JPH04214813A - Method for charging raw material to molten metal furnace - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate a malfunction caused by human judgement, to discover the procedure for a charging operation further suitable for an operating condi tion and to attain the improvement of production and the rate of operation in a device and, the reduction of the amt. of a raw material to be used or the like. CONSTITUTION:In plural product brands required for production, the scheduling of the production brand is performed by a product brand producing scheduler part 104; furthermore, the scheduling of raw material brand for the above- mentioned each product brand is performed by a raw material brand physical distribution scheduler part 106; moreover, the simulation of the obtd. physical distribution schedule is performed by a simulator part 108; and the confirmation of the validity of the competition of the device such as a hopper is performed. Furthermore, the preparation of the above-mentioned physical distribution schedule and the above-mentioned confirmation of the validity of the competition of the device such as a hopper are repeated till a suitable physical distribution schedule can be obtd., and the physical distribution schedule is adjusted. In such a manner, a better procedure for charging operation is discovered.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improvement in a method of introducing raw materials into a molten metal furnace, in which a necessary raw material brand is selected from a plurality of raw material brands from a bunker, weighed, and supplied to the molten metal furnace.

0002

[Prior Art] In order to obtain molten metal of the required quality when melting and refining ordinary steel, stainless steel, etc. in a molten metal furnace such as a converter, appropriate amounts of several raw materials must be melted at appropriate times. It must be put into a metal furnace.

[0003] Conventionally, raw materials are charged into such a molten metal furnace by manual operation.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an example of a device for introducing raw materials into a molten metal furnace.

In FIG. 5, a product 1 is produced in a molten metal furnace 14.
is manufactured or refined. The raw materials 2a, 2b and other raw material brands not shown are stored in advance in the bunker 10, respectively.

[0006] A plurality of bunkers 10 are arranged so that the necessary number of raw material brands can be stored, and these bunkers 10 are further divided into groups of several units, and a weighing hopper 12 is assigned to each group. ing.

[0007] This weighing hopper 12 is
The raw materials 2a and 2b cut out from one bunker 10 of the group of bunkers 10 to which the
The idea is to invest in

[0008] Therefore, before charging the raw materials 2a and 2b into the molten metal furnace 14, an operational procedure must be taken to complete the measurement of the raw materials 2a and 2b.

[0009] Furthermore, since one weighing hopper 12 is assigned to each group of a plurality of bunkers 10 in this way, it is necessary to select a group of storage bunkers 10 for each raw material brand in order to avoid competition for weighing hoppers 12. must be carried out.

That is, it is preferable that raw material brands that may be measured at the same time be stored in different groups of bunkers 10. Furthermore, when weighing hoppers 12 compete with each other when weighing two different raw material brands, the timing of these two measurements must be staggered.

Furthermore, the amount and timing (order of addition, etc.) of these raw material brands differ depending on the product brand to be melted in the molten metal furnace 14.

[0012] Furthermore, the number of bunkers 10 and weighing hoppers 12 to be installed is limited due to the space dedicated to these facilities and restrictions on construction costs.

Furthermore, unspecified bunkers 10 and weighing hoppers 12 may become unusable at irregular intervals due to equipment maintenance or the like.

[0014] Furthermore, the operating speed of each of these facilities, such as the charging speed, differs for each facility and for each brand of raw material.

[0015] Therefore, when operating the raw material input device, it is necessary to fully understand the state of the equipment at the time of operation.

Conventionally, in such raw material input equipment,
The manufacturing order of product brands to be melted in the molten metal furnace 14 and the operational procedures of the bunker 10, weighing hopper 12, etc., such as measuring and charging, are determined by human judgment or past records.

[0017]Furthermore, in accordance with the product brand manufacturing order and charging operation procedures determined in this way, each equipment of this raw material charging device is manually operated.

On the other hand, conventionally, the molten metal furnace 1 of this raw material brand
Although the determination of the operation procedure for inputting raw materials into the raw material input equipment 4 is performed by human judgment, there are systems in which the operation of the raw material input equipment is automatically performed in accordance with the determined operation procedure.

[0019] In this method, the operating procedure for charging raw material brands into the molten metal furnace 14 for several commonly used product brands is programmed in advance into a programmable sequence controller, etc. The system automatically measures and adds raw material brands with a simple startup operation.

[0020]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION However, as mentioned above, it is extremely difficult to determine the operating procedure for equipment for feeding raw materials into a molten metal furnace.

[0021] This is because when determining the operating procedure for the equipment for feeding raw materials into the molten metal furnace, the decision must be made based on a very large amount of information.

That is, according to the product brand that is scheduled to be manufactured, information about the input amount and input timing of the raw material brand required for this product brand, and information about the bunker 10, weighing hopper 12, etc. at the time of making this decision. Equipment information (
presence of equipment undergoing maintenance, operating speed, etc.),
Each bunker 10 and optionally a weighing hopper 1
This is because information regarding the type and amount of raw material brands in 2 must be considered.

Furthermore, a large number of judgments and decisions must be made when determining the operating procedure for the equipment for feeding raw materials into the molten metal furnace.

That is, first, it is necessary to determine in which bunker 10 each raw material brand is stored, and also to decide when to weigh the corresponding raw material brand in the weighing hopper 12. Decisions must be made on all raw material brands to be used.

[0025] Such problems also occur in the method of automatically operating equipment for feeding raw materials into a molten metal furnace using the programmable sequence controller described above.

[0026] This is because, even in this method, the operation procedure itself is determined by human judgment.

[0027] Therefore, the operating procedures programmed in the programmable sequence controller are only uniquely determined, and the conditions of the equipment that can be used may change due to maintenance or the like, or the type of product brand manufactured may change. , the storage position of the raw material brands stored in the bunker 10 is changed, or if raw material brands that have not been put into the weighing hopper 12 are left in the weighing hopper 12 for some reason, etc., the system will follow these changes in the situation. Can not do it.

[0028] Therefore, in many cases, the operator has to perform manual operations.

Furthermore, conventionally, there has been a problem in that a large amount of information used in determining the operating procedure of equipment for feeding raw materials into a molten metal furnace as described above is mostly collected manually.

[0030] In addition, a large amount of information collected mostly manually in this way can be put into a form, such as a list, that can be used to determine the operating procedure of equipment for feeding raw materials into a molten metal furnace. There is a problem in that it requires data organization as well as data input to a programmable sequence controller or the like.

[0031] Information regarding the raw material input equipment used for inputting raw materials into the molten metal furnace, such as the bunker 10 and the weighing hopper 12, is based on a large amount of data, but it is determined with precision at the time of designing each raw material input equipment. It is not something that can be changed, but it changes over many years of operation of the raw material input equipment, or is changed due to maintenance of the equipment, etc.

[0032] Also, among the information regarding raw material input equipment,
For example, the operating time (loading time, weighing time, etc.) of the bunker 10, weighing hopper 12, etc. not only changes depending on the type of raw material brand, but also varies depending on characteristics such as granularity even if the raw material brand is the same. Differences may also occur due to changes or variations in (quality), etc.

[0033] Furthermore, the amount weighed at one time by the weighing hopper 12 not only may differ depending on the raw material brand, but may also differ slightly even for the same raw material brand.

[0034] Conventionally, a large amount of information on raw material input equipment, which is used for determining the operating procedure of such raw material input equipment, has been collected mostly manually.
There were various problems.

[0035] For example, as for the operating time of raw material input equipment such as the bunker 10 and weighing hopper 12 as described above, in some cases the operator may actually measure it using a stopwatch or the like, which only requires a lot of effort. However, there were many problems such as variations in measurement accuracy and the inability to perform measurements frequently.

Furthermore, the information about the raw material input equipment collected in this way was mostly manually organized into a usable form, which caused various problems.

For example, the measurement data of the operation time of the raw material input equipment such as the bunker 10 and the weighing hopper 12 can be obtained by calculating the average value from a plurality of actual measurement data obtained from multiple measurements. The problem is that it requires a lot of time and effort since it is based on actual measurement data. In addition, in some cases, it is necessary to manually input the measured data into a programmable sequence controller, etc., which not only takes a lot of time but also causes problems such as input errors. .

[0038] In addition, collecting information on raw material input equipment and organizing it into a usable form, which is done mostly manually, requires a lot of work time, so it cannot be done frequently, and it is difficult to carry out actual operations. It was not possible to follow changes over time quickly enough.

[0039] For this reason, if variations occur during actual operation for some reason, this may cause a schedule delay or the like, resulting in a problem of reduced productivity.

The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and eliminates the conventional erroneous operation caused by human judgment, eliminates defective products, and stabilizes quality. By discovering and executing the input operation procedure, we can improve production volume, improve equipment operation rate, and reduce the amount of raw materials used.In addition, we can improve production volume, improve equipment operation rate, and reduce the amount of raw materials used. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for introducing raw materials into a molten metal furnace that can quickly respond to changes in conditions.

[0041]

[Means for Accomplishing the Object] The present invention mainly provides a method for charging raw materials into a molten metal furnace, in which a necessary raw material brand is selected from a bunker from among a plurality of raw material brands, weighed, and supplied to the molten metal furnace. , the manufacturing brand when each raw material brand necessary for the manufacturing brand is selected from the bunker and inputted based on information about the raw material brand necessary for the manufacturing brand scheduled to be manufactured and information about the raw material input equipment. In addition to creating a logistics schedule for manufacturing, the logistics schedule is simulated to confirm the validity of the logistics schedule, such as conflicts with equipment such as hoppers, and to verify the validity of the logistics schedule creation and the logistics schedule. The above-mentioned problem has been achieved by repeating this process until an appropriate distribution schedule is obtained, and by adjusting the distribution schedule.

[0042] Furthermore, the above-mentioned problem has been achieved by updating information about the raw material input equipment while actually measuring or confirming it when raw materials are input into the molten metal furnace according to the obtained distribution schedule.

Furthermore, since the information about the raw material input equipment has been updated as described above, it is determined whether to create a new distribution schedule, which has already been determined to be an appropriate distribution schedule, and the updated raw material input The above-mentioned problem has been achieved by re-creating the logistics schedule based on information about the equipment.

[0044]

[Operation] The present invention systematically and efficiently organizes a large amount of information necessary for determining the operating procedure of equipment for feeding raw materials into a molten metal furnace, and manages all of this information as a database. In particular, we use network theory to systematically grasp this information. By using this network theory, the state of raw material input equipment such as the aforementioned bunker 10 and weighing hopper 12 and the movement status of raw materials within the raw material input equipment can be effectively grasped.

[0045] In addition, the large number of decisions that must be made when determining the operating procedure of the raw material input equipment are stored in a database that is systematically and efficiently organized as described above. Logistics schedules are determined based on information about the various rules for making these decisions.

Furthermore, an appropriate distribution schedule is obtained by repeatedly performing this determination and simulation of the determined distribution schedule until an appropriate operating procedure is obtained.

In particular, network theory is also used in this simulation. By using this network theory, it is possible to efficiently grasp and manage the movement status of each material that moves virtually during the simulation, as well as the status and changes of material input equipment such as the bunker 10 and weighing hopper 12.

[0048] By determining the operating procedure for inputting raw materials into the molten metal furnace in this way, it is possible to eliminate the conventional erroneous judgments and erroneous operations caused by human judgment, eliminate defective products, and stabilize quality. Even if the operating situation changes, a good loading operation procedure can be quickly found and executed.

Furthermore, in the present invention, when raw materials are introduced into the molten metal furnace according to the obtained distribution schedule, information regarding the raw material input equipment may be updated while actually measuring or checking.

Furthermore, in the present invention, in addition to collecting information about the raw material input equipment at the time of raw material input, the information can also be effectively used when determining the operating procedure for inputting raw materials into the molten metal furnace as described above. Information about the raw material input facility may be updated in any possible form.

[0051] By collecting information on raw material input equipment and updating it in a usable format, it is possible to not only reduce the amount of manual labor involved, but also eliminate errors caused by human work and eliminate defective products. Quality stabilization can be achieved.

Furthermore, even if the situation or conditions of raw materials or raw material input equipment change, information about the raw material input equipment can be updated promptly in response to changes, and information regarding the appropriate raw material input to the molten metal furnace can be updated. It is possible to create operating procedures.

Furthermore, in the present invention, when the information about the raw material input equipment is updated as described above, the distribution schedule that has already been determined to be an appropriate distribution schedule (operating procedure for inputting raw materials into the molten metal furnace, etc.) It may be determined whether to create the schedule again, and the distribution schedule may be created again based on the updated information regarding the raw material input equipment.

In other words, this means that if the situation or conditions of raw materials or raw material input equipment change, even if the distribution schedule has already been determined to be an appropriate distribution schedule (operating procedures for raw material input, etc.), the current distribution schedule may change. This is because new situations and conditions such as these may result in unfavorable logistics schedules.

[0055] Therefore, when the distribution schedule is re-created based on the information about the raw material input equipment that has been updated as necessary, it is possible to ensure that the currently used distribution schedule is always the optimum one. It is possible to obtain excellent effects such as improving productivity and stabilizing quality.

[0056]

Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be explained in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a device for charging raw materials into a molten metal furnace according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

The computer 124 is mainly composed of a processing device 123 and a database 120, and the CRT display device 1
18a and the keyboard 118b, and outputs the processing results to the raw material input control device 122.

The product brand manufacturing registration file 120a in the database 120 is a file that stores product brands for which manufacturing requests are input from the CRT display device 118a and the keyboard 118b in the order of input.

Product brand manufacturing schedule file 120
b is a file in which the product brands for which manufacturing is requested are stored in the order in which they are actually manufactured.

[0061] Raw material brand distribution schedule file 120
c is a file that stores the distribution schedule of raw material brands for each facility in the raw material input device. That is, it is a file that mainly stores operating procedures for measuring and charging raw materials in the bunker 10, weighing hopper 12, etc. that are raw material charging equipment.

[0062] The manufacturing brand and raw material brand file 120d is as follows:
This is a file that stores, for each product brand, the input amount and input timing of raw material brands necessary for the product brand as numerical values or mathematical models.

The various creation rule files 120e include scheduling rules for creating a manufacturing order, that is, a manufacturing schedule, for manufacturing brands with manufacturing requests, and scheduling rules for creating raw material brands to be determined based on the manufacturing schedule of manufacturing brands with manufacturing requests. This file stores scheduling rules for creating a distribution schedule, conflict resolution rules regarding conflict combinations and priorities between each piece of equipment, raw material input timing rules, etc.

[0064] The equipment file 120f contains the status of each bunker 10, weighing hopper 12, etc. in this raw material input device, the type and amount of raw material brand filled in each part in these devices, and the raw material brand of each equipment. Operating speeds such as supply speed and input speed according to the above are stored as numerical values or mathematical models. Therefore, the data regarding the status of the equipment in the equipment file 120f is rewritten according to the operation of each part in the raw material input device and the movement of raw materials.

[0065] Similarly to this equipment file 120f, the simulation file 120i contains information on the respective states of the bunker 10 and weighing hopper 12 in the raw material input device, and the type and amount of raw material brands in each part of the raw material input device. etc., are remembered. The data in this simulation file 120i is primarily copied from the equipment file 120f at the beginning of the simulation.

[0066] The file structure of these equipment file 120f and simulation file 120i is as follows:
Node files 120g and 120j are configured based on network theory, which will be described later, and mainly store the status of the equipment itself such as the bunker 10 and weighing hopper 12.
It mainly consists of token files 120h and 120k that store the distribution status of raw material brands in these raw material input devices.

The product brand manufacturing registration section 102 in the processing device 123 has a CRT display device 118a and a keyboard 1.
18b is stored in the product brand manufacturing registration file 120a in the input order. At this time, in order to facilitate the subsequent scheduling process, various rule files 120e and equipment files 120f are
Mainly using , the input amount and timing of raw materials for each input product brand are determined and written into the product brand manufacturing registration file 120a.

[0068] The manufacturing brand manufacturing scheduler section 104 uses the data of product brands for which manufacturing is requested, which are stored in the input order in the product brand manufacturing registration file 120a, mainly based on the various creation rule files 120e and the equipment file 120f. A manufacturing schedule is created and stored in the product brand manufacturing schedule file 120b in the order of the manufacturing schedule.

The raw material brand distribution scheduler unit 106 mainly based on the various creation rule files 120e and the equipment file 120f, selects the product brands in the product brand manufacturing schedule file 120b stored in the manufacturing order for the product brands for which manufacturing is requested. Based on the data, a distribution schedule for weighing, raw material input, etc. of equipment such as the bunker 10 and weighing hopper 12 in the raw material input device is created, and information about these operations is stored in the raw material brand distribution schedule 120c in the order of operation steps. It is.

The simulator unit 108 mainly uses the simulation file 120i to virtually (as a simulation) execute the operation procedure stored in the aforementioned raw material brand distribution schedule file 120c.
This is to confirm the validity of the operating procedure stored in the raw material brand distribution schedule file 120c.

[0071] The database maintenance section 110 receives input from the CRT display device 118a and keyboard 118b.
It performs maintenance of data of various files in the database 120 mentioned above. For example, when changing the rules regarding the scheduling process performed by the manufacturing brand manufacturing scheduler section 104 or the raw material brand distribution scheduler section 106, the various creation rule files 1
Perform maintenance on 20e. Furthermore, when changing the equipment in the raw material input equipment, for example, adding a bunker 10, etc., maintenance is performed on the data in the node file 120g in the equipment file 120f.

[0072] The network theory described later is used in the processing performed by the manufacturing brand production scheduler section 104, the raw material brand distribution scheduler section 106, and the simulator section 108.

The raw material input control device 122 controls the bunker 10 and weighing hopper 12 based on the output of the computer 124 described above.
This is to operate each equipment in the raw material input device. This raw material input control device 122 sequentially executes the operation procedures stored in the raw material brand logistics schedule file 120c in the database 120 in the computer 124 described above according to the operation timing, operates each raw material input equipment, and further , the equipment file 12 in the database 120
Of 0f, data related to the equipment status in particular is updated according to this operation.

Further, the printing printer 122a connected to the raw material input control device 122 outputs a guidance form for the raw material input operation procedure as shown in FIG. In this guidance form, each banker 10
The names of the raw material brands stored in the storage area are printed, and the timing of the measuring and charging operations for these raw material brands is shown by an open horizontal bar graph and a hatched horizontal bar graph, respectively.

FIG. 2 shows the file structures of the above-mentioned equipment file 120f and simulation file 120i, and the network theory used in the processing in the above-mentioned manufacturing brand production scheduler section 104, raw material brand distribution scheduler section 106, and simulator section 108. FIG.

In particular, the network theory used in the first embodiment is called Petri net theory.

In FIG. 2, according to the Petri net theory, 50a, 50b, and 50c are called places, and 52 is called an arc.
54 is called a transition, and 56a
56b is called a token that is not movable, and 56b is a token that is movable.

In particular, in the first embodiment, 50a indicates the bunker 10, 50b indicates the weighing hopper 12, and 50
c indicates the molten metal furnace 14.

That is, places 50a, 50b, 50
c corresponds to equipment.

[0080] Further, 52 indicates the direction of movement of the raw material between each piece of equipment, 54 indicates the movement of the raw material between each piece of equipment,
56a indicates raw materials that are not made mobile; 56b
indicates raw materials that are movable.

[0081] By using such network theory such as Petri net theory, it is possible to efficiently and systematically process a large amount of complicated information regarding the input of raw materials into the molten metal furnace and the large number of decisions regarding the scheduling of the input of the raw materials. Be able to understand or make decisions.

According to this theory, information regarding the equipment itself and information regarding the movement of raw materials can be distinguished, and the entire information can be grasped in an easy-to-understand manner.

That is, the aforementioned places 50a and 50b
, 50c, arc 52 and transition 54,
It is possible to easily understand each piece of equipment, the relationship between these equipment, and furthermore, the competitive relationship between these equipment.

[0084] Also, the token 56 that is not movable
a and the movable token 56b,
The status of raw materials in each facility can be easily grasped.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a raw material input control flow in such a raw material input control device for a molten metal furnace.

In this figure, the processing executed from step 210 to step 214 is performed by the computer 124.
This is done by the product brand manufacturing registration department 102 within the company.

First, in step 210, input data relating to the manufacturing brand for which manufacturing is requested, input through the CRT display device 118a and the keyboard 118b, is stored in a register in the product brand manufacturing registration section 102.

Next, in step 212, based on the input data, each of the input product brands is The type of raw material brand and the input amount necessary for the production of the product are determined, and the obtained results are sent to the product brand manufacturing registration department 10.
It is stored in a register in 2.

In step 214, step 210
and 212 and writes the data stored in the register into the product brand manufacturing registration file 120a in the database 120.

In step 216, the manufacturing brand manufacturing scheduler section 104 and the raw material brand logistics scheduler section 106 in the computer 124 select data of product brands with manufacturing requests registered in the data input order in the manufacturing registration file 120a. From there, manufacturing scheduling for product brands is performed, and furthermore, raw material brand distribution scheduling, that is, creation of operating procedures for each equipment in the raw material input device, is performed, and these results are stored in a product brand manufacturing schedule file 120b and a raw material brand distribution schedule file 12, respectively.
This is to write to 0c.

Note that in step 216, scheduling processing as shown in FIG. 4, which will be described later, is performed.

In step 218, the raw material input control device 1
22, raw material brand logistics schedule file 120
The operating procedures stored in c are executed one by one in the order in which they are stored, while checking the execution timing, to automatically operate the raw material input device.

FIG. 4 shows step 216 in FIG.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a control flow regarding scheduling performed in FIG.

Step 240 is executed by the manufacturing brand manufacturing scheduler section 104 in the computer 124, and is based mainly on the various creation rule files 120e and equipment files 120f in the database to create the product brand manufacturing registration file 1.
Manufacturing scheduling for product brands is performed based on the data of product brands for which production is requested, which are stored in the data input order in 20a, and the results are written in the product brand manufacturing schedule file 120b.

Step 242 is executed by the raw material brand distribution scheduler section 106, and mainly involves the creation of various creation rule files 120e and equipment files 120 in the database 120.
Based on the product brand manufacturing schedule file 120b, the raw material brand distribution scheduling, that is, the operation procedure of the raw material input device, is created according to the data for the product brand with manufacturing requests stored in the production scheduled order in the product brand manufacturing schedule file 120b. Brand logistics schedule file 120
Store it in c.

Although the scheduling processing performed in steps 240 and 242 is very complex, it is based on the algorithm based on the network theory described above and the scheduling process between each facility stored in the various creation rule files 120e in the database. It is executed according to conflict resolution rules regarding conflict combinations and priorities, raw material input timing rules, and scheduling rules.

[0097] In addition, in the processing of steps 240 and 242, new scheduling is performed when the newly input data of the product brand manufacturing registration file 120a is used, but in step 246, which will be described later, the scheduling result is invalid. If it is determined that this is the case, a process is performed to adjust the scheduling based on the previously created scheduling result. Thereby, the processing time for scheduling adjustment can be shortened.

Step 244 is executed by the simulator section 108, and mainly involves the simulation file 120i (
The equipment file 120f (initialized using the equipment file 120f when starting the simulation) is used to sequentially execute the operating procedures stored in the raw material brand distribution schedule file 120c, and to verify this group of operating procedures.

In step 246, the step 244
If the created schedule is determined to be inappropriate, steps 240 to 244 are repeatedly executed at step 248 until a suitable schedule is created up to n times. . If it is determined that the schedule created in step 246 is appropriate, the scheduling process shown in FIG. 4 is terminated, and the process returns to the process that called the subroutine.

[0100] Such a raw material input device is used with an inner volume of iron shell of 4
Figure 7 shows the scheduling results obtained when the system was implemented for the equipment for feeding raw materials into an oxygen bottom blowing converter, with a capacity of 87.4 m3, a scouring capacity of 230 t/time, 10 bunkers 10 and 5 weighing hoppers 12. It is.

FIG. 8 shows the measurement results of the molten steel temperature during refining at this time.

[0102] In the first embodiment, the raw material charging device is automatically operated by the raw material charging control device 122 according to the scheduling results, but the present invention does not limit the method of using the scheduling results to this.

That is, it also includes manually operating the raw material input equipment in accordance with the output data based on the scheduling results obtained from the computer 124, for example, a guidance form of the raw material input operation procedure printed out from the printer 122a.

As described above, according to the first embodiment of the present invention, in accordance with the input of the product brand for which production is requested, production scheduling for the product brand and distribution scheduling for the raw material brand, that is, creation of operating procedures for raw material input equipment, can be automatically performed. Automatic operation of raw material input equipment is possible.

FIGS. 9 and 10 are block diagrams of a device for charging raw materials into a molten metal furnace according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

[0106] In FIG. 10, symbols 1, 2a, 2
b, 10, 12, and 14 are the same as those with the same symbols in FIG. 5 described above.

In these FIGS. 9 and 10, computer 2
01 performs predetermined calculations using data in various files in the database 120 on data about product brands for which manufacturing requests are input or read by the product brand reading unit 202 of this computer 201. 20
This is to create an execution schedule in a format that can be executed by the control circuit 212 that is the output target of step 1.

The database 120 of this computer 201 is mainly composed of a total of seven various files, as shown in FIG.

That is, this database 120 includes a product brand manufacturing registration file 120a, a product brand manufacturing schedule file 120b, a raw material brand distribution schedule file 120c, and a product brand raw material brand file 120d.
, various creation rule files 120e, equipment files 120f, and simulation files 120i.

Furthermore, the equipment file 120f and the simulation file 120i are each composed of a node file 120g or 120j and a token file 120h or 120k.

[0111] These files constituting the database 120 are almost the same as the files with the same reference numerals in the first embodiment of the present invention shown in FIG. 1 described above.

In the computer 201 shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the data regarding the product brand for which a manufacturing request is inputted from the product brand reading unit 202 is processed in order to obtain the execution schedule. Manufacturing scheduler department 204, raw material brand logistics scheduler department 2
06, processed by the simulator unit 208 and the execution schedule creation unit 210.

[0113] Furthermore, when performing processing in each of the processing parts 204 to 210, data required for executing the processing is read from the database 120 by various reading units 230 to 236.

[0114] Furthermore, the control circuit 212, which actually controls the raw material input equipment according to the execution schedule output from the computer 201, updates the data in the database 120 via the equipment file modification unit 238 inside the computer 201. It will be done.

[0115] The product brand manufacturing scheduler unit 204 outputs a product brand manufacturing schedule for the product brand for which manufacturing is requested, in accordance with the data regarding the product brand for which manufacturing is requested, which is input from the product brand reading unit 202 described above. .

[0116] This product brand manufacturing schedule determines the manufacturing order of a plurality of products for which manufacturing is requested.

[0117] Also, this product brand manufacturing scheduler section 20
4 accesses data in the database 120 via the various rule reading section 230 during this product brand manufacturing schedule. That is, this product brand manufacturing scheduler unit 204 mainly stores various creation rule files 120e and equipment files 120f in the database 120.
Read the necessary data stored in the .

[0118] Furthermore, this product brand manufacturing scheduler section 2
The output of 04 is usually the raw material brand distribution scheduler section 20.
6, but if necessary, the manufacturing brand manufacturing schedule file 12 of the database 120
Output to 0b.

The raw material brand distribution scheduler unit 206 uses the data input from the product brand manufacturing scheduler unit 204 described above or the product brand manufacturing schedule file 120b written by the product brand manufacturing scheduler unit 204.
According to the data, a raw material brand logistics schedule for inputting raw materials for each product brand that has already been scheduled is performed.

This raw material brand distribution schedule is a distribution schedule for weighing, raw material input, etc. using raw material input equipment such as the bunker 10 and weighing hopper 12.

[0121] Also, this raw material brand distribution scheduler section 20
6 accesses necessary data in the database 120 via the various rule reading section 232. The data accessed by this raw material brand distribution scheduler section 206 is mainly from the various creation rule files 12 of the database 120.
0e and equipment file 120f.

[0122] Also, this raw material brand distribution scheduler section 20
6 normally outputs the obtained raw material brand distribution schedule to the simulator unit 208, but writes it into the raw material brand distribution schedule file 120c of the database 120 as necessary.

[0123] For scheduling in the product brand manufacturing scheduler section 204 and the raw material brand distribution scheduler section 206 described above, Petri net theory, which is one of the network theories, is used, as in the first embodiment of the present invention described above. It will be done. Further, this scheduling method is performed by inference based on predetermined rules stored in the database 120.

The simulator unit 208 receives input from the raw material brand distribution scheduler unit 206 or uses the database 120 using the raw material brand distribution scheduler unit 206.
A simulation is performed to determine whether the schedule created by the raw material brand distribution scheduler section 206 is appropriate according to the data written in the raw material brand distribution schedule file 120c.

The simulation performed by the simulator section 208 is a raw material input simulation using a model of raw material input equipment based on Petri net theory.

This simulation also performs inferences based on predetermined rules stored in various creation rule files 120e of the database 120.

The simulator section 208 uses the equipment file reading section 234 to access various created files 120e and simulation files 120i of the database 120.

The raw material brand quantity schedule determined to be an appropriate schedule by the simulator unit 208 is output to the normal execution schedule creating unit 210. Alternatively, if necessary, the validity flag and simulation completion flag of the record of the corresponding raw material brand distribution schedule stored in the raw material brand distribution schedule file 120c of the database 120 are set.

On the other hand, if some kind of malfunction is found in this simulator section 208, only the simulation completion flag of the record of the corresponding raw material brand distribution schedule stored in the raw material brand distribution schedule file 120c of the database 120 is Set. That is, the validity flag remains reset.

[0130] As a result, a series of scheduling processes is performed again in order to obtain an appropriate schedule for the product brand corresponding to the raw material brand logistics schedule in which a certain type of defect has been found.

Note that this scheduling to be performed again may be only the raw material brand distribution scheduling performed only by the raw material brand distribution scheduler section 206. Alternatively, the product brand manufacturing scheduler unit 204 and the raw material brand distribution scheduler unit 206 may be used to newly schedule the manufacturing order of product brands.

The execution schedule creation unit 210 receives input from the simulator unit 208 described above and the database 12 determined to be valid by the simulator unit 208.
According to the data written in the raw material brand distribution schedule file 120c of No. 0, an execution schedule executable by the control circuit 212 is obtained, and this is downloaded to the control circuit 212 provided outside the computer 201.

[0133] That is, this execution schedule creation unit 210
The execution schedule obtained is a schedule (sequence) of specific individual operations of the raw material input equipment, such as opening and closing of the tuyeres of the bunker 10 and weighing hopper 12.

The control circuit 212 also performs sequence control of various actuators of the bunker 10 and weighing hopper 12, interlock control during this sequence control, etc. according to this execution schedule.

Further, as a feature of the second embodiment of the present invention, the control circuit 212 actually measures or confirms information (data) on raw material input equipment such as the bunker 10 and the weighing hopper 12. For example, the operating time of these raw material input equipment is automatically measured.

In the second embodiment of the present invention, the equipment file correction unit 238 updates the equipment file 120f of the database 120 using information about the raw material input equipment actually measured or confirmed by the control circuit 212. I do. The updating of the equipment file 120f by the equipment file correction unit 238 mainly involves updating the equipment file 120f.
This is performed for the node file 120g of f. This node file 120g is, as shown in FIG. 12, an equipment-specific file 120m that includes type data, equipment capacity data, operating condition data, operating time data, etc. for each equipment such as the bunker 10 and weighing hopper 12. It is configured.

[0137] Also, when updating the data in the node file 120g by the equipment file correction unit 238,
For example, a predetermined learning coefficient is used in consideration of errors in actual measurement or confirmation of information regarding the raw material input equipment by the control circuit 212.

For example, regarding the operating time T of each raw material input equipment such as the bunker 10 and the weighing hopper 12, the calculation result Tw obtained by the following formula is used to calculate the operation time T in the equipment-specific file 12.
The operating time data of the corresponding equipment at 0m is updated.

[0139] Tw = Tr + a × (Tm - Tr)
......(1)

[0140] Note that Tr is updated in the equipment-specific file 12 when updating the operating time data.
Tm is the value of data read from 0m, Tm is the measured value of the operating time actually measured by the control circuit 212, and Tw is the value of the data read from 0m.
is a value used to update (write) the operating time data of the corresponding equipment in the equipment file 120m as a calculation result. Also, a is a learning coefficient.

[0141] Also, simulation file 120i
data regarding the equipment (for example, node file 120j
etc.) are appropriately equalized to the data of the updated equipment file 120f. The timing of this equalization is
This takes simulation execution into consideration.

[0142] Also, the second aspect of the present invention shown in FIGS. 9 and 10
In the embodiment, in particular, the rescheduling determination unit 260 shown in FIG. 9 is provided.

[0143] The aforementioned product brand manufacturing scheduler section 204
Scheduling by the raw material brand distribution scheduler section 206 and determination of the validity of the created schedule by the simulator section 208 are performed according to data in the database 120. For this reason, as described above, the equipment file correction unit 238
20 equipment file 120f is updated,
Even if the product brand manufacturing schedule or raw material brand distribution schedule is already considered to be a reasonable schedule, it may turn out to be an unfavorable schedule.

[0144] Therefore, this rescheduling determination unit 26
0, it is determined whether to create a new logistics schedule (manufacturing brand manufacturing schedule or raw material brand logistics schedule) that has already been determined to be an appropriate logistics schedule because the information about the raw material input equipment has been updated as described above. This is what we do.

[0145] The rescheduling determination unit 260 determines whether the amount of data correction in the equipment-specific file 120m, which affects the product brand manufacturing schedule and raw material brand logistics schedule that have already been created as appropriate schedules, is a predetermined value. It is determined whether or not the above is true.

[0146] Further, for a product brand manufacturing schedule or a raw material brand distribution schedule for which the reschedule determining unit 260 determines that the schedule should be re-created, a predetermined priority value is written in the reschedule flag.

That is, for a product brand manufacturing schedule that is determined to require rescheduling, the product brand manufacturing schedule file 120 of the database 120
Write the priority to the rescheduling flag of the corresponding record in b. Furthermore, for a raw material brand distribution schedule that requires rescheduling, a predetermined priority is written in the reschedule flag of the corresponding record in the raw material brand distribution schedule file 120c of the database 120.

[0148] The priority value written to the product brand manufacturing schedule file 120b or the raw material brand distribution schedule file 120c by this rescheduling determination unit 260 is "0" in the normal state where it is not determined that there is a rescheduling. , when it is determined that rescheduling is necessary, the higher the priority, the larger the value written.

[0149] Therefore, the above-mentioned product brand reading section 202
The product brand manufacturing scheduler unit 204 and later processes not only product brands that have not been scheduled at all, but also product brands for which the rescheduling determination unit 260 has determined that rescheduling is necessary, taking into consideration their priority. Starts the scheduling process.

As described above, according to the second embodiment of the present invention, similarly to the first embodiment of the present invention, the manufacturing schedule of the product brand and the raw material brand are determined according to the input of the product brand for which manufacturing is requested. It can automatically create logistics scheduling and operating procedures for raw material input equipment, and automatically operate raw material input equipment.

Furthermore, in the second embodiment of the present invention, by mainly providing the equipment file correction unit 238 and the rescheduling determination unit 260, information about the raw material inputting equipment in the database is always updated to reflect the actual status of the raw material inputting equipment. Not only can the distribution schedule be adapted to the current situation, but also a schedule that has already been considered an appropriate logistics schedule can be updated to make it more appropriate in accordance with changes in the situation and conditions of raw material input equipment, raw material brands, etc. , it is possible to further improve productivity, stabilize quality, etc.

[0152]

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, conventional erroneous judgments and erroneous operations caused by human judgment can be eliminated, and defective products can be eliminated and quality stabilized. By discovering and implementing operating procedures, we can improve productivity, improve equipment operation rate, and reduce the amount of raw materials used.In addition, we can improve operational conditions such as when some equipment cannot be used due to periodic inspections or when changing the brand of raw materials. The excellent effect of being able to quickly respond to changes can be obtained.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a device for charging raw materials into a molten metal furnace according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the network theory used in the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a raw material input control flow in the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a control flow regarding scheduling in the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram of an example of a device for charging raw materials into a molten metal furnace.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a guidance form for the raw material input operation procedure obtained in the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the raw material brand distribution scheduling results when the first embodiment is applied to an oxygen bottom blowing converter.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the measurement results of molten steel temperature when the first embodiment is applied to an oxygen bottom blowing converter.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of the left half of a block diagram of a device for charging raw material into a molten metal furnace according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a block diagram of the right half of the block diagram of the device for charging raw material into the molten metal furnace of the second embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram of a database used in the second embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing the contents of the node file of the equipment file of the database of the second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1... Product, 2a, 2b... Raw material, 10... Bunker, 12... Weighing hopper, 14... Molten metal furnace, 50a, 50b, 50c... Arc (corresponding to equipment)
, 52... Arc (movement direction of raw materials), 54... Transition (movement of raw materials), 56a... Tokens that are not movable (raw materials), 56b... Tokens that are movable (raw materials), 102... Manufacturing brand Manufacturing registration department, 104...Manufacturing brand manufacturing scheduler department, 106...Raw material brand distribution scheduler department, 108...Simulator department, 110...Database maintenance department, 120...Database, 201...Computer, 202...Product brand reading unit, 204...Product brand Manufacturing scheduler section, 206... Raw material brand distribution scheduler section, 208... Simulator section, 210... Execution schedule creation section, 212... Control circuit, 230, 232... Various rule reading section, 234, 236... Equipment file reading section, 238... Equipment File correction section, 260...Rescheduling judgment section, 120m...Equipment-specific files.

Claims (3)

[Claims] Claim 1: A method of inputting raw materials into a molten metal furnace, in which a necessary raw material brand is selected from a bunker from a plurality of raw material brands, weighed, and supplied to the molten metal furnace, mainly necessary for the manufacturing brand scheduled to be manufactured. Create a logistics schedule during production of the manufacturing brand when selecting and inputting each raw material brand necessary for the manufacturing brand from the bunker based on information about the raw material brand and information about the raw material input equipment. At the same time, the logistics schedule is simulated to confirm the validity of the logistics schedule such as competition of equipment such as hoppers, and the creation of the logistics schedule and the confirmation of the validity of the logistics schedule are performed to create an appropriate logistics schedule. A method for introducing raw materials into a molten metal furnace, the method comprising repeating the steps until the desired amount is obtained, and adjusting the distribution schedule. 2. The molten metal according to claim 1, wherein information about the raw material input equipment is updated while being actually measured or confirmed when raw materials are input into the molten metal furnace according to the obtained distribution schedule. How to feed raw materials into the furnace. 3. In claim 2, the information about the raw material input equipment is updated as described above, so that the distribution schedule that has already been determined to be an appropriate distribution schedule is
A method for introducing raw materials into a molten metal furnace, characterized in that it is determined whether to create the schedule again, and the distribution schedule is created again based on the updated information about the raw material input equipment.