JP7532013B2 - Display control device, program, and display control method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a display control device that controls the display of information to an operator who controls the cutting of a cast piece during continuous casting.

In continuous casting, it is necessary to produce a slab of a specified length after cutting off scraps called crops, which are areas of the cast slab that have quality abnormalities. Conventionally, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example, the cutting of the slab has usually been controlled by automatic calculations using a process computer unless there are special circumstances.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 11-285798 (published on October 19, 1999)

However, when the cutting of the slab is controlled by a process computer, calculations cannot be performed properly when an unexpected crop occurs or when there is a large amount of cropping, and it is not possible to calculate the appropriate cutting position. In such cases, cutting of the slab is controlled by the operator.

The operator checks the display showing information about the slab inside the continuous casting machine and controls the cutting of the slab based on that information. However, in conventional displays, the crop position was shown using the total casting length from the start of casting. This meant that it took the operator time to calculate the appropriate cutting position, which made it difficult to perform appropriate cutting control.

One aspect of the present invention aims to realize a display control device and a display control method that controls the display so that an operator can easily calculate an appropriate cutting position.

In order to solve the above problems, a display control device according to one aspect of the present invention is a display control device that controls the display of a display device of a continuous casting machine, and the display device displays control information related to the control of cutting of the slab, and includes a crop position calculation unit that calculates the start and end positions of a crop of the slab inside the continuous casting machine using the distance from the tip of the slab inside the continuous casting machine on the side where the cutting is performed, and a display execution unit that causes the display device to display the start and end positions of the crop calculated by the crop position calculation unit as the control information.

In addition, in a display control device according to one aspect of the present invention, the length of the crop in the casting direction may be displayed on the display device.

In addition, the display control device according to one aspect of the present invention may be configured to display the cause of the crop on the display device.

In addition, in a display control device according to one aspect of the present invention, an image showing the continuous casting machine may be displayed on the display device, and the position of the crop may be displayed in the image.

A program according to one aspect of the present invention causes a computer to function as each part of the above-mentioned display control device.

In order to solve the above problems, a display control device according to one aspect of the present invention is a display control method for controlling the display of a display device connected to a control device of a continuous casting machine, and includes a crop position calculation process for calculating the start and end positions of a crop in the slab present inside the continuous casting machine based on the tip of the slab on the side where the cutting is performed, and a display execution process for displaying the start and end positions of the crop calculated in the crop position calculation process on the display device.

According to one aspect of the present invention, the operator can easily calculate the appropriate cutting position.

1 is a block diagram of a continuous casting facility according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of an image displayed by a display device included in the continuous casting equipment. FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of one of the display areas displayed in the image. 1A and 1B are diagrams showing an operation plan for continuous casting according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1B is a diagram showing a planned cutting position calculated by a process computer. FIG. 1A is a diagram showing a slab on which an unplanned crop has been formed according to one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1B is a diagram showing the slab when cut at a position calculated by a process computer; and FIG. 1C is a diagram showing a cutting position calculated by an operator when using the continuous casting equipment of the present invention.

[Embodiment 1]
Hereinafter, a continuous casting equipment 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

Figure 1 is a block diagram of the continuous casting equipment 1 in this embodiment. The continuous casting equipment 1 in this embodiment includes a continuous casting machine 10, a display device 20, and a process computer 30.

The continuous casting machine 10 is equipped with a ladle 11, a tundish 12, a mold 13, and a cutter 14. In the continuous casting machine 10, the molten steel in the ladle 11 passes through the tundish 12 and the mold 13, and is cooled and cast between rolls (not shown) to form a slab. The formed slab is then cut by the cutter 14 to obtain a slab of the desired length.

Unless there are special circumstances, the cutting of the strand by the cutting machine 14 is usually controlled by the process computer 30. However, in continuous casting, unintended crops (waste) may form in the strand. In such cases, the cutting of the strand is controlled by the operator O.

The process computer 30 is a control device that controls the continuous casting by the continuous casting machine 10.

The display device 20 displays control information related to the cutting control of the cast slab to the operator O who controls the cutting of the cast slab. The display device 20 is connected to the process computer 30. The operator O determines the cutting position of the cast slab based on the control information displayed on the display device 20. The display device 20 is equipped with a display control unit 21 (display control device).

The display control unit 21 controls the image displayed by the display device 20. The display control unit 21 includes a crop position calculation unit 22 and a display execution unit 23.

The crop position calculation unit 22 calculates the crop position of the slab based on information from the continuous casting machine 10 (a crop position calculation step as one step of the display control method). Here, the tundish 12 is equipped with measuring devices such as a tundish weight gauge and a sliding nozzle opening control device. The mold 13 is equipped with measuring devices such as a molten metal level gauge, a mold width gauge, and a slab surface temperature gauge. The crop position calculation unit 22 acquires data online from the above-mentioned devices equipped in the tundish 12 and the mold 13. Then, based on the acquired data, the crop position calculation unit 22 calculates the range in which the crop has occurred in the total casting length since the start of continuous casting.

In addition, like the crop position calculation unit 22, the process computer 30 also calculates the range in the total casting length from the start of continuous casting where the crop has occurred based on the data from the above-mentioned devices provided in the tundish 12 and the mold 13.Then, the process computer 30 controls the cutting of the cast piece based on the calculation results.

The crop position calculation unit 22 also acquires cutting information from the cutter 14 and uses this information to calculate the cumulative length of the strand cut since the start of continuous casting. The crop position calculation unit 22 then subtracts the "cumulative length of the cut strand" from the "range in which the crop occurs in the total casting length since the start of continuous casting" to calculate the range in which the crop occurs, in terms of the distance from the tip of the strand within the continuous casting machine 10. In other words, the crop position calculation unit 22 calculates the start and end positions of the crop in the strand present inside the continuous casting machine 10, based on the tip of the strand on the side where cutting is performed by the cutter 14.

The display execution unit 23 displays the range of crop occurrence in terms of the distance from the tip of the slab in the continuous casting machine 10 calculated by the crop position calculation unit 22 (i.e., the start and end positions of the crop from the tip on the side where the slab is cut) as the above-mentioned control information on the display device 20 (display execution process as one process of the display control method).

Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example of an image I displayed by the display device 20. As shown in Fig. 2, the image I has a display area A in which information relating to the crop and the crop position is displayed by characters (text), and a display area B in which information relating to the crop position is displayed by an image.
For each crop (labeled as "dust" in FIG. 2), one column is displayed in display area A. In FIG. 2, columns for four crops are displayed.

Figure 3 is an enlarged view of one of the columns in display area A. The columns displayed in display area A are made up of displays A1 to A5.

Display A1 shows the crop number.

Display A2 shows the area where the crop is formed (the start and end positions of the crop) using the total casting length since the start of continuous casting.

Display A3 shows the area where the crop is formed (the start and end positions of the crop) using the distance from the tip of the cast piece in the continuous casting machine 10.

Display A4 displays a code indicating the cause (reason) for the crop. Note that a separate correspondence table is provided for this code, and operator O can confirm the cause of the crop by matching the code with the correspondence table.

Display A5 displays the length of the crop in the casting direction. This allows the amount of calculation by operator O to be further reduced.

Display area A also displays display A4, which indicates the cause of the crop. This allows operator O to understand the cause of the crop, and therefore to determine a more preferable position when deciding the cutting position of the cast piece. The cause of the crop is identified by process computer 30 based on data from the above-mentioned devices provided in tundish 12 and mold 13.

As shown in FIG. 2, display area B displays crop information using a diagram. Specifically, display area B displays image B1 showing the continuous casting machine 10. In image B1, an area (indicated by symbol B5) where molten steel or cast pieces are present inside the continuous casting machine 10 is colored to distinguish it from other areas. In other words, the colored area indicates the molten steel or cast pieces inside the continuous casting machine 10.

In addition, image B2 showing the crop position is displayed in display area B.

In addition, an image B3 is displayed in the display area B, which indicates the area where the width of the slab has been changed (the area where the width has been narrowed). In addition, a line B4 is displayed in the display area B, which indicates the cutting position calculated by the process computer 30.

For example, depending on the continuous casting machine, such as a fully vertical continuous casting machine, the length of the cast piece to be cut may be limited. Also, to produce a high-quality cast piece, a larger area is left as a crop. In such cases, the automatic calculation by the process computer 30 is unable to calculate the appropriate cutting position, and control is performed by the operator. However, with the conventional method, there was a problem in that it took time for the operator to calculate the appropriate cutting position, making it impossible to perform appropriate cutting control.

In contrast, in the continuous casting of this embodiment, the display control unit 21 controls the display device 20 to display the position of the crop using the distance from the tip of the slab in the continuous casting machine 10 (i.e., displays display A3). This eliminates the need for the operator O to calculate the position of the crop in the continuous casting machine 10. As a result, the amount of calculation required to set the cutting position of the slab can be reduced, so that the operator O can easily calculate an appropriate cutting position. This prevents the slab from becoming scrap, which was the case in the past when calculations were not completed in time. As a result, production costs can be reduced. In addition, since the cutting position can be set with less calculations than in the past, equipment troubles caused by calculation errors can be prevented.

In addition, display screen I displays display A5 indicating the length of the crop. This allows the amount of calculation by operator O to be further reduced.

Furthermore, an image B2 showing the position of the crop is displayed in the display area B on the display screen I. This allows the operator O to intuitively grasp the position of the crop inside the continuous casting machine 10 (the start position S and end position E of the crop shown in FIG. 2).

In one aspect of the present invention, the display control unit 21 may make the characters indicating the position of the crop using the distance from the tip of the cast piece in the continuous casting machine 10 (i.e., display A3 shown in FIG. 3) and the characters indicating the length of the crop in the casting direction (i.e., display A5 shown in FIG. 3) on the display screen I more noticeable (e.g., yellow). This makes it easier for the operator O to recognize the position and length of the crop. The image B2 indicating the position of the crop in the display area B may also be the same color. Making the color yellow can also reduce the strain on the eyes of the operator O.

Next, we will explain an example using the continuous casting equipment 1 of the present invention.

Figure 4 (a) shows the operation plan for continuous casting, and (b) shows the planned cutting position calculated by the process computer 30.

In this embodiment, it is assumed that high-quality cast pieces (hereafter referred to as good cast pieces) of at least 5,000 mm or more and 8,900 mm or less must be continuously produced.

As shown in FIG. 4(a), in this embodiment, an example of casting a 22,720 mm strand will be described. Also, assume that a crop is planned to be formed as a seam at 1,900 mm on the side of the strand closer to the molten metal surface (upper side in FIG. 4). As shown in FIG. 4(b), the process computer 30 determined the cutting positions so as to produce a 7,130 mm strand as the first strand, a 7,130 mm strand as the second strand, and an 8,460 mm strand as the third strand.

Figure 5 (a) shows a cast piece with an unexpected crop, (b) shows the cast piece when it is cut at a position calculated by the process computer 30, and (c) shows the cut position calculated by the operator O when the continuous casting equipment of the present invention is used.

As shown in FIG. 5(a), an unexpected crop occurs (is formed) during the casting of a strand. In such a case, the operator O controls the cutting. However, in conventional continuous casting equipment, the position and length of the crop are not displayed on the display screen for the operator O. Therefore, it takes time for the operator O to calculate the appropriate cutting position, and the appropriate cutting position may not be calculated. In this case, the strand is cut at the position calculated by the process computer 30. As a result, as shown in FIG. 5(b), the length of the good strand in the second cast piece is 4230 mm, which is less than 5000 mm. Therefore, the second cast piece is turned into scrap.

In contrast, in the continuous casting equipment of the present invention, the display device 20 displays the position of the crop using the distance from the tip of the cast piece inside the continuous casting machine 10, and also displays the length of the crop. This allows the operator to instantly grasp the condition of the cast piece inside the continuous casting machine 10. Therefore, the cutting position can be adjusted so as not to generate more scrap than necessary. This allows all three cast pieces to be good quality pieces, as shown in Figure 5 (c).

[Software implementation example]
The control blocks of the display device 20 (particularly the display control unit 21 and the crop position calculation unit 22) may be realized by a logic circuit (hardware) formed in an integrated circuit (IC chip) or the like, or may be realized by software.

In the latter case, the display device 20 includes a computer that executes the instructions of a program, which is software that realizes each function. The computer includes, for example, one or more processors, and a computer-readable recording medium that stores the program. The object of the present invention is achieved by the processor reading the program from the recording medium and executing it in the computer. The processor can be, for example, a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The recording medium can be a "non-transient tangible medium," such as a ROM (Read Only Memory), tape, disk, card, semiconductor memory, programmable logic circuit, or the like. The display device may also include a RAM (Random Access Memory) that expands the program. The program may be supplied to the computer via any transmission medium (such as a communication network or broadcast waves) that can transmit the program. One aspect of the present invention can also be realized in the form of a data signal embedded in a carrier wave, in which the program is embodied by electronic transmission.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims. The technical scope of the present invention also includes embodiments obtained by appropriately combining the technical means disclosed in different embodiments.

10 Continuous casting machine 20 Display device 21 Display control unit (display control device)
22 Crop position calculation unit 23 Display execution unit O Operator

Claims (5)

A display control device that controls a display of a display device connected to a control device of a continuous casting machine in which a plurality of cutting positions of a cast strand can be controlled by an operator,
a crop position calculation unit that calculates a start position and an end position of a crop in a slab present inside the continuous casting machine based on a tip end of the slab on a side where the slab is cut;
a display execution unit that causes the display device to display the start position and end position of the crop calculated by the crop position calculation unit,
displaying an image showing the continuous casting machine on the display device;
A display control device which displays the position of the crop in the image. The display control device according to claim 1, characterized in that the display device displays the length of the crop in the casting direction. The display control device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the cause of the cropping identified by the control device is displayed on the display device. A program for causing a computer to function as each unit in a display control device according to any one of claims 1 to 3. A display control method for controlling a display of a display device connected to a control device of a continuous casting machine in which a plurality of cutting positions of a cast strand can be controlled by an operator, comprising:
a crop position calculation step of calculating a start position and an end position of a crop in a slab present inside the continuous casting machine based on a tip end of the slab on a side where the slab is cut;
a display execution step of displaying, on the display device, the start position and the end position of the crop calculated in the crop position calculation step;
A display control method, characterized in that, in the display execution step, an image showing the continuous casting machine is displayed on the display device, and a position of the crop is displayed in the image.

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