JP3112671B2 - Molding machine - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a molding machine such as an injection molding machine or a die casting machine, and in particular, a microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as "microcomputer") for controlling the entire machine (molding machine) is provided with a safety measure against noise. And a molding machine for automatically performing the molding.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Recent molding machines such as an injection molding machine are operated by a microcomputer to perform automatic continuous molding operation. Therefore, EMI (ELECTROMAGNETIC INTERFERENCE:
Various noise countermeasures are taken to prevent a machine (molding machine) during molding operation from being adversely affected by noise represented by electromagnetic interference (electromagnetic interference). Then, in a qualification test before the machine is shipped, a noise resistance test is performed by applying noise to the machine, and if a malfunction does not occur due to noise up to a certain level, it is determined that there is a predetermined noise immunity value. (It passed the noise resistance test).

At present, the noise level (noise tolerance value) that the above-mentioned machine can withstand depends on the manufacturer of the machine. However, the environment in which the machine is placed greatly differs depending on the factory (site) where the machine is installed. Generally, the setting is made so as to withstand a considerably large noise level higher than the assumed noise level.

[0004]

As described above, the noise level that a machine (molding machine) can withstand is set to a value that does not cause a malfunction in a normally supposed environment. There is naturally a limit in improving the noise immunity of the device due to factors such as cost (improvement of the noise immunity value has a limit). For this reason, for example, in an environment where an old industrial machine or the like that generates a very high level of noise that cannot be normally considered is installed near a molding machine, or a very high level that has suddenly occurred (arrived). (For example, noise due to high-power radio waves from a traveling car by an illegal CB radio, noise from a lightning discharge or an atomic bomb, etc.) may cause a molding machine to malfunction. There is a risk of damage to the device, and it is required to take safety measures immediately.

[0005] Further, since noise is invisible, it is difficult to grasp the environment of the factory where the machine (molding machine) is installed, and there is a malfunction in the machine (molding machine) and it is considered that this factor is not present in the machine. For the first time, it is the present situation that noise around the machine is observed with a measuring instrument by a service engineer or the like for the first time, and countermeasures are taken, and some improvement is necessary in terms of safety measures. Of course, it is conceivable to take measures by observing noise around the machine before installing the machine (molding machine). However, it is impossible to cope with the suddenly arriving very high level of noise, and in the first place. It cannot be expected that users or sellers in all countries will observe the noise around the machine before installation and take countermeasures. Furthermore, in this type of machine (molding machine), if a malfunction is unacceptable, the machine is automatically stopped immediately, but this is caused by the machine itself. There is also a problem that it is not possible to accurately determine whether the malfunction is due to sudden high-level noise or not.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above points,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a highly safe molding machine in which the molding machine itself determines a noise level and automatically performs a safety measure processing. Another object of the present invention is to make it possible to accurately determine whether or not an emergency stop of a machine is caused by noise.

[0007]

According to the present invention, in order to achieve the above object, a control device (microcomputer) built in a molding machine is operated based on various set operating condition data and measurement information from each sensor. In a molding machine having at least an automatic operation control function for driving and controlling each part of the molding machine and an abnormality diagnosis function for monitoring and diagnosing the occurrence of an abnormality based on measurement information from each sensor, the electric field / magnetic field level as the sensor Is provided near the power supply line of the power supply device of the molding machine, and when the noise sensor detects a noise value exceeding a predetermined level less than a noise tolerance value that the molding machine can withstand (for example, Assuming that the noise tolerance value that the molding machine can withstand is 2000 V, 2000
X (80-95%) When the noise value of about V or more is detected), the microcomputer urgently stops the operation of the molding machine,
The fact that the cause of the emergency stop is noise is stored in a memory.

That is, the noise sensor disposed near the power supply line of the power supply section of the molding machine (machine) has a predetermined level (for example, 1800 V) or higher which is less than a noise tolerance value (for example, 2000 V) that the molding machine can withstand. When the noise value is detected, the microcomputer stops the machine in an emergency, and stops supplying power to a group of drivers for at least the drive sources (hydraulic drive source or electromagnetic drive source) so that each mechanism of the machine becomes inoperable. The fact that the cause of the emergency stop is noise is stored in the memory.

In this way, before the molding machine (machine) malfunctions due to noise, the machine itself automatically makes the machine inoperable, so that there is no possibility that the machine malfunctions due to noise. A highly safe molding machine can be realized. Further, since the fact that the cause of the emergency stop is noise is stored in the memory, it is possible to accurately determine whether the cause of the emergency stop of the machine is due to noise.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to an embodiment shown in FIGS. FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing an injection molding machine to which the control method according to the present invention is applied. In FIG. 1, an injection molding machine generally indicated by reference numeral 1 is a known mechanism system such as a mold opening / closing device 2 and an injection device 3, a microcomputer 4 for controlling the entire machine, and a power supply device for supplying power to each unit. The microcomputer 4 refers to an operation condition value set in advance and measurement information from a sensor group 6 disposed in each part of the machine by an automatic molding operation program, and the like. The driving of the mechanism system is controlled via a driver group (a driving circuit group for each mechanism) 7. Reference numeral 8 denotes a key input device serving as input operation means for the microcomputer 4, and reference numeral 9 denotes a display device including a color CRT display for displaying processing results and the like by the microcomputer 4. In the present embodiment, a noise sensor 6a is provided as a sensor included in the sensor group 6, and the noise sensor 6a is, for example, the EMI.
A necessary number of the power supply devices 5 are provided in necessary places such as near the power supply line so that noise and the like can be detected. As the noise sensor 6a, a necessary part (an electric field / magnetic field measurement probe or a detection signal processing circuit) of a commercially available EMI noise sensor or a noise observation device called a power supply line observation device may be taken out and used. -A magnetic field measurement probe or the like may be purchased and created.

The microcomputer 4 actually has various I / Os.
It has an interface, a ROM that stores main control programs, various fixed data, etc., a RAM that reads and writes various flags and measurement data, a CPU that controls the entire system, and executes various processes according to various programs created in advance. However, in the present embodiment, for convenience of description, the molding condition setting storage unit 10 and the molding process control unit 1
1. Actual measured value storage unit 12, abnormality determination data storage unit 13, abnormality diagnosis unit 14, display control unit 15, alarm information storage unit 1.
The following description will be made assuming that the apparatus has a functional unit such as No. 6.

The molding condition setting storage section 10 stores various molding condition values input by the key input means 8 or other appropriate input means in a rewritable form. As the molding conditions, for example, the relationship between the screw position during the charge stroke and the screw rotation speed and back pressure,
Suck back control condition, injection speed condition subdivided from the injection start position to the pressure holding switching point (position) (primary injection stroke), subdivided holding pressure from the pressure holding switching time to the pressure holding end time Conditions, temperature of each part, mold closing stroke and speed, mold clamping force, mold opening stroke and speed, eject control conditions, and the like.

The molding process control section 11 fetches measurement information from the sensor group 6 in real time based on a molding process control program created in advance and setting condition values stored in a molding condition setting storage section 10. While referring to the information from the measured value storage unit 12 and the timing information from the clock incorporated therein, drive control of each corresponding drive source via the driver group 7 (motor driver, control valve driver, heater driver, etc.) Then, a series of molding steps are executed.

The actual measured value storage unit 12 is configured to capture and store all actual measured values of preset monitor items during continuous automatic operation over a predetermined number of consecutive shots. . The captured monitor items are roughly classified into a time monitor item, a position monitor item, a rotation speed monitor item, a speed monitor item, a pressure monitor item, a temperature monitor item, and a power monitor item. In the present embodiment, in addition to these, The noise sensor 6
The noise value data according to a is also taken in and stored.

The abnormality determination data storage unit 13 stores an abnormal event, an abnormal numerical value, and the like, which have been subjected to a case study in advance. Then, the abnormality diagnosis unit 14 always takes in the data of the molding condition setting storage unit 10 and the data of the actually measured value storage unit 12 and refers to the contents of the abnormality determination data storage unit 13 to determine that no abnormality has occurred. Is automatically determined. When the abnormality diagnosing unit 14 recognizes the occurrence of the abnormal situation, for example, an audible alarm is generated by an unillustrated audible alarm device, and when it is determined that the content of the abnormality is equal to or higher than a predetermined level, this is indicated. A signal is output to the molding process control section 11, and the molding process control section 11 causes the machine to stop immediately. When the abnormality diagnostic unit 14 determines that an abnormal situation has occurred, the abnormality item,
All of the abnormal numerical data are stored in the alarm information storage unit 16.
Is stored in

In this embodiment, the abnormality diagnosing unit 14 is provided with a noise level determining unit 14a, and the noise level determining unit 14a always keeps the noise data measured by the noise sensor 6a and the abnormality determination data storage unit 13 Is compared with the noise allowable value data stored and set in a predetermined level (for example, 2000 V) that the current disturbance noise is less than a noise tolerance value (for example, 2000 V) that the molding machine (machine) can withstand.
1800 V). And
The noise data measured by the noise sensor 6a is 180
If the voltage exceeds 0 V (for example, if a pulse surge voltage due to noise exceeds 1800 V), the noise level determination unit 14a (the abnormality diagnosis unit 14) performs the molding process control to prevent a malfunction from occurring in the machine. A stop command is sent to the unit 11 to stop the machine in an emergency. In the present embodiment, when the noise exceeds a predetermined level and the operation of the machine is stopped urgently, a control signal is sent from the abnormality diagnosis unit 14 to the power supply device 5, whereby at least the driver group 7 The supply of power supply voltage to the machine is stopped, and each mechanism of the machine is made inoperable to enhance safety. Further, in the present embodiment, at the time of the emergency stop of the machine due to the noise detection, the power supply to the display device 9 and the like is also stopped, and only the function of the microcomputer 4 in the abnormal mode is operated.

The above-mentioned predetermined level (the noise level at which the machine is stopped) which is less than the noise proof value that the molding machine (machine) can withstand can be set arbitrarily, but if it is much smaller than the noise proof value of the machine. If the machine is stopped frequently and the value approaches the noise immunity value of the machine as much as possible, there is a risk of malfunction. In this embodiment, the noise immunity value is about (noise immunity value) × (80 to 95%) or more. When the value is detected, the machine is stopped immediately.

As described above, when the abnormality diagnosis section 14 determines that an abnormal situation has occurred, the alarm information storage section 16 stores this abnormality information (information such as the above-described noise detection at a predetermined level or more). In the present embodiment,
The alarm information storage unit 16 employs a non-volatile memory or a battery-backed RAM, so that even if the power supply to all the electric systems including the microcomputer 4 is cut off, the abnormality (alarm information) history can be stored. ing. The reason for this is that, as described above, in the present embodiment, when the noise exceeds a predetermined level and the operation of the machine is stopped urgently, the power supply to the driver group 7 is stopped to enhance safety. However, in order to further enhance safety, there is a demand to completely stop the function of the microcomputer 4 to prevent runaway of the microcomputer 4 itself, or when all electrical systems of the machine have died due to power failure etc. This is also for storing the abnormality (alarm information) history.

The display control unit 15 extracts data from the molding condition setting storage unit 10 and the actually measured value storage unit 12 as necessary according to an image call command by an appropriate key operation of the operator, and converts the extracted data into numerical image data or graphic data. The data is converted into image data, and fixed data (for example, symbol / unit data, ruled line data, simplified graphic data, etc.) to be used for the image display is taken out from an image display fixed data storage unit (not shown). Are combined to generate image data desired by the operator and displayed on the display device 9. Also, when an abnormal situation occurs, when power is supplied to each electric system including the display device 9, a corresponding abnormal item is stored in an alarm message storage unit (not shown) by the arrival of an alarm signal from the abnormality diagnostic unit 14. Is converted to image data and the display device 9 is forcibly displayed with an alarm message. When the power supply to the display device 9 is cut off (main power is turned off) due to the occurrence of an abnormal situation, the main power is turned on by an operator's operation, and then the latest abnormality is stored in the alarm information storage unit 16. Information data is extracted, and based on the extracted information data, alarm image data is generated by referring to data in an alarm message storage unit (not shown), and is displayed on the display device 9.

Next, the noise level determination by the microcomputer 4 during the automatic molding operation and the processing related thereto will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. In step ST1 of FIG. 2, the measured value from the noise sensor 6a is
It is determined whether the predetermined level less than the noise tolerance value of the machine has been exceeded. If YES, the process proceeds to step ST2, and if NO, the process proceeds to step ST7 to continue the automatic molding operation. In step ST2, since the detected noise has exceeded a predetermined level, noise safety countermeasure processing is executed, an alarm is sounded, and the machine is stopped immediately, and data indicating that the noise has exceeded a predetermined value (indicating a noise abnormality). Data and noise numerical data) are stored in the alarm information storage unit 16 with ID information (date and time of occurrence data, etc.) attached thereto, and the driver by the power supply device 5 is operated so that only the function corresponding to the abnormal mode of the microcomputer 4 is operated. The power supply to the group 7 and the display device 9 is stopped (main power is turned off). In step ST3 following step ST2, it is determined whether or not the main power has been turned on by a manual operation of the operator.
If S, proceed to step ST4; if NO, this step 3
Is repeated. In step ST4, the latest abnormality information data, that is, noise abnormality information data is extracted from the alarm information storage unit 16, the image data is converted based on this, and an alarm message is displayed on the display device 9, and the process proceeds to step ST5. move on. In step ST5,
It is asked whether the safety has been confirmed and an instruction has been given by the operator to restart the molding operation.
Then, if NO, the process returns to step ST4. Step S
At T6, the molding operation is restarted, the process proceeds to the next step ST7, the automatic molding operation is continued at the step ST7, and the process proceeds to step ST8. In step ST8, it is determined whether or not molding of a predetermined number of shots has been completed (whether or not to terminate the automatic molding operation). If YES, the series of steps is terminated, and if NO, the procedure returns to step ST1.

As described above, in this embodiment employing such a control method, the molding machine itself determines the noise level,
When the noise exceeds a predetermined level (until the noise reaches the nozzle tolerance of the machine), the emergency stop is automatically performed (because the safety measures are automatically performed), so that the machine does not malfunction due to the noise. Excellent molding machine can be realized. In addition, by using the molding machine of the present embodiment, it is possible to cope with sudden noise during the automatic molding operation, and of course, it is possible to measure the noise environment around the machine at the time of the initial test operation at the time of installation of the molding machine. It is also possible to take noise environment measures before entering. Furthermore, when the machine is automatically stopped in an emergency, it is possible to accurately determine whether this is a malfunction caused by the machine itself or a sudden high-level noise.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the illustrated embodiment, it is needless to say that various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the present invention. When a medium level noise is detected, a audible alarm and an alarm message are output to continue the automatic driving, and when a large level noise is detected, the processing according to the above-described embodiment is performed. It may be executed.

[0023]

As described above, according to the present invention, the molding machine itself detects the electric field and electromagnetic noise typified by EMI coming from the outside, and the electric field and electromagnetic noise of a very high level coming from the outside. Before the molding machine malfunctions due to, the molding machine itself automatically puts itself in an inoperable state,
Due to suddenly generated (arriving) very high levels of noise (eg, noise from high-power radio waves from illegal CB radios from running vehicles, noise from lightning discharges and atomic bombs, etc.), An extremely safe molding machine that can reliably prevent malfunctions can be realized. In addition, when the machine is stopped in an emergency, it is possible to accurately determine whether or not the emergency stop is caused by noise.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a main block diagram of an injection molding machine to which a control method according to an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a processing flow of a microcomputer of the injection molding machine according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Injection molding machine (machine) 2 Mold opening / closing device 3 Injection device 4 Microcomputer (microcomputer) 5 Power supply device 6 Sensor group 6a Noise sensor 7 Driver group 8 Key input device 9 Display device 10 Molding condition setting storage unit 11 Molding process control unit 12 Actual measurement value storage unit 13 Abnormality judgment data storage unit 14 Abnormality diagnosis unit 14a Noise level judgment unit 15 Display control unit 16 Alarm information storage unit

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B29C 45/76-45/84 B22D 17/32 G05B 9 / 02,19 / 048,23 / 02

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] An automatic operation control function for driving and controlling each part of the molding machine based on various set operating condition data and measurement information from each sensor, and a control device built in the molding machine; An abnormality diagnosis function of monitoring and diagnosing the occurrence of an abnormality based on measurement information of the
A molding machine comprising: a noise sensor for detecting a magnetic field level; and noise level determining means for urgently stopping the operation of the molding machine when a noise value equal to or higher than a predetermined level is detected by the noise sensor. 2. The molding machine according to claim 1, wherein the noise value at a level for urgently stopping the operation of the molding machine is a predetermined value less than a noise tolerance value that the molding machine can withstand. 3. The molding machine according to claim 1, wherein when the emergency stop is performed, information on the cause of the abnormality is stored in a memory. 4. The molding machine according to claim 3, wherein the memory is a nonvolatile memory or a RAM backed up by a battery.