Control device and control method for moving object

Abstract

The present invention automatically determines whether or not a moving object is allowed to move and whether or not to revert from thrust control to position control.　Provided is a control device for a moving object in an industrial machine, the control device using thrust control to carry out control to push the moving object against an object to be pushed. The control device comprises: a thrust command generation unit that generates a thrust command for the moving object on the basis of a program command and / or input information from an input unit which pertain to thrust control of the moving object; a movement command generation unit that generates a movement command for the moving object on the basis of a program command and / or input information from an input unit which pertain to movement of the moving object; and a determination unit that determines whether or not to allow movement of the moving object and whether or not to cancel thrust control and switch to position control, on the basis of a pushing direction of the thrust command and a movement direction of the movement command.

Description

Mobile body control device and control method

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a control device and a control method for a moving body that controls the pressing of a moving body in an industrial machine against a pressing object by thrust control.

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art A control device that performs pressing control to press a moving body such as a tailstock in an industrial machine against a pressing object is described in, for example, Patent Document 1.

[0003] Patent Document 1 describes a machine tool control device for a combined lathe that grips both sides of a long workpiece with two opposing headstocks and machines the workpiece while driving the two headstocks in synchronization. Specifically, the machine tool control device described in Patent Document 1 is composed of two pressing completion determination means for pressing the two headstocks against the workpiece, two command values ​​for moving the two headstocks, two parameters for setting data necessary for CNC calculations such as axis movement data, and two torque limit amounts for determining the torque amounts of two Z-axis servo motors.

[0004] Patent Document 2 describes a method for creating approach and retract paths in NC machining, which automatically creates optimal approach (retract) paths taking into consideration the machining portion of the workpiece, the shape of the nearby workpiece, the amount of cutting allowance, etc., when creating NC data for contour machining of a workpiece with a tool having a cutting edge on its side. Specifically, the approach and retract path creating method for NC machining described in Patent Document 2 sets priorities in advance for approach (retract) path patterns, obtains evaluation scores for predetermined evaluation elements for approach (retract) path point sequences with constant Z values ​​created for each pattern, determines which of predetermined judgment zones the evaluation point belongs to, and when the evaluation point belongs to an unusable zone of the judgment zone, creates an approach (retract) path that changes the Z value and calculates the evaluation score. If there is a path with an evaluation point that belongs to the adoptable zone of the judgment zone, the approach (retract) path to be adopted is determined according to priority, and if there is only an approach (retract) path with an evaluation point that belongs to the warning zone of the judgment zone, the path to be adopted is determined according to the distance between the workpiece and the tool.

[0005] Patent Document 3 describes an inexpensive collision avoidance system for a machine tool that can avoid collisions caused by operator error or approach errors at the start of machining. Specifically, the collision avoidance system for a machine tool described in Patent Document 3 is a collision avoidance system that avoids collisions between a movable body and a workpiece in a machine tool that has, for example, a table on which a workpiece is placed, a movable body (ram, saddle), and moving axes (X-axis, Y-axis, Z-axis, W-axis) that linearly move the movable body or the table, and includes a non-contact distance sensor (ultrasonic sensor) attached to the movable body and detecting the distance to the workpiece, and collision avoidance control means (NC device), and the collision avoidance control means includes a collision determination unit that determines whether a sensor signal from the distance sensor is shorter than a distance setting value, and a collision avoidance processing unit that performs processing to avoid collision between the movable body and the workpiece when the collision determination unit determines that the sensor signal is shorter than the distance setting value.

[0006] JP 7-186007 JP 06-119029 JP 2014-164542

[0007] When performing push-fit control, a known technique is to perform push-fit control by controlling the thrust force on the drive axis. Thrust force control is a control that moves the axis while the torque generated by a drive unit such as a motor is constant. There are cases where it is necessary to move the moving body during push-fit control. For example, there are cases where it is necessary to retract the moving body when machining stops for some reason. When push-fit control is performed by thrust force control, a step is required to return from thrust force control to position control when moving the moving body.

[0008] Therefore, there is a need for a control device and a control method for a moving body that can automatically determine whether the moving body can move and whether it is possible to return from thrust control to position control when performing press control.

[0009] A first representative aspect of the present disclosure is a control device for a moving body that executes control of pressing a moving body in an industrial machine against a pressing target by thrust control, the control device including: a thrust command generation unit that generates a thrust command to the moving body based on at least one of program commands and input information from an input unit related to the thrust control of the moving body; a movement command generation unit that generates a movement command to the moving body based on at least one of program commands and input information from an input unit related to the movement of the moving body; and a determination unit that determines whether to allow movement of the moving body and whether to release the thrust control and switch to position control based on the pressing direction of the thrust command and the movement direction of the movement command.

[0010] A second representative aspect of the present disclosure is a method for controlling a moving body, in which a computer as a control device for a moving body executes thrust control to press a moving body in an industrial machine against a pressing target object, and executes the following processes: a process of generating a thrust command for the moving body based on at least one of program commands and input information from an input unit related to the thrust control of the moving body; a process of generating a movement command for the moving body based on at least one of program commands and input information from an input unit related to the movement of the moving body; and a process of determining whether to permit movement of the moving body and whether to release the thrust control and switch to position control based on the pressing direction of the thrust command and the movement direction of the movement command.

[0011] FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram for explaining pressing control in which a tailstock is pressed against a workpiece. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram for explaining control in which a rotary tool is pressed against a workpiece to perform friction stir welding. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing an example configuration of a control device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the control device. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a first example configuration of a control system including a control device and an industrial machine. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the control system of the first example configuration when a user uses a jog feed switch to instruct jog feed of the W axis. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a second example configuration of a control system including a control device and an industrial machine. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining an example in which a determination unit uses a coordinate system including an axis parallel to the axis along which pressing control is performed.

[0012] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. First, prior to describing a control device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a description will be given of push control executed by the control device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Push control is control in which a moving body in an industrial machine is pushed against a push target. The industrial machine is a machine tool, a robot, or the like. An example of push control is control in which a tailstock is pushed against a workpiece to prevent the workpiece from shaking during turning. In this case, the tailstock corresponds to the moving body and the workpiece corresponds to the push target. When performing push control, the tailstock may be the push target and the workpiece may be the moving body, and the workpiece may be pushed against a fixed tailstock.

[0013] 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating pressing control for pressing a tailstock against a workpiece. The tailstock 31 is controlled to approach a long workpiece 32 in the negative direction of the W axis shown in FIG. 1 and is pressed against the end face of the long workpiece 32 fixed by a chuck 33. The workpiece 32 is machined by a tool 34. The tailstock 31 is connected to a ball screw or linear motor that is connected to a motor that rotates a rotary shaft, and the movement of the tailstock 31 is controlled by an axis control unit 104 (described later) that is connected to the motor or linear motor that rotates the rotary shaft.

[0014] Another example of press control is control in which a rotating tool attached to the hand of an industrial robot is pressed against a workpiece to perform friction stir welding. In this case, the rotating tool corresponds to the moving body and the workpiece corresponds to the object to be pressed. When performing press control, the rotating tool may be the object to be pressed against and the workpiece corresponds to the moving body, and the workpiece may be pressed against a rotating tool whose position is fixed.

[0015] 2 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the control of pressing a rotary tool against workpieces to perform friction stir welding. A rotary tool 42 attached to the tip of a robot body 41 is controlled to approach the location where workpieces 43A and 43B are to be joined in the negative (-) direction of the Z axis shown in FIG. 2, and is pressed against the location where workpieces 43A and 43B are to be joined in the negative (+) direction of the Z axis. By moving the rotary tool 42 in the positive (+) direction of the X axis while it remains pressed against the location in the negative direction of the Z axis, workpieces 43A and 43B, which have been softened (turned to a clay-like state) by frictional heat, are mixed together, and workpieces 43A and 43B are joined to each other.

[0016] The robot body 41 uses motors to move multiple arms and the joints between the arms, and moves the arms up, down, left, and right to move the rotary tool 42. The movement of the arms is controlled by an axis control unit 104 (described later) that is connected to a motor or the like that rotates the rotary axis.

[0017] Next, a control device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, which performs push control by thrust control, will be described. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example configuration of a control device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The control device 10 performs thrust control to push a moving body in an industrial machine against a push target. As already described, thrust control is control that moves an axis while the torque generated in a drive unit such as a motor is constant. For example, in the example shown in FIG. 1 , the moving body and the push target related to the push control performed by the control device 10 correspond to the tailstock 31 and the workpiece 32, respectively, and in the example shown in FIG. 2 , the rotating tool 42 and the workpieces 43A and 43B, respectively, but are not limited to the examples shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 .

[0018] The control device 10 includes a thrust command generation unit 101, a movement command generation unit 102, a determination unit 103, and an axis control unit 104. The axis control unit 104 may not be provided within the control device 10 but may be provided outside the control device 10. In that case, the control device 10 is composed of the thrust command generation unit 101, the movement command generation unit 102, and the determination unit 103.

[0019] The thrust command generation unit 101 generates a thrust command for the moving body based on at least one of program commands and input information from an input unit such as a thrust command switch related to thrust control of the moving body, and outputs the generated thrust command to the judgment unit 103 and the axis control unit 104.

[0020] The movement command generation unit 102 generates a movement command for the moving body based on at least one of program commands and input information from an input unit such as a jog feed switch or an alarm, which are related to the movement of the moving body, and outputs the generated movement command to the determination unit 103 and the axis control unit 104. Jog feed refers to manually moving the moving body.

[0021] The determination unit 103 determines whether or not to permit the movement of the moving body and whether or not to release thrust control and switch to position control based on the pressing direction of the thrust command output from the thrust command generation unit 101 and the movement direction of the movement command output from the movement command generation unit 102, and outputs the determination result to the axis control unit 104. Position control refers to control that moves the moving body to a set position.

[0022] The determination unit 103 determines that the movement of the moving body is permitted when the pushing direction of the thrust command and the moving direction of the movement command are substantially opposite directions. The term "substantially opposite directions" refers to cases where the pushing direction of the thrust command and the moving direction of the movement command are parallel to each other and opposite to each other, as well as cases where the pushing direction of the thrust command and the moving direction of the movement command are tilted to such an extent that they can be regarded as substantially opposite directions.

[0023] Furthermore, if the pushing direction of the thrust command and the movement direction of the movement command are substantially opposite to each other, the determination unit 103 determines that thrust control can be released and switched to position control. If the determination unit 103 determines that switching from thrust control to position control is possible, the axis control unit 104 switches to position control.

[0024] On the other hand, when the moving body is pressed against the pressing object and the pressing direction of the thrust command and the pressing direction of the thrust command are substantially the same direction, the determination unit 103 determines that the movement of the moving body is not permitted (not permitted). The term "substantially the same direction" refers to a case where the pressing direction of the thrust command and the movement direction of the movement command are the same direction and parallel to each other, as well as a case where they are tilted to an extent that they can be considered to be substantially the same direction.

[0025] Furthermore, when the direction of the thrust command and the direction of the movement command are substantially the same, the determination unit 103 determines that thrust control cannot be released and switched to position control (switching is not possible).

[0026] The axis control unit 104 controls the axis of the moving body, including controlling the movement of the moving body and controlling the switch from thrust control to position control, based on the determination result of the determination unit 103. The axis control unit 104 is, for example, a servo control device that controls a motor or a linear motor that rotates a rotation axis, based on a movement command and a thrust command.

[0027] Next, the operation of the control device 10 will be described with reference to a flowchart. FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an example of the operation of the control device 10.

[0028] In step S11, the thrust command generating unit 101 generates a thrust command for the moving body based on at least one of a program command and input information from an input unit, which is related to thrust control of the moving body.

[0029] In step S12, the movement command generator 102 generates a movement command for the moving object based on at least one of a program command and input information from the input unit, which are related to the movement of the moving object. Step S12 may be executed before step S11 or may be executed simultaneously with step S11.

[0030] In step S13, the determination unit 103 determines whether the pressing direction of the thrust command output from the thrust command generation unit 101 is substantially the same as the movement direction of the movement command output from the movement command generation unit 102. If the determination unit 103 determines that the thrust direction is not substantially the same, the process proceeds to step S14, and if the determination unit 103 determines that the thrust direction is substantially the same, the process proceeds to step S16.

[0031] In step S14, the determination unit 103 determines that the movement of the moving body is permitted, and the process proceeds to step S15. In step S15, the determination unit 103 determines that thrust control can be released and switched to position control, and the process proceeds to step S18. The order of steps S14 and S15 may be reversed, or steps S14 and S15 may be performed simultaneously.

[0032] In step S16, the determination unit 103 determines that the movement of the moving body is not permitted, and the process proceeds to step S17. In step S17, the determination unit 103 determines that thrust control cannot be released and switched to position control, and the process proceeds to step S18. The order of steps S16 and S17 may be reversed, or steps S16 and S17 may be performed simultaneously.

[0033] In step S18, the axis control unit 104 controls the axis of the moving body, including controlling the movement of the moving body and controlling the switching from thrust control to position control, based on the determination result of the determination unit 103. Note that if the control device 10 does not include the axis control unit 104, step S18 is omitted.

[0034] The following describes specific operations of the control device 10 in an example configuration of a control system including the control device 10. In the following description, it is assumed that a thrust command generation unit 101 generates a thrust command to a moving body based on a program command, and that a movement command generation unit 102 generates a movement command to a moving body based on the program command and input information from an input unit such as a jog feed switch.

[0035] 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a first configuration example of a control system including a control device and an industrial machine. The control system 1A shown in FIG. 5 includes a control device 10, an industrial machine 30, and two jog feed switches 21 and 22.

[0036] The industrial machine 30 includes a tailstock 31, a chuck 33 to which a long workpiece 32 is attached, and a tool 34, as shown in FIG.

[0037] 3, the control device 10 includes a thrust command generator 101, a movement command generator 102, a determination unit 103, and an axis control unit 104. Connected to the movement command generator 102 are a jog feed switch 21 for instructing the tailstock 31 to move in the positive (+) direction of the W axis, and a jog feed switch 22 for instructing the tailstock 31 to move in the negative (-) direction of the W axis.

[0038] 5, the movement command generation unit 102 generates a movement command based on a program to move the tailstock 31 from position "W0" to position "W-20" under position control, and outputs the movement command to the axis control unit 104. Position "W-20" is the position where the tailstock 31 is pressed against the workpiece 32. The workpiece 32 is at position "X0" and "Z0."

[0039] Based on a program, the thrust command generation unit 101 outputs a thrust command to the axis control unit 104 for performing push control using control (thrust control) that keeps the torque generated on the W axis constant. The program includes a command to turn thrust control ON (TRQON: W = -0.1) and a command to turn thrust control OFF (TRQOFF: W) for switching between enabling and disabling the push control. The thrust command generation unit 101 generates a thrust control (pushing) command for the axis control unit 104 between TRQON and TRQOFF in the program and outputs it to the axis control unit 104. The "W = -0.1" in the program "TRQON: W = -0.1" indicates that thrust control is performed with a torque of 0.1 Nmm in the negative direction of the W axis.

[0040] During thrust control (pushing) between TRQON and TRQOFF in a program, the user may wish to interrupt the execution of the program midway and jog the W-axis during the thrust control.

[0041] 6 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the control system when a user uses a jog feed switch to instruct jog feed of the W axis. As shown in FIG. 6, when the thrust control (pushing) direction is in the negative direction of the W axis, if the user presses jog feed switch 21 for jog feed, a push-down signal P1 is input as input information to movement command generator 102. If the user presses jog feed switch 22 for jog feed, a push-down signal P2 is input as input information to movement command generator 102.

[0042] When the movement command generation unit 102 receives the push-down signal P1, it generates a movement command for the W axis in the positive direction and outputs it to the determination unit 103. On the other hand, when the movement command generation unit 102 receives the push-down signal P2, it generates a movement command for the W axis in the negative direction and outputs it to the determination unit 103.

[0043] The determination unit 103 receives a thrust command from the thrust command generation unit 101 to perform thrust control in the negative direction of the W axis.

[0044] If the movement command is in the positive direction (opposite to the pushing direction), the judgment unit 103 permits the movement because the pushing direction of the thrust command and the moving direction of the movement command are substantially opposite to each other. On the other hand, if the movement command is in the negative direction, the judgment unit 103 does not permit the movement because the pushing direction of the thrust command and the moving direction of the movement command are substantially the same to each other.

[0045] Furthermore, when the pushing direction of the thrust command and the movement direction of the movement command are substantially opposite to each other, the determination unit 103 determines that thrust control can be released and switched to position control. On the other hand, when the direction of the thrust command and the direction of the movement command are substantially the same to each other, the determination unit 103 determines that thrust control cannot be released and switched to position control (switching is not possible).

[0046] With the above operations, when thrust control is being performed in the negative direction of the W axis, if the user presses jog feed switch 21 to instruct movement of the W axis in the positive direction, the W axis returns from thrust control to position control, and tailstock 31 moves in the positive direction of the W axis. At this time, the program does not issue a program command (TRQOFF) to turn thrust control OFF. On the other hand, when thrust control is being performed in the negative direction of the W axis, if the user presses jog feed switch 22 to instruct movement of the W axis in the negative direction, thrust control of the W axis is maintained, and tailstock 31 does not move.

[0047] (Second Configuration Example) Figure 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a second configuration example of a control system including a control device and industrial machinery. A control system 1B shown in Figure 7 includes a control device 10, an industrial machine 40, and a switch panel 50. The industrial machine 40 includes a robot body 41, a rotary tool 42, and workpieces 43A and 43B, as shown in Figure 2. The control device 10 includes a thrust command generator 101, a movement command generator 102, a determination unit 103, and an axis control unit 104, as shown in Figure 3.

[0048] In the following description, differences in the operations of the thrust command generator 101, the movement command generator 102, and the determination unit 103 in the pressing control in this configuration example from the first configuration example will be described.

[0049] The direction of thrust control (pushing) of the rotary tool 42 is the negative direction of the Z axis, and the directions perpendicular to the Z axis direction are the X axis direction and the Y axis direction, respectively. There are cases where the user wishes to perform jog feed while performing friction stir welding by pressing the rotary tool 42 against the workpieces 43A and 43B in the negative direction of the Z axis. There are six directions that can be specified for jog feed: the positive (+) direction and negative (-) direction of the X axis, the positive (+) direction and negative (-) direction of the Y axis, and the positive (+) direction and negative (-) direction of the Z axis.

[0050] The switch panel 50 is equipped with jog feed switches 51 and 52 for jog feed in the positive (+) and negative (-) directions of the X-axis, jog feed switches 53 and 54 for jog feed in the positive (+) and negative (-) directions of the Y-axis, and jog feed switches 55 and 56 for jog feed in the positive (+) and negative (-) directions of the Z-axis.

[0051] The thrust command generation unit 101 outputs a thrust command to the axis control unit 104 based on a program for performing pressing control using control (thrust control) that keeps the torque generated on the Z axis constant.

[0052] 7, the switch panel 50 inputs a push-down signal corresponding to the pushed jog feed switch as input information to the movement command generation unit 102. Upon receiving the push-down signal, the movement command generation unit 102 generates a movement command for the movement direction (positive or negative direction) of the axis (X-axis, Y-axis, or Z-axis) corresponding to the push-down signal and outputs the command to the determination unit 103.

[0053] The determination unit 103 receives a thrust command from the thrust command generation unit 101 to perform thrust control in the negative direction of the Z axis. The determination unit 103 permits movement if the movement command is either the positive direction of the X axis or the positive direction of the Z axis. Movement in the positive direction of the Z axis is permitted because the pushing direction of the thrust command and the movement direction of the movement command are approximately opposite to each other. Movement in the positive direction of the X axis, which is different from the positive direction of the Z axis, is permitted because the tool is being fed in the positive direction of the X axis for friction stir welding. The positive direction of the X axis is an allowed direction. On the other hand, the determination unit 103 does not permit movement if the movement command is in a direction other than the positive direction of the X axis or the positive direction of the Z axis. Note that when friction stir welding shifts from the positive direction of the X axis to the positive direction of the Y axis, the positive direction of the Y axis becomes an allowed direction and the positive direction of the X axis becomes an unallowed direction, changing the allowed directions.

[0054] When the movement command is in the positive direction of the Z axis, the determination unit 103 determines that thrust control can be released and switched to position control. On the other hand, when the movement command is in a direction other than the positive direction of the Z axis, the determination unit 103 determines that thrust control cannot be released and switched to position control (switching is not possible). The reason why the determination unit 103 determines that thrust control cannot be released and switched to position control when the movement command is in an allowed direction, for example, the positive direction of the X axis, is that if thrust control is released while moving in the positive direction of the X axis to perform friction stir welding, it becomes difficult to perform friction stir welding correctly.

[0055] The coordinate system for performing the pressing control described with reference to Figures 1, 2, and 5 to 7 may be freely selected. However, it is desirable that the coordinate system used by the determination unit 103 is a coordinate system that includes an axis parallel to the axis for performing the pressing control. Taking friction stir welding as an example, an example in which the determination unit 103 uses a coordinate system that includes an axis parallel to the axis for performing the pressing control will be described with reference to Figure 8.

[0056] 8 is a diagram for explaining an example in which the determination unit 103 uses a coordinate system including an axis parallel to the axis on which the pressing control is performed. Ｍ Axis, Y Ｍ axis, X Ｍ axis and Y ＭThe axis perpendicular to the Z axis Ｍ The determining unit 103 determines the X Ｍ Axis, Y Ｍ axis and Z Ｍ However, the determination unit 103 determines the direction of the pressing control and the direction of movement in a coordinate system consisting of axes. Ｗ axis and Z Ｗ X perpendicular to the axis Ｗ Axis, Y Ｗ Here, an example of pressing control in friction stir welding has been explained, but in the example of control in which the tailstock is pressed against the workpiece, it is also desirable to use a coordinate system including an axis parallel to the axis along which the determination unit 103 performs pressing control.

[0057] The control device 10 of the embodiment described above provides the following advantages. (1) It is possible to automatically determine whether a moving body can be moved and whether it is possible to return from thrust control to position control. (2) Even if the direction of a movement command is incorrect, the moving body will not move, thereby protecting industrial machinery. (3) When moving a moving body under thrust control, it is possible to eliminate the need to return to position control. For example, a program command to return to position control is not required.

[0058] In each of the above embodiments, the control device can be realized by hardware, software, or a combination thereof to realize the functional blocks included in the control device. Here, "realized by software" means that the components included in the control device are realized by a computer reading and executing a program. To realize the components included in the control device by software or a combination thereof, the control device includes a central processing unit (CPU) or other such device. The central processing unit functions as an execution unit. The control device also includes an auxiliary storage device such as a hard disk drive (HDD) that stores various control programs such as application software or an operating system (OS), and a main storage device such as a random access memory (RAM) that stores data temporarily required for the processing device to execute the programs.

[0059] The control device then reads application software or an OS from the auxiliary storage device, and executes calculations based on the application software or OS while the arithmetic processing unit loads the loaded application software or OS into the main storage device. Furthermore, the control device controls various hardware components provided in the control device based on the results of the calculations. This realizes the functional blocks of this embodiment.

[0060] The components included in the control device can be realized by hardware including electronic circuits, etc. When the control device is configured by hardware, some or all of the functions of the components included in the control device can be configured by an integrated circuit (IC) such as an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit), a gate array, an FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), or a CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device).

[0061] The program can be stored and supplied to a computer using various types of non-transitory computer-readable media. Non-transitory computer-readable media include various types of tangible storage media. Examples of non-transitory computer-readable media include magnetic recording media (e.g., hard disk drives), magneto-optical recording media (e.g., magneto-optical disks), CD-ROMs (Read Only Memory), CD-Rs, CD-R / Ws, and semiconductor memories (e.g., mask ROMs, PROMs (Programmable ROMs), EPROMs (Erasable PROMs), flash ROMs, and RAMs (Random Access Memory)). The program may also be supplied to the computer by various types of transient computer readable media.

[0062] According to the control device of the present disclosure including the embodiments described above, it is possible to automatically determine whether or not a moving body can move, and whether or not it is possible to return from thrust control to position control.

[0063] Although the above-described embodiments are preferred embodiments of the present invention, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and the present invention can be implemented in various modified forms within the scope that does not deviate from the gist of the present invention.

[0064] The following supplementary note is further disclosed regarding the above embodiment: (Supplementary note 1) A control device (10) for a moving body that executes control of pressing a moving body in an industrial machine (30, 40) against a pressing target by thrust control, the control device comprising: a thrust command generation unit (101) that generates a thrust command for the moving body based on at least one of a program command and input information from an input unit related to the thrust control of the moving body, a movement command generation unit (102) that generates a movement command for the moving body based on at least one of a program command and input information from an input unit related to movement of the moving body, and a determination unit (103) that determines whether to permit movement of the moving body and whether to release the thrust control and switch to position control based on the pressing direction of the thrust command and the movement direction of the movement command.

[0065] (Supplementary Note 2) The control device according to Supplementary Note 1, wherein the determination unit (103) determines that the movement of the moving body is permitted when a pushing direction of the thrust command and a moving direction of the movement command are substantially opposite directions to each other.

[0066] (Supplementary Note 3) The control device according to Supplementary Note 1 or Supplementary Note 2, wherein the determination unit (103) determines that movement of the moving body is not permitted when the moving body is pressed against the pressing object and a pressing direction of the thrust command and a movement direction of the movement command are substantially the same direction.

[0067] (Supplementary Note 4) The control device according to Supplementary Note 1, wherein the determination unit (103) determines that the thrust control can be released and switched to the position control when a pushing direction of the thrust command and a moving direction of the movement command are substantially opposite to each other.

[0068] (Supplementary Note 5) The control device according to Supplementary Note 1, further comprising: an axis control unit (104) that switches to the position control when the determination unit (103) determines that it is OK to switch from the thrust control to the position control.

[0069] (Supplementary Note 6) The control device according to Supplementary Note 1, wherein the determination unit (103) determines, based on the pushing direction of the thrust command and the movement direction of the movement command, that the moving body, while pressed against the pushing object, moves in an allowed direction different from the pushing direction of the thrust command, to permit the moving body to move in the allowed direction.

[0070] (Supplementary Note 7) The control device according to Supplementary Note 6, wherein the determination unit (103) determines not to permit switching from the thrust control to the position control when it determines, based on the pushing direction of the thrust command and the movement direction of the movement command, that the moving body, while being pressed against the pushing object, moves in an allowed direction different from the pushing direction of the thrust command.

[0071] (Supplementary Note 8) A method for controlling a moving body, in which a computer as a control device (10) of a moving body executes thrust control to press a moving body in an industrial machine (30, 40) against a pressing target object, executes the following processes: a process of generating a thrust command to the moving body based on at least one of a program command and input information from an input unit related to the thrust control of the moving body; a process of generating a movement command to the moving body based on at least one of a program command and input information from an input unit related to the movement of the moving body; and a process of determining whether to permit movement of the moving body and whether to release the thrust control and switch to position control based on the pressing direction of the thrust command and the movement direction of the movement command.

[0072] 1A, 1B Control system 10 Control device 21, 22, 51 to 56 Jog feed switch 30, 40 Industrial machine 31 Tailstock 32 Workpiece 33 Chuck 34 Tool 41 Robot body 42 Rotating tool 43A, 43B, 60A, 60B Workpiece 50 Switchboard 101 Thrust command generation unit 102 Movement command generation unit 103 Determination unit 104 Axis control unit

Claims

1. A control device for a moving body that executes control of pressing a moving body in an industrial machine against a pressing object by thrust control, comprising: a thrust command generation unit that generates a thrust command for the moving body based on at least one of program commands and input information from an input unit related to the thrust control of the moving body; a movement command generation unit that generates a movement command for the moving body based on at least one of program commands and input information from an input unit related to the movement of the moving body; and a judgment unit that judges whether to permit the movement of the moving body and whether to release the thrust control and switch to position control based on the pressing direction of the thrust command and the movement direction of the movement command.

2. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines that the movement of the moving body is permitted when the thrust direction of the thrust command and the movement direction of the movement command are substantially opposite to each other.

3. A control device as described in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the judgment unit judges that movement of the moving body is not permitted when the moving body is pressed against the object to be pressed and the pressing direction of the thrust command and the movement direction of the movement command are approximately the same direction.

4. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the judgment unit judges that it is acceptable to release the thrust control and switch to the position control when the pushing direction of the thrust command and the moving direction of the movement command are substantially opposite to each other.

5. The control device according to claim 1, further comprising an axis control section that switches to the position control when the determination section determines that it is acceptable to switch from the thrust control to the position control.

6. The control device as described in claim 1, wherein when the judgment unit determines, based on the pressing direction of the thrust command and the movement direction of the movement command, that the moving body moves in an allowed direction different from the pressing direction of the thrust command while being pressed against the object to be pressed, it judges to permit the moving of the moving body in the allowed direction.

7. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the determination unit determines not to permit switching from thrust control to position control when it determines, based on the thrust direction of the thrust command and the movement direction of the movement command, that the moving body, while pressed against the object to be pressed, moves in an allowed direction different from the thrust direction of the thrust command.

8. A method for controlling a moving body, the method comprising: a computer as a control device for a moving body, which controls the pressing of a moving body in an industrial machine against a pressing object by thrust control, performing the following processes: a process of generating a thrust command for the moving body based on at least one of program commands and input information from an input unit, related to the thrust control of the moving body; a process of generating a movement command for the moving body based on at least one of program commands and input information from an input unit, related to the movement of the moving body; and a process of determining whether or not to permit the movement of the moving body, and whether or not to release the thrust control and switch to position control, based on the pressing direction of the thrust command and the movement direction of the movement command.

Images