JP7391751B2 - management device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a management device for managing at least an injection molding machine among equipment included in a molding cell.

For example, as shown in Patent Document 1 below, an injection molding machine that injects a molding material into a mold device is known. Furthermore, as disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 2 below, there is also known a control device for an injection molding machine that detects operational abnormalities such as abnormal mold closing operations without relying on operator monitoring.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-171818 Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-248665

In the control device as described above, when an event such as an abnormal operation occurs, the date and time of occurrence and name of the event may be automatically recorded. However, it may be difficult to understand the circumstances of an event based only on the date and time of the event and its name.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and its purpose is to provide a management device that can more reliably grasp the situation of occurrence of an event.

One of the above-mentioned management devices is a management device for managing at least an injection molding machine among the equipment included in the molding cell, and when an event occurs in the molding cell , an image of the area including the molding cell is displayed. It includes a storage unit that stores information in association with an event , and a display unit that simultaneously displays the content of the event and image information stored in association with the event .

According to the above-mentioned management device, the storage section stores the image information of the area including the molding cell in association with the event of the molding cell, so that the occurrence status of the event can be grasped more reliably.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an injection molding system including a management device according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. 2 is a block diagram showing the molding machine control device of FIG. 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a stop history stored in the storage section of FIG. 2; FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a setting change history stored in the storage unit in FIG. 2; FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of image information that the storage unit in FIG. 2 stores in association with an event. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of camera image information stored in the storage unit of FIG. 2 in association with an event of a molding cell. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an injection molding system including a management device according to a second embodiment of the present invention. 8 is a block diagram showing the molding machine management system of FIG. 7. FIG. FIG. 8 is a partial cross-sectional view showing an example of the mold device and injection molding machine of FIGS. 1 and 7. FIG.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, the form for implementing this invention is demonstrated with reference to drawings. The present invention is not limited to each embodiment, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the gist thereof. Moreover, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of components disclosed in each embodiment. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiments. Furthermore, components of different embodiments may be combined as appropriate.

Embodiment 1.
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an injection molding system including a management device (molding machine control device 2) according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the injection molding system of this embodiment includes a molding cell 1, a molding machine control device 2, a network 3, a camera 4 as an imaging device, an image management server 5, and an inspection device 6.

The molding cell 1 is an equipment unit that includes at least an injection molding machine 10. The injection molding machine 10 is a device for molding a molded product of a predetermined shape. Injection molding machine 10 of this embodiment includes an injection device 100. The injection device 100 is a device for melting a predetermined amount of a molding material (such as a thermoplastic resin material) and injecting the molten molding material.

The molding cell 1 of this embodiment can include an accessory device 11. The injection molding machine 10 and the accessory equipment 11 may be collectively referred to as equipment included in the molding cell 1. The auxiliary equipment 11 is equipment that assists the operation of the injection molding machine 10. In the molding cell 1 of this embodiment, the accessory device 11 is connected to the molding machine control device 2 (or injection molding machine 10), and the molding machine control device 2 (or injection molding machine 10) operates the accessory device 11. can be monitored and controlled.

Although the configuration of the accessory equipment 11 is arbitrary, the accessory equipment 11 of this embodiment includes a mold device 110, a material dryer 111, a mold temperature controller 112, an alarm 113, and a take-out machine 114. There is. The mold device 110 is a device for molding a molded product by cooling and solidifying the molding material injected from the injection device 100. The material dryer 111 is a device for drying the molding material supplied to the injection device 100. The mold temperature controller 112 is a device for adjusting the temperature of the mold device 110. The mold temperature controller 112 can adjust the temperature of the mold device 110 by controlling the temperature of a fluid, such as water or oil, that circulates through the mold device 110 and the mold temperature controller 112. The notification device 113 is a device for notifying the operator of the occurrence of an event such as an abnormal operation of the injection molding machine 10, for example. The alarm 113 can notify the occurrence of an event by emitting light and/or sound. The take-out machine 114 is a device for taking out the molded product from the mold device 110.

The molding machine control device 2 is provided in the injection molding machine 10 and is a device for monitoring and controlling the operation of the injection molding machine 10 and accessory equipment 11. The molding machine control device 2 may be configured by devices such as a computer or dedicated circuit that performs arithmetic processing based on a program, a display device such as a display, and an input device such as a keyboard. The number and position of hardware constituting the molding machine control device 2 are arbitrary.

The molding machine control device 2 of this embodiment constitutes a management device for managing at least the injection molding machine 10 among the devices included in the molding cell 1. Note that the management device may be built into the injection molding machine 10 or may be placed outside the injection molding machine 10. The molding machine control device 2 may manage some or all of the injection molding machine 10 and the attached equipment 11.
The molding machine control device 2 will be explained in detail later.

The network 3 is configured by, for example, a wired network, a wireless LAN, an intranet, or the Internet. The equipment (particularly the molding machine control device 2), the camera 4, the image management server 5, and the inspection device 6 included in the molding cell 1 are connected to each other via a network 3.

The camera 4 is a device for capturing an image of a region including the molded cell 1. The camera 4 can continuously or intermittently image the area including the molded cell 1. The camera 4 can input the obtained image information to the molding machine control device 2 and the image management server 5. The image information may be either a still image or a moving image.

In this embodiment, one camera 4 is provided so that it can image the entire molding cell 1. More specifically, the camera 4 is attached to the ceiling or wall of the facility in which the molding cell 1 is provided, and is provided so as to look down from above and capture an image of the entire molding cell 1. However, the number and position of the cameras 4 that image the area including the molded cell 1 are arbitrary. For example, the area including the molded cell 1 may be imaged from different angles by a plurality of cameras 4. Further, the camera 4 may take an image of the molding cell 1 from a lower position such as the operator's head position. The region including the molding cell 1 includes not only a region including at least a portion of the molding cell 1 but also a region in which an operator who operates the equipment of the molding cell 1 is photographed. Depending on the embodiment, the camera 4 may take an image of the front of the molding machine control device 2, for example, so that only the operator is photographed (the equipment of the molding cell 1 is not photographed).

The camera 4 of this embodiment includes a camera body 40, an imaging lens 41, and a support mechanism 42. The camera body 40 is a device having an image sensor such as a CCD, for example. The imaging lens 41 is attached to the camera body 40 , and the camera 4 takes an image through the imaging lens 41 . The imaging lens 41 may be a zoom lens whose magnification or focal length can be changed. The support mechanism 42 is a mechanism for supporting the camera 4. The support mechanism 42 of this embodiment is configured so that the direction of the camera 4 can be adjusted. The support mechanism 42 can support the camera 4 rotatably around two axes that are perpendicular to each other. The camera 4 can be rotatably supported by the support mechanism 42 around a first axis extending in the vertical direction and around a second axis extending in the horizontal direction. Further, the support mechanism 42 of this embodiment is configured so that the position of the camera 4 can be adjusted. By changing the orientation of the camera 4, the angle of the camera 4 with respect to the object to be imaged can be adjusted. Adjustment of the position of the camera 4 includes adjustment of the height position. That is, the support mechanism 42 can support the camera 4 in a vertically movable manner. The support mechanism 42 may support the camera 4 so that the camera 4 can be displaced along a predetermined trajectory. The camera 4 may be supported by a support mechanism 42 such that it can be displaced along a rail provided on the ceiling so as to surround the area including the molding cell 1, for example.

The image management server 5 is a device for accumulating image information from the camera 4. The image management server 5 can non-selectively accumulate image information from the camera 4. In other words, the image management server 5 can at least temporarily store all image information obtained by the camera 4. The image management server 5 may accumulate image information for a predetermined period, such as one month, and delete image information after the predetermined period has elapsed. The image management server 5 can add specific information such as the date and time or the lot number of the molded product to the image information from the camera 4. The specific information may be input from the injection molding machine 10 or the molding machine control device 2.

The inspection device 6 is a device for inspecting a molded product molded by the injection molding machine 10. The inspection device 6 can detect molding defects of the molded product, such as shape defects, for example. The inspection device 6 can input the detection of molding defects to the molding machine control device 2.

Next, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the molding machine control device 2 of FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the molding machine control device 2 of this embodiment includes an abnormality detection section 20, an operation input section 21, a storage section 22, an imaging control section 23, and an image analysis section 24.

The abnormality detection unit 20 can detect abnormal operation of equipment included in the molding cell 1. The abnormality detection unit 20 can stop the operation of the equipment included in the molding cell 1 when detecting an abnormality in the operation of the equipment. The abnormality detection unit 20 can input information indicating the detected operational abnormality to the storage unit 22 and the imaging control unit 23. The information indicating the detected abnormality includes the date and time when the operational abnormality was detected and the details of the operational abnormality. The contents of the operational abnormality may include the name of the operational abnormality and information about the device that caused the operational abnormality.

The operation input unit 21 receives an input of an operation from an operator. The operation input unit 21 may be a device such as a touch panel, a keyboard, or an operation panel, for example. The operator's operation input includes the operator's intervening operation with respect to the operation of the equipment included in the molding cell 1 and the setting change of the equipment included in the molding cell 1. Intervention operations include stopping and manual steering of the equipment included in the molding cell 1. The equipment may be stopped, for example, at times such as maintenance of the mold device 110, sample checking of molded products, and production setup (material replacement, etc.). Manual operations include causing a device to perform an operation different from an operation preset by a program or the like. Examples of setting changes include changes in maximum filling pressure, injection speed, injection pressure, and nozzle temperature.

When the operation input unit 21 detects an intervention operation or a setting change, it can input information indicating the detected intervention operation or setting change to the storage unit 22 and the imaging control unit 23.

The operation input unit 21 can accept registration of an operator who performs an intervention operation or a setting change. Before accepting the intervention operation or setting change, the molding machine control device 2 can prompt the operator to register the intervention operation or setting change.

The storage unit 22 stores image information of an area including the molding cell 1 in association with an event of the molding cell 1. By operating the molding machine control device 2, the operator can confirm the event of the molding cell 1 as well as image information related to the event. Thereby, it is possible to grasp the occurrence status of an event more reliably.

The storage unit 22 can store image information of at least one timing when an event occurs, before the event occurs, at the time of the event, and after the event occurs in association with the event. The storage unit 22 of the present embodiment stores image information at all timings when an event occurs, before the event occurs, at the time of the event, and after the event occurs in association with the event. However, depending on the embodiment, the storage unit 22 may store image information at one or two timings before the occurrence of the event, at the time of the occurrence of the event, and after the occurrence of the event, such as image information after the occurrence of the event, for example. It's okay.

The storage unit 22 of this embodiment can obtain image information to be stored from the image management server 5 when an event occurs. However, the storage unit 22 may store image information directly input from the camera 4 in association with an event. The storage unit 22 may store image information from the camera 4 during at least a predetermined period, in addition to the image information stored in association with the event.

The events of the molding cell 1 include events in which the injection molding machine 10 leaves an operation history. The storage unit 22 can store image information of the camera 4 in association with events that leave an operation history of the injection molding machine 10. The storage unit 22 may store image information of the camera 4 in association with an event that leaves all operation history of the injection molding machine 10, or may store image information of the camera 4 in association with an event that leaves a specific operation history. You may. For example, a degree of importance is set for each event that leaves an operation history, and the storage unit 22 stores image information of the camera 4 in association with events having a degree of importance equal to or higher than a predetermined level, and stores image information of the camera 4 in association with events having a degree of importance equal to or higher than a predetermined level. In this case, it is not necessary to associate and store the image information of the camera 4.

Events that leave an operation history include abnormal operation of the equipment included in the molding cell 1, operator intervention in the operation of the equipment included in the molding cell 1, and changes in settings of the equipment included in the molding cell 1. The storage unit 22 can detect the occurrence of an event based on information from the abnormality detection unit 20 and the operation input unit 21.

Further, the event of the molding cell 1 includes detection of molded product abnormality by the inspection device 6. The storage unit 22 can store image information from the camera 4 in association with molded product abnormality detection by the inspection device 6. The storage unit 22 can store image information taken by the camera 4 when a molded product in which a molding abnormality was detected by the inspection device 6 was molded. Molding of a molded product involves a measuring process in which a predetermined amount of molding material is melted, a filling process in which the melted molding material is filled into the mold device 110, and a predetermined pressure on the molding material in the mold device 110. The process includes a pressure-holding step for holding, a cooling step for cooling and solidifying the molding material in the mold device 110, and a take-out step for taking out the molded product from the mold device 110. The storage unit 22 can detect the occurrence of an event (molded product abnormality detection) based on information from the inspection device 6.

When an event occurs in the molding cell 1, the imaging control unit 23 controls the operation of the camera 4 based on the content of the event. Operation control of the camera 4 by the imaging control unit 23 includes changing the orientation and/or position of the camera 4 and changing the magnification or focal length of the imaging lens 41. As described above, by changing the direction and position of the camera 4, the angle can be changed. The imaging control unit 23 can control the operation of the camera 4 so as to enlarge and image an area including equipment related to the event that has occurred. For example, when the mold temperature controller 112 malfunctions, the imaging control unit 23 points the camera 4 at the mold temperature controller 112 and adjusts the magnification of the imaging lens 41 so that the state of the mold temperature controller 112 can be confirmed. Can be switched.

The image analysis unit 24 analyzes image information. The image analysis unit 24 can analyze image information from the camera 4 and/or stored in the storage unit 22. The storage unit 22 can further store information obtained through analysis by the image analysis unit 24 in association with events of the molding cell 1.

The information obtained by the analysis by the image analysis unit 24 includes information related to the operator included in the image information. The information related to the operator includes information for identifying the operator, such as a face image, name, or identification number of the operator.

Further, the information obtained by the analysis by the image analysis unit 24 includes information regarding the reason for stopping the equipment included in the molding cell. For example, the image analysis unit 24 may obtain information regarding the reason for stopping the equipment by comparing the image information from the camera 4 and/or stored in the storage unit 22 with the relevance of the occurrence of an event in the molding cell 1. I can do it. The relevance may be information indicating that the device will stop for a predetermined reason if a predetermined operation or work is not performed at a predetermined timing during normal operation. For example, the image analysis unit 24 has association information that indicates that if no action is taken within a predetermined time after an abnormality is reported by the mold temperature controller 112, the entire injection molding machine 10 will be stopped. When the abnormality alarm of the mold temperature controller 112 is left unattended for more than a predetermined time and the equipment stops, the image analysis unit 24 determines the reason for the equipment stoppage based on the image information from the camera 4 and/or stored in the storage unit 22. Temperature controller failure can be obtained. For example, the image analysis unit 24 has relevance information that indicates that if the material is not replenished within a predetermined time when a material shortage is reported, the entire injection molding machine 10 will be stopped. 24, when the equipment is stopped after the notification of material shortage is left unattended for a predetermined time or more in the image information stored in the camera 4 and/or the storage unit 22, the material shortage can be obtained as the reason for equipment shutdown.

Further, the information obtained by the analysis by the image analysis unit 24 includes information regarding the details of the treatment performed by the operator after the equipment included in the molding cell has stopped. For example, the image analysis section 24 has information indicating the behavior of the operator for each treatment content, and the image analysis section 24 has information indicating the behavior of the operator for each treatment content, and the image analysis section 24 has information indicating the behavior of the operator for each treatment content. By detecting that a behavior has occurred, it is possible to obtain that a treatment corresponding to that behavior has been taken and the name of that treatment.

The image analysis unit 24 learns the image information stored in the storage unit 22 and the events of the molding cell 1 associated with the image information, thereby determining the relevance between the image information and the occurrence of the event of the molding cell 1. can be obtained. When the image analysis unit 24 detects a relationship in the image information to be analyzed, it notifies the detection of the relationship. The image information to be analyzed may be image information from the camera 4. That is, the image analysis unit 24 can predict the occurrence of an event similar to an event that occurred in the past, and can notify the operator of the predicted event occurrence before the event occurs. The image analysis unit 24 can make a notification through the notification device 113. This allows the operator to perform avoidance work in response to the notification, thereby avoiding the sudden prevention of the device.

The image analysis unit 24 can control the operation of equipment included in the molding cell when a relationship is detected in the image information from the camera 4. For example, when a specific operator attempts to operate the molding machine control device 2, the image analysis unit 24 performs control such as disabling at least one operation (for example, setting change, etc.) by that operator. I can do it. Further, for example, when the image analysis unit 24 detects water leakage from the mold temperature controller 112 from the image data, it can notify the water leakage through the alarm 113. Further, for example, the image analysis unit 24 can determine the degree of dirt on the mold device 110 from the image data of the mold device 110, and can prompt the operator to clean it through the alarm 113.

Next, FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a stop history stored in the storage unit 22 of FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 3, the storage unit 22 can store the stop history of the equipment in the molding cell 1. Each row of the table shown in FIG. 3 indicates a stoppage of the equipment in the molding cell 1, respectively.

The stop history may include stop time, stop time, restart time, machine status, and contents. The stop time is the difference between the stop time and the restart time. The stop time and restart time can be obtained from equipment status monitoring, etc. The machine status may indicate whether an abnormality has occurred or whether it is normally stopped. The occurrence of an abnormality may indicate that the equipment has been stopped due to detection of an abnormality. A normal stop may refer to a stop due to operator intervention, an automatic stop due to a calendar timer, an automatic stop due to production completion, etc. The machine state can be created based on information from the abnormality detection section 20 and the operation input section 21. The content is information indicating that the device has stopped. For example, a plurality of labels or tags indicating contents are registered in advance in the storage unit 22, and the contents can be created by selecting a plurality of labels or tags by the operator.

Next, FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a setting change history stored in the storage unit 22 of FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 4, the storage unit 22 can store a history of setting changes of the equipment of the molding cell 1. Each row of the table shown in FIG. 4 indicates a change in the settings of the equipment in the molding cell 1, respectively.

The setting change history may include change date and time, molding condition name, item name, setting values before and after change, and person in charge. The change date and time is the date and time when the settings were changed. The molding condition name indicates the name of the molding condition whose settings have been changed, and the item name indicates the name of the molding condition item whose settings have been changed. The setting values before and after the change and the person in charge may be created based on input from the operator.

Next, FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of image information that the storage unit 22 of FIG. 2 stores in association with an event. FIG. 5 shows image information stored in association with the stop history in the first row in the table of FIG. The image on the right end of the upper row in FIG. 5 is an image when an event of equipment stop occurs, the two images on the upper left are images before the event occurs, and the two images on the lower row are images after the event occurs.

In FIG. 5, when the equipment in molding cell 1 was operating normally (top left), after the mold temperature controller 112 issued an abnormality notification (top center), the equipment stopped and the alarm 113 This shows a situation in which pipe cleaning has been completed (lower right end) after notification has been given (upper right end) and operator A has appeared to perform the treatment (lower left end). The storage unit 22 may store a series of a plurality of still images or a moving image. By selecting one of the events (history) shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, image information (image information associated with the event) as shown in FIG. 5 can be confirmed.

Next, FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of image information of the camera 4 that the storage unit 22 of FIG. 2 stores in association with an event of a molding cell. As shown in FIG. 6, the image information of the camera 4 may be displayed simultaneously with the event list (history). The arrangement of the image information and the event list is arbitrary. For example, although image information is shown above the event list in FIG. 6, the event list may be displayed next to the image information. By selecting an event, the displayed image information can be switched.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, in addition to the event and image information, information obtained by image analysis may be displayed. The information obtained by image analysis can be displayed along with an indication that the information is obtained by image analysis. FIG. 6 shows that the worker (operator) who performed the treatment at the time of the abnormal stop, the reason for the stop, and the details of the treatment were obtained through image analysis. As shown in the table at the bottom of FIG. 6, information obtained through image analysis may be included in the event list table.

In the management device (molding machine control device 2) of the present embodiment, the storage unit 22 stores the image information of the area including the molding cell 1 in association with the event of the molding cell 1, so that the occurrence status of the event can be more reliably determined. can be grasped.

Further, when an event occurs, the storage unit 22 stores image information before and after the event in association with the event, so that the situation of the event occurrence can be grasped more reliably.

Furthermore, since the events of the molding cell 1 include events in which the injection molding machine 10 leaves an operation history, the injection molding machine 10 can check image information in association with the operation history, and the molding cell 1 can be managed more reliably. I can do it.

Further, since the event of the molding cell 1 includes an abnormal operation of the equipment included in the molding cell 1, image information can be confirmed in association with the abnormal operation of the equipment, and the molding cell 1 can be managed more reliably.

In addition, since the event of the molding cell 1 includes the operator's intervention in the operation of the equipment included in the molding cell 1, image information can be confirmed in association with the operator's intervention, and the molding cell 1 can be managed more reliably. be able to.

Moreover, since the event of the molding cell 1 includes a change in the settings of the equipment included in the molding cell 1, image information can be confirmed in association with the change in settings, and the molding cell 1 can be managed more reliably.

Moreover, since the event of the molding cell 1 includes the detection of a molded product abnormality by the inspection device 6 for inspecting the molded product molded by the injection molding machine 10, image information can be confirmed in association with the molded product abnormality. The molding cell 1 can be managed more reliably.

Moreover, since the imaging control unit 23 controls the operation of the camera 4 based on the content of the event when an event occurs in the molding cell 1, it is possible to obtain more appropriate image information related to the event in the molding cell 1. Therefore, the molding cell 1 can be managed more reliably.

Further, the image analysis unit 24 analyzes the image information, and the storage unit 22 further stores information obtained by the analysis of the image analysis unit 24 in association with the event of the molding cell 1. This makes it easier to analyze the reasons for the occurrence of such problems.

Moreover, since the image analysis unit 24 obtains information related to the operator included in the image information, the operator involved in the event can be more easily confirmed, and the molding cell 1 can be managed more reliably.

Further, since the image analysis unit 24 obtains information regarding the reason for stopping the equipment included in the molding cell 1, it is possible to more easily analyze the reason for occurrence of an event in the molding cell 1.

Moreover, since the image analysis unit 24 obtains information regarding the details of the treatment performed by the operator after the equipment included in the molding cell 1 has stopped, the molding cell 1 can be managed more reliably.

In addition, the image analysis unit 24 learns the image information stored in the storage unit 22 and the event of the molding cell 1 associated with the image information, so that the image analysis unit 24 can correlate the image information with the occurrence of the event of the molding cell 1. In addition to obtaining relationships, when a relationship is detected in the image information to be analyzed, the detection of a relationship is notified, so it is possible to predict the occurrence of an event similar to an event that occurred in the past, and to predict the occurrence of an event before that event occurs. The prediction of event occurrence can be notified to the operator.

Embodiment 2.
FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing an injection molding system including a management device (molding machine management system 7) according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 7, the injection molding system according to the second embodiment includes a plurality of molding cells 1, a plurality of molding machine control devices 2, a network 3, a plurality of cameras 4, an image management server 5, an inspection device 6, and a molding machine. It includes a machine management system 7. The molding cell 1, molding machine control device 2, network 3, camera 4, image management server 5, and inspection device 6 are as described in the first embodiment.

The molding machine management system 7 is connected to a molding cell 1, a molding machine control device 2, a network 3, a camera 4, an image management server 5, and an inspection device 6 via a network 3, and is connected to a plurality of injection molding machines 10 and This is a system for monitoring and controlling the operation of the attached equipment 11. The molding machine management system 7 may be configured by a device such as a computer and/or a dedicated circuit that performs arithmetic processing based on a program, for example. The number and location of hardware constituting the molding machine management system 7 are arbitrary.

The molding machine management system 7 of the second embodiment constitutes a management device for managing at least each injection molding machine 10 among the devices included in the plurality of molding cells 1. When the molding machine management system 7 constitutes a management device for managing a plurality of molding cells 1 as in the second embodiment, the molding machine control device 2 controls one molding cell as described in the first embodiment. It may be configured as a management device for managing the cell 1, or it may not have at least part of the functions as a management device such as the storage unit 22, for example.

Next, FIG. 8 is a block diagram showing the molding machine management system 7 of FIG. 7. As shown in FIG. 8, the molding machine management system 7 of this embodiment includes an abnormality detection section 70, an operation input section 71, a storage section 72, an imaging control section 73, and an image analysis section 74.

These abnormality detection section 70, operation input section 71, storage section 72, imaging control section 73, and image analysis section 74 are the abnormality detection section 20, operation input section 21, storage section 22, imaging control section 23, and image analysis section 74 of the first embodiment. It is basically the same as the image analysis section 24.

However, the abnormality detection unit 70 of the molding machine management system 7 can detect abnormal operation of the equipment included in each molding cell 1. The operation input unit 71 can receive an input of an operator's operation on the equipment of each molding cell 1.

The storage unit 72 can store image information for each molding cell 1 in association with an event of the molding cell 1 . By operating the molding machine management system 7, the operator can check the event of any molding cell 1 as well as image information related to the event. Thereby, it is possible to more reliably and more easily grasp the occurrence status of an event.

When an event occurs in any of the molding cells 1, the imaging control unit 73 controls the operation of the camera 4 to image the area including the molding cell 1 based on the content of the event.

The image analysis unit 74 analyzes image information. The storage unit 72 can store information obtained through analysis by the image analysis unit 74 for each molding cell 1 in association with events of the molding cell 1 . The other configurations are the same as in the first embodiment.

In this way, a plurality of molding cells 1 may be managed by the molding machine management system 7 (management device).

Next, FIG. 9 is a partial sectional view showing an example of the mold device 110 and injection molding machine 10 of FIGS. 1 and 7. The mold apparatus 110 and injection molding machine 10 in FIGS. 1 and 7 can have a configuration as shown in FIG. 9.

In the illustrated example, the mold device 110 includes a fixed mold 110a, a movable mold 110b, and a movable member 110c. The fixed mold 110a and the movable mold 110b are molds that define a cavity inside (between them) in a clamped state. The movable mold 110b is provided so as to be movable toward and away from the fixed mold 110a. The movable member 110c is composed of an ejector pin or the like that is displaced by an ejector device 400 (described later) to push out and take out the molded product. This mold device 110 can be called a two-plate mold that is mainly divided into a fixed mold 110a and a movable mold 110b, but it also has a slide mold, a slide core, or a stripper plate. It is also possible to create a three-plate mold divided into three parts. The mold device 110 can be attached to the injection molding machine 10 or replaced as appropriate depending on the shape of the molded product to be manufactured. The mold apparatus 110 is not considered to be part of the injection molding machine 10 here.

The injection molding machine 10 includes an injection device 100, a moving device 200, a mold clamping device 300, and an ejector device 400.

(injection device)
The injection device 100 is a device for melting a molding material and injecting it into a mold device 110. The injection device 100 mainly includes a cylinder 101, a screw 102, a heater 103, and a motor box 104.

Hereinafter, the positions of each component may be explained using the terms "front side" and "back side". These terms "front side" and "backward side" are terms based on a fixed platen 301a to be described later, and the direction approaching the fixed platen 301a is defined as the front side, and the direction away from the fixed platen 301a is defined as the rear side. For example, when looking at the injection device 100 located on the right side of the fixed platen 301a in FIG. 9, the left direction approaching the fixed platen 301a is the front side, and the right direction away from the fixed platen 301a is the rear side.

Cylinder 101 is a cylindrical member that extends toward mold device 110 . The cross-sectional shape of the cylinder 101 is preferably circular, but may have another shape. The cylinder 101 is provided with a supply port 101a and a nozzle 101b. The supply port 101a is an opening to which a hopper for introducing molding material into the cylinder 101 can be attached. The supply port 101a may be arranged on the rear side of the cylinder 101 and in front of the motor box 104. A water-cooled cylinder 101c may be provided near the supply port 101a. The nozzle 101b is an opening provided at the tip close to the mold device 110. The cross-sectional area of the nozzle 101b is smaller than the cross-sectional area of the rear side of the cylinder 101.

The screw 102 is a longitudinal member inserted into the cylinder 101 . Preferably, the center axis of the screw 102 extends parallel to the center axis of the cylinder 101. Flights are provided in a spiral around the screw 102. Molding material can be sent to the tip of the cylinder 101 in accordance with the rotation of the screw 102.

A constricted portion having a partially reduced outer diameter is provided on the tip side of the screw 102. A backflow prevention ring 102a that can move forward and backward together with the screw 102 is arranged around the constriction. The backflow prevention ring 102a can prevent the molding material sent to the front side of the cylinder 101 from flowing back to the rear side. The backflow prevention ring 102a can be displaced back and forth with respect to the screw 102 depending on the pressure received from the molding material located on the front side or rear side of the backflow prevention ring 102a. Allow only sideward flow of molding material.

The heater 103 is arranged to surround the outer periphery of the cylinder 101. The heater 103 is arranged around the cylinder 101 including around the nozzle 101b. The heater 103 may have a band shape or the like. The heater 103 may be formed integrally in the axial direction, or may have a plurality of heater portions that are separated from each other in the axial direction (horizontal direction in FIG. 9) as shown. The inside of the cylinder 101 may be heated at different temperatures depending on the position of the heater portion. Each heater portion can be provided with a temperature sensor 103a.

The motor box 104 is arranged on the rear side of the cylinder 101 and the screw 102. Although not shown, the motor box 104 includes a metering motor that rotates the screw 102 around the central axis in order to fill the tip of the cylinder 101 with a predetermined amount of molding material, and a motor that approaches the mold device 110. An injection motor that moves the screw 102 forward and backward in each direction and a direction away from the mold device 110, a pressure detection sensor that detects the pressure that the screw 102 receives from the molding material, and the like are arranged.

Although this injection molding machine 10 is of an in-line screw type, it is a pre-plastic injection molding machine in which the plasticizing cylinder and plasticizing screw are separated from the injection cylinder and injection plunger in terms of structure and function. is also possible.

(mobile device)
The moving device 200 is a device for moving the injection device 100 forward and backward relative to the mold device 110. The moving device 200 is provided, for example, at the bottom of the motor box 104 of the injection device 100, and is a forward/backward drive mechanism that moves the injection device 100 forward and backward relative to a fixed platen 301a, which will be described later.

Although various mechanisms can be adopted as the advance/retreat drive mechanism constituting the moving device 200, the illustrated moving device 200 includes a hydraulic pump 201 such as a hydraulic pressure pump, and a pump operated by an electric power or the like that operates the hydraulic pump 201. a double-acting hydraulic cylinder 203 that is supplied with hydraulic fluid from a hydraulic pump 201 and that moves a piston rod whose tip is fixed to a fixed platen 301a to push out and pull in motion.

This moving device 200 further includes a slide base 204 and a guide 205. The slide base 204 is attached with the above-mentioned hydraulic pump 201, pump operating motor 202, and hydraulic cylinder 203. The guide 205 is laid on the frame Fr and can guide the linear movement of the slide base 204. The slide base 204 and the guide 205 realize forward and backward displacement of the injection device 100 placed on the top of the slide base 204.

The moving device 200 moves the injection device 100 away from the mold device 110 or brings the injection device 100 closer to the mold device 110 to apply the nozzle 101b of the cylinder 101 of the injection device 100 to the mold device 110 at a predetermined pressure. It becomes possible to perform pressing, so-called nozzle touch.

(mold clamping device)
The mold clamping device 300 is a device for opening and closing the mold device 110 between a mold clamping state and a mold opening state. The mold clamping device 300 opens and closes the mold device 110 by displacing the movable mold 110b with respect to the fixed mold 110a of the mold device 110, and places the mold device 110 in a clamped state, a mold closed state, or a mold open state. shall be.

The mold clamping device 300 of this injection molding machine 10 mainly includes a platen 301 and a platen operating mechanism 302.

The platen 301 is arranged to sandwich the mold device 110 from both sides. The platen 301 is located between the injection device 100 and the mold device 110 and is fixed to the frame Fr. It includes a movable platen 301b that can be moved toward and away from the platen. One or more tie bars 301c are attached to the fixed platen 301a to guide the displacement of the movable platen 301b. The fixed mold 110a of the mold device 110 is attached to the fixed platen 301a side. The movable mold 110b is attached to the movable platen 301b side.

At a position where the movable platen 301b is separated from the fixed platen 301a, the movable mold 110b of the mold device 110 is in an open state where it is opened from the fixed mold 110a. By moving the movable platen 301b toward the fixed platen 301a from this separated position, the movable mold 110b is brought into a closed state with respect to the fixed mold 110a. By moving the movable platen 301b further closer to the fixed platen 301a from the mold closed state, the movable mold 110b is pressed against the fixed mold 110a, resulting in a mold clamped state.

Note that most of the mold clamping device 300 except for the fixed platen 301a and the ejector device 400, which will be described later, are located on the left side of the fixed platen 301a in FIG. For example, the right direction approaching the fixed platen 301a is the front side, and the left direction moving away from the fixed platen 301a is the rear side.

The platen operating mechanism 302 is a mechanism for operating the platen 301. The platen operating mechanism 302 includes a rear platen 304 movably mounted on the frame Fr, a mold clamping motor 305 provided on the rear platen 304, and a rotational movement of the mold clamping motor 305 into a linear movement in the displacement direction of the movable platen 301b. and a toggle mechanism 307 that increases the force transmitted to the motion conversion mechanism 306 and transmits it to the movable platen 301b.

Among these, the motion conversion mechanism 306 can be a variety of mechanisms capable of converting rotational motion into linear motion, but in this example, a screw shaft 306a that is rotatably driven by the mold clamping motor 305, and It is configured to include a matching nut 306b. It is also possible to use a ball screw as the motion conversion mechanism 306.

The toggle mechanism 307 that increases the transmission force from the motion conversion mechanism 306 is formed by connecting a plurality of links 307a to 307c that connect the rear platen 304 and the nut 306b and the movable platen 301b so as to be able to swing at a joint. . The number of links and joints and their shapes can be changed as appropriate, but in the case shown in FIG. A pair of link groups consisting of positioned links 307a to 307c are provided so as to be swingably connected.

In addition to the mold clamping motor 305 described above, a mold thickness adjustment motor 308 can also be provided on the rear platen 304. This mold thickness adjustment motor 308 is configured to move on fixed platen 301a and rails movably on frame Fr by applying rotational driving force to the screw shafts and nuts connected to the extensions of each tie bar 301c of platen 301. It functions to adjust the distance between the rear platen 304 and the rear platen 304 disposed through the rear platen 304. This makes it possible to apply the desired mold clamping force to the mold device 110 even when replacing the mold device 110 or changing the thickness of the mold device 110 due to temperature changes. Mold thickness can be adjusted. Although not shown, the mold thickness can be adjusted by making the fixed platen movable on the frame Fr and fixing the rear platen.

The illustrated mold clamping device 300 is of a horizontal type in which the moving direction of the movable platen 301b is parallel to the horizontal direction, but it may also be of a vertical type in which the moving direction is vertical.

(Ejector device)
The ejector device 400 is a device for ejecting a molded product from the mold device 110 in an open state, and is provided on the movable platen 301b. The ejector device 400 includes an ejector rod 402 that extends through the movable platen 301b and is driven forward and backward to press a movable member 110c such as an ejector pin of the mold device 110 from the rear side, and an ejector rod 402 that operates the ejector rod 402. , and a rod drive source 403 including a motion conversion mechanism such as a motor and a ball screw.

The ejector device 400 advances the ejector rod 402 driven by the rod drive source 403 in the process of taking out the molded product, protrudes the movable member 110c within the mold device 110, and takes out the molded product from the mold device 110. becomes possible. Note that after the movable member 110c has been pushed out, the ejector rod 402 can be moved back by the rod drive source 403 and returned to its original position.

Next, an example of a method for molding a molded article using the injection apparatus 100 shown in FIG. 9 will be described. In the method for molding a molded article, a measuring step, a filling step, a pressure holding step, a cooling step, and an unloading step are performed in this order.

In the metering process, the molding material introduced into the cylinder 101 from the supply port 101a is heated by the heater 103 on the outer circumferential side of the cylinder 101 and is melted based on the rotation of the screw 102 driven by the metering motor. It is sent toward the front inside the cylinder 101 and fills the tip of the cylinder 101. At this time, the screw 102 is moved backward by the injection motor, and a space filled with the molding material is formed at the tip of the cylinder 101. This measuring process can be performed at a timing such as a cooling process during the previous molding. When this measuring process is performed, the mold device 110 is closed using the mold clamping device 300 to be in a mold clamping state.

In the filling process, as the screw 102 is moved forward, the molding material at the tip of the cylinder 101 is injected toward the mold device 110 through the nozzle 101b.

In the pressure holding process, the screw 102 is further displaced forward, and the molding material inside the tip of the injection device 100 is held at a predetermined pressure. In the pressure holding step, pressure is applied to the molding material filled in the cavity of the mold device 110 through the molding material remaining at the tip of the cylinder 101 . At this time, the molding material that is insufficient in the cavity of the mold device 110 due to cooling shrinkage of the molding material can be replenished.

In the cooling process, the molding material filled in the cavity of the mold device 110 is cooled and solidified to obtain a molded product. In this cooling step, a metering step for molding the subsequent molded article may be performed.

In the ejecting step, the mold device 110 is opened by the mold clamping device 300 to be in the mold open state, the movable member 110c is moved by the ejector device 400, and the molded product is taken out from the mold device 110.

In the first and second embodiments, the molding machine control device 2 and/or the molding machine management system 7 constitute (also serve as) the management device, but the molding machine control device 2 and the molding machine management system 7 Separately, a management device, such as an image management server 5, for managing at least the injection molding machine 10 among the devices included in the molding cell 1 may be provided. When a device other than the molding machine control device 2 and the molding machine management system 7, such as the image management server 5, constitutes the management device, when the molding machine control device 2 or the molding machine management system 7 detects the occurrence of an event, , event occurrence information is transmitted from the molding machine control device 2 or the molding machine management system 7 to the management device, and based on the event occurrence information, the management device associates the event of the molding cell with the image information of the area including the molding cell. Can be memorized.

1 Molding cell 10 Injection molding machine 2 Molding machine control device (management device)
22 Storage unit 23 Imaging control unit 24 Image analysis unit 4 Camera (imaging device)
6 Inspection device 7 Molding machine management system (management device)
72 Storage unit 73 Imaging control unit 74 Image analysis unit

Claims (12)

A management device for managing at least an injection molding machine among the equipment included in the molding cell,
a storage unit that stores image information of an area including the molding cell in association with the event when an event occurs in the molding cell ;
a display unit that simultaneously displays the content of the event and the image information stored in association with the event;
Equipped with
Management device. The storage unit stores image information of at least one timing when the event occurs, before the event occurs, at the time of the event, and after the event occurs, in association with the event.
The management device according to claim 1. The events of the molding cell include events in which the injection molding machine leaves an operation history.
A management device according to claim 1 or claim 2. The event of the molding cell includes an abnormal operation of equipment included in the molding cell.
A management device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The shaping cell event includes operator intervention in the operation of equipment included in the shaping cell.
A management device according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The event of the molding cell includes a change in the settings of equipment included in the molding cell,
A management device according to any one of claims 1 to 5. The event of the molding cell includes detection of a molded product abnormality by an inspection device for inspecting the molded product molded by the injection molding machine.
A management device according to any one of claims 1 to 6. and an imaging control unit that controls the operation of an imaging device that images a region including the molded cell based on the content of the event when the molded cell event occurs.
A management device according to any one of claims 1 to 7. further comprising an image analysis unit that analyzes the image information,
The storage unit further stores information obtained by the analysis by the image analysis unit in association with the event of the molding cell.
A management device according to any one of claims 1 to 8. The image analysis section includes:
By learning the image information stored in the storage unit and the event of the molding cell associated with the image information, a correlation between the image information and the occurrence of the event of the molding cell is obtained, and
Notifying the detection of the relationship when the relationship is detected in the image information to be analyzed;
The management device according to claim 9. When the event is selected, the display unit displays the content of the event and image information stored in association with the event.
A management device according to any one of claims 1 to 10. The image information stored in the storage unit includes an image of the entire injection molding machine and/or an image of an area in which an operator who operates the equipment of the molding cell is photographed.
A management device according to any one of claims 1 to 11.