Injection molding system for performing assembly operation in mold

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10369734-B2
Application number	US-201715485666-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 12, 2017
Priority date	Apr 14, 2016
Publication date	Aug 6, 2019
Grant date	Aug 6, 2019

Abstract

An injection molding system includes: a first extruding member that extrudes a first molded article from a mold; a robot that transfers the first molded article extruded from the mold to an assembling position in relation to a second molded article in the mold; a second extruding member that extrudes the second molded article from the mold towards the first molded article retained at the assembling position by way of the robot, and assembles the second molded article to the first molded article; and a load detection unit that detects load applied to the second extruding member, in which defect discrimination of the first molded article, the second molded article, or an assembled state of the first molded article and the second molded article is performed, based on load detected by the load detection unit when the second molded article is assembled to the first molded article.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An injection molding system, comprising:
a mold in which a first molded article and a second molded article can be simultaneously molded;
a first extruding member that extrudes the first molded article from a cavity of the mold;
a molded-article transfer device that includes a retention mechanism for retaining the first molded article extruded from the cavity of the mold, and transfers the first molded article retained by way of the retention mechanism to an assembling position in relation to the second molded article in the mold;
a second extruding member that extrudes the second molded article from the cavity of the mold against the first molded article retained at the assembling position in the mold by way of the retention mechanism of the molded-article transfer device, and assembles the second molded article to the first molded article; and
a load detection unit that detects load applied to both the second extruding member and the molded-article transfer device, wherein
defect discrimination of a state of fitting the first molded article, the second molded article, or an assembled state of the first molded article and the second molded article is performed, based on load detected by way of the load detection unit when the second molded article is assembled to the first molded article, in the mold.

2. The injection molding system according to claim 1 , wherein the load detection unit detects at least one of: load torque of a motor for an extruding member that drives the second extruding member; a current value of the motor for the extruding member; an estimated disturbance value that is disturbance estimated of the motor for the extruding member; a detection value of a strain sensor provided to the second extruding member; load torque of a motor for a transfer device that drives the molded-article transfer device; and a current value of the motor for the transfer device.

3. The injection molding system according to claim 1 , wherein the molded-article transfer device is an articulated robot.

4. The injection molding system according to claim 1 , further comprising a warning device that is activated when abnormality is discriminated in the performance of defect discrimination.

5. The injection molding system according to claim 1 , wherein when abnormality is discriminated in the performance of defect discrimination, the molded-article transfer device transfers the first molded article, the second molded article, or an assembled article in which the first molded article is assembled to the second molded article, to a disposal position outside of the mold.

6. An injection molding system, comprising:
a mold in which a first molded article and a second molded article can be simultaneously molded;
a first extruding member that extrudes the first molded article from a cavity of the mold;
a molded-article transfer device that includes a retention mechanism for retaining the first molded article extruded from the cavity of the mold, and transfers the first molded article retained by way of the retention mechanism to an assembling position in relation to the second molded article in the mold;
a second extruding member that extrudes the second molded article from the cavity of the mold against the first molded article retained at the assembling position in the mold by way of the retention mechanism of the molded-article transfer device, and assembles the second molded article to the first molded article; and
a load detection unit that detects load applied to at least one of the second extruding member and the molded-article transfer device,
wherein defect discrimination of a state of fitting the first molded article, the second molded article, or an assembled state of the first molded article and the second molded article is performed, based on load detected by way of the load detection unit when the second molded article is assembled to the first molded article, in the mold,
wherein the first extruding member is formed longer than the second extruding member, allowing for the ejecting of the first molded article prior to ejecting the second molded article.

Assignees

• Fanuc Corp

Inventors

• Oono Hajime

Classifications

• B29C2945/76033

  Electric current or voltage · CPC title

• B29C2945/76317

  robots, grippers · CPC title

• B29C69/004 Primary

  making articles by joining parts moulded in separate cavities, said parts being in said separate cavities during said joining (B29C45/006, B29C51/267 take precedence) · CPC title

• B29C2945/76421

  Removing or handling ejected articles · CPC title

• B29C2945/7602

  Torque · CPC title