Motion profile blending device

Abstract

A motion profile blending device of the present invention may comprise: a profile generation unit that generates a motion profile corresponding to a motion operation of a load; a control unit that issues a control command to the load; and a blending profile calculation unit that blends the motion profile including a first profile and a second profile to calculate a blending profile, wherein the motion profile may include at least one of an acceleration section, a constant velocity section, and a deceleration section, and the blending profile may include a blending section in which at least a portion of the first profile and at least a portion of the second profile are mixed.

Description

Motion Profile Blending Device

[0001] The present invention relates to a device for blending multiple motion profiles for a load such as a device that performs a specific function and moves in space.

[0002] For precise operation and control of automated machines, planning the motion profile or motion path of a load such as a robot arm using a servo motor is an important issue.

[0003] In particular, when a load, such as an EtherCAT slave or a connected device, performs a specific function and moves spatially, a motion profile distinct from each location can be generated. If the deceleration or acceleration sections of this distinct motion profile are repeated throughout the load's overall motion, problems such as uniform performance during specific functions can arise.

[0004] To solve the above problem, the present invention may include a blending profile generating unit that blends multiple motion profiles of a device that performs a predetermined function and moves in space.

[0005] The motion profile blending device of the present invention may include a profile generating unit that generates a motion profile corresponding to a motion operation of a load, a control unit that issues a control command to the load, and a blending profile generating unit that blends the motion profiles including a first profile and a second profile to generate a blending profile, wherein the motion profile may include at least one of an acceleration section, a constant velocity section, and a deceleration section, and the blending profile may include a blending section in which at least a portion of the first profile and the second profile is mixed.

[0006] In one embodiment, the blending section of the present invention may be a mixture of the deceleration section of the first profile and the acceleration section of the second profile.

[0007] In one embodiment, the blending section of the present invention may be determined as one of a deceleration section, a maintenance section, and an acceleration section depending on the speed difference between the successive first and second profiles.

[0008] In one embodiment, when a blending command to blend a first profile and a second profile is input to the buffer section of the present invention, the blending profile calculation section can calculate the blending profile before the blending section or the blending start point.

[0009] In one embodiment, the blending profile calculation unit of the present invention can calculate the blending profile in a section in which the amount of processing calculation of the control unit or the amount of motion profile calculation of the blending profile calculation unit is small.

[0010] In one embodiment, the communication network comprising a slave and a master including the load of the present invention may be an EtherCAT network.

[0011] The present invention can provide various embodiments capable of generating a blending profile by blending multiple motion profiles of a load, such as a device that performs a predetermined function and moves in space.

[0012] The present invention can efficiently improve the quality of a blending motion profile generation algorithm or the computation time of a CPU or the like.

[0013] FIG. 1 is an example of a motion profile blending method of the present invention using a motion profile blending device of the present invention.

[0014] Figure 2 is a flowchart of one embodiment of Figure 1.

[0015] Figure 3 is an enlarged view of a portion of a blending profile according to one embodiment of Figure 2.

[0016] Figure 4 is another embodiment of the motion profile blending method of the present invention.

[0017] Figure 5 is a flowchart of another embodiment of Figure 4.

[0018] Figure 6 is a configuration diagram of a motion profile blending device of the present invention.

[0019] Referring to FIGS. 1 to 6, a motion profile blending device and method of the present invention will be described.

[0020] According to FIG. 6, the motion profile blending device of the present invention can be implemented on a communication network consisting of a master (100) and a slave (200).

[0021] As an example, the communication network of the present invention may be an EtherCAT network, the master (100) may be an EtherCAT Master, and the slave (200) may be an EtherCAT Slave.

[0022] EtherCAT is an industrial Ethernet. It uses the standard frame and physical layer defined in the Ethernet standard IEEE 802.3, and is a widely known technology with excellent performance in the automation industry. It can be a communication technology used for various purposes. In other words, EtherCAT (Ethernet for Control Automation Technology) can be an Ethernet-based fieldbus system, and fieldbus can be a general term for a set of computer network protocols used for real-time distributed control.

[0023] The master (100) can transmit and receive data through a communication line (10) with a slave (200) in a structurally lower layer, and can manage a communication network or send a control signal to the slave (200).

[0024] The slave (200) may be a device that can structurally transmit and receive data with the master (100) of the upper layer and receive control signals from the master (100) of the upper level, and the slave (200) or the load connected to the slave (200) may include a servo motor, an IO device, a camera, a sensor, an actuator, an electric motor, a switch, or a valve.

[0025] Referring to FIG. 6, the motion profile blending device of the present invention may include at least one of a profile generation unit (110), a buffer unit (130), a control unit (150), and a blending profile calculation unit (170). At least one of the profile generation unit (110), the buffer unit (130), the control unit (150), and the blending profile calculation unit (170) may be implemented in a master (100) or each slave (200) on a communication network.

[0026] This specification discloses two embodiments of a motion profile blending device / method, a first embodiment being described in FIGS. 1 to 3 and a second embodiment being described in FIGS. 4 to 5.

[0027] The target of the motion profile of the present invention may be the slave (200) itself or a load (L) connected to the slave (200).

[0028] For the sake of convenience, the blending of motion profiles is explained using spatial movements using two simple motion profiles. However, the blending of the two motion profiles described here can be extended to complex motions as well.

[0029] <First embodiment>

[0030] Referring to FIGS. 1 to 3, a first embodiment of a motion profile blending device and method of the present invention will be described. Common elements with the second embodiment may be described together.

[0031] In Fig. 1, it can be assumed that a load (L) of a device or the like moves from a first position (①) to a second position (②) to a third position (③) and performs a task. The overall purpose is to move from the first position (①), which is the starting point of the motion, to the third position (③), which is the end point of the motion, and may pass through the second position (②) in the meantime.

[0032] The left side of Fig. 1 may be for a motion and a corresponding motion profile before blending of motion profiles is performed, and the right side of Fig. 1 may be for a motion of a load (L) with blending of motion profiles applied and the corresponding motion thereof.

[0033] On the left side of Fig. 1, the load (L) may move from the first position (①) to the second position (②), then stop, and then move again from the second position (②) to the third position (③). The corresponding motion profile is shown in the lower left side of Fig. 1.

[0034] As an example, a motion profile (P) may be generated using time and velocity as axis parameters. In this case, the motion profile may include at least one of an acceleration section (P21), a constant velocity section (or a maintenance section), and a deceleration section (P11).

[0035] The first profile (P1) can correspond to the load (L) moving from the first position (①) to the second position (②), and the second profile (P2) can correspond to the load (L) moving from the second position (②) to the third position (③). The load (L) can be stopped in motion at the second position (②), and the second position (②) can be located between the deceleration section (P11) of the first profile (P1) and the acceleration section of the second profile (P2).

[0036] On the right side of Fig. 1, the load (L) of the device or the like may operate continuously and smoothly without stopping in the middle path from the first position (①) to the third position (③). The corresponding blending profile (P3 or third profile) may include a blending interval (BI). For example, the blending interval (BI) may correspond to a section that mixes the deceleration section of the first profile (P1) before blending and the acceleration section of the second profile (P2). In this case, since the speed of the second profile (P2) (the speed of the sustain section of the second profile (P2)) is higher than the speed of the preceding first profile (P1) (the speed of the sustain section of the first profile (P1)), the blending interval (BI) of the blending profile (P3) may not include a deceleration section. In this specification, the sustain section and the constant speed section may be used interchangeably.

[0037] Meanwhile, if the speed of the second profile (P2) of the subsequent vehicle (the speed of the maintenance section of the second profile (P2)) is lower than the speed of the preceding first profile (P1) (the speed of the maintenance section of the first profile (P1)), the blending section (BI) of the blending profile (P3) may not include an acceleration section.

[0038] Accordingly, the blending section (BI) of the blending profile (P3) may include a speed maintenance section or an acceleration section, or may include a speed maintenance section or a deceleration section.

[0039] According to FIG. 2, the motion profile blending method of the present invention may include at least one of a profile generation step (S100), a blending command recognition step (S200), a polling step (S220), a blending profile generation step (S300), and a motion step (S400).

[0040] In the profile generation step (S100, S1000), the profile generation unit (110) can generate a motion profile (P) according to the spatial movement of the load (L) such as the device. If the total motion path of the load (L) is given as shown on the left side of Fig. 1, the total motion path can be divided into a plurality of splines or straight paths. For example, the total motion path of the load (L) can be composed of a first profile (P1) from a first position (①) to a second position (②), and a second profile (P2) from a second position (②) to a third position (③).

[0041] The buffer unit (130) may include a series of control commands or control signals that the control unit (150) issues to the load (L). For example, the first control command may be to move the load (L) from a first position (①) to a second position (②), and the second control command may be to move the load (L) from a second position (②) to a third position (③).

[0042] At this time, if the deceleration section (P11) or acceleration section (P21) of the motion profile (P1, P2) distinguished during the entire motion operation of the load (L) is repeated, problems such as maintaining uniformity when performing a certain function may occur. For example, the load (L) may travel a path from the first position (①) to the second position (②) to the third position (③) and apply a specific material to the target object or drop a specific chemical component onto the target object. In this case, if the motion profile that stops at the second position (②) is followed, uniformity problems such as the material not being applied uniformly or the film not being formed uniformly may occur near the second position (②).

[0043] In order to solve the above problem, the present invention needs to be smoothly dynamic around the second position (②), and may be like blending the deceleration section (P11) of the first profile (P1) and the acceleration section (P21) of the second profile (P2) to unify them into either the deceleration section or the acceleration section.

[0044] In one embodiment, depending on the speed difference of the profile (P) of the consecutive motions, the blending section (BI) can be determined as one of a deceleration section, a maintenance section, and an acceleration section from a speed perspective.

[0045] When the first profile (P1) and the second profile (P2) are part of a continuous motion, the speed (average speed or speed of the maintenance section) of the first profile (P1) and the speed (average speed or speed of the maintenance section) of the second profile (P2) can be compared.

[0046] FIG. 1 and FIG. 4 illustrate examples in which the sustain section speed of the first profile (P1) is lower than the sustain section speed of the second profile (P2). Here, the blending section (BI) may be profile-blended to become an acceleration section. Accordingly, an accelerating blending section (BI) may follow the acceleration section or sustain section of the first profile (P1), and then the sustain section or deceleration section of the second profile (P2) may follow. This structure may be because the start of the first profile (P1) is the starting point of the operation, and the end of the second profile (P2) is the end point of the operation.

[0047] Meanwhile, in the example of the present specification, the blending section (BI) may be set as an acceleration section, but if the speed (average speed or speed of the maintenance section) of the first profile (P1) is higher than the speed (average speed or speed of the maintenance section) of the second profile (P2), the blending section (BI) may be set as a deceleration section.

[0048] The blending profile (BP, P3) may include at least one of a blending section (BI), a section of a preceding motion profile (P1) excluding the blending section (BI) (leading section), and a section of a succeeding motion profile (P2) excluding the blending section (BI) (trailing section).

[0049] That is, the blending profile (BP, P3) can be divided into a leading section, a blending section, and a trailing section, and the blending profile (BP, P3) can be generated by the blending profile generating unit (170), but this division of sections may not match the division of generation. For example, the leading section, the blending section, and the trailing section can be generated simultaneously, can be generated sequentially, and at least some of the multiple sections among the entire sections can be generated simultaneously (i.e., at least two or more sections can be generated simultaneously).

[0050] As an example of a case where multiple sections of at least some of the entire sections are generated simultaneously, in the second embodiment of FIG. 4, a blending section (BI) can be generated from a deceleration section (P101) of a first profile (P100) and an acceleration section (P201) of a second profile (P200). The blending profile generating unit (170) can generate a modified first profile (P100') by adding the blending section (BI) and the preceding section of the existing first profile (P100) excluding the blending section (BI).

[0051] Accordingly, the entire blending profile (P300, BP) may be composed of the modified first profile (P100') and the modified second profile (P200'), which is a subsequent section of the second profile (P200) excluding the blending section (BI), and the generation times and application (merging) times of the modified first profile (P100') and second profile (P200') may be performed at different times. This may also be linked to an improvement in the computational speed of the control unit (150), which is the CPU that generates these profiles. In other words, the generation times of the modified first profile (P100') and second profile (P200') and the time at which a control command is issued by the control unit (150) may be at different times.

[0052] Even if the slave (200) or the load (L) connected thereto performs a complex motion, the entire motion differs only in the number of spatially distinct sections (spline sections), and the contents of this specification can be extended from the perspective of blending between two locally continuous profiles (P).

[0053] If a blended motion profile (BP) needs to be generated, a blending instruction can be added to blend the first profile (P1) and the second profile (P2).

[0054] In the blending command recognition step (S200), the control unit (150) sequentially receives commands or signals from the buffer unit (130) to control the load (L), so the buffer unit (130) may include a first signal to operate with a first profile (P1), a second signal to operate with a second profile (P2), and a blending signal to blend the first profile (P1) and the second profile (P2).

[0055] At this time, the order of the second signal and the blending signal can be interchanged. The first signal and the second signal can be input from the profile generation unit (110) to the buffer unit (130), and the blending signal can be input from the profile generation unit (110) or a separate unit. Here, the signal can be mixed with a command or a command signal.

[0056] When the blending command of the buffer unit (130) is received by the control unit (150), a polling step (S220) by the control unit (150) or the polling unit can be started.

[0057] Polling can refer to a method in which one device (or program) periodically checks the status of another device (or program) for purposes such as collision avoidance or synchronization processing, and processes data such as transmission or reception when certain conditions are met.

[0058] The control unit (150) or the polling unit can continuously check whether the blending point / start point has been reached at each predetermined polling cycle. If the polling cycle is short, the increased amount of computation may place a computational burden on the control unit (150) or the polling unit, and if the polling cycle is long, the motion of the load (L) such as the device may already have occurred at the blending point / start point, which may delay the response. In other words, the acceleration profile according to the blending section (BI) may be applied after the motion has already entered at least a portion of the deceleration section.

[0059] In the blending command recognition step (S200), if the basic unit of the buffer unit (130) is a buffer, each command can be provided for each buffer. The buffer unit (130) can sequentially transmit multiple buffers to the control unit (150). When a blending command is transmitted to the next buffer, the control unit (150) or the polling unit can find the blending start time through polling.

[0060] If it is not the blending start point for each polling cycle, the motion is continuously performed according to the given current profile (e.g., the first profile (P1)), and if a predetermined polling cycle corresponds to the blending start point (if a signal indicating the blending start point is received), the blending profile generating unit (170) can generate a blending profile (BP, P3) (S300).

[0061] In the blending profile generation step (S300), the blending profile calculation unit (170) can generate a blending profile (BP, P3), and the blending profile (BP, P3) can include at least one of a blending section (BI), a section (leading section) excluding the blending section (BI) among the preceding motion profile (P1), and a section (trailing section) excluding the blending section (BI) among the succeeding motion profile (P2). Here, since the load operation is continuously performed according to the existing profile until the blending point is found by polling, in the first embodiment, the preceding section can be the same as the existing section regardless of blending. In the first embodiment, the section newly calculated by blending in practice can be the blending section (BI) or the succeeding section.

[0062] In the motion step (S400, S4000), the load (L) of the slave (200) or a device dependent thereon can operate according to the blending profile (BP, P3) generated in the blending profile generation step (S300).

[0063] The first embodiment is summarized in its entirety and its problems are explained.

[0064] The first embodiment detects the blending start point by polling.

[0065] Blending of motion profiles (P) may be a process of blending two consecutive profiles (P1, P2) or corresponding motions. In the first embodiment, this may be a process of blending the deceleration point (P11) of the first profile (P1) with the acceleration point of the second profile (P2). Therefore, in order to know the start point of the blending section (BI), it may be necessary to know the deceleration point of the first profile (P1). In order to detect the deceleration point of the first profile (P1), polling may be performed to check the start point of blending at every communication cycle (or at every polling cycle) (S220).

[0066] Here, the control unit (150) or the blending profile calculation unit (170) may be included in the master (100) including the EtherCAT master on a communication network including the EtherCAT network, and the load (L) may be included in the slave (200) (or the slave itself) including the EtherCAT slave. The master (100) and the slave (200) may exchange signals or data with each other at each communication cycle. In the polling step (S220), the control unit (150) or the polling unit may perform polling according to the polling cycle to detect or determine the blending start time. The polling cycle may be the same as the communication cycle or may be linked to the communication cycle. The communication cycle may continue during the motion of the load (L) being handed down from the master (100) to the slave (200). The polling cycle can last from the blending command recognition (S200) to the blending start point detection (S220). In this section, the polling cycle and the communication cycle can be mixed.

[0067] In the polling step (S220) of this first embodiment, the motion speed of the load (L), etc., in a communication network environment including an EtherCAT network, needs to be detected or identified in real time, and here, real-time identification or detection may ultimately mean detection per communication cycle or according to a polling cycle. That is, since the motion speed in a communication network environment can be detected at a regular cycle, in order to confirm the deceleration point of the first profile (P1), it is necessary to detect a slightly lowered portion and start blending. The shorter the communication cycle or polling cycle, the higher the quality of the blending profile (BP, P3), but a slight speed decrease may exist. Therefore, the identification of the blending point by polling may include a partially decelerated section (15), as in the enlarged portion of FIG. 3.

[0068] According to FIG. 3, at the starting point of the blending section (BI), it can be seen that the actual blending profile (12) starts at least a partially decelerated section (15) later than the target blending profile (11) of the blending profile (BP). Accordingly, the actual blending start point (22) may be delayed by a predetermined time (△t) by the partially decelerated section (15) compared to the target blending start point (21).

[0069] These at least some of the decelerated sections (15) or delay times (△t) may vary depending on the motion, i.e., depending on the properties of the motion profile (P). That is, depending on the motion speed, the judgment of the start point of blending may vary.

[0070] For example, if the speed (V) is a fast section, the delay time (△t) may be long, and the deceleration of at least some of the decelerated sections (15) may also be large. Conversely, if the speed is slow, the delay time (△t) may be short, and the deceleration of at least some of the decelerated sections (15) may be small. In this way, in addition to the fact that the blending section (BI) does not start immediately at the target position (e.g., the end point of the sustain section), the values ​​of some of the decelerated sections (15) or the delay time (△t) that occur accordingly may also vary from section to section.

[0071] In addition, since the first embodiment requires the control unit (150) to issue a control command / signal to the load (L) in the next communication cycle by generating a blending profile (BP, P3) within the communication cycle (or polling cycle) according to the communication cycle (or polling cycle), a significant data calculation or data processing burden may be placed on the control unit (150) or the blending profile calculation unit (170) that performs calculation or signal processing.

[0072] When the start of a blending section (BI) is detected according to a communication cycle or a polling cycle, an operation for generating a blending profile (P) including the blending section (BI) can be performed. At this time, the operation of the blending profile (P) must be completed before the next communication cycle arrives so that a motion control command for the load can be issued in the next communication cycle. Therefore, if the amount of operation for generating the blending profile by the blending profile calculation unit (110) is enormous, the communication cycle for issuing the motion command may be delayed, which may lead to inaccurate motion of the load (L). Therefore, in addition to at least some of the decelerated sections (15) or the delay time (△t) due to the polling step (S220), a delay in the operation time that may occur depending on the difference in the amount of operation to be processed of the blending profile (P) for each section may be a factor causing an error in the operation of the load (L).

[0073] <Second embodiment>

[0074] Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, a second embodiment of a motion profile blending device or method of the present invention will be described.

[0075] The second embodiment may complement the shortcomings of the first embodiment described above, and may efficiently improve the quality of the blending motion generation algorithm of the first embodiment and the operation time of the control unit (150) such as the CPU or the blending profile generation unit (170).

[0076] In the second embodiment, the quality of the blending profile (BP, P300) can be improved by complementing the disadvantage of detecting the blending start point by polling in the first embodiment.

[0077] In addition, in the first embodiment, it is necessary to generate a blending profile within the communication cycle (or polling cycle) in accordance with the communication cycle (or polling cycle), whereas in the second embodiment, the blending profile (BP, P300) is calculated in a relatively small amount of computational time relative to the computational amount of the control unit (150) or the blending profile calculation unit (170), thereby reducing the delay in computational time even when an operation having a complex profile is performed. That is, the blending profile calculation unit (170) can calculate the blending profile (BP) in a section / time point in time in which the processing computational amount of the control unit (150) or the motion profile (P) calculation amount of the blending profile calculation unit (170) is relatively small.

[0078] In the second embodiment, since the blending profile (P300) including the changed first profile (P100') or the changed second profile (P2') is calculated in advance of the blending section (BI) or the blending start point, the problem of at least a part of the decelerated section (15) or the delay time (△t) occurring due to detecting or determining the blending start point by the polling (S220) in the first embodiment may not occur. Accordingly, the error in motion control caused by the at least part of the decelerated section (15) or the delay time (△t) irregularly varying depending on the properties of the motion profile (P) can also be significantly reduced.

[0079] In addition, in the second embodiment, since the calculation point of the blending profile (P300) can be started immediately from the point of recognizing the existence of the blending command (S2000), the problem of increased computational burden by generating the blending profile near the blending section (BI) with a large computational amount as in the first embodiment may not occur.

[0080] Referring to FIG. 5, the motion profile blending method of the present invention of the second embodiment may include at least one of a profile generation step (S1000), a blending command recognition step (S2000), a blending profile generation step (S3000), and a motion step (S4000), and the blending profile generation step (S3000) may include a modified first profile (P1') generation step (S3200) and a modified second profile (P2') generation step (S3400).

[0081] Compared to the first embodiment, the polling step (S220) between the blending command recognition step (S2000) and the blending profile generation step (S3000) may be excluded in the second embodiment, the structure of the blending profile generation step (S3000) may be subdivided, and the timing of performing the blending profile generation step (S3000) or the detailed step may be different from the first embodiment.

[0082] In Fig. 4, for comparison with the first embodiment, the first profile (P100) and the second profile (P200) of the continuous motion are described as motion profiles identical to those of the first embodiment.

[0083] In the second embodiment, when a blending command is detected in the buffer of the buffer unit (130) (S2000), the blending profile generating unit (170) or the control unit (150) can regenerate a changed first profile (P100') of the first profile (P100) including the blending section (BI) or the blending start point.

[0084] The modified first profile (P100') may include at least a portion of the blending section (BI). FIG. 4 illustrates an example in which the modified first profile (P100') includes the entire blending section (BI). The blending section (BI) included in the blending profile (P300,BP) may be generated using the deceleration section (P101) of the first profile (P100) and the acceleration section (P201) of the second profile (P200).

[0085] In addition, when the blending profile generating unit (170) or the control unit (150) determines to generate the modified first profile (P100') (wherein, this determination may also include how much of the blending section (BI) to include in the modified first profile (P100'), the remaining modified second profile (P200') may be generated. The modified second profile (P2') may include the remaining sections of the existing second profile (P200) excluding the blending section (BI) and at least a portion of the blending section (BI).

[0086] That is, when the changed first profile (P100') is determined, the changed second profile (P2') can also be determined, so there is an advantage in that the generation time of the entire blending profile (P300) including the changed first profile (P100') and the changed second profile (P2') can be controlled.

[0087] In the first embodiment, since the blending start point can be detected by the polling method (S220) and the remaining trailing sections can be detected, considering that blending is the section with the most calculations, the CPU calculation part such as the control unit (150) or the blending profile calculation unit (170) may be too concentrated on a specific section.

[0088] However, in the second embodiment, when a blending command is recognized in the buffer of the buffer unit (150), a modified first profile (P100') including a blending section (BI) can be immediately generated, and accordingly, the modified first profile (P100') can also be generated at this time. For example, when a blending command of the buffer unit (150) is recognized during the motion of the first profile (P100), the control unit (150) issues a control command to the load (L) according to the first profile (P100) that has already been set, so the amount of calculation of the CPU, etc. may be low. Even if the blending command is recognized (S2000) in this section and the modified first profile (P100') and the modified second profile (P2') are calculated, the calculation burden is low, so even in the case of a complex motion profile, the CPU, etc. may not be burdened.

[0089] In addition, since the pre-changed second profile (P2') has been calculated before the blending section (BI), the pre-calculated changed second profile (P2') can be immediately executed at the joining point (50) when the changed first profile (P100') ends.

[0090] Accordingly, the changed first profile (P100') or the changed second profile (P2') can be generated in advance before the blending section (BI) or the blending start point, and after being generated, can be stored in the buffer of the buffer unit (150) to wait for the command sequence.

[0091] In summary, in the second embodiment, unlike the first embodiment, the blending start time or blending interval (BI) is not periodically polled, but the blending profile (P300) is calculated in advance before the blending start time or blending interval (BI), thereby improving the reduction in computational speed and the resulting error occurrence.

[0092] In the second embodiment, by calculating the motion profile in advance before the blending section rather than the polling method, the problem of the blending start point in the first embodiment starting the blending through the polling method, and the speed of the blending point changing slightly each time due to the polling cycle, etc. can be solved.

[0093] In the second embodiment, at a time when the CPU usage rate of the control unit (150) or the blending profile generating unit (170) is relatively low, a blending profile (P300) including a modified first profile (P100') that mixes the existing first profile (P1) with at least a part of the blending section (BI), or a second profile (P200') that includes the existing second profile (P2) with at least a part of the blending section (BI), is generated, thereby enabling calculation of a more complex motion profile at a time when the CPU usage rate is relatively low.

Claims

1. A profile generation unit that generates a motion profile corresponding to the motion operation of a load; A control unit that issues control commands to the above load; and A blending profile generating unit that generates a blending profile by blending the motion profile including the first profile and the second profile; The above motion profile includes at least one of an acceleration section, a constant velocity section, and a deceleration section, A motion profile blending device, wherein the blending profile comprises a blending section in which at least a portion of the first profile and the second profile are blended.

2. In paragraph 1, The above first and second profiles correspond to the continuous motion of the load, The above blending section is, Depending on the speed difference between the first and second profiles, one of the deceleration section, the maintenance section, and the acceleration section is determined. A motion profile blending device that mixes the deceleration section of the first profile and the acceleration section of the second profile.

3. In paragraph 1, The above load is included in the slave of the lower layer, The above profile generation unit, blending profile output unit, or control unit is included in the master of the upper layer, The communication network consisting of the above slave and master is a motion profile blending device that is an EtherCAT network.

4. In paragraph 1, The control unit includes a buffer unit including a series of control commands or control signals that are issued to the load, The blending profile calculation unit calculates the blending profile in a section where the amount of processing operations of the control unit or the amount of motion profile calculations of the blending profile calculation unit is small. A motion profile blending device in which, when a blending command for blending the first profile and the second profile is input to the buffer section, the blending profile calculating section calculates the blending profile before the blending section or the blending start point.

5. In paragraph 1, The above blending profile includes a modified first profile and a modified second profile, The above-mentioned modified first profile is a combination of the preceding section, which is the remaining section excluding the blending section of the first profile, and the blending section. The above-mentioned changed second profile is a section of the second profile excluding the blending section, A motion profile blending device in which the generation times of the above-mentioned changed first profile and the above-mentioned changed second profile and the time at which the control unit issues a control command are different times.

6. In paragraph 1, The control unit includes a buffer unit including a series of control commands or control signals that are issued to the load, A motion profile blending device in which, when the control unit recognizes that a blending command to blend the first profile and the second profile has been input to the buffer unit, the blending profile calculation unit immediately starts calculating the blending profile at the time of recognizing the blending command.

7. In paragraph 1, The control unit includes a buffer unit containing a series of control commands to be issued to the load, A step (a) in which a blending command to blend a motion profile into a buffer of the above buffer section is detected; (b) a step in which the blending profile generating unit or control unit generates a modified first profile of the first profile, wherein the modified first profile includes at least a portion of the blending section; and A step (c) of generating a modified second profile including the remaining section of the second profile excluding the blending section and at least a portion of the blending section; a motion profile blending device performed before the blending section or the start point of the blending section.

8. In paragraph 1, The above blending profile includes a leading section, a blending section, and a trailing section, The above preceding section is the remaining section of the first profile excluding the blending section, The above trailing section is the remaining section of the second profile excluding the blending section, A motion profile blending device in which the preceding section, the blending section, and the succeeding section are generated simultaneously, sequentially, or at least a plurality of sections are generated simultaneously.

9. In paragraph 1, The control unit includes a buffer unit including a series of control commands or control signals that are issued to the load, When a blending command to blend the first profile and the second profile is input to the buffer section, the control section performs polling to detect at each communication cycle whether the blending section or the blending start point has been reached. A motion profile blending device in which the blending section is delayed by a predetermined amount of time from a target point in time by the polling and includes a section decelerated from a target speed.

10. In paragraph 1, The above control unit performs polling for each communication cycle to detect whether the blending section or blending start point has been reached, A motion profile blending device in which the calculation of the blending profile by the blending profile generating unit is performed after the polling detects that the blending section or the blending start point has been reached.

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