JP6857906B2 - Chip conveyor control method and chip conveyor - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a method for controlling a chip conveyor that conveys cutting chips discharged from a processing apparatus that performs cutting, and a chip conveyor that uses the control method.

Cutting chips such as chips and scraps discharged from the processing apparatus for cutting are carried out by a chip conveyor installed in the vicinity of the processing apparatus. Conventional chip conveyors convey cutting chips at a constant speed while the processing equipment is in operation.

However, since the machining apparatus performs various machining while variously exchanging the rotary tool (cutting tool) attached to the spindle, the amount of cutting tips discharged in a predetermined time is not constant. Therefore, if the chip conveyor is operating excessively with respect to the amount of cutting chips discharged from the processing apparatus, not only the power for operating the chip conveyor is wasted, but also due to wear due to unnecessary operation, etc. The useful life of the chip conveyor will be shortened.

Further, the chip conveyor includes a type of conveyor in which the waste liquid of the coolant supplied in the vicinity of the rotary tool in the processing apparatus is supplied together with the cutting chip, and the waste liquid of the coolant is separated from the cutting chip while the cutting chip is conveyed ( For example, see Patent Document 1). The separated coolant waste liquid is reused after being filtered. In the case of such a chip conveyor, if it is operated at an excessively high speed, a large amount of coolant waste liquid is transported together with the cutting chip and cannot be reused.

In response to the above problem, conventionally, an intermittent operation is performed on the chip conveyor by empirically setting a time according to the type of machining performed by the machining apparatus and setting the timer, and repeating the operation for a predetermined time and the stop for a predetermined time on the chip conveyor. Timed control was being attempted. However, with such a simple control, it is difficult to match the fluctuation of the amount of cutting chips discharged from the processing apparatus with the timing of the intermittent operation of the chip conveyor, and when the amount of cutting chips discharged is large, the chip conveyor The tip conveyor may be running when the cutting tip is stopped or when the amount of cutting chips discharged is low. In recent years, the speed of operation of processing equipment has been increasing, and along with this, the above-mentioned problem due to timing deviation has become more prominent.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 9-290105

Therefore, in view of the above circumstances, the present invention relates to a method for controlling a chip conveyor capable of adjusting the amount of cutting chips conveyed by the chip conveyor to the amount of cutting chips discharged from a processing apparatus that performs cutting, and the control thereof. The subject is to provide a chip conveyor using the method.

In order to solve the above problems, the chip conveyor control method according to the present invention (hereinafter, may be simply referred to as “control method”) is used.
"This is a control method for a chip conveyor that conveys cutting chips discharged from a processing device that performs cutting with a rotary tool attached to the spindle.
A forward rotation operation in which the cutting chips are conveyed in the carry-out direction by the normal rotation of the conveyor motor that drives the chip conveyor.
Based on the magnitude of the spindle current value, which is the current value of the motor that drives the rotation of the spindle, or by the signal transmitted from the processing apparatus side based on the control program that controls the rotation of the spindle.
Switching between high-speed operation and one or more low-speed operation with a lower transfer speed than the high-speed operation , and
During the forward rotation operation, an overload determination is performed by comparing the motor current value, which is the current value of the conveyor motor, with the reference value.
When it is determined that the conveyor motor is overloaded, the overload elimination process of switching to the normal rotation operation and performing the overload determination after performing the reverse operation for reversing the conveyor motor for a predetermined time is performed up to a predetermined number of times. Repeat until the load is removed,
If it is determined that the overload is overloaded even after the overload elimination process is performed a predetermined number of times, the conveyor motor is stopped after the reverse operation is performed for a predetermined time by the emergency stop process . "
Further, the chip conveyor control method according to the present invention is provided in addition to the above configuration.
"In the overload determination, the overload is determined when the time when the motor current value exceeds the reference value reaches a preset monitoring time."

As a chip conveyor to which this control method is applied, cutting chips are conveyed by an endless chain wound around a sprocket rotationally driven by a conveyor motor or an endless belt wound around a pulley rotationally driven by a conveyor motor. Examples thereof include a conveyor on which a conveyor belt circulates, a conveyor on which cutting chips are conveyed by a roller rotationally driven by a conveyor motor, and a conveyor on which cutting chips are conveyed by a screw rotationally driven by a conveyor motor.

In the present invention, the operation of the chip conveyor is switched to a plurality of operation modes having different transfer speeds based on the signal transmitted from the processing apparatus side. The signals transmitted from the processing device side include a signal transmitted based on the magnitude of the spindle current value, which is the current value of the motor that drives the rotation of the spindle of the processing device, and a control program that controls the rotation of the spindle. There is a signal transmitted based on.

In a processing apparatus that performs cutting, a large amount of cutting chips are discharged during roughing (roughing) at the initial stage of machining, but the amount of cutting chips discharged during finishing in the latter stage of machining is reduced. Since the magnitude of the resistance acting on the rotary tool attached to the spindle of the machining apparatus differs between rough machining and finishing machining, the spindle current value, which is the current value of the motor that rotationally drives the spindle, The size is different. In such a case, it is suitable to control the chip conveyor to switch to a plurality of operation modes having different transport speeds by detecting the spindle current value and using a signal transmitted based on the magnitude of the current value. That is, when the spindle current value is large, a large amount of cutting chips are discharged and the operation is switched to high speed operation, and when the spindle current value is small, the cutting chips are discharged as a small amount and the operation is switched to low speed operation.

On the other hand, depending on the type of cutting and the type of metal to be machined, even if the resistance acting on the rotary tool attached to the spindle of the machining apparatus is small, the cutting tip having a small specific gravity and bulky may be discharged. In this way, when there is no correlation between the magnitude of the spindle current value and the amount (bulkness) of the cutting chips discharged, the transfer speed of the chip conveyor is transmitted by a signal transmitted based on the control program that controls the rotation of the spindle. Control to switch to multiple different operation modes is suitable. That is, in the control program that controls the rotation of the spindle, a command to send a signal instructing to switch to high-speed operation is incorporated in the chip conveyor when cutting a type with a large amount of cutting chips discharged, and the amount of cutting chips discharged. For a small number of types of cutting, a command to send a signal instructing to switch to low-speed operation is incorporated.

By any of the above controls, the amount of cutting chips transported by the chip conveyor can be brought close to an appropriate amount with respect to the amount of cutting chips discharged from the processing apparatus in a predetermined time. As a result, the harmful effects caused by the excessive operation of the chip conveyor, that is, waste of electric power, unnecessary shortening of the useful life of the chip conveyor, reduction of the reuse rate due to the removal of coolant waste liquid, etc. It can be effectively suppressed.

The number of a plurality of operation modes having different transport speeds is two or more, and one high-speed operation and at least one low-speed operation are set.

In this control method, when an overload occurs due to clogging of cutting chips or the like during operation of the chip conveyor, this is detected and processing corresponding to this is performed. Specifically, while the object to be transported is being conveyed by the normal rotation operation, the motor current value, which is the current value of the conveyor motor that drives the chip conveyor, is constantly detected and compared with a predetermined reference value. To determine the overload. As a result, when it is determined that the load is overloaded, the operation of the conveyor is not stopped immediately, but the reverse operation of reversing the conveyor by reversing the motor is performed for a predetermined time.

As a result, it is expected that the cause of overload such as clogging of the transported object will be removed by changing the posture of the transported object such as the cutting tip and foreign matter mixed in the cutting tip or the pile of the transported object to collapse. Will be done. After the reverse rotation operation is performed for a predetermined time, the normal rotation operation is returned again and the overload determination is performed. If the overload condition is resolved, the normal rotation operation is continued as it is. On the other hand, if the overload state is still present, a series of overload elimination processes of reverse operation, subsequent forward rotation operation, and overload determination are repeated up to a predetermined number of times until the overload state is eliminated. Then, when the overload state is not resolved even after repeating the overload elimination process up to a predetermined number of times, the rotation of the conveyor motor is stopped for the first time to stop the operation of the conveyor.

Therefore, according to this control method, the overload state can be automatically eliminated without the manual work of the operator, so that the labor burden of the operator due to the overload can be reduced. Further, in the past, when the overload occurred, the chip conveyor was stopped immediately by the operation of the thermal switch, but the number of times the chip conveyor is stopped can be significantly reduced as compared with this, so that the chip conveyor can be used. The operating efficiency can be improved.

That is, in the control method of this configuration, in addition to being able to reduce unnecessary operation of the chip conveyor and increase the operating efficiency of the chip conveyor, it is possible to suppress a decrease in the operating efficiency of the chip conveyor due to an overload. be able to.

Next, the chip conveyor according to the present invention is
"A chip conveyor that conveys cutting chips discharged from a processing device that performs cutting with a rotary tool attached to the spindle.
A control means for controlling the rotation of the conveyor motor for driving the chip conveyor is provided.
The control means
Based on a signal transmitted from a sensor that detects the spindle current value, which is the current value of the motor that drives the rotation of the spindle, and compares it with one or more predetermined thresholds, or a control program that controls the rotation of the spindle. Receives the signal transmitted by
Based on the received signal, the normal rotation operation in which the cutting chips are conveyed in the carry-out direction by the forward rotation of the conveyor motor is switched between high-speed operation and one or more low-speed operation in which the transfer speed is smaller than the high-speed operation , and
During the forward rotation operation, an overload determination is performed by comparing the motor current value, which is the current value of the conveyor motor, with the reference value.
When it is determined that the conveyor motor is overloaded, the reverse rotation operation for reversing the conveyor motor is performed for a predetermined time, and then the overload elimination process for switching to the normal rotation operation and performing the overload determination is performed up to a predetermined number of times. Repeat until the overload is resolved,
If it is determined that the overload is overloaded even after the overload elimination process is performed a predetermined number of times, the conveyor motor is stopped after the reverse operation is performed for a predetermined time by the emergency stop process . "
Further, the chip conveyor according to the present invention has, in addition to the above configuration,
"The control means is
In the overload determination, when the time when the motor current value exceeds the reference value reaches a preset monitoring time, it is determined to be an overload. "

This is a configuration of a chip conveyor using the above-mentioned control method for controlling the transfer speed of the chip conveyor based on a signal transmitted from the processing apparatus side, and the above-mentioned effects and effects are exhibited. Further, this includes both a control method for controlling the transfer speed of the chip conveyor based on a signal transmitted from the processing apparatus side and a control method for controlling the rotation of the conveyor motor based on the detection of an overload state. It is the configuration of the chip conveyor to be used, and the above-mentioned effects are exhibited.

As described above, according to the present invention, a method for controlling a chip conveyor capable of adjusting the amount of cutting chips conveyed by the chip conveyor to the amount of cutting chips discharged from a processing apparatus for cutting, and the control thereof. A chip conveyor using the method can be provided.

It is a flowchart of the control method of 1st Embodiment of this invention. (A) A flowchart of the delayed stop processing in the control method of the first embodiment and the second embodiment, and (b) a flowchart of the delayed stop processing in the control method of the third embodiment. It is a flowchart of the control method of the 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart of the interlocking mode in the control method of the 3rd Embodiment of this invention. It is a flowchart of the load monitoring mode in the control method of 3rd Embodiment. It is the flowchart of the load monitoring mode following FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a load monitoring mode following FIGS. 5 and 6. (A) Flow chart while waiting for deletion of the overload detection flag during high-speed operation in the control method of the third embodiment, and (b) Overload detection during low-speed operation in the control method of the third embodiment. It is a flowchart while waiting for the removal of a flag. It is (a) perspective view and (b) side view of the conveyor which uses the control method of 1st Embodiment to 3rd Embodiment.

Hereinafter, a chip conveyor control method according to the first embodiment of the present invention and a chip conveyor using the control method will be specifically described. First, the configuration of the chip conveyor 1 to which the control method of the present embodiment is applied will be described with reference to FIG.

The chip conveyor 1 conveys cutting chips such as chips and scraps discharged from a processing apparatus (not shown) that performs cutting. The transport path of the chip conveyor 1 includes a horizontal first transport path 11 and a second transport path 12 that is inclined upward from the first transfer path 11 and then becomes horizontal. The chip conveyor 1 receives the cutting chips discharged from the processing apparatus near the end of the first transport path 11, transports the second transport path 12, and collects a container or the like from the discharge port 15 at the end of the second transport path. Drop in.

In the chip conveyor 1, a pair of left and right sprockets 31 are provided at the end of the first transport path 11, and a pair of left and right sprockets 32 are provided at the end of the second transport path 12, and the same side on the left and right. A pair of left and right endless chains 35 are wound between the sprockets 31 and 32. When the sprocket 32 is rotationally driven by the conveyor motor 30, the sprocket 31 is driven to rotate via the endless chain 35, and the endless conveyor belt 10 supported between the pair of endless chains 35 orbits. Due to the normal rotation of the conveyor motor 30, the conveyor belt 10 on which the cutting chips are placed moves from the first transport path 11 to the second transport path 12.

The casing of the chip conveyor 1 is only the side cover 21 having a low height in the first transport path 11, and the upper part is open, while the second transport path 12 is covered with the high side cover 22 and the top cover 23. ing. Therefore, at the boundary between the first transport path 11 and the second transport path 12, there is an opening 25 of the casing that covers the second transport path 12.

Further, the chip conveyor 1 includes a microcomputer (not shown) including a main storage device, an auxiliary storage device, and a central processing unit. A program for operating a microcomputer as a control means for controlling the rotation of the conveyor motor 30 is stored in the main storage device. In the present embodiment, the microcomputer controls the rotation speed and the rotation direction of the conveyor motor 30 via an inverter device that arbitrarily changes the frequency of the power supply of the conveyor motor 30.

On the other hand, the processing device that discharges the cutting chip is a device that performs cutting processing with a rotary tool attached to the spindle, and is equipped with a sensor that detects the spindle current value, which is the current value of the motor that drives the rotation of the spindle. .. This sensor constantly detects the spindle current value and compares it with a preset threshold value, and when the spindle current value exceeds the threshold value, transmits a signal (hereinafter, referred to as “sensor signal”) to the chip conveyor 1. ..

Further, the processing device includes a computer including a main storage device, an auxiliary storage device, and a central processing unit, and the main storage device stores a control program for controlling the rotation of the spindle.

The control method of the chip conveyor 1 having the above configuration switches the normal rotation operation of the chip conveyor 1 between high-speed operation and low-speed operation, which has a lower transfer speed than high-speed operation, based on a signal transmitted from the processing apparatus side. .. The chip conveyor 1 can be operated under set conditions regardless of the operation of the processing apparatus, but the operation of the chip conveyor 1 can be operated by manually pressing the "interlocking switch" provided on the operation panel. It can be operated in the "interlocking mode" that is interlocked with the operation of the processing device. The operation panel is provided with a "manual stop switch" that manually stops the rotation of the conveyor motor 30.

In the control method of the first embodiment, the sensor signal transmitted from the sensor to the chip conveyor 1 is used as the signal transmitted from the processing apparatus side based on the magnitude of the spindle current value detected by the sensor.

The flow of control of the chip conveyor in the interlocking mode will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. When the interlocking switch is pressed to enter the interlocking mode, it is confirmed whether or not there is an activation signal transmitted when the processing apparatus is activated (step P1). When the start signal is not received (No in step P1), it waits until it is received. On the other hand, when the start signal of the processing device is received (Yes in step P1), the presence or absence of the sensor signal transmitted when the spindle current value exceeds the threshold is confirmed from the sensor that detects the spindle current value of the processing device. (Step P3). However, when the machining apparatus is just started, because the spindle current value is unstable, predetermined time T ₀ will wait, even if receiving the sensor signal to the time T in _0, in that the sensor signal Ignore without performing the based processing (step P2).

When the _{sensor signal is received after waiting for the time T 0} (Yes in step P3), a large current exceeding the threshold value is flowing through the spindle of the machining apparatus, and a large amount of cutting chips such as rough machining are discharged. It is in a state of being done. Therefore, the frequency of the power supply of the conveyor motor is set to a higher frequency F _H, it starts forward rotation of the conveyor motor at high speed operation (step P4). On the other hand, when the sensor signal is not received (No in step P3), the spindle current value of the processing apparatus is equal to or less than the threshold value, and the amount of cutting chips discharged such as finishing is small. Therefore, by setting the frequency of the power supply of the conveyor motor to a lower frequency F _L, it starts forward rotation of the conveyor motor at a low speed operation (step P4b). The threshold value that the sensor contrasts with the spindle current value can be changed by input.

During high-speed operation, unless there is a stop command by the manual stop switch (Yes in step P5), there is no stop command by the interlocking switch (Yes in step P6), and a stop signal when the processing device is stopped is received (Yes). Yes) in step P7, the presence or absence of the sensor signal is confirmed, and while the sensor signal is being received (Yes in step P8), the process returns to step P5 and high-speed operation is continued.

Similarly, during low-speed operation, there is no stop command by the manual stop switch (Yes in step P5b), there is no stop command by the interlocking switch (Yes in step P6b), and a stop signal when the processing device is stopped is received. Unless otherwise (Yes in step P7b), the presence or absence of the sensor signal is confirmed, and while the sensor signal is not received (No in step P8b), the process returns to step P5b and low-speed operation is continued.

If the sensor signal is no longer received during the continuation of high-speed operation (No in step P8), the spindle current value of the processing device is below the threshold value, and the amount of cutting chips discharged such as finishing is small. Then, the process proceeds to step P4b to switch to low-speed operation. On the other hand, if a sensor signal is received during low-speed operation (Yes in step P8b), a large current exceeding the threshold value will flow to the spindle of the processing device, and a large amount of cutting chips such as rough machining will be discharged. Since the state has changed, the process proceeds to step P4 to switch to high-speed operation.

During high-speed operation or low-speed operation, when a stop command is received by the manual stop switch (No in steps P5 and P5b) and when a stop command is received by the interlocking switch (No in steps P6 and P6b), the motor (Step P9), the normal rotation of the chip conveyor is stopped, and the operation of the chip conveyor is terminated.

On the other hand, if a stop signal when the processing device is stopped is received during high-speed operation or low-speed operation (No in steps P7 and P7b), a delay stop process for stopping the chip conveyor after the stop of the processing device is performed. I do. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2 (a), the timer is reset, to set the timer to delay stopping time T ₅ to continue transport by the chip conveyor after stopping of the processing apparatus (step P10). The timer _{continues to measure until the measurement time reaches T 5} (No in step P11), and when the measurement time _{reaches T 5} (Yes in step P11), the process proceeds to step P9 and the normal rotation of the motor is stopped. Then, the operation of the chip conveyor is terminated. That is, the chip conveyor processing equipment were high-speed operation at the time of the stop, the processing device continues the high-speed operation by a time T ₅ after stopping, the chip conveyor was low speed operation when the processing device is stopped, only time T ₅ after the machining device has stopped to continue the low speed operation. As a result, the chip conveyor can be stopped after the cutting chips discharged by the processing performed immediately before the processing apparatus is stopped have been conveyed by the chip conveyor.

As described above, according to the control method of the first embodiment, when the amount of cutting chips discharged from the processing device is large, the chip conveyor is operated at high speed, and when the amount of cutting chips discharged from the processing device is small, the chips are operated. Since the conveyor is operated at a low speed, the amount of cutting chips transported by the chip conveyor is suitable for the amount of cutting chips discharged from the processing apparatus that performs the cutting process. This effectively solves problems such as waste of electricity due to excessive operation of the chip conveyor, wasteful shortening of the useful life of the chip conveyor, and reduction of the reuse rate due to the removal of coolant waste liquid. It can be suppressed.

Actually, when performing standard cutting, the spindle current value is detected, and when the detected spindle current value exceeds the threshold value, the frequency of the power supply of the chip conveyor is set to 60 Hz to perform high-speed operation, and the spindle is operated. When the current value was equal to or less than the threshold value, the chip conveyor was operated in the interlocking mode in which the frequency of the power supply of the chip conveyor was set to 20 Hz and the operation was performed at low speed. As a result, out of the total processing time of 66 minutes, the time during which the high-speed operation was performed was 17 minutes, and the time during which the low-speed operation was performed was 49 minutes. The coolant carried out by the chip conveyor is 11.05 g / min when the chip conveyor is operated at high speed (frequency 60 Hz), and 2.765 g / min when the chip conveyor is operated at low speed (frequency 20 Hz). It was a minute. That is, the amount of coolant carried out in the total processing time of 66 minutes was 323 g in the interlocking mode. Assuming that the chip conveyor is operated at a high speed of 60 Hz at a constant speed for a total processing time of 66 minutes as in the conventional control method, the amount of coolant carried out by the chip conveyor is 729 g. Based on this, if we estimate that the processing equipment has been operated for one year at a rate of 8 hours a day and 20 days a month, when the chip conveyor is operated at a constant speed at high speed and when it is operated in an interlocking mode. , The total amount of each coolant discharged is as follows.
Constant speed operation at high speed (60Hz): 1273kg
Operation in interlocking mode (60Hz-20Hz): 564kg
Therefore, the amount of coolant that cannot be reused and is wasted because it is carried out by the chip conveyor can be reduced in large quantities by adopting the control by the interlocking mode (a reduction of about 710 kg in one year). This reduction amount corresponds to a large ratio of about 56% of the carry-out amount in the case of constant speed operation at high speed.

Next, a method of controlling the chip conveyor, which is the second embodiment, will be described. The chip conveyor to which the control method of the second embodiment is applied is the same conveyor as the chip conveyor 1 to which the control method of the first embodiment is applied. On the other hand, in the control program of the machining measures used in the control method of the second embodiment, the chip conveyor is switched to high-speed operation for cutting of a type in which a large amount of cutting chips is discharged regardless of the magnitude of the spindle current value. A command to transmit a signal to instruct is built in, and a signal instructing to switch to low-speed operation is transmitted to the chip conveyor for cutting of a type with a small amount of cutting chip emission regardless of the magnitude of the spindle current value. The directive is built in. Hereinafter, the signal instructing the chip conveyor to switch to high-speed operation is referred to as a "high-speed signal", and the signal instructing the chip conveyor to switch to high-speed operation is referred to as a "low-speed signal" and is collectively referred to as a "switching command signal".

The difference between the control method of the second embodiment and the first embodiment is that the signal transmitted from the processing apparatus side is a sensor signal transmitted from the sensor based on the magnitude of the spindle current value and a control program of the processing apparatus. The point is that both of the switching command signal transmitted based on the above are used. In the control of the chip conveyor, the switching command signal is processed in preference to the sensor signal.

The flow of control of the chip conveyor in the interlocking mode of the second embodiment will be specifically described with reference to FIG. In the figure, the same reference numerals are given to the same processes as those in the first embodiment. Hereinafter, the points different from the control flow of the first embodiment will be described, and detailed description of the same processing as that of the first embodiment will be omitted.

After the processing apparatus is activated _{, even if a switching command signal or a sensor signal is received, the predetermined time T 0} is ignored without performing processing based on the signal (step P2). After the lapse of time T ₀ , it is confirmed whether or not the switching command signal is received (step P3-1), and when it is being received (Yes in step P3-1), it is confirmed whether or not it is a high-speed signal. (Step P3-2). If a high-speed signal (in step P3-2 Yes), the frequency of the power supply of the conveyor motor is set to a higher frequency F _H, it starts forward rotation of the conveyor motor at high speed operation (step P4). If a low-speed signal (No in step P3-2), sets the frequency of the power supply of the conveyor motor to a lower frequency F _L, it starts forward rotation of the conveyor motor at a low speed operation (step P4b).

On the other hand, when the switching command signal is not received, the presence or absence of the sensor signal is confirmed (step P3-3). If the sensor signal is received (Yes in step P3-3), the conveyor motor starts normal rotation at high speed (step P4), and if the sensor signal is not received (No in step P3-3). ), Start the forward rotation of the conveyor motor at low speed operation (step P4b).

Even during the continuation of high-speed operation, it is confirmed whether or not the switching command signal is received (step P8-1), and when it is received (Yes in step P8-1), it is confirmed whether or not it is a high-speed signal. (Step P8-2). If it is a high-speed signal (Yes in step P8-2), it returns to step P5 to continue high-speed operation, and if it is a low-speed signal (No in step P8-2), the frequency of the power supply of the conveyor motor is set to a low frequency. set F _L, starts forward rotation of the conveyor motor at a low speed operation (step P4b). When the switching command signal is not received (No in step P8-1), it is confirmed whether or not the sensor signal is received (Step P8-3), and when it is received (Yes in step P8-3), Return to step P5 and continue high-speed operation. When the sensor signal is no longer received (No in step P8-3), the process proceeds to step P4b and the operation is switched to low speed operation.

On the other hand, even during the continuation of low-speed operation, it is confirmed whether or not the switching command signal is received (step P8-1b), and when it is received (Yes in step P8-1b), whether or not it is a high-speed signal. It is confirmed (step P8-2b). If a high-speed signal (Yes in step P8-2b), the process proceeds to step P4, the frequency of the power supply of the conveyor motor is set to a higher frequency F _H, it starts forward rotation of the conveyor motor at high speed operation. If it is a low-speed signal (No in step P8-2), the process returns to step P5b to continue low-speed operation. When the switching command signal is not received (No in step P8-1b), the presence or absence of reception of the sensor signal is confirmed (step P8-3b), and when it is received (Yes in step P8-3b), The process proceeds to step P4 to switch to high-speed operation. If the sensor signal is not received (No in step P8-3), the process returns to step P5b and low-speed operation is continued.

As described above, according to the control method of the second embodiment, when the amount of cutting chips discharged from the processing apparatus is large, the chip conveyor is operated at high speed and the processing apparatus operates, as in the control method of the first embodiment. When the amount of cutting chips discharged is small, the chip conveyor is operated at a low speed, so that the amount of cutting chips transported by the chip conveyor is suitable for the amount of cutting chips discharged from the processing apparatus that performs the cutting process.

Next, a method of controlling the chip conveyor, which is the third embodiment, will be described. The chip conveyor to which the control method of the third embodiment is applied is the same conveyor as the chip conveyor 1 to which the control method of the first embodiment is applied, but in addition to the above-described configuration, the current value of the conveyor motor 30 It is equipped with a motor current detector (not shown) that detects the motor current value.

In the control method of the third embodiment, in addition to the operation in the interlocking mode described above, the operation in the load monitoring mode in which the chip conveyor 1 detects an overload and performs the overload elimination process is chipped. This is a control method that allows the conveyor to perform the operation. The cutting tip placed on the conveyor belt 10 in the first transport path 11 is compressed when entering the second transport path 12 through the opening 25, but it depends on the amount and shape of the cutting tip, or the cutting tip. The opening 25 may be clogged due to the presence of foreign matter in the opening 25. Clogged objects to be transported at the opening 25 are one of the main factors that cause the chip conveyor 1 to be overloaded.

Here, in the control of the load monitoring mode, the motor current value, which is the current value of the conveyor motor, is compared with the reference value during the normal rotation operation in which the cutting chips are conveyed in the carry-out direction by the normal rotation of the conveyor motor that drives the chip conveyor. performs overload determination, when it is determined that overload, after reverse operation to reverse the conveyor motor for a predetermined time T _2, the overload resolving process for overload determination to switch to forward run, It is repeated until the overload is eliminated up to a predetermined number of times N, and if it is determined that the overload is overloaded even after the overload elimination process is performed N times, the conveyor motor is stopped by the emergency stop process.

The control method of the third embodiment in which the operation is performed in the load monitoring mode in addition to the interlocking mode will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. 4 to 8 and 2 (b). Here, a case of operating in the load monitoring mode in addition to the interlocking mode of the first embodiment will be illustrated. In the figure, the same processing as in the first embodiment is designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. When the operation of the chip conveyor according to the control method of the third embodiment is started, the program for controlling the above-mentioned interlocking mode and the program for controlling the load monitoring mode are executed in parallel at the same time.

The control flow in the load monitoring mode will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 to 7. When the chip conveyor is operated, the forward rotation of the conveyor motor is first started (step S0), and the number of times C described later is set to zero (step S1). Next, to obtain the motor current value A ₁ of the motor current detector detects (step S2). The motor current value A ₁ is compared with a predetermined reference value, and while it is equal to or less than the reference value (No in step S3), the motor current value A _{1 returns to step S2 via step S1 and continues to rotate normally.} Repeat the acquisition of. The reference value to be compared with the motor current value can be changed by input.

When the motor current value A ₁ exceeds the reference value (Yes in step S3), the timer is reset and the _{timer is set to the monitoring time T 1} (step S4). Until the measurement time by the timer _{reaches T 1} (No in step S5), the measurement by the timer is continued, and when the measurement time _{reaches T 1} (Yes in step S5), the motor current value A ₂ is acquired again (step). S6). If the motor current value A ₂ is compared with the reference value and is equal to or less than the reference value (No in step S7), it is temporary that the _{motor current value A 1 exceeds the reference value in the previous comparison (step S3).} It is determined that the product is a thing, and the process returns to step S2 via step S1.

When the motor current value A ₂ exceeds the reference value (Yes in step S7), since the overcurrent of the conveyor motor is continued for monitoring time T _1, it determines that an overload, " “Overload detection flag” is set (step S7b). When this flag is set, the control flow of the interlocking mode is affected as described later.

Further, the number of times C that the overload is detected is counted once (step S8). The maximum number of times N for overload elimination processing when an overload is detected is predetermined, and the number of times C for overload detection is compared with N. An integer of 1 or more is set for N. If the number of overload detections C is N or less (Yes in step S9), the overload elimination process is performed. Therefore, first, the forward rotation of the conveyor motor is stopped and then reversed (step S11). Further, the timer is reset and the _{timer is set at the time T 2} for reverse operation (step S12). Until the measurement time by the timer _{reaches T 2} (No in step S13), the measurement by the timer is continued, and when the measurement time _{reaches T 2} (Yes in step S13), the reversal of the conveyor motor is stopped (step S14). ..

After that, the timer is reset _{, the timer is set at the time T 3} at which the chip conveyor is stopped (step S15), and the measurement by the timer is continued until the _{measurement time by the timer reaches T 3 (No in step S16).} .. When the measurement time _{reaches T 3} (Yes in step S16), the "overload detection flag" is deleted (step S16b), and the conveyor motor is rotated in the normal direction (step S17). The processing of steps S15, S16 to be a conveyor motor for the time T ₃ is stopped to stop the reverse rotation of the conveyor motor to be forward may be omitted, or be set to zero as the time T ₃ Can be done.

Returning to step S2 When rotated forward conveyor motor is compared with a reference value to obtain the motor current value A _1. If the motor current value A ₁ is equal to or less than the reference value (No in step S3), it means that the overload state has been resolved by the previous reverse operation, so the process returns to step S1 and the overload detection number C is cancelled. Then, the normal rotation operation is continued (step S2).

On the other hand, if the motor current value A ₁ exceeds the reference value (Yes in step S3), the overload state may not be resolved in the previous reverse operation, so the monitoring time is measured in steps S4 to S7. Check the motor current value A ₂ after T _1. If the motor current value A ₂ is equal to or less than the reference value (No in step S7), the motor current value A ₁ exceeds the reference value only temporarily, and the overload is eliminated by the previous reverse operation. Since it is considered that the overload has been detected, the process returns to step S1 to cancel the overload detection number C, and then the normal rotation operation is continued (step S2).

On the other hand, if the motor current value A ₂ exceeds the reference value (Yes in step S7), it is determined that the motor is still overloaded, the "overload detection flag" is set again (step S7b), and the overload is overloaded. 1 is added to the number of detections C of (step S8). Until the overload detection number C reaches the predetermined maximum number N (Yes in step S9), the above-mentioned overload elimination process, that is, reverse operation (steps S11 to S13), stop (steps S14 to S16),. The overload detection flag is deleted (step S16b), the normal rotation operation and the overload determination (S17, S2 to S7) are repeated.

If the number of overload detections exceeds N (No in step S9), it means that the overload state could not be resolved even if the overload elimination process was performed N times, and automatic elimination is difficult. Since it is overloaded, emergency stop processing is performed. In that case, first, the "emergency stop flag" is set (step S20). When this flag is set, the control flow of the interlocking mode is affected as described later.

Furthermore, the timer is reset, a timer is set to time T ₄ to reverse the chip conveyor (step S21), and reversing the conveyor motor (step S22). Until the measurement time by the timer _{reaches T 4} (No in step S23), the measurement by the timer is continued. When the measurement time _{reaches T 4} (Yes in step S23), the rotation of the conveyor motor is stopped (step S24), and the “overload detection flag” is deleted (step S24b). As a result, the chip conveyor stops operating.

_{While measuring the passage of the monitoring time T 1} during the forward rotation operation, while measuring the passage of the time T _{2 during the reverse rotation operation, and while measuring the time T 3} at the time of stopping after the reverse rotation operation. and, while measuring the time T ₄ when reverse rotation of the emergency stop process, when the manual stop switch receives a stop command by being pushed by the operator (in step S10, S18, S19, S25, respectively Yes), in each case, the process proceeds to step S24 to stop the rotation of the conveyor motor, delete the "overload detection flag" (step S24b), and end the operation of the chip conveyor.

In this way, in the control of the load monitoring mode, when an overload is determined based on the detection of the motor current value, the overload state is eliminated by automatically switching to the reverse operation. If the overload state is still not resolved, the reverse rotation operation and the forward rotation operation are repeated up to a predetermined number of times N until the overload state is resolved. By repeating the reverse rotation operation and the forward rotation operation, the posture of the transported object is likely to change and the mountain of the transported object is likely to collapse, and the overload due to clogging of the transported object is easily eliminated. Therefore, since the overload state is automatically eliminated without the manual work of the operator, the labor burden of the operator due to the overload can be reduced. Further, as compared with the conventional case in which the chip conveyor is stopped immediately when the load is overloaded, the number of times the chip conveyor is stopped is significantly reduced, so that the operation efficiency of the chip conveyor can be improved.

Further, when the time when the motor current value exceeds the reference value _{continues for the preset monitoring time T 1,} it is determined as an overload. Therefore, by setting the monitoring time T ₁ to a very short time, it is determined that the load is overloaded at the initial stage when the load increases. That is, the process of relieving the overload is performed diligently before the degree of overload becomes severe. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the possibility that the chip conveyor will be damaged due to a large load.

Further, if the monitoring time T ₁ is set very short, the number of times that the overload is determined may increase, but when the overload is determined, the chip conveyor is not stopped immediately, but the overload state is automatically performed. This is intended to eliminate the problem, and it is easy to eliminate it automatically while the degree of overload is low. Therefore, the length of the monitoring time can be set without worrying about a decrease in the operating efficiency of the chip conveyor.

Further, the conveyor motor is not immediately stopped in the emergency stop process when the overload state is not resolved even after the overload elimination process is performed N times. For example, if the opening 25 is clogged when the object to be conveyed enters the second conveyor 12 in the chip conveyor 1, the conveyor motor 30 is immediately stopped in the emergency stop process based on the result of the overload determination. The chip conveyor 1 is stopped in a state where the object to be transported is compressed by the opening 25. This stopped state is a state in which a large load is applied to the components of the chip conveyor 1 from the compressed object to be conveyed. In contrast, in the control method of this embodiment, before stopping the conveyor motor 30 in the emergency stop processing, to the reverse rotation by a predetermined time T _4, the transported object is the upper upstream of the opening 25 Return to the uncovered first transport path 11. As a result, the object to be transported, which has been compressed by the opening 25, can be released, and the chip conveyor can be stopped in a state where the load applied to the chip conveyor is reduced.

In the control method of the third embodiment, the above-mentioned load monitoring mode control program (see FIGS. 5 to 7) proceeds at the same time as the interlocking mode control program. Therefore, in the load monitoring mode, the “overload detection flag” and When the "emergency stop flag" is set, the control flow of the interlocking mode is affected. This will be described with reference to FIG.

In the interlocking mode of the third embodiment, the "load monitoring flag" is set when switching to high-speed operation (step P4'), and the "load monitoring flag" is set when switching to low-speed operation (step P4'b). While this "load monitoring flag" is set in the interlocking mode, it is confirmed whether or not the "overload detection flag" or "emergency stop flag" is set in the load monitoring mode.

During high-speed operation, while the "emergency stop flag" is not set (Yes in step P4-2) and the "overload detection flag" is not set (Yes in step P4-3), the first execution is performed. Control is performed in the same flow as the high-speed operation of the form. Similarly, during low-speed operation, while the "emergency stop flag" is not set (Yes in step P4-2b) and the "overload detection flag" is not set (Yes in step P4-3b), Control is performed in the same flow as the low-speed operation of the first embodiment.

On the other hand, when the "emergency stop flag" is confirmed during high-speed operation (No in step P4-2) and when the "emergency stop flag" is confirmed during low-speed operation (No in step P4-2b). ) Is a state in which the chip conveyor is in an overload state, and even if the overload elimination process is performed N times, which is the maximum number of times, the overload state cannot be eliminated and an emergency stop process is performed. Therefore, the "load monitoring flag" is deleted (step P9b), and the interlocking mode is terminated. The emergency stop processing of the chip conveyor is performed in the control flow in the load monitoring mode (steps S21 to S25, see FIG. 7).

If the "overload detection flag" is confirmed during high-speed operation (No in step P4-3), it means that the chip conveyor has been detected as overloaded in the load monitoring mode, so it is linked. The mode control waits for the "overload detection flag" to be deleted when the overload elimination process is performed in the load monitoring mode (see FIG. 8A). That is, during the standby, the "emergency stop flag" is not set (Yes in step P11), there is no stop command by the manual stop switch (Yes in step P12), and there is no stop signal when the processing apparatus is stopped. In that case (Yes in step P13), while receiving the sensor signal (Yes in step P14), the process returns to step P11 and waits until the “overload detection flag” is deleted (Yes in step P15). If the "overload detection flag" is deleted (No in step P15), the process proceeds to step P4-2 and high-speed operation is restarted.

Similarly, when the "overload detection flag" is confirmed during low-speed operation (No in step P4-3b), the control of the interlocking mode is "overload" because the overload elimination process is performed in the load monitoring mode. Wait for the "detection flag" to be deleted (see FIG. 8B). That is, during the standby, the "emergency stop flag" is not set (Yes in step P11b), there is no stop command by the manual stop switch (Yes in step P12b), and there is no stop signal when the processing apparatus is stopped. In that case (Yes in step P13b), while the sensor signal is not received (Yes in step P14b), the process returns to step P11b and waits until the "overload detection flag" is deleted (Yes in step P15b). If the "load detection flag" is deleted (No in step P15b), the process proceeds to step P4-2b and low-speed operation is restarted.

On the other hand, if the sensor signal is no longer received while waiting for the "overload detection flag" to be deleted during high-speed operation (No in step P14), the process proceeds to step P15b and "overload" is performed. Wait for low-speed operation until the "detection flag" is deleted (Yes in step P15b), and if the "overload detection flag" is deleted (No in step P15b), the process proceeds to step P4-2b to perform low-speed operation. resume. Similarly, if a sensor signal is received while waiting for the "overload detection flag" to be deleted during low-speed operation (No in step P14b), the process proceeds to step P15 and "overload detection" is performed. High-speed operation is waited until the "flag" is deleted (Yes in step P15), and if the "overload detection flag" is deleted (No in step P15), the process proceeds to step P4-2 and high-speed operation is restarted. To do.

While waiting for the "overload detection flag" to be deleted during high-speed operation, or while waiting for the "overload detection flag" to be deleted during low-speed operation, "emergency" When the "stop flag" is set (No in steps P11 and P11b), the process proceeds to step P9b, the load monitoring flag is deleted, the interlocking mode is terminated, and the emergency stop processing in the load monitoring mode is performed. Also, while waiting for the "overload detection flag" to be deleted during high-speed operation, or while waiting for the "overload detection flag" to be deleted during low-speed operation, the manual stop is performed. When a stop command is received by the switch (No in steps P12 and P12b), the normal rotation of the conveyor motor is stopped (steps P16 and P16b), the process proceeds to step P9b, the load monitoring flag is deleted, and the interlocking mode is performed. To finish.

Further, while waiting for the "overload detection flag" to be deleted during high-speed operation, or while waiting for the "overload detection flag" to be deleted during low-speed operation, the processing apparatus. When the stop signal is received when the machine is stopped (No in steps P13 and P13b), the process proceeds to step P10 (see FIG. 2B), and the chip conveyor is stopped after the processing device is stopped. Performs delayed stop processing.

As described above, in the control method of the third embodiment, the program for controlling the interlocking mode and the program for controlling the load monitoring mode are executed in parallel at the same time. As a result, the control of the interlocking mode has the effect of reducing unnecessary operation of the chip conveyor and increasing the operating efficiency of the chip conveyor, and the control of the load monitoring mode causes an overload. The effect of being able to suppress a decrease in the operating efficiency of the conveyor belt can also be exhibited.

In addition, by confirming the flags (overload detection flag, emergency stop flag) set in the control flow of the load monitoring mode in the control flow of the interlocking mode, a "single object" called a chip conveyor can be used. It is possible to "execute" "two programs that operate differently" at the same time.

Although the present invention has been described above with reference to preferred embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and as shown below, various improvements are made without departing from the gist of the present invention. And the design can be changed.

For example, in the above embodiment, the case of switching between two types of operation having different speeds, high-speed operation and low-speed operation, has been illustrated in the interlocking mode. Not limited to this, an interlocking mode for switching to three or more types of operation with different speeds can be set. When the signal transmitted from the processing apparatus side is a sensor signal, it is possible to switch to three or more types of operations having different speeds by setting two or more threshold values to be compared with the spindle current value.

Further, in the control flow of the interlocking mode, when switching to high-speed operation, switching to low-speed operation, and in the control flow of the load monitoring mode, when switching to normal rotation operation or switching to reverse rotation operation, in any case. By setting the frequency, the rotation speed of the conveyor motor can be arbitrarily set. In addition, when starting high-speed operation or low-speed operation in the interlocking mode, when starting forward rotation operation or reverse rotation operation in the load monitoring mode, the acceleration time until the target rotation speed (frequency) is reached, and the high speed in the interlocking mode. When the operation or the low-speed operation is stopped, or when the forward rotation operation or the reverse rotation operation is stopped in the load monitoring mode, the deceleration time until the rotation speed becomes zero can be arbitrarily set.

Further, in the third embodiment, the case where the interlocking mode to be executed at the same time as the load monitoring mode is the interlocking mode of the first embodiment is illustrated, but the interlocking mode to be executed at the same time as the load monitoring mode is the interlocking mode of the second embodiment. Of course, it is also possible to set the interlocking mode.

1 Conveyor 10 Conveyor belt 30 Motor 31, 32 Sprocket 35 Endless chain

Claims (4)

It is a control method of a chip conveyor that conveys cutting chips discharged from a processing device that performs cutting with a rotary tool attached to the spindle.
A forward rotation operation in which the cutting chips are conveyed in the carry-out direction by the normal rotation of the conveyor motor that drives the chip conveyor.
Based on the magnitude of the spindle current value, which is the current value of the motor that drives the rotation of the spindle, or by the signal transmitted from the processing apparatus side based on the control program that controls the rotation of the spindle.
Switching between high-speed operation and one or more low-speed operation with a lower transfer speed than the high-speed operation , and
During the forward rotation operation, an overload determination is performed by comparing the motor current value, which is the current value of the conveyor motor, with the reference value.
When it is determined that the conveyor motor is overloaded, the overload elimination process of switching to the normal rotation operation and performing the overload determination after performing the reverse operation for reversing the conveyor motor for a predetermined time is performed up to a predetermined number of times. Repeat until the load is removed,
If it is determined that the overload is overloaded even after the overload elimination process is performed a predetermined number of times, the conveyor motor is stopped after the reverse operation is performed for a predetermined time by the emergency stop process. Chip conveyor control method. The first aspect of the above-mentioned overload determination is that the time when the motor current value exceeds the reference value is determined to be an overload when a preset monitoring time is reached. The method of controlling a chip conveyor according to the description. A chip conveyor that conveys cutting chips discharged from a processing device that performs cutting with a rotary tool attached to the spindle.
A control means for controlling the rotation of the conveyor motor for driving the chip conveyor is provided.
The control means
Based on a signal transmitted from a sensor that detects the spindle current value, which is the current value of the motor that drives the rotation of the spindle, and compares it with one or more predetermined thresholds, or a control program that controls the rotation of the spindle. Receives the signal transmitted by
Based on the received signal, the normal rotation operation in which the cutting chips are conveyed in the carry-out direction by the forward rotation of the conveyor motor is switched between high-speed operation and one or more low-speed operation in which the transfer speed is smaller than the high-speed operation , and
During the forward rotation operation, an overload determination is performed by comparing the motor current value, which is the current value of the conveyor motor, with the reference value.
When it is determined that the conveyor motor is overloaded, the reverse rotation operation for reversing the conveyor motor is performed for a predetermined time, and then the overload elimination process for switching to the normal rotation operation and performing the overload determination is performed up to a predetermined number of times. Repeat until the overload is resolved,
If it is determined that the overload is overloaded even after the overload elimination process is performed a predetermined number of times, the conveyor motor is stopped after the reverse operation is performed for a predetermined time by the emergency stop process. Chip conveyor. The control means
The third aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the overload determination, the overload is determined when the time when the motor current value exceeds the reference value reaches a preset monitoring time. The chip conveyor described.

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