JP2003057161A - Hardness detector for surface of solid - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a hardness detector for the surface of a solid with which the hardness of the surface of the solid can be detected simply. SOLUTION: The hardness detector for the surface of the solid is provided with a protrusion part 11 coming into contact with the surface of the solid as an object, a flexible support part 13 which elastically supports the protrusion part 11 on a base part 12, a drive member 14 which drives the support part 13 to a direction pressing the protrusion part 11 to the surface of the solid while the support part 13 is being deformed and a strain gage 15 which detects the displacement amount of the protrusion part 11 when the protrusion part 11 is driven by the drive member 14. When the hardness of the surface of the solid is investigated by using the hardness tester for the surface of the solid, the protrusion part 11 is driven to the direction pressing the protrusion part 11 further to the surface X1 of the solid by the drive member 14 in a state that the protrusion part 11 is brought into contact with the surface X1 of the solid, and the hardness of the surface of the solid is detected on the basis of a detection by the strain gage 15 from the relative relationship between a driving force generated by the drive member 14 and an amount in which the protrusion part 11 is displaced by the driving force.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a solid surface hardness detector for detecting the hardness of a solid surface.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a method for detecting the hardness of the surface of a solid, the resonance frequency is investigated by contacting the vibrator with a target solid and vibrating it, and the vibrator is detected based on this resonance frequency. A method is known in which the contact pressure in contact with the solid surface and the hardness of the solid surface are calculated.

[0003]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional method, it is practically difficult to calculate the contact pressure and the hardness separately from each other.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object thereof is to provide a solid surface hardness detector capable of easily detecting the hardness of a solid surface.

The structural features of the present invention are: a protrusion that comes into contact with a target solid surface, a flexible support that elastically supports the protrusion on a base, and a deformation of the support. The driving means for driving the protrusion in the direction of pressing the solid surface while being driven, and the displacement detecting means for detecting the amount of displacement of the protrusion when the driving means drives the protrusion, when the protrusion is driven by the driving means, Based on the detection by the displacement detection means, the hardness of the solid surface is detected from the relative relationship between the magnitude of the driving force generated by the driving means and the amount of displacement of the protrusion due to the driving force. .

Another structural feature of the present invention is that a protrusion contacting a solid surface of interest, a flexible support for elastically supporting the protrusion on a base, and the support are provided. When the protrusion is driven by the driving unit, the driving unit drives the protrusion in the direction of pressing the solid surface while deforming the protrusion, and the displacement detecting unit detects the displacement of the protrusion when the driving unit drives the protrusion. , Based on the detection by the displacement detection means,
The hardness of the solid surface is detected from the time difference between the driving means generating the driving force and the displacement of the protrusion due to the driving force.

Another structural feature of the present invention is that a protrusion contacting a target solid surface, a flexible support for elastically supporting the protrusion on a base, and the support are provided. A driving means for vibrating the projection by periodically driving the projection while pressing the projection on the solid surface while deforming the projection; and a displacement detection means for detecting displacement of the projection when the projection is driven by the driving means. When the protrusion is driven by the drive unit, the hardness of the solid surface is detected from the phase difference between the periodic drive force generated by the drive unit and the vibration of the protrusion, based on the detection by the displacement detection unit. I have tried to do it.

Another structural feature of the present invention is that a driving projection contacting a solid surface of interest and a flexible driving support for elastically supporting the driving projection on a base portion. And a driving element having a driving means for vibrating the driving projection by periodically driving the driving projection while pressing the driving projection against the solid surface while deforming the driving support, and a driving projection. Detection protrusions that come into contact with the solid surface at different positions,
A flexible detection support portion that elastically supports the detection protrusion portion on the base portion, and a displacement detection that detects the displacement of the detection protrusion portion when the drive protrusion portion is driven by the drive means of the drive element. And a detection element provided with a means, and when the driving protrusion of the driving element is driven by the driving means, the driving means generates a periodical drive based on the detection by the displacement detection means of the detection element. The elastic characteristic in the direction along the surface of the solid between the driving element and the detecting element is detected from the phase difference between the force and the vibration of the detecting protrusion.

In the solid surface hardness detector having the above characteristics, the driving force generated by the driving means and the actual displacement of the protrusion driven by the driving force are simply based on the detection by the displacement detecting means. The hardness of the solid surface can be easily detected, since it is only compared with the situation described above.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The solid surface hardness detector according to the embodiment includes a plurality of basic elements 10 arranged in a grid, as shown in FIGS. In this case, each of the basic elements 10 may be formed by performing collective processing using a photomask on a substrate formed of single crystal silicon or glass. As shown in detail in FIGS. 3 and 4, each basic element 10 has a protrusion 11 that contacts the surface X1 (shown only in FIG. 1) of the target solid X, and the protrusion 11 is elastic on the base 12. Supporting portion 13 that supports the same and supporting portion 1
A drive member 14 as a drive means for driving the protrusion 11 in a direction of pressing the protrusion 11 against the solid surface X1 while deforming 3.
A plurality of strain gauges 15 are provided as displacement detecting means for detecting the amount of displacement of the protrusion 11 when the protrusion 11 is driven by the drive member 14.

The projection 11 has its shape determined based on the shape and material of the target solid surface X1 and the design of the driving member 14, so as to project from the outer frame 13a of the support 13 to the solid surface X1 side. Is formed in. Support part 13
Is a diaphragm-shaped member that closes the upper end of the opening of the box-shaped base 12, and is made of silicon integrally with the protrusion 11 arranged in the center thereof. In this case, the protrusion 11 is anisotropically etched on the surface of the support 13 with an alkaline aqueous solution or isotropic etching with a mixed solution of nitric acid, hydrofluoric acid, and acetic acid or water. Alternatively, it may be formed by performing dry etching with a reactive gas.

The projection 11 and the support 13 may be formed as separate members, in which case the projection 11 may be formed of resin or the like and the support 13 may be formed of metal or the like. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the support portion 13 may be formed in a beam shape to adjust elasticity.

The driving member 14 is a plate member made of a metal material (for example, nickel, aluminum, etc.) having a coefficient of thermal expansion larger than that of silicon forming the support portion 13 and assembled to the back surface side of the support portion 13. That is, the support portion 13 is electrically heated by an electricity supply mechanism (not shown), and the support portion 13 is curved upward in the drawing due to thermal expansion during the same electricity heating so that the protrusion 11 is pressed against the solid surface X1. The strain gauges 15 are formed of a semiconductor and are respectively attached to the four edge portions of the support portion 13. The strain gauge 15 senses the magnitude of strain due to the deformation of the support portion 13 by the change in the resistivity, so that the displacement of the protrusion portion 11 is increased. Detect the amount.

Next, the case of examining the surface information of a solid by using the detector configured as described above will be described.

First, when the surface X1 of the solid X is brought into contact with this detector, as shown in FIG.
At 0, the protrusions 11 come into contact with the solid surface X1 to displace the support 13 while bending. At this time, the displacement amount of the protrusion 11 in each basic element 10 is
Is determined according to the contact pressure of the solid surface X1 with respect to the solid surface X1, so that by detecting the amount of displacement of the projection 11 by the strain gauge 15 in each basic element 10, the projection 11 is formed on the solid surface X1 at each basic element 10 position. The contact pressure of contact can be detected.

Further, the displacement amount of the protrusion 11 in each of the basic elements 10, that is, the contact pressure with respect to the solid surface X1, is
It is relatively determined according to the uneven shape of the solid surface X1 at each projection 11 position. For example, the displacement amount and the contact pressure of the protrusion 11 contacting the portion where the solid surface X1 protrudes becomes relatively large, and the displacement amount and the contact pressure of the protrusion 11 contacting the portion where the solid surface X1 is recessed are It becomes relatively small. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, holes X are formed on the solid surface X1.
If 2 is formed, the protrusion 11 does not contact the solid surface X1 and is not displaced at the position of the hole X2. Therefore, the shape of the entire solid surface X1 can also be detected by detecting the amount of displacement of the protrusion 11 in each basic element 10.

Next, the case of examining the hardness of the solid surface X1 will be described. In this case, first, as shown in FIG. 1B, a predetermined current is applied to the driving member 14 in a state where the protrusion 11 of each basic element 10 is in contact with the solid surface X1, and the protrusion 12 is further moved. It drives in the direction of pressing on the solid surface X1. Next, the drive member 14 is continuously energized for a sufficient period of time and a constant driving force is continuously applied to the protrusion 11, and when the displacement of the protrusion 11 is completed, the protrusion 11 in the displacement completed state is completed. The amount of displacement is detected by the strain gauge 15. Then, the magnitude of the driving force generated by the driving member 14, that is, the amount of current applied to the driving member 14, and the amount of displacement of the protrusion 11 due to this driving force, that is, the strain gauge 15
The hardness of the solid surface X1 is detected by referring to a map as shown in FIG. 6, for example, based on the relative relationship with the difference in the displacement amount of the protrusion 11 before and after driving detected by. In FIG. 6, solids A, B, and C are hard solids in this order. In this way, in this embodiment, the hardness and shape of the solid surface X1 and the contact pressure on the solid X can be easily detected.

On the contrary, by driving the protrusions 11 by the driving members 14 independently in each of the basic elements 10, the solid surface X of the protrusions 11 in each of the basic elements 10 is increased.
It is also possible to control the contact pressure for 1 independently. Thereby, for example, the surface X having an uneven shape
It is also possible to control the contact pressure with respect to the entire surface X1 by making the protrusions 11 of the respective basic elements 10 contact each other with a uniform contact pressure.

In the above embodiment, the protrusion 11 is formed so as to protrude from the outer frame 13a of the support 13 toward the solid surface X1 side in each basic element 10, but this is achieved by using the detector. This is because the shape of the solid surface X1 and the contact pressure on the solid surface X1 can be detected in addition to the hardness of the surface X1. When the detector is used only for detecting the hardness of the solid surface X1, Part 11
Is preferably formed so as not to project to the solid surface X1 side from the outer frame 13a of the support portion 13. According to this, the protrusion 11
Since the solid surface X1 comes into contact with the outer frame 13a of the support portion 13 without contacting the projection 11 when the projection 11 is not driven, the projection 11 is moved to the solid surface X1 with a relatively small driving force when the projection 11 is driven. The hardness can be detected by displacing it to the side.

In the above embodiment, when the protrusion 11 is driven by the driving member 14, the hardness of the solid surface X1 is determined by the driving force generated by the driving member 14 and the displacement of the protrusion 11 by this driving force. However, instead of this, the hardness of the solid surface X1 is determined by the time difference between the time when the driving member 14 generates the driving force and the time when the protrusion 11 starts to be displaced by this driving force. You may make it detect from.

Further, in the above embodiment, the drive unit 1
When the protrusion 11 is driven by 5, the protrusion 11 is moved to the solid surface X
Although it is configured to be driven only once in the direction to be pressed against 1, the protrusion 11 may be periodically driven to vibrate the protrusion 11 in the direction to press against the solid surface X1. In this case, energization and de-energization of the driving member 14 may be periodically repeated, and the hardness of the solid surface X1 is determined by the periodic driving force generated by the driving member 14 and the strain gauge 15. Protrusion 1 detected by
It is preferable to detect from the phase difference between the first vibration and the first vibration.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the characteristic of the solid surface X at each basic element 10 position is detected independently for each basic element 10, but each basic element 10 is driven by a driving element or The characteristics of the solid X in the direction along the surface X1 may be detected by selectively using it as a detection element. In this case, the protrusion 1 of each basic element 10
In the state of 1 in contact with the solid surface X1, in the driving element, the driving member 14 periodically drives the projecting portion 11 in the direction of pressing the projecting portion 11 against the solid surface X1 to vibrate the projecting portion 11, and in the detecting element, The displacement amount of the protrusion 11 is detected by the strain gauge 15 without driving the protrusion 11. Then, when the protrusion 11 is driven by the driving member 14 of the driving element, the periodic driving force generated by the driving member 14 of the driving element and the detection force are detected based on the detection by the strain gauge 15 of the detecting element. The elastic characteristic in the direction along the surface X1 of the solid X between the driving element and the detecting element is detected from the phase difference between the vibration of the protrusion 11 of the element and the vibration.

Further, the respective basic elements 10 may be displaceably connected to each other by a flexible connecting portion 16 as shown in FIG. In this case, the connecting portion 16
Is preferably formed of a resin material such as polyimide. According to this, it becomes possible to use the solid surface information detector in contact with an arbitrary curved surface.

Next, a modification of the above embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.

The basic elements 20 and 30 of the solid surface hardness detector shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 employ electromagnetic force as driving means for the protrusions 21 and 31.

In the basic element 20, the bottom portion 22a of the base portion 22 is made of a permanent magnet, and the coil pattern 24 is disposed on the back surface of the support portion 13 so as to face the bottom portion 22a. The coil pattern 24 is energized by an energization mechanism (not shown) to generate a magnetic field, and when the magnetic field is generated, the bottom portion 22a is formed.
The protrusion 21 is driven by interfering with the magnetic field formed by. The direction of the force acting between the coil pattern 24 and the bottom portion 22a is determined according to the direction of the current flowing through the coil pattern 24, and the protrusion 21 includes the coil pattern 24 and the bottom portion 22a.
When a repulsive force is generated between the coil surface 24 and the solid surface X1, it is driven in the direction (upward direction in the drawing), and when an attractive force is generated between the coil pattern 24 and the bottom portion 22a, the opposite direction (downward direction in the drawing). Driven to. Therefore, in the modification, it is possible to easily vibrate the protrusion 21 by applying an AC voltage to the coil pattern 24. In this case, if the frequency of the applied voltage is set to be equal to the natural frequency of the supporting portion 23, the protrusion 21 can be efficiently vibrated with a small voltage due to the resonance phenomenon.

In the basic element 30, the protrusion 31 is made of a permanent magnet, and the coil pattern 34 is arranged on the upper surface of the bottom 32a of the base 32. Coil pattern 34
Is energized by an energization mechanism (not shown) to generate a magnetic field, and drives the protrusion 31 by interfering with the magnetic field formed by the protrusion 31 when the magnetic field is generated. The direction of the force acting between the protrusion 31 and the coil pattern 34 is determined according to the direction of the current flowing through the coil pattern 34,
When a repulsive force is generated between the protrusion 31 and the coil pattern 34, the protrusion 31 is driven in a direction (upward direction in the drawing) pressed against the solid surface X1 and when an attractive force is generated between the protrusion 31 and the coil pattern 34. It is driven in the opposite direction (downward in the figure). Therefore, also in this case, the protrusion 31 can be vibrated easily and efficiently.

The protrusion 2 is formed in each of the basic elements 20 and 30.
The driving force applied to the coils 1, 31 is the number of turns of the coil patterns 24, 34, the magnitude of the current flowing in the coil patterns, the magnitude of the magnetic field formed by the permanent magnets forming the bottom portion 22a or the protrusion 31, And the relative positional relationship between the permanent magnets forming the bottom portion 22a or the protrusion 31 and the coil patterns 24 and 34. Coil pattern 24,3
4 is formed by filling a metal material in a mold formed by photolithography on the substrate. in this case,
If the coil patterns 24 and 34 are thin (for example,
It is advisable to use a thin film forming process such as vacuum deposition or sputtering to fill the metal material. When the coil patterns 24 and 34 are relatively thick, it is preferable to form the coil patterns 24 and 34 using a metal plating process capable of forming a thick film.

The basic elements 40 and 50 of the solid surface hardness detector shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 employ piezoelectric elements as driving means for the protrusions 41 and 51.

The basic element 40 has a laminated piezoelectric element 44 disposed between the bottom portion 42a of the base portion 42 and the support portion 43. When energized by an energization mechanism (not shown), the piezoelectric element 44 expands and contracts in the vertical direction in the drawing according to the direction of the current, and is driven in the direction (upward) for pressing the protrusion 41 against the solid surface X1 and in the opposite direction (downward). To do. Also in this modification, it is possible to easily vibrate the protrusion 41 by applying an AC voltage to the piezoelectric element 44, and set the frequency of the applied voltage to be equal to the natural frequency of the support portion 43. Thus, the protrusion 11 can be efficiently vibrated.

The basic element 50 has a flat plate type piezoelectric element 54 disposed between a flat plate-shaped base portion 52 and a support portion 53. When energized by an energization mechanism (not shown), the piezoelectric element 44 bends in the up-down direction in the figure according to the direction of the current, and is driven in the direction (upward) for pressing the protrusion 51 against the solid surface X1 and in the opposite direction (downward). To do. Therefore, also in this case, the protrusion 51 can be easily and efficiently vibrated. Further, in the modification, the width of displacement of the protrusion 51 is relatively small, but the width of the basic element 50 is thin, so that the detector can be made compact.

The basic elements 60 and 70 of the solid surface hardness detector shown in FIGS. 12 and 13 employ thermal expansion of liquid as the driving means of the protrusions 61 and 71.

The basic elements 60 and 70 are respectively provided with a base 6
2, 72 and the supporting chambers 63, 73 define a liquid chamber 66,
A liquid such as methyl chloride is enclosed in 76. When the liquid in the liquid chamber 66 of the basic element 60 is irradiated with light by the optical fiber 64, the liquid expands due to the thermal energy of the light and drives the protrusion 61 in a direction to press it against the solid surface X1. In the same embodiment, the optical fiber 64
The projection 61 can be vibrated by intermittently and periodically repeating the irradiation of light by.

The liquid in the liquid chamber 76 of the basic element 70 expands due to the thermal energy of the heater 74 when the heater 74 arranged in the liquid chamber 76 is electrically heated by a not-shown energizing mechanism, and the projections are formed. It drives in the direction which presses 71 on the solid surface X1. In the embodiment, by energizing and de-energizing the heater 74 periodically,
The protrusion 71 can be vibrated.

[Brief description of drawings]

1A and 1B are vertical cross-sectional views showing a state of a solid surface hardness detector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the solid surface hardness detector.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged vertical sectional view showing details of the basic element shown in FIGS.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged plan view showing details of the basic element.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged plan view showing a modified example of the supporting portion of FIGS.

FIG. 6 is a graph showing the relationship between the driving force by the driving unit of FIGS. 1 to 4, the amount of displacement of the protrusion, and the hardness of the solid surface.

FIG. 7 is a vertical cross-sectional view showing a modified example of the solid surface hardness detector.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged vertical sectional view showing a modified example of the basic element.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged vertical sectional view showing a modified example of the basic element.

FIG. 10 is an enlarged vertical sectional view showing a modified example of the basic element.

FIG. 11 is an enlarged vertical sectional view showing a modified example of the basic element.

FIG. 12 is an enlarged vertical sectional view showing a modified example of the basic element.

FIG. 13 is an enlarged vertical sectional view showing a modified example of the basic element.

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (71) Applicant 000004260             DENSO CORPORATION             1-1, Showa-cho, Kariya city, Aichi prefecture (71) Applicant 000003551             Tokai Rika Electric Co., Ltd.             260-chome, Toyota, Oguchi-cho, Niwa-gun, Aichi (71) Applicant 000003207             Toyota Motor Corporation             1 Toyota Town, Toyota City, Aichi Prefecture (71) Applicant 000237271             Fuji Machine Manufacturing Co., Ltd.             19 Chasuyama, Yamamachi Town, Chiryu City, Aichi Prefecture (71) Applicant 000006013             Mitsubishi Electric Corporation             2-3 2-3 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo (71) Applicant 390040187             Melco Co., Ltd.             4-11-50 Osu, Naka-ku, Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture (72) Inventor Kazuo Sato             Aichi Prefecture Nagoya City Chikusa Ward Furocho Nagoya University             Graduate School of Engineering (72) Inventor Mitsuhiro Shikita             Aichi Prefecture Nagoya City Chikusa Ward Furocho Nagoya University             Difficult-to-process artifact research center (72) Inventor Koichi Itoigawa             260-chome, Toyota, Oguchi-cho, Niwa-gun, Aichi             Tokai Rika Electric Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Takeshi Shimizu             Aichi Prefecture Nagoya City Chikusa Ward Furocho Nagoya University             Graduate School of Engineering

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A protrusion contacting a solid surface of interest, a flexible support that elastically supports the protrusion on a base, and the protrusion being deformed while supporting the protrusion. A driving means for driving in a direction of pressing the solid surface; and a displacement detecting means for detecting a displacement amount of the protrusion when the protrusion is driven by the driving means, and the displacement detection when driving the protrusion by the driving means. The hardness of the solid surface is detected from the relative relationship between the magnitude of the driving force generated by the driving unit and the amount of displacement of the protrusion due to the driving force based on the detection by the unit. Hardness detector for solid surfaces. 2. A protrusion that contacts a target solid surface, a flexible support that elastically supports the protrusion on a base, and the protrusion that deforms the support while retaining the protrusion. A driving means for driving in a direction of pressing the solid surface; and a displacement detecting means for detecting a displacement of the protrusion when the driving means drives the protrusion, and the displacement detecting means when driving the protrusion by the driving means. The hardness of the solid surface is detected from the time difference from the generation of the driving force by the driving means to the start of displacement of the protrusion due to the driving force, based on the detection by Detector. 3. A protrusion that contacts a target solid surface, a flexible support that elastically supports the protrusion on a base, and the protrusion that deforms the support while retaining the protrusion. The driving means includes a driving means for periodically driving in a direction of pressing the solid surface to vibrate the protrusion, and a displacement detecting means for detecting displacement of the protrusion when the driving means drives the protrusion. When the protrusion is driven, the hardness of the solid surface is detected from the phase difference between the periodic driving force generated by the driving unit and the vibration of the protrusion based on the detection by the displacement detecting unit. A hardness detector for a solid surface, characterized in that 4. A drive projection that contacts a target solid surface, a flexible drive support that elastically supports the drive projection on a base, and a modification of the drive support. While driving the driving projection, the driving element is provided with a driving unit that periodically drives the driving projection on the solid surface to vibrate the driving projection; and a driving element at a position different from the driving projection. A detection protrusion that contacts a solid surface, a flexible detection support that elastically supports the detection protrusion on a base, and a driving protrusion of the driving element when driving the driving protrusion. A detection element having a displacement detection means for detecting the displacement of the detection protrusion is provided, and when the drive protrusion of the drive element is driven by the displacement detection means of the detection element. Based on the circumference generated by the driving means, The elastic characteristic in the direction along the surface of the solid between the driving element and the detecting element is detected from the phase difference between the dynamic driving force and the vibration of the detecting protrusion. A solid surface hardness detector.