Robot control device and production method

Abstract

A robot control device 1 has a nonvolatile memory 11 that stores an initialization program, a processor 12, a storage device 14, a volatile memory 13, interfaces 15, 16, 17, and a USB port 18. The processor functions as a means for initializing the storage device, the volatile memory, and the interface by executing an initialization program to be started upon power-on, and a means for reading a specific file having a specific file name by referring to a USB memory connected to the USB port. The processor functions as a means for referring to a network storage connected via the USB memory or a communication interface by executing a command described in the specific file, and a means for reading a specific program file and writing the specific program file in the nonvolatile memory.

Description

Robot control device and production method

[0001] FIELD An embodiment of the present invention relates to a robot control device and a production method.

[0002] In the manufacturing process of a robot control device, it is essential to execute a test program and perform tests such as an operation test of the robot control device itself.

[0003] The test program is written to the non-volatile memory (FROM, etc.) of the robot control device. Dedicated hardware is required to write the test program to the FROM built into the motherboard. Alternatively, a general-purpose external storage device (such as a USB memory device) containing the test program must be connected, and the program must be written by operating the teaching operation panel.

[0004] Creating specialized hardware is expensive.

[0005] Although general-purpose external storage devices are relatively inexpensive, they require manual operation, such as connecting a USB memory device to a port on the robot control device and using dedicated software to write the test program file to FROM, which requires labor and inevitably increases costs.Of course, such manual operation requires connecting an input device such as a teaching operation panel, and this connection work also increases labor (costs).

[0006] Furthermore, since the operator performs the manual operation, there is a risk of human error, such as mixing up the programs.

[0007] In the manufacturing process of robot control devices, it is desirable to reduce the number of steps and costs involved in writing specific programs such as test programs into non-volatile memories, and to prevent the occurrence of human error.

[0008] A robot control device according to an embodiment includes a nonvolatile memory for storing an initialization program, a processor, a storage device, a volatile memory, a communication interface, and a port for connecting an external storage device. The processor executes the initialization program, which is activated when the power is turned on, to initialize the storage device, the volatile memory, and the communication interface, and to reference the external storage device connected to the port and read a specific file having a file name. The processor executes instructions written in the specific file to reference the external storage device or network storage connected via the communication interface, and to read the specific program file and write it to the nonvolatile memory.

[0009] Fig. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a robot control device according to this embodiment. Fig. 2 is a flowchart showing the processing procedure of an initialization program that is started when the power of the robot control device shown in Fig. 1 is turned on. Fig. 3 is a flowchart showing an example of the processing procedure of step S20 shown in Fig. 2.

[0010] A robot control device according to this embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1 , the robot control device 1 includes a nonvolatile memory 11 implemented as, for example, a read-only memory (FROM) for storing an initialization program, a processor 12, a volatile memory 13 implemented as a random access memory (RAM), a storage device 14 implemented as a hard disk drive (HDD) or solid-state drive (SSD) for storing an operating system (OS), a control program for drive control of the robot 2, and various other programs and data, an interface (I / F) 15 for communicating with the robot 2, an interface (I / F) 16 for communicating with the teaching pendant 3, an Ethernet (registered trademark) interface (I / F) 17 for connecting to a network storage 5 via a local network 4, a USB port 18 for connecting a USB memory device 6 as an external storage device, and other components such as a power supply (not shown). The network storage 5 may be cloud storage established on the Internet.

[0011] When the power is turned on, the initialization program in the non-volatile memory 11 is automatically started (written to the volatile memory 13), and the processor 12 executes the command code to initialize components such as the volatile memory 13, storage device 14, interfaces 15 and 16, Ethernet interface 17, and USB port 18, establish a boot process, and perform other initialization processing to ensure that the operating system starts up normally.

[0012] In this embodiment, the initialization program has a pre-installed program module. By executing this program module, the processor 12 functions as: a means for referencing the USB memory device 6 connected to the USB port 19 according to a specified path (here, a drive letter), a means for searching for a file (referred to as a specific file) whose file name contains a specified character string, a means for determining the legitimacy of the specific file, a means for reading the specific file that has been determined to be legitimate, and a means for sequentially executing commands written on each line of the read specific file.

[0013] The legitimacy of a specific file is determined, for example, based on whether a specific character string is written in the specific file. Specifically, the file's tag or the contents of the first line are read, and a specific character string is searched for therein. If the specific character string is found, the file is determined to be legitimate. On the other hand, if the specific character string is not found, the file is determined to be invalid. Of course, other determination methods may also be used, such as calculating a hash value of the file and comparing it with a hash value of a legitimate file that has been calculated in advance.

[0014] Following execution of the initialization program, the processor 12 sequentially executes the instructions written on each line of the specific file that has been read, thereby functioning as: a means for referencing the USB memory device 6 or the network storage 5 according to a specified path; a means for searching for a program file (specific program file) constructed for a specific purpose and having a predetermined file name; a means for reading the specific program file; a means for writing the read specific program file to the non-volatile memory 11; and a means for executing the specific program written to the non-volatile memory 11.

[0015] The specific program is, for example, a test program for verifying whether the robot control device 1 can exhibit the expected functions, performance, and stability, and includes tests to confirm whether each component functions normally, stress tests to check whether it will not overheat under high load operation and whether it will operate stably, write / read tests for the volatile memory 13, read / write tests for sectors of the storage device 14, tests for network connection and communication speed, etc. Note that the specific program is not limited to a test program, and may be any program for another purpose.

[0016] The robot control device 1 is completed through a production process that includes assembling components such as a nonvolatile memory 11, a processor 12, a volatile memory 13, a storage device 14, interfaces 15 and 16, an Ethernet interface 17, and a USB port 18. During the production process, it is necessary to write an appropriately customized test program to the nonvolatile memory 11. In this embodiment, the writing of the test program to the nonvolatile memory 11 and its execution are automated.

[0017] 2, in the production process, an operator connects the USB memory device 6, on which the specific file has been written, to the USB port 18 (S10), and then turns on the power. When the power is turned on (S11; Yes), the processor 12 starts up, and the initialization program for the non-volatile memory 11 is first launched (S12). When the initialization program is executed, initialization processing such as initialization of components is performed (S13), and then the program modules incorporated in the initialization program are executed (broken line frame).

[0018] First, the USB memory device 6 connected to the USB port 19 is referenced according to the specified path (drive letter) (S14). Then, using the specified character string, a specific file containing that character string in its file name is searched for (S15). If the specific file does not exist (S16; No), the program module ends. If the specific file exists (S16; Yes), the specific file is read (S17).

[0019] The legitimacy of the read specific file is then determined (S18). In the legitimacy determination process, for example, as described above, if a specific character string is written in the specific file, the file is determined to be legitimate, whereas if the specific character string is not found, the file is determined to be invalid. If the specific file is determined to be invalid (S19; No), the program module is terminated. If the specific file is determined to be valid (S19; Yes), the commands written in each line of the specific file are executed sequentially (S20).

[0020] 3 shows a processing procedure based on commands written on each line of a specific file. Each line of the specific file sequentially specifies a path and refers to the USB memory device 6 or network storage 5 according to the specified path, searches for a specific program file having a predetermined file name, reads the specific program file if it exists, writes the read specific program file to the nonvolatile memory 11, and executes the specific program written to the nonvolatile memory 11. Here, the specific program is described as a test program.

[0021] According to this command sequence, the USB memory device 6 or network storage 5 is referenced according to the specified path (S21), and a file with the specified file name is searched for (S22). If a test program file with the specified file name does not exist, the process ends. If a test program file exists, the test program file is read from the USB memory device 6 or downloaded from the network storage 5 (S24). The read or downloaded test program file is written to the non-volatile memory 11 (S25) and executed. This tests whether each component functions normally, whether it will not overheat under high-load operation and whether it operates stably, tests the writing and reading of the volatile memory 13, tests the reading and writing of sectors of the storage device 14, and tests the network connection and communication speed.

[0022] Furthermore, after the test program has been written to non-volatile memory 11, if you want to start the test program together with the initialization program when the power is turned on, this can be achieved by connecting a USB memory device containing a specific file containing instructions to start the test program to USB port 18 and turning on the power.

[0023] As described above, according to this embodiment, testing of the robot control device 1 in the production process is completed when the worker connects the USB memory device 6 and then turns on the power.

[0024] Execution of a test program is essential in the production process of the robot control device 1, particularly in the final stage before shipment. For example, a large number of robot control devices 1, such as tens or hundreds, may be subject to this test. In this embodiment, the task of writing a specific program, such as a test program, to the non-volatile memory 11 in which the initialization program is saved and executing it is completed by the simple task of connecting the USB memory device 6 in which the specific file is saved to the USB port 18 of the robot control device 1 and turning on the power. This reduces the amount of human labor required and also effectively prevents the occurrence of human errors, such as program mix-ups.

[0025] Furthermore, a specific program file is stored in advance on the USB memory device 6, another USB memory device, or network storage 5, and the specific file contains instructions for referencing the storage location of the specific program file, reading it, writing it to internal non-volatile memory, and then executing it. A program module is incorporated into an initialization program, such as a component initialization program that starts when the power is turned on, for referencing the USB memory device 6 or the like where the specific file is stored, reading it, and executing the stored instructions. This program module contains the file name of the specific file, which references the USB memory device 6, thereby preventing the wrong file from being loaded. The same applies to specific programs; the instructions for the specific file contain the file name of the specific program, which references the USB memory device 6, thereby preventing the wrong program from being executed. Because the specific program is executed through these two steps, the specific program can be executed correctly.

[0026] Furthermore, to change the program you want to execute, you can simply rewrite the path or file name to the program as part of the command for the specific file, or selectively connect a USB memory device that stores other specific files that have been written in advance as such commands to the USB port 18 of the robot control device 1. This reduces the effort required to rewrite the program module of the initialization program, rewrite the file name of the program file, change the storage location, etc., as well as the occurrence of human errors such as rewriting.

[0027] Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail, the present disclosure is not limited to the individual embodiments described above. Various additions, substitutions, modifications, partial deletions, etc. are possible in these embodiments without departing from the gist of the invention or the concept and spirit of the present invention derived from the content of the claims and their equivalents. For example, in the above-described embodiments, the order of each operation and the order of each process are shown as examples and are not limited to these. The same applies when numerical values ​​or mathematical expressions are used in the description of the above-described embodiments.

[0028] 1...Robot control device, 2...Robot, 3...Teaching operation panel, 4...Local network, 5...Network storage, 6...USB memory device, 11...Non-volatile memory, 12...Processor, 13...Volatile memory, 14...Storage device, 15, 16...Interface, 17...Ethernet interface, 18...USB port.

Claims

1. A robot control device having a non-volatile memory for storing an initialization program, a processor, a storage device, a volatile memory, a communication interface, and a port for connecting an external storage device, wherein the processor functions as a means for initializing the storage device, the volatile memory, and the communication interface by executing the initialization program which is started when the power is turned on, and as a means for referencing the external storage device connected to the port and reading a specific file having a specific file name, and the processor functions as a means for referencing the external storage device or a network storage connected via the communication interface by executing instructions written in the specific file that has been read, and as a means for reading a specific program file and writing it to the non-volatile memory.

2. A robot control device according to claim 1, wherein the processor further functions as a determination means for determining the authenticity of the specific file, and the specific file determined to be authentic is read, and the specific file determined to be invalid is not read.

3. A robot control device as described in claim 2, wherein the determination means determines that the specific file is legitimate when a predetermined character string is written in the specific file, and determines that the specific file is not legitimate when the predetermined character string is not written in the specific file.

4. A robot control device according to claim 1, wherein said processor further functions as a means for executing said written specific program file.

5. A robot control device according to claim 1, wherein the specific program file is a test program for verifying the operation of the robot control device.

6. A method for producing a robot control device having a non-volatile memory for storing an initialization program, a processor, a storage device, a volatile memory, a communication interface, and a port for connecting an external storage device, wherein the initialization program, which is started when the power is turned on, is executed by the processor to initialize the storage device, the volatile memory, and the communication interface, and also references the external storage device connected to the port and reads a specific file having a specific file name; and the processor executes an instruction written in the specific file that has been read, causing the processor to reference the external storage device or network storage connected via the communication interface, read a specific program file, and write it to the non-volatile memory.

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