JP3695955B2 - Shock recorder - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an impact recorder that measures and records the acceleration that an article receives by various operations.
[0002]
[Prior art]
When an item is handled or transported, it may be damaged by an impact caused by a drop, collision or bounce. When it is damaged, it is necessary to clarify at which point of impact it was damaged during handling and transportation. When an article is subjected to an impact, it receives acceleration, so if you measure the acceleration and record it in time series, it becomes clear at which point during handling and transportation it is possible to grasp the cause of damage. it can. Such an impact recorder (acceleration recorder) is used by being attached to the product, receives the same handling and transportation as the product, measures the acceleration generated, records it, handles it, and transports it into the impact recorder. Read the stored records and check the impact that the product will have received. For this reason, the impact recorder repeats measurement and recording for a long time, but it is necessary to reduce the size and weight for the purpose of use. Naturally, it is desired that the power consumption is low and a large amount of measurement data can be accumulated. If all the generated accelerations are to be measured and recorded, a large number of data recording (accumulating) means must be provided in the impact recorder, and the number of measurement and recording operations increases, resulting in an increase in power consumption. A large power supply and a large recording means are required, which is contrary to the above-mentioned demand. Shock recorders have been developed to solve these problems, but only when a certain amount of acceleration is detected or when a certain amount of acceleration is detected, or only when a certain amount of acceleration is detected. A general method is to record all generated accelerations.
[0003]
For example, the impact detection device of Japanese Patent No. 2666926 senses physical variables of physical changes that an article undergoes during handling operations such as packaging and shipping, and senses a predetermined criterion. In the acceleration detection method for recording the time history portion of the physical variable, (b) an acceleration in a range of ± 256 g due to a physical change in the X, Y, and Z axis directions is detected, and the detected acceleration corresponds to the detected acceleration Acceleration detecting means for outputting an electric signal in the range of 0 to 5.12 volts, clock means, storage means, communication means, microprocessor means and a power supply are housed in a housing, and commands to the microprocessor means are constituted. The acceleration can be detected and quantified under the control of the program, and the detected and quantified acceleration and the generation time when it is detected The housing is attached to the article so that the acceleration detected by the acceleration detecting means is physically equal to the article, and (b) the acceleration is the same as that of the article. (C) detecting the acceleration exerted by the housing, and (d) determining each time interval of the detected acceleration that satisfies the predetermined criterion over time. Stored in said storage means, said time intervals being of a predetermined duration, and each said duration is initially started with an acceleration that satisfies said criteria and (e) stored Reading the acceleration from the storage means to a device external to the housing, so that the magnitude of the acceleration and its generation while the article is being handled An acceleration measurement method for determining time and occurrence frequency after executing the article handling. An acceleration detection means for detecting acceleration due to physical changes in the X, Y, and Z directions and generating a quantified digital signal of the detected acceleration in an acceleration detection / recording apparatus that can be housed in a housing; Storage means for storing program instructions and data representing the digital signal, communication means for communicating with the separator by the digital information, and acceleration detection means, clock means, storage means, and communication means The program instruction from the storage means is read out and executed, and should be stored in the storage means and a digital signal generated by the acceleration detection means during a predetermined duration time interval Data representing both the digital timer signal generated by the clock means at the beginning of the duration A microprocessor means for controlling the communication means for starting the time interval when at least one of the accelerations meets a predetermined criterion and for communicating with the separator according to the digital information; An acceleration detection recording apparatus comprising: Etc. are described.
[0004]
In addition, the impact storage unit of Japanese Patent No. 2719580 is formed by separating a processing module box containing calculation storage means for calculating and storing impact information from an impact detection signal and a sensor module box containing an impact sensor. An impact storage unit configured to supply an impact detection signal obtained from the sensor module box to the processing module box via a signal transmission medium, and transmits the impact detection signal as an electric signal as the signal transmission medium. Using a signal transmission cable, the signal transmission cable is connected to both or one of the sensor module box and the processing module box through a connector that can be inserted and removed, and a shock wave signal output from the shock sensor is further applied to the voltage inside the sensor module box. Or a signal that is converted into a current signal and amplified A battery for supplying power to the arithmetic storage means in the other processing module box, and supplying the power of the battery to the signal converter in the sensor module box through the signal transmission cable. A shock storage unit characterized by that. Is described.
[0005]
Further, the impact data recording method for dropping a transported article and the impact data recording card disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 8-62240 are a method for collecting and recording impact data received during transportation by a package L for which transportation insurance is concluded. An impact data recording card for detecting and storing an impact is attached to the package L and transported, and after the transport, the impact data recording card is inserted into a data display device to obtain an impact data graph. A shock data recording method for falling goods etc. In a housing formed in a card shape having a predetermined shape and a predetermined thickness such as a rectangular plane shape, a small and thin impact detection sensor and an impact history recording means for storing the gravitational acceleration G value by the output in relation to time are stored. An impact data recording card characterized by comprising. The G value memory is normally a memory at regular intervals such as every minute, and when a large G value greater than a predetermined value such as 10 G or more is input, the G value and time are stored in real time. Impact data recording card characterized by the fact that Etc. are described.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, a method of recording only when an acceleration of a certain level or more is detected (Japanese Patent No. 2666926), or a method of recording all accelerations generated only for a certain period of time when an acceleration of a certain level or more is detected ( In Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-62240), it is not possible to confirm the influence on the product damage due to an acceleration below a certain level. If a certain fixed value is made small, the amount of recording increases and the meaning of setting a fixed value is lost. In addition, when the number of times of impact is high (bumpy road during automobile transportation, etc.), the number of times of measurement and recording becomes remarkably large and the recording capacity may be insufficient.
[0007]
Further, if the measurement interval is increased, the maximum acceleration may not be measured, and if the measurement interval is decreased, the recording capacity is increased. In general, since an impact occurs on the order of several tens of milliseconds, the maximum acceleration cannot be measured unless the measurement interval is several milliseconds or less, and the number of processes increases and the power consumption increases.
[0008]
In addition, there is a method having a function of detecting the peak value in order to increase the measurement interval and measure the maximum acceleration. However, if the detection interval of the peak value is increased, the circuit scale for holding the peak value is increased. The measurement accuracy becomes worse. Shortening the peak value detection interval results in an increase in the number of measurements and an increase in recording capacity.
[0009]
The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems , and measures all the generated acceleration with low power consumption and a small circuit scale, and accurately measures and records the major acceleration generated even with a small storage capacity and a small circuit scale. The purpose is to provide a recorder.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In an impact recorder that measures and records the acceleration received by various operations of goods,
An impact recorder having at least a function for detecting a peak value within a certain period of acceleration, a function for determining peak value data obtained from the peak value detecting function, and a function for recording the peak value data, When at least two peak values are detected and the number of obtained peak value data reaches a predetermined number of preset data, the maximum value in a predetermined number of peak value data is determined by the determination function, An impact recorder for recording the maximum value is used.
[0011]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the present invention. The impact recorder comprises a sensor unit 1, a processing circuit unit 2, and a power supply unit 3, and can be measured and recorded by a single impact recorder. The sensor unit 1 includes an acceleration sensor and a detection circuit, and the power supply unit 3 is a battery. The processing circuit unit 2 includes a peak detection unit, a timing generation unit, a recording unit, a communication unit, and the like. Details will be described in the following embodiment.
[0012]
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention. The acceleration detected by the sensor unit 1 is output as an electrical signal and input to the peak detection unit 21. The peak detector 21 has a peak hold circuit. The peak detector 21 receives a signal from the timing generator 22 and detects a peak value for a predetermined period (for example, for 1 s). The CPU 23 is connected to the timing generator 22 in the same manner as the peak detector 21, receives a timing signal indicating that the peak detector 21 has finished detecting the peak value within a certain period, and receives data from the peak detector 21. Is recorded in the recording unit 24. Record the peak value, date, and time within a certain period. By continuing this, the peak value for every 1 s is recorded in the example. One day, 86400 data is recorded, and the amount to be recorded is 1/1000 of the total measurement data as compared to recording data every 1 ms. Since it has a peak detection function, the maximum acceleration cannot be measured (measurement omission). The data that has been measured and recorded is transmitted from the communication unit 25 to the outside. The communication unit 25 is also used when setting conditions for measurement, recording, etc., and rewrites the conditions for measurement, recording, etc. according to the use conditions in the impact recorder.
[0013]
Conventionally, the CPU 23 had to operate at intervals of at least several ms in order to confirm the output from the sensor unit 1 or to take in data. However, in this embodiment, the peak detection unit 21 and the timing generation unit 22 are provided. As a result, the CPU 23 does not need to perform processing while waiting for a signal from the timing generation unit 22 (the operation may be performed at intervals of 1 s according to the example), and power consumption can be reduced.
[0014]
Further, the timing generation may be performed from the CPU, or since it has a time measuring function, a time reference clock may be used. The same applies to the second embodiment.
[0015]
FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the second embodiment of the present invention. The acceleration detected by the sensor unit 1 is output as an electrical signal and input to the peak detection unit 21. The peak detector 21 receives a signal from the timing generator 22 and detects a peak value for a predetermined period (for example, for 1 s). The output from the timing generator 22 is simultaneously input to the counter 26, and the number of times the timing signal is output is counted. The output of the counter 26 is input to the comparator 27. The comparator 27 outputs a comparison coincidence signal to the CPU 23 when the input data (count value) coincides with the previously inputted data. The CPU 23 is connected to the timing generator 22 in the same manner as the peak detector 21, receives a timing signal indicating that the peak detector 21 has finished detecting the peak value within a certain period, and receives data from the peak detector 21. Is recorded in the recording unit 24. At this time, if the comparison coincidence signal has not been input, the acquired data from the peak detection unit 21 is recorded in the sub-recording unit 28 as it is. If the comparison coincidence signal is input, the captured data from the peak detection unit 21 is recorded in the sub-recording unit 28, and then the maximum value in the sub-recording unit 28 is obtained and recorded in the recording unit 24. Further, the counter 26 is initialized, the data in the sub recording unit 28 is deleted, and the operation returns to the initial operation. By the above means, it becomes possible to record the maximum value within the peak value when the peak value within a certain period reaches a certain number of data.
[0016]
The recorded data is transmitted from the communication unit to the outside as in the first embodiment, and data input to the comparator 27 is also performed by the communication unit via the CPU 23. The recording interval can be controlled according to the purpose. If the period to be detected is long, the data (count value) set in the comparator is increased, and if the period is short, the count value is decreased. Can be used effectively. Since it is not necessary to lengthen the peak detection period as a functional characteristic of the peak detector, the circuit configuration of the peak detector can be realized relatively easily.
[0017]
The data processing has been described with one sensor unit. Actually, accelerations in three directions of the X axis, the Y axis, and the Z axis are detected and recorded. The signal processing can be performed in the same way, but by changing the measurement and recording conditions depending on the direction as necessary, it is possible to selectively use the density of the recording data according to the axial direction by distributing the capacity of the recording unit and the necessary data.
[0018]
【The invention's effect】
According to the present invention, long-time acceleration data can be recorded with a small recording capacity. In the embodiment, the time can be 1000 times that of the prior art, but conversely, the measurement data can be increased without changing the time. Since it requires less storage capacity, it can be made smaller and lighter.
[0019]
According to the present invention, since the impact recorder can be operated with low power consumption, a product with a long measurement and recording time can be supplied, so that it is easy to use and the running cost can be reduced. Since the battery for power supply is small, it can be reduced in size and weight.
[0020]
The storage capacity can be used effectively, and the degree of freedom increases.
[0021]
Since it is not necessary to lengthen the peak detection period as a functional characteristic of the peak detector, the circuit configuration of the peak detector can be realized relatively easily. The maximum acceleration is not missed, and the peak value within a certain period is recorded, so that the acceleration can be recorded even during a period in which only a small acceleration occurs.
[0022]
Since it is not necessary to lengthen the peak detection period so much, the measurement error in peak detection is small and the measurement accuracy is improved.
[0023]
Since the recording interval can be easily controlled according to the purpose, it can be used properly according to the application, and the degree of freedom in use is increased.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a second embodiment of the present invention.
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Sensor part 2 Processing circuit part 3 Power supply part 21 Peak detection part 22 Timing generation part 23 CPU
24 recording unit 25 communication unit 26 counter 27 comparator 28 sub-recording unit

Claims (1)

In an impact recorder that measures and records the acceleration received by various operations of goods,
at least,
A function to detect the peak value of acceleration within a certain period,
A judgment function of peak value data obtained from the peak value detection function,
An impact recorder having a recording function of the peak value data,
When at least two peak values are detected and the number of obtained peak value data reaches a predetermined number of preset data, the maximum value in a certain number of peak value data is determined by the determination function, An impact recorder for recording the maximum value.

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