JPH06149331A - Control system - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a control system which can display whether the detection signal received from a sensor of a peripheral device is actually supplied to a controller or not. CONSTITUTION:A communication part 14 carries out the communication with a controller, and the detection signal received from a sensor of a peripheral device is supplied to a parallel input circuit 16. A parallel output circuit 17 outputs the control signal received from the controller through the part 14 to the peripheral device. A pilot lamp 18 is additionally provided on the circuit 17. A signal control means consisting of a CPU 11 transmits the detection signal supplied from the circuit 16 to the controller through the part 14 and also transmits the control signal supplied from the controller via the part 14 to the circuit 17. A signal returning means returns the detection signal to an input/ output device 3 as a display control signal among those signals received from the device 3.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a control system provided with a robot, a peripheral device, a controller for controlling the robot and the peripheral device, and an input / output device having an interface function between the peripheral device and the controller. Is.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, industrial robots with high versatility are often used for operations such as inserting and assembling parts in high-mix low-volume production. The controller of this robot system is independent of the robot. Most of them are self-contained. In this case, in order to avoid an enormous number of wiring cables that extend from the controller to the robot and peripheral devices and to reduce the wiring man-hours, I / O devices attached to peripheral devices should be connected to each sensor, etc. A method may be adopted in which wiring is provided to an input device or an output device such as a solenoid valve, and input / output is transmitted between the input / output device and the controller using a communication cable. The peripheral device includes a parts aligning device and a work positioning device.

In such a conventional control system, an input indicator lamp is provided in the input / output device to display a state of a detection signal input to a terminal of the input / output device, for fault diagnosis at the time of abnormality. Was.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional configuration, since the state of the detection signal input to the terminal of the input / output device is displayed, the detection signal from the sensor of the peripheral device is displayed when the system is abnormal. There was a problem that it could not be confirmed whether or not it was actually supplied to the controller. For example, if a problem occurs in the communication cable, the detection signal is not supplied to the controller and the system malfunctions. It was extremely difficult to determine if there was.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to provide a control system capable of displaying whether or not a detection signal from a sensor of a peripheral device is actually supplied to the controller. .

[0006]

The present invention comprises a robot,
In a control system including a peripheral device, a controller for controlling the robot and the peripheral device, and an input / output device having an interface function between the peripheral device and the controller, the input / output device communicates with the controller. Communication means for performing, an input circuit for inputting a detection signal from a sensor provided on the peripheral device side, an output circuit for outputting a control signal received from the controller through the communication means to the peripheral device, and an output circuit An indicator light additionally provided in the circuit and a detection signal input from the input circuit are sent to the controller through the communication unit, and a control signal input from the controller through the communication unit is output to the output circuit. And a signal control means for transmitting the signal, and the controller controls the signal transmitted from the input / output device. It is characterized by having a signal returning means back to said input-output device as a control signal for displaying the detection signal.

[0007]

The communication means communicates with the controller.
The input circuit receives a detection signal from a sensor provided on the peripheral device side. The output circuit outputs the control signal received from the controller through the communication means to the peripheral device. The indicator light is additionally provided in the output circuit. The signal control means sends the detection signal input from the input circuit to the controller via the communication means, and sends the control signal input from the controller via the communication means to the output circuit. The signal returning means returns the detection signal of the signals sent from the input / output device to the input / output device as a control signal for display.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The control system includes a main controller 1, a robot 2, an input / output device 3, a teaching device 4, and a peripheral device 5. The robot 2 is connected to the main controller 1 via a power signal line 6 including a motor power line and a signal line of a detector (not shown) such as an encoder. The input / output device 3 and the teaching device 4 are connected to the main controller 1 via communication cables 7a and 7b, and the peripheral device 5 is connected to the input / output device 3 via a number of wires 8. Main controller 1
Controls the robot 2 and the peripheral device 5. As a part of its function, the input / output device uses a detection signal from a sensor of the peripheral device 5 among the signals sent from the input / output device 3 as a display signal. It realizes a signal returning means for returning to 3. That is, the main controller 1 sends a signal for controlling output to the input / output device 3 set for output among the plurality of connected input / output devices 3 as a control signal, and is set for input. The input / output device 3 has a function of sending back the detected signal as a control signal for displaying the input / output device 3. The robot 2 includes a plurality of (two in this embodiment) arms (not shown), motors for driving these arms, and detectors such as a pulse encoder for detecting arm positions. A parts aligning device that aligns and supplies parts, a work positioning device that holds a work to be worked, a drive device (not shown) that drives these devices, and a solenoid valve (not shown) that controls the drive device. Or
Various sensors (not shown) are provided, and the robot 2 and the peripheral device 5 cooperate to perform various tasks. The input / output device 3 has an interface function between the main controller 1 and the peripheral device 5, transmits a detection signal from a sensor of the peripheral device 5 to the main controller 1, and transmits a control signal from the main controller 1 to the peripheral. It is supplied to the solenoid valve of the device 5. In the teaching device 4, the worker uses the robot 2
It is for teaching the work position, work content, and the like.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an input / output device included in a control system according to an embodiment of the present invention. The input / output device 3 includes a CPU 11, a program memory 12, an arithmetic memory 13, and a communication section 14. , Communication connector 15, parallel input circuit 16, parallel output circuit 17, and indicator lamp 18
And a terminal block 19. The CPU 11 controls the entire input / output device 3, and when set for input, sends a detection signal input from the sensor of the peripheral device 5 to the parallel input circuit 16 to the main controller 1 via the communication unit 14. The control signal for display, which is sent out and is input from the main controller 1 via the communication unit 14, is sent to the parallel output circuit 17 to turn on the indicator lamp 18, and when the output light is set for output, the communication unit 14 The output control signal input from the main controller 1 via the parallel output circuit 17
To realize the signal control means for outputting the signal to the device of the peripheral device 5 connected to the terminal block 19 and sending it to the device. The program memory 12 stores programs. The calculation memory 13 stores calculation data and the like. The communication unit 14 serially communicates with the main controller 1. Communication connector 15
Connects the communication cable 7a and the communication unit 14. The detection signal from the sensor of the peripheral device 5 is input to the parallel input circuit 16 in parallel. The parallel output circuit 17 includes the communication unit 1
The control signal received from the main controller 1 via 4 is output in parallel to a solenoid valve or the like of the peripheral device 5. The indicator lamp 18 is composed of a plurality of light emitting diodes and the like and is additionally provided to the parallel output circuit 17. When the output is supplied to the parallel output circuit 17, is the device connected to the terminal block 19? Lights regardless of whether or not. The terminal block 19 is for connecting a large number of wirings 8 to the parallel input circuit 16 or the parallel output circuit 17, and by sliding the fixed position a little, the state connected to the parallel input circuit 16 and the parallel output circuit It is adapted to switch to the state of being connected to 17. That is, the input / output device 3 is configured so that it can be arbitrarily selected whether it is used for input or output. When it is used for input, it is connected to the sensor of the peripheral device 5 via the wiring 8. When used for output, it is connected to the solenoid valve of the peripheral device 5 via the wiring 8.

Next, the operation of the input / output device 3 will be described with reference to the flow chart of FIG. 3 when it is used for input. First, it is determined whether or not an input command has been received from the main controller 1 via the communication unit 14 (step S1). If not, the process returns to step S1 to enter the standby state. If received, the sensor of the peripheral device 5 reads an arbitrary number of detection signals input to the parallel input circuit 16 (step S2), and transmits the detection signals as serial data to the main controller 1 via the communication unit 14 (step S2). S3). Next, it is judged whether or not the display signal is received from the main controller 1 (step S4), and if not received, the process returns to step S4 to enter the standby state. If received, the display signal is supplied to the parallel output circuit 17 (step S5), the corresponding indicator lamp 18 is turned on (step S6), and the process returns to step S1.

Next, the main points of the operation of the main controller 1 related to the operation of the input / output device 3 will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, the input / output device 3
The input command to the input / output device 3 (step S11).
It is determined whether or not the detection signal is received from (step S
12) If not received, the process returns to step S12 to enter the standby state. If received, the detection signal from the input / output device 3 is transmitted to the input / output device 3 as a display signal (step S
13), other processing is executed (step S14),
It returns to step S11.

In the case of the input / output device 3 used for output, the control signal from the main controller 1 is supplied to the solenoid valve or the like of the peripheral device 5 via the communication section 14 and the parallel output circuit 17, and Indicator light 18 corresponding to output
Lights up. In this way, the detection signal from the sensor of the peripheral device 5 is transmitted to the main controller 1, the detection signal is received from the main controller 1 as a display signal,
Since the indicator lamp 18 is turned on, it is possible to display whether or not the detection signal from the sensor of the peripheral device 5 is actually supplied to the main controller 1.
Whether or not the detection signal from the sensor of the peripheral device 5 is actually supplied to the main controller 1 can be confirmed quickly and reliably, and there is a problem with the communication cable 7a or the like, or there is a problem with the control program of the main controller 1. It is possible to quickly and accurately determine whether or not.

[0013]

As described above, according to the present invention, the robot, the peripheral device, the controller for controlling the robot and the peripheral device, and the input / output device having the interface function between the peripheral device and the controller are provided. In the control system, the input / output device includes a communication unit for communicating with the controller, an input circuit to which a detection signal from a sensor provided in the peripheral device is input, and a control unit received from the controller through the communication unit. An output circuit that outputs a signal to a peripheral device, an indicator light additionally provided in this output circuit, and a detection signal input from the input circuit is sent to the controller through the communication means and input from the controller through the communication means. And a signal control means for sending the control signal to the output circuit. Among the signals, the detection signal is sent back to the input / output device as a control signal for display, so that it is possible to display whether or not the detection signal from the sensor of the peripheral device is actually supplied to the controller. It is possible to confirm quickly and surely whether the detection signal from the sensor of the peripheral device is actually supplied to the controller when the system is abnormal, and whether there is a problem in the communication cable, etc. It is possible to quickly and accurately judge whether there is any.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of an input / output device included in a control system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a control system according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating the main points of the operation when the input / output device included in the control system in one embodiment of the present invention is used for input.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart illustrating the main points of the operation of the main controller included in the control system according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Main Controller 2 Robot 3 Input / Output Device 11 CPU 14 Communication Unit 16 Parallel Input Circuit 17 Parallel Output Circuit 18 Indicator Light

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A control system comprising a robot, a peripheral device, a controller for controlling the robot and the peripheral device, and an input / output device having an interface function between the peripheral device and the controller. A communication unit for communicating with the controller; an input circuit for receiving a detection signal from a sensor provided on the peripheral device side; and a control signal received from the controller through the communication unit for the peripheral device. An output circuit for outputting to the output circuit, an indicator light additionally provided to the output circuit, and a detection signal input from the input circuit to the controller via the communication unit, and input from the controller via the communication unit. Signal control means for sending a control signal to the output circuit, wherein the controller is Control system characterized by having a signal returning means back to said input-output device as a control signal for displaying the detection signal of the signal sent from the output device.