Packaging machine information display system

Abstract

This invention provides a packaging machine information display system that can estimate the true cause of an error based on the relationships between multiple errors. [Solution] A packaging machine information display system 100 comprising a packaging machine 10 for packaging an object W, a control device 20 for controlling the packaging machine 10, and a display device 30 for displaying error information of the packaging machine 10, wherein the control device 20 includes a state acquisition means 22 for acquiring a plurality of state signals representing the state of the packaging machine 10, and a detection means 23 for detecting error information of the packaging machine 10 from the plurality of state signals, and the display device 30 displays both a selected error arbitrarily selected from the error information and a recent error that occurred in the most recent past of the selected error.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a packaging machine information display system. [Background Art]

[0002] Packaging machines capable of continuously packaging a large number of objects to be packaged with packaging materials such as films are known. Such a packaging machine conveys the objects to be packaged and the packaging material on a packaging line, and automatically seals and protects the objects through operations such as film folding and thermocompression bonding while wrapping the objects with the packaging material through a plurality of processes. However, in packaging machines, the conveyed objects to be packaged or the packaging material may behave unintendedly, which may cause an error as an operational abnormality.

[0003] It is common for the above-described packaging machines to stop operation when an error is detected. However, stopping the operation of the packaging machine every time a minor, negligible error occurs reduces the operating rate of the packaging machine. Therefore, in the prior art disclosed in Patent Document 1, the packaging machine is not necessarily stopped when a malfunction occurs by attempting the packaging operation in a low-speed mode. [Prior Art Documents] [Patent Documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2013-18498 [Summary of the Invention] [Problem to be Solved by the Invention]

[0005] Incidentally, when an error occurs in a packaging machine, the location and nature of the error can be determined from the detected error symbol and name, and the error can be resolved. However, the types of errors detected in various parts of the packaging machine are diverse, and one error can trigger a chain reaction of other errors through unintended behavior of the packaged goods or packaging materials being transported. Therefore, if an error that occurred in one part triggers an error in another part, there is a risk that the root cause of the error cannot be resolved unless the initial error is identified as the true cause.

[0006] This invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and its objective is to provide a packaging machine information display system that can estimate the true cause of an error based on the relationships between multiple errors. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] <First aspect of the present invention> A first aspect of the present invention is a packaging machine information display system comprising: a packaging machine for packaging an object to be packaged; a control device for controlling the packaging machine; and a display device for displaying error information of errors occurring in the packaging machine, wherein the control device includes a state acquisition means for acquiring a plurality of state signals representing the state of the packaging machine; and a detection means for detecting the error information of the packaging machine from the plurality of state signals; and the display device displays both a selected error arbitrarily chosen from the error information and a recent error that occurred in the most recent past of the selected error.

[0008] The packaging machine information display system according to the first aspect of the present invention acquires multiple status signals of the packaging machine using a status acquisition means for the control device, detects error information from the status signals using a detection means, and displays an arbitrarily selected selection error and the most recent past error related to that selection error on a display device. As a result, the user can simultaneously check the most recent error that may be related to the selected error, and can predict the causal relationship if the most recent error triggered the selection error. Therefore, according to the packaging machine information display system according to the first aspect of the present invention, the true cause of an error can be estimated based on the relationships between multiple errors.

[0009] <Second aspect of the present invention> A second aspect of the present invention is a packaging machine information display system in which, in the first aspect of the present invention described above, the display device displays the selection error and a plurality of recent errors that occurred in the immediate past of the selection error in a timeline arranged in chronological order on the same line.

[0010] According to the packaging machine information display system of the second aspect of the present invention, by displaying selection errors and a number of related recent errors in a single row in order, it becomes easier to intuitively determine the past error situation.

[0011] <Third aspect of the present invention> A third aspect of the present invention is a packaging machine information display system in which, in the second aspect of the present invention described above, the display device displays a matrix of multiple recent errors related to each of the selection errors from the error information by arranging the timelines corresponding to a plurality of selection errors in the column direction.

[0012] According to the packaging machine information display system of the third aspect of the present invention, by displaying a matrix of multiple recent errors related to each of multiple selection errors, it is possible to check the trend of what kind of recent errors occurred immediately before the selection error occurred, and if similar recent errors occurred in multiple timelines, they can be listed as candidates for the true cause of the selection error.

[0013] <Fourth aspect of the present invention> A fourth aspect of the present invention is a packaging machine information display system in which, in the second aspect of the present invention described above, the display device displays as a starting error the first error that occurs after the packaging machine starts operation or the first error that occurs after the packaging machine stops operation.

[0014] According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the first error that occurs after the packaging machine starts operation or after the packaging machine stops operation is highly likely to be the cause of subsequent errors. Therefore, by focusing on the first error that occurs after the packaging machine starts operation or after the packaging machine stops operation as the starting error, the true cause of the error can be efficiently estimated.

[0015] <Fifth aspect of the present invention> A fifth aspect of the present invention is a packaging machine information display system in which, in the fourth aspect of the present invention described above, the display device hides the timelines that do not include the starting error.

[0016] According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, if the most recent error that triggered the selection error is not present in the timeline, the true cause of the error can be efficiently estimated by hiding that timeline.

[0017] <Sixth aspect of the present invention> A sixth aspect of the present invention provides a packaging machine information display system according to the above-described second aspect of the present invention, wherein the display device changes a display form between an error occurring during operation of the packaging machine and an error occurring during stoppage of the packaging machine among the plurality of latest errors.

[0018] According to the packaging machine information display system relating to the sixth aspect of the present invention, a latest error occurring during operation of the packaging machine is more likely to be a starting point of a selected error than an error occurring during stoppage of the packaging machine, so that the true cause of an error can be efficiently estimated by separating the display forms of the two types of errors.

[0019] <Seventh Aspect of the Present Invention> A seventh aspect of the present invention provides a packaging machine information display system according to any one of the first to sixth aspects of the present invention described above, wherein the display device is installed in a remote location away from the packaging machine.

[0020] According to the packaging machine information display system relating to the seventh aspect of the present invention, a user who is in a location away from the packaging machine can also check the abnormality history of the packaging machine.

Effects of the Invention

[0021] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a packaging machine information display system capable of estimating the true cause of an error based on the relevance of a plurality of errors.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0022] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram illustrating a configuration of a packaging machine main body in a packaging machine information display system. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an overall configuration of a packaging machine information display system. [Figure 3] FIG. 3 is an example of an initial screen of a display device. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is an example of a search result display screen. [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is an example of an abnormality timeline display.

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0023] The embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to what is described below, and can be modified and implemented as long as the gist of the invention is not altered. Furthermore, the drawings used in describing the embodiments are schematic representations of the components, and may have been partially emphasized, enlarged, reduced, or omitted to enhance understanding, and may not accurately represent the scale or shape of the components.

[0024] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the packaging machine body 1 in the packaging machine information display system 100. The packaging machine body 1 is a machine for automatically packaging a large number of items W, such as food or pharmaceuticals, with packaging materials such as film. In this embodiment, the items W are assumed to have a rectangular parallelepiped shape.

[0025] The packaging machine body 1 comprises, as its main components, a supply conveyor 2, an elevator section 3, a film reel 4, a dance lever section 5, a tear tape reel 6, a turret section 7, and a discharge section 8.

[0026] The supply conveyor 2 is a conveying mechanism that transports a large number of items to be packaged W, which are continuously supplied to the packaging machine body 1, in a single line horizontally. The elevator unit 3 is a lifting mechanism that pushes the items to be packaged W, which are placed on the supply conveyor 2, up from the supply conveyor 2, thereby supplying the items to be packaged W one by one to the height of the turret unit 7.

[0027] The film reel 4 is a roll of film that will be used as packaging material. The dance lever section 5 is a mechanism for adjusting the tension of the packaging material being pulled out from the film reel 4. The tear tape reel 6 is a roll of thin tear tape (opening tape) used to peel the packaging material from the packaged item W. The film that will be used as packaging material is joined together with the tear tape, cut to the appropriate length, and then supplied to the upstream side of the turret section 7.

[0028] The turret unit 7 is a rotating unit that has a horizontal axis and multiple pockets around its circumference, each capable of accommodating one packaged item W. It rotates intermittently in increments corresponding to the spacing between the pockets. The packaged items W, pushed up by the elevator unit 3, are stored in the pockets of the turret unit 7 by pushing the packaging material, which is being transported vertically from above, so that three sides of the rectangular parallelepiped are in contact with the packaging material. Furthermore, the packaging material stored in the pockets of the turret unit 7 together with the packaged items W is heat-sealed into a cylindrical shape by a mechanism (not shown) while the intermittent rotation of the turret unit 7 is stopped.

[0029] The discharge unit 8 is a table-shaped conveying line that receives the packaged items W from the turret unit 7 and seals the packaged items W with film by folding and heat-sealing both ends of a cylindrical packaging material covering the packaged items W using a mechanism (not shown). The discharge unit 8 then discharges each packaged item W using a pusher P that moves downstream along the conveying line.

[0030] Here, in addition to the various components of the packaging machine body 1, multiple detection devices 11 (not shown in Figure 1) are provided at various points on the packaging machine body 1 to monitor unintended behavior of the packaged item W and packaging material, and are detected as errors when problems occur in the packaging process, as will be described later. For example, the detection devices 11 can be position sensors that detect overflow of the packaged item W or packaging material, or temperature sensors that detect abnormal high temperatures in components of the packaging machine body 1, such as the blower motor.

[0031] Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of the packaging machine information display system 100. The packaging machine information display system 100 is a verification system for identifying the true cause of an error by controlling the packaging machine body 1 described above and managing error information. In this embodiment, it comprises a packaging machine 10, a control device 20, and a display device 30.

[0032] The packaging machine 10 includes the packaging machine body 1 described above, and comprises a plurality of detection devices 11 and a plurality of drive means 12 arranged on the packaging machine body 1.

[0033] The detection device 11 consists of sensors that are placed at various locations on the packaging machine body 1 to monitor the operating status of various parts of the packaging machine body 1. More specifically, the detection device 11 consists of various measuring sensors that monitor status signals of the packaging machine body 1, including sensors that measure time-series data that changes moment by moment, such as the presence and position of the packaged item W and packaging material, the temperature of the components, and the load on the movable parts, as well as sensors that open and close multiple safety covers provided on the packaging machine body 1, encoders that monitor the rotation status of the motors, and so on.

[0034] The driving means 12 is a control mechanism such as a motor for driving each of the movable parts of the packaging machine body 1, and outputs control signals for each movable part, as well as control devices for each movable part such as current values ​​and voltage values, as status signals for the packaging machine body 1.

[0035] The control device 20 is connected to the packaging machine 10 by a wired or wireless network and controls the packaging machine body 1 via the drive means 12, as well as monitoring the status of the packaging machine body 1. The control device 20 is a known PLC (programmable logic controller) that includes a microprocessor and memory necessary for control calculations, and in this embodiment it includes mechanism control means 21, status acquisition means 22, detection means 23, aggregation means 24, and storage means 25.

[0036] The mechanism control means 21 is a control instruction unit that controls each movable part of the packaging machine body 1 and manages the packaging operation by outputting a control signal to the drive means 12. The state acquisition means 22 is a monitoring unit that monitors the operating state of the packaging machine body 1 by acquiring state signals of the packaging machine body 1 via the detection device 11 and the drive means 12.

[0037] The detection means 23 evaluates each of the multiple status signals of the packaging machine body 1 acquired by the status acquisition means 22 and checks for any abnormalities at various points in the packaging machine body 1. More specifically, the detection means 23 sets multiple thresholds for each of the status signals of the packaging machine body 1 acquired by the status acquisition means 22 to determine the degree of deviation from the normal range in stages. For example, if the status signal is a temperature t measured by a temperature sensor, the normal temperature range is defined as t < 200°C, the temperature range requiring a warning is defined as 200 ≤ t < 300°C, and the temperature range requiring an emergency stop of the packaging machine body 1 is defined as t ≥ 300°C.

[0038] In this manner, the detection means 23 detects error information from multiple status signals of the packaging machine body 1 acquired by the status acquisition means 22. Regarding the multiple safety covers on the packaging machine body 1, opening the covers temporarily stops the packaging machine body 1, and then closing the covers resumes operation of the packaging machine body 1.

[0039] Furthermore, for example, if multiple proximity sensors or photoelectric sensors are used as the detection device 11, an error may be detected based on a combination of the ON / OFF states of each sensor, or if the ON / OFF state of a particular proximity sensor continues for a certain period of time or a certain number of times.

[0040] Furthermore, the detection means 23 acquires the time of error occurrence and confirms the operating status of the packaging machine body 1 (operating or stopped) immediately before the error occurred, and records these as error information along with the details of the abnormality.

[0041] The aggregation means 24 is a calculation unit that aggregates the error information detected by the detection means 23 and compiles it into visualization information for display on the display device 30. The aggregation means 24 aggregates the downtime and number of occurrences for each type of error, and also performs data analysis to identify the true cause of the error.

[0042] The storage means 25 is, for example, a well-known SD card, and is a storage medium that stores past error information detected by the detection means 23 as an anomaly history. Note that the storage means 25 is not limited to an SD card, but may be other storage media such as RAM (Random Access Memory) or a hard disk drive (HDD).

[0043] The display device 30 is a programmable display connected to the control device 20 via a wireless network. As will be described in detail later, it displays error information from the packaging machine body 1, and displays the aggregation results and analysis data from the aggregation means 24. The display device 30 includes a display means 31 consisting of a display and an input means 32 consisting of a keyboard and mouse, and transitions the screen display of aggregation results, analysis data, abnormal history, etc., according to the user's operation. The display means 31 and the input means 32 may be integrated as a touch panel. The display device 30 may also be installed in a remote location away from the packaging machine 10 via the internet or intranet. This allows the user to check the abnormal history of the packaging machine 10 from the remote display device 30, regardless of the installation location of the packaging machine 10.

[0044] Next, the display screen of the display device 30 will be described. Figure 3 is an example of the initial screen of the display device 30. In this embodiment, the display device 30 displays a screen for searching for anomaly history compiled from past error information. More specifically, by specifying items such as the period of error occurrence and the content of the anomaly as search conditions and pressing the search button B1, the display device 30 can display search results for selected errors arbitrarily selected according to the conditions from the anomaly history stored in the storage means 25.

[0045] Figure 4 shows an example of the search results display screen. The display device 30 displays the downtime, the number of occurrences, and the analysis results of the so-called ABC analysis for each type of abnormality detected as an error. Here, the downtime is the cumulative time accumulated for each type of abnormality, from the time the packaging machine body 1 stopped abnormally due to the occurrence of an error until it recovered. The number of occurrences is the number of times each type of abnormality error occurred. In other words, in this embodiment, a priority order from A to C is assigned to each type of abnormality and displayed so that errors with a long downtime for the packaging machine body 1 per error occurrence are dealt with first. The user can then press the details button B2 for each type of abnormality to display a list of abnormalities as an abnormality timeline, as will be explained next, showing the error (selection error) for that type of abnormality and the most recent errors that occurred in a predetermined period before the occurrence of that selection error.

[0046] Figure 5 shows an example of an abnormality timeline display. The display device 30 displays the abnormality history as shown in Figure 5 when the details button B2 for "scrape pusher overload" is pressed. More specifically, as shown in each row of Figure 5, the display device 30 displays the abnormality details of the selection error selected by the specified conditions in the "Current" column, and displays the operating status before the abnormality (the operating status of the packaging machine body 1 at the time the selection error occurred) and the date and time of occurrence to the left and right of it. In addition, the display device 30 displays multiple recent errors that occurred within a predetermined period (for example, 5 minutes) before the selection error occurred, in chronological order in the "Past 1," "Past 2," "Past 3," and "Past 4" columns, from the most recent to the most recent, thus displaying a timeline of the series of recent errors leading up to the selection error arranged chronologically on the same row. The number of seconds before the selection error occurred is also displayed for each recent error. Furthermore, the number of past recent errors displayed is not limited to four and can be changed as desired.

[0047] Furthermore, the display device 30 arranges the timelines corresponding to multiple selection errors that occurred during the period specified in the search criteria in a column direction, indicating each of them with "No.", thereby displaying a matrix of multiple recent errors related to each of the multiple selection errors. This allows the user to check the trend of what recent errors occurred immediately before the selected abnormal selection error occurred, and if similar recent errors occurred in multiple timelines, these can be identified as candidates for the true cause of the selection error.

[0048] Furthermore, the display device 30 displays a symbol for each of the most recent errors displayed in the "Past 4" to "Past 1" columns, according to the operating status of the packaging machine body 1 immediately before the error occurred. For example, in the example in Figure 5, if the packaging machine body 1 was stopped immediately before the error occurred, a circle symbol is placed to the left of the abnormality description, and if the packaging machine body 1 was running immediately before the most recent error occurred, a square symbol is placed to the left of the abnormality description. In this case, since the most recent error that occurred while the packaging machine body 1 was running is more likely to be related to a selection error than one that occurred while the packaging machine body 1 was stopped, the user can more easily identify the true cause by prioritizing the most recent error that occurred while the packaging machine body 1 was running.

[0049] Furthermore, the display device 30 sets the first error that occurred during the stop period and the operating period of the packaging machine body 1 in each timeline as the starting error. Here, a starting error refers to an error that may have triggered subsequent errors, and is indicated by filling in the symbol provided to the left of the abnormality description. For example, in timeline No. 1 in Figure 5, the most recent errors with the same abnormality description, "abnormal upper end of dancer lever," are displayed in "Past 4," "Past 3," and "Past 1" during the stop period of the packaging machine body 1, so the most recent error in the first "Past 4" is set as the starting error. In addition, for "Past 2" in the same timeline, the abnormality description is "safety cover," and since it was the first to occur, this is also set as the starting error.

[0050] In this way, the display device 30 displays arbitrarily selected selection errors and their associated recent errors as a series of timelines, making it easier for the user to identify the tendency for past recent errors to trigger selection errors. In particular, by displaying a symbol indicating the circumstances at the time of error occurrence for each recent error, the user can more easily identify the true cause of the selection error by focusing first on the initial error and the most recent error that occurred while the packaging machine body 1 was in operation. That is, in this embodiment, as shown in "Past 2" in the timeline of No. 8 in Figure 5, it can be determined that there is a high possibility that the selection error "Scrape pusher overloaded" was triggered by the recent error "No film on conveyor belt" which is marked with a filled square symbol.

[0051] Furthermore, in the timelines of No. 6, No. 8, No. 15, No. 20, and No. 23 in Figure 5, it can be concluded that the most recent error, "No film on conveyor belt," which is marked with a filled-in square symbol, likely triggered the selection error of "Scrape pusher overload."

[0052] In addition, in the error history list in Figure 5, if five or more recent errors occurred within five minutes prior to the selection error, it may not be possible to display all recent errors. Also, if a recent error that served as the starting point for the selection error occurred more than five minutes before the selection error, that recent error may not be displayed on the error history list screen, as shown in the timeline in No. 2. In such cases, the timeline may be hidden, as it does not include the recent error that served as the starting point. This makes it easier to identify the true cause of the error from the error history list.

[0053] As described above, the packaging machine information display system 100 of this embodiment acquires multiple status signals of the packaging machine 10 in the status acquisition means 22 of the control device 20, and displays both the selection error selected from the errors detected from the status signals in the detection means 23 and the most recent error that occurred immediately before it on the display device 30. This allows the user to simultaneously check the most recent error that may be related to the selection error of the packaging machine 10, and to predict the causal relationship if a past most recent error triggered the selection error. Therefore, according to the packaging machine information display system 100 of this embodiment, the true cause of an error can be estimated based on the relationships between multiple errors.

[0054] This concludes the description of each embodiment of the present invention, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. For example, the method for displaying multiple recent errors can take various forms. For instance, recent errors may be displayed by popping them up one by one, or a display format may be used in which multiple recent errors related to a selected error appear when a pointer on the display points to that selected error.

[0055] Furthermore, in the above embodiment, the error state was distinguished by adding a circle or square symbol to the most recent error in the abnormal timeline display, as shown in Figure 5. However, different display formats may be used, for example, by changing the color or size. [Explanation of symbols]

[0056] 1 Packaging machine body 10 Packaging machine 11 Detection device 12 Driving means 20 Control device 21 Mechanism control means 22 Means for obtaining the state 23 Detection means 30 Display device 100 Packaging machine information display system

Claims

1. A packaging machine information display system comprising: a packaging machine for packaging items to be packaged; a control device for controlling the packaging machine; and a display device for displaying error information of errors occurring in the packaging machine, The control device is A state acquisition means for acquiring multiple state signals representing the state of the packaging machine, Includes a detection means for detecting the error information of the packaging machine from a plurality of status signals, The display device is a packaging machine information display system that displays both a selected error arbitrarily chosen from the error information and a recent error that occurred in the immediate past of the selected error.

2. The packaging machine information display system according to claim 1, wherein the display device displays the selection error and a plurality of recent errors that occurred in the immediate past of the selection error in a timeline arranged in chronological order on the same line.

3. The packaging machine information display system according to claim 2, wherein the display device displays a matrix of multiple recent errors related to each of the selection errors from the error information by arranging the timelines corresponding to the multiple selection errors in a column direction.

4. The packaging machine information display system according to claim 2, wherein the display device displays the first error that occurs after the packaging machine starts operation or the first error that occurs after the packaging machine stops operation as the starting error.

5. The packaging machine information display system according to claim 4, wherein the display device hides the timelines that do not include the starting error.

6. The packaging machine information display system according to claim 2, wherein the display device changes the display format based on whether the error occurred during the operation of the packaging machine or while the packaging machine was stopped, among a plurality of recent errors.

7. The packaging machine information display system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the display device is installed in a remote location away from the packaging machine.

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