Utilization of wall thickness measurement in combination with thermal imaging of containers

摘要

A closed loop temperature and wall thickness-based control system for improving process yield and quality while reducing dependence on operator skill utilizes intensity information from a hot end container imaging system and wall thickness information from a hot glass container wall thickness measurement system. By utilizing both the container intensity information and the measured wall thickness information it is possible to provide separate feedback signals responsive to temperature variations and thickness variations. These signals are used to implement automatic closed loop control of the I.S. machine.

主权项

1. A system for enhancing process yield and quality of containers produced by an I.S. machine, comprising:
a thermal imaging measurement device adapted to generate intensity output signals representative of the intensity of the thermal radiation from hot glass containers after their formation in the I.S. machine as the hot glass containers pass the thermal imaging measurement device; a wall thickness measurement device adapted to generate wall thickness output signals representative of the wall thickness of the hot glass containers after their formation in the I.S. machine as the hot glass containers pass the wall thickness measurement device; a signal processing module adapted to receive the intensity output signals from the thermal imaging measurement device and the wall thickness output signals from the wall thickness measurement device and in response thereto to generate estimated temperature signals representative of the temperatures of the hot glass containers after their formation in the I.S. machine; and a control system adapted to receive the wall thickness output signals and the estimated temperature signals and in response thereto to provide modified signals to operate the I.S. machine to produce glass containers having desired characteristics.