JP2963497B2 - Paint remaining amount management system - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a paint supply source storing paint to be sent to a coating apparatus and a system for managing the remaining amount of paint for a paint supply source.

"Prior art" Conventionally, as a configuration example of a system for painting an object to be painted such as an automobile body, a painting booth in which a painting device is provided and an object to be painted is transported, and a paint is applied to the painting device. There is known a system including a paint tank for feeding and a replenishment tank for replenishing the paint tank with paint.

In this type of coating system, if the remaining amount of paint in the paint tank is less than the specified value, it will not be possible to send paint stably to the coating equipment, which may cause problems such as uneven coating and changes in coating thickness. There is.

Therefore, in addition to the paint tank, a supply tank is provided in addition to the paint tank so that paint can be supplied to the paint tank one by one. The painting work is done while performing.

"Problems to be Solved by the Invention" In the coating system having the above configuration, when there are many types of colors to be applied to various types of objects to be coated, a plurality of paint tanks and replenishment tanks are provided in correspondence with each color. The paint tank to be used is selectively used for each color of the object to be coated.

However, when using dozens of colors in the above-mentioned coating system and using a large number of paint tanks properly, the remaining amount management of each paint tank becomes extremely complicated,
It is necessary to manage the remaining amount of each paint tank efficiently.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a paint remaining amount management system that allows an operator to quickly ascertain the details of the occurrence of an abnormality related to the remaining amounts of various types of paint and to easily check the details of the abnormality.

"Means for Solving the Problem" The present invention provides a coating device a,
A plurality of paint supply sources b for sending paint to the coating apparatus a, a plurality of paint supply sources c for supplying paint to these paint supply sources b, and the respective paint supply sources b and the respective paint supply sources c Are connected to the liquid level detecting section d for detecting an abnormal state deviating from the upper limit state and the lower limit state of the paint remaining amount, and are connected to all the liquid level detecting sections d to detect abnormalities from the respective liquid level detecting sections d. A computer e for storing the state of occurrence, a voice synthesis unit f connected to the computer e, and a speaker g connected to the voice synthesis unit f; A code column in which the numbers corresponding to the numbers are recorded; a code column in which the distinction between the paint supply source b and the paint supply source c is recorded; a paint supply source b and a paint supply source c
A speech synthesis table including a code column in which the type of the content of the abnormality is recorded and a code column in which the type of the abnormality countermeasure is recorded is stored in the speech synthesis unit f for detecting the abnormal state of the liquid level detection unit d. According to the instruction from the computer e, the contents of each code column of the speech synthesis table are selected and synthesized, and a function of causing the speaker g to utter the synthesized contents is added.

[Operation] When a paint supply source or a paint supply source in a plurality of paint supply sources or a plurality of paint supply sources has an abnormal remaining amount of paint, the computer issues a command to the voice synthesis unit. The voice synthesizing unit issues an alarm from the speaker and reports the specific supply source or paint supply source in which the abnormality has occurred. Thus, the operator can easily grasp the occurrence of the abnormality from the plurality of paint supply sources or the plurality of paint supply sources, and can quickly deal with the abnormality. Further, since the content of the warning of the occurrence of the abnormality is selected from the code column of the speech synthesis table stored in the speech synthesis unit and transmitted to the speaker, an appropriate warning is issued even if there are many paint supply sources and paint supply sources. .

FIG. 2 shows an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a coating system. In the drawing, reference numeral 1 denotes a blending tank, 2 denotes a drum, and the blending tank 1 is a coating device via a supply source 3. 4, and the mixing tank 1 and the drum 2 are connected by a supply pipe 5. A pump 6, a surge tank 7, and a filter 8 are incorporated in the supply pipe 3 in this order from the preparation tank 1 side, and the paint can be pressure-fed to the coating apparatus 4 by the pump 6. The supply pipe 5 has a pump 10
The operation of this pump 10 allows the paint to be supplied from the drum 2 to the mixing tank 1. An air supply pipe 11 is inserted into the mixing tank 1, and an air supply pipe 12 is inserted into the drum 2.

On the other hand, the air supply pipe 11 is connected to a solenoid valve 14 through an air supply pipe 13.
The air supply pipe 12 is connected to a solenoid valve 16 through an air supply pipe 15.
The solenoid valves 14 and 16 are connected to an air supply source 17, and are connected from the air supply source 17 to the mixing tank 1 via the air supply pipe 11 or to the inside of the drum 2 via the air supply pipe 12. Each can supply air. A pressure sensor (liquid level detection unit) 18 is attached to the air supply pipe 13, and a pressure sensor (liquid level detection unit) 19 is provided to the air supply pipe 15.
Is provided so that the internal pressure of each of the air supply pipe 13 and the air supply pipe 15 can be measured.

The solenoid valves 14, 16 and the pressure sensors 18, 19 are each electrically connected to a sequencer 20, and the sequencer 20 is electrically connected to a computer 21 such as a personal computer, and a CRT 22 is connected to the computer 21. . The sequencer 20 is connected to a speaker 24 via a voice synthesis unit 23.

The sequencer 20 adjusts the degree of opening of the electromagnetic valves 14 and 16 and transmits a measured value of the pressure obtained from the pressure sensors 18 and 19 to a computer 21.

Although not shown in the drawing, a large number of sets (for example, several tens of sets) of the mixing tank 1 and the drum can 2 are provided for the coating apparatus 4, and the supply pipe 3 is provided for each of them.
Equipment such as a supply pipe 5 and a pump 6 attached thereto and equipment such as air supply pipes 11 and 12 and electromagnetic valves 14 and 16 attached thereto, and a large number of sets of electromagnetic valves 14 ... 16 are provided. Each of them is separately connected to a computer 21, and information about the remaining amount of a large number of mixing tanks 1 and information about the remaining amounts of a large number of drums 2 are transmitted to the computer 21.

Next, the operation of the coating system having the above configuration will be described.

In the coating apparatus 4, the object to be coated such as a car body can be coated by pumping the paint stored in the blending tank 1 to the coating apparatus 4 by the pump 6. Then, when the remaining amount of the paint in the blending tank 1 decreases, the paint can be supplied from the drum 3 to the blending tank 1 by the pump 10.

To grasp the remaining amount of paint in each mixing tank 1, air is supplied from the air supply source 17 to the mixing tank 1 at a constant flow rate via the air supply pipe 13, and air is blown into the paint from the tip of the air supply pipe 1. In this case, the pressure in the air supply pipe 13 can be measured by measuring the pressure with the pressure sensor 18.

That is, when the amount of paint remaining in the mixing tank 1 is large, the hydraulic pressure acting on the distal end of the air supply pipe 11 is high, and when the amount of paint is small, the hydraulic pressure acting on the distal end of the air supply pipe 11 is high. Therefore, when the flow rate of the air sent from the air supply source 17 is constant, the pressure in the air supply pipe 13 varies according to the remaining amount of the paint. Therefore, by measuring the pressure in the air supply pipe 13 with the pressure sensor 18, the paint remaining amount in the blending tank 1 can be measured. Further, regarding the remaining amount of the paint in the drum 2, the air supply pipe is the same as in the mixing tank 1.
By measuring the pressure of 15 with the pressure sensor 19, it is possible to grasp the paint remaining amount.

The computer 21 calculates and stores the remaining amount of paint in the mixing tanks 1 and the remaining amount of paint in the drums 2 based on the pressure measurement results of the pressure sensors 18, 19. Computer 21
Displays such information on the CRT 22, for example, as shown in FIG. In this example, a number of compounding tanks numbered up to No. 42 (the upper row of the two upper and lower tanks numbered in FIG. 3) and a number of drums (each of FIG. 3) In the case of a coating system comprising a numbered upper and lower two-row tank (the lower row).

In FIG. 3, No. 1, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 19, 37, 3
The brewing tank and drums, indicated at 9,42, are empty and have not been used for painting, so they are at rest. On the other hand, No2,3,4,5,6,10,11,16,17,20,2
1,22,33,34,35,36,37,38,39,40,41,42 shows the state where the paint is stored, and the remaining amount is indicated by the height of the bar graph of the blacked out part . In FIG. 3, the display of the bar graph of the portion painted black is actually color-coded on the screen of the CRT 22 according to the remaining amount.

In the storage device of the computer 21, the upper limit value and the lower limit value, which are preferable for pumping the paint in a good condition when the paint is pumped to the coating device 4 with respect to the paint remaining amount in the blending tank 1, are set. An abnormal upper limit is set slightly above the lower limit, and an abnormal lower limit is set slightly below the lower limit.
Similarly, in the drum 2, a supply lower limit value is set for the paint remaining amount. And the computer 21
When the remaining amount of paint in the mixing tank 1 is between the upper limit and the lower limit, the green color is displayed on the screen on the CRT 22, and between the abnormal lower limit and the lower limit, and between the upper limit and the abnormal upper limit. It is displayed in yellow, and in red below the abnormal lower limit or above the abnormal upper limit. When the remaining amount of the paint in the drum 2 is equal to or higher than the lower limit of supply, it is displayed in green, and when it is lower than the lower limit of supply, it is displayed in red.

Therefore, the operator can easily identify the dispensing tank 1 or the drum can 2 in which an abnormality has occurred simply by recognizing the color of the bar graph on the screen of the CRT 22.

On the other hand, a storage device incorporated in the voice synthesis unit 23 stores a voice synthesis table shown in FIG. In the table shown in FIG. 4, code columns from column I to column VII are formed, and in each code column, a voice code as shown in FIG. 4 is recorded. Then, based on the occurrence of an abnormality in the remaining amount of paint, the voice synthesis unit selects the corresponding voice code in columns I to VII of the voice synthesis table of the storage device according to an instruction from the computer 21, and stores the selected voice code in the voice synthesis table. Columns I to VII are combined in numerical order and the content is
To utter.

In this way, the operator can be alerted to the occurrence of an abnormality by the sound from the speaker 24, so that the operator can be sure to use the specific mixing tank
Alternatively, it is possible to know the abnormality of the remaining amount of the paint of the specific drum can 2, and to take measures against the abnormality promptly.

Note that, in the speech synthesis table shown in FIG.
Since there is a blank portion in each portion of the column VII, additional information is stored in these blank portions, so that the speaker 24
Can increase the types of voice alarms. That is, if a new warning content is separately recorded as a voice code in a necessary part of a blank of each code column of the voice synthesis table shown in FIG. 4, even if the number of the mixing tank 1 or the drum can 2 increases. In addition to being able to respond easily, it is possible to appropriately issue an instruction when performing more complicated response processing.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, the present invention relates to the case where the paint remaining amount of a specific paint supply source or a specific paint supply source becomes abnormal in a plurality of paint supply sources or a plurality of paint supply sources. , The computer issues a command to the speech synthesis unit,
An appropriate code is selected from the voice code of the voice synthesizing unit, and the voice synthesizing unit issues an alarm from a speaker to warn about a specific supply source or a paint supply source in which an abnormality has occurred. Thereby, the operator can easily grasp the occurrence of the abnormality from the plurality of paint supply sources or the plurality of paint supply sources, and can promptly cope with the abnormality of the remaining amount of the paint. .

In addition, the content of the warning of the occurrence of an abnormality is appropriately selected from a plurality of code fields of the speech synthesis table recorded in the speech synthesis unit, synthesized and transmitted to the speaker, so that even if there are a large number of paint supply sources and paint supply sources, Appropriate warnings will be given regarding the specific paint supply and paint supply source in which the abnormality has occurred.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a functional block diagram showing the present invention, FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing one embodiment of a coating system to which the present invention is applied, and FIG. 3 is an example of a paint remaining amount state displayed on a CRT. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of the speech combination synthesis table. 1 ... mixing tank (paint supply source), 2 ... drum can (paint supply source), 4 ... coating equipment, 11,12 ... supply pipe, 14,16
… Solenoid valve, 17… Air supply source, 18, 19… Pressure sensor (liquid level detection unit), 20… Sequencer, 21… Computer, 22… CRT, 23… Voice synthesis unit, 24… ... speakers.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B05B 12/00-12/14 B05C 11/10 B05D 1/00-3/14 B05B 23 / 00,23 / 02

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A coating apparatus, a plurality of paint supply sources for feeding paint to the coating apparatus, a plurality of paint supply sources for supplying paint to these paint supply sources, each of the paint supply sources and each of the paint supply sources And a liquid level detecting unit which is individually connected to each other to detect an abnormal state deviating from the upper limit state and the lower limit state of the paint remaining amount, and an abnormal state from each liquid level detecting unit which is connected to all the liquid level detecting units. A computer for storing the occurrence state, a voice synthesis unit connected to the computer, and a speaker connected to the voice synthesis unit, wherein a number corresponding to the number of paint supply sources is recorded in the voice synthesis unit. A code column that records the distinction between the paint supply source and the paint supply source, a code column that records the type of the abnormal content of the remaining paint amount of the paint supply source and the paint supply source, and a type of the abnormality countermeasure means. Recorded code And a voice synthesizing table having columns, and the voice synthesizing unit selects and synthesizes the contents described in each code column of the voice synthesizing table according to an instruction of a computer accompanying the detection of an abnormal state of the liquid level detection unit, and synthesizes. A paint remaining amount management system characterized by adding a function of making a speaker speak the contents.