JPH0429009A - Method and device for automatic deformation inspection of tile or the like - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To improve the inspection efficiency by providing ultrasonic sensors corresponding to two points each of the cleat side and neck side of the surface of a tile, etc., comparing the outputs of the ultrasonic sensors with a computer, and deciding whether the tile is normal or defective. CONSTITUTION:A cleat tile W has the flank positioned by a fixed guiding roller and the top surface pressed by a pressure roller 6 at an inspection position and is supported at three points on conveyors 1 and 2. The cleat tile W to be inspected is supplied onto the conveyors 1-3 in order and when a detection sensor detects the tile reaching a measurement position, ultrasonic height sensors 7a and 7b, and 8a and 8b are put in operation to detect and input distances (height) of the cleat tile W corresponding to specific positions (before and behind the cleat side and before and behind the neck side) to the computer 12. The computer 12 compares the input signals from the sensors 7a and 7b, and 8a and 8b with a preset reference value, decides whether the tile is normal or defective according to the permissible range, and displays the decision result on a display device 14.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to an automatic tile distortion inspection method and apparatus for determining the quality of tile products such as crosspiece tiles or semi-finished products thereof, and in particular,
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for automatically inspecting the distortion of tiles in a non-contact manner during the process of transporting them on a conveyor.

(Prior art) It is well known that tile products are generally distorted during the forming and firing process, but until now, the discrimination between good and defective products based on this distortion has been done visually. I couldn't make a decision.

In order to solve this problem, the Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 61-26
Methods and devices for mechanically inspecting distortion have been proposed as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 5504 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 63120206.

In the former method, a guide roller that supports the back side of the product and a side roller that guides both sides are provided at the inspection position where the tile product to be inspected is brought in, and these rollers are set at predetermined portions on the surface of the tile product at the inspection position. In addition, a potentiometer with a touch roller at the lower end is disposed at a position opposite to the upper part of each inspection point, and the vertical position of each inspection point is measured by the potentiometer, and three inspection points that serve as standards are set. This is a so-called contact-type strain testing method and device, which tests for non-defective products, defective punch lines, and defective springs based on the height position of a specific point.

The latter includes a transport conveyor that horizontally transports the object to be measured, a flat belt conveyor placed on one side of the transport conveyor to guide one side of the object to be measured, and a transport conveyor opposite the flat belt conveyor. A biasing means is disposed on the other side and presses and biases the object to be measured against the flat belt conveyor; a plurality of optical sensors that detect the distance of the object, a computing unit that calculates the distortion of the object by comparing the measured values detected by each optical sensor with the measured values of the reference object detected in advance; This is a non-contact tile distortion determination device that includes a determiner that determines the distortion of a non-measurable object based on the output of the device.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In the former, that is, the contact strain testing method and device described in JP-A-61-265504, the position of each testing point is measured by a potentiometer via a touch roller. The touch roller needs to be in constant contact with the tile product, which causes wear or (li) wear, requiring frequent roller replacement and measurement reference point adjustment. However, maintenance and management were troublesome, and inspection accuracy was not fully satisfactory.

On the other hand, the latter, that is, the non-contact type strain testing device described in JP-A No. 63-120206, uses a non-contact type, so although the former problem can be solved, it uses an optical sensor as a detection means. This makes it possible for the optical sensor to prevent clogging, especially when used in work sites where a large amount of soot is generated, such as when making roof tiles, and when the product itself is used in a bad environment with soot attached to it. It is easy to wake up, requires frequent cleaning, is still troublesome to maintain and manage, and is also limited in its use.

Furthermore, conventionally known methods and devices for testing strain on tile products cannot measure the depth of valleys, so although they can distinguish between defective punch lines, defective springs, and non-defective products, they cannot distinguish between non-defective products and defective products based on valley defects. We were unable to avoid such problems.

(Means for Solving the Problem) According to the present invention, the tiles W being transported on the conveyor 1.2.3 are pressed from above at the inspection position, and the trough head side and the trough portion of the bottom of the tiles are It is supported at three points on the butt side and the machine side, and ultrasonic sensors 7a, 7b, 8a, and 8b are provided corresponding to four points in total, two points in front and back on the machine side and collar side of the surface of the tile. Calculate the output from the sound wave sensor! ! 412 and performs a comparison calculation using the computer to determine whether a punch line defect, a spring defect, a non-defective product, or a valley defect is determined. and inspection value 1 of tiles W transferred on conveyors 1, 2.3
Correspondingly, a linearly movable string conveyor 2 supporting the center of the trough and a top chain conveyor 1 having a flat plate supporting the machine side are provided on the bottom side of the tiles W, and a top chain conveyor 1 is provided on the bottom side of the tiles W. A presser roller 6 is provided at a position closer to the machine side from the center in the transfer direction, and a fixed guide roller 4 that supports the side surface of the tile W on the rail side and a movable guide roller 5 that supports the side surface of the collar side of the tile W are provided; An automatic tile strain inspection device is obtained, which is characterized in that ultrasonic sensors 7a, 7b, 8a, and 8b are provided corresponding to inspection points on the tile surface.

(Example> The embodiments shown in the drawings will be described below.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, two reference conveyors 1.2 and an auxiliary conveyor 3 are provided in parallel in the main body of the automatic strain inspection apparatus for tile products such as crosspiece tiles or semi-finished products thereof. The tile tiles W are transported by these conveyors.

Of the two reference conveyors 1 and 2, the conveyor located on the lower surface of the machine side of the tile W is constituted by a top chain conveyor 1 having a flat plate on the upper surface.
The conveyor 2 located at the lower surface of the center (center of gravity) is constituted by a string-like conveyor 2 having an arcuate surface on the upper surface.

Further, the auxiliary conveyor 3 is provided on the lower surface of the collar side of the tile W, so that the tile W rises from the conveyor 3 at the inspection position.

A fixed guide roller 4 is provided on the side surface of the tile W on the side of the tile W, and is rotatable in a fixed position by contacting the side surface of the tile W. A movable guide roller 5 is provided that rotates while constantly pressing the collar-side side surface of the tile W.

On the other hand, on the upper surface of the crosspiece tile W, a press roller 6 that rotates while pressing the upper surface of the crosspiece tile W and is movable up and down is provided at a position closer to the crosspiece from the center in the transport direction of the crosspiece tile W.

Therefore, when the crosspiece tile W is at the inspection position, the side surface of the crosspiece tile W is held by the fixed kite roller 4! At the same time, the upper surface is pressed by the press roller 6, the lower surface is supported by the top chain conveyor 1 on the head side or the tail side of the lower surface on the crosspiece side, and the center (
Center of gravity position) Two points on the lower surface are supported by the string conveyor 2, providing three-point support.

Then, ultrasonic height sensors 7a, 7b, 8a,
8b is provided. The ultrasonic sensors 7a, 7b,
8a8b are supported by one ends of support arms 10a, 10b, lla, and llb fixed to the support frame 9, respectively.

And ultrasonic height sensors 7a, 7b.

8a and 8b are connected to the computer 12.

Further, on the bottom side of the crosspiece tile W, there is a crosspiece tile W that is being transferred.
A position sensor 13 is provided to detect the position of the crosspiece W, and the position sensor 13 detects the position of the crosspiece W.
2, the measurement timings of the ultrasonic height sensors 7a, 7b, 8a, and 8b are output.

14 is a display device, 15 is a prime mover such as a motor, and a chain
The reference conveyor 1.2 and the auxiliary conveyor 3 are driven via known power transmission devices such as sprockets.

Next, a method for automatically detecting distortion of a crosspiece tile according to the present invention will be explained.

First, a good crosspiece tile serving as a reference is inserted into the measurement position of the reference conveyor 1.2, and as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the bottom of the valley of the crosspiece W 2 points E and F in front and back of
Or adjust the inclination of the central reference conveyor 2 so that it makes contact at one point on the rear H, a total of three points.
As shown in FIG. 5, the ultrasonic sensors 7a, 7b,
8a and 8b correspond to the inspection position on the surface of the crosspiece tile, and the distance wL (height) to the surface of the crosspiece tile is measured by ultrasonic height sensors 7a and 7b.
, 8a8b''r are read and inputted to the calculator 12 as a reference value (measurement median value), and an allowable range (limit value for pass/fail determination) for this reference value is set.

Next, the crosspiece tile W to be inspected is fed onto the first conveyor 1゜2.3, and when the position sensor 13 detects that the crosspiece tile W has reached the measurement position, the ultrasonic height sensor 7a, 7b, 8a, and 8b operate to detect distances (heights) corresponding to predetermined positions of the crosspiece W (front and rear of the crosspiece side and front and rear of the collar side), and input the distances (heights) to the calculator 12.

The computing device 12 uses these ultrasonic height sensors 7a, 7b, 8a.
, 8b are compared with a preset reference value, and if the input signal is within the allowable range, it is determined to be a good product, and if it is outside the allowable range, it is determined to be a defective product and displayed on the display device 14.

At this time, as shown in Figure 5, the front position on the crosspiece side is A, the rear position W on the machine side is B, the front position on the collar side is C1, the rear position on the collar side is D, and B for a>A and / Alternatively, if the difference in height between D and B exceeds the maximum or minimum range, it is determined that there is a valley defect.

b) If the heights of B with respect to A and D with respect to C are within the upper and lower limits, the product is determined to be non-defective.

C) Also, compare the absolute values of the height difference of B with respect to A and the height difference of D with respect to C, and when the AB side is larger, A
If >B, the punch line is defective, and if A/ζB, the flap is defective. on the other hand,
When C and Dll are large, if C>D, the spring is defective, C
If it is OD, it is determined that the punch line is defective.

If necessary, it is also possible to display the type of defect and numerical value indicating the degree of defect on the display device. In addition, although not shown in the drawings, a good/defective product switching device is provided at the rear stage of this inspection device, and a good/defective product/defective product is determined by a pass/fail determination signal from the computer 12.
A defective product switching device may be operated to automatically distinguish between non-defective products and defective products.

(Effects of the Invention) According to the present invention, it is possible to automatically inspect the tile product for distortion and determine whether it is good or bad while transporting the tile product on a conveyor without having to temporarily stop it with a stopper as in the past, thereby greatly improving inspection efficiency. improve. Moreover, since the distance (height) is measured using an ultrasonic height sensor, there is a problem with reduced accuracy due to abrasion of the contact part, which is a problem with conventional contact methods such as touch rolls, and non-contact methods using conventional optical sensors. It also eliminates problems with the contact type, such as reduced accuracy caused by clogging of the optical sensor due to dust such as soot, and frequent leaning.

In addition, since the type of defect and degree of defect (numerical value) can be confirmed early on using the display device, the cause of the defect can be fed back to the manufacturing site to improve operations and reduce the rate of defective products. It has the effect of

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a schematic front view of the non-contact type automatic strain detection device for crosspiece tiles of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a side view of the same, Fig. 3 is a side sectional view taken along the line FIG. 5 is a side cross-sectional view taken along the line 1 to 3, and a plan view showing the relationship between the crosspiece tiles and the ultrasonic sensor at the inspection position. 1: Reference conveyor (top chain conveyor) 2: Reference conveyor (string conveyor) 3: Auxiliary conveyor 4: Fixed kite roller 4: Movable kite roller 6: Presser rollers 7a, 7b, 8a, 8b
:Ultrasonic height sensor 9:Support frame 10a, 10b, 11a, 11b:Support arm 12:
Computing machine 13: Position sensor

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1) The tiles being transferred on the conveyor are pressed from above at the inspection position, and the bottom of the tiles is inspected at the top of the trough, the bottom of the trough, and the three sides of the crosspiece.
At the same time, ultrasonic sensors are provided corresponding to four points in total, at least two points in the front and back on the crosspiece side and the collar side, and the output from the ultrasonic sensors is input into a computer, An automatic distortion inspection method for roof tiles, characterized in that the computing machine performs comparison calculations to determine punch line defects, spring defects, non-defective products, and valley defects. 2) A top chain that has a linearly movable string conveyor that supports the center of the trough and a flat plate that supports the crosspiece on the bottom side of the tiles that are transferred on the conveyor, corresponding to the inspection position of the tiles. A conveyor is provided, and a presser roller is provided on the surface side of the tiles at a position closer to the crosspiece side from the center in the transport direction, and a fixed guide roller that supports the side surface of the tiles on the crosspiece side and a movable guide that supports the side surface of the tiles. A roller is provided, and further,
An automatic roof tile distortion inspection device characterized in that an ultrasonic sensor is provided corresponding to the inspection point on the roof tile surface.