JP7523116B2 - Control program generator - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a technology for controlling the operation of an automated manufacturing machine equipped with multiple actuators according to a control program.

In order to improve the productivity of manufacturing sites such as factories, it is considered essential to automate the manufacturing process using automatic manufacturing machines. There are various steps in the manufacturing process depending on the object to be processed or manufactured and the type of processing (e.g., cutting or bending), so various types of automatic manufacturing machines have been developed depending on the manufacturing process to be automated (e.g., Patent Document 1, Patent Document 2).

In addition, even if the manufacturing process is similar, the specifics differ from one manufacturing site to another. For this reason, it is difficult to reuse automated manufacturing machines that have been installed at other manufacturing sites, and it is generally necessary to develop dedicated automated manufacturing machines for each manufacturing site. And when dedicated automated manufacturing machines are developed, it also becomes necessary to develop new control programs to control the automated manufacturing machines.

However, developing a control program requires a great deal of effort. Therefore, the inventors of the present application have developed a technology that allows the operation of an automatic manufacturing machine to be described in a special operation chart, and has already filed a patent application (Patent Application No. 2020-075017) that allows the automatic generation of a control program from the operation chart. Note that this special operation chart is an operation chart developed by the inventors of the present application, and does not exist in the past. Therefore, hereinafter, this operation chart will be referred to as a "YOGO chart." This operation chart (YOGO chart) can be easily created if you understand the operation of the automatic manufacturing machine, and a control program can be automatically generated from this operation chart. This makes it possible to significantly shorten the time required to develop an automatic manufacturing machine, and in addition, since there is no need to secure a programmer, it is possible to reduce manufacturing costs.

JP 2011-245602 A JP 2018-192570 A

However, even with the above-mentioned pending technology, mistakes can be made when describing the operation of an automatic manufacturing machine in an operation chart (YOGO chart), and even if a control program is generated from an operation chart (YOGO chart) that contains an error, the automatic manufacturing machine cannot be operated as intended. For this reason, there is a demand for the development of technology that can prevent a control program from being generated when an operation chart (YOGO chart) contains an error.

This invention was made to solve the above-mentioned problems with the conventional technology, and aims to provide technology that can prevent a situation in which a control program is generated without realizing that a mistake has been made in writing the operation chart (YOGO chart).

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the control program generating device of the present invention employs the following configuration.
A control program generating device (110) for generating a control program for an automatic manufacturing machine (1) having a plurality of actuators (10-20),
a basic operation storage unit (102) that stores basic operations (206) representing operations for each degree of freedom of the actuator in association with program elements that realize the basic operations;
an operation chart reading unit (103) for reading an operation chart (200) in which an operation period from when the automatic manufacturing machine starts to when it finishes its operation is divided into a plurality of partial periods, the operation of the automatic manufacturing machine is decomposed into a plurality of basic operations , and the basic operations are assigned to any one of the partial periods selected for each basic operation from among the plurality of partial periods, thereby describing the operation of the automatic manufacturing machine;
a description requirement determination unit (104) for determining whether the basic operation described in the operation chart satisfies a predetermined description requirement;
a control program generating unit (105) that generates the control program for operating the automatic manufacturing machine by combining the program elements of the plurality of basic operations assigned to the plurality of partial periods on the operation chart in accordance with the order of the partial periods on the operation chart when the plurality of basic operations in the operation chart satisfy the description requirements,
the operation chart read by the operation chart reading unit is an operation chart in which the plurality of partial periods are assigned to one axis side of a table format, the plurality of actuators are assigned to another axis side of the table format, and the basic operations are described at coordinate positions determined by coordinate values on the one axis side and coordinate values on the other axis side,
the basic operation storage unit stores a correspondence relationship between the actuator and the basic operation that can be executed by the actuator as the description requirement to be referenced by the description requirement determination unit;
The description requirement judgment unit acquires the coordinate position in which the basic operation is described, and if the actuator assigned to the coordinate value on the other axis side of the coordinate position is not the actuator associated with the basic operation in the correspondence relationship, judges that the description requirement is not satisfied, and outputs the coordinate position in which the basic operation that does not satisfy the description requirement is described as a problem coordinate position.

In the control program generating device of the present invention, the operation of the automatic manufacturing machine is described in a tabular operation chart. A plurality of partial periods obtained by dividing the operation period from when the automatic manufacturing machine starts to when it finishes its operation are assigned to one axis of the tabular operation chart , and a plurality of actuators mounted on the automatic manufacturing machine are assigned to the other axis of the tabular operation chart . The operation of the automatic manufacturing machine is also decomposed into a plurality of basic operations that represent the operation of each degree of freedom of the actuator, and one partial period for executing the basic operation is assigned to each of the basic operations from among the plurality of partial periods. The tabular operation chart is an operation chart in which the operation of the automatic manufacturing machine is described by describing the basic operation at a coordinate position determined by the coordinate value on the one axis side and the coordinate value on the other axis side. When such an operation chart is read, it is determined whether the basic operation described in the operation chart satisfies a predetermined description requirement. As the description requirement, a correspondence relationship between the actuator and the basic operation that the actuator can execute is stored. Then, the basic operation and the coordinate position where the basic operation is described are obtained from the read operation chart, and it is determined whether or not the actuator assigned to the coordinate value on the other axis side of the coordinate position is an actuator associated with the basic operation in a corresponding relationship. If the actuator determined from the coordinate position where the basic operation is described matches the actuator determined from the basic operation, it is determined that the basic operation in the operation chart satisfies the description requirements, and a control program is generated from the operation chart. On the other hand, if the actuator determined from the coordinate position where the basic operation is described does not match the actuator determined from the basic operation, it is determined that the basic operation in the operation chart does not satisfy the description requirements, and the coordinate position of the basic operation is output as the problem coordinate position .

The operation chart is written in a table format, and a partial period is specified by the coordinate value on one axis of the coordinate position where the basic operation is written, and an actuator is specified by the coordinate value on the other axis of the coordinate position. Furthermore, the basic operations that can be executed by the actuator are limited. As a result, the basic operations that can be written in the operation chart are limited according to the coordinate value on the other axis of the coordinate position, and it is not possible to write any basic operation at any coordinate position on the operation chart. Therefore, when generating a control program from the operation chart, if the coordinate position on the operation chart where the basic operation is written is obtained, and the actuator determined by the coordinate position of the basic operation and the actuator determined by the basic operation match, it is possible to prevent the generation of a control program from an operation chart with a description error. Furthermore, if a description error is found in the operation chart, the coordinate position where the description error was found is output as the problem coordinate position, so that the description error can be easily corrected.

The control program generation device of the present invention described above may also be configured to read an operation chart in which the basic operations of the operation chart are described by a combination of an operation description (206a) that describes the qualitative content of the basic operation and a numerical description that describes the quantitative content of the basic operation using numerical values. Furthermore, a combination correspondence that associates the operation description with the numerical description used in combination with the operation description is stored as a predetermined description requirement. Then, if the combination of the operation description and the numerical description described as the basic operation at a coordinate position does not satisfy the combination correspondence, it may be determined that the description requirement is not satisfied, and the problem coordinate position may be output.

In this way, even if the combination of the operation description and the numerical description written as a basic operation on the operation chart is incorrect, it will be determined that the description requirements are not satisfied, making it possible to prevent a control program from being generated from an operation chart with a description error. In addition, the coordinate position where the combination of the operation description and the numerical description is incorrect is output as the problem coordinate position, making it possible to easily correct the description of the operation chart.

In addition, in the control program generation device of the present invention described above, the range of values that can be set in the numerical table corresponding to the numerical description may be stored as a description requirement for each numerical description. Then, if the numerical value set in the numerical table is not within the numerical range, it may be determined that the description requirement is not satisfied, and the problem coordinate position may be output.

In this way, even if the values set in the numeric table are inappropriate, it will be determined that the description requirements are not met, making it possible to prevent the generation of a control program from an operation chart with a description error. In addition, the coordinate position where an inappropriate value is set in the numeric table is output as the problem coordinate position, making it possible to easily correct the description of the operation chart.

In addition, in the control program generation device of the present invention described above, when outputting the problem coordinate position, an error code indicating the description requirement that is determined to be unsatisfied may also be output.

In this way, not only can you see the coordinate positions in the operation chart that do not meet the description requirements, but you can also see the content that does not meet the description requirements, making it easy to correct the description in the operation chart.

1 is an explanatory diagram showing the external shape of an automatic manufacturing machine 1 controlled by an automatic manufacturing machine control device 100 of the present embodiment. FIG. 1 is a block diagram conceptually showing how an automatic manufacturing machine control device 100 controls the operations of various actuators 10 to 20 mounted on an automatic manufacturing machine 1. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of the basic principle by which the automatic manufacturing machine control device 100 of this embodiment automatically generates a control program for the automatic manufacturing machine 1 from an operation chart (YOGO chart). FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a portion of an operation chart (YOGO chart) of the automatic manufacturing machine 1 read by the automatic manufacturing machine control device 100 of the present embodiment; FIG. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of an operation description 206a of a basic operation. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a numerical value table 206b to be combined with an operation description 206a called "Ω-AA." 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a numerical value table 206b to be combined with an operation description 206a called "Ω-AB." 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a reference table of a numerical value table 206b combined with an operation description 206a called "Ω-AA." 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a reference table of a numerical value table 206b combined with an operation description 206a called "Ω-AB." 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a rough internal structure of an automatic manufacturing machine control device 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a correspondence relationship between actuators stored in a basic operation storage unit 102 of the present embodiment and an operation description 206a. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of the correspondence between an operation description 206a and a numerical value table 206b stored in the basic operation storage unit 102 of the present embodiment. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of the correspondence between an operation description 206a stored in the basic operation storage unit 102 of this embodiment and a program element number. 10 is a flowchart of a control program generation process in which the automatic manufacturing machine control device 100 of the present embodiment generates a control program from an operation chart (YOGO chart). 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of intermediate data generated by a YOGO chart analysis process. 10 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a control program generated by converting intermediate data; 13 is a flowchart of the first half of a YOGO chart analysis process executed in the control program generation process. 13 is a flowchart of an intermediate portion of a YOGO chart analysis process executed in the control program generation process. 13 is a flowchart of the second half of the YOGO chart analysis process executed in the control program generation process. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a message that is output when a problem is found in the description of a YOGO chart. 4 is a flowchart of an operation control process in which the automatic manufacturing machine control device 100 of the present embodiment controls the operation of each actuator based on control program data.

A. Device configuration:
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a rough external shape of the automatic manufacturing machine 1 of this embodiment. The automatic manufacturing machine 1 of this embodiment is a machine tool (so-called pipe bender) that automatically processes a long pipe material into a desired shape by automatically bending the pipe material. Of course, the automatic manufacturing machine 1 of this embodiment may be a manufacturing machine other than a pipe bender as long as it is equipped with multiple actuators and can automatically perform multiple operations such as gripping, conveying, processing, and heating on an object. For example, it may be a manufacturing machine for automatically manufacturing food products. Or it may be a manufacturing system that combines an arm robot having multiple joints and a conveying device.

As shown in FIG. 1, the automatic manufacturing machine 1 of this embodiment is roughly shaped like a horizontally long rectangular parallelepiped, with two rails 2 installed in the longitudinal direction on the top side of the rectangular parallelepiped, and a conveying unit 3 that grips and conveys the pipe material (not shown) to be processed is mounted on one end of the rails 2 (the left side in FIG. 1). In addition, a processing unit 4 that performs processing such as bending on the pipe material (not shown) is mounted on the opposite side to the side on which the conveying unit 3 is mounted. A cylindrical gripping shaft 3a protrudes from the conveying unit 3, and a chuck 3b that grips the pipe material (not shown) is attached to the tip of the gripping shaft 3a. Therefore, by moving the conveying unit 3 on the rails 2 with the pipe material gripped by the chuck 3b, the pipe material can be supplied to the processing unit 4, and the pipe material can be subjected to processing such as bending by the processing unit 4.

In the automatic manufacturing machine 1 of this embodiment, the amount of feed of the pipe material can be controlled by the amount of movement of the conveying unit 3, so that the position where bending processing is performed on the pipe material can be freely controlled. In addition, it is also possible to bend the pipe material in a desired direction by rotating the gripping shaft 3a to which the chuck 3b is attached around its axis (so-called twisting operation). In order to achieve this, the inside of the conveying unit 3 is equipped with an actuator 10 for opening and closing the chuck 3b, an actuator 11 for rotating the gripping shaft 3a around its axis, an actuator 12 for moving the gripping shaft 3a forward and backward in the axial direction, and an actuator 13 for moving the conveying unit 3 forward and backward on the rail 2. In the automatic manufacturing machine 1 of this embodiment, these actuators 10 to 13 are all servo motors operated by AC power sources, but actuators of other drive methods (for example, hydraulic cylinders, solenoids, stepping motors, etc.) can be adopted depending on the performance required of the actuators. The transport unit 3 is also equipped with sensors such as an encoder and limit switches for detecting the rotational position of the gripping shaft 3a and the movement position of the transport unit 3, but these are omitted from Figure 1 to avoid cluttering the drawing.

Inside the processing unit 4, there are mounted actuators 19 for bending the pipe material, actuator 18 for moving the position where force is applied to the pipe material when bending the pipe material, actuator 17 for moving the entire processing unit 4 in the vertical direction, and actuator 20 for forming a flat end surface called a flange on the pipe material and an annular protrusion called a bulge. The processing unit 4 also has sensors such as an encoder and contact switches, but these are not shown in the drawing to avoid cluttering the drawing.

In addition, the machining unit 4 is equipped with multiple driver circuits (not shown) for driving the various actuators 10-13, 17-20 described above. Here, the driver circuit is an electrical component having the following functions. In order to make the actuators 10-13, 17-20 perform the desired operation, it is necessary to supply the actuators 10-13, 17-20 with a drive current of an appropriate waveform. However, the drive current to be supplied to the actuators 10-13, 17-20 differs depending on the drive method of the actuators 10-13, 17-20, and even if the actuators are of the same method, the current value of the drive current differs depending on the actuator. Therefore, a dedicated electrical component called a driver circuit is prepared for the actuators 10-13, 17-20, and when the drive amount is specified for the driver circuit, the driver circuit outputs an appropriate drive current to the actuators 10-13, 17-20, and as a result, the actuators 10-13, 17-20 are driven.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 1, various mechanical parts are also mounted in the space below the two rails 2, and this space is used for wiring electric cables (not shown) that supply drive current from multiple driver circuits (not shown) mounted in the processing unit 4 to various actuators 10-13 in the transport unit 3, and signal cables (not shown) that transmit signals from various sensors mounted in the transport unit 3 to the processing unit 4. When these electric cables and signal cables move in the space as the transport unit 3 moves forward and backward on the rail 2, there is a risk that they may become tangled or caught on something. Therefore, in order to prevent such a situation from occurring, actuators 14-16 are also mounted in the space below the rail 2 to eliminate unnecessary play in the electric cables and signal cables by pulling the cables, and to give the cables an appropriate amount of play by sending out the pulled cables when the electric cables and signal cables are pulled. In this embodiment of the automated manufacturing machine 1, air cylinders are used as the actuators 14 to 16, and the operation of these air cylinders is also controlled by a driver circuit (not shown).

As explained above, the automated manufacturing machine 1 is equipped with a large number of actuators 10-20. In order to automatically process the object to be processed (here, a pipe material) into the desired shape, these actuators 10-20 must be operated appropriately at the appropriate timing. These actuators 10-20 are driven by their respective driver circuits, but the operation of the driver circuits to drive the actuators 10-20 is controlled by the automated manufacturing machine control device 100, which will be described later, according to a control program that has been loaded in advance.

Figure 2 is a block diagram conceptually showing how the automatic manufacturing machine control device 100 of this embodiment controls the operation of the actuators 10 to 20 mounted on the automatic manufacturing machine 1. In addition, in Figure 2, sensors necessary for control are also omitted. As shown in the figure, a driver circuit 10d for driving the actuator 10 is provided between the automatic manufacturing machine control device 100 and the actuator 10, and the automatic manufacturing machine control device 100 directly controls the driver circuit 10d. Similarly, for the actuators 11 to 20, driver circuits 11d to 20d for driving the actuators 11 to 20 are provided between the automatic manufacturing machine control device 100 and the actuators 11 to 20. In this way, the automatic manufacturing machine control device 100 indirectly controls the actuators 10 to 20 via the driver circuits 10d to 20d.

As described above with reference to FIG. 1, in the automated manufacturing machine 1 of this embodiment, servo motors are used for actuators 10-13 and 17-20, and air cylinders are used for actuators 14-16. Here, a servo motor is a servo-controlled motor that is driven by feedback control of the current flowing through the motor so that the position (or angle, speed, etc.) becomes a target value. An air cylinder is an actuator that uses air pressure to move a movable part linearly, and is operated by opening and closing a port connected to a compressed air supply source. Sequence control is used to open and close the port.

In this way, actuators 10-13 and 17-20 that are servo-controlled and actuators 14-16 that are sequence-controlled are connected to the automatic manufacturing machine control device 100 of this embodiment. In the figure, solid lines connect the automatic manufacturing machine control device 100 to actuators 10-13 and 17-20, indicating that these actuators 10-13 and 17-20 are servo-controlled. Also, dashed lines connect the automatic manufacturing machine control device 100 to actuators 14-16, indicating that these actuators 14-16 are sequence-controlled. Of course, it is also possible to connect actuators that are controlled by methods other than servo control or sequence control.

The automatic manufacturing machine control device 100 controls the actuators 10-20 via the driver circuits 10d-20d according to a control program, and the control program must be created in advance and loaded into the automatic manufacturing machine control device 100. It is not easy to create a control program to operate a large number of actuators 10-20 at the appropriate timing, as shown in Figure 2. In particular, when actuators with different control methods, such as servo control and sequence control, are mixed, creating the control program takes a long time. For this reason, the current situation is that more than half of the development time for a new automatic manufacturing machine 1 is spent on creating the control program.

The applicants of the present application have therefore developed a technology that automatically generates a control program for the automatic manufacturing machine 1 by describing the operation of the automatic manufacturing machine 1 in a special operation chart (YOGO chart). The YOGO chart can be easily created if you understand the operation of the automatic manufacturing machine 1, and once a YOGO chart has been created, the control program can be automatically generated, making it possible to reduce the development time for a new automatic manufacturing machine 1 by more than half.

B. YOGO Chart:
B-1. Principle of automatically generating a control program from a YOGO chart:
As a preparation for explaining the YOGO chart, the principle of automatically generating a control program for the automatic manufacturing machine 1 from the YOGO chart will be explained. Fig. 3(a) shows a primitive YOGO chart before various improvements are made. The YOGO chart of the present embodiment, which will be described later, is an improved version of the primitive YOGO chart shown in Fig. 3(a), but the principle of automatically generating a control program is the same as that of the primitive YOGO chart. Therefore, to facilitate understanding, the principle of automatically generating a control program will be explained using the primitive YOGO chart shown in Fig. 3(a).

In the YOGO chart, the operation of the automated manufacturing machine 1 is expressed by combining the basic operations of the actuators mounted on the automated manufacturing machine 1. Here, the basic operation of the actuator refers to the operation in the direction of the degree of freedom that the actuator has (hereinafter referred to as the basic operation). For example, for a rotating actuator such as a motor, the basic operation is the rotational operation, and for an actuator that moves forward and backward such as a cylinder, the basic operation is the forward and backward movement. Also, for an actuator that moves a member that meshes with the ball screw forward and backward by rotating the ball screw with a motor, the basic operation is either the rotational operation of the motor or the forward and backward movement of the member.

In addition, in a YOGO chart, the operating period from when the automatic manufacturing machine 1 starts to operate until it finishes is divided into multiple partial periods, and the basic operation of each actuator is assigned to one of these partial periods. In the example shown in FIG. 3(a), a basic operation called act1 is assigned to the first partial period 1 in which the automatic manufacturing machine 1 starts to operate. A basic operation in the primitive YOGO chart shown in FIG. 3(a) represents the actuator that operates and the details of the operation. Therefore, assigning a basic operation called act to partial period 1 means that the actuator that operates first when the automatic manufacturing machine 1 starts to operate and the details of the operation are specified.

Three basic operations, act2, act3, and act4, are assigned to the sub-period 2 following the sub-period 1. As described above, the basic operations in the primitive YOGO chart represent the actuators that operate and the content of the operations, so the fact that three basic operations are assigned to the sub-period 2 indicates that when the operation of the first actuator that operates after the automatic manufacturing machine 1 starts operating is completed, the three designated actuators will start their designated operations. The next sub-period 3 is assigned two basic operations, act5 and act6. This indicates that when the operation of the three actuators assigned to the sub-period 2 is completed, the two actuators assigned to the sub-period 3 will start their designated operations. The next sub-period 4 is assigned the basic operation, act7, and the next sub-period 5 is assigned two basic operations, act8 and act9. In this way, by assigning basic operations to the sub-periods, a series of operations performed by the automatic manufacturing machine 1 can be described. As is clear from the above explanation, a partial period indicates the period during which the assigned actuator operates, and does not indicate the length of time. The length of time of each partial period is usually different from each other.

The basic operations of the actuators assigned to the partial periods are simple operations such as rotating a motor a fixed amount or moving a cylinder forward and backward a fixed amount. Therefore, small programs (program elements) for making the actuators perform basic operations can be created in advance. For example, for the basic operation act1 assigned to partial period 1, the actuator to be operated and the details of the operation are specified, so the program element prog1 can be created to realize the basic operation. Similarly, for the basic operations act2 to act9, program elements prog2 to prog9 can be created in advance.

If these program elements are linked as described in the primitive YOGO chart shown in FIG. 3(a), it becomes possible to automatically generate a control program for operating the automatic manufacturing machine 1. That is, as shown in FIG. 3(b), program element prog1 is started first, and when program element prog1 is finished, program elements prog2 to prog4 are started, and when program elements prog2 to prog4 are all finished, program elements prog5 and program element prog6 are started. When program elements prog5 and prog6 are finished, program element prog7 is started, and when program element prog7 is finished, program elements prog8 and program element prog9 are started. In this way, by linking the program elements created in advance as described in the YOGO chart, it is possible to create a control program for controlling the operation of the automatic manufacturing machine 1.

The above describes the principle of automatically generating a control program for the automatic manufacturing machine 1 from a YOGO chart. If the operation of the automatic manufacturing machine 1 is described in a YOGO chart, the control program for the automatic manufacturing machine 1 can be automatically generated. However, in order to generate a control program that ensures the automatic manufacturing machine 1 operates correctly, the YOGO chart must be created correctly. From this perspective, the YOGO chart of this embodiment described below was obtained as a result of making various improvements to the primitive YOGO chart shown in FIG. 3(a).

B-2. Overview of YOGO Chart:
Fig. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining an overview of the YOGO chart 200 of this embodiment. Note that if the entire YOGO chart 200 is scaled down to display, it will be crushed and unreadable, so Fig. 4 shows only a portion of the YOGO chart 200 (the upper left corner). As shown in Fig. 4, the YOGO chart 200 is shaped like a large table with multiple horizontal lines and multiple vertical lines intersecting. Hereinafter, of the multiple intersecting lines, the horizontal lines will be referred to as "partition lines" 201, and the vertical lines will be referred to as "trigger lines" 202.

The trigger lines 202 are numbered consecutively starting from 1. In the example shown in FIG. 4, the consecutive numbers of the trigger lines 202 below are written in the top column of the YOGO chart 200. The areas between adjacent trigger lines 202 are the partial periods described above with reference to FIG. 3, and the partial periods are also numbered consecutively starting from 1 (hereinafter referred to as partial period numbers). In the YOGO chart 200 shown in FIG. 4, the trigger lines 202 are drawn vertically, and therefore the partial periods between the trigger lines 202 are lined up horizontally. However, the trigger lines 202 may also be drawn horizontally, in which case multiple partial periods will be lined up vertically.

The YOGO chart 200 of this embodiment is divided into a number of horizontally long regions by a number of dividing lines 201, and these horizontally long regions are assigned consecutive numbers (hereinafter referred to as actuator numbers) starting from number 1. The actuators mounted on the automatic manufacturing machine 1 are assigned to one of the regions. In the example shown in FIG. 4, actuator 10 (see FIG. 1) is assigned to the region with actuator number 1, actuator 11 (see FIG. 1) is assigned to the region with actuator number 2, actuator 12 (see FIG. 1) is assigned to the region with actuator number 3, and actuator 13 (see FIG. 1) is assigned to the region with actuator number 4. The automatic manufacturing machine 1 of this embodiment is equipped with eleven actuators, actuators 10 to 20, so each of these actuators is assigned one horizontally long region in this manner.

The basic operations of actuators 10-20 are written in the areas to which actuators 10-20 are assigned. For example, if actuator 10 is to perform its basic operation in partial period 4, the basic operation to be performed by actuator 10 is written in the grid coordinate position specified by actuator number 1 and partial period number 4 on YOGO chart 200. Also, if actuator 10 is to perform its basic operation in partial periods 4 and 8, the basic operation to be performed by actuator 10 is written in the grid coordinate position specified by actuator number 1 and partial period number 4, and in the coordinate position specified by actuator number 1 and partial period number 8. In this way, the basic operation of actuator 10 is written in the horizontal area on YOGO chart 200 with actuator number 1, the basic operation of actuator 11 is written in the horizontal area with actuator number 2, and so on. The basic operations of actuators 10-20 are written in the areas on YOGO chart 200 to which actuators 10-20 are assigned.

In addition, in the YOGO chart 200 of this embodiment, the basic operation is described as follows. As an example, the basic operation of actuator 13, which operates first, will be described in the YOGO chart 200 of FIG. 4. Since the actuator that operates is actuator 13, and since it operates first, the position on the YOGO chart 200 where the basic operation is described is the coordinate position of the square with actuator number 4 and partial period number 1. Since the square with partial period number 1 is sandwiched between trigger line 202 number 1 and trigger line 202 number 2, an operation line 203 indicating the operation of the actuator is described from trigger line 202 number 1 on the left side to trigger line 202 number 2 on the right side. Then, a starting point 204 indicating the start of the movement is drawn at the left end of the movement line 203 (therefore on the first trigger line 202), and an end point 205 indicating the end of the movement is drawn at the right end of the movement line 203 (therefore on the second trigger line 202). In the example shown in FIG. 4, the movement line 203 is shown as a thick solid line, the starting point 204 is shown as a white circle, and the end point 205 is shown as a black circle.

Furthermore, the basic operation to be performed by the actuator is described above the operation line 203. In the YOGO chart 200 of this embodiment, the basic operation is described using two elements, an "operation description" and a "numerical value table". In the example shown in FIG. 4, two indications, "Ω-AC" and "AC-B11", are described above the operation line 203 for the actuator number 4 and the partial period number 1. The indication "Ω-AC" is the operation description 206a, and the indication "AC-B11" is the numerical value table 206b. The operation description 206a and the numerical value table 206b represent one basic operation 206. Here, the operation description 206a is, roughly speaking, an indication that describes the qualitative content of the basic operation 206 (for example, forward, backward, rotation, etc.). The numerical value table 206b is, roughly speaking, a table in which numerical values indicating the quantitative content of the basic operation 206 (for example, the amount of movement, speed, torque, etc.) are set. Details of the behavior description 206a and the numerical value table 206b will be described later.

Therefore, on the YOGO chart 200 in Figure 4, the indications "Ω-AC" and "AC-B01" written at the coordinate position of actuator number 4 and partial period number 1 represent the following: the actuator with actuator number 4 (actuator 13 in the example in Figure 4) will be operated in a basic manner according to the operation description 206a "Ω-AC" at the timing of partial period number 1, and the specific numerical values used in the basic operation will be the numerical values set in the numerical value table 206b "AC-B01".

As shown in the YOGO chart 200 in FIG. 4, the action description 206a "Ω-AA" is written for the actuator 10, but the action description 206a "Ω-AB" is written for the actuator 11. The reason for this is that, as described above with reference to FIG. 1, the actuator 10 is an actuator for opening and closing the chuck 3b, and the actuator 11 is an actuator for rotating the gripping shaft 3a around its axis. The action description 206a of the basic action 206 of the actuator 10 is an "opening and closing action", and the action description 206a of the basic action 206 of the actuator 11 is a "rotation action", so different action descriptions 206a are used for the actuators 10 and 11. For the same reason, different action descriptions 206a are used for the actuators 11 and 12.

On the other hand, the actuators 12 and 13 use the same operation description 206a called "Ω-AC". As described above with reference to FIG. 1, the actuator 12 is an actuator for moving the gripping shaft 3a forward and backward in the axial direction, and the actuator 13 is an actuator for moving the entire transport unit 3 forward and backward. Although the size, weight, and amount of movement of the object to be moved are significantly different, they are the same in that they move the object forward and backward. Therefore, the actuators 12 and 13 can use the same operation description 206a. Furthermore, the actuator 17 is an actuator for moving the entire processing unit 4 up and down, but since up and down movement can be considered as a type of forward and backward movement, the actuator 17 can also use the operation description 206a called "Ω-AC" like the actuators 12 and 13. Furthermore, since the actuators 14 to 16 are all actuators for moving an air cylinder forward and backward, the operation description 206a called "Ω-CA" is used for all of them.

In this way, in the YOGO chart 200 of this embodiment, the basic operation 206 of the actuator is described, in principle, using the operation description 206a and the numerical value table 206b. In this way, it is possible to standardize the operation description 206a for many actuators. As shown in FIG. 1, the automated manufacturing machine 1 of this embodiment is equipped with eleven actuators, actuators 10 to 20, but the YOGO chart 200 uses four types of operation descriptions 206a.

B-3. Operation description:
5 is an explanatory diagram of details of the behavioral description 206a used in the YOGO chart 200 of this embodiment. The behavioral description 206a "Ω-AA" is a behavioral description 206a that expresses opening and closing operations of the actuator, and this behavioral description 206a assumes an actuator that combines an AC servo motor with a chuck mechanism. Conversely, if the actuator is not an actuator that combines an AC servo motor with a chuck mechanism, the behavioral description 206a "Ω-AA" cannot be used even if the operation of the actuator is an opening and closing operation.

The operation description 206a "Ω-AA" describes a simple operation to open and close an actuator that combines an AC servo motor with a chuck mechanism, so a small program (i.e., program element) for implementing the operation can be created in advance. For this reason, a serial number (hereinafter, program element number) for identifying the program element that implements the operation is associated and stored in the operation description 206a. Note that even if an actuator performs the same opening and closing operation, if it is not an actuator that combines an AC servo motor with a chuck mechanism, the operation description 206a "Ω-AA" cannot be used because the program element number is associated and stored in the operation description 206a. In other words, if the structure of the actuator is different, it is considered that the program element for operating the actuator will be different, and since the associated program elements are different, the operation description 206a must also be different.

As shown in FIG. 5, the behavioral description 206a "Ω-AB" is a behavioral description 206a that represents an actuator that combines an AC servo motor with a reduction mechanism and that rotates the actuator, and is associated with and stored as the program element number 7. Similarly, the behavioral description 206a "Ω-AC" is a behavioral description 206a that represents an actuator that combines an AC servo motor with a ball screw mechanism and that moves the actuator forward and backward, and is associated with and stored as the program element number 4. Furthermore, the behavioral description 206a "Ω-CA" is a behavioral description 206a that represents an actuator that combines an air cylinder and that moves the actuator forward and backward, and is associated with and stored as the program element number 2.

B-4. Numerical table:
Moreover, the behavioral description 206a merely qualitatively describes the contents of the behavior, such as an opening/closing behavior, a rotating behavior, or a forward/backward behavior, and does not include information about the amount of behavior. For this reason, the behavioral description 206a is used in principle in combination with a numerical table 206b. For example, in the YOGO chart 200 shown in FIG. 4, the behavioral description 206a used for the actuator 10 having the actuator number 1 is "Ω-AA", but the numerical table 206b "AA-B01" is used at the timing of the partial period number 4, the numerical table 206b "AA-B02" is used at the timing of the partial period number 6, and the numerical table 206b "AA-B01" is used at the timing of the partial period number 10. Here, the name "AA-B01" indicates that the numerical table 206b "B01" is used in combination with the behavioral description 206a "Ω-AA". Similarly, the name "AA-B02" indicates that the numerical value table 206b is "B02" that is used in combination with the behavior description 206a "Ω-AA."

Figure 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating an example of a numerical table 206b used in combination with an operation description 206a called "Ω-AA". In Figure 6(a), a numerical table 206b called "AA-B01" is shown, and in Figure 6(b), a numerical table 206b called "AA-B02" is shown. Note that two numerical tables 206b are shown in Figure 6, but more numerical tables 206b can be set as necessary. The numerical table 206b illustrated in Figure 6 has four items set: "numerical table number", "opening/closing speed", "opening/closing load", and "reference table". Of these, "numerical table number" is the serial number of the numerical table 206b. For example, when the numerical table number is specified as number 5, the numerical table 206b called "AA-B01" in Figure 6(a) is specified, and when the numerical table number is specified as number 6, the numerical table 206b called "AA-B02" in Figure 6(b) is specified. We'll explain "reference tables" later.

The numerical table 206b shown in FIG. 6 has four items, but the two items "opening/closing speed" and "opening/closing load" are used to describe the basic operation in combination with the operation description 206a. The reason why the two items "opening/closing speed" and "opening/closing load" are set here is because the numerical table 206b is used in combination with the operation description 206a of "Ω-AA" that represents the opening/closing operation. In other words, the operation description 206a of "Ω-AA" alone only provides the qualitative content of the opening/closing operation, and does not provide the quantitative content such as the opening/closing speed and the load at the time of opening/closing. Therefore, the numerical table 206b has items "opening/closing speed" and "opening/closing load" and these numerical values are set. Note that a positive value set in the "opening/closing speed" of the numerical table 206b indicates a closing operation (see FIG. 6(a)), and a negative value set in the "opening/closing speed" of the numerical table 206b indicates an opening operation (see FIG. 6(b)).

In addition, in the YOGO chart 200 of FIG. 4, the operation description 206a "Ω-AB" is used for the actuator 11 with the actuator number 2, but the numerical table 206b "AB-B01" is used in combination with the timing of the partial period number 2, and the numerical table 206b "AB-B02" is used in combination with the timing of the partial period number 8. The names "AB-B01" and "AB-B02" indicate that the numerical tables 206b "B01" and "B02" are respectively used in combination with the operation description 206a "Ω-AB".

Figure 7 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a numerical table 206b used in combination with an action description 206a called "Ω-AB". In Figure 7(a), a numerical table 206b called "AB-B01" is shown, and in Figure 7(b), a numerical table 206b called "AB-B02" is shown. Although two numerical tables 206b are shown in Figure 7, more numerical tables 206b can be set as necessary. In addition to "numerical table number" and "reference table", the numerical table 206b illustrated in Figure 7 has a total of five items set, namely "rotation angle", "rotation speed", and "rotation torque". Of these, the items "rotation angle", "rotation speed", and "rotation torque" are used to describe basic actions in combination with the action description 206a. The reason why the items "rotation angle", "rotation speed", and "rotation torque" are set in the numerical table 206b in Figure 7 is that this numerical table 206b is used in combination with an action description 206a called "Ω-AB" that represents a rotation action. That is, since the "Ω-AB" behavior description 206a alone is sufficient to determine the rotational operation, the rotation angle, rotation speed, and rotation torque are set in the numerical table 206b under the items "rotation angle," "rotation speed," and "rotation torque." Note that the fact that there are cases where a positive value is set for the "rotation angle" in the numerical table 206b and cases where a negative value is set indicates that the rotation direction is opposite.

Furthermore, in the YOGO chart 200 of Figure 4, the operation description 206a "Ω-AC" is used for all of the actuators 12 (actuator number 3), 13 (actuator number 4), and 17 (actuator number 8). On the other hand, different numerical value tables 206b are used for the actuators 12 (actuator number 3), 13 (actuator number 4), and 17 (actuator number 8). That is, the numerical value tables 206b "AC-B01" or "AC-B02" are used in combination with the actuator 12 (actuator number 3), the numerical value tables 206b "AC-B11" or "AC-B12" are used in combination with the actuator 13 (actuator number 4), and the numerical value tables 206b "AC-B21" or "AC-B22" are used in combination with the actuator 17 (actuator number 8). Here, the names "AC-B01", "AC-B02", "AC-B11", "AC-B12", "AC-B21", and "AC-B22" represent numerical table 206b "B01", "B02", "B11", "B12", "B21", and "B22", respectively, that are used in combination with behavior description 206a "Ω-AC".

Furthermore, in the YOGO chart 200 of FIG. 4, the action description 206a "Ω-CA" is used for actuator number 5, actuator number 6, actuator number 15, and actuator number 7, actuator number 7. This corresponds to the fact that actuators 14 to 16 are all air cylinders and that their basic action is "advance and retreat". Also, no numerical value table 206b is combined with the action description 206a "Ω-CA". The reason for this is that actuators 14 to 16 are air cylinders that operate by switching the action port to which air pressure is applied out of two action ports, and so there is no need to use quantitative numerical values to describe the action.

As explained in detail above, in the YOGO chart 200 of this embodiment, the actuator to perform the basic operation and the timing of the basic operation are specified by describing the basic operation at a coordinate position defined by the combination of the partial period number and the actuator number. Furthermore, the basic operation is, in principle, expressed by a combination of the operation description 206a and the numerical value table 206b.

B-5. Reference table:
6 and 7, the numerical value table 206b of this embodiment also has an item called "reference table." This reference table is for preventing an incorrect numerical value from being set in the numerical value table 206b.

Figure 8 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the reference tables set in the numerical table 206b shown in Figure 6. Figure 8(a) shows the reference table (AA-A01) set in the numerical table 206b (AA-B01) in Figure 6(a). Figure 8(b) shows the reference table (AA-A02) set in the numerical table 206b (AA-B02) in Figure 6(b). These reference tables shown in Figure 8 have four items set: "maximum speed", "maximum load", "chuck mechanism reduction ratio", and "check mechanism compatible diameter range".

These items correspond to the reference tables (AA-A01, AA-A02) in FIG. 8 being referenced from the numerical table 206b (AA-B01, AA-B02) shown in FIG. 6. That is, the numerical table 206b (AA-B01, AA-B02) is a table in which the numerical values of "opening/closing speed" and "opening/closing load" are set (see FIG. 6), but the maximum settable opening/closing speed and maximum opening/closing load are set in the reference table as "maximum speed" and "maximum load", respectively.

When creating the numerical table 206b (AA-B01) of FIG. 6(a), the item "Reference table" is set to "AA-A01". Similarly, when creating the numerical table 206b (AA-B02) of FIG. 6(b), the item "Reference table" is set to "AA-A02". In this way, when setting a numerical value for the "Opening/closing speed" or "Opening/closing load" item of the numerical table 206b (AA-B01, AA-B02), the "Maximum speed" or "Maximum load" item of the reference table of FIG. 8(a) or FIG. 8(b) is referenced, and it is possible to prevent an inappropriate numerical value that exceeds the maximum speed or maximum load from being set.

The reference tables of Fig. 8(a) and Fig. 8(b) also have items such as "Chuck mechanism reduction ratio" and "Chuck mechanism compatible diameter range". These describe the mechanical characteristics of the actuator. That is, the reference tables are referenced from the numerical table 206b, and the numerical table 206b is set assuming a specific actuator. Therefore, the reference tables are also set assuming a specific actuator. For example, the reference tables of Fig. 8(a) and Fig. 8(b) are referenced from the numerical table 206b of Fig. 6(a) and Fig. 6(b), and since these numerical table 206b are used for the actuator 10, the reference tables of Fig. 8(a) and Fig. 8(b) are also used for the actuator 10.

In this way, each reference table is applied to a specific actuator. Therefore, the mechanical characteristics of the actuator are set in the reference table. The reference table shown in FIG. 8 is applied to an actuator 10 that combines an AC servo motor with a chuck mechanism to open and close the chuck 3b. Correspondingly, mechanical characteristics such as the reduction ratio of the chuck mechanism and the diameter range of the member that can be gripped by the chuck mechanism are set in the reference table. By setting characteristic values in this way in the reference table, even if these mechanical characteristics are required to control the AC servo motor, the characteristic values can be read by referring to the reference table, making it possible to avoid a situation in which an incorrect characteristic value is used to control the motor and the actuator is erroneously controlled.

Figure 9 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the reference tables set in the two numerical table 206b shown in Figure 7. Figure 9(a) shows the reference table (AB-A01) set in the numerical table 206b (AB-B01) of Figure 7(a), and Figure 9(b) shows the reference table (AB-A02) set in the numerical table 206b (AB-B02) of Figure 7(b). These reference tables have four items set: "angle range", "maximum rotation speed", "maximum rotation torque", and "reduction ratio".

Of these, the items "angle range", "maximum rotation speed", and "maximum rotation torque" correspond to these reference tables (AB-A01, AB-A02) being referenced from the numerical table 206b (AB-B01, AB-B02) shown in FIG. 7. In other words, the numerical table 206b (AB-B01, AB-B02) is a table in which the numerical values of "rotation angle", "rotation speed", and "rotation torque" are set (see FIG. 7), and correspondingly, the maximum angle range that can actually be obtained, the maximum rotation speed, and the maximum rotation torque are each set in the reference table.

When creating the numerical table 206b (AB-B01, AB-B02) of FIG. 7(a) or FIG. 7(b), the item "reference table" is set to "AB-A01" or "AB-A02". In this way, when setting the numerical value of the "rotation angle" of the numerical table 206b (AB-B01, AB-B02), the item "angle range" of the reference table is referenced, so that it is possible to prevent the setting of a numerical value that exceeds ±180 degrees after rotation. Also, when setting the numerical values of the "rotation speed" and "rotation torque" of the numerical table 206b (AB-B01, AB-B02), the items "maximum rotation speed" and "maximum rotation torque" of the reference table are referenced, so that it is possible to prevent the setting of an inappropriate numerical value that exceeds the maximum rotation speed or maximum rotation torque. In addition, in the reference table illustrated in FIG. 9, the "reduction ratio" of the reduction mechanism is set as a mechanical characteristic value of the actuator (here, actuator 11) for which the reference table is used.

Similar reference tables are set for the other numeric tables 206b (for example, AC-B01, AC-B02, AC-B11, AC-B12, AC-B21, AC-B22, etc. shown in FIG. 4). When creating the numeric tables 206b, by setting an appropriate reference table in the "Reference Table" field of each numeric table 206b, it is possible to prevent inappropriate numeric values from being set in the numeric tables 206b.

As explained in detail above, in the YOGO chart of this embodiment, the basic operations of the actuators are described using the operation description 206a and the numerical value table 206b at grid-like coordinate positions specified by the actuator number and partial period number. The operation of the automatic manufacturing machine 1 is described by describing the basic operations of all actuators 10-20 mounted on the automatic manufacturing machine 1 on the YOGO chart in this manner. The automatic manufacturing machine control device 100 then generates a control program from this YOGO chart to control the operation of the automatic manufacturing machine 1.

C. Automatic manufacturing machine control device 100 of this embodiment:
FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the internal structure of the automatic manufacturing machine control device 100 of this embodiment. As shown in FIG. 10, the automatic manufacturing machine control device 100 of this embodiment includes a YOGO chart creation unit 101, a basic operation storage unit 102, a YOGO chart reading unit 103, a YOGO chart analysis unit 104, a control program generation unit 105, and a control execution unit 106. These "units" are abstract concepts that represent a plurality of functions that the automatic manufacturing machine control device 100 has in order to create a YOGO chart 200 using the automatic manufacturing machine control device 100, generate a control program from the YOGO chart 200, and control the operation of the automatic manufacturing machine 1. Therefore, it does not represent that the automatic manufacturing machine control device 100 is formed by combining parts corresponding to these "units". In reality, these "units" can be realized in the form of a program executed by a CPU, or in the form of an electronic circuit combining IC chips, LSIs, etc., or further, can be realized in various forms such as a form in which these are mixed. In addition, the basic operation memory unit 102, YOGO chart analysis unit 104, and control program generation unit 105 in the automatic manufacturing machine control device 100 can be collectively understood as a control program generation device 110.

The YOGO chart creation unit 101 is connected to the monitor screen 100m, the operation input buttons 100s, etc., and a mechanical engineer or the like with sufficient knowledge of the automatic manufacturing machine 1 creates a YOGO chart 200 as shown in FIG. 4 by operating the operation input buttons 100s while looking at the monitor screen 100m. As described above, the YOGO chart 200 describes the operation of the automatic manufacturing machine 1 by assigning the basic operations of multiple actuators mounted on the automatic manufacturing machine 1 to one of the partial periods. A mechanical design engineer who designed the machine for the automatic manufacturing machine 1, or an engineer with sufficient knowledge of the structure and operation of the automatic manufacturing machine 1, can easily create the YOGO chart 200.

In addition, in this embodiment, when describing a basic action in a YOGO chart, the basic action is described in principle using the action description 206a and the numerical value table 206b, but the action description 206a that can be used is determined according to the actuator (see FIG. 5). Therefore, the name of the actuator and the action description 206a that can be used with that actuator are stored in advance in the basic action storage unit 102 in association with each other.

Figure 11 is an explanatory diagram showing how actuator names and usable operation descriptions 206a are associated and stored in the basic operation storage unit 102. As shown in the figure, the basic operation storage unit 102 stores usable operation descriptions 206a for each actuator. For example, "Q-AA" is stored as a usable operation description 206a for actuator 10. Furthermore, two operation descriptions 206a, "Q-AB" and "Q-AD", are stored as usable operation descriptions 206a for actuator 18. Furthermore, the structure of the actuator and the contents of the basic operation of the actuator are also stored for each actuator.

As mentioned above, the behavior description 206a is generally used in combination with the numerical value table 206b, but the numerical value table 206b that can be combined with the behavior description 206a is predetermined. Therefore, the basic behavior storage unit 102 also stores the numerical value table 206b that can be combined with each behavior description 206a.

Figure 12 is an explanatory diagram showing how an action description 206a and a numerical table 206b that can be combined with the action description 206a are stored in association with each other. For example, for an action description 206a of "Q-AA", two numerical tables 206b of "AA-B01" and "AA-B02" are stored as numerical tables 206b that can be combined with the action description 206a. Furthermore, for the numerical table 206b of "AA-B01", "AA-A01" is stored as a reference table referenced from the numerical table 206b. Similarly, for the numerical table 206b of "AA-B01", a reference table of "AA-A01" is stored. In this way, in the basic action storage unit 102 of this embodiment, reference tables referenced from the numerical table 206b are also stored in association with the numerical table 206b.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 13, the basic operation storage unit 102 also stores an operation description 206a and a program element number corresponding to the operation description 206a. As described above with reference to FIG. 5, a program element is a small program for realizing the operation description 206a. Also, a program element number is a serial number for identifying a program element.

The basic operation memory unit 102 described above is connected to the YOGO chart creation unit 101, and the basic operation memory unit 102 can be referenced when creating the YOGO chart 200. Furthermore, a mechanical engineer with sufficient knowledge of the automated manufacturing machine 1 will fully understand how to operate each actuator, and can therefore select an appropriate operation description 206a from among the available operation descriptions 206a according to the actuator, and can also select a numerical value table 206b to be combined with the operation description 206a.

The YOGO chart reading unit 103 reads the YOGO chart 200 created by the YOGO chart creation unit 101 and outputs it to the YOGO chart analysis unit 104 described below. In this embodiment, the YOGO chart 200 is created by the automatic manufacturing machine control device 100, but the YOGO chart 200 may be created in advance by a computer 50 provided separately from the automatic manufacturing machine 1, and the YOGO chart 200 may be read by the YOGO chart reading unit 103. The YOGO chart reading unit 103 in this embodiment corresponds to the "operation chart reading unit" in the present invention.

The YOGO chart analysis unit 104 analyzes the YOGO chart 200 received from the YOGO chart reading unit 103 to determine whether the description of the YOGO chart 200 satisfies the specified description requirements. If the YOGO chart 200 satisfies the description requirements, it generates intermediate data from the YOGO chart 200 while referring to the basic operation memory unit 102, and outputs the intermediate data to the control program generation unit 105. The process of generating intermediate data from the YOGO chart 200 will be explained in detail later. Note that the YOGO chart analysis unit 104 in this embodiment corresponds to the "description requirement determination unit" in the present invention, since it determines whether the YOGO chart 200 satisfies the specified description requirements.

When the control program generation unit 105 receives the intermediate data, it generates a control program from the intermediate data by referring to the basic operation storage unit 102. The method of generating a control program from the intermediate data will be explained in detail later. The obtained control program is then output to the control execution unit 106.

When the control execution unit 106 receives the control program from the control program generation unit 105, it controls the operation of the actuators 10 to 20 according to the control program. As a result, the actuators 10 to 20 installed in the automated manufacturing machine 1 operate as described in the YOGO chart 200.

D. Control program generation process:
14 is a flow chart showing an overview of the control program generation process executed in the automatic manufacturing machine control device 100 of this embodiment. As shown in the figure, in the control program generation process, first, the YOGO chart 200 is read (STEP 1). In this embodiment, since the automatic manufacturing machine control device 100 creates the YOGO chart 200, the data of the created YOGO chart 200 is read. Of course, the data of the YOGO chart 200 created by another computer 50 may also be read.

Then, the loaded YOGO chart 200 is analyzed and intermediate data is output (STEP 2). At this time, it is determined whether the YOGO chart 200 satisfies certain description requirements, and if it is determined that the description requirements are satisfied, intermediate data is generated. Details of the process of analyzing the YOGO chart 200 and outputting intermediate data (YOGO chart analysis process) will be described later.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram illustrating intermediate data generated from YOGO chart 200. As shown in the figure, the intermediate data is a collection of a set of data (hereinafter referred to as "data record") in which partial period number N, actuator number M, operation description 206a, and numerical value table 206b are arranged in this order. In addition, the partial period number N of each data record takes any value from "1" to the final value of partial period number N, and the actuator number M takes any value of the actuator number M written on YOGO chart 200. In addition, all partial period numbers N on YOGO chart 200 are always written in some data record, and all actuator numbers M written on YOGO chart 200 are always written in some data record. In the process of STEP 2 in FIG. 14, intermediate data such as the example shown in FIG. 15 is generated from YOGO chart 200 illustrated in FIG. 4.

Next, in the control program generation process of FIG. 14, a control program is generated from the intermediate data (STEP 3). FIG. 16 shows a control program generated from the intermediate data exemplified in FIG. 15. As is clear from a comparison of the data records of the intermediate data shown in FIG. 15 and the data records of the control program shown in FIG. 16, the data records of the control program have the operation description 206a in the data records of the intermediate data replaced with the program element number P corresponding to the operation description 206a (see FIG. 13), and the numeric table 206b in the data records of the intermediate data replaced with the numeric table number T corresponding to the numeric table 206b (see FIG. 6 and FIG. 7).

The operation of replacing the operation description 206a and the numerical table 206b in the intermediate data with the program element number and the numerical table number, respectively, is executed by the control program generation unit 105 in FIG. 10 by referring to the basic operation storage unit 102. That is, the basic operation storage unit 102 stores the operation description 206a in correspondence with the program element number (see FIG. 13). Furthermore, the basic operation storage unit 102 stores the numerical table 206b illustrated in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, and each numerical table 206b is set with a numerical table number. Therefore, the control program generation unit 105 replaces the operation description 206a and the numerical table 206b in the intermediate data with the program element number and the numerical table number by referring to the correspondence relationship in FIG. 13 stored in the basic operation storage unit 102 and the numerical table 206b illustrated in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7.

Once the control program is generated from the intermediate data in the above manner (STEP 3 in FIG. 14), the generated control program is output to the control execution unit 106 of the automatic manufacturing machine control device 100 (STEP 4), and the control program generation process in FIG. 14 is terminated. Then, the control execution unit 106 of this embodiment controls the operation of the actuators 10 to 20 mounted on the automatic manufacturing machine 1 according to such a control program. The process in which the control execution unit 106 controls the operation of the actuators 10 to 20 according to the control program exemplified in FIG. 16 will be described later.

E. YOGO Chart Analysis Processing:
17 is a flowchart of a process (YOGO chart analysis process) in which the automated manufacturing machine control device 100 of this embodiment analyzes a YOGO chart and outputs intermediate data. This process is executed by the YOGO chart analysis unit 104 (see FIG. 10) in STEP 2 of the control program generation process shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 17, when the YOGO chart analysis process (STEP 2) starts, first the partial period number N and actuator number M are initialized to "1" (STEP 10). The partial period number N is a serial number assigned to the multiple partial periods of the YOGO chart 200 (see FIG. 4). Also, the actuator number M is a serial number assigned to the multiple horizontally long areas divided by the dividing lines 201 on the YOGO chart 200 (see FIG. 4). Since an actuator is assigned to each horizontally long area on the YOGO chart 200, an actuator can be identified by specifying the actuator number M.

Next, it is determined whether the starting point 204 of the operating line 203 is marked at the position of coordinates (N, M) on the YOGO chart 200 (STEP 11). Immediately after the partial period number N and actuator number M are initialized in STEP 10, N and M are both "1", so it is determined whether the starting point 204 is marked at the coordinate position (1, 1) on the YOGO chart 200. Here, the state in which the starting point 204 is marked at the coordinate position (N, M) refers to the following state.

First, the coordinate position (N, M) on the YOGO chart 200 represents a grid-like coordinate position on the YOGO chart 200, which is specified by the combination of the partial period number N and the actuator number M. Also, as described above with reference to FIG. 4, the partial period of partial period number N (i.e., the Nth partial period from the beginning) is formed between the Nth trigger line 202 from the beginning and the N+1th trigger line 202. Furthermore, in the YOGO chart 200 of this embodiment, the start point 204 of the operation line 203 is written on the trigger line 202. Therefore, the state in which the start point 204 is written at the coordinate position (N, M) refers to the state in which the start point 204 is written on the Nth trigger line 202 that forms one side of a grid, focusing on the grid specified by the combination of the partial period number N and the actuator number M.

The reason for determining whether or not the starting point 204 is written at the coordinate position (N, M) in STEP 11 of the YOGO chart analysis process is as follows. First, as described above with reference to FIG. 4, the YOGO chart 200 is described by assigning basic actions 206 to partial periods, and the basic actions 206 are to be written on the action line 203 drawn between the starting point 204 indicating the start of the action and the end point 205 indicating the end of the action. Therefore, if the starting point 204 is written on the YOGO chart 200, it is considered that the action line 203 is drawn from the starting point 204, and the basic action 206 is written on the action line 203. Therefore, the starting point 204 written on the YOGO chart 200 is searched for as a clue for extracting the basic action 206 from the YOGO chart 200.

In the case of the YOGO chart 200 illustrated in FIG. 4, the starting point 204 is not written at the coordinate position (1,1), so the answer is "no" in STEP 11, and it is determined whether the actuator number M has reached the final value (STEP 28 in FIG. 18). In this embodiment, the automatic manufacturing machine 1 is equipped with eleven actuators 10-20, so the final value of the actuator number M is 11. Therefore, after checking whether the starting point 204 exists at the coordinate position (1,1), the answer is determined to be "no" in STEP 28, so 1 is added to the actuator number M (STEP 29). Then, using the new actuator number M after the addition, it is determined again whether the starting point 204 exists at the coordinate position (N,M) (STEP 11 in FIG. 17).

In this way, while keeping the partial period number N at "1", the actuator number M is incremented by one while determining whether the starting point 204 is located at the coordinate position (1, M). Eventually, the coordinate position (1, M) where the starting point 204 is located is reached, and the answer in STEP 11 is determined to be "yes".

If the answer to STEP 11 is "yes," the coordinate position (N, M) where the starting point 204 is described has been found. Therefore, the content described at the coordinate position (N, M) satisfies the following description requirements:
[Description requirement 1]: There is an end point 205 corresponding to the start point 204.
[Description requirement 2]: A basic action 206 is described between a start point 204 and an end point 205.
[Description requirement 3]: It is determined whether or not the action description 206a in the basic action 206 corresponds to the actuator number M at the coordinate position (N, M).

First, it is determined whether the above-mentioned description requirement 1 is satisfied, that is, whether the end point 205 corresponding to the start point 204 exists (STEP 12). As described above with reference to FIG. 4, the start point 204 indicates the beginning of the motion line 203, so if the start point 204 exists, the end point 205 indicating the end of the motion line 203 must exist. In this embodiment, the end point 205 is also written on the trigger line 202. Therefore, the line of sight is moved to the right on the YOGO chart 200 (i.e., in the direction in which the number of the trigger line 202 increases) from the coordinate position (N, M) where the start point 204 was found, to search for the end point 205 on the trigger line 202. If the end point 205 is not found, or if a new start point 204 is found before the end point 205 is found, STEP 12 is judged as "no" (STEP 12: no), but if the YOGO chart 200 is written correctly, the end point 205 corresponding to the start point 204 will be found, and STEP 12 is judged as "yes."

Next, it is determined whether the above-mentioned description requirement 2 is satisfied, i.e., whether the basic action 206 is described on the action line 203 connecting the start point 204 and the end point 205 (STEP 14). If the action line 203 connecting the start point 204 and the end point 205 is not found, if the action line 203 is found but the basic action 206 is not described, or if the content described on the action line 203 is not the basic action 206 stored in the basic action memory unit 102, STEP 14 is determined as "no", but if the YOGO chart 200 is correctly described, STEP 14 is determined as "yes".

If the above-mentioned description requirement 2 is also satisfied, the basic action 206 described above on the action line 203 is read (STEP 16), and then it is determined whether the above-mentioned description requirement 3 is satisfied, that is, whether the action description 206a of the read basic action 206 corresponds to the actuator assigned to actuator number M at the coordinate position (N, M) (STEP 17). This determination is as follows.

First, as shown in FIG. 4, one of the actuators 10-20 mounted on the automatic manufacturing machine 1 is assigned to the actuator number M at the coordinate position (N, M). Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 11, the action description 206a that can be set is predetermined for each of the actuators 10-20. Therefore, the action description 206a that can be written at the coordinate position (N, M) is limited to the action description 206a that can be set for the actuator assigned to the actuator number M at the coordinate position (N, M). For example, the actuator 11 is assigned to the actuator number 2 (see FIG. 4), and the action description 206a that can be set for the actuator 11 is limited to the action description 206a "Q-AB" (see FIG. 11). Therefore, only the basic action 206 "Q-AB" can be set for the coordinate position (N, 2) where the actuator number is 2. Also, depending on the actuator, multiple behavioral descriptions 206a may be set, but in any case, the behavioral description 206a that can be set is determined according to the actuator number M of the coordinate position (N, M). Therefore, in STEP 17, it is determined whether the behavioral description 206a read in STEP 16 is a behavioral description 206a that can be set for the actuator indicated by the actuator number M of the coordinate position (N, M).

If the YOGO chart 200 is written correctly, the answer in STEP 17 is "yes", and the process then proceeds to determine whether the behavioral description 206a is a behavioral description 206a that requires a numerical value table 206b (STEP 19). As mentioned above, most behavioral descriptions 206a are intended to be used in combination with a numerical value table 206b, but some behavioral descriptions 206a (for example, the behavioral description 206a called "Q-CA" shown in FIG. 12) are used independently without being combined with a numerical value table 206b. Therefore, in STEP 19, it is determined whether the behavioral description 206a read in STEP 16 is a behavioral description 206a that requires a numerical value table 206b.

If the operation description 206a requires the numerical value table 206b (STEP 19: yes), the following description requirement is further added to the content described at the coordinate position (N, M):
[Description requirement 4]: The numerical value table 206b is described in the basic operation 206.
[Description requirement 5]: The behavior description 206a of the basic behavior 206 corresponds to the numerical value table 206b.
[Description requirement 6]: It is also determined whether the behavior description 206a of the basic behavior 206 corresponds to the numerical value table 206b.

That is, if the action description 206a in the basic action 206 loaded in STEP 16 is an action description 206a that requires a numerical value table 206b (STEP 19 in FIG. 17: yes), first, the above-mentioned description requirement 4 (whether or not the numerical value table 206b is included in the loaded basic action 206) is determined (STEP 21 in FIG. 18).

If the YOGO chart 200 is written correctly, the answer in STEP 21 is "yes", so the next step is to determine whether the above-mentioned description requirement 5 is met, that is, whether the action description 206a in the basic action 206 corresponds to the numerical value table 206b (STEP 23). As described above with reference to FIG. 12, the basic action storage unit 102 prestores the action description 206a and the numerical value table 206b that can be combined with the action description 206a in association with each other. Therefore, in STEP 23, the correspondence relationship illustrated in FIG. 12 is referenced to determine whether the action description 206a corresponds to the numerical value table 206b.

If the YOGO chart 200 is written correctly, the answer in STEP 23 is also "yes", so now it is determined whether the above-mentioned description requirement 6, i.e., whether the numerical values set in the numerical value table 206b are consistent with the reference table (STEP 25). As described above with reference to Figures 6 and 7, a reference table is set in the numerical value table 206b. Furthermore, as described above with reference to Figures 8 and 9, the reference table sets a numerical value range that can be set in the referenced numerical value table 206b. Therefore, in STEP 25, it is determined whether the numerical values set in the numerical value table 206b are set within the numerical value range set in the reference table referenced by the numerical value table 206b.

If the YOGO chart 200 is written correctly, STEP 25 will also be judged as "yes". In this case (STEP 25: yes), the content written at the coordinate position (N, M) where the starting point 204 was found satisfies all of the above-mentioned description requirements 1 to 6. Therefore, that coordinate position (N, M), the action description 206a in the basic action 206 read in STEP 16, and the numerical value table 206b in the basic action 206 are combined into a single intermediate record (N, M, action description 206a, numerical value table 206b) and stored in memory (STEP 27). Furthermore, if the behavioral description 206a in the basic behavior 206 read in STEP 16 is a behavioral description 206a that does not require a numerical value table 206b (STEP 19: no), the coordinate position (N, M) and the behavioral description 206a in the basic behavior 206 read in STEP 16 are combined into one intermediate record (N, M, behavioral description 206a) and stored in memory (STEP 20).

Although the above describes the case where the YOGO chart 200 is written correctly, there may also be cases where the YOGO chart 200 is written incorrectly. For example, if the above-mentioned description requirement 1 is not met, that is, if the end point 205 corresponding to the start point 204 is not written, then STEP 12 in FIG. 17 is judged as "no." Then, the coordinate position (N, M) of the problem that is judged not to satisfy the description requirement and an error code (error code 1) indicating a violation of description requirement 1 are stored in memory (STEP 13).

If the above-mentioned description requirement 2 is not satisfied, i.e., if the basic operation 206 is not described between the start point 204 and the end point 205, then STEP 14 is judged as "no" and the coordinate position (N, M) where the problem occurred and an error code (error code 2) indicating a violation of description requirement 2 are stored in memory (STEP 15). Furthermore, if the above-mentioned description requirement 3 is not satisfied, i.e., if the operation description 206a in the basic operation 206 does not correspond to the actuator number M of the coordinate position (N, M), then STEP 17 is judged as "no" and the problematic coordinate position (N, M) that does not satisfy the description requirement and an error code (error code 3) indicating a violation of description requirement 3 are stored in memory (STEP 18).

If the behavior description 206a in the basic behavior 206 requires the use of the numerical value table 206b (STEP 19 in FIG. 17: yes), the above-mentioned description requirement 4 is met, that is, whether or not the numerical value table 206b is described in the basic behavior 206 is determined. If the numerical value table 206b is not described, the result is determined as "no" in STEP 21 in FIG. 18, and the coordinate position (N, M) of the problem that does not satisfy the description requirement and an error code (error code 4) indicating a violation of description requirement 4 are stored in memory (STEP 22).

If the above-mentioned description requirement 5 is not satisfied, i.e., if the operation description 206a in the basic operation 206 does not correspond to the numerical table 206b, the answer is determined as "no" in STEP 23, and the coordinate position (N, M) of the problem that does not satisfy the description requirement and an error code (error code 5) indicating a violation of the description requirement 5 are stored in memory (STEP 24). If the above-mentioned description requirement 6 is not satisfied, i.e., if the numerical value set in the numerical table 206b is not consistent with the reference table, the answer is determined as "no" in STEP 25, and the coordinate position (N, M) of the problem that does not satisfy the description requirement and an error code (error code 6) indicating a violation of the description requirement 6 are stored in memory (STEP 26).

In this way, in STEP 11 to STEP 27 of the YOGO chart analysis process, the coordinate position (N, M) where the starting point 204 is written on the YOGO chart 200 is searched for, and it is determined whether the content written at the found coordinate position (N, M) satisfies the above-mentioned description requirements 1 to 3 or description requirements 1 to 6. If it does, an intermediate record including the coordinate position (N, M) is stored in memory (STEP 20 in FIG. 17 or STEP 27 in FIG. 18). On the other hand, if it does not, the problematic coordinate position (N, M) and an error code indicating the description requirement that is not satisfied are stored in memory (STEP 13, STEP 15, STEP 18, STEP 22, STEP 24, STEP 26).

When the operation for the coordinate position (N, M) where the starting point 204 was found is thus completed, it is determined whether or not the actuator number M has reached its final value (STEP 28 in FIG. 18). If the actuator number M has not reached its final value (STEP 28: no), 1 is added to the actuator number M (STEP 29), and the new actuator number M after the increment is used to determine again whether or not the starting point 204 has been written at the coordinate position (N, M) (STEP 11 in FIG. 17).

In this way, the operations of STEP 11 to STEP 28 are repeated by searching for the coordinate position (N, M) where the starting point 204 is described while increasing the actuator number M by one at a time without changing the partial period number N. Then, when the actuator number M reaches its final value (STEP 28: yes), it is then determined whether the partial period number N has reached its final value (STEP 30). For example, if the operation of the automatic manufacturing machine 1 is described on the YOGO chart 200 using 100 partial periods, the final value of the partial period number N will be 100.

As a result, if the partial period number N has not reached the final value (STEP 30: no), 1 is added to the partial period number N (STEP 31), and the actuator number M is initialized to "1" (STEP 32), and then the process returns to STEP 11 to determine again whether the starting point 204 is written at the coordinate (N, M) on the YOGO chart. That is, on the YOGO chart 200, the multiple coordinate positions (n, M) included in the partial period with the partial period number N of "n" are checked from the top in order, and when the bottom is checked, the multiple coordinate positions (n+1, M) included in the partial period with the partial period number N of "n+1" are checked from the top in order. Then, for the coordinate position (N, M) where the starting point 204 is written and which satisfies the description requirements, an intermediate record is stored in memory, and for the problematic coordinate position (N, M) which does not satisfy the description requirements, the problematic coordinate position (N, M) and an error code are stored in memory. This operation is then repeated, and when the partial period number N finally reaches the final value (STEP 30 in FIG. 18: yes), the operation has been completed for all coordinate positions (N, M) on the YOGO chart 200.

After the operation for all coordinate positions (N, M) on the YOGO chart 200 is completed in this way, it is determined whether an error code has been stored (STEP 33 in FIG. 19). If there is a problematic coordinate position (N, M) in the YOGO chart 200 that does not satisfy the above-mentioned description requirements, an error code should have been stored. Conversely, if no error code is stored, it can be considered that the YOGO chart 200 is correctly described. Therefore, if no error code is stored (STEP 33: no), all stored intermediate records are output (STEP 34). The intermediate data illustrated in FIG. 15 is the result of all intermediate records being output in this way. After all intermediate records have been output as intermediate data in this way (STEP 34), the YOGO chart analysis process (STEP 2) shown in FIGS. 17 to 19 is terminated, and the process returns to the control program generation process in FIG. 14. After returning to the control program generation process, the operation of generating a control program from the intermediate data (STEP 3) begins.

On the other hand, if it is determined in STEP 33 of FIG. 19 that an error code has been stored (STEP 33: yes), then the YOGO chart 200 contains a coordinate position (N, M) of a problem that does not satisfy any of the above-mentioned description requirements 1 to 6. In such a case, the coordinate position (N, M) of the problem and an error code indicating the corresponding description requirement are stored (see STEP 13, STEP 15, STEP 18, STEP 22, STEP 24, STEP 26). Therefore, the stored coordinate position (N, M) of the problem and the error code are output (STEP 35).

Figure 20 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the output of problematic coordinate positions (N, M) and error codes. In the illustrated example, four coordinate positions (N, M) are output as problematic coordinate positions: (4, 12), (8, 2), (25, 15), and (42, 6), and error code 4, error code 1, error code 6, and error code 5 are output for each. From these entries, it is possible to immediately recognize which coordinate position (N, M) in the YOGO chart 200 contains what type of entry error.

Also, if the problematic coordinate position (N, M) and an error code are output (STEP 35 in FIG. 19), the YOGO chart 200 is not drawn correctly, so the YOGO chart analysis process shown in FIG. 17 to FIG. 19 is terminated without returning to the control program generation process in FIG. 14.

F. Motion Control Processing:
In the control program generation process described above with reference to Fig. 14, a control program as illustrated in Fig. 16 is generated from the intermediate data as illustrated in Fig. 15 (STEP 3), and output to the control execution unit 106 in Fig. 10 (STEP 4). The control execution unit 106 then controls the operation of the actuators 10-20 of the automatic manufacturing machine control device 100 in accordance with the control program. However, as shown in Fig. 16, the control program of this embodiment is merely a series of sets of numerical values called data records. Finally, the process in which the control execution unit 106 of the automatic manufacturing machine control device 100 of this embodiment controls the operation of the actuators 10-20 based on the control program will be described.

Figure 21 is a flowchart of the operation control process in which the control execution unit 106 of the automatic manufacturing machine control device 100 controls the operation of the automatic manufacturing machine 1 in accordance with a control program. As shown in Figure 21, when the operation control process is started, first, the partial period number N is initialized to "1" (STEP 50). Next, from the multiple data records of the control program, a data record whose first element is N is extracted (STEP 51). If there are multiple corresponding data records, all of these data records are extracted. Note that if the operation control process has just started, the partial period number N is set to "1", so the data record (1, 4, 4, 19) will be read from the control program shown in Figure 16.

Next, the second element (i.e., actuator number M) is read from the data record that was read, and the actuator to be controlled is identified (STEP 52). If the data record read in STEP 51 is (1, 4, 4, 19), then the second element is "4", and therefore the actuator with actuator number M of "4" is the actuator to be controlled. Furthermore, if multiple data records were read in STEP 51, each actuator to be controlled is identified based on the second element of each data record.

Furthermore, the third element from the read data record is used to search for the program element number stored in the basic operation memory unit 102 (see FIG. 13) to obtain the program element for causing the actuator to perform the basic operation (STEP 53). If the data record read in STEP 51 is (1, 4, 4, 19), the third element is "4", so the program element for performing the basic operation is the program element with program element number "4".

Finally, if a fourth element exists in the data record, that element indicates a numeric table number that identifies the numeric table 206b described above with reference to Figures 6 and 7, and the numeric value set in the numeric table 206b becomes an argument to be set in the program element. Therefore, by searching for the numeric table 206b stored in the basic operation memory unit 102, the numeric table 206b having the numeric table number is identified, and the numeric value set in the numeric table 206b is set as an argument to the program element (STEP 54).

By carrying out the above steps 51 to 54, each actuator is prepared to perform the basic operation described in a certain partial period on the YOGO chart (immediately after the operation control process is started, the partial period with partial period number N of "1"). That is, the actuator to be controlled is identified (STEP 52), the program element to be used for control is obtained (STEP 53), and arguments are set for the program element (STEP 54), and the program element is executed (STEP 55). For example, if the actuator is a servo motor and the content of the basic operation is to rotate the motor 180 degrees in the forward direction, a program element is executed that detects the rotation angle of the motor and drives the motor until the rotation angle reaches 180 degrees, repeating this operation at a predetermined control period. Furthermore, if there are multiple program elements, these program elements are executed in parallel.

Next, it is determined whether execution of all program elements has ended (STEP 56). In other words, if multiple program elements have been executed in STEP 55, the execution of those program elements will not necessarily end at the same time, so it is determined whether execution of all program elements has ended. Of course, if only one program element has been executed in STEP 55, it is determined whether execution of that program element has ended.

If there are any program elements still being executed, then STEP 56 judges "no" and repeats the same judgment (STEP 56). This puts the system into a standby state until execution of all program elements is complete. Then, when execution of all program elements is complete (STEP 56: yes), it judges whether partial period number N has reached its final value (STEP 57). For example, if 100 partial periods have been used to describe the operation of the automatic manufacturing machine 1 on the YOGO chart, it judges whether partial period number N has reached "100".

If the partial period number N has not yet reached the final value (STEP 57: no), the partial period number N is incremented by one (STEP 58). Then, returning to STEP 51, a data record whose first element matches the new partial period number N is read from among the data records of the control program, and the above-mentioned operations in STEP 52 to STEP 55 are performed on the read data record. In this way, the partial period advances by one from the partial period in which the previous basic operation was performed, and all basic operations described in the new partial period are performed. Then, when all basic operations in the new partial period are completed and "yes" is determined in STEP 56, it is determined whether the partial period number N of that partial period has reached the final value (STEP 57). If the partial period number N has not yet reached the final value (STEP 57: no), the partial period number N is incremented by one (STEP 58), and the process returns to STEP 51, where the above-mentioned operations in STEP 51 to STEP 57 are repeated for the new partial period number N.

In this way, in the motion control process of FIG. 21, partial periods are selected one by one from the first partial period of the YOGO chart (i.e., the partial period with partial period number N 1) to the last partial period (the partial period with partial period number N of the final value), and the operation of executing the basic operation described in that partial period is repeated. Then, when the basic operation of the last partial period is completed, "yes" is determined in STEP 57, and the motion control process is terminated.

As described above in detail, in the automatic manufacturing machine control device 100 of this embodiment, the operation of the automatic manufacturing machine 1 is described in the YOGO chart 200, and a control program can be automatically generated from the YOGO chart 200 to operate the automatic manufacturing machine control device 100. In addition, since the YOGO chart can be easily created without knowledge of programming as long as the structure and operation of the automatic manufacturing machine 1 are known, there is no need for a programmer to create the control program. This makes it possible to significantly reduce the time required to develop a new automatic manufacturing machine 1 (at least by half), and in addition, there is no need to secure a programmer. As a result, it becomes easier to introduce new automatic manufacturing machines to manufacturing sites, making it possible to fully respond to requests for labor saving in the industrial world.

In addition, in the automated manufacturing machine control device 100 of this embodiment, when generating a control program from the YOGO chart 200, it is determined whether the contents written on the YOGO chart 200 satisfy certain description requirements, and if they are not satisfied, the control program is not generated. This makes it possible to avoid a situation in which an inappropriate control program is generated based on a YOGO chart 200 that contains a description error.

Furthermore, if an error is found in the YOGO Chart 200, the coordinate position of the problem where the error exists (i.e., the problem coordinate position) and an error code indicating the content of the error are output. Therefore, since the location of the error on the YOGO Chart 200 and the content of the error can be known, it becomes possible to easily correct the error and create a correct YOGO Chart 200.

The above describes the control program generation device 110 of this embodiment, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment and can be implemented in various forms without departing from the spirit of the invention.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1...automatic manufacturing machine, 2...rail, 3...transport unit, 3a...gripping shaft,
3b... chuck, 4... processing unit, 10 to 20... actuator,
10d to 20d... driver circuit, 50... computer,
100...automatic manufacturing machine control device, 100m...monitor screen,
100s...operation input button, 101...YOGO chart creation unit,
102: Basic operation memory unit; 103: YOGO chart reading unit;
104...YOGO chart analysis unit, 105...control program generation unit,
106: control execution unit; 110: control program generating device; 201: partition line;
202: trigger line; 203: action line; 204: starting point; 205: end point;
206: basic operation; 206a: operation description; 206b: numerical value table.

Claims (4)

A control program generating device (110) for generating a control program for an automatic manufacturing machine (1) having a plurality of actuators (10-20),
a basic operation storage unit (102) that stores basic operations (206) representing operations for each degree of freedom of the actuator in association with program elements that realize the basic operations;
an operation chart reading unit (103) for reading an operation chart (200) in which an operation period from when the automatic manufacturing machine starts to when it finishes its operation is divided into a plurality of partial periods, the operation of the automatic manufacturing machine is decomposed into a plurality of basic operations , and the basic operations are assigned to any one of the partial periods selected for each basic operation from among the plurality of partial periods, thereby describing the operation of the automatic manufacturing machine;
a description requirement determination unit (104) for determining whether the basic operation described in the operation chart satisfies a predetermined description requirement;
a control program generating unit (105) that generates the control program for operating the automatic manufacturing machine by combining the program elements of the plurality of basic operations assigned to the plurality of partial periods on the operation chart in accordance with the order of the partial periods on the operation chart when the plurality of basic operations in the operation chart satisfy the description requirements,
the operation chart read by the operation chart reading unit is an operation chart in which the plurality of partial periods are assigned to one axis side of a table format, the plurality of actuators are assigned to another axis side of the table format, and the basic operations are described at coordinate positions determined by coordinate values on the one axis side and coordinate values on the other axis side,
the basic operation storage unit stores a correspondence relationship between the actuator and the basic operation that can be executed by the actuator as the description requirement to be referenced by the description requirement determination unit;
the description requirement determination unit acquires the coordinate position in which the basic operation is described, and if the actuator assigned to the coordinate value on the other axis side of the coordinate position is not the actuator associated with the basic operation in the correspondence relationship, determines that the description requirement is not satisfied, and outputs the coordinate position in which the basic operation that does not satisfy the description requirement is described as a problem coordinate position. 2. The control program generating device according to claim 1,
the operation chart reading unit reads the operation chart in which the basic operation is described by a combination of an operation description (206a) describing qualitative content of the basic operation and a numerical description describing quantitative content of the basic operation by numerical values;
The basic operation storage unit
The program element corresponding to the operation description of the basic operation and the numerical value table (206b) corresponding to the numerical value description are stored,
a combination correspondence relationship that associates the operation description with the numerical description used in combination with the operation description is stored as the description requirement;
the description requirement judgment unit, when a combination of the operation description and the numerical description described as the basic operation at the coordinate position does not satisfy the combination correspondence relationship, judges that the description requirement is not satisfied and outputs the problem coordinate position. 3. The control program generating device according to claim 2,
the basic operation storage unit stores, for each of the numerical descriptions, a numerical range that can be set in the numerical table corresponding to the numerical descriptions, as the description requirement;
the description requirement judgment unit, when a numerical value set in the numerical table is not within the numerical range, judges that the description requirement is not satisfied and outputs the problem coordinate position. The control program generating device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
the description requirement determination unit also outputs an error code indicating the description requirement that is determined to be not satisfied when outputting the problem coordinate position.

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