JPH11149307A - Robot controller provided with secondary storage device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a robot controller provided with a mass storage memory which substantially has processing speed similar to that of a high speed memory without increasing manufacture cost and treatment cost. SOLUTION: A secondary storage device 14 storing a robot language program, a high speed memory 13 loading the robot language program which is read from the second storage device 14 and a micro processor 11 reading and executing the loaded robot language program are provided. If the sub-program of a called destination is not loaded on the high speed memory 13 when the micro processor 1 calls the sub-program constituting the robot language program, the sub-program is loaded on the high speed memory 13 from the secondary storage device 14 and the execution of the robot language program is continued.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a robot controller, and more particularly to the execution of a program in a robot controller having a cost-effective secondary storage device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 7 shows the configuration of a conventional robot controller disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-263125. In FIG. 7, 1a-
1n is a robot main body, 2a to 2n are robot control devices,
3 is a communication network, 4 is a host computer, 5 is a reading device, and 6 is a storage medium storing various kinds of application software. In order to execute the robot control program, the application software (program) to be executed must be loaded on a high-speed memory that can be directly accessed by the robot control processor. 2
Application software is loaded in the high-speed memory in a to 2n. In this loading, desired application software is read from the storage medium 6 via the host computer 4 and read from the device 5 to read the robot control devices 2a to 2a.
2n high speed memory. Each robot body 1
a to 1n perform respective operations according to the application software. Robot controller 2a
2n and the host computer 4 are connected to the communication network 3
When new application software is required due to a change in use, the desired application software is read from the storage medium 6 via the host computer 4 again, read from the device 5, and read from the robot controller 2a to 2n. After loading into the high-speed memory, the application software is executed. However, in this conventional robot control device, the update and exchange of the application software are performed at the request of the operator, and are not performed automatically. In addition, it is necessary to store all application software in the high-speed memory of the robot controllers 2a to 2n for each unit, and it is necessary to increase the high-speed memory in order to cope with a case where the application software having the largest capacity is loaded. there were. However, since the high-speed memory is expensive, the addition of the high-speed memory has increased the cost of the robot controller. On the other hand, in recent years, large-capacity secondary storage devices such as hard disks and flash memories have become popular mainly in the personal computer market.
The cost per unit capacity of these secondary storage devices is much lower than that of high-speed memories such as semiconductors, and they can be used as storage means for robot language programs with high cost performance. High speed memory had to be used.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks. Even if the size of the entire robot language program increases, it is not necessary to add a high-speed memory.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a robot control device that can automatically load a robot language program into a high-speed memory.

[0004]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a secondary storage device for storing a robot language program, and a robot language program read from the secondary storage device. And a processor that reads and executes a robot language program loaded into the high-speed memory, when the processor calls a subprogram that constitutes the robot language program, If the subprogram of the call destination is not loaded on the high-speed memory, loading the subprogram from the secondary storage device into the high-speed memory and continuing the execution of the robot language program; Features. According to the second aspect of the present invention, the processor simultaneously executes the execution of the robot language program on the high-speed memory and the pre-reading of the robot language program in parallel, and executes the robot language program in the future by the pre-reading. If the subprogram to be executed is not loaded on the high-speed memory, the subprogram is transferred from the secondary storage device to the high-speed memory in parallel with the execution while continuing the execution of the robot language program. Loading. According to the invention described in claim 3, when the processor loads the subprogram from the secondary storage device to the high-speed memory, the processor compares the free space of the high-speed memory with the capacity of the subprogram, If at least the free space of the high-speed memory is smaller than the capacity of the sub-program, erase the sub-program loaded on the high-speed memory until the desired free space is reached, and after generating the desired free space,
The subprogram to be loaded is loaded from the secondary storage device to the high-speed memory.

[0005]

Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 shows a configuration as an embodiment of a robot control device of the present invention. FIG. 1A shows a hardware configuration of the robot control device, and FIG. 1B shows an arrangement of software in the configuration. FIG.
In the figure, 10 is a robot controller, 11 is a microprocessor, 12 is a ROM, and 13 is a D as a high-speed memory.
RAM, 14 is a hard disk, 15 is a servo drive, and 16 in FIG. 1B indicates the direction of initial load, and 17 indicates the direction of load before execution. ROM1
2 stores a control program for controlling the microprocessor 11. The hard disk 14 stores all types of main programs and sub-programs used by the robot controller. The main program on the hard disk 14 is loaded into the DRAM 13 at the beginning of the execution (initial load 16). The subprograms (1, 2, 3) on the hard disk 14
To Q) (subprograms i, j, k) are loaded into the DRAM 13 prior to execution (load before execution). The microprocessor 11 executes a robot control program (main program and sub-programs i, j, k) loaded in the DRAM 13 according to the control program in the ROM 12 and controls the servo drive 15 which is a target control object. Although the secondary storage device uses a hard disk, it is not limited to a hard disk as long as it is non-volatile. Further, a secondary storage device on a server connected as a remote drive to the microprocessor via a network may be used. It is assumed that the subprograms of the robot control program are stored on the hard disk 14 in subprogram units as files of the same name. It is assumed that the main program is loaded from the hard disk 14 to the DRAM 13 at the time of starting the system, and is not removed from the DRAM 13 thereafter.

FIG. 2 shows the configuration of a robot language program according to an embodiment of the robot control device of the present invention. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 20 denotes a main program, 21 denotes a subprogram A, 22 denotes a subprogram B, and 23 denotes a subprogram C. In the present embodiment, it is assumed that the robot language program includes only a movement command (MOV) and a control command (CALL / RET). The main program 20 includes a move instruction (MOV)
Is executed immediately, but for the CALL instruction, the main program 20 sends the subprogram A (2
1), execute the move instruction (MOV) of the subprogram A, and then return RET to execute the subprogram A (2).
Returning from 1) to the main program 20, the next CALL instruction causes the next subprogram B (2
2), execute the move instruction (MOV) of the subprogram B, return to the main program 20 again from the subprogram B (22) by return RET, execute the move instruction (MOV), and execute the next CALL instruction. The main program 20 moves to the subprogram C (23), executes the move instruction (MOV) of the subprogram C, and returns again to the subprogram C (2) by return RET.
The program returns from 3) to the main program 20, and the main program 20 ends (END).

FIG. 3 shows a structure as an embodiment of management data for managing a subprogram stored in a DRAM. FIG. 3A shows the overall structure of one embodiment of the subprogram management data.
(B) shows the contents of the subprogram directory entry therein. In FIG. 3A, 31 is an area for storing the number of stored subprograms, 32 is an area for storing the free space of the subprogram storage area (hereinafter referred to as “free space”), and 33 is a subprogram directory. , An area for storing the subprogram, an area for storing the name of the subprogram in FIG. 3B, and an area for storing the subprogram capacity. The subprogram storage number area 31 stores the number of subprograms stored in the subprogram storage area 34. The free space 32 of the subprogram storage area stores the capacity of the free area existing in the subprogram storage area 34. FIG.
In (b), the subprogram name 35 stores the name of the subprogram loaded in the subprogram storage area 34 corresponding to the order of each entry of the subprogram directory 33, and the subprogram capacity 36 stores The capacity of the subprogram is stored.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an embodiment of a subprogram erasing process and a loading process. In FIG. 4, reference numeral 41 denotes a subprogram to be erased.
Indicates an empty area of the subprogram storage area 34;
Indicates an empty area created after erasing the subprogram 41 to be erased, 44 indicates an empty area of a new subprogram storage area 44 created by combining the empty area 43 and the empty area 42, Reference numeral 45 denotes a subprogram loaded into the new free area. When it is necessary to load a subprogram, the capacity of the subprogram to be loaded (3 in FIG. 3B)
6) is compared with the free space (32 in FIG. 3A) included in the above-described subprogram management data, and when it is determined that the free space is insufficient, the subprogram storage area 34 is determined. Any one of the subprograms stored in
Erase more than one until the desired free space is obtained. The subprograms to be erased are preferably erased in the order of use frequency of the subprograms or in the unused order for the longest period. In the explanatory diagram of FIG. 4, the subprogram D indicated by 41 is erased in order to load the subprogram X indicated by 45.
When erasing, the free space and the contents of the subprogram directory included in the above-described subprogram management data are updated. If the subprogram to be erased has been loaded at a position other than the end of the loaded program, the program loaded at an address behind the subprogram to be erased is moved to a forward address to close the gap. In the explanatory diagram of this embodiment, subprogram D + 1 to subprogram N are shifted to the front address. If the subprogram to be erased has been loaded at the end, the above movement is unnecessary. The subprogram is always loaded at the end of the subprogram in the storage area.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart summarizing the operation of one embodiment of the robot control device of the present invention. When the execution of the robot language program is started, the microprocessor starts executing the main program loaded in the DRAM. In the step of the decision box 51, it is determined whether or not the instruction to be executed is a CALL instruction.
In step 2, it is checked in the subprogram directory whether the CALL-destination subprogram has been loaded into the subprogram storage area on the high-speed memory. If it has been loaded, the control flow proceeds to the execution of the subprogram shown in the step of the processing box 56. If it has not been loaded, the execution of the robot language program is suspended once, and in the step of decision box 53, the free space is compared with the capacity of the subprogram to be loaded. After the desired free area is generated by erasing any of the subprograms from the storage area in the step of, the target subprogram is loaded from the hard disk in the step of the processing box 55 and the processing box 56 is deleted. Then, the process proceeds to the execution of the subprogram shown in the step. When erasing and loading the subprogram, the subprogram free space and the subprogram directory are updated at the same time.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart summarizing the operation of another embodiment of the robot control device of the present invention.
By introducing a multitasking function into the microprocessor, it is possible to execute the robot language program and prefetch in parallel. By executing the look-ahead, the CALL instruction is executed prior to the execution of the CALL instruction.
It is determined whether or not the previous subprogram has been loaded into the storage area on the DRAM, and if not, the subprogram can be previously loaded from the hard disk into the storage area. This makes it unnecessary to interrupt the execution of the robot language program at the time of loading. Hereinafter, the above operation will be described in more detail with reference to the flowchart of FIG. Task 1 is the main task of the present embodiment, and in the steps of the decision box 61 and the step of the decision box 62, the CALL instruction to be processed is already loaded on the high-speed memory by the prefetching executed by the task 2. Ask whether it is done. If it has already been loaded, the sub-program is executed in the step of the processing box 64. However, if not already loaded, processing box 6
In step 3, a WAIT instruction is executed, and the control flow is set to a standby state. Task 2 CA to process above
When it is signaled that the pre-reading of the LL instruction has been completed, the standby state is released, and the process proceeds to the execution of the subprogram in the step of the processing box 64. Task 2
Then, the pre-reading of the main program is performed. This operation includes the detection of the CALL instruction shown in the above-described embodiment,
This includes loading into a high-speed memory, and further includes securing a free area in the above-described subprogram storage area.
Note that the POST instruction can be executed before the WAIT instruction, and the task 2 can be notified of which subroutine is in the unloaded state. This measure is effective when the execution of the main program is controlled by a branch instruction or the like.

[0011]

According to the present invention, a large-capacity robot language program can be continuously executed on a robot controller without increasing the capacity of an expensive high-speed memory. Further, by adding the pre-reading process, the overhead time for reading the robot language program from the secondary storage device can be apparently reduced to zero. Further, regarding the loading process from the secondary storage device,
There is no need to write anything in the robot language program.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 shows a configuration as an embodiment of a robot control device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a configuration of a robot language program according to an embodiment of the robot control device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 shows a structure as an embodiment of management data for managing a subprogram stored in a DRAM.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing one embodiment of a subprogram erasing process and a loading process.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart summarizing the operation as an embodiment of the robot control device of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart summarizing operations as another embodiment of the robot control device of the present invention.

FIG. 7 shows a conventional robot control device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-263125.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 10 Configuration of robot control device 11 Microprocessor 12 ROM 13 DRAM 14 Hard disk 15 Servo drive 16 Initial load destination of main program 17 Load destination of subprogram 20 Main program 21, 22, 23, 41, 45 Subprogram 31 Subprogram storage number Area for storing the free space of the subprogram storage area 33 area for storing the subprogram directory 34 area for storing the subprogram 35 area for storing the name of the subprogram 36 area for storing the capacity of the subprogram 41 erasing Subprogram to be processed 42 Free area in subprogram storage area 43 Free area created after erasing subprogram 44 Free area in newly generated subprogram storage area 45 Subprograms 51, 52, 53, 61, 62 to be loaded into new free areas Decision boxes on flowchart 54, 55, 56, 63, 64, 65 Processing boxes on flowchart

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A secondary storage device for storing a robot language program, a high-speed memory for loading a robot language program read from the secondary storage device, and a robot language program loaded on the high-speed memory. When the processor calls a subprogram constituting the robot language program, if the subprogram to be called is not loaded on the high-speed memory, the A robot control device comprising a secondary storage device, wherein a program is loaded from the secondary storage device to the high-speed memory and the execution of the robot language program is continued. 2. The processor according to claim 1, wherein the processor executes the robot language program on the high-speed memory and prefetches the robot language program in parallel, and the prefetching causes the subprogram to be executed in the future to execute. Loading the sub-program from the secondary storage device to the high-speed memory in parallel with the execution while continuing to execute the robot language program, if not loaded on the high-speed memory; A robot controller comprising the secondary storage device according to claim 1. 3. When the processor loads the subprogram from the secondary storage device into the high-speed memory,
The free space of the high-speed memory is compared with the capacity of the sub-program, and if at least the free space of the high-speed memory is smaller than the capacity of the sub-program, the free space is loaded onto the high-speed memory until a desired free area is reached 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein the subprogram is erased, and after generating a desired free area, the subprogram to be loaded is loaded from the secondary storage device to the high-speed memory.
A robot control device comprising the secondary storage device according to any one of the preceding claims.