JP7587825B2 - Paint viscosity measurement system and paint viscosity measurement program - Google Patents

Description

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a paint viscosity measurement system and a paint viscosity measurement program.

Conventionally, paint viscosity is measured at painting sites by either visual inspection by an operator or automatic measurement using equipment. When visually inspecting paint, an operator immerses a cylindrical measuring cup in a paint container that contains paint, then lifts the measuring cup and measures the time it takes for the paint to drip from an outlet at the bottom of the measuring cup. In this case, the paint viscosity is calculated based on the measurement time it takes for the operator to determine that the measuring cup is empty. As a result, different operators may determine when the measurement is complete, which can lead to variation in the measurement results.

On the other hand, in automatic measurement using a device, a method is known in which the time required for the measuring cup to return to a preset position is measured by using the rise of the measuring cup caused by the dripping of paint contained inside the measuring cup held by a drive mechanism. In this case, the paint in the measuring cup may not drip all the way out, and some paint may remain on the inner wall of the measuring cup. Therefore, the setting position of the measuring cup corresponding to the end of the measurement must be set taking into account the weight of the paint remaining in the measuring cup. When trying to measure the viscosity of multiple types of paint with different specific gravities, the weight of the paint remaining in the measuring cup changes due to the difference in specific gravities, so the setting position of the measuring cup must be corrected each time depending on the paint to be measured, which creates an issue of workload.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 3-33639

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a paint viscosity measurement system and a paint viscosity measurement program that can improve the efficiency of paint viscosity measurement while increasing measurement accuracy.

The paint viscosity measurement system of the embodiment includes a weight measuring device that can measure the weight of the paint in a paint container on which the paint is stored, an acquisition processing unit that can execute an acquisition process to acquire the weight measured by the weight measuring device, a calculation processing unit that acquires a first time that is any time between the time when the weight acquired by the acquisition processing unit from the weight measuring device changes from a constant state to a decreasing state and the time when the weight changes to an increasing state, and a second time that is a time after the first time when the weight acquired from the weight measuring device changes from the decreasing state to the increasing state and then changes from the increasing state to a constant state, and calculates the time from the first time to the second time, and an output processing unit that can execute an output process to output the calculation result of the calculation processing to a user.

The paint viscosity measurement program of the embodiment is a program executed by a paint viscosity measurement system including a weight measuring device on which a paint container in which paint is stored is placed and which can measure the weight of the paint in the paint container, and a processing device electrically connected to the weight measuring device and which performs calculation processing of the weight measured by the weight measuring device, and causes a CPU of the processing device to execute an acquisition process for acquiring the weight measured by the weight measuring device, and a calculation process for acquiring a first time, which is any time between the time when the weight acquired by the acquisition processing unit from the weight measuring device changes from a constant state to a decreasing state and the time when the weight changes to an increasing state, and a second time, which is a time after the first time and is the time when the weight acquired from the weight measuring device changes from the decreasing state to the increasing state and then changes from the increasing state to a constant state, and calculating and outputting the time from the first time to the second time.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a paint viscosity measurement system according to a first embodiment. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of the electrical configuration of a processing device in a paint viscosity measurement system according to a first embodiment. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a weight change measured by a weight measuring device in the paint viscosity measurement system according to the first embodiment; 1 is a flowchart showing an example of paint viscosity measurement in the paint viscosity measurement system according to the first embodiment. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a paint viscosity measurement system according to a second embodiment. FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing an example of the electrical configuration of a weight measuring device and a processing device in a paint viscosity measurement system according to a second embodiment.

First Embodiment
First, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.
1 is a system capable of measuring the viscosity of, for example, liquid paint. The paint viscosity measurement system 1 includes a paint container 10, a measuring cup 20, a weight measuring device 30, and a processing device 40. The paint container 10 is configured in the shape of a container with an open top, and is capable of storing paint therein.

The measuring cup 20 is, for example, a cylindrical container, and is configured to be able to scoop up a portion of the paint stored in the paint container 10. The measuring cup 20 is capable of scooping up, for example, about 20 grams to 30 grams of paint. The measuring cup 20 has an outlet 21. The outlet 21 is provided at the bottom of the measuring cup 20, and is used to drip the paint in the measuring cup 20.

The weight measuring device 30 can measure the weight of the paint in the paint container 10 by placing the paint container 10 thereon. The weight measuring device 30 has a mounting base 31 and a weight sensor 32. As shown in FIG. 1, the mounting base 31 is for placing the paint container 10 on and has a flat upper surface. The weight sensor 32 can detect the weight of the entire paint container 10 including the paint placed on the mounting base 31. Note that in this embodiment, the direction of gravity when the paint container 10 is placed on the weight measuring device 30 in FIG. 1 is defined as the up-down direction.

The processing device 40 is electrically connected to the weight measuring device 30 and has a function of calculating and processing the weight measured by the weight measuring device 30. The processing device 40 also has a function of presenting various information obtained from the weight measuring device 30 to the user, i.e., the operator. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the processing device 40 and the weight measuring device 30 are configured as independent devices, i.e., separate entities. Note that the processing device 40 and the weight measuring device 30 are not limited to being configured as separate entities, and the processing device 40 and the weight measuring device 30 may be configured as an integral part of each other. The processing device 40 may be dedicated to the paint viscosity measurement system 1, or may be shared with other devices.

The processing device 40 has an input unit 41, a display unit 42, a timer unit 43, a speaker 44, and a control unit 45. The input unit 41 is composed of, for example, a touch sensor or a push button, and accepts operations by the worker. The input unit 41 has, for example, a start button for accepting a request from the worker to execute the acquisition of weight and time by the control unit 45.

The display unit 42 can be configured, for example, as a liquid crystal display. The display unit 42 has a function of presenting various information, such as information input by an operator operating the input unit 41 and measurement results. In this case, the input unit 41 and the display unit 42 can be configured as a touch panel display.

The timing unit 43 has one or both of the functions of acquiring the time at any point in time and measuring the elapsed time from a certain reference point in time. In this specification, time means absolute time such as an hour, minute and second, or relative time based on a certain point in time. Furthermore, time means the length of time from one point in time to another. The speaker 44 has the function of emitting sound to the surroundings of the processing device 40. In this case, the display unit 42 and the speaker 44 have the function of presenting various information to the operator by display or sound, etc.

2, the control unit 45 is mainly composed of a microcomputer having, for example, a CPU 451, a ROM, a RAM, and a memory area 452 such as a rewritable flash memory. The weight sensor 32, the input unit 41, the display unit 42, the timer unit 43, and the speaker 44 are each electrically connected to the control unit 45.

The memory area 452 stores a program for applying the weight measuring device 30 to the paint viscosity measurement system 1, for example, a paint viscosity measurement program. The control unit 45 executes the above program in the CPU 451, thereby virtually realizing the acquisition processing unit 51, the calculation processing unit 52, and the output processing unit 53 by software. That is, the acquisition processing unit 51, the calculation processing unit 52, and the output processing unit 53 possessed by the processing device 40 are realized by the CPU 451 executing the computer program stored in the above-mentioned memory area 452 and performing processing corresponding to the computer program, that is, by software. Note that the acquisition processing unit 51, the calculation processing unit 52, and the output processing unit 53 may be realized by hardware, for example, as an integrated circuit integral with the control unit 45, or may be realized by a combination of software and hardware.

The acquisition processing unit 51 can execute an acquisition process. The acquisition process includes a process of acquiring the weight measured by the weight measuring device 30. In this case, the acquisition process includes a process of acquiring the weight detected by the weight sensor 32.

Next, referring to FIG. 3, a method for measuring paint viscosity will be described. When measuring paint viscosity in the paint viscosity measurement system 1, first, a measuring cup 20 is placed in a paint container 10 that stores paint. Next, after the measuring cup 20 is filled with paint, the measuring cup 20 is lifted up from the paint container 10. Then, while keeping the measuring cup 20 lifted up above the paint container 10, the paint viscosity is measured by measuring the time until the paint has completely dripped from the outlet 21 of the measuring cup 20 into the paint container 10.

In this case, the paint viscosity is represented by the time from when the measuring cup 20 filled with paint is lifted from the paint container 10 until the dripping of the paint from the measuring cup 20 is completed. Note that the start time of the paint viscosity measurement is not limited to the time when the measuring cup 20 is lifted from the paint container 10, but may be the time when the weight measured by the weight measuring device 30 increases when the measuring cup 20 is lifted from the paint container 10 and the paint in the measuring cup 20 drips from the outlet 21 and reaches the paint container 10.

Moving operations such as inserting and removing the measuring cup 20 into the paint container 10 are performed manually by an operator. The moving operation of the measuring cup 20 is not limited to being performed manually by an operator, but may be performed automatically by connecting it to another device such as a linear actuator for linearly moving the measuring cup 20 back and forth in the vertical direction.

Figure 3 shows paint viscosity measurements over time, with the horizontal axis showing time and the vertical axis showing weight. In period Ta, the paint container 10 containing paint is placed on the weight measuring device 30, meaning that the weight shows the initial value W0. Then, in period Tb, when the measuring cup 20 is placed in the paint container 10, the weight measured by the weight measuring device 30 increases in response to the weight of the measuring cup 20. Then, in period Tc, a constant state continues with no weight change until the measuring cup 20 is filled with paint.

Next, during period Td, when the measuring cup 20 filled with paint is lifted from the paint container 10, the weight measured by the weight measuring device 30 decreases in response to the weight of the measuring cup 20 and the weight of the paint that has moved into the measuring cup 20. After that, during period Te, the paint gradually returns to the paint container 10 due to the dripping of paint from the outlet 21 of the measuring cup 20, causing the weight change to increase, and finally, when the dripping of paint from the outlet 21 is complete, the weight transitions to a constant state with no change. Note that paint viscosity is usually measured within 10 to 60 seconds.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 3, a small amount of paint may remain on the inner wall surface of the measuring cup 20, and a remaining amount Wr of paint may remain in the measuring cup 20. In other words, the dripping of paint from the measuring cup 20 to the paint container 10 may be completed with paint remaining in the measuring cup 20. Furthermore, the remaining amount Wr of paint in the measuring cup 20 varies depending on the specific gravity of the paint used. Therefore, in order to efficiently grasp the accurate viscosity of the paint, it is necessary to determine that the dripping of paint from the measuring cup 20 to the paint container 10 is completed, taking into account the remaining paint in the measuring cup 20.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the paint viscosity measurement system 1 is equipped with a calculation processing unit 52. The calculation processing unit 52 can execute a calculation process. The calculation process includes a process of starting to record data on the weight measured by the weight measuring device 30 and the time that the weight was measured when a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the weight measured by the weight measuring device 30 increased from the initial value W0 and became constant, or when a predetermined operation is performed on the input unit 41. The calculation process also includes a process of ending the recording of data when a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the weight change measured by the weight measuring device 30 became constant after the data recording started.

The calculation process further includes a process of identifying the first time T1 and the second time T2 from the recorded data. The calculation process also includes a process of acquiring the first time T1 and the second time T2, and calculating and outputting the time Tv from the first time T1 to the second time T2. The first time T1 is any time between the time when the weight acquired by the acquisition processing unit 51 from the weight measuring device 30 changes from a constant state to a decreasing state and the time when it changes to an increasing state. In the case of this embodiment, the first time T1 is the time when the weight acquired by the acquisition processing unit 51 from the weight measuring device 30 changes from an increasing state or a constant state to a decreasing state, as shown in FIG. 3. In other words, the first time T1 is the time when the measuring cup 20 inserted in the paint container 10 is lifted up from the paint container 10.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, the second time T2 is the time after the first time T1 when the weight acquired from the weight measuring device 30 changes from a decreasing state to an increasing state and then changes from the increasing state to a constant state. In other words, the second time T2 is the time indicating the point in time when the weight measuring device 30 first acquires a weight at which the dripping of paint from the measuring cup 20 into the paint container 10 is deemed to have been completed.

In this way, the first time T1 calculated by the calculation process represents the start time of the paint viscosity measurement, and the second time T2 represents the end time of the paint viscosity measurement. Therefore, the time Tv from the first time T1 to the second time T2 is the time equivalent to the paint viscosity. In other words, the paint viscosity can be automatically calculated by the calculation process. Furthermore, the criteria for determining the end time of the paint viscosity measurement can be clarified. Therefore, even if the paint to be measured for paint viscosity is changed and the amount of paint remaining in the measuring cup 20 changes, the paint viscosity can be accurately and efficiently grasped.

The output processing unit 53 can execute output processing. The output processing includes processing for outputting the calculation results of the calculation processing to an operator. In this case, the time Tv from the first time T1 to the second time T2 calculated by the calculation processing, i.e., the paint viscosity, can be output by displaying on the display unit 42 of the processing device 40 or announcing from the speaker 44. Furthermore, the paint viscosity may be output by announcing the time Tv, or may be announced in the form of a numerical value converted into another unit system.

An example of the control content in measuring paint viscosity will be described below with reference to FIG. 4. In the following description, the processes performed by the acquisition processing unit 51, calculation processing unit 52, and output processing unit 53 will all be described as being mainly performed by the control unit 45.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the worker places the paint container 10 containing paint on the mounting table 31 and the weight measured by the weight measuring device 30 through the processing of the acquisition processing unit 51 indicates the initial value W0 (start), the control unit 45 prompts the worker to insert the measuring cup 20 into the paint container 10 in step S11 by displaying or announcing, for example, "Please insert cup" using the display unit 42 or speaker 44.

Next, the control unit 45 determines, through processing by the calculation processing unit 52, whether one or both of the following conditions are met: when the operator places the measuring cup 20 in the paint container 10 and the weight measured by the weight measuring device 30 increases from the initial value W0 and becomes constant for a predetermined period of time, e.g., 3 seconds, or when the operator operates the start button on the input unit 41. If these predetermined conditions are met (YES in step S12), the control unit 45 transitions to step S13.

Next, in step S13, the control unit 45 starts recording data on the weight measured by the weight measuring device 30 through processing by the calculation processing unit 52 and the time when that weight was measured. Next, in step S14, the control unit 45 prompts the operator to lift the measuring cup 20 from within the paint container 10 by displaying or announcing, for example, "Please lift the cup" using the display unit 42 or speaker 44.

Then, as the measuring cup 20 is pulled out of the paint container 10, the weight obtained from the weight measuring device 30 decreases by the amount of the measuring cup 20 and the paint that has moved to the measuring cup 20. After that, the paint gradually drips from the outlet 21 of the measuring cup 20 and returns to the paint container 10, causing the weight to increase.

Next, in step S15, the control unit 45 determines whether or not there has been a change in weight for a predetermined period of time through the processing of the calculation processing unit 52. If there has been no change in weight for a predetermined period of time, for example, 5 seconds (YES in step S15), the control unit 45 transitions the process to step S16. Then, in step S16, the control unit 45 ends the recording of data through the processing of the calculation processing unit 52, and transitions the process to step S17.

In step S17, the control unit 45 identifies and acquires the first time T1 and the second time T2 based on the data recorded by the processing of the calculation processing unit 52. Then, in step S18, the control unit 45 calculates the time Tv, i.e., the paint viscosity, from the first time T1, i.e., the time when the paint viscosity measurement starts, to the second time T2, i.e., the time when the paint viscosity measurement ends. Then, in step S19, the control unit 45 outputs the paint viscosity to the operator using the display unit 42 and speaker 44 through the processing of the output processing unit 53, and the paint viscosity measurement is completed (END).

According to the embodiment described above, the paint viscosity measurement system 1 includes a weight measuring device 30, an acquisition processing unit 51, a calculation processing unit 52, and an output processing unit 53. The weight measuring device 30 is capable of measuring the weight of the paint in the paint container 10 by placing the paint container 10 in which the paint is stored. The acquisition processing unit 51 is capable of executing an acquisition process. The acquisition process includes a process of acquiring the weight measured by the weight measuring device 30. The calculation processing unit 52 is capable of executing a calculation process. The calculation process acquires a first time T1 and a second time T2, and can calculate a time Tv from the first time T1 to the second time T2.

Here, the first time T1 is any time between the time when the weight acquired by the acquisition processing unit 51 from the weight measuring device 30 changes from a constant state to a decreasing state and the time when it changes to an increasing state. The first time T1 is the time when the measurement of the paint viscosity begins. On the other hand, the second time T2 is the time after the first time T1 when the weight acquired from the weight measuring device 30 changes from a decreasing state to an increasing state and then changes from the increasing state to a constant state. In other words, the second time T2 is the time when the measurement of the paint viscosity ends. That is, the time Tv from the first time T1 to the second time T2 is the time equivalent to the paint viscosity.

The output processing unit 53 is capable of executing output processing. The output processing includes a process of outputting the calculation results of the calculation processing to an operator.

This allows paint viscosity to be measured automatically. Therefore, there is no need for the operator to determine when paint viscosity measurement has ended, which prevents inconsistencies in paint viscosity judgments. This makes it possible to improve the efficiency of paint viscosity measurement while also increasing measurement accuracy.

It also clarifies the standards for calculating paint viscosity. This makes it possible to prevent problems with paint quality caused by incorrect judgment of paint viscosity. Therefore, for example, if a problem occurs with the quality of a paint made by mixing paint raw materials and a diluent, it is possible to rationally identify the cause of the problem and take the necessary measures accordingly.

The calculation process also includes a process of starting to record data on the weight measured by the weight measuring device 30 and the time that the weight was measured, and identifying the first time T1 from the recorded data, when a predetermined period of time has elapsed after the weight measured by the weight measuring device 30 has increased from the initial value W0 and become constant, or when a predetermined operation is performed on the input unit 41 that accepts operator operations. This makes it possible to more accurately identify the start time of paint viscosity measurement based on the data that has been recorded by the calculation process. This makes it possible to improve the accuracy of paint viscosity measurement.

Furthermore, the calculation process includes a process of ending the data recording when a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the weight change measured by the weight measuring device 30 became constant after the data recording started, and determining the second time T2 from the recorded data. This makes it possible to more accurately determine the end time of the paint viscosity measurement based on the data once recorded by the calculation process. This makes it possible to further improve the accuracy of the paint viscosity measurement.

Second Embodiment
Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 5 and 6. The configuration of this embodiment differs from that of the first embodiment in the contents of the components constituting the paint viscosity measurement system 1. Specifically, in this second embodiment, the processing device 40 is mounted on, for example, an information terminal 60 owned by an operator, such as a multi-function mobile terminal such as a smartphone or a tablet PC. In this case, the processing device 40 has a communication unit 46. The communication unit 46 has a function of directly connecting to the weight measuring device 30 via a wired or wireless communication network.

In this embodiment, the weight measuring device 30 has a communication unit 33 and a control unit 34. The communication unit 33 has a function of directly connecting to the weight measuring device 30 via a wired or wireless communication network. As shown in FIG. 6, the control unit 34 is mainly composed of a microcomputer having, for example, a CPU 341, and a storage area 342 such as a ROM, a RAM, and a rewritable flash memory. The weight sensor 32 and the communication unit 33 are each electrically connected to the control unit 34.

Next, an example of the control executed by the weight measuring device 30 and the processing device 40 when measuring paint viscosity in this embodiment will be described. In the following description, as in the first embodiment, all of the processing executed by the acquisition processing device 51, the calculation processing device 52, and the output processing device 53 will be described as being mainly executed by the control device 45.

First, the worker starts the application software installed on the information terminal 60, and then establishes communication between the weight measuring device 30 and the processing device 40. Then, when the worker places the paint container 10 containing paint on the mounting table 31 and the weight measured by the weight measuring device 30 through processing by the acquisition processing unit 51 indicates the initial value W0 (START in FIG. 4), the control unit 45 executes the control flow shown in FIG. 4.

The second embodiment described above also provides the same effects as the first embodiment. Furthermore, the paint viscosity can be measured and the measurement results can be confirmed using the information terminal 60 at the worker's fingertips, improving convenience.

Although several embodiments of the present invention have been described above, these embodiments are presented as examples and are not limited to the embodiments described above and shown in the drawings, and may be modified as appropriate without departing from the gist of the invention.

1... paint viscosity measurement system, 10... paint container, 30... weight measuring device, 40... processing device, 41... input unit, CPU... 451, 51... acquisition processing unit, 52... calculation processing unit, 53... output processing unit

Claims (4)

a weight measuring device on which a paint container in which any one of a plurality of types of paint is stored is placed and capable of measuring the weight of the paint in the paint container;
an acquisition processing unit capable of executing an acquisition process for acquiring the weight measured by the weight measuring device;
a calculation processing unit capable of acquiring a first time, which is any time between the time when the weight acquired from the weight measuring device by the acquisition processing unit changes from a constant state to a decreasing state and the time when the weight changes to an increasing state, and a second time, which is a time after the first time and is a time when the weight acquired from the weight measuring device changes from the decreasing state to the increasing state and then changes from the increasing state to a constant state, and calculating a time from the first time to the second time;
an output processing unit capable of executing an output process for outputting a calculation result of the calculation process to a user;
A paint viscosity measurement system comprising: The calculation process further includes a process of starting to record data of the weight measured by the weight measuring device and the time of measurement of the weight when a predetermined period of time has elapsed after the weight measured by the weight measuring device has increased from an initial value and become constant, or when a predetermined operation is performed on an input unit that accepts user operations, and identifying the first time from the recorded data.
The paint viscosity measurement system according to claim 1 . The calculation process further includes a process of ending the recording of the data when a predetermined period of time has elapsed since the weight change measured by the weight measuring device became constant after the recording of the data started, and identifying the second time from the recorded data.
3. A paint viscosity measurement system according to claim 2. a weight measuring device on which a paint container in which any one of a plurality of types of paint is stored is placed and capable of measuring the weight of the paint in the paint container;
A processing device electrically connected to the weight measuring device and performing calculation processing on the weight measured by the weight measuring device.
A CPU of the processing device,
An acquisition process for acquiring the weight measured by the weight measuring device;
a calculation process for acquiring a first time, which is any time between the time when the weight acquired from the weight measuring device changes from a constant state to a decreasing state and the time when the weight changes to an increasing state, and a second time, which is a time after the first time and is a time when the weight acquired from the weight measuring device changes from the decreasing state to the increasing state and then changes from the increasing state to a constant state, and calculating and outputting the time from the first time to the second time,
Paint viscosity measurement program.

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