JPH04268486A - Detecting device for wrong arrangement of piston rings - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To detect the existence of wrong-arranged piston rings of which the upper and lower surfaces are arranged reversely, in a piston ring stack. CONSTITUTION:A reflected light from a stack of piston rings is sensed by a light-sensing element and subjected to photoelectric conversion. Then ON-OFF signals are obtained in the case of a taper face ring or the like of which the outer peripheral surface is divided into two areas being different in reflectance in the axial direction. When a piston ring arranged wrong exists in the stack, an ON state or an OFF state ranges between the adjacent piston rings in the part wherein that ring exists, and consequently the number of ON-OFF times is reduced by the part in this state. The ON-OFF signals are counted by a counter, and when the number thereof is smaller than the regular one, accordingly, it is known that the piston ring arranged wrong exists. Besides, it is also possible to calculate the position of the wrong arranged piston ring or the positions and the total number of such rings from the aforesaid signals by a prescribed arithmetic means.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a device for detecting the presence of reversely aligned piston rings in a stack of piston rings, and is effective in preventing piston rings from being assembled in reverse directions onto pistons of internal combustion engines, etc. It is something.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art The vertical direction of a piston ring for an internal combustion engine is determined when it is assembled to a piston. The upper surface of the abutment of the piston ring is engraved, making it possible to check its vertical direction. However, most of the assembly to the piston is done by automatic machines, so if a stack of piston rings that is lined up in the opposite direction gets mixed in, it will be assembled to the piston as is.

For example, if the direction of a tapered ring, which is often used as a second ring, is reversed, the amount of lubricating oil consumed increases. For this reason, after the final inspection of the piston rings and before packaging, it is necessary to confirm the presence or absence of reverse alignment, and conventionally this has been done by visually inspecting from one direction to check for the presence or absence of markings.

0004

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention] The conventional method of checking whether the piston rings are reversely aligned is time-consuming and
Furthermore, no matter how rigorously the inspection is carried out, the detection of reverse alignment is uncertain because it is influenced by human factors such as the examiner's skill, visual acuity, and state of fatigue.

An object of the present invention is to provide a piston ring reverse alignment detection device that can easily and reliably detect the presence of reversely aligned piston rings in a stack of piston rings.

[0006]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The structure of the present invention is such that the upper and lower surfaces are arranged in opposite directions in a stack in which a large number of piston rings are arranged in which the reflectance of the outer circumferential surface is different in the axial direction at least in the region of both ends. A piston ring reverse alignment detection device that detects the presence of a ring that has been removed includes a light receiving section that can move relatively along the axial direction of the stack and receives reflected light from the outer peripheral surface of the ring, and a light receiving section that receives an optical signal received by the light receiving section. It is characterized by comprising a photoelectric conversion section that converts into an electrical signal, a counter section that counts a specific signal from the output signal of the photoelectric conversion section, and a display section that displays the count counted by the counter section. .

The present invention may have the following configuration. In other words, piston ring reverse alignment detection detects the presence of a ring whose upper and lower surfaces are arranged in opposite directions in a stack of arranged piston rings whose outer circumferential surfaces have different reflectances in the axial direction at least in both end regions. The apparatus includes: a light receiving section that can move relatively along the axial direction of the stack and receives reflected light from the outer peripheral surface of the ring; a photoelectric conversion section that converts an optical signal received by the light receiving section into an electrical signal; and a photoelectric conversion section. a calculation means for calculating the position or position and total number of piston rings whose upper and lower surfaces are arranged in opposite directions from the output signal of the calculation means; and displaying the position or position and total number of piston rings whose upper and lower surfaces are arranged in opposite directions calculated by the calculation means. It is characterized by comprising a display section.

[0008] In the above structure, it is preferable that the light receiving section is fixed to a jig having a guide groove that accommodates the stack and allows the stack to be moved in the axial direction.

[0009]

[Function] The reflected light from the outer circumferential surface of the ring that is received by the light receiving part is weak on surfaces with low reflectance and strong on surfaces with high reflectance, so the reflectance of the outer circumferential surface is different in the axial direction at least in the regions of both ends. In a stack of many piston rings arranged in a row, by detecting the reflected light from the outer circumferential surface of the rings and converting it into an electrical signal, a regular ON-OFF signal can be obtained if the piston rings are arranged in the normal direction. It will be done.

However, if there are rings in the piston ring stack whose upper and lower surfaces are arranged in opposite directions, there will be parts with the same reflectance between the ends of adjacent piston rings in that part. The state or OFF state continues, resulting in an irregular ON-OFF signal in this part. Therefore, if the ON-OFF signals mentioned above are counted by a counter, the number of counts will be lower in a stack with reverse alignment than in a stack with normal alignment, so this count will determine whether or not there is a piston ring with reverse alignment. can be determined.

[0011] Furthermore, from the above irregular ON-OFF signals, the position or position and total number of reversely aligned piston rings can be calculated using a predetermined calculation means.

0012

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As shown in FIG. 2, a completed piston ring 1 with a tapered face has a large diameter on the lower side of its outer peripheral surface, and a contact surface 2 is generally formed by lapping. The axial width of piston ring 1 is 2 to 3 m.
m, and the width of the contact surface 2 is 0.3 to 0.5 mm. The surface roughness of the contact surface 2 is, for example, 0.8 μm, and the surface roughness of the tapered surface 3 adjacent to the contact surface 2 is approximately 3 μm. Therefore, the impact surface 2 has a higher reflectance than the tapered surface 3, and the outer circumferential surface of the piston ring 1 is divided into two regions having different reflectances in the axial direction.

A device for detecting reversely aligned piston rings 1 in the stack 4 in which a large number of piston rings 1 are aligned will be described below.

In FIG. 3, the guide jig 5 has a straight guide groove 6 having a V-shaped cross section formed on its upper surface, and a groove slope 7 guides the stack 4 of the piston rings 1. The guide jig 5 has a horizontal hole 8 penetrating from the outer surface to the groove slope 7, and a light projecting/light receiving member 11 having a light projecting section 9 and a light receiving section 10 is inserted and fixed into this horizontal hole 8. and facing the guide groove 6. Various types of light emitting/receiving members 11 can be used here, and for example, a narrow field-of-view type reflective beam sensor can be used. Here, the position of the light receiving part 10 is between the outer peripheral surface of the piston ring 1 to be inspected and the groove slope 7.
The distance from the outer circumferential surface of the piston ring 1 must be appropriately selected in consideration of the aperture of the light receiving section 10 used and the detection distance.

The light emitting/receiving member 11 includes an optical fiber 1
2 to the photoelectric converter 13, the photoelectric converter 13
A counting counter 14 including a counter section and a display section for displaying the counted number is connected to.

Therefore, when the stack 4 of piston rings 1 is moved in the axial direction along the groove slope 7 of the guide jig 5, the piston rings 1 out of the light emitted from the light projecting section 9
The light reflected on the outer peripheral surface of is captured by the light receiving section 10,
The signal is transmitted to a photoelectric converter 13 via an optical fiber 12. It is then converted into an electrical signal. The output signal is shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, the light reflected from the tapered surface 3 has a low reflectance, so the output is low, and the light reflected from the striking surface 2 has a high reflectance, so the output is high, and the electrical ON- O
An FF signal is obtained. And this ON-OFF signal is
This is transmitted to the counting counter 14, and the number of ON outputs is counted and displayed.

In this case, as shown in FIG.
If the 1st piston ring 1 is aligned in the correct alignment, and the next 4th piston ring 1 is in reverse alignment with the upper and lower surfaces arranged in opposite directions, the contact surfaces 2 of the 3rd and 4th piston rings 1 will be connected. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 1, there is one ON output for the third and fourth piston rings 1, and the counting counter 14 has (total number of piston rings 1 -
The number of 1) is displayed. In this way, piston ring 1
If there is a reversely aligned piston ring 1 in the stack 4, the total number of piston rings 1 will be different from the number displayed on the counting counter 14, so the presence of the reversely aligned piston ring 1 will be detected. can.

Therefore, the inspector first counts the total number of piston rings 1 in advance, and presses the reset switch 15 to set the display on the counting counter 14 to 0. Next, the stack 4 of piston rings 1 is placed in the groove 6 of the guide jig 5, and the stack 4 is manually moved in the axial direction from the beginning to the end, so that the counter 14 displays the number of ON outputs. In this way, the inspector can compare the total number of piston rings in the stack 4 with the number displayed on the counting counter 14, and if the two numbers match, it can be detected that there is no reversely aligned piston ring 1; The presence of reversely aligned piston rings 1 can be detected. In this case, since the first or last piston ring 1 that is reversely aligned cannot be detected, it is necessary to visually confirm only this part.

[0020] If the total number of piston rings does not match the count number, it is convenient to add a device that issues an alarm with a lamp or buzzer.

[0021] The above example only detects whether or not there is a reversely aligned piston ring in a stack of piston rings, but cannot detect its position, etc.; however, the position and total number of reversely aligned piston rings are shown below. A device that can detect this will be explained.

In FIG. 4, a guide jig 5, a light projecting/light receiving member 11 comprising a light projecting section 9 and a light receiving section 10, and an optical fiber 12 are shown.
, and photoelectric converter 13 are the same as described above. In this example, an arithmetic device 16 consisting of a successive approximation type AD converter and a computer is connected to the photoelectric converter 13. A display device 17 for displaying is connected.

An example of the calculation of the calculation device 16 will be described below with reference to FIG.
This will be explained using the flowchart shown in .

Here, tl is the detection start time for reflected light below the reference intensity, th is the detection start time for the reflected light above the reference intensity, TL is the detection duration time for the reflected light below the reference intensity, and TH is the detection start time for the reflected light below the reference intensity. The detection duration of the reflected light, K, is the standard value of TH /TL.

In FIG. 5, first, at 21, tl1, th1, TL1, and TH1 are read from the electrical signals shown in FIG. Next, in step 22, TH1/TL1 is calculated. And 23
Then, it is checked whether tl1 is smaller than th1. Figure 1
Since it is small in the case of , the process proceeds to step 24 and it is determined that the first piston ring 1 is correctly aligned.

Next, in 25, whether TH1/TL1≒K or TH
Determine whether 1/TL1≒2K. In this case, TH1/
Since TL1≒K, return to 21 and next tl2, th2,
Read TL2 and TH2. Next, at 22, TH2/TL
Calculate 2. Then, in step 23, it is checked whether tl2 is smaller than th2. In the case of FIG. 1, since it is small, the process proceeds to 24, where it is determined that the second piston ring 1 is correctly aligned.

Next, in 25, whether TH2/TL2≒K or TH
Determine whether 2/TL2≈2K. In this case, TH2/
Since TL2≒K, return to 21 and next tl3, th3,
Read TL3 and TH3. Next, at 22, TH3/TL
Calculate 3. Then, in step 23, it is checked whether tl3 is smaller than th3. In the case of FIG. 1, since it is small, the process proceeds to 24, where it is determined that the third piston ring 1 is correctly aligned.

Next, at 25, whether TH3/TL3≒K or TH
3/Determine whether TL3≒2K. In this case, TH3/
Since TL3≒2K, proceed to 26 and th4=th3+T
Read the next tl4, TL4, and TH4 as H3/2. Next, proceed to step 22 to calculate TH4/TL4. Then, in step 23, it is checked whether tl4 is smaller than th4. In the case of Figure 1, since tl4 is larger than th4, 2
7, it is determined that the fourth piston ring 1 is reversely aligned.

Next, in 28, whether TH4/TL4≒K or TH
4/Determine whether TL4≒K/2. In this case, TH4
/TL4≒K, so return to 21 and next tl5, th5
, TL5, TH5. Then at 22, TH5/T
Calculate L5. Then, in step 23, it is checked whether tl5 is smaller than th5. In the case of Figure 1, tl5 is th5
Since it is larger than , the process proceeds to step 27 and it is determined that the fifth piston ring 1 is reversely aligned.

Next, in 28, whether TH5/TL5≒K or TH
5/TL5≒K/2 is determined. In this case, TH5
/TL5≒K/2, so proceed to 29 and tl6=tl5
Read the next th6, TL6, and TH6 as +TL5/2. Next, proceed to step 22 to calculate TH6/TL6. Then, in step 23, it is checked whether tl6 is smaller than th6. In the case of FIG. 1, since it is small, the process proceeds to 24, where it is determined that the sixth piston ring 1 is correctly aligned.

Next, at 25, whether TH6/TL6≒K or TH
6/Determine whether TL6≒2K. In this case, TH6/
Since TL6≒K, return to 21 and next tl7, th7,
Read TL7 and TH7. Next, at 22, TH7/TL
Calculate 7. Then, in step 23, it is checked whether tl7 is smaller than th7. In the case of FIG. 1, since it is small, the process proceeds to 24, where it is determined that the seventh piston ring 1 is correctly aligned.

[0032] In the same manner, it is determined whether the piston rings 1 are normally aligned or reversely aligned. In this way, since the position of the reversely aligned piston rings 1 is known, the total number of reversely aligned piston rings 1 is also known.

[0033] In the above example, a piston ring with a tapered face cross-sectional shape was used as an example, but the piston ring according to the present invention is not limited to this type. It goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to any piston ring in which the reflectance of the outer circumferential surface is different in the axial direction at least in the regions of both ends.

[0034] Furthermore, in the above, the light receiving section 10 is fixed;
Although the stack 4 is moved, it may be configured such that the stack is fixed and the light receiving section is moved. for example,
A light receiving section is fixed to the tip of the handle and the handle is moved along the stack, or a jig is provided to guide the light receiving section, thereby moving the light receiving section along the stack.

[0035]

As explained above, according to the piston ring reverse alignment detection device of the first aspect, it is possible to determine whether or not there is a reversely aligned piston ring in the piston ring stack, According to the reverse alignment detection device, the position or position and total number of reversely aligned piston rings in the piston ring stack can be detected.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an output signal after photoelectric conversion of reflected light in the stack of FIG. 2;

FIG. 2 is a front view showing a stack in which a large number of piston rings are arranged.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the piston ring reverse alignment detection device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing another configuration of the piston ring reverse alignment detection device of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart diagram illustrating an example of calculation by the calculation device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Piston ring 2 Contact surface 3 Tapered surface 4 Piston ring stack 5 Guide jig 6 Guide groove 7 Groove slope 8 Horizontal hole 9 Light projecting section 10 Light receiving section 11 Light projecting/light receiving member 12 Optical fiber 13 Photoelectric converter 14 Counter 15 Reset switch 16 Arithmetic device 17 Display device tl Detection start time th of reflected light below the reference intensity
Detection start time for reflected light with a reference intensity or higher TL Detection duration of reflected light with a reference intensity or lower TH Standard value of detection duration of reflected light with a reference intensity or higher K TH /TL

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A piston ring that detects the presence of a ring whose upper and lower surfaces are arranged in opposite directions in a stack of a large number of piston rings whose outer circumferential surfaces have different reflectances in the axial direction at least in both end regions. In the reverse alignment detection device, a light receiving section that can move relatively along the axial direction of the stack and receives reflected light from the outer peripheral surface of the ring, and a photoelectric conversion section that converts the optical signal received by the light receiving section into an electrical signal; A piston ring reverse alignment detection device comprising: a counter section that counts a specific signal from an output signal of a photoelectric conversion section; and a display section that displays the count counted by the counter section. 2. A piston ring that detects the presence of a ring whose upper and lower surfaces are arranged in opposite directions in a stack of a large number of piston rings whose outer circumferential surfaces have different reflectances in the axial direction at least in both end regions. In the reverse alignment detection device, a light receiving section that can move relatively along the axial direction of the stack and receives reflected light from the outer peripheral surface of the ring, and a photoelectric conversion section that converts the optical signal received by the light receiving section into an electrical signal; Calculating means for calculating the position or position and total number of piston rings whose upper and lower surfaces are arranged in opposite directions from the output signal of the photoelectric conversion unit; and the position or position and total number of piston rings whose upper and lower surfaces are arranged in reverse directions calculated by the calculation means. A piston ring reverse alignment detection device comprising: a display section that displays. 3. The piston ring reverse alignment detection device according to claim 1, wherein the light receiving section is fixed to a jig equipped with a guide groove that accommodates the stack and allows the stack to be moved in the axial direction. .