PLASTIC EXTRUDER WITH MOBILE OPERATOR STATION AND METHOD OF OPERATING SAME

• US 20180104882A1
• Filed: 10/14/2017
• Published: 04/19/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 10/18/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Reifenhaeuser Gmbh & Co.KG Maschinenfabrik
• Original Assignee: Reifenhaeuser Gmbh & Co.KG Maschinenfabrik
• Inventors: ROESNER, Andreas, FETT, Thomas, HILGERS, Mark, LETTOWSKY, Christoph, MAGER, Jens, STELTER, Christian, VODENCAREVIC, Asmir
• Granted Patent: US 10,967,555 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B29B 7/728 Measuring data of the driving system, e.g. torque, speed, power, vibration B29B7/724 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 48/025 General arrangement or layout of plant
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 48/10 flexible, e.g. blown foils
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 48/28 Storing of extruded material, e.g. by winding up or stacking
• CPC Class Codes: B29C 48/92 Measuring, controlling or regulating
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 10/10 Office automation; Time management
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/34 involving the movement of software or configuration parameters network booting or remote initial program loading [RIPL] G06F9/4416
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 4/023 using mutual or relative location information between multiple location based services [LBS] targets or of distance thresholds

Abstract

A plastic-extrusion system comprises a plurality of system components including an extruder and a collection device for collecting the extruded plastic material. The plastic-extrusion system has an operator station designed for taking in and outputting data of the plastic-extrusion system. The operator station further has a mobile terminal including a screen of a graphical user interface as well as a camera. The plastic-extrusion system is associated with at least one information source, and preferably a plurality of information sources. The operator station is configured so as to provide access to the at least one information source, and preferably to the plurality of information sources.

Claims

1. A plastic-extrusion system comprising:

a plurality of system components of which one is an extruder and another is a collection device for collecting the extruded plastic material;

an operator station designed for taking in and outputting data of the plastic-extrusion system, the operator station further having a mobile terminal including a screen of a graphical user interface and a camera; and

an information source accessible by the operator station.

2. The plastic-extrusion system defined in claim 1, wherein the operator station is designed to control at least one of the system components.

3. The plastic-extrusion system defined in claim 1, wherein the operator station is context-sensitive.

4. The plastic-extrusion system defined in claim 1, wherein the operator station is teachable.

5. The plastic-extrusion system defined in claim 1, wherein the operator station comprises a read module able to identify the system component based on read data related to the system component.

6. The plastic-extrusion system defined in claim 1, wherein the operator station displays information from the information source regarding the identified system component on the screen of the operator station, the information going beyond the informational content of the read data read out by the read module.

7. The plastic-extrusion system defined in claim 1, wherein the plurality of information sources includes an information source for method parameters.

8. The plastic-extrusion system defined in claim 1, wherein the plurality of information sources includes an information source for commercial data.

9. The plastic-extrusion system defined in claim 1, wherein the plurality of information sources includes an information source having a communication interface to a vendor of the plastic-extrusion system or a raw material supplier.

10. The plastic-extrusion system defined in claim 1, wherein the operator station transmits image data of the ongoing production operation to the vendor at the site of the plastic-extrusion system.

11. The plastic-extrusion system defined in claim 1, wherein the operator station is configured such that information from the information source is automatically offered or displayed on the graphical user interface of the operator station for active or passive selection of at least one of the system components.

12. The plastic-extrusion system defined in claim 11, wherein the operator station is configured such that data is only transmitted upon instruction from or with the consent of a user of the operator station.

13. The plastic-extrusion system defined in claim 1, wherein the graphical user interface includes selectable symbols for gesture control, at least some of the selectable symbols being arranged in a partial or full circle on an edge of the graphical user interface so as to be reachable by a thumb of a user of the station.

14. The plastic-extrusion system defined in claim 1, wherein there is a plurality of the information sources that includes an information source holding documentation of the plastic-extrusion system.

15. A method of operating a plastic-extrusion system comprising a plurality of system components including an extruder and a collection device for collecting the extruded plastic material, the method comprising the steps of:

providing the plastic-extrusion system with an operator station designed for taking in and outputting data of the plastic-extrusion system, the operator station further having a mobile terminal including a screen of a graphical user interface, the operator station also having a camera,

associating the plastic-extrusion system with an information source, the operator station being configured so as to access the information source.