METHOD FOR OPERATING A CONTAINER TREATMENT SYSTEM WITH FAULT DIAGNOSIS

• US 20140298100A1
• Filed: 04/05/2012
• Published: 10/02/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 04/18/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Krones AG (Krones)
• Original Assignee: Krones AG (Krones)
• Inventors: Grimm, Volker
• Granted Patent: US 10,489,263 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 714/37
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 49/78 Measuring, controlling or regulating
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 3/00 Packaging plastic material, semiliquids, liquids or mixed solids and liquids, in individual containers or receptacles, e.g. bags, sacks, boxes, cartons, cans, or jars
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 55/00 Preserving, protecting or purifying packages or package contents in association with packaging by packaging under special atmospheric or gaseous conditions B65B31/00; devices for placing protecting sheets, plugs, or wads over contents B65B61/22
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 55/04 Sterilising wrappers or receptacles prior to, or during, packaging sterilising bottles B67C7/00
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 57/00 Automatic control, checking, warning, or safety devices registering wrapping or container-forming material fed from rolls B65B41/18
• CPC Class Codes: B65B 65/08 Devices for counting or registering the number of articles handled, or the number of packages produced by the machine
• CPC Class Codes: B65C 9/40 Controls; Safety devices
• CPC Class Codes: B67B 3/26 Applications of control, warning, or safety devices in capping machinery
• CPC Class Codes: B67C 3/007 Applications of control, warning or safety devices in filling machinery flow-control B67C3/28
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 19/4184 characterised by fault tolerance, reliability of production system
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 23/0235 based on a comparison with predetermined threshold or range, e.g. "classical methods", carried out during normal operation; threshold adaptation or choice; when or how to compare with the threshold
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 11/3409 for performance assessment
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 90/02 Total factory control, e.g. smart factories, flexible manufacturing systems [FMS] or integrated manufacturing systems [IMS]

Abstract

Method for operating a container treatment system (1), wherein containers are treated in a first predefined fashion with a first treatment device (2) of this container treatment system (1), are subsequently transported from this first treatment device (2) to a second treatment device (4) of the container treatment system (1) and are subsequently treated in a second predefined fashion by the second treatment device (4), wherein a first multiplicity of first reference characteristic values (RK1), which are characteristic of the treatment of the containers (10) the first treatment device (2), is recorded by means of first sensor devices (22a, 24a), and a second multiplicity of second reference characteristic values (RK2), which are characteristic of the treatment of the containers (10) with the second treatment device (4), is recorded by means of second sensor devices (42a, 44a), and wherein these reference characteristic values (RK1, RK2) are stored in a memory device (16). According to the invention, the reference characteristic values (RK1, RK2) are registered with a time value which is characteristic of the chronological occurrence of the respective reference characteristic value (RK1, RK2), and a multiplicity of test characteristic values (PK1, PK2) is recorded, and at least one information item (I), which is characteristic of the determination of a present or future fault state of the system, is output on the basis of comparison between at least one of these test characteristic values (PK1, PK2) and at least one reference characteristic value (RK1, RK2).

Claims

1. A method for operating a container treatment system (1), wherein containers are treated by a first treatment device (2) of this container treatment system (1) in a first predefined manner, are subsequently transported from said first treatment device (2) to a second treatment device (4) of the container treatment system (1) and are subsequently treated by the second treatment device (4) in a second predefined manner, wherein by means of first sensor units (22a, 24a), a first plurality of first reference characteristic values (RK1) is recorded, which are characteristic of the treatment of the containers (10) with the first treatment device (2), and by means of second sensor units (42a, 44a), a second plurality of second reference characteristic values (RK2) is recorded, which are characteristic of the treatment of the containers (10) with a second treatment device (4), and wherein these reference characteristic values (RK1, RK2) are stored in a storage unit (16),

wherein the reference characteristic values (RK1, RK2) are detected with a time value that is characteristic of the temporal occurrence of the respective reference characteristic value (RK1, RK2), and a plurality of test characteristic values (PK1, PK2) is recorded, and as a result of a comparison between at least one of said test characteristic values (PK1, PK2) and at least one reference characteristic value (RK1, RK2), at least one piece of information (I) is output that is characteristic of the determination of a present or future fault condition of the system.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one test characteristic value and at least one reference characteristic value are determined by means of the same sensor unit.

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one treatment device (2, 4) is controlled on the basis of the information.

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the test characteristic value and the reference characteristic value are determined by means of a sensor unit that is associated with the first or the second treatment device (2), and the information that is characteristic of the determination of the fault condition is related to the second or first treatment device.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein a plurality of test characteristic values is recorded.

6. The method as claimed in claim 4, wherein the plurality of test characteristic values is compared with a plurality of reference characteristic values.

7. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the test characteristic values are continuously compared with the reference characteristic values.

8. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein a number of test characteristic values are logically linked with each other for outputting the information.

9. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the reference characteristic values are selected from a group of reference characteristic values which includes current characteristic values, voltage characteristic values, temperature characteristic values, speed characteristic values, torque characteristic values, pulse characteristic values, power characteristic values, quantity characteristic values, temporal characteristic values, combinations therefrom or the like.

10. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein in the case of a fault in the system (1), the reference characteristic values that are characteristic of this fault case are determined and stored.

11. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the test characteristic values are evaluated using statistic methods.

12. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein a certain test characteristic value determined at a downstream device (4) has associated therewith a test characteristic value determined at an earlier point in time on an upstream device (2).

13. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein run times of the containers (10) are taken into account between the treatment devices (2, 4).

14. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least one treatment device is selected from a group of devices including moulding devices for moulding plastic preforms into plastic containers, filling devices for filling containers, transport devices for transporting containers, sterilisation devices for sterilising containers, closing devices for closing containers with caps, labelling devices for labelling containers, combinations therefrom or the like.

15. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein in the case of an association of test characteristic values with reference characteristic values, a degree of fuzziness is taken into account.

16. A container treatment system (1) comprising a first treatment device (2) that treats the containers (10) in a first predefined manner, a second treatment device (4) that is disposed after the first treatment device (2) in the transport direction of the containers (10) and that treats the containers in a second predefined manner, comprising a first sensor unit (22a, 24a) that records at least one first reference characteristic value (RK1) that is characteristic of the treatment of the containers (10) with the first treatment device (2), comprising a second sensor unit (42a, 44a) that records at least one second reference characteristic value (RK2) that is characteristic of the treatment of the containers (10) with the second treatment device (2), and having a storage unit (16) for storing the characteristic values, wherein said storage unit (16) is designed in such a way that it allows an association of time values with the reference characteristic values, wherein said time values are characteristic of the point in time or the period of time of the occurrence of the reference characteristic values (RK1, RK2),

wherein a comparison unit (15) is provided which enables a comparison of recorded test characteristic values (PK1, PK2) with the reference characteristic values, as well as a processor unit (18) that outputs at least one piece of information (I) on the basis of such a comparison, which information is characteristic of the determination of a present or future fault condition of the system.