JP2011191275A - Inspection device for lateral edge face - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily confirm whether an abnormality such as a bend or a gap is present on the lateral edge face of a metal ring or a metal belt constituted by laminating a plurality of the metal rings. <P>SOLUTION: This inspection device 30 for the lateral edge face is equipped with a first fixed roller 32a, a second fixed roller 32b and a movable roller 32c. These rollers 32a-32c have roller bodies 98a-98c and the flange members 96a-96c provided in lower bases of the roller bodies 98a-98c. The roller bodies 98a-98c are reduced in diameter in tapered states toward the flange members 96a-96c. When the rollers 32a-32c are rotationally operated after the metal belt 12 trained over the rollers 32a-32c is tensioned by the movement of the movable roller 32c, the lateral edge face 22a on the lower side of the metal belt 12 is seated on each of upper end surfaces of the flange members 96a-96c. Thus, the lateral edge faces 22b on upper sides of the metal rings 18 constituting the metal belt 12 are aligned in position. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a metal belt that is preferably used as a continuously variable transmission (CVT) belt, and a side end surface inspection device that inspects a side end surface of a metal ring constituting the metal belt.

  In CVT, the driving force of the engine is transmitted to the drive shaft via a metal belt constructed by sequentially mounting metal rings with a large diameter (peripheral length) on the outer periphery side of metal rings with a small diameter (peripheral length). Is done. Accordingly, the metal belt is required not to include abnormalities such as gaps and bends exceeding the allowable range. This is because if the metal belt has an abnormality exceeding the allowable range, the driving force cannot be smoothly transmitted to the drive shaft.

  In view of this, various inspection apparatuses and inspection methods for metal belts have been proposed that automatically inspect for the presence or absence of irregularities in the thickness direction of the metal belt, that is, the side end surfaces along the stacking direction of the metal rings.

  For example, in the patent document 1, the present applicant performs illumination on the side end surface of the metal belt, and binarizes the image of the side end surface obtained at this time with a binarization threshold value. An inspection method for determining the presence or absence is proposed. In this case, since it is possible to perform inspection without using pattern matching or the like, there is an advantage that inspection efficiency is improved.

  In Patent Document 2, a constant tension is applied to the metal belt stretched between two pulleys, and in this state, light is applied to the side end surface of the metal belt, while the side belt There has been proposed an inspection method and an inspection apparatus for determining whether or not there is unevenness on the side end surface based on the reflected light from the end surface.

  Note that this type of pulley has a cylindrical shape with a constant diameter from the bottom to the top.

Japanese Patent No. 4225951 (refer to FIG. 3 and FIGS. 6 to 10 in particular) Japanese Patent No. 3526011 (see in particular paragraph [0035] and FIG. 5)

  In the metal belt, the outer peripheral end surface of the inner metal ring and the inner peripheral end surface of the metal ring circumscribing the metal ring are not necessarily overlapped without being displaced. That is, in some cases, the positions of the side end surfaces of the metal rings are not aligned, and as a result, one metal ring may protrude (or be depressed) relative to the other metal ring. As the protrusions or depressions cause the side end surfaces of the metal rings to become unaligned, irregularities are formed on the side end surfaces.

  When inspecting whether there is a gap or a bend with respect to the side end face of the metal belt, an image of the side end face is taken with a camera. At this time, if the unevenness exceeds the depth of field of the camera, the unevenness becomes out of focus (so-called out-of-focus) and the image becomes unclear. For this reason, the test result is not accurate.

  Even when the side end face of one metal ring is inspected, if the metal ring is not kept parallel but is tilted and stretched across the roller, there will be a focus shift when taking an image. This results in an unclear image. That is, also in this case, the test result is not accurate.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and when the metal ring is passed over the roller in parallel, or when the metal belt is inspected, the positions of the side end surfaces of the metal ring can be aligned. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a lateral end face inspection apparatus that can avoid a focus shift due to unevenness and the like and can obtain a highly accurate inspection result.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention is directed to laminating metal rings in a metal belt configured by sequentially laminating another metal ring on a side end surface of a single metal ring or an outer periphery of a metal ring. A side end face inspection device that inspects a side end face along a direction,
The foundation,
A plurality of rollers disposed on the base and over which the metal ring or the metal belt is stretched;
A distance adjusting means capable of adjusting a distance between at least two of the plurality of rollers;
Rotation driving means provided on at least one of the plurality of rollers for rotating the metal ring or the metal belt;
Inspection means for inspecting whether or not there is an abnormality on one side end surface of the metal ring or the metal belt that makes a circular motion;
With
A flange portion on which the other side end surface of the metal ring or the metal belt is seated is provided on at least one of the upper end portion and the lower end portion of the plurality of rollers.
Whether the inspection means has an abnormality in the one side end surface of the metal ring or the metal belt in a state where the other side end surface is seated on the flange portion and is relaxed until it becomes a perfect circle shape. It is characterized by checking whether or not.

  The “abnormality” here refers to factors that hinder the use of the metal belt for a predetermined application, such as bending in the case of a metal ring, bending in the case of a metal belt, and a gap between metal rings. Is included.

  The metal ring or the metal belt stretched around the roller having such a structure is tensioned by adjusting the distance between the rollers. When the roller rotates in this state, the metal ring or the metal belt is displaced in a direction having a small diameter (that is, a direction toward the flange portion) along the tapered roller. As a result, the side end surface is seated on the flange portion and comes into press contact with the flange portion. Thereby, the side end surface of a metal ring or a metal belt will be in a parallel state along a horizontal direction. That is, it is avoided that the side end face is inclined with respect to the horizontal direction.

  Moreover, in the case of a metal belt, the positions of the side end surfaces of each metal ring are aligned. This is because, as described above, all of the side end surfaces facing the flange portion are seated on the flange portion. Therefore, it is possible to avoid the formation of irregularities due to the position of the side end surface of the metal ring not being aligned on the side end surface of the metal belt.

  For the above reasons, when imaging is performed on one side end surface of a metal ring or a metal belt in which the other side end surface is seated on the flange portion and is relaxed until it becomes a perfect circle shape, a focus shift occurs. A clear image can be obtained without the occurrence of. Accordingly, an accurate inspection result can be obtained regarding the presence or absence of an abnormality such as a gap or a bend, so that the inspection accuracy can be improved.

  In addition, since the metal ring or the metal belt is relaxed to the shape of a perfect circle, the inspection can be performed in a state where the gap or the bend is not extended, in other words, not disappeared. For this reason, gaps and bends can be easily found.

  Here, as the plurality of rollers, for example, a total of three rollers including two rollers that are positioned and fixed and one roller that can be displaced in a direction intersecting the center line of the two rollers. A roller may be provided. In this case, even if the metal ring or the metal belt has a large circumference, it is easy to apply tension by displacing the displaceable roller. Further, when performing the side end surface inspection, the metal belt between the two rollers positioned and fixed may be inspected.

  For a plurality of rollers, only one roller may be provided with a rotation driving means to be a driving roller, and the remaining rollers may be driven rollers. However, in the present invention, at least two of the plurality of rollers are individually provided. It is preferable to provide a rotation driving means, that is, at least two rollers as drive rollers. As a result, it is possible to obtain a frictional force that transmits a torque sufficient to cause a circular motion to the metal ring or metal belt that has been relaxed until it has a perfect circular shape.

  In the above configuration, in order to determine that the seating on the flange portion on the other side end surface of the metal ring or the metal belt is completed, for example, the width direction dimension (the innermost to the outermost metal of the metal ring or the metal belt) The distance from the bottom of the ring to the top may be detected. Then, it can be determined that “the seating of the other side end face with respect to the flange portion has been completed” by recognizing that the detected dimension in the width direction is constant.

  According to the present invention, flange portions are provided on a plurality of rollers, and after tightening a metal ring or a metal belt stretched over the plurality of rollers, the plurality of rollers are rotated and operated on the side. The end face is pressed against the flange. By this pressing, the metal ring or the metal belt is in a parallel state. That is, it becomes possible to avoid an inclined state.

  Moreover, in the case of a metal belt, the positions of the side surfaces of the metal rings are aligned with each other as the side end surfaces of the metal rings press against the flange portion. For this reason, it is avoided that unevenness is formed on the side end face of the metal belt.

  From the above, when imaging is performed when the side end surface inspection is performed, a clear image with no out-of-focus is obtained. Accordingly, accurate information (inspection result) can be obtained for each abnormality, so that inspection accuracy is improved.

  In addition, since the metal ring or the metal belt is relaxed to the shape of a perfect circle, the inspection can be performed in a state where the gap or the bend is not extended, in other words, not disappeared. For this reason, gaps and bends can be found particularly easily.

It is a principal part expansion perspective view of the drive belt hung over one set of pulleys which comprise a continuously variable transmission. It is a principal part expanded sectional view of FIG. It is a whole side view along the longitudinal direction of the inspection device for side end faces concerning an embodiment of the invention. It is a principal part schematic perspective view of the inspection apparatus for side end surfaces of FIG. FIG. 4 is an overall schematic plan view of the side end surface inspection apparatus in FIG. 3. It is a top view from the lower part of the inspection apparatus for side end surfaces of FIG. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VII-VII in FIG. 5. It is a VIII-VIII line arrow directional cross-sectional view of FIG. It is a principal part enlarged view of FIG. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XX in FIG. 5. It is a whole side view along a longitudinal direction when the 2nd movement table moves and a metal belt relaxes. It is a principal part schematic perspective view of the inspection apparatus for side end surfaces in the state of FIG. It is a top view from the lower part of the inspection apparatus for side end surfaces in the state of FIG. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of another roller.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of a side end face inspection apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  First, a metal belt for CVT will be described with reference to FIGS.

  FIG. 1 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part of a drive belt 10 that is stretched over a set of pulleys (not shown) that constitute a continuously variable transmission. As shown in FIG. 1, the drive belt 10 is configured by engaging two metal belts 12 and 12 with a left shoulder groove 16L and a right shoulder groove 16R of a plurality of elements 14, respectively. In FIG. 1, the metal belts 12 and 12 are shown cut.

  FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main part of FIG. Here, in FIG. 2, the metal belts 12, 12 are shown cut in the vicinity of the left shoulder groove 16 </ b> L and the right shoulder groove 16 </ b> R of the element 14.

  As can be understood from FIG. 2, the metal belt 12 is configured by laminating a plurality of thin metal rings 18. That is, the metal belt 12 is a laminated body formed by sequentially mounting the metal ring 18 having a large diameter (peripheral length) on the outer peripheral side of the metal ring 18 having a small diameter (peripheral length). In the present embodiment, the “thickness direction” refers to the direction of the arrow A1 along the stacking direction of the metal rings 18, and the “width direction” refers to the direction of the arrow A2 orthogonal to the arrow A1. And

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the metal belt 12 has an inner peripheral end face 20, two side end faces 22 a and 22 b, and an outer peripheral end face 24. Since the metal belt 12 is endless, the interlayer between the adjacent metal rings 18 and 18 is visible only on the side end surfaces 22 a and 22 b of the metal belt 12.

  The dimension in the thickness direction of the metal belt 12 (the dimension along the arrow A1 direction) can also be referred to as the distance from the inner peripheral side end face 20 to the outer peripheral side end face 24 in the metal belt 12. On the other hand, the dimension in the width direction of the metal belt 12 (dimension along the arrow A2 direction) is the distance from the lowermost part to the uppermost part of the innermost to outermost metal ring 18 constituting the metal belt 12.

  Next, a side end surface inspection device (hereinafter also simply referred to as an inspection device) for inspecting the side end surfaces 22a and 22b of the metal belt 12 configured as described above will be described.

  3 to 5 are an overall side view, a main part schematic perspective view, and an overall schematic plan view, respectively, taken along the longitudinal direction of the inspection apparatus 30 according to the present embodiment. In this inspection device 30, the metal belt 12 can be tensioned or relaxed by the three rollers 32a to 32c rotatably arranged on the upper end surface of the base.

  Here, the two rollers 32a and 32b among the three rollers 32a to 32c are positioned and fixed, while the remaining one roller 32c is a ball screw which is a position adjusting mechanism as will be described later. Under the action of the mechanism 34 (see FIG. 3), it is provided so as to be displaceable in a direction intersecting the center line of these two rollers 32a and 32b (virtual line connecting the centers of the rollers 32a and 32b). Yes. Hereinafter, the two rollers 32a and 32b that are positioned and fixed are referred to as a first fixed roller and a second fixed roller, respectively, and the displaceable roller 32c is referred to as a movable roller.

  In this case, the first fixed roller 32a and the second fixed roller 32b are rotationally driven by separate rotational driving means. This will be specifically described below.

  6 is a plan view from below of the inspection apparatus 30 (that is, a plan view viewed from the direction of arrow B in FIGS. 3 and 4), and FIGS. 7 and 8 are VII-VII in FIG. It is a sectional view taken along line arrow and a sectional view taken along line VIII-VIII. 7 also serves as a longitudinal sectional view of FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a screw motor 38 constituting the ball screw mechanism 34 is disposed on the left side of the lower end surface of the base plate 36 having a flat plate shape. Further, a first guide rail 42 and a second guide rail 43 are installed along the longitudinal direction of the base 36 so as to sandwich the shaft 40 that is rotationally driven under the action of the screw motor 38. The shaft 40, the first guide rail 42, and the second guide rail 43 extend in parallel to each other. Of course, a nut 44 with a ball screw (not shown) is screwed onto the shaft 40.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the screw motor 38 and the shaft 40 are disposed between raised spacers 46 a and 46 b provided above the first guide rail 42 and the second guide rail 43.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the first guide rail 42 and the second guide rail 43 are arranged in order from the side close to the screw motor 38, the first slider 48, the second slider 50, the third slider 52, and the fourth slider. 54 is slidably engaged. A first moving table 56 is connected to the first slider 48 and the second slider 50, while a second moving table 58 is connected to the third slider 52 and the fourth slider 54.

  The first moving table 56 is connected to the nut 44. The first moving table 56 is connected to the second moving table 58 via a connecting rod 60. For this reason, when the nut 44 is displaced along the shaft 40, the first moving table 56 and the second moving table 58 are displaced following the displacement of the nut 44.

  A support frame 62 is attached to the lower end surface of the base 36 so as to straddle the first guide rail 42 and the second guide rail 43. The support frame 62 includes a first side plate 64 and a second side plate 66 (particularly see FIG. 8) that extend vertically downward from the lower end surface of the base plate 36, and bridges the first side plate 64 and the second side plate 66. The bottom plate 68 is provided with a first rotation drive motor 70 and a second rotation drive motor 72 as the rotation drive means.

  As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the first rotation drive motor 70 is installed on the bottom plate 68 so that the rotation shaft 74a thereof faces vertically upward. A transmission shaft 76a extending vertically upward is connected to the rotation shaft 74a via a coupler 78a. The transmission shaft 76a is positioned and fixed to the base plate 36 through the casing 80a.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 which is an enlarged view of a main part thereof, the insertion hole 82a is formed in the base 36 along the vertical direction from the lower end surface to the upper end surface. Further, a recess 84a is formed in a recessed manner near the upper end surface side opening of the base 36 in the insertion hole 82a.

  On the other hand, an annular protrusion 86a is formed in the vicinity of the upper end of the casing 80a. Accordingly, the casing 80a is passed through the fitting insertion hole 82a and is positioned and fixed to the base plate 36 by fitting the annular projecting portion 86a into the concave portion 84a. At this time, the upper end surface of the base 36 and the upper end surface of the annular protrusion 86a are flush with each other.

  As shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 9, the transmission shaft 76a includes an equal diameter portion 88a, a slightly larger diameter large diameter portion 90a, an insertion portion 92a having substantially the same diameter as the equal diameter portion 88a, and the insertion portion. A support portion 94a protruding from the end face of 92a and provided with a thread portion 93a on the side wall thereof. The upper end portion of the large diameter portion 90a is slightly exposed from the annular projecting portion 86a of the casing 80a.

  The insertion portion 92a supports a roller body 98a that constitutes the first fixed roller 32a. That is, the flange member 96a is formed with a fitting hole 100a having a diameter corresponding to the diameter of the insertion portion 92a, while the roller body 98a has a fitting hole 102a having a diameter corresponding to the diameter of the support portion 94a. It is formed through. As the insertion portion 92a and the support portion 94a are fitted in the fitting holes 100a and 102a, the first fixed roller 32a is supported by the tip end portion of the transmission shaft 76a. The lower end surface of the flange member 96a is slightly separated from the upper end surface of the large diameter portion 90a.

  The flange member 96a is disposed at the lower end of the roller body 98a. On the other hand, a substantially ring-shaped torus 104a is disposed at the upper end of the roller body 98a. From the flange member 96a to the toric body 104a, the four connecting bolts 106a are tightened, whereby the flange member 96a is firmly connected to the roller body 98a.

  At the upper end surface of the flange portion and the lower end surface of the annular body 104a, annular stepped portions 108a and 109a having diameters corresponding to the diameters of the lower end surface and the upper end surface of the roller main body 98a are formed to be recessed. Therefore, the lower end surface and the upper end surface of the roller body 98a are fitted in the annular step portions 108a and 109a.

  As can be understood from the above, the roller body 98a is firmly sandwiched between the flange member 96a and the annular body 104a.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 9, the roller main body 98a has a tapered diameter from the upper bottom facing the annular body 104a to the lower bottom facing the flange member 96a. For this reason, the longitudinal cross section of the roller body 98a has a substantially inverted truncated cone shape.

  The retaining nut 110a is screwed into the threaded portion 93a of the support portion 94a projecting from the fitting hole 102a of the roller body 98a with the first stationary roller 32a configured as described above, whereby the first stationary roller 32a is fixed. The roller 32a is prevented from coming off from the transmission shaft 76a.

  Of course, the bearing 112a is interposed between the transmission shaft 76a and the casing 80a.

  The remaining second rotation drive motor 72 and the second fixed roller 32b are also configured in the same manner as the first rotation drive motor 70 and the first fixed roller 32a described above. Therefore, the same components as those described above are used. In the above, a subscript “a” is substituted for “b” and a detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The connecting rod 60 that connects the first moving table 56 and the second moving table 58 passes through a clearance between the first rotary drive motor 70 and the second rotary drive motor 72, as shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 10, which is a cross-sectional view taken along line XX in FIG. 6, FIG. 7, and FIG. 5, the second moving table 58 rotates to follow the rotating operation of the movable roller 32c. A driven motor 114 having a shaft 74c is installed. Further, on the upper end surface of the second moving table 58, a support block 122 including two leg portions 116 and 118 (see FIG. 10) and a top plate portion 120 bridged by both the leg portions 116 and 118 is provided. Is fixed. A casing 80c surrounding the transmission shaft 76b connected to the rotating shaft 74c of the driven motor 114 via the coupler 78c is installed on the top plate portion 120 therein.

  From the driven motor 114 to the movable roller 32c, except for the shape of the casing 80c, the first rotary drive motor 70 and the first fixed roller 32a are reached, and the second rotary drive motor 72 and the second fixed roller 32b. It is configured in the same way as before. Accordingly, the same components as those described above are denoted by c instead of the suffixes a and b of the reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted.

  In the casing 80c surrounding the transmission shaft 76c, an annular projecting portion 86c is formed at a substantially middle portion in the height direction. The annular protrusion 86c has a larger diameter than the support hole 124 formed through the top plate portion 120 of the support block 122. Therefore, when the casing 80c is passed through the support hole 124 from above. The annular projecting portion 86 c is blocked by the top plate portion 120. As a result, the casing 80c is prevented from coming off from the top plate portion 120.

  The insertion hole 82c formed in the base plate 36 along the vertical direction for passing the casing 80c is larger in diameter than the outer diameter of the casing 80c and has a long hole shape (see FIGS. 4 to 6). ). Therefore, the movable roller 32c can be easily displaced along the longitudinal direction of the insertion hole 82c. Further, during this displacement, the casing 80c does not slidably contact the inner wall of the fitting insertion hole 82c.

  Similarly to the first fixed roller 32a and the second fixed roller 32b, the movable roller 32c also has a roller main body 98c whose diameter decreases in a tapered shape from the upper side to the lower side, and is sandwiched between the flange member 96c and the torus 104c. (See FIGS. 9 and 10). Therefore, the detailed description is abbreviate | omitted.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the openings of the fitting insertion holes 82 a to 82 c are covered with a single protective plate 126 on the upper end surface of the base 36. The protective plate 126 shields the annular protrusions 86a and 86b of the casings 80a and 80b.

  A long hole 128 for sensors (see FIGS. 4 and 5) is formed in the upper end surface of the base 36 along the longitudinal direction thereof. The long hole 128 for the sensor extends from a substantially middle part in the longitudinal direction of the base 36 to between the fitting insertion holes 82a and 82b. In other words, the sensor slot 128 is interposed between the insertion holes 82a and 82b.

  The light emitting sensor 130 and the light receiving sensor 132 are positioned and fixed at the bottom of the sensor long hole 128 while being separated from each other. The light emitting unit of the light emitting sensor 130 and the light receiving unit of the light receiving sensor 132 are opposed to each other with the metal belt 12 spanned between the first fixed roller 32a, the second fixed roller 32b, and the movable roller 32c. That is, the light emitting part of the light emitting sensor 130 faces the outer peripheral side end face 24 of the metal belt 12, and the light receiving part of the light receiving sensor 132 faces the inner peripheral side end face 20 of the metal belt 12.

  A support board (not shown) is provided in the vicinity of the base 36, and a known YZ table (not shown) is supported on the support board. Further, the YZ table supports the first camera 134 and the second camera 136 shown in FIG. That is, the first camera 134 and the second camera 136 can be moved / stopped to arbitrary positions by moving / stopping each table constituting the YZ table. The first camera 134 and the second camera 136 function as inspection means.

  In the above configuration, the screw motor 38, the first rotation drive motor 70, the second rotation drive motor 72, and the driven motor 114 are electrically connected to a control circuit (control means) (not shown).

  The inspection apparatus 30 according to the present embodiment is basically configured as described above. Next, the function and effect will be described in relation to the operation of the inspection apparatus 30.

  First, a plurality of endless metal rings 18 are produced by cutting out from a cylindrical workpiece. These metal rings 18 are corrected to a predetermined peripheral length by a peripheral length correcting device as described in Japanese Patent No. 3830894 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-22990. At the same time, a crowning may be formed on the metal ring 18.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the metal belts 12 are configured by sequentially laminating the metal rings 18 having different circumferential lengths (inner diameters) obtained as described above. The metal belt 12 is placed on the protective plate 126 so that the first fixed roller 32a, the second fixed roller 32b, and the movable roller 32c are positioned on the inner peripheral side thereof. At this time, the light emitting sensor 130 faces the outer peripheral side end face 24 of the metal belt 12, and the light receiving sensor 132 faces the inner peripheral side end face 20 of the metal belt 12. Therefore, the two side end surfaces 22a and 22b of the metal belt 12 face either vertically downward or vertically upward, respectively. In the following, a case where the side end face 22a faces vertically downward and the side end face 22b faces vertically upward will be described as an example.

  Next, under the control action of the control circuit, a screw motor 38 (see FIGS. 6 and 7) constituting the ball screw mechanism 34 is driven. Accordingly, the shaft 40 is rotationally driven, and the nut 44 screwed into the shaft 40 is displaced along the shaft 40 in the direction of arrow C in FIG.

  As described above, the nut 44 is connected to the first moving table 56, and the first moving table 56 is connected to the second moving table 58 via the connecting rod 60. Therefore, following the displacement of the nut 44, the first moving table 56 and the second moving table 58 are displaced in the direction of the arrow C. Of course, at this time, the first moving table 56 and the second moving table 58 are guided to the first guide rail 42 and the second guide rail 43 via the first to fourth sliders 48, 50, 52, 54.

  As the second moving table 58 is displaced in the direction of arrow C, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the movable roller 32c supported by the second moving table 58 via the support block 122 and the casing 80c. Is displaced in the direction of arrow C (direction intersecting the center line of the first fixed roller 32a and the second fixed roller 32b). The side wall of the roller main body 98 c of the movable roller 32 c that is displaced comes into contact with the inner peripheral wall of the innermost metal ring 18 that constitutes the metal belt 12. For this reason, the metal belt 12 moves while receiving pressure from the movable roller 32c.

  When the metal belt 12 is moved by a predetermined distance, the first fixed roller 32a and the second fixed roller 32a are separated from the portion of the inner wall of the metal belt 12 that is separated by about 60 ° from the portion in contact with the roller body 98c and the portion that is separated by about 120 °. It contacts the side walls of the roller bodies 98a and 98b of the fixed roller 32b. Since the first fixed roller 32a and the second fixed roller 32b are positioned and fixed and are not displaced, when the movable roller 32c is further displaced, the metal belt 12 is pulled and is tensioned. That is, the metal belt 12 is stretched over the first fixed roller 32a, the second fixed roller 32b, and the movable roller 32c in a tensioned state.

  The tension of the metal belt 12 stretched around the first fixed roller 32a, the second fixed roller 32b, and the movable roller 32c is constantly measured by a load cell (not shown). When this tension reaches a predetermined value preset in the control circuit, the screw motor 38 is stopped under the control action of the control circuit, and accordingly the movable roller 32c is stopped. At this time, the metal belt 12 has a substantially isosceles triangular shape (see FIG. 4). An encoder is mounted on the screw motor 38, and the encoder measures the circumferential length of the metal belt 12 at this time.

  Next, the first rotation drive motor 70 and the second rotation drive motor 72 are driven simultaneously, whereby the first fixed roller 32a and the second fixed roller 32b are driven to rotate. Of course, the rotation direction and the number of rotations of the first fixed roller 32a and the second fixed roller 32b are set to be the same.

  Since the metal belt 12 is stretched around the rollers 32a to 32c, the metal belt 12 starts rotating around as the first fixed roller 32a and the second fixed roller 32b are driven to rotate. Accordingly, the movable roller 32c also rotates.

  As the rollers 32a to 32c rotate, the metal belt 12 descends toward the flange members 96a to 96c while sliding along the side walls of the roller bodies 98a to 98c. This is because the roller main bodies 98a to 98c are reduced in diameter into a taper shape toward the flange members 96a to 96c. Accordingly, the lower side end surfaces 22a of the metal rings 18 constituting the metal belt 12 are seated on the upper end surfaces of the flange members 96a to 96c and press against the flange members 96a to 96c.

  As described above, the movable roller 32c rotates following the rotating operation of the metal belt 12, so that the initial rotation speed (circumferential speed) at which the rotating operation is started is the first fixed roller 32a and the second fixed roller 32b. It is lower than the rotation speed (circumferential speed). That is, at this time, the metal belt 12 is in a state of being pressed against the movable roller 32c while sliding. In such a state, the rotating speed of the metal belt 12 is not stable.

  Therefore, the control circuit constantly detects the peripheral speeds of the first rotary drive motor 70, the second rotary drive motor 72, and the driven motor 114, and consequently the peripheral speeds of the rollers 32a to 32c. When the peripheral speeds of the three rollers 32a to 32c become constant, it is determined that the slip of the metal belt 12 with respect to the movable roller 32c has been eliminated and the peripheral speed of the metal belt 12 has become constant.

  During this time, the light emitting sensor 130 and the light receiving sensor 132 measure the width-direction dimension (the distance from the lowermost portion to the uppermost portion of each innermost to outermost metal ring 18) of the rotating metal belt 12. The width direction dimension of the metal belt 12 becomes constant after all of the side end surfaces 22a of the metal rings 18 are seated on the flange members 96a to 96c. In other words, it changes until all of the side end faces 22a of the metal rings 18 are seated on the flange members 96a to 96c. Therefore, when the width direction dimension of the metal belt 12 measured by the light emitting sensor 130 and the light receiving sensor 132 becomes substantially constant, the control circuit causes all of the side end surfaces 22a of the metal rings 18 to be flange members 96a to 96c. Judging that he was seated in Thereby, it is determined that the positions of the side end faces 22a and 22b of the metal rings 18 are aligned.

  After the above determination is made, the side end face 22b of the metal belt 12 is inspected to see if there are any scratches. For this inspection, the first camera 134 disposed at the approximate center of the center line of the first fixed roller 32a and the second fixed roller 32b is used. Of course, when the first camera 134 is arranged, each table of the YZ table is appropriately moved.

  Thereafter, for example, image processing is performed according to a flow similar to that of Patent Document 1. Alternatively, other known inspection methods may be performed.

  According to the present embodiment, as described above, the positions of the side end faces 22a and 22b of the metal rings 18 are aligned. This is because the side end surfaces 22a of the metal rings 18 are seated on the flange members 96a to 96c of the rollers 32a to 32c by rotating the rollers 32a to 32c. For this reason, the metal belt 12 is stretched over the rollers 32a to 32c in a state of being parallel to the horizontal direction.

  As a result, unevenness is formed on the side end faces 22a and 22b of the metal belt 12, and it is avoided that the metal belt 12 is stretched around the rollers 32a to 32c in an inclined state. Therefore, when an image obtained by the first camera 134 is processed, a clear image that is not out of focus is obtained. Accordingly, accurate information on whether or not the side end face 22b is flawed, in other words, an inspection result can be obtained, so that the inspection accuracy is improved.

  After this inspection is completed, the control circuit stops the rotating operation of the metal belt 12 by stopping the first rotation drive motor 70 and the second rotation drive motor 72, and further loosens the metal belt 12. Control.

  Specifically, the screw motor 38 is driven to rotate the shaft 40 in the direction opposite to the above, thereby displacing the nut 44 in the direction of arrow D shown in FIGS. Following this displacement, the first moving table 56 and the second moving table 58 are displaced in the direction of arrow D, and the movable roller 32c supported by the second moving table 58 is displaced in the direction of arrow D. .

  This displacement is performed based on the circumference of the metal belt 12 obtained by the encoder mounted on the screw motor 38 until the metal belt 12 becomes a perfect circle. In other words, the movable roller 32c is stopped at a position where the metal belt 12 relaxes and becomes a perfect circle. At this time, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the metal belt 12 is placed on the upper surfaces of the flange members 96a to 96c of the first fixed roller 32a, the second fixed roller 32b, and the movable roller 32c. In other words, the lowermost portion of the metal belt 12 is in contact with the upper surfaces of the flange members 96a to 96c.

  In this state, the first rotation drive motor 70 and the second rotation drive motor 72 are re-driven under the control action of the control circuit. That is, the first fixed roller 32a, the second fixed roller 32b, and the movable roller 32c resume the rotation operation.

  When only one of the first fixed roller 32a and the second fixed roller 32b is provided with a rotational drive means, the metal belt 12 may slip and become a so-called idle state. Since the first fixed roller 32a and the second fixed roller 32b are provided with the first rotation drive motor 70 and the second rotation drive motor 72, respectively, the first fixed roller 32a and the second fixed roller 32b are separately rotated. It is possible to make it. Accordingly, since a frictional force that transmits a sufficient torque to the metal belt 12 is obtained, the metal belt 12 can be rotated.

  Next, each table of the YZ table is appropriately moved so that the second camera 136 faces the side end surface 22b of the metal belt 12 and faces each other. The second camera 136 inspects whether or not there is a gap between the adjacent metal rings 18 and 18 on the side end face 22b and whether or not the metal ring 18 is bent. .

  That is, also in this case, light is irradiated toward the side end face 22b, and the second end face 136b is imaged by the second camera 136. Based on the information obtained by performing image processing on the imaged data, whether there is a gap between the metal rings 18, 18, whether there is a bend in the metal ring 18, etc. Is determined.

  As described above, the metal belt 12 has already been relaxed. That is, since the metal ring 18 is not tensed and thus is not elastically deformed, the inspection can be performed in a state in which the gap and the bend are not stretched and disappeared. For this reason, gaps and bends can be easily found. The metal belt 12 determined as “there is a gap or bend exceeding the allowable range” is removed as a defective product.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, since the relaxed metal belt 12 is rotated, if there are gaps or bends, the gaps or bends can be reliably detected. There are advantages.

  When the above-described inspection is performed on the side end surface 22a, the side end surface 22b is vertically lowered and the side end surface 22a is vertically above the rollers 32a to 32b to perform the same operation as described above. That's fine.

  In the above-described embodiment, the case where the metal belt 12 in which the plurality of metal rings 18 are stacked is inspected for the presence or absence of gaps or bends has been described as an example. The inspection may be performed. Even in this case, since the side end face 22a (22b) of the metal ring 18 is placed on the flange members 96a to 96c of the rollers 32a to 32c as described above, the metal ring 18 is prevented from being inclined. Therefore, it is possible to avoid the occurrence of an unclear portion in the image processing result due to the inclination.

  Further, although three rollers, that is, the first fixed roller 32a, the second fixed roller 32b, and the movable roller 32c are used as the rollers, only two of the fixed roller and the movable roller may be used.

  Furthermore, you may make it provide a rotational drive means in all the 1st fixed roller 32a, the 2nd fixed roller 32b, and the movable roller 32c.

  Furthermore, the first fixed roller 32a, the second fixed roller 32b, and the movable roller 32c are not limited to the members having the flange members 96a to 96c different from the roller main bodies 98a to 98c, as shown in FIG. The roller main body 140 and the flange portion 142 may be a roller 144 integrally formed as the same member.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Drive belt 12 ... Metal belt 14 ... Element 18 ... Metal ring 22a, 22b ... Side end surface 30 ... Inspection apparatus 32a ... 1st fixed roller 32b ... 2nd fixed roller 32c ... Movable roller 34 ... Ball screw mechanism 38 ... Screw Motor 56 ... first moving table 58 ... second moving table 70 ... first rotation drive motor 72 ... second rotation drive motor 76a-76c ... transmission shaft 96a-96c ... flange member 98a-98c ... roller body 104a-104c ... Torus 110a-110c ... Retaining nut 114 ... Follower motor 130 ... Light emitting sensor 132 ... Light receiving sensor 134 ... First camera 136 ... Second camera 140 ... Roller body 142 ... Flange 144 ... Roller

Claims (4)

Side end surface of a single metal ring, or a side end surface for inspecting a side end surface along the stacking direction of the metal rings in a metal belt configured by sequentially stacking another metal ring on the outer periphery of the metal ring Inspection equipment,
The foundation,
A plurality of rollers disposed on the base and over which the metal ring or the metal belt is stretched;
A distance adjusting means capable of adjusting a distance between at least two of the plurality of rollers;
Rotation driving means provided on at least one of the plurality of rollers for rotating the metal ring or the metal belt;
Inspection means for inspecting whether or not there is an abnormality on one side end surface of the metal ring or the metal belt that makes a circular motion;
With
A flange portion on which the other side end surface of the metal ring or the metal belt is seated is provided on at least one of the upper end portion and the lower end portion of the plurality of rollers.
Whether the inspection means has an abnormality in the one side end surface of the metal ring or the metal belt in a state where the other side end surface is seated on the flange portion and is relaxed until it becomes a perfect circle shape. A side end face inspection device characterized by inspecting whether or not.   2. The inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of rollers includes two rollers that are positioned and fixed, and one roller that is displaceable in a direction intersecting a center line of the two rollers. A side end surface inspection apparatus comprising three rollers.   3. The side end face inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least two of the plurality of rollers are rotated by separate rotation driving means.   In the inspection device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, when detecting the width direction dimension of the metal ring or the metal belt and recognizing that the detected width direction dimension is constant. The side end face inspection device is characterized in that it is determined that the other side end face of the metal ring or the metal belt is seated on the flange portion.

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