Communication control method for flexible manufacturing unit and industrial robot

Abstract

The invention provides a communication control method for a flexible manufacturing unit and an industrial robot. The method comprises the steps that the industrial robot is in coupling connection with a plurality of machine tools in the flexible manufacturing unit; auxiliary instructions are inserted into main programs of a plurality of machine tools respectively, and a plurality of subprograms corresponding to the auxiliary instructions are configured in a main program of the industrial robot; and in response to execution of the auxiliary instruction by the machine tool, the industrial robot is coupled and triggered to execute a corresponding subprogram so as to execute a preset operation. According to the invention, the industrial robot is directly coupled with the plurality of machine tools in the flexible manufacturing unit, and the auxiliary instruction is inserted into the main program of the machine tool to trigger the execution of the preset subprogram in the industrial robot, so that the decoupling of the software level is realized; the execution of the subprogram does not conflict with other auxiliary instructions in the main program of the machine tool, and the processing procedure is convenient to adjust.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of machining control, and particularly to a communication control method for a flexible manufacturing cell and an industrial robot. Background Art

[0002] As a core element in the field of intelligent manufacturing, an industrial robot has high flexibility and programmability and can undertake repetitive and cumbersome tasks. More and more flexible manufacturing cells are equipped with industrial robots to replace manual labor for repetitive loading and unloading tasks, so as to improve the production efficiency of the flexible manufacturing cell and shorten the production cycle. Currently, during the integration of an industrial robot into a flexible manufacturing cell, after clarifying the processing procedures of the product in the flexible manufacturing cell, two integration methods can be adopted for the integration of the industrial robot, including: one method is that the signals of the industrial robot directly control the solenoid valves of the relevant actuators of the machine tool without passing through the logic processing of the machine tool to achieve the loading and unloading operations of the machine tool. Since this integration method has low safety performance and requires additional signal detection switches to be installed, it has gradually been replaced by the following second integration method. The second integration method uses a programmable logic controller (PLC) as the communication intermediary between the numerical control machine tool and the industrial robot to achieve two-way signal transmission; the PLC is responsible for collecting and processing the signals from the numerical control machine tool and the industrial robot, and through logical operations, controls the loading and unloading actions of the industrial robot to ensure that it can complete operations such as loading and unloading according to the established workpiece processing process. However, the second integration method also has the following defects: (1) It is difficult to collect and process the signals at the machine tool end. Integrators need to be quite familiar with the system signals of different brands of numerical control machine tools to correctly collect and process the signals at the machine tool end. This difficulty makes it impossible for integrators to complete the integration task alone and often requires the close cooperation of the machine tool manufacturer to complete the integration; (2) The PLC collects a large number of signals. The PLC needs to collect signals such as the machine tool status (power on, running, alarm), the machining status of the additional bed (machining completed, machining in progress), the status of the machine tool fixture (fixture loosened, fixture tightened), and the status of the machine tool door (opened, closed). After processing the collected signals, it controls the loading and unloading operations of the industrial robot and issues instructions such as pausing the machine tool, tightening or loosening the fixture, and starting the machine tool program, resulting in a complex PLC program and prone to errors; (3) The interaction signals between the machine tool and the industrial robot have poor readability after being converted and processed by the PLC, which brings inconvenience to subsequent debugging and maintenance; taking the output signal at the machine tool end (the input signal is similar) as an example, the output signal at the machine tool end is converted by a relay to become the input signal at the PLC end, and the output signal after the PLC logic processing is converted by an intermediate relay to become the input signal at the industrial robot end. After the signal is converted and processed through the "output - input - output - input" link, the corresponding relationship weakens and it is extremely cumbersome to sort out; (4)An integrated system for collecting machine tool signals by PLC and controlling the loading and unloading rhythm of industrial robots. The loading and unloading instructions are sent by PLC control. The machine tool end cannot freely call the industrial robot in the processing program. When processing products with different processes, the integrated system cannot adapt to the change of product processing processes, and it is necessary to rewrite the PLC control program and modify the robot program extensively, which limits the freedom degree of the flexible manufacturing unit and reduces the range of product processing. (5)For machine tool operators, all logical signals run at the bottom layer of the equipment, and visualization and programmability cannot be achieved. Summary of the Invention

[0003] In order to simplify the communication control relationship between industrial robots and flexible manufacturing units and facilitate the modification of the processing procedures of flexible manufacturing units, the present invention proposes a communication control method for flexible manufacturing units and industrial robots. The method includes: coupling and connecting an industrial robot with multiple machine tools in a flexible manufacturing unit; respectively inserting auxiliary instructions into the main programs of the multiple machine tools, and configuring multiple subprograms corresponding to the auxiliary instructions in the main program of the industrial robot; in response to the execution of the auxiliary instructions by the machine tool, coupling and triggering the industrial robot to execute the corresponding subprogram to perform a preset operation.

[0004] In one or more embodiments, coupling and connecting an industrial robot with multiple machine tools in a flexible manufacturing unit includes: connecting the relay coil of the first relay in series between the output end and the ground end of the machine tool, and connecting the normally open coupling switch of the first relay in series between the input end and the power supply end of the industrial robot; connecting the relay coil of the second relay in series between the output end of the industrial robot and the ground, and connecting the normally open coupling switch of the second relay in series between the input end and the power supply end of the machine tool.

[0005] In one or more embodiments, respectively inserting auxiliary instructions into the main programs of multiple machine tools includes: inserting one or more auxiliary instructions into the main program of each machine tool; allocating machine tool output ports for the one or more auxiliary instructions, and configuring different bit selection signal generation programs for different auxiliary instructions.

[0006] In one or more embodiments, in response to the execution of the auxiliary instructions by the machine tool, coupling and triggering the industrial robot to execute the corresponding subprogram to perform a preset operation includes: generating a corresponding bit selection signal in response to the execution of the auxiliary instructions by the machine tool; powering on the corresponding pins of the machine tool output port according to the bit selection signal to conduct the corresponding relay coil and coupling and triggering the corresponding normally open relay switch to close; the industrial robot generates a control signal according to the closed normally open relay switch to trigger the execution of the corresponding subprogram.

[0007] In one or more embodiments, a plurality of subroutines corresponding to the auxiliary instructions are configured in the main program of the industrial robot, including: configuring a robot motion control program in each subroutine, and setting a bit selection signal generation program at the end of the subroutine.

[0008] In one or more embodiments, the communication control method of the flexible manufacturing unit and the industrial robot of the present invention further includes: generating a corresponding bit selection signal in response to the completion of the execution of the subroutine; powering on the corresponding pins of the output port of the industrial robot according to the bit selection signal to turn on the corresponding relay coil and coupling to trigger the closing of the corresponding normally open relay switch; the machine tool generates a control signal according to the closed normally open relay switch to turn on the auxiliary instruction end control pin of the machine tool to end the current auxiliary instruction.

[0009] In one or more embodiments, the communication control method of the flexible manufacturing unit and the industrial robot of the present invention further includes: configuring a buffer for the industrial robot and setting a buffer queue, where the buffer queue is used to temporarily store a plurality of control signals triggered by the machine tool for controlling the subroutine during the execution of any subroutine by the industrial robot; wherein, the process flow is composed of the machine tool numbers of the plurality of machine tools.

[0010] In one or more embodiments, the buffer queue is used to store a plurality of control signals triggered by the machine tool for controlling the subroutine during the execution of any subroutine by the industrial robot, including: binding the number of the machine tool to the input port of the industrial robot coupled to the machine tool; adding the machine tool number to the control signal in response to the generation of the control signal triggered by the input port; and inserting the control signal into the corresponding position of the buffer queue according to the machine tool number therein and the arrangement order of the machine tool numbers in the current process flow in response to the buffer queue receiving the control signal.

[0011] In one or more embodiments, the communication control method of the flexible manufacturing unit and the industrial robot of the present invention further includes: modifying the sorting of the machine tool numbers in the process flow to change the processing order of the plurality of machine tools.

[0012] In one or more embodiments, the communication control method of the flexible manufacturing unit and the industrial robot of the present invention further includes: placing the workpiece that has been processed in the previous process in the designated area of the storage bin in response to the unfinished processing of the next process, where the storage bin is divided into a plurality of storage areas, and each storage area corresponds to a machine tool.

[0013] The beneficial effects of the present invention include: The present invention directly couples and connects an industrial robot with multiple machine tools in a flexible manufacturing cell, and does not require writing control logic for controlling the actions of each other in their main programs. Instead, a simple triggering method is adopted, thereby achieving decoupling at the software control level between the two. By inserting auxiliary instructions into the main program of the machine tool to trigger the execution of a preset subroutine in the industrial robot, it is ensured that the execution of the subroutine will not conflict with other auxiliary instructions in the main program of the machine tool and it is convenient to adjust the processing procedures. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the drawings required for use in the description of the embodiments or the prior art. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those of ordinary skill in the art, without creative efforts, other embodiments can be obtained based on these drawings.

[0015] Figure 1 It is a flowchart of the communication control method of the flexible manufacturing cell and the industrial robot according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 2 It is a coupling connection circuit diagram of the flexible manufacturing cell and the industrial robot according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of the decoding process of the M instruction according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of the decoding address allocated for the M instruction according to an embodiment of the present invention; Figure 5 It is a circuit diagram of the signal for triggering the subroutine of the industrial robot on the machine tool side according to an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0016] To make the objectives, technical solutions, and advantages of the present invention clearer and more understandable, the following further details the embodiments of the present invention with reference to specific embodiments and the accompanying drawings.

[0017] It should be noted that all the expressions using "first" and "second" in the embodiments of the present invention are used to distinguish two entities or parameters with the same name but different, and it can be seen that "first" and "second" are only for the convenience of expression and should not be construed as a limitation on the embodiments of the present invention. This will not be elaborated one by one in the subsequent embodiments.

[0018] In order to simplify the communication control relationship between the industrial robot and the flexible manufacturing cell and facilitate modifying the processing procedures of the flexible manufacturing cell, in an embodiment of the present invention, a communication control method for the flexible manufacturing cell and the industrial robot is proposed. Please refer to Figure 1, The method includes: Step S1, coupling and connecting an industrial robot with multiple machine tools in a flexible manufacturing cell; Step S2, respectively inserting auxiliary instructions into the main programs of the multiple machine tools, and configuring multiple subprograms corresponding to the auxiliary instructions in the main program of the industrial robot; Step S3, in response to the auxiliary instruction being executed by the machine tool, coupling and triggering the industrial robot to execute the corresponding subprogram to perform a preset operation.

[0019] Specifically, in this embodiment, the industrial robot is directly coupled and connected with multiple machine tools in the flexible manufacturing cell, and there is no need to write control logic for controlling the actions of each other in the main programs of the two. Instead, a simple triggering method is adopted, thus realizing the decoupling of the two at the software control level. And by inserting auxiliary instructions into the main program of the machine tool to trigger the execution of the preset subprogram in the industrial robot, it is ensured that the execution of the subprogram will not conflict with other auxiliary instructions in the main program of the machine tool. This is because the machine tool will only execute one auxiliary instruction in the same trigger channel at the same time, and will only execute the next auxiliary instruction when the auxiliary instruction in the current trigger channel ends. And most of the auxiliary action control of the machine tool is also completed by the control of the auxiliary instruction.

[0020] In one embodiment, coupling and connecting an industrial robot with multiple machine tools in a flexible manufacturing cell includes: connecting the relay coil of the first relay in series between the output terminal and the ground terminal of the machine tool, and connecting the normally open coupling switch of the first relay in series between the input terminal and the power supply terminal of the industrial robot; connecting the relay coil of the second relay in series between the output terminal of the industrial robot and the ground, and connecting the normally open coupling switch of the second relay in series between the input terminal and the power supply terminal of the machine tool.

[0021] Specifically, the difference between the first relay and the second relay in this embodiment is only in the wiring method. Among them, the trigger side needs to be connected to the relay coil, and the triggered side needs to be connected to the normally open relay switch. The connection method of this embodiment needs to ensure that the execution of the subprogram of the industrial robot can be triggered by the main control program of the machine tool, and the machine tool can be notified to end the current auxiliary instruction after the execution of the subprogram is completed.

[0022] In an alternative embodiment, taking one machine tool as an example, its connection method with the industrial robot is as Figure 2 shown: Among them, the I / O pin functions of the coupled connection between the machine tool and the industrial robot are shown in Table 1 below: Table 1

[0023] Combined with Figure 2Similar to Table 1 above, in this embodiment, 8 IO pins are provided. Four output pins are respectively used to trigger the two sub-programs of loading and unloading the machine tool and to feedback the loosening and tightening states of the chuck of the machine tool. These two sub-programs need to be triggered and executed by two corresponding auxiliary instructions (subsequently abbreviated as M instructions); the other four input pins are used to receive the control instructions for loosening and tightening the chuck of the machine tool by the industrial robot and to end the current auxiliary instruction.

[0024] In one embodiment, auxiliary instructions are respectively inserted into the main programs of multiple machine tools, including: inserting one or more auxiliary instructions into the main program of each machine tool; allocating machine tool output ports for one or more auxiliary instructions, and configuring different bit selection signal generation programs for different auxiliary instructions.

[0025] Specifically, please continue to refer to Figure 2 Since the relay coil is coupled between the signal pins (such as Y2.3 - Y2.4 and Y9.0 - Y9.3) and the ground terminal (0V), the relay coil will conduct only when the signal pin is set to a high level, and then control the corresponding normally open relay switch to close to trigger the corresponding sub-program. For this reason, the bit selection signal generation program set in the auxiliary instruction is used to generate the bit selection signal and set the corresponding pin to a high level.

[0026] In an alternative embodiment, the specific manner of powering on the pin controlled by the M instruction is as Figure 3 shown. It is necessary to use the SUB25(DECB) function instruction module to decode the M instruction to control the powering on of the corresponding pin; 8 M instructions can be decoded at one time, and the decoding process is as follows: When the machine tool is executing the machining program and an instruction in the format of M90 or M91 is read, the input pin F7.0 of SUB25 conducts, and the M90 or M91 code values 90 and 91 are stored in the 4-byte special registers at addresses F0010 - F0013 (code data addresses), as Figure 4 shown. When the register value is the same as the decoded specified value, that is, when it is the same as a certain value among 8 consecutive values starting from the specified value 90 (90 - 97), the bit addresses of R150.0 to R150.7 of its corresponding output data are set to 1.

[0027] In one embodiment, in response to the auxiliary instruction being executed by the machine tool, the industrial robot is coupled to trigger the corresponding sub-program to perform a preset operation, including: generating a corresponding bit selection signal in response to the auxiliary instruction being executed by the machine tool; powering on the corresponding pin of the machine tool output port according to the bit selection signal to conduct the corresponding relay coil and coupling to trigger the corresponding normally open relay switch to close; the industrial robot generates a control signal according to the closed normally open relay switch to trigger the execution of the corresponding sub-program.

[0028] Specifically, please refer toFigure 2 , on the triggered side, in the input ports (including pins DI9 - DI12) of the industrial robot, when the normally open relay switch closes, the corresponding input pins are set to high level, thereby generating a control signal and triggering the corresponding subroutine. In this embodiment, the actions of the industrial robot are controlled by itself and not by the machine tool, and there is no strong coupling with the control logic of the machine tool. When it is necessary to modify the participation timing of the industrial robot, only the insertion position of the corresponding auxiliary code needs to be modified in the main program of the machine tool, which greatly improves the applicability and debugging efficiency of the flexible unit.

[0029] In an alternative embodiment, the inserted auxiliary instruction can be used for loading and unloading, and its complete working process is as follows: When the machine tool machining starts and the process machining ends, after returning to the safe position and opening the machine tool door, execute the M90 or M91 code to send the loading and unloading instructions to the industrial robot. The corresponding R150.0 and R150.1 are turned on, and Y9.0 and Y9.1 are set to 1. Output to the industrial robot end DI9 and DI10 through the external relay KAY9.0 and KAY9.1 of the machine tool to call the industrial robot. At this time, the machine tool is in the M code execution state, and the program execution cursor pauses at M90 or M91. The next machining program of the machine tool pauses reading and execution, and waits for the feedback signal of the end M instruction sent by the industrial robot all the time, and then it will read and execute the next machining program. The control ladder diagram is as Figure 5 shown.

[0030] In an embodiment, configure multiple subroutines corresponding to auxiliary instructions in the main program of the industrial robot, including: configure the robot action control program in each subroutine, and set the bit selection signal generation program at the end of the subroutine.

[0031] Specifically, the bit selection signal generation program set at the end of the subroutine is used to send the feedback signal of the end M instruction to the machine tool, which is used to control the end of the currently executing M instruction to indicate the completion of the loading and unloading operation, and then enables the main program of the machine tool to continue executing the next machining instruction.

[0032] In an alternative implementation paradigm, the subroutines for controlling loading and unloading in the industrial robot include: M1shangliao: / / Loading subroutine PTP(M1) / / The robot is at the external safe position of the machine tool PTP(ap1) / / Position at internal point 1 of the machine tool PTP(ap2) / / Position at internal point 2 of the machine tool Lin(fangliaodian_up) / / The robot runs to the position above the loading point WaitIsFinished() DOUT12.Pulse(TRUE, 5000) / / Open the machine tool fixture DI12.Wait(TRUE) / / Wait for the machine tool fixture to open completely Lin(fangliaodian) / / Run to the loading point position DOUT11.Pulse(TRUE, 5000) / / Clamp the machine tool fixture DI11.Wait(TRUE) / / The machine tool fixture is clamped completely DOUT13.set(TRUE) / / The robot gripper releases the workpiece DI13.Wait(TRUE) / / The robot workpiece release is completed Lin(fangliaodian_up) / / The robot runs to the loading waiting position and returns along ap1, ap2, and M1 points.

[0033] PTP(ap2) PTP(ap1) PTP(M1) WaitIsFinished() DOUT9.Pulse(TRUE, 5000) / / The robot runs outside the machine tool to send a loading completion signal, and the machine tool starts processing.

[0034] The robot motion trajectory of the loading subroutine is as follows: After the industrial robot receives the machine tool loading signal, it waits at the external waiting point position of the machine tool, then enters the machine tool interior. At the loading waiting point, it opens the machine tool fixture. After the machine tool fixture is opened, it moves to the fixture loading point and performs the fixture clamping action. After the machine tool workpiece is clamped, the industrial robot releases the material, exits the machine tool along the original loading path, and sends a loading completion signal to the machine tool at the external safe waiting point position of the machine tool. Among them, the program before each wait is a subroutine and corresponds to an M instruction on the machine tool side. During the waiting process, it is necessary to send feedback on the completion of the current action to the machine tool side (i.e., the M end instruction).

[0035] M1shangliao: / / Unloading subroutine PTP(M1) / / The robot is at the safe position of the external point of the machine tool PTP(ap1) / / The position of internal point 1 of the machine tool PTP(ap2) / / The position of internal point 2 of the machine tool Lin(quliaodian) / / The robot runs to the picking point position WaitIsFinished() DOUT13.set(FALSE) / / The robot gripper grabs the workpiece DI14.Wait(TRUE) / / The robot has finished grasping the workpiece DOUT12.Pulse(TRUE, 5000) / / Open the machine tool fixture DI12.Wait(TRUE) / / Wait for the machine tool fixture to open completely Lin(quliaodian_up) / / The robot moves to the material taking position and returns along ap1, ap2, and M1 points

[0036] PTP(ap2) PTP(ap1) PTP(M1) WaitIsFinished() DOUT10.Pulse(TRUE, 5000) / / The robot moves to the outside of the machine tool and sends a signal indicating that the loading is complete, and the machine tool starts processing

[0037] The movement trajectory of the robot in the unloading subroutine is as follows: After receiving the unloading signal from the machine tool, the industrial robot waits at the waiting point outside the machine tool, then enters the machine tool. After clamping the workpiece at the material taking position, the robot performs the action of releasing the fixture. After the workpiece on the machine tool is released, the industrial robot exits the machine tool along the original unloading path and waits at the safe waiting point outside the machine tool, sending a signal indicating that the unloading is complete to the machine tool. Among them, the program before each wait is a subroutine and corresponds to an M instruction on the machine tool side. During the waiting process, it is necessary to send feedback on the completion of the current action (i.e., the M end instruction) to the machine tool side

[0038] In one embodiment, the main program of the industrial robot can wait for the trigger signal of the M instruction in a loop manner and control the execution of the corresponding subroutine according to the port number of the trigger signal. Optionally, the main program of the industrial robot is as follows: Main: / / Main program Dyn(d0) / / Motion parameters DynOvr(50) / / Dynamic magnification parameter CALL init() / / Call the initialization subroutine WHILE TRUE DO / / Loop instruction IF DI9.val THEN / / Judgment of the loading signal CALL LiaoCang_quliao () / / Call the subroutine for taking materials from the storage bin CALL M1_shangliao () / / Call the subroutine for loading materials onto the machine tool END_IF; IF DI10.val THEN / / Judgment of the unloading signal CALL M1_xialiao(); / / Call the machine tool blanking subroutine; CALL LiaoCang_fangliao(); / / Call the bin feeding subroutine; END_IF; WaitTime(100); END_WHILE / / End of loop.

[0039] In one embodiment, the method of the present invention further includes: generating a corresponding bit selection signal in response to the completion of the execution of the subroutine; powering on the corresponding pin of the output port of the industrial robot according to the bit selection signal to turn on the corresponding relay coil and coupling to trigger the closing of the corresponding normally open relay switch; the machine tool generates a control signal according to the closed normally open relay switch to turn on the auxiliary instruction end control pin of the machine tool to end the current auxiliary instruction.

[0040] In an alternative embodiment, the pin on the machine tool side triggered by the feedback signal of the end M instruction will generate a control signal and input it to the general signal pin of the machine tool, and send it to the main control system of the machine tool in the form of G4.3 instruction to notify the end of the current auxiliary instruction; wherein, the G4.3 instruction is a general end instruction for M code, S code, and T code. The complete process of this embodiment includes: when the industrial robot finishes loading and unloading and runs to the external safe position of the machine tool, it outputs DOUT9 and DOU10, which are output to the machine tool ends X9.0 and X9.1 through the external relays KAT9 and KAT10 of the robot, thereby turning on R250.0 and G4.3, and then ending the execution of the current M instruction. At this point, the loading or unloading of the machine tool is completed, and the machine tool starts to execute the next machining program. Among them, R150 is the address directly controlled by SUB25, and R250 is the address indirectly controlled based on R150. It is an intermediate storage address for the result of signal interaction between the two parties. The logic is executed by the M code. When R150.X is turned on, the signal interaction between the two parties is effective based on the turn-on of R150.X, which is equivalent to a chain master switch.

[0041] In one embodiment, the method further includes: configuring a buffer for the industrial robot and setting a buffer queue, where the buffer queue is used to temporarily store multiple control signals triggered by the machine tool for controlling the subroutine according to a preset process flow during the execution of any subroutine by the industrial robot; wherein, the process flow consists of the machine tool numbers of multiple machine tools.

[0042] Specifically, since the present invention does not adopt the strict control of the working sequence of the industrial robot and the machine tool by the intermediate PLC, there will be a situation where multiple machine tools request to trigger the execution of the subroutine together or successively. In order to avoid conflicts and accurately complete the loading and unloading operations according to the technological process, in this embodiment, a buffer queue will be set up to suspend the control instructions of the subroutine to be triggered and insert them into the queue according to the technological process.

[0043] In one embodiment, the buffer queue is used to store, during the execution of any subroutine by the industrial robot, control signals for controlling the subroutine triggered by multiple machine tools according to a preset technological process, including: binding the number of the machine tool to the input port of the industrial robot coupled to the machine tool; generating a control signal in response to the trigger of the input port and adding the machine tool number to the control signal; and inserting the control signal into the corresponding position of the buffer queue according to the machine tool number therein and the arrangement order of the machine tool numbers in the current technological process in response to the buffer queue receiving the control signal.

[0044] For example, a certain technological process consists of C1 - C2 - C3 (i.e., the machine tool numbers), which means that a certain workpiece needs to be processed by three machine tools C1 to C3 in sequence. That is, the industrial robot needs to first load the material for C1, unload the material when C1 is processed, use the unloaded workpiece to load the material for C2, and use the unloaded workpiece of C2 to load the material for C3. In one case, if three machine tools C1 to C3 simultaneously apply to the industrial robot for loading, the industrial robot will insert the loading requests into the buffer queue in the order of C1 to C3; in another case, if C2, C1, and C3 successively request loading, the industrial robot will insert the loading request of C2 to the lowest end (first to be executed) of the buffer queue. Then, when obtaining the loading request of C1, it will be inserted below the C2 instruction, and then the loading request of C3 will be inserted above the loading request of C2; In an alternative embodiment, the buffer queue will also control the insertion of the unloading request above the corresponding loading request. For example, after obtaining the loading requests of three machine tools C1 to C3 simultaneously from the industrial robot and then obtaining the unloading request of C1, the unloading request of C1 will be inserted above the loading request of C1 and below the loading request of C2.

[0045] In one embodiment, the method of the present invention further includes: modifying the sorting of the machine tool numbers in the technological process to change the processing order of multiple machine tools.

[0046] Specifically, the present invention can change the order of responding to the loading and unloading requests of the machine tool and thus control the processing procedure by only changing the sorting of the machine tool numbers in the technological process, thereby greatly improving the applicability of the industrial robot integrated into the flexible control unit and greatly reducing the debugging cycle.

[0047] In an alternative embodiment, the sorting of the machine tool numbers in the process flow is set to visual adjustment. This embodiment can effectively reduce the difficulty of adjusting the processing procedures.

[0048] In one embodiment, the buffer queue can be added to the aforementioned loop main program and the process flow can be configured to allow the main program to read the trigger signal from the buffer queue and execute the subprogram according to the process flow. It should be noted that the execution of the subprogram in this embodiment needs to meet two conditions. One is to receive the trigger signal of the machine tool, and the other is to conform to the preset process flow. For example, assume that the process flow in the current main program is C1 - C2 - C3, and the subprogram corresponding to the C1 process flow is currently being executed. If the trigger signal of the C3 process flow is received next, it needs to be temporarily placed in the buffer queue and wait until the trigger signal of the C2 process flow arrives and the execution ends before the subprogram corresponding to the C3 process flow is executed.

[0049] In one embodiment, the method of the present invention further includes: in response to the unfinished processing of the next process, placing the workpiece that has been processed in the previous process in the designated area of the magazine, where the magazine is divided into multiple storage areas, and each storage area corresponds to a machine tool.

[0050] Specifically, the present invention does not have a strict processing cycle control like traditional industrial robots and each machine tool. Instead, it will judge how to operate according to the needs of the machine tool, so it is inevitable that the situation where the processing of the next process is not completed while the previous process requests material unloading occurs. At this time, only the material unloading workpiece of the previous process needs to be placed in the designated area of the magazine.

[0051] In an alternative embodiment, the feeding of the industrial robot needs to be carried out in the corresponding area of the magazine. If there is no corresponding feeding workpiece in the magazine, the corresponding feeding request is skipped and other feeding and unloading requests are continued to be executed.

[0052] In an alternative embodiment, if the material unloading request of the previous process is just before the material loading request of the next process (judged by the buffer queue), the material unloading workpiece of the previous process is directly transported to the material loading position of the next process without passing through the magazine.

[0053] Through the above method, the present invention does not need to strictly code the processing cycles of each machine tool and the industrial robot, and can freely configure the timing in the main program of the industrial robot to adapt to the processing procedures of different products.

[0054] The above are exemplary embodiments disclosed by the present invention. However, it should be noted that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the embodiments disclosed by the present invention as defined by the claims. The functions, steps, and / or actions of the method claims according to the disclosed embodiments herein need not be performed in any particular order. The serial numbers of the disclosed embodiments of the present invention above are only for description and do not represent the superiority or inferiority of the embodiments.

[0055] Those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that the discussion of any of the above embodiments is only exemplary and is not intended to imply that the scope of the disclosed embodiments of the present invention (including the claims) is limited to these examples; under the concept of the embodiments of the present invention, the technical features between the above embodiments or different embodiments can also be combined, and there are many other variations in different aspects of the embodiments of the present invention as above, which are not provided in detail for the sake of brevity. Therefore, any omission, modification, equivalent replacement, improvement, etc. made within the spirit and principle of the embodiments of the present invention shall be included within the protection scope of the embodiments of the present invention.

Claims

1. A communication control method between a flexible manufacturing unit and an industrial robot, characterized in that: The method comprises: Coupling industrial robots with multiple machine tools in flexible manufacturing cells; Insert auxiliary instructions into the main programs of multiple machine tools respectively, and configure multiple subroutines corresponding to the auxiliary instructions in the main program of the industrial robot; In response to the auxiliary instruction being executed by the machine tool, the industrial robot is coupled and triggered to execute a corresponding subroutine to perform a preset operation.

2. The communication control method between the flexible manufacturing unit and the industrial robot according to claim 1, characterized in that: Coupling industrial robots with multiple machine tools in flexible manufacturing cells, including: Connecting the relay coil of the first relay in series between the output terminal and the ground terminal of the machine tool, and connecting the normally open coupling switch of the first relay in series between the input terminal and the power supply terminal of the industrial robot; The relay coil of the second relay is connected in series between the output terminal of the industrial robot and the ground, and the normally open coupling switch of the second relay is connected in series between the input terminal of the machine tool and the power supply terminal.

3. The communication control method between the flexible manufacturing unit and the industrial robot according to claim 2, characterized in that: Insert auxiliary instructions into the main programs of multiple machine tools, including: Insert one or more auxiliary instructions into the main program of each machine tool; A machine tool output port is allocated to the one or more auxiliary instructions, and different bit selection signal generation programs are configured for different auxiliary instructions.

4. The communication control method between the flexible manufacturing unit and the industrial robot according to claim 3, characterized in that: In response to the auxiliary instruction being executed by the machine tool, the industrial robot is coupled to trigger the industrial robot to execute a corresponding subroutine to perform a preset operation, including: In response to the auxiliary instruction, the machine tool generates a corresponding position selection signal; According to the bit selection signal, the corresponding pin of the machine tool output port is powered on to turn on the corresponding relay coil and couple to trigger the corresponding normally open relay switch to close; The industrial robot generates a control signal according to the closed normally open relay switch to trigger the execution of a corresponding subroutine.

5. The communication control method between the flexible manufacturing unit and the industrial robot according to claim 4, characterized in that: A plurality of subroutines corresponding to the auxiliary instructions are configured in the main program of the industrial robot, including: A robot motion control program is configured in each subroutine, and a position selection signal generation program is set at the end of the subroutine.

6. The communication control method between the flexible manufacturing unit and the industrial robot according to claim 5, characterized in that: The method further comprises: generating a corresponding bit selection signal in response to completion of execution of the subroutine; According to the bit selection signal, the corresponding pin of the output port of the industrial robot is powered on to turn on the corresponding relay coil and couple to trigger the corresponding normally open relay switch to close; The machine tool generates a control signal according to the closed normally open relay switch to turn on the auxiliary instruction end control pin of the machine tool to end the current auxiliary instruction.

7. The communication control method between a flexible manufacturing unit and an industrial robot according to claim 5, characterized in that: The method further comprises: Configuring a cache for the industrial robot and setting a cache queue, wherein the cache queue is used to temporarily store control signals triggered by multiple machine tools for controlling the subroutine according to a preset process flow during the execution of any subroutine by the industrial robot; Wherein, the process flow consists of machine tool numbers of the multiple machine tools.

8. The communication control method between the flexible manufacturing unit and the industrial robot according to claim 7, characterized in that: The cache queue is used to store control signals triggered by multiple machine tools for controlling the subroutine according to a preset process flow during the execution of any subroutine by the industrial robot, including: Binding the serial number of the machine tool to the input port of the industrial robot coupled to the machine tool; generating a control signal in response to the input port triggering the generation of the control signal and adding a machine tool number to the control signal; In response to the buffer queue receiving the control signal, the control signal is inserted into a corresponding position of the buffer queue according to the machine tool number therein and the arrangement order of the machine tool numbers in the current process flow.

9. The communication control method between the flexible manufacturing unit and the industrial robot according to claim 7, characterized in that: The method further comprises: The sequence of the machine tool numbers in the process flow is modified to change the processing sequence of the plurality of machine tools.

10. The communication control method between the flexible manufacturing unit and the industrial robot according to claim 9, characterized in that: The method further comprises: In response to the next process not being completed, the workpiece that has been processed in the previous process is placed in a designated area of ​​a silo, wherein the silo is divided into a plurality of storage areas, each storage area corresponding to a machine tool.

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