초록

A control for robots wherein a plurality of control units are connected in a hierarchical structure including a plurality of ranks including the lowest rank, and the robots subordinate to the control units belonging to the lowest rank.

대표청구항 ▼

A hierarchically controlled robot system comprising: a supervisory control unit; a plurality of group control units connected to said supervisory control unit, said group control units each having means for storing a set of robot instructions and outputting from said stored set in accordance with in

A hierarchically controlled robot system comprising: a supervisory control unit; a plurality of group control units connected to said supervisory control unit, said group control units each having means for storing a set of robot instructions and outputting from said stored set in accordance with instructions from said supervisory control unit; a plurality of robots, each including a plurality of arm positioning mechanisms for positioning said arm along respective paths, respective drive means operatively associated with a corresponding one of said arm positioning mechanisms for driving said corresponding arm positioning mechanisms along said respective paths, and a robot control unit for controlling said drive means operatively connected to said drive means, wherein said robot control units are divided into a plurality of respective groups, each respective group of the robot control units being connected to a corresponding one of the group control units, each robot control unit within each said group controlling corresponding arm positioning mechanisms in accordance with instructions output from the corresponding group control unit, said instructions being output in accordance with instructions from said supervisory control unit; and means for locating a malfunction occurring within at least one of said robots, said locating means including: a diagnostic means, operatively connected to said at least one of said robots, for detecting the occurrence of any from among a predetermined group of error conditions within said robot and supplying a first signal indicative of any detected error condition to the robot control unit of said at least one of said robots; means, on a group control unit connected to said robot control unit of said at least one of said robots, for generating and transmitting a second signal, indicative of said any detected error condition, to said supervisory control unit; processing means within said supervisory control unit for reading, in response to said second signal, data associated with said at least one of said robots from the group control unit to which said robot is connected, and determining the location of said malfunction within said robot, utilizing information contained within said data.