Control apparatus

Abstract

The present invention automatically determines, by acquiring and comparing information related to setting values of a control apparatus of a copy source, whether or not parameters in the information related to the setting values of the copy source can be diverted, and automatically reads the parameters that can be diverted.　This control apparatus comprises: an acquisition unit that acquires information related to a first setting value including at least any of model information, the number of axes, software information, control function information, and network information of an industrial machine; an extraction unit that extracts a readable parameter on the basis of the information related to the first setting value; and a reading unit that reads the extracted parameter.

Description

Control device

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a control device that controls industrial machines.

[0002] When starting up a production line, parameters of software of a control device of industrial machines such as robots and machine tools are set. When replicating a production line, for the set values of the same parameters as those of other control devices, the backup file is read. For different parameter values, they are set manually. In this regard, when a robot control device exchanges data with another robot control device or a recording medium storing setting data, it compares the set setting data with the setting data set in another robot control device or the setting data stored in the recording medium item by item, displays the items in which there are differences between the compared setting data, and copies the selected setting data among the different items from the copy source to the copy destination. For example, see Patent Document 1.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2018-5958

[0004] However, even in the technology described in Patent Document 1, when the number of parameters to be set is large, it takes time for an operator to check the parameters common among the control devices, so the parameter setting work is troublesome. Also, when the number of parameters to be set is large, the risk of parameter setting errors and omissions increases.

[0005] Therefore, it is desired to automatically determine whether each parameter in the information regarding the set value of the copy source can be diverted by acquiring and comparing the information regarding the set value of the control device of the copy source, and automatically read the parameters that can be diverted.

[0006] One aspect of the control device of the present disclosure includes an acquisition unit that acquires information regarding a first set value including at least any one of the model information, number of axes, software information, control function information, and network information of an industrial machine, an extraction unit that extracts readable parameters based on the information regarding the first set value, and a reading unit that reads the extracted parameters.

[0007] Figure 3A shows an example of the configuration of the control system according to the first embodiment. Figure 4A shows an example of the configuration of the control system according to the first embodiment. Figure 5 shows an example of parameter setting using an external memory device in the first embodiment. Figure 6 shows an example of a spot welding specification file for controlling spot welding by a robot using a servo gun (registered trademark) set in the robot control device. Figure 7A shows an example of a parameter file set in the robot control device in the spot welding specification of Figure 3A. Figure 8 shows an example of a spot welding specification file for controlling spot welding by a robot using an air gun set in the robot control device. Figure 9A shows an example of a parameter file set in the robot control device in the spot welding specification of Figure 4A. Figure 1 shows an example of a CPU function block. Figure 1 shows an example of the judgment result for each parameter by the extraction unit. Figure 1 shows an example of the display screen for parameter reading results. Figure 2 shows a flowchart explaining the reading process of the robot control device. Figure 3A shows an example of the configuration of the control system according to the second embodiment. Figure 1 shows an example of parameter setting using an external memory device in the second embodiment. Figure 2 shows an example of the CPU function block. Figure 3A shows an example of a display screen for selecting the parameter to be read. Figure 4A shows an example of a display screen that accepts the parameter selection by the worker. Figure 5 shows a flowchart explaining the reading process of the robot control device. Figure 6A shows an example of obtaining information on the setting values ​​of multiple robot control devices from a server. Figure 7A shows an example of the configuration of the control system according to the third embodiment. Figure 8 shows an example of parameter setting using an external memory device in the third embodiment. This figure shows an example of a file indicating the specifications of a machine tool set in a numerical control device. This figure shows an example of a file of parameters set in the numerical control device according to the specifications in Figure 18A. This figure shows an example of a file of machine tool specifications set in a numerical control device. This figure shows an example of a file of parameters set in the numerical control device according to the specifications in Figure 19A. This figure shows an example of a CPU function block. This figure shows an example of the judgment result for each parameter by the extraction unit. This figure shows an example of a display screen for parameter reading results.

[0008] <First Embodiment> The control system according to the first embodiment will be described in detail below with reference to the figures. Here, the case in which the industrial machine is a robot and the control device is a robot control device will be described as an example. However, the present invention is also applicable to the case in which the industrial machine is a machine tool and the control device is a numerical control device. Figure 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the control system according to the first embodiment. As shown in Figure 1, the control system 1 has a robot control device 10, a robot 20, peripheral devices 30, a teaching operation panel 40, and an external memory device 50. The robot control device 10, the robot 20, the peripheral devices 30, the teaching operation panel 40, and the external memory device 50 are directly connected to each other via a connection interface (not shown). However, the robot control device 10, the robot 20, the peripheral devices 30, the teaching operation panel 40, and the external memory device 50 may be connected to each other and communicate via a network (not shown) such as a LAN (Local Area Network) or the Internet. In this case, the robot control device 10, the robot 20, the peripheral device 30, the teaching control panel 40, and the external memory device 50 are equipped with a communication unit (not shown) for communicating with each other through such connections.

[0009] Robot 20 is a known robot that operates based on the control of a robot control device 10, which will be described later. For example, robot 20 is a 6-axis vertical articulated robot having a robot mechanism 201 including servo motors, or a vertical articulated robot with more than 6 axes, a horizontal articulated robot, a parallel link robot, etc. Robot 20 operates by driving the robot mechanism 201 based on instructions from the drive unit 12 of the robot control device 10, which will be described later. The specific configuration of robot 20 is well known to those skilled in the art, so a detailed explanation will be omitted.

[0010] Peripheral devices 30 are, for example, machine tools, conveyors, PLCs (Programmable Logic Controllers), and other devices that operate in cooperation with the robot 20 based on instructions from the drive unit 12 of the robot control device 10, which will be described later.

[0011] The teaching control panel 40 is a device for teaching the robot 20, and may be a computer specifically designed for the robot control device 10, or a computer such as a tablet computer.

[0012] The external memory device 50 is a flash memory such as a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory or an SD card, and is used to transfer files between the robot control device 10 and the external memory device 50. Figure 2 is a diagram showing an example of parameter setting using the external memory device 50 in the first embodiment. That is, in the following description, as shown in Figure 2, the external memory device 50 is exemplified as storing information about first setting values, including the robot model, number of axes, and software list set in the source robot control device SP-101. The robot control device 10 connects to the external memory device 50 via the input / output control unit 13, obtains the stored information about the first setting values ​​of the robot control device SP-101, and sets the setting values ​​of the parameters that can be read from the information about the first setting values ​​of the robot control device SP-101 by comparing it with the information about second setting values ​​set in the robot control device 10.

[0013] The robot control device 10 is a device known to those skilled in the art for controlling the movement of the robot 20. The robot control device 10 generates control signals by executing an operation program generated using Cartesian coordinate values ​​or axis values ​​indicating the position of the tip point of the robot 20, which have been taught by an operator using the teaching control panel 40. The robot control device 10 drives the robot mechanism 201 and operates the robot 20 by outputting the generated control signals to the robot 20.

[0014] As shown in Figure 1, the robot control device 10 includes a CPU 11, a drive unit 12, an input / output control unit 13, a memory 14, a communication unit 15, and a bus 16.

[0015] The CPU 11 is a microprocessor that controls each component of the robot control device 10. Details of the CPU 11 will be described later.

[0016] The drive unit 12 generates control signals for the robot 20 and peripheral devices 30 based on, for example, a robot program executed by the CPU 11, and controls the operation of the robot mechanism 201 of the robot 20 and the peripheral devices 30.

[0017] The input / output control unit 13 is, for example, an input / output interface, which receives key input from the teaching operation panel 40 and transfers files between the external memory device 50 and the memory 14, which will be described later.

[0018] Memory 14 is, for example, RAM (Random Access Memory) or ROM (Read Only Memory). Memory 14 stores a file indicating the specifications of the robot 20, installed software, and a file of parameters for controlling the software. Memory 14 also stores information regarding a second set value, which includes, for example, at least one of the following: model information, number of axes, software information, control function information, or network information of the robot 20. The information regarding the second set value includes a spot welding specification file for controlling spot welding by the robot 20, and a control parameter file for controlling the robot 20. Figure 3A shows an example of a spot welding specification file for controlling spot welding by the robot 20 using a servo gun (registered trademark) set in the robot control device 10. Figure 3B shows an example of a parameter file set in the robot control device 10 in the spot welding specification of Figure 3A. The spot welding specifications shown in Figure 3A contain a list of robot models, number of axes, and software for the robot control device 10 to control robot 20 as a spot welding robot. Specifically, the robot model is set to "SPOT-1000," and the number of axes is set to "6." The software includes "SPOT-1000 control function" software for controlling the robot mechanism 201 of robot 20, "servo gun spot welding function" software for controlling the servo gun for spot welding, and "network communication function" software for controlling communication via the network. Furthermore, the parameters shown in Figure 3B contain the control parameters "SPOT-1000 control function parameters" for the "SPOT-1000 control function" software used by the robot control device 10 to control robot 20 as a spot welding robot. Additionally, the parameters "servo gun spot welding function parameters" for the "servo gun spot welding function" software are also set.Here, the "servo gun spot welding function parameters" include, for example, the I / O number for issuing welding commands to the servo gun, the I / O number for receiving welding completion from the servo gun, and parameters for controlling the pressure and current of the servo gun. In addition, the parameters include the "Network Communication Function Network Address List" parameter, which is a parameter of the "Network Communication Function" software in the robot control device 10 and consists of the network address of the device to communicate with. Furthermore, the parameters include the "Network Address of the Own Device" parameter, which is a parameter of the "Network Communication Function" software in the robot control device 10 and is the network address of the robot 20 controlled by the robot control device 10. The parameter "Network Address of the Own Device" is set so that communication with the outside world can be made via the communication unit 15, which will be described later, using the set network address. For this reason, since this network address is used as the destination for communication, there should be no duplication within the same network.

[0019] Figure 4A shows an example of a spot welding specification file for controlling spot welding by a robot using an air gun set on the robot control device SP-101. Figure 4B shows an example of a parameter file set on the robot control device SP-101 in the spot welding specification shown in Figure 4A. Note that the spot welding specification shown in Figure 4A and the parameters shown in Figure 4B are examples of information regarding the first setting value. The spot welding specification shown in Figure 4A contains a list of robot models, number of axes, and software for controlling the spot welding robot set on the robot control device SP-101. Specifically, the robot model is set to "SPOT-1000", the model name of the robot controlled by the robot control device SP-101. The number of axes is set to "6", the number of axes of the robot controlled by the robot control device SP-101. Furthermore, the software includes "SPOT-1000 control function" software for controlling the robot by the robot control device SP-101, "Air gun spot welding function" software for controlling the air gun for spot welding by the robot control device SP-101, and "Network communication function" software for controlling network communication in the robot control device SP-101. In addition, the parameters shown in Figure 4B include the control parameters for the "SPOT-1000 control function" in the robot control device SP-101, called "SPOT-1000 control function parameters". The parameters also include the parameters for the "Air gun spot welding function" in the robot control device SP-101, called "Air gun spot welding function parameters". Here, the "Air gun spot welding function parameters" include, for example, the I / O number for issuing welding commands to the air gun, the I / O number for receiving welding completion from the air gun, etc. Furthermore, the parameters include the "Network Communication Function Network Address List," a parameter for the "Network Communication Function" in the robot control device SP-101, which consists of the network addresses of the devices to be communicated with.Furthermore, the parameters include the "Network Communication Function" parameter of the robot control device SP-101, which is the network address of the robot controlled by the robot control device SP-101, and is set as the "Network Address of the Device".

[0020] The communication unit 15 is, for example, a network interface, and communicates with other devices (not shown) via a network (not shown), such as a LAN or the Internet.

[0021] The CPU 11 is a microprocessor having RAM, ROM, and I / O. The CPU 11 executes each software read from ROM or memory 14, and during execution, reads information from RAM, ROM, and memory 14, writes information to RAM and memory 14, and exchanges signals with the drive unit 12, input / output control unit 13, and communication unit 15. In this way, the processing in this embodiment is realized through the cooperation of hardware and software (program). Figure 5 is a diagram showing an example of the functional blocks of the CPU 11. As shown in Figure 5, the CPU 11 has an acquisition unit 110, an extraction unit 111, a reading unit 112, and a notification unit 113 as functional blocks. In the following description, as shown in Figure 2, an example will be given in which parameters included in the information regarding the second setting value set in the robot control device 10 are replaced with parameters included in the information regarding the first setting value set in the robot control device SP-101 using an external memory device 50. However, the same applies when the parameters of the information regarding the first setting value set in the robot control device SP-101 are replaced with the parameters of the information regarding the second setting value set in the robot control device 10. In addition, the robot control device 10 acquires information regarding the first setting value set in the robot control device SP-101 using an external memory device 50, but it may also acquire this information from a network via the communication unit 15.

[0022] The acquisition unit 110 acquires, for example, spot welding specifications and parameters (information regarding the first set value) set in the robot control device SP-101, including at least one of the following: robot model information, number of axes, software information, control function information, and network information, from the external memory device 50 via the input / output control unit 13.

[0023] The extraction unit 111 extracts readable parameters based on the spot welding specifications and parameters (information regarding the first setting value) of the robot control device SP-101 acquired by the acquisition unit 110. Specifically, the extraction unit 111 compares and determines the parameters of the acquired robot control device SP-101, such as "SPOT-1000 control function parameters," "air gun spot welding function parameters," "network communication function network address list," and "network communication function network address of the device itself," with the parameters set in the robot control device 10, such as "SPOT-1000 control function parameters," "servo gun spot welding function parameters," "network communication function network address list," and "network communication function network address of the device itself." Figure 6 shows an example of the determination results for each parameter by the extraction unit 111. As shown in Figure 6, the extraction unit 111 determines that the parameter "SPOT-1000 control function parameter" of the robot control device 10 matches the parameter "SPOT-1000 control function parameter" of the robot control device SP-101, and therefore it is readable. The extraction unit 111 also determines that the parameter "Servo gun spot welding function parameter" of the robot control device 10 matches the parameter "Air gun spot welding function parameter" of the robot control device SP-101, and therefore it is not readable because the robot 20 does not have an air gun spot welding function. Furthermore, in the case of "Network communication function network address list," the extraction unit 111 determines that the parameter "Network communication function network address list" of the robot control device 10 matches the parameter "Network communication function network address list" of the robot control device SP-101, and therefore it is readable because the robot control device 10 has a network communication function. Furthermore, the extraction unit 111 determines that if there are robots with the same network address as the parameter "Network address of the network communication function of the robot control device" of the robot control device 10 and the parameter "Network address of the network communication function of the robot control device SP-101", it may cause communication problems and therefore the data cannot be read.Based on the determination result, the extraction unit 111 extracts the "SPOT-1000 control function parameters" and the "network communication function network address list" of the robot control device SP-101 as parameters that can be read.

[0024] The reading unit 112 reads, for example, the parameters of the extracted robot control device SP-101, such as the "SPOT-1000 control function parameters" and the "network communication function network address list," from the external memory device 50. The reading unit 112 then sets the settings of each read parameter in the robot control device 10.

[0025] The notification unit 113 notifies the operator of parameters that were not extracted by the extraction unit 111. Specifically, the notification unit 113 displays a screen on a display device (not shown) such as a liquid crystal display included in the teaching control panel 40 indicating that the parameters "air gun spot welding function parameters" and "network communication function device network address" which were determined to be unreadable require manual setting by the operator, and notifies the operator. Figure 7 shows an example of a display screen of the parameter reading results. As shown in Figure 7, by displaying the reading results on the display screen, the operator can see the "parameters that could be read", "parameters that could not be read", and "parameters that require manual setting" in the robot control device 10.

[0026] <Reading Process of Robot Control Device 10> Next, the flow of the reading process of the robot control device 10 will be explained with reference to Figure 8. Figure 8 is a flowchart explaining the reading process of the robot control device 10.

[0027] In step S11, the acquisition unit 110 acquires information regarding a first set value, which includes any of the robot model information, number of axes, software information, control function information, or network information set in the robot control device SP-101, from the external memory device 50 via the input / output control unit 13.

[0028] In step S12, the extraction unit 111 extracts readable parameters based on the information regarding the first set value obtained in step S11.

[0029] In step S13, the reading unit 112 reads the parameters extracted in step S12 from the external memory device 50 and sets each of the read parameters in the robot control device 10.

[0030] In step S14, the notification unit 113 notifies the user of the parameters that were not extracted by the extraction unit 111 by displaying them on the display device (not shown) of the teaching operation panel 40.

[0031] As described above, the robot control device 10 according to the first embodiment can acquire and compare information regarding the setting values ​​of the source robot control device SP-101, automatically determine whether each parameter in the information regarding the setting values ​​of the source can be reused, and automatically read the reusable parameters. Furthermore, when duplicating a production line, the robot control device 10 can reduce the effort and time required for setting parameters. In addition, the robot control device 10 can prevent operators from forgetting to set parameters. The first embodiment has now been described.

[0032] <Second Embodiment> Next, the second embodiment will be described. The first and second embodiments share the same configuration in that the robot control device acquires information regarding a first setting value, which includes any of the robot model information, number of axes, software information, control function information, or network information set in the source robot control device, extracts readable parameters based on the acquired information regarding the first setting value, reads the extracted parameters, and sets the read parameters. However, in the first embodiment, the robot control device 10 acquired information regarding a first setting value, which includes any of the robot model information, number of axes, software information, control function information, or network information, from one robot control device SP-101. In contrast, the second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the robot control device 10A acquires information regarding a first setting value, which includes any of the robot model information, number of axes, software information, control function information, or network information, from each of the multiple robot control devices SP-201 to SP-203, and the operator selects the parameters of the function to be read. As a result, according to the second embodiment, the robot control device 10A can acquire and compare information regarding the setting values ​​of the source robot control devices SP-201 to SP-203, automatically determine whether each parameter in the information regarding the setting values ​​of the source can be reused, and automatically read the parameters that can be reused. The second embodiment will be described below.

[0033] Figure 9 shows an example of the configuration of the control system 1 according to the second embodiment. Elements having the same functions as those in the control system 1 of Figure 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed explanations are omitted. As shown in Figure 9, the control system 1 includes a robot control device 10A, a robot 20, peripheral devices 30, a teaching control panel 40, and an external memory device 50. The robot control device 10A, robot 20, peripheral devices 30, teaching control panel 40, and external memory device 50 are directly connected to each other via a connection interface (not shown). Alternatively, the robot control device 10A, robot 20, peripheral devices 30, teaching control panel 40, and external memory device 50 may be connected to each other and communicate via a network (not shown), such as a LAN or the Internet. In this case, the robot control device 10A, robot 20, peripheral devices 30, teaching control panel 40, and external memory device 50 are equipped with a communication unit (not shown) for communicating with each other via such connection. The robot 20, peripheral device 30, teaching control panel 40, and external memory device 50 have the same functions as the robot 20, peripheral device 30, teaching control panel 40, and external memory device 50 of the first embodiment. Furthermore, the robot mechanism 201 has the same functions as the robot mechanism 201 of the first embodiment.

[0034] Figure 10 shows an example of parameter setting using an external memory device 50 in the second embodiment. That is, in the following description, as shown in Figure 10, the external memory device 50 is exemplified as storing information about first setting values, including the robot model, number of axes, and software list set in each of the three source robot control devices SP-201 to SP-203. The robot control device 10A connects to the external memory device 50 via the input / output control unit 13 to obtain information about the first setting values ​​and set the parameters selected by the operator. Note that the source robot control devices SP-201 to SP-203 are not limited to three, but may be two or four or more.

[0035] The robot control device 10A is a device known to those skilled in the art for controlling the movement of the robot 20. The robot control device 10A generates control signals by executing an operation program generated using Cartesian coordinate values ​​or axis values ​​indicating the position of the tip point of the robot 20, which have been taught by the operator using the teaching control panel 40. The robot control device 10A drives the robot mechanism 201 and operates the robot 20 by outputting the generated control signals to the robot 20.

[0036] As shown in Figure 9, the robot control device 10A includes a CPU 11a, a drive unit 12, an input / output control unit 13, a memory 14, a communication unit 15, and a bus 16. The drive unit 12, input / output control unit 13, memory 14, communication unit 15, and bus 16 have the same functions as the drive unit 12, input / output control unit 13, memory 14, communication unit 15, and bus 16 of the first embodiment.

[0037] The CPU 11a is a microprocessor that controls each part of the robot control device 10A. The CPU 11a is a microprocessor that has RAM, ROM, and I / O. The CPU 11a executes each software read from ROM or memory 14, and during execution it reads information from RAM, ROM, and memory 14, writes information to RAM and memory 14, and exchanges signals with the drive unit 12, input / output control unit 13, and communication unit 15. In this way, the processing in this embodiment is realized through the cooperation of hardware and software (program). Figure 11 is a diagram showing an example of the functional blocks of the CPU 11a. As shown in Figure 11, the CPU 11a has an acquisition unit 110a, an extraction unit 111, a reading unit 112, a notification unit 113, and a reception unit 114 as functional blocks. The extraction unit 111, the reading unit 112, and the notification unit 113 have the same functions as the extraction unit 111, the reading unit 112, and the notification unit 113 of the first embodiment.

[0038] The acquisition unit 110a acquires information regarding a first setting value, which includes at least one of the following set for each of the robot control devices SP-201 to SP-203: robot model, number of axes, software information, control function information, and network information, from the external memory device 50 via the input / output control unit 13.

[0039] The reception unit 114 displays a display screen, for example on the display device (not shown) of the teaching control panel 40, which allows the operator to select parameters included in the information regarding the first setting values ​​of each of the robot control devices SP-201 to SP-203 that have been acquired. The reception unit 114 accepts the parameters selected by the operator via the teaching control panel 40. Figure 12 shows an example of a display screen for selecting parameters to be read. As shown in Figure 12, the reception unit 114 displays information regarding the first setting values ​​acquired from the robot control device SP-201, the robot model "SPOT-1000", the number of axes "6", the software "SPOT-1000 control function", "servo gun spot welding function", and "network communication function" on the display screen. Furthermore, the reception unit 114 displays information on the first setting value acquired from the robot control device SP-202, the robot model "SPOT-1000", the number of axes "6", the software "SPOT-1000 control function", "air gun spot welding function", and "network communication function" on the display screen. Also, the reception unit 114 displays information on the first setting value acquired from the robot control device SP-203, the robot model "SPOT-2000", the number of axes "7", the software "SPOT-2000 control function", "air gun spot welding function", "sealing gun control function", and "network communication function" on the display screen. Note that in the display screen of Figure 12, circles indicate that all parameters have been selected as targets for reading.

[0040] The reception unit 114 accepts the selection of parameters to be read for each function based on the operator's input via the teaching control panel 40 on the display screen shown in Figure 12. Figure 13 shows an example of the display screen after the operator has selected parameters. In Figure 13, an "X" mark is used to indicate that parameters for the robot's control function have been selected not to be read. The extraction unit 111 extracts the parameters of the selected function as readable parameters. The reading unit 112 reads the extracted parameters from the external memory device 50 and sets the settings of the read parameters in the robot control device 10A.

[0041] <Reading Process of Robot Control Device 10A> Next, the flow of the reading process of the robot control device 10A will be explained with reference to Figure 14. Figure 14 is a flowchart explaining the reading process of the robot control device 10A. Note that the processes from step S23 to step S25 are the same as the processes from step S12 to step S14 in Figure 8, so the explanation will be omitted.

[0042] In step S21, the acquisition unit 110a acquires information regarding a first set value, which includes one of the following, set for each of the robot control devices SP-201 to SP-203: model information, number of axes, software information, control function information, or network information, from the external memory device 50 via the input / output control unit 13.

[0043] In step S22, the reception unit 114 displays a display screen for selecting parameters on the display device (not shown) of the teaching operation panel 40, based on the information regarding the first setting values ​​for each of the robot control devices SP-201 to SP-203 acquired in step S21, and accepts the operator's selection of the parameters to be read.

[0044] As described above, the robot control device 10A according to the second embodiment can automatically determine whether each parameter in the information regarding the set values of the source robot control devices SP-201 to SP-203 can be diverted by acquiring and comparing the information regarding the set values of the source robot control devices, and can automatically load the parameters that can be diverted. Also, when duplicating the production line, the robot control device 10A can reduce the labor and time required for parameter setting work. Further, the robot control device 10A can prevent operators from forgetting to set parameters. The second embodiment has been described above.

[0045] <Modification Example of the Second Embodiment> In the second embodiment, the information regarding the first set values of the robot control devices SP-201 to SP-203 is stored in the external memory device 50, and the robot control device 10A acquires the information regarding the first set values in each of the robot control devices SP-201 to SP-203 from the external memory device 50, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, as shown in FIG. 15, each of the robot control devices SP-201 to SP-203 may store the information regarding the set first set values in the server 60 based on the input operation of the operator. The robot control device 10A may acquire the information regarding the first set values of each of the robot control devices SP-201 to SP-203 from the server 60 via the communication unit 15.

[0046] <Third Embodiment> Next, the third embodiment will be described. The first to third embodiments share a common configuration in which the control device acquires information regarding a first setting value that includes at least one of the following: industrial machine model information, number of axes, software information, control function information, or network information; extracts readable parameters based on the acquired information regarding the first setting value; reads the extracted parameters; and sets the read parameters. However, in the first embodiment, the robot control device 10 acquired information regarding a first parameter setting value that includes one of the following: robot model information, number of axes, software information, control function information, or network information from one robot control device SP-101. In the second embodiment, the robot control device 10A acquired information regarding a first setting value that includes one of the following: robot model information, number of axes, software information, control function information, or network information from a plurality of robot control devices SP-201 to SP-203, and the operator selected the parameters of the function to be read. In contrast, the third embodiment differs from the first and second embodiments in that the control device is a numerical control device 10B and the industrial machine is a machine tool 20B. As a result, according to the third embodiment, the numerical control device 10B can acquire and compare information regarding the setting values ​​of the source numerical control device SP-301, automatically determine whether each parameter in the information regarding the setting values ​​of the source can be reused, and automatically read the parameters that can be reused. The third embodiment will be described below.

[0047] FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of the control system 1 according to the third embodiment. Note that elements having the same functions as those of the elements of the control system 1 in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed descriptions thereof are omitted. As shown in FIG. 16, the control system 1 includes a numerical control device 10B, a machine tool 20B, a peripheral device 30B, and an external memory device 50. The numerical control device 10B, the machine tool 20B, the peripheral device 30B, and the external memory device 50 are directly connected to each other via a connection interface (not shown). Note that the numerical control device 10B, the machine tool 20B, the peripheral device 30B, and the external memory device 50 may be connected to each other via a network (not shown) such as a LAN or the Internet to perform communication. In this case, the numerical control device 10B, the machine tool 20B, the peripheral device 30B, and the external memory device 50 include a communication unit (not shown) for performing communication with each other by such a connection. The external memory device 50 has the same functions as the external memory device 50 in the first embodiment.

[0048] FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of parameter setting using the external memory device 50 in the third embodiment. That is, in the following description, as shown in FIG. 17, the external memory device 50 stores, for example, information regarding first setting values including the model, number of axes, and software list set in the numerical control device SP-301 which is the copy source. Then, the numerical control device 10B is connected to the external memory device 50 via the input / output control unit 13, acquires the information regarding the first setting values of the stored numerical control device SP-301, and sets the set values of the parameters that can be read from the comparison with the information regarding the second setting values set in the numerical control device 10B.

[0049] The machine tool 20B is a known three-axis or five-axis machine tool having a mechanism unit 201b including a servo motor or the like that drives a main shaft or the like and operates based on the control of the numerical control device 10B described later. Note that the specific configuration of the machine tool 20B is well known to those skilled in the art, and thus detailed description thereof is omitted.

[0050] Peripheral devices 30B are, for example, robots, conveyors, PLCs, etc., which operate in cooperation with the machine tool 20B based on instructions from the drive unit 12 of the numerical control device 10B, which will be described later.

[0051] The numerical control device 10B is a numerical control device known to those skilled in the art. For example, it generates control signals based on a machining program acquired from a CAD / CAM device (not shown), and outputs the generated control signals to the mechanism unit 201b of the machine tool 20B. As a result, the numerical control device 10B drives the mechanism unit 201b and operates the machine tool 20B.

[0052] As shown in Figure 16, the numerical control device 10B includes a CPU 11b, a drive unit 12, an input / output control unit 13, a memory 14b, a communication unit 15, and a bus 16. The drive unit 12, input / output control unit 13, communication unit 15, and bus 16 have the same functions as the drive unit 12, input / output control unit 13, communication unit 15, and bus 16 of the first embodiment.

[0053] Memory 14b is RAM, ROM, etc., similar to memory 14 in Figure 1. Memory 14b stores a file indicating the specifications of the machine tool 20B, installed software, and a file of parameters for controlling the software. Memory 14b also stores information related to a second setting value, which includes, for example, at least one of the following: machine tool 20B model information, number of axes, software information, control function information, or network information. The information related to the second setting value includes a file indicating the specifications of the machine tool 20B and a file of parameters for controlling the machine tool 20B. Figure 18A is a diagram showing an example of a file indicating the specifications of the machine tool 20B set in the numerical control device 10B. Figure 18B is a diagram showing an example of a file of parameters set in the numerical control device 10B in the specifications of Figure 18A. The specifications of the machine tool 20B shown in Figure 18A include a list of the model, number of axes, and software for the numerical control device 10B to control the machine tool 20B. Specifically, the model name of the machine tool 20B is set as "N-1000". Furthermore, the number of axes is set to "24," the number of axes of the machine tool 20B. In addition, the software includes "N-1000 Control Function" software for controlling the mechanism 201b of the machine tool 20B, "Arc Interpolation Function" software for arc interpolation, and "Contour Machining Function α" software for contour machining. Furthermore, the parameters shown in Figure 18B include the control parameters "N-1000 Control Function Parameters" for the "N-1000 Control Function" software, the parameters "Arc Interpolation Function Parameters" for the "Arc Interpolation Function" software, and the parameters "Contour Machining Function α Parameters" for the "Contour Machining Function α" software.

[0054] Figure 19A shows an example of a file containing the specifications of a machine tool set in the numerical control device SP-301. Figure 19B shows an example of a file containing the parameters set in the numerical control device SP-301 based on the specifications in Figure 19A. Note that the machine tool specifications shown in Figure 19A and the parameters shown in Figure 19B are examples of information related to the first setting value. The specifications shown in Figure 19A contain a list of the machine tool model, number of axes, and software controlled by the numerical control device SP-301, similar to the case in Figure 18A. Specifically, the model is set to the machine tool model name "N-1000" controlled by the numerical control device SP-301. The number of axes is set to "24". The software includes the software for controlling the machine tool "N-1000 control function", the software for arc interpolation "arc interpolation function", and the software for contour machining "contour machining function β". Furthermore, the parameters shown in Figure 19B include the control parameters "N-1000 control function parameters" of the software "N-1000 control function", the parameters "arc interpolation function parameters" of the software "arc interpolation function", and the parameters "contour processing function β parameters" of the software "contour processing function β".

[0055] The CPU 11b is a microprocessor and, as in the case of Figure 1, controls each part that constitutes the numerical control device 10B. The CPU 11b is a microprocessor that has RAM, ROM, and I / O. The CPU 11b executes each software read from ROM or memory 14b, and during execution, reads information from RAM, ROM, and memory 14b, writes information to RAM and memory 14b, and exchanges signals with the drive unit 12, input / output control unit 13, and communication unit 15. In this way, the processing in this embodiment is realized through the cooperation of hardware and software (program). Figure 20 is a diagram showing an example of the functional blocks of the CPU 11b. As shown in Figure 20, the CPU 11b has an acquisition unit 110, an extraction unit 111, a reading unit 112, and a notification unit 113 as functional blocks. The acquisition unit 110, extraction unit 111, reading unit 112, and notification unit 113 have the same functions as the acquisition unit 110, extraction unit 111, reading unit 112, and notification unit 113 of the first embodiment.

[0056] In the following explanation, as shown in Figure 17, an example is given in which parameters included in the information regarding the second setting value set in the numerical control device 10B are replaced with parameters included in the information regarding the first setting value set in the numerical control device SP-301 using an external memory device 50. However, the same applies when parameters in the information regarding the first setting value set in the numerical control device SP-301 are replaced with parameters in the information regarding the second setting value set in the numerical control device 10B. In addition, the numerical control device 10B acquires the information regarding the first setting value set in the numerical control device SP-301 using an external memory device 50, but it may also acquire it from the network via the communication unit 15.

[0057] The acquisition unit 110 acquires, for example, the specifications and parameters (information relating to the first set value) of the machine tool controlled by the numerical control device SP-301, including any of the machine tool model information, number of axes, software information, control function information, or network information set in the numerical control device SP-301, from the external memory device 50 via the input / output control unit 13.

[0058] The extraction unit 111 compares and determines, for example, the acquired parameters "N-1000 control function parameter," "arc interpolation function parameter," and "contour processing function β parameter" with the parameters "N-1000 control function parameter," "arc interpolation function parameter," and "contour processing function α parameter" (information regarding the second setting value) set in the numerical control device 10B. Figure 21 shows an example of the determination result for each parameter by the extraction unit 111. As shown in Figure 21, the extraction unit 111 determines that the parameters "N-1000 control function parameter" and "arc interpolation function parameter" of the numerical control device 10B match the parameters "N-1000 control function parameter" and "arc interpolation function parameter" of the numerical control device SP-301, and therefore determines that the data can be read. On the other hand, the extraction unit 111 determines that, in the case of the parameter "Contour Processing Function α Parameter" of the numerical control device 10B and the parameter "Contour Processing Function β Parameter" of the numerical control device SP-301, although "Contour Processing Function α" and "Contour Processing Function β" are software for processing contours, their control methods are different and their parameters are not compatible, so it determines that they cannot be read. Based on the determination result, the extraction unit 111 extracts the parameters "N-1000 Control Function Parameter" and "Circular Arc Interpolation Function Parameter" of the numerical control device SP-301 that can be read.

[0059] The reading unit 112 reads the extracted parameters of the numerical control device SP-301, namely the "N-1000 control function parameters" and the "circular interpolation function parameters," from the external memory device 50. The reading unit 112 then sets the setting values ​​of each read parameter into the numerical control device 10B.

[0060] The notification unit 113 displays a message on a display device (not shown) such as a liquid crystal display included in the numerical control device 10B indicating that the parameter "Contour Processing Function β Parameter," which was determined to be unreadable, requires manual setting by the operator. Figure 22 shows an example of a display screen showing the parameter reading results. As shown in Figure 22, by displaying the reading results on the display screen, the operator can see which parameters could be read by the numerical control device 10B, which parameters could not be read, and which parameters require manual setting.

[0061] The reading process of the numerical control device 10B is the same as the reading process in Figure 8, and therefore, no explanation is provided.

[0062] As described above, the numerical control device 10B according to the third embodiment can acquire and compare information regarding the setting values ​​of the source numerical control device SP-301, automatically determine whether each parameter in the information regarding the setting values ​​of the source can be reused, and automatically read the parameters that can be reused. Furthermore, when duplicating a production line, the numerical control device 10B can reduce the effort and time required for setting parameters. In addition, the numerical control device 10B can prevent operators from forgetting to set parameters. The third embodiment has now been described.

[0063] As described above in the first embodiment, second embodiment, modified version of the second embodiment, and third embodiment, the robot control devices 10, 10A, and numerical control devices 10B of the present disclosure can acquire and compare information regarding the setting values ​​of the original control device, automatically determine whether each parameter in the information regarding the setting values ​​of the original control device can be reused, and automatically read the parameters that can be reused.

[0064] <Modification> In the first, second, and third embodiments, the robot control devices 10, 10A, and the numerical control device 10B acquired information regarding first setting values, including at least industrial machine model information, number of axes, software information, control function information, and network information, from the source robot control devices SP-101, SP-201 to SP-203, and the numerical control device SP-301, from the external memory device 50, but are not limited thereto. For example, the robot control devices 10, 10A, and the numerical control device 10B may acquire information regarding first setting values, including at least industrial machine model information, number of axes, software information, control function information, and network information, from the source robot control devices SP-101, SP-201 to SP-203, and the numerical control device SP-301, via the network and communication unit 15.

[0065] Furthermore, the functions included in the robot control devices 10, 10A and the numerical control device 10B in the first embodiment, the second embodiment, a modified version of the second embodiment, and the third embodiment can be realized by hardware, software, or a combination thereof. Here, realization by software means that it is realized by a computer reading and executing a program.

[0066] Programs can be stored and supplied to a computer using various types of non-transitor computer-readable media. Non-transitor computer-readable media include various types of tangible storage media. Examples of non-transitor computer-readable media include magnetic recording media (e.g., flexible disks, magnetic tapes, hard disk drives), magneto-optical recording media (e.g., magneto-optical disks), CD-ROMs (Read Only Memory), CD-Rs, CD-R / Ws, and semiconductor memory (e.g., mask ROMs, PROMs (Programmable ROMs), EPROMs (Erasable PROMs), flash ROMs, RAMs). Furthermore, programs may be supplied to the computer by various types of temporary computer-readable media. Examples of temporary computer-readable media include electrical signals, optical signals, and electromagnetic waves. Temporary computer-readable media can be supplied to the computer via wired communication channels such as electric wires and optical fibers, or via wireless communication channels.

[0067] Furthermore, the step of executing the program recorded on the recording medium includes not only processes that are performed chronologically in that order, but also processes that are not necessarily performed chronologically, but are executed in parallel or individually. In addition, the step of writing the program may be performed using cloud computing.

[0068] While this disclosure has been described in detail, it is not limited to the individual embodiments described above. These embodiments can be added, replaced, modified, partially deleted, etc., in any way that does not depart from the gist of this disclosure or from the spirit of this disclosure derived from the claims and their equivalents. Furthermore, these embodiments can be implemented in combination. For example, the order of operations and processes in the embodiments described above are shown as examples only and are not limited thereto. The same applies when numerical values ​​or mathematical formulas are used in the description of the embodiments described above.

[0069] The following additional notes are disclosed regarding the above embodiments and modifications. (Note 1) The control devices (10, 10A, 10B) include an acquisition unit (110, 110a) that acquires information on a first set value which includes at least one of the following of the industrial machine (20, 20B) model information, number of axes, software information, control function information, and network information; an extraction unit (111) that extracts readable parameters based on the information on the first set value; and a reading unit (112) that reads the extracted parameters. (Note 2) The control devices (10, 10A, 10B) described in Note 1 include a notification unit (113) that notifies the extraction unit (111) of parameters that were not extracted. (Note 3) In the control device (10, 10A, 10B) described in Note 1 or Note 2, a storage unit (14, 14b) that stores information on a second setting value, which includes at least one of the model information, number of axes, software information, control function information, or network information of the industrial machine (20, 20B), and an extraction unit (111) that extracts readable parameters based on a comparison between the information on the first setting value and the information on the second setting value. (Note 4) In the control device (10A) described in Note 1 or Note 2, an acquisition unit (110a) acquires information on a plurality of first setting values ​​and outputs a list of information on a plurality of first setting values ​​to a display device. (Note 5) In the control device (10A) described in Note 4, a receiving unit (114) that receives information selected by the operator based on the list is provided. (Note 6) In the control devices (10, 10A, 10B) described in Note 1 or Note 2, the reading unit (113) outputs to the display device parameters that were not extracted by the extraction unit (110, 110a) as parameters that are not subject to reading. (Note 7) In the control devices (10, 10A, 10B) described in Note 1 or Note 2, the information relating to the first set value is information stored in at least one of the following: an external control device, an external memory device (50), or an external server (60).

[0070] 1 Control System 10, 10A Robot Control Device 10B Numerical Control Device 11, 11a, 11b CPU 12 Drive Unit 13 Input / Output Control Unit 14, 14b Memory 15 Communication Unit 16 Bus 20 Robot 20B Machine Tool 201 Robot Mechanism Unit 201b Mechanism Unit 30 Peripheral Devices 40 Teaching Control Panel 50 External Memory Device 60 Server

Claims

1. A control device comprising: an acquisition unit that acquires information relating to a first set value, which includes at least one of the following: industrial machine model information, number of axes, software information, control function information, or network information; an extraction unit that extracts readable parameters based on the information relating to the first set value; and a reading unit that reads the extracted parameters.

2. The control device according to claim 1, further comprising a notification unit for notifying the extraction unit of parameters that were not extracted.

3. A control device according to claim 1 or 2, comprising: a storage unit that stores information relating to a second setting value, which includes at least one of the following: model information, number of axes, software information, control function information, or network information of the industrial machine; and an extraction unit that extracts the readable parameters based on a comparison of the information relating to the first setting value and the information relating to the second setting value.

4. The control device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the acquisition unit acquires information on a plurality of first setting values ​​and outputs a list of information on a plurality of first setting values ​​to a display device.

5. The control device according to claim 4, further comprising a receiving unit that receives information selected by an operator based on the above list.

6. The control device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the reading unit outputs to the display device parameters that were not extracted by the extraction unit as parameters that are not to be read.

7. The control device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the information relating to the first setting value is information stored in at least an external control device, an external memory device, or an external server.

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