JP2021173509A - Carrier device and method for controlling the same - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a carrier device capable of detecting foreign matters intruded in billets, and a method for controlling the same.SOLUTION: The outer shapes of billets 3 lined up in front-back directions along a carrier direction x are acquired by an outer shape acquisition mechanism such as a camera, edges 10a of the rear end of a billet 3a on the front side and of the front end of a billet 3b on the rear side are detected based on the outer shapes, a distance D between the two edges 10a in the carrier direction x is measured, and, when the distance is a predetermined threshold or higher, it is determined that a foreign matter is present, and when the distance D is lower than the threshold, it is determined that a foreign matter is not present.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 3

Description

The present invention relates to a transfer device for supplying billets to an induction heating furnace and a control method thereof, and more particularly to a transfer device capable of detecting foreign matter mixed in the billet and a control method thereof.

Various transfer devices for supplying billets to an induction heating furnace have been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The transport device described in Patent Document 1 includes a conveyor that supplies billets to an induction heating furnace that is on the front side with the axial direction of the rod-shaped billet as the transport direction, and a conveyor that delivers the billets from a position on the rear side and above the conveyor. It has a chute part to be conveyed to.

Foreign matter such as bolts and billet scraps may be mixed in a plurality of billets that are continuously transported by the transport device.

Bolts, which are foreign substances, differ greatly in shape from billets. Therefore, the magnetic flux passing through the billet inside the induction heating furnace is in a state different from the initial assumption. There was a problem that the magnetic flux was concentrated on the end of the billet and was overheated. The partially overheated billet was discarded due to deterioration in product quality.

Also, bolts are often a different type of metal than billets. In the forging process after the induction heating furnace, bolts, which are foreign substances, were supplied to the forging die, causing a problem that the die was damaged.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 58-107419

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a transport device capable of detecting a foreign substance mixed in a billet and a control method thereof.

The transport device for achieving the above object is a transport device for transporting the billet to an induction heating furnace on the front side with the axial direction of the rod-shaped billet as the transport direction. Based on the outer shape acquired by the outer shape acquisition mechanism, the outer shape acquisition mechanism that acquires the outer shape detects the edges of the rear end of the billet on the front side and the front end of the billet on the rear side, and detects the edges of the two edges. A measuring mechanism that measures the interval in the transport direction, and a determination mechanism that determines that there is foreign matter when the interval obtained by this measuring mechanism is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value and determines that there is no foreign matter when the interval is smaller than the threshold value. It is characterized by having.

The control method of the transport device for achieving the above object is the control method of the transport device for transporting the billet to the induction heating furnace on the front side with the axial direction of the rod-shaped billet as the transport direction, along the transport direction. The outer shape of the billets arranged in the front-rear direction is acquired by the outer shape acquisition mechanism, and the edges of the rear end of the billet on the front side and the front end of the billet on the rear side are detected based on this outer shape, respectively, in the transport direction. The distance between the two edges is measured, and when the distance is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value, it is determined that there is a foreign matter, and when the distance is smaller than the threshold value, it is determined that there is no foreign matter.

According to the present invention, the transport device can measure the distance between a plurality of billets that are continuously transported in the transport direction. As a result, the transport device can detect whether or not a foreign substance is caught between the billets.

It is explanatory drawing which illustrates the transport device in the side view. It is explanatory drawing which illustrates the transport device of FIG. 1 in a plan view. It is explanatory drawing which illustrates the state at the time of detecting the edge of a billet. It is explanatory drawing which illustrates the state of the foreign matter sandwiched between billets. It is explanatory drawing which illustrates the modification of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which illustrates the arrangement position of the outer shape acquisition mechanism with respect to a billet.

Hereinafter, the transport device and its control method will be described based on the embodiment shown in the figure. In the figure, the transport direction of the billet is indicated by an arrow x, the width direction crossing the transport direction at a right angle is indicated by an arrow y, and the vertical direction is indicated by an arrow z.

As illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the transfer device 1 is connected to an induction heating furnace 2 and has a configuration in which a rod-shaped billet 3 is supplied to the induction heating furnace 2. The billet 3 is formed in a cylindrical shape or a prismatic shape, for example. The billet 3 is transported with its axial direction as the transport direction x. In FIG. 1, for the sake of explanation, the direction in which the billet 3 moves is indicated by a white arrow.

The conveyor 1 has a conveyor 4 arranged on the rear side (left side in FIG. 1) of the induction heating furnace 2 in the transport direction x. The conveyor 4 is arranged in a horizontal state, and the conveyor 4 is conveyed in a horizontal state in the axial direction of the billet 3. The conveyor 4 is composed of, for example, a chain conveyor. The configuration of the conveyor 4 is not limited to the chain conveyor. The billet 3 may be configured to be able to be conveyed in the axial direction thereof, and may be configured by, for example, a belt conveyor. A pair of pinch rollers 5 arranged so as to sandwich the billet 3 from the vertical direction z are arranged on the front side (right side in FIG. 1) of the conveyor 4. The billet 3 is sequentially pushed into the induction heating furnace 2 by the pinch roller 5.

The conveyor 1 has a chute portion 6 that is inclined downward from the rear side toward the rear end portion of the conveyor 4. The chute portion 6 is arranged at a position on the rear side of the conveyor 4 and on the upper side. The chute portion 6 is arranged in a state of being inclined downward to the front side. The chute portion 6 is composed of, for example, a skid rail made of a pair of rod-shaped members extending in the transport direction x and arranged at intervals in the width direction y. The billet 3 slides and moves while the vicinity of the lower end is sandwiched between the pair of rod-shaped members. The configuration of the chute portion 6 is not limited to the skid rail. The billet 3 may be configured to be able to be conveyed in the axial direction, and the chute portion 6 may be formed of, for example, a V-shaped or U-shaped member that is widened upward. A skid rail can be similarly arranged between the conveyor 4 and the induction heating furnace 2.

The transport device 1 has an outer shape acquisition mechanism 7 that acquires the outer shapes of a plurality of billets 3 that are transported in a state of being lined up along the transport direction x. In this embodiment, the outer shape acquisition mechanism 7 is arranged at a position between the pinch roller 5 and the induction heating furnace 2. The outer shape acquisition mechanism 7 can be configured by, for example, a camera that acquires the outer shape of the billet 3 as an image.

The camera constituting the external shape acquisition mechanism 7 has a configuration for photographing the rear end of the billet 3 on the front side and the front end of the billet 3 on the rear side. That is, the camera photographs the end portions of the billets 3 that are continuously transported. The camera has a configuration in which images are acquired at predetermined time intervals. The camera may be configured to detect the approach of the billet 3 and acquire an image. In the present specification, the front side and the rear side are defined with reference to the direction in which the billet 3 advances in the transport direction x. For example, in FIG. 1, the right side is the front side and the left side is the rear side.

The outer shape acquisition mechanism 7 may be composed of a laser sensor. This laser sensor has, for example, a transmitting unit and a receiving unit that are opposed to each other at intervals in the width direction y, and has a configuration for acquiring the outer shape of a billet 3 that passes between the transmitting unit and the receiving unit. ing. The laser sensor may have a configuration in which the shape of the billet 3 is acquired as image information from the numerical value obtained by the measurement. For example, the transmitting unit may have a configuration for irradiating a band-shaped laser beam having a width in the transport direction x, the width direction y, or the vertical direction z.

The configuration of the external shape acquisition mechanism 7 is not limited to the above-mentioned camera and laser sensor. The outer shape acquisition mechanism 7 may have a configuration capable of acquiring at least a part of the outer shape of the billet 3.

The transport device 1 has a measurement mechanism 8 connected to the outer shape acquisition mechanism 7 by a signal line, and a determination mechanism 9 connected to the measurement mechanism 8 by a signal line. In FIGS. 1 and 2, the signal line is indicated by a chain double-dashed line for the sake of explanation. The signal line may be configured by wire or may be configured wirelessly.

The measuring mechanism 8 acquires an image or shape of the end portion of the billet 3 from the outer shape acquisition mechanism 7 of a camera or the like. The measuring mechanism 8 has a configuration for detecting the edge 10 at the end of the billet 3 based on the image taken by the camera or the shape acquired by the laser sensor. The end portion of the billet 3 means the front end or the rear end of the billet 3 in the transport direction x. The measuring mechanism 8 uses the detected edge 10 to measure the length of the gap between the billets 3 arranged in the front-rear direction.

The determination mechanism 9 has a configuration in which the length of the gap between the billets 3 is acquired from the measurement mechanism 8. The determination mechanism 9 determines whether or not a foreign substance is caught between the billets 3 according to the length of the gap.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, when the bolt 11a is sandwiched between the billets 3 as a foreign matter 11, the length of the gap between the billets 3 becomes large. When the camera constituting the external shape acquisition mechanism 7 has a configuration for acquiring an image from the side of the billet 3, the camera acquires the image shown in the lower part of FIG. The side of the billet 3 is a direction orthogonal to the transport direction x. In this embodiment, the camera acquires an image while looking through in the width direction y. That is, the camera is set so that the optical axis direction of the camera is parallel to the width direction y.

The measuring mechanism 8 acquires an image taken by the camera. The measuring mechanism 8 detects the edge 10 of the billet 3 by image processing. The rear end of the billet 3a on the front side and the front end of the billet 3b on the rear side are detected as edges 10a. The edge 10a extends in the vertical direction z. The measuring mechanism 8 may be configured to selectively detect only the edge 10a extending in the vertical direction z. In FIG. 3, the edge 10a in the vertical direction z, which is detected for explanation, is shaded.

When the size of the foreign matter 11 in the vertical direction z is smaller than that of the billet 3, the edge 10a can be detected with high accuracy. Foreign matter 11 can be detected with high accuracy.

When a pair of edges 10a arranged in the transport direction x is detected, the measuring mechanism 8 measures the interval D of the pair of edges 10 in the transport direction x. The size of this interval D is calculated based on the image. A value indicating the magnitude of the interval D is sent from the measuring mechanism 8 to the determination mechanism 9.

The determination mechanism 9 acquires a value indicating the magnitude of the interval D from the measurement mechanism 8. The determination mechanism 9 compares the value of the interval D with a predetermined threshold value. This threshold value is predetermined and is stored in, for example, the determination mechanism 9. The threshold value is set to, for example, a value of 5.0 mm or less. The threshold value can be set to, for example, 1.0 mm. The threshold value can be appropriately set according to the assumed size of the foreign matter 11.

The determination mechanism 9 determines that there is a foreign substance when the value of the interval D is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value, and determines that there is no foreign substance when the value of the interval D is smaller than the threshold value.

When there is a foreign matter 11, for example, it is possible to control the transfer device 1 to stop the transfer of the billet 3. Further, control may be performed to remove the foreign matter 11 from the transport device 1. The transport device 1 may be configured to issue an alarm to notify the operator of the presence of the foreign matter 11.

The transport device 1 can detect the foreign matter 11 existing between the plurality of billets 3 that are continuously transported in the axial direction. The transport device 1 can avoid the problem that the billet 3 is partially overheated due to the influence of the foreign matter 11. It is advantageous to maintain a good heating state of the billet 3.

Further, it is advantageous to avoid an accident such as a foreign matter 11 such as a bolt 11a being sent to the forging process to damage the forging die.

When the value of the interval D is smaller than the threshold value, the determination mechanism 9 determines that there is no foreign matter. The edge 10a may not be detected because there is no foreign matter 11 and the billets 3 are in close contact with each other in the transport direction x. If the edge 10a is not detected, it is assumed that there is no foreign matter, and the transfer by the transfer device 1 may be continued.

It may be configured to detect the edge 10b at the upper end of the billet 3 as an auxiliary. The edge 10b is an edge 10b extending in the transport direction x, and is basically orthogonal to the edge 10a extending in the vertical direction z. Therefore, by detecting the upper end edge 10b together, it is possible to verify whether or not the edge 10a extending in the vertical direction z can be correctly detected. It becomes easy to avoid that the erroneous portion is detected as the edge 10a in the vertical direction z. In FIG. 3, the edge 10b is shaded for explanation.

When the outer shape acquisition mechanism 7 is configured to irradiate a laser beam that is wide in the vertical direction z, the upper end edge 10b can be detected in addition to the edge 10a.

The position where the external shape acquisition mechanism 7 is installed is not limited to the above. The outer shape acquisition mechanism 7 can be installed at any position in the middle of the route where the billet 3 is conveyed. For example, the outer shape acquisition mechanism 7 may be installed in the middle of the chute portion 6 or the conveyor 4, or on the rear side of the pinch roller 5.

It is desirable to install the outer shape acquisition mechanism 7 at a position on the front side of the chute portion 6. As illustrated above in FIG. 4, the billet 3 may be formed short in the axial direction to form a scrap 3c. The offcut 3c may be sandwiched between the billets 3 as a foreign matter 11. By passing through the chute portion 6, the end timber 3c tends to fall in the direction of lowering its height, as illustrated in the lower part of FIG. When the scrap 3c falls over, the measuring mechanism 8 can easily detect the edge 10 of the billets 3a and 3b. Not only the scrap 3c but also the foreign matter 11 slides through the chute portion 6 and tends to be smaller than the billet 3 in the vertical direction z. It is advantageous for improving the accuracy when detecting the foreign matter 11. However, the configuration in which the outer shape acquisition mechanism 7 is installed on the rear side of the chute portion 6 is not excluded.

The outer shape acquisition mechanism 7 may have a configuration in which the outer shape is acquired from above or below the billet 3. At this time, the camera or the like constituting the outer shape acquisition mechanism 7 acquires an image while looking through in the vertical direction z. The camera is set so that the optical axis direction is parallel to the vertical direction z.

In this embodiment, the image illustrated above in FIG. 5 is acquired by the external shape acquisition mechanism 7 such as a camera. The measuring mechanism 8 detects the edge 10c extending in the width direction y of the billet 3 by image processing. In FIG. 5, the edge 10c in the width direction y detected is shaded for explanation. When the size of the foreign matter 11 in the width direction y is smaller than that of the billet 3, the edge 10c can be detected with high accuracy. As illustrated in the lower part of FIG. 5, the foreign matter 11 can be detected even if the size of the foreign matter 11 in the vertical direction z is about the same as that of the billet 3.

Similar to the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3, the edge 10d extending in the transport direction x of the billet 3 may be additionally detected. In FIG. 5, the edge 10d is shaded for explanation. By detecting the edge 10d extending in the transport direction x together with the edge 10c, it is possible to verify whether the edge 10c extending in the width direction y can be detected correctly. It is advantageous for improving the detection accuracy of the foreign matter 11.

When the outer shape acquisition mechanism 7 is composed of a laser sensor, the transmitting unit and the receiving unit are opposed to each other with a distance in the vertical direction z. When the outer shape acquisition mechanism 7 is configured to irradiate a laser beam that becomes wider in the width direction y, the upper end edge 10d can be detected in addition to the edge 10c.

The transport device 1 may be configured to include both an outer shape acquisition mechanism 7 for acquiring an image or the like on the side of the billet 3 and an outer shape acquisition mechanism 7 for acquiring an image or the like on the upper side. It is advantageous for improving the detection accuracy of the foreign matter 11.

The camera or the like constituting the external shape acquisition mechanism 7 is not limited to a configuration in which the optical axis direction is parallel to the width direction y or the vertical direction z. As illustrated in FIG. 6, the outer shape acquisition mechanism 7 may be installed in a state in which the direction tilted upward by an angle θ from the width direction y with the transport direction x as the central axis is the optical axis direction. In FIG. 6, for the sake of explanation, the outer shape acquisition mechanism 7 in which the optical axis direction is the width direction y and the vertical direction z is indicated by a broken line, and the optical axis direction of the outer shape acquisition mechanism 7 is indicated by an arrow.

1 Conveyor 2 Induction heating furnace 3 Billet 3a (front side) Billet 3b (rear side) billet 3c Scrap 4 Conveyor 5 Pinch roller 6 Shoot part 7 External shape acquisition mechanism 8 Measuring mechanism 9 Judgment mechanism 10 Edge 10a (up and down) Edge 10b (extending) Edge 10b (upper end) Edge 10c (extending in the width direction) Edge 10d (extending in the transport direction) Edge 11 Foreign matter 11a Bolt x Transport direction y Width direction z Vertical direction D Interval

Claims (6)

In a transport device for transporting the billet to an induction heating furnace on the front side with the axial direction of the rod-shaped billet as the transport direction.
An outer shape acquisition mechanism that acquires the outer shape of the billets arranged in the front-rear direction along the transport direction, and a rear end of the billet on the front side and a front end of the billet on the rear side based on the outer shape acquired by the outer shape acquisition mechanism. A measuring mechanism that detects each edge and measures the distance between the two edges in the transport direction, and when the distance obtained by this measuring mechanism is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value, it is determined that there is a foreign substance and the distance is the threshold value. A transport device including a determination mechanism for determining that there is no foreign matter when the size is smaller. The transport device according to claim 1, wherein the measuring mechanism has a configuration for detecting an edge extending in the vertical direction at an axial end of the billet. The transport device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the determination mechanism has a configuration for determining that there is no foreign matter when the interval cannot be obtained from the measurement mechanism. A pinch roller that sandwiches the billet and sends it forward from a direction orthogonal to the transport direction is arranged on the rear side of the induction heating furnace, and the outer shape is acquired at a position between the pinch roller and the induction heating furnace. The transfer device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 in which a mechanism is arranged. The transport device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the measuring mechanism has a configuration for detecting the edge extending in the width direction crossing the transport direction at a right angle at the end of the billet. In the control method of the transport device for transporting the billet to the induction heating furnace on the front side with the axial direction of the rod-shaped billet as the transport direction,
The outer shape of the billets arranged in the front-rear direction along the transport direction is acquired by the outer shape acquisition mechanism, and the edges of the rear end of the billet on the front side and the front end of the billet on the rear side are detected based on this outer shape. The feature is that the distance between the two edges in the transport direction is measured, and when the distance is equal to or greater than a predetermined threshold value, it is determined that there is foreign matter, and when the distance is smaller than the threshold value, it is determined that there is no foreign matter. Control method of the transport device.

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