JP2000238105A - Injection molding monitoring system and method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To monitor the operation state of an injection molding machine at low costs by providing a remote station which takes in the operational information of the injection molding machine and send it to the outside, a master station which acquires the operational information in turn and stores it, and a general purpose computer which displays the monitoring image plane of the injection molding machine based on the operational information. SOLUTION: A master station C acquires the operational information of each molding machine A1-A10 in turn at prescribed time intervals from each remote station B1-B10. Namely, CPU 1 designates each remote station B2-B10 through a communication part 4, and requires the sending of the operational information. For example, the remote station B1, when it receives the requirement for sending the operational information, sends automatic operation information, shot counting information, heater-turned-on information, and motor-turned- on information to the communication part 4 in bit order. CPU 1 stores the operational information in the memory area of the molding machine A1 formed in RAM 3. Accordingly, an administrator, if the necessary program of a general purpose computer D is actuated, can monitor the operational state of each molding machine A1-A10 any time.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a monitoring system and method for an injection molding machine, and more particularly to a technique suitable for centrally managing a plurality of injection molding machines.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Today,
Injection molding plants are increasingly adopting FA in order to meet the demands of small-lot production of other products, short delivery time, high quality, low cost, and the like. As part of this FA, at the injection molding factory, a plurality of operating injection molding machines are connected to a management computer using optical fibers, and the operating state of each injection molding machine is constantly monitored by the management computer. By doing so, the overall operation efficiency of the injection molding factory is improved.

[0003] However, such a conventional technique has a problem that the cost is high because the apparatus configuration for managing the operation of the injection molding machine is large. For example, since high-speed serial communication is performed between the injection molding machine and the management computer via an optical fiber, it is necessary to add expensive high-speed serial communication equipment to the injection molding machine and the management computer. In addition, a network is expensive because an optical fiber is used as a transmission line.

Furthermore, in the high-speed serial communication, in order to transmit and receive word data, it is necessary to change a control program incorporated in the injection molding machine to one capable of handling word data. Remodeling is costly. In addition, in the management computer, since each injection molding machine is constantly monitored by the monitoring program to collect data, the computer is always energized and dedicated for managing the injection molding machine.

[0005] As described above, the prior art has problems that the modification of the injection molding machine becomes large-scale, the management system becomes expensive, and a dedicated management computer is required.

Incidentally, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Nos. 64-90718, 4-175132 and 4-267119 have been disclosed.
And JP-A-5-8272 also disclose a prior art relating to management of the operation state of an injection molding machine.

[0007] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and has the following objects. (1) The operating state of the injection molding machine is monitored at low cost. (2) Remodel the injection molding machine to a small scale. (3) A computer is not dedicated for monitoring the operation of the injection molding machine.

[0008]

According to the present invention, there is provided a first monitoring system for an injection molding machine monitoring system.
As a means of, a remote station mounted on the injection molding machine and taking in operation information indicating the operation state of the injection molding machine and transmitting it to the outside, and sequentially acquiring the operation information from the remote station at predetermined time intervals It employs means comprising a master station for storing and a general-purpose computer for accessing the master station to obtain the operation information and displaying a monitor screen of the injection molding machine based on the operation information.

Further, as the second means relating to the injection molding machine monitoring system, the above means employs means for configuring a remote station so as to transmit operation information as bit information to a master station.

As a third means relating to the injection molding machine monitoring system, in each of the above means, when there are a plurality of injection molding machines, a remote station of one injection molding machine is connected to a master station by a communication cable, A means of connecting a remote station to a master station via a certain remote station is adopted.

On the other hand, in the present invention, as a first means relating to the injection molding machine monitoring method, a master station which sequentially acquires and stores operation information indicating the operation state of the injection molding machine from the injection molding machine at predetermined time intervals. And using a general-purpose computer to monitor the operation information of the master station to monitor the operation state of the injection molding machine.

Further, as the second means relating to the injection molding machine monitoring method, the above means employs means for acquiring operation information from the injection molding machine as bit information to the master station.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of an injection molding machine monitoring system and method according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing the functional configuration of the present embodiment. In this figure, reference numerals A1 to A10 indicate well-known molding machines (injection molding machines), B1 to B10 indicate remote stations, C indicates a master station, and D indicates a general-purpose computer. Among these components, the remote stations B1 to B10 are respectively mounted on molding machines A1 to A10 having the same subscript.

For example, the remote station B1 is on the molding machine A1 (No. 1), the remote station B2 is on the molding machine A2 (No. 2), the remote station B3 is on the molding machine A3 (No. 3),.
Numeral 10 is mounted on a molding machine A10 (No. 10). Each of the remote stations B1 to B10 has the same configuration. For example, the remote station B1 has an I / O unit a1 for acquiring information (operation information) indicating the operation status of the molding machine A1, and the master station C And a communication unit b1 for transmitting the data.

For example, the I / O unit a1 includes, as the operation information, automatic operation information indicating whether or not the molding machine A1 is in automatic operation, shot count information of the molding machine A1, and a heater for melting the resin in an "ON" state. Heater ON information indicating whether the motor is ON or not, and motor ON information indicating whether the motor is in the “ON” state are acquired from the molding machine A1 as bit information.
"Automatic operation information", "Shot count information", "Heater O
"N information" and "motor ON information" are the minimum information necessary to grasp the operating state of the molding machine A1. The communication unit b1 transmits these pieces of operation information to the master station C as bit signals.

In the present embodiment, the remote stations B1 to B10 are respectively mounted on the ten molding machines A1 to A10, and the operation information of each of the molding machines A1 to A10 is transmitted to the master station C. As shown in the figure, the connection between the remote stations B1 to B10 and the master station C is such that the remote station B1 mounted on the molding machine A1 (No. 1) is directly connected to the master station C via the communication cable Em, and B2 is the communication cable E1
Connected to the master station C in a daisy chain connection system via the remote station B1.

That is, the remote station of the molding machine having the larger number is connected to the master station C via the remote station of the molding machine having the smaller number. In this injection molding factory, the molding machines A1 to A10 are arranged relatively close to each other, but the molding machines A1 to A10 and the master station C are relatively far apart (the length of the communication cable Em is several hundred meters). In some cases).

By employing such a connection method, it is possible to increase the number of molding machines by using relatively short communication cables E1 to E9. That is, it is not necessary to lay a long communication cable up to the master station C every time a molding machine is added. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the cost associated with laying the communication cable, and it is easy to lay the communication cable when adding an injection molding machine.

The master station C includes remote stations B1 to B1.
Operating information is periodically acquired from 0, and the operating information is stored for each of the molding machines A1 to A10 (that is, for each of the molding machines).
The driving information is provided in response to a request from the general-purpose computer D. The master station C includes a CPU 1, a ROM 2, a RAM 3, a communication unit 4, an I / F unit 5 as shown in the figure.
And a power supply unit 6.

The CPU 1 uses the ROM 2 to acquire operation information from each of the remote stations B1 to B10, store the operation information, and provide the operation information to the general-purpose computer D using the above-described units.
The control is performed based on the driving information input / output program stored in the CPU. The ROM 2 stores the operation information input / output program, data necessary for executing the operation information input / output program, and the like. RAM3 is CP
Under the control of U1, the operating information obtained from each of the remote stations B1 to B10 is stored for each of the molding machines A1 to A10.

The communication unit 4 is controlled by the CPU 1
The operation information is acquired from each of the remote stations B1 to B10. The I / F unit 5 mediates communication with the general-purpose computer D (such as transmission of the operation information) under the control of the CPU 1. In the present embodiment, the RS / 232C system is adopted as a communication system between the master station C and the general-purpose computer D.

Therefore, when the I / F unit 5 receives the operation information transmission instruction from the general-purpose computer D, the I / F unit 5 transmits the operation information to the general-purpose computer D in a format conforming to the RS / 232C system. The power supply section 6 supplies power to the remote stations B1 to B10 via the communication cable Em and the communication cables E1 to E9. By supplying power from the master station C to the remote stations B1 to B10 in this manner, even if the power to the molding machines A1 to A10 to which the remote stations B1 to B10 are mounted is cut off, The remote stations B1 to B10 can function.

The general-purpose computer D is, for example, a general-purpose OS
(Operating System). The general-purpose computer D is loaded with an operation information acquisition and display program that accesses the master station C to acquire operation information, performs predetermined processing on the operation information, and displays a monitoring screen in a predetermined format. By operating the operation information acquisition and display program, the manager of the injection molding factory can monitor the operation status of each of the molding machines A1 to A10 at an arbitrary timing as described in detail below.

Next, the operation of the thus configured injection molding machine monitoring system will be described in detail.

First, the injection molding plant starts operation,
When the injection molding machine monitoring system starts, the master station C
Sequentially obtains operation information of the molding machines A1 to A10 from the remote stations B1 to B10 at predetermined time intervals.

That is, the CPU 1 designates the remote stations B2 to B10 of the molding machines A2 to A10 having the largest machine numbers in order from the remote station B1 of the molding machine A1 (the first machine) via the communication section 4 and transmits the operation information. Request transmission. For example, when the remote station B1 receives the transmission request of the operation information from the communication unit 4, the above-described automatic operation information (bit information), shot count information (bit information), heater ON information (bit information), and motor ON information (bit information) The bit information) is exchanged with the communication unit 4 in a predetermined bit order (for example, →→→
) To the communication unit 4.

As described above, the remote station B1 is connected to the master station C.
By transmitting the operation information to the molding machine A1 to be transmitted as bit information (bit signal) and making the operation information a necessary minimum of 4 bits, the remote station B1 and the master station C can communicate with each other as in the prior art. No high-speed communication is required. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the cost related to this communication.

When receiving the operation information composed of the 4-bit bit string, the communication section 4 outputs the operation information to the CPU 1. The CPU 1 stores this operation information in the storage area of the molding machine A1 provided in the RAM 3. Therefore,
In the RAM 3, as operation information related to the molding machine A 1,
"Automatic operation information", "Shot count information", "Heater O
N information "and" motor ON information ", that is, each bit information of a total of 4 bits is stored at a minimum.

When the storing of the operation information relating to the molding machine A1 in the RAM 3 is completed in this way, the CPU 1 requests the remote station B2 of the molding machine A2 having the next largest machine number to transmit the operation information, and as described above. Operation information relating to the molding machine A2 is stored in the RAM 3 in the same manner as in the case of the remote station B1. The CPU 1 operates similarly to the remote stations B3 to B3.
Each operation information (bit information) of the molding machines A3 to A10 is stored in the RAM 3 via B10.

The CPU 1 controls all the molding machines A1 to A1.
When the operation information of A10 is stored in the RAM 3, the same processing is repeated again to sequentially store the operation information of the molding machines A1 to A10 at regular time intervals. The process of storing the operation information of the molding machines A1 to A10 in the RAM 3 in the master station C is continuously performed while the injection molding factory is operating.

With respect to the master station C, the manager of the injection molding factory operates the operation information acquisition and display program of the general-purpose computer D, so that each molding machine A
The operation status of 1 to A10 can be monitored at any timing.

That is, when the manager wants to check the operation state of the molding machines A1 to A10, the manager operates the operation information acquisition and display program, and the operation information of the molding machines A1 to A10 stored in the master station C is obtained. Is obtained, and the general-purpose computer D can display a monitoring screen in a predetermined format by processing the operation information.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of a monitoring screen displayed on the general-purpose computer D. This screen is an overall monitoring screen showing the overall status of the injection molding factory,
Regarding the No. 10 to No. 10 (molding machines A1 to A10), “Total count set number”, “Quantity”, “Machine type”, “Molded product name”, “Resin name”, “Lot No” and “Completion notice set number” Are displayed as a list in a table format as operation management information, and the operation state of each unit is displayed as a color of a molding machine image in the upper part. Screen operation buttons associated with function keys (F1 to F7, F12) are arranged at the bottom of the screen.

Each of the operation management information is information input and set on another initial screen, and the operation state of each of the above-mentioned units is one of the operation information obtained from the master station C.
Based on the "automatic operation information" and the "shot count information", the operation states of the molding machines A1 to A10 are classified by color and displayed.

For example, if the automatic operation information of the molding machine A1 is "O
N ", that is, indicating that the molding machine A1 is in automatic operation, the molding machine image of the first machine is displayed in" green "indicating that the molding machine A1 is" in operation ". When the current number of shots indicated by the shot count information falls within a predetermined range with respect to the total count set number set on the initial screen for the first machine, the molding machine image of the first machine is “completed”. It is displayed in "yellow" indicating "notice." The operation states of the other units are also classified and displayed in different colors as in the case of the first unit.

On this screen, as the operation states of the respective units, in addition to the above "running" and "notification of completion", "in preparation", "stopping", "stopping", "other", " Abnormal "
Is shown as being able to be displayed, but this function is an optional function and the molding machine A1
When it is desired to monitor the operating states of .about.A10 more finely, this is realized by acquiring signals identifying these operating states from the molding machines A1 to A10 and storing them in the master station C.

In this screen, when a screen operation button is pressed, the screen displayed on the general-purpose computer D is changed to an initial screen (F1), an overall monitoring screen (F2), a current status screen (F3), a production result screen. (F4), a lot monitoring screen (F5), a daily report screen (F6), and a period report screen (F7).

Next, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the display contents of a current status screen showing the current operating status of each of the molding machines A1 to A10. On the current status screen, for example, “current shot number” obtained from “shot count information” which is one of the driving information is displayed. Also, the “production number” obtained by multiplying the “current shot number” by the “take number” is displayed.

The present status screen further shows "Motor O
N information ”, that is,“ motor ON time ”calculated based on information indicating that the motor of the injection molding machine is in the“ ON ”state (drive state), and“ heater ON information ”, that is, the heater that melts the resin is“ The "heater ON time" calculated based on the information indicating that the heater is in the "ON" state (operating state) is displayed.

Further, when the screen operation button is pressed, the general-purpose computer D has an "initial screen" for inputting various setting information in addition to the above-described overall monitoring screen and the current status screen, and an "initial screen" for each unit. "Production results screen" which displays the production results (achievement rate against the target) in a bar graph, "Lot monitoring screen" which displays the shot setting value in the lot and the current number of shots for each unit, and the number of shots of each unit in one day And a "daily report screen" displaying a list of driving times and the like, and a "period report screen" displaying a list of the number of shots and the driving time of each unit in a period spanning a plurality of days can be displayed.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, via the remote stations B1 to B10 mounted on the molding machines A1 to A10,
"Automatic operation information", "Shot count information", "Heater O
Molding machines A3 to A1 called "N information" and "motor ON information"
By storing the minimum operation information relating to the operation of 0 as bit information in the master station C sequentially, the operation information is taken into the general-purpose computer D at an arbitrary timing to monitor the operation state of the molding machines A3 to A10. Can be.

Therefore, since it is not necessary to use the general-purpose computer D exclusively, it is possible to monitor the operating states of the molding machines A3 to A10 at a lower cost than in the conventional art and to mount the remote stations B1 to B10. A3 molding machine
A10 can be modified, so that modification of the molding machines A3 to A10 can be suppressed to a small scale. Furthermore, molding machine A3 ~
Since it is not necessary to use the general-purpose computer D exclusively for monitoring the operation of A10, the general-purpose computer D can be effectively used for other purposes.

In the above embodiment, the case where the operation state of a total of ten molding machines A3 to A10 is monitored has been described. This is in consideration of the actual situation of an injection molding factory, which is easy to perform. However, depending on the size of the injection molding factory, more than 10 injection molding machines may be operated. In such a case, the following means can be considered.

That is, since the master station C can store the operation information of up to ten molding machines A3 to A10, a plurality of master stations C are provided according to the number of injection molding machines, and each master station is provided. C are connected by a serial communication line, and the general computer D sequentially acquires the operation information of each master station C. By adopting such a configuration, for example, when adding an injection molding machine, the operation monitoring is performed only by adding the monitoring equipment by adding the master station C and the connection cable without changing the existing operation monitoring system at all. Can be expanded.

[0046]

As described above, according to the injection molding machine monitoring system and method according to the present invention, the following effects can be obtained.

(1) A remote station which is mounted on the injection molding machine and fetches operation information indicating the operation state of the injection molding machine and transmits the information to the outside, and sequentially acquires the operation information from the remote station at predetermined time intervals. And a general-purpose computer that accesses the master station to obtain the operation information and displays a monitoring screen of the injection molding machine based on the operation information. Without doing, using the general-purpose computer to obtain operation information from the master station at any timing as needed,
A monitoring screen of the injection molding machine can be displayed. Therefore, it is possible to monitor the operation state of the injection molding machine at a lower cost as compared with the related art.

(2) Further, since the injection molding machine may be modified so that the remote station can be mounted, the modification of the injection molding machine can be suppressed to a small scale. (3) Further, since the general-purpose computer is not dedicated for monitoring the operation of the injection molding machine, the general-purpose computer can be effectively used for other purposes.

(4) Since the remote station is configured to transmit the operation information as bit information to the master station, it is not necessary to use expensive high-speed serial communication as in the prior art.
This also makes it possible to monitor the operation of the injection molding machine at low cost.

(5) When there are a plurality of injection molding machines, a remote station of a certain injection molding machine is connected to a master station via a communication cable, and another remote station is connected to the master station via a certain remote station. Therefore, it is not necessary to connect all the remote stations to the master station, and the operation state of a plurality of injection molding machines can be controlled by connecting the injection molding machines (remote stations) arranged relatively close by a communication cable. Can be monitored. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the cost of laying the communication cable, and it is easy to lay the communication cable when adding an injection molding machine.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a system configuration diagram showing a functional configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a first diagram illustrating an example of a monitoring screen according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a second diagram illustrating an example of a monitoring screen according to the embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A1 to A10 Injection molding machine B1 to B10 Remote station a1 to a10 I / O (input / output unit) b1 to b10 Communication unit C Master station 1 CPU 2 ROM 3 … RAM 4… Communication unit 5… I / F unit 6… Power supply unit D… General purpose computer Em, E1 to E9… Communication cable

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A remote station which is mounted on an injection molding machine and fetches operation information indicating an operation state of the injection molding machine and transmits the operation information to the outside, and sequentially acquires the operation information from the remote station at predetermined time intervals. A master station that accesses the master station to obtain the operation information, and displays a monitoring screen of the injection molding machine based on the operation information. Machine monitoring system. 2. The injection molding machine monitoring system according to claim 1, wherein the remote station transmits the operation information as bit information to the master station. 3. When there are a plurality of injection molding machines, a remote station of a certain injection molding machine is connected to a master station by a communication cable, and another remote station is connected to the master station via the certain remote station. The injection molding machine monitoring system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein: 4. A master station for sequentially acquiring and storing operation information indicating an operation state of the injection molding machine from the injection molding machine at predetermined time intervals, and injecting the operation information of the master station using a general-purpose computer. A method for monitoring an injection molding machine, comprising monitoring an operation state of the machine. 5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the master station acquires operation information of the injection molding machine as bit information from the injection molding machine.