JPH03282703A - Universal robot controller - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To control robots with different kinds and types only by changing a hardware part and a software part in a robot controller and to attain price reduction and the saving of space by making the hardware and software parts to be changed according to the change of the kind and type of the robot into modules and separating. CONSTITUTION:Driving control modules 29, 31, 33 conforming to the robots 51, 55, and 57 with different kinds having interface parts with a common signal bus 23, and a main managing computer module 25 which identifies the kinds of the robots 51, 55, and 57 and performs processing in accordance with those robots and provided with the interface part with the common signal bus 23 are provided. Therefore, the robots 51, 55, and 57 with different kinds and types can be controlled by changing only the driving control modules 29, 31, and 33 in the robot controller 21. In such a way, the robot can be controlled by changing only part of the robot controller 21, and no robot controller 21 for every robot is required, which reduces pricing and the space.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a general-purpose robot control device for controlling different models and types of robots.

(Prior Art) FIG. 3 shows the configuration of a robot control device 1 for controlling a robot. This robot control device 1 is connected to a main management computer section 5, a drive control computer section 7, and a common memory 9 via a common signal bus 3. In this case, the main management computer section 5 and the drive control computer section 7 may be integrated into a main management computer section. Further, the common signal bus 3 is connected to a sensor signal input section 11 , a drive command section output section 13 , and an external interface section 15 .

The sensor signal input unit 11 converts signals from sensors such as encoders, potentiometers, and tachometer generators for reading joint angles and angular velocities of the robot, which are necessary for controlling the robot (not shown), into signals for calculations and calculations.

The drive command output unit 13 converts the numerical value calculated by the computer for controlling the robot into a command signal to the motor driver 14 .

The external interface unit 15 is a teaching box 17 that is a manual interface for humans to instruct how to move the robot, and when the robot is operated simultaneously with other robots or NC (numerical control) machines. It performs input/output to an external computer 19 etc. that manages these as a whole.

In addition, the common memory 9 stores information and commands necessary for controlling the robot, and can be read and written from all masks connected to the common signal bus 3 (those that can access the bus by themselves). It becomes.

The main management computer 5 manages the operating state of the robot based on commands input from the teaching box 17.

Further, the drive control computer 7 performs calculations for actually driving the robot, such as coordinate transformation calculations.

When the conventional robot control device 1 configured as described above is set to control a certain type of robot, for example, consider modifying it to control a robot of a different type from this robot.

As for the hardware, the sensor signal input section 11- and the drive command output section 13 must be replaced due to differences in the number of axes of the robot, the type of sensor, and the size of the motor. Further, the drive control computer section 7 needs to be replaced if the increase in the amount of calculations due to the increase in the number of axes results in insufficient computer performance.

If the amount of information handled by the common memory 9 increases, it will become necessary to replace it. Furthermore, in the case of a robot where the number of calculations to manage (robot language processing calculations, coordinate calculations, target value generation calculations, etc.) increases, the main management computer unit 5 may need to be replaced due to lack of computer capacity. There is.

As mentioned above, if the hardware changes, it is necessary to change the software to accommodate this change. In addition, software changes due to changes in the robot structure and number of axes (coordinate transformation calculations, robot language processing calculations, cuff target value generation calculations,
Motor servo calculations that take into account interference with other axes) are required.

(Problem to be solved by the invention) As described above, with conventional robot control devices, operating different models and types of robots with the same robot control device requires modification of the hardware configuration or modification of the software. There was a lot of work to do. For this reason, robot control devices were prepared for each model and type.

Therefore, when users change to a different model or type of robot, they also change the robot control device at the same time. This resulted in a lot of waste in terms of cost and space.

In addition, the number of development man-hours for robot manufacturers was increasing as they were required to respond to each model and type.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above facts, and an object of the present invention is to provide a general-purpose robot control device that can control a plurality of robots of different models and types.

[Structure of the invention] (Means for solving the problem) In order to achieve the above object, the invention described in claim (1) provides the following:
a drive control module compatible with different types of robots, which has an interface section with a common signal bus; and a main management computer module, which identifies different robot types and performs processing corresponding to these, and has an interface section with the common signal bus. It is characterized by the following.

Further, the invention according to claim (2) is characterized in that a plurality of the drive control modules are connected to the common signal bus, and the main management computer module is provided with a simultaneous operation management function that can control a plurality of robots simultaneously. It is said that

Further, the invention according to claim (3) is characterized in that the drive control module is provided with a discriminating means for outputting a preset model/type discriminating signal at the common signal bus and interface portion.

(Operation) According to the invention of claim (1) having the above configuration, when a certain type of robot is connected and its motion is controlled, the connection of this robot is canceled and the model or type of robot is A different robot is connected and replaced with a corresponding drive control module, and furthermore, the main management computer module identifies the model and type of the robot 7 and performs corresponding processing based on the identification result.

Therefore, by changing only the drive control module in the robot control device, it is possible to control robots of different models and types, so when the user changes to a different model or type of robot, the robot control device Since only a portion needs to be changed and there is no need to prepare a robot control device for each robot, it is possible to reduce costs and space. Furthermore, the development man-hours for manufacturers can be reduced.

Further, in the invention of claim (2), when a plurality of robots of different models or types are connected, the main management computer module can operate these robots simultaneously and manage each robot.

Therefore, instead of the robot control device that was conventionally required for each robot, only one control device is required for every several robots, resulting in cost and space savings.

Furthermore, in the invention according to claim (3), the drive control module has a structure that outputs uniformly set model and type discrimination signals at the interface part with the common signal bus, so that When improving hardware and software, it is possible to develop the main management computer module and drive control module, and users can also improve performance at low cost by replacing modules.

(Embodiment) Hereinafter, an embodiment of a general-purpose robot control device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a general-purpose robot control device 21. As shown in FIG. A main management computer module 25, an external interface module 27, and two drive control modules 31 and 33 are connected to the common signal bus 23.

Further, a teaching box 35 and an external computer 37 are connected to the external interface module 27.

The drive control modules 29, 31, and 33 also include the common signal bus interface unit 3 as shown in FIG.
9 is connected to a model/type discrimination signal output section 41. Further, a common memory 43 is connected to the common signal bus interface 39, and a drive control computer section 45 is connected to this common memory 43.

The drive control computer section 45 includes a sensor signal input section 47;
A robot drive command signal output section 49 is connected. The sensor signal input section 47 receives an input signal from a sensor such as an encoder (not shown) provided on the manipulator 5. Further, the four robot drive command signal output units are connected to a motor driver 53 for driving a motor that actually drives the manipulator 51.

Note that the drive control modules 29, 31, and 33 are robots with different models, types, and numbers of axes.

The operation of the general-purpose robot control device having the above configuration will be explained.

For example, the drive control module 29.31 shown in FIG.
．． 33, the case where the orthogonal coordinate type robot 55 is driven will be described. After this explanation, a case of modification to control a cylindrical coordinate type robot will be explained.

The main management computer module 25 transmits an operation signal to the common memory 43 of the drive control module 29 based on the command input by the teaching box 35 . common memory 43
Then, based on the information stored in the common memory 43, the drive control calculation section 45 performs calculations for driving the robot.

The drive control calculation unit 45 outputs a robot drive command signal for actually driving the robot to the motor driver 53 based on the sensor signal from the sensor signal input.

As a result, the robot 55 is driven according to the command.

A case will be described in which the general-purpose robot control device 21 is modified to control a robot 51 of a different model or type, for example, the cylindrical coordinate type robot 51 shown in FIG. 1, from the state in which the robot 55 is being driven. .

First, the drive control module 29 is replaced with the drive control module 31. In this drive control module 31, the information necessary to drive the robot 51 is stored in a common memory, and the model/type discrimination signal output section is provided with a signal to be outputted to discriminate this robot. There is. Furthermore, the drive control calculation unit 45 is provided with software that performs calculations necessary to drive this robot.

Therefore, in the general-purpose robot control device 21 of this embodiment, the main management computer module 25 already has computing power and software that can handle robots of different models and types. All you have to do is check the output discrimination signal and start the software that matches it.

Therefore, the general-purpose robot control device of this embodiment can control multiple robots of different models and types.
Not only can the price be reduced, but also the space can be reduced.

Next, we will consider a completely new application to robots.

The interior of the drive control module can be freely designed by matching the specifications of the three interface sections of the common signal bus 23 with the conventional ones.

If the design of the conventional drive control module is used as much as possible in order to shorten the design time, only the sensor signal input section 47 and the robot drive command signal output section 49 need be changed as long as the amount of calculation does not increase.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 1, if the main management computer module 25 has software that can manage several robots at the same time, several robots can be controlled by this general-purpose robot control device 219. I can do it.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, the general-purpose robot control device according to the present invention can modularize and separate the hardware and software parts that need to be changed when changing the model or type of robot. By simply changing this part, robots of different models and types can be controlled, which has the excellent effect of reducing costs, saving space, and reducing development man-hours.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of a general-purpose robot control device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a drive control module, and FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a conventional robot control device. It is a diagram. 2]...General-purpose robot control device 23...Common signal bus 25...Main computer module 3

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) In a general-purpose robot control device equipped with a common signal bus inside, a plurality of drive control modules provided corresponding to different types of robots and having an interface section with the common signal bus, and a plurality of drive control modules for different types of robots are provided. a main management computer module having an interface section with the common signal bus that identifies the signals and performs corresponding processing. (2) Claim (1) characterized in that a plurality of said drive control modules are connected to said common signal bus, and said main management computer module is provided with a simultaneous operation management function capable of controlling a plurality of robots simultaneously. The general-purpose robot control device described. (3) The drive control module is characterized in that the drive control module is provided with a discriminating means for outputting a discriminating signal of the model and type preset at the common signal bus and the interface part (
1) The general-purpose robot control device described above.