JP4199562B2 - Glass forming system and glass material and glass molded article conveying method in glass forming system - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a glass forming system that includes a plurality of forming chambers as a glass forming machine and forms a glass material, and a glass material and a method for conveying a glass molded product in the glass forming system.
[0002]
[Prior art]
The applicant has conceived and applied for a glass forming system including a plurality of forming chambers (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
[0003]
The conventional glass forming system includes, for example, four forming chambers, an A chamber, a B chamber, a C chamber, and a D chamber.
[0004]
Each molding chamber is provided with a pair of upper and lower molds. Each molding chamber receives the supply of the glass material stored in the material supply tray of the tray station by the material transport robot.
[0005]
Each molding chamber sets a glass material in a mold using a material setting robot provided in each molding chamber. Thereafter, the molding chamber heats the mold to a predetermined temperature by a temperature control means such as a heating lamp, and after heating, presses the glass material with a pair of upper and lower molds to complete a glass molded product.
[0006]
As described above, the conventional glass forming system uses an industrial robot for conveying a glass material. This industrial robot takes out the glass material from the material supply tray and supplies it to the glass material installation section of each molding chamber.
[0007]
Furthermore, this industrial robot stores the molded glass molded product from the molded product installation part of the molding chamber to the molded product storage tray of the tray station. Thus, conveyance control of the glass material and the glass molded product is performed between the industrial robot and each molding chamber (glass molding machine).
[0008]
However, in the above-described transport control using the industrial robot, only one glass material or glass molded product can be transported one by one, and glass material supply and glass molded product storage are efficiently performed between a plurality of molding chambers. It wasn't.
[0009]
Therefore, the feeding efficiency is particularly poor for supplying a small amount of glass material and taking out a small amount of glass molded product.
[0010]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2002-293551 A (first page)
[0011]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
As described above, in the transfer control using the conventional industrial robot, the industrial robot has a waiting time for transfer, and in particular, there is a problem that the transfer efficiency is poor for supplying a small amount of glass material and taking out a glass molded product. was there.
[0012]
Then, this invention aims at providing the conveyance method of the glass raw material in a glass forming system which can improve the glass raw material supply of a small amount product, and the conveyance efficiency of taking out a glass molded product, and a glass molded product. To do.
[0013]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The glass molding system according to the present invention includes a mold for molding a glass material into a glass molded product, temperature control means for controlling the temperature of the mold, and glass on the mold controlled by the temperature control means. A glass molding system having a plurality of molding chambers each having a small robot for supplying a raw material and taking out a glass molded product molded by the mold from the mold, and controlling each molding chamber. The glass material to be supplied to the plurality of molding chambers is placed, storage means for storing the glass molded product molded in each molding chamber, and the storage robot is configured by the small robot in each molding chamber. And a conveying means for conveying the glass molded product to a predetermined position for storing the glass molded product, and the plurality of control devices and the communication means, and connected to the glass element from the molding chamber control device. Upon receiving a request signal or a glass molded article storage request signal, said storage means with said transport means and a control means for controlling to convey a predetermined position of the molding chamber.
[0014]
In the glass molding system of the present invention, the glass material and the method for conveying the glass molded product are a mold for molding the glass material into a glass molded product, a temperature control means for controlling the temperature of the mold, and the temperature control means. A plurality of molding chambers having a small robot for supplying a glass material to the mold controlled in temperature by the mold and taking out a glass molded product molded by the mold, and controlling each molding chamber individually A method for transporting a glass material and a glass molded product in a glass molding system having an apparatus, the storage means storing the glass material and the glass molded product, a transport means for transporting the storage means, and controlling the transport means A glass element to which an identification signal of the molding chamber is given from each control device that controls the molding chamber. A small robot in a molding chamber that receives a request signal or a glass molded product storage request signal and identifies the storage means by an identification signal given to the received request signal can supply a glass material and store the glass molded product. The conveyance control is performed to a predetermined position for the molding chamber, and when the storage means is conveyed to the predetermined position for the molding chamber, a conveyance end signal is transmitted to the control device of the molding chamber.
[0015]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
[0016]
FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a glass forming system according to the present invention. This glass forming system uses a glass forming machine in which two forming chambers are combined into one unit, and two of these units are used. That is, the present glass forming system includes four forming chambers: a forming chamber (A) 11, a forming chamber (B) 12, a forming chamber (C) 13, and a forming chamber (D) 14.
[0017]
The molding chamber 11 includes a pair of molds 11a, the molding chamber 12 includes a pair of molds 12a, the molding chamber 13 includes a pair of molds 13a, and the molding chamber 14 includes a pair of molds 14a.
[0018]
Further, in the molding chambers 11, 12, 13, and 14 of the two units, small robots 11b, 12b, 13b, and 14b for supplying a glass material and taking out a glass molded product are provided, respectively.
[0019]
The small robots 11b, 12b, 13b, and 14b are provided with tray tables 11c, 12c, 13c, and 14c for placing trays for storing glass materials and glass molded products. The tray tables 11c, 12c, 13c, and 14c are provided at predetermined positions at which the small robots 11b, 12b, 13b, and 14b can supply glass materials from the tray 15 or store glass molded products in the tray 15, respectively. ing.
[0020]
In addition, a tray station 17 is provided on the left side of the drawing for placing a tray 15 in which a glass material is stored and a tray 15 in which a molded glass molded product is stored. The tray station 17 is placed at a predetermined location.
[0021]
FIG. 2 shows an external configuration example of the tray 15. The tray 15 is storage means in which a glass material is placed in each compartment partitioned into a plurality of compartments, and a glass molded product formed with the glass material is stored in each compartment.
[0022]
The tray 15 is partitioned into a plurality of compartments, but there is no compartment, and one or a plurality of glass materials are placed on the tray 15 as a storage means for storing one or a plurality of glass molded products. It may be.
[0023]
Further, a robot 20 is provided as a conveying means for conveying the tray 15 between the tray station 17 and the tray tables 11b to 14b of the molding chambers 11 to 14.
[0024]
The robot 20 has three axes as control axes in an X, Y, and Z orthogonal coordinate system, and grips the tray 15 with the end effector portion 21 as a gripping mechanism.
[0025]
A molding chamber control device 30 is connected to the glass molding machine that is one unit in the molding chambers 11 and 12, and a molding chamber control device 40 is connected to the glass molding machine that is one unit in the molding chambers 13 and 14. The molding chamber control device 30 controls the molding chambers 11 and 12, and the molding chamber control device 40 controls the molding chambers 13 and 14.
[0026]
A robot controller 50 is connected to the robot 20. The robot controller 50 is also connected to the molding chamber controllers 30 and 40, respectively. The robot control device 50 controls the robot 20 and is synchronized with the molding chamber control devices 30 and 40.
[0027]
FIG. 3 shows the configuration of each control device that controls the present glass forming system. First, the robot 20 is provided with servo motors Mx, My, and Mz that move the X axis, the Y axis, and the Z axis. The robot 20 is connected to an air pressure control unit 22 that operates the end effector unit 21 with air pressure. The pneumatic control unit 20 is connected to the robot control device 50.
[0028]
The robot control device 50 includes a CPU 51 that controls the whole, a ROM 52 that stores a control program, a RAM 53 that temporarily stores various data, a monitor display 55 connected via an input / output I / O unit 54, and other devices. And a communication means 56 for performing data communication, an input / output I / O unit 57 for performing sequence control of air pressure of the end effector unit 21, and a servo driver unit 58 for controlling servo motors Mx, My, Mz. ing.
[0029]
The CPU 51 controls the entire system using the RAM 53 that is temporarily stored by the control program stored in the ROM 52, and displays the status on the monitor display 55. Such a control operation is the same as that of a general control device.
[0030]
Furthermore, the robot control device 50 includes a communication unit 56 that performs data communication via a communication line such as a LAN, and performs data communication with the molding chamber control device 30 and the molding chamber control device 40 by this data communication function. As the data communication means, RS232C is simple in configuration, but may be a LAN means or the like when a more advanced function is desired. Alternatively, a wireless communication means combined with a personal computer (PC) can be used. Alternatively, for the sake of simplicity, the data signal can be configured by an on / off signal of a sequencer function.
[0031]
The molding chamber control device 30 includes a CPU 31 that controls the entire molding chamber 11, a ROM 32 that stores a control program, a RAM 33 that temporarily stores various data, a communication means 34 that performs data communication with other devices, and the molding chamber 11. A temperature controller (temperature control means) 61 for controlling the temperature of a heater lamp (not shown), a CPU 35 for controlling the entire molding chamber 12, a ROM 36 for storing a control program, a RAM 37 for temporarily storing various data, and other devices And a temperature controller (temperature control means) 62 for controlling the temperature of a heater lamp (not shown) in the molding chamber 12.
[0032]
The molding chamber control device 40 includes a CPU 41 that controls the entire molding chamber 13, a ROM 42 that stores a control program, a RAM 43 that temporarily stores various data, a communication means 44 that performs data communication with other devices, and the molding chamber 13. A temperature controller (temperature control means) 63 for controlling the temperature of a heater lamp (not shown), a CPU 45 for controlling the entire molding chamber 14, a ROM 46 for storing a control program, a RAM 47 for temporarily storing various data, and other devices And a communication means 48 for data communication and a temperature controller (temperature control means) 64 for controlling the temperature of a heater lamp (not shown) in the molding chamber 14.
[0033]
Next, in such a configuration, the operation of the glass forming system will be described with reference to the flowcharts of FIGS. In addition, each shaping | molding chamber (11, 12, 13, 14) shall perform glass shaping | molding on each shaping | molding condition.
[0034]
First, the molding chamber controllers 30 and 40 output a glass material request data signal (glass material request signal) having a molding chamber identification signal to the robot controller 50.
[0035]
When the CPU 51 of the robot controller 50 receives the glass material request data signal via the communication means 56 (ST1), the robot 20 is used to select any one of the requesting molding chambers (11, 12, 13, 14). The tray 15 containing the glass material is transported.
[0036]
That is, the robot 20 controlled by the robot controller 50 uses the end effector unit 21 to grip the tray 15 containing the glass material placed in the tray station 17 and use the tray 15 in the tray of the requesting molding chamber. Transport to the table (11c, 12c, 13c, 14c) (ST2).
[0037]
When this transfer is completed, the CPU 51 of the robot controller 50 transmits a data signal including transfer completion information to the requesting molding chamber controller (30 or 40) via the communication means 56 (ST3).
[0038]
For example, assuming that the molding chamber 11 controlled by the molding chamber control device 30 is the request source, the tray 15 containing the glass material is transferred to the tray table 11c of the request source.
[0039]
When the CPU 31 of the molding chamber control device 30 receives the data signal including the transfer completion information from the robot control device 50 (ST11), the CPU 31 controls the small robot 11b of the molding chamber 11 to store the glass material stored in the tray 15. Supply (set) to the mold 11c (ST12). When the glass material is set in the mold 11c, the CPU 31 transmits a data signal indicating completion of glass material setting to the robot controller 50 (ST13).
[0040]
Then, CPU31 controls the temperature of the metal mold | die 11a via the temperature controller 61, performs glass forming by performing press control of a pair of metal mold | die 11a (ST14). After the completion of the glass molding, the CPU 31 transmits a molding completion data signal (glass molded product storage request signal) to the robot controller 50 (ST15).
[0041]
Further, when the CPU 51 of the robot controller 50 receives a glass material request data signal from another molding chamber (12, 13, 14) via the communication means 56 (ST1), the tray which is the previous tray installation location. After confirming that the glass material is not supplied or the glass molded product is not taken out on the table 11c, the robot 15 is used to transport the tray 15 containing the glass material to the requesting molding chamber (ST2).
[0042]
For example, when the request source is the molding chamber 12, the robot 20 controlled by the robot controller 50 grips the tray 15 placed on the tray table 11 c of the molding chamber 11 using the end effector unit 21, and 15 is conveyed to the tray table 12c of the molding chamber 12.
[0043]
When this transfer is completed, the CPU 51 transmits a data signal including transfer completion information to the requesting molding chamber control device 30 via the communication means 56 (ST3).
[0044]
Further, when the CPU 51 of the robot controller 50 receives the molding completion data signal from the molding chamber 11 via the communication means 56 (ST1), the glass material is supplied or glass is supplied from the tray table 12c which is the previous tray installation location. After confirming that the molded product is not taken out, the robot 15 is used to transport the tray 15 to the requesting molding chamber.
[0045]
For example, when the request source is the molding chamber 11, the robot 20 controlled by the robot controller 50 grips the tray 15 placed on the tray table 12 c of the molding chamber 12 using the end effector unit 21, and 15 is conveyed to the tray table 11c of the molding chamber 11 (ST2).
[0046]
When this transfer is completed, the CPU 51 transmits a data signal including transfer completion information to the requesting molding chamber control device 30 via the communication means 56 (ST3).
[0047]
Therefore, when the CPU 31 of the molding chamber control device 30 receives the data signal including the transfer completion information from the robot control device 50 (ST21), the CPU 31 controls the small robot 11b to the storage position where the glass material of the tray 15 is taken out. The glass molded product is taken out from the mold 11a and accommodated (ST22).
[0048]
When the glass molded product is stored in the tray 15, the CPU 31 transmits a storage end data signal to the robot control device 50 (ST23).
[0049]
Further, the CPU 31 confirms whether or not the molding of the glass material prepared in the tray 15 in the molding chamber has been completed (ST24), and if the molding is completed, the data of the molding completion in the molding chamber in the tray 15 is completed. A signal is transmitted to the robot controller 50 (ST25). If molding has not been completed, the CPU 31 controls the molding operation of steps ST11 to 15 from the transmission of the data signal for requesting the glass material, and subsequently controls the storage operation of steps ST21 to 23 to confirm the step ST24. I do.
[0050]
In this manner, the CPU 51 of the robot controller 50 receives all the molding completion data signals from the molding chambers 11, 12, 13, and 14, and when the glass molding of the tray 15 is completed (ST4), the glass molded product. Is controlled to convey the tray 15 storing the paper to the tray station 17. That is, the robot 20 controlled by the robot controller 50 uses the end effector 21 to grip the tray 15 placed on the tray table in the molding chamber, and transports the tray 15 to the tray station 17 (ST5). .
[0051]
In this way, it is possible to mold a glass material (small amount of molded product) performed in each molding chamber according to each molding condition.
[0052]
Such a configuration can be applied to a case where a molding test is performed under different molding conditions.
[0053]
For example, the molding chamber 11 is applied when molding is performed under A molding conditions, the molding chamber 12 is molded under B molding conditions, the molding chamber 13 is molded under C molding conditions, and the molding chamber 14 is molded under D molding conditions. In this case, the glass material a for molding under the molding conditions of A, the glass material b for molding under the molding conditions of B, and the glass materials c and D for molding under the molding conditions of C are formed on the tray 15. A glass material d for molding under conditions is placed. The trays 15 on which the glass materials a to d are placed are transported to the respective molding chambers as described above, the glass materials are supplied or the glass molded products are stored, and finally transported to the tray station 17.
[0054]
As described above, according to the above-described embodiment, the robot controller detects (confirms) the presence of a glass material request data signal from another molding chamber or a molding completion data signal, and transfers the glass material ( Supply) and glass molded article conveyance (storage) operations can be repeated to meet the demands from each molding chamber.
[0055]
Further, a common memory or the like may be used between the robot control device and the molding chamber control device, but in this case, the control circuit becomes complicated.
[0056]
In the embodiment of the present invention, the tray transport means is an orthogonal coordinate system robot with X, Y, and Z control axes. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and any articulated robot having a gripping mechanism can be used. . It is preferable that the arm is long and thin so as to save space.
[0057]
In addition, a dedicated tray transport mechanism or the like may be used as the tray transport means, and in this case, the tray may be configured using hydraulic pressure or pneumatic pressure. For transporting to the tray installation place in the molding chamber, a tray protruding or pulling mechanism by a sequence control, a mechanism for moving up and down, and the like may be used.
[0058]
Note that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. In addition, the embodiments may be appropriately combined as much as possible, and in that case, the combined effect can be obtained. Furthermore, the above embodiments include inventions at various stages, and various inventions can be extracted by appropriately combining a plurality of disclosed constituent elements. For example, even if some constituent elements are deleted from all the constituent elements shown in the embodiment, the problem (at least one of them) described in the column of problems to be solved by the invention can be solved, and the column of the effect of the invention When at least one of the effects described in (1) is obtained, a configuration in which this configuration requirement is deleted can be extracted as an invention.
[0059]
【The invention's effect】
As described above in detail, according to the present invention, there is provided a glass forming system capable of improving the supply efficiency of glass material supply and glass molded product take-out for a small amount of product, and a method for conveying the glass material and glass molded product in the glass forming system. Can be provided.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of a glass forming system according to the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an external configuration example of a tray.
FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration of each control device that controls the glass forming system.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the glass forming system.
FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the glass forming system.
FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the glass forming system.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11, 12, 13, 14 ... Molding chamber, 11b, 12b, 13b, 14b ... Small robot, 15 ... Tray (storage means), 17 ... Tray station, 20 ... Robot (conveyance means), 21 ... End effector part, 30 40 ... Molding chamber control device (control device), 50 ... Robot control device (control means), 31, 35, 41, 45, 51 ... CPU, 34, 38, 44, 48, 56 ... Communication means

Claims (5)

A mold for molding a glass material into a glass molded product, temperature control means for controlling the temperature of the mold, and supplying the glass material to the mold temperature-controlled by the temperature control means and the mold In a glass molding system having a plurality of molding chambers with a small robot for taking out the glass molded product molded in the mold from the mold, and having a plurality of control devices for controlling each molding chamber,
A glass material to be supplied to the plurality of molding chambers is placed, and storage means for storing glass molded products molded in the molding chambers;
Conveying means for conveying the storage means to a predetermined position for the small robot in each molding chamber to supply the glass material and store the glass molded product,
When the glass material request signal or the glass molded product storage request signal is received from the control device of the molding chamber and connected to the plurality of control devices through the communication unit, the storage unit is connected to the molding chamber using the transport unit. Control means for performing control to convey to a predetermined position;
A glass forming system characterized by comprising: The control means performs control to convey the storage means to a predetermined place when a predetermined number of glass materials placed on the storage means are formed and a predetermined number of glass molded articles are stored in the storage means. The glass forming system according to claim 1. The control means supplies a predetermined number of glass materials placed in the storage means to the molding chamber to be molded, and when the glass forming is completed in the predetermined molding chamber, a predetermined number of glass molded articles are stored in the storage means. The glass forming system according to claim 1, wherein when it is done, control is performed to convey the storage means to a predetermined place. A mold for molding a glass material into a glass molded product, temperature control means for controlling the temperature of the mold, and supplying the glass material to the mold temperature-controlled by the temperature control means and the mold A glass material and a method for transporting a glass molded product in a glass molding system having a plurality of molding chambers each having a small robot for taking out a glass molded product molded in step 1 and having a plurality of control devices for controlling each molding chamber. And
Using storage means for storing the glass material and glass molded product, transport means for transporting the storage means, and control means for controlling the transport means,
When there is a request for supply of glass material or storage of a glass molded product, this control means performs control to transport the storage means to a predetermined position for the requesting molding chamber using the transport means,
The small robot of the molding chamber supplies the glass material to the mold of the molding chamber from the storage means by the transported storage means, takes out the glass molded product molded by the mold of the molding chamber, and stores the glass product. A glass material and a method for conveying a glass molded product in a glass molding system, wherein the glass material is stored in a means. A mold for molding a glass material into a glass molded product, temperature control means for controlling the temperature of the mold, and supplying the glass material to the mold temperature-controlled by the temperature control means and the mold A glass material and a method for transporting a glass molded product in a glass molding system having a plurality of molding chambers each having a small robot for taking out a glass molded product molded in step 1 and having a plurality of control devices for controlling each molding chamber. And
Using storage means for storing the glass material and glass molded product, transport means for transporting the storage means, and control means for controlling the transport means,
By this control means, a glass material request signal or a glass molded product storage request signal to which an identification signal of the molding chamber is given from each control device that controls each molding chamber,
The storage means controls the conveyance to a predetermined position for the molding chamber where the small robot in the molding chamber identified by the identification signal given to the received request signal can store the glass material and supply the glass material,
When the storage means is transported to a predetermined position for the molding chamber, a transport end signal is transmitted to the control device of the molding chamber, and the glass material and the glass molded product are transported in the glass molding system. Method.

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