JP3336458B2 - Injection molding machine protection method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a molded product removal machine attached to a molding machine main body and a method for protecting an injection molding machine for protecting a mold.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a molded product protruded by an ejector is attached to a molding machine main body of an injection molding machine, and the ejected molded product is taken out to a product stocker attached to the molding machine main body. There is a known molded product removal machine.

[0003] Various types of this type of molded product take-out machine are known. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-304245 discloses a molded product take-out machine called a traverse type. Normally, in the traverse type, a chuck for holding or releasing a molded product is moved straight in the X direction (longitudinal direction of the molding machine body), the Y direction, and the Z direction. It has a function of accommodating it in a product stocker attached to the side of the molding machine main body. on the other hand,
A molded product taking-out machine using an articulated robot arm having a plurality of arm portions connected is also disclosed in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 4-45861 and Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 5-40989. The traverse type described above has drawbacks in that the moving stroke of the chuck portion in each direction needs to be kept as it is, so that the entire unloader becomes large and an installation space corresponding to the moving stroke is required. The type using an articulated robot arm is
Since the moving range of the chuck portion is reduced, it is advantageous in terms of downsizing and space saving.

[0004] On the other hand, since the molded product unloading machine is usually configured as a dedicated machine separate from the molding machine main body, it is often installed after the molding machine main body. In this case, since it is necessary to link the operation of the molding machine main body and the operation of the molded product take-out machine, the control device of the molding machine main body and the control device of the molded product take-out machine are connected,
Various signals are exchanged between the control devices, for example, a mold opening / stopping signal and a mold clamping enable signal.

[0005]

Incidentally, the molded product take-out machine enters a mold having an opened mold, that is, a space between a movable mold and a fixed mold which are opened, and is displaced in the front-rear direction after entering the molded product. It is extremely important to determine the actual positional relationship between the movable mold and the fixed mold that have been opened, and the molded product take-out machine. A fatal problem arises in that the product take-off machine collides with the mold and damages or damages both the expensive mold and the molded product take-out machine.

However, as described above, since the molded product take-out machine is usually provided as a separate dedicated machine with respect to the molding machine main body, the position of the mold and the molded product take-out machine set by the operator and the like. There is a possibility that the conditions and the like are not appropriate or the setting itself may be forgotten, and as a result, there is a problem that the molded article unloading machine and the mold cannot be reliably protected.

[0007] The present invention has been made to solve the problems existing in the prior art, and reliably avoids the collision of the molded product take-out machine with the metal mold, and thus, enables both the molded product take-out machine and the metal mold. An object of the present invention is to provide a method for protecting an injection molding machine, which can surely protect the injection molding machine.

[0008]

The protection method for an injection molding machine according to the present invention is a method for registering position data Xf and Xr relating to a front end position and a rear end position of a molded article unloading machine N in advance. In addition to storing the input thickness data Tf and Tr relating to the fixed mold Cc and the movable mold Cm of the mold C, the thickness data T
f, Tr and the mold positions Xfd, Xrd obtained from the mold opening position Xo of the mold-clamping plate 14 that has been opened are position data Xf, Xr.
It is determined whether or not it is within the safety ranges Zf, Zr obtained from the reference positions Xfs, Xrs with a margin added to the mold position X.
When fd and Xrd do not fall within the safe ranges Zf and Zr, at least a process of stopping the operation of the molded article unloading machine N is performed.

Thus, at least at the time of operation of the injection molding machine M, the actual mold positions Xfd, Xrd are set to the safe ranges Zf, Zr set based on the position of the molded product unloading machine N.
If the mold positions Xfd and Xrd are within the safety ranges Zf and Zr, there is no possibility that the molded product take-out machine N and the mold C will collide with each other. Operation is continued. On the other hand, the mold positions Xfd, X
If rd is not within the safe range Zf, Zr, there is a possibility that the molded product unloading machine N will collide with the mold C, and therefore, at least a process of stopping the operation of the molded product unloading machine N is performed.

[0010]

Next, preferred embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

First, an injection molding machine M to which the protection method according to this embodiment can be applied will be described with reference to FIG.

The injection molding machine M includes a molding machine main body Mb and a molded product take-out machine N. The molding machine main body Mb includes a molding machine bed 10, and an injection device Mi is provided on one side of the upper surface of the molding machine bed 10.
And a mold clamping device Mc on the other side of the upper surface.
The mold clamping device Mc includes a mold setting plate 11 and a cylinder support plate 12 which are separately installed on the upper surface of the molding machine bed 10, and four tie bars 1 are provided between the mold setting plate 11 and the cylinder support plate 12.
Are horizontally mounted, and the tie bars 13 support the mold clamping plate 14 in a slidable manner. Then, the fixed die Cc is attached to the mold placing plate 11, and the mold clamping plate 1 is mounted.
4 is provided with a movable type Cm. In addition, cylinder support board 1
2, a mold clamping cylinder 15 is attached.
5. The tip of the piston rod 16 projecting from the
To join. The mold C is configured by the fixed mold Cc and the movable mold Cm.

On the other hand, the molded article unloading machine N
Is attached. The molded product take-out machine N is installed on the upper surface of a take-out machine support portion 17 provided at the upper ends of the mold placing board 11 and the cylinder support board 12. The molded product take-out machine N is mounted on the upper surface of the take-out machine supporting portion 17 so as to be adjustable in position and rotates around a vertical axis. First arm portion 22 that rotates about an axis
A second arm 23 attached to the tip of the first arm 22 and rotating about a horizontal axis; and a suctioner disposed at the tip of the second arm 23 and sucking a molded product by suction. A unit 24 is provided.

Next, regarding the configuration of the hardware provided in the injection molding machine M that can carry out the protection method according to the present embodiment,
This will be described with reference to FIG.

Reference numeral 2 denotes a control device of the molding machine main body Mb, and reference numeral 3 denotes a control device of the molded product take-out machine N. The control device 3 includes an MPU (microprocessor unit) 4 including a CPU for executing various control processes and arithmetic processes. The MPU 4 is connected to the control device 2 on the molding machine main body Mb side via an interface 5.
Connect to Further, the MPU 4 is connected with a keyboard 6 for performing various inputs of data and the like and a display 7 for performing various displays. Further, the MPU 4 includes a ROM storing various programs including a sequence program for operating the molded article unloading machine N and a control program for executing the protection method of the present embodiment. 8s is provided. In this case, the registration data 8r includes data that can be registered in advance without being affected by the shape and size of the mold C,
For example, it includes position data Xf, Xr, etc. of the molded article unloading machine N. The setting data 8s includes thickness data Tf, Tr, etc. of the mold C set every time the mold C is replaced. Then, the control device 2 gives the mold opening stop signal Ss, the mold opening position Xo, and the like to the control device 3, and the control device 3 sends the mold clamping enable signal Se, the operation stop processing signal Sc, and the like to the control device 2. Granted.

Next, a method for protecting the injection molding machine M according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

First, the memory 8 stores, as registered data 8r, position data Xf, Xr of the molded article unloading machine N shown in FIG.
Is registered in advance. In this case, since the molded product unloading machine N is mounted on the molding machine main body Mb, the position data Xf,
Xr may be registered. When the mold closing direction (left direction in FIG. 2) is set to the front, the position data Xf indicates the movable mold Cm.
The position data Xr is the rear end position of the molded product unloading machine N entering between the movable mold Cm and the fixed mold Cc.

On the other hand, when the mold C is mounted, that is, when the mold clamping device M
When the movable mold Cm is attached to the mold clamping plate 14 of the mold c and the fixed mold Cc is attached to the mold placing plate 11, the thickness data Tf and Tr relating to the mold C are inputted, and the memory 8 is set as the setting data 8s. In advance. In this case, the thickness data Tf is the thickness of the fixed mold Cc, and the thickness data Tr is the thickness of the movable mold Cm.

During the operation of the injection molding machine M, the mold data positions Xfd and Xrd obtained from the thickness data Tf and Tr and the mold opening position Xo of the mold clamping plate 14 that has been opened correspond to the registered molded product unloading machine N. Safety range Z obtained from position data Xf, Xr
f, Zr, the mold position Xfd, X
If rd is not within the safe range Zf, Zr, at least a process of stopping the operation of the molded article unloader M is performed.

Hereinafter, the processing during the operation of the injection molding machine M will be specifically described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 and according to the flowchart shown in FIG.

Now, it is assumed that the operation switch is turned on to operate the injection molding machine M (step S).
1). At this time, if the thickness data Tf, Tr and the position data Xf, Xr are not registered or set,
A process of stopping the operation of the molded product unloading machine N described later may be performed.

Thickness data Tf, Tr and position data X
If f and Xr are registered or set, first, a data fetching process is performed based on the operation switch being turned on (step S2). In this case, the position data X
f, Xr and thickness data Tf, Tr are read out, and the position of the mold clamping plate 14 when the mold is opened (the mold opening position X) is detected from the molding machine main body Mb by a position detector (not shown).
Since o) is transferred, necessary data is calculated by arithmetic processing (step S3).

Specifically, the actual mold position Xfd of the fixed mold Cc is obtained from the stored thickness data Tf,
The actual mold position Xrd of the movable mold Cm is obtained from the stored thickness data Tr and mold opening position Xo. Further, a reference position Xfs obtained by adding a certain margin to the pre-registered position data Xf of the molded article unloader N is obtained, and a fixed margin is added to the position data Xr of the molded article unloader N. To obtain the reference position Xrs. Therefore, the front of the reference position Xfs becomes a safe range Zf in which a collision can be avoided, and the rear of the reference position Xrs becomes a safe range Zr in which a collision can be avoided (see FIG. 2).

Then, the mold position Xfd and the reference position Xfs
Are determined to be appropriate if the mold position Xfd is within the safe range Zf, and determined to be inappropriate if the mold position Xfd is outside the safe range Zf (step S4). At this time, if improper, a process of stopping the operation of the injection molding machine M is performed, and an alarm is displayed to that effect (step S5).
S6). When the position of the fixed mold Cc is proper, the mold position Xrd is further compared with the reference position Xrs. When the mold position Xrd is within the safe range Zr, the mold position Xrd is proper. If it is out of Zr, it is determined to be inappropriate (step S7). At this time, if improper, a process of stopping the operation of the injection molding machine M is performed, and an alarm is displayed to that effect (steps S5 and S6). on the other hand,
If so, normal molding operation is continued (step S
8). In this case, in the process of stopping the operation of the injection molding machine M, the operation of the molding machine main body Mb may be stopped by applying the above-described operation stop processing signal Sc from the control device 3 to the control device 2. The operation of the molded product unloading machine N may be stopped. Further, the operations of both the molding machine main body Mb and the molded article unloading machine N may be stopped. Further, the alarm display may be performed on the display 7 of the control device 3 or on a display (not shown) of the control device 2.

As described above, according to the protection method according to the present embodiment, the positions and conditions of the mold C and the molded product unloading machine N set by the operator are not appropriate or the setting itself has been forgotten. Even in this case, the collision of the molded product unloading machine N with the mold C is reliably avoided, and thus both the molded product unloading machine N and the mold C are reliably protected.

The embodiment has been described in detail above.
The present invention is not limited to such an embodiment,
The detailed configuration, method, and the like can be arbitrarily changed, added, or deleted without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, the process of stopping the operation of the injection molding machine M is a concept including various processes such as display by a separate alarm lamp and audio output. Further, the determination as to whether or not the mold positions Xfd, Xrd are within the safe ranges Zf, Zr does not exclude the case where the determination is performed at a timing other than the operation. For example, at any time, the above-described series of processing may be performed by pressing a confirmation key or the like, and the result may be displayed on a display. Further, such a series of processing may be performed on the control device 2 side.

[0027]

As described above, in the method for protecting an injection molding machine according to the present invention, the position data relating to the front end position and the rear end position of the molded product take-out machine are registered in advance, and the input mold fixing is performed. While storing the thickness data related to the mold and the movable mold,
During operation of the injection molding machine, it is determined whether or not the mold position obtained from the thickness data and the mold opening position of the mold-clamp that has been opened is within the safety range obtained from the reference position obtained by adding a margin to the position data. When the position of the mold is not within the safe range, at least a process of stopping the operation of the molded product take-out machine is performed. This has a remarkable effect that both the unloader and the mold can be reliably protected.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a protection method according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side view of an injection molding machine to which the protection method can be applied;

FIG. 3 is a hardware configuration diagram incorporated in an injection molding machine capable of performing the protection method.

[Explanation of symbols]

 C Mold Cc Fixed mold Cm Movable mold M Injection molding machine N Mold removal machine Tf Thickness data related to fixed mold Tr Thickness data related to movable mold Xo Mold open position Xfd Mold position Xrd Mold position Xf Mold removal Position data related to the front end position of the machine Xr Position data related to the rear end position of the molded product unloading machine Zf Safety range Zr Safety range 14 Mold clamping machine Xfs Reference position Xrs Reference position

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Hisato Shimizu 2110 Nanjo, Oji, Sakaki-cho, Hanishina-gun, Nagano Prefecture (56) References JP-A-62-99127 (JP, A) -263722 (JP, A) JP-A-6-198687 (JP, A) JP-A-10-16022 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B29C 45/00- 45/84

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. Registering in advance position data relating to a front end position and a rear end position of a molded product take-out machine, storing input thickness data relating to a fixed die and a movable die of a mold, and at least injecting the data. During the operation of the molding machine, the mold position obtained from the thickness data and the mold open position of the mold clamping plate that has been opened,
A process for determining whether or not the position is within a safe range obtained from a reference position obtained by adding a margin to the position data, and when the mold position is not within the safe range, at least stopping the operation of the molded product unloading machine A method for protecting an injection molding machine.