Arrangement for realizing the vacuum operation in the moulding process of a glass moulding machine

An I.S. machine, comprising:

• at least one finished form;
• a vacuum pump;
• at least one vacuum line connected to the vacuum pump and the finished form and configured to convey a vacuum from the vacuum pump to the finished form;
• at least one valve in fluid communication with the vacuum pump and the finished form and operable to vary the vacuum conveyed from the vacuum pump to the finished form;
• at least one vacuum sensor operable to measure a vacuum level within the finished form;
• one or more computing devices communicatively coupled to the vacuum sensor and configured to control operation of the valve;
• wherein the one or more computing devices are configured to monitor the vacuum level within the finished form, and to initiate a corrective action when the vacuum level does not satisfy one or more predetermined criterion;
• wherein the one or more computing devices comprises a microcontroller;
• and an I.S. machine controller communicatively coupled to the microcontroller;
• wherein:
• the at least one finished form comprises a first and a second finished form;
• the at least one vacuum line comprises a first vacuum line connected to the vacuum pump and the first finished form, and a second vacuum line connected to the vacuum pump and the second finished form;
• the at least one vacuum sensor comprises a first vacuum sensor operable to measure a vacuum level within the first finished form, and a second vacuum sensor operable to measure a vacuum level within the second finished form;
• and the first and second vacuum sensors are connected to the microcontroller;
• and
• wherein the I.S. machine controller is configured to, on the basis of the detected vacuum measurement values, eject a hollow glass article recognized as faulty.

An I.S. machine, comprising:

• at least one finished form;
• a vacuum pump;
• at least one vacuum line connected to the vacuum pump and the finished form and configured to convey a vacuum from the vacuum pump to the finished form;
• at least one valve in fluid communication with the vacuum pump and the finished form and operable to vary the vacuum conveyed from the vacuum pump to the finished form;
• at least one vacuum sensor operable to measure a vacuum level within the finished form;
• one or more computing devices communicatively coupled to the vacuum sensor and configured to control operation of the valve;
• wherein the one or more computing devices are configured to monitor the vacuum level within the finished form, and to initiate a corrective action when the vacuum level does not satisfy one or more predetermined criterion;
• wherein the one or more computing devices comprises a microcontroller;
• and an I.S. machine controller communicatively coupled to the microcontroller;
• wherein the microcontroller is a first microcontroller and is connected to the I.S. machine controller via a second microcontroller fulfilling a coupling function;
• and
• wherein the I.S. machine controller is configured to, on the basis of the detected vacuum measurement values, eject a hollow glass article recognized as faulty.

An I.S. machine, comprising:

• at least one finished form;
• a vacuum pump;
• at least one vacuum line connected to the vacuum pump and the finished form and configured to convey a vacuum from the vacuum pump to the finished form;
• at least one valve in fluid communication with the vacuum pump and the finished form and operable to vary the vacuum conveyed from the vacuum pump to the finished form;
• at least one vacuum sensor operable to measure a vacuum level within the finished form;
• one or more computing devices communicatively coupled to the vacuum sensor and configured to control operation of the valve;
• wherein the one or more computing devices are configured to monitor the vacuum level within the finished form, and to initiate a corrective action when the vacuum level does not satisfy one or more predetermined criterion;
• wherein the one or more predetermined criteria is a target value or a limiting value for the vacuum level;
• and
• wherein the corrective action includes causing a hollow glass article located in the finished form to be ejected from the I.S. machine.