JP2000063143A - Production system for preform for optical fiber - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To lessen the influence of noise and to reduce the space of a monitoring room in controlling the main bodies of apparatuses for producing a preform for an optical fiber and control instruments. SOLUTION: In producing a preform for an optical fiber by controlling the main bodies of plural apparatuses arranged in a clean room, control instruments attached to the main bodies, etc., computers for apparatuses and a programmable controller (PLC) are arranged at the sides of the main bodies of the apparatuses or the control instruments so as to directly control the apparatuses and the instruments. On the other hand, a monitoring computer and a PLC are installed in a monitoring room outside the clean room. The monitoring computer etc. are connected to the computers for the apparatuses by a network line and control orders can be transmitted by the monitoring computer, etc.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a manufacturing system for manufacturing an optical fiber preform.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a base material for an optical fiber is designed to numerically control manufacturing conditions such as a gas flow rate and a pulling rate based on an image processing result during manufacturing the base material and a weight change. For this numerical control, a programming language that allows easy programming is used.
This is because the manufacturing apparatus is still in the development stage and there is a high possibility that the control method and the like will be improved daily. Therefore, for the calculation for control, for example, a computer such as a board computer or a personal computer that can easily create and change a program is used, and the control device converts the calculation result into a voltage value or a current value ( D / A
The voltage value or the current value is converted into a digital value (A / D conversion) and received from the control device to perform predetermined control.

Another reason for using the above-mentioned computers is that these computers are originally provided with a man-machine interface function for the operator to confirm the current control value and change the control value. Especially. This is because these computers were originally designed to input commands from the keyboard and output the results to the CRT.
While using T, you can easily create and change programs.

For this reason, such a computer can have a role as a man-machine interface for receiving an instruction input from an operator, in addition to controlling the apparatus, but the control becomes complicated and the control becomes difficult. Due to the increase in equipment, problems such as processing speed and restrictions on the interface connected to the computer will occur,
Input / output processing such as on / off control and switches is performed by a programmable controller (PLC) that has a relay element and is specialized for sequence control, and causes a computer to perform numerical control and display of control values / control result values. The system configuration adopting such a method is configured as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, for example.

That is, since the foreign material is disliked in the production of the base material, the main body of the apparatus for depositing the base material is provided in the manufacturing room which is a clean room shown in FIG. Is controlled in a monitoring room outside the clean room. This is to reduce the number of times of entering and leaving the clean room, to reduce the area of the clean room to maintain the cleanliness, and to reduce the cost. Therefore, the computer that issues the control command and the P
LC etc. are placed in the monitoring room. In addition, from the viewpoint of operating efficiency, etc., a plurality of device main bodies and raw material gas control devices are installed, and due to this, due to problems such as the amount of calculation processing and the number of control points, a dedicated monitoring panel for one device main body. Are provided respectively.

[0006]

However, in the system configuration as described above, a computer can be used to easily program a program and numerical control can be easily performed, while maintaining the cleanliness of a clean room. From the viewpoint of the above, there is a problem that the computer and the PLC in the monitoring room are far away from the control device, and the control value is likely to be affected by noise. Further, since a plurality of monitoring boards are arranged in the monitoring room, there is also a problem that the space in the monitoring room unnecessarily expands.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a manufacturing system in which a control value is less likely to be affected by noise and the space of a monitoring room can be reduced.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention arranges a device body for manufacturing an optical fiber preform in a clean room, and controls a control device attached to the device body by a computer and / or a programmable device. In the manufacturing system of the optical fiber preform, which is controlled by the controller and is configured to monitor the operating state from the monitoring room outside the clean room, the device main body or the control device side, the device computer for directly controlling the control device And / or a programmable controller is arranged, and a monitoring computer and / or a programmable controller for monitoring the data sent from the computer for the device and / or the programmable controller and inputting a command to them is provided on the monitoring room side. I arranged it.

As described above, when the computer for the device or the like for directly controlling the control device or the like is arranged in the vicinity of the device body or the control device, the wiring or the like between them is shortened and the control value may contain noise. It can be suppressed and the control value can be stabilized. Then, while monitoring the necessary data with the monitoring computer as necessary, a necessary command is input and transmitted to the device computer or the like.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a plurality of the apparatus main bodies and control devices are provided, a plurality of the apparatus computers and / or programmable controllers are provided correspondingly, and a monitoring computer and / or a programmable controller are provided. The computer for each device and / or the programmable controller is connected by a network line.

By thus disposing a plurality of apparatus main bodies and a plurality of control devices, the operating efficiency can be improved, and the actual operating form has many such configurations, so that it can be applied according to the actual situation. In the case of the above-mentioned example, the monitoring computer and the like are arranged in the monitoring room, and the computer for each device and the like are arranged in the vicinity of each device main body or the gas control device side, and Operate while monitoring the monitoring computer. With such a configuration, it is possible to reduce the space in the monitoring room, and by disposing the computer for each device on the device main body or the gas control device side, for example, the computer for monitoring is down. At any time, it is possible to operate the corresponding device body by itself by using the man-machine interface of the device computer or the like, and the backup function can be enhanced.

Here, the network line connecting the monitoring computer and the like and the device computer and the like can be used by the computer (for example, Ethernet).
Any PLC or PLC can be used (for example, MELSECNET / 10 for a sequencer manufactured by Mitsubishi Electric Corporation), but one less susceptible to noise is more preferable.

Further, in such a system configuration, the control by the monitoring computer or the like is performed only by transmitting the input value to the device computer or the like and reading the information to be displayed from the device computer or the like. It is preferable that the computer for the device controls the above. This is a problem of the number of processes, and is to prevent an increase in cost associated with higher performance of the CPU of the monitoring computer or the like, and to prevent an increase in the number of stopped machines due to improvement of software.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the monitoring computer and / or programmable controller and the device computer and / or programmable controller are connected by an optical cable.

By connecting both with an optical cable in this way, the influence of noise can be further suppressed, and a control material can be manufactured with stable control values and high quality.

[0016]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited thereto. Here, FIG. 1 is a configuration example diagram of a manufacturing system according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a specific arrangement example diagram.

The optical fiber preform manufacturing system according to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 2, has a plurality of apparatus main bodies arranged in the manufacturing room of a clean room and a raw material chamber provided in association with each apparatus main body. Equipped with control equipment such as gas,
An apparatus computer and a programmable controller (PLC) as shown in FIG. 1 are arranged near the respective apparatus main bodies or gas control equipment.

On the other hand, a monitoring room is provided outside the clean room, and a monitoring computer and a PLC are provided in the monitoring room. The monitoring computer and the PLC, and the computer for each device and the PLC. A network line formed of, for example, an optical fiber cable is connected between the two.

The monitoring computer and PLC are provided with a man-machine interface section which allows a worker to input commands and display information on the side of the apparatus. Information can be exchanged between the computer and the PLC.

The computer for the device and the PLC are
It is made possible to directly control the corresponding device main body and analog devices such as gas control devices, solenoid valves, etc., and also to this device computer and PLC,
A man-machine interface section having the same functions as the monitoring computer and PLC is provided so that an operator can input a command or display a set value in an emergency, for example.

Under normal conditions, the operator monitors the monitoring computer and PLC in the monitoring room, inputs commands as necessary and transmits them to the device computer and PLC for control, but the device computer and PLC are also controlled. Is placed close to the device body or the gas control device, so that the control value has less noise and the command value to the device body can be stabilized.

Next, examples of the present invention and comparative examples will be described. (Example) With a system configuration as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2,
A VME-Bus standard board computer is used as the device computer, a Mitsubishi Electric sequencer AnU series is used as the PLC, and an input / output interface is mounted on each of them, and the network is a Mitsubishi Electric sequencer. 100m with MELSEONET / 10 unit installed
It was connected to the same type unit on a Mitsubishi Electric sequencer in a remote monitoring room, and a manufacturing system was constructed with the arrangement shown in FIG.

When a 50 kg optical fiber preform having this structure was manufactured, the variation was 20 g or less, and the variation in flow rate control by the mass flow controller was 1% or less. Also, in other operational operations, both the monitoring room and the equipment side showed good reactions.

(Comparative Example) With a conventional configuration as shown in FIG. 3, a board computer of VME-Bus standard is used as a control computer, a sequencer An series manufactured by Mitsubishi Electric Corporation is used as a PLC, and input / output is made for each. The manufacturing system was constructed by mounting the interface for the above and arranging it as shown in FIG.

When a 50 kg optical fiber preform was manufactured with this configuration, the variation amount reached close to 1 kg, and the variation in flow rate control by the mass flow controller was about 3%.

From the above, it was confirmed that the production system of the present invention can produce a high quality optical fiber preform by reducing the noise of the control value.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. The above-described embodiment is an exemplification, has substantially the same configuration as the technical idea described in the scope of the claims of the present invention, and has any similar effect to the present invention. It is included in the technical scope of the invention. For example, the specific model of the computer or PLC is arbitrary.

[0028]

As described above, the optical fiber preform manufacturing system according to the present invention controls the apparatus main body arranged in the clean room and the control equipment attached to the apparatus main body from the monitoring room outside the clean room. However, when manufacturing the optical fiber preform, the computer or programmable controller for the device that directly controls the control device is placed on the device body or control device side, and the data sent from the device computer or programmable controller to the monitoring room side. Since a monitoring computer and a programmable controller for monitoring and inputting commands to them are arranged, the wiring between the control device and the computer for the device can be shortened and the generation of noise can be suppressed. , The control value can be stabilized.

Further, a plurality of apparatus main bodies and control devices are arranged,
A plurality of device computers and programmable controllers are provided correspondingly, and if the monitoring computer or programmable controller and each device computer or programmable controller are connected by a network line, they can be applied according to the actual operating mode. Therefore, the space of the monitoring room can be reduced, the number of stopped machines can be reduced when the software is improved, and the monitoring computer and the like can be constructed at low cost. Further, for example, even when the monitoring computer or the like goes down, it is possible to operate the corresponding apparatus main body alone by using the man-machine interface of the apparatus computer or the like, and the backup function can be enhanced.

Furthermore, if the monitoring computer or programmable controller and the device computer or programmable controller are connected by an optical cable, the influence of noise can be further suppressed, and the control value is stable and the base material is of high quality. Can be manufactured.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a system for manufacturing an optical fiber preform according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an arrangement example diagram of a manufacturing system according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a conventional optical fiber preform manufacturing system.

FIG. 4 is a layout diagram of a conventional manufacturing system.

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Tadakatsu Shimada             2-13-1, Isobe, Annaka-shi, Gunma Shin-Etsu             Gaku Kogyo Co., Ltd. Precision Materials Research Laboratory (72) Inventor Hirohide Kobayashi             2-13-1, Isobe, Annaka-shi, Gunma Shin-E             Engineering Co., Ltd.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An apparatus main body for manufacturing an optical fiber preform is arranged in a clean room, control equipment attached to the apparatus main body is controlled by a computer and / or a programmable controller, and the operation is performed from a monitoring room outside the clean room. A manufacturing system of an optical fiber preform for monitoring a state, wherein a device computer and / or a programmable controller for directly controlling the control device is arranged on the device main body or the control device side, and the monitoring is performed. On the room side, the data sent from the computer for the device and / or the programmable controller is monitored,
Also, a manufacturing system for optical fiber preforms, in which a monitoring computer and / or a programmable controller for inputting commands to them are arranged. 2. The optical fiber preform manufacturing system according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of the device main bodies and control devices are provided, and a plurality of the device computers and / or programmable controllers are provided correspondingly. In addition, the monitoring computer and / or the programmable controller and the computer and / or the programmable controller for each device are connected by a network line. 3. The optical fiber preform manufacturing system according to claim 1, wherein the monitoring computer and / or the programmable controller and the device computer and / or the programmable controller are connected by an optical cable. A manufacturing system of an optical fiber preform characterized by the following.