Patent Application
20070156279
The present invention generally relates to molding machines, and more specifically the present invention relates to a human-machine interface of a molding machine, a molding machine having a human-machine interface, a computer system having a human-machine interface, and a method of a human-machine interface.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,470,218 (Inventor: Hillman et al; Assignee: Wheaton Inc., USA) discloses an apparatus for an injection blow molding machine having work stations and molds. The apparatus includes a process controller for operating the blow molding machine according to a set of processing parameters. Each processing parameter has a respective desired operating range. The apparatus includes a touch screen for inputting signals to the processor for commanding the process controller to adjust the processing parameters. Display software and hardware coupled to the process controller and the touch screen cause the monitor to display respective icons representing each processing parameter. The value of each respective processing parameter is displayed adjacent to the icon. Graphing software generates signals that are transmitted to the monitor. The monitor displays a graph of the selected processing parameter value as a function of time. The graph is plotted in response to an operator touching a portion of the touch screen beneath which the selected icon is displayed. Alarm software causes the monitor to display an alarm message. The alarm message identifies whether any one of the processing parameters is operating outside its desired operating range. Referring to FIG. 5 and quoting column 8, lines 28 to 45 of the 5,470,218 patent: “
U.S. Pat. No. 6,684,264 (Inventor: Choi; Assignee: Husky Injection Molding Systems Limited, Canada) discloses an apparatus and a method for controlling a molding machine that includes structure and function for a human machine interface control panel. The panel has: (i) a flat panel display screen; (ii) a pointing device; (iii) a plurality of pushbuttons overlaid with or without icons; (iv) a housing containing the above and the associated electronics; (v) structure to uniquely identify each user-preferred configuration; (vi) structure to connect to a remote controller for both digital information and video signal communication; (vii) a connection for receiving external power to drive the display electronics of the panel; and (viii) software running in the remote controller to provide all the operating functions of the human machine interface. Disadvantageously, this approach does not provide an easy and convenient way of allowing the user of the molding machine to change a parameter profile according to the needs of the user.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,066,276 (Inventor: Kamiguchi et al; Assignee: Fanuc Ltd., Yamanashi, Japan) discloses a correlation between an injection stage and an injection speed initially set in an injection condition file that is graphically displayed on a display screen. A modification section is set by assigning a starting point and an end point on the graph. Then, the shape of a segment which connects the starting point and the end point is selected and assigned. Thus, a section between the two points constitutes one new injection stage. In this new injection stage, moreover, the injection speed is not always a constant value, and can be optionally set so that it linearly increases or decreases or changes along a circular arc in this section. Referring to column 1, lines 40 to 56: “In order to achieve the above object, according to one aspect of the present invention, (a) coordinates having two rectangular axes are displayed on a screen, one of the axes representing the position of a screw, the other representing the injection speed; (b) a section from a first screw position to a second screw position, out of an overall movement section of the screw, is defined as a first injection stage; (c) a first injection speed corresponding to the first screw position and a second injection speed corresponding to the second screw position are determined individually; (d) a point representing the relation of the first injection speed and the first screw position and a point representing the relation of the second injection speed and the second screw position are displayed as a starting point and an end point of the first injection stage, respectively, on the rectangular coordinates; (e) a line connecting the starting point and the end point of the first injection stage displayed on the screen”. Disadvantageously, this approach does not provide an easy and convenient way of allowing the user of the molding machine to change a profile according to the needs of the user.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,618,041 (Inventor: Nishizawa; Assignee: Nissei Plastic Industrial Company Limited, Japan) discloses an input device for an injection molding machine, having a touch panel-type display screen. The display screen has set value displays for displaying set values of molding conditions. The set value display consists of a plurality of set value windows. Touching one of the set value windows makes an input element for inputting a set value of the molding conditions become displayed on the display screen. The input element constitutes a scale. Touching the scale changes numerical values displayed in the set value windows. Referring to FIG. 2 and quoting column 2 line 61 to column 3 line 2 of the 6,618,041 patent: “The set value windows 32 and 33 indicate numerical values of the molding conditions (“temperatures” such as heating barrel temperatures and mold temperature, “pressures” such as injection pressure and screw back pressure, “times” such as injection time and dwell time, “speeds” such as injection speed a screw rotation speed, “positions” of the screw and the nozzle, the volume of production, the number of cavities, the number of stages of multistage control, and other conditions)”. Referring to FIG. 5A and quoting from column 3 lines 23 to 34 of the 6,618,041 patent: “In
In a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a human-machine interface of a molding machine, including a display of a computer system configured to display a molding-machine function curve, the molding-machine function curve representing a function of the molding machine, and also including an emphasized point associated with the molding-machine function curve.
In a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a molding machine, including a human-machine interface, the interface including a display of a computer system configured to display a molding-machine function curve, the molding-machine function curve representing a function of the molding machine, and also including an emphasized point associated with the molding-machine function curve.
In a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a computer system of a molding machine, including a human-machine interface, the interface including a display configured to display a molding-machine function curve, the molding-machine function curve representing a function of the molding machine, and also including an emphasized point associated with the molding-machine function curve.
In a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is disclosed a method of a human-machine interface of a molding machine, including displaying a molding-machine function curve, the molding-machine function curve representing a function of the molding machine, and displaying an emphasized point associated with the molding-machine function curve.
A technical effect of the aspects of the present invention is that a user (that is an operator) of a molding machine is provided with an improved approach for adjusting a molding-machine function curve (hereafter called “the curve’) by emphasizing a point of the curve (for example, by visually emphasizing the point) so that the user can easily (and with less user-selection error) select a desired emphasized point of the curve, and adjust the selected emphasized point as needed for adjusting and/or optimizing a function of the molding machine. This arrangement helps to minimize user error associated with selecting and/or adjusting points of the curve.
A better understanding of the exemplary embodiments of the present invention (including alternatives and/or variations thereof may be obtained with reference to the detailed description of the exemplary embodiments along with the following drawings, in which:
The following is a listing of components shown in the FIGS:
Referring to
The system 103 includes computer-executable instructions for directing the system 103 to implement the human-machine interface 100 and to interact with the interface 100. The instructions are stored in a computer-readable medium and/or data structure, such floppy diskettes, hard drives, CD-ROMs, RAMs, EEPROMs, magnetic media, optical media, magneto-optical media, etc.
Referring to
A molding-machine function curve 105 (hereafter called the “curve” 105) represents a most-recently executed profile of the molding machine 101. The curve 104 is a user-determined (predetermined) curve (or profile) in which the molding machine 101 is required to execute according to a shape of the curve 104 that was predefined by a user of the molding machine 101 or as automatically determined by the computer system 103. It will be appreciated that there is a difference between the actual performance of the molding machine 101 (as indicated by the curve 105) versus the desired performance (as indicated by the curve 104).
The curve 104 includes an emphasized point 114 being sufficiently emphasized so that a user of the molding machine 101 can easily detect the emphasized point 114 from other components of the display 102 (such as, for example, the curve 104). A technical advantage of this arrangement is that the emphasized point 114 is easily and quickly identifiable for a user, so that the user can, in turn, select a desired emphasized point (without mistakenly selecting the wrong point), and then the user may change an attribute associated the selected emphasized point. The emphasized point 114 is emphasized by a shape indicator 107A. The shape indicator 107A emphasizes the point 106 by, for example, being a circle or a square or a triangle (etc) that is filled in part or filled in whole. According to a variation, the shape indicator 107A emphasizes the point 106 by being a color indicator (such as, for example, a white-colored shape or another color that does not match a color of the curve 104). The emphasized point 114 is display manipulatable responsive to user interaction with a point-manipulation mechanism 107C attached to the computer system 103. Preferably, the point-manipulation mechanism 107C includes, for example, a touch-sensitive screen and/or a mouse pointer, and/or a point-manipulation toolbar.
A technical effect of the first embodiment is that the user (that is an operator) of the molding machine 101 is provided with an improved and convenient approach for adjusting the molding-machine function curve by emphasizing a point of the curve 104 so that the user can conveniently and easily select the emphasized point, and then adjust the selected emphasized point more accurately and quickly for the purpose of adjusting and optimizing operation of the molding machine 101. This approach reduces time needed to adjust the curve 104, and also reduces the chance of molding articles that are not acceptable from a quality point of view.
Preferably, the emphasized point 114 is a member of a set of emphasized points 106 to 118 inclusive. Stated in an equivalent manner: the emphasized point 114 is included in a set of emphasized points 106 to 118. The set of emphasized points are alternatively called a set of “break” points. The set of emphasized points are each highlighted, for example, in a white color. A number of emphasized points to be displayed are user programmable or user selectable. A user-selected emphasized point 114 is highlighted or emphasized in a different color (such as, for example, blue or red, etc) or a different shape (such as, for example, a triangle shape, square shape, etc) relative to the other emphasized points 106, 108, 110, 112, 114 and 118 (that are colored white and are circular shaped). In a variation of the first embodiment, the emphasized point 114 is user selected by placing the display 102 on a touch sensitive screen and having the user merely touch the screen at the emphasized point 114 to highlight the emphasized point 114 differently in view of the other emphasized points. In another variation of the first embodiment, the user uses a mouse pointing device or a track ball to select the emphasized point 114.
Preferably, the molding machine 101 includes a control assembly that controls the function of the molding machine 101 (and/or controls a movable molding-machine part), and the display 102 is operatively coupled to the control assembly. The curve 104 includes, for example, a molding machine 101 injection profile and/or a molding machine 101 hold profile. The curve 104 is used by the computer system 103 to control motion of a movable molding-machine part or a function of the molding machine 101. The computer system 103 includes executable programmed instructions that use information associated with the curve 104 for the purpose of controlling motion of the movable molding-machine part and/or the function of the molding machine 101. The movable molding-machine part includes, for example, the molding-machine clamp 101A and/or the injection piston 101B. The curve 104 is used, for example, to control speed, acceleration, deceleration of the movable molding-machine part.
In a variation, the human-machine interface 100 also includes a view menu 120 used to guide the user to select another view used to control and/or monitor other aspects of the molding machine 101. In another variation, the human-machine interface 100 includes a point-manipulation toolbar 122 that is described further below. In yet another variation, the human-machine interface 100 includes an information panel 124 of a selected emphasized point (such as, for example, the selected emphasized point is the point 106). The information panel 124 shows coordinates of a user-selected emphasized point.
The point-manipulation tool bar 122 includes a plurality of control buttons 202 to 218 inclusive that are used for manipulating the emphasized points 106 to 118 of the curve 104.
A zoom-control button 202 permits the user to activate zoom functions for zooming in and/or zooming out of a user-selected portion of the curve 104.
A dragging-control button 204 permits the user to activate and deactivate dragging of the user-selected emphasized point 114. The control button 204 is used for approximate tuning of coordinates of a user-selected emphasized point. When activated, the user points and drags a selected emphasized point to a new coordinate location on the display 102 (either by, for example, using a touch-sensitive screen or by using a mouse to click and drag the selected emphasized point).
A switch-view control button 206 permits the user to switch between embodiments of the human-machine interface 100.
A table control button 208 enables the user to view or hide a table of emphasized points. The table shows the coordinate values of the emphasized points as is further described below.
A properties-control button 210 enables the user to view or hide properties associated with the curve 104 as is further described below.
A size-control button 212 permits the user to toggle between predetermined sizes of the curve 104, such as a largest curve size, an intermediate curve size and a smallest curve size. This arrangement permits the display of more information on the display 102 along with the smaller curve sizes.
An add-point control button 214 enables the user to add a new emphasized point to the curve 104.
A delete-point control button 216 enables the user to delete an existing emphasized point from the curve 104.
A nudge-control button 218 enables the user to nudge a selected emphasized point in a predetermined direction (that is, nudge the emphasized point to the right, the left, upwardly, and/or downwardly) by a preset incremental amount. This arrangement permits fine tuning of coordinate values of the user-selected emphasized point.
The information panel of a selected point 124 includes a set of emphasized-point attributes 119 of a user-selected emphasized point. The set 119 includes attributes 220, 222, 224. The identifier attribute 220 that is an emphasized-point identifier (in this case, point “3” is identified). Graph-coordinate attributes 222 and 224 are coordinates of the emphasized point. In this case, for example, the speed coordinate is 40 mm/s (millimeters per second) and the distance coordinate is 150 mm (millimeters). The user uses a key pad to enter new coordinate values.
The human-machine interface 400 also includes an injection-profile table 402 (hereafter referred to at the “table” 402) having a set of emphasized points associated with the curve of the molding-machine injection profile 302, and each emphasized point in the table 402 is shown with its respective coordinates. The human-machine interface 400 also includes a hold-profile table 404 (hereafter referred to at the “table” 404) having a set of emphasized points associated with the curve of the molding-machine injection profile 306, and each emphasized point in the table 404 is shown with its respective coordinates. When a user selects an emphasized point from the curve 302, a pair of coordinates in the table 402 becomes emphasized or highlighted (in this case, the coordinates are yellow highlighted). The user can then enter a new number into the highlighted table entry by a keypad is so desired.
The table 403 includes Y-value coordinates 506 and X-value coordinates 508 of the molding machine 101 injection profile (molding-machine injection profile) 302 of
The human-machine interface 700 includes a display 702 that displays a molding-machine injection curve 703, an injection-profile table 704, a fill tab 706 and a switch-view control button 708. Emphasized points of the curve 703 (shown as circles placed along the curve 703) are shown in a color that matches the curve 703. The table 704 indicates or shows the coordinates associated with the emphasized points of the curve 703. A user may “point and click” the fill tab 706 in order to hide the curve 703 and the table 704 and then reveal a curve and a table that are associated with a hold profile of the molding machine 101. The switch-view control button 708 enables the user to switch between the human-machine interface 700 and the human-machine interface 710.
The human-machine interface 710 reveals more information than the human-machine interface 700. The human-machine interface 710 includes a display 711 that displays an injection-profile curve 712 (which is the curve 703 but shown in a condensed form), a hold-profile curve 714, an injection-profile information panel 716, and a hold-profile information panel 718. The switch-view control button 708 is also included in the human-machine interface 710. The injection-profile information panel 716 shows information pertaining to the injection-profile curve 712. The hold-profile information panel 718 shows information pertaining to the hold-profile curve 714. The switch-view control button 708 enables the user to switch between the human-machine interface 710 and the human-machine interface 700. It is understood that the curves indicated in the human-machine interfaces according to the embodiments of the present invention are molding-machine function curves.
The concepts described above may be adapted for specific conditions and/or functions, and may be further extended to a variety of other applications that are within the scope of the present invention. Having thus described the exemplary embodiments, it will be apparent that modifications and enhancements are possible without departing from the concepts as described. Therefore, what is to be protected by way of letters patent are limited only by the scope of the following claims:
