JPH0665884B2 - Actuator control device - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a control device for an actuator.

[Prior Art] In order to convert fluid energy into mechanical energy, various actuators have been conventionally adopted and are widely spread. As repaired, actuators can be roughly divided into reciprocating type and rotating type, but each actuator has a pressure supply system for receiving and discharging fluid pressure, and for adjusting the opening degree of the valve body, etc. It is common to attach the power supply system of Therefore, the pressure supply system and the power supply system are connected to the respective actuators via the pipe and the conductor.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In the above-mentioned conventional technique, since the control box and the actuator are connected to each other by the pipe body and the conducting wire, the mechanism becomes large and complicated, and the control system including the sequencer is also used. Inconveniences such as being unable to miniaturize have been confirmed.

For example, FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of an actuator using air pressure according to the prior art. In this conventional example, a pair of conductors for sending driving electric signals from the plurality of drivers 4a to 4f constituting the controller 2 to the individual solenoid valves 6a to 6f of the manifold type are connected, Further, the air pressure supply system 8 includes the solenoid valves 6a to 6f.
To reach the air cylinders 10a to 10f.
On the other hand, in order to detect the operating position of a piston (not shown) in each of the air cylinders 10a to 10f, a pair of limit switches (not shown) are provided in each of the air cylinders 10a to 10f. In order to feed back the signal to the controller 2,
Separately, a wiring for transmitting a detection signal is provided, which is the detector 1.
Actually, it is connected to 2a to 12f.

That is, the controller 2 is provided with a pair of conducting wires or pipes between the solenoid valves 6a to 6f, the solenoid valves 6a to 6f, the air cylinders 10a to 10f, the air cylinders 10a to 10f, and the controller 2. It is extremely complicated and difficult to miniaturize, and moreover, it becomes easy to be affected by an external signal system due to the length of the conducting wire and tube for coupling, and it is not uncommon for malfunctions to occur.

Further, the controller 2 or the CPU that controls the controller 2 as a whole cannot promptly give its response or instruction due to the increase in the number of actuators. Therefore, there are inconveniences such as restrictions on the operating time of the actuator. Further, if there is a deviation in the operation between the actuators due to the delay in the operation time, there is the inconvenience that the desired control for the object is impossible.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the actuator can drive and control the object with high accuracy, the influence of the external signal system is small, the malfunction can be avoided, and the desired control for the object is achieved without delaying the operation time. It is an object of the present invention to provide a control device for an actuator, which has a simplified structure.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a plurality of actuators, a fluid supply unit connected to the actuators to supply a fluid, and a power supply connected to the actuators. Power supply means for supplying the actuator, signal transmission means for supplying a control signal to the actuator, drive means for driving the actuator, which is provided in each of the actuators, and detection for detecting the operating state of the actuator. A block-shaped casing incorporating the means, and an input / output port provided in the casing to which the fluid supply means, the power supply means, and the signal transmission means are connected. The body further selects a control signal related to its own actuator from the control signals supplied from the signal transmission means to drive the drive. And a communication interface for supplying a control signal for controlling the other actuator to the other actuator via the signal transmission means.

[Operation] When the control signal of each actuator is sent through the signal transmission means, only the control signal of its own actuator is taken in by the communication interface and is guided to the drive means to drive the actuator. In particular, since the driving means and the detecting means of the actuator are provided in the block-shaped housing, the influence of external signals is small and malfunctions can be avoided. Furthermore, since only its own control signal is taken in via the communication interface, the operating time is not delayed, the structure is simplified, and the occupied space can be reduced.

[Embodiment] Next, a preferred embodiment of the actuator control apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

In FIG. 2, reference numerals 20a to 20f indicate actuators arranged in relation to each other, these actuators 20a to 20f being a single air supply line, preferably a loop, as a shared fluid supply circuit. They are connected to each other by an air supply line 22 extending to the. Air supply sources 24a to 24c are connected to the pipe line 22 at a predetermined distance from each other, and the individual actuators 2 are operated at substantially equal pressure.
It is configured to supply pressurized air as a drive source to 0a to 20f.

On the other hand, the actuators 20a to 20f are connected in parallel with a conductor wire 26 as a power supply means for energizing an electromagnetic valve described later.
It is connected to the power supply 28. Furthermore, an optical fiber 32 as a signal transmitting means is connected to the actuators 20a to 20f in order to serially or in parallel receive an address signal and a data signal from a computer 30 (main controller) as a signal generating means. To be done. In this case, the optical fiber 32 can be replaced with a coaxial cable. As a result, noise resistance can be improved.

Next, the internal structure of the actuator configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG.

Each of the actuators 20a to 20f has a rectangular outer shape, and the control device 3 is attached to the cylinder portion 34.
6 are integrally connected. The cylinder portion 34 includes a piston rod 42 that movably disposes a piston 40 inside a cylinder 38 and that is connected to the piston 40.
One end of the piston extends to the outside of the cylinder 38 and transmits the reciprocating motion of the piston 40 to another device (not shown).
A first port 44 and a second port 46 for supplying and discharging air are formed at both ends of the cylinder 38, and the position, speed, acceleration, and fluid in the cylinder of the piston 40 are formed in the cylinder 38. Sensor 48 for detecting pressure, etc.
Put on.

Next, the control device 36 will be described. First, a housing 50 is attached to the cylinder 38, and a valve mechanism 52 as a control device 36, an input / output circuit 54, a detection device 56 as a detection means, a drive device 58 as a drive means, and an arithmetic device are provided in the housing 50. 60 is provided. Valve mechanism 52
Includes a solenoid valve (not shown), and the first port 44, via the air supply conduits 62, 64 under the opening adjustment of the solenoid valve.
The second port 46 is configured to deliver air at a predetermined pressure. The air supply line 22 is connected to the valve mechanism 52.

The input / output circuit 54 includes the sensor 48 and the conductor 6 on the one hand.
6 and 68, and the arithmetic unit 60 on the other hand
To a bus line 70 (see FIG. 4).

The detection device 56 detects the speed and acceleration of the piston 40, the fluid pressure in the cylinder portion 34, and the like via the sensor 48, and the result is supplied to the arithmetic device 60 via the input / output circuit 54. That is, the arithmetic unit 60 includes a storage memory 72, a CPU 74 and a communication interface 75 therein. The communication interface 75 takes in a data signal of a communication module or the like sent from the optical fiber 32 based on an address that the communication interface 75 has, and incorporates the CPU 7 therein.
Send to 4. In addition, the actuators 20a to 20f
When the data signal relating to the operation of the above is sent to the computer 30 together with the address signal or the one object is moved in cooperation with the other actuators 20a to 20f, the bias is controlled in a correlated manner. It is possible to transmit control signals for the other actuators 20a to 20f.

Therefore, a specific method of connecting the optical fiber 32, the air supply conduit 22 and the conductor 26, which are connected in a loop as signal transmission means, to the individual actuators 20a to 20f configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. It is shown in FIG.

A first socket 76 and a second socket 78 are disposed as input / output ports on the upper surface of the housing 50 that constitutes the actuators 20a to 20f, and the respective sockets 76, 7 are provided.
8, air supply tube fittings 80a, 82a, exhaust tube fittings 80b, 82b, a connector 84 for the lead wire 26
a, 84b, 86a, 86b and a pair of optical fiber connectors 88a, 88b, 90a, 90b are formed.
As shown by the broken line, the air supply tube pipe joint 80 a includes the exhaust tube pipe joint 80 b of the second socket 78 and the housing 5.
0, and the air supply tube pipe joint 82a is connected in the same manner as the exhaust pipe joint 82b. The same applies to the conductor connectors 84a, 84b, 86a, 86b and the optical fiber connectors 88a, 88b, 90a, 90b. With this configuration, the air supply system, the power supply system and the control system are substantially looped.

Next, the operation and effect of the actuator configured as described above will be described.

When air having a predetermined pressure is supplied from the air supply sources 24a to 24c through the air supply pipe line 22, this air is introduced into the valve mechanism 52 through the air supply tube pipe joint 80a of the actuator 20a, while As described above, this air reaches the next stage actuator 20b at the same pressure via the exhaust tube pipe joint 80b. Since the actuators 20a to 20f are connected in parallel, the actuators 20a to 20f are supplied at the same pressure one after another to reach the final pipe joints 80a and 82a, and this time, the air supply source is supplied via the exhaust tube pipe joints 80b and 82b. It returns to 24a-24c. When the power supply 28 is energized, the predetermined voltage and current supplied from the power supply 28 are
Individual actuators 20a fed via conductors 26
Drive device 5 via connectors 84a, 84b
It is supplied to 8th grade.

On the other hand, the address signals and data signals of the individual actuators 20a to 20f sent from the optical fiber 32 are
The communication interface 75 of the control device 36 is reached via the connectors 88a and 88b, and only the data signal related to the specific address signal is introduced into the CPU 74. That is, the communication interface 75 guides the data signal associated with the address signal related to the actuator 20a to 20f to the CPU 74, and transfers the other address signal and data signal as they are to the other actuators 20a to 20f. Then, these signals are transmitted to the optical fiber 32 and the connector 90.
It returns to the computer 30 via a and 90b.

By transmitting and receiving a signal in this way, the wiring is simplified, and the mixing of noise and wiring mistakes do not occur.

Therefore, the signal taken in by the control device 36 is sent to the CPU 7
4, the data is processed together with the data of the position, velocity, acceleration, fluid pressure, etc. of the piston 40 stored in the storage memory 72, and the processed signal is used as the driving device 5
8 to control the valve mechanism 52 and the like for urging and deenergizing. The detection device 56 sends a piston position signal or the like detected by the sensor 48 or the like to the input / output circuit 54, and this input / output circuit 54 sends it again to the CPU 74, performs arithmetic processing, and stores the latest data in the storage memory 72. The data is stored and sent to the computer 30 via the communication interface 75. In this control system, the individual actuators 20a to 20f are controlled respectively.

In the case where a plurality of actuators 20a to 20f are biased and controlled in a correlated manner, the address signal and data sequence of the other actuators 20a to 20f are sent from the arithmetic unit 60 as described above, and based on this, It is possible to control the actuators 20a to 20f. That is, the actuators 20a to 20f
It becomes possible to communicate with each other regarding control, and quicker and more reliable correlation operation can be achieved than the centralized control performed by the CPU 74.

FIG. 7 shows another embodiment of the actuator control apparatus according to the present invention.

In this case, the control system composed of the optical fiber 32 or the coaxial cable is looped, and a branching device for deriving a signal to each of the actuators 20a to 20f by the address of each actuator 20a to 20f to the optical fiber 32. 92a to 92f are provided. The optical fiber 32 and the computer 30 are provided with another branching device 94.
Connected via.

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a control signal is supplied to a plurality of actuators that drive and control an object, and each actuator is internally provided via an input / output port arranged in a block-shaped housing. The provided communication interface takes in its own control signal to drive and control the actuator. In this case, since each actuator is controlled independently, each actuator can be quickly and
Drive control can be performed with high precision in cooperation.

Further, since the driving means and the detecting means are provided in the housing attached to the actuator, the wiring between them can be simplified, thereby avoiding inconveniences such as noise generation and wiring mistakes. be able to. Moreover, the fluid supply means, the power supply means, and the signal transmission means are integrated in the input / output port, which reduces the area occupied by wiring and the like, which simplifies the structure structurally and promotes downsizing, and thus the entire facility. Various effects can be obtained, such as low cost and improved reliability.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 shows an actuator according to the prior art, a piping system,
2 to 7 are explanatory views showing a connection relationship with a control system according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows actuators arranged in parallel and a looped fluid for connecting them. FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing the relationship between the pressure supply system, the electric system, and the control system, FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing the internal structure of the actuator, FIG. 4 is an explanatory view of the actuator control device, and FIG. 5 is an actuator. Fluid pressure supply system to the controller of
FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of a state in which an electric system and a control system are connected, FIG. 6 is a perspective explanatory view of a state in which a fluid pressure supply system in which actuators are connected in a loop shape, an electric system, and a control system are put together, and FIG. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of an actuator connected to a loop control system via a branching device. 20a to 20f ... Actuator, 22 ... Air supply conduit 24a to 24c ... Air supply source, 26 ... Conductive wire 28 ... Power supply, 30 ... Computer 32 ... Optical fiber, 34 ... Cylinder part 36 ... Control device, 38 ... Cylinder 40 ... Piston , 42 ... Piston rod 44 ... First port, 46 ... Second port 48 ... Sensor, 50 ... Housing 52 ... Valve mechanism, 54 ... Input / output circuit 56 ... Detecting device, 58 ... Driving device 60 ... Computing device, 62, 64 ... Air supply pipeline 66, 68 ... Conductive wire, 70 ... Bus wire 72 ... Storage memory, 74 ... CPU 75 ... Communication interface 76 ... First socket, 78 ... Second socket 80a, 80b, 82a, 82b ... Tube fitting 84a , 84b, 86a, 86b, 88a, 88b, 9
0a, 90b ... Connector 92a-92f, 94 ... Branching device

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── --- Continuation of front page (56) Reference JP-A-53-142104 (JP, A) JP-A-57-45605 (JP, A) JP-A-58-64502 (JP, A) JP-A-58- 149504 (JP, A) JP-B 56-49027 (JP, B1)

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of actuators, a fluid supply unit connected to the actuator to supply a fluid, a power supply unit connected to the actuator to supply a power source, and a control signal connected to the actuator to supply a control signal. A block-shaped casing that includes a signal transmission unit that supplies the signal, a driving unit that is provided in each of the actuators and that drives the actuator, and a detection unit that detects an operating state of the actuator, and the block-shaped casing. The fluid supply means, the power supply means, and the input / output port to which the signal transmission means is connected, and the block-shaped casing is further provided with a control signal supplied from the signal transmission means. A control signal relating to its own actuator is selected and supplied to the driving means, and other actuators are controlled. Controller of the actuator, characterized in that via the signal transmission means communication interface supplied to other actuators is provided a control signal. 2. The actuator according to claim 1, wherein the input / output port comprises a socket and a connector for connecting with the fluid supply means, the power supply means, and the signal transmission means, respectively. Control device.