Kneading system

Abstract

The problem of the present invention is to provide a kneading system capable of appropriately setting a determination condition in determination for a kneaded state and making highly reliable determination.　In order to address the abovementioned problem, provided is the kneading system comprising a kneading unit that kneads a material to be kneaded and a determination condition setting unit that sets, before the kneading, a determination condition for determining the kneaded state on the basis of external factors other than a kneading condition at the time of kneading.　According to the present invention, the determination condition for determining the kneaded state is set in advance before kneading on the basis of not the kneading condition at the time of kneading but the external factors other than that, thereby enabling setting of an appropriate determination condition in consideration of influence of the external factors. This enables the highly reliable determination in the kneaded state determination.

Description

Mixing System

[0001] The present invention relates to a kneading system for kneading materials to obtain a kneaded product.

[0002] An internal mixer is known as an apparatus for mixing highly viscous materials (mixing materials) such as raw rubber, raw plastic, etc. For example, Patent Document 1 describes an internal mixer that includes a chamber for storing the mixing material, a pressure lid for closing the top of the chamber, and a pair of rotors attached inside the chamber.

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-120221

[0004] In order to ensure reproducibility of the kneading, the kneading termination condition in an internal kneader such as that described in Patent Document 1 is often set to the point when the kneading time, the temperature of the materials to be kneaded, or the integrated power consumption reaches a predetermined value. However, even when the same termination condition is met, there are cases where the kneading is performed normally and cases where the kneading is excessive or insufficient, and there is a need for a means for determining the kneading state (kneading abnormalities including variations in the quality of the kneading).

[0005] One possible method for determining the kneading state is to measure the physical properties of the kneaded material after kneading or to perform a functional test at the product stage. However, this requires time, and if the product is determined to be defective after going through a subsequent process, the subsequent process will be wasted, resulting in a significant decrease in productivity. Another possible method is to monitor each piece of data during kneading and determine the kneading state, but the state of the material to be kneaded changes significantly during kneading, and on-the-spot determination has significant issues in terms of accuracy.

[0006] Furthermore, when determining the kneading state, various parameter values ​​are acquired and a determination is made based on these values. At this time, as one of the determination conditions for determining the kneading state, it is necessary to set a numerical range (tolerance range) within which kneading can be considered to have been performed normally. This tolerance range is often set as a fixed value or a fixed ratio. Although the yield rate can be improved by widening the width of the numerical range as the tolerance range, this can cause problems in maintaining the quality of the product. Furthermore, since the appropriate numerical range may vary depending on the timing at which the parameter values ​​are acquired and the determination is made during kneading, it may not be appropriate to set the tolerance range as a fixed value or a fixed ratio.

[0007] The inventors have found that even if the acquired parameter values ​​are within the allowable range, the quality of kneading may not be sufficient. Furthermore, they have found that even when kneading is performed using the same device and the same material under kneading conditions that have previously been determined to have resulted in normal kneading, product defects may occur, resulting in over- or under-kneading.

[0008] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a kneading system that can appropriately set the judgment conditions for judging the kneading state and make a highly reliable judgment.

[0009] As a result of intensive research into the above-mentioned problems, the inventors have found that the quality of kneading is significantly affected not only by the kneading conditions during kneading but also by other factors.The inventors have then reached the finding that, when setting judgment conditions for judging the kneading state, by setting them before kneading based on other external factors rather than the kneading conditions during kneading, the judgment conditions can be appropriately set and highly reliable judgment can be made, and have completed the present invention.That is, the present invention is the following kneading system.

[0010] The kneading system of the present invention, which solves the above-mentioned problems, is characterized by comprising a kneading unit that kneads the material to be kneaded and a judgment condition setting unit that sets, before kneading, judgment conditions for determining the kneading state based on external factors other than the kneading conditions during kneading. As described above, the inventors discovered that even when judgment conditions set based on parameter values ​​acquired during kneading are met, the quality of the kneading may be insufficient. After extensive research into the cause of this, they discovered that the quality of the kneading is significantly affected not only by the kneading conditions during kneading (kneading time, temperature during kneading, rotor rotation speed, etc.), but also by other factors. According to the kneading system of the present invention, by setting, before kneading, judgment conditions for determining the kneading state based on external factors other than the kneading conditions, it is possible to set appropriate judgment conditions that take into account the influence of external factors. This enables highly reliable judgment of the kneading state.

[0011] In one embodiment of the kneading system of the present invention, the external factors include at least one of the ambient temperature of the kneading section, the machine temperature of the kneading section itself, the temperature of the cooling water, and the physical properties of the material being kneaded at the time of introduction into the kneading section. According to the findings of the present inventors, the quality of kneading is significantly affected not only by the type of kneading device and the kneading conditions, but also by external factors related to temperature and the state (shape and properties) of the material being kneaded before kneading. According to this feature, the external factors used to set the judgment conditions can be selected from the ambient temperature of the kneading section, the machine temperature of the kneading section itself, the temperature of the cooling water, and the physical properties (including shape) of the material being kneaded at the time of introduction into the kneading section, which are not direct kneading conditions but can be considered as environmental conditions during kneading. This makes it possible to set judgment conditions according to the temperature and the state of the material being kneaded before kneading, which have a significant impact on the quality of kneading. Therefore, it is possible to set more suitable judgment conditions with high accuracy, thereby further improving the reliability of the judgment of the kneading state.

[0012] In one embodiment of the kneading system of the present invention, the judgment conditions are upper and / or lower limit values ​​of a kneading state value indicating the state of kneading, and the kneading state value includes at least one of the drive load related to driving the kneading unit, the temperature of the material being kneaded during kneading, and the ram position. According to this feature, by setting the judgment conditions before kneading as the upper and / or lower limit values ​​of the kneading state value, i.e., a numerical range (tolerance range) within which kneading can be considered to have been performed normally, it is possible to set the tolerance range as a numerical range that can be appropriately changed depending on external factors, rather than treating it as a fixed value or fixed ratio. Therefore, it is possible to set more suitable judgment conditions with high accuracy, and it is possible to further improve the reliability of the judgment of the kneading state.

[0013] In one embodiment of the kneading system of the present invention, the judgment conditions include a judgment period consisting of a portion of the period from the start of kneading in the kneading section to the end of kneading, and the kneading system further includes a correction information acquisition unit that acquires correction information corresponding to the temperature of the material to be kneaded after the start of kneading in the kneading section, and a status information acquisition unit that acquires status information indicating the transition of the kneading status value in the kneading section, and a kneading status judgment unit that corrects the judgment conditions based on the correction information and judges the kneading status in the kneading section based on the corrected judgment conditions and status information. As described above, the quality of kneading is greatly affected by the physical properties of the material to be kneaded. Furthermore, among the physical properties of the material to be kneaded, particularly physical properties (viscosity, elasticity, etc.) vary depending on the temperature of the material to be kneaded. Therefore, it is preferable to consider the influence of changes in the physical properties of the material to be kneaded caused by differences in the temperature of the material to be kneaded when judging the kneading status. According to this feature, by acquiring correction information that changes depending on the temperature of the material to be kneaded, correcting the judgment conditions based on this acquired correction information, and further judging the kneading state using the corrected judgment conditions and the state information, it becomes possible to apply the judgment conditions that have been set in advance based on external factors to the judgment in a state in which the influence of changes in the physical properties of the material to be kneaded that occur depending on the temperature of the material to be kneaded after the start of kneading is suppressed, thereby making it possible to further improve the reliability of the judgment of the kneading state.

[0014] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a kneading system that can appropriately set the determination conditions for determining the kneading state and perform highly reliable determination.

[0015] FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing the structure of a kneading system in a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing the tendency of fluctuations in a kneading state value due to external factors. FIG. 2 is a flow chart relating to processing by the kneading system in the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing the transition of a kneading state value from the start of kneading to the end of kneading in a kneading process. FIG. 4 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing the structure of a kneading system in a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing another aspect of the transition of a kneading state value from the start of kneading to the end of kneading in a kneading process. FIG. 6 is a flow chart relating to processing by the kneading system in the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a flow chart relating to another aspect of processing by the kneading system in the second embodiment of the present invention.

[0016] Hereinafter, embodiments of the kneading system according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the kneading system described in the embodiments is merely an example for explaining the kneading system according to the present invention, and is not limited thereto.

[0017] [First embodiment] Fig. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing the structure of a kneading system in a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in Fig. 1, the kneading system 100A in this embodiment includes a kneading unit 10 and a judgment condition setting unit 20. The kneading system 100A in this embodiment also includes a kneading state judgment unit 30A that judges the kneading state using the judgment conditions set in the judgment condition setting unit 20.

[0018] The kneading unit 10 kneads materials such as plastic, rubber, etc. The kneading unit 10 includes a chamber 11, a ram 12 (pressure lid), a rotor 13, an air cylinder 14, a position sensor 15, a motor 16, and a temperature sensor 17.

[0019] The chamber 11 is a tank-shaped member that stores and mixes the materials to be mixed. As shown in Fig. 1, the top of the chamber 11 is open, and a ram 12 is inserted from above. The ram 12 seals the materials to be mixed inside the chamber 11.

[0020] The ram 12 is arranged relative to the chamber 11 in a state in which it can move up and down. The ram 12 is moved upward to open the top of the chamber 11, and the material to be kneaded is then fed into the chamber 11. Thereafter, the ram 12 is moved downward, and the rotor 13 rotates while applying pressure from above to the fed material to be kneaded, thereby kneading the material to be kneaded.

[0021] The interior space of the chamber 11 has a shape in which a pair of cylinders with parallel central axes are arranged with their side surfaces partially overlapping. A pair of rotors 13 are rotatably arranged inside the chamber 11 with their central axes coinciding with the central axes of the cylinders. Spiral rotor blades are formed on the surfaces of the rotors 13. While the interior space of the chamber 11 has been described as having the above shape, other shapes are also possible, such as a pair of cylinders with parallel central axes that do not overlap. The rotors 13 are driven to rotate by a motor 16. In this case, the motor 16 may be an electric motor or may be driven by hydraulics, an engine, or the like.

[0022] The kneading section 10 preferably includes a temperature control mechanism. Specifically, flow paths (pipes, etc.) that can supply cooling water to the chamber 11, the ram 12, and the rotor 13 may be formed.

[0023] There are no particular limitations on the various kneading conditions during kneading in the kneading section 10. Note that the kneading conditions in this embodiment refer to the operating conditions of each component of the kneading section 10 during kneading (such as the rotation speed of the rotor 13, the pressure applied by the ram 12 (ram pressure), the kneading time, and the temperature inside the chamber 11).

[0024] The kneading unit 10 according to this embodiment also transmits a kneading state value indicating the state of kneading to the kneading state determination unit 30A. Here, the kneading state value includes at least one of a group consisting of a driving load related to driving the kneading unit 10, a temperature of the material to be kneaded during kneading, and a ram position.

[0025] The drive load related to the driving of the kneading unit 10 may be anything as long as it corresponds to the energy consumed (or applied) in the kneading unit 10 during kneading, and examples thereof include those expressed in electrical characteristic values ​​such as current, voltage, power, and integrated power. More specifically, for example, when the motor 16 used in the kneading unit 10 of this embodiment is an electric motor, the drive load related to the rotational drive of the rotor 13 is the power consumption of the motor 16 that rotates the rotor 13, and is monitored by a drive power circuit of the motor 16 and transmitted to the kneading state determination unit 30A. In other words, the drive power circuit of the motor 16 outputs information indicating the drive load related to the rotational drive of the rotor 13 to the kneading state determination unit 30A.

[0026] The temperature of the material to be kneaded during kneading is the temperature of the material to be kneaded inside the kneading section 10 while kneading is being performed. The temperature of the material to be kneaded is measured by a temperature sensor 17 disposed in the chamber 11 and transmitted to the kneading state determination section 30A. In other words, the temperature sensor 17 outputs a signal corresponding to the temperature of the material to the kneading state determination section 30A.

[0027] The ram position, which is the position of the ram 12, is monitored by a position sensor 15 that detects the position of the ram 12 and is transmitted to the kneading state determination unit 30A. In other words, the position sensor 15 outputs a signal corresponding to the position of the ram 12 to the kneading state determination unit 30A.

[0028] The judgment condition setting unit 20 sets judgment conditions for judging the kneading state before kneading based on external factors other than the kneading conditions during kneading.

[0029] According to the findings of the present inventors, the quality of mixing is significantly affected not only by the type of mixing device and mixing conditions, but also by other external factors. The findings of the inventors will be described below with reference to FIG. 2 regarding the influence of the time (season) of mixing on mixing quality, which correlates with the ambient temperature of the mixing section 10, which is one of the environmental conditions during mixing and an external factor of this embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the tendency of fluctuations in the mixing state value due to external factors. The horizontal axis of FIG. 2 represents the time (unit: month) of mixing, and the vertical axis of FIG. 2 represents the mixing state value. In FIGS. 2A to 2C, the vertical axes represent the drive load, the temperature of the material being mixed during mixing, and the ram position. In FIG. 2, the columns represent the ranges of values ​​obtained as actual measurements of each mixing state value.

[0030] As shown in Fig. 2, it was found that the obtained kneading state values ​​are all significantly affected by differences in the time (season) when kneading is performed. Therefore, it was shown that if the upper and / or lower limit values ​​(tolerance range) of the kneading state value, which is the judgment condition, are set based only on the kneading state value when kneading is performed in April (dashed line in Fig. 2), it may become an inappropriate judgment condition at other times.

[0031] Based on this knowledge, the kneading system 100A of this embodiment sets the judgment conditions in advance before kneading based on other external factors rather than on the kneading conditions and kneading state values, thereby making it possible to set appropriate judgment conditions that take into account the influence of external factors.

[0032] The judgment condition setting unit 20 of this embodiment includes an external factor information acquisition unit 21, a storage unit 22, and a calculation unit 23.

[0033] The external factor information acquisition unit 21 acquires information related to external factors and transmits the acquired information to the storage unit 22 and the calculation unit 23. Here, the external factors are factors related to the quality of mixing other than the above-mentioned mixing conditions, and particularly include at least one of the ambient temperature of the mixing unit 10, the machine temperature of the mixing unit 10 itself (wall temperature of the chamber 11), the temperature of the cooling water, and the physical properties of the material to be mixed at the time of introduction into the mixing unit 10. Note that the physical properties of the material to be mixed as external factors may be any property that represents the state of the material to be mixed before being introduced into the mixing unit 10, such as the shape (powder or lumps) and size of the material to be mixed, as well as the physical properties (viscosity, elasticity, etc.) of the material to be mixed at the time of introduction. Furthermore, the temperature of the material to be mixed at the time of introduction (before introduction) may be used as an index that indirectly represents the physical properties of the material to be mixed. In particular, by selecting from the external factors that can be one of the environmental conditions when kneading, such as the ambient temperature of the kneading section 10, the machine temperature of the kneading section 10 itself (wall temperature of the chamber 11), the water temperature of the cooling water, and the physical properties (including the shape) of the material to be kneaded when it is introduced into the kneading section 10, it becomes possible to set judgment conditions according to external factors that have a large effect on the quality of kneading. This makes it possible to set suitable judgment conditions with high precision, and therefore makes it possible to increase the reliability of judgment of the kneading state.

[0034] The external factor information acquiring unit 21 acquires information related to external factors through various measuring instruments or operator input. Specific examples of the external factor information acquiring unit 21, when the external factor is information related to temperature, include a thermometer that measures the air temperature in the environment (inside or outside the factory) where the kneading system 100A is installed, a thermometer that measures the wall temperature of the chamber 11, and a thermometer that measures the temperature of the cooling water supplied to the kneading unit 10. When the external factor is information related to the physical properties of the kneaded material, examples of the external factor information acquiring unit 21 include a measuring instrument (such as an imaging device, viscometer, or thermometer) that measures information related to the shape, size, and physical properties of the kneaded material, or input of visual observation results.

[0035] The storage unit 22 stores the information acquired by the external factor information acquisition unit 21 and transmits the stored information to the calculation unit 23. The storage unit 22 also stores information linking past kneading state values ​​measured by the kneading unit 10 and transmitted to the kneading state determination unit 30A with information related to external factors. At this time, statistical data using information for each external factor as a population may be created and stored. By using the created statistical data, the calculation accuracy of the calculation unit 23 can be improved, and more appropriate determination conditions can be determined. Furthermore, the storage unit 22 may store the determination conditions determined by the calculation unit 23. At this time, the information acquired by the external factor information acquisition unit 21 and the determination conditions determined by the calculation unit 23 may be linked and stored, and the linked information may be used to improve the calculation speed and calculation accuracy of the calculation unit 23.

[0036] The calculation unit 23 determines the judgment conditions based on information from the external factor information acquisition unit 21 and the storage unit 22. Here, the judgment conditions are used to judge the kneading state (quality) and include information related to the period to be judged and the object to be judged. In particular, the judgment conditions determined by the calculation unit 23 are preferably the upper and / or lower limit values ​​of the kneading state value described above, i.e., a numerical range (acceptable range) within which kneading can be considered to have been performed normally. By setting the judgment conditions determined by the calculation unit 23 to an acceptable range, it becomes possible to set the acceptable range as a numerical range that can be appropriately changed depending on external factors, rather than treating it as a fixed value or fixed ratio.

[0037] The kneading state determination unit 30A determines the kneading of the material in the kneading unit 10 based on the above-mentioned kneading state value transmitted from the kneading unit 10 and the determination conditions set by the determination condition setting unit 20. The kneading state determination unit 30A includes a state information acquisition unit 31 that acquires information indicating the transition of the kneading state value transmitted from the kneading unit 10 (hereinafter also referred to as "state information"), which is one of the pieces of information used for determination, and a determination unit 32 that determines whether the kneading state is normal or abnormal during execution of kneading in the kneading unit 10, based on the state information and the determination conditions set by the determination condition setting unit 20. Details of the determination performed by the kneading state determination unit 30A will be described later.

[0038] The kneading system 100A in this embodiment may also include a control unit 40 that controls the operation of the kneading system 100A. The control unit 40 may include a kneading state determination unit 30A and a determination condition setting unit 20, and may control the operation of each component of the kneading unit 10 based on the determination result by the kneading state determination unit 30A. The control unit 40 may also include a control unit in which programs corresponding to the kneading state determination unit 30A, the determination condition setting unit 20, etc. are stored in a ROM or non-volatile memory (not shown), and the programs are loaded into a CPU for execution, thereby executing processes corresponding to the kneading state determination unit 30A, the determination condition setting unit 20, etc.

[0039] Furthermore, the kneading system 100A in this embodiment may be provided with a display unit 50 and an input unit 60 and controlled by the control unit 40.

[0040] The display unit 50 is controlled by the control unit 40 to display the reference kneading chart G described later, as well as the operating conditions of the kneading unit 10 and the current operating status (kneading state values ​​such as power, temperature of materials to be kneaded, ram position, etc.). Specifically, the display unit 50 is configured by a display device such as a liquid crystal display. Furthermore, when the kneading state determination unit 30A determines that the kneading state in the kneading unit 10 is abnormal, the display unit 50 may display a screen indicating the kneading abnormality. The kneading abnormality may be notified by a warning sound, a warning light, etc.

[0041] The input unit 60 is used to receive input from an operator regarding the operating conditions and set values ​​of the kneading unit 10, the above-mentioned judgment conditions, etc. The input unit 60 is specifically an input means such as a keyboard or a numeric keypad. A touch panel type liquid crystal display may be used as a device that serves both as the display unit 50 and the input unit 60.

[0042] An example of the procedure for processing by the kneading system 100A of this embodiment will be described below with reference to Figures 3 and 4. Figure 3 is a flow diagram for processing in the kneading system 100A of this embodiment, specifically a flow diagram including the setting of judgment conditions by the judgment condition setting unit 20 of this embodiment and the kneading state judgment by the kneading state judgment unit 30A. Also, Figure 4 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing the transition of the kneading state value from the start of kneading to the end of kneading. Note that data showing the transition of the kneading state value during normal kneading can be used for judgment as a reference kneading chart G.

[0043] First, the external factor information acquisition unit 21 of the judgment condition setting unit 20 acquires information related to external factors (S11). Then, information stored in the memory unit 22 and necessary for setting judgment conditions, which associates past mixing state values ​​measured by the mixing unit 10 and transmitted to the mixing state judgment unit 30A with information related to external factors, is transmitted to the calculation unit 23 (S12). The calculation unit 23 determines upper and / or lower limit values ​​(tolerance ranges) of the mixing state values ​​based on the information transmitted from the memory unit 22 and the information acquired by the external factor information acquisition unit 21 (S13). For example, if the external factor information acquisition unit 21 acquires the ambient temperature of the mixing unit 10, information related to a past tolerance range used under ambient temperature conditions similar to this ambient temperature may be determined as the judgment conditions for the current mixing process. In other words, past judgment conditions under the same or similar environmental conditions during mixing are used instead of the mixing conditions or the most recent judgment conditions.

[0044] After the judgment conditions are set by the judgment condition setting unit 20, kneading in the kneading unit 10 is started (S14). First, compounding materials such as rubber polymer, filler such as carbon, and oil are charged into the chamber 11, and the ram 12 is lowered to apply pressure and rotate the rotor 13. Then, the material to be kneaded is caught between the rotor blades of the rotor 13 and kneaded (kneading start).

[0045] Immediately after the start of kneading, the material to be kneaded is bitten into the rotor 13, and the rubber polymer is broken down (biting stage). Accordingly, the ram 12 descends, the ram position value decreases, and the power increases. Following this, in the process in which the filler adheres to the rubber surface, the power reaches a minimum value. Thereafter, in the process in which the rubber and filler are integrated, the power increases again, and the material temperature also increases accordingly (integration stage). Thereafter, the power reaches a maximum (power peak) and then decreases. Accordingly, the temperature increase becomes gradual. In this stage, the filler is uniformly dispersed (dispersion stage).

[0046] During the execution of kneading in the kneading unit 10 (from the start of kneading to the end of kneading), status information is acquired by the status information acquisition unit 31 in the kneading status judgment unit 30A (S15), and based on the judgment by the judgment unit 32, it is judged whether the kneading status is normal or abnormal (S16). After the judgment, it is judged whether the kneading termination condition is met (S17), and if it is judged that the kneading termination condition is met (S17: YES), kneading is terminated. Note that the kneading termination condition may be the passage of a predetermined time, the reaching of a predetermined temperature value, the reaching of a predetermined integrated power value, or a combination thereof.

[0047] After the judgment (S16), it is preferable to transmit information related to the judgment result to the storage unit 22 in the judgment condition setting unit 20 and store it therein. In addition, it is preferable to link the external factors with the judgment result, and create and store statistical data for each external factor. This makes it possible to improve the accuracy of the judgment condition setting in the judgment condition setting unit 20.

[0048] Here, with regard to the judgment of the kneading state, the points that a skilled worker actually focuses on during the kneading process are limited, and it is not necessary to monitor all data from the start to the end of kneading. Therefore, in the kneading system 100A according to this embodiment, the judgment conditions used when making a judgment in the kneading state judgment unit 30A include a period to be judged and information related to the judgment object, the period to be judged (judgment period) is set as a part of the period from the start of kneading in the kneading unit 10 to the end of kneading, and the information related to the judgment object is set as a numerical range (allowable range) for the kneading state value.

[0049] The judgment conditions according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 4. As described above, FIG. 4 shows the transition of the kneading state value (state information) from the start of kneading to the end of kneading, with the horizontal axis representing time and the vertical axis representing the kneading state value. Five rectangles C1 to C5 shown in FIG. 4 represent the first judgment condition C1, the second judgment condition C2, the third judgment condition C3, the fourth judgment condition C4, and the fifth judgment condition C5, respectively. Note that the predetermined period (time) and predetermined range (value) in the following description are omitted in FIG. 4 except for the first judgment condition C1.

[0050] The first judgment condition C1 is that "the value of the ram position in the state information falls within a predetermined range (value x1A to value x1B) during a predetermined period (time t1A to time t1B)." In other words, the horizontal position and width of the rectangle C1 shown in Figure 4 indicate the time range (judgment period) of the first judgment condition C1, and the vertical position and width indicate the range of the ram position value for the first judgment condition C1.

[0051] The second judgment condition C2 is that "the value of the ram position in the state information falls within a predetermined range (value x2A to value x2B) during a predetermined period (time t2A to time t2B)." In other words, the horizontal position and width of the rectangle C2 shown in Figure 4 indicate the time range (judgment period) of the second judgment condition C2, and the vertical position and width indicate the range of the ram position value for the second judgment condition C2.

[0052] The third determination condition C3 is that the value of the drive load (power) in the state information falls within a predetermined range (value x3A to value x3B) during a predetermined period (time t3A to time t3B). In other words, the horizontal position and width of the rectangle C3 shown in Figure 4 indicate the time range (determination period) of the third determination condition C3, and the vertical position and width indicate the range of the drive load (power) value of the third determination condition C3.

[0053] The fourth determination condition C4 is that, for a predetermined period (time t4A to time t4B), the maximum and minimum values ​​of the drive load (power) value included in the status information must be within a predetermined range (value x4A to value x4B). In other words, the horizontal position and width of the rectangle C4 shown in Figure 4 indicate the time range (determination period) of the fourth determination condition C4, and the vertical position and width indicate the range of the drive load (power) value of the fourth determination condition C4.

[0054] The fifth judgment condition C5 is that "the value of the temperature of the kneading material in the state information falls within a predetermined range (value x5A to value x5B) during a predetermined period (time t5A to time t5B)." In other words, the horizontal position and width of the rectangle C5 shown in Fig. 4 indicate the time range of the fifth judgment condition C5, and the vertical position and width indicate the range of the value of the temperature of the kneading material in the fifth judgment condition C5.

[0055] In the kneading system 100A according to this embodiment, the determination period for the first determination condition C1 to the fifth determination condition C5 is set to a portion of the period from the start to the end of kneading as described above, so that the determination can be made at the necessary point (determination period) using the necessary data (status information), thereby making the determination efficient. Furthermore, the determination can be made so that events that have little impact on the quality of kneading are not included in the determination, making it possible to make a stable determination. This will be described in more detail below with reference to FIG. 4.

[0056] In the biting stage immediately after the start of pressure application, it is important that the material to be kneaded is being bitten normally, and if it is being bitten normally, the ram 12 will descend. Therefore, the first judgment condition C1 is used to monitor and judge whether the ram position value is within the normal range.

[0057] In the subsequent integration stage, if the rise in power is slow, slippage may occur between the rotor 13 and the material to be kneaded, and kneading may not be progressing. Therefore, the third judgment condition C3 is used to monitor and judge whether the power value is within the normal range.

[0058] During the subsequent power peak, in order to confirm that the magnitude of the shear force of the rotor 13, which is important for dispersion, is normal, the fourth judgment condition C4 is used to monitor and judge whether the power value, which is considered to indicate the magnitude of the shear force, is within a normal range. At the same time, the second judgment condition C2 is used to monitor and judge whether the ram position value is within a normal range.

[0059] In the dispersion stage, there is an appropriate temperature range for the temperature of the material to be mixed at the end of mixing. Therefore, the fifth judgment condition C5 is used to monitor and judge whether the temperature of the material to be mixed is within the normal range.

[0060] When each of the first to fifth judgment conditions C1 to C5 is failed, the control unit 40 may be configured to display a failure message on the display unit 50 or to sound an alarm.

[0061] Referring to FIG. 4 , the kneading state determination (S16) by the kneading state determination unit 30A will be described with a specific example. The determination unit 32 makes a determination by comparing the state information acquired by the state information acquisition unit 31 every moment since the start of kneading with the determination conditions preset by the determination condition setting unit 20. Since the time range (determination period) of any of the determination conditions does not apply from the start of kneading until time t1A, no determination is made. Between times t1A and t1B, the determination unit 32 determines whether the ram position is greater than or equal to x1A and less than or equal to x1B (the allowable range). In the example shown in FIG. 4 , the ram position value at time t1A is greater than or equal to x1A and less than or equal to x1B, which satisfies the first determination condition C1. Therefore, the determination unit 23 determines that the kneading state is normal. Similarly, when the time falls within the time range (determination period) of the determination conditions, the determination unit 32 compares the kneading state value (drive load, material temperature, or ram position) indicated by the state information with the allowable range indicated by the determination conditions to determine whether the determination conditions are met. If the determination conditions are met, the determination unit 32 determines that the kneading state is normal, and if the determination conditions are not met, the determination unit 32 determines that the kneading state is abnormal.

[0062] As described above, the kneading system 100A in this embodiment includes a kneading unit that kneads the materials to be kneaded, and a judgment condition setting unit that sets judgment conditions before kneading for judging the kneaded state based on external factors other than the kneading conditions during kneading. By setting judgment conditions before kneading for judging the kneaded state based on external factors other than the kneading conditions during kneading, it is possible to set appropriate judgment conditions that take into account the influence of external factors. This makes it possible to make highly reliable judgments in judging the kneaded state.

[0063] [Second embodiment] Fig. 5 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing the structure of a kneading system in a second embodiment of the present invention. The kneading system 100B in the second embodiment is equipped with a kneading state judgment unit 30B that further includes a correction information acquisition unit 33 in addition to a state information acquisition unit 31 and a judgment unit 32, instead of the kneading state judgment unit 30A in the kneading system 100A in the first embodiment. Note that descriptions of the same components as those in the first embodiment will be omitted.

[0064] The quality of mixing is greatly affected by the physical properties of the material being mixed. Furthermore, among the physical properties of the material being mixed, particularly the physical properties (viscosity, elasticity, etc.) vary depending on the temperature of the material being mixed. Therefore, when determining the mixing state, it is preferable to consider the influence of changes in the physical properties of the material being mixed caused by differences in the temperature of the material being mixed. Here, the mixing system 100B of this embodiment includes a correction information acquisition unit 33 as the mixing state determination unit 30B, which acquires correction information according to the temperature of the material being mixed after mixing begins in the mixing unit. The system corrects the determination conditions based on this acquired correction information, and then determines the mixing state using the corrected determination conditions and the state information. This makes it possible to apply the determination conditions, which are preset based on external factors, to the determination in a manner that suppresses the influence of changes in the physical properties of the material being mixed caused by the temperature of the material being mixed after mixing begins.

[0065] The correction information acquisition unit 33 acquires correction information. The acquired correction information is information that changes depending on the temperature of the material to be kneaded. A specific example of the correction information acquisition unit 33 in this embodiment is to measure the time from when kneading begins in the kneading unit 10 until the material to be kneaded reaches a reference temperature Ts (an example of a predetermined temperature), and acquire correction information based on the length of the measured time.

[0066] The correction reference information is information used as a reference when the correction information acquisition unit 33 acquires correction information. In this embodiment, the correction reference information includes a reference temperature Ts and a reference time ts. The correction reference information is determined by a user and is stored in advance, for example, based on an operation input received through the input unit 60. In this case, the correction reference information may be stored by utilizing the function of the memory unit 22 in the judgment condition setting unit 20 described above, or a memory means independent of the memory unit 22 may be provided and stored together with various data used by the kneading state judgment unit 30B and the control unit 40, such as the reference kneading chart G and termination condition information. The reference time ts may be the time from the start of kneading in the reference kneading chart G until the temperature of the kneaded material reaches the reference temperature Ts.

[0067] Acquisition of correction information by the correction information acquisition unit 33 and correction of the judgment conditions by the judgment unit 32 will be described with reference to FIG. 6 . FIG. 6 shows another example of the transition of the kneading state value (state information) from the start of kneading to the end of kneading, with the horizontal axis representing time and the vertical axis representing the kneading state value. In the state information shown in FIG. 6 , the material temperature rises faster and kneading progresses faster than in the state information (reference kneading chart G) shown in FIG. 4 . The correction information acquisition unit 33 monitors the temperature of the kneading material acquired by the state information acquisition unit 31 every moment from the start of kneading and acquires the time ta from the start of kneading until the temperature of the kneading material reaches the reference temperature Ts. The correction information acquisition unit 33 determines and stores the difference Δt (= ta - ts) between the time ta and the reference time ts as the correction time. In the example shown in FIG. 6 , the temperature of the kneading material rises faster than in the reference kneading chart G (dotted line in FIG. 6 ), and ta is smaller than ts. Therefore, Δt is a negative value. The correction time is an example of correction information.

[0068] In this embodiment, the judgment unit 32 corrects the judgment conditions in response to the correction time Δt determined by the correction information acquisition unit 33. Specifically, the judgment unit 32 adds the correction time Δt to the times t1A, t1B, etc., that define the time ranges of the first to fifth judgment conditions. That is, the corrected first judgment condition C1 is that the ram position value must be greater than or equal to x1A and less than or equal to x1B (tolerance range) from time t1A + Δt to time t1B + Δt (time range). In the example shown in FIG. 6, Δt is a negative value, so the correction shifts the time range (judgment period) to an earlier time. In FIG. 6, the judgment conditions C1 to C5 before correction are indicated by dashed lines, and the judgment conditions C1 to C5 after correction are indicated by solid lines. After correcting the judgment conditions, the judgment unit 32 judges the kneading state based on the corrected judgment conditions.

[0069] 6 shows an example in which the temperature of the material to be kneaded rises faster than in the reference kneading chart G. On the other hand, if the material temperature rises slower than in the reference kneading chart G, the time ta required for the temperature of the material to reach the reference temperature Ts will be longer than the reference time ts. In this case, the correction time Δt will be a positive value. Furthermore, as a result of the correction, the time range (determination period) of the judgment condition will move to a later time.

[0070] An example of a procedure for processing by the kneading system 100B of this embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 7. Fig. 7 is a flow diagram for processing in the kneading system 100B of this embodiment, specifically a flow diagram including determination condition setting by the determination condition setting unit 20 of this embodiment and kneading state determination by the kneading state determination unit 30B. Note that a description of the contents common to the flow for processing in the kneading system 100A of the first embodiment will be omitted.

[0071] First, the determination condition setting unit 20 sets a determination condition based on an external factor (S21). Note that step S21 includes the contents corresponding to steps S11 to S13 described above.

[0072] Then, kneading is started (S22), and the time when kneading started is stored. Next, the state information acquisition section 31 in the kneading state determination section 30B acquires state information and stores it together with the current time (S23).

[0073] Next, the correction information acquisition section 33 in the kneading state determination section 30B determines whether or not the temperature of the material to be kneaded has reached the reference temperature Ts based on the state information acquired in step S23 (S24).

[0074] In response to determining in step S24 that the temperature of the material to be kneaded has reached the reference temperature Ts (S24: YES), the correction information acquisition unit 33 acquires correction information (S25). Specifically, the correction information acquisition unit 33 calculates a time ta from the time when the kneading process started and the current time. The time ta is the time from the start of kneading until the temperature of the material to be kneaded reaches the reference temperature Ts. The correction information acquisition unit 33 determines the difference Δt (= ta - ts) between the time ta and the reference time ts as the correction time and stores it.

[0075] Next, the determination unit 32 corrects the determination conditions based on the correction time Δt determined in step S25 (S26). Specifically, the determination unit 32 updates the determination conditions so that the correction time Δt is added to the times t1A, t1B, etc. that define the time ranges of each of the determination conditions C1 to C5.

[0076] After executing step S26, the kneading state determination unit 30B acquires the determination conditions (S27). Before the correction of the determination conditions in S26, the determination unit 32 acquires the pre-correction determination conditions, and after the correction of the determination conditions in S26, the determination unit 32 acquires the corrected determination conditions.

[0077] In the following steps S28 and S29, the kneading state determination section 30B determines the kneading state in the kneading section 10 based on the state information acquired in step S23 and the corrected determination conditions acquired in step S27.

[0078] First, it is determined whether the time when the status information was acquired is within the time range of the judgment conditions (S28). Then, if it is determined that the time is within the time range (S28: YES), it is determined whether the status information matches the judgment conditions (S29). The determination of whether the status information matches the judgment conditions is made according to the aspect of the judgment conditions.

[0079] For example, the first judgment condition C1 is that the ram position value includes a value greater than or equal to x1A and less than or equal to x1B (tolerance range) from time t1A to time t1B. The kneading state judgment unit 30B monitors the ram position value between time t1A and time t1B. The judgment unit 32 then judges whether the ram position value between time t1A and time t1B includes a value greater than or equal to x1A and less than or equal to x1B. The judgment unit 32 determines that the judgment condition is met if it is determined that the ram position value includes the value (S29: YES). On the other hand, the judgment unit 32 determines that the judgment condition is not met if it is determined that the ram position value does not include the value (S29: NO). For example, in the judgment of the first judgment condition C1, the judgment condition is met if the ram value falls within the tolerance range, whereas the judgment condition is not met if the ram value does not fall within the tolerance range by time t1B. The kneading state determining section 30B may perform the processes of steps S21 to S31 in parallel while making the determination in step S29, or may perform the process of step S29 for other determination conditions.

[0080] Here, if it is determined in the process of S29 that the determination conditions are not met (S29: NO), the control unit 40 can notify the user of a kneading abnormality (S30). For example, the control unit 40 can cause the display unit 50 to display a screen indicating the kneading abnormality. Note that step S30 may be omitted.

[0081] The kneading state determination unit 30B determines whether the kneading termination condition is met (S31) in response to determining that the determination condition is met in S29 (S29: YES) or in response to executing the process of S30. Then, in response to determining that the kneading termination condition is met (S31: YES), the kneading process is terminated.

[0082] Another mode of processing in the kneading system 100B of this embodiment is that the correction information acquisition unit 33 acquires correction information based on the temperature Ta of the material to be kneaded when kneading begins. In this case, the correction reference information includes a correction time table. The correction time table is a table showing the correspondence between the temperature Ta of the material to be kneaded when kneading begins and the correction time. For example, the correction time table includes multiple temperature ranges and correction times when the temperature Ta is within the temperature ranges. For example, the correction time is determined to be shorter as the temperature Ta becomes higher. The correction time may be a negative value.

[0083] The correction information acquisition unit 33 acquires correction information based on the temperature Ta of the material to be kneaded when kneading is started and the correction time table included in the correction reference information.

[0084] Fig. 8 is a flow diagram of another mode of processing in the kneading system 100B of this embodiment. Hereinafter, the kneading processing in this mode will be described with reference to Fig. 8. First, as in the kneading processing shown in Fig. 7, the determination condition setting unit 20 sets the determination conditions and the processing up to the start of kneading is executed (S21, S22).

[0085] Then, after step S22, correction information is acquired (S32). More specifically, the correction information acquisition unit 33 acquires a signal indicating the temperature of the material to be kneaded from the temperature sensor 17, and stores the temperature as the temperature Ta of the material to be kneaded when kneading begins. The correction information acquisition unit 33 refers to the correction time table indicated by the correction reference information, determines the correction time corresponding to the temperature Ta as the correction time Δt, and stores it.

[0086] Next, the determination unit 32 corrects the determination conditions in step S33 based on the correction time Δt determined in step S32, and acquires the corrected determination conditions in step S34.

[0087] 7, state information is acquired in step S35, and then steps S28 to S31 (S36 to S39) are performed. If it is determined that the termination condition is met (S39: YES), the kneading process is terminated.

[0088] The correction information acquisition unit 33 in this embodiment may acquire the correction information based on the temperature of the kneading unit 10. The temperature of the kneading unit 10 includes the machine temperature and is acquired by temperature sensors provided inside and outside the kneading unit 10. When kneading in the kneading unit 10 starts, the temperature of the material to be kneaded introduced into the chamber 11 of the kneading unit 10 approaches the temperature of the kneading unit 10 by coming into contact with the inner wall of the chamber 11 of the kneading unit 10. Therefore, the temperature of the kneading unit 10 can be used instead of the temperature of the material to be kneaded, which simplifies the temperature measurement required to acquire the correction information.

[0089] According to the kneading system 100B of this embodiment, correction information that changes depending on the temperature of the material to be kneaded is acquired, the judgment conditions are corrected based on this acquired correction information, and the kneading state is judged using the corrected judgment conditions and the state information, so that the judgment conditions that are set in advance based on external factors can be applied to the judgment in a state that suppresses the influence of changes in the physical properties of the material to be kneaded that occur depending on the temperature of the material to be kneaded after the start of kneading. This makes it possible to further improve the reliability of the judgment of the kneading state.

[0090] The above-described embodiment shows an example of a kneading system. The kneading system according to the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and the kneading system according to the above-described embodiment may be modified within the scope of the gist of the claims.

[0091] For example, it is possible to configure a part of the kneading system in the above-described embodiment as an independent kneading state determination device, which can be installed later on an existing kneading device (kneading unit 10). In this case, the kneading state determination device may be configured to include at least a determination condition setting unit 20 and a kneading state determination unit 30A or 30B, and further include a control unit 40, a display unit 50, and an input unit 60.

[0092] Furthermore, although the judgment conditions used in the kneading system of this embodiment have been described as defining the judgment period by time, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the judgment period may be defined by an integrated power value. If the integrated power value is used as the basis, when poor meshing occurs during the meshing stage, the power will be low, and the increase in the integrated power value will also be small, allowing for appropriate judgment to be made without being affected by the time delay of meshing. In other words, by defining the judgment period by the integrated power value and making the judgment based on the integrated power value, judgment can be made based on the response (ram position, drive load, and material temperature) to the energy actually applied to the kneading, and stable judgment can be made without being affected by time delays due to events that have little effect on the kneading quality.

[0093] In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the acceptable range as a judgment condition was shown to be defined by an upper limit value and a lower limit value of the kneading state value, but it may also be defined by only the upper limit value or only the lower limit value of the kneading state value.

[0094] The kneading system of the present invention can be used for kneading a material to be kneaded. The kneading system of the present invention is particularly suitable for performing kneading with excellent reliability in determining the kneading state.

[0095] 100A, 100B... kneading system, 10... kneading section, 11... chamber, 12... ram, 13... rotor, 14... air cylinder, 15... position sensor, 16... motor, 17... temperature sensor, 20... judgment condition setting section, 21... external factor information acquisition section, 22... storage section, 23... calculation section, 30... kneading state judgment section, 31... state information acquisition section, 32... judgment section, 33... correction information acquisition section, 40... control section, 50... display section, 60... input section, G... reference kneading chart

Claims

1. A kneading section for kneading the material to be kneaded; A judgment condition setting unit that sets judgment conditions for judging a kneaded state before kneading based on external factors other than the kneading conditions during kneading, The kneading system according to claim 1, wherein the judgment condition setting unit determines an upper limit value or a lower limit value of a kneading state value based on an external factor.

2. The kneading system described in Claim 1, characterized in that the judgment condition setting unit determines an upper limit or lower limit value of the kneading state value based on past judgment conditions when the environmental conditions during kneading are the same or similar.

3. The kneading system according to claim 1 , wherein the external factors include at least one of an ambient temperature of the kneading section, a machine temperature of the kneading section itself, a water temperature of cooling water, and a physical property of the material to be kneaded at the time of introduction into the kneading section.

4. The judgment condition is an upper limit value and / or a lower limit value of a kneading state value indicating a kneading state, The kneading system according to claim 1 , wherein the kneading state value includes at least one of a driving load related to driving the kneading section, a temperature of the material to be kneaded during kneading, and a ram position.

5. The judgment condition includes a judgment period that is a part of a period from the start of kneading to the end of kneading in the kneading section, a correction information acquisition unit that acquires correction information according to a temperature of the material to be kneaded after the kneading unit starts kneading; a state information acquisition unit that acquires state information indicating a time change of the kneading state value in the kneading unit, The kneading system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising a kneading state determination unit that corrects the judgment conditions based on the correction information and determines the kneading state in the kneading section based on the corrected judgment conditions and the state information.