JPH0457009B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a group management control system including a group management control relay device provided between a control panel and a numerical control device.

BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, control of machine tools and the like by a numerical control device (hereinafter referred to as an NC device) has been performed using a configuration as shown in FIG.

That is, in FIG. 1, A is the NC device that controls the controlled object, and B is the output from the NC device A.
Turn ON/OFF the controlled object by inputting ON/OFF signals
In addition to controlling, it can also be used as a detection signal for the controlled object.
A control panel that outputs ON/OFF signals to NC device A,
C is a target machine, and a program is read from a tape reader built into NC device A, and machine C is controlled by the program via control panel B.
Machine C has a pendant box equipped with push buttons, indicator lamps, etc. When you use the push buttons to perform operations such as starting or stopping, the information is displayed on the indicator lamp and the information is sent to NC device A. It's starting to come in.

On the other hand, group management control (DC: Direct Numerical Control) has come to be performed from the host computer system. This is shown in FIG. In this figure, D indicates a host computer system as a group management control unit, and the control unit is composed of NC device A and control panel B, and Fig. 2 shows that a plurality of control units are configured. .

According to this method, multiple control units consisting of NC device A and control panel B are integrated into one host computer system D.
By controlling the machine C, it is possible to control a plurality of machines C.

However, with the conventional NC device A, the machining program must be stored on a paper tape, read with a paper tape reader, and stored in the memory of the NC device A. When a program is modified, in order to register the modified processing program to the host computer system D, paper tape is required as a medium such as punching the paper tape with a paper tape puncher, and an operator must always intervene to process it. It didn't happen.

In order to solve the above problem, the present inventor invented a mechanical interface device to be interposed between the host computer system D and the NC device A, and
Enables group management of NC devices. FIG. 3 shows the configuration of a group management system using this.

In addition, in FIG. 3, only one NC device A, control panel B, and machine C are shown.

In Figure 3, E is a mechanical interface device, and by installing this, even if the NC device A is an existing one, there is no need to modify it.
It becomes possible to perform group management control by distributing NC tape information. However, since there are only the required number of signal lines between the NC device A and the control panel B, it is impossible to control the machine C from the top down from the host computer system D without making any modifications. Moreover, since various information indicating the status of the machine C and the NC device A cannot be input to the machine interface device E, there is a drawback that control is not necessarily sufficient.

This invention was made in view of the above points, and in order to enable necessary information to be input or output without modifying the control panel,
It provides a relay device installed between the NC device and the control panel.

This invention will be explained below.

First, an outline of the mechanical interface device E used in the present invention will be explained, and then a relay device will be described.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the machine interface device E and NC device A used in the present invention, and the relationship among them, the control panel B, the machine C, and the host computer system D.

In the NC device A in this figure, 1 is a central processing unit that decodes and executes instructions, 2 is a memory that stores programs and data, and 3 is a device that sets data, edits programs, and displays the status of NC device A. In the character display board, 4 is an interface circuit of the character display board 3, 5 is a paper tape reader that reads the machining program depending on the presence or absence of holes in the paper tape, 6 is an interface circuit of the paper tape reader 5, and 7 is a machine tool control. 8 is an interface circuit for the paper tape punch, and 9 is a contact interface circuit for interfacing with the machine C, the control panel B, and other external equipment not shown.

In the machine interface device E, 10 is a central processing unit that decodes and executes instructions, 11 is a memory that stores machining programs and data, and 12 is a BTR (Behind Tape) that transfers the machining program to the NC device A as a paper tape image. Reader) interface circuit 13 receives the processing program from the NC device A in the form of a paper tape image.
A BTP (Behind Tape Puncher) interface circuit 14 is a contact interface circuit that inputs and outputs control signals and status signals to and from the NC device A. Reference numeral 15 is a higher-level interface circuit for communicating data with the higher-level computer system D, and 16 is a paper tape puncher for punching a processing program into a paper tape. S ₁ is an operation mode changeover switch that switches between online operation and local operation of the mechanical interface device E, and S ₂ sends and receives machining programs from the mechanical interface device E to control the NC device A in group management. This is a switch for selecting whether to send and receive the machining program via the paper tape reader 5 and paper tape puncher 16.

Next, the operation will be explained. When NC device A is in tape operation mode, selector switch S ₂ selects machine interface device E, and operation mode selector switch S ₁ of machine interface device E is switched to online operation mode, the machine interface The operation mode as device E is
The DNC operation mode is set and the following operations are possible.

In the DNC operation mode, as shown in Figure 5a,
An instruction to download a machining program is given from the host computer system D to the machine interface device E via the host interface circuit 15. Upon receiving the download instruction, the mechanical interface device E sends a download disallowance response if the download is not possible, and a download permission response if the download is possible to the host computer system D via the host interface circuit 15. do.

When the download permission response is received, the machining program is downloaded from the host computer system D to the machine interface device E via the host interface circuit 15 and stored in the memory 11 of the machine interface device E. When the machining program is stored in the memory 11 without any errors being detected, the download completion is reported to the host computer system D via the host interface circuit 15.

Next, when the machining start conditions are established in the host computer system D, as shown in FIG. Instructions are given. The central processing unit 10 of the machine interface device E is
It is checked whether the machining program for which the search has been instructed is stored in the memory 11, and if so, a pointer is set to the first block of the machining program. Upon completion of setting the pointer, the completion of the machining program search is reported to the host computer system D via the host interface circuit 15.

Next, the higher-level computer system D gives a processing instruction to the mechanical interface device E via the higher-level interface circuit 15, so the mechanical interface device E sends the contact interface circuit 14 to the NC device A. When an automatic start signal is given through the BTR interface circuit 12, the NC device A sends a BTR start request (FWD) to the mechanical interface device E via the BTR interface circuit 12. 10 sends the first block of the machining program specified by the host computer system D to the NC device A via the BTR interface circuit 12 in character units.

Similar to the tape operation, the NC device A stores the contents of one block of the machining program in the pre-read buffer area of the memory 2 via the interface circuit 6, and stops sending the BTR start request (FWD). The contents stored in the buffer area for pre-reading are transferred to the buffer area for work, and the operation of the machine C is controlled by the machine tool control device 7 or the control panel B according to the machining program for one block. on the other hand,
When the look-ahead buffer area becomes empty, the
A BTR start request (FWD) is sent to the machine interface device E, and the machining program for the next block is stored in the buffer area for pre-reading. When the machining work for one block stored in the work buffer area is completed, the machining program for the next block stored in the look-ahead buffer area is transferred to the work buffer area again and the machining work is performed.

Thereafter, this operation is repeated to complete the processing operation.

Further, as shown in FIG. 5C, an instruction to upload a machining program is given from the host computer system D to the machine interface device E via the host interface circuit 15. Upon receiving the upload instruction, the machine interface device E uploads the machining program stored in the memory 11 of the machine interface device E to the host computer system D via the host interface circuit 15, if upload is possible. If uploading is not possible, a reply indicating that uploading is not possible is sent to the host computer system D via the host interface circuit 15.

The local operation mode is a mode in which the machining program stored in the memory 11 of the machine interface device E is searched from the character display board 3 of the NC device A for machining, and is used for trial cutting operations, NC alarms, etc. Use when operator intervention is required.

As mentioned above, if the machine interface device E is used, the NC tape information can be connected to the interface circuits 6 and 8 of the host computer system D and the NC device A without any modification. It was not possible to connect the contact interface information of signals and control commands from A and control panel B, and therefore it was not possible to control machine C from the top down from host computer system D. If you try to force input/output to machine interface device E, control panel B or NC device A
There was no other way than to modify it.

This completes the explanation of the mechanical interface device E, and next, the relay device will be explained.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a group management control system using a relay device according to the present invention. In this figure, A, B, and E are
It includes an NC device, a control panel, and a mechanical interface device, and only the main internal parts are shown. F is a relay device according to the present invention, and is located between the NC device A and the control panel B. Reference numeral 17 indicates a large number of cables connecting the NC device A and the control panel B, which are directly connected when the relay device F is not interposed.

Next, the configuration of relay device F will be explained.

18 is a relay terminal box with connectors CN ₄ on both sides,
It has CN ₆ , CN ₇ , and CN ₉ , and conduction is established between connectors CN ₄ and CN ₇ and between CN ₆ and CN ₉ through an internal cable 19. A shorting piece 20 is detachably inserted into the internal cable 19 and can be removed as necessary. That is, the shorting piece 20 is a signal conduction/interruption means. A dotted line indicates a removed state, and a solid line indicates an attached state. _R1 ～ _R6
are relays (also represent relay coils) as signal detection means, r ₂ , r _3-1 , r _3-2 , r ₄ , r ₅ , r _6-1 ,
_r6-2 is the contact point of each of these relay coils. (However, r ₁ is not shown). Contact _R5 is a contact for switching the operation mode, and is opened and closed by relay _R5 controlled by operation mode changeover switch _S1 . Furthermore, r ₁₀ and r ₁₁ are contacts controlled by relays (not shown). The state shown in FIG. 6 is an online operation mode, that is, group management control, and when the operation mode changeover switch _S1 is reversed, it becomes a local operation mode in which machine-side control is performed. V is a power source. In addition, to avoid complexity, only necessary symbols have been added. CN ₁ and CN ₂ are connectors, which connect mechanical interface device E and relay device F, respectively.
A cable 21 connects the two. CN ₃ and CN ₅ are connectors attached to NC device A, and are connected to connectors CN ₄ and CN ₆ of relay device F by cables 17, respectively. _CN8 , _CN10
is also a connector, installed on control panel B, and connected to relay device F.
are connected to connectors CN ₇ and CN ₉ by cables 17, respectively. Further, 1' of the NC device A is a logic unit that collectively shows each part, a, b, . . .
indicates the port.

Next, the operation will be explained.

Now, to set the DNC operation mode, turn the operation mode changeover switch _S1 of the mechanical interface device E as shown in the figure to set the online operation mode.

When the tape operation mode set on the control panel B is to be input to the mechanical interface device E, the signal of the contact R ₁₁ is sent via the cable 17 from the internal cable 19 in the relay device F to the relay R ₆ ,
Activate relay _R6 to the power supply V circuit, and connect the contacts.
Close r _6-1 and contact r _6-2 . Closing contact r _6-2 inputs to the mechanical interface device E that the tape operation mode is present. At the same time, contact r _6-1
Therefore, port l of logic unit 1' of NC device A,
Output is made to n. By removing the shorting piece 20 in this way, the signal does not go directly from the control panel B to the NC device A, and by activating the relay _R6 , the control contact _r6-1 and the signal input contact _{r6- 2}
The necessary signals can be input to the mechanical interface device E by activating the .

In addition, when inputting to the mechanical interface device E using the output of the NC device A, the relay R ₃ is activated by the output of ports a and b of the logic unit 1' in the NC device A, and its contact r _3-2 is activated. Close and input to machine interface device E. At the same time, contact _r3-1 closes and inputs to control panel B.

When the online operation mode is entered, control from control panel B becomes impossible. For example, if contact r ₁₀ is turned on to operate relay R ₄ , and even if contact r ₄ is closed, contact r ₅ of relay R ₅ , which is energized by the contact of operation mode selector switch S ₁ , will be a contact as shown in the figure. Since it is on the _r2 side, no control is performed.

Next, in the case of local operation mode, contact _r5 enters the opposite side as shown. Therefore, when contact _r10 is turned on and relay _R4 is activated, an input is applied between ports m and n of logic unit 1' of NC device A, and NC device A indicates that control by contact _r10 has been performed. Enter.

In this way, signals are exchanged and signals are detected via the relay device F, and necessary detected signals are input to the mechanical interface device E.

In the above embodiment, the shorting pieces 20 of the relay device F are inserted into all of the cables 17, but it is also possible to insert the shorting pieces 20 into only the necessary cables 17. Also, as shown in Figure 6, all cables 17
Even when the short-circuiting pieces 20 of the relay device F are inserted therein, the shorting pieces 20 may not be removably provided for all of them, but only the necessary ones may be provided.

As explained in detail above, the present invention provides a numerical control device that numerically controls a controlled object, and an ON/OFF signal outputted from this numerical control device to input ON/OFF control of the controlled object. to the numerical control device as a detection signal of
A plurality of control units consisting of a control panel that outputs ON/OFF signals, a group management control unit that performs group management control of the plurality of control units, and a group management control unit that is inserted between the group management control unit and the plurality of control units, and a A mechanical interface unit that selects online group management control or offline individual control by the group management control unit of a plurality of control units, and a group management control relay device inserted between the numerical control device and the control panel, The group management control relay device includes a signal detection means for detecting the ON/OFF signal outputted by the numerical control device and the control panel and outputting it to the mechanical interface section, and a signal detecting means for detecting the ON/OFF signal outputted by the numerical control device and the control panel and outputting the detected signal to the mechanical interface section. Since the controller includes a signal conduction/cutoff means for conducting or cutting off the ON/OFF signal from the control device to the numerical control device, information from either the NC device or the control panel can be transmitted to the other party. The information can be reliably detected and input to the machine interface device. Moreover, the relay device can be installed on conventional NC devices and control panels with the simple task of reconnecting signal cables, so it has the great advantage of being able to be incorporated into group management systems without stopping equipment for long periods of time. .

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 and 2 are block diagrams showing the control of a machine by a conventional NC device, and FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the control of a machine by an NC device using a machine interface device according to the present invention.
FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing details of FIG. 3, FIGS. 5 a, b, and c are flowcharts for explaining the operation of each part of FIG. 1, and FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention. It is a diagram. In the figure, A is the NC device, B is the control panel, E is the mechanical interface device, F is the relay device, 17 is the cable, 18 is the relay terminal box, 19 is the internal cable,
20 is a shorting piece, 21 is a cable, CN ₁ to CN ₁₃ are connectors, R ₁ to _{R 6} are relays, r ₂ , r _3-1 , r _3-2 , r ₄ ,
r ₅ , r _6-1 , r _6-2 are contacts, S ₁ and S ₂ are switches, V is a power supply, 1' is a logic unit, a, b, l, m, n
is a port.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 A numerical control device that numerically controls a controlled object, and an ON/OFF signal output from this numerical control device is input to control the controlled object ON/OFF, and is also turned on to the numerical control device as a detection signal of the controlled object. A plurality of control sections including a control panel that outputs a /OFF signal, a group management control section that performs group management control on the plurality of control sections, and a group management control section that is inserted between the group management control section and the plurality of control sections, and a group management control section that controls the plurality of control sections. a mechanical interface section for selecting online group management control or offline independent control by the group management control section of the control section; and a group management control relay device inserted between the numerical control device and the control panel, The relay device for group management control includes a signal detection means for detecting the ON/OFF signal outputted by the numerical control device and the control panel and outputting it to the mechanical interface section, and , a signal conduction/cutoff means for conducting or cutting off the ON/OFF signal from the control device to the numerical control device.