JPH0588709A - Design back-up device for control software of machanical device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide the back-up device which can shorten its designing time and also can reduce the difference of designing results by the capacity of the designer. CONSTITUTION:The specific component parts of a mechanical device and a controller which have the high using frequency, for example, are defined as the standard parts in regard to a driving subject, a detector, an operating equipment, a display device, a CPU board, an input/output board, a memory board, a communication board, etc. At the same time, the specifications of these standard parts are stored in the 1st-4th data storage parts 11a-11d respectively. A standard parts selection/data input part 12 selects the standard parts, and the terminal equipments like a CRT 13, a keyboard 14, etc., define those standard parts. Based on these selected and defined data, a hardware rough block diagram generating part 17, a port map table generating part 18, and a data table generating part 19 produce automatically a hardware rough block diagram, a port map and a data table respectively.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a machine control software design support apparatus, and is particularly useful when applied to an industrial robot.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, when manufacturing a maintenance / inspection robot for a nuclear power plant, the designer of the robot designs the hardware of the robot based on the required specifications of the robot, and drives the necessary drive target (motor, solenoid valve). , A relay, etc.), a drive unit (amplifier, etc.) for driving this drive target, and an input / output board that is an interface of the control unit.

[0003] Conventionally, this decision is made by the designer based on the result of the investigation of the catalog or the like. The control device is designed in the same way, and the input / output boards for the operation equipment and interface, communication specifications, communication boards, etc. are determined. Then, a hardware configuration diagram is drawn based on these decisions.

When the hardware specifications are decided, the details of the input / output interface section are decided. Specifically, it is determined which of the input / output boards is to be assigned to which actuator (driving device, etc.) an output, an input from a sensor, or the like. That is, a port map table is created.
Thus, the variables that interface with the control software are determined. That is, a data table is created.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a structural example of a mechanical device designed by the above-mentioned procedure. In the figure,
1 is a control device formed by a substrate, 2 is an amplifier which is a drive device, 3 is a motor which is an object to be driven, 4 is a sensor which is a detector, 5 is a switch, 6 is an operating device, 7 is communication with the control device 1. It is a high-level computer that performs.

In the above mechanical device, the control device 1 determines the output to the actuator such as the motor 3 according to the command from the computer 7 or the operating device 6, and supplies this output to the actuator via the amplifier 2. .. Output signals of the sensor 4 and the switch 5 are also supplied to the control device 1.

[0007]

In the prior art as described above, the designer manually performs all the work involved in the design, which causes a problem that a great amount of time is required for the design. Was. In addition, there is a problem in that the actuators, sensors, etc. used vary from designer to designer, and the cost and quality of products depend on the experience and knowledge of the designer.

In view of the above-mentioned conventional technique, the present invention provides a control software design support device for a mechanical device which can reduce the design time and can reduce the difference in the design result depending on the skill of the designer. With the goal.

[0009]

The structure of the present invention which achieves the above object is as follows.

Data of standard products such as standardized specific drive objects, drive devices, detectors, operating devices, display devices, communication devices, boards, etc. for configuring mechanical devices such as robots are registered and stored in advance. The first storage means, the standard product selection / data input means for selecting the standard product and inputting data for selection, and the standard product selection / data input device Selection means for selecting a standard product that can be selected from the interface specifications between the included standard products, second storage means for storing the selection result of the standard product selected by the selection means, and hardware outline based on the selection result. A hardware schematic configuration generation unit for generating a configuration diagram, a port map table generation unit for generating a port map table of boards to be used based on the selection result, And having a data table generating unit for generating a data table for input and output on the basis of the selection result.

[0011]

According to the present invention having the above-mentioned structure, a hardware configuration diagram, a port map table and a data table necessary for software design are created by selecting a standard product registered in advance and inputting data. You can

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figure, the first storage unit 11 in this embodiment is the first, second, third, and fourth data storage unit 1.
It is composed of four data storage units 1a, 11b, 11c and 11d. Of these, the first data storage unit 11a stores data of standardized specific drive targets, drive devices, and detectors. The second data storage unit 11b stores standardized data of a specific operating device. The third data storage unit 11c stores standardized data of a specific communication device. The fourth data storage unit 11d stores data of standardized specific boards. That is, all of the data necessary for designing the standard product of the components that make up the hardware are stored in these first to fourth data storage units 11a to 11d.

The standard product selection / data input unit 12 is for selecting a standard product to be used in an interactive manner with a designer, that is, selecting a standard product and inputting data for selection. At this time, the designer inputs various data such as selection values through the user interface 15 using the CRT 13 and the keyboard 14. That is, in the present embodiment, the CRT 13 and the keyboard 14 constitute a selection means for selecting a standard product that can be selected from the interface specifications between the standard products. Also, the standard products are the 1st to 4th
Selection is made based on the data in the data storage units 11a to 11d.

The input data storage unit 16 is a standard product selection / data input unit 1 selected by the CRT 13 and the keyboard 14.
The result of selection of the standard product in No. 2 is stored, and constitutes the second storage unit in the present embodiment.

The hardware schematic configuration generation unit 17 generates a schematic configuration diagram of hardware based on the standard product selection result stored in the input data storage unit 16.
At this time, in this embodiment, the data of the port map table generated by the port map table generator 18 is referred to. The port map table generation unit 18 generates a port map table of boards to be used based on the standard product selection result stored in the input data storage unit 16. The data table generation unit 19 generates an input / output data table of the control device based on the standard product selection result stored in the input data storage unit 16. At this time, in this embodiment, the data table is directly generated by referring to the port map table generated by the port map table generation unit 18.

The hardware block diagram data storage unit 20, the port map table data storage unit 21, and the data table data storage unit 22 include a hardware schematic configuration generation unit 17, a port map table generation unit 18, and a data table generation unit 19.
Each of the data generated in the above is stored, and each of these data can be displayed on the CRT 13 via the user interface unit 15 and can be printed out by the printer 23.

The data editing function unit 24 is for adding and correcting the data in the first to fourth storage units 11a to 11d. That is, by the data editing function unit 24,
The keyboard 14 which is the input terminal in this case can be operated to write the data of the unregistered standard product.

Here, a mode in which the motor to be driven is selected using the above embodiment will be described.

The table shown in FIG. 2A is completed on the CRT 13 by the following operation.

1) The designer uses the CRT 13 and the keyboard 14 to select from a menu or the like to input a motor as a drive target.

2) The standard product selection / data input section 12 is
It is displayed on the CRT 13 so that the motor name can be input.

3) The designer, in the table shown in FIG.
The motor name according to the application is CRT13 and keyboard 1
Enter via 4.

4) The standard product selection / data input unit 12 displays the motor type on the CRT 13 so that the motor type can be selected from 1 to 3 in the table shown in FIG. In this embodiment, the motor type at this time is 1) DA / AC motor, 2) described in the motor type column of the table shown in FIG.
Stepping motors, 3) Three new types.

5) The designer selects the motor type via the CRT 13 and keyboard 14. As a result, the standard item selection / data input unit 12 displays the selected number in FIG.
Put it in the prescribed position in the table shown in (a). As a result, the standard product selection / data input unit 12 searches the motor data table registered in the first data storage unit 11a as shown in FIG.
Display in 3. Select the motor here. As a result, the motor numbers in the table shown in FIG. 2A are determined.

On the other hand, if there is no corresponding motor at this time, 3) select a new item and add necessary motor data to the motor data table by the data editing function unit 24.

Similarly, when there is no data to be selected, the data editing function unit 24 is used to add new data to the registered data in the first to fourth data storage units 11a to 11d.

6) The standard product selection / data input section 12 reads the usage method of the selected motor from the table shown in FIG. 2B, and among the usage methods A to E, 1 is applied to the corresponding one.
Append 0 to those that do not apply. For example, if A is read from the table of FIG. 2B, it is assumed that A: variable control of usage is used, and in the table of FIG. Since the number of digital inputs / outputs is determined by the usage method, it is included in the number of used DI (digital signal input) and used DO (digital signal output) in the table. If there are multiple usages, the maximum value will be entered.

7) The standard item selection / data input section 12 checks the driver number required for the selected motor, and
Search the driver data table shown in (c) and enter the driver number 1 in the table. If there are a plurality of options (if there are a plurality of driver numbers), the list (driver number, model, etc.) is displayed on the CRT 13.
The user chooses from there.

8) The standard product selection / data input unit 12 checks whether the driver 2 is necessary (checks whether the number of the driver 2 is written in () after the driver number), and if necessary 7) Insert driver 2 in the same way as above.

More specifically, for example, the motor number MO
The motor No. 1 has DO1 (), DO5 (DO2, DO3) in the driver number column. The meaning of this data is as follows. -A DO1 or DO5 driver is required to drive the MO1 motor. -A DO2 or DO3 driver is required to drive the DO5 driver. That is, it has a two-stage driver configuration. By the way, other drivers are not required to drive the DO1 driver.
Can be driven from the board. Therefore,
If there are multiple driver names in parentheses, the list is displayed and the designer selects it.

9) The standard product selection / data input section 12 checks the driver data table shown in FIG. 2C to check the board number required for the driver 1. And FIG. 2 (d)
Search the board data table shown in and enter the corresponding board number in the table. If there are a plurality of options, the list is displayed on the CRT 13 as in 7), and the designer selects it. If driver 2 is required, enter the number in the table in the same way. In the board data table shown in FIG. 2D, "score"
The column of means the number of input / output points of the board. That is, it means that there are 24 points of 8CH * 3 on the board of BO4 in the table.

The motor data input by the above-described procedure is stored in the input data storage unit 16 together with the data of the selected board, driver and the like.

Similar to the selection input of the motor, the selection input of the detector, the operation device, and the communication device is performed. 3 is a data configuration example of a solenoid valve (drive target), FIG. 4 is a data configuration example of a detector, FIG. 5 is a data configuration example of a switch, FIG. 6 is a data configuration example of a display, and FIG. 7 is data of communication equipment. It is a configuration example,
It is made interactively with the designer based on the data tables in the first to fourth data storage units 11a to 11d. Since each procedure is the same input method, the description is omitted.

FIG. 8 shows an example of a switch data table in the second data storage section 11b. FIG. 9 is an example of a communication data table in the third data storage unit 11c. The standard products are not limited to these, but the explanation is omitted because it is complicated.

The above-mentioned respective data are also the same as in the case of the motor.
Input data storage unit 16 together with standard product data to be used
Memorized in.

The hardware schematic configuration generator 17 generates a schematic hardware configuration diagram from the data stored in the input data memory 16 as follows.

1) Since a list of components is displayed from the data stored in the input data storage unit 16, position information indicating whether the components are inside or outside the control device can be displayed by the CRT 13 and the keyboard 14 by the user interface. Part 15
Enter via. At this time, some of the components are put together with one unit name. For the unit name, a frequently used name is displayed in a list, so it can be selected, but if not, enter the name.

2) Since the components, the wiring relationship, and the arrangement are determined by the division by the unit name of 1) and the data in the input data storage unit 16, a hardware schematic configuration diagram as shown in FIG. 10 is generated.

For example, it is known that the proximity switch included in the tool unit shown in FIG. 10 is connected to the digital input / output board by the data input of the detection target.
Since the digital I / O board is integrated into a unit called the tool operation panel, a line connecting them is drawn. However, in order to reduce the complexity of the figure, connections of the same type are shown as a single line. In the figure, the unit is surrounded by a frame so that the unit can be seen.

The connection when the same type of substrate exists, such as a digital input / output board, is connected to the port map table generating unit 1.
It is performed according to the allocation result of 8. In other words, at the stage of inputting the detection target etc., only the type of board to connect is decided, and which of the multiple digital I / O boards to connect the proximity sensor corresponds to is the port map table generator. It is obtained from 18 data (port map table).

The port map generation flow in the port map table generator 18 will be further described by taking a digital input / output board as an example.

The port map table generator 18 first obtains the type of board, the number of input / output points for each, and the connection target such as the detection target and the drive target from the data in the input data storage unit 16. Then, for example, a proximity switch (1 point), a limit switch (2 points), a Hall IC (1 point) included in the tool unit of FIG.
9 points) can be assigned in sequence. Assuming that the maximum number of input points on the board is 16 (the number of input points was defined in the standard product data), 6 points for the Hall IC are not enough for the first board, so the second digital I / O board Will be allocated. The port map table generation unit 18 performs such processing for all board types obtained from the input data storage unit 16. As a result, the required number of boards and connection relationships are specifically determined. In principle, paired signals (ON / OFF signal of a switch, which is a type of detection target, etc.) are assigned to the same board.

Here, a supplementary explanation will be given regarding "allocation". A unique address (or number) is attached to the input / output point of each board so that it can be operated by the microprocessor. Normally, the range of addresses that can be designed is determined for each of analog input / output and digital input / output, and therefore the port map table generator 18 sequentially assigns addresses within that range. Also, assign consecutive addresses on the same board.

FIG. 11 shows an example of the port map table created as described above. The board name of the digital input / output used in the upper table of the figure is shown. Data such as input level and points are also displayed to clarify the board type (this data was defined in the standard product data). Figure 1
The lower table of 1 is the input / output allocation result. The number of the address column (*** H indicates that it is a hexadecimal number) and the number of the column of the boat number are added to the address of the signal. 1N if signal is input, OU if output
The T distinction is displayed. The contents of the signal name are data added later by the user to the port map table. The port map table generator 18 also has an editor function capable of receiving an input from a designer and adding / changing data. The signal name is input because the meaning of the signal cannot be understood by the designer only from the address and IN / OUT. When the designer inputs a signal name, the port map table generator 18 can check the data in the input data storage 16 indicating the connection destination of the corresponding signal and display the data on the CRT 13. The meaning of the signal is judged from and the signal name is input.

In FIG. 10, the board is the analog input / output, digital input / output, digital input / output (5V), 44 / 10A portion in the tool operation panel. The detection target and the drive target refer to the part surrounded by the rectangular frame other than the board, the meter box, the amplifier box, the vacuum, and the switch / operation key in the tool operation panel. Proximity switch,
It is a limit switch or the like, and the drive target is a solenoid valve, a relay, or the like.

The data table generator 19 is supplied with the data of the port map table from the port map table generator 18,
Data table data, which is a list of signal names as shown in FIG. 12, is generated.

The hardware configuration diagram data, the port map table data and the data table data generated by the hardware schematic configuration unit 17, the port map table generation unit 18 and the data table generation unit 19 are displayed on the CRT 13 and the printer 23. Print out.

[0049]

As described above in detail with reference to the embodiments, according to the present invention, the standard products registered in advance are combined to form the machine and the control device, so that the difference between designers is reduced. In addition, because the board to be used and connections are generated semi-automatically, development time can be shortened and errors such as interface mismatch can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a data table relating to motors (a)
Is the motor data, (b) is the motor data table,
(C) is a driver data table, (d) is an explanatory view showing a board data table.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a data configuration example of a solenoid valve.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a data configuration example of a detector.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a data configuration example of a switch.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a data configuration example of a display device.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a data configuration example of a communication device.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a switch data table.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a communication data table.

10 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of hardware generated by a hardware schematic configuration generation unit of FIG.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing a port map table generated by a port map table generation unit in FIG.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing a data table generated by a data table generation unit in FIG.

FIG. 13 is a block diagram showing a mechanical device designed by the device according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 First Storage Section 11a First Data Storage Section 11b Second Data Storage Section 11c Third Data Storage Section 11d Fourth Data Storage Section 12 Standard Product Selection / Data Input Section 13 CRT 14 Keyboard 16 Input Data Storage Section 17 Hardware Schematic configuration generation unit 18 Port map table generation unit 19 Data table generation unit

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Standardized data such as a standardized specific drive target, drive device, detector, operating device, display device, communication device, and board for configuring a mechanical device such as a robot is registered in advance. A stored first storage means, a standard product selection / data input means for selecting the standard product and inputting data for selection, and a standard product selection / data input device for storing the standard product. A selection unit that selects a standard product that can be selected from the interface specifications between the standard products included in the data, a second storage unit that stores the selection result of the standard product selected by the selection unit, and hardware based on the selection result. A hardware schematic configuration generation unit that generates a schematic configuration diagram of, and a port map table generation unit that generates a port map table of boards to be used based on the selection result Control software design support apparatus of the machine, characterized in that it comprises a data table generating unit for generating a data table for input and output on the basis of the selection result.