WO2024095382A1

WO2024095382A1 - Sensor abnormality determination device, sensor abnormality determination system, sensor abnormality determination method, computer program, non-transient storage medium, and machine tool

Info

Publication number: WO2024095382A1
Application number: PCT/JP2022/040942
Authority: WO
Inventors: 洋樹大森
Original assignee: 住友電気工業株式会社
Priority date: 2022-11-02
Filing date: 2022-11-02
Publication date: 2024-05-10
Also published as: JP7405307B1

Abstract

A sensor abnormality determination device according to the present disclosure includes: a determination unit that receives data from one or more sensors provided to a cutting tool via wireless communication, and determines whether an abnormality has occurred in any of the one or more sensors on the basis of the data; and a determination display unit that displays the determination result from the determining unit.

Description

SENSOR ABNORMALITY DETECTION DEVICE, SENSOR ABNORMALITY DETECTION SYSTEM, SENSOR ABNORMALITY DETECTION METHOD, COMPUTER PROGRAM, NON-TRANSITORY STORAGE MEDIUM, AND MACHINE TOOL

This disclosure relates to a sensor abnormality determination device, a sensor abnormality determination system, a sensor abnormality determination method, a computer program, a non-transitory storage medium, and a machine tool.

Recently, it has been proposed to provide the cutting tool with a sensor and a wireless communication device for transmitting data, and to transmit data on the cutting tool's condition collected by the sensor wirelessly to a data collection device (Patent Document 1). The technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 allows each tool to communicate directly with the data collection device. There is no need for cables for the data collection device to collect sensor data, which is said to make machining easier.

JP 2007-80190 A

The sensor abnormality determination device according to the first aspect of this disclosure includes a determination unit that receives data from one or more sensors provided in a cutting tool via wireless communication and determines whether an abnormality has occurred in any of the one or more sensors based on the data, and a determination display unit that displays the determination result of the determination unit.

The present invention can be realized not only as a data collection device equipped with such a characteristic processing unit, but also as a sensor anomaly determination method having such characteristic processing steps, or as a program for causing a computer to execute such steps. It can also be realized as a semiconductor integrated circuit that realizes part or all of the sensor anomaly determination device, or as a sensor anomaly determination system that includes the sensor anomaly determination device.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a data collection system according to one embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a cutting tool equipped with the data transmitter shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the data transmitter shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a hardware configuration of the terminal shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a display on the monitor shown in FIG. 4 in a normal state. FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a display on the monitor when an abnormality is found in a sensor. FIG. 7 is a flowchart representing a control structure of a program executed by the terminal shown in FIG. FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a control structure of a program for implementing the sensor initialization process shown in FIG. FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a control structure of a program implementing the initial threshold setting process shown in FIG. FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a control structure of a program for implementing the sensor data acquiring process shown in FIG. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a control structure of a program executed by a terminal according to the second embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing a control structure of a program for implementing the abnormality determination and display process for each sensor shown in FIG. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a control structure of a program executed by a terminal according to the third embodiment of this disclosure.

[Problem to be solved by this disclosure]
According to the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is possible for a data collection device to monitor data collected by a sensor provided on the cutting tool regarding the operating state of the cutting tool. However, the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 is premised on the sensor operating normally. If an abnormality occurs in the sensor, the technology disclosed in Patent Document 1 has a problem in that erroneous information regarding the operating state of the cutting tool will be displayed.

The purpose of this disclosure is to provide a sensor abnormality determination device, a sensor abnormality determination system, a sensor abnormality determination method, a computer program, a non-transitory storage medium, and a machine tool that allow a user to easily know if there is an abnormality in a sensor when communication is performed between a data collection device and a cutting tool equipped with a sensor and a wireless communication device.

[Effects of this disclosure]
As described above, according to this disclosure, it is possible to provide a sensor abnormality determination device, a sensor abnormality determination system, a sensor abnormality determination method, a computer program, a non-transitory storage medium, and a machine tool that allow a user to easily know of a sensor abnormality when communication is performed between a data collection device and a cutting tool equipped with a sensor and a wireless communication device.

[Description of the embodiments of the present disclosure]
In the following description and drawings, the same parts are denoted by the same reference numerals. Therefore, detailed description thereof will not be repeated. Note that at least some of the embodiments described below may be combined in any manner.

(1) A sensor abnormality determination device according to a first aspect of this disclosure includes a determination unit that receives data from one or more sensors provided in a cutting tool via wireless communication and determines whether an abnormality has occurred in any of the one or more sensors based on the data, and a determination display unit that displays the determination result of the determination unit. With this configuration, it is possible to determine whether an abnormality has occurred in one or more sensors provided in a cutting tool.

(2) In the above (1), the determination unit may include a sensor-specific determination unit that receives the data from each of the one or more sensors and determines whether or not an abnormality has occurred for each of the one or more sensors based on the data, and the determination display may display the result of the sensor-specific determination unit for each of the one or more sensors. With this configuration, it is possible to easily determine which of the multiple sensors is abnormal based on the display.

(3) In the above (1) or (2), a data receiving unit may be further included that receives the data from the one or more sensors and displays the data for each sensor. With this configuration, not only can sensor abnormalities be easily identified, but data from each sensor can be checked in real time while the data is being measured.

(4) In the above (3), the data receiving unit may continue to receive the data from the one or more sensors and display the data for each sensor even after the determining unit has determined that an abnormality has occurred in any of the one or more sensors. With this configuration, data collection and sensor abnormality determination can continue for normal sensors.

(5) In (3) or (4) above, the determination unit and the data receiving unit may periodically receive the data from the one or more sensors for each first period and each second period, respectively. That is, the determination unit receives data from the one or more sensors for each first period and determines whether there is a sensor abnormality. The data receiving unit receives and displays data from the one or more sensors for each second period. With this configuration, the determination of sensor abnormality and the display of data are each periodically updated, enabling the determination of sensor abnormality and the display of data to be performed in real time.

(6) In (5) above, the first period and the second period may be the same period. With this configuration, the sensor abnormality determination and the data display are periodically updated with the same period, the sensor abnormality determination and the data display can be performed in real time, and data before and after the occurrence of the sensor abnormality can be distinguished.

(7) In (5) above, the first period and the second period may be different from each other. With this configuration, the period for determining a sensor abnormality and the period for displaying the data can be set to appropriate values, and the occurrence of a sensor abnormality and the display of the data can be performed at appropriate periods.

(8) In the above (1), the cutting tool may have a function of detecting a specific abnormality of the sensor and transmitting an abnormality detection signal via wireless communication, and the judgment display unit may display a judgment result regarding the abnormality of the one or more sensors according to the judgment result of the judgment unit and the abnormality detection signal received from the cutting tool. With this configuration, sensor abnormalities that can only be judged on the tool side can be confirmed on a device separate from the tool.

(9) A sensor abnormality determination system according to a second aspect of this disclosure is a sensor abnormality determination system including a cutting tool equipped with a sensor and an abnormality determination device that determines whether an abnormality has occurred in the sensor by wireless communication with the cutting tool, the cutting tool including a holder having a tip attachment portion, one or more sensors attached to the holder, and a data transmission unit provided within the holder that transmits data from the one or more sensors via wireless communication, the abnormality determination device including a determination unit that receives data from the one or more sensors via wireless communication and determines whether an abnormality has occurred in any of the one or more sensors based on the data, and a determination display unit that displays the determination result of the determination unit. With this configuration, it is possible to visually determine whether an abnormality has occurred in one or more sensors provided on the cutting tool.

(10) A sensor abnormality determination method according to a third aspect of this disclosure includes a step in which a computer receives data from one or more sensors provided on a cutting tool via a wireless communication device and determines whether an abnormality has occurred in any of the one or more sensors based on the data, and a step in which the computer displays the determination result in the determining step on a display device. With this configuration, whether an abnormality has occurred in one or more sensors provided on a cutting tool can be visually determined through the display by the computer.

(11) A computer program according to a fourth aspect of this disclosure causes a computer to function as a determination unit that receives data from one or more sensors provided in a cutting tool via wireless communication and determines whether an abnormality has occurred in any of the one or more sensors based on the data, and as a determination display unit that displays the determination result of the determination unit. With this configuration, the computer can be made to function so that whether an abnormality has occurred in one or more sensors provided in a cutting tool can be visually determined through a display by the computer.

(12) A non-transitory storage medium according to a fifth aspect of this disclosure causes a computer to function as a determination unit that receives data from one or more sensors provided in a cutting tool via wireless communication and determines whether an abnormality has occurred in any of the one or more sensors based on the data, and as a determination display unit that displays the determination result of the determination unit. With this configuration, whether an abnormality has occurred in one or more sensors provided in a cutting tool can be visually determined through a display by a computer.

(13) A machine tool according to a sixth aspect of this disclosure is a machine tool including a machining unit that performs machining using a cutting tool equipped with one or more sensors, and an abnormality determination unit that determines whether an abnormality has occurred in the sensor by wireless communication with the cutting tool, the abnormality determination unit including a determination unit that receives data from the one or more sensors through wireless communication and determines whether an abnormality has occurred in any of the one or more sensors based on the data, and a determination display unit that displays the determination result of the determination unit. With this configuration, in the machine tool, it is possible to visually determine whether an abnormality has occurred in one or more sensors equipped on the cutting tool.

[Details of the embodiment of the present disclosure]
Specific examples of a sensor abnormality determination device, a sensor abnormality determination system, a sensor abnormality determination method, a computer program, a non-transitory storage medium, and a machine tool according to embodiments of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the present disclosure is not limited to these examples, but is defined by the claims, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the claims.

1. First embodiment A. Configuration A1. Overall configuration Fig. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a machining system 50 according to a first embodiment of this disclosure. Referring to Fig. 1, the machining system 50 includes a machining device 64 that performs machining on a workpiece using one or more cutting tools, each of which has one or more sensors and one or more cutting tools each of which has a data transmitter 54, a data transmitter 56, a data transmitter 58, etc., and a data collection system 52 that receives data from one or more sensors provided on each cutting tool via wireless communication from each of the

data transmitters

54, 56, and 58, displays the time series of the data, and displays a sensor abnormality when a sensor abnormality is detected.

The data collection system 52 includes a wireless receiver 62 and a terminal 60 that has the function of receiving and analyzing data from the

data transmitters

54, 56, and 58 via the wireless receiver 62 and displaying the data. The terminal 60 further has the function of displaying the occurrence of a sensor abnormality if a sensor abnormality is detected.

A2. Cutting Tool FIG. 2 shows the configuration of a cutting tool 100 equipped with the data transmitter 54 of FIG. 1 as an example of a cutting tool used by the machining device 64. Referring to FIG. 2, the cutting tool 100 includes a holder 110 that detachably holds a cutting insert 112 for cutting at its tip. The cutting tool 100 further includes a thermal sensor 114, a strain sensor 116, a strain sensor 118, and the like, which are installed in the holder 110. The number and positions of these sensors are selected to be appropriate in light of the purpose. For example, the thermal sensor 114 is provided in a position close to the cutting insert 112. For example, the strain sensor 116 is provided on the upper surface of the holder 110. The strain sensor 118 is provided on the front side surface of the holder 110. Typically, a strain sensor (not shown) is provided on the side surface of the holder 110 opposite to the side surface on which the strain sensor 118 is provided. In the following, in order to avoid complication of the description, sensors that are not shown will not be described. Each sensor, such as thermal sensor 114 , strain sensor 116 , and strain sensor 118 , is electrically connected to the data transmitter 54 , and the output of each sensor is transmitted to the data transmitter 54 .

Figure 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the data transmitter 54. Referring to Figure 3, the data transmitter 54 includes a wireless communication unit 150, a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 152 connected to the wireless communication unit 150 and the thermal sensor 114, the strain sensor 116, and the strain sensor 118, a non-volatile memory 156 connected to the CPU 152, and a power supply 154 that supplies power to the wireless communication unit 150, the CPU 152, and the non-volatile memory 156.

The non-volatile memory 156 stores the programs executed by the CPU 152. The wireless communication unit 150 has a function of transmitting, under the control of the CPU 152, packets assembled from the sensor data received by the CPU 152 from the thermal sensor 114, the strain sensor 116, and the strain sensor 118 to the wireless receiver 62 shown in FIG. 1. In this embodiment, the power source 154 is a battery.

FIG. 4 is a hardware block diagram of the terminal 60 shown in FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 4, this terminal 60 includes a computer 200, and a keyboard 206, a touchpad 204, and a monitor 202, all of which are connected to the computer 200, for interacting with a user. Of course, these are just one example of a configuration for when interaction with a user becomes necessary, and any general hardware and software that can be used for interacting with a user (e.g. a mouse, voice input, pointing devices in general) can be used.

4, computer 200 includes a CPU 220, a bus 228 connected to CPU 220, a ROM (Read-Only Memory) 222 connected to bus 228 and storing a boot-up program for computer 200, a RAM (Random Access Memory) 224 connected to bus 228 and storing instructions constituting a program at run time, a system program, a system state, working data, and the like, and an SSD (Solid State Drive) 226 which is a non-volatile memory connected to bus 228. SSD 226 is a non-transient storage medium for storing programs executed by CPU 220 and data used by the programs executed by CPU 220. The computer 200 further includes a display control unit 230, all of which are connected to the bus 228 and perform display using the monitor 202 under the control of the CPU 220, an input/output I/F (Interface) 232 to which peripheral devices are connected, a network I/F 236 that provides a connection to a network 210 that enables communication with other terminals, and a USB port 234 to which a USB (Universal Serial Bus) memory 208 can be attached/detached and that provides communication between the USB memory 208 and each unit within the computer 200.

In the above embodiment, the programs and the like for implementing the terminal 60 according to this embodiment are stored, for example, in the SSD 226, RAM 224, or USB memory 208 shown in FIG. 4, or in a storage medium of an external device (not shown) connected to the bus 228 via the network I/F 236 and the network 210. Typically, these data and parameters are written, for example, from outside to the SSD 226 and loaded into the RAM 224 when executed by the computer 200.

The program for implementing the terminal 60 according to this embodiment is stored, for example, in the USB memory 208, and when the USB memory 208 is inserted into the USB port 234, the program is transferred to and stored in the SSD 226. Alternatively, the program may be sent to the computer 200 via the network 210 and the network I/F 236 and stored in the SSD 226.

The program is loaded into RAM 224 when it is executed. Of course, the source program may be input using keyboard 206, monitor 202, and touchpad 204, and the compiled object program may be stored in SSD 226. In the case of a scripting language, a script input using keyboard 206 or the like may be stored in SSD 226. In the case of a program that runs on a virtual machine, a program that functions as a virtual machine must be installed in computer 200 in advance.

CPU 220 reads a program from RAM 224 according to an address indicated by an internal register called a program counter (not shown), interprets the instructions, and reads data required to execute the instructions from RAM 224, SSD 226 or other devices according to the address specified by the instruction, and executes the process specified by the instruction. CPU 220 stores the execution result data at an address specified by the program, such as RAM 224, SSD 226, or a register in CPU 220. At this time, the program counter value is also updated by the program. Computer programs may be loaded directly into RAM 224 from USB memory 208, or via network 210 and network I/F 236.

A program that realizes the functions of each part according to the above-mentioned embodiment in cooperation with the computer 200 includes a plurality of instructions written and arranged to operate the computer 200 to realize those functions. Some of the basic functions required to execute the instructions are provided by the operating system (OS (Operating System)) that runs on the computer 200, or a third-party program, or by modules of various tool kits installed on the computer 200. Thus, the program does not necessarily include all of the functions required to realize the system and method of this embodiment. The program need only include instructions that perform the operations of each of the above-mentioned devices and their components by statically linking appropriate functions or functions of a "programming tool kit" in a controlled manner to obtain the desired results, or by dynamically linking to those functions when the program is executed. The method of operating the computer 200 for this purpose is well known, so it will not be repeated here.

FIG. 5 shows an example of the display on the monitor 202 of the terminal 60 when the sensors of the cutting tool 100 and the like used by the machining device 64 are operating normally. Referring to FIG. 5, the normal screen 250 at this time includes a sensor status display area 260 and a sensor data display area 262.

The sensor status display area 260 includes a status display section 268, a status display section 270, a status display section 272, and a status display section 274 that display the sensor status for each sensor equipped on the cutting tool used by the machining device 64. FIG. 5 is an example of the display, and the number of status display sections increases or decreases depending on the number of sensors being used. The sensor status display area 260 further includes a measurement start button 264 that the user uses to instruct the terminal 60 to measure data using each sensor, and a measurement stop button 266 that the user uses to stop the measurement.

In the sensor data display area 262, data from each sensor displayed in the sensor status display area 260 is displayed in a predetermined format. In the example shown in FIG. 5, the time series of output from the sensors corresponding to status display unit 268, status display unit 270, status display unit 272, and status display unit 274, respectively, are displayed as time series graph 276, time series graph 278, time series graph 280, and time series graph 282. If there are a large number of sensors to be monitored, the status display unit in the sensor status display area 260 may be scrolled. In that case, it is desirable to scroll the graphs of each sensor data in the sensor data display area 262 in sync with the scrolling of the sensor status display area 260.

FIG. 6 shows a display 300 on the monitor 202 as an example of when some abnormality is detected in the sensor in this embodiment. Display 300 differs from normal screen 250 in FIG. 5 in that the display in status display section 274 is different from that in normal screen 250. That is, in normal screen 250 in FIG. 5, a check mark is displayed in status display section 274, and the background is displayed in the normal background color (e.g., green). However, in the case of FIG. 6, instead of a check mark, status display section 274 displays a cross mark indicating the occurrence of an abnormality, and the background color is not the normal green but a warning color for when an abnormality occurs (e.g., red). Note that in this embodiment, even when it is determined that an abnormality has occurred, the sensor data received by terminal 60 is displayed as is in the time series graph 282.

B. Program Configuration Fig. 7 shows the overall control configuration of the program executed by terminal 60. Referring to Fig. 7, this program 350 starts operation when the measurement start button is pressed, and includes step 360 of performing a sensor initialization process for each sensor from which data is being collected, and step 362 of performing a process of setting an initial threshold value for each sensor to determine whether or not there is an abnormality.

The program 350 further includes step 364 for executing a sensor data acquisition process for acquiring sensor data from each sensor, and step 366 for branching the flow of control according to whether or not the measurement stop button 266 shown in FIG. 5 has been pressed after completion of step 364. When the determination in step 366 is positive, that is, if the measurement stop button 266 has been pressed, execution of the program 350 ends. If the measurement stop button 266 has not been pressed, control returns to step 364, and new sensor data acquisition processing is executed. That is, sensor data acquisition is repeatedly executed. The time interval of this repetition is almost constant, although there are some variations. In this disclosure, such a time interval of repetition is called a "period." In this embodiment, the acquisition of sensor data, the determination of a sensor abnormality using the sensor data, and the display update of the sensor data are all executed within one repetition. That is, the acquisition of sensor data, the determination of a sensor abnormality, and the display update of the sensor data are repeated with the same period. It should be noted that it may be desirable to process data with a stricter period. In that case, although not shown in FIG. 7, a step may be provided in the path returning control from step 366 to step 364 to measure the execution time of the repetition and set a waiting time to adjust the repetition period to a constant value so that the time from when execution of step 364 is started to when execution of step 364 is started again is equal to the above-mentioned specific period.

FIG. 8 shows the details of step 360 in FIG. 7. Referring to FIG. 8, step 360 includes step 400 of substituting 1 for variable n, which indicates the number of sensors, and step 402 of performing initialization processing on the nth sensor indicated by variable n. In step 402, terminal 60 inquires as to whether or not there is an obvious abnormality with the target sensor. In response to this inquiry, data transmitter 54 shown in FIG. 2 determines, for example, whether there is a break in the connection line with the sensor, whether the sensor is submerged in water, etc., and if there is an abnormality, transmits a corresponding error code to terminal 60 via wireless receiver 62. If there is no abnormality in the sensor, data transmitter 54 transmits a code indicating a normal state to terminal 60.

Step 360 further includes step 404, which branches the control flow depending on whether or not the response received from the target sensor in step 402 includes an error code, and step 406, which, when the determination in step 404 is positive, i.e., when the response received from the target sensor includes an error code, sets a flag indicating an abnormality in the sensor, for example, and stores the error code, assuming that an abnormality has occurred. In step 406, the status display unit of the target sensor displays an error. When there is no error, the status display unit of the target sensor displays normal.

Step 360 further includes step 408, which adds 1 to variable n when the determination in step 404 is negative, and after the determination in step 404 is positive and the processing in step 406 is completed, and step 410, which branches the control flow according to whether the value of variable n is greater than the total number N of target sensors. If the determination in step 410 is negative, control returns to step 402, and the processing in steps 402 to 408 is repeated for the sensor represented by the updated value of variable n. If the determination in step 410 is positive, execution of step 360 is completed, and control proceeds to step 362 in FIG. 7.

Fig. 9 shows details of step 362 shown in Fig. 7. Referring to Fig. 9, step 362 includes step 450 of substituting 1 into a variable t indicating the time order of data in the time series, step 452 of substituting 1 into a variable n indicating a sensor to be processed, and step 454 of acquiring an initial strain ε _n1 and an initial temperature T _n1 from each sensor at the n-th sensor.

Step 362 further includes step 456 for branching the flow of control according to whether the initial strain ε _n1 obtained in step 454 is within a range of a predetermined threshold value ε _THI , and step 458 for determining that the n-th sensor is abnormal and setting an abnormality flag provided for that sensor in response to a negative determination in step 456. In step 458, the status indicator of the target sensor is set to indicate abnormality, as shown in Fig. 6. When the determination in step 456 is positive, the status indicator of the target sensor is set to indicate normality.

Step 362 further includes step 460 for setting an initial threshold value for the nth sensor based on the initial strain when the determination in step 456 is positive, and when the determination in step 456 is negative and the processing of step 458 is completed, step 462 for adding 1 to variable n, and step 464 for branching the flow of control depending on whether the value of variable n is smaller than the total number N of sensors. When the determination in step 464 is negative, control returns to step 450 and the subsequent processing is repeated. When the determination in step 464 is positive, the execution of step 362 is completed and control proceeds to step 364 in FIG. 7.

Fig. 10 shows a control structure of the program executed in step 364. Referring to Fig. 10, step 364 includes step 500 of substituting 1 for variable n and variable t+1 for variable t, and step 502 of acquiring sensor data from the n-th sensor and displaying it in sensor data display area 262 of Fig. 5. In this example, the data from the strain sensor acquired in step 502 is sensor data _εnt , and the data from the temperature sensor is sensor data _Tnt . The sensor data when n=1 and t=1 is _ε1,1 and sensor data _T1,1 .

This program further includes step 504 of calculating the amount of correction of the thermal strain value using a thermal drift correction function TD( _Tnt , _Tn1 ) of the strain sensor, step 506 of calculating a threshold value _εTHnt for judging an abnormality of the strain value at temperature _Tnt , and step 508 of branching the control flow according to whether the sensor data _εnt is within the range of the threshold value _εTHnt . The thermal drift correction function TD( _Tnt , _Tn1 ) is a correction function determined for each sensor from the sensor data _Tn1 when the value of the variable t is 1 and the current sensor data _Tnt . This correction function is determined in advance by experiments. In this embodiment, the threshold value _εTHnt determined by n and t is determined by the following formula.
ε _THnt = ε _THn1 + TD ( _Tnt , _Tn1 )

Step 364 further includes step 510, which determines that an abnormality has occurred in the nth sensor when the determination in step 508 is negative, and sets an abnormality flag corresponding to the nth sensor; step 511, which displays an error or normal state on the status display unit (see FIG. 6) of the target sensor depending on whether the abnormality flag is set or not when the determination in step 508 is positive, and when the determination in step 508 is negative and the processing in step 510 is completed, and which updates the display of the sensor output on the screen using the acquired sensor data; and step 512, which adds 1 to the value of variable n and assigns the result to variable n.

Step 364 further includes, following step 512, step 514, which branches the flow of control depending on whether the value of variable n is greater than the total number of sensors N. If the determination in step 514 is negative, control returns to step 504. If the determination in step 514 is positive, execution of step 364 ends and control returns to step 366 in FIG. 7.

C. Operation The machining system 50 according to the first embodiment configured as described above operates as follows: Various cutting tools each equipped with a data transmitter are attached to the machining device 64, and machining of the workpiece is started.

When a user starts a program having the control structure shown in Figs. 7 to 10 on the terminal 60, the normal screen 250 shown in Fig. 5 is displayed on the monitor 202. In this embodiment, when this program starts, communication is performed with each sensor, and a screen such as that shown in Fig. 5 is displayed according to the results of that communication. However, the normal/abnormal display of the status display for each sensor is not performed until the measurement start button 264 is operated. Furthermore, no data is displayed in the sensor data display area 262.

When the user presses the measurement start button 264 on the normal screen 250 shown in FIG. 5, execution of the program shown in FIG. 7 begins. That is, in step 360, as shown in FIG. 8, 1 is assigned to the variable n representing the number of sensors (step 400). Initialization processing is performed on the first sensor (step 402). In this step 402, the terminal 60 inquires as to whether or not there is an obvious abnormality with the target sensor. In response to this inquiry, the data transmitter 54 shown in FIG. 2, for example, determines whether or not there is an abnormality in each sensor, and if there is an abnormality, transmits information identifying the sensor and an error code indicating the abnormality to the terminal 60 via the wireless receiver 62. If there is no abnormality in the sensor, the data transmitter 54 transmits a code indicating a normal state to the terminal 60.

Furthermore, the terminal 60 branches the control flow according to whether or not an error code is included in the response received from the data transmitter for the target sensor (step 404). When an error code is included in the response received from the data transmitter for the target sensor, the terminal 60 sets a flag indicating an abnormality in that sensor and stores the error code (step 406). The terminal 60 also displays an abnormality on the status display unit of the target sensor.

The terminal 60 further adds 1 to the variable n (step 408) when the determination in step 404 is negative, and after the determination in step 404 is positive and the processing in step 406 is completed. As a result, the value of the variable n becomes 2. The terminal 60 branches the flow of control according to whether the value of the variable n (=2) is smaller than the total number N of the target sensors (step 410). Here, it is assumed that the total number N of sensors is greater than 2. Then, the execution of the program by the terminal 60 returns to step 402, and the processing from step 402 to step 408 is repeated for the sensor represented by the updated value of the variable n (=2). When the processing of step 360 is completed for all sensors in this way, the determination in step 410 becomes positive, and control proceeds to step 362 in FIG. 7 (details in FIG. 9).

9, in step 362, the terminal 60 assigns 1 to a variable t indicating the time order of the data in the time series (step 450). The terminal 60 further assigns 1 to a variable n indicating the sensor to be processed (step 452). The terminal 60 acquires an initial strain ε _n1 and an initial temperature T _n1 from the first sensor at the nth (first) sensor (step 454).

The terminal 60 further branches the flow of control according to whether the initial strain ε _n1 obtained in step 454 is within the range of a predetermined threshold ε _THI (step 456). If the determination in this step is negative, the terminal 60 determines that the sensor (the first sensor) is abnormal, and sets an abnormality flag provided for that sensor (step 458). At this time, the terminal 60 displays an abnormality on the status display unit of the target sensor.

When the determination in step 456 is positive, or when the determination in step 456 is negative and the process of step 458 is completed, the terminal 60 sets an initial threshold value for the first sensor based on the initial strain of the first sensor (step 460). The terminal 60 adds 1 to the variable n (step 462). As a result, the value of the variable n becomes 2. The terminal 60 branches the flow of control according to whether the value of the variable n (i.e., 2) is smaller than the total number N of sensors (step 464). Here, it is assumed that the total number N of sensors is greater than 2. Then, the determination in step 464 becomes negative, and control returns to step 450. Thereafter, the above process is repeated with the value of the variable n set to 2. When the value of the variable n becomes greater than the total number N of sensors, the determination in step 464 becomes positive, the execution of step 362 is completed, and control proceeds to step 364 in FIG. 7 (details in FIG. 10).

10, at the beginning of step 364, the terminal 60 assigns 1 to the variable n and assigns the variable t+1 to the variable t (step 500). As a result, the value of the variable t becomes 2 when step 500 is executed for the first time. The terminal 60 further acquires sensor data from the first sensor and displays it on the monitor 202 in FIG. 5 (step 502). In this example, the data from the strain sensor acquired in step 502 is the strain value ε _1,2 and the temperature T _1,2 .

The terminal 60 further calculates the amount of correction of the thermal strain value using the thermal drift correction function TD( _T1,2 , _T1,2 ) of the strain sensor when n=1 and t=2 (step 504). The terminal 60 also calculates a threshold value ε _THnt for determining an abnormality of the strain value at temperature _T1,2 (step 506). The terminal 60 further branches the flow of control according to whether the sensor data ε _1,2 is within the range of the threshold value ε _TH1,2 or not (step 508). The threshold value ε _TH1,2 determined for n=1 and t=2 is determined by the following formula:
ε _TH1,2 = ε _TH1,1 + TD( _T1,2 , _T1,1 )

If the determination in step 508 is negative, the terminal 60 determines that an abnormality has occurred in the first sensor, and sets an abnormality flag corresponding to the first sensor (step 510). In this case, as shown in FIG. 6, the terminal 60 changes the display in the status display section corresponding to the target sensor to an abnormal display, and also updates the display using the sensor data (step 511). Thereafter, the terminal 60 advances control to step 512. If the determination in step 508 is negative, the terminal 60 changes the measurement start button in the sensor status display area 260 of the target sensor to a normal display, updates the display using the sensor data (step 511), and advances control to step 512.

In

step

512, 1 is added to the value of variable n and assigned to variable n (step 512). As a result, the value of variable n becomes 2. The terminal 60 further branches the flow of control according to whether the value of variable n (=2) is greater than the total number N of sensors (step 514). Here, it is assumed that the determination in step 514 is negative. Then, control returns to step 504. As a result, n=2, t=2, and the processes of

steps

504, 506, 508, 510, 511, and 512 are executed. During this time, if the determination in step 508 is positive, an abnormality flag for the second sensor is set. Thus, 1 is added to variable n in step 512. As a result, the value of variable n becomes 3.

Then, the determination in step 514 is made again. If the determination in step 514 is negative, control returns to step 504. As a result, the above process is performed for n=3, t=1. Thus, when the value of the variable n becomes greater than the number of sensors N, the determination in step 514 becomes positive, and the execution of step 364 ends. As a result, control proceeds to step 366 in FIG. 7.

If it is determined in step 366 that the measurement stop button 266 shown in FIG. 5 has not been pressed, control returns to step 364. That is, the process shown in FIG. 10 is executed again. In this case, however, when step 500 in FIG. 10 is executed, 1 is assigned to the variable n, and t+1 is assigned to the variable t. As a result, n=1, t=3, and the above-mentioned step 364 is executed again.

In this way, step 364 is periodically repeated until the measurement stop button 266 shown in FIG. 5 is pressed. As a result, the normality or abnormality of each sensor is displayed in the sensor status display area 260 by the measurement start button. Also, the sensor data display area 262 displays a time series of data acquired from the sensor. This display continues without interruption even if an error is found in the sensor.

2. Second embodiment A. Configuration In the first embodiment, the processing for all sensors is performed sequentially. However, this disclosure is not limited to such an embodiment. The processing for each sensor can also be performed in parallel. In the second embodiment, the processing for each sensor is performed in parallel in this manner.

The hardware used in this second embodiment is basically the same as that in the first embodiment shown in Figures 1 to 4. The processing executed by the data transmitter 54 in this second embodiment is also the same as in the first embodiment. Furthermore, the display contents shown in Figures 5 and 6 are also the same in the second embodiment and the first embodiment. The difference is in the program executed by the terminal 60.

11 shows the control structure of the program executed by the terminal 60. When the user instructs the start of the sensor data collection process, the screen shown in FIG. 5 is displayed on the monitor 202 of the terminal 60. In response to pressing the measurement start button 264 shown in FIG. 5, the program 550 shown in FIG. 11 is started. In this example, the number of sensors to be measured is four. The program 550 includes step 560, which generates and starts thread instances for acquiring sensor data, the number of which matches the number of sensors (four in this embodiment), and steps 562, 564, 566, and 568, which execute processes for each sensor in parallel in each thread started in step 560. In reality, these

steps

562, 564, 566, and 568 are executed by different threads, so they may be considered to be executed independently of each other. When each thread ends, the program 550 also ends.

FIG. 12 shows the control structure of the program executed, for example, in step 562. The programs executed in the

other steps

564, 566, and 568 have the same control structure. The program executed in step 562 is the same as the program in the first embodiment whose control structure is shown in FIGS. 7 to 10, in which the number of sensors n is fixed at 1.

12, step 562 includes step 600 for performing initialization processing such as initialization of a storage area and connection to a target sensor, step 601 for branching the flow of control according to whether or not an error code is included in the response received from the sensor in step 600, and step 602 for setting an abnormality flag for the sensor when the determination in step 601 is affirmative. Step 562 further includes step 603 for substituting an initial value of 1 into a variable t indicating the chronological order of measurement, step 604 for acquiring an initial strain ε _a1 and an initial temperature T _a1 as sensor data from the sensor targeted by this thread, step 602 for branching the flow of control according to whether or not an error code is included in the sensor data acquired in step 600, and step 604 for determining that an abnormality has occurred in the target sensor when the determination in step 602 is affirmative, setting an abnormality flag, and changing the display of a status display unit (see FIGS. 5 and 6) for the target sensor to an abnormality display (see status display unit 274 in FIG. 6).

Step 562 further includes step 603 of substituting an initial value of 1 into a variable t indicating the time order of measurement when the determination in step 602 is negative, and when the determination in step 602 is positive and step 604 is completed; step 604 of acquiring an initial strain ε _a1 and an initial temperature T _a1 from the sensor targeted by this thread; step 606 of branching the flow of control according to whether the initial strain ε _a1 is within the range of the threshold value ε _THI ; step 608 of setting an abnormality flag indicating that there is an abnormality in the strain sensor when the determination in step 606 is positive, and when the determination in step 606 is negative and step 608 is completed, step 610 of setting an initial threshold value ε _aTHI based on the initial strain ε _a1 .

Step 562 further includes, following step 610, step 611 of adding 1 to variable t, step 612 of acquiring sensor data, that is, strain value ε _at and temperature T _at , from the target sensor, step 614 of calculating the amount of fluctuation in the strain value due to heat using a thermal drift correction function TD(T _at , T _a1 ) of the strain sensor, and step 616 of calculating a threshold value ε _THt at temperature T _at using the following formula:

ε _THt = ε _THI + TD (T _at , T _a1 )
Step 562 further includes step 618 for branching the flow of control according to whether or not the strain value ε _at acquired in step 612 is within the range of the threshold value ε _THt calculated in step 616, and step 620 for determining that an abnormality has occurred in the target sensor and setting an abnormality flag when the determination in step 618 is negative. Step 562 further includes step 621 for changing the status display section corresponding to the target sensor to an abnormality display (see FIG. 6) and updating the display using sensor data if the abnormality flag is set when the determination in step 618 is positive and when the determination in step 618 is negative and the processing in step 620 is completed, and step 622 for branching the flow of control according to whether or not the measurement stop button 266 shown in FIG. 5 has been pressed. If the determination in step 622 is negative, control proceeds to step 612. As a result, 1 is added to the value of the variable t, and the processes of

steps

611, 612, 614, 616, 618, 620, 621, and 622 are repeated. If the determination in step 622 is positive, the execution of step 662 ends. That is, the execution of this thread is completed.

B. Operation The data collection system according to the second embodiment operates as follows: The operation of the cutting tool 100 (FIG. 2) is similar to that of the first embodiment.

When a user instructs the terminal to start the process of collecting sensor data, the screen shown in FIG. 5 is displayed on the monitor 202 of the terminal 60. In response to the user pressing the measurement start button 264 shown in FIG. 5, the CPU 220 starts executing a program 550 whose control structure is shown in FIG. 11. First, the CPU 220 generates and starts thread instances for acquiring sensor data, the number of which matches the number of sensors (four in this embodiment) (step 560). The CPU 220 executes processing for each sensor in parallel in each started thread (

steps

562, 564, 566, and 568). These

steps

562, 564, 566, and 568 are executed in parallel by different threads.

12, for example, in step 562, after the initialization process (step 600), the CPU 220 judges whether or not there is an error code in the response received from the sensor targeted by this thread (step 601). If there is an error code, an abnormality flag is set (step 602). Next, in

step

603, 1 is substituted for the variable t (step 603), and the initial strain ε _a0 and the initial temperature T _a0 are acquired as sensor data from the targeted sensor (step 604). The CPU 220 further branches the flow of control according to whether or not the initial strain ε _a1 is within the range of the threshold value ε _THI (step 606). When the judgment in step 606 is negative, the CPU 220 sets an abnormality flag as an abnormality in the strain sensor (step 608). When the judgment in step 606 is positive, or when the judgment in step 606 is negative and step 608 is completed, the CPU 220 sets the initial threshold value ε _aTHI based on the initial strain ε _a1 (step 610).

The CPU 220 further adds 1 to the variable t (step 611) and acquires the strain value ε _at and the initial temperature T _at (t indicates the time order of the data) which are sensor data from the sensor (step 612). The CPU 220 calculates the amount of change in the strain value due to heat using the thermal drift correction function TD(T _at , T _a1 ) of the strain sensor (step 614). The CPU 220 calculates the threshold value ε _THt at the temperature T _at using the above-mentioned formula (step 616).

The CPU 220 further branches the flow of control according to whether the strain value ε _at acquired in step 612 is within the range of the threshold value ε _THt calculated in step 616 (step 618). When the determination in step 618 is negative, the CPU 220 determines that an abnormality has occurred in the target sensor, and sets an abnormality flag (step 620). When the determination in step 618 is positive, or when the determination in step 618 is negative and the process of step 620 is completed, if the abnormality flag is set, the CPU 220 causes the status display section corresponding to the target sensor to display an abnormality (see FIG. 6). The CPU 220 then branches the flow of control according to whether the measurement stop button 266 shown in FIG. 5 has been pressed (step 622). If the measurement stop button 266 has not been pressed, the CPU 220 returns control to step 612, adds 1 to the value of the variable t (step 611), and repeats the processes of

steps

612, 614, 616, 618, 620, 621, and 622. If the measurement stop button 266 has been pressed, the CPU 220 ends the execution of this thread.

These processes are executed by threads corresponding to each sensor. As a result, like the first embodiment, it is possible to display sensor data and detect and display sensor errors as shown in Figures 5 and 6.

3. Third embodiment In the above-described first and second embodiments, data acquired from the sensor at the same time is used for the sensor abnormality determination and the display update of the sensor output. As a result, in both the first and second embodiments, the sensor abnormality determination and the display update of the sensor output are repeatedly executed at the same cycle. However, this disclosure is not limited to such an embodiment. The two may be executed at different cycles.

Referring to FIG. 13, when execution of program 650 executed by the terminal of the data collection system according to the third embodiment is started, it includes step 660 which starts a thread that executes error monitoring process 662, and step 664 which starts threads such as

processes

666, 668, 670 and 672 for acquiring and displaying the output of each sensor, the number of which is equal to the number of sensors to be monitored. When measurement stop button 266 shown in FIG. 5 is pressed, all of these threads are terminated and execution of program 650 is also terminated.

In this third embodiment, step 662 has a configuration basically similar to that of the program in FIG. 7. However, in this third embodiment, in step 511 of step 364 shown in FIG. 10, data is not displayed, and only the process of updating the status display section corresponding to the target sensor based on the abnormality flag is executed. In other words, by repeatedly executing step 364 (see FIG. 7), the process of sequentially determining abnormalities for multiple sensors is repeated.

On the other hand, for example, step 666 shown in FIG. 13 has a structure that basically extracts only steps 600, 603, 604, 611, 612, 621, and 622 from step 562 shown in FIG. 12. However, in step 621, only the display of the sensor data is updated based on the sensor data. Even in this third embodiment, a wait time can be provided at the end of each processing unit so that the repeated processing in each program is executed at a predetermined cycle.

As described above, according to the third embodiment, sensor anomaly determination is achieved by repeating the process of checking multiple sensors in order. Meanwhile, the data display based on the output of each sensor is updated according to the repetition period of the process for each sensor. In other words, the execution period for sensor anomaly determination and the display period for the sensor output are independent of each other, and appropriate periods can be set for each application.

4. Modifications In the above first, second and third embodiments, the wireless receiver 62 and the terminal 60 have a one-to-one relationship. However, this disclosure is not limited to such embodiments. When there are a large number of machining devices 64, a plurality of terminals 60 may be connected to one wireless receiver 62 via a network, and each terminal 60 may collect a plurality of sensor data and display errors. In this case, there may be a plurality of wireless receivers 62. Furthermore, the terminal that acquires the sensor data and checks for errors may be separate from the terminal that displays the data as shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6.

In the above embodiment, the sensors provided in the cutting tool 100 are a heat sensor and a strain sensor. However, this disclosure is not limited to such an embodiment. An acceleration sensor may also be provided as a sensor.

In the above embodiment, even when a sensor abnormality is detected, data acquisition from the sensor and display continues. This allows data acquisition from other normal sensors and error monitoring to continue. However, this disclosure is not limited to such an embodiment. When a sensor abnormality is detected, data acquisition from that sensor may be terminated. Also, depending on the type of sensor error, the machining device 64 that is processing using a cutting tool equipped with that sensor may be automatically stopped.

Each process (each function) in the above-mentioned embodiments is realized by a processing circuit (circuitry) including one or more processors. The processing circuit may be composed of an integrated circuit that combines one or more memories, various analog circuits, and various digital circuits in addition to the one or more processors. The one or more memories store programs (instructions) that cause the one or more processors to execute each of the above processes. The one or more processors may execute each of the above processes according to the program read from the one or more memories, or may execute each of the above processes according to a logic circuit designed in advance to execute each of the above processes. The processor may be any of various processors suitable for computer control, such as a CPU, a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit), a DSP (Digital Signal Processor), an FPGA (Field-Programmable Gate Array), or an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). The physically separated processors may cooperate with each other to execute the above processes. For example, the processors mounted on each of the physically separated computers may cooperate with each other via a network such as a LAN (Local Area Network), a WAN (Wide Area Network), or the Internet to execute the above processes. The program may be installed in the memory from an external server device or the like via the network, or may be distributed in a state stored in a recording medium such as a CD-ROM (Compact Disc Read-Only Memory), a DVD-ROM (Digital Versatile Disc Read-Only Memory), or a semiconductor memory, and then installed in the memory from the recording medium.

The embodiments disclosed herein should be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the present disclosure is indicated not by the detailed description of the disclosure, but by each claim in the claims, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope of the claims.

50 Machining system 52

Data collection system

54, 56, 58 Data transmitter 60 Terminal 62 Wireless receiver 64 Machining device 100 Cutting tool 110 Holder 112 Cutting insert 114

Thermal sensor

116, 118 Strain sensor 150

Wireless communication unit

152, 220 CPU
154 Power supply 156 Non-volatile memory 200 Computer 202 Monitor 204 Touch pad 206 Keyboard 208 USB memory 210 Network 222 ROM
224 RAM
226 SSD
228 Bus 230 Display control unit 232 Input/output I/F
234 USB port 236 Network I/F
250 Normal screen 260 Sensor status display area 262 Sensor data display area 264 Measurement start button 266

Measurement stop button

268, 270, 272, 274

Status display section

276, 278, 280, 282 Time series graph 300

Display

350, 550, 650 Program

Claims

a determination unit that receives data from one or more sensors provided in the cutting tool via wireless communication and determines whether or not an abnormality has occurred in any of the one or more sensors based on the data;
and a determination display unit that displays a determination result of the determination unit.
the determination unit includes a sensor-specific determination unit that receives the data from each of the one or more sensors and determines whether or not an abnormality has occurred for each of the one or more sensors based on the data;
The sensor abnormality determination device according to claim 1 , wherein the determination display displays a result of the sensor-specific determination section for each of the one or more sensors.
The sensor abnormality determination device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a data receiving unit that receives the data from the one or more sensors and displays the data for each sensor.
The sensor abnormality determination device according to claim 3, wherein the data receiving unit continues to receive the data from the one or more sensors and display the data for each sensor even after the determination unit determines that an abnormality has occurred in any of the one or more sensors.
The sensor abnormality determination device according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the determination unit and the data receiving unit periodically receive the data from the one or more sensors every first period and every second period, respectively.
The sensor abnormality determination device according to claim 5, wherein the first period and the second period are the same period.
The sensor abnormality determination device according to claim 5, wherein the first period and the second period are different from each other.
the cutting tool has a function of detecting a specific abnormality of the sensor and transmitting an abnormality detection signal via wireless communication;
The sensor abnormality determination device according to claim 1 , wherein the determination display unit displays a determination result regarding the abnormality of the one or more sensors in response to a determination result of the determination unit and the abnormality detection signal received from the cutting tool.
A cutting tool equipped with a sensor;
an abnormality determination device that determines whether or not an abnormality has occurred in the sensor by wirelessly communicating with the cutting tool,
The cutting tool comprises:
a holder having a tip attachment portion;
one or more sensors attached to the holder;
a data transmission unit provided in the holder and configured to transmit data from the one or more sensors via wireless communication;
The abnormality determination device includes:
a determination unit that receives data from the one or more sensors via wireless communication and determines whether or not an abnormality has occurred in any of the one or more sensors based on the data;
and a determination display unit that displays a determination result of the determination unit.
a step of receiving data from one or more sensors provided in the cutting tool via a wireless communication device by a computer, and determining whether or not an abnormality has occurred in any of the one or more sensors based on the data;
and a step of displaying a result of the determination in the determining step by a computer on a display device.
Computer,
a determination unit that receives data from one or more sensors provided in the cutting tool via wireless communication and determines whether or not an abnormality has occurred in any of the one or more sensors based on the data;
A computer program that causes the determination unit to function as a determination display unit that displays a determination result.
Computer,
a determination unit that receives data from one or more sensors provided in the cutting tool via wireless communication and determines whether or not an abnormality has occurred in any of the one or more sensors based on the data;
A computer-readable, non-transitory storage medium storing a computer program that causes the determination unit to function as a determination display unit that displays the determination result.
a machining unit that performs machining using a cutting tool equipped with one or more sensors;
a machine tool including an abnormality determination unit that determines whether or not an abnormality has occurred in the sensor by wirelessly communicating with the cutting tool,
The abnormality determination unit
a determination unit that receives data from the one or more sensors via wireless communication and determines whether or not an abnormality has occurred in any of the one or more sensors based on the data;
and a judgment display unit that displays a judgment result of the judgment unit.