Plastic article or earthenware shaping or treating: apparatus – With means lubricating cooperating apparatus parts
Reexamination Certificate
1999-01-22
2001-01-30
Heitbrink, Tim (Department: 1722)
Plastic article or earthenware shaping or treating: apparatus
With means lubricating cooperating apparatus parts
C425S143000, C425S157000, C425S159000, C425S160000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06179597
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improvement in an automatic lubricator for an injection molding machine.
2. Description of the Related Art
Movable parts of an injection molding machine, for example, a sliding part or a rotating part in an injection mechanism section, a mold clamping section, a mold thickness adjusting section and an ejector mechanism section are generally lubricated by direct supply operation of lubricant using a grease gun or the like.
An automatic lubricator which is used to perform centralized lubrication by using an electrically-driven lubricating pump connected to piping has been known conventionally. However, the conventional automatic lubricator performs only lubricating operation by automatically operating a lubricating pump at predetermined lubrication intervals. If a variation occurs in the operation environment such as cycle time and ambient temperature of the injection molding machine, the conventional lubricator cannot respond to this variation, so that excess or insufficient lubricating operation is performed undesirably.
Also, even if the lubrication intervals are fixed, the lubrication quantity per one pump operation is varied by the operation environment, so that the residual quantity of grease in a reserve tank cannot be predicted accurately. Therefore, there is a fear that the lubricant refilling work delays, resulting in hindrance to lubricating operation.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic lubricator for an injection molding machine, capable of performing proper lubricating operation in accordance with the operation environment of injection molding machine.
The automatic lubricator of the present invention comprises a lubricating pump for supplying lubricant to movable parts of the injection. molding machine, and a controller for controlling an interval of operation of the lubricating pump or operating time of the lubricating pump for one lubrication based on at least one of cycle time of injection molding machine, temperature of the lubricated parts and ambient temperature.
In the case where the controller controls the lubricating pump to perform lubricating operation each time when set number of shots are completed and also adaptively controls the lubrication interval by adjusting the set number of shots, the controller makes the lubricating pump perform lubricating operation each time when at least one of the number of injection operations and the number of mold clamping operations reaches the set number of shots. Thereby, even when only a particular portion of injection molding machine is driven as in the case of mold clamping control operation and purging operation, running out of the lubricant can be prevented.
Also, by displaying at least one of residual quantity of the lubricant in a reserve tank, remaining time until refilling of the lubricant is needed, and date and time when the refilling of the lubricant is needed on a display, the running out of lubricant can be prevented.
REFERENCES:
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Ito Susumu
Kumasaka Masaaki
Nishimura Koichi
Fanuc Ltd.
Heitbrink Tim
Staas & Halsey , LLP
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