JP3254768B2 - Work compression device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for taking a work into a main chamber capable of adjusting an internal pressure and compressing the work.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a material testing machine for testing the characteristics of a material in a special environment, for example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 4-113154 discloses a plurality of jigs each containing a test piece in a high-temperature bath maintained at a high temperature. A turntable to be mounted and a pair of rods for compressing the jig on the turntable in the rotation axis direction of the turntable are housed, and the jig is indexed to a predetermined position by rotation of the turntable, and indexed. A method in which a plurality of test pieces are continuously loaded by repeating compression by a rod of a jig is disclosed.

[0003]

In the material testing machine disclosed in the above publication, the test may be performed by setting the pressure inside the high-temperature bath to a pressure different from the outside (for example, a vacuum state). In this case, since the jig cannot be replaced by opening the high-temperature bath during the test, the number of jigs that can be continuously processed at one time is limited by the jig mounting capacity of the turntable. As a result, the trouble of changing the jig frequently occurs, and the operation rate of the tester is reduced.

An object of the present invention is to provide a work compressing apparatus which can continuously and infinitely compress a work while maintaining the inside of a main chamber for compressing the work at a desired pressure.

[0005]

According to the present invention, there is provided a pair of sub-chambers which are provided so as to be able to communicate with a main chamber whose internal pressure can be adjusted and which can adjust the internal pressure independently of the main chamber when the main chamber is shut off. A work carrying means for carrying a work into one of the sub-chambers, a work carrying means for carrying a work from the other sub-chamber, a work supply means for transferring a work from the one sub-chamber to the main chamber, and a main chamber A work discharge means for transferring a work from the work chamber to the other sub-chamber, and a heating means provided in the main chamber for heating by the heating means.
The above-mentioned object is achieved by providing temperature control means for adjusting the temperature of the work before and after .

[0006]

When supplying a work to the main chamber, first, one of the sub-chambers and the main chamber are shut off, and then the work is taken into one of the sub-chambers by the work carrying means. Then, the internal pressure of one of the sub-chambers is adjusted to a pressure equal to that of the main chamber, and thereafter, the one sub-chamber and the main chamber are communicated with each other, and the work is transferred to the main chamber by the work supply unit. The work transferred to the main chamber is
Predetermined by heating means after temperature is adjusted by temperature control means
Heated to temperature. Heated by heating means and turned into compression means
The more compressed work is then heated by temperature control means.
Adjusted. When the work is discharged from the main chamber, the internal pressure of one sub-chamber is adjusted to the same pressure as that of the main chamber after the other sub-chamber and the main chamber are shut off. The work is discharged from the main chamber to the other sub-chamber by the work discharge means while the chamber is in communication with the chamber. Thereafter, the other sub-chamber and the main chamber are shut off, and the work is carried out from the other sub-chamber by the work carrying-out means.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. In these figures, reference numeral 1 denotes a main body of a material testing machine according to the present embodiment. The main body 1 includes a base 10 installed on a floor surface and a pair of columns 11a and 11b erected on the base 10. A yoke 12 (FIG. 1) is provided between the upper ends of the base 10 and a crosshead 13 that moves up and down between the base 10 and the yoke 12 in the vertical direction (the vertical direction in FIG. 2).

A main chamber 2 in the form of a closed container is interposed between the yoke 12 and the crosshead 13. The main chamber 2 includes a test section 2 located immediately below the yoke 12.
0, and a jig circulating section 21 located below the test section 20 and extending in a direction orthogonal to the crosshead 13. The test portion 20 has an upper load rod 20 suspended from the yoke 12.
0 and the lower load rod 2 erected on the crosshead 13
01 are inserted coaxially in the vertical direction, and the relative distance between the upper load rod 200 and the lower load rod 201 changes according to the vertical movement of the crosshead 13.
The upper end of the lower load rod 201 can be fitted into a not-shown recess provided at the lower end of the substantially cylindrical jig J. The jig J bends and compresses or tensile-deforms the test piece housed inside using the compressive load acting in the axial direction. The details thereof are the same as those used in the apparatus according to the above-mentioned Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 4-113054, and the description is omitted here.

Upper load rod 200 and lower load rod 2
A substantially cylindrical main heater 202 is disposed at a position opposing to the main heater 01. The jig J supported by the lower load rod 201 is heated to a desired temperature (for example, 1000 ° C.) by the main heater 202.

The jig circulating section 21 has a test section 2 at the center thereof.
Communicates with 0. Inside the jig distribution section 21, jig holding rods 210 and 211 that can be fitted to the lower end side of the jig J are arranged in the longitudinal direction of the jig distribution section 21 with the lower load rod 201 interposed therebetween (in the horizontal direction in the figure). ) And are inserted symmetrically. These jig holding rods 210 and 211 are driven vertically by an air cylinder (not shown). Jig holding rod 21
Pre-heaters 212 and 213 in which a pair of flat heater panels face each other are disposed at the insertion positions of 0 and 211. These preheaters 212 and 213 adjust the temperature of the jig J supported by the jig holding rods 210 and 211, and can adjust the temperature independently from the room temperature range to the set temperature of the main heater 202. Is done.

Gate valves 214 and 215 are provided at both ends in the longitudinal direction of the jig flowing section 21. These gate valves 214 and 215 are connected to the air-driven actuator 2.
It is opened and closed by 16, 217. When these gate valves 214 and 215 are both closed, the main chamber 2
Is maintained in an airtight state, and in this state, when a vacuum pump (not shown) connected to the main chamber 2 is operated, the inside of the main chamber 2 becomes a vacuum state. In the drawing, reference numeral 203 denotes a manually operated inspection door for inspecting the inside of the test section 20, which is attached facing the front side of the material testing machine. 204 and 205 are bellows for maintaining the airtightness of the insertion portion of the upper load rod 200 and the lower load rod 201, and 218 and 219 are jig holding rods 210 and 21.
This is a bellows for maintaining the airtightness of the insertion portion.

On both sides of the main chamber 2, sub-chambers 3 and 4 in the form of a closed container are connected. The sub-chambers 3 and 4 communicate with the main chamber 2 when the gate valves 214 and 215 are opened, and are shut off from the main chamber 2 when the gate valves 214 and 215 are closed. Each of the sub-chambers 3 and 4 is connected to a dedicated vacuum pump, and can adjust the internal pressure independently of the main chamber 2. Gate valves 30 and 40 for opening the sub-chambers 3 and 4 are provided below the sub-chambers 3 and 4, and these gate valves 30 and 40 are opened and closed by air-driven actuators 31 and 41.

A jig loading device 5 is provided below one sub-chamber 3. The jig carrying-in device 5 includes a conveyor 50 that conveys the jigs J in a line from a side of the material testing machine toward a position directly below the sub-chamber 3, and an air cylinder (not shown) located directly below the sub-chamber 3. And a transport rod 51 driven vertically.
The upper end of the jig J can be fitted into the lower end of the jig J conveyed to the end of the conveyor 50.

A jig supply device 6 is provided beside the sub-chamber 3.
Is provided. The jig supply device 6 includes the sub-chamber 3
And an arm moving mechanism 61 that reciprocates the arm 60 along a rail 610 that extends in the longitudinal direction of the jig circulation unit 21 by an actuator (not shown). The jig J is transported by moving the arm 60 while supporting the jig J with the fork 600 formed at the tip. At the tip of the fork 600,
Notch 60 large enough to fit with transfer rods 51 and 210
1 is formed. Reference numeral 602 denotes a bellows for maintaining the airtightness of the sub-chamber 3 in the portion where the arm 60 is inserted.

A jig discharging device 7 is provided beside the other sub-chamber 4. The jig discharging device 7 has an arm 70 inserted into the sub-chamber 4 and an arm moving mechanism 71 for reciprocating the arm 70 along the rail 710, similarly to the above-described jig supply device 6. , Arm 70
While supporting the jig J with the fork 700 at the tip of the arm 7
The jig J is conveyed by moving “0”. At the tip of the fork 700, a notch 7 large enough to fit with the transport rod 211 is provided.
01 is formed. Reference numeral 702 denotes a bellows for maintaining the airtightness of the sub-chamber 4 in the portion where the arm 70 is inserted.

A jig unloading device 8 is provided below the sub-chamber 4.
Is provided. The jig unloading device 8 includes a conveyor 80 that conveys the jigs J in a line from directly below the sub-chamber 4 toward the side of the material testing machine, and an air cylinder (not shown) that is positioned directly below the sub-chamber 4 to move up and down. The upper end of the transport rod 81 is supported by the arm 70 and can be fitted to the lower end of the jig J discharged to the sub-chamber 4.

Next, the operation of the material testing machine of this embodiment will be described. In the following description, it is assumed that the main chamber 2 and the sub-chambers 3 and 4 are both at atmospheric pressure, the gate valve 214 is open, and the gate valve 215 is closed as an initial state. In order to compress the jig J by the material testing machine of this embodiment, first, the jig J is set on the conveyor 50 of the jig carrying-in device 5 and is conveyed to just below the sub-chamber 3. Next, the gate valve 30 of the sub-chamber 3 is opened, and the transport rod 51 of the jig carrying-in device 5 is raised to carry the jig J at the end of the conveyor 5 into the sub-chamber 3. The lower end of the jig J is a fork 600 of the arm 60
At a point slightly higher than the upper surface of the transfer rod 51, the arm 60 is advanced to the main chamber 2 side,
The fork 600 is inserted into the lower end of the jig J while the notch 601 of the fork 600 is fitted to the transport rod 51. Thereafter, the transport rod 51 is lowered, and the jig J is transferred to the upper surface of the fork 600 and changed.

After the transfer rod 51 has retreated from the sub-chamber 3, the arm 60 is advanced into the main chamber 2,
The jig J is transferred to just above the lower load rod 201. To prepare for this operation, the upper end of the lower load rod 201 is lower than the finger 600 by lowering the crosshead 13 in advance. Subsequently, the lower load rod 201 is raised by the crosshead 13 to be fitted to the jig J, and the arm 6
0 is retracted to sub-chamber 3. Thus, the first jig J is supplied to the lower load rod 201.

Subsequently, the next jig J is carried into the sub-chamber 3 by the transport rod 51 of the jig carrying-in device 5, and the jig J is transferred onto the fork 600 in the same procedure as described above. Next, the arm 60 is moved forward to move the jig J to the jig holding rod 2.
Transfer to just above 10. Thereafter, the jig holding rod 21
0 is raised to be fitted to the jig J, the arm 60 is retracted to the sub-chamber 3 side, and the gate valve 214 is closed. Thus, the lower load rod 20 of the main chamber 2 is
The main chamber 2 is sealed while the jig J is placed on the jig 1 and the jig holding rod 210.

In this state, the vacuum pump in the main chamber 2 is operated to make the interior of the main chamber 2 vacuum, and the lower load rod 201 is raised to move the jig J to the vicinity of the upper load rod 200. Thereafter, the main heater 202 is energized to start heating the jig J. When the temperature reaches a desired temperature, the lower load rod 201 is further raised to start the compression of the jig J. In parallel with the above operation, the preheater 212 is energized to preheat the jig J supported by the jig holding rod 210. This preheating is performed by the preheater 212.
Heating the jig J to a constant temperature between the heating temperature of the main heater 202 and the room temperature while maintaining the heating value of the jig constant, and gradually increasing the heating value of the heater to bring the temperature of the jig J into the room temperature range. To the heating temperature of the main heater 202. Before the compression is completed, the gate valves 30 and 40 of the sub-chambers 3 and 4 are closed, and the vacuum pump connected to the sub-chambers 3 and 4 is operated to evacuate the interior of the sub-chambers 3 and 4. deep.

After the compression of the jig J is completed, the lower load rod 201 is lowered, and the gate valve 215 is opened to move the arm 70 on the sub-chamber 4 side to the main chamber 2 side. The fork 700 is inserted into the lower end of the supported jig J. Subsequently, the lower load rod 201 is lowered to release the fitting with the jig J, and the jig J is transferred onto the fork 700 and changed. After this, arm 7
The jig J is retracted until the jig J becomes coaxial with the jig holding rod 211, and the jig holding rod 211 is raised to fit the jig J and the jig holding rod 211.

After transferring the jig J to the jig holding rod 211, the jig J is gradually cooled by the preheater 213. This slow cooling keeps the calorific value of the pre-heater 213 constant and lowers the temperature of the jig J to a certain temperature between the heating temperature of the main heater 202 and normal temperature, and gradually reduces the calorific value of the heater. Jig J temperature to main heater 2
Either case where the heating temperature is gradually lowered from the heating temperature of 02 to the normal temperature range may be used.

After the jig J is gradually cooled, the jig holding rod 2
The jig J is moved from 11 to the arm 70, and the arm 70 is retracted to the sub-chamber 4 side.
Discharge to Thereafter, the gate valve 215 is closed to shut off the main chamber 2 and the sub-chamber 4. Subsequently, the gate rod 40 is opened to raise the transport rod 81,
The jig J supported by the arm 70 is fitted. After this,
The arm 70 is further retracted to move the jig J to the transport rod 81.
The jig J is unloaded from the sub-chamber 4 to the conveyor 80 by lowering the transport rod 81.

After the compression, the jig J is moved to the lower load rod 201.
After the transfer to the jig holding rod 211, the gate valve 214 is opened, the arm 60 on the sub-chamber 3 side is advanced, and the fork 600 is inserted into the lower end of the jig J on the jig holding rod 210, and then the jig is fixed. The jig J is transferred to the fork 600 by lowering the jig holding rod 210. Thereafter, the arm 60 is moved forward to feed the preheated jig J onto the empty lower load rod 201. Thereafter, the jig J is transferred to the lower load rod 201 in the same procedure as above, and the lower load rod 201 is raised to compress a new jig J with the upper load rod 200. The compressed jig J is carried out to the conveyor 80 of the jig carrying-out device 8 in the same procedure as described above, and thereafter, the compressed jig J is successively carried out to the conveyor 80 in the same manner.

When the jig holding rod 210 is empty, the arm 60 is retracted to the sub-chamber 3 and the gate valve 214 is closed. Subsequently, the gate valve 30 is opened, a new jig J is carried into the sub-chamber 3 by the transfer rod 51, the jig J is transferred to the arm 60, the transfer rod 51 is lowered, and the gate valve 30 is closed. Thereafter, the vacuum pump of the sub-chamber 3 is operated to evacuate the sub-chamber 3, the gate valve 214 is opened, and the jig J is transferred to the jig holding rod 210 by the arm 60. The jig J preheated on the jig holding rod 210 is transferred to the lower load rod 201 as before. Hereinafter, each time the jig holding rod 210 becomes empty, the same procedure is repeated, and the jig J on the conveyor 50 is sequentially moved to the lower load rod 201.
Transfer to

As described above, in this embodiment, the jig J is carried into the sub-chamber 3 while maintaining the vacuum state of the main chamber 2 by closing the gate valves 214 and 215 even during the test. And from the subchamber 4 to the jig J
Can be carried out. If the sub-chambers 3 and 4 are evacuated by closing the gate valves 30 and 40 of the sub-chambers 3 and 4, the gate valves 214 and 215 are opened and the sub-chamber 3 is opened while maintaining the vacuum state of the main chamber 2. The jig J can be supplied to the main chamber 2 and discharged from the main chamber 2 to the sub-chamber 3. For this reason,
There is no limit on the number of jigs J to be continuously processed, so that the necessity of setup change is eliminated, and the operating rate of the test machine is greatly improved.

In this embodiment, the preheaters 212 and 21
Since the jig J is preheated and gradually cooled in step 3, heat shock accompanying rapid heating and cooling of the jig J is prevented. Since the preheaters 212 and 213 are arranged in a straight line with the compression position of the jig J interposed therebetween, the distance between the preheaters 212 and 213 is increased, and deterioration of the temperature control characteristic due to thermal interference between the preheaters 212 and 213 is suppressed. Since the main heater 202 is installed above the pre-heaters 212 and 213, the total length of the main chamber 2 is reduced as compared with a case where the heaters are simply arranged in a straight line.

In correspondence between the above embodiment and the claims,
The jig J is the work, the upper load rod 200 and the lower load rod 201 are the compression means, the jig carry-in device 5 is the work carry-in means, the jig supply device 6 is the work supply means, and the jig discharge device 7 is the work. The discharging means, the jig unloading device 8 is a work unloading means, the main heater 202 is a heating means,
The heaters 212 and 213 constitute temperature control means . The present invention may be applied to a material testing machine that directly loads a test piece without using the jig J. In addition to the above, the present invention can be applied to an apparatus for pressing a pair of dies in a direction approaching each other to compress and mold the powder material filled in the dies. in this case,
The mold itself filled with the powder material corresponds to the work.
The present invention is not limited to the example of compressing a work under a high vacuum temperature, but is applicable to any apparatus that compresses a work by adjusting the internal pressure of the main chamber to a value different from the external pressure. Absent.

[0029]

As described above, according to the present invention, by switching the state of disconnection between the sub-chamber and the main chamber and adjusting the internal pressure of the sub-chamber, the workpiece can be maintained while maintaining the inside of the main chamber at a desired pressure. Can be continuously compressed indefinitely, so that there is no need for a changeover of work associated with work replacement, and the operating rate of the apparatus is greatly improved. further,
Work before and after heating by the heating means
The temperature of the workpiece is adjusted so that the workpiece is rapidly heated.
Heat shock accompanying cooling can be prevented.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a material testing machine according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the material testing machine of FIG. 1 viewed from the direction of arrow II in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Main chamber 3, 4 Subchamber 5 Jig loading device 6 Jig supply device 7 Jig discharging device 8 Jig unloading device J Jig

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A main chamber capable of adjusting an internal pressure, and a work taken in the main chamber is heated.
Heating means, and a work compression apparatus comprising a compression means for compressing the work heated by the heating means ,
A pair of sub-chambers which are provided so as to be able to be communicated with the main chamber and which can adjust the internal pressure independently of the main chamber when the main chamber is shut off, and a work carrying means for carrying the work into one of the sub-chambers; A work unloading unit that unloads the work from the other sub-chamber, a work supply unit that transfers the work from the one sub-chamber to the main chamber, and a transfer of the work from the main chamber to the other sub-chamber Work discharge means, and the main chamber
The heating means before and after heating by the heating means.
And a temperature control means for controlling the temperature of the workpiece.