JPH08106320A - Automatic machine and control method for automatic machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To easily and freely change to operation which is adapted to changes in operation state. CONSTITUTION: This machine is provided with an operation skill describing means 30 which describes operation skill showing a norm for generating a proper operation procedure of a mechanism part 1 and an inference means 32 which generates an operation altering procedure of the mechanism part by collating the operation state detected by a sensor 4 with the operation skill 31, and the operation altering procedure is supplied to the control means of the mechanism part 1 to control the mechanism part 1.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic machine, and more particularly, while correcting the operation based on sensor information in real time,
The present invention relates to an automatic machine that performs complicated work and a control method for the automatic machine.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional method for controlling an automatic machine, a so-called teaching / playback method is generally used, in which a series of operations are sequentially performed based on position and orientation data of a hand of a robot given in advance by, for example, teaching. Target.

However, in this method, there is a limit to the accuracy of the position control of the robot, and there are errors in the shape and dimensions of the work (workpiece) and the deviation of the installation position thereof. It has been necessary to detect the positional relationship between the hand of the robot and the work point on the work using the sensor, and correct the position of the robot based on the detection result. Therefore, the robot controller has a function to perform predetermined sensor signal processing and robot motion correction processing, or a computer other than the robot controller has those functions. Has been used.

As a publicly known example of such an automatic machine control method, there is an industrial robot control device described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-279901.

In this known example, in addition to the robot controller, a higher-level computer is provided, where sensor signal processing is performed and the operation correction amount of the robot is calculated.
A method for sending this data to the robot controller is described.

As another known example, The In
ternational Journal of Robotics Research Vol.1, No.
The control method of the robot described in 3, P.19-41 "AML: A Manufacturing Language" can be mentioned.

This publicly known example describes a method of preparing a highly functional robot language capable of describing a procedure of motion correction based on sensor information and controlling the robot by a program described in this. Has been.

[0008]

In the above-mentioned prior art, first, when the robot controller is provided with sensor signal processing and robot motion correction processing, the robot controller may be preliminarily set in advance depending on the type of workpiece or sensor. There is a problem that it is very difficult for general users to do because the algorithm that they have may not be able to cope and even if this algorithm is modified, it is necessary to have knowledge about the internal functions of the robot controller. there were.

On the other hand, the above-mentioned known example, JP-A-4-27990.
When an upper-level computer is provided separately from the robot controller as in the control device for the industrial robot described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 1, the general-purpose programming environment can be used, but the expandability of processing is improved. The information transmitted online from the host computer to the robot controller is limited to the motion correction amount for position correction. For this reason, this method can be used when it is necessary to dynamically change the operation sequence itself, not just simple position correction, in response to various changes in the work state that occur during the work of the robot. There was a problem that I couldn't.

Another known example is The International Jo.
urnal of Robotics Research Vol.1, No.3, P.19-41 "AM
If a high-performance programming language such as the robot language described in "L: A Manufacturing Language" is used, the user can describe the procedure of operation correction based on the sensor information. There is no particular reference to the specific method of executing the executed program inside the controller, and how to ensure responsiveness in real time to changes in the working state is the point of processing the program. It is considered to be a problem in doing so.

An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic machine or a control method thereof in which a user can easily incorporate an algorithm for changing required operations such as sensor signal processing and operation correction. .

[0012]

In order to achieve the above object, an automatic unit including a mechanical unit, a control unit that controls the mechanical unit, and a detection unit that detects information regarding a control target of the control unit. In the machine, with reference to the work skill representing the norm for generating the operation procedure of the mechanism section, the work skill description means for describing the work skill, and the output of the work skill and the detection means, the mechanism section And an inference means for inferring the operation changing procedure of (3), and the mechanism section is controlled by giving the operation changing procedure to the control means.

Further, in an automatic machine comprising a mechanical section, control means for controlling the mechanical section, and detecting means for detecting information regarding a control target of the control means, an operation procedure of the mechanical section is generated. With reference to the work skill group in which the work skills representing the norm are arranged, the work skill selecting means that allows the desired work skill to be arbitrarily selected from the work skill group, and the selected work skill and the output of the detecting means. An inference means for inferring the operation changing procedure of the mechanism section is provided, and the mechanism section is controlled by giving the operation changing procedure to the control means.

Further, in an automatic machine comprising a mechanical unit, a control unit having a computing unit for controlling the mechanical unit, and a detecting unit for detecting information regarding an object to be controlled by the control unit, the mechanical unit of the mechanical unit is A work skill representing a norm for generating an operation procedure, a work skill description means for describing the work skill, an operation means for inferring a procedure for changing the operation of the mechanism section, the inference operation means, and the control Information storage means shared between the calculation means for operation is provided, and the inference calculation means refers to the work skill and the output of the detection means or the information in the shared information storage means to change the operation of the mechanism section. The mechanism is controlled by deciding a procedure and giving the operation changing procedure to the control means via the shared information storage means.

Further, in an automatic machine composed of a mechanical section, control means for controlling the mechanical section, and detecting means for detecting information regarding a control target of the control means, an operation procedure of the mechanical section is generated. Work skills that represent the norm,
With reference to the work skill description means for describing the work skill, and the output of the work skill and the detection means,
Inference means for deducing the operation changing procedure of the mechanism section by using a computing means shared with the control means is provided, and the mechanism section is controlled using the operation changing procedure.

Further, it has a mechanism section, a control section for controlling the mechanism section, and an inference section for determining a procedure for changing the operation of the mechanism section, and the control section controls the control means and the mechanism section. And a mechanism unit control program teaching unit that gives the mechanism unit control program to the control unit. The control unit stores the mechanism unit control program storage unit and the mechanism unit control program. A control procedure storage unit that stores a procedure for executing the interpretation to control the mechanical unit, a control arithmetic unit that performs an arithmetic operation according to the mechanical unit control program and the control procedure, and a mechanical operation unit for the mechanical unit based on a result of the arithmetic operation. A motor driving circuit for driving a motor, and the inference unit describes a work skill representing a norm for generating an operation procedure of the mechanism unit, and the work skill. And work skills describing means of order,
An inference means for inferring a procedure for changing the operation of the mechanism section, the inference means for storing the work skill, and an inference procedure memory for storing a procedure for interpreting and executing the work skill. Means, an inference operation means for performing an operation based on the inference procedure, and an input / output interface connecting the inference operation means and the detection means, and the inference operation means and the control operation means are connected to each other. An information storage means shared by the respective arithmetic means is provided between them, and the inference operation means refers to the work skill and the output of the detection means or the information in the shared information storage means to change the operation of the mechanism section. The mechanism is controlled by deciding a procedure and giving the operation changing procedure to the control means via the shared information storage means.

Further, in the method of controlling an automatic machine in which the information about the controlled object is detected by the detecting means and the mechanism section is controlled by the controlling means based on the detection, the operation procedure of the mechanism section is generated by the work skill describing means. Inputting a work skill representing the norm to the inference means, referring to the work skill and the output of the detection means, inferring the operation change procedure of the mechanism section by the inference means, and the operation change The mechanism section is controlled by a step of giving a procedure to the control means.

Further, in a method for controlling an automatic machine in which information about a controlled object is detected by a detecting means and the mechanical portion is controlled by the control means based on the detection, a work representing a norm for generating an operating procedure of the mechanical portion. The skill is input to the inference means by the work skill description means, and in parallel with the control of the mechanism section, the inference means refers to the work skill and the output of the detection means to change the operation of the mechanism section. And the operation change procedure is given to the control means to control the mechanism section.

Further, in a method of controlling an automatic machine in which information about a controlled object is detected by a detecting means and the mechanical section is controlled by the controlling means based on the detection, a work representing a norm for generating an operating procedure of the mechanical section. The skill is input to the inference means by the work skill description means, the work skill related to the control of the mechanism section is designated by the control means among the described work skills, and the inference is performed in parallel with the control of the mechanism section. Means for controlling the mechanism section by deducing the operation change procedure of the mechanism section with reference to the designated work skill and the output of the detection section and giving the operation change procedure to the control means. It was done like this.

Further, in a method of controlling an automatic machine in which information about a controlled object is detected by a detecting means and the mechanical section is controlled by the control means based on the detection, a norm for generating a procedure for changing the operation of the mechanical section and its norm. The work skill representing the norm for judging the completion of the operation is input to the inference means by the work skill description means, and in parallel with the control of the mechanism section, the work skill and the output of the detection means are input by the inference means. The operation changing procedure is inferred by referring to the operation changing procedure, and the operation changing procedure is given to the control means to control the mechanism section.

[0021]

The work skill represents a norm for generating an operation procedure to be adopted by the mechanical unit according to a change in the work state detected by the sensor which is the detection means, and is defined by the work skill description means and described by the inference means. It The work skill description means allows the user to easily define work skills.

More specifically, the work skill is
For example, an antecedent part consisting of qualitative information indicating the execution state of the work sequence and a conditional expression relating to quantitative information indicating the physical state such as a sensor signal, and a consequent part consisting of a quantitative operation procedure of the mechanism part. It is expressed as a rule composed of parts.

Further, to describe the work skill includes, in concrete means, creating the work skill and also inputting to the inference means. Therefore, the description may be that the creation of the work skill is performed at the same time as the input to the inference means, or the operation or operation of inputting the work skill created in advance to the inference means. good.

On the other hand, the mechanical unit is in accordance with the mechanical unit control program defined by the mechanical unit control program teaching means,
It is controlled by the control means.

The inference means infers the working state of the mechanical portion from the information on the controlled object detected by the sensor in parallel with the control of the mechanical portion by the control means, and collates the working state with the working skill. Is performed, and the operation change procedure to be adopted by the mechanism unit is inferred according to the change in the work state. Here, the controlled object refers to the mechanical part, the work object thereof, or a combination thereof.

In the control processing of the mechanical section, the control means can monitor the information notification from the inference means at regular intervals and receive the operation change procedure inferred by the inference means. Has become. This allows the control means to change its operation sequence at any time.

Further, at this time, when the control means executes a certain series of operations designated by the mechanism control program, the relevant work skills among the work skills registered in the inference means are designated. Good.

It is also possible that the control means does not monitor the inference means, and the operation change procedure is accepted when the inference means requests the control means to change the operation sequence.

The operation changing procedure may be a procedure for correcting the operation of the mechanism section, as will be understood from the operation of each of the above-mentioned means, or is required while the working state of the mechanism section is changing. It may be a procedure of changing the operation.

The work skill description means allows the user to select an arbitrary work skill from a large number of work skills (work skill group) defined in advance, and one or more selected work skills can be selected. The work skill of may be registered in the inference means.

The computing means composed of the control means and the inference means performs computation for inferring the control or the operation changing procedure, but one may be provided for each means, or each means. Therefore, one computing means may be shared. When one means is provided for each means, it is dedicated to the operation of each means, but when shared by each means, the operation of each means is performed in time division.

When each means is provided with an arithmetic means, information storage means shared by each arithmetic means can be provided. The shared information storage means is used for storing the calculation result of each calculation means, but since it can be accessed from both calculation means, transmission of information between each calculation means is performed via the shared information storage means. It can be carried out. Of course, the transmission of information between the respective calculation means may be performed by providing another line without using the shared information storage means.

In addition, an automatic machine including the above-mentioned means,
It can be operated by the following control method.

First, the work skill representing the norm for generating the operation procedure of the mechanism section is described in the inference means by the work skill description means. In parallel with the control of the mechanical section by the control section, the inferring section infers the operation changing procedure of the mechanical section with reference to the work skill and the output of the detecting section that detects information regarding the controlled object. The inferred operation changing procedure is given to the control means, and the mechanism section is controlled using the operation changing procedure.

At this time, the control by the control means is switched from the control according to the mechanism control program to the control according to the operation changing procedure, but the procedure for judging the completion of the control according to the operation changing procedure is set in the work skill. Can be described in. By doing so, the control of the mechanical section by the control means can automatically return to the control according to the mechanical section control program when the changed operation is completed.

When a large number of work skills are described, the work skill required in each phase of the control of the control means is specified by the control means from the work skills described. You can By doing so, it is possible to reduce the work skill to be referred to in each phase of the control of the control means, which leads to speeding up of the processing.

[0037]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 shows the basic configuration of the control method of the present invention. The sensor 4 is classified into one that is directly attached to the mechanical unit 1 of the automatic machine and one that is installed apart from the mechanical unit 1 depending on the application. For example, a 6-axis force sensor or the like for detecting a contact force acting on the hand of the robot mechanism 1 is built in the wrist of the robot mechanism 1 and a little away from the work point like a visual sensor. An instrument that measures the work status from a standing position is installed at a place distant from the mechanical unit 1.

The control system of this embodiment is roughly composed of a control section 2 and an inference section 3. In the control unit 2, first,
The user of the automatic machine uses the mechanism control program teaching means 20 to input the operation sequence of the mechanism unit 1 as the mechanism unit control program 21. This mechanical control program 2
1 is sequentially interpreted and executed by the control means 22,
The normal work of automatic machines is carried out. The information on the position and orientation data necessary for the mechanical unit 1 to operate is included in the mechanical unit control program 21.

In the inference unit 3, first, the user uses the work skill description means 30 to create a standard for generating an appropriate operation procedure of the mechanism unit 1 in accordance with a change in the work state detected by the sensor 4. , As the work skill 31. Usually, since a plurality of work skills 31 are registered, the inference unit 3 selectively refers to the work skill 31 required in that scene.
An instruction is given by the message of the work skill reference 23 from the control unit 2.

During the operation of the automatic machine, the information of the input signal of the sensor 4, that is, the information of the work state 34 is always taken in by the inference means 32, and the inference means 32 makes the work state 34 and the work skill 31. By appropriately collating, the operation change procedure 33 appropriate for the change in the work state 34 is generated. A process based on such work skill 31 is called an inference process, and a means for performing it is an inference unit 32.

The operation changing procedure 33 generated here is transmitted as a message to the control means 22. The control unit 2 always accepts the message from the inference unit 3, and when the operation change procedure 33 is transmitted, the operation being executed is immediately interrupted and the operation sequence is changed according to the operation change procedure 33. By applying such a control method, it is possible to realize a highly reliable work that can be flexibly adapted to a real-time change of the work state 34 while following a given operation sequence.

FIG. 2 shows an example of assembling work to which the control method of the present invention is applied. A 6-axis force sensor 4 for detecting the force and the moment acting on the hand of the robot mechanism unit 1 is attached to the wrist portion of the robot mechanism unit 1, and the force in each coordinate axis direction and those shown in FIG. The moment around the axis of can be detected. A hand 5 for gripping the work 6 a is attached to the tip of the robot mechanism unit 1.

The work 6a is combined with the work 6b, and in order to fix the combination of the both, the work 6b is provided with claws 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b. Inside the work 6a, a groove having a shape matching the unevenness formed on the claws 7a and 7b is processed.
If the a and 7b mesh with each other, the works 6a and 6b are securely fixed.

FIG. 3 shows the positional relationship shown in FIG. 2 as viewed from the x-axis direction. It is assumed that the abutting portions of the work 6a and the work 6b are processed to have the same size and shape, and are made of a material such as plastic, which is deformed to some extent by applying a force. Workpiece 6b side claws 7a, 7
b is tapered so that it can be easily inserted inside the work 6a. When inserting into the work 6a, the claw 7
a and 7b are deformed inward, and the claw 7 is inserted in the groove inside the work 6a.
When the irregularities of a and 7b are properly meshed with each other, the original state is restored. If at this time the work 6a, 6
If the abutting direction of b is misaligned, the claws 7a, 7b
And the groove on the work 6a side do not mesh well, and the work 6a,
Fixing of 6b becomes defective.

FIG. 4 shows an example of a state where the work 6a and the work 6b are abutted with each other.

In this example, the abutting surfaces of the workpieces 6a and 6b are not parallel to each other, and the abutting surfaces of the workpieces 6a and 6b are abutted against each other. Is occurring.
In such a state, the positioning accuracy of the robot mechanism unit 1,
This may occur due to a deviation of the gripping position of the work 6a, a deviation of the installation position of the work 6b, a processing accuracy of the works 6a and 6b themselves, and the like.

In the case of the example of FIG. 4, since the workpieces 6a and 6b are abutted against each other, the robot mechanism unit 1
The reaction force that reflects the state acts on the hand of. That is, the reaction force (F
y) and a moment (Mx) about the one-side contact portion as an axis are generated, and these are detected by the 6-axis force sensor 4 attached to the wrist of the robot mechanism unit 1.

That is, the state as shown in FIG. 4 can be detected by monitoring the information of the 6-axis force sensor 4 attached to the wrist. Based on this, if the operation of the robot mechanism unit 1 is changed thereafter, Good. In the case of FIG. 4, the robot mechanism unit 1 is once returned to the positive direction of the y-axis, the works 6a and 6b are separated, and then the work 6a and 6b are slightly moved in the negative direction of the z-axis.
Face the abutting surfaces of a and 6b face-to-face, and again work 6a,
It is possible to consider a procedure for changing the operation of abutting 6b.

The standard for determining an appropriate operation procedure based on various sensor information indicating changes in the working state 34 is called working skill. For the work skill, a conditional expression consisting of qualitative information indicating the execution state of the work sequence and quantitative information indicating the physical state such as a sensor signal is used as the antecedent part and the procedure of the quantitative operation of the mechanism part 1 is described. It can be expressed as a rule of IF-THEN ... format as a consequent part.

FIG. 5 shows an example of the mechanism control program 21 and the work skill 31 of the work shown in FIG.

The mechanical section control program 21 is written in a programming language such as a robot language for describing the operation procedure of the robot mechanical section 1. Normally, the robot mechanical section 1 is written according to this mechanical section control program 21. By operating, a predetermined work can be repeatedly performed.

However, depending on the work, the fixed sequence as described in the mechanism control program 21 cannot be applied, so that it adapts to the change of the work state 34,
It is necessary to correct the operation.

In the prior art, in order to realize the motion correction according to such a change of the work state 34, in many cases, an operation correction algorithm according to a specific work content is previously prepared as an internal function of the robot controller. It was prepared and provided this function to general users in the form of extended instructions of robot language. For example, a command to stop the operation of the robot mechanism unit 1 during movement by turning on a signal of a specific sensor or applying a certain reaction force is given in advance in the robot language. Was prepared for.

However, in this way, when the robot controller is provided with an operation correcting process according to the work content as an internal function of the robot controller, an algorithm which the robot controller has in advance may be provided depending on the type of work or sensor used by the user. However, even if an attempt is made to modify this algorithm, information regarding the internal functions of the robot controller is not normally disclosed, and it is very difficult for general users to do so.

In order to meet various requests from the user, the robot,
The controller developer must expand the internal function and add extension commands and parameters for using the function, which leads to an increase in the development man-hours at the developer.

Therefore, according to the present invention, such a working state 3
General-purpose description means by which the user can freely define the norm for generating the procedure for changing the operation according to the change of No. 4, that is, the work skill, as a set of rules using expressions of IF to THEN ... format. I will provide a. By using such work skill description means 30, the robot
There is no need to change the internal functions of the controller.

The work skill 31 shown in FIG. 5 is an example of notation by such work skill description means 30.

As shown in FIG. 5, the work skills 31 are described separately from the mechanism control program 21, and their meanings are clearly distinguished. That is, the mechanism control program 21 describes the procedure of a series of operations that the robot mechanism 1 should originally perform, which is preferably described in a procedural programming language such as a robot language.

On the other hand, the work skill 31 describes a norm for generating a procedure of motion change in accordance with a locally occurring change in the work state 34 in a series of work flows. Is a representation language of IF-THEN ... format, a programming language that can be described by a rule that, if a certain condition is satisfied, an operation corresponding to the certain condition is executed, the procedure of the operation change is intuitively expressed. It is suitable in that it can be done, and can be said to be easy for the user to handle.

In FIG. 5, SKILL1 shown at 9a
Is an example of a rule that defines the procedure for changing the operation when the state shown in FIG. 4 occurs. The antecedent part of each rule is a conditional expression of the output value of the 6-axis force sensor 4, and the consequent part is Describes the operation procedure in robot language. For example, the first rule of 9a is “If the moment around the x-axis is larger than 5.0 kg · cm and the reaction force in the y-axis direction is larger than 3.0 kg, first, 20. 0 mm, move 2.0 mm in the negative direction of the z-axis, then 2 in the positive direction of the y-axis again.
It moves 0.0 mm and the workpieces are brought into contact with each other. "

Further, the motion correction based on the information of the sensor 4 in the prior art is to correct the position of the hand of the robot mechanism unit 1 with respect to the target position or trajectory, and at any time during the operation of the robot mechanism unit 1. However, it was difficult to change the motion sequence itself.

In the present invention, since the mechanical section control program 21 and the work skill 31 are processed in parallel by the control means 22 of the control section 2 and the inference means 32 of the inference section 3, respectively, the operation control of the robot mechanism section 1 is controlled. The work state 34 can always be monitored independently of the processing of 1., and the operation sequence is dynamically changed in accordance with the change of the work state 34 at any time during the operation of the robot mechanism unit 1. It is possible.

That is, in the inference unit 3, the work skill 31
The loop for processing the rule group 9a is repeated,
When the condition part of the rule is satisfied, the control unit 2 is notified of the message. In parallel with this, the control unit 2 repeats the operation processing loop of the operation control of the mechanism unit 1, and in this loop, the operation changing procedure 33 from the inference unit 3 is repeated.
It receives a notification message regarding and changes the operation sequence accordingly.

FIG. 6 shows the mechanical unit control program 21 of FIG.
And the work skill 31 are processed in parallel by the respective calculation means, that is, the mechanism control program 21.
The details of the interpretation execution procedure and the inference procedure using the work skill 31 are shown.

First, the user-defined work skill 31
Can be selectively referred to in the mechanism control program 21. For example, as shown in 10a of FIG. 5, a statement (USE SKILL1) declaring a reference to the rule set 9a (SKILL1) is described in the mechanism unit control program 21 so that the operation instruction 10b indicating a unit work following the statement. At the same time when the execution of (MOV L, P002) is started, the rule set 9a is referred to. Specifically, the control unit 2 notifies the inference unit 3 of a message so as to refer to the rule set 9a (process 601).

The inference unit 3 receives the work skills 31 from the control unit 2.
Upon receiving the reference notification, the processing of the designated rule set 9a is started. That is, it is determined whether or not the conditional expression defined in the antecedent part of each rule is satisfied (process 608,
611), if the conditional expression is satisfied, the operation change procedure 33 defined in the consequent part of the rule is generated (process 609,
612), which is notified to the control unit 2 as a message (processes 610 and 613). The rules are processed in the order described, and when the processing of the last rule of the rule group 9a ends, the processing returns to the beginning of the rule group 9a and the above processing is repeated again.

After declaring the reference of the work skill 31, the control unit 2 reads the operation command sentence 10b indicating the unit operation to be performed while referring to the work skill 31, and interprets and executes it. That is, the interpolation calculation for moving along the path specified in the motion command statement 10b is performed, and the position / orientation data of the hand of the robot mechanism unit 1 is converted into each joint angle data for one interpolation point. Calculation of coordinate conversion is performed. Further, the joint angle data obtained here is output as a command value for the servo system (process 602).

When the processing for one interpolation point is completed, the control unit 2 checks whether or not a message regarding the operation change procedure 33 from the inference unit 3 has been notified (Process 6).
03).

Here, if the operation change procedure 33 is notified from the inference unit 3, the operation procedure is changed according to the notification (steps 604 and 605). That is, the setting of the necessary data is changed so that the movement of the target route that has been executed until then is interrupted and the movement of the target route of the operation sequence newly given by the operation changing procedure 33 is started.
In this way, by accepting the operation change procedure 33 at every cycle (sampling cycle) at which the servo command value is output, the external situation detected by the sensor is changed to the robot mechanism every time the servo command value is output. This can be reflected in the operation control of the unit 1, and as a result, the operation sequence of the robot mechanism unit 1 can be changed at any point during operation.

If there is no notification message of the operation change procedure 33 from the inference unit 3, the conventional target route is moved as it is.

There is a rule in the work skill 31 for monitoring the completion of the unit work to be executed with reference to the work skill 31, and if the conditional expression of this rule is satisfied,
The operation of the unit work is considered to be completed, and the reference of the work skill 31 is ended (processes 614 and 615). At this time, the inference unit 3 notifies the control unit 2 of the completion of the predetermined operation as a message (process 616).

For example, the operation command statement 10b is a matching operation of the works 6a and 6b as shown in FIG. 2, and this unit operation satisfies the conditional expression of the last rule of the rule set 9a shown in FIG. Considered completed. That is, the reaction force (Fy) in the y-axis direction is larger than 4.0 kg,
Moment around the x-axis (Mx) is -5.0 to +5.0
If the value is between kg / cm, it is considered that this unit operation is completed, and the reference of the rule set 9a is ended (END.
SKILL1).

In the control unit 2, when the operation completion message is notified from the inference unit 3, the reference of the work skill is terminated (processes 606 and 607), and the interpretation and execution of the next statement of the mechanical unit control program 21 is executed. To do. If the operation completion message is not notified, return to the route interpolation processing again,
The process after the coordinate conversion for the next interpolation point is repeated (process 606).

Further, by the work skill reference declaration statement 10a in the mechanism control program 21, it is possible to refer to many work skills 31 at a time, and the antecedent part of the rule included in the work skill 31 being referred is evaluated. The sensor information to be monitored is constantly monitored by the inference unit 3. In this way, by selectively referencing the work skills 31,
The amount of sensor information to be monitored can be minimized to shorten the time required to monitor the input / output signals of the inference unit 3, and as a result, it is possible to quickly respond to a change in state. .

If a faster response is required,
This can be dealt with by taking in the input signal of the sensor 4 as an interrupt signal, and even in this case, the work skill 31 can be defined by the rule-type programming language similar to FIG.

As the control device in the above embodiment, first, a control device having an independent calculation means (for example, a microprocessor or the like) in charge of each processing of the control unit 2 and the inference unit 3 is mentioned. To be FIG. 7 shows an example of a control device (hereinafter, controller 11) having such a configuration.

The control means 22 carries out the arithmetic processing for control, a mechanism control program storage means 22a for storing the mechanism control program 21 input by the user, and the mechanism control program 21. And a control procedure storage unit 22b for storing a procedure for controlling the operation of the mechanism section 1 and the motor drive circuit 2
It is composed of 2d.

The inference means 32 includes an inference operation means 32c for performing the operation processing, a work skill storage means 32a for storing the work skill 31 input by the user,
An inference procedure storage means 32b for storing a procedure for collating this work skill 31 with a work state 34 detected by the sensor 4 and generating an appropriate motion change procedure 33 according to a change in the work state 34; Input / output interface 33d
Consists of

Further, in the controller 11 of FIG. 7, the shared information storage means 32e is used as means for transmitting information between the control section 2 and the inference section 3, and the control section 2 is passed through this. The information is transmitted between the inference unit 3 and the inference unit 3 at high speed. The shared information storage means 32
By using a memory such as a dual port RAM having a plurality of access paths for e, it is possible to perform sufficiently high-speed data transfer even when the data amount is large.

As described above, the mechanism control program 21 and the work skill 31 are controlled by the independent control means 22c and the inference means 32c.
Since the processing is performed in parallel, it is possible to reduce the processing load per computing unit. Further, the working state 34 can be constantly monitored independently of the operation control processing of the robot mechanism unit 1, and it is possible to quickly adapt to changes in the working state 34.

When the processing speed of the processor used in the control device is sufficiently high, it can be realized by only one processor. In this case, the arithmetic processing of the control unit 2 and the inference unit 3 are defined as separate tasks, and these tasks are operated in parallel by multitask processing.

FIG. 8 shows one processor (calculation means 1
2) shows the configuration of the controller 11 that performs the processes of the control unit 2 and the inference unit 3 in parallel.

In FIG. 8, since all the processing is performed in one computing means 12, message notifications such as the work skill reference 23 and the motion correction procedure 33 are not shown.

Here, as a condition to be able to adopt such a multitasking method, the time required for the processing of the control unit per time, that is, the calculation processing for one interpolation point described above is required. , The output cycle of the servo command value is sufficiently short, and there is room for other processing.

FIG. 9 shows a process of controlling the operation of the robot mechanism section 1 in the controller 11 of FIG.
A timing chart shows a state in which a control processing task) and processing for performing inference using the work skill 31 (hereinafter, inference processing task) are executed in parallel by multitask processing.

First, in the processing of the control unit 2, since it is necessary to output the servo command value to the motor incorporated in each joint of the robot mechanism unit 1 at a constant cycle, the control is performed at the same cycle. After starting the processing task and performing necessary calculations, a command value is output to the servo system (motor drive circuit 22d) (processing 901). In addition, this control processing task,
Since the processing for checking whether or not the message regarding the operation change procedure 33 from the inference processing task is notified is included, it is possible to reflect the external situation detected by the sensor every time the servo command value is output. It will be possible.

The inference processing task is executed while the control processing task is at rest, and as long as there is no other urgent processing, the work status 34 is monitored as much as possible and the work status 34 is checked appropriately. A new operation change procedure 33 is generated and notified to the control processing task (processing 902).

Processing tasks other than the control processing task and the inference processing task are activated and executed at any time when necessary (processing 903).

The concept that the multitasking process in such one computing means 12 executes in parallel the control process of the mechanical section and the process of changing the operation by the work skill (inference process) in the control method of the present invention. Are included in.

If the delay in the response to the change in the working state 34 does not matter, the inference processing task is also started and executed at a constant cycle (for example, a cycle that is an integral multiple of the servo command value output cycle). It is possible.

Further, the circuit of the input / output interface 33d is configured so that the occurrence of the change of the working state 34 can be input as an interrupt signal, and the inference processing task is used as an interrupt handler activated by this interrupt input. The method of making is also possible.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the example concerning the operation change for adapting to the change of the working state 34 is given, but in the same manner as this, it is suitable for recovering from some trouble occurred during work. Motion sequences can also be generated, which can further improve the reliability of the work of the automatic machine.

[0093]

According to the present invention, the reasoning means that operates in parallel with the control means is provided, and the standard for generating the operation change procedure by the reasoning means can be described. It is possible to easily make the required operation change in the operation and perform highly reliable work.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a basic configuration of a control method of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an assembly operation of a robot to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a state in which the assembly work shown in FIG. 2 is viewed from a lateral direction.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example in which a problem has occurred in the butting of works in the assembly work shown in FIG.

5 is a diagram showing a mechanism control program for performing the assembling work shown in FIG. 2 and a work skill referred to therein.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a processing procedure of a mechanism control program and work skills shown in FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing a configuration of an embodiment of an automatic machine control device of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the configuration of another embodiment of the control device for the automatic machine of the present invention.

9 is a timing chart showing multitask processing in the control device shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Mechanism part or robot mechanism part, 2 ... Control part, 20 ...
Mechanism control program teaching means, 21 ... Mechanism control program, 22 ... Control means, 22a ... Mechanism control program storage means, 22b ... Control procedure storage means, 22c ... Control computing means, 22d ... Motor drive circuit, 23 ... Work skill reference, 24 ... Servo command, 25 ... Feedback signal 3, Inference section, 30 ... Work skill description means, 31 ... Work skill, 32 ... Inference means, 32a ... Work skill storage means,
32b ... Inference procedure storage means, 32c ... Inference operation means,
32d ... I / O interface, 32e ... Shared information storage means, 33 ... Operation change procedure, 34 ... Work state, 35 ... Sensor control signal, 4 ... Sensor or 6-axis force sensor, 5 ... Hand, 6a, 6b ... Work, 7a , 7b, 8a, 8b ...
Work fixing claws, 9a ... Rule set, 10a ... Work skill reference declaration statement, 10b ... Operation command statement, 11 ... Controller, 12 ... Calculation means.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Internal reference number FI technical display location G05B 13/02 M 9131-3H 19/05

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. An automatic machine comprising a mechanical unit, a control unit for controlling the mechanical unit, and a detecting unit for detecting information about a control target of the control unit, wherein an operating procedure of the mechanical unit is generated. Provided are a work skill representing a norm, a work skill description means for describing the work skill, and an inference means for inferring an operation change procedure of the mechanism section with reference to the work skill and the output of the detection means. An automatic machine characterized in that the mechanical section is controlled by giving the operation changing procedure to the control means. 2. An automatic machine comprising a mechanical unit, a control unit for controlling the mechanical unit, and a detection unit for detecting information regarding a control target of the control unit, wherein an operating procedure of the mechanical unit is generated. With reference to the work skill group in which the work skills representing the norm are arranged, the work skill selecting means that allows the desired work skill to be arbitrarily selected from the work skill group, and the selected work skill and the output of the detecting means. And an inference means for inferring an operation changing procedure of the mechanism section, and the mechanism section is controlled by giving the operation changing procedure to the control means. 3. An automatic machine comprising a mechanical unit, a control unit having a computing unit for controlling the mechanical unit, and a detecting unit for detecting information regarding a control target of the control unit, wherein A work skill representing a norm for generating an operation procedure, a work skill description means for describing the work skill, an operation means for inferring a procedure for changing the operation of the mechanism section, the inference operation means, and the control Information storage means shared between the calculation means for operation is provided, and the inference calculation means refers to the work skill and the output of the detection means or the information in the shared information storage means to change the operation of the mechanism section. By determining a procedure and giving the operation change procedure to the control means via the shared information storage means,
An automatic machine characterized in that the mechanical unit is controlled. 4. An automatic machine comprising a mechanical unit, a control unit for controlling the mechanical unit, and a detecting unit for detecting information about a control target of the control unit, wherein an operating procedure of the mechanical unit is generated. The operation change procedure of the mechanical unit is shared with the control unit by referring to the work skill representing the norm, the work skill description unit for describing the work skill, and the output of the work skill and the detection unit. An automatic machine comprising: an inference unit that infers using an arithmetic unit, and controls the mechanical unit using the operation changing procedure. 5. A mechanical section, a control section for controlling the mechanical section, and an inference section for determining a procedure for changing the operation of the mechanical section, wherein the control section controls the control means and the mechanical section. And a mechanism unit control program teaching unit that gives the mechanism unit control program to the control unit. The control unit stores the mechanism unit control program storage unit and the mechanism unit control program. A control procedure storage unit that stores a procedure for executing the interpretation to control the mechanical unit, a control arithmetic unit that performs an arithmetic operation according to the mechanical unit control program and the control procedure, and a mechanical operation unit for the mechanical unit based on a result of the arithmetic operation. And a motor drive circuit for driving a motor, wherein the inference unit describes a work skill representing a norm for generating an operation procedure of the mechanism unit, and the work skill. And a reasoning means for inferring a procedure for changing the operation of the mechanism section, the reasoning means for storing the work skill and for interpreting and executing the work skill. The inference procedure storage means for storing the inference procedure, the inference operation means for performing an operation based on the inference procedure, and the input / output interface connecting the inference operation means with the detection means. Means and an information storage means shared by each arithmetic means between the means and the control arithmetic means, and the inference arithmetic means refers to the output of the work skill and the detection means or the information in the shared information storage means. By determining the operation changing procedure of the mechanism section and giving the operation changing procedure to the control means via the shared information storage means, Automatic machine, characterized in that the Gosuru manner. 6. A method for controlling an automatic machine in which information about a controlled object is detected by a detecting means, and the mechanical portion is controlled by the controlling means based on the detection, and an operation procedure of the mechanical portion is generated by a work skill describing means. Inputting a work skill representing the norm to the inference means, referring to the work skill and the output of the detection means, inferring the operation change procedure of the mechanism section by the inference means, and the operation change A method for controlling an automatic machine, characterized in that the mechanical section is controlled by a step of giving a procedure to the control means. 7. A method of controlling an automatic machine in which information about a controlled object is detected by a detecting means and the mechanical portion is controlled by the controlling means based on the detection, which is a work for expressing a norm for generating an operating procedure of the mechanical portion. The skill is input to the inference means by the work skill description means, and in parallel with the control of the mechanical section, by the inference means,
The mechanism section is controlled by inferring an operation change procedure of the mechanism section with reference to the work skill and the output of the detection section and giving the operation change procedure to the control section. And automatic machine control method. 8. A method of controlling an automatic machine in which information on a controlled object is detected by a detecting means and the mechanical portion is controlled by the control means based on the detection, which is a work for expressing a norm for generating an operating procedure of the mechanical portion. The skill is input to the inference means by the work skill description means, the work skill related to the control of the mechanical section is designated by the control means among the described work skills, and the inference is performed in parallel with the control of the mechanical section. Means for controlling the mechanism section by deducing the operation change procedure of the mechanism section with reference to the designated work skill and the output of the detection section and giving the operation change procedure to the control means. A method for controlling an automatic machine characterized by the above. 9. A control method for an automatic machine in which information about a controlled object is detected by a detection means and the mechanism section is controlled by the control means based on the detection, and a norm for generating an operation changing procedure of the mechanism section and its norm. The work skill representing the norm for judging the completion of the operation is input to the inference means by the work skill description means, and in parallel with the control of the mechanism section, the work skill and the output of the detection means are input by the inference means. A method for controlling an automatic machine, characterized in that the operation changing procedure is inferred with reference to the operation changing procedure, and the operation changing procedure is given to the control means to control the mechanical section.