MXPA98003889A - Generation of the scan movement profile in an individ section glass article forming system - Google Patents

Abstract

In a system (10) forming glassware individual section (IS) including a plurality of operating mechanisms for performing an electronic controlled (52, 64) cyclic movements to control the cyclical movement of at least one (20a ) of the operating mechanisms it includes an electronic memory (66) for storing a plurality of motion profiles (figures 4C and 5C) for an operating mechanism, with each of the profiles comprising a set of motion data against data weather. Each of the profiles has a linear contour of rectilinear stretches determined by a plurality of control points (A to R5), with each of the control points having values of motion and time data associated. The operator can selectively view one of the profiles as a table of time values for the control points, with the time values that are preferably in units of degrees of the IS machine. The operator can change the time values associated with one or more of the control points, the controller automatically re-computes the movement data against the time data for the entire profile as a function of a change in the time data per the operator in at least one of the control points, while maintaining the linear contour of rectilinear sections of the complete profile. The operation of the operation mechanism is subsequently controlled as a function of the movement recalculated against the time profile data.

Description

GENERATION OF THE SCAN MOVEMENT PROFILE IN A SECTION GLASS ARTICLE FORMATION SYSTEM INDIVIDUAL.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to systems for forming glass articles of machines of individual section (IS, for its acronym in English), and more particularly to a method and apparatus for generating and modifying the movement profile of the mechanisms of Sweep the glassware in this system.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION The technique of manufacturing glass containers is dominated by the so-called single-section machine or IS machine. These machines include a plurality of separate or individual manufacturing sections, each of which has a multiplicity of even operating mechanisms:. converting one or more gobs or gobs of molten glass into glass, hollow containers and transferring the containers through stages REF: 27519 successive of the section of the machine. In general, an IS machine system includes a glass source with a needle mechanism to control a stream of molten glass, a cutting mechanism to cut the molten glass into individual gobs, and a distributor of gobs to distribute the masses Individual gutiforms, between the individual sections of the machine. Each machine section includes one or more hollow glass balloon molds in which a glass gob is first formed in a blow or press operation, one or more arms inverted to transfer the hollow glass balloons to the blow molds to which the containers are blown to the final shape, tongs to remove the containers formed on an anchor plate, and a sweeping mechanism to transfer! the containers molded from the anchor plate to a transverse conveyor. The conveyor receives the containers from all sections of an IS machine and transports the containers to a loader for transfer to an annealing oven. The operating mechanisms in each section also provide the closing of the halves? The molds, the movement of the deflectors and the blowing nozzles, the control of the cooling air: er .:, etc. U.S. Patent No. 4,362,544 includes an earlier discussion of the technique of forming glass articles for "blowing and blowing" and "pressing and blowing", and also discusses a single-section, electro-pneumatic machine adapted for use in any process The various operating mechanisms of the IS machine system were initially operated and synchronized with each other by means of a machine shaft, a multiplicity of individual cams rotatable on the shaft, and cam-sensitive pneumatic valves to selectively feed air under pressure to the various operating mechanisms. The normal tendency in the art is towards the replacement of the shaft, the mechanical cams and the pneumatic actuators with electric actuators sensitive to actuators operated by the so-called "electronic cams". These electronic cams are in the form of the motion profile information for the various operating mechanisms stored in the electronic memory and selectively recovered by the electronic control circuitry to operate the electronic actuators. In this way, these movements such as the formation and separation of the goblet masses of glass, the movement of the hollow glass globes and the containers, the opening and closing of the blow molds, the movements inside and outside the funnels , deflectors and blowing heads, the movements of the sweeping and charging devices to the annealing furnace are achieved electronically from the information of the movement profile stored digitally in the electronic memory, with the movements in the various sections of the machine which is synchronized with each other by clock signals and common readjustments. See North American Patent No, 4, 762, 544. In the systems of formation of articles of glass of machine IS that use cams of accionamiento mechanically in a mechanical tree, the adjustment of the profiles of synchronization and movement of the several mechanisms of operation required the adjustment or replacement of the individual cams. In systems that use electronic cams, it is often still necessary to stop or stop the machine or section of the machine, change the profile of the movement electronically and then restart the machine. For example, control techniques of the type described in US Pat. No. 4,548,637 typically require the generation and storage of the new profile data in an electronic read-only memory, often at a remote location from the manufacturing plant, and the closing of the manufacturing system to allow the installation of the memory in the electronic control elements. In a general object of the present invention to provide a system and method for selectively modifying the movement profile of an operating mechanism in a glassware formation system, which can be easily implemented in a manufacturing environment with a minimum of training operator. A more specific object of the present invention is to provide a method and system for generating the motion control profiles, particularly for controlling movement in the machine's neighborhood mechanisms, in which the profile data can easily be changed, in which profile modifications are made offline while the system is being operated, which are user-friendly, and which can be easily expanded to create and store a library of the most selectable motion control profiles late for use by an operator. Another object, and even more specific, of the present invention is to provide a method and system for generating the motion control profiles to control the movement in the sweeping mechanisms of an IS machine system by means of which the personnel of the plant is allowed to select and / or modify the movement profiles to obtain optimum performance in each sweeping mechanism for a given set of bottle handling conditions, which allows the selection and / or modification of the profile on an immediate basis, in which a plurality of normal profiles can be selectively stored and operated by means of a Windows® based operating system.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION In an individual section (IS) glass article forming system that includes a plurality of operating mechanisms for performing the cyclic movements, an electronic control arrangement for controlling the cyclic movement of at least one of the operating mechanisms in accordance with the present invention includes an electronic memory for storing a plurality of motion profiles for an operating mechanism, with one of the profiles comprising a set of movement data against the time data. Each of the profiles has a predefined mathematical interrelation between position, velocity and acceleration. A profile of movement against time, preferably the acceleration profile, is defined by a linear curve of rectilinear stretches, that is to say, a curve of movement (preferably, acceleration) against time consisting of a series of line segments, straight. A plurality of control points are defined at the intersections of the linear segments of successive, rectilinear stretches. Each control point has associated movement and time values. The operator can selectively display one of the profiles as a table of time values for the control points, with the time values that are preferably in units of IS machine grades. The operator can change the value of the time associated with (one or more of) the control points, and the controller automatically re-computes the movement data against the time data for the entire profile as a function of the change in the data of time by the operator at the control points, while maintaining the linear contour of rectilinear sections of the complete profile. The operation of the operating mechanism is subsequently controlled as a function of the movement recalculated against the data of the time profile. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the profile of the movement data against the time data is graphically displayed to the operator together with the tabular display of the time data of the control point. The control points are individually identifiable to facilitate reference to the tabular display. After each change of the operator of the time data of the control point, tabulated, the graphic display is automatically altered to reflect the new computation of the movement profile data to illustrate to the operator the effect of the change of the data. If the change is judged desirable by the operator, the steps of altering and re-computing the profile data can be selectively reversed by the operator to restore the profile data and the graphic display to the condition before the preceding change. In the preferred embodiment of the invention, the graphical, and / or tabular display and the operator control facility are implemented in a user interface, graphic, based on Windows® that can be easily learned and manipulated by an operator. The preferred implementation of the method and system of the present invention is to selectively generate and modify the motion profiles for electronically operated scanning mechanisms of an IS machine system. The data of the movement profile against time in this implementation preferably includes one or more profiles of the acceleration against time in the linear contours of rectilinear stretches. Each profile consists of a plurality of profile line segments, each extending between a sequential pair of control points, and each being defined by a separate equation, preferably a polmomial equation, The linear acceleration contours of stretches rectilinear in the preferred embodiment of the invention include a four-level trapezoid contour having four levels of constant acceleration, and a conveyor speed comparison contour for the speed of the glass article during scanning at the speed of the transverse conveyor, (These linear acceleration contours of rectilinear stretches, and the mathematical interrelationships to speed and position, are known in them and the same ones.The velocity comparison acceleration profile of the conveyor has a short nonlinear segment to compare the speed angular of the container to the linear speed of the conveyor), Multiple profiles of each of these linear contours of straight sections can be generated and stored by selective manipulation of the control points between the adjacent segments of the profile. Specifically, the control point time data is selectively altered by the operator, and the associated acceleration data is automatically computed according to the defined shape and profile and the predefined limit conditions, such as maximum speed and stroke. Each movement profile includes a forward stroke during which the sweeping mechanism advances the glass article from an anchor plate of the section on the transverse conveyor, and a return stroke during which the sweeping mechanism returns from the conveyor to the anchor plate. The advance races are of different contour according to the different contours of the profile, while the return races are of identical contour in the preferred implementation of the invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention, together with the objects, features and additional advantages thereof, will be better understood from the following description, the appended claims and the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a functional block diagram of an individual section (IS) glass article forming system in which the present invention is preferably implemented Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a scanning station of the section of the machine for distributing the glass article from an anchor plate of the section to a transversal conveyor of the machine; 3 is a functional block diagram of an electronic control array for operating each scan mechanism in FIGS. 1 and 2; FIGS. 4A-4C are graphic illustrations of the scan movement profiles according to a preferred implementation of FIG. the invention; Figures 5A-5C are graphic illustrations of sweep movement profiles according to another preferred implementation of the invention; Figure 6 is a Windows® tabular display for adjusting the operation parameters of the machine according to the preferred embodiment of the invention; Figure 7 is a graphical / tabular Windows® type display for adjusting the sweep reference coordinates according to the preferred embodiment of the invention; Figures 8 and 9 are Windows® tabular displays for adjusting control point time values for two forward profile contours, different according to the preferred embodiment of the invention; Figure 10 is Windows® tabular display to adjust the time values of the return stroke according to the preferred embodiment of the invention; Figure 11 is a tabular window type display for adjusting the maximum sweep speed; Y Figure 12 is a graphic illustration of a modification to Figure 4C.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED MODALITIES Figure 1 illustrates an IS machine glass forming system 10 as comprising a reservoir or cup 12 containing molten glass (from a forehearth) which is fed by a needle mechanism 14 or cutting mechanism 16. The cutting mechanism 16 separates individual gobs of molten glass, which are fed by a distributor 18 of gobs to an IS machine 20. The machine IS 20 includes a plurality of individual sections into which the gobs are formed into pieces individual glass articles. Each section ends in a 20a sweep station, 20b, ... 20n, from which the glass articles are distributed to a common transverse conveyor 22. The conveyor 22, usually an endless belt conveyor, distributes the containers in sequence to an oven loader 24. annealing, which loads the containers in batches in an annealing furnace 26. The containers are distributed by the annealing furnace 26 to the so-called cold end 28 of the manufacturing cycle, in which the containers are inspected for commercial variations, are classified, they mark, are packaged, and / or stored for further processing. The system 10 illustrated in Figure 1 includes a multiplicity of operating mechanisms for performing the operations on the glass, moving glass pieces through sequential steps of operation, and otherwise performing functions in the system. These operating mechanisms include, for example, the needle mechanism 14, the gob cut-off mechanism 16, the gob dough distributor 18, the sweeping mechanisms 20a-20n and the annealing furnace charger 24. In addition, there is a multiplicity of operating mechanisms within each section of the IS 20 machine, such as the mechanisms for the operation and closure of the molds, the mechanisms for the movements in and out of the funnels, deflectors and blow heads, and the mechanisms for the movements of the inverted arms and the extraction tongs. To the extent described so far, the IS machine glass article forming system 10 is of conventional construction. The reservoir 12 and needle mechanism 14 may be as shown, for example, in U.S. Patent No. 3,419,373. In a currently preferred embodiment of the invention, the needle mechanism 14 is as described in US Patent Application Serial No. 08 / 597,760. The cut-off mechanism of gob masses 16 can be as in US Patent Nos. 3,758,286 or 4,499,806, or more preferably as shown in US Patent Application Serial No. 08 / 322,121 filed on October 13, 1994. distributor of gob masses 18 can be as in US Patent Nos. 4,529,431 or 5,405,424. U.S. Patent Nos. 4,362,544 and 4,427,431 illustrate typical IS 20 machines, and U.S. Patent Nos. 4,199,344; 4,222,480 and 5,160,015 illustrate typical scanning stations 20a-20n. The North American Patents Numbers 4,193,784; 4,290,517; 4,793,465 and 4,923,363 illustrate suitable loaders of annealing furnace 24. U.S. Patent Nos. 4,141,711; 4,145,204; 4,338,116; 4,364,764; 4,459,146 and 4,762,544 illustrate various arrangements for the electronic control of the manufacture of glassware in an IS machine system. A system for controlling the movements of the operating mechanisms of the IS machine is illustrated, for example, in the aforementioned US Pat. No. 4,548,637. The descriptions of all of the US Patents and all of the Patent Applications set forth above are incorporated herein by reference for background purposes. Figure 2 illustrates the sweeping mechanism 20a, the mechanisms 20b-20n (Figure 1) that are identical thereto. The sweeping mechanism 20a includes a servo-actuator or rotary motor 30 mounted for rotation to a fixed support structure 32. An arm 34 can be extended (by means not shown) outwardly of the actuator 30. The arm 34 has a hand 36 having a plurality of fingers 38 for engaging the glass article 40 positioned by the suction tongs (not shown) on an anchor plate 42 of the machine section. The particular embodiment illustrated in Figure 2 includes three fingers 38 for coupling three newly formed pieces dt. glass articles 40 formed and placed on the anchor plate 42 by a so-called section of the triple gut shaped machine. With the arm 34, the hand 36 and the fingers 38 extended laterally outwards from the position shown in figure 2, so that the fingers 38 are associated behind glass pieces 40, the rotary actuator 30 is rotated in the direction counterclockwise to move the glass article 40 in the transported. vertical 22, with the latter moving continuously in the direction 44. Towards this end, the actuator 30 is driven by a sweeping drive 46. After placing the piece of glass 40 on the conveyor 22, the fingers 38, the hand 36 and the arm 34 are retracted, and the actuator 30 is driven by the sweeping impeller 46 to rotate clockwise to the position shown to start the next scan cycle. St. will appreciate, of course, that this movement in sweep 20a is repeated at the end of each cycle of the associated machine section IS, with the operation of several sweeps 20a-20n (FIG. 1) which are staggered according to the stepped operation of the sections of associated machines and of the complete movement of the conveyor 22. Figure 3 illustrates a portion of the operation system of the IS machine (see US Pat. No. 4,548,637, referred to above, dedicated specifically to the operation of the mechanisms of sweep 20a-20n "A training monitoring computer 48 is connected by an Ethernet® 50 system to a multi-axis servo-drive 52. The impeller 52 also receives the machine index pulses and the degree pulses to synchronize ia. operation of all the controlled mechanisms to the operation of the complete training system The servo-impeller 52 contains a control circuit system based on the microprocessor r and memory to receive and store the profile and other control information from Ethernet® 50, and to control the operation in the multiple mechanisms, including servo-sweeps 20a-20n. An operator console 54 includes a computer 66, with internal memory, and an operator screen 68 and the control device such as a mouse 70 connected to the computer 48 and the driver 52 via Ethernet® 50. The operator console 64 can understand, for example, a personal computer compatible with IBM. Among other functions, the operator console 64 provides ease for the selective change of control profiles of the operating mechanism in the impeller 52, as will be described. The impeller 52 is also connected to a servo-control panel 72 of the operator, by means of which the operator can select the control profile to be used for each operating mechanism, and the starting point and / or the cart. total for each section. For electronic sweeps 20a-20n, a common profile is used for all sections, and the starting point can be adjusted for each section, but not the total stroke. The motion control profiles for the electronic servo-swept (as well as the other operating mechanisms) are preferably provided as a library of profiles prestored in memory within console 64. The library of prestored profiles may be selectively modified by the operator through the operator console 64. The console 64 is pre-programmed (as will be described in detail) to generate movement profiles for the sweeping mechanism, and to allow the operator to design and modify these profiles so that it can optimize the sweeping motion for the improved distribution of the glass article to the conveyor 22 (figures 1 and 2). Once a desired profile of movement is adjusted and discharged into the impeller 52, the impeller 52 subsequently controls the movement in the sweep mechanism 20, for example, as a function of the index of the input machine and the degrees pulses. independently of computer 48 by console 64 (in the absence of intervention, of course). The profile data downloaded and stored in the impeller 52 may comprise a block or table of 1024 data elements of the position against time in increments of fractional degrees, for example, by a position control operation mode. In this way, even if the acceleration profile data is manipulated by the operator (as will be described), the velocity and position profile data are also automatically calculated, and any one or more of these data blocks can be used for the purposes of control in several modes of operation. The preferred implementation of the present invention illustrated in the drawings is carried out using two basic contour scanning profiles. The first profile contour, called TRAP4 and illustrated in Figures 4A-4C, is based on a trapezoidal acceleration profile of four. levels (figure 4C) during the advance race. The second profile, called CSM and illustrated in Figures 5A-5C, is based on an attempt to obtain an exact comparison during the advance stroke of the article of the speed of the glass article at the speed of the conveyor. Both techniques employ a linear acceleration profile of trapezoidal, rectilinear stretches, which means that acceleration, velocity and position are each defined by a series of polynomial equations. The two techniques differ in a small portion of the acceleration profile, during comparison of the constant speed or the CSM technique compares the conveyor speed exactly for a pre-set sweep angle. During this comparison portion of the conveyor speed, the CSM technique uses a segment of the acceleration profile defined by a trigonometric equation. Figures 4A and 5A illustrate angular positions of sweep in degrees against time. Figures 4B and 5B illustrate the angular speed of sweeping in angular degrees per unit time contra? time. Figures 4C and 5C illustrate the sweep angular acceleration, in degrees per unit time squared against time. In all cases, the time is divided into units of degrees of operation, that is, degrees of movement for the operation mechanisms in question, compared to a complete cycle of 360 ° for the IS machine system introduced. Since the sweeps cycle once per machine cycle, the operating degrees for the sweeping mechanisms are the same with the machine grades, and so are illustrated in the drawings. In this way, the time axis does not vary with the speed of the machine. The time increments could alternatively be in units of real time. With reference to Figure 4C, the illustrated acceleration profile is defined by a plurality of control points, the points O, A, B, C, D, X, E, F, G and H for the forward stroke or outside, and the ... points Rl, R2, R3, R4 and R5 for the return run. For the advance stroke of the sweeping mechanism, the acceleration profile TRAP4 (Figure 4C) is characterized by four distinct levels (72, 74, 76, 78) between the pairs of control points, sequential AB, CD, EF and GF , in which the acceleration is constant, Each line segment 0-A, AB, BC, CD, DX, XE, EF, FG, GH, H-RI, R1-R2, R2-R3, R3-R4 and R4 -R5 are of constant inclination, which is to say that the control points are defined to be the points between the linear segments of rectilinear sections of the acceleration profile. Each line segment corresponds to a separate polynomial equation to define acceleration, velocity and position. The coefficients of these equations are calculated so that the acceleration, velocity and position are each equal to each control point or node between each sequential pair of line segments. The acceleration profile is manipulated (as will be described) by changing the time values (in machine degrees) for the control points. In addition, the maximum speed and maximum stroke of the scan head are prespecified. None of the actual acceleration values can be specified. Actual values for speed and position, other than maximum values, can not be specified. All these values are determined automatically by the profile generation schedule inside the operator console 64 (figure 3). The first control point O (Figure 4C) at time zero can not be changed. At this point, the sweep hand 36 (Figure 2) is stationary on the anchor plate. Therefore, the acceleration, velocity and position values in the respective profiles are all zero. The first line segment 0-A is the acceleration of the scan head (counterclockwise in FIG. 2) as the glass article 40 begins to move through the anchor plate 42. This is one of the most critical regions of the profile. If the glass article is unstable at this point in the movement, it has a greater chance of falling on the conveyor 22. The more stepped the slope of the line segment OA in the acceleration diagram, the faster the glass article accelerates . In an extreme case, an acceleration of rapid change will cause an uneven movement in the glass article. Therefore, this portion of the acceleration diagram must have a smooth inclination to accelerate the glass article from an immobilization. The next segment of line A-B is one of constant acceleration. This means that the angular velocity and the sweep head are increasing linearly in time. For the profile of Figure 4C, the acceleration decreases over the next segment of line B-C. However, the acceleration can either decrease and remain the same or increase over this line segment, that is, between control points B and C. The line segment CD is another region of constant acceleration, followed by a range of decreasing acceleration in the DX line segment. Up to the control point or node X, the speed has been increased to several proportions. The two levels 72, 74 of constant acceleration can be manipulated (by varying the time values of the control points) to control the shape of the speed curve (figure 4) up to point 80 of maximum speed. The control point or node X is always the point at which the maximum speed occurs (at point 80 in Figure 4B), The acceleration value at control point X is set to zero, and can not be changed. The time of occurrence of the control point X, the magnitude of the maximum speed 80, and the positions 81, 82 of the scanning head need to be specified by the operator. (See the later discussion of figures 8 and 11). The line segments X-E, E-F, F-G and G-H are two segments of constant acceleration (E-F and G-H) and two line segments (X-E and F-G) in which the acceleration is allowed to change. All these line segments and control points (except X) are in the region of negative acceleration, which means that the sweep head is decreasing. The retraction of mane 36 (Figure 2) is usually adjusted to occur so soon after the onset of rapid deceleration. This can be at control point X to control point F, depending on the profile. The retraction usually must be adjusted by the eye with the run of the machine. The control point H corresponds to the maximum angle of the scanning head, point 82 in FIG. 4A. The maximum angle is usually set at 95 °. In the full stroke, the sweep head stops for a moment and reverses the direction, so that the speed is zero at that point. The comparison of the conveyor speed or the CSM control technique in Figures 5A-5C is illustrated. This technique allows a particular piece of glass to be compared exactly at the speed of the conveyor at a specified sweep angle. This technique minimizes the dependence of the functional characteristics between the glass article and the band. The desired effect is to place the glass article in the band by exactly comparing the speed of the conveyor, and when returning from the glass article with the sweeping fingers. In sections of the multi-goblet machine, an exact comparison can be obtained only with a glass article element. It is also noted in conjunction with Figure 5C that the CSM profile technique has few nodes or control points in the acceleration diagram, making it easier to modify the control profiles. The example position, velocity and acceleration profiles for the CSM technique are illustrated in Figures 5A-5C. Once again, the acceleration profile (Figure 5C) is defined by a plurality of control points O, A, B, C, D, E, F, Rl, R2, R3, R4, R5, in each of the which the acceleration profile changes the inclination. The first part of the outward or forward race is very similar to the TRAP4 technique discussed above. The line segment O-A must not be gradually inclined, or the glass article may become unstable as it is accelerated from being immobilized along the surface of the anchor plate. The next segment of line A-B is of constant acceleration (increasingly linear velocity), followed by the line segment B-C in which the acceleration is decreasing linearly. The next segment of line C-D is the segment of comparison of the speed of the conveyor. This line segment is defined by a trigonometric equation, instead of a polynomial equation like the rest of figure 5C and the whole figure 4C, because the angular velocity of the scanning head is related trigonometrically to the linear velocity of the conveyor cross. This is the only line segment in Figure 4C and 5C that is not strictly linear. The shape of the CD segment is dependent on the speed of the linear conveyor (which depends on the number of sections and separation of the articles), the glass article element or point to be compared to the conveyor speed, and the angles of Sweep where the comparison of the speed of the conveyor must start and end, It has been found that the duration of the comparison of the speed of the conveyor must be in the range of five to ten degrees of the rotation of the sweeping head. At the control point or node D, the rapid deceleration begins. The deceleration should typically be as fast as possible, so that the glass article will be transported by the conveyor away from the fingers before retraction of fingers and hand occurs. However, if desired, the line segment D-E may be given some inclination so that the deceleration is not too abrupt. The line segment E-F is the last line segment of the advance stroke. At the control point F, the scanning head is at a maximum angle (preferably ninety-five degrees), and the velocity is zero. The points 84, 86 and the associated dashed lines indicate the points of maximum speed and maximum stroke. The contour of the return stroke is the same for both TRAP4 and CSM techniques. Is the lowest critical point of the profile since the canast? Sweep (hand 36 and fingers 38) is in the retracted position and not in contact with the glass article. The return stroke profile is trapezoid, as shown in both Figures 4C and 5C. Although modifications can be made to the return stroke by changing the time values of the control points Rl, R2, R3 and R4 as will be described, this is usually not necessary as long as the sweep head returns smoothly to the anchor plate within the required time. More preferably, the time between each control point is given above based on the time between the last control point (H in Figure 4C and F in Figure 5C) of the outward stroke and the maximum available time, the R5 control time at one hundred and eighty degrees of machine (in Figure 5C) has an amplitude of zero, which corresponds to zero speed and zero position (Figures 5B and 5A). The shapes of the profiles of the return stroke in Figures 4C and 5C are generally the same. In summary, each of the acceleration profiles of Figures 4C and 5C are defined by a plurality of control points between segments of the linear profile of straight sections, and therefore the equations for acceleration, velocity and distance change in each control point. The profile data actually used for the control of the sweep servo-actuator can be any dr. the profiles of position, speed and acceleration, in the modes of control of position, speed or acceleration of operation or in any combination, of the same. For example, the position profile (Figure 4A or 5A) stored in the memory can be a data set consisting of a multiplicity of position data elements against time and points, eg, position elements against time to define the The profile of the memory, one for each machine grade increase, For the purpose of editing or modifying the profile, however, the acceleration profile is used, which is defined by a smaller number of the control point between segments of linear profile of straight sections. The corresponding equations for determining velocity and position data points are either first, second or third order polynomial equations (except for line segment C-D in Figure 5C). In this way, for example, the polynomial equation? for the velocity during the machine grade time period corresponding to the line segment 0-A in Figure 5C is a second-order polynomial equation, and the corresponding equation for the position is a third-order polynomial equation. In the same way, the polynomial equation to determine the velocity over time in machine degrees that corresponds to the line segment of acceleration AB is a first-order polynomial equation, and the equation to determine the position is a second-order polynomial equation . The coefficients for each of these separate equations are calculated so that the accelerations, velocities and positions are equal at the node or control point between the successive profile line segments. Before the profiles can be generated or modified using the techniques that will be discussed in conjunction with Figures 6-10, the reference coordinates are introduced, by means of the graphic / tabular dialog box illustrated in Figure 7, to facilitate the conversion of angular coordinates to linear coordinates. (This conversion is necessary because the sweeping basket is moving in an arc, while the conveyor is moving in a straight line). For CSM profiles, the specified reference point is compared to the conveyor speed. The coordinates of the center 88 of the second glass element have been used successfully. Under certain conditions, another piece of glass, or even a point between two glass elements, can produce better results. For TRAP4 profiles, the reference point for the calculation of the maximum speed 84 (Figure 5B) is used by the programming elements in the console 64 (Figure 3). The coordinates are entered in relation to the axis of rotation of the sweeping head, as illustrated in Figure 7. When the sweeping head is placed at right angles to the conveyor as shown, the positive direction "y" is from the axis a through the conveyor, and the positive direction "x" is in the same direction as the conveyor is moving.

Then, certain limiting parameters must be adjusted. For example, the maximum angular velocity for a profile TRAP4 (point 80 in Figure 4B) must be adjusted, for the purpose of which the dialog box of Figure 11 is called. The programming within the console 64 calculates and displays a maximum speed calculated as the angular velocity of the reference point selected in conjunction with Figure 7 (for example, item 88 in Figure 7) to compare the linear velocity of the transverse conveyor 22. This value is displayed, for example, the value of 1991 in Figure 11. Using this figure calculated as a guide, the operator then enters a maximum speed desired, for example, 1820 in Figure 11 The selectable maximum speed is 110% of the calculated maximum speed. Then this figure is used by the programming of the console for the calculation of the coefficients of the equation. Similarly, the maximum speed 84 in Figure 5B is adjusted according to the speed of the transverse conveyor and the reference point selected in conjunction with Figure 7. The machine adjustment parameters are entered when calling the dialog box shown in Figure 6 (either through manipulation of the mouse 70 in Figure 3 or appropriate strokes on the keyboard 68). The number of cavities per section (three in the example triple gutiform implementation), the total number of sections in the machine, the maximum cavity ratio, the spacing of the items and a speed scaling factor are entered into the console 64 (figure 3). The number of sections and the separation of the articles are used by programming within the console 64 to determine the speed of the transverse conveyor 22 (Figures 1 and 2), which in turn adjusts the maximum speed 84 (Figure 5B). The speed factor is a scale factor that can be used to scale the maximum speed of a CSM profile. The speed factor input is not available when editing a TRAP4 profile instead, the TRAP4 profiles can be scaled in time and maximum speeds separately. After these preliminary adjustment steps, you can edit the pre-stored profiles or generate new profiles. To edit the acceleration profile TRAP4 illustrated in Figure 4C, for example, the dialogue box illustrated in Figure 8 is called on the screen, together with preferably a graphic background display of the acceleration profile as in Figure 4C, or graphic background displays of the position, velocity and acceleration profiles as in figures 4A-4C. The dialog box in figure 8 contains a table of time values (in machine degrees) of each of the control points or nodes A, B, C, D, X, E, F, G, H that are may vary by the operator to modify the sweep advance stroke. There are also frames to display for the visualization and possible modification of the position or angle of the sweeping head at the points of maximum speed (position 81 in Figure 4A) and maximum stroke (position 82 in Figure 4A). The time values and the scanning angles of the various control points or nodes in Figure 8 correspond to the graphic illustration of Figures 4A and 4C. Any of these time and angle values can be selectively changed by the operator when selecting a particular frame for the modification including the mouse 70 (figure 3) and a screen cursor (not shown), so that the frame is illuminated. When a table box is selected and illuminated, the corresponding control point in the graphic display (Figure 4C) also lights up, such as when placing a box around the selected control point. This helps the operator in relation to the table in the dialog box (figure 8) to the graphic display (figure 4C). Then a new numerical time value can be entered by the operator. The internal programming within the operator's console 64 automatically alters the acceleration, velocity and position profiles according to the newly introduced time value (s) for the selected node (s). ), based on the predetermined polynomial equations, the maximum speed value 80 (figure 4) calculated from the inputs and the stroke values (figure 8), and the corresponding changes in the acceleration, velocity and position graphic profiles are made in the display 66 for observation of the operator. If the effects observed in the graphic display of the profiles are not as desired, the operator can return to the previous profile, by "pressing" in the "undo" box in figure 8, or by pressing the "n" key. This "undo" process can be repeated, if desired, to return the profile originally called in memory and displayed to the operator. As an example, figure 12 illustrates a modification of figure 4C which results from the adjustment in figure 8 of the time value of control point A to zero, the time values of control point B and C, the same to approximately 65 °, the time values of the control points D, E, F and G, the same at 92 °, the time values of the control points H and Rl, the same at 105 °, the time values of the control points R2 and R3 the same at approximately 160 °, and the time values of the control points R4 and% 5, the same 180 °, (It is noted that the flat line segment, 76 in Figure 4 it has disappeared) . The acceleration profile of Figure 12 would probably be unsatisfactory due to the overshoot of the line segments O-A, D-X-G, H-RI, R2-R3, and R4-R5. Figure 9 illustrates a dialog or table for selectively modifying the advance stroke of the CSM acceleration profile (Figure 5C). Once again the current time values (in machine degrees) for each changeable control point or node A, B, C, D and F are displayed, along with the desired deceleration factor between control points D and E. The value of this deceleration factor, which is between zero and one, determines the distance to where the node E is located along the line segment EF. If the deceleration factor is zero, the line segment D-E is vertical as shown, while the control points E and F will match if the deceleration factor "1.0". Also selectable in Figure 8 are the sweep head angle or the position in which the comparison of the speed of the conveyor is lacking ("77.00" degrees in Figure 9), the angle of the sweep head in which the deceleration is about to start ("82.00" degrees in Figure 9) and the angle of the sweeping head of the maximum stroke 86 ("95.00" degrees in Figures 5A and 9). Once again, you can undo the changes, update or the profile closes when you "click" on the corresponding box in figure 9. The selections of "auto" and manual operation nodes are also available in figure 4. The mode Automatic operation, if selected, will result in automatic calculation of all node time values and changes in graphics displayed. This will usually provide a good start profile, which can be provided by "pressing" on the manual mode selector and finely adjusting the time and / or angle values. The return stroke dialog box is illustrated in figure 10. The "auto button" can normally be extended for the automatic calculation of the time values of the control points of the return stroke as previously indicated. Alternatively, the time values for the control points of the return stroke, R1, R2, R3, R4 and R5 can be varied. After a profile is designed or optimized as desired, it is stored in the memory in the console 64 and / or impeller 52, together with a name or other suitable signal for subsequent identification and subsequent calling. In this way, a library of profiles can be developed for later use and / or modification. The library typically included basic profiles that can not be changed, and other profiles that can be changed. The design of a new profile will normally start with the call of an existing profile known by the operator for being basically similar to that desired, followed by the modification to obtain the desired operation characteristics. This new profile would then be stored in memory under a new name. Therefore, a method for providing and / or modifying movement profiles has been provided in an individual section glass article forming system, particularly as it relates to the electronically controlled glassware scanning operation mechanisms, that completely satisfy all the objects and objectives previously exposed. In particular, the system and method of the invention allow plant personnel to select, modify or generate movement profiles to obtain optimum performance in the sweeping mechanism for a given set of conditions for handling glass articles on a basis immediate The most preferred form generation / modification program is a program based on Windows® (registered trademark of Microsoft, Inc) that is easy to learn and use. Passwords can be used to access the operator screen. Several menus and other commands can be used for various functions as judged appropriate. Preferably, both TRAP4 and CSM profiles are electronically stored and are available for modification and / or use as dictated by the operating conditions. The operator can easily provide the control profile to the operating conditions in each section of the machine. The invention has been described in conjunction with the modification by the operator to the acceleration profiles, which is currently preferred. However, velocity and / or position profiles could also be edited using written techniques. In the same way, acceleration profiles TRAP4 and CSM are employed in the purposes of writing an example mode of invention, currently preferred. The invention can be easily applied to other techniques of acceleration profiles (or position, speed).

It is noted that in relation to this date, the best method known by the applicant to carry out the present invention is that which is clear from the present description of the invention.

Having described the invention as above, the content of the following is claimed as property:

Claims (20)

1. A method for controlling the movement of an operating mechanism in a glassware forming machine, characterized in that it comprises the steps of: (a) storing in the memory at least one movement profile in the mechanism against time, and a linear contour of rectilinear stretches defined by a plurality of control points interconnected by the contour line segments, (b) displaying the time values of the control points to an operator, (c) under operator control, altering selectively the time value for at least one of the control points, (d) automatically altering the movement value of at least one control point in the movement profile according to the predefined movement limit conditions (e) ) generate and automatically store a new profile for movement in the mechanisms of operation against time according to the values of time and movement altered in steps (c) and (d), and having a linear contour of rectilinear sections as in step (a), and (f) subsequently controlling the movement, in the operating mechanism according to the new profile stored in step (e).

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises the additional steps of: (g) graphically displaying at least one profile during step (b), and (h) after steps (c) and (e), altering the profile displayed or displayed in step (g) to show the new profile generated in step (e).

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that it comprises the additional steps of: (i) under the control of an operator, revng step (c), and (j) after step (i), automatically inverting the steps of (d), (e) and (h) to return the visualization to that in step (g).

4. The method according to any preceding claim, characterized in that at least one profile of the movement against time comprises an acceleration profile in the mechanism of operation against time.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that the time has at least one profile that is stored in units of operating degrees of the mechanism.

6. The method according to claim 5, characterized in that the operating mechanism comprises a sweeping mechanism, and wherein the degrees of operation are in units of degrees of the machine for forming glass articles.

7. The method according to any preceding claim, characterized in that each profile of movement against time comprises a plurality of line segments of the profile, each extending between a successive pair of control points, each of the line segments that they are defined by a separate equation that has coefficients such that the acceleration, velocity, and position in that mechanism are each equal to each control point between the successive line segments of the profile.

8. A method for controlling the movement of a sweeping mechanism in an individual section of a glassware forming machine, characterized in that it comprises the steps of: (a) storing in the electronic memory at least one profile of the acceleration against time of a linear contour of rectilinear segments defined by a plurality of profile control points interconnected by contour line segments each having associated acceleration and time values, (b) selectively displaying at least one movement profile and control points on an operator display screen, (c) under the control of an operator, alter the time value of at least one of the control points on the display screen, (d) automatically alter the acceleration value of at least one control point to maintain the linear contour of rectilinear sections according to the predefined limit conditions in the mechanism of swept, (e) store a new acceleration profile against the time in the sweeping mechanism that has the contour and control points altered in steps (c) and (d), (f) determine and store at least one profile the speed and position against time based on the new profile of the acceleration against time, and (g) subsequently controlling the movement of the sweeping mechanism according to one of the stored profiles in cases (e) and (f).

9. The method according to claim 8, characterized in that the limiting conditions in step (d) include the sweeping angle at the maximum stroke.

10. The method according to claim 9, characterized in that the limit conditions in case (d) further include the maximum sweep speed.

11. The method according to claim 8, 9 or 10, characterized in that the linear profile contour of rectilinear sections comprises a trapezoid movement of four levels having four levels of constant acceleration.

12. The method according to claim 8, 9 or 10, characterized in that the linear profile contour of rectilinear sections is such as to obtain a predetermined sweep speed at a predefined position in the movement of the sweeping mechanism.

13. The method according to any of claims 8 to 12, for controlling the sweeping movement in a forward stroke during which the sweeping mechanism advances the glass article in an anchor plate of the cross-conveyor section , and a return stroke during which the sweeping mechanism returns from the conveyor to the anchor plate, characterized in that step (a) comprises the step of storing in electronic memory at least two acceleration profiles against time which have different profile line segments, to control the advance stroke and the identical profile line segments to control the return stroke.

14. The method according to any of claims 8 to 13, characterized in that the time in at least one profile is stored in units of degrees of the glassware forming machine.

15. The method according to claim 14, characterized in that each acceleration profile against time includes a plurality of line profile segments that each extend between a successive pair of control points, each of the line segments that are defines by a separate equation that has coefficients such that the acceleration, velocity and position in that mechanism are each equal to each control point between the successive profile line segments.

16. In a system for forming glass articles of individual section that includes a plurality of operating mechanisms for performing cyclic movements, the electronic control means for controlling the cyclic movement of at least one of the operating mechanisms, characterized in that it comprises: means for storing a plurality of movement profiles for that mechanism, with each of the motion profiles comprising a data set of movement data against linear contour linear time data defined by a plurality of control points, each of the control points having associated movement and time values, a means for selectively displaying one of the profiles as a table of time values for the control points, a means for allowing an operator to change the time value of at least one of the control points, a means to automatically re-compute the set of data of the movement data against the time data for the profile as a function of a change in the time data in the at least one control point while maintaining the linear contour of rectilinear sections of the profile, and a means for controlling the operation of at least one operating mechanism as a function of the set of data recalculated from the movement data against time data.

17. The system according to claim 16, characterized in that the means for automatically re-computing the data set of the movement data against the time data includes a means for automatically determining the movement data at all the control points according to with the pre-specified limit conditions in the mechanism after each operator changes the time data for the control points.

18. The system according to claim 16 or 17, characterized in that a mechanism comprises a sweeping mechanism for sweeping glass articles in each section of the machine from an anchor plate on a transverse conveyor.

19. The system according to claim 18, characterized in that the time data are in units of degrees of machine for forming glass articles.

20. The system according to claim 19, characterized in that each profile of movement data against time data consists of a plurality of profile line segments each extending between a successive pair of control points, each of the segments which is defined by a separate equation that has coefficients such that the acceleration, velocity and position in that mechanism are each equal to each control point in between the line segments of the profile, successive. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In a system (10) for forming glass articles of individual section (IS) including a plurality of operating mechanisms for performing cyclic movements, an electronic control (52, 64) to control the cyclic movement of at least one (20a) ) of the operating mechanisms includes an electronic memory (66) for storing a plurality of movement profiles (Figures 4C and 5C) for an operating mechanism, with each of the profiles comprising a set of data of movement against data of weather. Each of the profiles has a linear contour of rectilinear sections determined by a plurality of control points (from A to R5), with each of the control points having associated movement and time data values. The operator can selectively view one of the profiles as a table of time values for the control points, with the time values that are preferably in units of degrees of the IS machine. The operator can change the time values associated with one or more of the control points, and the controller automatically re-computes the movement data against the time data for the entire profile as a function of a change in the time data. by the operator in at least one of the control points, while maintaining the linear contour of rectilinear sections of the complete profile. The operation of the operation mechanism is subsequently controlled as a function of the recalculated movement against the time profile data.