JPS60215213A - System for improving speed of sequence control - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To shorten the operation start discriminating time of a unit operation by performing operation start discrimination only for synchronism excluding step numbers which may be progressed to the next steps. CONSTITUTION:With respect to operation numbers whose operation state is changed from the operating state to the operation completion and operation numbers whose operation management state is changed from the started state to the start waiting state, synchronism excluding step numbers which may be started by the change of the operation state are stored in a storage table 41 of start discrimination waiting step numbers. Combinations of unit operations (completion waiting operations), which are executed at present and are interlocked for synchronism exclusion, and unit operations (start waiting operations) which are stopped at present and wait for an interlock signal for synchronism exclusion are stored in a synchronism excluding step definition table 27. A controller 30 performs operation start discrimination only for start sequence relations stored in the storage table 41 when checking operations whose start should be decided, thus performing the control at a high speed.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Application of the Invention] The present invention relates to a sequence control device that controls the operation of industrial robots, automatic machines, etc., and particularly to sequence control of large-scale systems having complex control sequences. This invention relates to a sequence control speed-up method suitable for high-speed processing.

[Background of the invention]

Factory automation (FA) has been attracting attention recently, and in the field of FA, it is necessary to combine teaching-playback type robots and automatic processing machines to repeatedly perform a series of cooperative operations. You need to take the lock.

An example of conventional cooperative operation control performed while maintaining the above-mentioned interlock will be explained using a component mounting station using a robot shown in FIG.

In FIG. 1, 10 is a parts automatic supply device, 11 is a parts handling robot, 12 is a parts positioning device, and 13 is a parts handling robot.
14 is a screw tightening robot, 15 is a pallet, 16 is an unprocessed pallet, 17 is an automatic guided vehicle, 1
Reference numeral 8 indicates a track for the automatic guided vehicle, and reference numeral 19 indicates a guide rail for setting and taking out pallets.

The outline of the operation is as follows. The parts handling robot 11 handles parts from the parts automatic supply device 10, transports them to the parts positioning device 12, and further transports the positioned parts to the rotary table 13. The screw tightening robot 14 performs screw tightening work on parts placed on the rotary table 13. The parts that have been screwed are attached to the automatic guided vehicle 17.
is carried out from the assembly workbench 13.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the operation sequence of each equipment group in FIG. 1. Blocks 100 to 119 in Fig. 2 indicate unit operations (teaching data and control program units) of each of the above equipment, and arrows connecting the blocks indicate interlocks for synchronizing and excluding each unit operation. It shows a relationship. This indicates that the unit action written in the block at the end point of the arrow is activated when the action written in the block at the starting point of the arrow is completed. If one block is the end point of multiple arrows, the unit action assigned to the end point block of the arrows will be activated when all the actions written in the starting point block of those arrows are completed. Ru.

Conventionally, in order to realize a sequence that includes synchronized exclusion between multiple pieces of equipment as shown in Figure 2, it is necessary to use an interface when teaching or programming the respective operation sequences to the control devices of multiple robots or processing machines. Lock signal 0N10FF and interlock signal wait command,
Previously, teaching data or programs were created by inserting them before and after each unit operation that was to be operated synchronously and exclusively. That is, the operation startup sequence shown in FIG. 2 was programmed as is.

When performing synchronous exclusive control of the operations of multiple pieces of equipment in this way, the number of pieces of equipment that must be operated synchronously and exclusively increases, and the operation sequences become more complex. The processing time required to determine whether the operation can be started increases, making it impossible to obtain desired control responsiveness.

In addition, when the number of equipment increases and the operation sequence becomes complex, the activation of individual unit operations can be used as a method to easily program synchronized exclusion conditions for interlocking and coordinating many operations. A method for controlling an operation sequence that performs cooperative control of multiple operations based on a table storing order relationships is proposed in ``Proposal of station controller (SCR) for workstation control'' (No. 22).
It has been proposed at the 5th ICE Academic Conference, 58.7.27), etc. However, these control methods always judge whether or not to start for all start-up relationships, so when the number of unit operations to be started increases, the start judgment processing time increases and responsiveness deteriorates. There are drawbacks.

[Purpose of the invention]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a high-speed sequence control method that can quickly determine the start of a unit operation in order to eliminate the drawbacks of the prior art as described above.

[Summary of the invention]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an operation sequence control device that combines unit operations and executes a series of operation sequences including synchronous exclusion. a first storage means that stores in advance a combination of activation order relationships (synchronous exclusive steps) for determining a unit operation to be performed;
It has a second storage means that selects and stores only the activation order relationship to be determined to be activated next based on the unit operation whose operating state has changed, and when checking the operation to be determined to be activated, the second storage means is provided.
The present invention is characterized in that the number of activation order relationships to be determined for activation is reduced by determining activation only for the activation order relationships stored in the storage means, thereby increasing the speed of sequence control.

[Embodiments of the invention]

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the drawings. This embodiment takes as an example the control of the operation sequence shown in FIG. 2 in the equipment group shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 3, 30 is a general control device, 31 is a memory for general control, 32.33 is a robot control device, and 34.35 is a robot control device.
26 is a memory for robot operation teaching, 26 is a relay control panel, 1
1.14 is a playback type robot, 11 is a handling robot, 14 is a screw tightening robot, 12 is a component positioning device, and 13 is a rotary table. 27, 28, and 29 in the overall control memory 31 store overall control information.

Tables 41, 42, and 43 are for high-speed processing.

First, a method for storing the operation sequence shown in FIG. 2 in tables 27, 28, and 29 in the overall control memory 31 will be described.

Table 27 is a synchronous exclusive step definition table. The synchronous exclusion step definition table 27 shows unit operations that are currently in operation and are interlocked for synchronous exclusion (completion waiting operations), and unit operations that are currently stopped and are waiting for an interlock signal for synchronous exclusion. unit operation (
This is a table for registering combinations of startup wait actions).

The specific table structure is shown in FIG. In FIG. 4, completion waiting operation N registered in each synchronous exclusive step
All unit operations of α are completed in the startup method, and the startup wait operation N
If all unit operations of n are waiting for startup, the operation waiting for startup N
A unit operation of α is activated.

Information regarding the execution of the unit operation of each facility indicated by the completion waiting operation Arashi and startup waiting operation Nn is stored in the operation management table 28.
It is stored in the form shown in Figure 5.

In the operation management table 28 shown in FIG. 5, the activation management status a includes 0: Waiting for activation and 1: activation method status, which determines how far the operation sequence stored in the synchronous exclusive step definition table 27 has progressed. It will show you whether you are there or not. Two states are recorded in the operation status field: operation complete and operation in progress. It shows that it is inside. The message Nα is a pointer indicating control information to be transmitted to each facility.

In the control message table 29, the control information to be sent to each piece of equipment in response to the operation Nα activated by the general control device according to the synchronous exclusive step definition table 27 and the operation management table 28 is registered in the form shown in FIG. I'll keep it. In the control information in FIG. 6, i, (n=1.2...)
-J n (n=1-2...) are the startup program Nα and the operating parameter N1, respectively.

The activation determination waiting step Nα storage table 41 is a table that stores the synchronous exclusion step Nα for which activation should be determined by the central control device 30, and its contents are shown in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the contents of the operation Nα-step Nu relation table 42. Corresponding to each motion Nα, that motion is set as the activation waiting motion Nα in the synchronized exclusive step definition table 2.
The synchronous exclusive step Nα (hereinafter referred to as related step A) registered in 7 and the operation N1 when the operation Nα is completed
Synchronous exclusive step Nα (hereinafter referred to as
(referred to as related step B).

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the contents of the startable step Nα storage table 43, and the start determination waiting step Nα table 4.
This is a table in which the overall control device 30 performs activation determination of the synchronous exclusion step Nα stored in No. 1 and stores the synchronous exclusion step Ha that can be activated.

The overall control device 30 controls each of the above tables 27, 28, and 29.
．． 41, 42, and 43 to perform high-speed synchronous exclusion of operations of multiple equipment groups. The configuration of the overall control device 30 is shown in FIG. 1O, and its operation will be explained below.

In FIG. 10, reference numeral 300 denotes an operation activation determination section.

301 is a starting operation Nα reading unit, 302 is a starting judgment waiting step Nα writing unit, 303 is an operation management information updating unit, 304
305 is a completion signal latch section, 305 is a control message reading section,
306 is a control message transmitter.

The startup judgment waiting step Na writing unit 302 writes the startup operation Na.
Receives the unit operation rod whose state has changed from the reading unit 301 and the operation management information update unit 303 (arrow 204, arrow 214
), according to the flowchart shown in FIG. 11, the synchronized exclusive step Nα to be determined for startup is read out from the operation Nα-step Nα related table 42 (arrow 210), and stored in the startup determination waiting step Nα storage table 41 (arrow 20).
9).

Note that the flowchart shown in FIG. 11 is for selecting a synchronous exclusive step Nα that may be activated due to a change in the state of a unit operation, and determining the operation activation only for that synchronous exclusive step Nα. , indicates that the synchronous exclusive step Na is stored in the dedicated startup determination waiting step Na storage table 41. In other words, a synchronous exclusive step Nα that may be activated due to a change in the state of a unit operation is a synchronous exclusive step Nα that includes a unit operation whose operation state a changes from active to completed in its completion operation, and - This is a synchronous exclusion step Nα in which a unit operation whose activation management state has changed from activated to activated as a result of the previous activation possible determination is included in the activated activation operation.

According to the flowchart shown in FIG. 12, the operation start determination unit 300 reads out the synchronous exclusive steps Nα for which the start determination is to be made, which are stored in the start determination waiting step Nn storage table 41 (arrow 211), and all of the synchronous exclusive steps Nα. The completion operation Nn has been activated and completed, and it is determined whether or not all activation waiting operations Nα are waiting for activation. Then, the synchronous exclusive step for which the condition is satisfied is stored in the activatable step Nα storage table 43 (arrow 208
). After determining all the synchronous exclusive steps stored in the startup determination waiting step Nα storage table 41, the startup determination waiting step Nn storage table 41 is cleared.

The activation operation Nα reading unit 301 reads the activation possible step Na storage table 43 according to the flowchart shown in FIG.
Read out the synchronous exclusive step Nα stored in
is activated and in operation (arrow 205). Also, the action Na at the time of completion of the synchronization exclusive step Nα is sent to the activation judgment waiting step Na writing unit 302 (arrow 204), and the activation waiting action Nα is sent to the control message succession unit 305 (arrow 2
03).

The control message successive unit 305 performs the activation operation Nα reading unit 3
Based on the operation Nα (arrow 203) sent from the operation management table 28, the message Nα to be transmitted is read out from the operation management table 28 (arrow 221), and the control information and destination address corresponding to this message Nα are controlled by the message table 2.
9 (arrow 212), control message transmitter 3
06 (arrow 217). Then, the message destination and the activation operation Na are notified to the operation management information updating unit 304 (arrow 215).

The control message transmitting unit 306 decodes the destination address received from the control message reading unit 305 and transmits the control information to the control device of the corresponding equipment (arrow 219).
.

Each piece of equipment executes a unit operation taught or programmed in advance in accordance with the control information sent from the central control device 30, and sends a completion signal to the completion signal latch section 3-4 when the execution of the unit operation is completed. (arrow 218). The completion signal latch unit 304 sends the completion signal received from each piece of equipment to the operation management information update unit 303 (arrow 216).

The operation management information update unit 303 refers to the contents of the latched completion signal and changes the operation state 62 of the operation Nα from in-operation to completed operation based on the information (arrow 215) received from the control message succession unit 305. Update to the state (arrow 21
3). Then, the operation Nα is sent to the activation determination waiting step Nn writing unit 302 (arrow 214).

By repeating the above operations, the overall control device 30
The operation sequences registered in the synchronous exclusive step definition table 27 can be processed at high speed.

According to this method, unlike the conventional example, there is no need to determine whether startup is possible for all startup order relationships, and the synchronous exclusive step Nα that may be started and is stored in the startup determination waiting step Nα storage table is Since it is only necessary to perform the activation determination, the processing of the operation sequence is sped up.

In the above embodiment, the operation state a changes from active to fully operational for the operation N(L) and the operation management state a changes from activated to waiting for activation. Synchronous exclusive step N that may occur
α is stored in the startup determination waiting step Nα storage table 41. As a modified example of this, a famous method is to store in the activation determination waiting step storage table 41 a synchronous exclusive step Nα that may be activated only for an operation Nα in which the operation state a changes from active to complete. You can also achieve faster speeds by hiring. In this case, instead of clearing the activation determination waiting step Nα storage table 41 in the operation activation determination unit 300, only the synchronous exclusive step that can be activated is deleted from the activation determination waiting step Nα storage table 41, and the activation condition is A process in which the unsatisfied synchronous exclusive step Nα is stored as is (however, all completion wait operations NQ
The synchronized exclusive step Nn that has been started and does not satisfy the operation completion conditions is deleted from the table 41). In this embodiment, the operation determination waiting step Nα storage table 4
Although the processing becomes complicated as it requires management processing of the empty area in step 1, it is only necessary to investigate the synchronous exclusive step that may be activated for the operation Nα whose state changes from active to complete. The number of steps can be reduced. In addition, the operation Nα-step Nα storage table 42
The related step B becomes unnecessary, and the memory capacity can be reduced.

According to this embodiment, the synchronous exclusive step definition table 27
When the operation state of a unit operation changes among the activation order relationships of unit operations defined in (synchronous exclusive step Nα),
As a result, the processing time in operation sequence control can be shortened by storing the synchronous exclusive step Nα that may be activated in the activation determination waiting step Nα storage table 41 and determining the activation only for the synchronous exclusive step Nα. can.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, by determining the motion start only for synchronized exclusive step members that have a possibility of transitioning to the next step, the motion start determination of a unit motion can be speeded up, and the motion sequence can be changed. The processing time required for control can be significantly reduced.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 is a configuration diagram of the parts mounting station, Figure 2 is the synchronization exclusive sequence of equipment at the parts mounting station,
3 is an overall configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 4 is a synchronous exclusive step definition table configuration diagram, FIG. 5 is an operation management table configuration diagram, FIG. 6 is a control message table configuration diagram, and FIG. The figure shows the start-up determination waiting step Nα storage table, FIG.
The figure is a configuration diagram of the startable step Na memory table, 1st O
11 is a flowchart showing the processing of the α writing unit in the start-up judgment waiting step; FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the processing of the start-up operation determination unit;
The figure is a flowchart showing the processing of the starting operation Nα reading section. 30: General control device, 31: General control memory, 27=
Synchronous exclusive step definition table, 28: Operation management table, 29: Control message registration table, 41: Activable step Nα storage table, 42: Operation Nα-step connection table, 43: Activable step Nα storage table, 300: Operation Startup determination unit, 301: Startup operation N
α reading unit, 302: startup determination waiting step Na writing unit. Figure 1 @ Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4-r2 Juku 6 Drawing 7 Figure vJ8 Figure A Ri Figure 11 Whistle 12 Figure 13

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) In an operation sequence control device that combines unit operations to execute a series of operation sequences including synchronous exclusion, to determine which unit operation to start next based on changes in the operation state of each unit operation. a first storage means that stores combinations of activation order relationships; and a second storage means that selects and stores only the activation order relationships to be determined next based on the unit operation whose operating state has changed. It has a storage means, and the number when checking the operation to be activated is determined;
A high-speed sequence control method characterized in that activation is determined only with respect to an activation order relationship stored in a storage means. (2) The second storage means stores the possibility of activation based on the unit operations whose operation has been completed after activation and the unit operations whose operation status has changed from activated in the previous activation determination. A certain startup order relationship is read from the first storage means and stored, and after the startup determination, the second
2. The sequence control speed-up method according to claim 1, wherein the startup order relationship stored in the storage means is deleted. (3) The second storage means reads out from the first storage means only the activation order relationships that are likely to be activated based on the unit operations whose operations have been completed after activation, and stores them. 2. The sequence control speed-up method according to claim 1, wherein the startup order relationship that has become possible to start is deleted.