JP7359634B2 - Control equipment for injection molding machines and industrial machinery - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an injection molding machine and a control device for industrial machinery.

Patent Document 1 discloses an injection molding machine including a base and a control panel housed in the base. According to the disclosure, the control panel housed in the base is covered with a cover plate that can be opened and closed, and when working on the control panel, it is necessary to open the cover plate.

Jitszenhei 02-065519 Publication

The removal work of the cover plate can be performed by the operator based on his/her own judgment, regardless of the energization state of the control panel. Therefore, even if voltage remains in the control panel, the operator can remove the cover plate and access the control panel.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a control device for an injection molding machine and an industrial machine that reduces the risk of a worker coming into contact with a control panel on which voltage remains.

One aspect of the invention is an injection molding machine, which includes: a control panel for controlling the injection molding machine; a housing section that is provided with an opening and that accommodates the control panel; a cover that covers the opening; A locking mechanism is provided that locks the cover covering the opening and releases the lock when the voltage of the control panel becomes equal to or lower than a predetermined voltage value.

Another aspect of the invention is a control device for an industrial machine, which includes a control panel for controlling the industrial machine, a casing provided with an opening and housing the control panel, and a cover that covers the opening. and a locking mechanism that locks the cover that covers the opening and releases the lock when the voltage of the control panel becomes equal to or lower than a predetermined voltage value.

According to the present invention, there is provided an injection molding machine and an industrial machine control device that reduce the risk of a worker coming into contact with a control panel where voltage remains.

FIG. 1 is a side view of an injection molding machine according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram of an electric circuit according to the first embodiment. It is a figure for explaining operation of a lock mechanism. FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram of an electric circuit of Modification 1-1. FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram of an electric circuit of modification 1-2. FIG. 3 is a front view of a control device for industrial machinery according to a second embodiment. FIG. 3 is a circuit diagram of an electric circuit according to a second embodiment.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of an injection molding machine and an industrial machine control device according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that each direction described below follows the arrow shown in each drawing.

[First embodiment]
FIG. 1 is a side view of an injection molding machine 10 according to the first embodiment.

The injection molding machine 10 includes an injection mechanism section 12, a mold clamping mechanism section 14, a base 16, a control panel 18, a cover 20, and a lock mechanism 22. The portion indicated by the broken line in FIG. 1 means that it is on the other side of the cover 20 from the perspective of FIG.

The injection mechanism section 12 includes a cylindrical cylinder 24, a screw 25 provided within the cylinder 24, a nozzle 26 provided at the tip of the cylinder 24, and a drive device 28. The injection mechanism section 12 plasticizes and meters the molding material within the cylinder 24 by rotating and retracting the screw 25 . Further, by advancing the screw 25, the molding material is injected from the nozzle 26. The drive device 28 is a device that rotates the screw 25 and moves it forward and backward. The drive device 28 includes a motor M1 for moving the screw 25 forward and backward, and a motor M2 for rotating the screw 25.

The mold clamping mechanism section 14 includes a mold 30 and an opening/closing mechanism 31. The mold 30 includes a movable mold 30a, a fixed mold 30b, and a pin 30c. In this mold 30, a movable mold 30a moves in the front-rear direction relative to a fixed mold 30b. The state in which the movable mold 30a and the fixed mold 30b are in contact with each other is the closed state of the mold 30, and the state in which they are separated is the open state. The opening/closing mechanism 31 includes a motor M3. By driving the motor M3, the movable mold 30a moves relative to the fixed mold 30b. Molding material is injected into the mold 30 from the nozzle 26.

The mold clamping mechanism unit 14 manufactures a molded product by solidifying the molding material injected into the mold 30. The molded product is ejected by the pin 30c after the opening/closing mechanism 31 opens the mold 30. In this regard, the mold clamping mechanism section 14 further includes a motor M4 for realizing the ejecting operation of the pin 30c.

Among the above motors, an AC motor M driven by an AC voltage may be used as the motor M1, the motor M2, the motor M3, and the motor M4. Note that the injection molding machine 10 may be provided with AC motors M other than the motors M1 to M4 as appropriate.

The base 16 includes an upper frame 32, a support column 34, and a lower frame 36. The upper frame 32 is a member extending in the front-rear direction and supports at least one of the injection mechanism section 12 and the mold clamping mechanism section 14 from below. The support column 34 is a member extending in the vertical direction, and supports the upper frame 32 from below. A plurality of supports 34 may be provided as necessary. The lower frame 36 is a member extending in the front-rear direction and supports the support column 34 from below.

Further, the base 16 constitutes a housing section 38. That is, the base 16 has a space below the upper frame 32 (the injection mechanism section 12 and the mold clamping mechanism section 14). In this embodiment, this space is partitioned by a flat plate or the like and utilized as the storage section 38. The accommodating portion 38 has an opening 40 that communicates between the inside and the outside.

The control panel 18 is housed in the housing section 38 . An operator may access control panel 18 through opening 40 . In this embodiment, the control panel 18 is housed in the housing portion 38 formed by the base 16, so when installing the injection molding machine 10, a space for installing the control panel 18 is provided separately from the base 16. There is no need to secure it. The control panel 18 is provided with a control circuit 44 (FIG. 2) that controls the drive of the AC motor M by energizing it.

The cover 20 is a member that covers the opening 40. By covering the opening 40, the cover 20 prevents the operator from touching the control panel 18 unless necessary. The material and shape of the cover 20 are not particularly limited, but in this embodiment, the material includes metal and the cover 20 has a plate-like shape.

The locking mechanism 22 is a mechanism that maintains the cover 20 in a state covering the opening 40. In this embodiment, maintaining the cover 20 in a state covering the opening 40 is also referred to as "locking." Locking makes it difficult to remove the cover 20 from the opening 40. The locking mechanism 22 of this embodiment performs locking when the voltage (DC voltage) of the control panel 18 exceeds a predetermined voltage value Vth, and releases the lock when the voltage becomes equal to or less than the predetermined voltage value Vth. Here, a person skilled in the art would consider, for example, a voltage value below the voltage value (60 volts) required to ensure the safety of workers in the international standard for machine safety (IEC-60204-1) as the predetermined voltage value Vth. can be determined. Such a locking mechanism 22 is realized by, for example, a solenoid type electromagnetic lock.

The locking mechanism using a solenoid-type electromagnetic lock is well known, but will be briefly explained here. The solenoid-type electromagnetic lock includes a first member (main body) provided in the housing portion 38 and a second member (lock plate) provided in the cover 20. The first member is provided, for example, at the edge of the opening 40 of the accommodating portion 38, and the first member and the second member abut each other when the cover 20 covers the opening 40. Further, the first member has a solenoid (DC solenoid). The solenoid includes a conducting wire that generates a magnetic field when energized, a movable iron core, and a fixed iron core. The movable iron core is attracted to the fixed iron core while the conducting wire is generating a magnetic field, and is separated from the fixed iron core while the magnetic field is not generated. Further, when the movable core is attracted to the fixed core, the movable core or a member connected to the movable core fixes the second member by fitting into the second member. As a result, while the conductor of the solenoid is energized, the first member and the second member are maintained in contact with each other. That is, by supplying voltage to the solenoid, the state in which the cover 20 covers the opening 40 is maintained.

FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram of the electric circuit 42 of the first embodiment.

In this embodiment, voltage is supplied from the control panel 18 to the lock mechanism 22. In order to achieve this, in this embodiment, the electric circuit 42 shown in FIG. 2 is configured in the injection molding machine 10 to electrically connect the control circuit 44 provided in the control panel 18 and the lock mechanism 22. .

The configuration of the electric circuit 42 shown in FIG. 2 will be described below. The electric circuit 42 includes a control circuit 44 provided in the control panel 18 and a connection circuit 46 that electrically connects the control circuit 44 (control panel 18) and the lock mechanism 22. "P" in FIG. 2 indicates an AC power source. The power source P can be switched on and off. “M” in FIG. 2 indicates an object to be controlled by the control circuit 44. The controlled object (M) of the control circuit 44 is an AC motor M (M1 to M4) in this embodiment.

The control circuit 44 drives the AC motor M by supplying the drive voltage VAC2 to the controlled object. Although not shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of control objects (M) may be connected to the control circuit 44. Control circuit 44 includes a first converter 48 , a first line 50 , a second line 52 , an inverter 54 , and a capacitor 56 .

The first converter 48 is an AC/DC converter. The first converter 48 is connected to the power supply P, and converts the voltage VAC1 supplied from the power supply P into a DC voltage (first DC voltage) VDC1.

Capacitor 56 smoothes first DC voltage VDC1. Also, at this time, the capacitor 56 stores electricity.

The inverter 54 converts the first DC voltage VDC1 smoothed by the capacitor 56 into a drive voltage (second AC voltage) VAC2. This drive voltage VAC2 is supplied to the AC motor M. This drives the AC motor M. When there are a plurality of AC motors M, the control circuit 44 is provided with a number of inverters 54 corresponding to the number of AC motors M.

The first converter 48 and the inverter 54 are connected to each other by a first line 50 and a second line 52. Further, a capacitor 56 is connected between the first line 50 and the second line 52. Both the first wire 50 and the second wire 52 are conducting wires. In this embodiment, the first line 50 is a positive line, and the second line 52 is a negative line.

Next, the connection circuit 46 will be explained. The connection circuit 46 is a circuit that can be provided in the control panel 18 together with the control circuit 44, and is a circuit that electrically connects the control circuit 44 and the lock mechanism 22. The connection circuit 46 includes a third line 58, a fourth line 60, a second converter 62, a resistive element 64, and a rectifying element 66.

The third wire 58 and the fourth wire 60 are both conducting wires. Among these, the third line 58 has one end connected between the first converter 48 and the capacitor 56 in the first line 50, and the other end connected to the second converter 62. The fourth line 60 has one end connected between the first converter 48 and the capacitor 56 in the second line 52, and the other end connected to the second converter 62.

A resistive element 64 is inserted in series with the third line 58 . This prevents excessive current from flowing through the connection circuit 46.

The rectifying element 66 is a Zener diode. The anode of rectifying element 66 is connected between resistive element 64 in third line 58 and second converter 62 . Further, the cathode of the rectifying element 66 is connected to the fourth line 60. This stabilizes the first DC voltage VDC1 supplied to the second converter 62.

The second converter 62 is a DC/DC converter. This second converter 62 is for stably supplying the locking mechanism 22 with the voltage necessary for the locking mechanism 22 to lock. That is, when the first DC voltage VDC1 supplied to itself exceeds the predetermined voltage value Vth, the second converter 62 converts the first DC voltage VDC1 into the second DC voltage VDC2. do. As a result, the lock mechanism 22 is supplied with the second DC voltage VDC2 instead of the first DC voltage VDC1. Note that the voltage value of the second DC voltage VDC2 is smaller than the voltage value of the first DC voltage VDC1 (VDC2<VDC1). The above is the circuit configuration of the electric circuit 42.

In the electric circuit 42 described above, when the power source P is on, the locking mechanism 22 performs locking using the second DC voltage VDC2 supplied to itself. Further, after the power source P is turned off, the capacitor 56 that had been storing electricity starts discharging. Due to this discharge, the first DC voltage VDC1 exceeding the predetermined voltage value Vth is supplied from the capacitor 56 to the second converter 62. Since the second DC voltage VDC2 is supplied to the locking mechanism 22 at this time as well, the locking continues.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the lock mechanism 22. Note that the vertical axis (V) in FIG. 3 indicates the first DC voltage VDC1, and the horizontal axis (t) indicates time. t=0 indicates the point in time when the first DC voltage VDC1 starts to decrease after the power supply P is turned off.

Thereafter, as capacitor 56 continues to discharge further, first DC voltage VDC1 supplied to second converter 62 begins to decrease (t=0). The decreasing first DC voltage VDC1 eventually reaches a predetermined voltage value Vth. When the first DC voltage VDC1 becomes equal to or lower than the predetermined voltage value Vth, the second converter 62 cannot supply the second DC voltage VDC2 to the lock mechanism 22. When the second DC voltage VDC2 is no longer supplied, the locking mechanism 22 cannot maintain the lock. As a result, the lock is released.

In this manner, in this embodiment, the lock by the lock mechanism 22 is not released unless the voltage of the control panel 18 drops to such an extent that the second converter 62 cannot convert the voltage. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, an injection molding machine 10 is provided that reduces the possibility that an operator will come into contact with the control panel 18 where voltage remains.

[Modified example]
Although the first embodiment has been described above as an example of the present invention, it is of course possible to make various changes or improvements to the first embodiment. It is clear from the claims that such modifications or improvements may be included within the technical scope of the present invention.

(Modification 1-1)
FIG. 4 is a circuit diagram of the electric circuit 42 of Modification 1-1.

The injection molding machine 10 may include a voltage monitoring section 68 instead of the second converter 62. This voltage monitoring unit 68 sequentially detects the magnitude of the first DC voltage VDC1 from the control circuit 44, and when the detected first DC voltage VDC1 is equal to or lower than a predetermined voltage value Vth, the voltage monitoring unit 68 causes the locking mechanism 22 to set a predetermined value. Send a signal. Hereinafter, this predetermined signal will also be referred to as a release signal.

This reduces the possibility that the operator will come into contact with the control panel 18 where voltage remains, as in the first embodiment.

The release signal is, for example, a Low signal among digital signals. For example, the voltage monitoring unit 68 transmits a High signal of the digital signals to the locking mechanism 22 until the first DC voltage VDC1 detected from the control circuit 44 becomes equal to or less than a predetermined voltage value Vth. The locking mechanism 22 performs locking while receiving the High signal. Here, when the first DC voltage VDC1 detected by the control circuit 44 becomes equal to or less than a predetermined voltage value Vth, the voltage monitoring unit 68 switches the signal sent to the lock mechanism 22 from High to Low (release signal). The locking mechanism 22 releases the lock upon receiving the release signal.

(Modification 1-2)
FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram of the electric circuit 42 of Modification 1-2.

The injection molding machine 10 may include a plurality of lock mechanisms 22. In this case, the electric circuit 42 may include a plurality of connection circuits 46 corresponding to each of the plurality of lock mechanisms 22, as shown in FIG. Note that although the number of lock mechanisms 22 shown in FIG. 5 is "2", the number of lock mechanisms 22 in this modification is not limited to this.

The plurality of connection circuits 46 are connected to one control circuit 44, as shown in FIG. This reduces the possibility that the operator will come into contact with the control panel 18 where voltage remains, as in the first embodiment. In addition, since locking is performed by a plurality of locking mechanisms 22, the closed state of the cover 20 is more firmly maintained.

This modification may be combined with modification 1-1. That is, at least one of the plurality of connection circuits 46 may include the second converter 62, and the other connection circuits 46 may include the voltage monitoring section 68 instead of the second converter 62.

[Second embodiment]
A second embodiment will be described. The second embodiment relates to an "industrial machine control device (70)". Note that in the second embodiment, descriptions of elements to which the matters already described in the first embodiment can be applied may be omitted as appropriate.

FIG. 6 is a front view of the industrial machine control device 70 according to the second embodiment.

An industrial machine is, for example, a robot that performs work related to the production of industrial products in a factory instead of or in collaboration with a person. In addition, machine tools such as cutting machines, wire electric discharge machines, and ultra-precision processing machines that produce industrial products by processing workpieces also fall under industrial machines. The industrial machine performs the above operations and processing by being supplied with a drive voltage VAC2 from a control circuit 82 of a control panel 74, which will be described later.

The industrial machine control device 70 is a device that controls industrial machines. Hereinafter, the "industrial machine control device 70" will also be simply referred to as the "control device 70." The control device 70 includes a housing 72, a control panel 74, a cover 76, and a lock mechanism 22.

The housing 72 is a box-shaped member. The housing 72 is provided with an opening 78 . A control panel 74 is housed inside the casing 72. The control panel 74 is provided with a control circuit 82 necessary for controlling the industrial machine that is controlled by the control device 70 .

Opening 78 is covered by cover 76. Regarding the cover 76, the outline of the cover 20 described in the first embodiment can be applied within a range that does not cause any contradiction.

The locking mechanism 22 maintains (locks) the state when the cover 76 covers the opening 78 . Since the outline of the locking mechanism 22 has been explained in the first embodiment, it is omitted here. In this embodiment, the locking mechanism 22 performs locking and unlocking based on the voltage of a control panel 74 (control circuit 82) for controlling the industrial machine. This will be discussed later.

FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram of an electric circuit 80 according to the second embodiment.

The control device 70 of this embodiment further includes an electric circuit 80 shown in FIG. This electric circuit 80 includes the above-described control circuit 82 and a connection circuit 84 that electrically connects the control circuit 82 (control panel 74) and the lock mechanism 22. “M” in FIG. 7 indicates an object to be controlled by the control circuit 82. "M" is an industrial machine in this embodiment.

As described above, the control circuit 82 is a circuit for controlling the industrial machine. Control circuit 82 includes a first converter 48 , a first line 50 , a second line 52 , an inverter 54 , and a capacitor 56 . The outline of this control circuit 82 is similar to the control circuit 44 (FIG. 2) described in the first embodiment, except that the target to which the drive voltage VAC2 is supplied is industrial machinery.

The connection circuit 84 includes a third line 58 , a fourth line 60 , a second converter 62 , a resistive element 64 , and a rectifying element 66 . The outline of this connection circuit 84 is similar to the connection circuit 46 (FIG. 2) described in the first embodiment.

The outline of the operation of the lock mechanism 22 realized by the electric circuit 80 described above is also the same as that of the first embodiment. That is, the locking mechanism 22 performs locking when the second DC voltage VDC2 is supplied to itself. Moreover, the locking mechanism 22 releases the lock when the second DC voltage VDC2 is no longer supplied to itself.

As described above, the present embodiment provides a control device 70 for an industrial machine that reduces the possibility that a worker will come into contact with the control panel 74 where voltage remains.

(Modification 2-1)
Modification 1-1 and Modification 1-2 can also be applied to the second embodiment.
(Modification 2-2)
The second embodiment can also be applied to an injection molding machine. For example, in a certain injection molding machine (10), it may be difficult to configure the housing part (38) that houses the control panel (18) from the base (16). In this case, by preparing the casing 72, the control panel (18) can be housed in the casing 72.

[Invention obtained from embodiment]
Inventions that can be understood from the above-described first embodiment, second embodiment, and modified examples will be described below.

<First invention>
An injection molding machine (10), comprising a control panel (18) for controlling the injection molding machine (10), and a housing section (38) provided with an opening (40) and accommodating the control panel (18). and the cover (20) covering the opening (40) and the cover (20) covering the opening (40) are locked, and when the voltage of the control panel (18) falls below a predetermined voltage value, A locking mechanism (22) for releasing the lock is provided.

This provides an injection molding machine (10) that reduces the possibility that an operator will come into contact with the control panel (18) where voltage remains.

The control panel (18) further includes motors (M1 to M4) that are driven by being supplied with AC voltage, and the control panel (18) includes a converter (48) that converts the first AC voltage supplied from the power source (P) into DC voltage. a capacitor (56) for smoothing the DC voltage; and an inverter for converting the smoothed DC voltage into a second AC voltage and supplying the second AC voltage to the motors (M1 to M4). (54), and the locking mechanism (22) may release the lock when the DC voltage becomes equal to or less than the predetermined voltage value. As a result, even after the power source (P) is turned off, the lock is maintained as long as the capacitor (56) continues to discharge.

The device may further include a connection circuit (46) that supplies the DC voltage to the lock mechanism (22). Thereby, the locking mechanism (22) can perform locking and unlocking based on the DC voltage supplied from the control panel (18).

The locking mechanism (22) further includes a voltage monitoring unit (68) that detects the DC voltage and sends a release signal to the locking mechanism (22) when the DC voltage is equal to or lower than the predetermined voltage value. The lock may be released upon receiving the release signal. As a result, the locking mechanism (22) locks and unlocks based on whether or not a release signal is transmitted from the voltage monitoring section (68) even if it is not electrically connected to the control panel (18). It can be executed.

A plurality of the locking mechanisms (22) may be provided. Thereby, the closed state of the cover (20) is maintained more firmly.

further comprising an injection mechanism section (12), a mold clamping mechanism section (14), and a base (16) supporting at least one of the injection mechanism section (12) and the mold clamping mechanism section (14), The accommodating portion (38) may be constituted by the base (16). This eliminates the need to secure a space for installing the control panel (18) separately from the base (16).

<Second invention>
A control device (70) for an industrial machine, comprising: a control panel (74) for controlling the industrial machine; a casing (72) provided with an opening (78) and housing the control panel (74); , the cover (76) covering the opening (78) and the cover (76) covering the opening (78) are locked, and the locking is performed when the voltage of the control panel (74) falls below a predetermined voltage value. A locking mechanism (22) for releasing the.

This provides an industrial machine control device (70) that reduces the risk of a worker coming into contact with the control panel (74) where voltage remains.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10... Injection molding machine 12... Injection mechanism part 14... Mold clamping mechanism part 16... Base 18, 74... Control panel 20, 76... Cover 22... Lock mechanism 38... Accommodation part 40, 78... Opening part 46, 84... Connection circuit 48...First converter (converter) 54...Inverter 56...Capacitor 68...Voltage monitoring unit 70...Control device 72...Casing M1 to M4...Motor

Claims (4)

An injection molding machine,
a control panel that controls the injection molding machine;
an accommodating part provided with an opening and accommodating the control panel;
a cover that covers the opening;
a locking mechanism that locks the cover covering the opening and releases the lock when the voltage of the control panel falls below a predetermined voltage value;
A motor that is driven by being supplied with alternating current voltage;
Equipped with
The control panel includes a converter that converts a first AC voltage supplied from a power source into a DC voltage, a capacitor that smoothes the DC voltage, and a converter that converts the smoothed DC voltage into a second AC voltage. , an inverter that supplies the second AC voltage to the motor,
The locking mechanism maintains the locked state using the DC voltage supplied from the capacitor to the locking mechanism via a connection circuit connecting the locking mechanism and the capacitor, and the DC voltage is set to the predetermined voltage. An injection molding machine that unlocks when the value falls below the specified value . The injection molding machine according to claim 1 ,
An injection molding machine including a plurality of the lock mechanisms. The injection molding machine according to claim 1 or 2 ,
further comprising an injection mechanism section, a mold clamping mechanism section, and a base that supports at least one of the injection mechanism section and the mold clamping mechanism section,
In the injection molding machine, the housing section is configured by the base. A control device for industrial machinery,
a control panel that controls the industrial machine;
a casing provided with an opening and housing the control panel;
a cover that covers the opening;
a locking mechanism that locks the cover covering the opening and releases the lock when the voltage of the control panel falls below a predetermined voltage value;
Equipped with
The control panel includes a converter that converts a first AC voltage supplied from a power source into a DC voltage, a capacitor that smoothes the DC voltage, and a converter that converts the smoothed DC voltage into a second AC voltage. , an inverter that supplies the second AC voltage to the industrial machine,
The locking mechanism maintains the locked state using the DC voltage supplied from the capacitor to the locking mechanism via a connection circuit connecting the locking mechanism and the capacitor, and the DC voltage is set to the predetermined voltage. A control device for industrial machinery that unlocks when the value falls below a certain value .

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