US 12,459,852 B2Granted

Feedback control systems and methods for glass tube converting processes

AssigneeCorning Incorporated

InventorsChristelle Ruby Barnard, Eric Michael Gross, Joseph Michael Matusick, Kevin Patrick McNelis, Connor Thomas O'Malley

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Abstract

Methods for providing feedback control of converters for converting glass tubes to glass articles include a model predictive control framework. The methods include operating the converter, providing target values for attributes of the glass articles or glass tubes, measuring the attributes for the glass articles and glass tubes, conditioning the measurement data to remove outlier data points and calculating statistics representative of the measured attributes, and determine updated settings for one or more process parameters from the previous settings, the statistical properties, and the target values, where the updated settings are those that minimize an objective control function for the converter. The methods further include adjusting the process parameters to the updated settings. The model predictive control framework enables feedback control of the converter that compensates for disturbances that act on the process.

Claims45

Dependent claims

A method for controlling a converter for producing glass articles from glass tubes, the method comprising:

operating a converter to produce a plurality of glass articles from a plurality of glass tubes, where the converter comprises a plurality of processing stations and operating the converter comprises translating the glass tubes through each of the plurality of processing stations in succession;
providing target values for at least one attribute of the plurality of glass articles or the plurality of glass tubes during or after converting;
measuring the at least one attribute of the plurality of glass articles or the plurality of glass tubes during or after converting;
recording settings of at least one process parameter of the converter related to the at least one attribute to produce a data set comprising measured values of the at least one attribute and the settings of the at least one process parameter of the converter;
processing the data set to produce a statistical property of a distribution of the measured values of the at least one attribute;
determining an updated setting for each of the at least one process parameter from the statistical property of the distribution of the at least one attribute measured, the target values of the at least one attribute, and the settings of the at least one process parameter, wherein the updated settings of the at least one process parameter is a value of the settings that minimizes an objective control function for the at least one attribute;
adjusting each of the at least one process parameter of the converter to the updated setting;
and
wherein the objective control function comprises a mean square error cost function according to the following equation:
J(k)=(G*Act(k)+Attribmeasured(k)−G*Act(k−1)−Attribtarg)TQTQ(G*Act(k)+Attribmeasured(k)−(G*Act(k−1))−Attribtarg)+(Act(k)−Act(k−1))TRTR(Act(k)−Act(k−1));
where:
J(k) is the mean square error cost function as a function of k:
k is an integer indicative of a present iteration of minimizing the mean square error cost function;
G is a matrix of sensitivity factors representative of a degree to which a change in each of the at least one process parameter produces a change each of the at least one attribute;
Attribmeasured(k) is a vector of the statistical property of the distribution of the measured values of the at least one attribute during iteration k;
Act(k) is a setting of the process parameter at iteration k;
Act(k−1) is a setting of the process parameter iteration k−1;
Attribtarg is a vector of the target values for each of the at least one attribute;
QTQ is a symmetric weighting matrix of attribute weighting factors for errors in measured values of the attributes from target values of the attributes;
and
RTR is a symmetric weighting matrix of penalty factors on the change in the at least one process parameter.

18 more elements

A method for controlling a converter for producing glass articles from glass tubes, the method comprising:

operating a converter to produce a plurality of glass articles from a plurality of glass tubes, where the converter comprises a plurality of processing stations and operating the converter comprises translating the glass tubes through each of the plurality of processing stations in succession;
providing target values for at least one attribute of the plurality of glass articles or the plurality of glass tubes during or after converting;
measuring the at least one attribute of the plurality of glass articles or the plurality of glass tubes during or after converting;
recording settings of at least one process parameter of the converter related to the at least one attribute to produce a data set comprising measured values of the at least one attribute and the settings of the at least one process parameter of the converter;
processing the data set to produce a statistical property of a distribution of the measured values of the at least one attribute;
determining an updated setting for each of the at least one process parameter from the statistical property of the distribution of the at least one attribute measured, the target values of the at least one attribute, and the settings of the at least one process parameter, wherein the updated settings of the at least one process parameter is a value of the settings that minimizes an objective control function for the at least one attribute;
adjusting each of the at least one process parameter of the converter to the updated setting;
providing a specification range for each of the at least one attribute, wherein the specification range of an attribute comprises:
a minimum value of the attribute below which the glass article is considered out of specification;
and
a maximum value of the attribute above which the glass article is considered out of specification;
and
applying an attribute weighting factor to each of the at least one attribute in the objective control function based on a spread in the specification range of each of the at least one attribute.

10 more elements

A method for controlling a converter for producing glass articles from glass tubes, the method comprising:

operating a converter to produce a plurality of glass articles from a plurality of glass tubes, where the converter comprises a plurality of processing stations and operating the converter comprises translating the glass tubes through each of the plurality of processing stations in succession;
providing target values for at least one attribute of the plurality of glass articles or the plurality of glass tubes during or after converting;
measuring the at least one attribute of the plurality of glass articles or the plurality of glass tubes during or after converting;
recording settings of at least one process parameter of the converter related to the at least one attribute to produce a data set comprising measured values of the at least one attribute and the settings of the at least one process parameter of the converter;
processing the data set to produce a statistical property of a distribution of the measured values of the at least one attribute;
determining an updated setting for each of the at least one process parameter from the statistical property of the distribution of the at least one attribute measured, the target values of the at least one attribute, and the settings of the at least one process parameter, wherein the updated settings of the at least one process parameter is a value of the settings that minimizes an objective control function for the at least one attribute;
adjusting each of the at least one process parameter of the converter to the updated setting;
developing a penalty factor for each of the at least one process parameter;
applying the penalty factor to each of the at least one process parameter in the objective control function, where the penalty factor operates to reduce the magnitude of changes to process parameters that have greater impact on one or more of the at least one attributes;
identifying divergence or oscillation of the updated setting for one or more of the at least one process parameter indicating a reduced ability to control one or more aspects of the converter;
and
adjusting the penalty factor for one or more of the at least one process parameter, where adjusting the penalty factor reduces a magnitude of changes made to the one or more of the at least one process parameters, thereby reducing divergence or oscillation of the updated setting.

9 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 17/885,210Filed 10 Aug 2022 · continuation in part
Priority: 24 May 2021
Published: US 2022/0371936 A18 Dec 2022
Granted: 4 Nov 2025
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification12 codes

C03B 23/08
Re-forming tubes or rods: to exact dimensions, e.g. calibrating
G05B 19/41875
Total factory control, i.e. centrally controlling a plurality of machines, e.g. direct or distributed numerical control [DNC], flexible…:…
C03B 23/043
Re-forming tubes or rods: heating devices specially adapted for re-forming tubes or rods in general, e.g. burners
C03B 23/045
Re-forming tubes or rods: tools or apparatus specially adapted for re-forming tubes or rods in general, e.g. glass lathes, chucks

Family

Application63/192,135Us provisional application · filed 24 May 2021
Application17/746,396Parent of this continuation-in-part · filed 17 May 2022
US 2022/0388889 A1Pre-grant publication · published 8 Dec 2022
US 12,060,295 B2Parent of this continuation-in-part
US 2022/0371936 A1Published application
US 12,459,852 B2This patent

From the US filing history. Foreign family members aren’t listed.