FR3134806A3 - System for controlling and regulating the sections of a machine for forming hollow glass articles and Method for controlling and regulating the sections of such a machine. - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention relates to a system (29) and a method for controlling and regulating sections (8) of a machine for forming hollow glass articles, called an IS machine (9). Each section comprises a roughing device which comprises two parts forming roughing molds, the two parts being able to move from an opening position of the roughing molds to a closing position of the roughing molds. Each roughing device includes a device for cooling its two parts. The system (29) comprises a processing unit (34) configured to restore corrective data allowing action on the cooling devices of the roughing devices. The system (29) includes as many measurement cameras close to infrared radiation, called NIR cameras (30), which restore shades of gray measured on the rough molds. The processing unit (34) comprises a database of visual shades corresponding to temperatures defined on the roughing devices in the open position, said processing unit (34) then restoring said corrective data as a function of the shades of gray measured over time. real by the NIR cameras (30) on the roughing devices in the open position and at least one reference temperature set on said system (29). Figure for abstract: figure 11

Description

System for controlling and regulating the sections of a machine for forming hollow glass articles and Method for controlling and regulating the sections of such a machine.

The present invention relates to the field of manufacturing hollow glass articles and relates to a system for controlling and regulating the sections of a machine for forming hollow glass articles on an installation for manufacturing hollow glass articles and on a method of controlling and regulating the sections of such a machine.

The present invention aims to standardize the mass production of hollow glass articles in order to increase productivity while having optimized quality and to ensure traceability of defects and causes of abnormal variations during the manufacture of hollow glass articles. .

State of the art

An installation for manufacturing hollow glass articles, hereinafter referred to as an “installation”, traditionally includes a composition station in which the raw materials (sand, limestone, sodium carbonate, cullet, recycled glass, etc.) which enter the production are mixed. composition of the glass in proportions defined according to the type of glass desired. The installation includes an oven into which the mixture of raw materials is then poured, said mixture being melted at temperatures generally between 1300°C and 1550°C. The molten glass is then conveyed by means of channels (called "feeders") to machines for forming hollow glass articles (called "IS machines") by adjusting the temperature of the molten glass so that it is at a good working viscosity and at a homogeneous temperature at the time of the formation of glass drops, also called parisons. Each channel (or feeder) is terminated by a bowl and a gob formation mechanism which allows the gobs to be cut according to a defined weight at rates which can reach around four hundred gobs per minute (400 gobs/minute) . The IS machine is made up of several sections, generally varying between six and twelve sections, with the gobs leaving the gob forming mechanism being transported to the sections of the IS machine via corridors. Each section includes a roughing device allowing the formation of one or more hollow article blanks which will be transferred to a finishing device to form one or more finished hollow articles. On each section, the roughing device may comprise one or more roughing molds for the simultaneous formation of one or more hollow glass articles in the roughing state and, likewise, the finishing device may comprise one or more finishing molds for simultaneously forming one or more finished hollow glass articles. The roughing device is composed of two parts, an actuating mechanism making it possible to separate the two parts to open the roughing mold(s) and release the article blank(s) and, conversely, to bring said two parts together to close the blank(s). the blank molds and constitute said article blank(s). In the same way, the finishing device is composed of two parts, an actuation mechanism allowing the two parts to be separated to open the finishing mold(s) and insert the article blank(s) or release the finished article(s) and , conversely, to bring together said two parts to close the finishing mold(s) and constitute said finished article(s). The transfer of the article blanks from the roughing device to the finishing device is carried out by an articulated transfer arm which grips the article blanks once the roughing molds are open and moves them to the open finishing molds, before closing them for processing. finishing of hollow glass articles. Each finished hollow glass article is then transferred to a conveyor to be transported to an annealing arch where the hollow glass articles are cooled under control to avoid embrittlement due to sudden temperature variations.

It is known that hollow glass manufacturing facilities aim to improve quality by reducing the quantity of defective hollow glass articles. This defect may be due to variations in temperature of the skin of the roughing mold which may result in defects in the appearance of the glass or critical defects in the glass. These temperature variations can be caused by clogging of the skin of the blank mold due to its lubrication in order to prevent the glass from sticking to the skin of the blank mold and to facilitate the unmolding of the article blank. These installations carry out temperature or glass thickness measurements on the hollow glass articles leaving the IS machine, once said articles have been placed on the conveyor, before their transport into the cooking arch. The control is carried out using sensors sensitive to infrared radiation or an infrared camera. Comparing the measurements made to mathematical models makes it possible to make a correction upstream of or on the IS machine in order to correct defects on the finished hollow glass article. Examples include patent EP0643297B1 and patent EP1525469B1.

It is also known to carry out checks on the roughing devices of the sections of the IS machine. In patent EP2511245B1, it is planned to place fixed pyrometers or fixed thermal cameras carrying out measurements on all the roughing devices of the sections of the IS machine, then to carry out cooling by air flow of these roughing devices; a variant is also provided with a rotating pyrometer mounted on a nacelle which moves along the IS machine on each of the sections to carry out measurements on the roughing devices. In patent EP0151339B1, there is provided an infrared camera mounted pivotally to alternately carry out a temperature measurement on the open parts of a device of a first section then on the open parts of a device of a second section of the IS machine, cooling of these molds being carried out according to the temperature measurements taken. Patent application DE102009005433A1 also provides for assigning one or two cameras per section of an IS machine, these cameras being able to work in the infrared domain.

The present invention aims to implement a system for controlling and regulating the roughing devices on the sections of an IS machine in order to provide a correction for the temperature of the roughing mold(s) of these roughing devices or to cool them either to heat them by varying the cooling device in order to increase or decrease the flow of a cooling fluid, or even to cut it off, with a view to optimizing the quality of the hollow glass articles manufactured.

Another objective is to be able to carry out a curative intervention on a roughing device of a section of the IS machine in the case of incorrect introduction of the parison into a roughing mold. Indeed, it may happen that the parison does not fall correctly into the funnel for introducing a roughing mold of the roughing device, which can cause jamming of said roughing mold, its degradation and the start of a fire, requiring a complete interruption of the IS machine rather than an interruption only of the relevant section of this IS machine in order to intervene on this section.

Another objective is to be able to provide in the same way a correction of the temperature of the finishing mold(s) of the finishing device on each of the sections of the IS machine, in order to heat or cool them by varying a cooling device on the finishing devices making it possible to increase or decrease the flow of a cooling fluid, or even to cut it, always with a view to optimizing the quality of the hollow glass articles manufactured

Another objective is to reduce the cost of the control and regulation system.

Another objective is to minimize human intervention on the control and regulation system in order to make corrections to it and optimize the measurements carried out.

These objectives are achieved by the invention which implements a method and a control and regulation system on sections of a machine for forming hollow glass articles, called in the remainder of the description IS machine. The invention also relates to an IS machine equipped with such a control and regulation system, as well as an installation for manufacturing hollow glass articles equipped with such an IS machine. In the remainder of the description, the term “article” designates a hollow glass article.

An IS machine comprises sections, each section comprising a roughing device which has two parts forming at least one roughing mold. These two parts are capable of moving from an open position where they are spaced apart from each other in order to open the at least one blank mold and to allow the release of the at least one article blank from the roughing device, in a closed position where the two parts are joined to form the at least one roughing mold and allow the formation of at least one article blank. Indeed, a roughing device generally comprises between one and four roughing molds to simultaneously form one to four article blanks, this number however being able to be greater. Each part of a roughing device therefore comprises at least one negative of an article roughing part, generally one to four negatives, or even more. Each of the roughing devices comprises a device for cooling the two roughing device parts in order to be able to modify the temperature of the roughing molds on each roughing device. In addition, the control and regulation system comprises a computer processing unit configured to restore corrective data making it possible to act on the cooling devices of the roughing molds in order to vary the temperature of said roughing molds depending on whether they heat up too much or not enough during the formation of article drafts. According to the invention, the control system includes as many cameras measuring close to infrared radiation, called NIR cameras, as there are sections on the IS machine. These NIR cameras are placed directly on the sections with an orientation towards the roughing devices making it possible to view the negatives on the two parts – forming at least one roughing mold – of said roughing devices in open positions, said NIR cameras restoring nuances of gray measured on at least the negatives of the two parts of each roughing device. In other words, the NIR cameras are placed on each section between the roughing device and the finishing device in order to be oriented facing the opening angle of the two parts of the roughing device and thus to have an optimal view of the at least one roughing mold when the roughing device is in the open position. Furthermore, the processing unit comprises a database of visual shades corresponding to temperatures defined on the roughing devices in the open position, said processing unit then restoring said corrective data as a function of the shades of gray measured in real time by the NIR cameras on the roughing devices in the open position and at least one reference temperature set on said control system. The real-time measurements of the shades of gray on the roughing devices in the open position are compared to the visual shades by the processing unit, allowing the latter to deduce temperatures defined on the at least one roughing mold of the devices roughers in the open position, then compare these defined temperatures to at least one reference temperature in order to deduce the corrective data. The measurements of the shades of gray by the NIR cameras are carried out on the at least one roughing mold of the roughing device in the open position, then allowing the attribution of visual shades on the at least one negative of the at least one roughing mold of each roughing device. In addition, these measurements can also be made on at least one punch of the at least one roughing mold on each roughing device, then allowing the attribution of visual shades to this at least one punch of the at least one roughing mold of each roughing device, the presence of the punch allowing the formation of the neck of an article blank.

According to the invention, preferably, the computer processing unit is configured to constitute the database of visual shades by carrying out a correlation between shades of gray measured by the NIR cameras on the blanking devices in the open position, in particular on the negatives of the roughing molds of these roughing devices, and a real temperature measured and attributing a visual shade corresponding to a defined temperature.

According to one embodiment of the control and regulation system, it comprises at least one pyrometer associated with at least one of the roughing devices, said at least one pyrometer being configured to restore a real temperature at a reference point on the roughing device to which he is associated. Furthermore, the computer processing unit is configured to perform a correlation between the shades of gray measured by the NIR cameras on the blanking devices in the open position and the actual temperature measured by the at least one pyrometer and assign a visual shade to a defined temperature on the roughing devices in the open position. The presence of this at least one pyrometer is useful for the acquisition phase of the database; this at least one pyrometer could therefore be present on the IS machine during the acquisition phase of the visual shade database, then removed from the IS machine. We can also leave this at least one pyrometer on the section permanently in order to compensate for deviations in the control and regulation system over time, for example due to the season which influences the brightness and the ambient temperature, in particular, and thus making corrective updates to the database. Variations are possible with means of measuring temperature other than a pyrometer, for example a thermocouple or other temperature probes.

The control and regulation system may optionally include several pyrometers respectively restoring real temperatures at a reference point on the blanking devices with which they are associated. In this case, the computer processing unit is configured to perform a correlation between the shades of gray measured by the NIR cameras and the actual temperatures measured by said pyrometers and assign a visual hue to a temperature defined on the blanking devices in the open position . In other words, the real temperature measured by a pyrometer associated with a first roughing device will be used to assign a visual color to a temperature defined on at least the negatives of the roughing molds of one or more roughing devices, including said first device rougher, and the real temperature measured by a pyrometer associated with a second roughing device will be used to assign a visual shade to a defined temperature on at least the negatives of the roughing molds of one or more roughing devices, including said second roughing device, and those and so on according to the number of pyrometers associated respectively with roughing molds. Thus, according to this embodiment, the control and regulation system can include a number of pyrometers of between two and half the number of sections on the IS machine, the pyrometers being distributed on respective roughing devices between a central section and a section extreme on the IS machine.

According to another possible embodiment of the control and regulation system, it can include as many pyrometers as NIR cameras, the pyrometers respectively restoring real temperatures at a reference point on the roughing devices with which they are associated. Furthermore, the computer processing unit is configured to correlate the shades of gray measured by the NIR cameras and the actual temperatures measured by the pyrometers and assign a visual hue to a defined temperature on at least the negatives of the blank molds. of said roughing devices. In other words, the real temperature measured by a pyrometer associated with a roughing device will be used to assign a visual color to a temperature defined on the at least one negative of the at least one roughing mold of this roughing device, and those so on respectively for all the pyrometers associated with the roughing devices.

Each of said roughing devices comprises at least one punch and a device for cooling the at least one punch. The number of punches depends on the number of roughing molds present on the roughing device. According to one embodiment of the control and regulation system, the computer processing unit is configured to restore corrective data making it possible to act on the cooling devices of the punch(s) present on each of said roughing devices. The NIR cameras also make it possible to visualize the at least one punch between the two parts of the roughing device in the open position and to restore shades of gray measured on said at least one punch. In addition, the processing unit comprises a database of visual shades corresponding to temperatures defined on the punches of the roughing devices in the open position, said processing unit being configured to then return said corrective data to the device for cooling the punches in function of the shades of gray measured in real time by the NIR cameras on the punch(s) of the roughing mold(s) and a reference temperature set on said control system. In this case, the computer processing unit is configured to constitute the database of visual shades by carrying out a correlation between shades of gray measured by the NIR cameras on the punches of the roughing molds of the roughing devices in the open position and a actual measured temperature and assigning a visual hue corresponding to a defined temperature. Preferably, the actual temperatures measured are obtained by means of at least one pyrometer associated with at least one of the roughing devices, these real temperatures being measured at a reference point on the roughing device which, in this case, can be one of the punches of a roughing mold on the roughing device.

According to one embodiment of the control and regulation system, the computer processing unit is configured to analyze the shades of gray measured by the NIR cameras and detect an abnormally high and prolonged temperature representative of an anomaly on the blanking device, said unit processing unit issuing alert and/or emergency stop information for the section concerned. It can in particular happen that a parison falls next to a funnel on a roughing mold of a roughing device, then producing a hot spot and an accumulation of molten glass on the roughing device, around the funnel of the roughing device. blank mold. The control and regulation system therefore makes it possible to detect such an anomaly and to stop the power supply to the concerned section of the IS machine, in order to intervene on this section.

According to one embodiment of the control and regulation system, at least one pyrometer is associated with the NIR camera and measures the real temperature at a reference point on the negative of a roughing mold of a roughing device or on a punch of said mold drafter. This makes it possible to use as a reference point a point on the roughing device having an influence on the quality of the article roughing and which must be controlled in temperature during manufacturing. Other embodiments could provide a pyrometer taking a reference point elsewhere on the roughing device, or even a pyrometer arranged on one of the external faces of one of the parts of the roughing device. The pyrometer could also be replaced by other means of measuring temperature, by a temperature probe placed on the roughing device at a defined point.

Each section of the IS machine comprises a finishing device which comprises two parts forming at least one finishing mold and is capable of moving from an open position where the two parts are spaced apart to place at least one article blank or remove at least one least one finished article, to a closed position where the two parts are joined to form at least one finished article. Each of said finishing devices comprises a device for cooling said two parts. Furthermore, according to one embodiment of the control and regulation system, the computer processing unit is configured to restore corrective data making it possible to act on the cooling devices of the finishing devices, said control system comprising as many second monitoring cameras. close measurement of infrared radiation, called second NIR cameras, that of sections on the IS machine. The second NIR cameras are placed directly on the sections with an orientation allowing the finishing devices to be viewed in the open position, said second NIR cameras restoring shades of gray measured on the imprints of the two mold parts of the finishing molds. In other words, the second NIR cameras are placed on each section of the side of the finishing device in order to be oriented facing the opening angle of the two parts of the finishing device and thus to have an optimal view of the at least one finishing mold when the finishing device is in the open position. Furthermore, the processing unit includes a database of visual shades corresponding to temperatures defined on the finishing devices in the open position. In addition, the processing unit is configured to then restore corrective data as a function of the shades of gray measured in real time by the second NIR cameras on the finishing devices and at least a second reference temperature set on said monitoring system. control. In other words, the control and regulation system is designed in such a way that its technical characteristics implemented mainly for the roughing devices of the IS machine are duplicated to be implemented for the finishing devices, with the exception almost that the finishing molds of the finishing devices, observed by the second NIR cameras, do not include punches. According to the invention, preferably, the computer processing unit is therefore, in addition, configured to constitute the database of visual shades by carrying out a correlation between shades of gray measured by the second NIR cameras on the finishing devices in the open position, that is to say on the negatives of the finishing molds of these finishing devices, and a real temperature measured and attributing a visual shade corresponding to a defined temperature.

According to one embodiment of the control and regulation system, it comprises at least one second pyrometer associated with at least one of the finishing devices, said at least one second pyrometer being configured to restore a real temperature at a reference point on the device finisher with which he is associated. Furthermore, the computer processing unit is configured to perform a correlation between the shades of gray measured by the second NIR cameras on the finishing devices in the open position and the actual temperature measured by the at least one second pyrometer and assign a shade visual at a defined temperature on the finishing devices in the open position. The presence of this at least one second pyrometer is only useful for the acquisition phase of the database; this at least one second pyrometer could therefore be present on the IS machine during the acquisition phase of the visual shade database, then removed from the IS machine. We can also leave this at least a second pyrometer on the section permanently in order to compensate for deviations in the control and regulation system over time, for example due to the season which influences the brightness and the ambient temperature, in particular, and thus make corrective updates to the database. Variations are possible with means of measuring temperature other than a second pyrometer, for example a thermocouple or other temperature probes.

According to one embodiment of the control and regulation system which is the subject of the invention, each NIR camera comprises a housing provided with a shutter for protecting a lens of said NIR camera. This helps prevent clogging of the lens due to dust and grease present in the environment of the IS machine sections.

According to one embodiment of the control and regulation system, the computer processing unit is configured to control a device for ejecting hollow glass articles at the outlet of the sections of the IS machine during restitution of corrective data. The restitution of corrective data represents a defect in the item subject to correction. The IS machine therefore allows the tracing of this defective item at the end of the section and its evacuation into a recycling bin, also called a recycling cellar.

According to one embodiment of the control and regulation system which is the subject of the invention, the NIR cameras are configured to also visualize the at least one article blank between the two parts of each roughing device in the open position and restore shades of gray measured on said at least one article draft. In addition, the processing unit comprises a database of visual shades corresponding to temperatures defined on the at least one article blank, said processing unit being configured to then return said corrective data to the cooling device of the device corresponding blanker according to the shades of gray measured in real time by the NIR cameras (30) on the at least one article blank and a reference temperature set on said system.

According to one embodiment of the control and regulation system which is the subject of the invention, the NIR cameras are configured to additionally restore images of the drafting devices and their respective environments in the visible domain. In addition, the computer processing unit of said system is configured to compare these images acquired in the visible domain to a database of reference images and to carry out automatic control of the shapes/images of the roughing device in order to detect anomalies and trigger a shutdown of the section concerned on the IS machine. The system may include a digital interface allowing the visualization of said images acquired in the visible domain, by an operator. The use of NIR cameras has the advantage of being able to visualize images in the visible range, that is to say having a wavelength between 0.4 µm and 0.7 µm, and also nuances of gray, that is to say wavelengths between 0.7 μm and 1 μm.

The invention also relates to a machine for forming hollow glass articles, called an IS machine, which comprises sections which each comprise a roughing device and a finishing device, the roughing device comprising two parts forming at least one roughing mold which has a negative and a hallmark. These parts of the roughing device are able to move from an open position where the two parts are spaced apart and the at least one roughing mold is open, to a closed position where the two parts are joined and the at least one roughing mold is farm. The finishing device also comprises two parts forming at least one finishing mold which has a negative, said parts of the finishing device being able to pass from an open position where the two parts are spaced apart and the at least one finishing mold is open, to a closed position where the two parts are joined and the at least one finishing mold is closed. Each of said roughing devices comprises a device for cooling its two parts and a device for cooling the at least one punch. Likewise, each of said finishing devices comprises a cooling device for its two parts, said IS machine comprising a control and regulation system having one and/or the other of the aforementioned characteristics which are objects of the invention.

According to one embodiment of the IS machine, each cooling device comprises a valve for varying a flow of fresh air generated by a fan, the computer processing unit managing the activation of said valve for varying the flow of fresh air according to the corrective data provided by said processing unit.

According to one embodiment of the IS machine, it comprises a device for ejecting the manufactured glass articles, the computer processing unit being configured to activate said ejection device when corrective data is transmitted and representative of a fault manufacturing potential of the hollow glass article.

The invention also relates to an installation for manufacturing hollow glass articles, which comprises an IS machine having one and/or the other of the aforementioned characteristics.

The invention also relates to a method of controlling and regulating the sections of an IS machine, each section comprising a roughing device which comprises two parts forming at least one roughing mold, said two parts being able to move from an open position where they are spaced apart from each other in order to open the at least one roughing mold and to allow the release of the at least one article blank from said at least one roughing mold, to a closed position where the two parts are joined to form the at least one roughing mold and allow the formation of at least one article blank, each of said roughing devices comprising a device for cooling its two parts. According to the invention, the method comprises:

- a step SD of measuring in real time the shades of gray on each roughing device in the open position by means of NIR cameras placed directly on the sections with an orientation allowing visualization of the at least one negative of the at least one roughing mold of the roughing device in the open position, that is to say with an orientation of the NIR camera facing the opening angle of the two parts of the roughing device in the open position, said NIR camera being positioned between said roughing device and the finishing device on the section of the IS machine, and calculating corrective data by comparing visual hues corresponding to said shades of gray at at least one reference temperature, said visual hues being assigned to defined temperatures and coming from a base of data ;

- a step SE of activating the cooling devices of the roughing devices according to the corrective data.

According to the invention, the method comprises preliminary steps of acquiring the database of visual shades corresponding to temperatures defined on the roughing devices in the open position. For this, the process comprises at least:

- a step SA of acquiring the shades of gray measured on the negatives of the two parts of each roughing device in the open position by NIR cameras placed directly on the sections with an orientation allowing the negatives of the two parts of the roughing device to be viewed in position opened ;

- a step SC of correlation between the shades of gray measured by the NIR cameras and at least one real measured temperature and of assigning a visual shade to a defined temperature on the blanking devices, in particular on the at least one negative of the at least one roughing mold on said roughing devices.

Preferably, these preliminary steps of acquiring said database comprise a step SB of acquiring the at least one real temperature at a reference point on at least one of the blanking devices, said at least one real temperature being measured by at least one pyrometer associated with said roughing device, simultaneously with step SA. This at least one pyrometer is only useful during the database acquisition phase; this at least one pyrometer could therefore be present on the IS machine during the acquisition phase of the visual shade database, then be removed from the IS machine. Conversely, we can leave this at least one pyrometer to make corrections to the database, as explained previously. Several pyrometers could possibly respectively restore real temperatures at a reference point on several blanking devices with which they are associated, as mentioned above. In this case, step SB acquires real temperatures at a reference point on several of the blanking devices by means of several pyrometers associated with said blanking devices, and step SC performs a correlation between the shades of gray measured by the NIR cameras and the actual temperatures measured by said pyrometers and assigns a visual shade to a defined temperature on said roughing devices, in particular on the at least one negative of the at least one roughing mold on each of said roughing devices. According to one possible embodiment, the SB step acquires real temperatures on two to half the number of sections on the IS machine, between a central section and an extreme section on said IS machine. According to another possible embodiment, step SB acquires the actual temperatures at a reference point on all the roughing devices by means of pyrometers associated with the roughing devices, and step SC performs a correlation between the shades of gray measured by the NIR cameras and the actual temperatures measured by the pyrometers and assigns a visual shade to a defined temperature on the roughing devices, in particular on the at least one negative of the at least one roughing mold of each of said roughing devices.

According to one embodiment of the process:
- step SA additionally acquires the shades of gray measured on at least one punch of at least one roughing mold of the roughing device in the open position on each of said roughing devices by means of said NIR camera;
- step SC additionally carries out a correlation between the shades of gray measured on the at least one punch on each of the roughing devices and the at least one real temperature measured and the attribution of a visual shade to a defined temperature on the at least one punch of the roughing devices;
- the SD step additionally measures in real time shades of gray on the at least one punch of at least one roughing mold on each of the roughing devices by means of NIR cameras and calculates corrective data by comparing corresponding visual shades to said shades of gray at at least one reference temperature, said visual shades being assigned to defined temperatures and coming from the database;
- the SE step activates in addition to the punch cooling devices on the roughing devices according to the corrective data.

According to one embodiment of the method, it comprises a step of analyzing the shades of gray measured by the NIR cameras and detecting an abnormally high and prolonged temperature representative of an anomaly on the roughing device, and a step of emission of alert and/or emergency stop information for the section concerned.

According to one embodiment of the method, it implements steps complementary and similar to steps SA, SB, SC, SD and SE for the control and regulation of the finishing devices on the sections of the IS machine, by means of second cameras NIR configured to visualize said finishing devices in the open position and optionally by means of at least a second pyrometer measuring the actual temperature at a reference point on at least one of the finishing devices, during the step of acquiring the base of data.

According to one embodiment of the method, it includes a step of ejecting the glass articles at the exit from the sections of the IS machine when corrective data is returned to the cooling devices of the roughing devices. This ejection step will also take into consideration the corrective data returned to the cooling devices of the punches and/or to the cooling devices of the finishing devices, when such corrections are also made by the method which is the subject of the invention.

According to one embodiment of the method which is the subject of the invention, this additionally comprises a step of measuring in real time the shades of gray on at least one article blank present on each roughing device in the open position by means of NIR cameras and calculating corrective data by comparing visual hues corresponding to said shades of gray of the article blanks at at least one reference temperature, said visual hues being assigned to defined temperatures and coming from the database. This step of the process can be carried out simultaneously with step SD.

Brief description of the figures

The characteristics and advantages of the invention will appear on reading the following description based on figures, among which:

schematizes an installation for manufacturing hollow glass articles implementing the invention;

illustrates three successive stages of manufacturing an article blank on the roughing device;

illustrates the transfer of an article blank from the roughing device to the finishing device;

illustrates three successive stages of manufacturing the article on the finishing device.

illustrates an IS machine from a first angle of view, on which the control and regulation system which is the subject of the invention is implemented;

illustrates the IS machine of the from a second angle of view;

partially illustrates a section of the IS machine in side view;

partially illustrates a section of the IS machine with the roughing device in the open position, the article blanks having been transferred to the side of the finishing device which is partially shown in order to visualize said article blanks;

partially illustrates a section of the IS machine with the roughing device partially shown in order to visualize the punches, the finishing device being open before transferring the articles to the conveyor;

illustrates an NIR camera with which is associated a pyrometer, mounted on the structure of the IS machine;

schematizes a first variant of installing pyrometers on the IS machine comprising six sections;

schematizes a second variant of installing pyrometers on the IS machine comprising six sections;

schematizes a third variant of installing pyrometers on the IS machine comprising six sections;

schematizes a flowchart of the steps for creating a database of visual shades assigned to temperatures defined on the blanking devices;

schematizes a flowchart of the stages of restitution of corrective data as a function of the shades of gray measured in real time by the NIR cameras on the roughing devices and at least one reference temperature set on said control system;

schematizes a graphical interface of the control and regulation system showing an operating state of all sections of the IS machine;

schematizes a graphical interface of the control and regulation system showing the possibilities for adjusting parameters on a section of the IS machine;

schematizes a graphical interface of the control and regulation system showing the possibilities of calibrating the NIR cameras on the roughing devices of the sections of the IS machine.

detailed description

In the remainder of the description, without indication to the contrary: the same references are used to designate the same characteristics in the figures and according to the various variants illustrated; the machine for forming hollow glass articles is designated “IS machine”; the hollow glass article is designated “article”; the control and regulation system which is the subject of the invention is designated “system”, the control and regulation process is designated “process”; cameras measuring near infrared radiation are called “NIR cameras”; and the hollow article manufacturing facility is referred to as “facility”.

In view of the , the installation 1 includes a composition station 2 where the raw materials (sand, limestone, sodium carbonate, cullet, recycled glass, etc.) which go into the composition of the glass are mixed, an oven 3 allowing the mixture of materials to be melted raw, the molten glass obtained being at a temperature of around 1300°C to 1550°C. This molten glass is then conveyed by means of a channel 4 which ends with a mechanism 5 for forming the parisons 6 and distributing these parisons 6 in corridors 7 which respectively supply sections 8 of a machine with parisons 6. IS 9. The number of lanes 7 is proportional to the number of sections 8 on the IS machine 9 and to the number of articles 10 manufactured simultaneously on a section 8. The articles 10 are then transferred from the sections 8 onto a conveyor 11 which conveys said articles 10 towards an annealing arch 12 for their cooling under control. The number of sections 8 on the IS 9 machine may vary. As an example, six sections 8A to 8F are shown schematically on the , while the IS machine 9 in Figures 5 and 6 comprises twelve sections 8A to 8L (partially illustrated in these Figures 5 and 6). The number of sections 8 on the IS 9 machine could be eight or ten, or even some other number.

With particular reference to Figures 7 to 9, each section 8 comprises a roughing device 13 allowing the formation of two article blanks 10' and a finishing device 14 allowing the formation of two articles 10 with their final shape. Each section 8 also includes a ring mold 15 which allows the formation of the ring 10a of the article 10 and also ensures the maintenance of the two article blanks 10' during their transfer from the roughing device 13 to the finishing device 14.

Looking at Figures 8, 9 and 17, the roughing device 13 comprises two parts 16, 17 which each include an imprint 18, 19 on their internal faces. Each of the two impressions 18, 19 comprises two negatives 18A, 18B, 19A, 19B forming two blank molds. When the roughing device 13 is in the closed position ( ), the two parts 16, 17 are joined together, which makes it possible to join the two negatives 18A, 19A and the two negatives 18B, 19B to form the negatives of two blank molds allowing the production of two article blanks 10'. Conversely, when the roughing device 13 is in the open position ( ), the two parts 16, 17 are spaced apart from each other to open the two blank molds and release the negatives 18A, 18B, 19A, 19B from the two article blanks 10' held by the ring mold 15, thus making it possible to transfer said article blanks 10' to the finishing mold 14.

In the same way, with reference to Figures 8, 9 and 17, the finishing device 14 comprises two parts 20, 21 which each include an imprint 22, 23 on their internal faces. Each of the two impressions 22, 23 comprises two negatives 22A, 22B, 23A, 23B forming two finishing molds. When the finishing device 14 is in the closed position ( ), the two parts 20, 21 are joined together, which makes it possible to join the two negatives 22A, 23A and the two negatives 22B, 23B to form the negatives of two finishing molds allowing the production of two articles 10. Conversely, when the device finisher 14 is in the open position ( ), the two parts 20, 21 are spaced apart from each other to open the two finishing molds and release the negatives 22A, 22B, 23A, 23B in order to allow either the installation of the article blanks 10' in the finishing device 14 is the removal of the articles 10 from said finishing device 14.

The roughing device 13 and the finishing device 14 of each section 8 allow, in the example described here, the production of two articles 10 simultaneously, the impressions 18, 19 of the roughing device 13 and the impressions 22, 23 of the finishing device 14 could however include a different number of negatives in order to allow the formation of a different number of roughing molds and finishing molds, for example to form one to four article blanks 10' on said roughing device 13 and one to four articles 10 on said finishing device 14.

Looking at these Figures 8, 9 and 17, the roughing device 13 also comprises two punches 24, 25 placed respectively in the center, that is to say on the joint plane between the two parts 16, 17 of said roughing device 13 when it is in the closed position, in correspondence with the negatives 18A, 18B, 19A, 19B on the impressions 18, 19. The number of punches depends on the number of article blank negatives 10' on the roughing device 13 and with these form the roughing molds on said roughing device 13.

Figures 2 to 4 explain the steps of forming an article 10 from the insertion of the parison 6 in a roughing mold of the roughing device 13 until its exit from a finishing mold of the finishing device 14. The shows the successive steps E1, E2, E3 of loading the parison 6, compression and drilling carried out in one of the negatives (association of negative parts 18A-19A or 18B-19B) of article blank 10'. During these successive stages of the , the ring mold 15 and the punch 24, 25 make it possible to completely form the ring 26 directly on the article blank 10'. There shows step E4 of transferring the article blank 10' to the finishing device 14, carried out by means of the ring mold 15 which holds the article blank 10' by the ring 26 and moves thanks to a transfer arm 27 on the finishing device 14. The shows the successive steps E5, E6, E7 of elongation, blowing and extraction of the article 10 which is then transferred to the conveyor 11 ( ). During steps E1, E2, E3, the negatives 18A, 18B, 19A, 19B of the impressions 18, 19 and the punches 24, 25 on the blanking device 13 heat up on contact with the molten glass during the formation of the two article blanks 10', their temperatures being able to degrade the quality of the article blanks 10' when these are too high or, conversely, too low. In the same way, during steps E5, E6, E7, the negatives 22A, 22B, 23A, 23B of the impressions 23, 23 on the finishing device 14 heat up in contact with the article blanks 10' during the formation of the articles 10, their temperatures can degrade the quality of the articles 10 when these are too high or, conversely, too low, although the risks are lower than during the formation of the article blanks 10'. The roughing device 13 comprises a cooling device (not illustrated) which includes a fan allowing the creation of an air flow whose flow rate can be modified independently on the sections 8 by adjusting valves 28 (schematized in Figures 1, 11, 12, 13), so that the air flows at variable flow rate on the roughing devices 13 of sections 8 cool the negatives 18A, 18B, 19A, 19B of the impressions 18, 19 of said roughing devices 13. Cooling devices similar are also provided for the punches 24, 25 and for the negatives 22A, 22B, 23A, 23B of the impressions 22, 23 of the finishing devices 14, on the sections 8. Other cooling devices could be provided for the roughing devices 13 and the finishing devices 14, by providing an internal cooling circuit in which a liquid or gaseous cooling fluid circulates.

The system 29 according to the invention makes it possible in particular to act on the valves 28 of the cooling device in order to vary the temperatures of the indentations 18, 19 of the roughing devices 13. Preferably, the system 29 also makes it possible to act on the valves (not shown) of the device for cooling the punches 24, 25 on each section 8 in order to vary their temperatures. Preferably, the system 29 also makes it possible to act on the valves (not illustrated) of the cooling device in order to vary the temperatures of the indentations 22, 23 of the finishing devices 14. The following description explains the implementation of the system 29 and the method for the roughing devices 13, not only for cooling the negatives 18A, 18B, 19A, 19B of the impressions 18, 19 and, preferably, also for the cooling of the punches 24, 25. This description can be applied by similarity to finishing devices 14.

On the , the system 29 comprises six NIR cameras 30 which are installed respectively on the six sections S1 to S6, these NIR cameras 30 making it possible to visualize shades of gray, these working in wavelengths of between 0.7 μm and 1 μm. Likewise, the system 29 includes six pyrometers 31 which are installed respectively on the six sections S1 to S6. In view of the , the pyrometer 31 and the NIR camera 30 are associated on the same support 32 which is fixed to a structure 33 of the IS machine 9. On each section S1 to S6, the NIR camera 30 and the pyrometer 31 are placed between the roughing device 13 and the finishing device 14 and oriented in the direction of the roughing device 13 so as to be able to visualize the imprints 18, 19 of the two parts 16, 17 of said roughing device 13 in the open position, as well as the two punches 24, 25 as soon as the ring mold 15 is moved by the transfer arm 27 towards the finishing device 14. Thus, the NIR camera 30 and the pyrometer 31 are placed facing the opening angle of the two parts 16, 17 of the roughing device 13 and perfectly visualize the two blank molds formed by the negatives 18A, 19A, 18B, 19B and the punches 24, 25. The NIR camera 30 makes it possible to visualize shades of gray of the imprints 18, 19 of the two parts 16, 17 and also of the two punches 24, 25. The pyrometer 31 is directed to measure a real temperature at a reference point either of one of the imprints 18, 19 of the parts 16, 17 or of one of the punches 24, 25. Preferably, the pyrometer 31 is directed to measure the real temperature TR of one of the punches 24, 25. Alternatively, the pyrometer 31 could be separated from the NIR camera 30 and placed directly on the roughing device 13 and oriented in the direction of a reference point on one of the imprints 18, 19 of said parts 16, 17 or of the punch 25 located at the front of the roughing device 13, or even oriented in the direction of a point on an external wall of one of said parts 16, 17. The pyrometer 31 could also be replaced by another means of measuring the temperature on the roughing device 13, for example a temperature probe placed on one of the parts 16, 17 of the roughing device 13.

The system 29 comprises a processing unit 34 which notably comprises a microprocessor 35 programmed to constitute a database of visual shades to which defined temperatures TD are assigned for each of the sections 8 of the IS machine 9. For this, the microprocessor 35 provides a calibration phase P1, schematized in , implementing a first step SA of acquiring the shades of gray measured on the imprints 18, 19 of the two parts 16, 17 in the open position and, preferably, also on the punches 24, 25, this for each roughing device 13 , by means of NIR cameras 30. Simultaneously with this first step SA, the calibration phase P1 provides a second step SB for acquiring the actual temperatures measured by the pyrometers 31 at a reference point, preferably on one punches 24, 25 or on one of the impressions 18, 19 of the parts 16, 17 of the roughing devices 13 in the open position. In a third step SC, the microprocessor 35 carries out a correlation (SC1) between the shades of gray measured by the NIR cameras 30 and the real temperatures TR measured by the pyrometers 31 on each of the sections 8 of the IS machine 9, the microprocessor 35 assigning (SC2) a visual shade at a defined temperature TD on the imprints 18, 19 of the parts 16, 17 of the roughing devices 13 and, preferably, also on the punches 24, 25 of said roughing devices 13, the microprocessor 35 recording ( SC3) then said data in the database. This calibration phase P1 is carried out on a pre-series of articles 10, the pyrometers 31 being no longer necessary during the normal operation of the IS9 machine. The pyrometers 31 can however be kept in position on the sections 8 of the IS machine 9 in order to be able to make corrective updates to the database with a view to compensating for deviations of the system 29 over time, such deviations being able to occur depending on the conditions of use and/or the environment of the IS 9 machine, for example due to the season which influences in particular the brightness and the ambient temperature. In addition, the measurements of the shades of gray by the NIR cameras 30 and the measurements of the real temperatures TR by the pyrometers 31 are carried out at a precise and regular instant on each section 8, preferably when the transfer of the blank d 'article 10' from the roughing device 13 to the finishing device 14 on each section.

In the case of the where each section S1 to S6 comprises a pyrometer 31, each measurement of shades of gray by means of the NIR camera 30 is representative of the real temperature TR measured on the roughing device 13 for each section S1 to S6, the defined temperature TD attributed to the visual color then corresponding precisely to the real temperature TR at the instant when said measurements are carried out. Variations are however possible within the framework of the invention, as illustrated in Figures 11 to 13.

On the , only a first half 8A of sections 8 going from an extreme section S1 to a central section S3 is equipped with pyrometers 31, all sections S1 to S6 remaining equipped with NIR cameras 30. The corridors 7 distributing the parisons 6 in the devices roughers 13 and the sections S1 to S6 being arranged symmetrically with respect to a median plane PM of the IS machine 9, the microprocessor 35 of the processing unit 34 is programmed to assign the same defined temperature TD6 to a visual shade resulting from a measurement of shades of gray on section S6, that the defined temperature TD1 attributed to a visual tint resulting from a measurement of shades of gray on section S1, on the same operating cycle of the machine and at the instant of transfer of the article blank 10' from the roughing device 13 to the finishing device 14 on the sections S1 and S6 concerned. It is the same between sections S2 and S5 and between sections S3 and S4. Of course, the pyrometers 31 could be arranged on sections S4 to S6 instead of sections S1 to S3, with a similar result. Of course, the principle would remain the same with a different number of sections, as for the sections S1 to S12 on the IS 9 machine of Figures 5 and 6, the sections S1 to S6 being arranged symmetrically to the sections S7 to S12, with respect to a PM midplane.

On the , only certain sections on a first half 8A of sections 8 going from sections S1 to S3 are equipped with pyrometers 31, all sections S1 to S6 being equipped with an NIR camera 30. Preferably, as shown schematically on this , two pyrometers 31 are arranged on the roughing devices 13 of the extreme section S1 and the central section S3, making it possible to attribute two defined temperatures TD1 and TD3 to the visual shades resulting from measurements of shades of gray on the sections S1 and S3 during the same operating cycle of the machine and at the instant of transfer of the article blank 10' from the roughing device 13 to the finishing device 14 on the sections S1 and S3 concerned. Then, the microprocessor 35 deduces the defined temperature TD2 attributed to the visual hue resulting from the measurement of shades of gray on the section S2 during the same operating cycle of the machine IS 9 and at the instant of transfer of the blank of article 10' from the roughing device 13 towards the finishing device 14 on this section S2, considering that the real temperature evolves linearly between the section S1 and S3 due to the variation in length of the corridors 7 supplying these sections S1 to S3. On the same principle as for the , the microprocessor 35 is programmed to then assign the same defined temperatures TD4, TD5 and TD6 to visual tints resulting from measurements of shades of gray on sections S4, S5 and S6, as the defined temperatures TD1, TD2 and TD3 assigned to the tints visual results from measurements of shades of gray on sections S1, S2 and S3, during the same operating cycle of the machine and at the instant of transfer of the article blank 10' from the roughing device 13 to the finishing device 14 on the sections concerned. Of course, the pyrometers 31 could be arranged on the sections S4 and S6 instead of the sections S1 and S3, with a similar result by first deducing the defined temperature TD4, then the defined temperatures TD1, TD2 and TD3. Of course, the principle would remain the same with a different number of sections, as for the sections S1 to S12 on the IS 9 machine of Figures 5 and 6, the sections S1 to S6 being arranged symmetrically to the sections S7 to S12, with respect to a median plane PM and the pyrometers 31 being for example arranged on the extreme section S1 and on the central section S6, an additional pyrometer 31 possibly being arranged on the section S3 intermediate the sections S1 and S6 in order to refine the determination of the temperatures defined TD2 and TD5 on sections S2 and S5. As before, these pyrometers 31 are only necessary during the acquisition phase of the database on the processing unit 34.

On the , only one section is equipped with a pyrometer 31, all sections S1 to S6 being equipped with a NIR camera 30. For example, as shown schematically on this , a pyrometer 31 is arranged on the roughing device 13 of the intermediate section S2, making it possible to attribute a defined temperature TD2 to a visual hue resulting from the measurement of shades of gray on the section S2 during an operating cycle of the machine and at the instant of transfer of the article blank 10' from the roughing device 13 to the finishing device 14 on this section S2, then to deduce the defined temperatures TD1 and TD3 attributed to the visual shades resulting from measurements of shades of gray on the sections S1 and S3 during the same operating cycle of the IS machine 9 and at the instant of transfer of the article blank 10' from the roughing device 13 to the finishing device 14 on these sections S1 and S3, considering that the real temperature changes as a function of a temperature gradient between section S1 and S3 linked to the variation in length of the corridors 7 supplying these sections S1 to S3. On the same principle as for the , the microprocessor 35 is programmed to then assign the same defined temperatures TD4, TD5 and TD6 to visual tints resulting from measurements of shades of gray on sections S4, S5 and S6, as the defined temperatures TD1, TD2 and TD3 assigned to the tints visual results from measurements of shades of gray on sections S1, S2 and S3, on the same operating cycle of the machine and at the instant of transfer of the article blank 10' from the roughing device 13 to the finishing device 14 on the sections concerned. Of course, the pyrometer 31 could be arranged on another of the sections S1, S3, S4, S5, S6 by applying the same principle. Of course, the principle would remain the same with a different number of sections, as for the sections S1 to S12 on the IS 9 machine of Figures 5 and 6, the sections S1 to S6 being arranged symmetrically to the sections S7 to S12, with respect to a median plane PM and the pyrometer 31 being for example arranged on an intermediate section S3 or S4. As previously, this pyrometer 31 is only necessary during the acquisition phase of the database on the processing unit 34.

Once the database BD has been constituted by the processing unit 34, the latter can implement a second phase P2 of control and regulation on sections 8 of the machine IS 9, shown schematically . In a fourth step SD, for each of the sections 8 of the IS machine 9, the microprocessor 35 acquires (SD2) real-time measurements of the shades of gray on the imprints 18, 19 of the two parts 16, 17 and, preferably on the punches 24, 25, on each roughing device 13 in the open position by means of the NIR cameras 31. Then, the microprocessor 35 proceeds to calculate DC corrective data by comparing (SD3) the visual shades corresponding to said measured shades of gray and to which defined temperatures TD are assigned, at one or more reference temperatures Tref at points or zones located on the imprints 18, 19 of the two parts 16, 17 and, preferably, on the punches 24, 25, this or these reference temperatures being previously set (SD1) on the system 29 by means of a digital interface 36 of the processing unit 34. In a fifth step SE, when the visual hue corresponding and representative of a defined temperature value TD is greater than the reference temperature Tref set at a point or an area of one of said indentations 18, 19 or punches 24, 25, the processing unit 34 transmits corrective data DC making it possible to act on the valve 28 of the cooling device for the blanking device 13 concerned in order to increase the flow rate of the air flow to reduce the temperatures of the impressions 18, 19 of the blanking mold 13, or even to act on the valve (not illustrated) of the blanking device cooling of the punches 24, 25 to reduce their temperatures. When the visual shade is representative of a defined temperature value TD lower than the reference temperature Tref set at a point or an area of one of said imprints 18, 19 or punches 24, 25, the processing unit 34 transmits DC corrective data making it possible to act on the valve 28 of the cooling device for the roughing device 13 concerned in order to reduce the flow rate of the air flow to increase the temperatures of the impressions 18, 19 of the roughing device 13, or even act on the valve (not illustrated) of the cooling device of the punches 24, 25 to increase their temperatures.

Figures 16 and 17 illustrate the digital interface 36 making it possible to visualize the operating state and temperatures on sections 8 of the IS machine 9 and also making it possible to adjust on each of the sections 8, the Tref reference temperatures on the imprints 18, 19 of parts 16, 17 of roughing devices 13 and punches 24, 25.

On the , the digital interface 36 allows the display of the roughing devices 13 on all sections 8. On this , the IS 9 machine includes ten sections S1 to S10, instead of six or twelve as described previously. From the measurements of shades of gray carried out by the NIR cameras 30 on the roughing devices 13 and a comparison with the visual shades in the database to which defined temperatures Td correspond, the microprocessor 35 determines the temperatures T1, T2, T3 respectively on the negatives 18A, 19A and the punch 24 located on the rear side of the roughing device 13 and, likewise, the temperatures T4, T5, T6 respectively on the negatives 18B, 19B and the punch 25 located on the front side of said roughing device 13 The digital interface 36 also indicates the reference temperatures Tref1, Tref2, Tref3 parameterized on the impressions 18, 19 and on the punches 24, 25 of the roughing device 13, which are used by the processing unit 34 in order to vary the air flows generated on the indentations 18, 19 of the two parts 16, 17 and on the punches 24, 25. The digital interface 36 includes for all sections S1 to S10 displayed on the screen gauges J1, J2, J3 indicating the percentages of ventilation flows used to cool the impressions 18, 19 and the punches 24, 25 on each of the roughing devices 13. Depending on the percentage indications on these gauges J1, J2, J3 and in the event of saturation indicated by a light 37 for the impressions 18, 19 and by a light 38 for the punches 24, 25, the operator can intervene on the IS 9 machine in order to increase the speed of the general fan (not illustrated) of the IS 9 machine concerning the parts 16, 17 and to increase the cooling pressure concerning the punches 24, 25. The processing unit 34 also performs a comparison of the temperatures T1, T2 on the rear side (negatives 18A-19A of the rear blank mold) of the roughing device 13, respectively at temperatures T4, T5 on the front side (negatives 18B-19B of the front roughing mold) of said roughing device 13, or even performs a comparison between the average of temperatures T1, T2 and the average of temperatures T4, T5 and , in the event of a temperature difference preferably greater than 10°C, triggers an imbalance indicator 39 allowing the operator to intervene on the IS 9 machine to change the ventilation stacks modifying the air circulation on the parts 16, 17 of the roughing device 13, because the system 29 cannot sufficiently compensate for the temperature imbalance between the front roughing mold and the rear roughing mold. Instead of modifying the ventilation stacks, the processing unit can also shift the ventilation moment over time in order to ventilate more or less late and, thus, to balance the temperatures on the front roughing mold and on the roughing mold. back.

The processing unit 34 also makes it possible to detect a malfunction on one of the sections 8 of the IS machine 9 by analyzing the grayscale measurements of the NIR cameras 30 on the sections 8, in particular when the parison 6 does not fall correctly in the funnel 40 at the time of loading step E1 (illustrated ) and generates a hot spot and a mass of molten glass on the roughing device 13, around the funnel 40. The microprocessor 35 compares the shades of gray to the visual shades and when these are not listed in the database data and are abnormally high and prolonged, issues an alert on interface 36 signaling the malfunction on the section S6 concerned for example by a cross (see ) and possibly an audible signal. The processing unit 34 can also communicate directly with the IS machine 9 by means of a communication interface which can be a link bus or a transmitter/receiver device.

The microprocessor 35 is also programmed to allow the desired reference temperatures Tref1, Tref2, Tref3 to be adjusted on the digital interface 36 on the impressions 18, 19 of the parts 16, 17 and the punches 24, 25 for each roughing device 13 on the sections S1 to S10. In view of the , the digital interface 36 makes it possible to display a section 8 of the IS machine 9 and to choose the reference temperatures Tref on the imprints 18, 19 and the positions of these reference temperatures Tref on these imprints 18, 19, in part high 41 (see setpoint temperatures T1h and T2h), in the central part 42 (see setpoint temperatures T1c and T2c) and/or in the lower part 43 (see setpoint temperatures T1b and T2b), and also to choose the reference temperature Tref3 on the punches 24, 25, using joystick buttons 44 and validation buttons 45. This adjustment operation is carried out on the digital interface 36, on the negatives 18A, 19A and the punch 24 on the rear side of the mold rougher 13 and on the negatives 18B, 19A and the punch 25 on the front side of the roughing device 13, for each of the sections S1 to S10 of the IS machine 9.

The NIR cameras 30 are fixed by means of supports 32 on a structure 33 of the IS 9 machine, as previously specified. Their fixing positions are not identical from one roughing device to another, the grayscale measurements made can therefore vary from one NIR camera to another. The processing unit 34 provides for this the possibility of carrying out on the digital interface 36 a calibration of each NIR camera 30 on the roughing devices 13. With regard to the , from a measurement of shades of gray on the roughing device 13 of a section Si, the operator can perform a calibration of the image I of the roughing device 13 in the open position, by locating on the punches 24, 25 and on a reference point 46 on one of the mold parts 16, 17 by means of the calibration buttons 47. This advantageously makes it possible to also carry out a recalibration of the NIR cameras 30 during use without the need for intervention of the operator on the IS 9 machine, during its operation.

We can also provide a variant of the system 29 and the method according to the invention without the use of pyrometers 31 to acquire the database of visual shades corresponding to temperatures defined on the blanking devices 13 in the open position. In this case, the microprocessor 35 of the processing unit 34 could for example be programmed using an empirical method, constituting an experimental base which will be reused in the system 29 for new applications, i.e. say on machines IS 9 other installation 1, for the manufacture of other articles 10, while remaining within the scope of the invention.

The method and system 29 described above and applying to the roughing devices 13 can also be implemented in an equivalent manner on the finishing devices 14 by equipping the sections 8 of the machine with second NIR cameras and one or more second pyrometers, the second pyrometer(s) then being positioned as previously mentioned for the pyrometer(s) 31 with respect to Figures 1 and 11 to 13, that is to say so as to be placed on the sections 8 facing the opening angle of the two parts 20, 21 of the finishing device 14 in order to properly visualize the negatives 22A, 22B, 23A, 23B of the impressions 22, 23 forming the finishing molds.

When corrective data is transmitted by the processing unit 34, the latter transmits in parallel an instruction to a blowing nozzle 48 to eject the defective articles 10 placed on the conveyor 11 at the time of their passage in front of said blowing nozzle. blowing 48, the defective items 10 then being evacuated to a cellar (not shown) for recycling.

Preferably, the NIR cameras 30 on the side of the roughing devices 13 (the same for the second NIR cameras on the side of the finishing molds 14) are equipped with a shutter 49 ensuring a reduction in the passage of the camera beam which makes it possible to maintain a Optimal visibility throughout the measurements while limiting the infiltration of dust or other dirt that could stick to the lens of this camera. It will be the same for the second NIR cameras on the side of the finishing devices 14, in the presence of the latter.

The presence of NIR 30 cameras on sections 8 also allows them to be used in the visible domain in order to carry out automatic visual control on the roughing devices 13 and their respective environments. For this purpose, the processing unit 34 comprises a database of reference images of a roughing device 13 and its environment on a section 8 and is programmed to compare the images acquired in the visible domain to this database. reference images and check whether the shapes/images of the roughing device 13 and its environment are correct. In the event of detection of an anomaly, that is to say a difference between the acquired images and the reference images, the processing unit 34 triggers a shutdown of the section 8 concerned on the IS machine 9 and alerts the operator on the digital interface 36. The videos taken by these NIR cameras 30 can also be viewed by an operator on the digital interface 36. Such visual control will also be possible on the finishing devices 14, in the presence second NIR cameras on sections 8 of the IS 9 machine. The operator can thus intervene on a section 8 of the IS 9 machine if the system 29 detects an anomaly on one of said sections 8. Such a visual check can also be implemented implemented on the article blanks 10' once the roughing device 13 is open, or even on the articles 10 once the finishing device 14 is open.

The system 29 can also carry out, in addition, a check of the blanks of articles 10' by means of the NIR cameras 30 present on the sections 8 of the IS machine 9. In this case, the system 29 proceeds in the same way as for the control of the roughing molds of the roughing devices 13. The NIR cameras 30 return to the processing unit 34 shades of gray measured on the article blanks 10', once the roughing devices 13 in the open position and before the transfer of the article blanks 10' towards the finishing devices 14, that is to say between steps E3 and E4, the article blanks 10' being held - rings 26 positioned at the bottom - by the ring molds 15, as illustrated on the . The processing unit 34 then also includes a database of visual shades corresponding to temperatures defined on the article blanks 10'. As previously, the processing unit 34 then restores corrective data making it possible to act on the cooling devices of the roughing devices 13, this time depending on the shades of gray measured in real time by the NIR cameras 30 on the blanks. of article 10' and at least one reference temperature on said article blanks 10', said reference temperature being set on said system 29. In the same manner as previously, the processing unit 34 is preferably configured to constitute the database of visual shades of an article blank 10' by carrying out a correlation between shades of gray measured by the NIR cameras 30 on the article blanks 10' and a real measured temperature and by assigning a visual color of the article blank 10' corresponding to a defined temperature. In this preferential case, the pyrometer(s) 31 present on the blanking device(s) 13 and described previously, may be configured to restore real temperatures of the article blank(s) 10', the computer processing unit 34 then being configured to correlate the shades of gray measured by the NIR cameras 30 on the article blanks 10' and the actual temperature(s) measured by the pyrometer(s) 31 and assign a visual hue to an article blank 10' at a defined temperature. In the event of action on the cooling device of a roughing device 13 to reduce or, conversely, increase the temperature of the roughing molds, the defective article blank 10' will also be ejected by activation of the blowing nozzle 48, as before.

Claims (10)

System (29) for controlling and regulating sections (8) of a machine for forming hollow glass articles, called an IS machine (9), each section comprising a roughing device (13) which comprises two parts (16 , 17) forming at least one blank mold, the two parts (16, 17) being able to move from an open position where they are spaced apart from each other in order to open the at least one blank mold and to allow the blank of the article to be released from said at least one blank mold, to a closed position where the two parts (16, 17) are joined to form the at least one blank mold and allow the formation of at least one blank least one article blank, each of said roughing devices (13) comprising a device for cooling its two parts (16, 17), said system (29) comprising a computer processing unit (34) configured to restore corrective data allowing to act on the cooling devices of the roughing devices (13), characterized in that the system (29) comprises as many measurement cameras close to infrared radiation, called NIR cameras (30), as sections (8) on the IS machine (9), said NIR cameras (30) restoring shades of gray measured on the at least one roughing mold of each roughing device (13), the processing unit (34) comprising a database of visual shades corresponding to temperatures defined on the roughing devices (13) in the open position, said processing unit (34) then restoring said corrective data as a function of the shades of gray measured in real time by the NIR cameras (30) on the roughing devices ( 13) in the open position and at least one reference temperature set on said system (29). System (29) according to claim 1, wherein the computer processing unit (34) is configured to constitute the visual hue database by performing a correlation between shades of gray measured by the NIR cameras (30) on the blanking devices in the open position and an actual measured temperature and assigning a visual shade corresponding to a defined temperature. System (29) according to claim 2, which comprises at least one pyrometer (31) associated with at least one of the roughing devices (13), said at least one pyrometer (31) being configured to restore a real temperature at a reference point on the roughing device (13) with which it is associated, the computer processing unit (34) being configured to perform a correlation between the shades of gray measured by the NIR cameras (30) on the roughing devices (13) in the open position and the actual temperature measured by the at least one pyrometer (31) and assign a visual color to a temperature defined on the blanking devices (13) in the open position. System (29) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, in which each of said roughing devices (13) comprises at least one punch (24, 25) and a device for cooling the at least one punch, one computer processing unit (34) being configured to restore corrective data making it possible to act on the cooling devices of the at least one punch, the NIR cameras (30) also making it possible to visualize the at least one punch between the two mold parts in the open position and to restore shades of gray measured on said at least one punch, the processing unit comprises a database of visual shades corresponding to temperatures defined on the at least one punch of the roughing devices in open position, said processing unit being configured to then return said corrective data to the cooling device of the at least one punch as a function of the shades of gray measured in real time by the NIR cameras on the punch(s) and a temperature reference set on said system (29). System (29) according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the NIR cameras (30) are configured to also visualize the at least one article blank (10') between the two parts of each blanking device ( 13) in the open position and restore shades of gray measured on said at least one article blank, the processing unit (34) comprising a database of visual shades corresponding to temperatures defined on the at least one blank article (10'), said processing unit being configured to then return said corrective data to the cooling device of the corresponding roughing device (13) as a function of the shades of gray measured in real time by the NIR cameras (30) on the 'at least one article blank (10') and a reference temperature set on said system (29). System (29) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, in which the NIR cameras (30) are configured to restore images of the roughing devices (13) and their respective environments in the visible domain, the unit of processing (34) of said system being configured to compare these images acquired in the visible domain to a database of reference images and to carry out automatic control of the shapes/images of the drafting device in order to detect anomalies and trigger a stop of the section (8) concerned on the IS machine (9). System (29) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, in which the processing unit (34) is configured to control a device for ejecting glass articles at the outlet of the sections (8) of the IS machine ( 9) during restitution of corrective data. Machine for forming hollow glass articles, called IS machine (9), comprising sections (8) each comprising a roughing device (13) and a finishing device (14), the roughing device (13) comprising at least one punch (24, 25) and two parts (16, 17) forming at least one roughing mold and capable of moving from an open position where the two parts (16, 17) are spaced apart to open the at least one roughing mold to a closed position where the two parts (16, 17) are joined to close the at least one roughing mold, the finishing device (14) comprising two parts (20, 21) forming at least one finishing mold and capable of passing from one open position where the two parts (20, 21) are spaced apart to open the at least one finishing mold to a closed position where the two parts (20,21) are joined to close the at least one finishing mold, each of said devices roughers (13) comprising a device for cooling the two parts (16, 17) and a device for cooling the at least one punch, each of said finishing devices (14) comprising a device for cooling the two parts (20, 21) , said IS machine (9) comprising a control and regulation system (29) having the characteristics of any one of claims 1 to 11. Method for controlling and regulating the sections (8) of a machine for forming hollow glass articles, called an IS machine (9), each section comprising a roughing device which comprises two parts (16, 17) forming at least one mold rougher and is able to move from an open position where the two parts (16, 17) are spaced apart to open the at least one rougher mold to a closed position where the two parts (16, 17) are joined to close the at least one roughing mold, each of said roughing devices (13) comprising a device for cooling the two parts (16, 17), said method comprising:
- a step SD of measuring in real time the shades of gray on each roughing device (13) in the open position by means of NIR cameras (30) placed directly on the sections (8) with an orientation allowing the negatives of the parts (8) to be viewed 16, 17) roughing devices (13) in the open position and for calculating corrective data by comparing visual hues corresponding to said shades of gray at at least one reference temperature, said visual hues being attributed to defined temperatures and coming from a database ;
- a step SE of activating the cooling devices of the roughing devices (13) according to the corrective data. Method according to claim 9, which additionally comprises a step of measuring in real time the shades of gray on at least one article blank (10') present on each roughing device (13) in the open position by means of NIR cameras ( 30) and calculating corrective data by comparing visual shades corresponding to said shades of gray of the article blanks (10') at at least one reference temperature, said visual shades being assigned to defined temperatures and coming from the base of data.