JP6660167B2 - Counting system and counting method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a counting system, and more particularly, to a system and a counting method for counting long steel materials such as reinforced steel bars and round steel bars.

  Production and shipping of long steel materials such as reinforced steel bars and round steel bars are performed as follows. A long material having a total length of about 80 to 120 m is formed by hot rolling a billet, and after cooling, the long material is cut into predetermined lengths (for example, 8 m). Use long steel. Then, these long steel materials are bundled and shipped in predetermined numbers.

The process of manufacturing and shipping the long steel material includes a process of counting the long steel material.
As a method of counting long steel materials, for example, a plurality of long steel materials arranged in parallel are sequentially supplied to a plurality of gear-shaped wheels arranged along the longitudinal direction, so that the long steel materials are There is known a method of counting by sequentially passing between a light-emitting element and a light-receiving element of a photosensor in a state where the distance between the adjacent long steel materials is increased by being fitted in the first member (first method). Further, as another method, a method is known in which a plurality of long steel materials are photographed by a camera, the photographed images are analyzed, and each long steel material is extracted and counted (second method). Further, as another method, as disclosed in, for example, JP-A-2005-157960 (Patent Document 1), a plurality of long steel materials are conveyed by a conveyor in a state of being arranged in parallel in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction. Then, a method is known in which counting is performed by sequentially recognizing the shape of a long steel material conveyed by an optical displacement meter such as a laser displacement meter fixed thereabove (third method).

JP 2005-157960 A

  The first method described above has a problem that it is not possible to meet the demand for high speed because the interval between a plurality of long steel materials needs to be increased one by one. Regarding the second method, the resolution and analysis ability of the image may affect the counting accuracy in some cases. In the third method, the vibration caused by the movement of the steel bar to be counted may affect the sensing by the optical displacement meter. That is, an error may occur in the measurement result of the optical displacement meter due to vibration caused by the movement of the steel bar. In particular, when the long steel material to be counted has irregularities on the surface called a deformed bar, a larger error may occur due to the optical displacement meter measuring the irregularities. Moreover, the counting method disclosed in Patent Document 1 described above measures the distance between the steel material surface and the steel material surface while rolling the steel material to be counted, and calculates the surface profile based on the measured distance. This is a method of counting the number of steel materials by comparing a signal, which is created and subjected to a differential processing of the profile, with a threshold value. According to this method, when vibration occurs due to rolling in the steel material to be counted, a waveform that does not exist in the actual surface shape is generated in the surface profile based on the distance measured by the optical displacement meter. For this reason, the signal obtained by differentiating the profile also has unevenness due to vibration, which may affect the counting result.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a counting system that can count a long steel material with high accuracy and high speed. Another object is to provide a counting method capable of counting long steel materials with high accuracy and at high speed.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, a counting system includes: an optical displacement meter for measuring a distance between an object to be measured; a traveling device for linearly moving the optical displacement meter; and an optical displacement meter. And an arithmetic unit for counting the long steel materials based on the measured values. The traveling device is configured to set the optical displacement meter on a straight line in a direction parallel to a longitudinal direction of the long steel material in a plane parallel to a mounting surface where long steel materials as measurement objects are placed in parallel. To run. The arithmetic unit identifies the start and end of the distance measurement for each long steel material from the plurality of measurement values at the plurality of traveling positions of the optical displacement meter, and ends from the start of the distance measurement for each long steel material. The long steel materials are counted based on the measurement values obtained during the period.
According to this counting system, the position of the long steel material to be counted is fixed, the optical displacement meter is moved, and the distance from the optical displacement meter to the long steel material is measured. Therefore, the distance from the optical displacement meter to the long steel material is measured without being affected by the vibration accompanying the movement of the long steel material. Therefore, the counting accuracy can be improved.
The relative movement speed can be increased by moving the sensor as compared with the case where the long steel material is moved and passed through the sensor position. Therefore, the counting speed can be increased.
In addition, the start and end of the distance measurement are specified for each long steel material, and the long steel materials are counted based on the measurement values obtained during that time. It is also possible to prevent omission of counting that may occur and overlapping counting that may occur when the measurement interval is small. Therefore, the counting accuracy can be improved.

Preferably, the arithmetic unit includes a first threshold value obtained from a distance from the mounting surface to the optical displacement meter and a diameter of the long steel material, and a measurement value obtained from the start to the end of the distance measurement. The start of the distance measurement and the end of the measurement are specified for each long steel material.
According to this counting system, the start of the measurement of the distance for each long steel material and the end of the measurement can be specified easily and with high accuracy, and as a result, the counting accuracy can be improved.

More preferably, the arithmetic unit further compares the second threshold value obtained from the diameter of the long steel material with the travel distance of the optical displacement meter from the start of the distance measurement for each long steel material. The end of distance measurement is specified for each long steel material.
According to this counting system, even when a plurality of long steel materials are adjacent to each other without an interval, it is easy and high to start the measurement of the distance for each of the plurality of long steel materials and to finish the measurement. Accuracy can be specified, and as a result, counting accuracy can be improved.

Preferably, the arithmetic unit includes a determination unit configured to determine whether a count result based on the measurement value from the optical displacement meter has reached a predetermined number, and when it is determined that the count result has reached the predetermined number. Transmitting means for transmitting information indicating the traveling position of the optical displacement meter from which the measured value determined to be the predetermined number is obtained.
According to this counting system, a predetermined number of long steel materials can be quickly and accurately specified in parallel with the counting of long steel materials. Therefore, by cooperating with a device that extracts a predetermined number of long steel materials from a plurality of long steel materials to be counted and a device that performs processing such as bundling on the long steel materials to be counted, Can be performed quickly.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, a counting method is a method of counting long steel materials placed side by side in parallel. This method comprises the steps of: moving an optical displacement meter for measuring a distance between the object and a measuring object on a straight line in a direction intersecting the longitudinal direction of the long steel material; From the measured values, the step of specifying the start and end of the distance measurement for each long steel material, and based on the measured values obtained from the start to the end of the distance measurement for each long steel material Counting the long steel material.
According to this counting method, the position of the long steel material to be counted is fixed, the optical displacement meter is moved, and the distance from the optical displacement meter to the long steel material is measured. Therefore, the distance from the optical displacement meter to the long steel material is measured without being affected by the vibration accompanying the movement of the long steel material. Therefore, the counting accuracy can be improved.
Further, the relative moving speed can be increased as compared with the method of moving the long steel material and passing the sensor position. Therefore, the counting speed can be increased.
In addition, the start and end of the distance measurement are specified for each long steel material, and the long steel materials are counted based on the measurement values obtained during that time. It is also possible to prevent omission of counting that may occur and overlapping counting that may occur when the measurement interval is small. Therefore, the counting accuracy can be improved.

  According to this disclosure, it is possible to count long steel materials with high accuracy and at high speed.

It is a schematic diagram for explaining the composition of the long steel material counting system concerning an embodiment. It is a front schematic diagram of the traveling device included in the long steel material counting system. It is a side view schematic diagram of a traveling device. It is a block diagram showing an example of a device configuration of an arithmetic unit included in the long steel material counting system. It is the figure which represented typically the displacement meter included in the long steel material counting system, and the long steel material to be counted. It is a figure for explaining measurement by a displacement meter. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a measurement result and a counting method at each point in FIG. 6. FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a measurement result and a counting method at each point in FIG. 6. FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of an arithmetic device. 4 is a flowchart illustrating a specific control flow in the arithmetic device. 11 is a flowchart showing details of a counting process in step S7 in FIG.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the same parts and components are denoted by the same reference numerals. Their names and functions are the same. Therefore, the description will not be repeated.

[First Embodiment]
<System configuration>
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining a configuration of a long steel material counting system according to the present embodiment. Referring to FIG. 1, a long steel material counting system (hereinafter, counting system) 100 according to the present embodiment is electrically connected to displacement meter 3, traveling device 5, and displacement meter 3 and traveling device 5. Computing device 1.
Communication between the arithmetic unit 1 and the displacement meter 3 and the traveling device 5 may be wireless communication or wired communication.

The displacement gauge 3 is an optical displacement gauge, for example, a laser displacement gauge. The displacement meter 3 includes a light emitting unit 3a for irradiating laser light in the measurement direction, and a light receiving unit 3b for receiving reflected light from the measurement direction. As an example, the displacement meter 3 measures the distance to the measurement target based on the time until the light irradiated by the light emitting unit 3a receives light reflected from the measurement target existing in the measurement direction.
The displacement meter 3 further includes a communication device 31 for communicating with the arithmetic device 1. The displacement meter 3 starts measuring the distance to the object to be measured in accordance with the control signal from the arithmetic unit 1. Preferably, the displacement meter 3 measures the distance to the measurement target at intervals according to a control signal from the arithmetic device 1. Then, the displacement meter 3 inputs a signal indicating the measured value to the arithmetic device 1.

A plurality of long steel materials A as objects to be measured are placed on the placing surface 7 in a state of being arranged in parallel. The mounting surface 7 is configured by the upper surfaces of a plurality of long rails 8 provided at predetermined intervals along the longitudinal direction of the long steel material A.
The displacement meter 3 sets the mounting surface 7 as a measurement direction, that is, the displacement meter 3 is configured such that the irradiation direction of the light emitting unit 3a is directed to the mounting surface 7 and the direction in which the light receiving unit 3b receives light is from the mounting surface 7. It is attached so as to be directed to the light receiving section 3b.

  The traveling device 5 has a motor M as a power source. The traveling device 5 travels the displacement meter 3 linearly using the rotation of the motor M. The traveling direction of the displacement meter 3 is also referred to as a traveling direction in the following description. The moving distance of the displacement meter 3 is also referred to as a running distance. In FIG. 1, the traveling direction of the displacement meter 3 is defined as an X direction, the vertical direction is defined as a Z direction, and the normal direction of a plane including the X direction and the Z direction is defined as a Y direction.

  The traveling device 5 further includes a communication device 53 for communicating with the arithmetic device 1. The traveling device 5 starts moving the displacement meter 3 according to a control signal from the arithmetic device 1. Preferably, traveling device 5 moves displacement meter 3 at a speed according to a control signal from arithmetic device 1. Further, preferably, traveling device 5 moves distance displacement meter 3 according to a control signal from arithmetic device 1.

  The long steel materials A as the measuring objects are placed side by side on the mounting surface 7 so that the longitudinal direction intersects the traveling direction of the displacement meter 3. Preferably, the long steel materials A are placed in parallel on the mounting surface 7 such that the longitudinal direction is orthogonal to the traveling direction of the displacement meter 3.

  Arithmetic unit 1 is, for example, a personal computer (PC). The arithmetic unit 1 acquires, from the displacement meter 3, a measured value measured while traveling over the mounting surface 7, and based on the measured value, the long steel material A placed side by side on the mounting surface 7 is obtained. Count. Preferably, the arithmetic unit 1 receives an instruction of the number of the long steel materials A to be counted by the displacement meter 3 by a user operation or the like, and controls the displacement meter 3 based on the instruction. Preferably, the arithmetic unit 1 stores the measurement intervals of the displacement meter 3 in advance, and controls the displacement meter 3 and / or the traveling device 5 based on the stored measurement intervals. The measurement interval is an interval shorter than the diameter of the long steel material A to be counted. The arithmetic device 1 may receive designation of the diameter of the long steel material A to be counted when a relational expression representing the relationship between the diameter of the long steel material A and the measurement interval is stored in advance.

<Apparatus configuration>
The configuration of the traveling device 5 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 2 is a diagram of the traveling device 5 viewed in a direction opposite to the Y direction in FIG. 1, and is a schematic front view of the traveling device 5. FIG. 3 is a diagram of the traveling device 5 viewed in a direction opposite to the Z direction in FIG. 1, and is a schematic side view of the traveling device 5.
Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, traveling device 5 includes a motor M, such as a servomotor, as an example of a mechanism for linearly moving displacement meter 3 in the X direction, which is the traveling direction, and a motor M along the X direction. And a ball screw 51 that is installed linearly and that is rotationally driven by a motor M. The grip portion 52 that grips the displacement meter 3 is moved in the X direction and the opposite direction by using the rotational force of the ball screw 51. Move back and forth. Thereby, the displacement gauge 3 gripped by the gripper 52 reciprocates along the X direction.

  Preferably, traveling device 5 further includes, as an example of a mechanism for reciprocating gripping portion 52 along the Z direction, an electric cylinder movable in the Z direction and the opposite direction including a motor such as a servo motor (not shown). Have. Thereby, the traveling device 5 can adjust the distance in the height direction between the displacement meter 3 and the long steel material A as the measurement object.

  Preferably, the traveling device 5 includes, as an example of a mechanism for reciprocating the grip portion 52 along the Y direction, a motor such as a geared motor (not shown) and a rack moving direction along the Y direction. And no rack and pinion. Thereby, the traveling device 5 can adjust the distance in the longitudinal direction of the long steel material A between the displacement meter 3 and the long steel material A as the measurement object.

  Preferably, rotation / stop and rotation speed of motor M follow a control signal from arithmetic unit 1. Thereby, the counting operation in the counting system 100 is controlled by the arithmetic unit 1.

The device configuration of the arithmetic unit 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a device configuration of the arithmetic device 1 when the arithmetic device 1 is a general PC.
Referring to FIG. 4, arithmetic device 1 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 10 for controlling the entire device, a ROM (Read Only Memory) 11 for storing a program executed by CPU 10, and a CPU 10. A RAM (Random Access Memory) 12 serving as a work area when executing the program, an HDD (Hard Disc Drive) 13 for storing counting results and the like, an input device 14 such as a keyboard and a switch, a display 15, And a communication device 16 for communicating with other devices wirelessly or by wire.

<Counting principle>
The counting principle in the counting system 100 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 5 is a diagram schematically showing the displacement meter 3 and a long steel material A as a measurement object. FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining measurement by the displacement meter 3. 7 and 8 are diagrams for explaining a measurement result and a counting method at each point in FIG. 6, respectively. FIG. 7 shows a case where one long steel material A is independently placed. FIG. 8 shows an example in which a plurality of long steel materials A are placed adjacent to each other without any gap.

  With reference to FIG. 5, the displacement meter 3 moves the upper side of the long steel material A placed side by side on the mounting surface 7 by the traveling device 5 in a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the long steel material A. The distance between the vehicle and the object to be measured is measured at specified intervals while the vehicle is running. When the traveling position, which is the position in the X direction that is the traveling direction of the displacement meter 3, is directly above the position where the long steel material A is not placed on the placing surface 7, the measured value Z is loaded from the displacement meter 3. The distance L to the placing surface 7 is obtained (Z = L). When the traveling position is right above the position where the long steel material A is placed on the mounting surface 7 and right above the vertex of the long steel material A, that is, the vertex of the long steel material is the measurement position. In this case, the measured value Z is a distance obtained by subtracting the diameter D of the long steel material A from the distance L from the displacement meter 3 to the mounting surface 7 (Z = LD). Therefore, when the measured value Z from the displacement gauge 3 during traveling satisfies the above-mentioned LD, it is counted as that the displacement gauge 3 has passed just above one long steel material A. You can go. However, the position measured by the displacement meter 3 may not always be the top of the long steel material A. In particular, as the counting interval is increased giving priority to the counting speed, the possibility that the measurement position does not become the top of the long steel material A increases. In this case, the count of the long steel material A may leak. Conversely, if the measurement interval is reduced, there may be cases where a plurality of measurement positions are located near the apex of one long steel material. That is, there may be a case where a plurality of measured values Z that are close to the above-mentioned LD are obtained for one long steel material. In this case, the long steel material A may be counted two or more.

  Therefore, in the counting system 100 according to the present embodiment, the arithmetic unit 1 specifies the start and end of the distance measurement for each long steel material A from a plurality of measurement values obtained by the traveling displacement meter 3. I do. Then, the arithmetic unit 1 counts the long steel materials A based on the measurement values obtained from the start to the end of the distance measurement for each long steel material A.

Here, specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, a case where the long steel materials A are placed only one by a distance, a case where the long steel materials A are adjacent to each other without an interval, and The counting method in the counting system 100 will be described by taking each of them as an example. In FIG. 6, measurement points P1 to P22 represent points at which the distance from the displacement meter 3 is measured by the traveling displacement meter 3 in that order. Among the measurement points P1 to P22, P1, P2, P9, P10, P21, and P22 are points on the mounting surface 7 to be measured together with the long steel material A, and the other points are the surfaces of the long steel material A This is the point above. FIG. 7 shows measurement results (measurement values Z) at measurement points P1 to P10 in FIG. 6, and FIG. 8 shows measurement results at measurement points P10 to P22 in FIG. In this example, the distance L from the displacement meter 3 to the mounting surface 7 is 200 mm (L = 200), and the diameter D of the long steel material A is 10 mm (D = 10). Therefore, the measured value Z satisfies L ≦ Z ≦ (LD), that is, 200 ≦ Z ≦ 190.
The arithmetic unit 1 writes the measured value Z into the memory as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 each time the measured value Z is obtained from the displacement meter 3, and also calculates the measured value Z (Z (n-1)) at the immediately preceding measurement position. The difference (Z (n-1) -Zn) is calculated and written to the memory.

The arithmetic unit 1 stores in advance a threshold value Th1 for specifying the start of distance measurement for each long steel material A. Then, the arithmetic unit 1 compares the measured value Z with the threshold value Th1 every time the measured value Z is obtained from the displacement meter 3, and the traveling position when the measured value is obtained is the distance between the long steel material A and the running position. It is determined whether or not it is the position where the measurement is started.
The threshold value Th1 may be calculated as a predetermined ratio of the diameter D of the long steel material A to be measured. As an example, the threshold value Th1 is a value that satisfies Th1 = L− (D × A). The variable A is, for example, 0.75. In this example, the threshold value Th1 is approximately 193 mm (Th1 （193). In this case, referring to FIG. 7, when measurement value Z = 193 mm at measurement point P4 is obtained, arithmetic unit 1 determines that the position at which measurement of the distance from long steel material A is started is started. Referring to FIG. 8, when measurement value Z = 193 mm at measurement point P12 is acquired, arithmetic unit 1 determines that the position at which measurement of the distance to long steel material A is to be started is started.

When the arithmetic device 1 specifies the start of the measurement of the distance to the long steel material A, the measurement by the displacement meter 3 after the traveling position is in a state of measuring the distance to the long steel material A. I remember that. As an example, the arithmetic unit 1 includes a flag, and when the distance to one long steel material A is being measured, the flag is set to the ON state. In the following description or drawings, turning the flag ON or storing the ON state of the flag is also referred to as ON storage.
In FIG. 7, since the measured value at the measurement point P4 is equal to or smaller than the threshold value Th1, it is stored at the measurement point P4. In FIG. 8, since the measured value is equal to or smaller than the threshold value Th1 at the measurement point P12, it is stored at the measurement point P4. In FIG. 6, the measurement points in the on-state are indicated by white circles, and the measurement points when the on-state is not stored are indicated by black circles.

The arithmetic unit 1 checks whether or not it is stored on each time the measurement value Z is obtained from the displacement meter 3. If it is not stored on, it is compared with the above-mentioned threshold value Th1 to determine whether or not it is stored on. In the case where it is stored, the difference (Z (n−1) −Zn) from the measured value (Z (n−1)) at the immediately preceding measurement position, that is, the change in the measured value is positive or negative. Determine if there is. When the change in the measured value is negative, the position on the surface up to the vertex of the long steel material A is the measurement position. When the change in the measured value is positive, the position on the surface that advances in the X direction from the vertex of the long steel material A is the measurement position. Then, when it is determined that the change in the measured value has turned from negative to positive for the first time in the state where it is stored on, the arithmetic device 1 counts the long steel material A by one. That is, the arithmetic unit 1 includes a counter, and when it is determined that the change in the measured value has turned from negative to positive for the first time in the state where the counter is stored, the counter is incremented by one.
In FIG. 7, at the measurement point P6, the difference from the measurement value at the measurement point P5 is negative, and at the measurement point P7, the difference from the measurement value at the measurement point P6 turns positive for the first time. Therefore, the arithmetic unit 1 increments the counter by one at the measurement point P7. In FIG. 8, the difference between the measurement value at the measurement point P13 and the measurement value at the measurement point P13 is negative for the first time at the measurement point P13. Therefore, the arithmetic unit 1 increments the counter by one at the measurement point P14.

The arithmetic unit 1 stores in advance a threshold value Th2 for specifying the end of the measurement of the distance to one long steel material A. Then, the arithmetic unit 1 compares the measured value Z with the threshold value Th2 each time the measured value Z is obtained from the displacement meter 3 in the on-stored state, and the position of the displacement meter 3 from which the measured value is obtained is determined. It is determined whether or not the position at which the measurement of the distance between the one long steel material A is to be terminated is completed.
The threshold value Th2 may be calculated as a predetermined ratio of the diameter D of the long steel material A to be counted. As an example, the threshold value Th2 is a value that satisfies Th2 = L− (D × B). The variable B is, for example, 0.35. In the case of this example, the threshold value Th2 is approximately 196 mm (Th2 ≒ 196). In this case, referring to FIG. 7, when measurement value Z = 200 mm at measurement point P9 is acquired, arithmetic device 1 is the position where measurement of the distance between the single long steel material A is completed. Judge.

  However, when two or more long steel materials A to be counted are adjacent to each other without an interval as shown in FIG. 6, the next long steel material A comes before the measured value Z reaches the threshold value Th2. The measurement of the steel material A may be started. That is, the change of the measured value Z may turn negative before the measured value Z reaches the threshold value Th2. In this case, the arithmetic unit 1 specifies the end of the measurement of the distance to one long steel material based on the travel distance of the displacement gauge 3. Specifically, the arithmetic unit 1 uses the traveling position of the displacement meter 3 when the measurement of the distance between the displacement meter 3 and one long steel material is started (when the distance is stored) as a starting point. When the travel distance of the displacement gauge 3 becomes approximately the diameter D of the long steel material A, it is assumed that the measurement of the one long steel material A is completed and the measurement of the next long steel material A is started. Then, the on-memory of the long steel material A is canceled (the flag is reset). The arithmetic unit 1 can calculate the travel distance of the displacement meter 3 based on the measurement intervals of the displacement meter 3 stored in advance and the number of measurement values acquired from the displacement meter 3.

In order to make this determination, the arithmetic unit 1 further stores in advance a threshold Th3 for specifying the end of distance measurement for each long steel material A when two or more are adjacent or close to each other. . Then, the arithmetic unit 1 compares the measured value Z with the threshold value Th2 each time the measured value Z is obtained from the displacement meter 3 in a state where the stored value is on. As a result, when it is determined that the position is not the position at which the measurement of the distance between the one long steel material A is to be ended, the arithmetic unit 1 further stores on the one long steel material A The travel distance Xn of the displacement meter 3 from the travel position of the displacement meter 3 (the travel position corresponding to the measurement point P12 in FIG. 8) is compared with the threshold value Th3. Thereby, the arithmetic unit 1 determines whether or not the current position of the displacement meter 3 is the position where the measurement of the distance between the one long steel material A is completed.
When the on storage is canceled according to the above determination, the arithmetic unit 1 determines whether or not the measurement of the next long steel material A has been started, that is, whether or not the measured value is compared with the above-described threshold value Th1 and is on stored. Judge.
In the present counting system 100, the displacement meter 3 travels a predetermined distance, and the arithmetic unit 1 performs the above-described processing on each of the measured values during the travel, whereby the predetermined travel on the mounting surface 7 is performed. The long steel materials A placed side by side at the portion corresponding to the distance are counted.

  Note that a plurality of long steel materials A to be measured may overlap on the mounting surface 7. In the overlapping portion, the measured value Z is shorter than a distance obtained by subtracting the diameter D of the long steel material A from the distance L from the displacement meter 3 to the mounting surface 7 (Z <(LD)). Therefore, when the measurement value Z satisfies Z <LD, the arithmetic device 1 may notify an error. Alternatively, the arithmetic unit 1 further stores a threshold value for specifying the start and end of the measurement of the distance between the adjacent long steel materials A in the overlapping state, and places the threshold value on the mounting surface 7 in the overlapping state. You may make it count the long steel material put.

<Functional configuration>
FIG. 9 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a functional configuration of the arithmetic device 1 for performing the above operation. Each function of FIG. 9 is mainly realized by the CPU 10 of the arithmetic device 1 when the program stored in the ROM 11 is read out to the RAM 12 and executed. However, at least some of the functions may be realized by other hardware illustrated in FIG. 4 or other hardware such as an electric circuit (not illustrated).

Referring to FIG. 9, CPU 10 of arithmetic device 1 includes a signal input unit 101, a flag determination unit 102, a distance calculation unit 103, a difference calculation unit 104, and a counter determination unit 105.
The signal input unit 101 receives an input of a signal indicating a measured value from the displacement meter 3 via the communication device 16. The flag determination unit 102 stores the threshold values Th1 to Th3 in advance, and compares the measured value with the threshold value to determine whether to store on or whether to cancel on storage. judge. Then, the flag determination unit 102 causes the flag storage unit 121, which is a storage area included in the RAM 12, to store the current flag state. The distance calculation unit 103 calculates the traveling distance Xn of the displacement meter 3. The flag determination unit 102 determines whether to cancel the on-memory by comparing the travel distance Xn of the displacement meter 3 with the threshold value Th3 as necessary.
The difference calculator 104 calculates a difference between the measured value from the displacement meter 3 and the measured value at the immediately preceding measurement position. When the counter determining unit 105 determines that the difference has first turned from negative to positive in the on-stored state, the counter 122, which is a storage area included in the RAM 12, is incremented by one.

<Operation flow>
FIG. 10 is a flowchart showing a specific control flow in the arithmetic device 1 when a counting operation is performed in the counting system 100. The operation shown in the flowchart of FIG. 10 is realized by the CPU 10 of the arithmetic unit 1 reading out the program stored in the ROM 11 onto the RAM 12 and executing the program, and performing the functions shown in FIG. The operation in FIG. 10 is started, for example, by receiving a user operation for starting counting from the input device 14.

  Referring to FIG. 10, when the counting operation is started, CPU 10 of arithmetic unit 1 outputs a control signal to traveling device 5 to start traveling of displacement meter 3 (step S1). The CPU 10 monitors the traveling distance Xn of the displacement meter 3 based on the traveling speed of the displacement meter 3 and the elapsed time from the start of traveling stored in advance. Each time the travel distance of the displacement meter 3 reaches a predetermined measurement position (YES in step S3), the displacement meter 3 is instructed to measure the distance (step S5). The CPU 10 receives an input of a signal representing the measured distance from the displacement meter 3 and executes a counting process based on the signal (step S7). In step S7, the CPU 10 distinguishes the long steel materials A to be counted from the plurality of measured values from the displacement meter 3 by storing them one by one, and determines the start and end of the measurement for each long steel material A. It is specified (step S71). Then, the CPU 10 counts the long steel material A based on the measurement value obtained between the start and the end (Step S73).

  The CPU 10 repeats the above operation until the total of the traveling distance Xn of the displacement meter 3 from the start of traveling reaches a position defined in advance as a counting end position. When the displacement meter 3 reaches the end position (YES in step S15), the counting operation ends. Preferably, when the counting operation is completed, the CPU 10 outputs the counting result by displaying it on the display 15 or the like.

  FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing details of the counting process in step S7 in FIG. Referring to FIG. 11, when CPU 10 receives an input of a signal representing a measurement value at a certain measurement point Pn from displacement meter 3 (YES in step S101), CPU 10 measures the input measurement value by displacement meter 3. The distance Zn stored in the memory is stored (step S103).

If the timing at which the measured value of the measurement point Pn was obtained is not stored (NO in step S105), the CPU 10 compares the measured value of the distance Zn with the threshold Th1. When the distance Zn at the measurement point Pn is smaller than the threshold value Th1 (YES in step S107), the CPU 10 stores on (step S109). That is, the CPU 10 specifies the measurement point Pn as a start point of the measurement of the distance to one long steel material A.
If distance Zn at measurement point Pn is greater than threshold value Th1 (NO in step S107), CPU 10 waits for input of a measurement value at next measurement point P (n + 1) without performing subsequent operations. .

  When the timing at which the measurement value of the measurement point Pn is obtained is on storage (YES in step S105), or when the timing at which the measurement value of the measurement point Pn is obtained by the above operation is stored on, the CPU 10 sets the distance Zn. The difference between the measured value and the distance Z (n-1), which is the measured value at the immediately preceding measurement point P (n + 1), is calculated and stored in the memory (step S111). If the calculated difference is turned from negative to positive first after being stored on (YES in step S113), the CPU 10 increments the counter by one (step S115). That is, the CPU 10 counts one long steel material A.

  When on is stored, the CPU 10 compares the measured value of the distance Zn with the threshold Th2. As a result, when the distance Zn at the measurement point Pn is larger than the threshold value Th2 (YES in step S117), the CPU 10 cancels the ON storage (step S121). Alternatively, when the travel distance X of the displacement meter 3 from the travel position in the on-memory state before the distance Zn at the measurement point Pn reaches the threshold value Th2 when the travel distance X is stored in the on-state, Has reached the threshold value Th3 (YES in step S119), the CPU 10 cancels the ON storage (step S121). That is, in any of these cases, the CPU 10 specifies the measurement point Pn as the end point of the measurement of the distance to one long steel material A.

  The CPU 10 confirms whether or not the next measurement point P (n + 1) is a predetermined measurement end position. If the next measurement point P (n + 1) has not reached the end position (NO in step S123), the next measurement point P (n + 1) is determined. P (n + 1) is set as the measurement point Pn to be processed (step S125), and the operation after step S101 is repeated. If the next measurement point P (n + 1) is the end position of the measurement specified in advance (YES in step S123), it is determined that all the measurements have been completed, and the CPU 10 ends a series of operations. At this time, the CPU 10 may output the counting result stored in the counter on the display 15 or the like.

<Effects of First Embodiment>
With the present counting system 100 configured as described above, the displacement meter 3 measures the long steel material A in a state where the long steel material A to be counted is fixed on the mounting surface 7. The vehicle travels linearly in the target state, and the distance from the displacement gauge 3 to the long steel material is measured. Therefore, the distance from the displacement gauge 3 to the long steel material is measured without being affected by the vibration accompanying the movement of the long steel material A. Therefore, the counting accuracy is improved as compared with a general method of counting the long steel material by measuring the distance to the long steel material with a fixed optical displacement meter while aligning and moving the long steel material. be able to. Further, the relative movement speed between the long steel material and the optical displacement meter can be increased as compared with the above-described general counting method. Therefore, the counting speed can be increased as compared with the above-described general counting method.
In addition, the arithmetic unit 1 specifies the start and end of the distance measurement for each long steel material A based on the plurality of measurement values from the displacement meter 3, and based on the measurement values obtained during the measurement, determines the long length. The steel material A is counted. For this reason, it is possible to prevent omission of counting that may occur when the measurement interval of the displacement meter 3 is large and overlapping counting that may occur when the measurement interval is small. Therefore, the counting accuracy can be improved.

[Second embodiment]
The present counting system 100 may be used in cooperation with another device. The cooperating devices include, for example, a device for removing one or more specific long steel materials from a plurality of long steel materials A to be counted, a device for marking the long steel materials, and a predetermined number of long steel materials. A device for binding steel materials. Alternatively, the cooperating device may be a device mounted in the counting system 100. For example, a device for pushing out the long steel material A on the mounting surface 7 or a device for grasping and pulling out the long steel material A may be attached to the displacement meter 3, or a device for marking may be attached.

  In the counting system 100 according to the second embodiment, the arithmetic unit 1 counts, for example, “40” by a user operation on the input device 14 or input information from another device via the communication device 16. The designation of the number of long steel materials A to be performed is received. Further, the arithmetic device 1 communicates with the above-described cooperating device by the communication device 16. As described above, even if a cooperating device is mounted in the counting system 100, the arithmetic device 1 communicates with the cooperating device by the communication device 16 and transmits necessary information.

Referring to FIG. 9 again, CPU 10 of arithmetic device 1 according to the second embodiment further includes a specifying unit 106, a determining unit 107, and a transmitting unit 108 in order to perform the above operation.
The designation unit 106 accepts designation of the number of long steel materials A to be counted.
Each time the counter determining unit 105 counts one, the determining unit 107 refers to the counter 122 that stores the counting result to determine whether the specified number has been reached. When the determining unit 107 determines that the counting result has reached the specified number, the transmitting unit 108 transmits information indicating the travel position of the displacement meter 3 that has obtained the measured value determined as the specified number. A call is sent to the above-mentioned linked device.

  Referring again to FIG. 10, every time the arithmetic device 1 according to the second embodiment performs the counting process in step S <b> 7 and counts the long steel material A based on the measurement value from the displacement meter 3, the designation is performed. It is determined whether or not the number has been reached (step S9). If it is determined that the counted number has reached the specified number (YES in step S9), the arithmetic unit 1 associates information indicating the travel position of the displacement meter 3 when counting the number. (Step S11).

<Effect of Second Embodiment>
By performing the above operation in the counting system 100 according to the second embodiment, the specified number of long steel materials can be counted. Therefore, by cooperating with a device for restraining a predetermined number of long steel materials, a device for extracting or marking a predetermined number of long steel materials, a process after counting can be performed quickly.

  The embodiments disclosed this time are to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

  Reference Signs List 1 arithmetic unit, 3 displacement meter, 3a light emitting unit, 3b light receiving unit, 5 traveling device, 7 mounting surface, 8 rails, 10 CPU, 11 ROM, 12 RAM, 13 HDD, 14 input device, 15 display, 16 communication device , 31 communication device, 51 ball screw, 52 gripper, 53 communication device, 100 counting system, 101 signal input unit, 102 flag determination unit, 103 distance calculation unit, 104 difference calculation unit, 105 counter determination unit, 106 designation unit, 107 judgment part, 108 transmission part, 121 flag storage part, 122 counter, A long steel material, M motor.

Claims (3)

An optical displacement meter for measuring the distance between the object to be measured, and
A traveling device for traveling the optical displacement meter in a straight line,
Acquiring a measurement value measured by the optical displacement meter, and an arithmetic device for counting the long steel material based on the measurement value,
In the traveling device, the optical displacement meter is in a plane parallel to a mounting surface on which long steel materials as the measurement target are placed in parallel and intersects with the longitudinal direction of the long steel material. Run on a straight line in the direction
The arithmetic unit specifies the start of the measurement of the distance and the end of the measurement for each long steel material from among the plurality of measurement values at the plurality of traveling positions of the optical displacement meter, and the measurement of the distance for each long steel material. counting the long steel based from the start of measurement to the measurement values obtained until completion,
The arithmetic device is obtained from a distance from the mounting surface to the optical displacement meter and a first threshold obtained from a diameter of the long steel material, and from a start to an end of the measurement of the distance. By comparing the measured values, the start of the distance measurement and the end of the measurement are specified for each long steel material,
The arithmetic unit further compares a second threshold obtained from the diameter of the long steel material with a travel distance of the optical displacement meter from the start of the distance measurement for each long steel material, Specify the end of distance measurement for each long steel material,
Counting system. The arithmetic unit includes:
Judging means for judging whether or not the counting result based on the measured value from the optical displacement meter has reached a predetermined number,
Transmitting means for transmitting, when it is determined that the counting result has reached the predetermined number, information indicating a traveling position of the optical displacement meter that has obtained the measured value determined as the predetermined number. The counting system according to claim 1 . A method of counting long steel materials placed side by side,
Running an optical displacement meter for measuring the distance between the measurement object and a straight line in a direction intersecting the longitudinal direction of the long steel material,
From a plurality of measurement values obtained by the optical displacement meter, a step of specifying the start of the measurement of the distance and the end of the measurement for each long steel material,
E Bei the steps of: counting a long steel on the basis of the measurements taken between the start and end of the measurement distance in each of the elongated steel,
In the step of specifying the start of the measurement and the end of the first measurement, a first threshold obtained from a distance from the mounting surface to the optical displacement meter and a diameter of the long steel material, and a measurement of the distance By comparing the measured values obtained from the start to the end, the start of the distance measurement and the end of the measurement are specified for each long steel material, and further, the second obtained from the diameter of the long steel material Identifying the end of the distance measurement for each long steel material by comparing the threshold value of 2 with the travel distance of the optical displacement meter from the start of the distance measurement for each long steel material;
Counting method.

Images