JP2002108442A - Diagnosing device for nc machine tool - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a diagnosing device which can easily connect an NC machine tool and a managing device. SOLUTION: The device is provided with a first managing device A, a second managing device (A), a repeater 2 which can be connected through them and the NC machine tools B and D which can be connected to the repeater 2 through LAN 3. The first managing device A calls the repeater 2 through a telephone line C, transmits contact address information on the second managing device (A) and interrupts connection. The repeater 2 receives contact address information on the second managing device (A) from the first managing device A through the telephone line C and stores it. The repeater 2 is called through a stored contact address after interruption and it is connected to the NC machine tools B, D with respect to a transmitted instructing signal through LAN 3. The second managing device (A) transmits the instructing signal giving an instruction to the NC machine tools B and D to the repeater 2 in response to a call from the repeater 2 and receives diagnosis information from the instructed NC machine tools B and D.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a diagnostic device for an NC machine tool.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in order to diagnose an NC machine tool with a management device of a maintenance company provided at a distance, the NC machine tool and the management device of the maintenance company are installed so as to be connectable via a telephone line. . When a failure or the like occurs in the NC machine tool, the user verbally makes a telephone call to a maintenance company that has been notified in advance. The maintenance company connects the management device of the maintenance company and the failed NC machine tool on the user side to each other via a telephone line. Then, the management device of the maintenance company receives the diagnostic information necessary for diagnosing the NC machine tool from the NC machine tool in which the failure or the like has occurred, and outputs the information to a display unit or the like. The person in charge of the maintenance company diagnoses the NC machine tool based on the output diagnostic information, and instructs the user on an appropriate countermeasure and the like.

If the maintenance company with which the user first contacts the telephone does not have a person in charge of diagnosing the NC machine tool, or the maintenance company in charge of the area where the user is located is another maintenance company, etc. , The user made a new telephone call to another maintenance company. The maintenance company receiving the telephone connection connects the management device of the maintenance company and the failed NC machine tool via a telephone line, and obtains the diagnosis information of the NC machine tool by the management device. In such a case, the user needs to hear and remember the contact information of the new maintenance company, and also needs to call two maintenance companies, which is troublesome. If the maintenance company and the user are in different countries or regions, for example, if the maintenance company is in Japan,
When the user is located in the United States or Europe, there is a case where the maintenance company in Japan is out of business hours and there is no person in charge, so that it is impossible to respond due to the time difference. Even in such a case, as described above, the user has to listen to and remember the contact information of the new maintenance company, and also needs to call two maintenance companies, which is troublesome.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a diagnostic apparatus which can easily connect an NC machine tool to a management apparatus. And

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is a diagnostic apparatus having the configuration described in each claim. According to the first aspect of the present invention, the contact information of the second management device is transmitted from the first management device to the relay device. Therefore, the NC is not performed by the second management device but by the first management device of the maintenance company with which the user has made a telephone call.
When diagnosing a machine tool, the user only needs to make a telephone call to a designated contact, and the relay device and the second management device are connected without the user's hand. As a result, the relay device and the second management device are easily connected, and N
The C machine tool and the second management device are also easily connected.

[0006] Further, since the transmitted contact information is stored in the relay device, when the relay device connects to the second management device again, the relay device can easily use the stored contact information. The relay device and the management device can be connected. In addition, the relay device stores only the necessary contact information that is transmitted, not all the contacts that may be contacted, so that the storage device provided in the relay device can be reduced in capacity. It is possible. Since the second management device and the relay device are connected by a call from the relay device side, the relay device side (user side) bears the usage fee of the first communication line, and the management device side (maintenance). The company's fees are reduced.

[0007] The communication line is a medium capable of transmitting diagnostic information and the like of the NC machine tool, and is, for example, a telephone line, a CATV line, a LAN, or the like. Further, the communication line may be wired or wireless. The contact information is information including information for specifying a connection destination of a communication line, and is information including, for example, a telephone number for a telephone line, an IP address used on the Internet, a LAN, or the like. The storage medium of the relay device that stores the contact information may be a volatile RAM or the like, or may be a nonvolatile hard disk or the like.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the management device can transmit the contact information to the relay device, and can also receive the diagnostic information of the NC machine tool in response to the call from the relay device. Therefore, one management device can transmit contact information of another management device to the relay device, and the relay device can call the another management device and connect to the another management device, and vice versa, that is, The another management device may transmit the contact information to the relay device, and the relay device may call one management device. As a result, the model of the management device that transmits the contact information to the relay device and the model of the management device that receives the call from the relay device and receive the diagnosis information of the NC machine tool can be made the same.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, N
Contact information of the management device that diagnoses the C machine tool is transmitted from the management device to the relay device. Therefore, even when the user diagnoses the NC machine tool using a management device other than the management device of the maintenance company with which the user has made a telephone call, the user only needs to make a telephone call to a pre-designated contact address and communicate with the relay device. The device is connected without the user's hand. As a result, the relay device and the management device that diagnoses the NC machine tool are easily connected, and the NC machine tool and the management device are also easily connected. Since the management device and the relay device are connected by a call from the relay device side, the relay device side (user side) bears the usage fee of the first communication line, and the management device side (maintenance company side). Is reduced.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the contact information of the second management device is transmitted from the first management device to the NC machine tool. Therefore, when diagnosing the NC machine tool by the second management device instead of the first management device of the maintenance company with which the user has made a telephone call, the user only needs to make a telephone call to a predetermined designated contact, and The machine tool and the second management device are connected without the user's hand.
As a result, the NC machine tool and the second management device are easily connected.

[0011] The second management device and the NC machine tool are:
Since the connection is made by calling from the NC machine tool side, the NC machine tool side (user side) bears the fee for use of the first communication line, and reduces the burden fee on the management device side (maintenance company side). Can also.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the management device can transmit the contact information to the NC machine tool.
Diagnosis information of the NC machine tool can also be received in response to a call from the C machine tool. Therefore, the NC machine tool can call another management device by contact information from one management device, and can call one management device by contact information from another management device. As a result, the transmission and reception management devices for the relay device can be of the same model.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, N
Contact information of the management device that diagnoses the C machine tool is transmitted from the management device to the relay device. Therefore, even if the user diagnoses the NC machine tool by a management device other than the management device of the maintenance company with which the telephone contact was made, the user only needs to make a telephone call to a pre-designated contact point and communicate with the NC machine tool. The management device is connected without the user's hand.
As a result, the NC machine tool and the management device that diagnoses the NC machine tool are easily connected. Since the management device and the NC machine tool are connected by a call from the NC machine tool side, the NC machine tool side (user side) bears the usage fee of the first communication line, and the management machine side (maintenance). The company's fees are reduced.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below. As shown in FIG. 1, a diagnostic device 1 for an NC machine tool according to the present embodiment includes a management device A owned by a maintenance company, a relay device 2 provided at a work site, and NC machine tools B, D, and LA.
N3 and a telephone line C connecting the maintenance company and the work site.

The management apparatus A includes a modem 10 for connecting to a telephone line C, storage means such as a RAM 11 and a hard disk (HDD) 12, a CPU (processing means) 15,
A monitor (display unit) 13 and an input unit 14 are provided.
The relay device 2 includes a modem 24 for connecting to the telephone line C.
, A CPU 20, a storage means such as a RAM 21 and an HDD 22, and an I / F (input / output interface) 23 for connecting to the LAN 3.

The NC machine tools B and D have operating units 4 and 70
, Control units 5 and 71 and processing units 6 and 72. The operation unit 4 includes an I / F 4 for connecting to the LAN 3.
0, an I / F 42 for connecting to the control unit 5, and a RAM
The storage device includes a storage unit 41 and an HDD 46, a monitor 44, and an input unit 45. The control unit 5 includes an I / F 50 for connecting to the operation unit 4 and a bus input / output interface 51.
(Hereinafter referred to as a bus I / F 51) and a servo control board 5
3, a sequence control board 54, and a numerical control board 55.

The relay device 2 is connected to a plurality of (two or more) operation units 4 and 70 via the LAN 3 so as to be connectable to a plurality of NC machine tools B and D. Further, the operation units 4 and 70 are connected to the processing units 6 and 72 via the control units 5 and 71, respectively. Here, the telephone line C corresponds to a “communication line” and a “first communication line” described in the claims.
It corresponds to a “second communication line”.

Next, a method of processing a workpiece in the processing section 6 will be described. The operator (user) is the processing unit 6
After the workpiece is set in, the processing conditions are input by the input means 45 of the operation unit 4. The CPU 43 calculates a control command for the processing unit 6 based on the program stored in the HDD 46 or the RAM 41 and the processing conditions, and transmits the control command to the control unit 5 via the I / F 42 and the I / F 50. The control unit 5 controls the processing unit 6 based on a control command transmitted from the operation unit 4. Thereby, the workpiece is processed into a desired shape.

Next, a method of diagnosing a case where the machining section 6 of the NC machine tool B has failed will be described with reference to FIG. First, the user of the NC machine tool B contacts the person in charge of the maintenance company by telephone and verbally requests the NC machine tool B to be diagnosed. The person in charge of the maintenance company receiving the request requests the user to prepare (turn on) the power of the relay device 2 and the NC machine tools B and D, and then hangs up the telephone (step S1). The user activates the relay device 2 (step S2), and subsequently activates the operation units 4 and 70 (step S3).

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the display output of the monitor 13 on the management apparatus A side of the maintenance company. User information 80 is displayed in the upper row, and contact information (Callback
Information) 81 is displayed. The user information 80
A user name, a model name of the processing unit 6, the operation unit 4, and the relay device 2,
This is information including the telephone number of the relay device 2. This information may be a case where the information stored in the HDD 12 of the management apparatus A is read in advance, or a case where the person in charge inputs the information obtained from the user by telephone communication using the input unit 14.

The contact information 81 is model information 82 of a modem and telephone number information. The telephone number information is divided into a national office number 83, an area code 84, and a local office number 85 and displayed. The contact information 81 is information of a management device (there is a case of the management device A and a case of not the management device A) that the relay device 2 calls as described below, and the HDD 12 of the management device A There is a case where the information stored in advance is read, and a case where the person in charge inputs the information using the input unit 14.

The person in charge selects or inputs the user information 80 and the contact information 81 as described above. The CPU 15 of the management apparatus A outputs a connection command signal to the modem 10 to connect to the telephone number of the user information 80 (step S).
4). The modem 10 receiving the connection command signal calls the modem 24 of the relay device 2 on the user side by multiplying the telephone number. The modem 24 responds to this call, and the modem 10 and the modem 24 are connected via the telephone line C (step S5). Although it is preferable that the modem 24 automatically answer the call from the modem 10, it may be a case where the modem 24 answers with a signal input by the user. More preferably, the modem 24 automatically responds after recognizing that the signal is from the management device A.

After the modem 10 and the modem 24 are connected via the telephone line C, the contact information 81 is transmitted from the management device A to the relay device 2 via the modems 10, 24 and the telephone line C (step S6). The transmitted contact information 81
May be all the contact information 81 described above, or only a part thereof, for example, only the area code 84 and the local code 85. The transmitted telephone number is RAM2 of NC machine tool B
1 or the HDD 22. After transmitting the contact information 81, the modem 24 of the relay device 2 disconnects the telephone line, and disconnects the connection between the relay device 2 and the management device A (step S7). This disconnection command is automatically transmitted by the CPU 15.

The information included in the contact information 81 is information on a management device for diagnosing the NC machine tools (B, D), and may be, for example, information on the management device A, or may be a maintenance device located in another area. It may be information on a company management device. Here, the case of the information of the management device A will be described.

After the connection between the management device A and the relay device 2 is cut off, the CPU 20 of the relay device 2 issues a command signal to call the contact (management device A) of the contact information 81 stored in the modem 24. Is output. This command signal is automatically output after a lapse of a predetermined time after the connection is cut off, and the predetermined time is set in advance in a program set in the HDD 22. Upon receiving the command signal, the modem 24 calls the contact information in the stored contact information 81, and the modem 10 of the management apparatus A is called by this call. When the called modem 10 answers the call,
The modem 24 and the modem 10 are connected via the telephone line C (step S8).

The management device that the relay device 2 calls is equivalent to the “second management device” described in the claims, and the management device A that transmits the contact information 81 to the relay device 2 is: "First management device" described in the claims
Is equivalent to

Next, the management device A transmits an information collection request signal to the relay device 2 so as to collect the model information of the NC machine tools B and D (step S9). The relay device 2 that has received the information collection request signal makes an inquiry to the operation units 4 and 70 to transmit the model information (step S10). In response to this inquiry, the operating units 4 and 70 that are running
The operation units 4, 70, the control units 5, 71,
The model information of the processing units 6 and 72 is transmitted via the LAN 3 (step S11). After receiving the model information, the relay device 2 creates a list of connectable NC machine tools B and D, and transmits this list to the management device A via the telephone line C (step S12).

The monitor 13 of the management device A displays and outputs the list transmitted from the relay device as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the contents of the model information displayed on the monitor 13 include operation unit model information 90, CNC model information 91,
This is the relay device model information 92. From this information, the person in charge
The operation unit (4, 70) to be connected is selected (step S1).
3) The selection information command is input by the input means 14.
The signal of the selection information command is transmitted to the relay device 2 via the telephone line C (Step S14). Hereinafter, a case where the operator selects the operation unit 4 will be described. Relay device 2
Transmits an operation request signal to the operation unit 4 of the NC machine tool B selected by the selection information command (step S15),
The operation unit 4 starts the operation.

The operation unit 4 transmits the information displayed and output on the monitor 44 and the information stored in the HDD 46 and the RAM 41 to the relay device 2 as diagnostic information (Step S).
16). The relay device 2 transmits the diagnostic information transmitted from the operation unit 4 to the management device A via the telephone line C (Step S17). The monitor 13 of the management device A displays and outputs the transmitted diagnostic information. The person in charge grasps the state of the NC machine tool B based on the diagnostic information displayed and output on the monitor 13, and diagnoses the NC machine tool B (step S18).

As described above, once the user makes a telephone call to the maintenance company, the user connects the management device A and the NC machine tool B of the maintenance company to the telephone line C without any modification.
Connected via In particular, in the case where another maintenance company different from the maintenance company with which the telephone was initially communicated is diagnosed with the NC machine tool B, the user does not need to telephone the other maintenance company, and the management device of the maintenance company and the NC machine are not required. The telephone connection with machine B is also made (almost) untouched.

A conventional diagnostic device 1 for an NC machine tool
Since the management apparatus A connected the management apparatus A and the relay apparatus 2 via the telephone line C, the management apparatus A side paid for the usage fee of the telephone line C. However, in order to reduce the cost of the maintenance company (management device side), the user side (NC
In some cases, it is necessary to connect the NC machine tool and the management device from the machine tool side). However, it is a rare task for the user to make a telephone connection between the NC machine tool and the management device, and the user may not know the connection destination (telephone number) of the management device A. Connecting to the device was not easy. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a diagnostic device that can easily connect an NC machine tool and a management device from a user side (NC machine tool side).

According to the present invention, as described above, the NC machine tool B and the management device A can be easily connected from the NC machine tool B via the telephone line C, and the user who owns the NC machine tool B connects. Therefore, the communication line usage fee on the maintenance company side can be reduced.

[0033] In addition, the relay device 2 in the above embodiment
Has collected information on the NC machine tools B and D in response to an information collection request from the management device A (step S9) and created a list. However, when the relay device 2 is the NC machine tool B,
Create a list in advance regardless of that D is running,
There is also a form in which the information is stored in the HDD 22. According to this form,
The operations in steps S10 and S11 in FIG. 2 can be omitted, and the person in charge can diagnose the NC machine tools B and D more easily.

In step S13, the operation unit 4,
It is also possible to include the selection of 70 in the contact information 81 transmitted in step S6. For example, when a telephone call is received from a user (step S1), the NC machine tools B and D that have failed are heard in advance, and this information is included in the contact information 81 and transmitted from the management apparatus A to the relay apparatus 2. . In this case, the relay device 2 stores the storage unit (R
The contact information 81 is stored in the AM 21 or the HDD 22), and after connecting the relay device 2 to the management device, which is the contact stored in the contact information 81 (step S8), the NC machine tool (B , D) can be transmitted. Therefore, the person in charge can obtain the diagnostic information desired to be obtained more easily or quickly.

In the above embodiment, the management device A and the NC machine tool B (D) are connected via the relay device 2, but the relay device 2 is not provided, and the management device A and the NC machine tool are not connected. The machine B (, D) may be connected directly without the relay device 2. In this case, the operation units 4 and 70 of the NC machine tool B have a modem, and the modem is directly connected to the modem 10 of the management device A via the telephone line C.

Next, a diagnostic method using the diagnostic apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 2, and the step numbers corresponding to the step numbers in FIG. First, after the user requests a person in charge of diagnosis by telephone, the telephone is disconnected (step S1). Thereafter, the person in charge activates the operation unit 4 (step S3). The person in charge inputs the user information 80 and the contact information 81 to the management device A (step S4). The management device A calls the modem of the operation unit 4, and the management device A and the operation unit 4 are connected via the telephone line C by the response of the modem (step S).
5).

The management device A transmits the contact information 81 and disconnects the telephone line C (steps S6, S7). The operation unit 4 stores the transmitted contact information 81 and calls the contact of the contact information 81 after the management device A and the operation unit 4 are disconnected. This call destination is a management device that diagnoses the NC machine tool B, and may be the management device A or a management device different from the management device A. Here, the management device that has transmitted the contact information 81 to the NC machine tool B corresponds to the “first management device” described in the claims, and
The management device that receives the call from the machine tool B corresponds to a “second management device”.

The management device (A) responds by calling the NC machine tool B (step S8), and receives diagnostic information from the NC machine tool B (step S17). The person in charge diagnoses the NC machine tool B based on the diagnostic information (step S18). Even in the above-described embodiment, the NC machine tool B and the management device (A) can be easily connected, and this connection is from the NC machine tool B side.

[0039]

As described above, according to the present invention, the NC machine tool and the management device can be easily connected.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a diagnostic device of an NC machine tool.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing a method for diagnosing an NC machine tool.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a display output of a monitor of the management device.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a display output of a monitor of the management device.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Diagnostic device 2 ... Relay device 3 ... LAN 4, 70 ... Operation part 5, 71 ... Control part 6, 72 ... Processing part 10, 24 ... Modem 13, 44 ... Monitor 14, 25, 45 ... Input means 23, 40 , 42, 50 ... I / O interface (I
/ F) 51 bus input / output interface (bus I / F) 52 bus line 53 servo control board 54 sequence control board 55 numerical control board A management device B, D NC machine tool C telephone line

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A diagnostic device for an NC machine tool, comprising: a first management device, a second management device, and a relay connectable to the first and second management devices via a first communication line. Device and an NC connectable to the relay device via a second communication line
The first management device calls the relay device via the first communication line, transmits the contact information of the second management device, and cuts off the connection with the relay device; Upon receiving the contact information of the second management device in response to the call from the first management device via the first communication line, storing the received contact information of the second management device, After the connection with the first management device is cut off, the second management device that is the contact of the contact information is called via the first communication line, and the instruction signal transmitted from the second management device is The second management device is connected to the NC machine tool via the second communication line, and the second management device transmits an instruction signal for instructing the NC machine tool in response to a call from the relay device via the first communication line. And transmits the diagnostic information from the designated NC machine tool to the relay device. NC machine tool diagnostic device for receiving via. 2. A diagnostic device for an NC machine tool, comprising: a management device; a relay device connectable to the management device via a first communication line; and a relay device connectable to the relay device via a second communication line. The control device calls the relay device via the first communication line, transmits the contact information of the control device, cuts off the connection with the control device, and makes a call from the relay device. In response, an instruction signal for instructing the NC machine tool is transmitted to the relay device, and the diagnostic information of the instructed NC machine tool is received via the relay device, and the relay device manages the information via the first communication line. Upon receiving contact information of the management device in response to a call from the device,
The received contact information of the management device is stored, and after the connection with the management device is cut off, the management device which is the contact of the contact information is called via the first communication line and transmitted from the management device. A diagnostic device for an NC machine tool connected via a second communication line to the NC machine tool corresponding to the instruction signal. 3. A diagnostic device for an NC machine tool, comprising: a first management device, a second management device, and an NC machine tool connectable to the first and second management devices via a communication line. After the first management device calls the NC machine tool via the communication line and transmits the contact information of the second management device, the first management device
When the NC machine tool receives the contact information of the second management device transmitted from the first management device via the communication line, the connection with the machine tool is cut off.
The received contact information of the second management device is stored, and after the connection with the first management device is cut off, the diagnosis information is transmitted by calling the second management device that is the contact of the contact information. The second management device is an NC machine tool diagnostic device that receives diagnostic information from the NC machine tool in response to a call from the NC machine tool. 4. A diagnostic device for an NC machine tool, comprising: a management device; and a N which can be connected to the management device via a communication line.
C machine tool, the control device calls the NC machine tool via a communication line, transmits contact information of the control device, cuts off the connection with the control device, and responds to the call from the NC machine tool. When the NC machine tool receives the contact information of the management device in response to the call from the management device via the communication line, the NC machine tool receives the contact information of the management device. The diagnostic device of the NC machine tool that stores the information and calls the management device, which is the contact of the contact information, after the connection with the management device is cut off, and transmits the diagnostic information.