JP-7855254-B2 - Predictive maintenance system for heaters in packaging machinery

JP7855254B2JP 7855254 B2JP7855254 B2JP 7855254B2JP-7855254-B2

Inventors

窪井宏行
高橋勝行

Assignees

株式会社川島製作所

Dates

Publication Date: 20260508
Application Date: 20241009

Claims (1)

A heater predictive maintenance system for a packaging machine, comprising a heater drive circuit and a heater predictive maintenance device, The packaging machine is equipped with a sealing device that seals a tubular continuous film using a pair of heater blocks that perform opening and closing operations. The heater drive circuit includes a cartridge heater embedded in each of the pair of heater blocks, means for turning on and off a drive current supplied from a power source, and an ammeter for measuring the current value of the drive current when the means for turning on is turned on and the drive current is supplied to the cartridge heater, causing the pair of heater blocks to rise to a seal temperature and maintain that seal temperature . The heater predictive maintenance device is a heater predictive maintenance system for a packaging machine, comprising: a current value acquisition unit that continuously acquires the current value measured by the ammeter; a current value change determination unit that determines that there is a sign of malfunction in the cartridge heater when, in a state in which the drive current supplied to the cartridge heater to maintain the pair of heater blocks at the sealing temperature is increased and the change in the current value acquired by the current value acquisition unit exceeds a predetermined range , the heater predictive maintenance device for a packaging machine is comprising: a current value acquisition unit that continuously acquires the current value measured by the ammeter; a current value change determination unit that determines that there is a sign of malfunction in the cartridge heater when, in a state in which the drive current is supplied to the cartridge heater from the power supply via the on/off means and the ammeter, the pair of heater blocks are maintained at the sealing temperature, and the pair of heater blocks are closed, a normal sealing operation is performed on the tubular continuous film; and a determination result output unit that outputs the determination result of the current value change determination unit.

Description

This invention relates to a heater predictive maintenance system for packaging machines such as horizontal pillow packaging machines, vertical pillow packaging machines, overwrapping machines, and wrapping machines. In packaging machines such as horizontal pillow packaging machines, vertical pillow packaging machines, overwrapping machines, and wrapping machines, various drive devices such as servo motors, air cylinders, and heaters for heat sealers are used. These drive components can fail due to various factors, in which case they are repaired or replaced. However, in order to minimize the disruption to production caused by the repair or replacement of drive components, various diagnostic devices have been proposed to detect drive component failures in advance. For example, Patent Document 1 (JP 2001-261145) discloses an article conveying device equipped with a conveying conveyor driven by a motor, the device comprising: a current measuring means for measuring the magnitude of the current flowing through the motor; a notification determination means for outputting a notification signal when the magnitude of the current measured by the current measuring means exceeds a reference value; and a notification means that operates in response to the notification signal. Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Publication No. 2005-528291) discloses a system for identifying abnormal operation of a packaging machine, comprising: a sampling entity arranged to sample a signal corresponding to the torque value of a servo motor issued to the servo motor during use; a spectral analyzer that generates a spectral analysis of the sampled signal; and a processing unit coupled to a memory device for storing a characterization corresponding to the operating state of a mechanical element coupled to the servo motor, wherein the characterization corresponds to at least one predetermined value for each of at least one frequencies of the signal, and the processing unit is arranged to determine abnormal operation of the mechanical element during use using the spectral analysis of the sampled signal and the characterization of the mechanical element. Patent Document 3 (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2012-1211) discloses an automatic packaging machine that uses an air cylinder as the drive source for opening and closing a sealer, which calculates and displays the sealer closing operation time and sealer opening operation time from the signal input of a reed switch that detects the forward end position of the piston rod of the air cylinder, the sealer closing signal output and the sealer opening signal output, and makes them available for monitoring, and also has a function to monitor the closing operation time and the opening operation time by setting an allowable time and to stop the machine with an alarm if it is exceeded, and a function to stop the machine with an alarm if the reed switch is lost between the time the sealer closing signal output is output and the reed switch confirms that the sealer is closed and the time the opening signal output is output. However, the conveying device described in Patent Document 1 outputs a notification signal when a load is generated that prevents the conveying conveyor from running smoothly, causing the motor torque to increase and the magnitude of the current flowing to the motor to exceed a standard value. However, the conveying device described in Patent Document 1 cannot detect slight malfunctions in geared motors that control position, speed, etc., such as gearhead wear or bearing lubrication failure, which would cause changes in motor operation, and thus prevent the magnitude of the current flowing to the motor from deviating from a standard value, and thus cannot take preventative measures before an abnormality occurs. Furthermore, in the packaging system described in Patent Document 2, the spectral signal corresponding to the torque value of the servo motor is analyzed to monitor the operating state of mechanical elements coupled to the servo motor, such as wear of chains, belts, bearings, etc., and to determine abnormal operation of the mechanical elements. Therefore, similar to Patent Document 1, in geared motors such as servo motors with reduction gears, when the operation of the motor changes due to wear of the gearhead or lack of lubrication in the bearings, it is not possible to detect slight malfunctions of the servo motor that would not be determined as abnormal operation by analyzing the spectral signal corresponding to the torque value of the servo motor, and thus not be able to take preventative measures before an abnormality occurs. Furthermore, in the automatic packaging machine described in Patent Document 3, a warning is issued and the machine stops if the sealer closing operation time or sealer opening operation time exceeds the allowable time. However, even if an air leak occurs in the air cylinder that does not change the sealer closing operation time or seal