JP2019077053A - Mold monitoring apparatus and mold monitoring method - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a mold monitoring apparatus capable of appropriately detecting an abnormality of a molded article and a mold monitoring method.SOLUTION: A mold monitoring apparatus 100 includes: an image acquisition unit 124 for acquiring an image of the molded article during a mold opening operation of a mold of a resin molding machine (injection molding machine); a storage unit 126 for storing a reference image relating to a reference posture of the molded article during the mold opening operation; and an abnormality monitoring unit 125 (image data processing unit) for monitoring occurrence of the abnormality during the mold opening operation by comparing the image acquired by the image acquisition unit and the reference image stored in the storage unit to determine a degree of coincidence between the two images.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

  The present invention relates to a mold monitoring device and a mold monitoring method.

Generally, in a resin molding machine for producing a resin product, for example, an injection molding machine, a molding cycle consisting of a mold clamping operation, an injection operation, a cooling and solidification of a resin material, a mold opening operation and a molded product projecting operation is repeated. .
For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a mold monitoring apparatus that captures an image of a movable mold surface at a completion position of a mold opening operation and monitors the state of the movable mold surface in a process of manufacturing a resin product by an injection molding machine. It is disclosed. The mold monitoring device compares monitoring image data of the movable mold surface after completion of the mold opening operation captured by the monitoring camera with reference image data stored in advance. Thereby, when the mold monitoring device performs the mold opening operation, the molded product is not held in the molding area of the mold surface of the movable mold, for example, held in the fixed mold or from the molding area of the mold surface of the movable mold Detect an operation abnormality that falls off and adheres to another area.

Patent No. 4448869

However, in the monitoring operation after completion of the mold opening operation, whether or not the molded product is held on the movable mold surface can be appropriately determined, but detection of slight breakage or deformation of the molded product should be made. It is difficult. Therefore, if an operation error occurs such that part of the molded product remains in the fixed mold in the mold opening operation, the operation error can not be detected appropriately, and the operation of the injection molding machine is continued as it is. There is a risk of In this case, in the mold clamping operation of the injection molding machine, the above-described remaining molded product may damage the fixed mold surface or the movable mold surface.
Then, this invention makes it a subject to provide the metal mold | die monitoring apparatus and metal mold | die monitoring method which can detect appropriately the abnormality which arises in the process of the shaping | molding process in a resin molding machine.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned subject, one mode of a mold monitoring device concerning the present invention is an image acquisition part which acquires a picture of a cast in the mold opening operation state of a mold of a resin molding machine, the mold opening operation A storage unit for storing a reference image relating to a reference posture of the molded article in the middle state, an image acquired by the image acquisition unit, and a reference image stored in the storage unit And an abnormality monitoring unit that monitors presence / absence of occurrence of an abnormality in the mold opening operation halfway state by determining.

  As described above, since the mold monitoring device monitors the state of the molded article in the middle of the mold opening operation, the molded article that leads to defects such as a defect or deformation can be appropriately identified by the mold opening operation. In the case where a defect in a molded article occurs due to the mold opening operation, the lost portion may remain in the mold. The mold monitoring device can appropriately detect the above-mentioned operation abnormality that occurs in the process of the molding process in the resin molding machine. In addition, since the mold monitoring device compares the image of the molded product taken in the mold opening operation midway with the reference image to determine whether they are identical or not, the mold opening operation is performed. It is possible to accurately monitor the presence or absence of an abnormality in an intermediate state.

  In the mold monitoring device described above, the image acquisition unit acquires an image of a state in which the molded product is held by the movable mold and the fixed mold that constitute the mold in the middle of the mold opening operation. May be In this case, it is possible to appropriately detect an operation abnormality that occurs in the process of the mold opening operation.

Further, in the above-described mold monitoring device, the abnormality monitoring unit determines that the posture of the molded product in the mold opening operation midway state exceeds the allowable range with respect to the reference posture based on the image acquired by the image acquisition unit. It may be monitored whether or not it is inclined.
When the posture of the molded article in the mold opening operation midway is inclined beyond the allowable range with respect to the reference posture, the mold opening operation tends to cause defects such as breakage or deformation in the molded article. By monitoring the posture of the molded article in the middle of the mold opening operation, it is possible to appropriately determine a molded article which leads to a defect such as a chipping or deformation by the mold opening operation.

Further, in the mold monitoring device described above, the image acquisition unit acquires an image of the molded article captured at a plurality of different timings in the mold opening operation halfway state, and the abnormality monitoring unit acquires the image The occurrence of the abnormality may be monitored for each of the plurality of images acquired by the unit.
As described above, by performing monitoring a plurality of times in the mold opening operation halfway state, it is possible to more appropriately detect the operation abnormality occurring in the process of the mold opening operation.

Further, the mold monitoring device may further include a monitoring camera fixed at a predetermined position with respect to the resin molding machine and capturing the image.
In this case, for example, it is possible to appropriately monitor the presence or absence of occurrence of abnormality in the mold opening operation midway state, using an image captured by a monitoring camera fixed above the resin molding machine. Moreover, it is also possible to monitor an abnormality that occurs in the process of molding processing in a resin molding machine other than the mold opening operation halfway state, using the image captured by the monitoring camera. Furthermore, using a fixed surveillance camera eliminates the need for a mechanism or structure for moving the surveillance camera.

Further, the mold monitoring device may further include an operation control unit configured to stop the operation of the resin molding machine when the abnormality monitoring unit determines that there is the abnormality.
In this case, if the molded product remains unintentionally in the molding area of the injection molding machine or the like due to an operation abnormality generated in the process of molding processing in the resin molding machine, the operation of the resin molding machine is continued as it is. It can be prevented. Therefore, when the mold clamping operation is performed in the resin molding machine, it is possible to prevent the mold and the like from being damaged by the remaining molded product.

Furthermore, the mold monitoring device described above is acquired by a second image acquisition unit that acquires an image of a mold surface of the mold after completion of the mold opening operation of the resin molding machine, and the second image acquisition unit And a second abnormality monitoring unit that monitors the presence or absence of an abnormality after the completion of the mold opening operation based on the image.
In this case, in the mold monitoring device, when the resin molding machine performs the mold opening operation, the molded product is not held in the molding area of the mold surface of the movable mold, for example, held in the fixed mold or the movable mold It is possible to properly detect an operation abnormality that drops out of the forming area of the surface and adheres to another area.

Further, the mold monitoring device described above is acquired by a third image acquisition unit that acquires an image of a mold surface of the mold after completion of the molded product protruding operation of the resin molding machine, and the third image acquisition unit The system may further include a third abnormality monitoring unit that monitors the presence or absence of an abnormality after completion of the molded product projecting operation based on the image.
In this case, when the resin molding machine performs the molded product projecting operation, the mold monitoring device keeps the molded product held by the movable mold surface without being released from the movable mold surface. An operation error can be detected appropriately.

Furthermore, one aspect of the mold monitoring method according to the present invention includes the steps of acquiring an image of a molded article in the middle of mold opening operation of the mold of the resin molding machine, the acquired image, and the previously stored. Comparing the reference image relating to the reference posture of the molded article in the mold opening operation halfway state, and determining the degree of coincidence between the two images to monitor the presence or absence of occurrence of abnormality in the mold opening operation halfway state; Including.
Thereby, the abnormality which arises in the process of the shaping | molding process in a resin molding machine can be detected appropriately.

  According to the present invention, since the state of the molded article in the middle of the mold opening operation is monitored, it is possible to appropriately detect an abnormality that occurs in the process of molding processing in a resin molding machine that can not be detected by monitoring after completion of the mold opening operation. Can.

It is a figure which shows the structural example of the metal mold | die monitoring apparatus in this embodiment. It is a figure which shows the mold clamping state of a metal mold | die. It is a figure which shows the die opening operation of a die. It is a figure which shows molded article protrusion operation | movement. It is a figure which shows the taking-out state of a molded article. It is a block diagram which shows the hardware constitutions of a metal mold | die monitoring apparatus. It is a figure explaining the flow of surveillance operation. It is a flowchart for demonstrating the monitoring operation | movement of a metal mold | die monitoring apparatus. It is a figure explaining primary surveillance operation. It is a time chart which shows the input and output of the signal in a mold monitoring device.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.
(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing the configuration of a mold monitoring apparatus 100 in the present embodiment together with the configuration of an injection molding machine 200. As shown in FIG.
The injection molding machine 200 is a resin molding machine that manufactures molded articles made of resin. The injection molding machine 200 comprises a mold 10. The mold 10 is composed of a fixed mold 11 and a movable mold 12 which are in a male-female relationship with each other. The injection molding machine 200 also includes an injection unit 20 that melts and injects a resin material, and a mold driving unit 30 that opens and clamps the mold 10. The injection unit 20 and the mold driving unit 30 are drive-controlled by the control unit 40.

  The injection part 20 is provided with the cylindrical cylinder 21 by which the heater not shown was provided in the outer peripheral surface, and the nozzle 22 fixed to the front-end | tip (left end in FIG. 1) of the said cylinder 21. At a rear end portion of the cylinder 21, a supply port (not shown) for supplying a resin material into the cylinder 21 is formed. A hopper 23 into which the resin material is charged is disposed at a position where the supply port is located on the outer peripheral surface of the cylinder 21. Further, in the cylinder 21, a screw (not shown) for kneading the resin material is disposed so as to be capable of advancing and retreating along the axial direction of the cylinder 21. The proximal end of the screw is attached to the screw drive mechanism 24.

  The injection unit 20 rotates the screw in the cylinder 21 to retract, thereby melting the resin material supplied to the hopper 23 while supplying the molten resin material from the rear end of the cylinder 21 toward the front end. The inside of the front end of the cylinder 21 is filled. In this state, the injection unit 20 advances the screw in the cylinder 21. Thereby, the resin material in the molten state filled inside the front end portion of the cylinder 21 is ejected from the nozzle 22.

The mold driving unit 30 includes a fixed platen 31 to which the fixed mold 11 is fixed, and a movable platen 32 to which the movable mold 12 is fixed. The fixed platen 31 and the movable platen 32 are arranged to face each other in the horizontal direction.
Between the fixed platen 31 and the movable platen 32, a plurality of tie bars 33 for guiding the movable platen 32 in the horizontal direction are provided. The movable platen 32 is also connected to the mold clamping mechanism 34.

  The mold driving unit 30 moves (advances) the movable platen 32 to which the movable mold 12 is fixed by the mold clamping mechanism 34 in a direction to move the movable platen 32 closer to the fixed platen 31 along the tie bar 33. I do. Further, the mold driving unit 30 moves (retracts) the movable platen 32 to which the movable mold 12 is fixed by the mold clamping mechanism 34 along the tie bar 33 in a direction to move away from the fixed platen 31. Perform the opening operation.

The injection molding machine 200 may be configured to be able to switch between operation modes of automatic operation, semi-automatic operation and manual operation. In automatic operation, the injection molding machine 200 repeatedly executes a molding cycle consisting of a clamping operation, an injection operation, cooling and solidification of a resin material, a mold opening operation, and a molded product ejection operation.
Specifically, the injection molding machine 200 performs the clamping operation by moving the movable platen 32 forward by the mold driving unit 30. As a result, as shown in FIG. 2, the mold surface of the movable mold 12 is pressed against the mold surface of the fixed mold 11, and as a result, a molding space is formed in the mold 10. In the mold clamping state shown in FIG. 2, the injection molding machine 200 performs an injection operation by the injection unit 20. Thereby, the molten resin material is filled in the molding space inside the mold 10. The resin material injected and injected into the mold 10 is solidified by being cooled for a predetermined time. After the resin material is solidified, the injection molding machine 200 performs the mold opening operation by retracting the movable platen 32 by the mold driving unit 30. At this time, in the normal state, as shown in FIG. 3, the molded article 60 is held in the molding area (area forming the molding space) on the mold surface of the movable mold 12.

Next, in the mold open state shown in FIG. 4 in which the mold opening operation has been completed, the injection molding machine 200 performs a molded product projecting operation in which the ejection pin 35 shown in FIG. Thereby, the molded product 60 is protruded from the mold surface of the movable mold 12 as shown in FIG. The molded product 60 is released from the movable mold 12 as shown in FIG. 5 by automatic dropping or removal by a removal machine such as a robot.
After the molded product 60 is taken out, the injection molding machine 200 returns the ejection pin 35 to the original position where it does not project from the mold surface of the movable mold 12 and causes the mold drive unit 30 to advance the movable platen 32 again. Do the tightening action.

Returning to FIG. 1, the mold monitoring device 100 monitors the state of the mold surface of the mold 10 in the injection molding machine 200 and the state of the molded product 60 held in the molding area of the mold 10.
The mold monitoring apparatus 100 monitors the presence or absence of abnormality related to molding based on the monitoring camera 110 that captures the mold surface and molding area of the movable mold 12 and the image captured by the monitoring camera 110, and an injection molding machine And a monitor control unit 120 for controlling the operation of the vehicle.
The monitoring camera 110 is fixed above the injection molding machine 200, more specifically, above the fixed mold 11. The monitoring camera 110 is configured to be able to capture a plurality of images (videos) captured continuously in time series. Here, the installation position of the monitoring camera 110, the imaging direction, and the imaging angle of view are preset so that the mold surface and the forming area of the movable mold 12 to be monitored can be imaged.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing the hardware configuration of the mold monitoring device 100. As shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 6, the monitoring control unit 120 includes a central control unit 121, a ROM 122, a RAM 123, an image acquisition unit 124, an image data processing unit 125, a storage unit 126, a display unit 127, and an operation. And a unit 128.
The central control unit 121 is a CPU that centrally controls the operation of the monitoring control unit 120, and controls each component of the monitoring control unit 120 via a bus. The ROM 122 is a non-volatile memory that stores control programs and the like necessary for the central control unit 121 to execute processing. The RAM 123 functions as a main memory, a work area, and the like of the central control unit 121. That is, the central control unit 121 loads a necessary program or the like from the ROM 122 to the RAM 123 when executing processing, and realizes various functional operations by executing the program or the like.

The image acquisition unit 124 acquires an image from the monitoring camera 110. The image data processing unit 125 processes the image acquired by the image acquisition unit 124, stores the processed image in the storage unit 126, and displays the image on the display unit 127. The image data processing unit 125 also functions as an abnormality monitoring unit that performs a monitoring operation to monitor the presence or absence of an abnormality related to molding based on the image acquired by the image acquisition unit 124.
The image data processing unit 125 outputs the result of the monitoring operation to the central control unit 121, and the central control unit 121 controls the operation of the injection molding machine 200 based on the result of the monitoring operation input from the image data processing unit 125. Do. That is, the central control unit 121 also functions as an operation control unit that controls to stop the operation of the injection molding machine 200 when it is determined that there is an abnormality by the monitoring operation of the image data processing unit 125.
The operation unit 128 inputs an operation of the operator on the mold monitoring apparatus 100.

In the present embodiment, the mold monitoring apparatus 100 performs three times from when the mold 10 starts the mold opening operation in the injection molding machine 200 to when the molded product 60 is taken out and the mold clamping operation is started. Perform monitoring operation.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, the mold monitoring device 100 is in a state (the mold opening operation halfway state) after the mold 10 starts the mold opening operation until the mold opening state is reached. The primary monitoring operation is performed to monitor the state of the molded product held in the molding area of the mold 10. Further, the mold monitoring apparatus 100 performs a secondary monitoring operation of monitoring the mold surface of the movable mold 12 in the mold opening state after completion of the mold opening operation. Furthermore, the mold monitoring apparatus 100 performs a tertiary monitoring operation of monitoring the mold surface of the movable mold 12 in a state where the molded product projecting operation is performed and the removal of the molded product is completed.
In each monitoring operation, the mold monitoring apparatus 100 compares the monitoring image captured by the monitoring camera 110 with the reference image stored in advance, and determines the presence or absence of an abnormality occurrence based on the matching degree of both images. . The reference image is, for example, stored in advance in the storage unit 126 of FIG.

The monitoring operation performed by the mold monitoring apparatus 100 will be specifically described below.
FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining the monitoring operation performed by the mold monitoring device 100.
First, in S1, the mold monitoring apparatus 100 determines whether or not the primary monitoring trigger signal has been input. Here, the primary monitoring trigger signal is a mold opening start signal indicating that the mold opening operation has been started in the injection molding machine 200, and is input from the injection molding machine 200. In S1, the mold monitoring apparatus 100 waits until the primary monitoring trigger signal is input, and when the primary monitoring trigger signal is input, the process shifts to S2.

In S2, the mold monitoring apparatus 100 acquires an image captured by the monitoring camera 110 as primary monitoring image data. Here, the primary monitoring image data is data of a monitoring image obtained by imaging the forming area on the mold surface of the mold 10 in the middle of the mold opening operation. Specifically, the primary monitoring image data is image data in a state where the molded product 60 is held by the movable mold 12 and the fixed mold 11 of the injection molding machine 200 in the middle of the mold opening operation.
The mold monitoring apparatus 100 detects, for example, a plurality of images captured by the monitoring camera 110 from the time when the primary monitoring trigger signal (the mold opening start signal) is input until the monitoring time T1 set in the timer elapses. An image can be acquired as primary surveillance image data. The number of primary monitoring image data can be set arbitrarily. For example, the mold monitoring device 100 uses, as primary monitoring image data, one image captured by the monitoring camera 110 after a predetermined time has elapsed since the primary monitoring trigger signal (the mold opening start signal) is input. You may get it.

In S3, the mold monitoring apparatus 100 performs a primary monitoring operation based on the primary monitoring image data acquired in S2. In the primary monitoring operation, the mold monitoring apparatus 100 compares the primary monitoring image data acquired in S2 with the primary reference image data stored in the storage unit 126 of FIG.
Here, the primary reference image data is image data obtained by imaging the molded product 60 in the molding area in the normal state in the mold opening operation midway state of the injection molding machine 200. The primary reference image data is an image obtained by imaging the molded product 60 held by the fixed mold 11 and the movable mold 12 which are separated from each other in the middle of the mold opening operation. The primary reference image data can be an image of a molded article captured in the middle of the mold opening operation of the molding process in which the non-defective product is molded among the molding processes previously executed by the injection molding machine 200.

The primary reference image data includes position data and luminance data for each of a plurality of pixels (for example, 640 pixels × 480 pixels) constituting an image from the surveillance camera 110. The luminance data indicates the luminance of each pixel as a relative value by an integer of 0 to 255, for example.
In the primary monitoring operation, the mold monitoring apparatus 100 determines that all differences between each of the luminance data in the primary monitoring image data and each of the luminance data in the primary reference image data are within a preset allowable range. It is determined whether or not. Then, the mold monitoring apparatus 100 determines that the primary monitoring image data and the primary reference image data match if all of the above differences are within the allowable range. On the other hand, when at least one of the above differences is outside the allowable range, the mold monitoring apparatus 100 determines that the primary monitoring image data and the primary reference image data are different.

For example, as shown in FIG. 9, when the posture of the molded product 60 in the mold opening operation is inclined with respect to the reference posture 61 shown by a broken line and the amount of inclination exceeds the allowable range, the mold The monitoring apparatus 100 can determine that the primary monitoring image data and the primary reference image data are different.
As described above, when the posture of the molded product 60 is inclined beyond the allowable range with respect to the reference posture 61 during the mold opening operation, the tip portion of the molded product 60 is removed from the stationary mold 11 during the mold opening operation. Without leaving, a part of the molded product 60 remains in the fixed mold 11, resulting in an operation error. Then, the operation of the injection molding machine 200 is continued in a state where such an operation abnormality occurs, and when the injection molding machine 200 performs a mold clamping operation, the mold surface of the fixed mold 11 or the part of the fixed mold 11 is The mold surface of the movable mold 12 may be damaged. The mold monitoring apparatus 100 can appropriately monitor the presence or absence of the occurrence of the operation abnormality as described above by the primary monitoring operation in the mold opening operation halfway state.

Referring back to FIG. 8, the mold monitoring apparatus 100 determines the result of the primary monitoring operation in S4 and determines that the operation of the injection molding machine 200 is continued if there is no abnormality, and the process proceeds to S5. If it is determined that there is an abnormality, the process proceeds to S16.
In S5, the mold monitoring apparatus 100 outputs, to the injection molding machine 200, a mold full opening operation permission command indicating that the movable mold 12 may be in the mold opening state. Thus, the injection molding machine 200 continues the mold opening operation.

  In S6, the mold monitoring device 100 determines whether or not the secondary monitoring trigger signal has been input. Here, the secondary monitoring trigger signal is a mold opening limit signal indicating that the mold opening operation has been completed in the injection molding machine 200 and the movable mold 12 has reached the mold opening position, and is input from the injection molding machine 200. Ru. In S6, the mold monitoring apparatus 100 waits until the secondary monitoring trigger signal is input, and when the secondary monitoring trigger signal is input, the process shifts to S7.

In S7, the mold monitoring apparatus 100 acquires an image captured by the monitoring camera 110 as secondary monitoring image data. Here, the secondary monitoring image data is data of a monitoring image obtained by imaging the mold surface of the movable mold 12 in the mold open state.
For example, the mold monitoring apparatus 100 secondarily displays the image captured by the monitoring camera 110 after the standby time T2 set in the timer has elapsed since the input of the secondary monitoring trigger signal (the mold opening limit signal). It can be acquired as surveillance image data. The mold monitoring apparatus 100 acquires, as secondary monitoring image data, a plurality of images captured by the monitoring camera 110 in a predetermined period after the secondary monitoring trigger signal (the mold opening limit signal) is input. It is also good.

In S8, the mold monitoring apparatus 100 performs a secondary monitoring operation based on the secondary monitoring image data acquired in S7. In the secondary monitoring operation, the mold monitoring apparatus 100 compares the secondary monitoring image data acquired in S7 with the secondary reference image data stored in the storage unit 126 of FIG.
Here, the secondary reference image data is image data obtained by imaging the mold surface of the movable mold 12 in a normal state after the mold opening operation of the injection molding machine 200 is completed. The secondary reference image data is image data obtained by imaging the mold surface of the movable mold 12 holding the molded product 60 after completion of the mold opening operation. The secondary reference image data may be an image of the mold surface of the movable mold 12 captured after completion of the mold opening operation of the molding process in which the non-defective product is molded among the molding processes previously executed by the injection molding machine 200 it can.

The secondary reference image data includes position data and luminance data for each of a plurality of pixels (for example, 640 pixels × 480 pixels) constituting the image from the surveillance camera 110. The luminance data indicates the luminance of each pixel as a relative value by an integer of 0 to 255, for example.
In the secondary monitoring operation, the mold monitoring apparatus 100 determines that all the differences between each of the luminance data in the secondary monitoring image data and each of the luminance data in the secondary reference image data are within a preset allowable range. It is determined whether or not. Then, the mold monitoring apparatus 100 determines that the secondary monitoring image data and the secondary reference image data match if all of the above differences are within the allowable range. On the other hand, if at least one of the above differences is outside the allowable range, the mold monitoring apparatus 100 determines that the secondary monitoring image data and the secondary reference image data are different.

For example, when the molded product 60 is not held in the molding area of the mold surface of the movable mold 12 in the mold open state, the mold monitoring device 100 determines that the secondary monitoring image data and the secondary reference image data are different. can do.
As described above, when the molded product 60 is not held in the molding area of the mold surface of the movable mold 12 in the mold open state, the molded product 60 is held by the fixed mold 11 or the mold surface of the movable mold 12 It is considered that there is an operation abnormality such as dropping off from the forming area of the above and adhering to another area. Then, the operation of the injection molding machine 200 is continued in a state where such an operation abnormality has occurred, and when the injection molding machine 200 performs a mold clamping operation, the mold surface of the fixed mold 11 and the movable mold 12 There is a risk of damage to the mold surface. The mold monitoring apparatus 100 can appropriately monitor the presence or absence of the occurrence of the operation abnormality as described above by the secondary monitoring operation in the mold open limit state.

In S9, the mold monitoring apparatus 100 determines the result of the secondary monitoring operation, and when there is no abnormality, it is determined that the operation of the injection molding machine 200 is continued, and the process proceeds to S10, and it is determined that there is an abnormality. To step S16.
In S10, the mold monitoring apparatus 100 outputs, to the injection molding machine 200, a molded product protrusion permission command indicating that the molded product protruding operation may be started. As a result, the injection molding machine 200 starts the molded product projecting operation.

  In S11, the mold monitoring device 100 determines whether or not the third monitoring trigger signal is input. Here, the third monitoring trigger signal is an eject completion signal indicating that the molded product projecting operation has been completed in the injection molding machine 200, and is input from the injection molding machine 200. In S11, the mold monitoring apparatus 100 waits until the third monitoring trigger signal is input, and when the third monitoring trigger signal is input, the process proceeds to S12.

In S12, the mold monitoring device 100 acquires an image captured by the monitoring camera 110 as tertiary monitoring image data. Here, the third monitoring image data is data of a monitoring image obtained by imaging the mold surface of the movable mold 12 in a state where the molded product projecting operation is completed.
The mold monitoring apparatus 100 performs, for example, third monitoring of an image captured by the monitoring camera 110 after the standby time T3 set in the timer in advance has elapsed after the third monitoring trigger signal (eject completion signal) is input. It can be acquired as image data. Note that the mold monitoring apparatus 100 acquires, as tertiary monitoring image data, a plurality of images captured by the monitoring camera 110 in a predetermined period after the third monitoring trigger signal (eject completion signal) is input. Good.

In S13, the mold monitoring apparatus 100 performs the third monitoring operation based on the third monitoring image data acquired in S12. In the tertiary monitoring operation, the mold monitoring apparatus 100 compares the tertiary monitoring image data acquired in S12 with the tertiary reference image data stored in the storage unit 126 of FIG.
Here, the tertiary reference image data is image data obtained by imaging the mold surface of the movable mold 12 in a normal state after completion of the molded product protruding operation of the injection molding machine 200. The tertiary reference image data is image data obtained by imaging the mold surface of the movable mold 12 in a state where the molded product 60 is released after the molded product protruding operation is completed. The third reference image data is an image of the mold surface of the movable mold 12 captured after the completion of the molding product protruding operation of the molding process in which the non-defective product is molded among the molding processes previously executed by the injection molding machine 200 Can.

The tertiary reference image data includes position data and luminance data for each of a plurality of pixels (for example, 640 pixels × 480 pixels) constituting an image from the surveillance camera 110. The luminance data indicates the luminance of each pixel as a relative value by an integer of 0 to 255, for example.
In the tertiary monitoring operation, the mold monitoring apparatus 100 determines that all differences between each of the luminance data in the tertiary monitoring image data and each of the luminance data in the tertiary reference image data are within a preset allowable range. It is determined whether or not. Then, the mold monitoring apparatus 100 determines that the tertiary monitoring image data and the tertiary reference image data match if all of the above differences are within the allowable range. On the other hand, when at least one of the above differences is out of the allowable range, the mold monitoring apparatus 100 determines that the third monitoring image data and the third reference image data are different.

For example, when the molded product 60 is held in the molding area of the mold surface of the movable mold 12 in a state where the molded product projecting operation is completed, the mold monitoring device 100 generates tertiary monitoring image data and a tertiary reference image. It can be determined that the data is different.
As described above, when the molded product 60 is held in the molding area of the mold surface of the movable mold 12 in a state where the molded product projecting operation is completed, the molded product 60 is not released from the mold surface of the movable mold 12 It is considered that an operation abnormality such as Then, the operation of the injection molding machine 200 is continued in a state where such an operation abnormality has occurred, and when the injection molding machine 200 performs a mold clamping operation, the mold surface of the fixed mold 11 and the movable mold 12 There is a risk of damage to the mold surface. The mold monitoring apparatus 100 can appropriately monitor the presence or absence of the occurrence of the operation abnormality as described above by the tertiary monitoring operation in the state where the molded product protruding operation is completed.

In S14, the mold monitoring apparatus 100 determines the result of the third monitoring operation, and when there is no abnormality, it is determined that the operation of the injection molding machine 200 is to be continued, and the process proceeds to S15. To step S16.
In S15, the mold monitoring apparatus 100 outputs a mold clamping operation permission command indicating that the mold clamping operation may be started to the injection molding machine 200. Thus, the injection molding machine 200 starts the clamping operation.

  In S16, the mold monitoring apparatus 100 outputs, to the injection molding machine 200, an abnormality occurrence signal indicating that an abnormality is detected in any of the primary monitoring operation, the secondary monitoring operation, and the tertiary monitoring operation. Thus, the operation stop of the injection molding machine 200 is instructed. Next, at S17, the mold monitoring apparatus 100 operates an alarm (not shown) or the like to notify the operator that an operation abnormality in the injection molding machine 200 has occurred.

FIG. 10 is a time chart showing input and output of signals in the mold monitoring device 100. In FIG. 10, (a) to (c) are input signals of the mold monitoring apparatus 100, and (d) to (g) are output signals of the mold monitoring apparatus 100.
When the mold monitoring apparatus 100 receives a mold opening start signal from the injection molding machine 200 (primary monitoring trigger signal ON), it operates a timer and performs primary monitoring operation until a predetermined monitoring time T1 elapses. Run. Then, when it is determined that the mold monitoring device 100 is normal in this primary monitoring operation, that is, the posture of the molded product 60 in the mold opening operation is in agreement with the reference posture, the injection molding machine 200 Output the full mold open operation permission command (type full open permission ON).

  Thereafter, when the mold 10 is in the mold opening state in the injection molding machine 200 and the mold monitoring device 100 inputs a mold opening signal from the injection molding machine 200 (secondary monitoring trigger signal ON), the mold monitoring device 100 Operates the timer and executes the secondary monitoring operation after a predetermined waiting time T2 has elapsed. Then, when it is determined that the mold monitoring apparatus 100 is normal in the secondary monitoring operation, that is, the mold surface of the movable mold 12 in the mold open limit state matches the reference state, the injection molding machine 200 Outputs the molded product protrusion permission command (the molded product protrusion permission is ON).

  Thereafter, when the molded product projecting operation is performed in the injection molding machine 200 and the mold monitoring device 100 inputs an ejection completion signal from the injection molding machine 200 (third monitoring trigger signal ON), the mold monitoring device 100 performs a timer And execute a tertiary monitoring operation after a predetermined waiting time T3 has elapsed. Then, when it is determined that the mold monitoring device 100 is normal in this tertiary monitoring operation, that is, the state of the mold surface of the movable mold 12 in the state where the molded product projecting operation is completed matches the reference state, A mold clamping operation permission command is output to the injection molding machine 200 (mold clamping permission ON).

At this time, the mold monitoring apparatus 100 resets the input state of the input signals (primary monitoring trigger signal, secondary monitoring trigger signal and tertiary monitoring trigger signal) from the injection molding machine 200, and to the injection molding machine 200. The output states of the output signals of the molded product (the molded product protrusion permission command and the mold full opening operation permission command) are respectively reset (each signal OFF).
When receiving the mold clamping operation permission command from the mold monitoring apparatus 100, the injection molding machine 200 executes the mold clamping operation, the injection operation, and the cooling and solidification of the resin material in this order. Then, when the resin material is solidified, the injection molding machine 200 outputs a mold opening start signal to the mold monitoring apparatus 100 to start the mold opening operation. When the mold monitoring apparatus 100 receives a mold opening start signal from the injection molding machine 200, it operates the timer as described above, and executes the primary monitoring operation until the predetermined waiting time T1 elapses.

  At this time, as shown in FIG. 9, in the case where the posture of the molded product 60 in the mold opening operation is inclined with respect to the reference posture 61 indicated by a broken line, the mold monitoring device 100 performs this primary monitoring operation. It is determined that an abnormality has occurred in Then, the mold monitoring apparatus 100 outputs an abnormality occurrence signal to the injection molding machine 200 (error occurrence ON), and the injection molding machine 200 having received the abnormality occurrence signal stops its operation.

  As described above, the mold monitoring device 100 according to the present embodiment acquires, from the monitoring camera 110, an image (primary monitoring image data) of the molded article 60 during the mold opening operation of the mold 10 of the resin molding machine 200. Based on the acquired image, a primary monitoring operation is performed to monitor the presence or absence of an abnormality in the mold opening operation midway state. Specifically, the mold monitoring device 100 includes a storage unit 126 that stores a reference image (primary reference image data) related to the reference posture of the molded product 60 in the mold opening operation halfway state, and the primary monitoring image data By comparing the primary reference image data with each other to determine the degree of coincidence between the two images, it is monitored whether or not an abnormality has occurred in the mold opening operation.

  The secondary monitoring operation for monitoring the state of the mold surface of the mold 10 (movable mold 12) after completion of the mold opening operation of the injection molding machine 200 is whether or not the molded product 60 is properly held on the mold surface of the movable mold 12 It is difficult to detect slight breakage or deformation of the molded product 60. In the present embodiment, since the mold monitoring apparatus 100 executes the primary monitoring operation for monitoring the state of the molded product 60 in the mold opening operation midway before the secondary monitoring operation, the mold monitoring device 100 may lose or deform due to the mold opening operation. It is possible to appropriately determine the molded product 60 which leads to a defect such as.

Here, the image of the molded article 60 in the middle of the mold opening operation is an image of a state in which the molded article 60 is held by the movable mold 12 and the fixed mold 11 constituting the mold 10. The mold monitoring apparatus 100 monitors, based on the image, whether or not the posture of the molded product 60 in the middle of the mold opening operation is inclined with respect to the reference posture 61 beyond the allowable range.
Therefore, the mold monitoring apparatus 100 can predict in advance the phenomenon that a part of the molded product 60 is taken by the fixed mold 11 by the mold opening operation in the middle of the mold opening operation, and can determine that there is an abnormality. Further, since the mold monitoring apparatus 100 determines the inclination of the molded product 60 in the state of being held by the movable mold 12 and the fixed mold 11, it is possible to detect an abnormality with high accuracy.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 1, the monitoring camera 110 is fixed at a position above the injection molding machine 200 and close to the fixed mold 11. Therefore, the distance from the monitoring camera 110 to the molded product 60 in the middle of the mold opening operation is shorter than the distance from the monitoring camera 100 to the mold surface of the movable mold 12 after the mold opening operation is completed. That is, the mold monitoring apparatus 100 can perform the primary monitoring operation at a position closer to the monitoring target than the secondary monitoring operation. Therefore, the mold monitoring apparatus 100 can properly detect even a slight inclination of the molded product 60.
In addition, since the monitoring camera 110 is a fixed camera, a mechanism or a structure for moving the monitoring camera 110 is not necessary. Therefore, the increase in size and complexity of the device can be avoided.

  Then, when it is determined that there is an abnormality by the primary monitoring operation, the mold monitoring apparatus 100 controls to stop the operation of the injection molding machine 200. Thereby, the mold monitoring apparatus 100 can prevent the mold clamping operation from being performed while the operation of the injection molding machine 200 is continued while a part of the molded product 60 remains in the molding area. Therefore, when the mold clamping operation is performed in the injection molding machine 200, it is possible to appropriately prevent the mold 10 and the like from being damaged by the remaining molded product 60.

Further, in the primary monitoring operation, the mold monitoring apparatus 100 acquires an image of the molded product 60 captured at a plurality of different timings in the mold opening operation halfway state, and an abnormality is detected for each of the acquired plurality of images. Monitor the occurrence of occurrence. Specifically, in the mold monitoring apparatus 100, the image of the molded article 60 is continuously transmitted from the monitoring camera 100 until the predetermined monitoring time T1 elapses after the mold opening operation is started in the injection molding machine 200. With respect to a plurality of acquired and acquired images, the presence or absence of occurrence of abnormality is monitored.
As described above, the mold monitoring apparatus 100 can detect the operation abnormality occurring in the process of the mold opening operation with higher accuracy by performing monitoring a plurality of times in the mold opening operation halfway state.

  Further, the mold monitoring apparatus 100 acquires an image of the mold surface of the mold 10 (movable mold 12) after completion of the mold opening operation of the injection molding machine 200, and based on the acquired image, after completion of the mold opening operation. A secondary monitoring operation may be performed to monitor the presence or absence of the occurrence of an abnormality in Furthermore, the mold monitoring apparatus 100 acquires an image of the mold surface of the mold 10 (movable mold 12) after completion of the molded product protruding operation of the injection molding machine 200, and based on the acquired image, molded product projected operation. A tertiary monitoring operation may be performed to monitor the presence or absence of an abnormality after completion.

  Thus, the mold monitoring device 100 performs monitoring three times from when the mold 10 starts the mold opening operation in the injection molding machine 200 to when the molded product 60 is taken out and the mold clamping operation starts. The operation may be performed. Thereby, various abnormalities which occur in the process of the molding process in the injection molding machine 200 can be properly detected. In addition, the mold monitoring apparatus 100 can perform three monitoring operations using the monitoring image captured by the common monitoring camera 110. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a detection mechanism corresponding to each of the three monitoring operations. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the number of parts and avoid the increase in size and complexity of the apparatus.

(Modification)
In the above embodiment, when the mold monitoring apparatus 100 determines that there is an abnormality in each monitoring operation, an abnormality occurrence signal is output to the injection molding machine 200, and the operation of the injection molding machine 200 is stopped. did. However, the operation when it is determined that there is an abnormality in each monitoring operation is not limited to the above. For example, after the mold monitoring apparatus 100 determines that there is an abnormality in the monitoring operation and stops the injection molding machine 200 and notifies the operator of the abnormality, the operator can input a remonitoring command from the operator. It is also good. When the remonitoring command is input, the mold monitoring apparatus 100 can execute again the monitoring operation determined to be abnormal.

  Moreover, in the said embodiment, although the case where the metal mold | die monitoring apparatus 100 provided the monitoring camera 110 was demonstrated, the monitoring camera 110 does not need to be included in the metal mold | die monitoring apparatus 100. FIG. That is, the mold monitoring apparatus 100 may be provided with means for acquiring an image captured by the monitoring camera 110.

  Furthermore, although the case where the injection molding machine 200 is a horizontal molding machine has been described in the above embodiment, the injection molding machine 200 may be a vertical molding machine. Further, the resin molding machine monitored by the mold monitoring apparatus 100 is not limited to the injection molding machine, and may be, for example, an insert molding machine.

  DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS 10 mold 11 fixed mold 12 movable 60 molded product 100 mold monitoring device 110 monitoring camera 120 monitoring control unit 121 central control unit 124 image acquisition unit 125: Image data processing unit 126: Storage unit 200: Injection molding machine

Claims (9)

An image acquisition unit for acquiring an image of a molded article in a mold opening operation state of a mold of a resin molding machine;
A storage unit configured to store a reference image relating to a reference posture of the molded article in the mold opening operation halfway state;
The image acquired by the image acquisition unit is compared with the reference image stored in the storage unit to determine the degree of coincidence between the two images, thereby monitoring the presence or absence of an abnormality in the mold opening operation halfway state. What is claimed is: 1. A mold monitoring device comprising: an abnormality monitoring unit. The image acquisition unit
The mold monitoring device according to claim 1, wherein an image of a state in which the molded product is held by the movable mold and the fixed mold constituting the mold is acquired in the middle of the mold opening operation. The abnormality monitoring unit
When the posture of the molded article in the mold opening operation halfway state is inclined beyond the allowable range with respect to the reference posture, it is determined that an abnormality occurs in the mold opening operation middle state. The mold monitoring device according to claim 1. The image acquisition unit
Acquiring an image of the molded product respectively captured at a plurality of different timings in the mold opening operation halfway state;
The abnormality monitoring unit
The mold monitoring device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein presence or absence of the occurrence of the abnormality is monitored for each of the plurality of images acquired by the image acquisition unit.   The mold monitoring device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a monitoring camera fixed at a predetermined position with respect to the resin molding machine and capturing the image.   The operation control unit configured to stop the operation of the resin molding machine when the abnormality monitoring unit determines that the abnormality is present, further includes an operation control unit according to any one of claims 1 to 5. Mold monitoring equipment. A second image acquisition unit that acquires an image of a mold surface of the mold after completion of the mold opening operation of the resin molding machine;
A second abnormality monitoring unit for monitoring the presence or absence of an abnormality after the completion of the mold opening operation based on the image acquired by the second image acquisition unit. The mold monitoring device according to any one of 6. A third image acquisition unit that acquires an image of a mold surface of the mold after completion of a molded product protruding operation of the resin molding machine;
A third abnormality monitoring unit for monitoring the presence or absence of an abnormality after completion of the molded product projecting operation based on the image acquired by the third image acquiring unit. The mold monitoring device according to any one of 1 to 7. Acquiring an image of a molded article in the middle of the mold opening operation of the mold of the resin molding machine;
The acquired image is compared with a reference image relating to the reference posture of the molded article in the mold opening operation halfway stored in advance, and the degree of coincidence between the two images is determined to determine the mold opening operation halfway And monitoring the occurrence of an abnormality.

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