also the program 3 including a command relating to the numerical value such as the moving amount and the moving speed. However, in this case, in the natural language file 12, general words W other than the words Wn indicating the quantity need not be represented by the words used for converting the numerical values.

Each of the means in the programming device 1, for example, the conversion definition storage means 4, the language conversion means 5,
The definition registration processing means 6 may be configured by installing data stored in the storage medium 20 in the computer device 1a as shown in FIG.
That is, the storage medium 20 is installed in the computer device 1a, and as a program and data constituting the definition registration processing means 6, the conversion definition storage means 4, and the language conversion means 5, the formation data 21 of the definition registration processing means The installation program 24 is stored together with the formation data 23 of the conversion definition storage means and the formation data 23 of the language conversion means. By preparing such a storage medium 20, the programming device 1 can be easily configured.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a specific example of processing performed by the language conversion means 5 in the programming device according to the embodiment of FIG. In the case of processing according to this flowchart,
The language conversion means 5 (FIG. 1) acquires a phrase serving as a one-line command from the natural language file 12 composed of a text program (text format file) (step R1), and increments the text file execution pointer by one (R2). ). This text file execution pointer is shown in FIG.
Or the means provided in the language conversion means 5 may be used. The acquired one-line word is searched for in the conversion definition storage means 4 (specifically, the definition conversion table), and in some cases, the word is converted into a program language, and the converted command is transmitted to the machine language. It is provided to the control means 7 (R3, R4). In the above determination step R3, if there is no command corresponding to the word in the conversion definition storage means 4, it is determined whether or not to continue (R
5) If it is set to continue, the next one line of the natural language file 12 is obtained (R1). If it is not set to continue, an alarm is generated and the language conversion unit 5
And, if necessary, the controlled machine 1 is stopped. The determination step (R5) of whether or not to continue is performed in accordance with the setting mode of continuation and non-continuation by the predetermined mode setting means. Normally, this mode setting means is set to the continuation state. Therefore, when the mode is not present in the conversion definition storage means 4, the word is ignored and the analysis of the next one line of the natural language file 12, that is, acquisition (R1) and The subsequent processing is performed. Also in the processing of this flowchart, the language conversion means 5 may analyze the natural language file 12 line by line and cause the machine control means 7 to execute it. May be converted collectively into the control program 3 of the command according to. The control program 3 is, for example, a program generally called an NC program, specifically, for example, a program serving as software of a personal computer.

[0018]

According to the programming apparatus of the present invention, a conversion definition storage means in which an arbitrary word in a natural language is set in response to a command in a program language, and a natural language file stored in the conversion definition storage means. It is provided with language conversion means for converting a command or a command group file in a programming language according to the contents, so that even a person who does not know the programming language can create or modify a program for controlling the machine. Can be easily done. Further, when the definition registration processing means is provided, the machine control program can be created with an arbitrary phrase desired by the user. According to the storage medium of the present invention, the programming device of the present invention can be easily configured.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a conceptual configuration of a programming device according to an embodiment of the present invention, together with a machine control device and a machine.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a specific example of conversion processing by the programming device.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a relationship between a programming device of the present invention and a storage medium constituting the programming device.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram mainly showing a flow chart of a process of the programming device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Programming apparatus 1a ... Computer 2 ... Machine 3 ... Program 4 ... Conversion definition storage means 4a ... Definition conversion file 5 ... Language conversion means 6 ... Definition registration processing means 7 ... Machine control device 8 ... Control program execution means 12 ... Natural language File 13 Input means 15 File management means 20 Storage medium Ma-Md Module S Command W Words

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A programming device for generating a program for controlling a machine, wherein an arbitrary phrase in a natural language, which is a language for communicating with humans, in response to a single instruction or a series of instructions in a programming language. A conversion definition storage means set correspondingly and a natural language file in which a machine control operation is described by an arbitrary phrase in the natural language are converted into a program of instructions in the program language according to the storage contents of the conversion definition storage means. A programming device comprising language conversion means. 2. A definition registration processing means for storing, in the conversion definition storage means, an arbitrary phrase in the natural language corresponding to an arbitrary or a series of instructions in the program language. The described programming device. 3. A program and data constituting a conversion definition storage unit, a language conversion unit, and a definition registration processing unit in the programming device according to claim 2, which are installed in the computer device. Storage medium.