Europaisches Patentamt

J European Patent Office © Publication number: 0 268 4 1 4

Office europeen des brevets A1

EUROPEAN PATENT A P P L I C A T I O N

© Application number: 87309932.9 © Int. Cl.«: C03B 9/40 , C03B 7 / 1 4

(§) Date of filing: 10.11.87

® Priority: 19.11.86 US 932757 © Applicant: EMHART INDUSTRIES, INC.

426 Colt Highway
@ Date of publication of application: Farmington Connecticut 06032(US)
25.05.88 Bulletin 88/21
@ Inventor: Grant, Marty Joseph '
© Designated Contracting States: 32 Arrowhead Drive
AT BE O t DEFR GB IT LI Newington , CT 061 11 (US)
Inventor: Peterson, George Thomas
90 Pine Brook Terrace apt 5
Bristol, CT 061 01 (US)
Inventor: Andersen, Robert Peter
19 Pilgrim Lane
Monroe, CT 06486(US)

© Representative: Drury, Peter Lawrence et al

Emhart Patents Department Lyn House 39
The Parade
Oadby, Leicester LE2 5BB(GB)

Electronic servo control of glass gob distribution.

© Method and apparatus for electronically control-

ling a servo motor drive (138) for glass gob distribu-
tion apparatus (20), to provide accurate high speed
motion of one or more scoops (21). At the set-up
stage, the operator adjusts the scoop position with
respect to each trough to align scoop (21), and
trough (23), in a straight line. During automatic op-
eration, upon receipt of a MOVE command a motion
control computer (131) provides digital output sig-
nals to move the scoops through a prescribed mo-
i^tion profile, such profile having suitable characteris-
^ t i c s to move the scoops over various distances with-
^.out vibration or overshoot. A digitalized cubic-
*@ parabolic-cubic (CPC) curve or similar cam profile is
^J1 scaled to the amplitude and direction of the required
00 motion, and the motion profile computer outputs
CD command signals on a point-by-point basis over the
^ t i m e span of this stored motion profile.

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Xerox Copy Centre

 0 268 414

ELECTRONIC SERVO CONTROL OF GLASS GOB DISTRIBUTION

herein by reference. This system uses a servo-

Background Of The Invention motor, advantageously a reversible DC motor,
which is linked to a rack by a rotary-to-linear drive.
The present invention relates to an electronic The rack in turn mates with annular spur gears
control system for glass gob distribution apparatus, 5 associated with the scoops in the manner of U.S.
and in particular to a system for controlling an Re. 28,759, discussed above. This drive arrange-
electronic servo motor which in turn acts as the ment enjoys a number of advantages, including
actuator for the glass gob distribution apparatus. reduced backlash and the ability to more accu-
Such apparatus is intended for use in glassware rately place the scoop in a short period of time. To
production machines comprising a plurality of in- io take proper advantage of the capabilities of this
dividually controllable sections. Each section in- system, there is a need for an electronic drive
cludes a molding assembly of single or multiple system for the servo motor which will efficiently
cavity design, and all of the various machine sec- move the scoops subject to other constraints im-
tions of the single machine are to be sequentially posed by, e.g., the delivery of glass gobs by the
supplied with molten glass gobs. The gob distribu- 75 feeder assembly, physical behavior of glass gobs
tor includes a set of arcuate scoops which receive during handling by the gob distributor assembly,
a glass gob from the feeder assembly and which etc.
must be moved in proper sequence to direct the A further problem area is the set up of the gob
gobs of molten glass to the appropriate machine distributor assembly, and in particular the relative
sections. Chutes are generally provided to direct 20 position and orientation of the gob distributor
the glass gobs to the several machine sections. In scoops and the chutes associated with the various
gob distribution apparatus for a multiple-gob for- machine sections. In prior art systems such as that
ming machine, the apparatus includes a group of of Re. 28,759, the placement of the scoops was
scoops matching in number the number of mold severely constrained by the design of a particular
assemblies per section, and further includes a drive 25 cam, and hence to provide a proper alignment
assembly for manipulating the scoop group so as between the scoops in their delivery position of a
to sequentially distribute the groups of glass gobs given section and the chutes of that section it was
into a plurality of fixed chutes associated with neeessary to adjust the latter. This limited form of
preselected machine sections. adjustment was time-consuming and sometimes re-
Various types of drives have been designed for 30 suited in misalignments, which would lead to
gob distribution apparatus of the type described slaloming of the gobs during delivery, and other
above. In the system of U.S. Re. 28,759, commonly problems.
owned with the present patent application, a scoop Accordingly, it is a primary object of the inven-
group has associated annular spur gears which are tion to provide an electronic drive system for
driven in unison via reciprocating rack gear through 35 achieving improved control over the motion of the
a predetermined schedule of angular displace- scoops in a gob distributor.
ments. A cam follower connected to the rack gear Another object of the invention is to facilitate
causes programmed movement thereof in response set up of the gob distributor. In particular, it is
to rotation of a cam having lobes of suitable height desirable to shorten the time acquired to align the
to produce such predetermined schedule of an- 40 gob distributor scoop with the troughs or chutes. It
gular displacements. Another approach, exempli- is furthermore desirable to reduce the extent to
fied by U.S. Patent No. 3,775,083, also commonly which the drive system interferes with this align-
owned with the present application, uses air-driven ment process.
actuators to produce programmed movement of Yet another object is to enable the operator to
rack gears in a system such as that of Re. 28,759. 45 adjust the alignment of the scoops and the troughs
By properly setting up the exhaust ports in a plural- "on the fly", to reduce misalignments arising in
ity of pistons in such pneumatic actuators, the user actual operation.
establishes a predetermined schedule of angular
displacement of the scoops.
In recent years, the patent art has included a so Summary of the Invention
number of gob distribution systems making use of
an electrically actuated motor as a drive source for In furthering the above and additional objects,
the gob distribution apparatus. One such system is the invention provides methods for controlling the
disclosed in commonly owned U.S. Patent No. operation of glass gob distribution apparatus in-
4,599,101, the disclosure of which is incorporated cluding at least one scoop which is moveable into
 0 268 414

alignment with a plurality of receiving troughs, a Brief Description of the Drawings:

mechanism for moving the scoop driven by a
servo-motor, and a motion controller for providing a Other features of the invention will be apparent
position signal to the servo-motor in accordance from the drawings and following description.
with digital position values. 5 FIGURE 1 is a schematic view showing the
A first such method is used in setting up the relation of a pivotally mounted gob scoop to
gob distributor for subsequent operation, and in- troughs leading to the glassware-forming section,
volves the steps (repeated for each of the troughs), and to a deflector chute;
of: moving the scoop into proximity with the trough, FIGURE 2 is a schematic circuit diagram
and shifting the motion controller, if required, io showing a preferred design of the electronic con-
through one or more digital position values to jog trols for the servo-motor of the apparatus in FIG-
the servo-motor and move the scoop into alignment URE 1;
with the trough. Advantageously; the above-de- FIGURE 3 is a perspective view showing the
scribed set-up technique also includes the step of details of the mounting of a large mechanism which
repositioning the receiving trough, if necessary, to is is reciprocated by the servo-motor and to which
improve its alignment with the scoop. In the pre- the rack is releasably coupled;
ferred embodiment, the motion controller stores a FIGURE 4 is a side-elevational view of a left-
plurality of preset digital position values approxi- hand portion of the drive train of the gob distributor
mating the various trough locations, and the of FIGURE 3, with parts broken-away and shown in
setting-up process results in a set of adjusted 20 section;
digital position values representing the values after FIGURE 5 is a plan view of the right-hand
shifting the motion controller. portion of the apparatus with parts broken-away
The invention also provides a method for auto- and shown in cross-section, and clearly shows the
matically repeatedly moving the scoop into align- manner in which a rack positions the scoops and
ment with a defined sequence of receiving troughs, 25 the manner in which the scoop unit is mounted for
which method utilizes a predefined digitalized mo- pivotal movement -to an out-of-the-way position
tion profile curve comprising a timed sequence of where it may be serviced;
scoop displacement points. In order to move the FIGURE 6 is a state transition diagram illus-
scoop to a given target location, this motion profile trating the principal operational state of the gob
curve is scaled to the amplitude and direction of so distributor apparatus of the invention;
the required net displacement. The controller then FIGURE 7 is a motion profile curve, plotting
provides to the servo-motor a timed sequence of distance traveled by the rack driving the gob distri-
position signals in accordance with digital position butor scoop as a function of time;
values defined by the scaled array of scoop dis- FIGURE 8 is a state transition diagram -
placement points. These steps are repeated for 35 schematically illustrating the Move, Search, and
each successive receiving trough in the gob deliv- Dwell states of the motion profile computer;
ery sequence by using as the target location the FIGURE 9 is a flow chart schematic diagram
digital position value of the alignment position of of a Search routine;
the subsequent through. FIGURE 10 is a flow chart schematic dia-
In the preferred embodiment, the motion profile 40 gram of a Move routine;
curve comprises a cubic-parabolic-cubic curve. FIGURE 11 is a flow chart schematic dia-
Other motion profiles may be utilized, however, as gram of a Dwell routine;
known from the art of mechanical cams -advanta- FIGURE 12 is a perspective diagram of a
geously, "combination" curves such as trapezoidal preferred design of hand-held terminal for the gob
and modified trapezoidal acceleration characteris- 45 distributor apparatus;
tics. FIGURE 13 is a plot of per unit velocity as a
An important aspect of such method is the time function of time, corresponding to the displacement
span of the sequence of scoop displacement profile of Figure 7;
points; this must be designed to permit gobs to FIGURE 14 is a plot of per unit acceleration
traverse the scoop during the dwell periods be- so as a function of time, corresponding to the dis-
tween successive scoop motions. This time span placement profile of Figure 7; and
may be constant regardless of the distance over FIGURE 15 is a plot of rack displacement as
which the scoop is to be moved. It may be length- a function of time, for a sequence of three scoop
ened or shortened in response to operator input, or movements.
may be automatically modified to reflect changes 55
in certain parameters of the gob distributor.
 0 268 414

Detailed Description the number of mold assemblies per section. Fi-

nally, while only one gob scoop has been illus-
Reference should now be had to Figures 1-5, trated in Figure 1, it is to be understood that
which illustrate a preferred gob distributor assem- additional scoops could be used, again depending
bly in accordance with U.S. Patent No. 4,599,101. 5 upon the number of glass gobs to be processed in
The control system of the present invention is the individual sections during one cycle.
employed to particular advantage to drive the gob Reference is now made to Figures 3, 4, and 5
distributor apparatus of this commonly assigned wherein various details of the gob distributor 20 are
patent. A preliminary discussion of the mechanical illustrated. First of all, the fixed support 26 includes
design of such apparatus will serve as useful back- io a mounting plate 30 which may be secured to the
ground to a description of the control electronics. main beam of the array of glassware-forming sec-
Reference is first made to FIGURE 1 which tions 24. The plate 30 has extending vertically
some what schematically illustrates a gob distribu- therefrom mounting plates 31 and 32 which are
tor in accordance with U.S. Patent 4,599,101. The connected together at their tops by a tie-bar 33
gob distributor 20, as will be explained in more 75 which has a portion 34 projecting beyond the plate
detail hereinafter, carries a scoop 21 which is pivot- 31.
ally, mounted at 22 for swinging back and forth The mounting plate 30 has secured to the
along; ani array of troughs 23, with each trough 23 upper surface thereof a guide key 35 and a guide
leading, into one of the glassware-forming sections rod 36 which extends between upper parts of the
24a*. Z4b,...24j. The gJassware-forming sections 24 20 mounting plates 31 , 32 generally below the tie-bar
are arranged in a side-by-side relationship with the 33. A slide mechanism, generally identified by the
result that the troughs 23 are of different lengths; numeral 37, is mounted on the guide key 35 and
the spacing between receiving ends of adjacent the guide bar 36 for back-and-forth reciprocation.
troughs 23 may be varied. Advantageously, in addi- The slide unit 37 carries a pair of supports 38,
tion to the various troughs 23 leading to respective 25 40 which carry rods 41, 42 extending through the
sections 24, there is a deflector chute 28, whose mounting plate 31 and carrying limit cam actuators
lower end opens into the upper end of a cullet 43, 44. The actuator 43 has a cam surface 45
chute (not shown). The cullet chute is typically facing to the left and the actuator 44 having a cam
placed above a gob receiving bin located below the surface 46 facing to the right.
floor of the factory. Deflector chute 28 provides a so The bar extension 34 is provided with a pair of
centrally located delivery point for gobs which are limit, switches 47, 48. Each limit switch 47, 48
to be rejected from the machine rather than deliv- includes an actuating arm 50 carrying a cam fol-
ered to a given machine section ("center dump"). lower 51 . If the slide unit moves too far to the left,
It should also be noted that the scoop 21 has a the cam 45 will engage the cam follower 51 and
gob receiving end 25 which is coaxial with the pivot 35 actuate the limit switch 47. On the other hand, if
22. the slide assembly moves too far to the right, the
In accordance with the teachings of commonly cam 46 will engage the cam follower of the limit
asserted U.S. Re. 28,759, the gob disributor 20 switch 48 and actuate that switch.
also includes an interceptor mechanism 29 placed Transducers 53 include sensing tubes 53a
between the gob receiving end 25 and the feeder 40 which are stationarily mounted in the mounting
apparatus (not shown). Such interceptor 29 re- plate 31 and extend therefrom. Magnetic sensing
sponds to electrical commands to pivot its gate 29a heads 53b are mounted in a bracket extending
into and out of the path of the falling gobs.. Thus downwardly from the supports 38 and 40 and sur-
gob distributor 20 includes as an important safety round sensing, tubes 53a. Linear displacement tran-
feature two different means for preventing the de- 45 sducers of the type useful herein are commercially
livery of gobs, i.e. the interceptor 29 and the center available. One such type is disclosed in U.S. Patent
dump 28. The interceptor 29 would still be effec- No. 3,898,555 assigned to Temposonics Incorpo-
tive, for example, in the event of a failure of the rated.
servo-amplifier 135 (FIGURE 2). Referring now to FIGURE 4, it will be seen that
It is to be understood that the glass gobs may so the fixed support 26 also includes a mounting plate
be distributed in groups of one, two, three or more 54 which carries a servomotor 55, the servomotor
gobs. Each of the glassware-forming sections 24 being a reversible DC motor. The servomotor 55
may be constructed to simultaneously receive one, has a shaft 56 which is coupled by means of a
two, three or more gobs, and therefore each coupling 57 to an input shaft 58 of a rotary-to-linear
glassware-forming section 24 is provided with a 55 drive, generally identified by the numeral 60. The
group of troughs equal in number to the number of coupling 57 is positioned within a casing 61 which
glass gobs in the gob group. Similarly, a number of extends between the mounting plates 31 and 54.
deflector chutes 28 would be included matching The rotary-to-linear drive 60 is in the form of a
 0 268 414

circulating nut coupling wherein a shaft, such as shown) via line 133. It is to be understood that the
the extension of the drive shaft 58, will be provided , glass from which glass gobs are formed is ex-
with spiral grooves 62 and in which balls 63 con- truded as a solid mass and is sheared at intervals.
tinuously circulate. The balls 63 are received in Upon each shearing of the glass runner, a signal is
grooves 64 in a nut 65. The nut 65 is suitably 5 directed to the computer through the lead 133. This
fixedly secured to the slide unit 37. A mounting coordinates the timing of the motion profile com-
bearing 31a is mounted in support 31 which is puter with that of the feeder/shears assembly. A
designed to prevent linear motion of shaft 58. timing adjustment may be made to account for the
Thus, as the motor 55 rotates, it will advance "drop time" of severed gobs from the shears to the
or retract the nut 65 which, in turn, will advance or w top of the scoops.
retract the slide unit 37. With respect to the slide CPU 131 also receives signals from the for-
unit 37, it will be seen that suitable stops 66 and 67 ming machine controller (not shown) via line 134 to
will be adjustably carried by the mounting plates ensure that the gob delivery sequence follows the
31 , 32 to limit the travel of the slide unit 37. firing order of forming machine 24, and to prevent
Referring now to FIGURE 5, it will be seen that is delivery of gobs to those sections not prepared for
a bracket 70 extends forwardly from the mounting receiving them.
plate 32 and carries a vertical pivot pin 71 on which Operation of the servomotor 55 is directly con-
a pivot sleeve 72 is channeled for pivoting. The trolled by a position control servo mechanism drive
pivot sleeve 72 is carried by an elongated housing 138 within computer 130, which outputs position
73 which caries the scoops 21. The scoops 21, in 20 command signals to servo-amplifier 135. A tacho-
turn, are supported in a manner which is not part of meter 59 on the servomotor 55 is connected to the
this invention, but do include pinions 74 through position-control servo mechanism drive 135
which the gob receiving openings 25 extend. through lead 136. The position control 138 receives
A rack 75 is positioned within the housing 73 signals from the digital-to-analog converter 132,
and meshed with the pinions 74. The left part of 25 which converts position command signals from the
the rack 75 is carried by a circular shaft portion 76 motion profile computer 131 to analog form. An
which is suitably journaled within the left portion of address and data bus 137 links CPU 131 to D/A
the housing 73. the right portion of rack 75 is in 132, and is also connected to an input/output inter-
alignment with a smaller diameter shaft 77 which is face 145 which supports operator communications
journaled in the right end of the housing 73 and is 30 via display terminal 150 and hand-held terminal
in the form of a piston rod of an air cylinder 78 and 290.
carries a piston 80 whereby the shaft is biased The servo-amplifier 135 provides drive signals
against the rack 75. to the servo-motor 55 via line 138 based upon the
In order that the housing 73 and the compo- position command signals form the computer 130,
nents carried thereby may be pivoted to an out-of- 35 and receives signals from tachometer 59 indicative
the-way position, as shown in phantom lines in of the servo-motor velocity.
FIGURE 1, the support plate 30 carries a mounting Position transducer 53 tracks the linear dis-
block 81 , as is shown in FIGURE 3, on which an air placement of rack 75 and provides position feed-
cylinder 82 is mounted by means of a pivot pin 83. back signals to the Position Control module 138.
The air cylinder 82 has a piston rod 84 which 40 FIGURE 2 omits the second transducer 53, and
extends to the right through the mounting plate 32 associated circuitry. As disclosed in U.S. Patent
and carries a fitting 85, including a pivot pin 86 No. 4,459,101 the second transducer 53 is a redun-
which extends through a bracket 87 carried by the dant transducer which reduces the impact of trans-
housing 73. When the air cylinder 82 is actuated in ducer output errors. As discussed below, in an
the position illustrated in FIGURE 5, the piston rod 45 alternative embodiment of the invention, an analog
84 is retracted, causing the housing 73 to pivot in a to digital converter (not shown in Figure 2) may be
clockwise direction. included to digitalize the position feedback signal
Alternative structural designs for the gob distri- on line 142 and feed this directly back to CPU 131.
butor drive assembly are discussed in U.S. Patent Reference should now be had to FIGURE 6,
No. 4,599,101. 50 which is a state transition diagram showing the
Reference should now be had to Figure 2, various operational states of the motion profile
wherein controls for the servo-motor 55 are illus- computer 131. This computer controls two basic
trated. First, there is a computer unit, generally operational modes of the gob distributor 20, the
identified by the numeral 130. The computer unit manual mode and the automatic mode; the oper-
130 includes a motion profile computer 131 and a 55 ator selects one of these modes using an appro-
digital-to-analog converter 132. The central pro- priate switch or button on the control panel. In the
cessing unit (CPU) 131 of the motion control com- manual mode, which is used for setting up of gob
puter receives timing pulses from the feeder (not distributor 20, the interceptor 29 (FIGURE 1) is
 0 268 414 10

positioned to divert gobs to prevent these from power is not lost, the system enters "not at out
reaching the scoop 21 . As further explained below, position" state 215 wherein it waits for an indication
this mode allows the operator to establish suitable that the scoop has been moved to its "out" posi-
position settings for the scoop 21 with respect to tion. (In the illustrated embodiment, this is identical
each of the troughs 23 (FIGURE 12), without requir- 5 with the reject or center dump position). This en-
ing mechanical adjustment of scoop 21 . ables the motion profile computer to return to the
With further reference to FIGURE 6, the auto- idle state 201.
matic mode is the normal operational mode of gob The state transitions for the manual mode (i.e,
distributor 20; the C.P.U. 131 passes through a the left-hand branch of the FIGURE 6 diagram) for
sequence of states to insure that the gob distributor io the most part correspond to those of the automatic
20 is ready for delivery. This system enters the idle mode. In the manual mode, however, the system
state 201 after power-up, or in any other of the does not test for synchronization with the feeder
operational states, if the system encounters an pulse.
alarm condition or if the operator pushes the stop The manual Move state differs from the auto-
button. If the operator selects the auto-start mode, 75 matic Move state in that the former is designed to
CPU 131 enters "scoop not found" state 202, in cause the scoop to move to a requested position in
which the system searches for the position of rack response to a position request entered by the
75 based upon the signal received from the posi- operator at hand-held terminal 290. The automatic
tiora transducer 52. Further details of this search Move state, on the other hand, provides automatic
process are discussed below with reference to the 20 motion control, in which gobs are delivered to
flow chart diagram of FIGURE 9. If the scoop is requesting sections or to the reject position.
located, the system enters "scoop not at reject" FIGURE 8 is a state transition diagram for the
mode, in which it remains until the scoop is moved Move, Search and Dwell functions of the motion
to the reject position (in the illustrated embodiment, profile computer 131. In the Dwell state 220, CPU
position of deflector chute 28). This is used as the 25 131 outputs constant position signals to D/A Con-
starting position for any subsequent move to a verter 132. CPU 131 enters the Move state 225 in
given trough 23. If the scoop is located at the reject response to a command to move to a given sec-
position, the system progresses to "not swung in" tion, and reverts to dwell state 220 when the move
state 206. This reflects the feature discussed above has been completed. The system enters the
wherein certain components of gob distributor 20 30 Search state 223 in response to a command to find
occluding the housing 73 and the components car- the scoop, and reverts to the Dwell state when the
ried thereby (FIGURE 5) may be pivoted to an out- scoop has been found or if the scoop cannot be
of-the-way position, i.e., "swung out". CPU 131 located. As shown in the flow chart diagram of
remains in "not swung in" state 206 until it is Figure 11, in the Dwell state CPU 131 continues to
signaled that the gob distributor mechanism has 35 test for Move request and Search request signals
been swung into position. at 263 and 266 and causes an appropriate state
Move state 208 is the principal operating state change should either comparison prove positive. If
of the system. In this state, motion profile computer both comparisons are negative, the system contin-
131 compares signals from the electronic controller ues to fetch the current scoop position and deliver
for the forming machine (via line 134) with a user- 40 this to D/A converter 132.
programmed sequence of the gob distributor deliv- FIGURE 9 is a flow chart of an advantageous
ery order. In addition to a confirmation that the search routine 230. At 231 the system retrieves
firing orders match, the system must verify that the from memory the value of the minimum possible
"delivery state" signals are "on" for the particular position of the scoop, and at 232 sends this posi-
section, i.e., that the section is ready for delivery. 45 tion signal to A/D 132. At 233 the processor incre-
Finally, the "delivery enable" pulse from that sec- ments the position command signal. At 235 this
tion must fall within a prescribed time window with position signal is compared with the maximum pos-
respect to the feeder pulse received over line 133 sible position, stored in memory, and if this com-
(FIGURE 2). Cf. commonly assigned U.S. Patent parison is positive a "scoop not found" error mes-
No. 4,453,963 for a disclosure of a gob delivery 50 sage is generated at 241 . With a negative result at
control system of this type. If delivery is autho- 235, however, the commanded position value is
rized, the motion profile computer follows a Move compared with the actual position signal received
routine for providing outputs to the digital to analog by position control 138. The system continues to
converter 132 to achieve rapid, accurate movement loop through steps 232, 233, 235, and 237 until the
of the scoops; this routine is discussed below with 55 commanded position either exceeds the maximum
reference to FIGURES 7 and 10. possible position (i.e., "scoop not found") or until
If the operator presses the automatic stop but- the position latch (i.e., position control 138) be-
ton, or in the event of an alarm condition in which comes activated, signalling coincidence between
 11 0 268 414 12

the commanded position and the actual scoop po- lowed by 24b, etc. wherein at the end of each
sition. In the latter event, i.e., a positive comparison delivery cycle the gob distributor jumps from one
at 237, the system reverts to the Dwell state at 241 end of the machine (24j) to the other. Such firing
and advances to the "scoop not at reject" state order, when usable, facilitates the operator's efforts
(FIGURE 6). 5 in mold swabbing and other operations, provides
An alternative Search routine utilizes direct improved deadplate differentials, and other advan-
feeding back of the position feedback signals from tages.
position transducer 52 (Figure 2), via an analog-to- This motion control technique relies upon the
digital converter. In this routine, the A/D circuit is unit profile to permit the scoop to be moved be-
read to determine whether a scoop position signal io tween any two arbitrary locations within a range
is present. If such signal is present, it is analyzed defined by the user. With reference to the Move
to determine whether the scoop is moving, and if routine of 243 of FIGURE 10, at 245, 246, and 248
so whether the motion is in the proper direction. If the system subtracts the current position of the
the scoop is not moving, its position is compared scoop from a desired position, resulting in a vector
with the expected position. A failure of any of these 75 representing relative distance and direction of trav-
tests results in an error message. el. This vector is used as a multiplier for- the unit
The Move routine relies upon a digitalized re- profile (FIGURE 7), scaling such profile to the de-
presentation of an ideal motion curve to control the sired amplitude and direction necessary for moving
movement of the gob distributor scoop in a rapid the scoop to a desired position (step 249). The
and accurate manner. A variety "cam" profiles may 20 scaled profile is then added to the current position,
be employed for the motion profile curve. The thereby shifting the reference or bias point of the
acceleration profile should be designed to achieve scaled profile (step 251). The loop consisting of
the maximum speed of operation of gob distributor steps 252 and 254 is timed by a one millisecond
20. Inasmuch as the drive source is servo-motor interrupt. Illustratively, the digitalized motion profile
55, the motor torque characteristics (peak torque, 25 curve (FIGURE 7) consists of one hundred and
R.M.S. torque) should be consistent with such ac- eighty digital position values. At 252 the motion
celeration profile. While it is desirable to keep profile computer 131 delivers to the D/A converter
within reasonable limits the peak acceleration, it is 132 one of the 180 scaled, bias shifted digital
also advisable to avoid abrupt change in accelera- position values previously generated. This process
tion (i.e. high "pulse" or "jerk"), which will lead to 30 has continued until point number 180 is reached,
backlash problems. Such cam profiles as cycloidal, i.e., the motion profile computer has follpwed the
3-4-5 and 4-5-6-7 polynomial, cycloidal, entire CPC curve.
trapezoidal, and modified trapezoidal are illustra- Reference should be had to the plot of Figure
tive. 15, showing rack displacement (vertical axis) as a
In the preferred embodiment, the motion profile 35 function of time (horizontal axis). The motion profile
curve is a "cubic-parabolic-cubic" or CPU curve (a for a series of scoop movements comprises a
trapezoidal acceleration curve), as shown in the series of scaled move profiles based upon the
displacement-vs.-time plot of FIGURE 7. (In the standard curve of Figure 7, with intervening dwell
preferred drive system of U.S. Patent No. periods. Thus, with a starting location correspond-
4,559,104, this curve represents the displacement 40 ing to the digital position value at plateau 305, and
of slide unit 37). Corresponding time profiles of a desired target location corresponding to plateau
velocity and acceleration; are plotted in Figures 13 310, the standard displacement profile is scaled to
and 14, respectively. The "trapezoidal" accelera- distance Di. This distance is traversed during the
tion characteristic includes symmetrical accelera- move period Tm , at 306, followed by a dwell period
tion and deceleration portions, each including suc- 45 Td, so that the move cycle constitutes T = Tm +
cessive cubic, parabolic, and cubic sections (e.g. Td. This move cycle may be repeated for succes-
281, 282, 283). The parabolic sections provided sive target locations 315, 320, etc. in accordance
limited peak acceleration, while the cubic sections with the prescribed gob delivery "firing order",
provide limited peak pulse. In this particular profile, each time using the prior target location as the
equal time intervals are alotted to each section. so starting value, and appropriately scaling the dis-
The above characteristics enable the gob distri- placement profile.
butor to attain higher velocities and dramatically Applicants have found that the use of a stan-
increase the maximum distance over which the dardized time interval for scoop motion regardless
scoop can be moved as compared with the prior of distance to be traveled accommodates the ob-
art, and furthermore reduce the time required to 55 jectives of improving the speed of the gob distribu-
move the scoop. This allows the gob distributor to tor, and of allowing sufficient time for the gob to
follow a "sequential firing order"; e.g., with refer- travel from the top of the scoop 21 to a trough 23
ence to FIGURE 12, delivery to Section 24a, fol- or to the deflector chute 28. Important parameters
 13 Q 268 414 14

of the system in this regard include the speed of sequences through the stages 201, 203, 205, 207,
the feeder assembly; the height between the top of to the manual move stage 209, in which he elec-
the scoop and the shears, which affects the ve- tronically adjusts the alignment of the scoop 21
locity of the gobs falling down the scoop; and the with each of the section troughs 23 with deflector
number of forming machine sections 24 (which 5 chute 28. Proper alignment may be verified visu-
determines the number of cuts per minute). With ally, and advantageously also using a suitable me-
reference to Figure 15, the feeder cycle time (time chanical aid such as a bar configured to fit between
between cuts) T equals the scoop motion time Tm scoop and trough when these are properly aligned.
plus the dwell time Td between scoop motions. It In the manual Move state, the operator uses a
is necessary to allow sufficient dwell time to permit w hand-held terminal of the type illustrated at 290 in
the gob to travel down the length of the scoop and FIGURE 13 in order to provide appropriate com-
into the trough before the scoop returns to the mands to the control electronics; this may be the
reject position. same hand-held terminal used to control the for-
To illustrate the relationship of these param- ming machine, as disclosed in commonly assigned
eters, the 180 millisecond scoop motion period is 75 European patent number 0117075. Hand-held ter-
about the fastest motion time consistent with a ten minal 290 is used to select the trough with respect
section machine operating at a 200 cuts per minute to which the scoop position is to be adjusted; when
feeder cycle. This corresponds to 300 milliseconds a given section number is selected the scoop will
between cuts and therefore a 180 millisecond mo- move to a pre-set position proximate the respective
tion period results in a minimum dwell time of 120 20 trough 21, permitting the operator to adjust the
milliseconds. 120 milliseconds has been found to scoop position setting for that section. Using the
be sufficient to ensure delivery of the gobs given a hand-held terminal 290, the operator selects the
shears-to-scoop height of at least six inches. "scoop adjust" function displayed at 293. By
Although the illustrated motion profile involves pressing the "do" key 291 the section number
a standard period, it is possible to permit the 25 display 296 will be changed to read "0". While
operator to "stretch" or reduce the time span of the looking at the scoops the operator then presses the
curve to reflect different machine requirements JOG UP and JOG DOWN keys 292, 296 to cause
(gear ratios, larger forming machines requiring the scoops to be aligned with the deflector chute
longer maximum travels, etc.). This could be done 298 (center dump position). JOG UP moves the
by changing the number of digital position values 30 scoop toward the higher section numbers, while
comprising . the motion profile, or by raising or JOG DOWN moves the scoop toward the lower
lowering the time interval between successive section numbers; the digital position value is dis-
points (defined by an interrupt signal within CPU played at 297. After centering for section zero the
131). Another approach would be to adjust the operator presses the next key 293 to advance to
required dwell time as a percentage of the top 35 the next section number; the previous key is used
feeder speed: One can reduce the maximum cuts to revert to the previous section. During this align-
per minute of the feeder assembly thereby increas- ment process, the operator may also adjust the
ing the minimum cycle time, and accordingly in- trough position, as known from the prior art. After
creasing the dwell time. The crucial consideration completing this initial alignment the operator
is to ensure that the gob distributor cycle provides 40 presses the manual stop to cause gob distributor
atleasi-the minimum dwell time required to ensure 20 to swing out. Thereafter, the settings arrived at
thatlhe gobs will travel the length of the scoops. in this set-up process may be used to control the
In order that the gob distributor 20 will properly scoop movement in the automatic mode.
load glass into the troughs 23 of the forming ma- In addition to scoop alignment in the set-up
chine, in operation the scoop must be aligned with 45 phase, described above, the invention permits real-
each of the troughs to form a straight line. Prior art ignment while the gob distributor is operating
mechanical gob distributors defined fixed positions (automatic mode). Again, this relies upon using the
for the scoop in the drive cam, so that during set- SCOOP ADJUST function of the hand-held terminal
up only the troughs could be adjusted for align- 290 in order to adjust the digital position value for a
ment purposes. In such prior systems, although it so particular section, relying upon the operator's visual
is possible to adjust the troughs so that they meet inspection. This allows continuing re-alignment of
the scoop, it is impossible to get true alignment. the scoops in response to trough vibration and
The present invention permits electronic adjust- other causes of misalignment.
ment of the scoop position during the set-up
phase, i.e., in the manual mode. With further refer- 55
ence to the state transition diagram of FIGURE 6,
for the purposes of aligning the scoops with the
various troughs in later operations, the operator
 15 0 268 414 16

Claims motor in accordance with stored digital position

values, said motion controller including,
1. A method for controlling the motion of glass a motion profile memory means (131) for
gob distribution apparatus (20), such apparatus be- storing an array of scoop displacement points;
ing of the type including at least one scoop (21) 5 means (131) for scaling said array to the
which is moveable into alignment with a plurality of amplitude and direction of a desired net displace-
receiving troughs (23), a mechanism for moving the ment of the scoop mechanism;
scoop driven by a servo motor (55), and a motion means (131) for shifting said array by a digital
controller (130) for providing a position signal for position value representing the starting positions of
the servo motor (55) in accordance with digital io the scoop and scoop mechanism;
position values, said motion controller (130) con- timing means (131) for defining a period of
taining a digitalized motion profile curve comprising providing the position signals to said servo-motor;
a sequence of scoop displacement points and and
means (131) for periodically, sequentially process- means (138) for providing a periodic series of
ing the sequence of scoop displacement points to 75 position signals to the servo-motor (55) in accor-
produce the digital position values; said method dance with digital position values defined by the
comprising the steps, repeated for each of a se- scaled, shifted array of scoop displacement points
quence of receiving troughs, of at a rate defined by said timing means.
scaling (249) said sequence of scoop displace- 9. Apparatus as defined in claim 8, wherein the
ment points to the amplitude and direction of a 20 series of scoop displacement points provides a
desired net displacement (248) of the scoop; series of position signals with a limited peak accel-
shifting (251) the values of the scaled eration and peak pulse. —
sequence of scoop displacement points by the 10. Apparatus as defined in claim 8, wherein
digital position value (245) of the initial scoop loca- the series of scoop displacement points comprises
tion; and 25 a cubic-parabolic-cubic curve.
providing (252) a periodic series of position 11. Apparatus as defined in claim 8, further
signals to the servo-motor in accordance with digi- comprising means for adjusting the time span of
tal position values defined by the scaled, shifted the series of scoop displacement points.
array of scoop displacement points. 12. Apparatus as defined in claim 11, wherein
2. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein the 30 the adjusting means operates automatically in re-
motion profile curve comprises a cubic-parabolic- sponse to changes in predetermined parameters of
cubic curve. the glass gob distribution system.
3. A method as defined in claim 1, wherein the 13. Apparatus for controlling the motion of a
receiving troughs (23) include a plurality of guide glass gob distribution device (20), such device in-
troughs for a glassware forming machine, and a 35 eluding at least one scoop (21) which is moveable
reject trough (28). into alignment with a plurality of receiving troughs
4. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein the (23), a mechanism for moving the scoop driven by
time span of the array of scoop displacement a servo-motor (55), comprising a motion controller
points is standardized for different scoop motions. (130) for providing a position signal for the servo-
5. A method as defined in claim 4 wherein the 40 motor in accordance with a digital position value,
operator may shorten or lengthen the standardized said motion controller (130) including memory
time span. means (131) for storing digital position values re-
6. A method as defined in claim 1 wherein the presenting scoop locations proximate each of the
time span of the array of scoop displacement troughs, further comprising
points is automatically adjustable in response to 45 operator input means (290) for shifting the
changes in pertinent parameters of the gob distri- motion controller, if required, through one or more
butor. digital position value to jog the servo-motor and
7. A method as defined in claim 4 further move the scoop into alignment with a given receiv-
comprising the step of causing a predetermined ing trough; and
time delay (31 1) between the end of a given scoop so means (131) for causing the memory means to
motion and the beginning of the next scoop motion. replace a previously stored digital position value
8. Apparatus for controlling the motion of a representing the alignment position for said se-
glass gob distribution system (20), such system lected receiving trough with the digital position
including at least one scoop (21) which is movea- value at the completion of shifting the motion con-
ble into alignment with a plurality of receiving 55 trailer.
troughs (23), a mechanism for moving the scoop
driven by a servo motor (55), and a motion control-
ler (130) for providing position signals for the servo
 17 0 268 414 18

14. Apparatus as defined in claim 13, further

comprising a member suitably configured to fit
between the trough (23) and scoop (21) when these
are properly aligned.

10

75

20

25

30

35

40

45

50

55

10
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 European Patent Application number
J ) EUROPEAN SEARCH R E P O R T
Office

EP 87309932.9
DOCUMENTS CONSIDERED TO BE RELEVANT
Citation of document with indication, where appropriate, Relevant CLASSIFICATION OF THE
Category of relevant passages to claim APPLICATION (Int. CM)

A - 4 599 101 (DOUGLAS et al . ) 1-14 C 03 B 9/40

D , A US -
* Claims; fig. 1,2 C 03 B 7/14

D , A US - E - 28 759 (BYSTRIANYK et al . )
* Column 1, line 63 -
column 2, line 27 *

& US-A-3 721 544

D , A US - A - 3 775 083 (NEBELUNG et al .)

* Claims *

A US - A - 4 608 074 (KN0TH et al . ) 1-14

* Claims; fig. 1,2 *
TECHNICAL FIELDS
SEARCHED (Int CM)
US - A - 4 357 157 (CARDENAS- 1-14
: . FRANCO et al . ) C 03 B
* Claims; fig. 1,3 * G 05 B

US - A - 4 459 146 ( FARKAS et al . ) 1-14

* Claims; fig. 1 *

The present search report has been drawn up lor alt claim*
Place of search Date of completion ol the search Examiner
VIENNA 26-02-1988 HAUSWIRTH

CATEGORY OF CITED DOCUMENTS T : theory or principle underlying the invention

3 E : earlier patent document, but published on, or
S X : particularly relevant if taken alone after the filing date
Y : particularly relevant if combined with another 0: document cited in the application
document of the same category L : document cited for other reasons
A : technological background
0 : non-written disclosure & : member of the same patent family, corresponding
P : intermediate document document