JP6729746B2 - Control device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a control device used for controlling the operation of a machine or a facility, among a plurality of control programs in the case of being realized by executing control of a plurality of motors in parallel by a control program using a multi-core processor. Regarding data synchronization.

Motion control for controlling the motion of a motor may be included as control of the operation of machines, equipment, and the like. There is known a programmable controller that performs such motion control, typically, a motion calculation program that periodically outputs a command value to a motor driver that drives a motor and a sequence calculation by one CPU. ing.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a programmable controller that executes a motion calculation program that periodically outputs a command value to a motor driver that drives a motor.

Patent Document 1 includes a control program 1 (short-cycle motion program) that includes a first motion calculation program and operates in a first control cycle, and a second motion calculation program (long-cycle motion program). Upon execution with the control program 2 that outputs a command value to the motor in a cycle that is an integral multiple of the first control cycle, the execution of the second control program is started after the execution of the first control program is completed.

If the second control program is not completed within the predetermined control cycle, the second control program is not completed after the execution of the first control program is completed in the control cycle next to the first control program. Execute the processing part.

Japanese Patent No. 4752984

In a machine for controlling a motor in which these control devices are used, it is required to reduce the time required to calculate input data input from a device that is a control target device and output a command value to the motor as a calculation result. ..

The invention described in the cited document suggests the possibility of executing the control program in a shorter cycle by dividing the control program including control of a plurality of motors into a short-cycle motion program and a long-cycle motion program.

However, even if the control program that controls the motor, in which the control command value output cycle may be relatively long, wants to create a control program that is synchronized with the control for the motor that needs to output the control command value in a short cycle. There are cases.

The invention described in the cited document is premised on that the motors that calculate the command values by the short cycle motion program and the long cycle motion program are independent of each other. That is, when executing the short cycle motion control program and the long cycle motion control program, it is premised that the control command value to the motor and the control data of the current state of the motor are not passed.

It becomes a user's burden to grasp the timing at which execution is started in a plurality of control programs and the timing at which a value referred to in the control program is updated, and to describe the data transfer among them.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a control device that can easily achieve synchronization between control programs when the control of a plurality of motors is realized by executing a plurality of control programs in parallel.

In order to solve the above problems, a control device of the present invention controls a control target by repeatedly executing a plurality of control programs at a predetermined cycle, which is a control device, wherein the control program is a multi-core processor. And a memory used for storing a system program and a scheduler program. The plurality of control programs include a motion calculation program 1 for calculating a control command value for the motor, which is periodically executed in the execution cycle 1, and a control command for the motor, which is periodically executed in the control program 1 and the execution cycle 2. And a control program 2 including a motion calculation program 2 for calculating a value. The scheduler program includes an instruction for causing the multi-core processor to start execution in parallel with the control program 1 and the control program 2. When the execution of the control program 1 is completed, the system program has an instruction to store the variable relating to the control of the motor used for the calculation by the control program 1 in the buffer memory of the control program 2 and the control program 2 starts the execution. And a command to read from the buffer memory of the control program 2 and to copy it to the work area of the control program at a timing. Data transfer between the control programs is executed at a predetermined timing with respect to the execution cycle of the control program.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention has an effect that the control programs can be easily synchronized when the control of a plurality of motors is realized by executing a plurality of control programs in parallel.

It is a schematic diagram which shows schematic structure of the control apparatus system which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the hardware constitutions of a CPU unit. It is a schematic diagram which shows the software structure performed by the CPU unit which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the hardware constitutions of the control apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows an example of the setting procedure of the control apparatus in a control apparatus. It is a figure which shows the example of a screen which sets a control program. It is a figure which shows the example of a screen of a program allocation setting. It is a figure which shows the image of allocation to a control program. An example in which the control program 1 and the control program 2 are executed by a plurality of cores at regular intervals is shown. It is an example showing the timing of passing the axis variable.

<System configuration>
The control device according to the present embodiment controls a control target such as a machine or equipment. The control device according to the present embodiment includes a CPU unit as its constituent element. The CPU unit includes a microprocessor, storage means including a main memory of the microprocessor, and a communication circuit. The CPU unit of the control device according to the present embodiment controls the controlled object by repeating the output data transmission, the input data reception, and the execution of the control program that generates the output data using the input data. Is configured.

The storage unit is used to store a control program and a system program that controls execution of the control program and input/output of input data and output data. The microprocessor executes the system program and the control program stored in the storage means.

The communication circuit transmits output data and receives input data. As will be described later, the control device according to the present embodiment includes, as a communication circuit, a first communication circuit that performs transmission of output data and reception of input data by a control device system bus, and transmission and input of output data by a field network. A second communication circuit for receiving data.

First, the system configuration of the control device 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a schematic configuration of a control device system according to an embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 1, a control device system SYS includes a control device 1, a servo motor driver 3 and a remote IO terminal 5 connected to the control device 1 via a field network 2, a sensor 6 and a relay which are field devices. 7 and. Further, the control device 8 is connected to the control device 1 via a connection cable 10 or the like.

The control device 1 includes a CPU unit 13 that executes main arithmetic processing, one or more IO units 14, and a special unit 15. These units are arranged to be able to exchange data with each other via a controller system bus 11. Further, the power supply unit 12 supplies power of an appropriate voltage to these units. Since each unit configured as the control device 1 is provided by the control device manufacturer, the control device system bus 11 is generally independently developed and used by each control device manufacturer. On the other hand, as will be described later, in many cases, the standards and the like of the field network 2 are published so that products of different manufacturers can be connected to each other.

Details of the CPU unit 13 will be described later with reference to FIG.
The IO unit 14 is a unit related to general input/output processing, and controls input/output of binarized data such as ON/OFF. That is, the IO unit 14 collects information as to whether the sensor such as the sensor 6 detects a certain object (ON) or does not detect any object (OFF). Further, the IO unit 14 outputs to the output destination such as the relay 7 or the actuator either a command for activation (ON) or a command for deactivation (OFF).

The special unit 15 has functions not supported by the IO unit 14, such as analog data input/output, temperature control, and communication according to a specific communication method.

The field network 2 transmits various data exchanged with the CPU unit 13. Various industrial Ethernets (registered trademark) can be typically used as the field network 2. As industrial Ethernet (registered trademark), for example, EtherCAT (registered trademark), Profinet IRT, MECHAROLINK (registered trademark)-III, Powerlink, SERCOS (registered trademark)-III, CIP Motion, and the like are known. Either of them may be adopted. Further, a field network other than the industrial Ethernet (registered trademark) may be used. For example, if motion control is not performed, DeviceNet, CompoNet/IP (registered trademark), or the like may be used. In the control device system SYS according to the present embodiment, typically, in the present embodiment, a configuration in which EtherCAT (registered trademark) that is an industrial Ethernet (registered trademark) is adopted as the field network 2 is illustrated. ..

Note that the control device 1 allows the CPU unit 13 to have the function of the IO unit 14 and the function of the servo motor driver 3, so that the IO unit 14 and the servo motor driver 3 are included in the range covered by such a built-in function. The CPU unit 13 may directly control the control target without intervention.

The servo motor driver 3 is connected to the CPU unit 13 via the field network 2 and drives the servo motor 4 according to a command value from the CPU unit 13. More specifically, the servo motor driver 3 receives command values such as a position command value, a speed command value, and a torque command value from the control device 1 in a constant cycle. Further, the servo motor driver 3 detects the position and speed (typically from the difference between the current position and the previous position) from detectors such as a position sensor (rotary encoder) and a torque sensor connected to the axis of the servo motor 4. (Calculated), a measured value related to the operation of the servo motor 4 such as torque is acquired. Then, the servo motor driver 3 sets a command value from the CPU unit 13 to a target value, and performs feedback control using the actual measurement value as a feedback value. That is, the servo motor driver 3 adjusts the current for driving the servo motor 4 so that the measured value approaches the target value. The servo motor driver 3 may also be referred to as a servo motor amplifier.

Further, FIG. 1 shows an example of a system in which the servo motor 4 and the servo motor driver 3 are combined, but other configurations, for example, a system in which a pulse motor and a pulse motor driver are combined can be adopted.

A remote IO terminal 5 is further connected to the field network 2 of the control device system SYS shown in FIG. The remote IO terminal 5 basically performs processing related to general input/output processing, similar to the IO unit 14. More specifically, the remote IO terminal 5 includes a communication coupler 52 for performing processing relating to data transmission in the field network 2 and one or more IO units 53. These units are configured to exchange data with each other via the remote IO terminal bus 51.

The control device support device 8 will be described later.
<Hardware configuration of CPU unit>
Next, the hardware configuration of the CPU unit 13 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a hardware configuration of the CPU unit 13 according to the embodiment of the present invention. With reference to FIG. 2, the CPU unit 13 includes a microprocessor 100, a processor core 140 of the microprocessor 100, a chipset 102, a main memory 104, a non-volatile memory 106, a system timer 108, and a communication controller 150. A system bus controller 120, a field network controller 140, and a USB connector (not shown). The chipset 102 and other components are coupled to each other via various buses.

The microprocessor 100 and the chipset 102 are typically configured according to a general-purpose computer architecture. That is, the microprocessor 100 interprets and executes the instruction code sequentially supplied from the chip set 102 according to the internal clock. The chipset 102 exchanges internal data with various connected components and generates an instruction code necessary for the microprocessor 100. Furthermore, the chipset 102 has a function of caching data and the like obtained as a result of execution of arithmetic processing in the microprocessor 100.

The CPU unit 13 has a main memory 104 and a non-volatile memory 106 as storage means.

The main memory 104 is a volatile storage area (RAM) and holds various programs to be executed by the microprocessor 100 after the CPU unit 13 is powered on. The main memory 104 is also used as a working memory when the microprocessor 100 executes various programs. As the main memory 104, a device such as a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) or an SRAM (Static Random Access Memory) is used.

On the other hand, the non-volatile memory 106 holds data such as a real-time OS (Operating System), a system program of the control device 1, a user program, a motion calculation program, and system setting parameters in a non-volatile manner. These programs and data are copied to the main memory 104 so that the microprocessor 100 can access them as needed. As such a non-volatile memory 106, a semiconductor memory such as a flash memory can be used. Alternatively, a magnetic recording medium such as a hard disk drive or an optical recording medium such as a DVD-RAM (Digital Versatile Disk Random Access Memory) can be used.

The communication controller is typically composed of hardware such as FPGA or ASIC, and is configured to be capable of transmitting/receiving data to/from the main memory via the chip set. The communication controller has a memory area used for data communication with the main memory, and transfers the data transferred from the main memory to a system bus controller or a field network controller described later. It also issues a command to the system bus controller and field network controller to transmit the data transferred from the main memory.

The communication control controller further includes a system timer 108. The system timer 108 generates an interrupt signal at regular intervals and provides it to the microprocessor 100. Typically, it is configured to generate an interrupt signal at a plurality of different cycles depending on the hardware specifications, but an interrupt is generated at an arbitrary cycle by an OS (Operating System) or a BIOS (Basic Input Output System). It can also be set to generate a signal. Using the interrupt signal generated by the system timer 108, the control operation for each control cycle as described later is realized.

It has a system bus controller 120 and a field network controller 140 as communication circuits. These communication circuits transmit output data and receive input data.

When the CPU unit 13 itself has the functions of the IO unit 14 and the servo motor driver 3, the controller system bus controller 120 transmits the output data and receives the input data, and the portions responsible for those functions are used for communication. Transmission and reception are performed inside the CPU unit 13 as the other party.

The communication controller 150 controls the exchange of data via the control device system bus 11. More specifically, it includes a system bus controller 120, a DMA (Dynamic Memory Access) control circuit 122, and a buffer 126.

The buffer 126 is a transmission buffer for data (hereinafter also referred to as “output data” or “first output data”) output to another unit via the control device system bus 11, and via the control device system bus 11. Function as a reception buffer for data (hereinafter also referred to as “input data” or “first input data”) input from another unit. The first output data created by the arithmetic processing by the microprocessor 100 is originally stored in the main memory 104. Then, the first output data to be transferred to the specific unit is read from the main memory 104 and temporarily held in the buffer 126. The first input data transferred from another unit is temporarily held in the buffer 126 and then transferred to the main memory 104.

The DMA control circuit 122 transfers the first output data from the main memory 104 to the buffer 126, and transfers the first input data from the buffer 126 to the main memory 104.

The communication controller performs a process of transmitting the first output data of the buffer 126 and a process of receiving the first input data and storing the first input data with the other unit connected to the control device system bus 11. The system bus communication controller typically provides the physical layer and data link layer functions of the controller system bus 11.

The field network controller 140 controls the exchange of data via the field network 2. That is, the field network controller 140 controls transmission of output data and reception of input data according to the standard of the field network 2 used. As described above, in the present embodiment, since the field network 2 conforming to the EtherCAT (registered trademark) standard is adopted, the field network controller 140 including the hardware for performing normal Ethernet (registered trademark) communication is used. To be In the EtherCAT (registered trademark) standard, a general Ethernet (registered trademark) controller that realizes a communication protocol conforming to the normal Ethernet (registered trademark) standard can be used. However, depending on the type of industrial Ethernet (registered trademark) adopted as the field network 2, a special-purpose Ethernet (registered trademark) controller corresponding to a dedicated communication protocol different from a normal communication protocol is used. When a field network other than the industrial Ethernet (registered trademark) is adopted, a dedicated field network controller conforming to the standard is used.

The buffer is a transmission buffer for data (hereinafter referred to as “output data” or “second output data”) output to another device or the like via the field network 2 and another device via the field network 2. It functions as a reception buffer for data (hereinafter, also referred to as “input data” or “second input data”) input from, for example. The second output data created by the arithmetic processing by the microprocessor 100 is originally stored in the main memory 104. Then, the second output data to be transferred to the specific device is read from the main memory 104 and temporarily held in the second communication circuit buffer 146. The second input data transferred from another device is temporarily held in the buffer 146 and then moved to the main memory 104.

The DMA control circuit 142 transfers the second output data from the main memory 104 to the buffer and transfers the second input data from the buffer to the main memory 104.

The field network communication control controller 144 receives the process of transmitting the second output data of the buffer and the second input data and stores them in the second communication circuit buffer with another device connected to the field network 2. Perform processing. Typically, the field network communication controller 144 provides the physical layer and data link layer functions in the field network 2.

The USB connector is an interface for connecting the control device support device 8 and the CPU unit 13. Typically, a program that can be executed by the microprocessor 100 of the CPU unit 13 transferred from the control device support device 8 is taken into the control device 1 via the USB connector 110.

<C. Software configuration of CPU unit>
Next, a software group for providing various functions according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The instruction code included in the software is read at an appropriate timing and executed by the microprocessor 100 and the processor core 140 of the CPU unit 13.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a software configuration executed by the CPU unit 13 according to the embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 3, the software executed by the CPU unit 13 has three layers of a real-time OS 200, a system program 210, and a user program 236.

The real-time OS 200 is designed according to the computer architecture of the CPU unit 13, and provides a basic execution environment for the microprocessor 100 to execute the system program 210 and the user program 236.

The system program 210 is a software group for providing the function as the control device 1. Specifically, the system program 210 includes a scheduler program 212, an output processing program 214, an input processing program 216, a sequence command operation program 232, a motion operation program 234, and another system program 220. In general, the output processing program 214 and the input processing program 216 are continuously (integrally) executed, and thus these programs may be collectively referred to as the IO processing program 218.

The user program 236 is created according to the control purpose of the user. That is, it is a program arbitrarily designed according to the line (process) to be controlled using the control device system SYS.

As will be described later, the user program 236 cooperates with the sequence command calculation program 232 and the motion calculation program 234 to realize the control purpose of the user. That is, the user program 236 realizes the programmed operation by using the instructions, functions, functional modules, etc. provided by the sequence instruction calculation program 232 and the motion calculation program 234. Therefore, the user program 236, the sequence command calculation program 232, and the motion calculation program 234 may be collectively referred to as the control program 230.

As described above, the microprocessor 100 of the CPU unit 13 executes the system program 210 and the control program 230 stored in the storage means.

Hereinafter, each program will be described in more detail. As described above, the user program 236 is created according to the control purpose of the user (for example, the target line or process). The user program 236 is typically in an object program format that can be executed by the microprocessor 100 of the CPU unit 13. The user program 236 is generated by compiling a source program described in a ladder language or the like in the control device support device 8 or the like. Then, the generated user program 236 in the object program format is transferred from the control device support device 8 to the CPU unit 13 via the connection cable 10 and stored in the non-volatile memory 106 or the like.

The scheduler program 212 controls the start of processing in each execution cycle and the restart of processing after interruption of processing regarding the output processing program 214, the input processing program 216, and the control program 230. More specifically, the scheduler program 212 controls the execution of the user program 236 and the motion calculation program 234.

In the CPU unit 13 according to the present embodiment, a fixed-cycle execution cycle (control cycle) suitable for the motion calculation program 234 is adopted as a common cycle for the entire processing. Therefore, it is difficult to complete all the processes in one control cycle. Therefore, depending on the priority of the process to be executed, the process to be completed in each control cycle and the plurality of control cycles are executed. And the processing that may be executed. The scheduler program 212 manages the execution order of these divided processes. More specifically, within each control cycle period, the scheduler program 212 executes a program given a higher priority first.

The output processing program 214 rearranges the output data generated by the execution of the user program 236 (control program 230) into a format suitable for transfer to the communication controller. When the system bus controller 120 or field network controller 140 requires instructions from the microprocessor 100 to perform the transmission, the output processing program 214 issues such instructions.

The input processing program 216 relocates the input data received by the controller system bus controller 120 and/or the field network controller 140 into a format suitable for use by the control program 230.

The sequence command calculation program 232 is a program that is called when a certain type of sequence command used in the user program 236 is executed and that is executed to realize the content of the command.

The motion calculation program 234 is a program that is executed in accordance with an instruction from the user program 236 and calculates a command value to be output to a motor driver such as the servo motor driver 3 or the pulse motor driver each time it is executed.

The other system programs 220 collectively show a program group for realizing various functions of the control device 1 other than the programs individually shown in FIG. For example, it is a program that causes the microprocessor to execute communication with the control control device of the machine, processing from a request from an external device, and self-diagnosis processing. Further, processing for transferring data in the main memory to an external storage medium and processing for reading data from the external storage medium are also included in the other system programs.

The real-time OS 200 provides an environment for switching and executing a plurality of programs as time passes. In the control device 1 according to the present embodiment, as an event (interrupt) for outputting (transmitting) the output data generated by the program execution of the CPU unit 13 to another unit or another device, the control cycle start The interrupt is initialized. When the control cycle start interrupt occurs, the real-time OS 200 switches the execution target in the microprocessor 100 from the program being executed at the time of the interrupt occurrence to the scheduler program 212. The real-time OS 200 executes the programs included in the other system programs 210 when the scheduler program 212 and the program that controls the execution of the scheduler program 212 are not executed. Such programs include, for example, programs related to communication processing between the CPU unit 13 and the control device support device 8 via the connection cable 10 (USB) or the like.

The control program 230 and the scheduler program 212 are stored in the main memory 104 and the non-volatile memory 106, which are storage means.

<Hardware configuration of support device>
Next, the control device 8 for creating a program executed by the control device 1 and performing maintenance of the control device 1 will be described.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a hardware configuration of the control device 8 according to the embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 4, control device 8 is typically composed of a general-purpose computer. From the viewpoint of maintainability, a notebook personal computer having excellent portability is preferable.

Referring to FIG. 4, the control device 8 stores a CPU 81 that executes various programs including an OS, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 82 that stores a BIOS and various data, and data necessary for the CPU 81 to execute the programs. A memory RAM 83 that provides a work area for storing and a hard disk (HDD) 84 that stores programs executed by the CPU 81 in a nonvolatile manner are included. The CPU 81 corresponds to the calculation unit of the control device 8, and the ROM 82, the RAM 83, and the hard disk 84 correspond to the storage unit of the control device 8.

The control device 8 further includes a keyboard 85 and a mouse 86 that receive operations from the user, and a monitor 87 for presenting information to the user. Further, the control device 8 includes a communication interface (IF) 89 for communicating with the control device 1 (CPU unit 13) and the like.

As will be described later, various programs executed by the control device 8 are stored in the CDROM 9 and distributed. The program stored in the CD-ROM 9 is read by a CDROM (Compact Disk-Read Only Memory) drive 88 and stored in a hard disk (HDD) 84 or the like. Alternatively, the program may be downloaded from a host computer or the like via a network.

<Control program>
In the present embodiment, the control program is treated as a unit for executing a series of operations including an IO processing program, a user program, and a sequence calculation program and a motion calculation program that are executed in association with the execution of the user program.

Programming a program to be executed in parallel is a burden on the user because it is necessary to consider the timing of execution start, execution end, and data copy processing.

In the present embodiment, the execution start timing and the constraint condition are set for each of the plurality of control programs so that the control program is executed in each cycle, the priority of execution, and the execution in a shorter cycle. The figure shows the types of control programs executed by the control device. The scheduler program causes the microprocessor to execute the control program according to the execution priority and the execution cycle of the control program.

The control program 1 is a program that is executed with the highest priority and includes the execution of the output processing program 1 and the input processing program 1 to generate output data, take in the input data, execute the assigned user program 1, and execute the motion calculation program. The execution of 1 and the calculation of the command value to the motor are executed in this order.

The control program 2 is a control program to be executed preferentially after the control program 1, and includes the output processing program 2 and the input processing program 2, and generates output data, takes in input data, and executes the assigned user program 2. , The motion program 2 is executed in this order.

The control program 3 is a program that is executed at regular intervals, and is a control program that is premised on reading the output data and the input data that is executed by the control program 1 described above. Specifically, it is a control program that receives the input data received by the IO refresh of the control program 1 and generates output data for each set cycle.

The control program 3 is a program suitable for assigning a control program included in the control program 1 and which may be executed at a slightly long cycle in order to shorten the execution cycle of the control program 1. The control program 4 is a program composed of only a user program. This program is suitable for describing communication processing, backup processing, etc. that are not related to high-speed control calculations.

Next, the programming procedure in the control device using the controller support device will be described. FIG. 5 shows an example of a control device setting procedure in the control device.

In STEP 1, the device connected via the field network or system bus is specified. Specifically, it sets information for communicating with devices connected to the field network or the system bus. Although not shown, the information such as the device connected via the field network or the system bus and the connection order may be automatically acquired by communicating with the device connected via the field network or the system bus.

In STEP 2, the user uses the controller support device to create a user program according to the control purpose as described above. Using the data input from the device connected to the field network or the system bus registered in STEP1, sequence calculation and motion calculation are executed to create a program for generating output data. This user program may be created by being divided into a plurality of program modules.

In STEP 3, the user sets the control program. The cycle for executing the control program is set according to the control purpose of the user.

In STEP 4, a control program for performing IO refresh is registered for each device connected via the network set in STEP 1. FIG. 6 shows an example of a screen for setting the control program. Register a control program for IO refresh for each device connected to the field network or system bus. The devices to be controlled are displayed in a list and are displayed together with the unit name. Let the user select the control program for IO refresh in pull-down format.

In STEP 5, the created user program is assigned to the control program.
FIG. 8 shows an image of allocation to the control program. In FIG. 7, for each control program, the created user program (Program0-Program6) is assigned to the control program. When assigning a plurality of user programs to the control program, the execution order of the user programs is registered. In the example of FIG. 7, user programs Program0 and Program2 are assigned to the control program 1. User programs Program4, Program5, and Program6 are assigned to the control program 2. Program 1 is assigned to the control program 3.

By the above-described operation, a control program including a cycle to be executed, a setting parameter indicating a device for exchanging data in the IO processing program included in the control program, and a user program to be executed is generated for each control program. The scheduler program of the control device refers to the transferred setting parameter, refers to the execution cycle of the control program, and controls the timing of starting and ending the execution of the program.

Further, in the present embodiment, the execution cycle of the control program is a cycle for performing communication (IO refresh) with an external device via the field network or the system bus. Identify the target and device for IO refresh in the cycle.

Next, an example of controlling a motor with a plurality of control programs including a motion calculation program will be described with reference to FIG. The physical configuration shown in FIG. 8 includes a shaft 1 (motor 1 and hereinafter shaft 1), a shaft 2 (motor 2 and shaft 2 hereinafter), and a shaft 3 (motor 3 and shaft 3 hereinafter). When controlling the axes 1 and 2 and 3 in synchronization with each other, the axis 2 and the axis 3 are calculated by referring to the command value or the feedback value of the axis 1 and calculating the control command values of the axis 2 and the axis 3. Control. For example, by giving a control command value for the shaft 2 and the shaft 3 at a predetermined ratio to the rotation of the shaft 1, the gear operation for the shaft 1 can be realized. This can be realized by referring to the current value of the axis 1 which is the master axis or the feedback value of the slave axis and giving the control command value to the axes 2 and 3 which are the slave axes.

Consider a case where the gear operation with the axis 1 as the main axis and the axes 2 and 3 as the slave axes is realized by a control program including a plurality of motion calculation programs. As will be described later, the control program 1 acquires the values of variables related to the axes 1 and 2 by executing the IO processing program. According to the instruction of the motion calculation program 1, the input data obtained is referred to, and the command value of the axis 2 is calculated based on the current value or command value of the axis 1 and output. This realizes the gear operation of the shaft 1 and the shaft 2.

In the control program 2, a parameter indicating the state of the axis 1 is transferred from the control program 1 and is virtually handled on the control device and is output to the axis 4 as a command value, and the axis 4 is used as a spindle to perform the command value of the axis 3. ..

With this configuration, if the function variables can be transferred to the axes between the control programs, the axis 1 controlled by the control program 1 and the axis 3 controlled by the control program 2 can be synchronized.

<Embodiment 1>
FIG. 9 shows an example in which the control program 1 and the control program 2 are executed by a plurality of cores at regular intervals. The control program 1 and the control program 2 include an IO processing program 1, an IO processing program 2, a user program 1, a user program 2, a motion calculation program 1, and a motion calculation program 2, respectively.

Next, the timing of starting execution of the control programs 1 and 2 using the multi-core processor will be described. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the timing of execution of the control program 1. When the scheduler program detects the arrival of a predetermined time, it starts the execution of the control programs 1 and 2.

IO of the control program 1 shown in the figure indicates an operation according to an instruction of the IO control program. The core 1 of the processor transmits output data and fetches input data according to the instruction of the IO control program 1. Specifically, the core 1 of the microprocessor outputs the output data 1 to the external device associated with the control program 1 from the communication buffer on the main memory to the communication controller 150 according to the instruction of the output processing program of the IO control program 1. Performs the process of transferring to the buffer memory. Further, according to the instruction of the input processing program, the input data 1 stored in the communication buffer transferred from the communication controller is transferred to the work area of the user program 1.

The UPG of the control program 1 shown in the figure indicates an operation according to the instruction of the user program 1. According to the instruction of the user program 1, the core 1 of the microprocessor performs a sequence operation using the input data stored in the work area of the user program 1 and a process of storing the output data in the communication buffer, and at the same time, the motion operation program. Stored in the area calculated by 1.

MC of the control program 1 shown in the drawing indicates an operation in accordance with the instruction of the motion calculation program 1. The core 1 of the microprocessor calculates a command value to the motor for the execution cycle of the control program 1, calculates output data, and stores the output data in a buffer for transferring to the communication controller.

Next, the operation of the control program 2 will be described. IO of the control program 2 shown in the figure indicates an operation according to an instruction of the IO control program 2. The core 2 of the processor transmits output data and fetches input data according to the instruction of the IO control program 2.

Specifically, the core 2 of the microprocessor outputs the output data to the external device associated with the control program 2 from the communication buffer on the main memory to the communication controller 150 according to the instruction of the output processing program 2 of the IO control program 2. Performs the process of transferring to the buffer memory. Further, according to the instruction of the input processing program 2, the input data stored in the communication buffer transferred from the communication controller is transferred to the work area of the user program 2.

The UPG of the control program 2 shown in the drawing indicates an operation in accordance with the instruction of the user program 2. According to the instruction of the user program 2, the core 2 of the microprocessor performs a sequence operation using the input data stored in the work area of the user program 2 and a process of storing the output data in the communication buffer, and at the same time, the motion operation program. It stores in the area which 2 calculates.

MC of the control program 2 shown in the figure indicates an operation in accordance with the instruction of the motion calculation program 2. The core 2 of the microprocessor calculates a command value to the motor for the execution cycle of the control program 2, calculates output data, and stores the output data in the buffer for transferring to the communication controller.

Regarding the control program 2, the IO control program 2, the user program 2, and the motion calculation program 2 are periodically executed.

<Passing data between control programs>
If you want to send and receive data between control programs, describe the axis variable transfer command in the control program. In the variable transfer instruction, the axis variable used in another control program is defined for the variable to be received. In this example, the control program 2 describes an axis variable transfer command.

In the example of FIG. 9, the axis variable transfer instruction is activated according to the instruction of the user program 2 of the control program 2.

When the axis variable transfer instruction is activated, the system program executes the control program 1 in the cycle immediately before the timing when the control program starts to execute. The process of copying to the buffer area of the control program 2 is executed.

FIG. 9 shows an example in which the control program 2 is executed in parallel at a cycle three times as long as the execution cycle of the control program 1. Here, the execution start timing is aligned with the control program 2 once every three cycles of the control program 1. After the execution of the control program 1 is completed, the process of copying to the buffer area of the control program 2 is executed for the axis variable defined by the axis variable transfer instruction, as indicated by the arrow in the figure.

FIG. 10 is an example showing the timing of passing the axis variable. IO, UPG, and MC in the figure are the same as those in FIG. 9, and will not be repeated. As indicated by (A) in the figure, the axis variables of the control program 1 immediately before the execution timings of the control program 1 and the control program 2 are passed to the control program 2. As shown by (B) in the figure, the execution of the user program 2 of the control program 2 is started after the execution end time of the control program 1, but the process of passing the axis variable is not executed.

As a result, the axis variable of the cycle immediately preceding the cycle in which the start timing of the control cycle is always aligned can be transferred, so that the calculation is performed in a predetermined cycle without being affected by the execution status of the control programs 1 and 2. Can be executed.

218 IO processing program 234 Motion calculation program 236 User program 214 Output processing program 230 Control program 1, 8 Control device 11 Control device system bus 216 Input processing program 14, 53 IO unit 122, 142 DMA control circuit 210, 220 System program

Claims (3)

A control device for controlling a controlled object by repeatedly executing a plurality of control programs at a predetermined cycle,
A multi-core processor,
A memory used for storing the control program, the system program, and the scheduler program,
The plurality of control programs,
A control program 1 including a motion calculation program 1 for calculating a control command value for a motor, which is periodically executed in an execution cycle 1;
An axis that includes a motion calculation program 2 that calculates a control command value for a motor and that is periodically executed in an execution cycle 2 that is longer than the execution cycle 1, and that defines an axis variable used in the control program 1. And a control program 2 in which a variable transfer instruction is described,
The scheduler program includes an instruction for causing the multi-core processor to start execution of the control program 1 and the control program 2 in parallel,
When the axis variable transfer command is activated, the system program completes the execution of the control program 1 in a cycle immediately before the timing when the execution of the control program 1 and the control program 2 is started. At that time, an instruction for storing in the buffer memory of the control program 2 an axis variable defined in the axis variable transfer instruction and used by the control program 1 for the control of the motor,
A control device comprising: an instruction to read from the buffer memory of the control program 2 and to copy it to a work area of the control program at a timing when the control program 2 starts executing. The motion calculation program 1 calculates the control command value of the motor 2 that is the slave shaft by referring to the control command value or feedback value of the motor 1 that is the master shaft,
The control device according to claim 1, wherein the motion calculation program 2 refers to the control command value or the feedback value of the motor 1 that is the master shaft to calculate the control command value of the motor 3 that is the slave shaft. The control of the axis variable is performed while the control program 2 is being executed after the completion of the execution of the control program 1 which is executed at the same timing when the control programs 1 and 2 are started. The control device according to claim 1, which does not execute the process of storing the program 2 in the buffer memory.

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