Plastic and nonmetallic article shaping or treating: processes – With measuring – testing – or inspecting
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-08
2002-06-25
Heitbrink, Jill L. (Department: 1732)
Plastic and nonmetallic article shaping or treating: processes
With measuring, testing, or inspecting
C264S328100, C264S334000, C425S139000, C425S165000, C425S556000, C425S444000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06409945
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of controlling an apparatus for taking out an injection-molded product from an injection mold and the apparatus for carrying out the method.
2. Disclosure of the Prior Art
FIG. 5
is a schematic diagram showing the areas surrounding an injection molding mechanism and an apparatus for taking out a molded product in an injection molding machine.
A female mold
26
of an injection mold
24
is mounted on a fixed platen
23
disposed at the forward end of an injection machine
1
, and a male mold
25
is mounted on a movable platen
22
to be driven by a mold-clamping cylinder
21
.
An apparatus
3
for taking out an injection-molded product according to the present invention is provided at a position upward of the mold
24
.
The apparatus
3
comprises an movable arm
49
having a product holder
42
for holding a molded product
10
by absorption; a servomotor
91
for moving the movable arm
49
in a mold-clamping direction (hereinafter referred to as “clamping direction servomotor
91
”); and a servomotor
92
for ingress of the product holder
42
between the male mold
25
and the female mold
26
in an open state (hereinafter referred to as “ingress direction servomotor
92
”).
According to the above-mentioned embodiment, the product holder
42
is moved along a locus C shown by an imaginary line in
FIG. 5
to take out the molded product
10
.
More specifically stated, the product holder
42
laid at a waiting position A
1
indicated by a solid line in
FIG. 5
is moved in a direction at a right angle to the mold-clamping direction (hereinafter referred to as “clamping direction”) by operating the ingress direction servomotor
92
. Then the product holder
42
is moved in the clamping direction by operating the clamping direction servomotor
91
before the ingress direction servomotor
92
is stopped. When the clamping direction servomotor
91
commences the operation, the product holder
42
is moved along a curve R and arrives at a holding position A
4
at which the product
10
is held (held by the male mold
25
). Thereafter a vacuum device (not shown) is operated to hold the product
10
by means of absorption with the product holder
42
. Then the product holder
42
is returned along the locus C and the product
10
is released at a specified releasing position to complete the withdrawal of the product
10
.
According to this embodiment, when the product holder
42
approaches the product
10
held by the male mold
25
, the product holder
42
is moved along the curve R by operating the clamping direction servomotor
91
during the operation of the ingress direction servomotor
92
. As a result, the product holder
42
reaches the holding position A
4
in the vicinity of the male mold
25
in a shorter time than when the clamping direction servomotor
91
is operated after complete stoppage of the ingress direction servomotor
92
(when the product holder
42
is moved along a L-shaped locus instead of the locus C), whereby the product
10
can be quickly taken out. However, the foregoing conventional embodiment poses problems that a skill is required in adjusting the length of a final linear zone L of the locus C in replacement of the injection mold and that the adjustment of the length is time-consuming.
The foregoing problems will be described in detail.
To obviate or alleviate an error in absorptively holding the product
10
by the product holder
42
, the product holder
42
should be moved straight in the clamping direction in the final linear zone L of the locus C.
When the final linear zone L does not exist, especially in the following case, a disadvantage is entailed. Immediately before the product holder
42
at the waiting position A
1
arrives at a linear line between the male and female molds
25
,
26
, the product holder
42
may come into contact with the product
10
on reaching the foremost position in the clamping direction, so that the product holder
42
in contact with the product
10
is moved to the holding position A
4
, and a force in a moving direction may be exerted on the product holder
42
and then on the product
10
, whereby the product
10
may be rendered unstable.
In conventional embodiments of the apparatus
3
for taking out an injection-molded product, the operator actuates an operating device
13
in order to input the length of an initial linear zone S for the linear movement of the product holder
42
from a waiting position A
1
to a starting position of curved movement. Thus, the operator actually conducts injection molding operation to visually inspect whether the final linear zone L of the required length is correctly set. If the final linear zone L is found to have an improper length, the operator must re-set the length thereof in the operating device
13
. Namely a skill is required in adjusting the length of the final linear zone L.
The foregoing problems are posed by the embodiments of the type wherein the product
10
is absorptively held by the product holder
42
. However, the same problems would be encountered by embodiments having a product holder
42
wherein the product
10
is taken out as held between two pinching elements.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a method of controlling an apparatus for taking out an injection-molded product, and the apparatus for carrying out the method, the apparatus being capable of taking out a injection-molded product
10
from a mold in an open state while held by a product holder
42
and releasing it at a releasing position, the apparatus comprising: clamping direction driving means for moving a product holder
42
in a clamping direction; and ingress direction driving means for moving the product holder
42
in a direction at a right angle to the clamping direction such that the clamping direction driving means is operated during the operation of the ingress direction driving means and after stoppage thereof, whereby the product holder
42
is moved along a locus C starting from a waiting position A
1
via an initial linear zone S, a curve zone R and a final linear zone L to a holding position A
4
for holding the product
10
, wherein the length of the final linear zone L can be easily changed when the mold is replaced.
To achieve the foregoing object, the present invention provides a method of controlling an apparatus for taking out an injection-molded product, the method comprising the steps of: determining a time required for the movement of the product holder
42
toward a clamping direction from a starting position of movement in the clamping direction by a distance equal to a difference between a length from the waiting position A
1
to the holding position A
4
in the clamping direction and the length of the final linear zone L; subtracting the above-mentioned time (hereinafter referred to as “complementary time”) from a time required for the movement of the product holder
42
from the waiting position A
1
to a point on a straight line between the male and female molds in an open state (hereinafter referred to as “ingress time”); and adopting, as the length of the final linear zone S, a linear distance along which the product holder
42
moves from the waiting position A
1
toward the point on the linear line for the same period of time as obtained by the subtraction.
The effects of the technical means mentioned above will be described with reference to FIG.
4
.
The complementary time is a time required for the product
42
to move from the starting position of movement in the clamping direction along a distance equivalent to a difference (X−L
1
) between a distance X in the clamping direction from the waiting position A
1
to the holding position A
4
on one hand and a distance L
1
of the final linear zone L on the other hand. Therefore, when the product holder
42
is moved earlier by the complementary time t
2
than the product holder
42
reaches the point on the linear line between the male and female molds in an
Fitch Even Tabin & Flannery
Heitbrink Jill L.
Kabushiki Kaisha Yushin Seiki
LandOfFree
Method of controlling an apparatus for taking out an... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Method of controlling an apparatus for taking out an..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Method of controlling an apparatus for taking out an... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2892065