Controller of injection molding machine provided with display device and injection molding machine

Abstract

The present invention relates to a controller of an injection molding machine provided with a display device of a screen and an injection molding machine. A controller of an injection molding machine provided with a display device of a screen and displaying a character string in a character string display field of the screen in an easily readable manner is provided. A controller (4) of an injection molding machine (1) is provided with a display device (25) of various screens. The controller (4) is configured to, when displaying various screens, display a display character string to be displayed in a character string display field (SDx) provided in a screen while exceeding a display width in a standard font size, maintain a height ratio of a font and display only a width ratio reduced. In addition, a shortened character string is displayed in a case where it is necessary to be smaller than a minimum ratio.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a controller installed in an injection molding machine and having a display device for displaying various images, and an injection molding machine having such a controller. Background Technology

[0002] The injection molding machine is equipped with a controller that controls the various devices that make up the machine. The controller has a display device that displays setting screens for displaying / setting the control values ​​required for each device, operation screens for operating the injection molding machine and displaying measurement data measured by each sensor, and other similar displays. The screens also display strings explaining the content of the screen and the content of the various displayed data. For example, for data indicating the speed of the screw driven during the injection process, the string "Injection Speed" is displayed.

[0003] Many injection molding machines exported to various countries are configured to support multiple languages. If the display language is switched, the strings displayed on each screen will be changed to that language. However, the width of the object allocated to display the strings (i.e., the string display bar) is fixed according to the screen design. This can lead to situations where strings cannot be displayed appropriately after switching languages.

[0004] Patent document 1 proposes a method in which the string for the corresponding language is displayed in the string display bar even when the language is switched. Specifically, if the string to be displayed exceeds the display width of the string display bar, the height and width of the string to be displayed are reduced (that is, the font size is reduced) and then displayed in the string display bar.

[0005] Existing technical documents

[0006] Patent documents

[0007] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2017-24381 Summary of the Invention

[0008] The problem that the invention aims to solve

[0009] The method described in Patent Document 1 can display the entire string in the string display bar, but there is a problem that it is not easy to recognize if the font size is too small.

[0010] In this disclosure, a controller for an injection molding machine and an injection molding machine are provided, which have a display device for displaying a screen and display a string in a string display bar on the screen in an easily readable manner.

[0011] Other issues and novel features will become clear from the description and accompanying drawings in this specification.

[0012] Methods for solving problems

[0013] The controller of the injection molding machine is equipped with a display device for displaying various screens. The controller is configured such that, when displaying various screens, if the text to be displayed in the text display bar on the screen exceeds the display width at the standard font size, the height ratio of the text is maintained and only the width ratio is reduced during display.

[0014] Invention Effects

[0015] This disclosure has the effect of displaying strings in an easily readable manner on the screen. Attached Figure Description

[0016] Figure 1 This is a front view showing the injection molding machine of this embodiment.

[0017] Figure 2 This is a diagram showing a portion of the settings screen displayed in Japanese on the display device by the controller of this embodiment.

[0018] Figure 3 This is a table illustrating the string management database of this embodiment.

[0019] Figure 4 This is a flowchart illustrating the processing of the display string for the screen display implemented in the controller of this embodiment.

[0020] Figure 5 This is a flowchart illustrating the processing of the display string for the screen display implemented in the controller of this embodiment.

[0021] Figure 6 This is a diagram illustrating an example of the processing of the display string in this embodiment.

[0022] Figure 7 This is a diagram showing a portion of the settings screen displayed in English on the display device via the controller of this embodiment.

[0023] Figure 8 This is a diagram showing a portion of the settings screen displayed in English on the display device via the controller of this embodiment.

[0024] Figure 9 This is a diagram showing a portion of the settings screen displayed in English on the display device via the controller of this embodiment.

[0025] Figure 10 This is a diagram showing a sub-window of the settings screen displayed in English on the display device via the controller of this embodiment.

[0026] Explanation of reference numerals in the attached figures

[0027] 1 Injection molding machine 2 Mold clamping device

[0028] 3. Injection device 4. Controller

[0029] 5. Fixed plate 6. Mold housing

[0030] 7 movable discs 9 connecting rods

[0031] 11 Mold closing mechanism 13 Mold

[0032] 14 Mold 16 Heating Cylinder

[0033] 17 Screw 18 Screw drive unit

[0034] 20 Hopper 22 Injection Nozzle

[0035] 25 Display device 27 String management database

[0036] 28 String display processing 61 Pop-up window

[0037] 63. Shorten the string sub-window. 64. Display the string bar.

[0038] 66 List box 67 Execute button

[0039] 68 Cancel button 70 Shorten string editing text box

[0040] SD1, SD2, ... String display bar

[0041] DD1, DD2, ... Data display bar Detailed Implementation

[0042] The following describes the specific implementation method, referring to the appendix. Figure 1 The following is a detailed description. However, the embodiments described below are not limited to. To make the description clear, the following description and drawings have been appropriately simplified. In each drawing, the same reference numeral is used to label the same element, and repeated descriptions have been omitted as needed. In addition, some parts have had their shading omitted to avoid making the drawings more complicated.

[0043] This implementation method is described below.

[0044] <Injection Molding Machine>

[0045] like Figure 1 As shown, the injection molding machine 1 of this embodiment is generally composed of a mold closing device 2 for closing the mold, an injection device 3 for melting and injecting the injection material, and a controller 4 for controlling them according to this embodiment.

[0046] <Mold Closing Device>

[0047] The mold clamping device 2 includes a fixed plate 5 fixed to a base B, a mold clamping housing 6 sliding on the base B, and a movable plate 7 also sliding on the base B. The fixed plate 5 and the mold clamping housing 6 are connected by multiple (e.g., four) connecting rods 9, 9, ... The movable plate 7 slides freely between the fixed plate 5 and the mold clamping housing 6. A mold clamping mechanism 11 is provided between the mold clamping housing 6 and the movable plate 7. The mold clamping mechanism 11 may also be a direct-pressure mold clamping mechanism (that is, a mold clamping cylinder), but in this embodiment it is a toggle mechanism. Molds 13 and 14 are respectively provided on the fixed plate 5 and the movable plate 7. When the mold clamping mechanism 11 is driven, the molds 13 and 14 are opened and closed.

[0048] <Injection device>

[0049] The injection device 3 consists of a heating cylinder 16, a screw 17 placed in the heating cylinder 16, and a screw drive device 18 that drives the screw 17. The heating cylinder 16 has a hopper 20 near its rear end and an injection nozzle 22 at its front end.

[0050] <Controller>

[0051] like Figure 1 As shown, the controller 4 in this embodiment is mounted on the base B and includes a display device 25. The controller 4 stores various control programs, such as those controlling the mold clamping device 2 and the injection device 3, as described above. The controller 4 also stores screen programs corresponding to various screens displayed on the display device 25. These screens include setting screens that display / set setting data for the control program, and operation screens that operate the injection molding machine 1 and display measurement data measured by each sensor. The display device 25 includes an operation unit for user operation of the screens. Specifically, in this embodiment, the display device 25 includes a touch panel as the operation unit. It should be noted that the display device 25 may also include a keyboard, mouse, or other device capable of data input as the operation unit.

[0052] The controller 4 in this embodiment features so-called multilingual support, allowing selection of the language displayed on the screen. As will be explained in detail later, in various screens displayed on the display device 25, the displayed string is selected based on the chosen language. The controller 4 in this embodiment has the function of appropriately adjusting the selected string in an easily observable manner, even when the length of the selected string is larger than the display width of the string display bar allocated to the screen. To achieve this function, the controller 4 is equipped with a string management database 27, which will be described later.

[0053] <Setup screen displayed in Japanese>

[0054] exist Figure 2The image shows a portion of the screen displayed when Japanese is selected as the display language. More specifically, it shows a portion of the setup screen showing the various settings required to perform the so-called injection compression process. The screen is allocated multiple objects for displaying strings (that is, string display bars SD1, SD2, ...) and multiple objects for displaying data (that is, data display bars DD1, DD2, ...).

[0055] Each string display bar SD1, SD2, ... is pre-assigned a string ID as an attribute. The string ID is used to determine the string that should be displayed. For example, string display bars SD1 and SD3 are assigned the same string ID, displaying the corresponding string "compression". Additionally, string display bars SD6 and SD7 are each assigned a separate string ID, displaying the corresponding strings "initial clamping force" and "compression start position". The correspondence between these string IDs and the displayed strings is explained in the string management database 27 (see below). Figure 1 Defined in ).

[0056] <String Management Database>

[0057] In this embodiment, the string management database 27 is prepared in multiple ways for each language. In this embodiment, separate databases are prepared for Japanese, English, German, French, and Chinese. Figure 3 The table shows a string management database 27 for English.

[0058] The string management database 27 manages the following information: • String ID: An ID used to establish a correspondence between strings, associating them with the following display strings and shortened strings. • Display strings: Strings that are preferentially displayed in the string display bars SD1, SD2, ... are strings consisting of their unshortened, formal representations. • Shortened strings: Strings consisting of shortened representations that are displayed when the display strings cannot be displayed in the string display bars SD1, SD2, ... In this embodiment, multiple shortened strings can be assigned to string IDs. • User selection information: When multiple shortened strings exist, the user can select / display the shortened string displayed in the string display bars SD1, SD2, ... User selection information is used to determine the previously selected shortened string.

[0059] <String Display Processing>

[0060] illustrate Figure 1 The controller 4 of this embodiment, as shown, performs string display processing 28 on the screen display. This is achieved through user operation, such as calling up... Figure 2The screen shown. Therefore, in controller 4, string display processing 28 is executed together with the screen program. The following is a description of the flow of string display processing 28. Figure 4 To illustrate.

[0061] First, the display language is confirmed (step S1). If English is selected in controller 4, then... Figure 3 The English strings shown are processed using the string management database 27.

[0062] Next, locate the string display bar assigned to the screen and obtain the string display bar (step S2). That is, locate the string display bars SD1, SD2, ... (refer to...) assigned to the screen. Figure 2 The first discovered string display bar (SDx) is retrieved for further processing. Next, the display width and string ID, defined as attributes of the string display bar, are obtained (step S3). Then, in... Figure 3 The string management database 27 shown is searched using the string ID as the keyword to obtain the corresponding display string (step S4). Additionally, if shortened strings are also defined for the string ID, they and the user selection information are obtained in step S4.

[0063] Next, it is checked whether the string can be displayed in the string display bar, that is, whether it is within the display width at the standard font size (step S5). If it is determined in step S5 that it can (yes), then the string display process 28 displays the string in the string display bar SD6 (step S6). If it is determined in step S5 that it cannot (no), then the string display process 28 checks whether the width ratio of the displayed string can be reduced while maintaining the height ratio of the font to display in the string display bar (step S7). Whether it can be displayed in step S7 is determined using a predefined minimum ratio. For example, if the minimum ratio is set to 50%, then if the displayed string cannot be displayed in the string display bar unless it is reduced to a width ratio of less than 50%, it is determined in step S7 that it cannot be displayed.

[0064] If it is determined in step S7 that the text can be displayed (if yes), then the displayed string will be scaled down and displayed (step S8). That is, the width ratio will be reduced. Figure 6 The string is displayed in the string display bar as shown by reference numeral 53 in the attached figure. If it is determined in step S7 that it cannot be displayed (in the case of no), the process moves to the shortened string display process (step S9), which is a subprocess of string display process 28.

[0065] Following steps S6, S8, and S9, determine whether the display of all strings in the display panel has been completed (step S10). If the display of all strings in the display panel has been completed in step S10 (if yes), the process ends; otherwise, the process returns to step S2.

[0066] Here, the string display processing 28 will be explained with a specific example. Let's assume that the string display bar SD6 (refer to...) was first discovered in step S2. Figure 2 It should be noted that, for example... Figure 2 As shown, or as Figure 6 As shown by reference numeral 51 in the attached figure, the string display bar SD6 becomes the display bar that displays "initial clamping force" when Japanese is selected as the display language.

[0067] If the string ID assigned to the string display bar SD6 is set to "STR035", then "STR035" is obtained in step S3. Then, in step S4, according to the string management database 27 (refer to...),... Figure 3 For the string ID "STR035", "Initial Clamping Force" is obtained as the display string, "Init CLP-F" is obtained as the shortened string (1), and "0" is obtained as the user selection information.

[0068] In step S5, it is checked whether the string "Initial Clamping Force" displayed in the string display bar SD6 is within the display width at the standard font size. However, in reality... Figure 6 As indicated by reference numeral 52, the string "Initial Clamping Force" cannot be displayed in the string display bar SD6. This is because it extends beyond the display bar indicated by reference numeral 56 and beyond reference numeral 57. Therefore, the string display process 28 moves from step S5 to step S7.

[0069] In step S7, as Figure 6As shown, it is checked whether the string display bar SD6 can display the string "Initial Clamping Force" while maintaining the height ratio of the font and reducing the width ratio. Even when reduced to the minimum ratio, the string "Initial Clamping Force" cannot be displayed in the string display bar SD6, so the process moves from step S7 to step S9 (shortened string display processing as a subprocess of string display processing 28). Furthermore, after the shortened string display processing is completed, it is checked whether there are any remaining strings in the string display bar SDx that are not fully displayed on the screen. If so, the process is repeated from step S2. The process ends when the string display bar SDx is fully displayed.

[0070] <Shortened string display processing>

[0071] The following is about being Figure 4 The process of shortening the string display in step S9 is described in the following reference. Figure 5 Let me explain. First, check whether there is one or more shortened strings registered for the string ID (step S11).

[0072] If there are multiple shortened strings in step 11 (no), check if user selection information is registered (step S13). If there is no user selection information registered in step S13 (no), select the first shortened string (step S14) and proceed to step S12 as described later. If there is user selection information registered in step S13 (yes), select the shortened string already selected by the user (step S15) and proceed to step S12 as described later. Although explained later, when there are multiple shortened strings, the user can select the shortened string that should be displayed.

[0073] If, in step 11, it is determined that there is only one shortened string (if yes), then it is determined whether the shortened string can be displayed within the display width (step S12). That is, it is checked whether the shortened string does not exceed the display width at the standard font size. If, in step S12, the shortened string can be displayed within the display width (if yes), then the shortened string is displayed (step S16). If, in step S12, the shortened string cannot be displayed within the display width (if no), then the shortened string is shrunk and displayed (step S16). Following steps S16 and S17, an underline is added to the shortened string as text decoration (step S18), ending the shortened string display process.

[0074] Here, we will illustrate the process of shortening string display with a specific example. For example... Figure 3As shown, regarding the string ID "STR035", since only one shortened string is registered, we can proceed to step S12. However, assuming two or more shortened strings are registered, we move from step S11 to step S13. This applies to string IDs such as "STR042" and "STR292". This is because, as... Figure 3 As shown, there are two shortened strings corresponding to these string IDs. In this case, proceed to step S13.

[0075] In step S13, Figure 3 If the user selection information in the string management database 27 shown becomes the value "0", it is determined that there is no user selection information, and the process moves to step S14. The shortened string (1) at the beginning is selected as the shortened string that should be displayed, and the process moves to step S12.

[0076] On the other hand, in step S13, in Figure 3 If the user selection information in the string management database 27 shown is a value other than "0", proceed to step S15. The value registered as user selection information is the number of the shortened string previously selected by the user. For example, for the string ID "STR042", such as Figure 3 As shown, the user selection information has become "2". This means that previously, the shortened string (2) "CompStartPos" was selected by the user. In step S15, the shortened string recorded by the user selection information (in this example, shortened string (2)) is selected, and the process moves to step S12.

[0077] In step S12, regarding the selected shortened string, check if it can be displayed in the string display bar SD6. If it does not exceed the limit, proceed to step S16, as follows. Figure 6 As shown by reference numeral 54 in the attached figure, the shortened string is displayed in the string display bar SD6. On the other hand, if it is known in step S12 that the shortened string exceeds the display width, then step S17 is performed, in which the width ratio of the shortened string is reduced while maintaining the height ratio, and it is displayed in the string display bar SD6.

[0078] When the shortened string is displayed in the string display bar SD6, text embellishments are added in step S18 to indicate that it is a shortened string. For example, it can be set to italics or bold. In this embodiment, as... Figure 6 As shown by reference numeral 59 in the attached figure, underscores are added to the shortened string as text decoration. This concludes the shortened string display process.

[0079] exist Figure 7The image shows a portion of the settings screen when English is selected as the display language. For example, regarding the string display bars SD2, SD5, and SD9, the strings are displayed in a standard font size. Regarding the string display bars SD1, SD3, and SD4, the strings are displayed with a reduced width ratio. Furthermore, regarding the string display bars SD6, SD7, SD8, SD10, SD11, and SD12, shortened strings are displayed with additional text embellishments (i.e., underlines).

[0080] Other functions for string display and processing>

[0081] In this embodiment, the string display processing 28 is equipped with various functions. For example... Figure 8 As shown, tap the string display bar SDx (e.g., string display bar SD8) that displays the shortened string on the screen once. That is, select the string display bar SD8. This will display pop-up window 61, showing the string "Initial Mold Close". In other words, if the user cannot understand the content of the shortened string currently displayed on the screen, selecting the string display bar SDx will enable the actual string to be displayed.

[0082] Furthermore, when multiple shortened strings are available, users can select the desired shortened string. For example... Figure 9 As shown, double-tap the string display bar SDx (e.g., string display bar SD7) that shows the shortened string on the screen. That is, select the string display bar SD7. This will display the shortened string sub-window 63.

[0083] The shortened string sub-window 63 displays: a string display bar 64, displaying the string; a list box 66, displaying multiple shortened strings in a list; an execute button 67; and a cancel button 68. If the user presses the cancel button 68, the shortened string sub-window 63 disappears. If the user selects the desired shortened string and presses the execute button 67, then... Figure 3 The user selection information for the corresponding string ID (e.g., "STR042") in the string management database 27 is overwritten. Subsequently, when a screen is displayed, the shortened string selected by the user is shown. For string display bars SDx that are also assigned the same string ID in other screens, the same shortened string is displayed.

[0084] <Other Implementation Methods>

[0085] The string display processing 28 in the controller 4 of this embodiment can perform various transformations. For example, the shortened string can also be set to be editable by the user. Figure 10The diagram illustrates a shortened string sub-window 63' that appears when the string display bar SDx, which displays shortened strings, is touched twice. This shortened string sub-window 63' includes a shortened string editing text box 70. The shortened string selected in the list box 66 is displayed in this shortened string editing text box 70. Alternatively, if an empty column is selected in the list box 66, an empty column is displayed.

[0086] In the shortened string editing text box 70, the user can freely edit the shortened string. If the execute button 67 is pressed, the shortened string will be... Figure 3 The string management database 27, as shown, writes the shortened string edited by the user. At this time, in... Figure 1 In this system, controller 4 can also send a shortened string edited by the user to the manufacturer of injection molding machine 1 via communication. The manufacturer has a management computer. The sent shortened string is input into the management computer. The manufacturer can then see the shortened string recommended by the user and use it as a reference in future product development.

[0087] <Other variations>

[0088] In this embodiment, it is explained that multiple shortened strings can be registered for a single string ID, but the number of registered shortened strings can also be only one. Furthermore, in this embodiment, it is explained that user selection information is managed in the string management database 27 for each string ID. However, it can also be managed corresponding to the string display bar SDx on the screen. This allows for handling situations where the user selects a specific shortened string only in the string display bar SDx of a certain screen but wants to select a different shortened string in other screens. This is because the shortened string to be displayed can be changed for each screen. Moreover, in the above embodiment, an example of switching the display language from Japanese to English was described, but the present invention can also be applied to various variations (e.g., switching the display language from Japanese to German, from Chinese to English, and from English to German).

[0089] The invention described above is based on specific embodiments and is made by the inventors. However, the invention is not limited to the embodiments described, and various modifications can be made without departing from its spirit. The examples described above can also be appropriately combined and implemented.

Claims

1. A controller for an injection molding machine, A display device capable of displaying various screens of an injection molding machine and enabling user operation via an operating unit. In the string display bar set in the various screens, when displaying a string that exceeds the display width at the standard font size, the width ratio is reduced while maintaining the font height ratio to display the entire string. When the width ratio is smaller than a preset minimum ratio, a shortened string consisting of a pre-prepared shortened representation corresponding to the displayed string is displayed in the string display bar. If multiple shortened strings are prepared for the display string, and the operation unit is used to select the string display bar that displays the shortened string, then a list box is displayed to list the multiple shortened strings. The shortened string selected by the operation unit is stored in the list box. Subsequently, when displaying the various screens, the selected shortened string is displayed in the string display bar.

2. The controller for the injection molding machine according to claim 1, When the shortened string is displayed in the string display bar and the shortened string exceeds the display width at the standard font size, the width ratio of the shortened string is reduced while maintaining the height ratio of the font in the string display bar to display the entire shortened string.

3. The controller for an injection molding machine according to claim 1 or 2, When the shortened string is displayed in the string display bar, additional text embellishments are added to the shortened string.

4. The controller for an injection molding machine according to any one of claims 1 or 2, The controller is equipped with a database that associates and manages the displayed string and the shortened string. The displayed string or the shortened string displayed in the string display bar of the various screens is referenced from the database.

5. The controller for an injection molding machine according to claim 4, In the database, the shortened string associated with the displayed string can be edited by the user.

6. The controller for an injection molding machine according to claim 5, The controller has a user-defined registration screen for users to edit the shortened string, and outputs a warning when the shortened string edited in the user-defined registration screen exceeds the limit of the number of characters.

7. The controller for an injection molding machine according to claim 5 or 6, The controller is equipped with a communication function, through which the shortened string edited by the user in the database is sent to an external management computer.

8. An injection molding machine, comprising: An injection device for injecting materials; The mold closing device closes the mold; and The controller controls the injection unit and the mold clamping unit and has a display device for displaying various screens. The display device enables users to operate the screen via an operation unit. In the string display bar set in the various screens, when displaying a string that exceeds the display width at the standard font size, the width ratio is reduced while maintaining the font height ratio to display the entire string. When the width ratio is smaller than a preset minimum ratio, a shortened string consisting of a pre-prepared shortened representation corresponding to the displayed string is displayed in the string display bar. If multiple shortened strings are prepared for the display string, and the operation unit is used to select the string display bar that displays the shortened string, then a list box is displayed to list the multiple shortened strings. The shortened string selected by the operation unit is stored in the list box. Subsequently, when displaying the various screens, the selected shortened string is displayed in the string display bar.

9. The injection molding machine according to claim 8, When the shortened string is displayed in the string display bar and the shortened string exceeds the display width at the standard font size, the width ratio of the shortened string is reduced while maintaining the height ratio of the font in the string display bar to display the entire shortened string.

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