JP2001083002A - Maintenance system - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To facilitate grasp of a maintenance period of a plurality of parts and enhance operability of a device by a method wherein, in any or all of the plurality of parts, use conditions based on a use amount are displayed in a list in each of the respective parts. SOLUTION: For example, in an automatic variable containing device, whenever a microcomputer may issue a labeling instruction to a labeler, it renews a use amount and stores it. When being informed of a present use amount, a use condition list display screen is displayed on a touch screen 34 by a predetermined operation. A gross use period, a caution label and the like as well as a part name as a maintenance object are displayed on this display screen, and a ratio of the use amount (use condition) corresponding to each part in each of respective labelers is displayed by assorting by coloring in a bar graph so as to understand relation with the criterion of a maintenance period. Thus, as the use conditions and maintenance period can be expected, parts that need be exchanged can be beforehand prepared.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a maintenance system for an apparatus having a plurality of parts.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Heretofore, as a maintenance system for a product processing apparatus, a maintenance system for notifying or displaying the situation on a screen when a predetermined maintenance time such as replacement of parts or cleaning comes in advance has been known. (JP-A-63-135825 and JP-A-6-135825).
1-2241805).

[0003]

However, in such a conventional maintenance system, immediately after the maintenance of one location is completed and the operation is resumed, the maintenance time of another location comes and the operation is stopped again. As a result, the operating rate of the device cannot be improved.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to make it easier to grasp the maintenance time for a plurality of parts,
The purpose is to improve the operation rate of the device.

[0005]

To achieve the above object, the present invention provides a maintenance system for an apparatus having a plurality of parts to be maintained,
Detecting means for detecting the usage of each part, storage for updating and storing the usage of each part, and part or all of the plurality of parts are stored in the storage for each part. Display means for displaying a list of usage states based on the usage amount.

According to the present invention, the maintenance time can be predicted by displaying the usage status in a list. Therefore, it is possible to prepare replacement parts in advance, or to replace parts approaching the maintenance time all at once. The operation rate of the device can be improved.

In the present invention, “maintenance” means
Cleaning and checking of parts and parts and / or replacement of parts. “Listing the usage status” generally means displaying the value according to the stored usage amount as the usage status, but if the actual usage amount exceeds the value that can be displayed, the limit value is set. It may be displayed. As a display method of "list display", for example, a plurality of parts of the same type to be maintained are displayed in a list adjacent to each other, or a part used in one device of a production line is displayed. , It is preferable to display the list adjacently.

It is preferable that the "usage status" is displayed so that the relationship between the "usage status" and the standard of maintenance time can be understood.

[0009] "Maintenance time" means, for example,
It refers to the travel distance, the number of operations, or the operation time, which is predetermined by the component. As the “standard”, the average life of the component, the upper and lower limits of the life, and the like can be used. As a method of “displaying so that the relationship with the standard can be understood”, for example, when the usage amount is displayed in a digital value, it is preferable to display both the usage amount and the standard in numerical values. On the other hand, when displaying in a bar graph, etc.,
A guide is displayed on the scale, or a display state such as a color or a shape is changed so that the guide can be understood. Also,
When the usage amount exceeds a predetermined reference value, the display of the usage amount may be blinked.

[0010] In the present invention, it is preferable that one or more parts are selected from the parts displayed as a "list" so that a maintenance method for the parts can be displayed.

The "apparatus" to be maintained includes, for example, a product processing apparatus for performing a predetermined process based on product information on a product. "Product processing equipment"
For example, there are a combination weighing device, a stretch packaging device, a label printer, and the like. The “combination weighing device” refers to a device that collects a plurality of objects to be weighed by a plurality of weighing hoppers to obtain a target weight or a target number.
"Stretch wrapping device" refers to a device that wraps a product with a film. As a "stretch wrapping device", for example, a weighed product is wrapped with a film, and a valuation packaging with a valuation label is applied from above. There are devices. "Label printer" refers to a device that prints a label and issues a label. As a device having a "label printer", for example, a price corresponding to a weighed product is calculated, and the price, product name, etc. Electronic balance with a printer, which prints and issues a label on a receipt or a label, or an automatic weighing device for automatically applying the label. This type of “product processing device” generally includes a product information storage unit that stores product information including a product name for each product, reads product information stored in the product information storage unit, and displays the read product information on a display unit. At the same time, predetermined processing is performed on the product using the product information.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 6 show a first embodiment. The first embodiment shows a case where the present invention is applied to an automatic weighing and pricing apparatus. In this apparatus, the weighed products M1 and M2 are located downstream of the weighing conveyor 1C shown in FIG.
First and second sticking conveyors (transport conveyor)
10C and 20C are provided in series.

As shown in FIG. 1B, a label printer 11p, 13p and a label applicator 11t, 13t are provided above and below the first adhering conveyor 10C on the upstream side in the transport direction Y, respectively. The first machine in the series (for top application)
Units 11 and 13 (for lower attachment) 13 are provided. On the other hand, above and below the second pasting conveyor 20C on the downstream side, a second machine (for upper pasting) 12 and a second machine (for upper pasting) having a label printer 12p, 14p and a label pasting machine 12t, 14t, respectively. 14) is provided.

Each of the label printers 11p to 14p is provided with a thermal head (not shown), and prints product information and the like on the label. Label pasting machine 11t ~
Reference numeral 14t has an electromagnetic valve (not shown) for adsorbing and holding the printed label and attaching the label to the products M2 and M1 on the attaching conveyors 10C and 20C. In addition,
Label printers 11p to 14p and label pasting machine 11
As the detailed structure of t to 14t, for example, the structure disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-272649 can be adopted.

FIG. 2 shows a control configuration of the present apparatus. As shown in FIG. 2, the present apparatus includes a microcomputer 30 that controls information on products and basic operations of the device. The microcomputer 30 includes:
The first-stage first attaching conveyor 10C and the first local control unit 10 are connected to the second-stage second attaching conveyor 20C and the second local control unit 20, respectively. Further, a touch screen 34 and a numeric keypad 35 are connected to the microcomputer 30. The devices shown in FIG. 2 are connected to each other via an interface (not shown).

The first local controller 10 is connected to a first unit 11 and a third unit 13 of a first series, while the second local controller 20 is connected to a second unit 12 of a second series.
And the fourth machine 14 are connected.

The microcomputer 30 comprises a CPU 31, a ROM 3
2 and a RAM 33. The CPU 31 has a timer 31a for counting time. The RAM 33 includes a product information storage unit 33a, a usage amount storage unit 33b, an average reference value storage unit 33c, and the like.

The merchandise information storage unit 33a stores a call for each merchandise.
Product information such as product name, unit price, label length, and sticking position is stored for each No. As shown in FIG. 3A, the usage amount storage unit 33b stores the number of times of application, the length of the issued label,
The usage amounts including the conveyor operation time and the total operation time are stored in association with each other for each of the machines 11 to 14.

The number of times of application is determined by each label attaching machine 11t to 11t.
14t is the number of times the label has been applied to the product. The label is adsorbed and held by using the electromagnetic valve and is attached to the product, and the number of times of application corresponds to the usage amount of the electromagnetic valve. The length of the issued label is the total length of the label printed by the label printer. Since the label printer performs printing using the thermal head, the length of the issued label corresponds to the usage amount of the thermal head. Conveyor operating time corresponds to the amount of conveyor belt used. The total operation time is a time obtained by accumulating the time during which the power is turned on, and corresponds to the usage of the power supply unit.

Each used amount is detected, for example, as follows. The microcomputer 30 sends an attaching instruction to each label attaching machine 11.
Each time the time is output from t to 14t, 1 is added to the number of times of sticking stored in the usage amount storage unit 33b, and the usage amount is updated and stored. The microcomputer 30 adds the label length (the length of one label) read from the product information storage unit 33a at the time of outputting the sticking command to the current usage amount, and issues the label issued by the usage amount storage unit 33b. Is updated and stored.

As described above, the microcomputer 30 calculates and uses the used amount of each component to be maintained, and constitutes a detecting means for detecting the used amount.
After the replacement of the parts, the usage amounts are reset as described later.

As shown in FIG. 3B, an average standard value storage unit 33c stores in advance an average standard value corresponding to the item of the used amount. The average reference value is a predetermined value indicating the average usable life of the component.

The touch screen 34 (FIG. 2) displays, for example, a usage status display screen as shown in FIG. 5 on a display screen such as a liquid crystal display screen, and displays various information and menus. Along with
This is a system for inputting by touching a part of the display with a finger.

Next, the operation will be described. When the power is turned on, the timer 31a starts measuring the operation time of the apparatus, and the microcomputer 30 stores the time measured by the timer 31a in the total operation time column of the usage amount storage unit 33b (FIG. 3A). The usage amount is updated and stored by successively integrating.

When the operator performs a predetermined operation to start the weighing / pricing of the goods, the sticking conveyors 10C, 2C
Simultaneously with the start of rotation of 0C, the timer 31a starts measuring the operating time of the conveyor, and the microcomputer 30 sequentially accumulates the time measured by the timer 31a in the conveyor operating time column of the usage memory 33b. Is updated and stored. Then, the microcomputer 30 includes a product information storage unit 33a.
A predetermined process is performed based on the product information read out from.
The microcomputer 30 outputs the sticking command for each of the units 11 to 14, and updates the storage by adding 1 to the number of times of sticking of the unit in the usage amount storage unit 33b. On the other hand, microcomputer 3
0 causes the label length to be updated and stored in the usage amount storage unit 33b.

Here, when it is desired to know the current use amount of the parts, a predetermined operation is performed to display the mode selection screen shown in FIG. 4 on the touch screen 34, and then the "maintenance mode" button 50 is touched. Then, a usage status list display screen shown in FIG. 5 is displayed. As shown in FIG. 5, the list display screen displays "total use time", a warning display enable / disable button, and the like. On the other hand, on the list display screen, the names of items to be maintained, such as “solenoid valve”, “thermal head”, and “conveyor belt”, are displayed adjacent to each other. The percentage of the usage corresponding to the name is displayed as a list in a bar graph.

The bar graph is displayed in different colors according to the use status so that the relationship with the guideline of the maintenance time can be understood. For example, when the ratio of the used amount to the average reference value is 70% or less where there is no need to replace parts, it is displayed in blue. If the ratio is more than 70% and less than 90%,
Since the parts are about to be replaced, the part By that exceeds 70% and less than 90% is displayed in yellow in addition to the blue part Bb. If the ratio exceeds 90%, the portion Br exceeding 90% is displayed in red in addition to the blue and yellow portions Bb and By.

In each of the bar graphs, a character of "quasi" is displayed on the bar displayed in yellow to prompt the preparation of a replacement part. On the other hand, above the bar displayed in red,
"Replacement" characters indicating that the time for replacement of parts has arrived are displayed.

As described above, for parts requiring maintenance, the usage status based on the usage amount can be displayed for each part. For this reason, the maintenance time can be predicted from the usage state, and the parts that need to be replaced can be prepared in advance. In particular, since the usage status is displayed in a list for a plurality of components, when replacing a component whose life has expired, it is possible to replace another component whose replacement time is near. Therefore, the number of times of maintenance is reduced, so that the operation rate can be greatly improved.

Further, since a plurality of parts of the same type to be maintained are displayed adjacently in a list, the number of parts that need to be replaced can be checked at a glance. In addition, parts used in one unit of the production line are listed next to each other, so it is possible to check at a glance whether maintenance is required for each part of the same unit. Maintenance can be performed at once. The use status of the same unit or the same component may be selected and sorted by the CPU and displayed. In addition, the current usage status is displayed as a bar graph, and in the bar graph, the portion near the replacement time or the portion where the replacement time has come is displayed in different colors in yellow or red, so that the visibility is remarkably improved.

When the amount of use exceeds the average standard value,
In other words, when the usage ratio exceeds 100%, a warning display such as "Warning. The maintenance time of the thermal head and the solenoid valve of Unit 1 has come." Is displayed on the touch screen 34. Is also good. Further, such a warning may be output as audio by audio output means (not shown).

Next, when maintenance is required, for example, when the part or item (for example, "thermal head") is touched, a maintenance method display screen shown in FIG. 6A is displayed for the part. As shown in FIG. 6A, the maintenance method display screen displays a machine number corresponding to the item and various setting values, as well as a maintenance method including replacement methods of parts and notes. The maintenance method may be illustrated.

As described above, when one or more components are selected from the components listed on the usage status list display screen (FIG. 5), a maintenance method for the components is displayed. Since there is no need to search for a maintenance method, maintenance can be performed quickly and easily.

Thereafter, the operator looks at the maintenance method display screen, replaces the component in accordance with the displayed maintenance method, and touches a “data initialization” button 52. When the “data initialization” button 52 is touched,
The CPU 31 initializes (resets to “0”) a value corresponding to the item of the device in the usage amount storage unit 33b.

If the list display screen is displayed on the touch screen 34 when the power is turned on, replacement parts and the like can be prepared in advance at the start of work. In addition, as shown in FIG. 6B, if the relationship between the usage amount and the number of elapsed days is displayed using a line graph, it is determined whether each part is operating or whether it is attached in a predetermined state. Whether or not it can be confirmed. The graph is shown in FIG.
It may be displayed on the maintenance method display screen as shown in FIG.

By the way, as a method of displaying a list of usage states, various variations can be considered. For example, as shown in FIG. 7, the color of the entire graph of the part is changed from blue to yellow or red in accordance with the ratio of the usage amount to the average reference value, and the average reference value and the numerical value of the usage amount are respectively changed. , May be displayed together with the bar graph. Also, as shown in FIG. 8, the item to be maintained and the bar graph of the item are displayed for each unit, and the characters "start", "quasi" and "replacement" are displayed on the bar graph. May be always displayed above the position where the image is displayed.

Further, as shown in FIG. 9, instead of a bar graph, each usage amount is indicated by a numeral, and the background of the numerical value is colored in yellow or red according to the ratio of the usage amount to the average standard value. May be displayed. Further, among the numerical values, the numerical value at which the replacement time has come may be blinked.

As shown in FIG. 10, the present invention can also be applied to an electronic balance equipped with a label printer having a label printer 46 for issuing labels and a weighing means 45 for measuring the weight of the product.

In this embodiment, the parts that need to be replaced have been described as maintenance targets. However, the present invention can also be applied to cleaning the light transmission window of the photoelectric switch and adjusting the tension. Further, in the present invention, a detector (such as a photoelectric switch) for detecting the usage status of each component may be provided separately from the CPU. For example, the voltage of a backup power supply may be measured with a voltmeter, and the value may be output to a microcomputer to indirectly detect the usage of the power supply.

Next, another product processing apparatus to which the present invention can be applied will be described. 11 to 13 show a stretch packaging device. First, the mechanism and operation (product processing operation) of the device will be briefly described.

The stretch packaging apparatus wraps a product weighed based on the product information with a film and affixes a price label to the film. The weighing conveyor 100 shown in FIG. 11 and the packaging mechanism shown in FIG. 200. A film roll Fr is housed in the main body frame 150 so that the film F can be unwound. As shown in FIG.
The product M placed thereon is weighed while being conveyed, and is then sent together with the tray T onto the post 210 of the lifter 201.

The post 210 of the lifter 201 is disposed immediately below the packaging station S, and can be moved up and down by a lifting means 208. This lifter 2
01, when goods are supplied from the weighing conveyor 100,
The post 210 rises and lifts the product M to the packaging station S.

On the other hand, prior to the wrapping operation, as shown in FIG. 13, in the wrapping station S, the film cut to a predetermined length by the cutter 6 is transported by the transfer mechanisms 202 and 2.
02. When the product M is pushed up, the film F comes into close contact with the upper surface of the product M. In this state, the film folding mechanism 203 folds the front, rear, left and right side edges of the film F on the bottom side of the tray T to package the product, and discharges the packaged product onto the discharge conveyor 209 in FIG. I do. The discharge conveyor 209 has a heat sealer 220, and the film F folded on the bottom side of the tray T is sealed by the heat sealer 220.

As shown in FIG. 11, the packaging station S
A label pasting machine 43 having an electromagnetic valve is disposed above the space. The label pasting machine 43 pastes a label L issued from a label printer 42 having a thermal head on a surface of a film F at a packaging station S.

In such a stretch packaging apparatus, for example, the cutter 6 (FIG. 13) or the heat sealer 220 (FIG. 1)
2) etc. are parts that need maintenance together with the thermal head, solenoid valve, conveyor belt, etc.
The usage is detected as follows. Heat sealer 220
Is heated when the power of the apparatus is turned on. Therefore, by integrating the operation time of this device, the heat sealer 2
The usage amount of 20 is detected. On the other hand, the usage amount of the cutter 6 is detected by integrating the number of times of cutting. Therefore, it is possible to list the usage of the cutter 6 and the heat sealer 220 as well as the usage of the thermal head, the solenoid valve, the conveyor belt, and the like.

Next, the case where the present invention is applied to a combination weighing device will be briefly described. First, the mechanism and operation of the device will be briefly described.

As shown in FIG. 14, the conveyor 300
Causes the content (product) M to be weighed to drop to the center of the dispersion feeder 401 of the combination weighing device 400. In addition, several or many contents M are collected and bagged later to be a product.

The dispersion feeder 401 and the supply troughs 3 _i vibrate by driving the vibrating device, respectively, so that the contents M on the dispersion feeder 401 can be transferred to a number of pools provided downstream of the supply troughs 3 _i. Supply to hopper 4i. Each of the pool hoppers 4i is provided with a gate 5i, and temporarily stores and stores the content M supplied and received from each of the supply troughs 3i. A measuring hopper 6i is provided downstream of each pool hopper 4i.
Each of these weighing hoppers 6i has a weighing head and a gate 8 provided with a weight detector 7i for detecting the weight of the contents M put into the weighing hopper 6i from the pool hopper 4i.
i is provided. Below the gate 8i, a large collecting discharge chute 9 is provided.
By combining the weight of the content M detected in i,
The contents M are collectively set to a target value or a value close to the target value, and the contents M are dropped downstream.

The gates 5 _i and 8 _i are opened and closed by using a coil spring. Also,
Vibrator to vibrate the respective feed trough 3 _i are driven by a plate spring. The coil spring and the leaf spring are components requiring maintenance, and the usage amount of the component can be detected according to the number of times of opening and closing and the vibration time, respectively.
The amount of use of each part is detected by integrating the number of times of opening and closing of each gate 5 _i and 8 _i and the vibration time of each supply trough 3 _i . Therefore, it is possible to display a list of the usage amounts of the coil spring, the leaf spring, and the like.

[0050]

As described above, according to the present invention,
For a part or all of a plurality of parts to be maintained, a list of usage states based on the usage amount is displayed for each part. For this reason, the maintenance time can be predicted from the usage state, so that parts that need to be replaced can be prepared in advance. In particular, since the usage status is displayed in a list, it is possible to know the usage status of other components when replacing a component that has reached the end of its life. Therefore, it is also possible to replace other components whose replacement time is near. . Therefore, the number of maintenance operations is reduced, so that the operation rate of the system can be significantly improved.

Further, if a plurality of parts of the same type to be maintained are displayed adjacently in a list, it is possible to confirm the number of the same parts that need to be replaced. On the other hand, if the parts used for one of the production lines are displayed adjacently in a list, maintenance of the same device can be performed at once.

In addition, when the usage status is displayed so that the relationship with the guideline of the maintenance time can be understood, it is possible to easily predict the arrival of the maintenance time. further,
If the usage status is displayed using a diagram, the usage status can be grasped at a glance. In addition, if the relationship with the guideline of maintenance time is displayed so that it can be understood by color coding or blinking display,
It becomes easier to grasp the use situation.

Further, if one or more parts are selected from the listed parts and the maintenance method for the part is displayed, there is no need to open a manual book and search for a maintenance method, so that it is quick and easy. System maintenance can be performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic plan layout diagram and a front layout diagram illustrating an automatic weighing and pricing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of the same device.

FIG. 3 is a table showing storage contents of a usage amount storage unit and an average standard value storage unit;

FIG. 4 is a front view showing a mode selection screen.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing a usage status list display screen.

FIG. 6A is a front view showing a maintenance method display screen,
(B) is a line graph.

FIG. 7 is a front view showing another example of a usage status list display screen.

FIG. 8 is a front view showing another example of a usage status list display screen.

FIG. 9 is a front view showing another example of a usage status list display screen.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing an electronic balance with a label printer.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing a stretch packaging device.

FIG. 12 is a schematic sectional view of the same.

FIG. 13 is a schematic perspective view showing a packaging station.

FIG. 14 is a schematic side view showing a combination weighing device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 30: microcomputer (detection means) 33: RAM (storage means) 34: touch screen (display means) M, M1, M2: merchandise

Claims (9)

[Claims] 1. A maintenance system for an apparatus having a plurality of parts to be maintained, a detecting unit for detecting a usage amount of each part, and a storage unit for updating and storing the usage amount of each part. And a display unit for displaying a list of usage statuses of some or all of the plurality of components based on the usage amounts stored in the storage unit for each of the components. 2. The maintenance system according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of parts of the same type are displayed adjacently in a list. 3. The maintenance system according to claim 1, wherein parts used in one device of the production line are displayed adjacently in a list. 4. The maintenance system according to claim 1, wherein the use status is displayed so that a relationship with a guideline of a maintenance time can be understood. 5. The maintenance system according to claim 4, wherein the status of use is displayed using a diagram. 6. The maintenance system according to claim 4, wherein the relationship with the standard is identified by color coding. 7. The maintenance system according to claim 4, wherein when the amount of use exceeds a predetermined standard value, the display of the amount of use is blinked. 8. The maintenance system according to claim 1, wherein one or more components are selected from the components displayed in the list, and a maintenance method for the components can be displayed. 9. The maintenance system according to claim 1, wherein the device to be maintained is a product processing device that performs a predetermined process based on product information on the product.