JP2024050461A - Belt and belt status information acquisition system - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To provide a belt with improved durability of sensing function during belt running by improving durability of RFID equipped in the belt. [Solution] A raw edge cogged V-belt 1 is laminated with a compression layer 11, a core layer 12 including a core 121 embedded in a spiral shape, a tension layer 13, and an upper canvas 14, and is equipped with a passive RFID tag 15 having an IC chip 151 equipped with a temperature sensor 151A for measuring the internal temperature of the raw edge cogged V-belt 1 and a memory 151C capable of storing the measured temperature data, and an antenna 153, the IC chip 151 is connected to a resonant antenna 152, the antenna 153 has a booster antenna 153A capable of transmitting and receiving temperature data to an RFID reader/writer 4, and a loop antenna 153B capable of wirelessly connecting to the resonant antenna 152 by electromagnetic coupling, and the IC chip 151 and the resonant antenna 152 are covered with a protective layer 154. [Selected Figure] Figure 3

Description

The present invention relates to a belt equipped with a function for detecting the belt condition, and a system for acquiring belt condition information.

As disclosed in Patent Document 1, power transmission belts are widely used as power transmission belts for general industrial use, precision equipment, etc., due to their excellent appearance and low wear debris generation. Such power transmission belts are wound around pulleys under tension, and transmit power between the pulleys by running the power transmission belt between the pulleys as the pulleys rotate.

As described above, when the transmission belt runs between the pulleys, it is subjected to various external and internal pressures (external and internal forces), such as the tension applied to the transmission belt itself, the driving force received from the rotational drive of the pulleys, and the force that causes the transmission belt to deform into a curved shape as it runs around the outer periphery of the pulleys. If the transmission belt continues to be used under such external and internal pressures, it will deteriorate due to the pressure on the transmission belt, the rise in internal temperature associated with the pressure, and even frictional heat, and will need to be replaced.

In this regard, the external and internal pressures that the transmission belt receives change if the belt deteriorates or becomes damaged over time as it is used. For example, deterioration or damage to the transmission belt can weaken the tension applied to the transmission belt itself, weaken the driving force it receives from the rotational drive of the pulley, or change the force applied to the transmission belt when it runs around the outer periphery of the pulley. Furthermore, when the external and internal pressures that the transmission belt receives change, the internal temperature of the transmission belt also changes.

Therefore, it may be possible to introduce a system that detects and observes the condition of belts, such as the pressure and temperature on transmission belts and conveyor belts, to understand the condition of the belts and determine when they should be replaced.

For example, Patent Document 2 discloses a belt equipped with a sensor that detects the belt state and an RFID that transmits the detection results to the outside, and the belt is equipped with a sensor that detects the belt state and a passive RFID tag that has an IC chip and an antenna and transmits belt state information detected by the sensor to the outside.

The RFID tag can have a variety of structures, but as a practical example, the RFID tag shown in Figure 8 is used. Specifically, the antenna is made of a single twisted copper wire, and a thin aluminum film (aluminum electrode) is used for the part where the IC chip is mounted. This copper twisted wire and the thin aluminum film on which the IC chip is mounted are connected via a connecting conductive wire (solid copper wire), resulting in an antenna structure. In this antenna structure, each connection part of the connecting conductive wire (red circle in Figure 8) is joined with solder.

JP 2018-109443 A JP 2020-118297 A

When a power transmission belt runs around a pulley, the belt undergoes a series of continuous bending deformations and releases before and after wrapping around the pulley. More specifically, when the belt is bent (curved) around the pulley, bending stress is generated due to the bending deformation.
In this case, since the wire is bent around the center, the bending stress is generated in the form of tensile stress due to elongation deformation on the outer periphery side of the wire, and compressive stress due to compression deformation on the inner periphery side of the wire, causing distortion. Then, as the wire moves away from the pulley as it travels, the distortion is released.
That is, while the belt is running, the distorted state (curved shape) and the relaxed state (flat shape) are repeated.

The deformation stress caused by this series of movements (bending and releasing) is also transmitted to the RFID tag embedded in the belt, making weak parts of the RFID tag prone to damage due to stress and fatigue caused by repeated deformation stress (hereinafter referred to as flexural fatigue).
In the structure of the RFID tag described above, the solder joints and the IC chip mounting area are particularly vulnerable to bending fatigue, and these areas are subject to early damage and breakage due to bending fatigue, which can result in insufficient durability of the sensing function when the belt is running.

Therefore, the present invention aims to improve the durability of the RFID tag attached to the belt and thereby improve the durability of the sensing function while the belt is running.

The present invention provides a belt having a laminate including a back layer disposed on a back side and a core layer having a core,
A sensor provided on the laminate for detecting a state of the belt;
an IC chip provided on the laminate capable of storing information regarding the state of the belt detected by the sensor, and an RFID having an antenna;
The IC chip includes:
A resonant antenna is provided.
The antenna is
a booster antenna capable of transmitting and receiving information regarding the state of the belt to and from an external device;
a loop antenna that can be wirelessly connected to the resonant antenna by electromagnetic coupling;
The IC chip, together with the resonant antenna, is characterized in that it is covered with a protective material using an elastic material.

According to the above configuration, the booster antenna of the antenna and the resonant antenna of the IC chip are wirelessly connected by electromagnetic coupling, so that the antenna and the IC chip are not physically connected (no connection via a connecting conductive wire (solid copper wire) is required).
This makes it possible to eliminate the need for a physical connection (soldered joint) between the antenna and the IC chip, which is vulnerable to bending fatigue, and improves the durability of the RFID tag attached to the belt.
Furthermore, by eliminating the need to physically connect the antenna and the IC chip, the antenna and the IC chip can be disposed independently and separately.
This allows the placement of the antenna and IC chip to be appropriately selected depending on the usage environment.
In addition, since the IC chip and the resonant antenna are covered with a protective material made of an elastic material, the protective material deforms in response to the bending deformation of the belt, thereby protecting the IC chip and the resonant antenna.

In addition, in the belt of the present invention, the antenna may be formed of a single conductive wire.

According to the above-mentioned configuration, since the antenna is formed of a single conductive wire, the antenna can be arranged in a plane within the laminate of the belt without being arranged on a substrate (base).
Furthermore, since the conductive wire has flexibility, it can deform to follow the bending deformation of the belt, thereby improving the durability of the antenna.

In addition, in the belt of the present invention, the protective material may cover only the IC chip and the resonant antenna.

According to the above-mentioned configuration, it is possible to protect the IC chip and the resonant antenna, which are particularly vulnerable to bending fatigue.
Furthermore, by covering only the IC chip and the resonant antenna with the protective material, they can be handled as a single component, thereby improving handleability in the process of placing the IC chip and the resonant antenna on the belt during belt manufacture.

In addition, in the belt of the present invention, the protective material may cover the IC chip, the resonant antenna, and the loop antenna.

According to the above-mentioned configuration, it is possible to protect the IC chip and the resonant antenna, which are particularly vulnerable to bending fatigue.
Furthermore, since the resonance antenna and the loop antenna are integrally covered with the protective material, the relative positional relationship between the resonance antenna and the loop antenna can be fixed in advance, and the electromagnetic coupling can be stabilized.
This improves ease of handling in the process of disposing the IC chip and antenna on the belt during belt manufacture.

Further, the present invention provides the above-mentioned belt, wherein the antenna and the IC chip are provided on the back layer,
the antenna is disposed on the rear surface side of the IC chip,
The IC chip may be disposed between the antenna and the core body.

According to the above-mentioned configuration, since the antenna is provided on the rear side of the IC chip and the core body, it is possible to improve the sensitivity of transmission and reception of information regarding the state of the belt to the outside.
In addition, when the belt is bent, a tensile stress acts on the area on the back side of the core, and the stress is greater on the back side and smaller on the side closer to the core. In other words, the side closer to the core is less susceptible to bending fatigue.
Therefore, the IC chip, which is more fragile than the antenna, is placed closer to the core body where tensile stress is less likely to act, while the antenna, which is more durable than the IC chip, is placed on the back side of the IC chip, prioritizing the sensitivity of transmission and reception with the outside.
This makes it possible to improve both the flex fatigue resistance (durability of the sensing function) and the communication performance of the belt equipped with the RFID.

In addition, in the belt of the present invention, the loop antenna and the resonant antenna may be positioned so as not to overlap in the thickness direction of the belt.

The above configuration can improve the sensitivity of transmission and reception (communication performance) with the outside world.

The present invention also provides a belt status information acquisition system having the above-mentioned belt and a reader that transmits and receives information about the belt status between the RFID booster antenna and the belt status information acquisition system.

The above configuration makes it possible to build a system that can stably transmit and receive information about the belt's condition between a belt equipped with an RFID with improved durability and a reader.

By improving the durability of the RFID tag attached to the belt, the durability of the sensing function while the belt is running can be improved.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a raw-edge cogged V-belt and a temperature data acquisition system for the raw-edge cogged V-belt according to the present embodiment. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the raw edge cogged V-belt according to the present embodiment taken along line AA. 1A is a photograph of a passive RFID tag according to the embodiment, FIG. 1B is a top view of the passive RFID tag according to the embodiment, and FIG. 1C is a side view of the passive RFID tag according to the embodiment. 1A and 1B are explanatory diagrams showing a modification of the distance between the loop antenna and the resonant antenna of the antenna; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a raw edge cogged V-belt according to another embodiment. 1 is an explanatory diagram of the positional relationship with respect to the antenna when the IC chip and the resonant antenna are covered with a protective layer and treated as one component. 11 is a graph showing measurement results of received signal strength RSSI values when the separation distance between the loop antenna and the resonant antenna is changed. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of a passive RFID tag according to a comparative example (conventional example).

(Embodiment)
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A belt and a belt status information acquisition system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(Raw Edge Cogged V-Belt 1 Temperature Data Acquisition System 100)
As shown in FIG. 1, the temperature data acquisition system 100 (corresponding to a belt status information acquisition system) of the present embodiment can measure the internal temperature of the raw-edge cogged V-belt 1 by using the raw-edge cogged V-belt 1 (with a passive RFID tag 15 built in) wound between a drive pulley 2 and a driven pulley 3, and an RFID reader/writer 4.

In this embodiment, a raw edge cogged V-belt 1 will be described as an example of a belt.
The raw edge cogged V-belt 1 is a type of V-belt, and is used in a power transmission mechanism (system) such as an engine accessory drive system by being wrapped around, for example, a drive pulley 2 and a driven pulley 3 (see FIG. 1).
The raw edge cogged V-belt 1 is endless and has a plurality of cogs 1A on its inner peripheral surface to facilitate bending. As shown in the cross-sectional view of the raw edge cogged V-belt 1 in the width direction of FIG. 2, the raw edge cogged V-belt 1 has a V-shaped side surface with a predetermined inclination angle, including the cog 1A portion.

In this embodiment, a raw edge cogged V-belt 1 is used as an example, but the belt may be, for example, a raw edge V-belt, a wrapped V-belt, a V-ribbed belt, a flat belt, or a toothed belt.

(Configuration of Raw Edge Cogged V-Belt 1)
As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the raw-edge cogged V-belt 1 is a laminate in which, from the inner side to the back side of the raw-edge cogged V-belt 1, a compression layer 11, a core layer 12 (corresponding to a core layer) containing a core wire 121 embedded in a spiral shape along the circumferential direction of the raw-edge cogged V-belt 1, a tension layer 13 (corresponding to one of the back layers), and an upper canvas 14 (corresponding to one of the back layers) in which four sheets of rubber-backed canvas are layered are laminated. In the upper canvas 14, a passive RFID tag 15 (corresponding to an RFID) is embedded in the center of the width of the raw-edge cogged V-belt 1 between the first and second rubber-backed canvas from the inner side, with its long side running along the circumferential direction of the raw-edge cogged V-belt 1.

As shown in FIG. 2, the cross section of the raw edge cogged V-belt 1 in the width direction is a V-shaped cross section, and the left and right V-shaped side surfaces of the V-shaped cross section form friction transmission surfaces that come into contact with the inner wall surfaces of the V-grooves provided in the driving pulley 2 and the driven pulley 3.

(Compressed layer 11)
Examples of the rubber component of the rubber composition forming the compression layer 11 include vulcanizable or crosslinkable rubbers, such as diene rubbers (natural rubber, isoprene rubber, butadiene rubber, chloroprene rubber, styrene-butadiene rubber (SBR), acrylonitrile butadiene rubber (nitrile rubber), hydrogenated nitrile rubber, etc.), ethylene-α-olefin elastomers, chlorosulfonated polyethylene rubbers, alkylated chlorosulfonated polyethylene rubbers, epichlorohydrin rubbers, acrylic rubbers, silicone rubbers, urethane rubbers, and fluororubbers. These rubber components may be used alone or in combination of two or more. Preferred rubber components are ethylene-α-olefin elastomers (ethylene-α-olefin rubbers such as ethylene-propylene copolymers (EPM) and ethylene-propylene-diene terpolymers (EPDM)) and chloroprene rubber. Particularly preferred rubber components are ethylene-α-olefin elastomers that are superior in durability to chloroprene rubber and do not contain halogens. Examples of diene monomers in EPDM include dicyclopentadiene, methylenenorbornene, ethylidenenorbornene, 1,4-hexadiene, and cyclooctadiene.

The rubber composition forming the compression layer 11 may further contain, as necessary, reinforcing materials such as carbon black, silica, and short fibers that are usually compounded in rubber, fillers such as calcium carbonate and talc, crosslinking agents such as sulfur and organic peroxides, co-crosslinking agents such as N,N'-m-phenylenedimaleimide and quinone dioximes, vulcanization accelerators, plasticizers, stabilizers, processing aids, colorants, and the like. Examples of short fibers that can be used include cotton, polyester (PET, PEN, etc.), nylon (nylon 6, nylon 66, nylon 46, etc.), aramid (p-aramid, m-aramid), vinylon, and polyparaphenylene benzobisoxazole (PBO) fibers. These short fibers can be used alone or in combination of two or more.

(Tension layer 13)
The tension layer 13 may be formed from the same rubber composition as that forming the compression layer 11 .

(Core layer 12)
In the core layer 12, the cores 121 are embedded in a rubber composition in a spiral shape along the circumferential direction of the raw-edge cogged V-belt 1. From the viewpoint of adhesion to the cores 121 and stress relaxation applied to the cores 121, the rubber composition constituting the core layer 12 is preferably formulated with a higher emphasis on adhesion and stress resistance than the rubber compositions of the compression layer 11 and the tension layer 13. As a result, the cores 121 embedded in a spiral shape are arranged at a predetermined interval in the width direction in a cross-sectional view of the raw-edge cogged V-belt 1 in the width direction (see FIG. 2).

The fibers constituting the core wire 121 are, from the viewpoint of high modulus, polyester fibers (polyalkylene arylate fibers, polyethylene terephthalate fibers, polyethylene naphthalate fibers, etc.) whose main constituent unit is C2-4 alkylene arylate such as ethylene terephthalate or ethylene-2,6-naphthalate, synthetic fibers such as aramid fibers, and inorganic fibers such as carbon fibers, with polyester fibers and aramid fibers being preferred. These fibers may be multifilament yarns. The fineness of the multifilament yarns may be 2000 to 10,000 denier, and preferably 4000 to 8000 denier.

The core wire 121 is often a twisted cord (multi-filament twist, single twist, Lang twist, etc.) made of multifilament yarn, and the average wire diameter of the core wire 121 (fiber diameter of the twisted cord) should be 0.5 to 3 mm, preferably 0.6 to 2 mm, and more preferably 0.7 to 1.5 mm.

In this embodiment, a single continuous core wire 121 is spirally wound around the circumferential direction of the raw-edge cogged V-belt 1 and embedded therein, but multiple bundled core wires 121 may also be spirally wound around the circumferential direction of the raw-edge cogged V-belt 1 and embedded therein.

(Top canvas 14)
The upper canvas 14 is constructed by laminating four sheets of rubber-tipped canvas. The rubber-tipped canvas is, for example, made of cotton, polyester fiber, nylon, etc., and is woven in a plain weave, twill weave, satin weave, etc., and is formed by rubbing the same rubber composition as that forming the compression layer 11 into the woven fabric with a wide crossing angle between the warp and weft threads of about 90° to 120° by friction processing.

(Passive RFID tag 15)
As shown in FIG. 3, the passive RFID tag 15 includes an IC chip 151 having a temperature sensor 151A (not shown), a control circuit 151B (not shown), and a memory 151C (not shown), a resonant antenna 152 to which the IC chip 151 is mounted (connected), and an antenna 153 having a booster antenna 153A and a loop antenna 153B that can be wirelessly connected to the resonant antenna 152 by electromagnetic coupling.
In this embodiment, the IC chip 151, the resonant antenna 152 and the loop antenna 153B are integrally covered with a protective layer 154 made of an elastic material (protective material).

(IC chip 151)
The IC chip 151 can write (store) temperature data (temperature, ID, etc.: equivalent to information on the belt condition) inside the raw edge cogged V-belt 1 measured by the temperature sensor 151A in the memory 151C. The IC chip 151 also has a function of converting the temperature data written in the memory 151C into a signal and transmitting it. That is, in this embodiment, the IC chip 151 also has a temperature sensor function.

The resonant antenna 152 is made of a conductive metal thin film (such as an aluminum thin film) formed by paste printing, sputtering, resist, etc., which allows for good mounting of the IC chip 151. The IC chip 151 is mounted on the metal thin film, which serves as an electrode, as shown in FIG. 3.

(Antenna 153)
As shown in FIG. 3, the antenna 153 is a dipole antenna formed by a meander-line shaped booster antenna 153A made by bending a twisted copper wire (conductive linear material) into a crank shape, and a loop antenna 153B in a loop shape.
The booster antenna 153A has a bilaterally symmetrical shape in which meander-line shaped twisted copper wires extend from the loop antenna 153B to one side and the other side in the extension direction.
The loop antenna 153B is disposed in the center of the antenna 153, and is a part that is electromagnetically coupled with the resonant antenna 152, and has a loop shape to strengthen the electromagnetic coupling. Note that the loop of the loop antenna 153B may be a single turn or multiple turns depending on the specifications.
In this manner, the antenna 153 does not have any weak parts by eliminating the connection parts with other members.

The conductive linear material constituting the antenna 153 is preferably a conductive linear material such as a metal thin film or metal wire, conductive fiber with a metal coating, composite conductive fiber made of insulating fiber and conductive fiber such as metal wire or metal foil, or a woven fabric containing at least one of these fibers. In this embodiment, the twisted copper wire constituting the antenna 153 is fluorine-treated (Teflon (registered trademark)-supported).

As described above, since the antenna 153 is formed from a single copper twisted wire (conductive wire), the antenna 153 can be arranged on a plane within the laminate of the raw-edge cogged V-belt 1 without being arranged on a substrate (base).
Furthermore, since the twisted copper wire has flexibility, it can deform to follow the bending deformation of the raw-edge cogged V-belt 1, and therefore the durability of the antenna 153 can be improved.

(Protective Layer 154)
The protective layer 154 uses silicone rubber (KE45T manufactured by Shin-Etsu Chemical Co., Ltd., one-liquid condensation type RTV rubber, hardness (type A) 30, elongation at break 350%, tensile strength 2.0 MPa) as a protective material.
Specifically, silicone rubber was applied to the surface of the resonant antenna 152 mounted with the IC chip 151 to provide an insulating layer with a thickness of 0.1 mm. Furthermore, the entire resonant antenna 152 mounted with the IC chip 151 and provided with this insulating layer, and the loop antenna 153B of the antenna 153 were integrally covered with the same protective material, silicone rubber, to form a protective layer 154 (see FIG. 3).

Here, regarding the positional relationship of the loop antenna 153B with respect to the resonance antenna 152, as shown in FIG. 3C, the upper surface of the resonance antenna 152 and the lower surface of the loop antenna 153B are disposed with a separation distance D1 of 0.1 mm in the belt thickness direction.
3B, the loop antenna 153B and the resonant antenna 152 are preferably not overlapped in the belt thickness direction. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 4B(b) or (d), the loop antenna 153B and the resonant antenna 152 are preferably in contact with each other when viewed from the belt thickness direction.
According to the above configuration, it is possible to improve the transmission/reception sensitivity (communication performance) between the RFID reader/writer 4 and the passive RFID tag 15 (antenna 153).

In this embodiment, the protective layer 154 covers the resonant antenna 152 mounted with the IC chip 151 and the loop antenna 153B, thereby protecting the IC chip 151 and the resonant antenna 152, which are particularly vulnerable to bending fatigue.
Furthermore, since the resonant antenna 152 and the loop antenna 153B are integrally covered by the protective layer 154, the relative positional relationship between the resonant antenna 152 and the loop antenna 153B can be fixed in advance, and the electromagnetic coupling between the resonant antenna 152 and the loop antenna 153B can be stabilized.
This improves ease of handling in the process of arranging the resonant antenna 152 and antenna 153, each having an IC chip 151 mounted thereon, on the raw-edge cogged V-belt 1 during manufacture of the raw-edge cogged V-belt 1.

According to the raw edge cogged V-belt 1 equipped with the above-mentioned passive RFID tag 15, the booster antenna 153A of the antenna 153 and the resonant antenna 152 equipped with the IC chip 151 are wirelessly connected by electromagnetic coupling, so that the antenna 153 and the IC chip 151 can be configured not to be physically connected to each other.
This makes it possible to eliminate the physical connection (solder joint) between the antenna 153 and the IC chip 151, which is vulnerable to bending fatigue, and improves the durability of the passive RFID tag 15 provided on the raw edge cogged V-belt 1.
Furthermore, by eliminating the need to physically connect the antenna 153 and the IC chip 151, the antenna 153 and the IC chip 151 can be disposed independently and separately.
This allows the placement of the antenna 153 and IC chip 151 to be appropriately selected depending on the usage environment.
In addition, since the IC chip 151 and the resonant antenna 152 are covered with a protective layer 154 made of an elastic material, the protective layer 154 deforms in response to the bending deformation of the raw-edge cogged V-belt 1, thereby protecting the IC chip 151 and the resonant antenna 152.

(RFID reader/writer 4)
The RFID reader/writer 4 (corresponding to a reader) may be, for example, a portable tablet. As shown in FIG. 1, the RFID reader/writer 4 has an antenna (not shown) that transmits radio signals to the passive RFID tag 15 (booster antenna 153A) provided on the low-edge cogged V-belt 1 and receives temperature data (corresponding to information on the belt state) transmitted from the passive RFID tag 15 (booster antenna 153A). After receiving the temperature data, the RFID reader/writer 4 can store, analyze, and display the analysis results by program control. For example, UHF radio waves (frequency band: 860 to 960 MHz) are used for communication between the RFID reader/writer 4 and the passive RFID tag 15, but frequencies in the LF band, HF band, and 2.4 GHz band may also be used.

In addition, in the program-controlled analysis, not only is the internal temperature data of the low-edge cogged V-belt 1 output, but the observed temperature data transmitted from the passive RFID tag 15 is compared with reference temperature data obtained in advance by analyzing actual measurement data to analyze the degree of deterioration of the low-edge cogged V-belt 1, and the presence or absence of replacement of the low-edge cogged V-belt 1, the replacement timing, and other abnormalities can be displayed on a display screen of the RFID reader/writer 4, etc.

(Method of transmitting and receiving data between the RFID reader/writer 4 and the passive RFID tag 15)
Next, communication between the RFID reader/writer 4 and the passive RFID tag 15 will be described.
First, the RFID reader/writer 4 (see FIG. 1) transmits electromagnetic waves (for example, UHF band waves, frequency band: 860 to 960 MHz) to the raw-edge cogged V-belt 1 equipped with the passive RFID tag 15 .
Then, the electromagnetic waves transmitted from the RFID reader/writer 4 are received by the booster antenna 153A.
Then, a current flows to the loop antenna 153B via the booster antenna 153A due to electromagnetic induction caused by the received electromagnetic waves, and a current flows to the resonant antenna 152 from the loop antenna 153B due to electromagnetic induction.
This causes power to be supplied to the IC chip 151 mounted on the resonant antenna 152. Then, the temperature data (temperature, identification ID, etc.) measured by the temperature sensor 151A and stored in the memory 151C of the IC chip 151 is converted into a signal.
The signalized temperature data is then transmitted from the resonant antenna 152 to the loop antenna 153B by electromagnetic induction, and further transmitted from the booster antenna 153A to the RFID reader/writer 4.

Continuing to use the raw-edge cogged V-belt 1 under various external and internal pressures can cause the internal temperature to rise due to pressure, or the internal temperature of the raw-edge cogged V-belt 1 to rise due to the effects of frictional heat, or distortion of the raw-edge cogged V-belt 1. Therefore, as described above, the temperature sensor 151A provided in the IC chip 151 detects and observes the internal temperature of the raw-edge cogged V-belt 1 (belt status information), and transmits the observed internal temperature to the outside (RFID reader/writer 4), making it possible to grasp deterioration or damage to the raw-edge cogged V-belt 1.

The above-mentioned temperature data acquisition system 100 for the raw-edge cogged V-belt 1 makes it possible to construct a system capable of stably transmitting and receiving temperature data between the raw-edge cogged V-belt 1 equipped with a passive RFID tag 15 with improved durability and the RFID reader/writer 4.

Other embodiments
In the above embodiment, the protective layer 154 covers the resonant antenna 152 having the IC chip 151 mounted thereon and the loop antenna 153B, but the protective layer 154 may be configured to cover only the resonant antenna 152 having the IC chip 151 mounted thereon, without covering the loop antenna 153B.

This allows the IC chip 151 and the resonant antenna 152, covered with the protective layer 154, to be handled as a single component, improving ease of handling during the process of placing the IC chip 151 and the resonant antenna 152 when manufacturing the raw edge cogged V-belt.

In addition, since the IC chip 151 and the resonant antenna 152 can be treated as a single component, the relative positional relationship between the loop antenna 153B of the antenna 153 and the resonant antenna 152 can be changed in the belt thickness direction and horizontal direction when manufacturing the raw-edge cogged V-belt (see FIG. 6). Therefore, a layout that is advantageous for communication can be selected depending on the usage environment of the raw-edge cogged V-belt. For example, the respective placement locations of the antenna 153 (loop antenna 153B) and the resonant antenna 152 equipped with the IC chip 151 can be appropriately selected based on the interlayers of the constituent materials of the raw-edge cogged V-belt (see FIG. 6).

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, an antenna 153 and a resonant antenna 152 equipped with an IC chip 151 can be separately arranged between two sheets of rubberized canvas between the layers of upper canvas 14, which is made up of four sheets of rubberized canvas stacked on the back side of the raw-edge cogged V-belt 201.

In the above-mentioned raw edge cogged V-belt 201, the antenna 153 and the resonant antenna 152 mounting the IC chip 151 are provided on the upper canvas 14 (back layer). The antenna 153 is disposed on the back side of the resonant antenna 152 mounting the IC chip 151. The resonant antenna 152 mounting the IC chip 151 is disposed between the antenna 153 and the core wire 121.

With the above configuration, the antenna 153 is located on the rear side of the resonant antenna 152 mounting the IC chip 151 and the core wire 121, improving the sensitivity of transmission and reception of temperature data to and from the RFID reader/writer 4.

In addition, when the raw-edge cogged V-belt 1 is bent and deformed, a tensile stress acts on the area on the back side of the core wire 121, and the stress is larger toward the back side and smaller toward the side closer to the core wire 121. In other words, the side closer to the core wire 121 is less susceptible to bending fatigue.
Therefore, the IC chip 151, which is more fragile than the antenna 153, is placed closer to the core wire 121 where tensile stress is less likely to act, while the antenna 153, which is more durable than the IC chip 151, is placed on the rear side of the IC chip 151, prioritizing the sensitivity of transmission and reception with the RFID reader/writer 4.
This makes it possible to improve both the flex fatigue resistance (durability of the sensing function) and the communication performance of the raw edge cogged V-belt 201 equipped with the passive RFID tag 15.

In the above embodiment, the temperature sensor 151A was described as an example of a sensor that detects the state (temperature) of the raw-edge cogged V-belt 1, but it may also be a pressure sensor that measures the internal pressure of the raw-edge cogged V-belt 1 (corresponding to the state of the belt) or a strain sensor that detects the strain of the raw-edge cogged V-belt 1 (corresponding to the state of the belt).

(Evaluation of communication performance and distance (horizontal direction) between loop antenna 153B and resonant antenna 152)
Regarding the positional relationship between the loop antenna 153B and the resonant antenna 152 in the passive RFID tag 15 placed on the low-edge cogged V-belt 1, the position of the IC chip 151 mounted (connected) on the resonant antenna 152 was set as the origin, the separation distance D1 in the belt thickness direction (see FIG. 6) was kept constant at 0.1 mm, and the horizontal separation distance D2 (see FIG. 4(A)) was changed. Communication performance was evaluated for the passive RFID tag 15.

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 4(A), the RFID reader/writer 4 (handheld receiver (AT-R2000-J1 manufactured by ATID)) was placed 300 mm (-300 mm) away from the IC chip 151 to which the resonant antenna 152 was connected, on the opposite side to the loop antenna 153B, and the received signal strength RSSI was measured by the RFID reader/writer 4 (the higher the RSSI, the better the communication performance).

As shown in FIG. 4B (c), when the side of the resonant antenna 152 facing the RFID reader/writer 4 (specifically, the position of the mounted IC chip 151) and the side of the loop antenna 153B facing the RFID reader/writer 4 are in a positional relationship where they overlap in the belt thickness direction, the horizontal separation distance D2 is set to 0. The separation distance D2 when the loop antenna 153B moves away from the RFID reader/writer 4 in the horizontal direction based on the position where the horizontal separation distance D2 is 0 is set to a positive value (see FIG. 4B (d) and (e)), while the separation distance D2 when the loop antenna 153B moves closer to the RFID reader/writer 4 in the horizontal direction based on the position where the horizontal separation distance D2 is 0 is set to a negative value (see FIG. 4B (a) and (b)).

FIG. 7 shows the measurement results of the received signal strength RSSI value when the separation distance D2 between the loop antenna 153B and the resonant antenna 152 is changed.
As shown in FIG. 7, RSSI was detected and communication was possible when the separation distance D2 was in the range of -15 mm or more and -4 mm or less, and in the range of +2 mm or more and +10 mm or less.
In addition, when the separation distance D2 was −5 mm (FIG. 4B (b)) and when the separation distance D2 was +5 mm (FIG. 4B (d)), the RSSI value was the highest and the communication performance was good.
In other words, it has been found that when the loop antenna 153B and the resonant antenna 152 are positioned so as not to overlap in the belt thickness direction, and when viewed from the belt thickness direction, the edge of the loop antenna 153B and the edge of the resonant antenna 152 are in contact with each other, it is possible to improve the transmission and reception sensitivity (communication performance) between the RFID reader/writer 4 and the passive RFID tag 15.

(Evaluation of communication performance and the distance (in the belt thickness direction) between the loop antenna 153B and the resonant antenna 152)
Regarding the positional relationship between the loop antenna 153B and the resonant antenna 152 in the passive RFID tag 15 placed on the low-edge cogged V-belt 1, the position of the IC chip 151 mounted (connected) on the resonant antenna 152 was set as the origin, the horizontal separation distance D2 was kept constant at 5 mm, and the separation distance D1 in the belt thickness direction was changed, and communication performance was evaluated for the passive RFID tag 15. The measurement results of the received signal strength RSSI value when the separation distance D1 in the belt thickness direction between the loop antenna 153B and the resonant antenna 152 was changed are shown in Table 1 below.
As shown in FIG. 6 , the separation distance D1 between the loop antenna 153B and the resonant antenna 152 in the belt thickness direction is the linear distance from the underside of the loop antenna 153B to the resonant antenna 152 (more specifically, the position of the mounted IC chip 151), and the separation distance D1 when the resonant antenna 152 moves downward in the vertical direction (belt thickness direction) from 153B is a positive value.

RSSI was detected and communication was possible for all distances D1 between 0.1 and 0.5 mm. Furthermore, when the distance D1 was 0.1 mm, the RSSI value was highest and communication performance was good.

(An endurance test)
Next, a running test was carried out using a raw-edge cogged V-belt 1 (Example) equipped with the passive RFID tag 15 of the above embodiment and a raw-edge cogged V-belt (Comparative Example) equipped with a conventional passive RFID tag.

(Example Raw Edge Cogged V-Belt)
The raw edge cogged V-belt 1 of the embodiment has a width of 22.3 mm on the back side, a belt thickness of 11.4 mm, and a length along the circumferential direction of 1550 mm. As shown in Fig. 2, the raw edge cogged V-belt 1 is configured as a laminate in which, from the inner side to the back side of the raw edge cogged V-belt 1, a compression layer 11, a core layer 12 including a core 121 embedded in a spiral shape along the circumferential direction of the raw edge cogged V-belt 1, a tension layer 13, and an upper canvas 14 in which four rubber-attached canvases are layered, are laminated in this order, and a passive RFID tag 15 is embedded in the upper canvas 14 in the center of the width of the raw edge cogged V-belt 1 between the first rubber-attached canvas and the second rubber-attached canvas from the inner side. As shown in FIG. 3, in the passive RFID tag 15, the positional relationship between the loop antenna 153B of the antenna 153 and the resonant antenna 152 is such that the separation distance D1 in the belt thickness direction is 0.1 mm and the separation distance D2 in the horizontal direction is 5 mm.

Table 2 shows the composition of the compressed rubber constituting the compressed layer 11, the composition of the tension rubber constituting the tension layer 13, and the composition of the adhesive rubber constituting the core layer 12 of the raw edge cogged V-belt 1 according to the embodiment.

CR (chloroprene rubber): "PM-40" manufactured by DENKA Corporation
Aramid staple fiber: "Twaron (registered trademark)" manufactured by Teijin Limited, modulus 88 cN, fineness 2.2 dtex, fiber length 3 mm
Naphthenic oil: "DIANA (registered trademark) Process Oil NS-90S" manufactured by Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd.
Silica: Evonik Japan Co., Ltd., "ULTRASIL (registered trademark) VN3", BET specific surface area 175 m2/g
Carbon black HAF: "Seat (registered trademark) 3" manufactured by Tokai Carbon Co., Ltd.
Anti-aging agent: "Nocrac (registered trademark) AD-F" manufactured by Ouchi Shinko Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.
Vulcanization accelerator TT: "Noccela (registered trademark) TT" manufactured by Ouchi Shinko Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.

(Top canvas 14)
For the upper canvas 14, a rubber-coated canvas was used, which was formed by immersing a plain weave canvas made of spun cotton yarn in RFL liquid, heat-treating the canvas at 150°C for 2 minutes, and then rubbing in the adhesive rubber composition shown in Table 2 above into a friction process.

(Core wire)
The core wire 121 was a cord of 6,000 denier in total, made by plying 1,000 denier polyethylene terephthalate (PET) fibers in a 2×3 twist configuration with a top twist coefficient of 3.0 and a bottom twist coefficient of 3.0, and then adhesively treated.

(Passive RFID tag 15)
In the passive RFID tag 117, silicone rubber is applied to the surface of the resonant antenna 152 on which the IC chip 151 is mounted, to provide an insulating layer having a thickness of 0.1 mm. Furthermore, the entire resonant antenna 152 on which the IC chip 151 is mounted and the loop antenna 153B of the antenna 153 on which the insulating layer is provided are integrally covered with the same protective material, silicone rubber, to form a protective layer 154 (see FIG. 3). The antenna 153 does not have a base. The IC chip 151 is an IC chip equipped with a temperature sensor 151A, that is, the passive RFID tag 15 is integrated with the temperature sensor 151A. The antenna 153 is made of copper twisted wire, and the diameter of the copper twisted wire is 0.51 mm (0.18 mm x 7 twists), and Teflon (registered trademark) particles are supported on the surface. The size of the passive RFID tag 15 is 100 mm x 10 mm. The passive RFID tag 15 is embedded in the upper canvas 14 in the central part in the width direction of the raw-edge cogged V-belt 1 between the first and second rubber-backed canvas from the inner side, with its long side aligned along the circumferential direction of the raw-edge cogged V-belt 1.

(Manufacturing method of raw edge cogged V-belt of the embodiment)
The rubber compositions for forming the compression layer 11, the tension layer 13, and the core layer 12 were kneaded in a Banbury mixer with the composition shown in Table 2, and the resulting kneaded rubber was passed through a calendar roll to roll out unvulcanized rubber sheets (compression layer sheet, tension layer sheet, core layer sheet). The short fibers were adhesively treated with RFL liquid and had a solid adhesion rate of 6% by mass. In addition, a sheet-shaped cog pad was produced by molding a cog shape into a compression layer sheet (unvulcanized rubber) of a predetermined thickness.
Furthermore, four pieces of rubber-backed canvas were produced by friction-treating a woven fabric made of cotton, polyester fiber, nylon, etc., woven in a plain weave, twill weave, satin weave, etc., with the warp and weft threads at a wide crossing angle of approximately 90° to 120°, using the same rubber composition as that forming the compression layer 11.

Next, a cylindrical mold with alternating convex and concave portions corresponding to the cog shape was used, and a previously prepared cog pad was wrapped around the outer periphery so that it fitted into the cog shape, and a core wire sheet (unvulcanized rubber) was then wrapped around the outer periphery. The core wire 121 was spun in a spiral shape around the outer periphery, and a stretch layer sheet was then wrapped around the outer periphery. A sheet of rubber-backed canvas was then wrapped around the outer periphery, and a passive RFID tag 15 was attached to a specified position on the outer periphery. Three sheets of rubber-backed canvas were then wrapped around the outer periphery to produce a molded body.

Then, with the jacket placed on the outer periphery of the belt, the mold with the molded body attached was placed in a vulcanizer and vulcanized at 170°C for 40 minutes to produce a vulcanized belt sleeve. This sleeve was cut into a V shape with a cutter to produce a raw edge cogged V-belt 1 (size: back side width 22.3 mm, belt thickness 11.4 mm, belt circumference 1550 mm) with a passive RFID tag 15 embedded in the upper canvas 14.

(Comparative example raw edge cogged V-belt)
The raw-edge cogged V-belt of the comparative example has a configuration in which the passive type RFID tag 15 embedded in the raw-edge cogged V-belt 1 of the embodiment is replaced with a conventional passive type RFID tag.
Specifically, as shown in Fig. 8, the conventional passive RFID tag according to the comparative example has an antenna structure in which the antenna is formed from a single stranded copper wire, an aluminum thin film (electrode) is used for the portion where the IC chip is mounted, and the antenna formed from this stranded copper wire and the aluminum thin film (electrode) on which the IC chip is mounted are connected via a connecting conductive wire (solid copper wire). In this antenna structure, the respective connecting portions (circled portions of the dashed line in Fig. 8) are joined with solder.
The other configurations of the raw-edge cogged V-belt of the comparative example are similar to those of the raw-edge cogged V-belt 1 of the embodiment.

(Monitoring the internal temperature while the belt is running)
A running test was conducted using the raw edge cogged V-belt 1 of the embodiment and the raw edge cogged V-belt of the comparative example to confirm the running durability (temperature sensor function time). As a running test device, a test device was used in which the raw edge cogged V-belt 1 of the embodiment or the raw edge cogged V-belt of the comparative example was stretched between a φ150 mm driving pulley and a φ150 mm driven pulley.

During the running test, the internal temperature signals of each raw-edge cogged V-belt were detected by an IC chip (temperature sensor) in a passive RFID tag embedded in each raw-edge cogged V-belt, and received by a handheld receiver (ATID, AT-R2000-J1) and output to a personal computer to monitor the temperature changes. The running test results for the examples and comparative examples are shown in Table 3.

(Test 1)
The raw edge cogged V-belts of the examples and comparative examples were used as test specimens, and were run with a drive pulley shaft load of 50 kgf, a rotation speed of 2000 rpm, and an ambient temperature of 25° C. The sensor function was continued for 120 minutes, while checking every 10 minutes whether the internal temperature could be detected.
In the raw edge cogged V-belt 1 of the embodiment, the passive RFID tag 15 was not broken even after 120 minutes had passed, and the internal temperature could be detected (the sensor function was maintained).
On the other hand, in the case of the comparative raw edge cogged V-belt, the internal temperature could no longer be detected after 30 minutes had elapsed (the sensor function was lost).

(Test 2)
The raw edge cogged V-belts of the examples and comparative examples were used as test specimens, and were run with a drive pulley shaft load of 80 kgf, a rotation speed of 2000 rpm, and an ambient temperature of 25° C. The sensor function was continued for 200 hours, with the internal temperature being checked every 10 minutes for detection.
In the raw edge cogged V-belt 1 of the embodiment, the passive RFID tag 15 did not break down even after 200 hours, and the internal temperature was detectable (the sensor function was maintained).
On the other hand, in the case of the comparative raw edge cogged V-belt, the internal temperature could no longer be detected after 10 minutes had elapsed (the sensor function was lost).

(Test 3)
The raw edge cogged V-belts of the examples and comparative examples were used as test specimens, and were run with a drive pulley shaft load of 80 kgf, a rotation speed of 3600 rpm, and an ambient temperature of 25° C. The sensor function was continued for 200 hours, with the internal temperature being checked every 10 minutes for detection.
In the raw edge cogged V-belt 1 of the embodiment, the passive RFID tag 15 did not break down even after 200 hours, and the internal temperature was detectable (the sensor function was maintained).
On the other hand, in the case of the comparative raw edge cogged V-belt, the internal temperature could no longer be detected after 10 minutes had elapsed (the sensor function was lost).

From the above running test results, it was confirmed that the raw-edge cogged V-belt 1 according to the embodiment can improve the durability of the passive RFID tag provided on the raw-edge cogged V-belt compared to the raw-edge cogged V-belt according to the comparative example, and can improve the durability of the sensing function during belt running.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Raw-edge cogged V-belt 2 Drive pulley 3 Driven pulley 4 RFID reader/writer 11 Compression layer 12 Core layer 121 Core 13 Tension layer 14 Upper canvas 15 Passive RFID tag 151 IC chip 151A Temperature sensor 152 Resonant antenna 153 Antenna 153A Booster antenna 153B Loop antenna 154 Protective layer 100 Raw-edge cogged V-belt temperature data acquisition system

Claims (7)

A belt having a laminate including a back layer disposed on a back side and a core layer having a core,
A sensor provided on the laminate for detecting a state of the belt;
an IC chip provided on the laminate capable of storing information regarding the state of the belt detected by the sensor, and an RFID having an antenna;
The IC chip includes:
A resonant antenna is provided.
The antenna is
a booster antenna capable of transmitting and receiving information regarding the state of the belt to and from an external device;
a loop antenna that can be wirelessly connected to the resonant antenna by electromagnetic coupling;
The IC chip, together with the resonant antenna, is covered with a protective material made of an elastic material. The belt according to claim 1, wherein the antenna is formed from a single conductive wire. The belt according to claim 1, wherein the protective material covers only the IC chip and the resonant antenna. The belt according to claim 1, wherein the protective material covers the IC chip, the resonant antenna, and the loop antenna. the antenna and the IC chip are provided on the back surface layer,
the antenna is disposed on the rear surface side of the IC chip,
The belt according to claim 1 , wherein the IC chip is disposed between the antenna and the core body. The belt according to claim 1, wherein the loop antenna and the resonant antenna are positioned so as not to overlap in the thickness direction of the belt. A belt according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
a reader for transmitting and receiving information regarding the belt status between the booster antenna of the RFID and the belt status acquisition system;

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