JPH0481760B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention is directed to easily extracting a predetermined length from a large number of columnar objects such as nuclear fuel pellets, ceramic sintered bodies, or bearings arranged in the axial direction. The present invention relates to an apparatus for forming columns of columnar objects that can be taken out at different times.

[Technical background of the invention and its problems]

Generally, in fuel rods used in nuclear reactors,
Many of them are divided into a plurality of regions in the axial direction, and each region is loaded with a predetermined type of nuclear fuel pellet. In particular, for BWR fuel rods, the inside of the fuel rod is divided into multiple regions in the axial direction for the purpose of flattening the axial distribution of power in the reactor, ensuring margin for reactor shutdown, and pursuing fuel economy. There is one in which nuclear fuel pellets with different U ₂₃₅ enrichment levels are loaded into the cladding tube for each region. In addition, for the same purpose, there is also a device in which pellets with different concentrations of combustible absorbent material are loaded in each region. on the other hand,
Although PWR fuel rods do not have the same axial non-uniformity of in-core power as BWR, similar studies are being conducted to improve fuel economy. Furthermore, in the FBR, pellets are loaded in sections divided in the axial direction into a blanket section and a fuel section.

Furthermore, the total length of the pellet row to be loaded may vary depending on the reactor, for example, even when looking only at BWR.

Looking at this from the nuclear fuel loading work side, for example, even when producing only fuel rods for BWR, the total length of the pellet row to be loaded differs depending on the reactor, and the number and length of the axial regions vary. This differs depending on the type of fuel rod, and the type of pellets to be loaded also differs from region to region. Moreover, for fuel rods whose overall length, area length, and pellet type vary depending on the type of fuel rod, it is necessary to ensure that pellets with approximately the same appearance are loaded. In addition, in the case of nuclear fuel pellets made of uranium dioxide combustible bodies, the length of the pellets varies because they are formed into cylindrical objects by powder pressing and sintering. Therefore, this loading operation requires a long time and has problems such as high cost.

That is, in order to obtain a row of a predetermined length by arranging columnar objects such as fuel pellets in order in the axial direction as described above, generally the length of each of the plurality of columnar objects is measured, and the length of the columnar objects is integrated to obtain a row of a predetermined length. Alternatively, a method is adopted in which the length of the row to be formed is marked on the alignment tray in advance and the marked line is manually drawn to form a predetermined row length. ing.

However, as described above, measuring the length of each columnar object is laborious, requires a long time to form the column length, and has a large cumulative error. In addition, when using an alignment tray with marking lines, prepare alignment trays for forming a variety of row lengths depending on the type of fuel rods, and select the alignment tray that corresponds to the type of fuel rods to be loaded. It is necessary to choose. Furthermore, it is necessary to manually align the overall length and the length of each area, which requires a long time to complete the work.

[Purpose of the invention]

In view of these points, it is an object of the present invention to provide a columnar object row forming apparatus that has a simple configuration, is fast, and can accurately form a column of a predetermined length.

[Summary of the invention]

The present invention provides an alignment tray having a groove for axially aligning and storing a large number of columnar objects, a stopper that is removably attached to a predetermined position of the alignment tray and that limits the axial movement of the columnar objects within the groove, and a stopper as described above. a pusher that presses a row of columnar objects against the stopper; and a gripper that can grip the columnar objects located in the groove and is movable in the axial direction of the groove within the groove; With an edge located at a distance from the stopper that is the predetermined length of a row of many columnar objects plus allowable tolerances,
The present invention is characterized in that at least one columnar object in the columnar object row is held between the grippers, and by moving the gripper, the columnar object row ahead in the moving direction is moved in the axial direction.

[Embodiments of the invention]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 9.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 denotes a transport tray on which multiple rows of columnar objects 11 such as nuclear fuel pellets are arranged and stacked, and each of the transport trays 10 moves in a direction perpendicular to the vertical rows of columnar objects. It is placed on a tray support plate 12 that can be used.

In front of the tray support plate 12, the tray support plate 1
An alignment tray 13 having a V-shaped cross section is fixedly provided so that its axis coincides with one of the columns of the columnar objects 11 of the transport tray 10 placed on the transfer tray 10 .

On the other hand, above one side of the tray support plate 12,
A pusher device 16 is disposed that moves in a direction parallel to the vertical rows of the columnar objects 11, presses the columnar objects 11 arranged on the conveyance tray 10 in the vertical direction, and transfers the columnar objects onto the alignment tray 13. Further, on one side of the alignment tray 13, a columnar object row length forming mechanism 17 is provided that cuts out and forms a columnar object row of a predetermined length from the row of columnar objects 11 transferred to the alignment tray 13. has been done.

By the way, the pusher device 16 has a point 18.
It has a frame body 20 which is fixed to the tip of an L-shaped support rod 19 which is pivotally attached to the frame body 20 and which extends in a direction parallel to the vertical rows of the columnar objects 11 of the conveyance tray 10. A pulley 21 is pivotally mounted, and a belt 22 is wound around both pulleys 21. The top end of a pusher rod 23 that projects downward is attached to the belt 22, and the pusher rod 23 is slidable on a guide rod 24 that is attached to the frame 20 in parallel with the vertical rows of the columnar objects. By the movement of the belt 22, the guide rod 24 can be moved in the front-rear direction.

Further, the pulley 21 is configured such that one of the pulleys is driven by a drive motor 25 attached to the frame 20, and the drive motor 25
As shown in FIG. 2, the interlocking shaft between the pulley 21 and the pulley 21 is provided with a slip clutch 26 so that the pulley 21 can be stopped even if the drive motor 25 rotates when a predetermined load or more is applied to the pulley 21. is provided at the other end of the support rod 19, and by the operation of an air cylinder 27 that swings the support rod 19 around the point 18, the pusher rod 23 is moved so that its tip touches a columnar object. It can assume a position in which it engages the end of the column (FIG. 2) and an upper position (FIG. 3) in which it is released from engagement with the columnar object column.

The row length forming mechanism 17 has a machine frame 28 disposed along the alignment tray 13, and a lead screw 30 is pivotally supported by bearings 29, 29 provided at both front and rear ends of the machine frame 28. There is. The lead screw 30 is connected to a drive shaft 31a of a drive motor 31 that is disposed concentrically with the lead screw 30 on the outside of one of the bearings 29. A moving member 33 is meshed with the moving member 33, which is movable only in the axial direction and has a gripper 32 attached to its tip end with claws 32a that grip the columnar objects on the alignment tray 13 from both sides by an air-operated mechanism (not shown). There is.

On the other hand, the machine frame 28 is vertically movable by an air cylinder 34 and a guide rod 35.

Further, a stopper 3 is provided near the end of the alignment tray 13 and is movable in the axial direction of the alignment tray 13 and can be inserted into and removed from the groove of the alignment tray 13.
6 are arranged.

Therefore, in order to form a column of columnar objects of a predetermined length in the above-mentioned apparatus, the following procedure is performed. That is, the support rod 19 is swung by the air cylinder 27, and the pusher rod 23 is moved to the rear end of the leftmost row of columnar objects on the conveyance tray 10 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The pusher rod 23 is moved forward via the belt 22 by moving the columnar objects to a lowered position in contact with the object, and then actuating the drive motor 25 to move the columnar objects onto the alignment tray 13 by the pusher rod 23. Transfer extrusion.

When one row of columnar objects is pushed out in this way, the pusher rod 23 is returned to its original position, and the conveyance tray 10 is moved one pitch to the left in the figure via the tray support plate 12. The second row of columnar objects is pushed out onto the alignment tray 13 in the same manner as described above. By repeating this process, the columnar objects are pushed out until the tips of the row of columnar objects come into contact with the stopper 36, that is, until the slip clutch 26 slips. When the tips of the row of columnar objects come into contact with the stopper 36 in this manner, the row of columnar objects is held between the pusher rod 23 on the alignment tray 13 (FIG. 4a). At this time, in the case of a columnar object such as a nuclear fuel pellet whose length varies, the end position of the columnar object can be at any position within the tolerance range of the column length. However, if the tolerance range is longer than the length of the columnar object, there will be at least one end position within this tolerance range. On the other hand, the gripper 32 is set at a position where its edge corresponds to the maximum length of the row of columnar objects to be formed from the stopper 36, which is the predetermined length L1 plus the tolerance a. When the column comes into contact with the stopper 36, the frame 28 of the column length forming mechanism 17 is lowered, and at the same time, the gripper 32 is also lowered along both sides of the columnar object, and when the lowering is completed, the fourth As shown in FIG. b and FIG. 5, a columnar object 11 is held.

Therefore, the pusher rod 23 is moved upward from the groove of the conveyance tray 10 and then moved to the initial position to release the columnar object array from the stopper 36, and then the gripper 32 is moved slightly upward to release the columnar object row from the gripper 36. If the columnar object is lifted and moved in the direction of the pusher rod 23 as shown in Fig. 4c, the stopper 3
A row of columnar objects whose ends are held by 6 is formed to a predetermined length.

In addition, the above-mentioned example is an example when the diameter values of the columnar objects P1 and P2 held by the gripper 32 are the same or hardly different, and both the columnar objects P1 and P2 can be held by the gripper 32.

When the diameter values of P1 and P2 are P2>P1 and the gripper 32 can only grip P2 near the pusher rod 23, the columnar object P1 will be left behind as shown in Fig. 4 d, so the columnar object P1 will be left behind as shown in Fig. 4 e. If the gripper 32 is returned to the cutting position as shown and the above-described operation is repeated, the columnar object P1 can also be moved toward the pusher rod 23 as shown in FIG. 4f.

By the way, in the above embodiment, the gripper 3
Although the left and right claws 32a of No. 2 are shown to hold the columnar object by the same operation, it is also possible to make only one of the left and right claws 32a move as shown in FIG. 6, and as shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the left and right claws 32a may each extend horizontally and move in the left-right direction. Furthermore, the same effect can be achieved by holding the columnar object 11 in the vertical direction as shown in FIG.

Furthermore, in the embodiment, the gripper 32
The claws 32a are lowered to both sides of the columnar objects on the alignment tray, clamp the columnar objects, and then moved in the direction of the pusher rod to form a row of columnar objects of a predetermined length. However, as shown in FIG. 9, by moving the grippers 32 in the opposite direction, a row of columnar objects of a predetermined length can also be formed. That is, in this case, the edge of the gripper 32 on the stopper 36 side touches the stopper 36.
The predetermined length of the row of columnar objects to be cut out from the position of
The gripper 32 grips the columnar object at a position equal to the minimum length obtained by subtracting the tolerance a from L1.

Furthermore, in the embodiment described above, in order to take out columns of columnar objects one by one from the conveyance tray to the alignment tray, the conveyance tray is sequentially moved by one pitch of the vertical column of columnar objects. On the contrary, the alignment tray is made movable, and the alignment tray is moved horizontally.
The columnar objects may be moved pitch by pitch, or a plurality of alignment trays may be installed to form multiple rows of columnar objects at the same time.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, in the present invention, a columnar object at a predetermined position in a row of columnar objects is held and then moved in the axial direction, thereby moving the row of columnar objects ahead in the moving direction in the axial direction. As a result, a column of a predetermined length is formed, so that a column of columnar objects of a predetermined length can be reliably separated from an excess columnar object, and the column length of the columnar objects can be formed without any cumulative error. It can be done accurately and at high speed. Furthermore, by controlling the position of the stopper or gripper to set the length of the row, it is possible to easily accommodate a large number of set values.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing the apparatus for forming columns of columnar objects in the present invention, FIGS. 2 and 3 are explanatory diagrams of the operation of the pusher device, and FIGS. 4 a, b, c,
d, e, f and FIG. 5 are explanatory views of the row length forming operation of the present invention, and FIGS. 6, 7, and 8 are respective illustrations of the alignment trays for forming the row length of the present invention. 9A to 9C are operation explanatory diagrams showing another embodiment of the row length forming method. 10... Conveyance tray, 11... Column-shaped object, 1
3... alignment tray, 23... pusher rod, 25...
...Drive motor, 32... Gripper, 36... Stopper.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An alignment tray having a groove for axially aligning and storing a large number of columnar objects, and an alignment tray that can be attached to and removed from a predetermined position of the alignment tray, and that restricts the axial movement of the columnar objects within the groove. a stopper, a pusher that presses the row of columnar objects against the stopper, and a gripper that can grip the columnar objects located in the groove and is movable in the groove in the axial direction of the groove;
The gripper grips at least one columnar object in the row of columnar objects with an edge located at a distance equal to a predetermined length of the row of columnar objects plus an allowable tolerance from the stopper. A device for forming a row of columnar objects, characterized in that, by movement of the gripper, the row of columnar objects ahead in the direction of movement is moved in the axial direction. 2 The gripping position of the gripper is set so that the distance from the stopper to the edge of the gripper is equal to the maximum length of the row of columnar objects to be cut out, including the predetermined length and its tolerance; 2. The columnar object row forming device according to claim 1, wherein the columnar object row forming device is adapted to be moved in the direction of the stopper after the operation. 3. The gripping position of the gripper is set so that the distance from the stopper to the edge of the gripper is equal to the minimum length of the row of columnar objects to be cut out, minus the tolerance from the predetermined length, and the gripper is 2. The apparatus for forming a row of columnar objects according to claim 1, wherein the columnar objects are moved to the opposite side. 4. The apparatus for forming columns of columnar objects according to claim 1, wherein the gripper is configured to lift the clamped columnar objects to some extent after the grippers have pinched the columnar objects. 5. The alignment tray is movable in a direction perpendicular to the axis of the alignment tray, and is a tray for transporting columnar bodies on which multiple rows of columnar bodies are placed parallel to the axis of the alignment tray and parallel to each other. 2. The columnar object row forming device according to claim 1, wherein the columnar object row forming device is disposed on one side of the columnar object. 6. The apparatus for forming columns of columnar objects according to claim 1, wherein the pusher is a discharge device for discharging the columns of columnar objects from the tray for transferring columnar objects onto the alignment tray. 7. The apparatus for forming a row of columnar objects according to claim 1, wherein the pusher is driven via a slip means so as to stop its movement when the load thereof exceeds a predetermined value. .