JPH07186138A - Control method for continuous kneading device, and device therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To judge the quality of a kneading material at an outlet of a kneading chamber and control the feeding quantity by sensing the melting position of the material in the kneading chamber and controlling the opening degree of a gate or the material feeding quantity in compliance with the melting position. CONSTITUTION:A gate 13 is formed between a melting and kneading zone and a kneading and discharging zone of a kneading chamber 8, and the gate is opened and closed freely by a driving device 14. Also a melting position sensor 19 is installed, and both the gate and sensor are connected to a control device 3. The melting position is discriminated by the melting position sensor 19 by means of the position of a sound wave sensor 20 installed on the side face of a housing 9 of a kneader 2. When the melting position is judged by the arrangement, the position is eventually discriminated by a discrimination device 21 connected with the sensor 3. Thus the melting position of the material in the kneading chamber 8 is sensed, and the quality of the kneading material is judged at an outlet 7, and then the feeding material is measured and the melting position, the quality judging value and the raw material feeding quantity are input, and the opening degree of the gate 13 and the feeding quantity are controlled based on the fuzzy rule.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for controlling a continuous kneading apparatus for kneading a polymeric material such as synthetic resin.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in a continuous kneading machine, a polymer material (hereinafter, simply referred to as "material") is charged into a kneading chamber, and a kneading rotor arranged in the kneading chamber is rotated by an electric motor so that the charged material is mixed. The material is extruded along the kneading rotor while kneading. The kneading chamber is roughly divided into a feed zone, a melting / kneading zone, and a kneading / discharging zone along the flow of materials. Further, there is a device provided with a gate for limiting the amount of the material when it is moved from the melting / kneading zone to the kneading / discharging zone.

In order to calculate the manufacturing cost of a product, the electric power of the electric motor (hereinafter referred to as "production power") required for a certain production amount has been important for the operation of the conventional kneader. Therefore, the operator operates the kneader so that the electric current of the electric motor is minimized while confirming the temperature of the material in the kneading chamber, the production amount, and the viscoelastic value of the product, which is one index of the production quality. (E.g., Japanese Patent Publication No. 60-3
3530 publication).

In order to minimize the production power, heat generation due to shearing of the material is accelerated by the shape of the kneading rotor, or heating is performed from the outside of the kneading chamber to soften the material, or the material pressure in the kneading chamber is increased. Has been taken to reduce the load on the electric motor, increase the amount of input materials, and produce a larger amount of electricity with a constant amount of electric power. However, since the promotion of heat generation of the material and the excessive application of pressure are factors that cause the quality of the material to deteriorate, the operator has operated the kneading machine by balancing various factors.

Further, in a continuous type kneader, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-50
A gate adjusting mechanism as described in Japanese Patent No. 425 is used, and by controlling the opening of this gate, the flow of the material in front of the gate is controlled, and the kneading condition of the material and the shear heat generation are changed. We have adjusted the production power by controlling the load on the main motor by changing the melting degree of the material.
Conventionally, in order to perform the control as described above, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 59-
According to the multivariate control method described in Japanese Patent No. 211103, various output parameters are determined and the operation is automated.

[0006]

In the control system using the multivariate control of the above-mentioned prior art, a plurality of temperature comparisons and various temperature changes have been used for production power adjustment. Since the control element cannot be uniquely determined due to the change in behavior, sufficient quality could not be guaranteed due to insufficient kneading.

Further, there are various kinds of materials which are conventionally put into a kneading machine, and even when the same material is used, the mixing ratio and kind of the additive material and the shape of the kneading rotor are changed according to the material. Moreover, since the data used in the conventional control system is secondary data induced by materials and mechanical elements, the nonlinear control system using the multivariate analysis method as described above is used. Even if it is constructed, analysis data corresponding to materials and machine conditions are separately required, and it is difficult to secure robustness (reproducibility, repeatability) which is one condition for constructing a control system.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to construct a multivariate control system capable of ensuring robustness even if the type of material and various conditions change.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention takes the following means. That is, a feature of the present invention according to claim 1 is that a kneading chamber to which materials are continuously supplied, a kneading rotor arranged in the kneading chamber, and an openable / closable front and rear partitioning chamber. In the control method of the continuous kneading apparatus having a gate, the melting position of the material in the kneading chamber is detected, and the opening of the gate is controlled according to the melting position.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a continuous kneading machine comprising a kneading chamber, a kneading rotor arranged in the kneading chamber, and a raw material supply device for supplying a material to the kneading chamber. In the apparatus control method, the melting position of the material in the kneading chamber is detected, and the material supply amount of the raw material supply device is controlled according to the melting position. Claim 3
The feature of the present invention described is that in a method for controlling a continuous kneading apparatus comprising a kneading chamber in which materials are continuously supplied, and a kneading rotor having a variable speed disposed in the kneading chamber, the kneading is performed. The point is to detect the melting position of the material in the chamber and control the rotation speed of the kneading rotor according to the melting position.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a kneading chamber, a kneading rotor arranged in the kneading chamber, an openable / closable gate for partitioning the kneading chamber into front and rear, and the kneading chamber. In a method of controlling a continuous kneading device having a raw material supply device for supplying a material, the melting position of the material in the kneading chamber is detected, and the quality of the kneading material at the kneading chamber outlet is determined, and the melting position and the quality are determined. The point is to control the opening of the gate and the material supply amount of the raw material supply device based on the fuzzy rule using the judgment value as an input.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a kneading chamber, a kneading rotor disposed in the kneading chamber, an openable / closable gate for partitioning the kneading chamber into front and rear, and the kneading chamber. In a method for controlling a continuous kneading apparatus including a raw material supplying device for supplying a material, the melting position of the material in the kneading chamber is detected, and the material supply amount supplied to the kneading chamber is measured, the melting position and The point is to control the opening degree of the gate and the material supply amount of the raw material supply device based on the fuzzy rule with the material supply amount as an input. Method for controlling continuous kneading device.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a kneading chamber, a kneading rotor arranged in the kneading chamber, an openable / closable gate for partitioning the kneading chamber into front and rear, and the kneading chamber in the kneading chamber. In a method of controlling a continuous kneading device having a raw material supply device for supplying a material, the melting position of the material in the kneading chamber is detected, the quality of the kneading material at the kneading chamber outlet is determined, and the material is supplied to the kneading chamber. This is to control the opening degree of the gate and the material supply amount of the raw material supply device based on a fuzzy rule by inputting the melting position, the quality judgment value, and the raw material supply amount as input.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a kneading chamber, a variable speed kneading rotor disposed in the kneading chamber, an openable / closable gate for partitioning the kneading chamber into front and rear, In a method of controlling a continuous kneading device including a raw material supply device for supplying a material to a kneading chamber, the melting position of the material in the kneading chamber is detected, and the quality of the kneading material at the kneading chamber outlet is determined, and the melting is performed. The point is to control the opening degree of the gate, the rotation speed of the kneading rotor, and the material supply amount of the raw material supply device based on the fuzzy rule by inputting the position and the quality determination value.

A feature of the present invention according to claim 8 is that a kneading chamber, a variable speed kneading rotor arranged in the kneading chamber, an openable / closable gate for partitioning the kneading chamber into front and rear, In a method for controlling a continuous kneading device including a raw material supply device for supplying a material to a kneading chamber, the melting position of the material in the kneading chamber is detected, the quality of the kneading material at the kneading chamber outlet is determined, and the kneading rotor is used. Detecting the number of revolutions, and measuring the amount of material supplied to the kneading chamber, the melting position, the quality judgment value, the number of revolutions of the kneading rotor, and
The point is to control the opening of the gate, the rotation speed of the kneading rotor, and the material supply amount of the raw material supply device based on the fuzzy rule with the material supply amount as an input.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a kneading chamber to which materials are continuously supplied, a kneading rotor arranged in the kneading chamber, and an openable / closable front and rear partitioning chamber. In a continuous kneading device equipped with a gate and a gate driving device for adjusting the opening of the gate, a melting position detecting device for detecting a melting position of the material in the kneading chamber, and a melting position depending on the detected melting position. And a control device for controlling the gate drive device.

According to a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a kneading chamber, a kneading rotor arranged in the kneading chamber,
In a continuous kneading device including a raw material supply device for supplying a material to the kneading chamber, a melting position detecting device for detecting a melting position of the material in the kneading chamber, and the raw material supply according to the detected melting position And a control device for controlling the device.

A feature of the present invention according to claim 11 is that a kneading chamber to which materials are continuously supplied, a kneading rotor arranged in the kneading chamber, and a rotor drive for controlling a rotation speed of the rotor. In a continuous kneading device equipped with a device,
A melting position detecting device for detecting a melting position of the material in the kneading chamber, and a control device for controlling the rotor driving device according to the detected melting position are provided.

[0019]

According to the present invention, since the melting position of the material in the kneading chamber is detected and the detected position is used as the input value of the control system, the robustness of the control system can be secured. That is, the present invention pays attention to the behavior change in the kneading machine due to the materials and mechanical elements so far, and in particular, by detecting and controlling the position where the material melts, the optimum production power operation is automatically performed while ensuring the kneading quality. And to ensure the robustness of the control system.

The inventors of the present invention need to make the molten state of the material uniform in order to make the kneading degree uniform. The molten state of this material is the melting state of the material in the melting / kneading zone of the kneader. We found that it can be determined by detecting the position. That is, the molten state of the material can be determined by determining and identifying the location where the material is molten, so the melting position of the material in the kneading chamber is detected, and the raw material is sufficiently melted in the melting zone. Can be monitored.

Therefore, based on the detected melting position,
For example, the optimum molten state can be obtained by controlling the gate adjusting device. Further, according to the present invention, in performing the multi-input and multi-output control so as to further minimize the production power, the gate position, the raw material supply amount, the main motor speed, etc. are controlled so that the melting position does not change inside the kneader. Is controlled, robustness is ensured.

[0022]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows the overall structure of the kneading device used in the method of the present invention. This kneading device comprises a raw material supply device 1 for continuously supplying the material, a kneading machine 2 for kneading the material supplied from the raw material supply device 1, and a control for controlling the raw material supply device 1 and the kneading machine 2. It is mainly composed of device 3.

The raw material supply device 1 is composed of a screw extruder, has a housing having a material feeding hopper and a material discharge port, an extrusion screw rotatably provided in the housing, and drives the screw to rotate. And a detector 5 for detecting the number of rotations of the driving device 4. The rotation detector 5 is composed of a pulse generator and the like. The screw drive device 4 and the rotation detector 5 are connected to the control device 3.

The kneading machine 2 has a housing 9 having a material inlet 6 at one end, a material outlet 7 at the other end, and a kneading chamber 8 in the middle thereof. The material inlet 6 is the raw material supply device 1
Facing the material outlet. A kneading rotor 10 is rotatably arranged in the kneading chamber of the housing 9. The rotor 10 is rotationally driven by a rotor drive device 11 including a motor or the like. The rotation speed of the drive unit 11 is detected by a detector 12 including a pulse generator or the like. The rotor driving device 11 and the rotation detector 12 are connected to the control device 3.

The kneading chamber 8 has a feed zone, a melting / kneading zone, and a kneading / discharging zone from the inlet 6 to the outlet 7. A gate 13 for partitioning the kneading chamber 8 between the melting / kneading zone and the kneading / discharging zone.
Is openable and closable. The opening of this gate 13 is
It is adjusted by a gate drive device 14 including a servomotor or the like. In addition, the opening of the gate 13 is the gate position detector.
Detected by 15. The gate driving device 14 and the position detector 15 are connected to the control device 3.

The melting / kneading zone is provided with a first temperature detecting means 16 for detecting the material temperature in the kneading chamber 8, and the kneading / discharging zone is provided with the material temperature at the kneading chamber outlet 7. A second temperature detecting means 17 for detecting is provided. The kneading / discharging zone is provided with pressure detecting means 18 for detecting the pressure of the material. The pressure detecting means 18 and the first and second temperature detecting means 16 and 17 are
It is connected to the control device 3.

The melting / kneading zone is provided with a melting position detecting device 19 for detecting the melting position of the material. The melting position detecting device 19 comprises a plurality of sound wave sensors 20 arranged along the longitudinal direction of the melting / kneading zone, and a judging device 21 for processing the signals of the sound wave sensors 20 to judge the melting position. It is configured. This discriminating device 21 is connected to the control device 3.

The sound wave sensor 20 is composed of a pressure element such as a piezoelectric element, and is attached to the side surface of the housing 9 of the kneading machine 2. The sound wave sensor 20 detects a sound wave generated from the inside of the kneading machine 2. The discrimination means 21 is a sound wave sensor 20.
The position where the material is melted is determined and specified based on the level of the sound wave detected by and the position where the sound wave sensor 20 is attached.

Specifically, when the envelope detection process in which the heads of the sound wave waveforms are connected to each other, when the material is melted and when it is not, (a) in the upper graph of FIG.
And the difference shown in (b) appears. By filtering this difference, the sound wave level becomes a smooth curve as shown in the lower part of FIG. In the molten state,
As shown in FIG. 3, a melting level curve can be drawn in the kneading chamber 8. By deciding an arbitrary level from this melting level curve, the points dividing the melting and non-melting points
It can be specified as the melting point.

However, since the standard of the unmelted level and the standard of the molten level may change depending on the state of the machine and the material, the sound wave sensors 20 serving as the standard are arranged at both ends of the kneading zone and used as the standard of the material melting. A plurality of sound wave sensors 20 are set between these reference points to create the material melt level chart. Here, the actual molten state in the kneading chamber 8 is
This is a state in which unmelted materials are mixed, and the material melting degree exhibits a smooth curve as shown in FIG. Therefore, in order to determine whether the material is melted or unmelted, an arbitrary material melting determination level is provided, and the melted or unmelted position is specified by this criterion.

By using this detection method, it becomes possible to carry out the operation in the melting zone of the kneading machine 2 while monitoring whether or not the material is sufficiently melted, and to promote the kneading in the kneading zone. , Can improve the quality of products. Further, the present invention can be applied to control that can optimally set the cost of manufacturing a product without lowering the production quality, that is, the mechanical power (such as the electricity cost required to operate the electric motor) according to the production amount.

The controller 3 has a kneading chamber outlet 7
The input means 22 for inputting a judgment value for judging the quality of the product material discharged from is connected (see FIG. 1).
As the quality judgment value, the judgment by the operator's visual observation, or the viscoelasticity of the product, the molecular weight distribution, the filler dispersity, the fish eye (FISH EYE), the mechanical strength, etc. are used. In the present embodiment, of these, the viscoelasticity for which data can be obtained quickly during the operation of the machine was taken as the quality judgment value. The input means 22 comprises a keyboard or the like and is manually operated.

The inputs and outputs of the control device 3 are shown in FIG. That is, the melting position of the material in the kneading chamber by the discriminating device 21, the temperature of the material in the kneading chamber by the first temperature detecting means 16, the outlet temperature of the kneading chamber by the second temperature detecting means 17, the amount of material supplied by the rotation detector 5 of the raw material supply device 1. , The gate position by the gate position detector 15, the material pressure by the pressure detection means 18, the main motor speed by the rotation detector 12 of the rotor drive device 11, and the quality judgment value by the input means 22 are input to the control device 3 as inputs. .

The control device 3 is provided with a fuzzy controller, which processes the multiple inputs to obtain predetermined output data. This output signal is a gate position correction signal for controlling the gate drive device 14, a material supply amount setting signal for controlling the drive device 4 of the raw material supply device 1, and a kneader.
This is a main motor speed setting signal for controlling the second rotor drive device 11.

In the control device 3, all of the inputs are used to output all of the outputs, and in addition to necessary output of each input, appropriate processing is performed to obtain the required output. However, the data of the material melting position of the kneading chamber by the discrimination device 21 is always used as an input. For example, the melting position of the material in the kneading chamber 8 is detected, the opening degree of the gate 13 is controlled according to the melting position, the material supply amount of the raw material supply device 1 is controlled,
The rotation speed of the kneading rotor 10 is controlled.

Further, the melting position of the material in the kneading chamber 8 is detected, the quality of the kneading material at the kneading chamber outlet 7 is judged, and the gate 13 based on the fuzzy rule using the melting position and the quality judgment value as input. And the material supply amount of the raw material supply device 1 are controlled. Alternatively, the melting position of the material in the kneading chamber 8 is detected, the amount of the material supplied to the kneading chamber 8 is measured, and the gate 13 is opened based on the fuzzy rule using the melting position and the material supply amount as inputs. And the material supply amount of the material supply device 1 are controlled.

Alternatively, the melting position of the material in the kneading chamber 8 is detected, the quality of the kneading material at the kneading chamber outlet 7 is determined, and the amount of the material supplied to the kneading chamber 8 is measured, and the melting is performed. The position, the quality judgment value, and the raw material supply amount are input, and the opening degree of the gate 13 and the raw material supply amount of the raw material supply device 1 are controlled based on a fuzzy rule. Alternatively, while detecting the melting position of the material in the kneading chamber 8,
The quality of the kneading material at the kneading chamber outlet 7 is determined, and the opening of the gate 13, the rotation speed of the kneading rotor 10, and the material supply of the raw material supply device 1 are input based on the fuzzy rule with the melting position and the quality determination value as inputs. Control the amount.

Alternatively, the melting position of the material in the kneading chamber 8 is detected, the quality of the kneading material at the kneading chamber outlet 7 is determined, the rotation speed of the kneading rotor 10 is detected, and the kneading chamber 8 is supplied. The amount of material to be supplied is measured, the melting position, the quality judgment value, the rotation speed of the kneading rotor 10, and the amount of material to be supplied are input to the gate 13 based on the fuzzy rule.
Opening, rotation speed of the kneading rotor 10, and raw material supply device
Control material supply rate of 10.

The following table shows an example of inputs and outputs to the control device 3.

[0040]

[Table 1]

FIG. 5 shows an example of a processing procedure in the control device 3. The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment.

[0042]

According to the present invention, it is possible to automate the operation of the kneading machine, in which the experience and intuition of the operator are important factors, and it becomes unnecessary to constantly monitor the machine. Also,
It is possible to deal with sufficient guarantee for quality such as insufficient kneading. As a result, even an unskilled person can operate the kneading machine, and can save manpower.

Further, by minimizing the production power, it is possible to cope with the energy saving measures of the machine and reduce the cost of the product.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a kneading device showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a graph showing an envelope detection waveform of a sound wave and a signal output obtained by performing low-pass filter processing on the envelope detection waveform of the sound wave.

FIG. 3 is a graph showing material melt level.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing inputs and outputs of the control device.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of the control device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 raw material supply device 2 kneading machine 3 control device 4 raw material supply device driving device 8 kneading chamber 10 kneading rotor 11 kneading rotor driving device 13 gate 14 gate driving device 19 melting position detecting device

Claims (11)

[Claims] 1. A control of a continuous kneading apparatus comprising a kneading chamber to which materials are continuously supplied, a kneading rotor arranged in the kneading chamber, and an openable / closable gate that divides the kneading chamber into front and rear. A method for controlling a continuous kneading device, comprising: detecting a melting position of a material in the kneading chamber and controlling an opening of the gate according to the melting position. 2. A method for controlling a continuous kneading apparatus comprising a kneading chamber, a kneading rotor arranged in the kneading chamber, and a raw material supply device for supplying the material to the kneading chamber, the method comprising: A method for controlling a continuous kneading device, which comprises detecting a melting position and controlling a material supply amount of the raw material supplying device according to the melting position. 3. A method for controlling a continuous kneading apparatus comprising a kneading chamber to which materials are continuously supplied, and a kneading rotor arranged in the kneading chamber, the melting position of the material in the kneading chamber. Is detected and the rotation speed of the kneading rotor is controlled according to the melting position. 4. A continuous system comprising a kneading chamber, a kneading rotor arranged in the kneading chamber, an openable / closable gate which divides the kneading chamber into front and rear, and a raw material supply device for supplying a material to the kneading chamber. In the method of controlling the kneading device, the melting position of the material in the kneading chamber is detected, the quality of the kneading material at the kneading chamber outlet is determined, and the melting position and the quality judgment value are input to the gate based on the fuzzy rule. A method for controlling a continuous kneading device, comprising controlling an opening and a material supply amount of a raw material supply device. 5. A continuous system comprising a kneading chamber, a kneading rotor arranged in the kneading chamber, an openable / closable gate for partitioning the kneading chamber into front and rear, and a raw material supply device for supplying a material to the kneading chamber. In the method of controlling the kneading device, the melting position of the material in the kneading chamber is detected, and the material supply amount supplied to the kneading chamber is measured, and the gate is based on the fuzzy rule with the melting position and the material supply amount as inputs. A method for controlling a continuous kneading device, which comprises controlling the opening degree of the material and the amount of material supplied by the material supply device. 6. A continuous system comprising a kneading chamber, a kneading rotor arranged in the kneading chamber, an openable / closable gate dividing the kneading chamber into front and rear, and a raw material supply device for supplying a material to the kneading chamber. In the method of controlling the kneading device, the melting position of the material in the kneading chamber is detected, the quality of the kneading material at the kneading chamber outlet is determined, and the amount of material supplied to the kneading chamber is measured, and the melting position is determined. A method for controlling a continuous kneading device, comprising: controlling a gate opening degree and a material supply amount of a raw material supply device based on a fuzzy rule by inputting a quality judgment value and a raw material supply amount. 7. A kneading chamber, a variable speed kneading rotor arranged in the kneading chamber, an openable / closable gate for partitioning the kneading chamber into front and rear, and a raw material supply device for supplying a material to the kneading chamber. In the control method of the continuous kneading apparatus provided with, while detecting the melting position of the material in the kneading chamber, to determine the quality of the kneading material at the kneading chamber outlet, based on the fuzzy rule with the melting position and quality judgment value as an input A method for controlling a continuous kneading device, comprising controlling the opening of the gate, the rotation speed of the kneading rotor, and the material supply amount of the raw material supply device. 8. A kneading chamber, a variable speed kneading rotor arranged in the kneading chamber, an openable / closable gate for partitioning the kneading chamber into front and rear, and a raw material supply device for supplying a material to the kneading chamber. In the control method of the continuous kneading apparatus provided, the melting position of the material in the kneading chamber is detected, the quality of the kneading material at the kneading chamber outlet is determined, the rotation speed of the kneading rotor is detected, and The material supply amount to be supplied is measured, the melting position, the quality judgment value, the rotation speed of the kneading rotor, and the opening degree of the gate based on the fuzzy rule with the material supply amount as an input, the rotation speed of the kneading rotor, and, A method for controlling a continuous kneading device, which comprises controlling a material supply amount of a raw material supply device. 9. A kneading chamber in which materials are continuously supplied, a kneading rotor arranged in the kneading chamber, an openable / closable gate which divides the kneading chamber into front and rear, and an opening degree of the gate. In a continuous kneading device including a gate drive device, a melting position detection device that detects a melting position of a material in the kneading chamber, and a control device that controls the gate drive device according to the detected melting position. A continuous kneading device characterized in that 10. A continuous kneading apparatus comprising a kneading chamber, a kneading rotor arranged in the kneading chamber, and a raw material supply device for supplying the material to the kneading chamber, wherein a melting position of the material in the kneading chamber is set. A continuous kneading device comprising: a melting position detecting device for detecting; and a control device for controlling the raw material supply device according to the detected melting position. 11. A kneading chamber to which materials are continuously supplied,
In a continuous kneading device comprising a kneading rotor arranged in the kneading chamber and a rotor drive device for controlling the rotation speed of the rotor, a melting position detecting device for detecting a melting position of a material in the kneading chamber, A continuous kneading device, comprising: a control device that controls the rotor drive device according to the detected melting position.