WO2003084720A1

WO2003084720A1 - Robot controller simulation device

Info

Publication number: WO2003084720A1
Application number: PCT/JP2003/004306
Authority: WO
Inventors: Yumie Kubota; Yasuhiko Noguchi; Kenji Matsuo
Original assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Yaskawa Denki
Priority date: 2002-04-09
Filing date: 2003-04-03
Publication date: 2003-10-16
Also published as: JP3948329B2; JP2003300185A

Abstract

A robot controller simulation device that uses function software, installed in a manipulator-driving robot controller, to accurately simulate the robot controller without connecting the manipulator-driving robot controller. The robot controller simulation device that simulates the robot controller function by using a computer (1), which includes a storage memory (10) and an operating system (11), comprises function software (2) installed in the manipulator-driving robot controller; an operating system connection unit (3) that connects the function software (2) to the operating system (11); and a memory address conversion unit (4) that converts memory addresses in the manipulator-driving robot controller to addresses in the storage memory (10) included in the computer (1).

Description

Specification

Robot controller simulation device

[Technical field]

The present invention relates to a robot controller simulation device in which software of a robot controller is mounted on a computer.

[Background technology]

Generally, when constructing a production line, it is necessary to select the robot model based on the size of the object to be worked, the number of robots to be arranged based on the target cycle time, and the timing of control time with peripheral external devices. There is. In addition, as a simulation for improving the accuracy of the locus of the mouth pot, the standard of RRS (Real s t i ic Ro b ot S i mul a t io n) has been established to improve the trajectory accuracy. A robot simulation apparatus for solving these problems is disclosed in JP-A-2001-150373. This will be described with reference to FIGS. In the figure, a robot controller 100 is connected to a computer 105 via a communication means 101 such as a network. The computer 105 uses, for example, a workstation and includes a display 102, a main body 103, and a keyboard 104. The robot controller 100 is configured around a processor, and controls a robot operation based on basic software and a robot program. The command signal for the robot operation control is normally sent to the robot, but is transferred to the computer 100 via the communication means 101 here. The computer 100 simulates the operation of the robot based on the command signal.

However, according to the RRS standard, which is a conventional technology, it was not possible to simulate the entire production line, including external peripheral devices, even though the accuracy related to robot operation alone was improved. Further, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-150373, since simulation is performed by receiving data from a robot controller, high-precision simulation is possible because the control of the robot controller is used as it is. However, since a function for operating a real robot such as a service is attached, there was a problem of cost and space, and there was a problem that it was not realistic when considering a production line.

[Disclosure of the Invention]

The present invention solves the above problem by using a function software installed in a robot controller that drives a manipulator without connecting the robot controller that drives the manipulator, and simulating the robot controller with high accuracy. The present invention provides a robot controller simulation device that operates.

A robot simulation device according to claim 1 of the present invention is a robot controller simulation device that simulates a function of a robot controller using a computer including a storage memory and an operating system, wherein the robot controller drives a manipulator. Function software to be installed and the function software Address conversion for converting a memory address of a robot controller that drives the manipulator into an address of the storage memory included in the computer, and an operating system connection unit that connects the hardware and the operating system included in the computer. And a unit.

Further, the robot simulation apparatus according to claim 2 of the present invention includes: a programming pendant used in a robot controller that drives the manifold, and a pendant communication processing unit that communicates with the programming pendant. It is a feature.

The robot simulation device according to claim 3 of the present invention further includes a processing speed adjustment unit that adjusts a difference between a processing speed of the robot controller that drives the manipulator and a processing speed of the computer, wherein the processing speed adjustment unit includes: Delaying execution of instructions of the computer.

Further, the robot simulation device according to claim 4 of the present invention is a robot simulation device comprising: a servo delay input unit for inputting a delay time of a servo control device provided in a robot controller for driving the manipulator; And a servo simulation unit that simulates the servo control device based on the value input to the unit.

Further, the robot simulation apparatus according to claim 5 of the present invention includes: an external device connection unit that connects the computer to external devices; and a scan time between the robot controller that drives the manipulator and the external device. An external device control time input unit for inputting, and an external connection function unit for accessing the external device based on a value input by the external device control time input unit.

Further, the robot simulation device according to claim 6 of the present invention provides the functional software with a command relating to a robot operation, a command for performing communication with the external device, and a command for accessing data held by the functional software. It is characterized by having a function resource access unit to perform.

In addition, the robot simulation apparatus according to claim 7 of the present invention provides the function software with a command relating to an operation of a robot, a command for performing communication with the external device, and a command for accessing data held by the function software. A function resource access unit for performing an operation, inputting an operation instruction to the robot via the function resource access unit, and displaying an operation state of the robot on a display connected to the computer. is there.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a software configuration diagram of a robot controller that drives the manipulator.

Figure 3 shows the system call flow. Figure 4 shows the flow of address access.

Figure 5 shows the flow of job execution.

Figure 6 shows the flow of the move command.

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram of the second embodiment.

FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram of the third embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a configuration diagram of the fourth embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram of the fifth embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a configuration diagram of the sixth embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a configuration diagram of a conventional technique.

[Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention]

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the present invention. The computer 1 includes a storage memory 10 and an operating system 11. The operating system 1 is software that directly controls the computer 1 hardware. The functional software 2 installed in the robot controller that drives the manipulator is software that executes commands for performing robot operations such as the position and speed of the robot, and commands for communicating with external devices. The functional software 2 accesses the talent rating system 11 through the operating system connection unit 3, and finally controls the hardware of the computer 1. In addition, the address of the robot controller that drives the manipulator specified by the functional software 2 accesses the storage memory 10 included in the computer 1 through the memory address conversion unit. Figure 2 shows the configuration of the software installed on the robot controller that drives the manipulator. Normally, a robot controller that drives a manipulator needs real-time operation to drive a servo motor or the like. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, it is composed of two softwares, an operating system 20 for robot control and a functional software 2. The functional software 2 of the robot controller that drives the manipulator includes a system call to the operating system 20 for controlling the robot. A system call is a general term for processing that calls the operating system. The flow in which the functional software 2 executes a system call will be described with reference to FIG. In step 1, the functional software 2 issues a system call of the operating system 20 for robot control. In step 2, this command is received by operating system connection 3. In advance, there is a system call correspondence table 12 in which the system call of the operating system 11 of the computer 1 and the system call of the operating system 20 for controlling the mouth bot are associated. In step 3, the processing is instructed to the operating system 11 of the computer 1 using the table 12.

The functional software 2 includes a command to access a memory in a robot controller that drives the manipulator. Using Fig. 4, functional software 2 Describes a processing flow for accessing the storage memory 10 of the computer 1. In step 1, the functional software is instructed to access the actual memory in the robot controller. In step 2, this command is received by the memory address translator 4. There is a memory address correspondence table 13 in which the memory addresses of the computer 1 and the memory addresses in the robot controller that drives the manipulator are associated in advance. In step 3, the memory of computer 1 is accessed using this table 13.

Next, Fig. 5 shows a simulation of job 21 for robot movement. Job 21 has a MOV instruction which is a robot movement instruction. Functional software 2 instructs the process of reading job 21 1. At this time, the functional software 2 instructs the memory address conversion unit 4 to read 100 bytes from the memory address 100 0 in the robot controller that drives the manipulator in which the job 21 exists. . The memory address converter 4 reads the memory address correspondence table 13. The memory address 1100 of computer 1 corresponding to the memory address 1100 in the robot controller that drives the manipulator is obtained. Then, 100 bytes are read from the memory address 1 1100 of computer 1. Job 21 is read and Function Software 2 interprets the instruction. As a method of interpreting an instruction, the instruction is converted once as an intermediate code, and the control of the CPU is shifted to a processing function corresponding to the intermediate code. Here, for the MOV instruction, a command position is created at regular intervals in the robot operation unit of the functional software 2. Normally, the robot controller that drives the manipulator sends the created command position to the servo control unit and drives the servo motor. The functional software 2 writes the position command into the address 200 of the communication unit with the servo control device in the mouth bot controller that drives the manipulator. The memory address conversion unit 4 obtains the memory address 300000 of the computer 1 from the memory address correspondence table 13. This address does not actually control the servo controller because it is not physically physically connected externally.

In a general robot controller, a command is created at regular intervals, and the command position of the next MOVE command is calculated before the next cycle arrives. This is called prefetching and is programmed with the concept of tasks. In other words, in order to finally issue the position command to the servo controller, this pre-read must be completed. In this case, whether or not the prefetching is completed is determined by a mail which is a system call of the operating system 20 for controlling the robot 5 / port. This process is described with reference to FIG. The functional software 2 instructs the operating system connection unit 3 to use the system call mail. The operating system connection unit 3 issues a system call of the operating system 11 of the computer 1 using the system call correspondence table 12. By doing so, the functional software 2 can create a mail that is a system call.

As described above, in this embodiment, the robot controller that drives the manipulator By using the functional software of the controller, it can be realized accurately and inexpensively with a robot controller simulation device using a computer.

A second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The programming pendant 5 is used for the robot controller that drives the manipulator. The pendant communication processing unit 6 that performs data communication with the programming pendant 5 connects the functional software 2 and the programming pendant 5. Normally, the board and programming pendant in the robot controller use data communication such as a serial transmission processing method. On this board, a communication circuit element and a program are mounted. In this embodiment, the pendant communication processing unit 6 assumes this substrate. In addition, when communication with the programming pendant 5 can use a function prepared in advance in the external device interface of the computer 1, the pendant communication processing unit 6 is only software. For example, when the (X +) key 51 installed on the programming pendant 5 is pressed, the robot controller that drives the manipulator uses the robot in the base coordinate system (the unique coordinate system that the robot has). Move the robot's control point in the plus direction with respect to the axis. In this embodiment, when the (X +) key 51 is pressed, the key information is transmitted to the pendant communication processing unit 6. The transmitted key information is stored in the key information storage area designated by the functional software 2 through the memory address translation 4. In addition, the response time of the actual programming pendant, in other words, by pressing the key once, the time until the functional software 2 recognizes the key is specified in advance in the pendant communication processing unit 6. However, the processing speed of the computer 1 is delayed, and a response feeling equivalent to that of the actual machine can be realized.

As described above, in this embodiment, since the programming pendant used for the robot controller that drives the manipulator can be used, the robot controller can be simulated with the same feeling.

A third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The processing speed of the functional software 2 installed in Calculator 1 depends on the processing speed of CPU of Calculator 1. In other words, a difference occurs between the CPU processing speed of the robot controller that drives the manipulator and the CPU processing speed of the computer 1. This difference causes a problem in the case of processing in which the processing speed of the command affects the accuracy (for example, trajectory interpolation of a moving command). In order to solve this, in the present embodiment, the processing speed adjusting unit 7 delays the processing of the CPU of the robot controller simulation device. For example, suppose that the CPU processing speed of the computer 1 is twice as fast as the C.PU processing speed of the robot controller that drives the manifold. If 1 msec is needed to execute the instruction, Calculator 1 stops executing the CPU of l msec after the instruction is completed. This instruction is completed 2 ms after the start of the instruction execution.

In this embodiment, the processing speed is the same as that of the robot controller that drives the manipulator in instruction units. 6 Same as La.

A fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Set the servo delay time in the service delay input section 8 in advance. In this method, the robot controller that drives the manipulator gives a command to the servo control device, and based on the command, sets the delay time until the robot moves. The functional software 2 issues a command pulse to the servo simulation unit 9 as a command. The servo simulation unit 9 delays the response by the time based on the value set in the servo delay input unit 8. The servo simulation unit 9 returns to the functional software 2 assuming a feedback pulse after the set time has elapsed. This feedback pulse is a method of using a simple command as it is as a feedback pulse, a method of adding a random number to the command to generate a feedback pulse, and a method of using a feedback pulse that takes into account the load inertia that can be calculated from the robot mechanism and gravity. and so on.

According to this embodiment, the actual movement of the robot can be accurately grasped, and the trajectory accuracy and the tact time can be accurately simulated.

A fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The computer 1 is connected to the external device 30 via the external device connection unit 31. The external device connection unit 31 may be either inside or outside the computer 1. Connection to external devices is via an industrial network such as a fieldbus. The functional software 2 is connected to an external device via an I / I or network. Input the I / 〇 scan time of the robot controller that drives the manipulator to the external device control time input section 32. At this time, the external connection function unit 33 performs an IZO scan of the external device. In the functional software 2, the external connection function unit 33 accesses the I I data through the memory address conversion unit.

According to this embodiment, it is possible to simulate with an external device at the same timing as the actual device, and it is very easy to check the interlock with the external device. A sixth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Calculator 1 displays a display. The operation panel 72 is displayed on this display. On the operation panel 72, operation buttons for starting and stopping the robot such as emergency stop, servo power supply Ο Ν, start, and hold are displayed. This display is a touch panel. By touching this button, commands can be issued to the mouth bot. In the mode, the teaching mode and the play mode are selected. The command of the operation panel 72 accesses the function software 2 through the function resource access section 34. After that, the functional software 2 performs the robot trajectory calculation, and sequentially returns the result to the data display panel 73 and the operation display panel 74. The data display panel displays the data desired by the user, such as the current position, cycle time, and robot operation time. In addition, the robot position can be acquired at regular intervals, and the robot model can be displayed on the operation display panel 74. As a result, the actual operation of the robot can be confirmed with the simulator device. 4306

According to this embodiment, the user can perform desired data display / simulation through the functional resource access unit.

Further, as another embodiment, it is possible to easily give a command from another computer to the robot simulation device and obtain data via a network by using a network driver. Similarly, when considering the installation of multiple robots, it becomes possible to communicate multiple robot controller simulation devices via a network.

According to the device of the present invention, since the functional software mounted on the robot controller for driving the manipulator is used as it is, it is possible to accurately simulate the mouth-bottom controller for driving the manipulator.

Also, by providing a programming pendant that is actually connected to the robot controller and used, the operability can be made the same as the actual machine.

In addition, since the processing speed of the robot controller that drives the manipulator and the computer can be adjusted, the user can use a computer that is generally available on the market and has the special effect that it can be realized at low cost. The user can use a general computer when creating software using the functional resource access means, and thus can use a software development environment (compiler, assembler, etc.) that the user prefers.

[Industrial applicability]

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention is useful for a robot controller simulation in which software of a robot controller is installed in a computer.

Claims

The scope of the claims

1. In a robot controller simulation device that simulates the function of a robot controller using a computer including a storage memory and an operating system, a function software to be mounted on a robot controller that drives a manipulator, and the function software and the computer An operating system connection unit for connecting the included operating system, and a memory address conversion unit for converting a memory address of a robot controller for driving the manipulator into an address of the storage memory included in the computer. A unique robot controller simulation device.

2. The robot controller simulation apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a programming pendant used in a robot controller that drives the manipulator; and a pendant communication processing unit that communicates with the programming pendant.

3. A processing speed adjusting unit that adjusts a difference between a processing speed of the computer and a robot controller that drives the manipulator, wherein the processing speed adjusting unit delays execution of instructions of the computer. The described robot controller simulation device.

4. A servo delay input unit for inputting a delay time of a servo control device provided in a robot controller for driving the manipulator, and a simulation of the servo control device based on a value input to the servo delay input unit. 2. The robot controller simulation device according to claim 1, further comprising: a servo simulation unit that performs the simulation.

5. An external device control unit that has an external device connection unit that connects the computer and external devices, and an external device control time input unit that inputs a scan time of an external device of the robot controller that drives the manipulator. The robot controller simulation device according to claim 1, further comprising an external connection function unit for accessing the external device based on a value input by the time input unit.

6. A function resource access unit for issuing a command relating to a robot operation, a command for performing communication with the external device, and a command for accessing data held by the function software, to the function software. Item 1. The robot controller simulation device according to item 1. .

7. The function resource access unit includes a function resource access unit that issues a command regarding a robot operation, a command for performing communication with the external device, and a command for accessing data stored in the function software, to the function software. 2. The robot controller simulation device according to claim 1, wherein an operation command to the robot is input via the controller, and the operation status of the robot is displayed on a display connected to the computer. .