Injection molding machine, control method of injection molding machine, and computer readable storage medium

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12409593-B2
Application number	US-202318298349-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 10, 2023
Priority date	Apr 21, 2022
Publication date	Sep 9, 2025
Grant date	Sep 9, 2025

Abstract

An injection molding machine includes an injection device including at least first and second injection units, and one mold clamping device. A molding material is injected into a first cavity space by the first injection unit, and a molding material is injected into a second cavity space by the second injection unit. The injection molding machine further includes a control device controlling the injection device and the mold clamping device, and a storage device storing a set time in advance. The control device starts injection of the second injection unit after elapse of the set time from a predetermined time point. The predetermined time point is a time point at which the first injection unit starts injection or an earlier time point. The set time is a delay time for delaying start of injection of the second injection unit from start of injection of the first injection unit.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An injection molding machine comprising:
an injection device comprising at least a first injection unit and a second injection unit; and one mold clamping device, wherein
the mold clamping device is mounted with one mold device forming at least a first cavity space and a second cavity space which do not communicate with each other, or the mold clamping device is mounted with at least a first mold device forming the first cavity space and a second mold device forming the second cavity space, wherein the first cavity space and the second cavity space are formed by a fixed-side mold and a movable-side mold,
a molding material is injected and filled into the first cavity space by the first injection unit to mold a first molded product, and a molding material is injected and filled into the second cavity space by the second injection unit to mold a second molded product,
the injection molding machine further comprising:
a control device which controls the injection device and the mold clamping device; and a storage device which stores a set time in advance, wherein
the first injection unit comprises a first injection cylinder and a first injection shaft moving back and forth in a cylinder hole of the first injection cylinder,
the second injection unit comprises a second injection cylinder and a second injection shaft moving back and forth in a cylinder hole of the second injection cylinder,
the control device is configured to start an operation of the mold clamping device and then temporarily stop the operation of the mold clamping device during a mold closing operation or during a mold clamping operation performed after completion of the mold closing operation, and
after temporarily stopping the operation of the mold clamping device during the mold closing operation or during the mold clamping operation performed after completion of the mold closing operation, the control device is configured to start advancement of the first injection shaft to start injection filling of the first injection unit, and resumes the operation of the mold clamping device at a time point at which the advancing first injection shaft reaches a predetermined position, and the injection filling of the first injection unit is stopped later than when the operation of the mold clamping device is completed,
the control device is configured to perform control to start injection filling of the second injection unit after elapse of the set time from a predetermined time point,
the predetermined time point is any time point from a time point before the first injection unit starts injection filling to a time point at which the first injection unit starts injection filling, and
the set time is a delay time set to a time which enables the start of injection filling of the second injection unit to be delayed from the start of injection filling of the first injection unit.

2. The injection molding machine according to claim 1 , wherein
the set time is set to a time which enables starting injection filling of the second injection unit during a period from after start of injection filling of the first injection unit to completion of the mold clamping operation of the mold clamping device.

3. The injection molding machine according to claim 2 , wherein
the set time is set to a time which enables starting injection filling of the second injection unit during a period from after resumption of the operation of the mold clamping device to completion of the mold clamping operation of the mold clamping device.

4. The injection molding machine according to claim 1 , wherein
the control device is configured to set the predetermined time point to a time point at which the first injection unit starts injection filling.

5. The injection molding machine according to claim 1 , wherein
the predetermined time point is a time point at which the mold clamping device is temporarily stopped.

6. The injection molding machine according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a correction device configured to correct the set time, wherein
in a case where a time from the predetermined time point to completion of mold clamping of the mold clamping device is longer than a reference time, the correction device is configured to lengthen the set time based on a difference therebetween, and in a case where a time from the predetermined time point to completion of mold clamping of the mold clamping device is shorter than the reference time, the correction device is configured to shorten the set time based on a difference therebetween, to thereby correct the set time, and
the storage device is configured to store the set time corrected by the correction device as a new value of the set time.

7. The injection molding machine according to claim 6 , wherein
in a case where the time from the predetermined time point to completion of mold clamping of the mold clamping device is longer than the reference time, the correction device is configured to add an absolute value of the difference therebetween to the set time, and in a case where the time from the predetermined time point to completion of mold clamping of the mold clamping device is shorter than the reference time, the correction device is configured to subtract an absolute value of the difference therebetween from the set time, to thereby correct the set time, and
the storage device is configured to store the set time corrected by the correction device as the new value of the set time.

8. The injection molding machine according to claim 1 , wherein
the second cavity space accommodates the first molded product in advance, and is injected and filled with the molding material by the second injection unit to combine with the first molded product to form the second molded product including the first molded product.

9. The injection molding machine according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a moving device which moves the first molded product to a predetermined position of a portion forming the second cavity space.

10. A control method of the injection molding machine according to claim 1 ,
the control method is performed by the control device and comprising:
starting the operation of the mold clamping device and then temporarily stopping the operation of the mold clamping device during the mold closing operation or during the mold clamping operation performed after completion of the mold closing operation, and
after temporarily stopping the operation of the mold clamping device during the mold closing operation or during the mold clamping operation performed after completion of the mold closing operation, starting advancement of the first injection shaft to start injection filling of the first injection unit, and resume the operation of the mold clamping device at the time point at which the advancing first injection shaft reaches the predetermined position, and the injection filling of the first injection unit is stopped later than when the operation of the mold clamping device is completed,
starting injection filling of the second injection unit after elapse of the set time, which is stored in advance in the storage device, from the predetermined time point.

11. A computer readable storage medium, storing a program, which is a control program of the injection molding machine according to claim 1 ,
the control program causing a computer to operate as the control device of the injection molding machine, wherein
the control device is configured to start an operation of the mold clamping device and then temporarily stop the operation of the mold clamping device during the mold closing operation or during the mold clamping operation performed after completion of the mold closing

Assignees

• Sodick Co Ltd

Inventors

• Aiba Shuji

Classifications

• B29C45/13

  using two or more injection units co-operating with a single mould · CPC title

• B29C45/64

  Mould opening, closing or clamping devices {(combined with means for plasticising or homogenising B29C45/70)} · CPC title

• B29C45/12 Primary

  using two or more fixed moulds, e.g. in tandem {(B29C45/076 takes precedence)} · CPC title

• B29C2045/0089

  successive filling of parts of a mould cavity, i.e. one cavity part being filled before another part is filled (sequential filling to prevent weld lines B29C2045/0032) · CPC title

• B29C45/0441

  involving a rotational movement (B29C45/06 takes precedence) · CPC title