Management device

Abstract

A management device (10) calculates, for a rubber product, an environmental response index, which is a value indicating the degree to which the rubber product is environmentally friendly, and manages the process for manufacturing the rubber product on the basis of the environmental response index. The management device comprises: an acquisition section (131) that acquires raw material information including environmental information on raw materials of the rubber product, characteristic information, which is information on characteristics including the compounding of the rubber product, and restriction information, which is information on restrictions related to environmental response index required for the rubber product; a calculation section (132) that calculates the environmental response index for the rubber product on the basis of the raw material information and the characteristic information; and a determination section (133) that determines, on the basis of the restriction information, the combination of raw materials used for each rubber compounding used for the members constituting the rubber product such that the restrictions regarding the environmental response index in the process for manufacturing the rubber product are satisfied.

Description

management device

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a management device, and in particular to a management device for managing a manufacturing process of a rubber product for which sustainability is desired.

[0002] In recent years, in light of the need to prevent global warming and the tight global energy supply and demand, ２ For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a method for linking process or equipment energy with production information to measure CO emissions by product and lot. ２ Disclose the system for calculating and managing emissions.

[0003] JP 2010-67114 A

[0004] From the viewpoint of environmental protection, the raw materials used in rubber products are also being required to be sustainable, and there has been a trend to replace materials derived from fossil resources with sustainable materials that have a low environmental impact, such as renewable materials, recycled materials, and biodegradable materials. There is also a demand for information on the sustainability rate of raw materials and the types of sustainable materials used to be managed in a way that can be utilized in business. The technology of Patent Document 1 does not manage sustainable materials, but is specialized in managing information within a single manufacturing site. Therefore, it is difficult to control the sustainability rate and CO2 emissions while adjusting performance by combining multiple raw materials available from multiple manufacturers. ２ There is a demand for technology to manage environmental information such as emissions.

[0005] In view of the above circumstances, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a management device that can manage the manufacturing process of rubber products while taking environmental information into consideration.

[0006] (1) A management device according to one embodiment of the present disclosure calculates an environmental compatibility index for a rubber product, which is a value indicating how environmentally friendly the product is, and manages a manufacturing process of the rubber product based on the environmental compatibility index. The management device includes: an acquisition unit that acquires raw material information including environmental information of the raw materials of the rubber product, characteristic information that is information about the characteristics of the rubber product including the compounding of the rubber product, and constraint information that is information about constraints related to the environmental compatibility index required of the rubber product; a calculation unit that calculates the environmental compatibility index of the rubber product based on the raw material information and the characteristic information; and a determination unit that determines, based on the constraint information, a combination of raw materials used in each rubber compounding used in components that make up the rubber product so that constraints related to the environmental compatibility index in the manufacturing process of the rubber product are satisfied.

[0007] (2) As an embodiment of the present disclosure, in (1), the environmental information of the raw materials includes a sustainability rate, CO ２ The environmental response index includes at least one of a sustainability rate of the rubber product, a CO2 emission rate of the rubber product, and an energy consumption rate. ２ and / or the amount of emissions and the energy consumption of the rubber product.

[0008] (3) As one embodiment of the present disclosure, in (1) or (2), the manufacturing process includes a rubber kneading process and / or an extrusion process, the environmental compatibility index is a sustainability rate of the rubber product, and the determination unit determines a combination of the raw materials including rekneaded rubber so that constraints on the sustainability rate of the rubber product in the rubber kneading process and / or the extrusion process are satisfied.

[0009] (4) As one embodiment of the present disclosure, in (1) or (2), the manufacturing process is a rubber kneading process, the environmental response index is a sustainability rate of the rubber product, and the determination unit determines the combination of the raw materials including rekneaded rubber so that constraints on the sustainability rate of the rubber product in the rubber kneading process are satisfied.

[0010] (5) As one embodiment of the present disclosure, in (3) or (4), at least information on the composition of rubber materials in the rubber kneading step is managed by a chemical marker, a QR code (registered trademark), an RFID, or a barcode.

[0011] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a management device capable of managing the manufacturing process of rubber products while taking environmental information into consideration.

[0012] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a management device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a configuration example of a management system including the management device of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of raw material information. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of characteristic information. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of constraint information. FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of processing of a management method executed by the management device. FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of correspondence between tire performance and environmental targets and combinations of each rubber component. FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the mixing of remixed rubber and new rubber.

[0013] A management device 10 (see FIG. 1 ) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. In each drawing, identical or corresponding parts are designated by the same reference numerals. In the description of this embodiment, the description of identical or corresponding parts will be omitted or simplified as appropriate.

[0014] Fig. 1 shows an example of the configuration of a management device 10 according to this embodiment. Fig. 2 shows an example of the configuration of a management system including the management device 10 of Fig. 1. The management device 10 calculates an environmental friendliness index, which is a value indicating how environmentally friendly a rubber product is, and manages the manufacturing process of the rubber product based on the environmental friendliness index. The environmental friendliness index may be, for example, the sustainability rate of the rubber product, the CO2 emissions of the rubber product, etc. ２The environmental index may be a numerical value indicating the amount of emissions or the energy consumption of a rubber product, or a ranking based on such a numerical value. Details of the environmental index will be described later. The rubber product may be, for example, a tire 30, a seismic isolation rubber, or a crawler, but is not limited to these. Sustainability is particularly strongly desired for tires 30, seismic isolation rubber, and crawlers. In the following, the rubber product will be described as a tire 30. The tire 30 is for a vehicle 20 such as a passenger car, truck, or bus, but may also be for an aircraft. The management system includes devices (e.g., computers) used by entities involved in production and distribution in the supply chain of the tire 30. Here, the supply chain refers to a series of production and distribution processes until a rubber product such as the tire 30 reaches a consumer (user). The supply chain includes processes such as procurement of raw materials, manufacturing of rubber products, inventory management, retreading of tires whose treads have worn due to use, recycling of used tires, distribution, and sales. Distribution and sales in the supply chain also include materials derived from recycled used tires (rubber powder, reclaimed rubber, pyrolysis oil, recycled carbon black, recycled steel cord, recycled organic fiber, etc.) In addition, the entities involved in production and distribution in the supply chain of rubber products include, for example, manufacturers of raw materials, manufacturers of rubber products, and purchasers of rubber products.

[0015] Conventionally, the production of rubber products is managed by combining the characteristic compounding amounts of raw materials according to the required specifications. The management device 10 according to the present embodiment can determine a combination of raw materials that satisfies the constraints of the environmental friendliness index. Determining the combination of raw materials includes determining the compounding ratio of each raw material to be combined. The management device 10 according to the present embodiment can determine a combination of raw materials that satisfies the constraints while objectively evaluating not only the required specifications but also the environmental friendliness of the rubber product. Furthermore, by configuring a system with a group of supply chain devices as shown in FIG. 2, the management device 10 can obtain raw material information and characteristic information for recycled raw materials and rubber products made from such raw materials.

[0016] As described above, the sustainability rate of the tire 30 can be used as an environmental indicator. The sustainability rate of the tire 30 is, for example, the weight ratio of sustainable materials to the total weight of the tire 30. However, the ratio of the blending amount of sustainable materials to other materials may also be used as necessary. The sustainability rate of not only the tire 30 but also each raw material used in the tire 30 can be calculated from the blending amount ratio or weight ratio of sustainable materials. In this embodiment, the sustainability rate of the raw materials is provided by the raw material manufacturer, but can also be calculated by the management device 10. Sustainable materials refer to materials of the tire 30 that are not derived from fossil resources. Sustainable materials are materials that are environmentally friendly, such as renewable materials, recycled materials, and biodegradable materials, but are not limited to these. Renewable materials are renewable resources that can be used as materials for the tire 30, and include bio-derived materials, i.e., materials derived from animals and plants. Recycled materials are materials obtained through recycling. Regarding recycled materials, it does not matter whether they are made by material recycling or chemical recycling. Biodegradable materials are materials obtained from substances that have been decomposed by microbial activity, etc.

[0017] The management device 10 includes a communication unit 11, a storage unit 12, and a control unit 13. The control unit 13 includes an acquisition unit 131, a calculation unit 132, a determination unit 133, and an output unit 134. The management device 10 may be configured, for example, as a hardware configuration, with one or more computers. When the management device 10 is configured with multiple computers, the storage unit 12 may be a shared memory accessible by each of the computers. Details of the components of the management device 10 will be described later.

[0018] The management device 10 may constitute a management system together with a first server 50 and a second server 60 connected via a network 40. The network 40 may be, for example, the Internet. The network 40 may also be configured to include, for example, a local area network (LAN) in part. The management system may also be configured to include a terminal device 70 connected via the network 40.

[0019] The first server 50 and the second server 60 are, for example, computers separate from the management device 10. In this embodiment, the first server 50 is a computer of a supplier or a manufacturer of raw materials that supplies materials (raw materials) for the tire 30, and manages raw material information including information about the raw materials for the tire 30. In this embodiment, the second server 60 is a computer of a tire manufacturer that manufactures the tire 30, and manages characteristic information, which is information about the characteristics of the tire 30, including the tire compounding. The second server 60 also manages constraint information, which is information about constraints related to the environmental compatibility index required for the tire 30. The second server 60 may set and manage the constraint information as the environmental performance of the tire 30 independently determined by the tire manufacturer. For example, for a tire 30 with improved environmental performance, the second server 60 may set the constraint information to set the sustainability rate to 50% or more. The second server 60 may also set and manage the constraint information taking into account regional regulations required for the distribution or use of the tire 30. The regulatory information may be acquired from an information providing device (for example, a computer of a national or local government) connected via the network 40. For example, if a certain country stipulates that the sustainability rate of rubber products that can be distributed in that country must be 30% or more, the second server 60 may set restriction information so that the sustainability rate for all tires 30 sold in that country must be 30% or more. The management device 10 can acquire or share raw material information, characteristic information, and restriction information via the network 40.

[0020] The terminal device 70 is a general-purpose mobile terminal such as a smartphone or a tablet terminal, but is not limited to such mobile terminals as long as it has an imaging function. The terminal device 70 may be used by each worker when shipping the tire 30 from a factory, when transporting it to a buyer or warehouse, when selling it to a user, or when reusing it by retreading or recycling.

[0021] In this embodiment, the tire 30 is provided with an indicator 31 including an identifier 32. The indicator 31 may be attached to the tire 30 or may be printed on the tire 30. The terminal device 70 may capture an image of the identifier 32 attached to the tire 30 using an imaging function and transmit the identifier 32 to the management device 10 via the network 40. The identifier 32 may be a two-dimensional code or the like. The identifier 32 is information that can identify each tire 30. For example, the identifier 32 identifies the model number of the tire 30, and the management device 10 can accurately obtain information such as the tire's composition from the characteristic information. In other words, when a rubber product is manufactured using recycled raw materials, the management device 10 can obtain information such as the composition of the tire 30 from which the recycled raw materials were made via the identifier 32. Here, the identifier 32 is not limited to the indicator 31, but may be obtained from a transmitter or chemical marker such as an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) device attached to the tire 30. When the identifier 32 is obtained from the RFID, indicator 31, or chemical marker provided on the tire 30, there is no need for the worker to take the trouble of, for example, manually inputting the information. When RFID is used, the terminal device 70 is a reader device that performs short-range (several centimeters to several meters) wireless communication using an electromagnetic field, radio waves, or the like. When RFID is used, the identifier 32 is a wirelessly transmitted signal that can identify the tire 30.

[0022] The components of the management device 10 will be described in detail below. The communication unit 11 includes one or more communication modules connected to the network 40. The communication unit 11 may include a communication module compatible with a mobile communication standard such as 4G (4th Generation) or 5G (5th Generation). The communication unit 11 may include a communication module compatible with a wireless or wired LAN standard.

[0023] The storage unit 12 is one or more memories. The memory may be, for example, a semiconductor memory, a magnetic memory, an optical memory, or the like, but is not limited to these, and may be any memory. The storage unit 12 is, for example, built into the management device 10, but may also be configured to be accessed from outside by the management device 10 via any interface.

[0024] The storage unit 12 stores various data used in various calculations performed by the control unit 13. The storage unit 12 may also store results and intermediate data of various calculations performed by the control unit 13.

[0025] In this embodiment, the storage unit 12 may store raw material information, characteristic information, and constraint information acquired via the communication unit 11.

[0026] 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of raw material information. The raw material information may be a table indicating the type of material used in the manufacture of the tire 30. In this embodiment, the raw material information includes environmental information of the raw materials of the tire 30. The environmental information of the raw materials includes the sustainability rate, CO ２ The raw material information includes at least one of the amount of CO2 emissions and the amount of energy consumption. The amount of energy consumption may include, for example, the amount of electricity consumed, the amount of fossil fuel consumed, etc. In FIG. 3, the raw material information includes the environmental information exemplified above, but may include only a part of the environmental information, or may further include other environmental information. Here, the CO2 emissions shown in FIG. ２ Emissions and energy consumption are calculated based on the CO2 generated in the production of raw materials. ２ Emissions and energy consumption, e.g. CO per unit amount of raw material ２The raw material information may be the total amount of emissions and the total amount of energy consumption. In this embodiment, the raw material information is provided by the raw material manufacturers. The control unit 13 of the management device 10 may acquire the raw material information from the respective raw material manufacturers, compile the information into a table as shown in FIG. 3, and store the information in the storage unit 12.

[0027] First, regarding the classification of materials, in the example of FIG. 3, a raw material named Ma (hereinafter referred to as raw material Ma) is a renewable material (e.g., bio-derived). Raw material Mb is derived from recycled materials. Raw material Mc is derived from biodegradable materials. Furthermore, raw material Md is derived from fossil resources. In the example of FIG. 3, raw materials Ma, raw material Mb, and raw material Mc correspond to sustainable materials. Furthermore, a column for the type of each raw material may be provided. In the type column, the type, for example, rubber, carbon black, zinc oxide, etc. may be written.

[0028] The sustainability rate is 100% for sustainable materials and 0% for non-sustainable materials. If the raw material is a mixture of sustainable and non-sustainable materials, the sustainability rate may be displayed according to the blending ratio and weight.

[0029] CO ２ The amount of CO emitted may be expressed, for example, as the amount per a certain amount (for example, 1 kg) of each raw material. ２ The unit of emission is, for example, "kg-CO ２ In the example of FIG. 3, for each raw material (Ma, Mb, Mc, Md), ２ Emissions (O Ｗ , O Ｘ , O Ｙ , O Ｚ In this case, the management device 10 ２ It is possible to select the blend of raw materials while taking into consideration the amount of CO2 emissions. Here, one raw material may be obtained from multiple suppliers. For example, if raw material Ma can be supplied by multiple producers (manufacturers), and the CO2 emissions are determined by the supplier, ２ In such cases, the CO emissions of each supplier may differ. ２ The data of the amount of CO２ It may be possible to select the blend of raw materials and the supplier of the raw materials while taking into consideration the amount of emissions.

[0030] The energy consumption may be indicated, for example, by the consumption amount per certain amount (for example, 1 kg) of each raw material. In the example of FIG. 3, the energy consumption includes the consumption amount of electricity (energy consumption (electricity)) and the consumption amount of fossil fuel (energy consumption (fossil fuel)). The unit of the consumption amount of electricity may be, for example, but is not limited to, "kWh". Furthermore, the unit of the consumption amount of fossil fuel may be, for example, but is not limited to, "kg". In the example of FIG. 3, the consumption amount of electricity (E Ｗ , E Ｘ , E Ｙ , E Ｚ ) and fossil fuel consumption (F Ｗ , F Ｘ , F Ｙ , F Ｚ ) are shown. In this case, the management device 10 can select the raw material composition, etc., while taking into account the energy consumption. Here, one raw material may be obtained from multiple suppliers. For example, raw material Ma may be supplied by multiple producers (manufacturers), and the energy consumption may differ depending on the supplier. In such a case, energy consumption data for each supplier may be further shown, and the management device 10 may be able to select the raw material composition and raw material suppliers while taking into account the energy consumption.

[0031] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating example characteristic information. The characteristic information is information about the characteristics, including the composition of the tire 30. The characteristic information may be a table containing specifications and raw material proportions for each type (model number) of tire 30. In the example of FIG. 4, the size and weight of the tire 30 are shown, but the specifications of the tire 30 are not limited to these items. In the example of FIG. 4, for example, a tire 30 with a model number Ta weighs 10 kg and is manufactured by blending raw materials (Ma, Mb, Mc, Md) in the proportions shown in FIG. 4. Here, the raw material proportions [%] are the weight ratios of the raw materials to the total weight (10 kg) of the tire 30. However, they are not limited to weight ratios, and any information indicating the composition of the raw materials may be obtained as characteristic information. In the example of FIG. 4, raw material Ma is blended in a range of 28% to 32%. Raw material Mb is blended in a range of 17% to 23%. Raw material Mc is blended in a range of 0% to 3%. Raw material Md is blended in a range of 45% to 55%. Here, the manufacturing process of the tire 30 includes a rubber mixing process in which raw materials such as rubber and carbon black are mixed together, a tread extrusion process in which rubber for the tread is extruded, a molding process in which beads, plies, etc. are combined to form a green tire, and a vulcanization process in which vulcanization is performed. In this embodiment, the manufacturing process of the tire 30 managed by the management device 10 is particularly the rubber mixing process. The management device 10 determines a combination of raw materials that satisfies constraints related to the environmental compatibility index in the rubber mixing process through processing by the calculation unit 132 and the determination unit 133, which will be described later. At this time, the combination of raw materials is selected so that each raw material falls within the range of the raw material ratio [%] shown in FIG. 4. Furthermore, the characteristic information is not limited to a single table such as that shown in FIG. 4, and may be managed in different tables for each model number or size of the tire 30, for example. In this embodiment, the characteristic information is provided by the manufacturer of the tire 30.

[0032] 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of the constraint information. In the example of FIG. 5, the environmental response index is the sustainability rate of the tire 30, CO ２ The environmental indicators are the sustainability rate of the tire 30, the CO2 emissions of the tire 30, and the energy consumption. ２The sustainable rate, CO ２ The manufacturing process can be managed so that the tire 30 satisfies the constraints on at least one of the amount of emissions and the amount of energy consumption. ２ The evaluation value may be calculated by multiplying the amount of emissions and the amount of energy consumption by a coefficient (weighting) and adding them up. The environmental response index may also be calculated by the sustainability rate of the product, the CO2 ２ The restriction information may be the amount of exhaust emissions, the amount of energy consumption of the product, a combination of these, or a rank according to the evaluation value. In this embodiment, the restriction information is provided by the manufacturer of the tire 30.

[0033] In the example of Fig. 5, there is a constraint that the environmental compatibility index of the tire 30 with model number Ta must have a sustainability rate of Ls or more. ２ There is a constraint that the amount of emissions must be Lc or less. Furthermore, for the environmental friendliness index of a tire 30 with a model number Tc, there is a constraint that the amount of electricity consumption must be Le or less. Furthermore, for the environmental friendliness index of a tire 30 with a model number Td, there is a constraint that the amount of fossil fuel consumption must be Lf or less. Here, the constraint information may include not only constraints related to the environmental friendliness index, but also constraints related to the production plan for the tires 30 and the raw material consumption plan. The constraint information may include, for example, a lower limit on the number of tires 30 to be produced for each model number as a constraint. Furthermore, the constraint information may include, for example, an upper limit on the number of tires 30 to be produced as a constraint, so as to prevent a shortage of a specific raw material during the production of the tires 30.

[0034] The control unit 13 is one or more processors. The processor may be, for example, a general-purpose processor or a dedicated processor specialized for a specific process, but is not limited to these and may be any processor. The control unit 13 controls the overall operation of the management device 10.

[0035] Here, the management device 10 may have the following software configuration: One or more programs used to control the operation of the management device 10 are stored in the storage unit 12. When the programs stored in the storage unit 12 are read by the processor of the control unit 13, they cause the processor to function as an acquisition unit 131, a calculation unit 132, a determination unit 133, and an output unit 134.

[0036] The acquiring unit 131 acquires raw material information, characteristic information, and constraint information. The acquiring unit 131 may also acquire an identifier 32 (information that can identify the tire 30 from which the recycled raw material was derived).

[0037] The calculation unit 132 calculates the environmental compatibility index of the tire 30 based on the raw material information and the characteristic information. For example, the calculation unit 132 calculates the sustainability rate of the tire 30 based on the raw material information and the characteristic information. According to the characteristic information in FIG. 4 , for example, a tire 30 with a model number Ta weighs 10 kg and is blended with raw material Ma in a range of 28% to 32% as a material. Furthermore, raw materials Mb, raw material Mc, and raw material Md are blended as materials in the ranges shown in FIG. 4 . According to the raw material information in FIG. 3 , raw materials Ma and raw material Mb are sustainable materials, and raw material Md is derived from fossil resources (non-sustainable material). For example, a tire 30 with a model number Ta is manufactured by blending raw materials Ma, Mb, Mc, and Md in a range of 30%, 20%, 0%, and 50%, respectively. For a tire 30 manufactured with this blend, the calculation unit 132 calculates a sustainability rate, which is the ratio of the weight of sustainable materials (3 kg + 2 kg) to the weight of the tire 30 (10 kg), to be 50%. In this embodiment, the calculation unit 132 calculates the sustainability rate according to the combination of raw material rates while varying the raw material rates. Here, the calculation unit 132 may calculate the sustainability rate for all combinations of raw material rates, or may calculate the sustainability rate for a representative combination (for example, a combination using the lower limit, median, and upper limit of the range of each raw material rate). Furthermore, the calculation unit 132 may first calculate the sustainability rate for a representative combination, and if the constraints on the environmental compatibility index are not satisfied in the processing of the determination unit 133 described below, may calculate the sustainability rate for a non-representative combination and output it to the determination unit 133.

[0038] For example, the calculation unit 132 calculates the CO ２ Using the emissions, CO ２ Calculate the CO emissions from the tire 30. ２ The emissions are calculated based on the raw material ratio and the CO ２ The calculation unit 132 may calculate the CO emissions by converting the CO emissions into a value corresponding to the weight of the raw materials to be blended and adding up the converted values ​​for all the raw materials to be blended. Here, when raw materials are obtained from multiple suppliers and it is possible to select which supplier to obtain them from, the calculation unit 132 may calculate the CO emissions by converting the CO emissions into a value corresponding to the weight of the raw materials to be blended and adding up the converted values ​​for all the raw materials to be blended. ２ Emissions (CO per choice) ２ In this way, the calculation unit 132 may calculate the CO emissions according to the combination of raw material proportions. ２ Similarly to the case of the sustainability rate, if the constraints on the environmental compatibility index are not satisfied in the processing of the determination unit 133 described later, the calculation unit 132 calculates the CO emissions that are not representative combinations. ２ The discharge amount may be calculated and output to the determination unit 133 .

[0039] For example, the calculation unit 132 calculates the energy consumption of the tire 30 using the energy consumption amounts of the raw material information and the characteristic information. In this embodiment, the energy consumption amount includes the consumption amount of electricity and the consumption amount of fossil fuels. The calculation of the energy consumption amount of the tire 30 is performed based on the above-mentioned CO ２ This calculation may be performed in the same manner as the calculation of the emissions. That is, the energy consumption of the tire 30 may be calculated by converting the energy consumption amounts in FIG. 3 into values ​​corresponding to the weights of the blended raw materials based on the raw material ratios, and adding up the converted values ​​for all the blended raw materials. Also, a conditional energy consumption amount (energy consumption amount for each selection) may be calculated. Furthermore, when a constraint on the environmental compatibility index is not satisfied in the processing of the determination unit 133 described below, the calculation unit 132 may calculate the energy consumption amount for a non-representative combination and output it to the determination unit 133.

[0040] The determination unit 133 determines a combination of raw materials that satisfies the constraints regarding the environmental compatibility index in the manufacturing process of the tire 30 based on the constraint information. For example, the determination unit 133 understands from the constraint information (see FIG. 5 ) that the sustainability rate of the tire 30 with model number Ta must be Ls or higher. The determination unit 133 extracts a combination of raw materials that has a sustainability rate of the environmental compatibility index received from the calculation unit 132 that is Ls or higher, and sets this as the determination result. When the constraints regarding the sustainability rate are satisfied with a plurality of combinations of raw materials, the determination unit 133 may extract a predetermined number of combinations of raw materials in descending order of sustainability rate, and set this as the determination result. Furthermore, when the constraints regarding the sustainability rate are not satisfied with a representative combination of raw materials, the determination unit 133 may have the calculation unit 132 calculate the sustainability rate of a non-representative combination, and may again execute a process to determine a combination of raw materials that satisfies the constraints. Furthermore, for example, the determination unit 133 may calculate the sustainability rate of a non-representative combination of raw materials, and may perform a process to determine a combination of raw materials that satisfies the constraints. ２ Similarly, for constraints on emissions or energy consumption, a combination of raw materials that satisfies the constraints on the environmental response index is determined. ２ If the constraints on the amount of CO ２ A predetermined number of raw material combinations may be extracted in order of low CO emissions or low energy consumption to obtain the determination results. ２ If the constraints on the emission amount or the energy consumption amount are not satisfied, the determination unit 133 notifies the calculation unit 132 of a CO ２ The emission amount or energy consumption amount may be calculated and the determination process may be executed again.

[0041] Furthermore, the determination unit 133 may determine the combination of raw materials used in each rubber compound used in the components constituting the tire 30 so that constraints related to the environmental compatibility index are satisfied. Here, in the manufacture of the tire 30, environmental targets may be set, such as the performance (driving performance, etc.) of the tire 30 and a sustainability rate of 50%. In order to satisfy the performance and environmental targets, it is necessary for each rubber compound used in the manufacture of each rubber component constituting the tire 30 to satisfy appropriate physical property values ​​(performance) and sustainability rates. Here, each rubber component constituting the tire 30 is, for example, a tread, a sidewall, an inner liner, etc. For example, FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of the correspondence between the performance and environmental targets of the tire 30 and combinations of each rubber component. For example, in FIG. 7, component X may correspond to the tread, component Y to the sidewall, and component Z to the inner liner. If the tire performance is, for example, driving performance, the physical property values ​​may be values ​​related to the driving performance, and may include, for example, hardness.

[0042] Here, in the rubber kneading process, rekneaded rubber is mixed with new rubber. For example, as shown in FIG. 8 , rekneaded rubbers with different sustainability rates can be mixed with new rubber and used as, for example, tread rubber. Furthermore, in the extrusion process, rekneaded rubber can be mixed before extruding the rubber. Here, rekneaded rubber generally refers to waste rubber or recycled rubber generated within a factory. Rekneaded rubber includes scrap rubber generated during the tire manufacturing process, such as rubber scraps cut from a rubber sheet fed from a calendar roll when continuously forming rubber sheets. Rekneaded rubber also includes recycled rubber generated within a factory, such as rubber that does not meet management standards or quality specifications, deformed unvulcanized components, and rubber obtained from tires. Rekneaded rubber can be returned to the refining process, which is an early step in the tire manufacturing process, or it can be used in the process where it was generated. Furthermore, the use of rekneaded rubber can change the composition of the rubber materials (i.e., the sustainability rate) before the rekneaded rubber was mixed in. Such changes in the composition are preferably managed using, for example, chemical markers, QR codes (registered trademark), RFID, barcodes, etc. For example, rubber mixed in the rubber mixing process may be managed on a batch-by-batch basis. An RFID or barcode may be associated with a batch of rubber mixed on a certain date and time, and linked to individual identification information obtained from the RFID or barcode, so that information about the rubber in that batch can be obtained. The information linked to the individual identification information may include, for example, the composition of the rubber materials, but is not particularly limited as long as it is information used by the determination unit 133 to combine raw materials. In other words, it is sufficient that at least information about the composition of the rubber materials in the rubber mixing process is managed using chemical markers, QR codes (registered trademark), RFID, or barcodes. This makes it possible to manage tire manufacturing processes such as the rubber mixing process and the extrusion process, taking into account the influence of remixed rubber, etc. Here, when calculating the component content or sustainability rate based on the composition of the rubber materials, strict calculations can result in an enormous number of decimal places, so processing such as truncating to one decimal place may be performed.Furthermore, when calculating the component content or sustainability rate, etc., many past generations may be used in the calculation, which can make the calculation complicated. Therefore, a process may be performed in which data from three generations ago (the third previous batch) or earlier is discarded.

[0043] In the above example, environmental information about raw materials and the like is stored and managed in the storage unit 12. As another example of management, such environmental information and the like may be managed in a distributed manner. For example, the environmental information and the like may be stored and managed using blockchain technology. Also, a storage area (cloud) on the network 40 may be used.

[0044] The output unit 134 outputs the determination result by the determination unit 133 to a display device or the like. The display device includes, for example, a display that can be viewed by a user of the management system. The user may be, for example, a tire manufacturer's tire 30 production manager. Furthermore, for example, a display connected to the second server 60 may function as a display device that displays the determination result.

[0045] 6 is a flowchart illustrating the processing of the management method executed by the control unit 13 of the management device 10. In this example, the manufacturing process managed by the management device 10 is a rubber kneading process. The environmental response index is the sustainability rate of the tire 30. The determination unit 133 determines a combination of raw materials including rekneaded rubber so that the constraint on the sustainability rate of the tire 30 in the rubber kneading process is satisfied.

[0046] The acquisition unit 131 acquires raw material information, characteristic information, and constraint information (step S1).

[0047] The calculation unit 132 calculates the environmental friendliness index of the tire 30 based on the raw material information and the characteristic information (step S2).

[0048] The determining unit 133 determines the combination of ingredients that satisfies the constraint information (step S3).

[0049] The output unit 134 outputs the determination result to a display device or the like (step S4). The production manager of the tire 30 may create or change a production plan based on the determination result. These processes make it possible to manage the rubber kneading process while taking into account the environmental information of the rekneaded rubber.

[0050] As described above, the management device 10 according to this embodiment has the above-described configuration. ２ By taking into account environmental information about raw materials, such as emissions and sustainability rates, it is possible to manage the manufacturing process of rubber products, which are required to be more sustainable.

[0051] Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described based on the drawings and examples, it should be noted that those skilled in the art would easily be able to make various modifications or alterations based on the present disclosure. Therefore, it should be noted that these modifications and alterations are included within the scope of the present disclosure. For example, functions included in each component may be rearranged so as not to cause logical inconsistencies, and multiple components may be combined or divided into one. The embodiments of the present disclosure may also be realized as a method, a program executed by a processor included in an apparatus, or a storage medium on which a program is recorded. It should be understood that these are also included within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0052] REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 Management device 11 Communication unit 12 Storage unit 13 Control unit 20 Vehicle 30 Tire 31 Indicator 32 Identifier 40 Network 50 First server 60 Second server 70 Terminal device 131 Acquisition unit 132 Calculation unit 133 Determination unit 134 Output unit

Claims

1. A management device that calculates an environmental compatibility index for a rubber product, which is a value that indicates how environmentally friendly a product is, and manages a manufacturing process of the rubber product based on the environmental compatibility index, comprising: an acquisition unit that acquires raw material information including environmental information of the raw materials of the rubber product, characteristic information that is information about the characteristics of the rubber product including the compounding, and constraint information that is information about constraints related to the environmental compatibility index required for the rubber product; a calculation unit that calculates the environmental compatibility index of the rubber product based on the raw material information and the characteristic information; and a determination unit that determines, based on the constraint information, a combination of raw materials used in each rubber compounding used in components that make up the rubber product, so that the constraints related to the environmental compatibility index in the manufacturing process of the rubber product are satisfied.

2. The environmental information of the raw materials is sustainability rate, CO ２ The environmental response index includes at least one of a sustainability rate of the rubber product, a CO2 emission rate of the rubber product, and an energy consumption rate of the rubber product. ２ The management device of claim 1 , wherein the management device is at least one of an emission amount and an energy consumption amount of the rubber product.

3. A management device as described in claim 1 or 2, wherein the manufacturing process includes a rubber kneading process and / or an extrusion process, the environmental compatibility index is the sustainability rate of the rubber product, and the judgment unit judges the combination of the raw materials including rekneaded rubber so that constraints on the sustainability rate of the rubber product in the rubber kneading process and / or the extrusion process are satisfied.

4. The management device of claim 1 or 2, wherein the manufacturing process is a rubber kneading process, the environmental compatibility index is a sustainability rate of the rubber product, and the judgment unit judges the combination of the raw materials including rekneaded rubber so that a constraint on the sustainability rate of the rubber product in the rubber kneading process is satisfied.

5. A management device according to claim 3 or 4, wherein information on the composition of rubber materials in at least the rubber kneading process is managed by a chemical marker, a QR code (registered trademark), an RFID or a barcode.

Images