JP4660576B2 - Crack detection system for movable objects - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention is a crack detection system for detecting a crack generated in a moving object such as a robot arm, a crane, or a tire wheel of a vehicle, and in particular during the operation of the movable object. The present invention relates to a crack detection system capable of detecting a generated crack in real time.

  Conventionally, when an abnormality such as a crack in a tire wheel is detected, the tire is removed from the vehicle body and checked visually. This inspection is the same for the robot arm and crane other than the tire wheel. At that time, particularly in the case of a tire wheel, since the visual inspection cannot be performed without removing the tire from the vehicle body, the work load is large. Therefore, in order to eliminate such a burden, the following Patent Document 1 discloses a wheel abnormality determination system that performs a crack inspection without removing a wheel. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of the system described in this document.

  A conductor 101 is continuously bonded to the wheel 110 over the entire circumference of the surface of the flange 111. The conductor 101 is a conductive material such as copper, and is formed in a thin film shape having a width of 1 mm or less and a thickness of 0.1 mm or less, and is cut by a crack of the wheel 110. A continuity test terminal 102 is provided in the wheel 110, and a lead wire 103 extending from a lead portion of the conductor 101 is connected thereto. The continuity test terminal 102 is connected to a continuity test device 106 via a continuity test lead wire 105. Note that an air pressure adjusting valve 120 is mounted on the wheel 110, and the lead wire 103 is connected to the continuity test terminal 102 through the lead wire 103.

The continuity test device 106 is connected to the continuity test lead 105 when testing the continuity of the conductor 101, and is disconnected when the test is completed. The lead wire 103 is connected to the continuity test terminal 102, and is connected to the power supply inside the continuity test device 106 via the continuity test lead wire 105. In this way, a closed circuit is formed between the power supply inside the conduction state inspection device 106 and the conductor 101. The continuity test device 106 determines that the wheel 110 is normal when the conductor 101 is conductive, while the conductor 101 is cut when there is no continuity, and a crack occurs somewhere. Is determined.
JP 2007-62456 A

  However, in such a conventional inspection system, in addition to not being able to confirm the initial stage abnormality due to fatigue cracks, it was impossible to accurately grasp when the cracks occurred. For this reason, it is effective for moving objects that do not have cracks such as wheels visible from the outside, but it is effective in that they do not need to be removed. There was no advantage in moving objects that could be done.

  Moreover, the minute cracks at the initial stage of fatigue cracks are apparently stuck when the movable object is released from the load after the drive is stopped. Therefore, the cut conductor 101 comes into contact and returns to a conductive state, and there is a possibility that an accurate inspection cannot be performed. Then, when the inspection was performed in a stopped state, it was impossible to accurately confirm when a crack occurred on a movable object that continued to be driven for several days, for example. For this reason, if the crack at the initial stage was overlooked, it could be in a state where it would not be understood until it was severely damaged.

  Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a crack detection system for a movable object that detects a crack generated in a driving state in order to solve such a problem.

The crack detection system for a movable object according to the present invention detects a disconnection state between a detection line bonded to a crack assumed portion of the movable object and the detection line energized by a power source, and information obtained by the detection. A crack detection device having a detection device body equipped with an IC tag capable of wireless communication, and an information management device that receives information transmitted from the crack detection device and displays and manages data based on the information; has the IC tag, the presence or absence of disconnection of the sensing wire to confirm during the operation of the movable object, repeats transmission at a predetermined time interval information regarding the presence or absence of the disconnection to the information management device JP it is intended, the check the prescribed again disconnected state after a short period of time after the detection of the disconnection of the sensing wire, in which so as to determine the disconnection and electrical noise by the presence or absence of energization at that time To.

In the crack detection system for a movable object according to the present invention, it is preferable that the IC tag has a circuit for self-holding a cutting signal when the detection line is cut.
Further, crack detection system of the movable object according to the present invention, the IC tag, the presence also of the energization in a predetermined time interval while said self hold circuit is maintained energized blocked state after detecting a break in the detection line verify, initial crack and determine if confirmation energization, it is preferable that energization was made to determine the permanent crack if confirmed.

Moreover , in the crack detection system for a movable object according to the present invention, it is preferable that the crack detection apparatus has a display unit whose light emission is controlled by the IC tag according to a disconnection state.

  Therefore, according to the present invention, the crack detection device having the detection line and the IC tag is small and lightweight, so even if it is attached to a robot arm or other movable object, it can detect cracks without hindering movement. Is possible. And since it is comprised so that the information regarding the presence or absence of a disconnection may be repeatedly transmitted with respect to an information management apparatus during the drive of a movable target object, the crack which arises during a drive can be detected in real time.

  Next, an embodiment of a crack detection system for a movable object according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a crack detection system of the present embodiment. The crack detection system 1 of the present embodiment includes a crack detection device 10 installed on a movable object and an information management device 30 that receives and manages crack information transmitted from the crack detection device 10.

  The crack detection device 10 uses a non-contact type IC tag, and is configured so that crack information can be managed by the information management device 30 through communication with the IC tag. In the crack detection device 10, the detection line 11 is bonded to the movable object W at a crack assumed portion where the occurrence of the crack R is predicted. The detection wire 11 is connected to a conducting wire 27 coming out of the detection device main body 12 and is configured to be a closed circuit. The closed circuit is arranged on the movable object W in a rectangular shape as illustrated, for example.

  Here, the linear part 11a located in the middle corresponds to a place where the crack is likely to occur in the movable object W. And the linear part 11a is hardened to the movable object W with the adhesive agent, and is formed as the detection part 13. That is, as shown in the figure, when a crack R enters the movable object W, the crack R reaches the detection unit 13 and the detection line 11 is cut together with the hardened adhesive. The detection lines 11 other than the detection unit 13 are simply bonded with an adhesive or the like, and the detection device main body 12 is bonded to the movable object W with a double-sided tape or the like.

  Here, FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the detection device main body 12. The detection device main body 12 is provided with an IC tag 20 that stores disconnection information of the detection line 11 and transmits / receives information to / from the information management device 30. The IC tag 20 includes a control unit 21 composed of a CPU that controls storage and transmission / reception of information, a memory 22 that stores disconnection information, a self-holding circuit 23 that holds a power-off state due to disconnection of the detection line 11, and wireless communication The communication unit 24 includes a communication circuit and an antenna, and is formed by an IC chip in which they are integrated.

  By the way, since the crack is very small at the initial stage of the fatigue crack, the crack R is closed depending on how the load is applied to the part even during driving, and the disconnection part of the detection line 11 comes into contact and the energized state is restored. End up. Therefore, when a predetermined load is applied, the crack portion spreads and the energization is cut off, but the energization state is instantaneously restored, so that it is difficult to confirm the occurrence of the crack. Therefore, in the present embodiment, a self-holding circuit 23 that holds the energization cut-off state when the detection line 11 is disconnected is provided. However, the self-holding circuit 23 is not an indispensable constituent requirement when only the presence or absence of a permanent crack need be detected.

  The crack detection device 10 is configured to detect a disconnection of the detection line 11 caused by the generation of the crack R when a current flows from the power supply 25 to the detection line 11 via the control unit 21 and the energization is cut off. Yes. A small and lightweight battery such as a button battery is used for the power source 25. In addition, the display unit 26 is provided with a display unit 26 composed of LEDs 26a and 26b (see FIG. 1) of two colors, such as green and red, to compensate for wireless uncertainties. The occurrence status can be confirmed. That is, normally, the green LED 26a is connected to the power source 25 and lights up, and when the detection line 11 is disconnected, the red LED 26b is connected to the power source 25 and lights up. On the other hand, when energization from the power supply 25 is cut off due to a failure or the like, both the LEDs 26a and 26b are turned off.

The crack detection device 10 is a small and lightweight device in which the IC tag 20 and the power source 25 are placed in a case of about 4 cm in length and width and about 1 cm in thickness. Then, by filling the substrate of the IC tag 20 with silicon in the case and hardening it, it is possible to cope with severe environments and violent movements, and to prevent failures due to vibration, moisture and dust.

The information management device 30 is provided with an antenna 31 for receiving data with the crack detection device 10, and is connected to a personal computer (management PC) 32 and a cable 33 as an information management device for data processing. ing. The management PC 32 displays information received from the crack detection device 10 on a display, and confirms the state of the crack. In addition, management software for tables and graphs is stored.

  By the way, although only one crack detection device 10 is shown in FIG. 1, since it is small, it can be attached to a plurality of locations, and an information management device 30 is also attached to each of the plurality of crack detection devices 10. It is possible to receive the information of the IC tag 20 corresponding to the identification number and manage each information individually.

Subsequently, the crack detection system 1 of the present embodiment is attached to the robot arm 40 as a movable object, for example, as shown in FIG. Note that the size of the crack detection device 10 shown in the figure is different from the actual ratio to the robot arm 40.
The crack detection device 10 is attached to the arm robot 40 in which the detection device main body 12 and the detection line 11 are movable objects. In particular, the arm jig in which the detection unit 13 which is a part of the detection line 11 is a place where a crack can occur. The crank part of 41 is hardened by an adhesive. When the robot arm 40 is being driven, crack detection is performed as follows.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a crack determination flow performed in the crack detection apparatus 10. The detection line 11 is always energized, and crack detection is performed based on the presence or absence of the energized state. At that time, energization information is transmitted to the information management apparatus 30 at regular time intervals, and energization confirmation is performed (S101). However, when the battery is exhausted or the abnormality occurs in the detection device main body 12, the energization confirmation cannot be performed (S101: NO), and in that case, no information is transmitted to the information management device 30 (S102). . On the other hand, when the detection device main body 12 is operating normally, the disconnection state is confirmed (S103).

  When the detection line 11 is not disconnected (S103: NO), information indicating that the detection line 11 is in a normal state without a crack is transmitted to the information management apparatus 30 at a wireless communication interval of T2 time (for example, 10 sec) (S104). On the other hand, when the disconnection occurs in the detection line 11 (S103: YES), the determination of electrical noise (S105) is performed next. This is to confirm the difference between electrical noise that is not a fatigue crack and disconnection.

It has been experimentally found that electrical noise occurs in a very short time. In this embodiment, ensure disconnection when energized after detected the disconnection T1 (10msec) (S105), is set to be removed to determine the electrical noise. Therefore, if energization is present (S105: NO), it is determined that the noise is an electrical noise and not a fatigue crack, and the process returns to S101. On the other hand, when there is no still energized after T1 has been detected disconnection (S105: YES), it is determined that the disconnection due to fatigue cracking or failure has occurred, rather than electrical noise.

  In the crack detection device 10, a self-holding circuit 23 is used to detect an instantaneous disconnection that once cuts and then returns to the contact state. Therefore, when it is determined that a disconnection due to fatigue cracks has occurred (S105: YES), the self-holding circuit 23 is activated and the energization cut-off state is maintained. Then, the process proceeds to the next crack state determination step to determine whether the crack is an initial crack or a permanent crack (S106). To determine whether the crack is an initial crack or a permanent crack, the presence / absence of energization is confirmed at regular time intervals T2 (10 sec) even after the self-holding circuit 23 is switched off.

  If energization can be confirmed after time T2 (S106: NO), it is determined that there is an initial crack, and the information is transmitted to the information management apparatus 30 at the wireless communication interval of T2 (S107). If it is still disconnected after time T2 (S106: YES), it is determined that a permanent crack has occurred, and the information is transmitted to the information management apparatus 30 at the wireless communication interval of T2 (S108). While the robot arm 40 is being driven, the confirmation of the disconnection state in S106 is repeated, and the information management apparatus 30 can confirm the change from the start of the initial crack to the permanent crack.

  In addition to the determination of the crack state, in the crack detection device 10, when the detection line 11 is not disconnected, the green LED 26a of the display unit 26 is lit. On the other hand, when it is determined as a permanent crack, the energization of the display unit 26 on the green LED 26a side is cut off, and the red LED 26b is switched to the energized state. Therefore, the administrator can confirm whether or not a crack has occurred by visual observation without confirming with the information management apparatus 30.

Therefore, according to the crack detection system 1 of the present embodiment, since the crack detection device 10 is small and light, it is attached to the robot arm 40 or other crane or tire wheel, and the movement of the movable object. It became possible to detect cracks without interfering.
Since the crack is detected during driving of the robot arm 40 and the like, and the data is managed by the information management device 30 that has received it through communication, the moment of the crack during driving can be confirmed in real time, It has become possible to grasp the state from the time until the permanent crack.

As mentioned above, although embodiment was described about the crack detection system of the movable target object which concerns on this invention, this invention is not limited to this, A various change is possible in the range which does not deviate from the meaning.
For example, in the above embodiment, data is transmitted to the information management device 3 at a constant time interval T2 (10 sec). However, since the power consumption can be saved by increasing the transmission interval, the time is further increased. Also good. Further, the transmission interval may be shortened to make a detailed determination.

It is the conceptual diagram which showed embodiment of the crack detection system of a movable target object. It is the block diagram which showed the detection apparatus main body. It is the figure which showed the attachment state to the movable target object of a crack detection system. It is the figure which showed the crack determination flow performed in a crack detection apparatus. It is the schematic which showed the conventional crack detection system.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Crack detection system 10 Crack detection apparatus 11 Detection line 12 Detection apparatus main body 13 Detection part 20 IC tag 21 Control part 22 Memory 23 Self-holding circuit 24 Communication part 25 Power supply 26 Display part 30 Information management apparatus 31 Antenna 32 Management PC

Claims (4)

A detection device having an IC tag capable of detecting a disconnection state of a detection line bonded to an assumed crack portion of a movable object and the detection line energized by a power source and wirelessly communicating information obtained by the detection A crack detection device having a main body;
An information management device that receives information transmitted from the crack detection device and displays and manages data based on the information,
The IC tag is for confirming the presence or absence of disconnection of the detection line while driving the movable object, and repeatedly transmitting information on the presence or absence of the disconnection to the information management device at a predetermined time interval , The movable object is characterized in that the disconnection state is confirmed again after a predetermined short time after detecting the disconnection of the detection line, and the disconnection and the electric noise are discriminated by the presence / absence of energization at that time. Crack detection system for objects. In the movable object crack detection system according to claim 1,
A crack detection system for a movable object, wherein the IC tag has a circuit that self-holds a cutting signal when the detection line is cut. In the movable object crack detection system according to claim 2,
The IC tag, the even after the detection of the disconnection of the sensing wire the self-holding circuit to check for current at predetermined time intervals while maintaining the current interruption state, initial crack and determine if confirmation energization, energization A crack detection system for a movable object characterized in that if it cannot be confirmed, it is determined as a permanent crack. In the crack detection system of the movable object according to any one of claims 1 to 3 ,
The crack detection system for a movable object, characterized in that the crack detection device includes a display unit whose light emission is controlled by the IC tag according to a disconnection state.

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