JPH029904B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a control device for a pouring robot, and is particularly applicable to a casting machine that shapes cast products using a plurality of rotatably conveyed molds (so-called multi-casting machine). The present invention relates to a pouring robot control device suitable for a pouring robot that synchronously pours metal under pouring conditions according to various mold specifications.

[Conventional technology]

Figure 3 shows the general configuration of a general pouring robot. This pouring robot can be roughly divided into a ladle 1 that draws hot water from a melting furnace and pours it into a mold, and a ladle actuator (such as a pulse motor) that drives the pouring and pouring operations of this ladle 1. 2
, a ladle operating device that moves the ladle 1 to an arbitrary position in three-dimensional space, and a ladle operating device actuator (hereinafter referred to as an operating actuator) that drives the ladle operating device.

The ladle operating device includes an advancing/retracting arm 4 with a ladle 1 attached to its tip and moving back and forth in the front and rear directions, an elevating mechanism 3 that moves the advancing/retracting arm 4 up and down, and a turning mechanism that rotates the advancing/retracting arm 4 and the elevating mechanism 3 integrally from side to side. It consists of mechanism 5. The forward/backward arm 4 includes a forward/backward arm actuator (hereinafter referred to as a forward/backward actuator; for example, an electric/hydraulic pulse motor, etc.) 7
The driving force is used in combination with a rack and pinion gear mechanism to advance and retreat. The elevating mechanism 3 transmits the driving force from an actuator for elevating mechanism (hereinafter referred to as an elevating actuator; for example, an electric/hot water pressure pulse motor, etc.) 6 to an advancing/retracting arm 4 via a screw rod and a slider screwed thereto. Have them do the action. The swing mechanism 5 includes a swing mechanism actuator (hereinafter referred to as a swing actuator; for example, an electric/hydraulic pulse motor, etc.) 8 that rotates the advancing/retracting arm 4 and the housing 9 of the lifting mechanism 3 itself.
The reciprocating arm 4 is rotated by the driving force generated by the retracting arm 4.

In addition, in FIG. 3, 10 indicates an oil pump motor, and 11 indicates an accumulator. Other equipment includes meters, supply ports, etc., and their explanations are omitted for the sake of simplicity.

Next, a series of pouring operations of the above-mentioned pouring robot will be explained. First, the relative positional relationship between the melting furnace 12, the multi-casting machine 13, the mold 14, and the pouring robot is as shown in FIG. 4 (perspective view) and FIG. 5 (plan view). A plurality of molds 14 are arranged at predetermined intervals on a turntable 15 of a multi-casting machine 13, and the turntable 15 is driven to rotate at a constant speed in the direction of the arrow.

The basic pouring operation pattern of the pouring robot is that the ladle 1 is located at the top of the melt furnace 12 and is driven up and down to pump up the molten metal from the melt furnace 12, and the ladle 1 is rotated in the direction of the arrow to perform multi-casting. The operation of transporting the hot water to the machine 13 side, the pouring operation of rotating the mold 14a in synchronization with the moving speed of the mold 14a to be poured, and pouring the hot water by tilting the ladle 1 forward. After the bath is finished, it is roughly divided into a return operation, which returns to the original position. All of these operations are performed in synchronization with the operations of the multi-casting machine 13. The above-described pouring operation pattern is basically the same regardless of the type of mold, and is performed by changing the pouring amount, pouring operation speed, etc. as appropriate depending on the type of mold.

The above-mentioned pouring operation pattern was created by being taught the manual pouring operation pattern by a pouring expert when the pouring robot was installed. Below, a control device including a teaching device for a pouring operation and its teaching operation will be described.

The control device is broadly divided into a control unit for controlling the movement and rotation of the forward and backward arm 4 (FIG. 6), and a ladle movement control unit (FIG. 7) that controls the longitudinal inclination of the ladle 1 during pouring. As shown in FIG. 6, the advancing/retracting and turning motion control section includes a teaching lever 16 attached to the tip of the advancing/retracting arm 4, and a differential differential that outputs a voltage of a corresponding value as the teaching lever 16 is operated. A transformer 17, an amplifier 18 that amplifies its output voltage, a storage device (such as a magnetic tape recorder) 19 that stores the amplified output signal at an analog level, and a forward/backward actuator 7 (and a rotating and a driver 20 that drives the actuator 8). Although FIG. 6 shows the forward/backward movement control section, the configuration of the turning movement control section is also the same as that in FIG. For example, when viewing the teaching lever 16 in a plane,
It is movable in the axial direction, and when the teaching lever 16 is tilted in the Y-axis direction, the differential transformer 17 for advancing and retracting operates,
When tilted in the X-axis direction, a swing differential transformer (not shown) may generate an output voltage corresponding to the tilt. Similarly, although not shown, the elevation control section may be configured in the same manner as described above by separately providing the teaching lever 16.

In the above configuration, in order to teach the pouring robot the movement pattern of the advancing and retracting arm 4 during pouring, the teaching lever 16 is operated in accordance with a series of pouring operations. Then, a voltage corresponding to a position according to the inclination of the teaching lever 16 is outputted from the differential transformer 17, amplified by the amplifier 18, and applied to the storage device 19 and the driver 20. In the storage device 19, a recording/reproducing head 21 records voltage changes corresponding to each operation of the teaching lever 16 on a magnetic tape. At the same time, this voltage change is applied to the forward/backward actuator 7 via the driver 20, and the forward/backward arm 4 is moved in accordance with the amount of operation of the teaching lever 16. After being taught in this way, as shown in FIG. 8, the forward/backward actuator 7 is driven by the driver 20 according to the change in the output by reproducing the storage device 19, which is exactly the same as the teaching operation. The action will be replayed.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7, the ladle operation control section includes a setting device (for example, a potentiometer) 22 for teaching and setting the operation of the ladle 1, and a detector for detecting the actual amount of movement of the ladle 1. (for example, a potentiometer) 23, a comparator 24 that compares the setting signal from the setting device 22 and a feedback signal from the detector 23 and outputs the amount of deviation, an amplifier 25 that amplifies the amount of deviation, and its output. It is configured to include a storage device 26 that stores values, and a driver 27 that drives the ladle actuator 2 by using the amplified output as an input.

In the above configuration, when the operation of the ladle 1 is taught, when the setter 22 is operated according to a series of pouring operation patterns, the deviation between the feedback signal from the detector 23 and the command value from the setter 22 is detected. The comparator 24 outputs a voltage corresponding to 20 min, and this output is amplified by an amplifier 25 and then applied to a memory device 26 and a driver 27. The storage device 26 records and holds changes in the amplified output similarly to the storage device 19 (FIG. 6) described above. On the other hand, the ladle actuator 2 is driven by the amplified output through the driver 27, and the ladle 1 is operated to a position where the amount of operation is balanced with the command value by the setting device 22 (that is, the output of the comparator 24 becomes 0). Ladle 1 moves to the position where it is) and then stops. All of these motion patterns are stored in the storage device 26, and can be reproduced from now on to perform the same motion.

The above describes the movements of the forward/backward arm 4 and the ladle 1, but the same applies to the turning movement and the lifting/lowering movement, and since they can be easily understood from the above description, the description will be omitted.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

As mentioned above, in conventional pouring robot control devices, a series of pouring operation patterns are first taught by an expert, and the patterns can be memorized and replayed to repeatedly execute the same operation. It was meant to be. This control has the advantage of being able to reproduce the pouring action of an expert as is, allowing for smooth pouring. However, there are the following problems.

In other words, it takes a considerable amount of time to master the pouring operation, and it is difficult to train operators who can teach the operation. In addition, since the movement of the ladle 1 and the movement of other operating mechanisms are recorded in the same storage device, the operating specifications of the multi-casting machine 13 and pouring conditions (pouring amount,
If the pouring time, etc.) changes, the teaching must be re-teached to suit the new conditions, which, combined with the shortage of skilled workers, makes it difficult to respond quickly. . Furthermore, since the teaching relies on the experience of a skilled person, it is difficult to quantify the movement pattern that matches the pouring conditions. Furthermore, since it is a simulated reproduction of the teacher's movements, small defective movements are included, and it is difficult to remove these bad movements. Furthermore, even though only the movement of the ladle is desired to be changed, the movement of the ladle operating device must also be re-taught, and even if the movement is good for the ladle operating device, there is a high possibility that this re-teaching will actually deteriorate. . The movement of the ladle itself is an important factor that determines the quality of the pouring operation. Furthermore, from a safety standpoint, teaching is performed in close proximity to an actual robot, which is not safe. In addition, since smooth movement of the ladle and synchronized movement with the multicasting machine must be continuously recorded on magnetic tape, there are limits to the movement patterns that can be taught.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a control device that is easy to teach, has high safety, and can respond to many pouring operation patterns.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has a memory that stores ladle operation pattern information in a series of pouring operations, and transmits control signals corresponding to each operation pattern to the ladle according to the stored operation pattern information. a ladle controller that outputs an output to the actuator of the ladle, and a memory that stores operation pattern information of the ladle operating device in the series of pouring operations, and outputs a control signal corresponding to each operation pattern according to the stored operation pattern information. The present invention is characterized by comprising a ladle operating device controller that outputs output to an actuator of the ladle operating device, and a programmable controller that collectively controls each control timing of the ladle controller and the ladle operating device controller.

[Effect]

According to the above configuration of the present invention, the ladle controller controls the ladle-specific movement pattern according to the information stored in its dedicated memory, and the ladle operating device controller controls the ladle-specific movement pattern in the ladle operating device-specific memory. Since the controllers are controlled according to stored information, and each of these controllers is comprehensively controlled by a programmable controller, each mechanism can be controlled independently, making it easy to teach and Since the memory is writable, the operation pattern can be easily changed and re-taught when the pouring conditions are changed. Further, since teaching can be performed by setting numerical data, there is no need for an expert to teach directly near the robot as in the past, so safety can be ensured. In addition, since a dedicated memory is used for each mechanism, the storage capacity can be substantially expanded, and as a result, many operation patterns can be stored, making it possible to respond to a wide variety of pouring operations.

〔Example〕

Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a block diagram of the configuration of a pouring robot control device according to this embodiment. The configurations of the pouring robot itself and the multi-casting machine itself are the same as those of the previous model, so the same parts are given the same reference numerals and a detailed explanation thereof will be omitted.

In FIG. 1, a pouring robot control device 100
These are roughly divided into a ladle controller 101 for controlling the ladle 1, and a ladle operating device controller 10 for controlling the ladle operating device (i.e., the advancing/retracting arm 4, the lifting mechanism 3, and the turning mechanism 5).
2, and a programmable controller 10 that collectively controls these controllers 101 and 102.
3 as the main components.

The ladle controller 101 is equipped with a dedicated memory (hereinafter referred to as ladle memory) in which information about patterns that the ladle 1 should operate in a series of pouring operations can be written and stored, and although not shown,
It is equipped with a CPU that outputs a control signal according to the ladle operation pattern information stored in the ladle memory. On the other hand, the ladle controller 101 is taught operation pattern information of the ladle 1 (i.e.,
A teaching console (keyboard or teaching box) 112 is connected for writing data into the controller memory. A control signal output from the ladle controller 101 is converted into a drive signal by the ladle actuator driver 104, and drives the ladle actuator 2.

The ladle operating device controller 102 includes a writable dedicated memory (hereinafter referred to as operation memory) that stores information on patterns in which the forward/backward arm 4, the lifting mechanism 3, and the turning mechanism 5 should operate in a series of pouring operations. Although not shown, it also includes a CPU that outputs a control signal in accordance with the operation pattern information stored in the operation memory. On the other hand, the ladle operation device controller 102 has a teaching operation console (keyboard) 105 for teaching operation pattern information (i.e., writing data to the operation memory) of each advancement/retraction arm 4, lifting mechanism 3, and rotation mechanism 5. is connected. The control signal output from the ladle operating device controller 102 is converted into a drive signal by the drivers 106, 107, 108, which correspond to each actuator 6, 7, 8 on a one-to-one basis, and Drive the swing actuator 8.

The programmable controller 103 interlocks the operation sequence between the ladle controller 101 and the ladle operating device controller 102,
It comprehensively controls a series of pouring operations that interlock with the controller 109 of the multi-casting machine 13 and the manual operation panel 114 that can operate peripheral control devices and robots. 110 transfers the control content data to the programmable controller 103;
This is a control panel for writing information.

Although not shown, the required parts of the robot include
A position detector is provided for detecting whether or not the movement of the ladle 1 and the movement target positions of the forward/backward arm 4, the lifting mechanism 3, and the turning mechanism 5 have been reached. That is, this position detector is connected to each controller 10.
It is necessary to accurately control each movement by comparing the target position on the movement pattern set in 1 and 102 with the actual movement, and each detection signal is fed back to each controller 101 and 102. .

Next, the control operation of the above-mentioned pouring robot control device will be explained in relation to the operation of the multicasting machine 13 (see FIG. 2).

First, when the preparation of the pouring robot control device and the multi-casting machine 13 are completed, and the molten metal in the molten metal furnace 12 is ready, the robot starts the pouring operation (see Figures 4 and 5). do. That is,
The advancing/retracting arm 4 is lowered by the elevating mechanism 3, and the ladle 1 is placed into the molten metal. At this time, a molten metal level detector 111 is attached to the side of the ladle 1 (see FIG. 3), and detects that the molten metal has been drawn into the ladle 1. This detection signal is input to the programmable controller 103.

Next, the ladle 1 is raised by the ladle operating device controller 102 under the control of the programmable controller 103, and the mold 14 to be poured on the turntable 15 is placed in a predetermined position so as not to spill the hot water in the ladle 1. Carry it to the standby position where it will wait. In other words, it is the action of carrying hot water.

Next, when the mold 14 reaches a predetermined position, a pouring start signal is issued from the controller 109 of the multi-casting machine, and is sent to the ladle controller 101 via the programmable controller 103, and the ladle 1 starts the pouring operation. Start. In addition,
The robot always works synchronously with the multi-casting machine 13, and the movements of each mechanism move based on arc-shaped movements centered on the fulcrum.

Next, when the pouring is finished, the ladle controller 1
A pouring completion signal is issued from 01 and is given to the ladle operating device controller 102 through the programmable controller 103. Then, the controller 102 controls the return operation to return the ladle 1 to its original position on the melting furnace 2.

Thereafter, by repeating these series of movements in the same manner, the turntable 1 of the multi-casting machine 13 is
Molten metal is poured into each mold arranged at equal intervals on the mold 5 in synchronization with the movement of the multi-casting machine 13.

In addition, when changing the mold type (product specifications), a discrimination signal from the multi-casting machine controller 109 is given to the programmable controller 103, and data corresponding to the type is sent to each controller 1.
It is only necessary to appropriately select and control tables in the memories 01 and 102. Therefore, in this case, it goes without saying that necessary data must be written in each memory in advance for each type of casting product or mold. in this way,
It is possible to quickly respond to changes in pouring conditions.

Next, teaching of the pouring operation will be explained. For teaching, we will use the movement pattern of the ladle 1 and the ladle operating device (advancing/retracting arm 4, elevating mechanism 3, turning mechanism 5)
The information is stored separately and independently from the operation pattern information.
First, arc movement pattern information along the arc movement for the pouring time of the sprue of the mold 14 of the multi-casting machine 13 is written into the memory in the ladle operating device controller 102. In other words, numerical data corresponding to each position change is stored. On the other hand, separately from this, operation pattern information for the ladle 1's pouring operation, pouring operation, etc. is written in the memory in the ladle controller 101 in accordance with operating conditions for ensuring optimal casting quality. Each operation pattern taught in this way is transmitted to the programmable controller 10.
Through the control in step 3, a series of pouring operation patterns are reproduced.

Furthermore, by providing sufficient storage capacity for each memory and allowing the interlock between each controller to be interrupted at an arbitrary operating position, it is possible to achieve optimal interlock operation and to respond to changes in operating conditions. .

〔Effect of the invention〕

As mentioned above, with control, each movement is taught independently, so it does not require a particularly skilled person and can be easily taught, and there is no need for direct approach to teach, which improves safety. Furthermore, it can be used in various modifications.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of the present invention;
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the control device according to the present invention, FIG. 3 is an external view of a general pouring robot, FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the operation pattern of the pouring operation, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing a conventional advancing/retracting arm pouring operation teaching device; FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a conventional ladle pouring operation teaching device; FIG. The figure is a block diagram showing how the taught operation pattern is reproduced, and FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing the conventional pouring control operation. 1... Ladle, 2... Ladle actuator, 3...
Lifting mechanism, 4...Advancing/retracting arm, 5...Swivel mechanism, 6...
Lifting actuator, 7... Advancement/retraction actuator,
8...Swivel actuator, 12...Melting furnace, 13...
Multi-casting machine, 14... Mold, 15... Turntable,... Hot water drawing operation,... Hot water transporting operation,... Molten pouring operation,... Returning operation, 100... Molten pouring robot control operation, 101... Ladle controller, 102... Ladle operating device Controller, 103... Programmable controller, 104... Ladle driver,
106... Advance/retreat driver, 107... Lifting driver, 108... Turning driver.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A memory that stores ladle operation pattern information in a series of pouring operations, and outputs a control signal corresponding to each operation pattern to the ladle actuator in accordance with the stored operation pattern information. a ladle controller; and a memory for storing operation pattern information of the ladle operating device in the series of pouring operations, and transmitting control signals corresponding to each operation pattern to the actuator of the ladle operating device according to the stored operation pattern information. 1. A control device for a pouring robot, comprising: a ladle operating device controller that outputs output to the ladle operating device controller; and a programmable controller that collectively controls each control timing of the ladle controller and the ladle operating device controller. 2. In the device according to claim 1,
A control device for a pouring robot, wherein the operation pattern information is written into the memory of the ladle controller by a ladle operation teaching device. 3. The apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the operation pattern information of the ladle operation device controller is written into the memory by a ladle operation device operation teaching device. Control device.