JP2009303402A - Power source control unit and robot system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a power source control unit, along with a robot system, capable of efficiently supplying power based on action states. <P>SOLUTION: The power source control unit 1 includes a main power source 11 which supplies power to a plurality of action units 100A-100C, sub power sources 13A-13C connected to each of the plurality of action units 100A-100C, and a main control part 10 and sub control parts 12A-12C which detect action states of the plurality of action units 100A-100C and supply power from the main power source 11 to an active action unit 100B, and supply power from the sub power sources 13A and 13C to the standby action units 100A and 100C in waiting. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a power supply control device and a robot system.

  As a conventional technique, there is known a power supply control device that includes a secondary power supply that supplies power to an operation unit during maintenance and management, and manages the secondary power supply so that the performance of the secondary power supply can be maintained (for example, Patent Document 1). .

The power supply control device of Patent Document 1 includes an operation unit having an operation unit and a sensor unit, a main power source that supplies power to each operation unit during normal operation, and each operation unit during maintenance and management. It has a sub power supply that supplies power, a refresh circuit connected in parallel to the sub power supply, and a control unit that controls each unit. The control unit periodically connects the sub power source and the refresh circuit during normal operation. Thus, the performance of the sub power supply is refreshed to maintain the performance, so that it is possible to shift to the maintenance / management operation without delaying the power supply from the sub power supply to the operation unit.
JP 2007-110696 A

  However, according to the conventional power supply control device, power is supplied from the main power supply to all operating units during normal operation, and standby power is consumed in non-operating operating units. Therefore, the main power supply is not always efficient based on the operating conditions. There is a problem that it cannot be said that it is working.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a power supply control device and a robot system that can efficiently supply power based on an operation state.

(1) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a main power supply that supplies power to a plurality of operation units, a sub-power supply connected to each of the plurality of operation units, and operations of the plurality of operation units. A power supply control device comprising: a controller that detects a state, supplies power from the main power source to an operating unit in operation, and supplies power from the sub power source to a standby operating unit. provide.

  According to the configuration described above, since the power supply source is changed based on the operation state of the operation unit, it is possible to efficiently supply power while reducing the power consumption of the main power supply.

(2) In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an operation unit having an operation unit, a sensor unit, and a sub power source, a main power source that supplies power to the plurality of operation units, and the plurality of operations. And a control unit that detects an operation state of the unit, supplies power from the main power source to the operating unit in operation, and supplies power from the sub power source to the standby operation unit. Provide a system.

  According to the configuration described above, a robot system having the same effect as (1) can be realized.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to efficiently supply electric power based on the operation state.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of a power supply control device of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

Embodiment
(Configuration of power control device)
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of a power supply control device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

  The power supply control device 1 includes a main control unit 10 including a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and a memory for controlling each unit, a main power supply 11 including a rechargeable secondary battery and a power supply circuit, and control of the main control unit 10. The operation units 100A, 100B, 100C,. The operation units 100A, 100B, 100C,... Are independent operation parts such as hands and feet of the robot.

  The main control unit 10 operates a power supply control program 2 that controls power supply to each unit.

  The operation unit 100A includes a sub-control unit 12A that communicates with the main control unit 10 to control the operation unit 100A, a sub-power source 13A that is a rechargeable secondary battery, and a self-power generation element such as a piezo element or a solar cell. It has a charging unit 14A for charging the power source 13A, an operating unit 15A composed of an actuator such as one or a plurality of motors, and a sensor unit 16A composed of an illuminance sensor, a pressure sensor, and the like. The sub-control unit 12A has a volatile memory that stores the position of the operating unit 15A, the detection state of the sensor unit 16A, and the like, and holds the stored contents by supplying power from the main power supply 11 or the sub-power supply 13A. Since the operation units 100B, 100C,... Have the same configuration as the operation unit 100A, the description thereof is omitted.

  1 shows a state in which all the operation units 100A, 100B, 100C,... Are in operation, the arrows in the figure indicate power supply, the solid line indicates power supply, and the wavy line supplies power. There is no state. A solid line in the figure without an arrow indicates a control line and propagates a signal in both directions.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of the power supply control device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  FIG. 2 has the same configuration as FIG. 1, and shows a state in which the operation units 100A and 100C are in a standby state (sleep mode) and the operation unit 100B is in operation (operation mode). Each state is determined by the main control unit 10 based on operation information received from the sub-control units 12A, 12B, 12C.

  In the operation units 100A and 100C in the sleep mode, the power supply control program 2 supplies power from the sub power sources 13A and 13C to the sub control units 12A and 12C, and stops supplying power to the operation units 15A and 15C. With the above operation, the memory contents of the sub-control units 12A and 12C are held.

(Operation)
Hereinafter, the operation of the power supply control device according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing an operation example of the power supply control apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

  First, the power supply control program 2 communicates with the sub-control units 12A, 12B, 12C,... Of each operation unit 100A, 100B, 100C,. Note that the communication in step S1 is periodically executed at a predetermined cycle, for example, every 5 seconds.

  When the operation stop information is received from a certain sub-control unit, for example, the sub-control units 12A and 12C (S2; Yes), the sub-control units 12A and 12C are set to the sleep mode (S3), as shown in FIG. Power is supplied from the power sources 13A and 13C to the sub-control units 12A and 12C, respectively (S4), and power supply from the main power source 11 to the sub-control units 12A and 12C, the operating units 15A and 150C, and the sensor units 16A and 160C is stopped. (S5).

  Further, when the operation stop information is not received from another control unit, for example, the sub control unit 12B (S2; No), the sub control unit 12B is set to the operation mode (S6), and the sub power control unit 12B from the main power source 11 is set. Electric power is supplied to the operating unit 15B and the sensor unit 16B (S7), and electric power is supplied from the sub power source 13B to the sub control unit 12B (S8).

  When the sub control units 12A and 12C are set to the operation mode in step S6, the sub control units 12A and 12C operate the charging units 14A and 14C to charge the sub power sources 13A and 13C, respectively.

(Effect of embodiment)
According to the above-described embodiment, by switching the power supply source for each operation unit, the power consumption of the main power supply 11 can be reduced, and power is supplied from the sub power supply to the operation unit in the sleep mode. As a result, it is possible to maintain the stored contents such as the volatile memory of the operation unit in the sleep mode.

  Further, the power supply control device 1 of the present invention can be applied to a robot or the like having a power supply unit independently for each operation unit such as a hand or a foot. When applied to the robot as described above, since the main power supply does not supply power to the operation unit that is not operating, not only the driving time of the robot can be extended, but also each operation unit maintains the stored contents of the volatile memory. The operation can be started again without the need for initialization such as operation preparation.

  In addition, it is good also as a structure which supplies electric power with respect to each operation | movement unit from a single sub-power supply part.

It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the power supply control apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the structural example of the power supply control apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart which shows the operation example of the power supply control apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Power supply control apparatus, 2 ... Power supply control program, 10 ... Main control part, 11 ... Main power supply, 12A-12C ... Sub control part, 13A-13C ... Sub power supply, 14A-14C ... Charging part, 15A-15C ... Operation Part, 16A-16C ... sensor part, 100A-100C ... operation unit

Claims (6)

A main power supply for supplying power to a plurality of operating units;
A sub-power source connected to each of the plurality of operating units;
A control unit that detects operation states of the plurality of operation units, supplies power from the main power source to the active operation units, and supplies power from the sub power source to the standby operation units. A power supply control device. The sub power supply has a charging unit,
The power supply control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit charges the sub power supply connected to the operating unit in operation from the charging unit.   The power supply control device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit detects an operation state of the operation unit by communicating with a sub-control unit that is included in the operation unit and controls the operation unit. An operating unit having an operating part, a sensor part and a sub-power supply;
A main power supply for supplying power to the plurality of operating units;
A control unit that detects operation states of the plurality of operation units, supplies power from the main power source to the active operation units, and supplies power from the sub power source to the standby operation units. Characteristic robot system. The operating unit has a charging unit capable of charging the sub power source,
The robot system according to claim 4, wherein the control unit charges the sub power source of the operating unit in operation from the charging unit. The operating unit has a sub-control unit for controlling itself,
The robot system according to claim 4, wherein the control unit detects an operation state of the operation unit by communicating with the sub-control unit.

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