Information processor and information processing method

Abstract

To perform estimation in which influence between batches or between steps is considered.SOLUTION: An information processor comprises: a manufacturing condition acquisition part which acquires an n-th manufacturing condition which is a manufacturing condition of an n-th polymerization step being a polymerization step of an n-th batch out of manufacturing conditions including an index of a polymerization condition of resin; a target value acquisition part which acquires a target value of a quality index confirmed on a confirmation step of an m-th batch after the n-th batch; a manufacturing information providing part which gives a target value which the target value acquisition part acquires and an n-th manufacturing condition which the manufacturing condition acquisition part acquires to correspondence information showing correspondence relation between a manufacturing condition and a quality index for each batch; an acquire result acquisition part which acquires an m-th manufacturing condition output from the correspondence information to which the n-th manufacturing condition and the target value were given as an estimated result of a manufacturing condition of a polymerization step of the m-th batch; and a presentation part which presents the estimated result which the result acquisition part acquires.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus and an information processing method.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, there is a manufacturing process for manufacturing resin or the like through a plurality of steps by a so-called batch production method. For such a manufacturing process, it is preferable if the manufacturing result under certain manufacturing conditions can be estimated. Regarding the estimation of the manufacturing result, for example, the technique described in Patent Document 1 is disclosed.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In the batch production method, the manufacturing situation in the manufacturing process of the previous batch may affect the manufacturing result of the next batch. In other words, in the batch production method, a change in the manufacturing environment between the previous and next batches may affect the manufacturing result. Also, in production including a plurality of steps, even within the same batch, a change in the manufacturing environment between the previous and subsequent steps may affect the manufacturing result. However, in the conventional technology, the influence between batches or between steps within the same batch has not been sufficiently considered.

[0005]

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] ​One aspect of the present disclosure includes a first step including a polymerization step, a second step including a concentration adjustment step after the first step, and a third step including a confirmation step of a quality index indicating the quality of a resin produced through the first step and the second step, and is an information processing apparatus that presents manufacturing conditions of a manufacturing process for manufacturing a solvent-soluble fluororesin batch by batch. The information processing apparatus includes: a manufacturing condition acquisition unit that acquires an nth manufacturing condition (where n is a natural number), which is a manufacturing condition of an nth polymerization step that is the polymerization step of the nth batch, among manufacturing conditions including an index of polymerization conditions of the resin; a target value acquisition unit that acquires a target value of the quality index confirmed in the confirmation step of an mth batch (where m is a natural number greater than n) after the nth batch; a manufacturing information providing unit that gives the target value acquired by the target value acquisition unit and the nth manufacturing condition acquired by the manufacturing condition acquisition unit to correspondence information indicating a correspondence relationship between the manufacturing conditions and the quality index for each batch; a result acquisition unit that acquires, as an estimation result of manufacturing conditions of the polymerization step of the mth batch, the mth manufacturing condition output from the correspondence information given the nth manufacturing condition and the target value; and a presentation unit that presents the estimation result acquired by the result acquisition unit.

[0007] One aspect of the present disclosure includes a first step including a polymerization step, a second step including a concentration adjustment step after the first step, and a third step including a confirmation step of a quality index indicating the quality of the resin produced through the first step and the second step. The present disclosure is an information processing apparatus that presents manufacturing conditions of a manufacturing process for producing a solvent-soluble fluororesin batch by batch. The apparatus includes: a manufacturing condition acquisition unit that acquires a first manufacturing condition of an nth polymerization step (where n is a natural number), which is the polymerization step in the nth batch, among manufacturing conditions including any one or more of the variation in monomer conversion rate, solid content, and viscosity in the polymerization step in the first step; a target value acquisition unit that acquires a target value of the quality index confirmed in the confirmation step of the nth batch; a manufacturing information providing unit that provides the target value acquired by the target value acquisition unit and the first manufacturing condition of the nth batch acquired by the manufacturing condition acquisition unit to second correspondence information indicating the correspondence relationship between the first manufacturing condition, a second manufacturing condition including an index of the manufacturing condition of the concentration adjustment step in the second step, and the quality index; a result acquisition unit that acquires, as an estimation result of the second manufacturing condition of the concentration adjustment step in the second step of the nth batch, a second manufacturing condition of the nth batch output from the second correspondence information provided with the first manufacturing condition of the nth batch and the target value; and a presentation unit that presents the estimation result acquired by the result acquisition unit.

[0008] One aspect of the present disclosure includes a first step including a polymerization step, a second step including a concentration adjustment step after the first step, and a third step including a confirmation step of a quality index indicating the quality of the resin produced through the first step and the second step, and is an information processing method for presenting manufacturing conditions of a manufacturing process for manufacturing a solvent-soluble fluororesin batch by batch. Among the manufacturing conditions including the index of the polymerization conditions of the resin, obtaining the nth manufacturing condition which is the manufacturing condition of the nth polymerization step which is the polymerization step of the nth (n is a natural number) batch; obtaining the target value of the quality index confirmed in the confirmation step of the mth (m is a natural number greater than n) batch after the nth batch; providing the obtained target value and the obtained nth manufacturing condition to correspondence information indicating the correspondence between the manufacturing condition and the quality index for each batch; obtaining, as an estimation result of the manufacturing condition of the polymerization step of the mth batch, the mth manufacturing condition output from the correspondence information provided with the nth manufacturing condition and the target value; and presenting the obtained estimation result.

[0009] One aspect of the present disclosure includes a first step including a polymerization step, a second step including a concentration adjustment step after the first step, and a third step including a confirmation step of a quality index indicating the quality of a resin produced through the first step and the second step, and is an information processing method for presenting manufacturing conditions of a manufacturing process for producing a solvent-soluble fluororesin batch by batch. Among the manufacturing conditions including an index of variation in monomer conversion rate of the polymerization step in the first step, the nth manufacturing condition 1, which is the manufacturing condition 1 of the nth polymerization step, which is the polymerization step of the nth (n is a natural number) batch, is obtained, the target value of the quality index confirmed in the confirmation step of the nth batch is obtained, and the second correspondence information indicating the correspondence relationship between the manufacturing condition 1, the manufacturing condition 2 including an index of the manufacturing condition of the concentration adjustment step in the second step, and the quality index is given the obtained target value and the obtained nth manufacturing condition 1, and the nth manufacturing condition 2, which is the manufacturing condition 2 output from the second correspondence information given the nth manufacturing condition 1 and the target value, is obtained as an estimation result of the manufacturing condition 2 of the concentration adjustment step in the second step of the nth batch, and the obtained estimation result is presented.

Advantages of the Invention

[0010] According to the information processing apparatus and the information processing method according to the present disclosure, an estimation result taking into account the influence between batches or between steps in the same batch in the batch production method can be obtained.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0011]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Figure 8

Figure 9

Figure 10

Figure 11

Figure 12

Figure 13

Figure 14

Figure 15

Figure 16

Figure 17

Figure 18

Figure 19

Figure 20

Figure 21

Figure 22

Figure 23

Figure 24

Figure 25

Figure 26

Figure 27

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0012] [First Embodiment] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the information processing system 1 of the present embodiment. The information processing system 1 includes an input device 2, an information processing device 3, a data server 4, and a display device 5. The input device 2 has a function of inputting information from the outside. For example, the input device 2 includes an operation unit (not shown) and has a function of inputting information according to an operation performed by the user. Note that information may be input to the input device 2 from another external device (for example, a production management device) without passing through the user. The information processing device 3 is composed of, for example, a computer.

[0013] The data server 4 stores various types of information. In the present embodiment, the data server 4 stores a learned model, a program corresponding to the learned model, a table in which past production results are recorded, and the like. The learned model and the table in which past production results are recorded may be stored in the data server 4 in advance, or may be updated from the outside at an arbitrary timing. Here, any model may be used as the learned model. For example, a neural network model may be used.

[0014] The display device 5 has a function of outputting information to the outside. For example, the display device 5 includes a display unit (not shown) and has a function of displaying and outputting information to be displayed on the screen.

[0015] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the manufacturing process of the present embodiment. The manufacturing process of the present embodiment manufactures products (or semi-finished products; the same applies in the following description) for each batch (or for each lot; the same applies in the following description). In the following description, the manufacturing method of manufacturing products for each batch is also simply referred to as the batch production method. That is, the manufacturing process of the present embodiment employs the batch production method. In the present embodiment, as an example of the product (or semi-finished product) produced by the manufacturing process, a solvent-soluble fluororesin is taken up, but it is not limited thereto. Hereinafter, the solvent means an organic solvent. Solvent-soluble type means that the ratio of the dissolved amount of the fluororesin to the total mass of the solvent and the fluororesin is 10% by mass or more. Generally, fluororesins are hardly soluble in solvents due to their stability. The solvent-soluble fluororesin is produced by solution polymerization or emulsion polymerization of a monomer containing fluorine. In solution polymerization, the monomer is polymerized in an organic solvent. By concentrating, filtering, and adjusting the concentration of the solvent-soluble fluororesin produced by solution polymerization, a solvent-based solvent-soluble fluororesin can be obtained. On the other hand, in emulsion polymerization, an emulsifier is used and the monomer is polymerized in water. By adjusting the concentration of the solvent-soluble fluororesin produced by emulsion polymerization, an aqueous solvent-soluble fluororesin can be obtained. In the present embodiment, the case of solution polymerization will be described. The case of emulsion polymerization will be described later in the second embodiment. Hereinafter, the solvent-soluble fluororesin is also simply referred to as "resin".

[0016] Examples of the solvent-soluble fluororesin include copolymers that contain, as essential units, units based on fluoroolefin (FO) (hereinafter also referred to as "FO units") and units based on monomer (a1) having a crosslinkable group (hereinafter also referred to as "a1 units"), and in which the total content of FO units and a1 units is 50 mol% or more with respect to the total units of the solvent-soluble fluororesin. Note that the copolymer may contain other units other than FO units and a1 units. Examples of the other units include units based on monomer (a2) having no fluorine atom and no crosslinkable group. The copolymer is soluble in various solvents and is widely used as a paint. The copolymer is an amorphous resin and has high transparency.

[0017] Examples of FO include tetrafluoroethylene, chlorotrifluoroethylene, vinylidene fluoride, hexafluoropropylene, etc. Tetrafluoroethylene and chlorotrifluoroethylene are preferred, and chlorotrifluoroethylene is more preferred.

[0018] As monomer (a1) having a crosslinkable group, a monomer having no fluorine atom, having a carbon-carbon double bond at the molecular end, and having a crosslinkable group is preferred. Monomer (a1) having a crosslinkable group is preferably a monomer (a1) having a functional group represented by the following formula (1).

[0019] CH2=CX 1 (CH2) n1 -Q 1 -R 1 (1)

[0020] In the above formula (1), X 1 is a hydrogen atom or a methyl group, n1 is 0 or 1, Q 1 is an oxygen atom, a group represented by -C(=O)O-, or a group represented by -OC(=O)-, and R 1 is a monovalent group in which at least one hydrogen atom in a monovalent saturated hydrocarbon group having 2 to 20 carbon atoms is substituted with a crosslinkable group. R 1The saturated hydrocarbon group having 2 to 20 carbon atoms in [compound name] may be linear, branched, or may contain a ring structure (cycloalkyl group). As the crosslinkable group, functional groups having active hydrogen such as a hydroxyl group, a carboxyl group, and an amino group; hydrolyzable silyl groups such as an alkoxysilyl group are preferable. R 1 The number of crosslinkable groups in [compound name] may be one or more, and one is preferable. R 1 When the number of crosslinkable groups in [compound name] is one, it preferably has a crosslinkable group at the molecular terminal.

[0021] X 1 is preferably a hydrogen atom, n1 is preferably 0, Q 1 is preferably an oxygen atom, R 1 In [compound name], the monovalent saturated hydrocarbon group having 2 to 20 carbon atoms is preferably a divalent saturated hydrocarbon group having a linear or ring structure with 2 to 6 carbon atoms, R 1 The number of crosslinkable groups in [compound name] is preferably one.

[0022] Examples of the monomer (a1) having a crosslinkable group include, for example, the monomers described in paragraphs

[0037] and

[0038] of JP-A-2016-27177. Among them, hydroxyalkyl vinyl ethers are preferable, and 4-hydroxybutyl vinyl ether (HBVE) and cyclohexanedimethanol monovinyl ether are particularly preferable.

[0023] As the monomer (a2) having no fluorine atom and no crosslinkable group, a monomer having no fluorine atom and no crosslinkable group and having a carbon-carbon double bond at the molecular terminal is preferable. The monomer (a2) having no fluorine atom and no crosslinkable group is preferably the monomer (a2) having no fluorine atom and no crosslinkable group represented by the following formula (2).

[0024] CH2=CX 2 (CH2) n2 -Q 2 -R 2 -[O-(CH2CH2O) n3 n4 H (2)

[0025] ​In the formula (2), X 2 is a hydrogen atom or a methyl group, n2 is 0 or 1, and Q 2 is an oxygen atom, a group represented by -C(=O)O-, or a group represented by -OC(=O)-, and R 2 is a divalent saturated hydrocarbon group having 2 to 20 carbon atoms, n3 is an integer of 1 to 30, and n4 is 0 or 1. The saturated hydrocarbon group having 2 to 20 carbon atoms of R 2 may be linear, branched, or may contain a ring structure (cycloalkyl group).

[0026] X 2 is preferably a hydrogen atom, n2 is preferably 0, Q is preferably an oxygen atom, and R 2 is preferably a divalent saturated hydrocarbon group having a linear or cyclic structure having 2 to 6 carbon atoms.

[0027] Examples of the monomer (a2) having a crosslinkable group include the monomers described in paragraphs

[0046] and

[0047] of JP-A-2016-27177. Among them, ethyl vinyl ether (EVE), cyclohexyl vinyl ether (CHVE), 2-ethylhexyl vinyl ether (2EHVE), X 2 is a hydrogen atom, n2 is 0, Q 2 is an oxygen atom, R 2 is -CH2-C6H 10 (cyclohexylene group)-CH2-, and n3 is 15 and n4 is 1 is preferred as the monomer (a2).

[0028] The total content of the FO unit and the a1 unit with respect to the total units of the copolymer is preferably 50 to 100 mol%, more preferably 50 to 80 mol%, and even more preferably 55 to 70 mol%. The content of the FO unit with respect to the total units of the copolymer is preferably 40 to 100 mol%, more preferably 45 to 75 mol%, and even more preferably 50 to 60 mol%. The content of the a1 unit with respect to the total units of the copolymer is preferably 0 to 50 mol%, more preferably 0 to 20 mol%, and even more preferably 5 to 15 mol%.

[0029] The manufacturing process of this embodiment includes a first process PC1, a second process PC2 which is a manufacturing process after the first process PC1, and a third process PC3. As an example, the first process PC1 includes a polymerization process PC11. In this embodiment, the polymerization process PC11 is a process of polymerizing monomers in an organic solvent (a process of performing solution polymerization). The second process PC2 includes a concentration process PC21, a filtration process PC22, and a concentration adjustment process PC23 in this order. The concentration process PC21, the filtration process PC22, and the concentration adjustment process PC23 are a process of concentrating the solvent-soluble fluororesin produced by solution polymerization, a process of filtering, and a process of adjusting the concentration, respectively. The third process PC3 includes a confirmation process PC31. In the confirmation process PC31, the quality of the resin produced through the first process PC1 and the second process PC2 (for example, solid content ratio, turbidity, molecular weight, viscosity) is confirmed. The index regarding the quality of the resin confirmed in the confirmation process PC31 is also referred to as a quality index.

[0030] That is, the manufacturing process of this embodiment manufactures resin batch by batch, and includes a first process PC1 including a polymerization process PC11, a concentration process PC21 which is a manufacturing process after the first process PC1, a filtration process PC22, a second process PC2 including a concentration adjustment process PC23 in this order, and a third process PC3 including a confirmation process PC31 of the manufacturing result index 440 of the resin produced through the first process PC1 and the second process PC2. Note that the first process PC1 may include other processes in addition to the polymerization process PC11. The second process PC2 may include other processes in addition to the concentration process PC21, the filtration process PC22, and the concentration adjustment process PC23. The third process PC3 may include other processes in addition to the confirmation process PC31.

[0031] In the following description, a manufacturing process after a certain manufacturing process is also simply referred to as a "subsequent process", and a manufacturing process before a certain manufacturing process is also simply referred to as a "preceding process". For example, the second process PC2 and the third process PC3 are subsequent processes of the first process PC1. Of these manufacturing processes, the information processing apparatus 3 presents either the manufacturing conditions PM1 of the first process PC1 (particularly, the polymerization process PC11) or the manufacturing conditions PM2 of the second process PC2 (particularly, the concentration process PC21, the filtration process PC22, and the concentration adjustment process PC23).

[0032] In the figure, among a plurality of batches of the manufacturing process, the first batch BT1 to the third batch BT3 are shown as an example, and the description of batches after the third batch BT3 is omitted. Each of the first batch BT1 to the third batch BT3 has a polymerization process PC11, a concentration process PC21, a filtration process PC22, and a concentration adjustment process PC23. The polymerization process PC11 of the first batch BT1 is also referred to as the first polymerization process PC111. Similarly, the concentration process PC21 of the first batch BT1 is also referred to as the first concentration process PC211, the filtration process PC22 of the first batch BT1 is also referred to as the first filtration process PC221, and the concentration adjustment process PC23 of the first batch BT1 is also referred to as the first concentration adjustment process PC231. The confirmation process PC31 of the first batch BT1 is also referred to as the first confirmation process PC311. Since each process of the second batch BT2 and the third batch BT3 is the same as that of the first batch BT1, the description thereof is omitted.

[0033] In an example of the present embodiment, the first batch BT1 to the third batch BT3 are batches adjacent to each other on the time axis. That is, the batch immediately after the first batch BT1 is the second batch BT2, and the batch immediately after the second batch BT2 is the third batch BT3. In the following description, batches adjacent to each other on the time axis are also described as the nth batch BT(n), the (n + 1)th batch BT(n + 1), the (n + 2)th batch BT(n + 2),... Note that n is a natural number. Also, any batch after the nth batch BT(n) is also described as the mth batch BT(m). Note that m is a natural number greater than n. Particularly, in the relationship between the nth batch BT(n) and the (n + 1)th batch BT(n + 1), the nth batch BT(n) is also referred to as the "previous batch", and the (n + 1)th batch BT(n + 1) is also referred to as the "subsequent batch" or the "next batch".

[0034] The n-th batch BT(n) starts at time t1S and ends at time t1E. The (n + 1)-th batch BT(n + 1) starts at time t2S and ends at time t2E. The (n + 2)-th batch BT(n + 2) starts at time t3S and ends at time t3E.

[0035] The first process PC1 (for example, the first polymerization process PC111 shown in the figure) of the n-th batch BT(n) ends at time t11E. Between the time t11E when the first polymerization process PC111 ends and the time t2S when the second polymerization process PC112 starts, maintenance work (for example, light cleaning, heavy cleaning, replenishment or replacement of consumables, repair or replacement of faulty parts, etc.) of the manufacturing equipment used in the polymerization process PC11 is performed. In the following description, the maintenance work of the manufacturing equipment is also referred to as servicing work.

[0036] In an example of the present embodiment, the time t2S when the (n + 1)-th batch BT(n + 1) starts is earlier than the time t1E when the n-th batch BT(n) ends. That is, in the batch production method of the present embodiment, the next batch starts before the previous batch ends. In the following description, the batch production method configured such that the next batch starts before the previous batch ends is also referred to as a pipeline method. On the other hand, the batch production method configured such that the next batch starts after the previous batch ends is also referred to as a non-pipeline method. The pipeline method has a shorter idle time of the manufacturing equipment than the non-pipeline method. Therefore, when the pipeline method is adopted, the operating efficiency of the manufacturing equipment can be increased compared to the non-pipeline method.

[0037] As described above, in the confirmation process PC31 of each batch, manufacturing result indicators such as the quality of the resin (for example, solid content rate, molecular weight turbidity, viscosity) are confirmed.

[0038] In an example of this embodiment, for some of these manufacturing result indicators (for example, molecular weight), the ratio governed by the manufacturing conditions PM1 (for example, raw material index 420, polymerization condition index 430) in the first process PC1 (particularly, the polymerization process PC11) is higher than the ratio governed by the indicators of the manufacturing conditions in the second process PC2 which is the subsequent process. That is, the manufacturing conditions PM1 of the polymerization process PC11 are dominant in the influence on these manufacturing result indicators. Therefore, in order to stabilize (or improve) the yield and quality of each batch, it is desirable that the manufacturing result indicators of the previous batch be fed back to the manufacturing conditions PM1 of the polymerization process PC11 of the next batch.

[0039] On the other hand, if the above-described pipeline method is adopted, the polymerization process PC11 of the next batch (for example, the second polymerization process PC112) will be started before the manufacturing result indicators are obtained in the confirmation process PC31 (for example, the first confirmation process PC311) of the previous batch. For example, in an example shown in FIG. 2, the time t2S when the second polymerization process PC112 of the (n + 1)-th batch BT(n + 1) is started is earlier than the time t1E when the manufacturing result indicators of the n-th batch BT(n) are obtained. In an example of the figure, the manufacturing result indicators of the n-th batch BT(n) will be fed back to the manufacturing conditions PM1 of the third polymerization process PC113 which is started at the time t3S after the time t1E. That is, if the pipeline method is adopted, the manufacturing result indicators confirmed in the confirmation process PC31 of the previous batch cannot be fed back to the manufacturing conditions PM1 of the polymerization process PC11 of the next batch. It is preferable that the manufacturing result indicators of the previous batch can be fed back to the manufacturing conditions PM1 of the polymerization process PC11 of the next batch, because the production efficiency and quality of the next batch can be stabilized (or improved). The information processing apparatus 3 of this embodiment provides a function capable of feeding back the manufacturing result indicators PM3 of the previous batch to the manufacturing conditions PM1 of the polymerization process PC11 of the next batch.

[0040] Also, even within the same batch, the manufacturing result index PM3 may be affected by the processes. For example, when the manufacturing conditions PM1 of the first polymerization process PC111 and the manufacturing conditions PM1 of the second polymerization process PC112 are different, it may be desired to obtain the same manufacturing result index PM3. In such a case, it is necessary to change the manufacturing conditions PM2 of the second concentration process PC212, the second filtration process PC222, and the second concentration adjustment process PC232 from the manufacturing conditions PM2 of the first concentration process PC211, the first filtration process PC221, and the first concentration adjustment process PC231. The information processing apparatus 3 of the present embodiment also provides a function capable of estimating the optimal manufacturing conditions PM2 of the concentration process PC21, the filtration process PC22, and the concentration adjustment process PC23 from the manufacturing conditions PM1 and the manufacturing result index PM3 of the polymerization process PC11 in the same batch. Hereinafter, the specific functional configuration of the information processing apparatus 3 will be described.

[0041] [Functional Configuration of Information Processing Apparatus 3 According to the First Embodiment] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the information processing apparatus 3 of the present embodiment. The information processing apparatus 3 includes a manufacturing condition acquisition unit 310, a target value acquisition unit 320, a manufacturing information providing unit 330, a result acquisition unit 340, and a presentation unit 350 as its software functional units (or hardware functional units). Hereinafter, the functional configuration of the information processing apparatus 3 in the first embodiment will be described with respect to two types, Embodiments A and B.

[0042] (Embodiment A) The manufacturing condition acquisition unit 310 acquires the manufacturing conditions PM1 of the nth batch BT(n) (that is, the previous batch). In the following description, the manufacturing conditions PM1 of the nth batch BT(n) are also referred to as the nth manufacturing conditions PM1-(n) (the same applies in Embodiment B). The manufacturing conditions PM1 include a raw material index 420 and a polymerization condition index 430. The raw material indicators 420 include, as an example, the type, amount, concentration, and purity of the resin raw material (e.g., the purity and supply amount of FO, monomer (a1) having a crosslinkable group, monomer (a2) having no fluorine atom and no crosslinkable group, and the ratio of each monomer), the type, amount, concentration, and purity of the organic solvent, the type, amount, concentration, and purity of the polymerization initiator (e.g., radical initiator), the type, amount, concentration, and purity of the stabilizer, the type, amount, concentration, and purity of the chain transfer agent, the type, amount, concentration, and purity of the acid acceptor, and the type, amount, concentration, and purity of the filter medium and filter aid. Examples of the chain transfer agent include alcohols such as ethanol, ethers (including cyclic ethers and ethers having a hydroxyl group), alkyl-substituted aromatic compounds, aliphatic esters, ketones, and alkylamines. Examples of the acid acceptor include metal alkoxides, metal hydroxides, carbonates, and hindered amines. Examples of the metal alkoxide include alkali metal alkoxides and alkaline earth metal alkoxides. Examples of the alkali metal of the alkali metal alkoxide include sodium and potassium. Specific examples of the alkali metal alkoxide include sodium alkoxides such as sodium methoxide, sodium ethoxide, sodium n-propoxide, sodium i-propoxide, sodium n-butoxide, and sodium t-butoxide; potassium alkoxides such as potassium methoxide, potassium ethoxide, potassium n-propoxide, potassium i-propoxide, potassium n-butoxide, and potassium t-butoxide; etc. Specific examples of the alkaline earth metal alkoxide include barium t-butoxide. Examples of the metal hydroxide include magnesium hydroxide, aluminum hydroxide, barium hydroxide, calcium hydroxide, sodium hydroxide, potassium hydroxide, hydrotalcites, etc. Representative hydrotalcites are, in chemical formula, Mg4Al2(OH) 12 CO3·3H2O, Mg 4.5 Al2(OH) 13 CO3·3.5H2O or Mg6Al2(OH) 16It is represented by CO3·4H2O and may be either a synthetic or a natural product. Examples of the carbonate include sodium carbonate, potassium carbonate, calcium carbonate, magnesium carbonate, ammonium carbonate, and barium carbonate. Examples of the hindered amine include compounds containing a piperidyl group. The compound containing a piperidyl group means a compound having a piperidyl group or a piperidyl group having a substituent. As the compound containing a piperidyl group, a compound having a piperidyl group having a substituent is preferable. The piperidyl group having a substituent is preferably a tetra-substituted piperidyl group, and more preferably a 2,2,6,6-tetra-substituted piperidyl group. As the compound containing a piperidyl group, a compound containing a piperidyl group having two or more piperidyl groups or piperidyl groups having substituents in one molecule is preferable. Two or more kinds of the compounds containing a piperidyl group may be used, and it is preferable to use two or more kinds. Specific examples of the piperidyl group-containing compounds include 2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine, 1,2,2,6,6-pentamethylpiperidine, 4-hydroxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine, 4-hydroxy-1,2,2,6,6-pentamethylpeperidine, 1-ethyl-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine, 1-ethyl-4-hydroxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine, 1-butyl-4-hydroxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine, 1-dodecyl-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine, 1-phenyl-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine, 1-(2-hydroxyethyl)-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpipericin, 1-(6-hydroxyethyl)-4-hydroxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine, 4-acetoxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine, 4-acetoxy-1,2,2,6,6-pentamethylpiperidine, 1-(2-acetoxyethyl)-4-acetoxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine, 1-(2-benzoyloxyethyl)-4-benzoyloxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethylbiperidine, 4-ethyl-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine, 4-ethyl-1,2,2,6,6-pentamethylpiperidine, 4-butyl-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine, 4-octyl-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine, 4-dodecyl-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine, 4-stearyl-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidine, 4-stearyl-1,2,2,6,6-pentamethylpiperidine, methyl 1,2,2,6,6-pentamethyl-4-piperidyl sebacate, and bis(2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-4-piperidyl) sebacate. Examples of the organic solvent include aromatic hydrocarbon solvents, ketone solvents, ether ester solvents, ester solvents, and weak solvents. Examples of the organic solvent include the organic solvents described in paragraphs

[0056] to

[0065] of JP-A-2016-27177. Among them, petroleum solvents such as toluene, xylene, ethylbenzene, ethanol, methyl ethyl ketone, butyl acetate, acetone, and mineral spirit are preferable, and a mixed solvent of xylene, ethylbenzene, and ethanol is preferable. Examples of the initiator include the initiators described in paragraph

[0095] of JP-A-2016-27177. The polymerization condition index 430 includes the polymerization start pressure, temperature, raw material addition pattern, pressure difference, polymerization time, cooling temperature, heat generation amount, operating conditions of the stirrer in the polymerization tank (for example, stirring speed, stirring blade), and the like.

[0043] That is, the production condition acquisition unit 310 acquires the nth production condition PM1-(n), which is the production condition PM1 of the nth polymerization step PC11-(n) that is the polymerization step PC11 of the resin in the polymerization step PC11, from the production conditions PM1 including the raw material index 420 of the resin and the polymerization condition index 430 in the polymerization step PC11.

[0044] The nth production condition PM1-(n) may be provided by the user operating the input device 2, or may be provided from another external device (for example, a production management device) without passing through the user. That is, the production condition acquisition unit 310 may acquire the nth production condition PM1-(n) through the user, or may acquire the nth production condition PM1-(n) from another external device without passing through the user. The same applies to the provision of the nth production condition PM2-(n) in Embodiment B below.

[0045] The target value acquisition unit 320 acquires the target value of the production result index 440 of the resin produced in the mth batch BT(m). As an example, the mth batch BT(m) is the next batch of the nth batch BT(n), that is, the (n + 1)th batch BT(n + 1). That is, the target value acquisition unit 320 acquires the target value of the next batch of the nth batch BT(n) that is the acquisition target of the production condition acquisition unit 310.

[0046] In other words, the target value acquisition unit 320 acquires the target value of the manufacturing result index 440 that is confirmed in the m-th confirmation step PC31-(m) of the m-th batch BT(m) (where m is a natural number greater than n) after the n-th batch BT(n).

[0047] The manufacturing information providing unit 330 provides the target value of the m-th batch BT(m) acquired by the target value acquisition unit 320 and the n-th manufacturing condition PM1-(n) acquired by the manufacturing condition acquisition unit 310 to the correspondence information 400 of the data server 4. The correspondence information 400 is information indicating the correspondence relationship between the manufacturing condition PM1 and the manufacturing result index 440 for each batch. An example of the correspondence information 400 will be described with reference to FIG. 4.

[0048] FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 are diagrams showing an example of the correspondence information 400 of the present embodiment. In the correspondence information 400, the batch number 410, the raw material index 420, the polymerization condition index 430, and the manufacturing result index 440 are associated with each other for each batch. The raw material index 420 includes the monomer type 421, the solvent type 422, the initiator type 423, the stabilizer type 424, the chain transfer agent type 425, the filter medium / filter aid type 426, the quantity / concentration 427, and the purity 428. The polymerization condition index 430 includes the starting pressure 431, the temperature 432, the raw material addition pattern 433, the pressure difference 434, the polymerization time 435, the cooling temperature 436, the heat generation amount 437, and the stirring number / stirring blade 438. The raw material index 420 and the polymerization condition index 430 are examples of the manufacturing condition PM1. The manufacturing result index 440 includes the solid content ratio 441, the turbidity 442, the molecular weight 443, and the viscosity 444. The solid content ratio 441, the turbidity 442, the molecular weight 443, and the viscosity 444 are also collectively referred to as quality indicators.

[0049] In the following description, the manufacturing condition PM1 where the batch number 410 is k (i.e., the k-th batch) is also referred to as the k-th manufacturing condition PM1-(k). Also, the manufacturing result index 440 where the batch number 410 is k + 1 (i.e., the (k + 1)-th batch) is also referred to as the (k + 1)-th manufacturing result index 440-(k + 1). Also, in Embodiment B, the manufacturing condition PM2 where the batch number 410 is k (i.e., the k-th batch) is also referred to as the k-th manufacturing condition PM2-(k).

[0050] Returning to FIG. 3, when the data server 4 is given the target value of the m-th batch BT(m) and the n-th manufacturing condition PM1-(n) from the manufacturing information providing unit 330, it selects the m-th manufacturing condition PM1-(m) from the corresponding information 400 when the previous batch matches the n-th manufacturing condition PM1-(n) and the subsequent batch matches the target value of the m-th batch BT(m).

[0051] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the search result of the corresponding information 400 of the present embodiment. As an example, it is assumed that the n-th manufacturing condition PM1-(n) matches the manufacturing condition PM1 of the k-th batch BT(k) (the k-th manufacturing condition PM1-(k)), and the target value of the m-th batch BT(m) matches the manufacturing result index 440 of the (k + 1)-th batch BT(k + 1) (the (k + 1)-th manufacturing result index 44-(k + 1)). In this case, the data server 4 selects the manufacturing condition PM1 of the (k + 1)-th batch BT(k + 1) (the (k + 1)-th manufacturing condition PM1-(k + 1)) from the manufacturing conditions PM1 of the corresponding information 400.

[0052] A specific example in the case of (n = 10, m = n + 1, k = 1) in the above example will be described. That is, it is assumed that the 10th manufacturing condition PM1-(10) matches the first manufacturing condition PM1-1 of the first batch BT1, and the target value of the 11th batch BT(11) matches the manufacturing result index 440 of the second batch BT2 (the second manufacturing result index 440-2). In this case, the data server 4 selects the manufacturing condition PM1 of the second batch BT2 (the second manufacturing condition PM1-2) from the manufacturing conditions PM1 of the corresponding information 400.

[0053] In this specification, "match" may mean that the values of the indicators to be compared are exactly the same, or that the difference between the values of the indicators to be compared is within a predetermined range.

[0054] Returning to FIG. 3, the data server 4 outputs the selected (k + 1)-th production condition PM1-(k + 1) (for example, the second production condition PM1-2) to the information processing apparatus 3 as the estimation result of the production condition PM1.

[0055] The result acquisition unit 340 acquires the production condition PM1 output by the data server 4 as the estimation result of the production condition PM1 of the polymerization step PC11 of the m-th batch BT(m).

[0056] That is, the result acquisition unit 340 acquires, as the estimation result of the production condition PM1 of the polymerization step PC11 of the m-th batch BT(m), the m-th production condition PM1-(m) output from the correspondence information 400 in which the n-th production condition PM1-(n) of the production condition PM1 and the target value are given.

[0057] (Embodiment B) The production condition acquisition unit 310 acquires the production condition PM2 of the n-th batch BT(n) (that is, the previous batch). In the following description, the production condition PM2 of the n-th batch BT(n) is also referred to as the n-th production condition PM2-(n). The production condition PM2 includes a distillation / concentration adjustment condition index 510 and a filtration condition index 520. As an example, the distillation / concentration adjustment condition index 510 includes the distillation amount, distillation time, distillation temperature, distillation pressure, type and amount of added solvent, solvent composition, solvent dilution amount, and the like. As an example, the filtration condition index 520 includes the filtration pressure, amount of filter aid, circulation flow rate, filtration temperature, and the like.

[0058] The production condition acquisition unit 310 acquires the n-th production condition PM1-(n) which is the production condition PM1 of the n-th polymerization step PC11-(n) that is the polymerization step PC11 of the n-th batch (n is a natural number) among the production conditions PM1 including the raw material index 420 of the resin and the polymerization condition index 430 in the polymerization step PC11.

[0059] The target value acquisition unit 320 acquires the target value of the manufacturing result index 440 of the resin manufactured in the n-th batch BT(n).

[0060] The manufacturing information providing unit 330 provides the target value of the n-th batch BT(n) acquired by the target value acquisition unit 320 and the n-th manufacturing condition PM1-(n) acquired by the manufacturing condition acquisition unit 310 to the correspondence information 500 of the data server 4. The correspondence information 500 is information indicating the correspondence relationship between the manufacturing condition PM2 and the manufacturing result index 440 for each batch. An example of the correspondence information 500 will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 and 8.

[0061] FIGS. 7 and 8 are diagrams showing an example of the correspondence information 500 of the present embodiment. In the correspondence information 500, the batch number 410, the index related to the manufacturing condition PM1, the index related to the manufacturing condition PM2, and the manufacturing result index 440 are associated with each other for each batch. The index related to the manufacturing condition PM1 is the same as the description in Embodiment A. The index related to the manufacturing condition PM2 includes a distillation / concentration adjustment condition index 510 and a filtration condition index 520. In FIG. 7, the description of the index other than the polymerization condition index 430 as the index related to the manufacturing condition PM1 is omitted.

[0062] The distillation / concentration adjustment condition index 510 includes a distillation amount 511, a solvent distillation amount 512, a degree of vacuum 513, a distillation time 514, a distillation temperature 515, a type of added solvent 516, an addition amount 517, a solvent composition 518, and a residual monomer ratio 519. The filtration condition index 520 includes a filtration pressure 521, an amount of filter aid 522, a circulation flow rate 523, and a filtration temperature 524. The distillation / concentration adjustment condition index 510 and the filtration condition index 520 are examples of the manufacturing condition PM2. The manufacturing result index 440 includes a solid content ratio 441, a turbidity 442, a molecular weight 443, and a viscosity 444. The solid content ratio 441, the turbidity 442, the molecular weight 443, and the viscosity 444 are also collectively referred to as quality indicators.

[0063] Returning to FIG. 3, when the data server 4 is given the target value of the n-th batch BT(n) and the n-th manufacturing condition PM1-(n) from the manufacturing information providing unit 330, from among the correspondence information 600, it selects the n-th manufacturing condition PM2-(n) when the batch matches the n-th manufacturing condition PM1-(n) and the batch matches the target value of the n-th batch BT(n).

[0064] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a search result of the correspondence information 500 of the present embodiment. As an example, it is assumed that the n-th manufacturing condition PM1-(n) matches the manufacturing condition PM1 of the k-th batch BT(k) (the k-th manufacturing condition PM1-(k)), and the target value of the n-th batch BT(n) matches the manufacturing result index 440 of the k-th batch BT(k) (the k-th manufacturing result index 440-(k)). In this case, the data server 4 selects the manufacturing condition PM2 of the k-th batch BT(k) (the k-th manufacturing condition PM2-(k)) from among the manufacturing conditions PM2 of the correspondence information 500.

[0065] Returning to FIG. 3, the data server 4 outputs the selected k-th manufacturing condition PM2-(k) to the information processing apparatus 3 as an estimation result of the manufacturing condition PM2.

[0066] The result acquisition unit 340 outputs the manufacturing condition PM2 output by the data server 4 to the information processing apparatus 3 as an estimation result of the manufacturing condition PM2 of the n-th batch BT(n).

[0067] That is, the result acquisition unit 340 acquires the n-th manufacturing condition PM2-(n) output from the correspondence information 600 in which the n-th manufacturing condition PM1-(n) of the manufacturing condition PM1 and the target value are given, as an estimation result of the manufacturing condition PM2 of the concentration step PC21, the filtration step PC22, and the concentration adjustment step PC23 of the n-th batch BT(n).

[0068] (Common to Embodiments A and B) The presentation unit 350 outputs the estimation result acquired by the result acquisition unit 340 to the display device 5. The display device 5 displays the estimation result output by the presentation unit 350. That is, the presentation unit 350 presents the estimation result acquired by the result acquisition unit 340. Regarding the operation flow of each functional unit of the information processing apparatus 3 described above, it will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11.

[0069] [Operation Flow of Information Processing Apparatus 3] Hereinafter, the operation flow (information processing method) of the information processing apparatus 3 in the first embodiment will be described with respect to the two types of the above-described embodiments A and B.

[0070] (Embodiment A) FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of the operation flow of the information processing apparatus 3 of the present embodiment. (Step S10A) The manufacturing condition acquisition unit 310 acquires the manufacturing condition PM1 of the polymerization step PC11 of the nth batch BT(n) (that is, the nth manufacturing condition PM1-(n)). (Step S20A) The target value acquisition unit 320 acquires the target value of the manufacturing result index 440 of the resin manufactured in the mth batch BT(m).

[0071] (Step S30A) The manufacturing information providing unit 330 provides the nth manufacturing condition PM1-(n) acquired in step S10A and the target value of the mth batch BT(m) acquired in step S20A to the correspondence information 400 of the data server 4. The data server 4 selects the mth manufacturing condition PM1-(m) when the previous batch matches the nth manufacturing condition PM1-(n) and the subsequent batch matches the target value of the mth batch BT(m) from among the manufacturing condition PM1 and the manufacturing result index 440 of the correspondence information 400. The data server 4 outputs the selected mth manufacturing condition PM1-(m) to the information processing apparatus 3 as the estimation result of the manufacturing condition PM1.

[0072] (Step S40A) The result acquisition unit 340 acquires the mth manufacturing condition PM1-(m) output by the data server 4 as the estimation result of the manufacturing condition PM1. (Step S50A) The presentation unit 350 outputs the estimation result of the manufacturing condition PM1 (that is, the mth manufacturing condition PM1-(m)) acquired in step S40A to the display device 5.

[0073] (Embodiment B) FIG. 11 is a diagram showing an example of the operation flow of the information processing apparatus 3 of the present embodiment. (Step S10B) The manufacturing condition acquisition unit 310 acquires the manufacturing condition PM1 of the polymerization step PC11 of the n-th batch BT(n) (that is, the n-th manufacturing condition PM1-(n)). (Step S20B) The target value acquisition unit 320 acquires the target value of the manufacturing result index 440 of the resin manufactured in the n-th batch BT(n).

[0074] (Step S30B) The manufacturing information providing unit 330 provides the n-th manufacturing condition PM1-(n) acquired in Step S10B and the target value of the n-th batch BT(n) acquired in Step S20B to the correspondence information 600 of the data server 4. The data server 4 selects the n-th manufacturing condition PM2-(n) that matches the n-th manufacturing condition PM1-(n) and matches the target value of the n-th batch BT(n) from among the manufacturing condition PM1 and the manufacturing result index 440 of the correspondence information 600. The data server 4 outputs the selected n-th manufacturing condition PM2-(n) to the information processing apparatus 3 as the estimation result of the manufacturing condition PM2.

[0075] (Step S40B) The result acquisition unit 340 acquires the n-th manufacturing condition PM2-(n) output by the data server 4 as the estimation result of the manufacturing condition PM2. (Step S50B) The presentation unit 350 outputs the estimation result of the manufacturing condition PM2 (that is, the n-th manufacturing condition PM2-(n)) acquired in Step S40B to the display device 5.

[0076] As described above, the information processing system 1 of Embodiment A estimates the manufacturing condition PM1 of the polymerization step PC11 of the next batch based on the manufacturing condition of the polymerization step PC11 of the previous batch and the target value of the next batch in the manufacturing process of the pipeline method. Therefore, according to the information processing system 1 of the present embodiment, the manufacturing result index confirmed in the confirmation step PC31 of the previous batch can be fed back to the manufacturing condition PM1 of the polymerization step PC11 of the next batch at a stage before the previous batch ends.

[0077] Conventionally, when producing a solvent-soluble fluororesin by solution polymerization, the manufacturing result indicators confirmed in the confirmation process of the previous batch could only be fed back to the manufacturing conditions of the polymerization process of the batch after the next batch and the batch after that. This is because the polymerization process is carried out using separate manufacturing facilities for the previous batch and the next batch, while the processes after the polymerization process are carried out using one manufacturing facility. Since the polymerization processes for the previous batch and the next batch are carried out simultaneously in parallel, the manufacturing result indicators of the previous batch could not be fed back to the manufacturing conditions of the polymerization process of the next batch.

[0078] Further, the information processing system 1 of Embodiment B estimates the manufacturing conditions PM2 of the concentration process PC21, the filtration process PC22, and the concentration adjustment process PC23 of the same batch based on the manufacturing conditions of the polymerization process PC11 of an arbitrary batch and the target value of the same batch. Therefore, according to the information processing system 1 of the present embodiment, the manufacturing result indicators confirmed in the confirmation process PC31 of an arbitrary batch can be fed back to the manufacturing conditions PM2 of the concentration process PC21, the filtration process PC22, and the concentration adjustment process PC23 of the same batch at a stage before the same batch is completed.

[0079] According to the information processing system 1 configured in this way, fluctuations in the quality of the product (for example, resin) to be manufactured can be detected early and reflected in the next batch at an early stage. That is, according to the information processing system 1, timely formulation changes can be made.

[0080] Any one or more of the variations in the monomer conversion rate, the solid content, and the viscosity after the polymerization process PC11 may have a significant impact on the manufacturing result indicator 440 (for example, the solid content ratio). By reflecting any one or more of the variations in the monomer conversion rate, the solid content, and the viscosity after the polymerization process PC11 in the information processing system 1 of Embodiment B in the manufacturing conditions PM2 of the concentration process PC21, the manufacturing result indicator 440 (for example, the solid content ratio) in the same batch can be made more stable (or improved). Any one or more of the variations in monomer conversion rate, solid content, and viscosity of polymerization step PC11 is calculated based on a predetermined conditional formula from, for example, the pressure at the end of polymerization, the pressure difference before and after polymerization, etc. Therefore, the pressure at the end of polymerization and the pressure difference before and after polymerization can be used as an index for any one or more of the variations in monomer conversion rate, solid content, and viscosity of polymerization step PC11. Information processing system 1 includes, in correspondence information 500, the starting pressure 431 and the pressure difference 434 as an index for any one or more of the variations in monomer conversion rate, solid content, and viscosity of polymerization step PC11. Further, information processing system 1 includes, in correspondence information 500, the distillation amount 511, the solvent distillation amount 512, the degree of vacuum 513, the distillation time 514, the distillation temperature 515, the type of added solvent 516, the addition amount 517, the solvent composition 518, and the residual monomer ratio 519 as production conditions PM2. That is, according to information processing system 1 of the present embodiment, by estimating the production conditions PM2 (for example, distillation amount, distillation time, distillation temperature, distillation pressure, type and amount of added solvent, solvent composition, solvent dilution amount) of the same batch in consideration of the production conditions PM1 (for example, the starting pressure 431 and the pressure difference 434 as an index for any one or more of the variations in monomer conversion rate, solid content, and viscosity of polymerization step PC11), the production result index 440 (for example, solid content ratio) in the same batch can be made more stable (or more improved).

[0081] Any one or more of the variations in monomer conversion rate, solid content, and viscosity after polymerization step PC11 may have a great influence on the production result index 440 (for example, turbidity). By reflecting any one or more of the variations in monomer conversion rate, solid content, and viscosity after polymerization step PC11 in information processing system 1 of Embodiment B in the production conditions PM2 of concentration step PC21, the production result index 440 (for example, turbidity) in the same batch can be made more stable (or more improved). The information processing system 1 includes, in the corresponding information 500, the starting pressure 431 and the pressure difference 434 as any one or more of the indexes of the monomer conversion rate variation, the solid content, and the viscosity in the polymerization step PC11. Further, the information processing system 1 includes, in the corresponding information 500, the filtration pressure 521, the amount of filter aid 522, the circulation flow rate 523, and the filtration temperature 524 as the manufacturing conditions PM2. That is, according to the information processing system 1 of the present embodiment, by estimating the manufacturing conditions PM2 (for example, filtration pressure, amount of filter aid, circulation flow rate, filtration temperature) of the same batch in consideration of the manufacturing conditions PM1 (for example, the starting pressure 431 and the pressure difference 434 as any one or more of the indexes of the monomer conversion rate variation, the solid content, and the viscosity in the polymerization step PC11), the manufacturing result index 440 (for example, turbidity) in the same batch can be made more stable (or more improved).

[0082] Note that the information processing apparatus 3 in the first embodiment may execute both the operations described in Embodiment A and the operations described in Embodiment B.

[0083] [Modification Example 1] Note that the information processing apparatus 3 may estimate the manufacturing conditions in consideration of the maintenance index PM4. For example, in the case of Embodiment A, the manufacturing conditions PM1 of the polymerization step PC11 in the next batch may be estimated in consideration of the maintenance index PM4. In the case of Embodiment B, the manufacturing conditions PM2 of the concentration step PC21, the filtration step PC22, and the concentration adjustment step PC23 in the same batch may be estimated in consideration of the maintenance index PM4.

[0084] Here, the maintenance index PM4 is an index indicating the maintenance status of the manufacturing facility. For example, the maintenance index PM4 includes the implementation status of maintenance activities such as equipment cleaning (for example, the number of batches after the heavy cleaning operation), and the replacement status of consumables such as packings, filters, belts, valves, desiccants, and oils (for example, the number of batches after valve or packing replacement). Further, the maintenance index also includes the manufacturing downtime, the number of equipment points cleaned (washed), the length of the piping cleaned (washed), the number of equipment points open-maintained, and the number of updated equipment points.

[0085] That is, the manufacturing conditions PM1 or PM2 include a maintenance index PM4 indicating the maintenance status of the manufacturing equipment. In the case of Embodiment A, the correspondence information 400 indicates the correspondence relationship between the nth manufacturing condition PM1-(n) including the maintenance index PM4, the mth manufacturing condition PM1-(m), and the mth manufacturing result index 440-(m). The mth manufacturing condition PM1-(m) may include the maintenance index PM4. In the case of Embodiment B, the correspondence information 600 indicates the correspondence relationship between the nth manufacturing condition PM1-(n) including the maintenance index PM4, the nth manufacturing condition PM2-(n), and the nth manufacturing result index 440-(n). The nth manufacturing condition PM2-(n) may include the maintenance index PM4.

[0086] In the case of Embodiment A, the manufacturing condition acquisition unit 310 acquires the nth manufacturing condition PM1-(n) including the maintenance index PM4. The manufacturing information providing unit 330 provides the correspondence information 400 with a target value and the nth manufacturing condition PM1-(n) including the maintenance index PM4. That is, the manufacturing information providing unit 330 provides the correspondence information 400 with the nth manufacturing condition PM1-(n) taking into account the maintenance index PM4.

[0087] As a result, the result acquisition unit 340 acquires an estimation result of the manufacturing condition PM1 taking into account the maintenance index PM4. The presentation unit 350 outputs the estimation result of the manufacturing condition PM1 taking into account the maintenance index PM4 to the display device 5.

[0088] In the case of Embodiment B, the manufacturing condition acquisition unit 310 acquires the nth manufacturing condition PM1-(n) including the maintenance index PM4. The manufacturing information providing unit 330 provides the correspondence information 600 with a target value and the nth manufacturing condition PM1-(n) including the maintenance index PM4. That is, the manufacturing information providing unit 330 provides the correspondence information 400 with the nth manufacturing condition PM1-(n) taking into account the maintenance index PM4.

[0089] As a result, the result acquisition unit 340 acquires the estimation result of the manufacturing condition PM2 considering the maintenance index PM4. The presentation unit 350 outputs the estimation result of the manufacturing condition PM2 considering the maintenance index PM4 to the display device 5.

[0090] Generally, when performing maintenance of manufacturing equipment such as thorough cleaning or replacement of consumables, there may be a large change in the manufacturing environment between the previous batch and the next batch, or the manufacturing environment may change discontinuously. Also, the manufacturing environment may gradually change each time the number of batches is stacked after the maintenance of the manufacturing equipment.

[0091] According to the information processing system 1 configured as in this Modification 1, it is possible to obtain the estimation result of the manufacturing condition PM1 or PM2 considering the maintenance status of the manufacturing equipment. Therefore, according to the information processing system 1, even when the manufacturing environment changes due to the maintenance of the manufacturing equipment, it is possible to stabilize (or improve) the manufacturing result index 440 (for example, solid content ratio, turbidity, molecular weight, viscosity) in the next batch.

[0092] [Modification 2] The maintenance index PM4 includes the implementation status of minor maintenance performed relatively frequently, medium-scale maintenance performed every few months, and large-scale maintenance performed annually. When the scale of maintenance changes, the quality index may fluctuate even if the manufacturing conditions PM1 and PM2 are aligned. Therefore, especially in the first batch after the implementation of large-scale maintenance, the stability of the quality index may decrease as the scale of maintenance increases. For example, the data server 4 may store, as correspondence information 400A as a learned model in which the correspondence between the maintenance index PM4 and the types of products of grades that can be manufactured in the first batch after the maintenance is learned by machine learning. In this case, the manufacturing condition acquisition unit 310 acquires the maintenance index PM4, and the manufacturing information providing unit 330 provides the maintenance index PM4 to the correspondence information 400A of the data server 4. The data server 4 selects the types of products of grades that can be manufactured in the first batch after the maintenance based on the correspondence information 400A and outputs them to the information processing apparatus 3. According to the information processing system 1 configured in this way, it is possible to minimize the influence of the decrease in productivity due to maintenance.

[0093] [Modification Example 3] In the above-described embodiments, for example, in the case of Embodiment A, the correspondence information 400 has been described as information in a table format (for example, the tables illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5) in which the manufacturing condition PM1 and the manufacturing result index 440 are associated with each batch. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The correspondence information 400 only needs to show the correspondence relationship between the nth manufacturing condition PM1-(n), the mth manufacturing condition PM1-(m), and the target value of the mth batch BT(m) (that is, the manufacturing condition PM1 of the previous batch, the manufacturing condition PM1 of the next batch, and the target value). For example, the correspondence information 400 may be a so-called learned model in which the correspondence relationship between the manufacturing condition PM1 of the previous batch and the manufacturing condition PM1 and the target value of the next batch is learned by machine learning. In this case, the data server 4 stores the correspondence information 400 as a learned model in which the correspondence relationship between the manufacturing condition PM1 of the previous batch and the manufacturing condition PM1 and the target value of the next batch is learned by machine learning. According to the information processing system 1 configured as described above, since the results of efficiently (or with high precision) learning a large amount of information by machine learning can be used, the manufacturing result index 440 (for example, solid content rate, turbidity, molecular weight, viscosity) in the next batch can be made more stable (or more improved).

[0094] Further, the correspondence information 400 may be implemented by a conditional branch type program for the correspondence relationship between the input value and the output value corresponding to the above-described learned model. Note that Modification Example 3 is also applicable to Embodiment B.

[0095] [Second Embodiment] In the present embodiment, it is different from the first embodiment in that an information processing device 31 is provided instead of (or in addition to) the information processing device 3 in the first embodiment described above. Since the other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment, the description thereof will be omitted.

[0096] [Functional Configuration of Information Processing Apparatus 31 According to Second Embodiment] FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of information processing apparatus 31 according to the second embodiment. Information processing apparatus 31 includes, as its functional units, a manufacturing condition acquisition unit 311, a first manufacturing information providing unit 331, a second manufacturing information providing unit 332, a first result acquisition unit 341, a second result acquisition unit 342, an index presentation unit 351, and a result presentation unit 352.

[0097] The manufacturing condition acquisition unit 311 acquires the n-th manufacturing condition PM1-(n), which is the manufacturing condition PM1 of the n-th polymerization step PC11-(n). The first manufacturing information providing unit 331 provides the n-th manufacturing condition PM1-(n) acquired by the manufacturing condition acquisition unit 311 as manufacturing information to the first correspondence information 401.

[0098] The first correspondence information 401 is information indicating the correspondence between the manufacturing condition PM1 for each batch and the manufacturing result index 440 confirmed in the confirmation step PC31. In an example of this embodiment, the first correspondence information 401 has the same configuration as the above-described correspondence information 400.

[0099] When the n-th manufacturing condition PM1-(n) is provided from the first manufacturing information providing unit 331, the data server 4 searches the first correspondence information 401 and selects the manufacturing result index 440 that matches the n-th manufacturing condition PM1-(n). The search result of the manufacturing result index 440 by the data server 4 will be described with reference to FIG. 13.

[0100] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of the search result of the first correspondence information 401 in this embodiment. As an example, it is assumed that the manufacturing condition PM1 (the n-th manufacturing condition PM1-(n)) of the n-th batch BT(n) matches the manufacturing condition PM1 (the k-th manufacturing condition PM1-(k)) of the k-th batch BT(k). In this case, the data server 4 selects the manufacturing result index 440 (the k-th manufacturing result index 440-(k)) of the k-th batch BT(k) from the first correspondence information 401.

[0101] A specific example will be described for the case where (n = 10, m = n + 1, k = 1) in the above example. That is, it is assumed that the 10th manufacturing condition PM1-(10) matches the 1st manufacturing condition PM1-1 of the 1st batch BT1. In this case, the data server 4 selects the manufacturing result index 440 (the 1st manufacturing result index 440-1) of the 1st batch BT1 from among the 1st correspondence information 401.

[0102] Returning to FIG. 12, the data server 4 outputs the selected manufacturing result index 440 to the information processing device 31.

[0103] The 1st result acquisition unit 341 acquires the manufacturing result index 440 output from the 1st correspondence information 401 provided with the nth manufacturing condition PM1-(n) as the nth manufacturing result index 440-(n) which is the manufacturing result index 440 of the nth batch BT(n).

[0104] The index presentation unit 351 outputs (i.e., presents) the nth manufacturing result index 440-(n) acquired by the 1st result acquisition unit 341 to the display device 5.

[0105] The 2nd manufacturing information providing unit 332 provides the 2nd correspondence information 402 with the nth manufacturing result index 440-(n) acquired by the 1st result acquisition unit 341 and the nth manufacturing condition PM1-(n) acquired by the manufacturing condition acquisition unit 311.

[0106] The 2nd correspondence information 402 is information indicating the correspondence relationship between the manufacturing condition PM1 and the manufacturing result index 440 for each batch. In an example of the present embodiment, the 2nd correspondence information 402 has the same configuration as the above-described correspondence information 400.

[0107] When the data server 4 is provided with the nth manufacturing condition PM1-(n) and the nth manufacturing result index 440-(n) from the second manufacturing information providing unit 332, it searches for the second correspondence information 402 and selects the manufacturing condition PM1 of the next batch (i.e., the (n + 1)th manufacturing condition PM1-(n+1)) that matches the nth manufacturing condition PM1-(n) and the nth manufacturing result index 440-(n). The search result of the manufacturing condition PM1 of the next batch by the data server 4 will be described with reference to FIG. 13 described above.

[0108] As an example, assume that the nth manufacturing condition PM1-(n) of the nth batch BT(n) matches the kth manufacturing condition PM1-(k) of the kth batch BT(k), and the nth manufacturing result index 440-(n) of the nth batch BT(n) matches the kth manufacturing result index 440-(k) of the kth batch BT(k). In this case, the data server 4 selects the manufacturing condition PM1 (the (k + 1)th manufacturing condition PM1-(k+1)) of the (k + 1)th batch BT(k+1) from the second correspondence information 402.

[0109] A specific example will be described for the case where (n = 10, m = n + 1, k = 1) in the above example. That is, assume that the 10th manufacturing condition PM1-10 matches the first manufacturing condition PM1-1 of the first batch BT1, and the 10th manufacturing result index 440-10 matches the first manufacturing result index 440-1 of the first batch BT1. In this case, the data server 4 selects the manufacturing condition PM1 (the second manufacturing condition PM1-2) of the batch next to the first batch BT1, that is, the second batch BT2, from the second correspondence information 402.

[0110] The second result acquisition unit 342 acquires the mth manufacturing condition PM1-(m) output from the second correspondence information 402 provided with the nth manufacturing condition PM1-(n) and the nth manufacturing result index 440(n) as the estimation result of the manufacturing condition PM1 of the polymerization process PC11 of the mth batch BT(m). The result presentation unit 352 outputs (presents) the estimation result acquired by the second result acquisition unit 342 to the display device 5.

[0111] Regarding the operation flow (information processing method) of each functional unit of the information processing apparatus 31 described above, it will be described with reference to FIG. 14.

[0112] [Operation Flow of Information Processing Apparatus 31] Hereinafter, the operation flow of the information processing apparatus 31 in the second embodiment will be described with respect to the above-described embodiment.

[0113] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of the operation flow of the information processing apparatus 31 of the present embodiment. (Step S110A) The manufacturing condition acquisition unit 311 acquires the manufacturing condition PM1 of the polymerization step PC11 of the nth batch BT(n) (that is, the nth manufacturing condition PM1-(n)). (Step S120A) The first manufacturing information providing unit 331 gives the nth manufacturing condition PM1-(n) acquired in step S110A to the first correspondence information 401 of the data server 4. The data server 4 selects a manufacturing result index 440 (nth manufacturing result index 440-(n)) of a batch that matches the nth manufacturing condition PM1-(n) from among the manufacturing conditions PM1 of the first correspondence information 401. The data server 4 outputs the selected nth manufacturing result index 440-(n) to the information processing apparatus 31 as an estimation result of the manufacturing result index 440.

[0114] (Step S130A) The first result acquisition unit 341 acquires the nth manufacturing result index 440-(n) output by the data server 4 as an estimation result of the manufacturing result index 440. (Step S140A) The second manufacturing information providing unit 332 gives the nth manufacturing condition PM1-(n) acquired in step S110A and the nth manufacturing result index 440-(n) acquired in step S130A to the second correspondence information 402.

[0115] The data server 4 selects the mth manufacturing condition PM1-(m) of the mth batch BT(m) corresponding to a batch in which the manufacturing condition PM1 of the second correspondence information 402 matches the nth manufacturing condition PM1-(n) and the manufacturing result index 440 of the second correspondence information 402 matches the nth manufacturing result index 440-(n).

[0116] For example, in the case of (m = n + 1) described above, the data server 4 selects the (n + 1)-th batch BT(n + 1), that is, the (n + 1)-th manufacturing condition PM1-(n + 1) which is the manufacturing condition PM1 of the batch next to the n-th batch BT(n). The data server 4 outputs the selected (n + 1)-th manufacturing condition PM1-(n + 1) to the information processing apparatus 31 as an estimation result of the manufacturing condition PM1.

[0117] (Step S150A) The second result acquisition unit 342 acquires the estimation result of the manufacturing condition PM1 output in step S140A. (Step S160A) The result presentation unit 352 outputs (i.e., presents) the estimation result of the manufacturing condition PM1 (that is, the m-th manufacturing condition PM1-(m)) acquired in step S150A to the display device 5.

[0118] As described above, the information processing system 1 of the present embodiment includes the information processing apparatus 31. The information processing apparatus 31 estimates the manufacturing result index 440 of the batch based on the manufacturing result index of the polymerization step PC11 of the previous batch in a manufacturing process of a pipeline system. That is, the information processing apparatus 31 can estimate the manufacturing result of the batch at a stage after the polymerization step PC11 is completed and before the batch is completed (for example, at a stage before starting the second step PC2). Further, the information processing apparatus 31 of the present embodiment estimates the manufacturing condition PM1 of the polymerization step PC11 of the next batch based on the result of the polymerization step PC11 of the previous batch and the estimated manufacturing result at the end of the previous batch. That is, the information processing apparatus 31 estimates the manufacturing result of the batch based on the manufacturing result index of the polymerization step PC11 of the previous batch, and estimates the manufacturing condition PM1 of the next batch based on the estimated manufacturing result. Therefore, according to the information processing apparatus 31 of the present embodiment, the manufacturing result index confirmed in the confirmation step PC31 of the previous batch can be fed back to the manufacturing condition PM1 of the polymerization step PC11 of the next batch at a stage before the previous batch is completed. According to the information processing system 1 configured as described above, it is possible to detect early the quality variations of the manufactured products (for example, resins) and reflect them early in the next batch. That is, according to the information processing system 1, timely formulation changes can be made.

[0119] In addition, the information processing apparatus 31 of the present embodiment includes an index presentation unit 351. The index presentation unit 351 presents the manufacturing result index 440 of the previous batch used by the information processing apparatus 31 for estimation. According to the information processing system 1 configured as described above, at the end point of the polymerization step PC11 of the previous batch, the result of estimating the manufacturing result index 440 at the yield of the batch can be presented to the user. Therefore, it is possible to detect early the quality variations of the manufactured products (for example, resins) and reflect them early in the next batch. That is, according to the information processing system 1, timely formulation changes can be made.

[0120] [Modification Example 4] Note that the information processing apparatus 31 may estimate the manufacturing conditions PM1 of the polymerization step PC11 of the next batch in consideration of the maintenance index PM2, similarly to the information processing apparatus 3 described above. According to the information processing apparatus 31 configured as described above, it is possible to obtain the estimation result of the manufacturing conditions PM1 in consideration of the maintenance status of the manufacturing facility. Therefore, according to the information processing system 1, even when the manufacturing environment changes due to the maintenance of the manufacturing facility, the manufacturing result index 640 (for example, solid content rate, residual monomer amount) in the next batch can be stabilized (or improved).

[0121] In addition, the first correspondence information 401 and the second correspondence information 402 may be so-called learned models that are machine-learned, similarly to the correspondence information 400 described above. According to the information processing apparatus 31 configured as described above, since the results of efficiently (or with high accuracy) learning a large amount of information by machine learning can be used, the manufacturing result index 640 (for example, solid content rate, residual monomer amount) in the next batch can be further stabilized (or further improved).

[0122] Further, the first correspondence information 401 and the second correspondence information 402 may implement the correspondence relationship between the input value and the output value corresponding to the above-mentioned learned model by a conditional branch type program.

[0123] Further, the information processing system 1 may be configured by appropriately combining the functions provided in the information processing apparatus 3 of the first embodiment and the information processing apparatus 31 of the second embodiment described above.

[0124] [Third Embodiment] In the present embodiment, a manufacturing process of a solvent-soluble fluororesin by emulsion polymerization will be described. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the manufacturing process is different from that of the first embodiment described above. Note that the same components as those in the first embodiment described above may be denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description of the same components and operations may be omitted.

[0125] FIG. 15 is a diagram showing a configuration example of the information processing system 1a of the present embodiment. The information processing system 1a includes an input device 2, an information processing device 3a, a data server 4a, and a display device 5. The information processing device 3a is different from the information processing device 3 of the first embodiment in that it performs information processing on the manufacturing process of a solvent-soluble fluororesin by emulsion polymerization. The data server 4a is different from the data server 4 of the first embodiment in that it stores various types of information on the manufacturing process of a solvent-soluble fluororesin by emulsion polymerization. The functions of the input device 2 and the display device 5 are the same as those in the first embodiment.

[0126] FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of the manufacturing process of the present embodiment. The manufacturing process of the present embodiment includes a first process PC1, a second process PC2 which is a manufacturing process after the first process PC1, and a third process PC3. As an example, the first step PC1 includes a polymerization step PC11. In the present embodiment, the polymerization step PC11 is a step of polymerizing monomers in water using an emulsifier (a step of performing emulsion polymerization). The second step PC2 includes a concentration adjustment step PC24. The concentration adjustment step PC24 is a step of adjusting the concentration of a solvent-soluble fluororesin produced by emulsion polymerization. The third step PC3 includes a confirmation step PC31. In the confirmation step PC31, the quality of the resin produced through the first step PC1 and the second step PC2 (for example, solid content ratio, residual monomer amount) is confirmed. An index regarding the quality of the resin confirmed in the confirmation step PC31 is also referred to as a quality index.

[0127] That is, the manufacturing process of the present embodiment manufactures resin batch by batch, and includes a first step PC1 including a polymerization step PC11, a second step PC2 including a concentration adjustment step PC24 which is a manufacturing process after the first step PC1, and a third step PC3 including a confirmation step PC31 for the manufacturing result index 640 of the resin produced through the first step PC1 and the second step PC2. Note that the concentration adjustment step PC24 includes removal of residual monomers in addition to concentration adjustment. Note that the first step PC1 may include other steps in addition to the polymerization step PC11. The second step PC2 may include other steps in addition to the concentration adjustment step PC24. The third step PC3 may include other steps in addition to the confirmation step PC31.

[0128] The information processing device 3a presents either the manufacturing condition PM1 of the first step PC1 (particularly, the polymerization step PC11) or the manufacturing condition PM2 of the second step PC2 (concentration adjustment step PC24) among these manufacturing processes.

[0129] Note that in the figure, among a plurality of batches of the manufacturing process, the first batch BT1 to the third batch B34 are shown as an example, and the description of batches after the third batch BT3 is omitted. The first batch BT1 to the third batch BT3 all have a polymerization step PC11 and a concentration adjustment step PC24. The polymerization step PC11 of the first batch BT1 is also referred to as the first polymerization step PC111. Similarly, the concentration adjustment step PC24 of the first batch BT1 is also referred to as the first concentration adjustment step PC241. The confirmation step PC31 of the first batch BT1 is also referred to as the first confirmation step PC311. Regarding each step of the second batch BT2 and the third batch BT3, since it is the same as that of the first batch BT1, the description thereof is omitted.

[0130] As described above, in the confirmation step PC31 of each batch, manufacturing result indicators such as the quality of the resin (for example, solid content rate, residual monomer amount) are confirmed.

[0131] In an example of the present embodiment, for some of these manufacturing result indicators (for example, solid content rate, residual monomer amount), the ratio dominated by the manufacturing conditions PM1 (for example, raw material index 420, polymerization condition index 430) in the first step PC1 (especially the polymerization step PC11) is higher than the ratio dominated by the index of the manufacturing conditions in the second step PC2 which is the subsequent step. That is, the manufacturing conditions PM1 of the polymerization step PC11 are dominant in the influence on these manufacturing result indicators. Therefore, in order to stabilize (or improve) the yield and quality of each batch, it is desirable that the manufacturing result indicators of the previous batch be fed back to the manufacturing conditions PM1 of the polymerization step PC11 of the next batch. The information processing apparatus 3a of the present embodiment provides a function capable of feeding back the manufacturing result indicator PM3 of the previous batch to the manufacturing conditions PM1 of the polymerization step PC11 of the next batch.

[0132] Also, even within the same batch, the manufacturing result index PM3 may be affected by the processes. For example, when the manufacturing conditions PM1 of the first polymerization process PC111 and the manufacturing conditions PM1 of the second polymerization process PC112 are different, it may be desired to obtain the same manufacturing result index PM3. In such a case, it is necessary to change the manufacturing conditions PM2 of the second concentration adjustment process PC242 from the manufacturing conditions PM2 of the first concentration adjustment process PC241. The information processing apparatus 3a of the present embodiment also provides a function capable of estimating the manufacturing conditions PM2 of the optimal concentration process PC21, filtration process PC22, and concentration adjustment process PC23 from the manufacturing conditions PM1 and the manufacturing result index PM3 of the polymerization process PC11 in the same batch. Hereinafter, the specific functional configuration of the information processing apparatus 3a will be described.

[0133] [Functional Configuration of Information Processing Apparatus 3a According to the Third Embodiment] FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the information processing apparatus 3a of the present embodiment. The information processing apparatus 3a includes a manufacturing condition acquisition unit 310a, a target value acquisition unit 320a, a manufacturing information providing unit 330a, a result acquisition unit 340a, and a presentation unit 350a as its software functional units (or hardware functional units). Hereinafter, the functional configuration of the information processing apparatus 3a in the third embodiment will be described with respect to two types, Embodiments C and D.

[0134] (Embodiment C) The manufacturing condition acquisition unit 310a acquires the manufacturing conditions PM1 of the nth batch BT(n) (that is, the previous batch). The manufacturing conditions PM1 include a raw material index 420 and a polymerization condition index 430. The raw material index 420 includes, for example, the type, amount, concentration, and purity of the resin raw material (e.g., the purity and supply amount of FO, monomer (a1) having a crosslinkable group, monomer (a2) having no fluorine atom and no crosslinkable group, and the ratio of each monomer), the purity of water, the type, amount, concentration, and purity of the polymerization initiator (e.g., radical initiator), the type, amount, concentration, and purity of the emulsifier, the type, amount, concentration, and purity of the stabilizer, the type, amount, concentration, and purity of the chain transfer agent, the type, amount, concentration, and purity of the acid acceptor, and the type, amount, concentration, and purity of the filter medium and filter aid. As the emulsifier, a nonionic emulsifier or an anionic emulsifier described in paragraph

[0037] of WO2017 / 122700A1 is exemplified. Among them, as the nonionic emulsifier, a higher alcohol ethylene oxide adduct, a block copolymer of ethylene oxide and propylene oxide is preferable, and as the anionic emulsifier, a higher fatty acid salt and an alkyl sulfate ester salt are preferable. As the initiator, the initiator described in paragraph

[0036] of WO2017 / 122700A1 is exemplified. As the chain transfer agent and the acid acceptor, the chain transfer agent and the acid acceptor exemplified in the above solution polymerization can be used. The polymerization condition index 430 includes the polymerization start pressure, temperature, raw material addition pattern, pressure difference, polymerization time, cooling temperature, heat generation amount, operating conditions of the stirrer in the polymerization tank (e.g., stirring speed, stirring blade), and the like.

[0135] That is, the production condition acquisition unit 310a acquires the nth production condition PM1-(n) which is the production condition PM1 of the nth polymerization step PC11-(n) that is the polymerization step PC11 of the resin in the polymerization step PC11, among the production conditions PM1 including the raw material index 420 of the resin and the polymerization condition index 430 in the polymerization step PC11.

[0136] The target value acquisition unit 320a acquires the target value of the production result index 640 of the resin produced in the mth batch BT(m). The mth batch BT(m) is, for example, the next batch of the nth batch BT(n), that is, the (n + 1)th batch BT(n + 1). That is, the target value acquisition unit 320a acquires the target value of the next batch of the nth batch BT(n) which is the acquisition target of the production condition acquisition unit 310a.

[0137] In other words, the target value acquisition unit 320a acquires the target value of the manufacturing result index 640 confirmed in the m-th confirmation step PC31-(m) of the m-th batch BT(m) (m is a natural number greater than n) after the n-th batch BT(n).

[0138] The manufacturing information providing unit 330a provides the target value of the m-th batch BT(m) acquired by the target value acquisition unit 320a and the n-th manufacturing condition PM1-(n) acquired by the manufacturing condition acquisition unit 310a to the correspondence information 600 of the data server 4a. The correspondence information 600 is information indicating the correspondence relationship between the manufacturing condition PM1 and the manufacturing result index 640 for each batch. An example of the correspondence information 600 will be described with reference to FIGS. 18 and 19.

[0139] FIGS. 18 and 19 are diagrams showing an example of the correspondence information 600 of the present embodiment. In the correspondence information 600, the batch number 410, the raw material index 420, the polymerization condition index 430, and the manufacturing result index 640 are associated with each other for each batch. As described above, since the raw material index 420 and the polymerization condition index 430 are the same as those in the first embodiment, the description thereof will be omitted. The manufacturing result index 640 includes a solid content ratio 641 and a residual monomer amount 642. The solid content ratio 641 and the residual monomer amount 642 are also collectively referred to as quality indicators.

[0140] In the following description, the manufacturing result index 640 when the batch number 410 is k + 1 (that is, the (k + 1)-th batch) is also described as the (k + 1)-th manufacturing result index 640-(k + 1). Also, in Embodiment D, the manufacturing condition PM3 when the batch number 410 is k (that is, the k-th batch) is also described as the k-th manufacturing condition PM3-(k).

[0141] Returning to FIG. 17, when the data server 4a is given the target value of the m-th batch BT(m) and the n-th manufacturing condition PM1-(n) from the manufacturing information providing unit 330a, it selects, from among the correspondence information 600, the m-th manufacturing condition PM1-(m) when the previous batch matches the n-th manufacturing condition PM1-(n) and the subsequent batch matches the target value of the m-th batch BT(m).

[0142] FIG. 20 is a diagram showing an example of the search result of the correspondence information 600 of the present embodiment. As an example, it is assumed that the n-th manufacturing condition PM1-(n) matches the manufacturing condition PM1 (the k-th manufacturing condition PM1-(k)) of the k-th batch BT(k), and the target value of the m-th batch BT(m) matches the manufacturing result index 440 (the (k + 1)-th manufacturing result index 440-(k + 1)) of the (k + 1)-th batch BT(k + 1). In this case, the data server 4a selects the manufacturing condition PM1 (the (k + 1)-th manufacturing condition PM1-(k + 1)) of the (k + 1)-th batch BT(k + 1) from among the manufacturing conditions PM1 of the correspondence information 600.

[0143] A specific example in the case of (n = 10, m = n + 1, k = 1) in the above example will be described. That is, it is assumed that the 10th manufacturing condition PM1-(10) matches the first manufacturing condition PM1-1 of the first batch BT1, and the target value of the 11th batch BT(11) matches the manufacturing result index 640 (the second manufacturing result index 640-2) of the second batch BT2. In this case, the data server 4a selects the manufacturing condition PM1 (the second manufacturing condition PM1-2) of the second batch BT2 from among the manufacturing conditions PM1 of the correspondence information 600.

[0144] Returning to FIG. 17, the data server 4a outputs the selected (k + 1)-th manufacturing condition PM1-(k + 1) (for example, the second manufacturing condition PM1-2) to the information processing device 3a as the estimation result of the manufacturing condition PM1.

[0145] The result acquisition unit 340a acquires the manufacturing condition PM1 output by the data server 4a as the estimation result of the manufacturing condition PM1 of the polymerization step PC11 of the m-th batch BT(m).

[0146] That is, the result acquisition unit 340a acquires the mth production condition PM1-(m) output from the correspondence information 400, which is given the nth production condition PM1-(n) of the production condition PM1 and the target value, as the estimated result of the production condition PM1 of the polymerization process PC11 of the mth batch BT(m).

[0147] (Embodiment D) The manufacturing condition acquisition unit 310a acquires the manufacturing conditions PM3 of the nth batch BT(n) (i.e., the previous batch). In the following description, the manufacturing conditions PM3 of the nth batch BT(n) will also be referred to as the nth manufacturing conditions PM3-(n). The production conditions PM3 include an evaporation / concentration adjustment condition index 710. The distillation / concentration adjustment condition index 710 includes, for example, the distillation amount, distillation time, distillation temperature, distillation pressure, amount of added solvent, residual monomer rate, nitrogen flow rate, and the like.

[0148] The manufacturing condition acquisition unit 310a acquires the nth manufacturing condition PM1-(n), which is the manufacturing condition PM1 of the nth polymerization process PC11-(n), which is the polymerization process PC11 of the nth batch (n is a natural number), from the manufacturing conditions PM1 which include the resin raw material indicator 420 and the polymerization condition indicator 430 in the polymerization process PC11.

[0149] The target value acquisition unit 320a acquires the target value of the production result index 440 for the resin produced in the n-th batch BT(n).

[0150] The manufacturing information providing unit 330a provides the target value of the nth batch BT(n) acquired by the target value acquiring unit 320a and the nth manufacturing condition PM1-(n) acquired by the manufacturing condition acquiring unit 310a to the correspondence information 700 of the data server 4a. The correspondence information 700 is information that indicates the correspondence relationship between the manufacturing conditions PM2 and the manufacturing result index 440 for each batch. An example of the correspondence information 700 will be described with reference to FIG.

[0151] FIG. 21 is a diagram showing an example of the correspondence information 700 of the present embodiment. In the correspondence information 700, a batch number 410, an index related to the manufacturing condition PM1, an index related to the manufacturing condition PM3, and a manufacturing result index 640 are associated with each other for each batch. The index related to the manufacturing condition PM1 is the same as the description in Embodiment C. The index related to the manufacturing condition PM3 includes a distillation / concentration adjustment condition index 710. In FIG. 21, the description of the index other than the polymerization condition index 430 is omitted as the index related to the manufacturing condition PM1.

[0152] The distillation / concentration adjustment condition index 710 includes a distillation amount 511, a solvent distillation amount 512, a degree of reduced pressure 513, a distillation time 514, a distillation temperature 515, an addition amount 517, a residual monomer ratio 711, and a nitrogen flow rate 712. The manufacturing result index 640 includes a solid content ratio 641 and a residual monomer amount 642. The solid content ratio 641 and the residual monomer amount 642 are also collectively referred to as quality indexes.

[0153] Returning to FIG. 17, when the data server 4a is given the target value of the nth batch BT(n) and the nth manufacturing condition PM1-(n) from the manufacturing information providing unit 330a, it selects the nth manufacturing condition PM2-(n) from the correspondence information 700 when the batch matches the nth manufacturing condition PM1-(n) and the batch matches the target value of the nth batch BT(n).

[0154] FIG. 22 is a diagram showing an example of the search result of the correspondence information 700 of the present embodiment. As an example, it is assumed that the nth manufacturing condition PM1-(n) matches the manufacturing condition PM1 of the kth batch BT(k) (the kth manufacturing condition PM1-(k)), and the target value of the nth batch BT(n) matches the manufacturing result index 640 of the kth batch BT(k) (the kth manufacturing result index 640-(k)). In this case, the data server 4a selects the manufacturing condition PM3 of the kth batch BT(k) (the kth manufacturing condition PM3-(k)) from the manufacturing conditions PM3 of the correspondence information 700.

[0155] Returning to FIG. 17, the data server 4a outputs the selected k-th manufacturing condition PM2-(k) to the information processing apparatus 3a as an estimation result of the manufacturing condition PM2.

[0156] The result acquisition unit 340a outputs the manufacturing condition PM2 output by the data server 4a to the information processing apparatus 3a as an estimation result of the manufacturing condition PM2 of the n-th batch BT(n).

[0157] That is, the result acquisition unit 340a acquires the n-th manufacturing condition PM2-(n) output from the correspondence information 700 in which the n-th manufacturing condition PM1-(n) of the manufacturing condition PM1 and the target value are given, as an estimation result of the manufacturing condition PM3 of the concentration adjustment step PC24 of the n-th batch BT(n).

[0158] (Common to Embodiments C and D) The presentation unit 350a outputs the estimation result acquired by the result acquisition unit 340a to the display device 5. The display device 5 displays the estimation result output by the presentation unit 350a. That is, the presentation unit 350a presents the estimation result acquired by the result acquisition unit 340a. The flow of operations of each functional unit of the information processing apparatus 3a described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 23 and 24.

[0159] [Flow of Operations of Information Processing Apparatus 3a] Hereinafter, the flow of operations (information processing method) of the information processing apparatus 3a in the third embodiment will be described with respect to the two types of the above-described embodiments C and D.

[0160] (Embodiment C) FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of the flow of operations of the information processing apparatus 3a of the present embodiment. (Step S10C) The manufacturing condition acquisition unit 310a acquires the manufacturing condition PM1 of the polymerization step PC11 of the n-th batch BT(n) (that is, the n-th manufacturing condition PM1-(n)). (Step S20C) The target value acquisition unit 320a acquires the target value of the manufacturing result index 640 of the resin manufactured in the m-th batch BT(m).

[0161] (Step S30C) The manufacturing information providing unit 330a provides the n-th manufacturing condition PM1-(n) acquired in Step S10C and the target value of the m-th batch BT(m) acquired in Step S20C to the corresponding information 600 of the data server 4a. The data server 4a selects the m-th manufacturing condition PM1-(m) from among the manufacturing conditions PM1 and the manufacturing result indicators 640 of the corresponding information 600 when the previous batch matches the n-th manufacturing condition PM1-(n) and the subsequent batch matches the target value of the m-th batch BT(m). The data server 4a outputs the selected m-th manufacturing condition PM1-(m) to the information processing apparatus 3a as the estimation result of the manufacturing condition PM1.

[0162] (Step S40C) The result acquisition unit 340a acquires the m-th manufacturing condition PM1-(m) output by the data server 4a as the estimation result of the manufacturing condition PM1. (Step S50C) The presentation unit 350a outputs the estimation result of the manufacturing condition PM1 (that is, the m-th manufacturing condition PM1-(m)) acquired in Step S40C to the display device 5.

[0163] (Embodiment D) FIG. 24 is a diagram showing an example of the flow of the operation of the information processing apparatus 3a of the present embodiment. (Step S10D) The manufacturing condition acquisition unit 310a acquires the manufacturing condition PM1 (that is, the n-th manufacturing condition PM1-(n)) of the polymerization step PC11 of the n-th batch BT(n). (Step S20D) The target value acquisition unit 320a acquires the target value of the manufacturing result indicator 640 of the resin manufactured in the n-th batch BT(n).

[0164] (Step S30D) The manufacturing information providing unit 330a provides the nth manufacturing condition PM1-(n) acquired in Step S10D and the target value of the nth batch BT(n) acquired in Step S20D to the corresponding information 700 of the data server 4a. The data server 4a selects the nth manufacturing condition PM3-(n) that matches the nth manufacturing condition PM1-(n) and the target value of the nth batch BT(n) from among the manufacturing conditions PM1 and the manufacturing result indicators 640 of the corresponding information 700. The data server 4a outputs the selected nth manufacturing condition PM3-(n) to the information processing apparatus 3a as the estimation result of the manufacturing condition PM3.

[0165] (Step S40D) The result acquisition unit 340a acquires the nth manufacturing condition PM3-(n) output by the data server 4a as the estimation result of the manufacturing condition PM3. (Step S50D) The presentation unit 350a outputs the estimation result of the manufacturing condition PM2 acquired in Step S40D (that is, the nth manufacturing condition PM3-(n)) to the display device 5.

[0166] As described above, the information processing system 1a of Embodiment C estimates the manufacturing condition PM1 of the polymerization step PC11 of the next batch based on the manufacturing condition of the polymerization step PC11 of the previous batch and the target value of the next batch in the manufacturing process of the pipeline method. Therefore, according to the information processing system 1a of the present embodiment, the manufacturing result indicator confirmed in the confirmation step PC31 of the previous batch can be fed back to the manufacturing condition PM1 of the polymerization step PC11 of the next batch at a stage before the previous batch ends.

[0167] The information processing system 1a of Embodiment D estimates the manufacturing condition PM3 of the concentration adjustment step PC24 of an arbitrary batch based on the manufacturing condition of the polymerization step PC11 of the arbitrary batch and the target value of the same batch. Therefore, according to the information processing system 1a of the present embodiment, the manufacturing result indicator confirmed in the confirmation step PC31 of an arbitrary batch can be fed back to the manufacturing condition PM3 of the concentration adjustment step PC24 of the same batch at a stage before the same batch ends.

[0168] According to the information processing system 1a configured as described above, it is possible to detect early the quality variations of the manufactured product (e.g., resin) and reflect them early in the next batch. That is, according to the information processing system 1a, it is possible to make a timely formulation change.

[0169] Any one or more of the variations in monomer conversion rate, solid content, and viscosity after the polymerization step PC11 may have a great influence on the manufacturing result index 640 (e.g., solid content rate, residual monomer amount). In the information processing system 1a of Embodiment D, by reflecting any one or more of the variations in monomer conversion rate, solid content, and viscosity after the polymerization step PC11 in the manufacturing condition PM3 of the concentration adjustment step PC24, the manufacturing result index 640 (e.g., solid content rate, residual monomer amount) in the same batch can be made more stable (or improved). Any one or more of the variations in monomer conversion rate, solid content, and viscosity of the polymerization step PC11 are calculated based on a predetermined conditional expression from, for example, the pressure at the end of polymerization, the pressure difference before and after polymerization, etc. Therefore, the pressure at the end of polymerization and the pressure difference before and after polymerization can be used as indicators of any one or more of the variations in monomer conversion rate, solid content, and viscosity of the polymerization step PC11. The information processing system 1a includes, in the corresponding information 700, the starting pressure 431 and the pressure difference 434 as indicators of any one or more of the variations in monomer conversion rate, solid content, and viscosity of the polymerization step PC11. Further, the information processing system 1a includes, in the corresponding information 700, the distillation amount 511, the solvent distillation amount 512, the degree of vacuum 513, the distillation time 514, the distillation temperature 515, the addition amount 517, the residual monomer ratio 711, and the nitrogen flow rate 712 as the manufacturing condition PM3. That is, according to the information processing system 1a of the present embodiment, by taking into account the manufacturing conditions PM1 (for example, any one or more of the variation in monomer conversion rate, solid content, and viscosity in the polymerization step PC11, and the starting pressure 431 and pressure difference 434 as indicators) in a batch, the manufacturing conditions PM3 (for example, the amount of distillate, distillation time, distillation temperature, distillation pressure, amount of added solvent, residual monomer ratio, nitrogen flow rate) of the same batch are estimated, so that the manufacturing result indicators 640 (for example, solid content ratio, residual monomer amount) in the same batch can be made more stable (or improved).

[0170] Note that the information processing apparatus 3a in the third embodiment may execute both the operations described in Embodiment C and the operations described in Embodiment D.

[0171] [Modification Example 5] Note that the information processing apparatus 3a may estimate the manufacturing conditions in consideration of the maintenance index PM5. For example, in the case of Embodiment C, the manufacturing conditions PM1 of the polymerization step PC11 in the next batch may be estimated in consideration of the maintenance index PM5. In the case of Embodiment D, the manufacturing conditions PM3 of the concentration adjustment step PC24 in the same batch may be estimated in consideration of the maintenance index PM5.

[0172] Here, the maintenance index PM5 is an index indicating the maintenance status of the manufacturing facility. For example, the maintenance index PM5 includes the implementation status of maintenance activities such as equipment cleaning (for example, the number of batches after heavy cleaning work), and the replacement status of consumables such as packings, filters, belts, valves, desiccants, and oils (for example, the number of batches after valve or packing replacement). Furthermore, the maintenance index also includes the manufacturing downtime, the number of equipment cleaned (washed), the length of the piping cleaned (washed), the number of equipment opened for maintenance, and the number of updated equipment.

[0173] That is, the manufacturing conditions PM1 or PM3 include a maintenance index PM5 indicating the status of the maintenance of the manufacturing equipment. In the case of Embodiment C, the correspondence information 400 indicates the correspondence relationship between the nth manufacturing condition PM1-(n) including the maintenance index PM5, the mth manufacturing condition PM1-(m), and the mth manufacturing result index 640-(m). The maintenance index PM5 may be included in the mth manufacturing condition PM1-(m). In the case of Embodiment D, the correspondence information 600 indicates the correspondence relationship between the nth manufacturing condition PM1-(n) including the maintenance index PM5, the nth manufacturing condition PM3-(n), and the nth manufacturing result index 640-(n). The maintenance index PM5 may be included in the nth manufacturing condition PM3-(n).

[0174] In the case of Embodiment C, the manufacturing condition acquisition unit 310a acquires the nth manufacturing condition PM1-(n) including the maintenance index PM5. The manufacturing information providing unit 330a provides the correspondence information 600 with a target value and the nth manufacturing condition PM1-(n) including the maintenance index PM5. That is, the manufacturing information providing unit 330a provides the correspondence information 600 with the nth manufacturing condition PM1-(n) taking into account the maintenance index PM5.

[0175] As a result, the result acquisition unit 340a acquires an estimation result of the manufacturing condition PM1 taking into account the maintenance index PM5. The presentation unit 350a outputs the estimation result of the manufacturing condition PM1 taking into account the maintenance index PM5 to the display device 5.

[0176] In the case of Embodiment D, the manufacturing condition acquisition unit 310a acquires the nth manufacturing condition PM1-(n) including the maintenance index PM5. The manufacturing information providing unit 330a provides the correspondence information 600 with a target value and the nth manufacturing condition PM1-(n) including the maintenance index PM5. That is, the manufacturing information providing unit 330a provides the correspondence information 600 with the nth manufacturing condition PM1-(n) taking into account the maintenance index PM5.

[0177] As a result, the result acquisition unit 340a acquires an estimation result of the manufacturing condition PM3 taking into account the maintenance index PM5. The presentation unit 350a outputs the estimation result of the manufacturing condition PM3 taking into account the maintenance index PM5 to the display device 5.

[0178] Generally, when performing maintenance on manufacturing equipment such as thorough cleaning or replacement of consumables, there may be a large change in the manufacturing environment between the previous batch and the next batch, or the manufacturing environment may change discontinuously. Also, each time the number of batches is increased since the maintenance of the manufacturing equipment, the manufacturing environment may change gradually.

[0179] According to the information processing system 1a configured as in this Modification 5, it is possible to obtain an estimation result of the manufacturing condition PM1 or PM3 taking into account the maintenance status of the manufacturing equipment. Therefore, according to the information processing system 1a, even when the manufacturing environment changes due to the maintenance of the manufacturing equipment, it is possible to stabilize (or improve) the manufacturing result index 640 (for example, solid content rate, residual monomer amount) in the next batch.

[0180] [Modification 6] The maintenance index PM5 includes the implementation status of minor maintenance performed relatively frequently, medium-scale maintenance performed every few months, and large-scale maintenance performed annually. When the scale of maintenance changes, even if the manufacturing conditions PM1 and the manufacturing conditions PM3 are aligned, the quality index may fluctuate. Therefore, especially in the first batch after the implementation of large-scale maintenance, the larger the scale of maintenance, the more likely the stability of the quality index is to decrease. For example, the data server 4a may store correspondence information 600A as a learned model in which the correspondence between the maintenance index PM5 and the types of products of grades that can be manufactured in the first batch after the maintenance has been learned by machine learning. In this case, the manufacturing condition acquisition unit 310a acquires the maintenance index PM5, and the manufacturing information providing unit 330a provides the maintenance index PM5 to the correspondence information 600A of the data server 4a. The data server 4a selects the types of products of grades that can be manufactured in the first batch after the maintenance based on the correspondence information 600A and outputs it to the information processing apparatus 3a. According to the information processing system 1a configured in this way, the influence of the decrease in productivity due to maintenance can be minimized.

[0181] [Modification 7] In the above-described embodiments, for example, in the case of Embodiment C, the correspondence information 600 has been described as being information in a table format (for example, the tables illustrated in FIGS. 18 and 19) in which the manufacturing condition PM1 and the manufacturing result index 640 are associated with each other for each batch. However, the present invention is not limited to this. The correspondence information 600 only needs to indicate the correspondence relationship between the nth manufacturing condition PM1-(n), the mth manufacturing condition PM1-(m), and the target value of the mth batch BT(m) (that is, the manufacturing condition PM1 of the previous batch, the manufacturing condition PM1 and the target value of the next batch). For example, the correspondence information 600 may be a so-called learned model in which the correspondence relationship between the manufacturing condition PM1 of the previous batch and the manufacturing condition PM1 and the target value of the next batch is learned by machine learning. In this case, the data server 4a stores the correspondence information 600 as a learned model in which the correspondence relationship between the manufacturing condition PM1 of the previous batch and the manufacturing condition PM1 and the target value of the next batch is learned by machine learning. According to the information processing system 1a configured as described above, since the results of efficiently (or with high precision) learning a large amount of information by machine learning can be used, the manufacturing result index 640 (for example, solid content ratio, residual monomer amount) in the next batch can be made more stable (or improved).

[0182] Further, the correspondence information 600 may be implemented by a conditional branch type program for the correspondence relationship between the input value and the output value corresponding to the above-described learned model. Note that Modification 7 is also applicable to Embodiment D.

[0183] [Fourth Embodiment] In the present embodiment, it is different from the third embodiment in that an information processing apparatus 31a is provided instead of (or in addition to) the information processing apparatus 3a in the above-described third embodiment. Since the other configurations are the same as those in the third embodiment, the description thereof is omitted.

[0184] [Functional Configuration of Information Processing Apparatus 31a According to Fourth Embodiment] FIG. 25 is a diagram showing an example of the functional configuration of the information processing apparatus 31a according to the fourth embodiment. The information processing apparatus 31a includes, as its functional units, a manufacturing condition acquisition unit 311a, a first manufacturing information providing unit 331a, a second manufacturing information providing unit 332a, a first result acquisition unit 341a, a second result acquisition unit 342a, an index presentation unit 351a, and a result presentation unit 352a.

[0185] The manufacturing condition acquisition unit 311a acquires the nth manufacturing condition PM1-(n), which is the manufacturing condition PM1 of the nth polymerization step PC11-(n). The first manufacturing information providing unit 331a provides the nth manufacturing condition PM1-(n) acquired by the manufacturing condition acquisition unit 311a as manufacturing information for the first correspondence information 601.

[0186] The first correspondence information 601 is information indicating the correspondence between the manufacturing condition PM1 for each batch and the manufacturing result index 640 confirmed in the confirmation step PC31. In an example of this embodiment, the first correspondence information 601 has the same configuration as the above-described correspondence information 600.

[0187] When the nth manufacturing condition PM1-(n) is provided from the first manufacturing information providing unit 331a, the data server 4a searches the first correspondence information 601 and selects the manufacturing result index 640 that matches the nth manufacturing condition PM1-(n). The search result of the manufacturing result index 640 by the data server 4a will be described with reference to FIG. 26.

[0188] FIG. 26 is a diagram showing an example of the search result of the first correspondence information 601 in this embodiment. As an example, it is assumed that the manufacturing condition PM1 (the nth manufacturing condition PM1-(n)) of the nth batch BT(n) matches the manufacturing condition PM1 (the kth manufacturing condition PM1-(k)) of the kth batch BT(k). In this case, the data server 4a selects the manufacturing result index 640 (the kth manufacturing result index 640-(k)) of the kth batch BT(k) from the first correspondence information 601.

[0189] A specific example will be described for the case where (n = 10, m = n + 1, k = 1) in the above example. That is, it is assumed that the 10th manufacturing condition PM1-(10) matches the 1st manufacturing condition PM1-1 of the 1st batch BT1. In this case, the data server 4a selects the manufacturing result index 640 (the 1st manufacturing result index 640-1) of the 1st batch BT1 from among the 1st correspondence information 601.

[0190] Returning to FIG. 24, the data server 4a outputs the selected manufacturing result index 640 to the information processing device 31a.

[0191] The 1st result acquisition unit 341a acquires the manufacturing result index 640 output from the 1st correspondence information 601 provided with the nth manufacturing condition PM1-(n) as the nth manufacturing result index 640-(n) which is the manufacturing result index 640 of the nth batch BT(n).

[0192] The index presentation unit 351a outputs (i.e., presents) the nth manufacturing result index 640-(n) acquired by the 1st result acquisition unit 341a to the display device 5.

[0193] The 2nd manufacturing information providing unit 332a gives the 2nd correspondence information 602 the nth manufacturing result index 640-(n) acquired by the 1st result acquisition unit 341a and the nth manufacturing condition PM1-(n) acquired by the manufacturing condition acquisition unit 311a.

[0194] The 2nd correspondence information 602 is information indicating the correspondence relationship between the manufacturing condition PM1 and the manufacturing result index 640 for each batch. In an example of the present embodiment, the 2nd correspondence information 602 has the same configuration as the above-described correspondence information 600.

[0195] When the data server 4a is provided with the nth manufacturing condition PM1-(n) and the nth manufacturing result index 640-(n) from the second manufacturing information providing unit 332a, it searches for the second correspondence information 602 and selects the manufacturing condition PM1 of the next batch (i.e., the (n + 1)th manufacturing condition PM1-(n + 1)) that matches the batch corresponding to the nth manufacturing condition PM1-(n) and the nth manufacturing result index 640-(n). The search result of the manufacturing condition PM1 of the next batch by the data server 4a will be described with reference to FIG. 26 described above.

[0196] As an example, assume that the nth manufacturing condition PM1-(n) of the nth batch BT(n) matches the kth manufacturing condition PM1-(k) of the kth batch BT(k), and the nth manufacturing result index 640-(n) of the nth batch BT(n) matches the kth manufacturing result index 640-(k) of the kth batch BT(k). In this case, the data server 4a selects the manufacturing condition PM1 (the (k + 1)th manufacturing condition PM1-(k + 1)) of the (k + 1)th batch BT(k + 1) from the second correspondence information 602.

[0197] A specific example in the above example where (n = 10, m = n + 1, k = 1) will be described. That is, assume that the 10th manufacturing condition PM1-10 matches the first manufacturing condition PM1-1 of the first batch BT1, and the 10th manufacturing result index 640-10 matches the first manufacturing result index 640-1 of the first batch BT1. In this case, the data server 4a selects the manufacturing condition PM1 (the second manufacturing condition PM1-2) of the batch next to the first batch BT1, i.e., the second batch BT2, from the second correspondence information 602.

[0198] The second result acquisition unit 342a acquires the mth manufacturing condition PM1-(m) output from the second correspondence information 602 provided with the nth manufacturing condition PM1-(n) and the nth manufacturing result index 640(n) as the estimation result of the manufacturing condition PM1 of the polymerization step PC11 of the mth batch BT(m). The result presentation unit 352a outputs (presents) the estimation result acquired by the second result acquisition unit 342a to the display device 5.

[0199] The flow of operations (information processing method) of each functional unit of the information processing apparatus 31a described above will be described with reference to FIG. 27.

[0200] [Flow of Operations of Information Processing Apparatus 31a] Hereinafter, the flow of operations of the information processing apparatus 31a in the fourth embodiment will be described with respect to the above-described embodiments.

[0201] FIG. 27 is a diagram showing an example of the flow of operations of the information processing apparatus 31a of the present embodiment. (Step S210C) The manufacturing condition acquisition unit 311a acquires the manufacturing condition PM1 of the polymerization step PC11 of the n-th batch BT(n) (that is, the n-th manufacturing condition PM1-(n)). (Step S220C) The first manufacturing information providing unit 331a gives the n-th manufacturing condition PM1-(n) acquired in step S210C to the first corresponding information 601 of the data server 4a. The data server 4a selects a manufacturing result index 640 (n-th manufacturing result index 640-(n)) of a batch that matches the n-th manufacturing condition PM1-(n) from among the manufacturing conditions PM1 of the first corresponding information 601. The data server 4a outputs the selected n-th manufacturing result index 640-(n) to the information processing apparatus 31a as an estimation result of the manufacturing result index 640.

[0202] (Step S230C) The first result acquisition unit 341a acquires the n-th manufacturing result index 640-(n) output by the data server 4a as an estimation result of the manufacturing result index 640. (Step S240C) The second manufacturing information providing unit 332a gives the n-th manufacturing condition PM1-(n) acquired in step S210C and the n-th manufacturing result index 640-(n) acquired in step S230C to the second corresponding information 602.

[0203] The data server 4a selects the m-th manufacturing condition PM1-(m) of the m-th batch BT(m) corresponding to a batch in which the manufacturing condition PM1 of the second corresponding information 602 matches the n-th manufacturing condition PM1-(n) and the manufacturing result index 640 of the second corresponding information 602 matches the n-th manufacturing result index 640-(n).

[0204] For example, in the case of (m = n + 1) described above, the data server 4a selects the (n + 1)-th batch BT(n + 1), that is, the (n + 1)-th manufacturing condition PM1-(n + 1) which is the manufacturing condition PM1 of the batch next to the n-th batch BT(n). The data server 4a outputs the selected (n + 1)-th manufacturing condition PM1-(n + 1) to the information processing apparatus 31a as an estimation result of the manufacturing condition PM1.

[0205] (Step S250C) The second result acquisition unit 342a acquires the estimation result of the manufacturing condition PM1 output in step S240C. (Step S260C) The result presentation unit 352a outputs (i.e., presents) the estimation result of the manufacturing condition PM1 (that is, the m-th manufacturing condition PM1-(m)) acquired in step S250C to the display device 5.

[0206] As described above, the information processing system 1a of the present embodiment includes the information processing apparatus 31a. The information processing apparatus 31a estimates the manufacturing result index 640 of the batch based on the manufacturing result index of the polymerization step PC11 of the previous batch in the manufacturing process of the pipeline method. That is, the information processing apparatus 31a can estimate the manufacturing result of the batch at a stage after the polymerization step PC11 is completed and before the batch is completed (for example, at a stage before starting the second step PC2). In addition, the information processing apparatus 31a of the present embodiment estimates the manufacturing condition PM1 of the polymerization step PC11 of the next batch based on the result of the polymerization step PC11 of the previous batch and the estimated manufacturing result at the end of the previous batch. That is, the information processing apparatus 31a estimates the manufacturing result of the batch based on the manufacturing result index of the polymerization step PC11 of the previous batch, and estimates the manufacturing condition PM1 of the next batch based on the estimated manufacturing result. Therefore, according to the information processing apparatus 31a of the present embodiment, the manufacturing result index confirmed in the confirmation step PC31 of the previous batch can be fed back to the manufacturing condition PM1 of the polymerization step PC11 of the next batch at a stage before the previous batch is completed. According to the information processing system 1a configured as described above, it is possible to detect early the quality variations of the products (e.g., resins) to be manufactured and reflect them early in the next batch. That is, according to the information processing system 1a, timely formulation changes can be made.

[0207] Further, the information processing apparatus 31a of the present embodiment includes an index presentation unit 351a. The index presentation unit 351a presents the manufacturing result index 640 of the previous batch used by the information processing apparatus 31a for estimation. According to the information processing system 1a configured as described above, at the end of the polymerization step PC11 of the previous batch, the result of estimating the manufacturing result index 640 at the yield of the batch can be presented to the user. Therefore, it is possible to detect early the quality variations of the products (e.g., resins) to be manufactured and reflect them early in the next batch. That is, according to the information processing system 1a, timely formulation changes can be made.

[0208] [Modification Example 8] Note that the information processing apparatus 31a may estimate the manufacturing conditions PM1 of the polymerization step PC11 of the next batch in consideration of the maintenance index PM2, similarly to the information processing apparatus 3a described above. According to the information processing apparatus 31a configured as described above, it is possible to obtain the estimation result of the manufacturing conditions PM1 in consideration of the maintenance status of the manufacturing equipment. For this reason, according to the information processing system 1a, even when the manufacturing environment changes due to the maintenance of the manufacturing equipment, the manufacturing result index 640 (e.g., solid content rate, residual monomer amount) in the next batch can be stabilized (or improved).

[0209] Further, the first correspondence information 601 and the second correspondence information 602 may be so-called learned models that are machine-learned, similarly to the correspondence information 600 described above. According to the information processing apparatus 31a configured as described above, since the results of efficiently (or with high precision) learning a large amount of information by machine learning can be used, the manufacturing result index

[0210] Further, the first correspondence information 601 and the second correspondence information 602 may implement the correspondence relationship between the input value and the output value corresponding to the above-mentioned learned model by a conditional branch type program.

[0211] Further, the information processing system 1a may be configured by appropriately combining the functions provided in the information processing apparatus 3a of the above-described third embodiment and the information processing apparatus 31a of the fourth embodiment.

[0212] Note that a program for realizing the functions of any component in any of the devices described above may be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium, and the program may be read into a computer system and executed. Here, the "computer system" includes an operating system or hardware such as peripheral devices. Also, the "computer-readable recording medium" refers to a portable medium such as a flexible disk, a magneto-optical disk, a ROM, a CD (Compact Disc)-ROM (Read Only Memory), or a storage device such as a hard disk built into a computer system. Further, the "computer-readable recording medium" also includes a volatile memory inside a computer system that becomes a server or a client when a program is transmitted via a network such as the Internet or a communication line such as a telephone line, and holds the program for a certain period of time. The volatile memory may be, for example, a RAM (Random Access Memory). The recording medium may be, for example, a non-transitory recording medium.

[0213] Also, the above program may be transmitted from a computer system storing the program in a storage device or the like to another computer system via a transmission medium or by a transmission wave in the transmission medium. Here, the "transmission medium" for transmitting the program refers to a medium having a function of transmitting information, such as a network like the Internet or a communication line like a telephone line. Also, the above program may be for realizing a part of the above-described functions. Further, the above program may be a so-called difference file that can be realized in combination with a program already recorded in the computer system. The difference file may be called a difference program.

[0214] Also, the functions of any components in any of the devices described above may be realized by a processor. For example, each process in the embodiment may be realized by a processor that operates based on information such as a program and a computer-readable recording medium that stores information such as a program. Here, the processor may be configured such that the functions of each part are realized by individual hardware, or the functions of each part are realized by integrated hardware. For example, the processor includes hardware, and the hardware may include at least one of a circuit for processing digital signals and a circuit for processing analog signals. For example, the processor may be configured using one or more circuit devices mounted on a circuit board or one or both of one or more circuit elements. As the circuit device, an IC (Integrated Circuit) or the like may be used, and as the circuit element, a resistor or a capacitor or the like may be used.

[0215] Here, the processor may be, for example, a CPU. However, the processor is not limited to the CPU, and various processors such as, for example, a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) or a DSP (Digital Signal Processor) may be used. Also, the processor may be, for example, a hardware circuit by an ASIC (Application Specific Integrated Circuit). Also, the processor may be composed of, for example, a plurality of CPUs, or may be composed of a hardware circuit by a plurality of ASICs. Also, the processor may be composed of a combination of, for example, a plurality of CPUs and a hardware circuit by a plurality of ASICs. Also, the processor may include, for example, one or more of an amplifier circuit or a filter circuit that processes analog signals.

[0216] As described above, the embodiments of this disclosure have been described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and designs and the like within the scope not departing from the gist of this disclosure are also included.

Description of Reference Numerals

[0217] 1, 1a... Information processing system, 2... Input device, 3, 3a... Information processing device, 4, 4a... Data server, 5... Display device, 310, 310a... Manufacturing condition acquisition unit, 320, 320a... Target value acquisition unit, 330, 330a... Manufacturing information providing unit, 340, 340a... Result acquisition unit, 350, 350a... Presentation unit, 400, 500, 600, 700... Corresponding information, 31, 31a... Information processing device, 311, 311a... Manufacturing condition acquisition unit, 331, 331a... First manufacturing information providing unit, 332, 332a... Second manufacturing information providing unit, 341, 341a... First result acquisition unit, 342, 342a... Second result acquisition unit, 351, 351a... Index presentation unit, 352, 352a... Result presentation unit

Claims

1. An information processing apparatus that presents manufacturing conditions of a manufacturing process for producing a solvent-soluble fluororesin batch by batch, the manufacturing process including: a first step including a polymerization step; a second step including a concentration adjustment step after the first step; and a third step including a confirmation step of a quality index indicating the quality of the resin produced through the first step and the second step, the apparatus comprising: a manufacturing condition acquisition unit that acquires an nth manufacturing condition, which is a manufacturing condition of an nth polymerization step that is the polymerization step in the nth (n is a natural number) batch, among the manufacturing conditions including an index of the polymerization condition of the resin; a target value acquisition unit that acquires a target value of the quality index confirmed in the confirmation step of an mth (m is a natural number greater than n) batch after the nth batch; a manufacturing information providing unit that provides the target value acquired by the target value acquisition unit and the nth manufacturing condition acquired by the manufacturing condition acquisition unit to correspondence information indicating a correspondence relationship between the manufacturing conditions and the quality index for each batch; a result acquisition unit that acquires, as an estimation result of the manufacturing condition of the polymerization step in the mth batch, an mth manufacturing condition output from the correspondence information provided with the nth manufacturing condition and the target value; a presentation unit that presents the estimation result acquired by the result acquisition unit; An information processing apparatus comprising the above components.

2. The manufacturing condition acquisition unit acquires an nth manufacturing condition 1, which is a manufacturing condition 1 of the nth polymerization step that is the polymerization step in the nth batch, among the manufacturing conditions including any one or more of the variation in monomer conversion rate, solid content, and viscosity of the polymerization step in the first step; the target value acquisition unit acquires a target value of the quality index confirmed in the confirmation step of the nth batch; the manufacturing information providing unit provides the target value acquired by the target value acquisition unit and the nth manufacturing condition 1 acquired by the manufacturing condition acquisition unit to second correspondence information indicating a correspondence relationship between the manufacturing condition 1, a manufacturing condition 2 including an index of the concentration adjustment step in the second step, and the quality index; the result acquisition unit acquires, as an estimation result of the manufacturing condition 2 of the concentration adjustment step in the second step of the nth batch, an nth manufacturing condition 2, which is the manufacturing condition 2 output from the second correspondence information provided with the nth manufacturing condition 1 and the target value; The information processing apparatus according to Claim 1.

3. A first step including a polymerization step, a second step including a concentration adjustment step after the first step, and a third step including a confirmation step of a quality index indicating the quality of a resin produced through the first step and the second step, the information processing apparatus presenting manufacturing conditions of a manufacturing process for producing a solvent-soluble fluororesin for each batch, Among the manufacturing conditions including any one or more of the indexes of the monomer conversion rate, solid content, and viscosity of the polymerization step in the first step, a manufacturing condition acquisition unit that acquires a first manufacturing condition of an nth polymerization step, which is the polymerization step of the nth (n is a natural number) batch, as a first manufacturing condition 1 of the nth batch; A target value acquisition unit that acquires a target value of the quality index confirmed in the confirmation step of the nth batch; A manufacturing information providing unit that gives the target value acquired by the target value acquisition unit and the first manufacturing condition 1 of the nth batch acquired by the manufacturing condition acquisition unit to second correspondence information indicating a correspondence relationship among the first manufacturing condition 1, a manufacturing condition 2 including indexes of the manufacturing conditions of the concentration adjustment step in the second step, and the quality index; A result acquisition unit that acquires, as an estimation result of the manufacturing condition 2 of the concentration adjustment step in the second step of the nth batch, a second manufacturing condition 2, which is the manufacturing condition 2 output from the second correspondence information given the first manufacturing condition 1 of the nth batch and the target value; A presentation unit that presents the estimation result acquired by the result acquisition unit; An information processing apparatus comprising the above.

4. The manufacturing process is a process for manufacturing the fluororesin by solution polymerization, The second step includes a filtration step, The quality index includes any one or more of a solid content, viscosity, turbidity, and molecular weight The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 3.

5. The manufacturing process is a process for manufacturing the fluororesin by emulsion polymerization, The quality index includes any one or more of a solid content and a residual monomer concentration The information processing apparatus according to claim 1 or claim 3.

6. A first step including a polymerization step, a second step including a concentration adjustment step after the first step, and a third step including a confirmation step of a quality index indicating the quality of a resin produced through the first step and the second step, the information processing method presenting manufacturing conditions of a manufacturing process for producing a solvent-soluble fluororesin for each batch, Among the manufacturing conditions including the index of the polymerization conditions of the resin, obtaining the nth manufacturing condition, which is the manufacturing condition of the nth polymerization step that is the polymerization step of the nth (n is a natural number) batch; obtaining the target value of the quality index confirmed in the confirmation step of the mth (m is a natural number greater than n) batch after the nth batch; providing the obtained target value and the obtained nth manufacturing condition to the correspondence information indicating the correspondence between the manufacturing condition and the quality index for each batch; obtaining, as an estimation result of the manufacturing condition of the polymerization step of the mth batch, the mth manufacturing condition output from the correspondence information provided with the nth manufacturing condition and the target value; presenting the obtained estimation result; An information processing method including the above.

7. An information processing method for presenting the manufacturing conditions of a manufacturing process for producing a solvent-soluble fluororesin batch by batch, the manufacturing process including a first step including a polymerization step, a second step including a concentration adjustment step after the first step, and a third step including a confirmation step of a quality index indicating the quality of the resin produced through the first step and the second step, the method comprising: Among the manufacturing conditions including the index of the variation in the monomer conversion rate of the polymerization step in the first step, obtaining the nth manufacturing condition 1, which is the manufacturing condition 1 of the nth polymerization step that is the polymerization step of the nth (n is a natural number) batch; obtaining the target value of the quality index confirmed in the confirmation step of the nth batch; providing the obtained target value and the obtained nth manufacturing condition 1 to the second correspondence information indicating the correspondence between the manufacturing condition 1, the manufacturing condition 2 including the index of the manufacturing condition of the concentration adjustment step in the second step, and the quality index; obtaining, as an estimation result of the manufacturing condition 2 of the concentration adjustment step in the second step of the nth batch, the nth manufacturing condition 2, which is the manufacturing condition 2 output from the second correspondence information provided with the nth manufacturing condition 1 and the target value; presenting the obtained estimation result; An information processing method including the above.

Images