JPH02183806A - Transmission method for nc program data - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To increase the field of applications for both an automated (FA) personal computer and a repeating device by storing temporarily a program received from the repeating device and sending successively the program to a machine in a readable state of the machine set in a designated address. CONSTITUTION:The network addresses are allocated to each NC controller 4 and terminal 5' respectively, and an FA personal computer 1 can select an NC machine. The computer 1 designates the network address of a target NC machine and transmits an NC program. A repeating device 3 stores temporarily the received NC program in its own memory and transmits the NC programs to the controller 4 in turn as soon as the controller 4 is ready to read the NC program. Then the computer 1 receives the answers from the NC machine based on plural set input systems. As a result, the range of application are increased for both the computer 1 and the device 3.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION A. Industrial Application Field The present invention is applicable to industrial applications via networks and relay devices.
Each numerical control is performed from a factory computer (hereinafter referred to as F'A PC).
Regarding the method of transmitting NC program data when downloading a program to a computer (hereinafter abbreviated as NC) or uploading key inputs, in particular,
The present invention relates to a transmission method in which the amount of programs that can be downloaded or uploaded is unlimited.

B1 Summary of the Invention The present invention provides a method for transmitting NC program data when downloading a program from an FA personal computer to each NC machine or uploading key inputs from an FA personal computer via a network and a relay device. Equipped with only the function of relaying data, FA
The personal computer specifies the network address of the desired NC machine and transmits the program, and the relay device temporarily stores the received program in its own internal memory, and then transfers the program when the NC machine at the specified address becomes ready for reading. Programs are sent sequentially to the NC machine, and responses from the machine are received by the FA computer based on multiple setting methods, allowing for an unlimited number of programs that can be downloaded and uploaded, and display and input processing on the machine side. This technology is implemented from the FA PC side of the system, and provides technology that expands the field of application of FA PCs and relay devices.

C0 Conventional technology Paper perforation tape was previously used as a storage medium for NC programs, but in recent years, it has become increasingly popular in factory automation (FA).
As technology advances, so-called tapeless technology, which eliminates the use of paper tape, is also being promoted.

To operate an NC machine without paper tape, the configuration shown in Figure 2 is generally adopted.

That is, the hard disk of the FA personal computer 1, which has the performance and functions of a computer, is used as an equivalent to the conventional paper tape.
) 2 and a relay device (for example, a serial interface) 3, the data is downloaded or uploaded to the NC machine 4. In the figure, reference numeral 5 denotes an operational computer (hereinafter abbreviated as an operational computer) that directly controls the NC machine 4 on site.

Conventionally, in the above system, the NC machine 4 and the operational computer 5 were configured as the main devices, and the FA personal computer 1 was nothing more than a database containing various programs. Therefore, when there is a command from the operation controller 5, the relay device 3 transfers the specified program data all at once to the FA computer.
The method was to call in the information from the computer, store it, and transmit it to the NC side.

Problems that the D1 invention attempts to solve However, the above conventional method has the following problems.

(1) Since data is temporarily stored in the pasting device, the amount of programs that can be uploaded at one time is limited.

(2) Since the processing for the operation controller is performed by the relay device, there are three types: the FA computer, the relay device, and the NG machine.
Data is completely separated between users, it is not system-like, and changes are not easy.

The present invention was devised in view of the above-mentioned problems, and there is no limit to the number of programs that can be downloaded or uploaded.The FA PC performs display and input processing to the operating computer, etc., and the FA PC and the relay device can be connected. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for transmitting NC program data that expands the field of application.

E1 Means for Solving the Problem The means for solving the above problem in the present invention is to solve the problem when downloading a program from the FA personal computer to each machine via a network and a relay device, or conversely when uploading key inputs. In the NC program data transmission method, the relay device has only the function of relaying data, the F'A personal computer specifies the network address of the desired machine and transmits the program, and the relay device transfers the received program within its own device. temporarily stored in the memory of
When the machine at the specified address becomes readable, the program is sent to the machine one after another, and the response from the machine is received by the FA personal computer based on a plurality of setting methods.

F3 Effect In the present invention, the relay device only needs to have the function of simply relaying data, and downloads to the NC machine and key inputs from the operational computer are transferred directly to the microboard of the FA personal computer.

On the other hand, each NC machine is assigned a network address to a LAN, etc., and the FA personal computer selects a desired NC machine, designates its network address, and transmits the NC program to the relay device.

The relay device temporarily stores the received N and C programs in its own memory, and when the NC machine becomes ready to read the NC program, sequentially transmits the stored NC programs to the NC machine.

When the memory of the relay device is full, a notification of a try is returned to the FA PC, and the F'A PC transmits the data again after a predetermined interval.

The FA personal computer has a plurality of input methods set, and receives responses from the NC machine or the operational computer based on the set methods.

G. Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of an NC program data transmission system according to the present invention.

In the figure, li'iFA personal computer, 2 is a network such as LAN, 3 is a relay device such as FNC, 4 is an NG controller attached to each machine, and 5' is a terminal equipped with an operational computer. The FA PC is equipped with Abrication Soyon RAS IC and O8 and L for FT tasks.
It is equipped with an AN interface. The relay device 3 is provided with two real interface connections, #1 of which is connected to the terminal 5', and #2 of which is connected to the NC controller 4. A network address is assigned to each NG controller 4 and terminal 5, so that an NC machine can be selected from the FA computer 1 in the upper transmission layer, and the FA computer 1 specifies the network address of the target NC machine and then connects the relay device to the relay device. Transmit the NC program to 3.

FIG. 3 is a procedure diagram of the download protocol.

As shown in the figure, when downloading, send the surface file of the terminal 5' home screen, enter the figure number bone from the displayed screen, and complete the setup of the NC controller 4 using the operation message. ,
Download the NC program using the OS task.

The relay device 3 temporarily stores the received NC program in a memory within the device, but as soon as the NC controller 4 becomes ready to read the NC program, it sequentially transmits the stored NC programs to the NC controller 4.

When the memory of the relay device 3 is full, the relay device 3 returns a notification of a heli-try to the FA personal computer 1 to notify that the memory is full. In response to this notification, the FA PC 1 suspends transmission for a while and transmits the data again after a predetermined interval.

FIG. 4 is a procedural diagram of the upload protocol.

As shown in the figure, the procedure is almost the same as that for downloading, but the following various input methods are set for key input from the NC controller 4 and terminal 5'.

) Character input) Terminator input mountain) Specified character input iv) Time slice input V) File input) to iv) have both echo type and no-echo type, and the FA PC 1 is based on these settings. , receives an upload response from the NC controller 4 and a key input response from the terminal 5'.

In embodiments of the invention, there is no limit to the amount of programs that can be downloaded or uploaded. The relay device transmits the NC program received from the FA personal computer as soon as the NC machine is ready to receive it without storing it until the program end, and sequentially transmits the data received from the NC machine into a 256-byte packet to the FA personal computer. Therefore,
There is no limit to the amount of programs that can be handled, and it can also be applied to remote buffer type direct NC.

Furthermore, in the embodiment of the present invention, all display on the operation controller, key input, etc. are performed by the FA personal computer, making it possible to realize a flexible paper tapeless system and FA. The operation methods and operation screens from the operating system are best suited to local needs, and the FA computer retains all screen information.
Screen changes and corrections can be made on the spot. It can also be used not only for operation control but also for on-site work guidance, etc.
Various types of support are possible by simply changing the data on the FA computer side and the RAS IC language.

Any device equipped with a serial interface, such as a computer or barcode league, can be easily connected to the relay device.
I can communicate.

1-1. As described in detail, according to the present invention, there is no limit to the number of programs that can be downloaded or uploaded, the FA computer performs display and input processing to an operation computer, etc., and the connection between the FA computer and the relay device is It is possible to provide a method for transmitting NC program data that expands the field of application.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a general example, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are protocol procedure diagrams. 1... FA computer, 2... LAN, 3'... 411 equipment, machine, operation computer, 5' terminal. Figure 2: 2 people outside

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) In the method of transmitting numerical control program data when downloading a program from an FA computer to each machine or uploading key inputs from the FA computer via a network and relay device, the relay device only has the function of relaying data. The FA computer specifies the network address of the desired machine and transmits the program, and the relay device temporarily stores the received program in its own internal memory, so that the machine at the specified address can read it. A method for transmitting NC program data, characterized in that the program is sequentially transmitted to machines, and a response from the machine side is received by an FA computer based on a plurality of setting methods.