Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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TITLE
APPARATUS FOR INDICATING THE RELA~IVE DEGREE
POSITIONING BETWEEN MECHANISMS IN A
GLASSWARE FORMING MACHINE
BAC~GROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field o the Invention
The present invention relates in general to machine
timing indicating mechanisms and in particular to an
apparatus for indicating the relative degree positioning
between mechanisms of a glassware forming machine.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The individual section (IS) glassware forming
mac~ine is well known and includes a plurality of
sections, each having means for forming glassware
articles in a timed predetermined sequence of steps.
Typically, the sections are fed from a single source of
molten glass'. The source forms gobs of molten glass
which are distributed to the individual sections. The
sections are operated in synchronism at a relative phase
difference s~,~ch that cne section is recei~ing a gob
while another section is delivering a finished glassware
article to a conveyor and one or more other sections are
performing various ones of the intermediate forming
steps,
Typically/ machine timing is expressed in degrees
and a machine cycle is 360 in length. The cycle for
each individual section is also 360, but the cycles for
each of the sections will be offset from the start of
the machine cycle by different numbers of degrees to
compensate for the difference in gob delivery time to
each section~ The beginning and ending of the various
forming operations in each section can thus be expressed
in terms of degrees of section cycleu Once determined,
the relative degree positioning between the beginnings
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of any two particular forming operations should remain
generally constant throughout the operation of the
machine.
The forming means in each individual section are
typically operated ~y pneumatic motors or actuators. In
early prior art machines, these pneumatic motors are
controlled by a valve block which, in turn, is
controlled by a timing drum. The timing drum for each
section is driven from a line shaft which synchronizes
all parts of the machine. ~anually adjustable cams are
positioned on the timing drum for actuating the valves
in the valve block. ~elative timing ~etween the various
forming means in each section can be adjusted by
loosening, moving, and tightening the cams as the drum
rotates.
Later prior art machines utilize an electronic
control means to synchronize the operation of the
individual sections. The electronic control means
includes a master unit which is responsive to a clock
pulse generator and to a reset pulse generator, both of
which are driven by a line shaft. The master unit
gene-^ates reset signals to a separate control circ~it
for each of the individual sections. Each control
circuit includes a pulse counter responsive to the clock
pulses and the reset pulses for counting the degrees of
the section cycle. Each individual circuit includes
forty-eight three-decade thumbwheel switches for setting
the degree of rotation of the machine thereon at which
associated control signals are generated. Thus, each
particular function of the glassware forming cycle is
controlled by one of the thumbwheel switches. Such a
control system is disclosed in U.S. Patent No.
3,762,907.
One prior art attempt to improve the operation of
the IS glassware forming machine involves the use of
position, temperature, and pressure sensorsr There is
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disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 4,108,623 an electronic
eontrol system in which the initiation of each forming
cycle is det~rmined by a shear cut sensor. A
tempera-ture sensor senses the passage of a gob into a
blank mold to trigger the actuation of the parison
forming mechanisms. A pressure sensor senses the
commencement of the parison forming operation within the
blank form to trigger the remaining program of the
forming cycle. A real time clock generates a time base
and the controller compares the actual forming times as
indicated by the sensor signals with stored information
to cheek the operation of the machine.
It has been found desirable to monitor the relative
degree positioning of various forming mechanisms within
an individual section of a glassware ~orming machine to
aid the operator in aligning the mechanisms. There are
presently two systems known in the art for accomplishing
this~ One system is a synchro system which utilizes a
plurality of synehros. A synchro is a small motor-like
deviee containing a stator and a rotor which is capable
of transforming an angular-position input into an
~leetrie~l output. Each synehro is mounted on a
partieulal- forming mechanism -to be monitored. The
eleetrieal output of the synehros ean be compared to
determine the relative degree positioning between the
monitored forming meehanisms. A synchro monitoring
system is simple and easy to install and maintain.
~Iowever, the synchro system does not operate aeeurately
when the glassware forming machine is operated at high
speeds.
The other monitoring system known in the art is an
induetion resolver system, wherein an induction resolver
is mounted on each of the glassware forming meehanisms
to be monitored. A resolver is an eleetro-meehanical
transducing device which develops an output voltage
proportional to the product of an input voltage and the
sine of the shaft angle. Although the induction resolver
system is very accurate even when the glassware forming
machine i5 operated at high speeds, such a system is very
complex and, hence, is difficult and expensive to repair.
THE PRESENT INVENTION
The present invention provides a simple and accurate
apparatus for monitoring the relative degree positioning
be-tween the various mechanisms of an individual section
glassware forming machine.
More particularly, the invention provides a glassware
forming machine having a plurality of individual glassware
forming sections for forming gobs of molten glass into
containers, each individual section having a cycle heginning
at a predetermined position in -the machine cycle and a
plurality of glassware forming means for accomplishing
the steps in the container-forming process in response
to a plurality of control signals provided by a controller,
each one of -the forming means having a cycle beginning
at a predetermined position in the individual sec-tion
cycle, the forming means including means for delivering
gobs of molten glass to the individual sec-tions, means
for feeding go~s of molten glass to the delivery means,
and means for removing the containers from the individual
sections wherein the machine includes an apparatus for
indicating the relative timing of a forming means cycle,
the apparatus comprising a source of clock pulses provided
at a frequency proportional to the cycle speed of the
machine, first pulse generator means responsive to one
of the forming means for generating reset pulses representing
the cycle position of the one forming means, second pulse
generator means responsive to the other of the forming
means for generating reset pulses representing the cycle
position of the other forming means, means responsive
to the clock and reset pulses for determining the number
of the clock pulses received between the receipt oE one
of the reset pulses from the first pulse generatox and
the receipt of one of the reset pulses from the second
pulse generator, and means responsive to the determining
means for displaying an indication of the relative positioning
between the beginnings of the two forming means cycles.
Thus, pulse yenerators such as proximity switches,
pulse encoders, or similar timing interfaces may be
connected to those forming mechanisms which are desired
to be monitored. For e~ample, such generators can be
connected to the feeder, scoop, and sweepout forming
mechanisms as well as to the machine for monitoring the
overall mach~ne forming cycle. Preferably, the pulse
encoders generate three hundred sixty clock pulses and
one reset pulse for every 360 of monitored operation
cycle whereas the proximity switches only generate the
reset pulses. A switch means may be provided for
selecting two of the generators to determine the
relative degree positioning between the associated
selected forming mechanisms.
In a preferred embodiment of the present invention~
the pulses generated by the selected encoders are fed
to a counter/display circuit. The counter/display
circuit has three inputs. The clock input receives
clock pulses generated by the machine cycle encoder
or a clock source representing the machine forming cycle.
The start input receives the reset pulse from the ~irst
selected machine operation pulse generator while the
stop input receives the reset pulse from the second
selected machine operation pulse generator. ~he
counter/display circuit counts the number of clock
pulses between the receipt of the start and stop input
pulses~ The number of counted clock pulses represents
the relative degree positioning between the selected
forming mechanisms and can be displayed on a digital
visual display.
Alternatively, the counter/display circuit can
receiva pulses from a real time clock circuit and a
selected operation pulse generator to generate a display
of operations per unit time, such as bottles per minute.
If the relative degree positioning between monitored
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forming operations has changed from a predetermined
value, an operator can either advance or retard one or
more of the operations to obtain a desired relative
positioning.
~ he nresent invention will become more apparent to
those skil]ed in ~he art from the following detailed
description of the preferred embodiment, when read in
light of the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a glassware forming
machine enbodying the present inventions
E'ig. 2 is a block diagram of another type of
glassware forming machine embodying the present
invention; and
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Fig. 3 is a schematic block diagram of a relative
degree position indicator.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
Referring now to the drawings, khere is shown
in Fig. 1 a block diagram o~ a glassware forming machine
which is more fully described in U.S. Patent Nos.
4,145,204 and 4,145,205. An individual section (IS~
glassware forming machine 10 has a plurality of
individual sections (not shown) which receive gobs of
molten glass from a gob distributor 12 which, in turn,
receives the gobs from a gob feeder 14. The gob
dis-tributor 12 and the gob feeder 14 are mechanically
driven by a pair of drive motors 16 and 18,
respectively, bo-th of which are connected to a supply of
variahle frequency power such as generated by an
inverter drive 20.
Each individual section is associated with a valve
2~ block r which valve blocks are designated with the
reference numeral 22. ~Each valve block is connecte~ to
a plurality of ylassw~re forming means in the in~,vidual
section for actuating -the forming means in a timed
predetermined sequence of steps to foîm glassware
articles from the gobs supplied by the gob distributor
12. The valves in the valve blocks are actuated by
solenoids (not shown) which are controlled by a machine
control circuit 24. The machine control circuit ~4
~etermines the timed sequence of forming steps in
accordance with a stored predetermined sequence of steps
and timing clock signals generated by a timing circuit
~6.
The machine control circuit 24 receives information
as to the sequence of the steps and the times between
the steps from a source (not shown) of such information.
The timing clrcuit 26 is responsive to the frequency of
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the output power generated by the variable frequency
power supply 20 to generate the clock signals. Since
the speeds of the motors 16 and 18 are proportional to
the frequency of the power generated by the variable
frequency power supply 20, the timing of the forming of
~he gob by the gob feeder 14 and the timing of the
distribution of the gob by ~he ~ob distributor 12 are
synchronized with the clock signals generated by ~he
~iming circuit 26.
A gob sensor 28 generates a signal upon the
detection of a gob at the mold in an individual section~
A gob detector circuit 30 responds to the signal from
~he gob sensor 28 to generate a signal to the machine
control circuit 24, which signal is utilized to adjust
the timing of that individual section to the actual
presence of the gob, rather than to a position related
distribution time as was done in the prior art~ The gob
sensor and gob detector circuit are disclosed in more
detail in U.S. Patent No. 4,162,909.
A feeder shaft encoder 32 is connected to the the
~ob feeder 14 for generating electrical timing signals
in respons~ tc the mechanical movement thereof. The
feeder shaft encoder 32 is conventional in the art and
generates a plurality of electrical pulses, the number
of such pulses being proportional to the amount of
rotation of a shaft. The feeder shaft encoder 32
generates one reset pulse over a FEEDER INDEX line for
every 360 of feeder cycle.
~ scoop shaft encoder 34 and a sweepout shaft
encoder 36 are each responsive to the mechanical
movement of the respective glassware forming mechanisms
in an individual section of the machine 10. The scoop
shaft encoder 34 generates three hundred sixty clock
pulses over a SCOOP CLOCK line and one reset pulse over
a SCOOP RESET line for eve.ry 360 of scoop cycle.
Similarly, the sweepout shaft encoder 36 ~enerates three
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hundred sixty clock pulses over a SWEEPOUT CLOCK line
and one reset pulse over a SWEEPOUT RESET line for every
360 of sweepout cycle.
Finally, a machine timing interface 38 is
responsive to the signals generated by the machine
control circuit 24 for generating electrical pulses
similar to those generated by the above-described
encoders. The machine timing interface 38 is
conventional in the art and generates three hundred
sixty clock pulses over a ~CHINE CLOCK line and one
reset pulse over a MACHINE RESET line for every 360 o~
machine cycle.
It will be appreciated that the present invention
can be adapted for use on early prior art machines in
which a mechanical timing drum is utilized to
synchronize the parts of the glassware forming machine.
A machine shaft encoder (not shown~ can he substituted
for the machine timing interface 38 to generate the
clock and reset pulses. As will be describe~ in detail
below, the signals generated by the encoders 32, 34, and
36 and the interface 38 are fed to a relative position
indicator for co.nparison. Also, it will be ap~reciate~
that the above-described pulses can be generated at
other frequencies to provide a different output scale
for the cycle rates of the forming operations.
Fig. 2 is a block diagram of an individual section
glassware forming machine and associated electronic
control system which is more fully described in U.S.
Patent No~ 4,152,134. A machine supervisory computer
(MSC) 40 and a plurality of individual section computers
(ISC) 42 ~only one is illustrated) receive a train of
timing pulses from a timing pulse generator 44. The MSC
40 is connected to each I5C 42 and each ISC 42 is
connected to an associated individual sec-tion 46 of the
glassware forming machine.
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OI-15322
I'he timing pulse generator 44 generates clock
signals to the MSC 40 and the ISC ~2, thus providing a
reference for timing the machine cycle and the sequence
of steps to be performed by the ISC 42. An input/output
device 48 and a data storage device 50 are both
connected to the MSC~40 by a pair of bi-directional
lines~ The MSC 40 is also ~onnected over a
bi-directional line to a bottle reject control panel 52.
The panel 52 includes a plurality of switches (not
shown), each of ~hich corresponds to a particular cavity
of the mold in each individual section 46. If the
operator desires to reject a particular article of
glassware, he ac-tuates the appropriate switch in the
panel 52. The MSC 40 periodically scans the panel 52 to
see if any switches have been actuated. When the MSC 40
senses an actuated switch, it will compare the reject
synchronization value corresponding to the section of
the rejected glassware with the current position. If
these two values are e~ual, a reject signa:L will be
supplied to a bottle reject station 54 such that the
appropriate bottle will be rejected.
The ISC 42 generates control si~nals to a val~re
block 56 through a section operator console ~SOC) 58.
The valve block 56 is connected to a plurality of
glassware forming mechanisms 60 for actuating the
forming mechanisms in a predetermined timed sequence of
steps to form the articles o glassware. The valves in
the valve block 56 are actuated by solenoids (not shown~
which are controlled by signals generated in accordance
with the control programs and the timing data currently
stored in the ISC 42~ The va]ve block 56 and the
glassware forming mechanisms ~0 together comprise the
individual section 46.
There is also shown in FigO 2 a gob sensor 62 which
is similar to the gob sensor 28 of the prior art
glassware forming machine illustrated in Fig. 1. The
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gob sensor 62 includes a gob detector circuit (not
shown) for generating a signal to the ISC 42, which
signal i~ utilized to adjust the timing of that
individual section 46 to the presence of the gob rather
than to a position related distribution time. The SOC
58 is connected to the ISC 42 and the valve block 56 and
is used by the operator to mwake adjustments to the
mechanism timing. The actuation of a particular valve
may either be advanced or retarded by the operator with
use of the SOC 58.
The scoop shaft encoder 34 and the sweepout shaft
encoder 36 described above can be connected to the
appropriate glassware forming mechanisms 60 to provide
the clock and reset pulses over the respective lines.
Similarly, the machine timing interface 38 can be
connected to the SOC 58 to generate the above-described
machine clock and reset pulses. Since the SOC 58
generates timing pulses directly to the feeder (not
shown), a feeder timing interface 64 can be connected to
the SOC 58 to generate one reset pulse over a FREDER
INDE~ line Eor every 360 o~ feeder cycle. It will be
appr~ciated tlat any T.;eanS Eor gen~rating the clock and
reset pulses can be utilized such that the present
invention can be adapted for use on any type of
glassware forming machine~
Referring now -to Fig. 3, there is illustrated a
schematic block diagram of a relative degree position
indicator in accordance with the present invention. The
signals from the various encoders and interfaces
described above are fed ko a five-pole, four-position
swit~h means, indicated generally at 66. Additionally,
a real time clock circuit 68 is provided to generate
reference signals according to a real time base. These
signals are generated over a REFERENCE IND~X line and a
REFERENCE RESET line to the switch 66. The signal
generated over the REFERENCE INDEX line i5 followed,
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after a predetermined length oE time, by the signal
generated over the REFERENCE RESET line. The utility of
the real time clock signals will be explained in greater
detail below.
S The switch 66 has a first pole 70 which is
connected to an ENABLE LATCH line. A first contact 70-1
of the pole 70 is connected to the MACHINE RESET (MR)
line. A second contact 70-2 is connected to the SCOOP
RESET (SCR) line. A third contact 70-3 is connected to
the SWEEPOVT RESET (SWR) line. A fourth contact 70-4 is
connected to the REFERENCE RESET (RR) line.
The switch 66 has a second pole 72 which is
connected to a CLOCK line. A first contact 72-1 of the
pole 72 is connected to the M~CHINE CLOCK ~MC~ line.
second contact 72-2 is connected to the SCOOP CLOCX
(SCC) line. A third contact 72-3 is connected to the
SWEEPOUT CLOCK (SWC) line. A fourth contact 72-4 is
connected to the MACHINE CLOCK ~MC) line.
The switch 66 has a third pole 74 which i5
connected to a CLEAR COUNTER line. A first contact 74-l
of the pole 74 is connected to the FEEDER INDEX (FI?
line. A second pole 74-2 is also connected tG the
FEEDER INDEX (FI) line. A third contact 74 3 is
connected to the ~AC~IINE RESET (MR) line. A fourth
contact 74-4 is connected to the REFERENCE INDEX (RI)
line.
~ The switch 66 has a fourth pole 76 which is
connected to an ADYANCE line. A first contact 76-l of
the fourth pole 76 is conne~ted to a MAOEIINE ADVANCE
line. A second contact 76-2 is connected to a SCOOP
AD~ANCE line. A third contact 76-3 is connected -to a
SWEEPOUT ADVANCE line. A fourth contact 76-4 is an open
connection. The MACHINE ADVANCE line, the SCOOP ADVANCE
line, and the SWEEPOUT ADVANCE line are each connected
to their respestive advance control unit (not shownj to
enable an operator to change the relative timing of the
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forming operations such that a selected operation occurs
earlier in the three hundred sixty degree cycle.
The switch 66 has a fifth pole 78 which is
connected to a RETARD line. A first contact 78-1 of the
pole 78 is connected to a MACHINE RETARD line. A second
contact 78-2 is connected to a SCOOP RETARD line. A
third contact 78-3 is connected to a SWEEPOUT RETARD
line. A fourth contact 78-4 is an open connection. The
MACHINE RETARD line, the SCOOP RETARD line, and the
10 SWEEPOUT RETARD line are each connected to their
respective retard control units (not shown) to enable an
operator to change the relative timing of the formin~
operations such that the selected function occurs later
in the three hundred sixty degree cycle.
A single-pole, double-throw switch 80 is utilized
to selectively advance or retard a selected control
unit. The ADVANCE line is connected to a first contact
80-1 of the switch 80. The RETARD line is connected to
a second contact 80-2 of the switch 80. The switch 80
is manually operable into contact with either the first
contact 80-1 or the second contact 80-2. The pole of
'_he switck 80 is connected to ground potential, thereby
completing an electrical circuit with the selected
advance or retard control unit. An operator can thereby
select advance or retard and adjust the relative degree
positioning between the monitored forming operations.
A counter/display means 81 is provided for
displaying the relative degree positioning between the
monitored forming operations. The counter/display unit
81 includes a binary coded decimal (BCD) counter 82, a
latch 84, and a digital display 86~ The second pole 72
of the switch 66 is connected over the CLOCK line to a
clock input of -the ~CD counter 82. The signals carried
over the CLOCK line represent the clock pulses generated
by the selected one o~ the above-descri~ed encoder or
timing interface units. Since all of the units generate
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three hundred sixty clock pulses for every 360 of
formin~ ope~ation cycle, the ou-tpu-t of the BCD
counter 82 will be a count total signal similarly
incremented three hundred sixty times for each such
cycle.
The third pole 74 of the switch 66 is connected
over the CLEAR COUNTE~ line to a clear or zeroing input
of the BCD coun-ter 82. The clear signals carried over
the CLEAR COUNTER line are -the pulses carried over the
FEEDER INDEX line, the MACHINE RESET line, or the
REFERENCE INDEX line. Thus, the output signal of the
BCD coun-ter 82 will be cleared to zero whenever a feeder
index, reference index, or machine reset pulse is
received. The receipt of such a pulse indicates that
the first selected operation to be monitored is
beginning a new cycle. Whel~ the BCD counter 82 is
cleared to zero, it will begin to count upwardly
therefrom in response to the signals received at the
clock input.
The first pole 70 of the swi-tch 66 is connec-ted
over the ENABLE LATCH line to an enabling input of the
latch 84. The latch 84 r_ceives t.le binary coded
decimal output of the BCD counter 82 in parallel
fashion. The enable signals carried over the ENABLE
COUNTER line are the reset pulses carried over the
MACHINE RESET line, the SCOOP RESET line, the SWEEPOUT
RESET line, or the REFERENCE RESET line. Thus, the
output of the BCD counter 82 will be stored in the latch
84 whenever a reset pulse is received. The receipt of a
reset pulse indica-tes that the second selected operat~on
to be monitored is beginning a new cycle. When the
enable slgnal is received, the output Gf the BCD counter
82, which has been increasing from zero since the clear
signal was received by the counter 82, is stored in the
latch 84.
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Since the clock pulses which have been utilized to
increment the BCD counter 82 represent the actual degree
positi~n o~ the selected ~orming operation in its cycle,
the number s-tored in the latch 84 is equal to the
relative degree positioning between the beginnings of
the -two selected forming operation cycles. The binary
coded decimal output of the latch 84 is utilized to
drive the digital display 86, which can be a
conventional three digit light emitting diode array.
Thus, a visual representation of the relative degree
positioning between -the beginnings of the two selected
forming operation cycles is provided~
From the above-described circuit construction, it
will be appreciated that the digital display 86 will
display the relative degree positioning between the
machine cycle and the feeder cycle when the poles o~ the
switch Ç6 are connected to their respective first
contacts. Similarly, the relative degree positioning
between the scoop and feeder cycles will be displayed
when the poles of the switch 66 are connected to their
respective second contacts. The relative degree
positioninc; between the sweepout and machine cycles will
be displayed when the poles of the switch 66 are
connected to their respective third contacts. Finally,
the number of machine cycles per unit time will be
displayed when the poles of the switch 66 are connected
to their respective fourth contacts.
In operation, the synchronization of the rnachine is
initially accomplished by experienced forming personnel~
As each operation is brought into the desired degree
position, a number value will be displayed on the
digital display 86 which can be recorded for later use.
In the event of a machine shutdown, resynchronization
can be readily achieved by using the advance or retard
switch 80. The switch 80 can be located on the
counter/display unit 81 for convenience. The operator
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can utilize -the switch 80 to either advance ~r retard
the relative deyree positioning of the selected forming
operation to re-attain the previous synchronized number
value on the digital display 36.
~lternatively, the relative degree position
indicator can be utilized to display the number of
selected forming operation cycles per unit time. In the
illustrated embodiment, the digital display 86 can be
utilized to display the number of shear cuts per minute
when the switch 66 is operated to connect each of the
poles to their respective fourth contact. In this
position, it will be appreciated that the advance or
retard switch 80 is inoperable since both the ADVANCE
and RETARD lines are connected to open circuits.
Although the present invention has been illustrated
in Fig. 3 as having three sources of clock pulses, a
single source oE clock pulses can be utilized. The
sin~Jle source can he the machine timing interface, the
feeder, the scoop, the sweepout, or any other source
having a Erequency proportional to the machine speed.
The clock source could be connected to the clock input
of the counter 82 and the second pole 72 of the switch
66 could be eliminated. The reset pulses for the
forming means could be generated by proximity switches
at the rate of one pulse per machine cycle.
In accordance with the provisions of the patent
statutes r the principle and mode of operation of the
present invention have been explained and illustrated in
its preferred embodiment. However, it must be
appreciated that the invention can be practiced
otherwise than as specifically explained and illustrated
without departing :Erom its spirit or scope.
