TWI699634B - Tool and tool control circuit and control method - Google Patents

Abstract

The subject of the present invention is to be able to set whether to output the pass signal on the side of the electric screwdriver and only output the necessary pass signal. The solution is: the control circuit (128) of the electric screwdriver (100) has: a memory (132) that stores setting data; and an arithmetic unit (131) that controls the electric screwdriver (100) based on the setting data. The setting data includes: the qualified standard value, which represents the qualified standard for the actions of the tools in each work process; and the qualified signal output setting value, which is used to set whether the output qualified for each work project when the qualified standard is met in each work project Signal. The arithmetic unit (131) outputs the pass signal when the pass criterion is met and the pass signal output setting value corresponding to the current work project is the setting value of the pass signal output, and the pass signal output setting value is the setting value of the fail signal output. When, the qualified signal is not output.

Description

Tool and tool control circuit and control method

The present invention relates to a control circuit for tools that sequentially change control conditions and operate simultaneously for each work process, a tool provided with the control circuit, and a control method for the tool.

For example, Patent Document 1 discloses an electric screwdriver in which a screwdriver bit is rotationally driven by an electric motor to perform a locking operation. In this kind of electric screwdriver, generally, the user can change the setting of the rotation speed of the electric motor or the tightening torque according to the type of screw or the member to which the screw is locked. In addition, sometimes the production line of the factory will continuously perform the tightening operation of different types of screws in a predetermined sequence. In this case, the electric screwdriver used will move to the next operation after a certain operation is completed. The setting of the screwdriver will be automatically changed to the control conditions required in the work project. In addition, a pass criterion is set in advance for each work process, and when the action of the electric screwdriver of each work process meets the pass criterion, a pass signal is output to an external device.

The above-mentioned electric screwdriver is sometimes connected to an external device such as a programmable logic controller (PLC), and then the external device performs various actions based on the pass signal sent from the electric screwdriver. As such an operation, for example, there is an operation of closing the lid of the container in which the screw used in the completed work process is housed, and opening the lid of the container in which the screw used in the next work process is housed. [Prior Technical Literature] [Patent Literature]

[Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2017/170648

[The problem to be solved by the invention]

In the above-mentioned conventional electric screwdrivers, only one of the following can be selected: in the case where the qualification criteria are met in each work, a qualified signal is output whenever each work process is completed, or when all work works meet the qualification criteria, Finally, a qualified signal is output. However, in the external device that receives the pass signal, there are cases in which the prescribed action is executed only when a specific work process in a series of work processes is completed, and no action is performed when other work processes are completed. As such a case, for example, consider a case where the screw is temporarily locked in a certain work process, and then the screw is officially locked in the next work process, and then another work process is continued. In this case, by performing two work processes, the screw locking work is completed at the beginning, so at the point when the first work process is completed, even if the pass signal is received, the external device does not perform any action. At this time, the external device must be pre-set to treat the initial qualified signal as an unnecessary signal for processing. That is to say, when all the work is completed, the external device connected to the conventional electric screwdriver where the pass signal is transmitted must be set to ignore unnecessary pass signals, resulting in complicated setting work.

Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a control circuit, which is a control circuit of a tool that sequentially changes control conditions for each work process and operates at the same time. It can be set on the tool side whether to output a pass signal and only output the necessary pass signal. In addition, the object of the present invention is also to provide a tool provided with such a control circuit and a method of controlling the tool. [Means used to solve the problem]

That is to say, the present invention provides a control circuit, which is a control circuit in a tool that operates at the same time by sequentially changing control conditions for each work process, and includes: Information memory section, which saves the setting data for setting the control conditions in each operation project; and The calculation unit, which sequentially changes the control conditions of the tool for each work process based on the setting data, The setting data includes: the qualified reference value, which represents the qualified standard for the action of the tool in each work project; and the qualified signal output setting value, which is used to set the qualified standard for each work project when the qualified standard is met in each work project Whether to output a qualified signal, The calculation unit is based on the qualified reference value to determine whether the action of the tool in each work project meets the qualified standard, and the qualified signal output setting value corresponding to the work project at this time is the setting value of outputting the qualified signal. When the qualified signal is output, the qualified signal output setting value is not output when the qualified signal is not output.

In this control circuit, it is possible to set whether to output a qualified signal for each work process based on the qualified signal output setting value, so unnecessary qualified signals can not be transmitted to the connected external device. Therefore, it is not necessary to set the external device to ignore unnecessary pass signals, and the configuration of the external device can be simplified.

Preferably, when the calculation unit determines that the operation of the tool does not meet the pass criterion in the work process at this time, it outputs an unqualified signal.

In addition, the present invention includes the above-mentioned control circuit, and provides a tool that operates simultaneously by sequentially changing control conditions for each work process by the control circuit.

Further, the present invention provides a control method, which is a method for controlling tools that are simultaneously operated by sequentially changing control conditions for each work process, including the following steps: Steps to read the setting data stored in the information memory section; Based on the setting data, the steps of sequentially changing the control conditions of the tool in each operation project; Determine whether the action of the tool in each work project meets the steps of the qualification criteria in each work project indicated by the qualified reference value contained in the setting data; and When the pass criterion is met and the pass signal output setting value corresponding to the current work project is the pass signal output setting value, the pass signal is output to the outside, and the pass signal output setting value is the setting value for not outputting the pass signal. The step of not outputting the qualified signal to the outside.

Hereinafter, the embodiment of the tool of the present invention will be described based on the attached drawings.

The electric screwdriver (tool) 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 and includes: a tool housing 110; an electric motor 112 built in the tool housing 110; and a bit holder 114 , Which is rotatably driven by an electric motor 112. The driver bit 116 appropriately selected in accordance with the target screw is detachably attached to the bit holder 114. The tool housing 110 is provided with: an input interface 122, which has a display portion 118 and an input button 120; and a connection cable 124, which is used to connect the electric screwdriver 100 to a programmable logic controller (hereinafter referred to as PLC) 123. In the tool housing 110, there are also provided: a motor drive circuit 126, which is used to control the driving of the electric motor 112; a control circuit 128, which is used to control the entire electric screwdriver 100; and a Hall sensor 130, which detects The rotational position of the rotor of the electric motor 112. The control circuit 128 has: an arithmetic unit 131; and a memory (information storage unit) 132 that stores setting data. The calculation unit 131 controls the electric screwdriver 100 based on the setting data stored in the memory 132.

The setting data stored in the memory 132 includes condition setting data for setting the control conditions of each work project. The memory 132 of the electric screwdriver 100, as shown in FIG. 3, can store first to 30th condition setting data corresponding to the first to 30th work processes. The condition setting data includes a setting value indicating the tightening torque or the number of bolts locked during the screw locking operation. In addition to this, for example, a setting value for controlling the rotation speed of the electric motor 112 may also be included. The condition setting data of the electric screwdriver 100 also includes a pass reference value indicating a pass reference for the operation of the electric screwdriver 100 in each work process. The electric screwdriver 100 includes, as a qualified reference value, a set value for the minimum rotation time and the maximum rotation time of the electric motor 112 when the screw locking operation is performed. For example, it is preset that when the rotation of the electric motor 112 is stopped in a time shorter than the minimum rotation time, the screw head is set earlier than the predetermined time, and the rotation of the electric motor 112 is preset to be longer than the maximum rotation time When stopped, the screw head was in position later than the scheduled time. That is, it can be judged that when the electric motor 112 is stopped before the minimum rotation time or later than the maximum rotation time, the possibility of erroneously selecting the screw and performing screw locking is high. When the arithmetic unit 131 determines that the operation of the electric screwdriver 100 does not meet the pass criterion, it temporarily stops the operation of the electric screwdriver 100, and at the same time outputs a failure signal to the PLC 123. The condition setting data also includes a pass signal output setting value, which is used to set whether to output a pass signal to the outside when the pass criterion is met. The arithmetic unit 131 can output a pass signal when judging that the action of a certain work project meets the pass criterion, but whether to output a pass signal is determined by the pass signal output setting value. In other words, when the pass signal output setting value is the setting value (ON) of the pass signal output, the pass signal is output to the PLC123. If the pass signal output setting value (OFF) is not output, the pass signal is not sent to the PLC123. Output. These setting values in the condition setting data are respectively set to appropriate values in accordance with the corresponding work projects. Moreover, the above-mentioned setting items of the condition setting data are exemplifications, and can be other items in accordance with the preset operation project.

The setting data also includes multiple sequence setting data for setting the execution sequence of the work project. As shown in FIG. 4, the memory 132 of the electric screwdriver 100 can set the execution order from the first to the 30th, and data representing each execution order is stored in the memory 132 as the order setting data, respectively. Set data in each sequence, and up to 8 work projects can be registered. The sequence setting data also includes the secondary action setting value, which is used to set the secondary action after a series of work projects are completed. In the electric screwdriver 100, as the secondary operation setting value, the setting value to stop the operation of the electric screwdriver 100 (end), the setting value to re-execute a series of work processes in the same execution sequence (loop), and the movement Select the setting value (move to other execution order) of a series of work projects in the execution order based on other order setting data.

The above condition setting data and sequence setting data included in the setting data can be arbitrarily changed by the operation of the input interface 122. Alternatively, the corresponding data can be sent from an external device such as a computer to overwrite the setting data.

When the electric screwdriver 100 is started and the predetermined initial setting is completed, the arithmetic unit 131 reads the necessary setting data from the memory 132. Which one of the multiple execution sequences is executed can be arbitrarily selected, usually in a pre-specified manner. The arithmetic unit 131 reads the predetermined sequence setting data corresponding to the designated execution sequence and sets the execution sequence of the work process. For example, when the first execution sequence has been designated, the first sequence setting data is read. As shown in Figure 4, the first work process, the second work process, the third work process, and the fourth work process are set as a series The operation projects of these operations will be executed in sequence. The arithmetic unit 131 sequentially changes the control conditions for each work process based on the first to fourth condition setting data corresponding to these work processes, while operating the electric screwdriver 100. In this embodiment, the first work process is preset to perform temporary locking of four screws, and the second work process is preset to formally lock the temporarily locked screws. Therefore, if the first work process is completed normally, the four screws will be in a state where the screw heads are not in place. In the second work process, these temporarily locked screws are locked again to make the screw heads. And then tighten it with the specified tightening torque. As a result, the screw locking of the four screws is completed. Since the pass signal output setting value of the first condition setting data is "OFF", even if the first work process is completed normally and the pass criterion is met, the calculation unit 131 will not output the pass signal. In addition, since the pass signal output setting value of the second condition setting data becomes "ON", if the second work process is completed normally and the pass criterion is satisfied, the calculation unit 131 outputs a pass signal. Similarly, in the third work process, the 8 screws are temporarily locked, and in the fourth work process, the temporarily locked eight screws are formally locked. When the fourth work process is completed normally, the pass signal is output. Since the secondary action setting value of the first sequence setting data becomes "end", the action of the electric screwdriver 100 will stop when the fourth work process is completed.

As mentioned above, the pass signal is not output when the temporarily locked project, that is, the first and third operations, is completed, and the pass signal is output only when the officially locked project, that is, the second and fourth operations are completed. Therefore, PLC123 The pass signal is received only when the screw is locked. PLC123 will be linked with the action of the electric screwdriver 100 to control the actions of other peripheral equipment, but in most cases, it is not necessary to perform a certain control every time each work process is completed, but when the prescribed work process is completed Control is executed. In the conventional electric screwdriver 100, every time each work is completed, it outputs a pass signal, so it must be preset to ignore unnecessary pass signals on the PLC123 side. In contrast, since the electric screwdriver 100 does not output unnecessary pass signals, it is not necessary to set the PLC 123 side to ignore the pass signals. In addition, for example, after the second work process described above, a further screw locking process is added again. The first four screw locks are completed by all the first to third work processes. Therefore, if the second work process is completed If the pass signal output setting value is set to "OFF" and the pass signal output setting value when the new third operation project (further lock project) is completed is set to "ON", the PLC123 side will not change with the operation project And a setting change occurs.

When the second execution order is specified, the second order setting data is read, the third work process, the 30th work process, and the seventh work process are set as a series of work processes, and the control is sequentially changed for each work process Condition, the electric screwdriver 100 will operate at the same time. Since the second action setting value of the second order setting data becomes "loop", if the last work process is the seventh work process is completed, return to the first work process that is the third work process again, and then repeat the same work. engineering.

When the third execution order is specified, the third order setting data is read, and the 8 work processes from the first work process to the last work process 13 are set as a series of work processes, for each work The engineering changes the control conditions in sequence, and the electric screwdriver 100 will operate. Since the sub-action setting value of the 3rd sequence setting data becomes "Move to the 4th execution sequence", when the last 13th operation project is completed, the designated 4th sequence setting data is read, and the 4th execution sequence is set. Move to a series of work processes in the fourth execution sequence. The electric screwdriver 100 continues to operate based on the series of work processes in the fourth execution sequence, and when the last work process in the fourth execution sequence is the eleventh work process completed, the second operation setting value of the fourth sequence setting data "end" ", the action of the electric screwdriver 100 will stop.

In this way, in the electric screwdriver 100, the next action after the completion of a series of work processes based on a certain sequence setting data can be selected from "end", "loop", and "moving to another execution sequence". In particular, since it can be moved to the execution sequence based on other sequence setting data, it is not necessary to follow the control of an external device such as PLC123, and the electric screwdriver 100 itself can be used to set a complicated execution sequence of the work process. In addition, if the basic execution sequence that is frequently used is preset to each sequence setting data, by setting it to appropriately move between these execution sequences, compared to rearranging the execution sequence at the beginning, the project can be executed faster and easier change. Furthermore, as optional secondary actions, it is not necessary to include the above three, and other secondary actions may also be included as an alternative or additionally include these other secondary actions.

In the electric screwdriver 100, in addition, the history of work processes executed across multiple execution sequences based on multiple sequence setting data is stored in the memory 132. In this case, sometimes due to a certain operation error, the operation project must be re-executed, or according to the actual situation, the previous operation project must be re-executed. In this case, based on the history of the work process stored in the memory 132, the work process that must be re-executed can be returned. Specifically, by operating the input button 120 of the input interface 122, it is possible to return to the previous work process remaining in the history. By operating the input button 120, the following return results can be achieved: only return to the previous operation in the current operation project, return to the previous operation project, and return to the last operation project in the execution sequence of the previous sequence setting data , Or return to the first job project in the execution sequence of the previous sequence setting data. Moreover, the memory 132 of the electric screwdriver 100 is composed of the following memory combinations: non-volatile memory that can be read and written; and flash memory for temporarily storing data required for program operations, etc. Volatile memory, setting data is saved in non-volatile memory, and the history of the work project is saved in volatile memory.

The electric screwdriver 200 of the second embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, includes an electric screwdriver body 202 and a controller 204 for controlling the electric screwdriver body 202. The electric screwdriver body 202 and the controller 204 are connected by a communication cable 206 via the communication parts 238a and 238b respectively provided therein. The communication cable 224 connected to the PLC 223 is provided on the side of the controller 204. In the tool housing 210 of the electric screwdriver body 202, the electric motor 212, the motor drive circuit 226, and the Hall sensor 230 similar to the electric screwdriver 100 of the first embodiment are provided. The input interface 222 is provided on the side of the controller 204.

In the electric screwdriver 200, the electric screwdriver body 202 and the controller 204 are respectively provided with arithmetic units 231a and 231b. The two calculation units 231a and 231b communicate with each other via the communication cable 206, and the two calculation units 231a and 231b achieve the same function as the calculation unit 131 in the first embodiment. Similarly, in the electric screwdriver body 202 and the controller 204, memories 232a and 232b are respectively provided, and the two memories 232a and 232b achieve the same function as the memory 132 of the first embodiment. That is, in this electric screwdriver, the control circuit 228 is distributed in the electric screwdriver body 202 and the controller 204.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the arithmetic units 231a, 231b and the memory 232a, 232b are dispersedly arranged in the electric screwdriver body 202 and the controller 204, but they may also be arranged together in any of the electric screwdriver body 202 and the controller 204 Alternatively, the entire control circuit 228 may be arranged on the side of the controller 204.

Above, the embodiments of the present invention have been described, but the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. For example, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the tool of the present invention is described as an example of a type of electric tool, namely an electric screwdriver, but it may also be other electric tools such as a torque wrench or a grinder, or it may have the above-mentioned control circuit and Other power tools, such as air tools, whose power source is not an electric motor but an air motor. The tool of the present invention may also be a hand tool without power. As such a hand tool, for example, a torque wrench having a torque detection function. In this torque wrench, the setting data is stored in the memory of the control circuit, and the condition setting data contained in the setting data includes the number of times (control conditions) of nuts or bolts, etc., of each work process, or the number of times during the tightening operation. Torque reference value (qualified reference), etc., if the locking action is executed only in accordance with the specified number of locking times set in the work process, it will move to the next work process in accordance with the calculation section of the control circuit, and the control conditions are based on Setting data is changed. In addition, the control circuit compares the torque value detected by the torque detector with the torque reference value during the locking operation, and executes the pass judgment of the locking operation. In the condition setting data, similar to the above embodiment, including the pass signal output setting value, when the locking action meets the torque reference value (pass reference), whether to output the pass signal can be arbitrarily set for each work process. Also, in the same way, based on the sequence setting data and the sub-action setting values, it becomes a sub-action after the completion of a series of work projects set by the sequence setting data.

In addition, the tool of the present invention can also be connected to other external devices, such as a computer, other than the PLC, and can also transmit the pass or fail signal wirelessly. Furthermore, as the information memory unit for storing the setting data, in addition to the above-mentioned built-in semiconductor memory, a hard disk drive, a recordable medium such as a writable CD or DVD, and a removable USB memory can also be used Other means can also be combined arbitrarily.

100‧‧‧Electric screwdriver (tool) 110‧‧‧Tool housing 112‧‧‧Electric Motor 114‧‧‧Drill holder 116‧‧‧driver bit 118‧‧‧Display 120‧‧‧Enter button 122‧‧‧Input Interface 123‧‧‧Programmable Logic Controller (PLC) 124‧‧‧Connecting cable 126‧‧‧Motor drive circuit 128‧‧‧Control circuit 130‧‧‧Hall sensor 131‧‧‧Calculation Department 132‧‧‧Memory (Information Memory) 200‧‧‧Electric screwdriver 202‧‧‧Electric screwdriver body 204‧‧‧controller 206‧‧‧Communication cable 210‧‧‧Tool housing 212‧‧‧Electric Motor 222‧‧‧Input Interface 224‧‧‧Communication Cable 226‧‧‧Motor drive circuit 228‧‧‧Control circuit 230‧‧‧Hall sensor 231a‧‧‧Calculation Department 231b‧‧‧Calculation Department 232a‧‧‧Memory 232b‧‧‧Memory 238a‧‧‧Ministry of Communications 238b‧‧‧Ministry of Communications

Fig. 1 is an external view of the electric screwdriver according to the first embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a functional block diagram of the electric screwdriver of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing the condition setting data stored in the memory. Fig. 4 is a diagram showing sequence setting data stored in the memory. Fig. 5 is an external view of an electric screwdriver according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 6 is a functional block diagram of the electric screwdriver of Fig. 5.

100‧‧‧Electric screwdriver (tool)

110‧‧‧Tool housing

114‧‧‧Drill holder

116‧‧‧driver bit

118‧‧‧Display

120‧‧‧Enter button

122‧‧‧Input Interface

124‧‧‧Connecting cable

Claims (4)

A control circuit, which is a control circuit in a tool that sequentially changes control conditions for each work process and operates at the same time, and includes: an information storage unit that stores setting data for setting control conditions in each work process; and a calculation unit, It sequentially changes the control conditions of the tool for each work project based on the setting data; the setting data includes: a qualified reference value, which represents a qualified reference for the action of the tool in each work project; and a qualified signal output setting value, which It is used to set whether to output a qualified signal for each work project when the qualification criterion is met in each work project; the output setting value of the qualified signal for each work project can be arbitrarily changed in the output of the qualified signal setting value and Does not output the set value of the qualified signal; the calculation unit determines whether the action of the tool in each work project meets the qualified standard based on the qualified standard value, meets the qualified standard and corresponds to the qualified signal of the work project at this time When the output setting value is the setting value for outputting the qualified signal, the qualified signal is output to the outside. When the qualified signal output setting value is the setting value for not outputting the qualified signal, the qualified signal is not output to the outside. For example, in the control circuit of item 1 of the scope of patent application, when the calculation unit judges that the operation of the tool does not meet the pass criterion in the work process at this time, it will output an unqualified signal. A tool equipped with the control circuit of item 1 or item 2 of the scope of patent application, and the control circuit is operated at the same time by sequentially changing the control conditions for each work process. A control method, which is a control method for an electric tool that sequentially changes control conditions for each work process and operates at the same time, and includes the following steps: a step of reading setting data stored in an information storage unit, wherein the setting data includes: The qualified reference value, which represents the qualified standard for the action of the tool in each work project; and the qualified signal output setting value, which is used to set whether to output the qualified signal for each work project when the qualified standard is met in each work project; The output setting value of the qualified signal for each operation project can be arbitrarily changed between the setting value of outputting the qualified signal and the setting value of not outputting the qualified signal; based on the setting data, the operation projects are changed in sequence The steps of the control condition of the tool; the steps of judging whether the action of the tool in each work process meets the qualification criteria of each work process indicated by the qualified reference value; and the step of meeting the qualification criteria and corresponds to the qualification of the work process at this time When the signal output setting value is the setting value of the qualified signal, the qualified signal is output to the outside. The qualified signal output setting value is the step of not outputting the qualified signal to the outside when the setting value of the qualified signal is not output.

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