JPH0518883A - Automatic inspecting device for powder material - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain an automatic powder goods insepection device which is useful for man power saving in the inspection of powder material even in the case with a multitude of inspection items and samples. CONSTITUTION:An automatic powder material inspection device is constituted by connecting a main controller device 1 and a plurality of terminal controllers 10 to 18 with communication lines 2. To one terminal controller 10 among them, a device 4 to read the product data recorded on a sample by controlling it and a device 5 to set the inspection condition data on the terminal controller 10 using the product data read with this and record on the sample, are connected. To each of the terminal controllers 11 to 18, automatic inspection devices 31 to 38 for inspecting the small samples separated from the sample for a plurality of inspection items by controlling the each of terminal controllers 11 to 18, are connected.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for automatically inspecting necessary items in order to control the quality of powder products such as vinyl chloride resin, ABS resin and MBS resin.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, when synthesizing vinyl chloride resin powder and shipping it from a factory, at the time of production, it is inspected whether or not the specified quality is ensured, and the result is recorded on a quality control sheet. It is usually returned to the manufacturing factory and fed back to the manufacturing conditions, or a quality control certificate proving the quality is attached to the user of the product at the time of shipping. The former quality control sheet describes the product name, product type, manufacturing plant, date of manufacture, and production lot, and the latter quality control sheet also describes the product name, product type, production lot, and shipping destination, if necessary. To be done.

Therefore, there are various items of quality inspection,
For vinyl chloride resin powder, there are items such as average degree of polymerization, bulk specific gravity, volatile matter, particle size distribution, amount of foreign matter, residual monomer amount, plasticizer absorbency, dry flow property (flow property), and further items are inspected. There are also things to do. Each of the samples (products) is inspected by an inspector according to a table that takes into account various conditions such as product use and shipping destination from these items.
The necessary inspection items are selected, the required amount of sample is set aside, and analyzed by each inspection device. The analysis result is stored as a report as a quality control sheet or a record in a ledger as a result of comparison with the quality standard and judgment result.

[0004]

In the above-mentioned conventional quality inspection system, the inspection item may be different for each sample, and the inspector selects the inspection item and divides and distributes the required amount of sample for inspection. It was very troublesome because of this. There were also cases where the inspection items were missed.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic powder product inspection device which is useful for labor saving.

[0006]

The structure of the automatic powder product inspection apparatus of the present invention made to achieve the above object will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 corresponding to the embodiment.

As shown in these figures, in the powdery product automatic inspection apparatus of the present invention, a main controller 1 and a plurality of terminal controllers 10 to 18 are connected by a communication line 2. A terminal control device 10 for one of them, and a device 4 for reading the product data recorded in the sample under the control thereof,
The terminal control device 10 sets inspection condition data from the read product data by this, and is connected to the device 5 for recording the sample. Each of the terminal control devices 11 to 18 is connected to an automatic inspection device 31 to 38 for inspecting a subdivided sample collected from the sample for a plurality of inspection items under the control of each of the terminal control devices 11 to 18.

The automatic inspection devices 31 to 38 for inspecting the above-mentioned plurality of inspection items are specifically the particle size distribution measuring device 31, the foreign matter detecting and measuring device 32, and the bulk specific gravity measuring device 33.3.
4 (which may also serve as dry flow measurement), a polymerization degree measuring device 35, a volatile matter measuring device 36, a plasticizer absorbability measuring device 37, and a residual monomer measuring device 38.

Each of the inspection devices 31 to 38 is provided with conveyors 81 to 84.90 and robots 61 to 68 for conveying the subdivided samples.

[0010]

In the above-described powdery product automatic inspection device, product data such as the lot number of the sample is stored in the main controller 1, while the product data is encoded into the sample as a bar code. It is recorded in. The product data of the sample is read by the reading device 4, and the inspection condition data is set by the terminal control device 10 from this product data. The inspection condition data is also coded by the terminal control device 10, recorded by the recording device 5, and attached to the sample. The samples are subdivided, and each of the automatic inspection devices 31 to 38 operates under the control of the terminal control devices 11 to 18 according to the inspection condition data to inspect a plurality of inspection items in parallel. From the terminal control device 10, product data and inspection condition data, and each automatic inspection device 31-
The inspection data corresponding to each product data is transferred to the main control device 1 from each of the terminal control devices 11 to 18 connected to 38. Therefore, each inspection data can be collectively processed by the main controller 1. The main control unit 1 stores or displays these inspection data in accordance with a conventional method, makes a judgment by comparison with a quality standard, and records the data for artificial judgment.

[0011]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

1 and 2 are block diagrams of an embodiment of an automatic powder product inspection apparatus to which the present invention is applied, which are continuous.

The powder product automatic inspection apparatus of this embodiment is for inspecting the quality of a vinyl chloride resin powder as a powder product. Items to be inspected are the particle size distribution of the powder, the number of foreign substances mixed in, the bulk specific gravity when the static electricity of the powder is removed, the dry flow property (flow characteristics) when the same is removed, and the bulk specific gravity when the same is not removed. Similarly, it is the dry flow property when the charge is not removed, the average degree of polymerization, the amount of volatile matter, the plasticizer (dioctyl phthalate: DOP) absorbency, and the amount of residual monomer.

In the entire apparatus, a host computer 1 and terminal computers 10 to 18 and 20 constituting a control system are connected by a local area network (LAN) 2. The host computer 1 controls the communication system of the LAN 2 as a whole, and data communication between the host computer 1 and each terminal computer 10-18 and 20 and data communication between each terminal computer 10-18 and 20 are possible. It is like this. Further, the host computer 1 has a function of managing the number of the powder sample to be inspected and collectively managing the data measured by each measuring device described later through the LAN 2.

A bar code reader 4 and a bar code printer 5 are connected to the terminal computer 10 so that the bar code label can be read and recorded.

A particle size distribution measuring device 31, a sequencer 51, a robot 61 and a bar code reader 41 are connected to the terminal computer 11. Bar code reader 4
A conveyor 81 is arranged in the immediate vicinity of 1. A foreign matter detection / measurement device 32, a sequencer 52, a robot 62, a static eliminator 92, and a bar code reader 42 are connected to the terminal computer 12. A conveyor 82 is arranged in the immediate vicinity of the barcode reader 42. A bulk specific gravity measuring device 33, a sequencer 53, a robot 63, an agitating device 93 for static elimination, and a bar code reader 43 are connected to the terminal computer 13. A conveyor 83 is arranged in the immediate vicinity of the barcode reader 43. A bulk specific gravity measuring device 34, a sequencer 54, a robot 64 and a bar code reader 44 are connected to the terminal computer 14. A conveyor 84 is arranged in the immediate vicinity of the barcode reader 44. A precision sorting device 40, a sequencer 60, a robot 70, and a barcode reader 50 are connected to the terminal computer 20. Barcode reader 50
A conveyor 80 is arranged in the immediate vicinity of. The terminal computer 15 includes a polymerization degree measuring device 35 and a sequencer 55.
And the robot 65 is connected. A volatile matter measuring device 36, a sequencer 56 and a robot 66 are connected to the terminal computer 16. Terminal computer 1
A DOP absorption measuring device 37, a sequencer 57 and a robot 67 are connected to 7. The terminal computer 18 includes a residual monomer measuring device 38 and a sequencer 58.
And the robot 68 is connected. Further, a conveyor 90 is arranged in the immediate vicinity of the robots 70 to 68.

An outline of the operation sequence of each of the above-mentioned components will be described below with reference to FIG.

The vinyl chloride resin powder produced at the factory is
A very small amount is set aside as a sample for quality inspection. As shown in FIG. 3, the powder sample is put in a sample bottle 6 and carried into the place where the powder product automatic inspection apparatus of the present invention is provided. The sample bottle 6 is attached with a bar code label 7 in which the product name, product type, production factory, manufacturing date, manufacturing lot, and shipping destination are recorded as product data in the production factory.

When the sample is loaded, the product data of the bar code label 7 is read by the bar code reader 4, and the required inspection items and inspection conditions are set by the terminal computer 10 from the product data. At this time, deletion and correction of essential inspection items and inspection conditions, addition of optional inspection items, and setting of special inspection conditions can be entered from the keyboard. Inspection condition data such as these inspection items are input to the host computer 1 from the terminal computer 10 via the LAN 2 together with the lot number. The inspection condition data is
It is converted into bar code data by the terminal computer 10 together with the lot number and recorded on another bar code label 8 by the bar code printer 5. The sample bottle 6 is provided with a barcode label 7 for product data and a barcode label 8 for inspection condition data. Further, the bar code printer 5 uses the bar code label 8 of the inspection condition data.
Print a to 8e.

The samples in the sample bottle 6 are piled up in constant volume sample bottles 9a to 9e fitted on a table 88, and the surface thereof is ground with a scraping rod 3 to be quantitatively collected. Bar code labels 8a-8e on each bottle 9a-9e, respectively
Is pasted.

The sample subdivided into the sample bottle 9a is used for particle size distribution measurement. The sample subdivided into the sample bottle 9b is used for foreign matter detection measurement. The sample subdivided into the sample bottle 9c is subjected to bulk specific gravity measurement and flow characteristic measurement when the charge is removed. The sample subdivided into the sample bottle 9d is subjected to bulk specific gravity measurement and flow characteristic measurement when the charge is not removed. The sample subdivided into the sample bottle 9e is provided for precision sorting. Since it is necessary to precisely weigh the sample in advance for the measurement of the degree of polymerization, the measurement of the volatile content, the measurement of the DOP absorption, and the measurement of the residual monomer, a precisely sampled sample is used.

The sample subdivided by the above is shown in FIG.
And measured according to the block diagram of FIG.
It is collected.

[Measurement of Particle Size Distribution] The terminal computer 11 controls the measurement of particle size distribution. The subdivided sample in the sample bottle 9a conveyed by the conveyor 81 is the sequencer 51.
The robot 61 is moved to the particle size distribution measuring device 31 by the drive control of the above. At that time, the bar code label 8a of the product data and the inspection condition data attached to the sample is read by the bar code reader 41 and the terminal computer 11
Is taken into.

The particle size distribution measuring device 31 is, for example, a particle size distribution measuring device manufactured by Nikkiso Co., Ltd. The operating principle is
When a particle is irradiated with a laser beam and the beam diffracts and scatters, the particle size is obtained from the intensity of the diffracted light and the scattering angle. The smaller the particle size, the smaller the intensity of diffracted light per unit area and the larger the scattering angle. Based on this, the particle size distribution of the powder particles is calculated. The measured particle size distribution is loaded into the terminal computer 11, and LA and the product data and inspection condition data previously loaded are loaded.
It is transferred to the host computer 1 via N2.

[Foreign Object Detection / Measurement] The terminal computer 12 controls the detection of foreign objects mixed and the measurement of the number of foreign objects. The subdivided samples in the sample bottle 9b conveyed by the conveyor 82 are transferred to the static eliminator 92 by the robot 62 operated by the drive control of the sequencer 52. At that time, the bar code label 8b of the product data and the inspection condition data attached to the sample is read by the bar code reader 42 and taken into the terminal computer 12.

The static eliminator 92 has a structure in which a stirrer is inserted in the container. When the sequencer 52 detects that the powder sample has been placed in the container, the static eliminator solution (for example, a mixed solution of ethylene glycol and ethyl alcohol) is gradually poured while rotating the stirrer to completely mix the powder sample and the static eliminator solution. And remove the charge. After rotating the stirrer for a certain period of time, the robot 62 transfers the static-eliminated powder sample from the container of the static eliminator 92 to the foreign matter detection / measurement device 32. The foreign matter detection / measurement device 32 is, for example, a foreign matter inspection device FF-4000 manufactured by Haji Sangyo Co., Ltd. The powder sample that has been uniformly spread is magnified by a high resolution CCD television camera, processed as a two-dimensional signal such as a detected black dot, and its size is calculated, and the number is calculated for each size range. The size and quantity of the measured foreign matter are taken into the terminal computer 12, and transferred to the host computer 1 via the LAN 2 together with the product data and the inspection condition data previously taken in.

[Measurement of Bulk Specific Gravity and Measurement of Flow Characteristic when Charge is Removed] The terminal computer 13 controls the measurement of bulk specific gravity when the charge is removed. The subdivided samples in the sample bottle 9c conveyed by the conveyor 83 are transferred to the bulk specific gravity measuring device 33 by the robot 63 which operates under the drive control of the sequencer 53. At that time, the bar code label 8c of the product data and the inspection condition data attached to the sample is read by the bar code reader 43 and taken into the terminal computer 13.

The bulk specific gravity measuring device 33 is JISK-672.
The device conforming to 1 has a funnel at the top and a constant volume container at the bottom. An electronic weighing scale is placed in the immediate vicinity of it. A damper is attached to the lower outlet of the funnel so that it can be inserted and removed. Further, as a peculiarity to the bulk specific gravity measuring device 33, a stirrer 93 for static elimination is arranged above the upper opening of the funnel. The stirring device 93 is a container in which a screw stirring rod is inserted into a container having a discharge port that can be opened and closed at the bottom.

The lower outlet of the container of the agitator 93 for static elimination is closed, the powder sample is put in the container, and the sequencer 5
When 3 detects this, the static elimination solution (for example, a methanol solution of a cationic surfactant) is gradually poured while rotating the screw stirring rod, and the powder sample and the static elimination solution are completely mixed to perform static elimination. Then, when the lower outlet of the container is opened, the powder sample from which the charge has been removed is supplied to the funnel in which the damper of the bulk specific gravity measuring device 33 is inserted. In this state, the powder sample is dropped for a certain period of time and then the damper is removed, and the powder sample falls into the lower volume container. The constant volume container is ground and weighed by an electronic weighing machine, and the weighed value is input to the terminal computer 13, where the bulk specific gravity is calculated. This bulk specific gravity is taken into the terminal computer 13 as the bulk specific gravity when the electricity is removed, and is transferred to the host computer 1 via the LAN 2 together with the product data and the inspection condition data previously taken in.

Further, a photoelectric detection device is provided between the discharge port of the funnel of the bulk specific gravity measuring device 33 and the constant volume container, and the time from the start of the drop of the discharged static electricity powder sample to the end thereof is measured. The terminal computer 13 can calculate the flow characteristics of the powder sample that has been discharged. This flow characteristic is also transferred to the host computer 1 via the LAN 2.

[Measurement of Bulk Specific Gravity and Measurement of Flow Characteristic without Static Elimination] The terminal computer 14 controls the measurement of bulk specific gravity without static elimination. The subdivided sample in the sample bottle 9d conveyed by the conveyor 84 is transferred to the bulk specific gravity measuring device 34 by the robot 64 operated by the drive control of the sequencer 54. At that time, the bar code label 8d of the product data and the inspection condition data attached to the sample is the bar code reader 4
It is read in 4 and taken into the terminal computer 14.

The bulk specific gravity measuring device 34 is JISK-672.
The device conforming to 1 has a funnel at the top and a constant volume container at the bottom. An electronic weighing scale is placed in the immediate vicinity of it. A damper is attached to the lower outlet of the funnel so that it can be inserted and removed.

The funnel damper is plugged in and the powder sample is introduced from the top opening. The damper is then removed and the powder sample falls into the lower volume container. The constant volume container is ground and then weighed by an electronic weigher, and the measured value is input to the terminal computer 14, where the bulk specific gravity is calculated. This bulk specific gravity is taken into the terminal computer 14 as the bulk specific gravity without static elimination, and is transferred to the host computer 1 via the LAN 2 together with the product data and the inspection condition data previously taken in.

Further, a photoelectric detection device is attached between the discharge port of the funnel of the bulk specific gravity measuring device 34 and the constant volume container, and the time from the start of dropping the powder sample without static elimination to the end thereof is measured. The terminal computer 14 can calculate the flow characteristics of the powder sample without static elimination. This flow characteristic also applies to the host computer 1 via the LAN 2.
Transferred to.

[Precision collection of sample] The terminal computer 20 controls the precise preparation of the powder sample. The subdivided sample in the sample bottle 9e conveyed by the conveyor 80 is operated by the robot 70 controlled by the sequencer 60.
Is transferred to the precision sorting device 40. At that time, the barcode label 8e of the product data and the inspection condition data attached to the sample is read by the barcode reader 50 and taken into the terminal computer 20.

The precision sorting apparatus 40 includes a hopper for loading a sample and a feeder (for example, loss-in-type) having a mechanism for checking the weight of the sample opened from the hopper.
Way type electromagnetic feeder with load cell) and electronic weigher. Precision sorting containers are arranged at the bottom of the feeder so as to be fed in order. The robot 70 loads the entire sample from the sample bottle 9e into the popper of the feeder. Then, the feeder operates to stop the feeder when a predetermined amount of sample is placed in the first precision collection container. In this way, the precision collection container containing the sample is carried by the robot 70 to the electronic weighing scale and precisely weighed. The robot 70 places the precisely weighed sample in the precision collection container on the conveyor 90. When the first precision sorting container is carried out from the feeder, the next precision sorting container flows to the lower part of the feeder and the same precision sorting is performed. In this example, four precision sortings are performed. The quantitative precision preparative samples contained in the four precision preparative containers are sequentially placed on the conveyor 90 by the robot 70, and the next step, polymerization degree measurement, volatile matter measurement,
Transferred to DOP absorption measurement, residual monomer measurement. On the other hand, the product data of the precisely sampled sample and the inspection condition data are transferred to the terminal computers 15 to 18 corresponding to these measurements via the LAN 2.

[Polymerization degree measurement] The terminal computer 15 controls the polymerization degree measurement. The precision sampled sample conveyed by the conveyor 90 is transferred to the polymerization degree measuring device 35 by the robot 65 which operates under the drive control of the sequencer 55. The product data and the inspection condition data attached to the sample are input from the terminal computer 20 to the terminal computer 15 via the LAN 2, and the polymerization degree is measured under the conditions.

The polymerization degree measuring device 35 is JISK-672.
The device conforms to 1. For example, an automatic polymerization degree measuring device (VMR-052) manufactured by Sogo Co., Ltd. can be used. A fixed quantity of the sample is dissolved in nitrobenzene, the viscosity of the solution is measured, and the degree of polymerization is calculated from the viscosity by the terminal computer 15. This degree of polymerization is transferred from the terminal computer 15 to the host computer 1 via the LAN 2 together with the product data and the inspection condition data that have been taken in previously.

[Measurement of Volatile Content] The terminal computer 16 controls the measurement of volatile matter. The precision separated sample conveyed by the conveyor 90 is transferred to the volatile content measuring device 36 by the robot 66 which operates under the drive control of the sequencer 56. The product data and the inspection condition data attached to the sample are input from the terminal computer 20 to the terminal computer 16 via the LAN 2, and the volatile matter is measured under the conditions.

The volatile matter measuring device 36 is JISK-672.
The device conforms to 1. A fixed quantity of the sample is dried, weighed again, and the volatile matter is calculated from the reduced amount. This volatile content is transferred from the terminal computer 16 to the host computer 1 via the LAN 2 together with the product data and the inspection condition data that have been previously taken in.

[DOP absorption measurement] Terminal computer 1
7 controls the DOP absorbency measurement. The precisely collected sample conveyed by the conveyor 90 is transferred to the DOP absorption measuring device 37 by the robot 67 which operates under the drive control of the sequencer 57. The product data and inspection condition data attached to the sample are sent from the terminal computer 20 to the LAN.
It is input to the terminal computer 17 via 2 and the DOP absorption amount is measured under the conditions.

The DOP absorption measuring device 37 is composed of a centrifuge, a DOP injector and an electronic weigher. A fixed amount of DOP is injected into a fixed amount of the sample for precise quantification, and the sample is left standing for a predetermined time and then centrifuged under constant conditions. Then, the sample weight after centrifugation is transferred to an electronic weighing machine and precisely weighed. The weight of this sample is compared with the weight of the precision-prepared sample, and the increased amount, that is, the absorbed amount of DOP
Calculate the absorption rate. The calculated DOP absorption rate is transferred from the terminal computer 17 to the host computer 1 via the LAN 2 together with the product data and the inspection condition data that have been previously captured.

[Measurement of residual monomer] Terminal computer 1
8 controls residual monomer measurement. The precision-prepared sample conveyed by the conveyor 90 is transferred to the residual monomer measuring device 38 by the robot 68 operated by the drive control of the sequencer 58 after being automatically cab. The product data and inspection condition data attached to the sample are input to the terminal computer 18, and the residual monomer is measured under the conditions.

The residual monomer measuring device 38 is composed of, for example, a head space gas chromatograph (SIGMA-2000) manufactured by Perkin Elmer, an automatic head space sampler (HS-100) and a data processor. The amount of residual monomer measured by this is
It is transferred from the terminal computer 18 to the host computer 1 via the LAN 2 together with the product data and the inspection condition data previously fetched.

[0045]

As described above in detail, according to the powdery product automatic inspection apparatus of the present invention, each inspection data can be centrally processed at one time, and each inspection data can be stored in accordance with a conventional method. It can be used for artificial judgment by displaying, collating with quality standards, judging, and recording. Inspectors can select inspection items for each sample,
There is no need to manually sort out the samples. Further, in the inspection process, the manual work of the inspector is eliminated, which is useful for labor saving.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of an automatic powder product inspection apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

2 is a block diagram of an embodiment of an automatic powder product inspection apparatus to which the present invention is applied, which is continuous with FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the operation sequence of the powdery product automatic inspection apparatus of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 is a main control device, 2 is a communication line, 3 is a cutting rod, 4 ...
41 to 44.50 are bar code readers, 5 are bar code printers, 6.9a to 9e are sample bottles, 7.8 are bar code labels, 10 to 18 and 20 are terminal control devices, 31 is a particle size distribution measuring device, 32 is a foreign matter detection measuring device,
Is a bulk specific gravity measuring device, 35 is a degree of polymerization measuring device, 36 is a volatile matter measuring device, 37 is a DOP absorption measuring device, 38 is a residual monomer measuring device, 40 is a precision fractionating device, 51-58.
60 is a sequencer, 61 to 68/70 are robots, 80
84 to 90 are conveyors, and 88 is a table.

[Procedure amendment]

[Submission date] September 2, 1991

[Procedure Amendment 1]

[Document name to be amended] Statement

[Correction target item name] Full text

[Correction method] Change

[Correction content]

[Document name] Statement

[Title of Invention] Automatic inspection device for powder products

[Claims]

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for automatically inspecting necessary items in order to control the quality of powder products such as vinyl chloride resin, ABS resin and MBS resin.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, when synthesizing vinyl chloride resin powder and shipping it from a factory, at the time of production, it is inspected whether or not the specified quality is ensured, and the result is recorded on a quality control sheet. It is usually returned to the manufacturing factory and fed back to the manufacturing conditions, or a quality control certificate proving the quality is attached to the user of the product at the time of shipping. The former quality control sheet describes the product name, product type, manufacturing plant, date of manufacture, and production lot, and the latter quality control sheet also describes the product name, product type, production lot, and shipping destination, if necessary. To be done.

Therefore, there are various items of quality inspection,
For vinyl chloride resin powder, there are items such as average degree of polymerization, bulk specific gravity, volatile matter, particle size distribution, amount of foreign matter, residual monomer amount, plasticizer absorbency, dry flow property (flow property), and further items are inspected. There are also things to do. Each of the samples (products) is inspected by an inspector according to a table that takes into account various conditions such as product use and shipping destination from these items.
The necessary inspection items are selected, the required amount of sample is set aside, and analyzed by each inspection device. The analysis result is stored as a report as a quality control sheet or a record in a ledger as a result of comparison with the quality standard and judgment result.

[0004]

In the above-mentioned conventional quality inspection system, the inspection item may be different for each sample, and the inspector selects the inspection item and divides and distributes the required amount of sample for inspection. It was very troublesome because of this. There were also cases where the inspection items were missed. The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide an automatic powder product inspection device which is useful for labor saving.

[0005]

The structure of the automatic powder product inspection apparatus of the present invention made to achieve the above object will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 corresponding to the embodiment. As shown in these drawings, in the powdery product automatic inspection apparatus of the present invention, a main controller 1 and a plurality of terminal controllers 10 to 18 are connected by a communication line 2. Under the control, one of the terminal control devices 10 reads the product data recorded in the sample, and the terminal control device 10 sets the inspection condition data from the product data read by the device 4. A device 5 for recording the sample is connected. Each of the terminal control devices 11 to 18 is connected to an automatic inspection device 31 to 38 for inspecting a subdivided sample collected from the sample for a plurality of inspection items under the control of each of the terminal control devices 11 to 18.

The automatic inspection devices 31 to 38 for inspecting the above-described plurality of inspection items are specifically the particle size distribution measuring device 31, the foreign matter detecting and measuring device 32, and the bulk specific gravity measuring device 33.3.
4 (which may also serve as dry flow measurement), a polymerization degree measuring device 35, a volatile matter measuring device 36, a plasticizer absorbability measuring device 37, and a residual monomer measuring device 38. Each of the inspection devices 31 to 38 has conveyors 81 to 84.90 and a robot 61 to convey a subdivided sample.
68 is attached.

[0007]

In the above-described powdery product automatic inspection device, product data such as the lot number of the sample is stored in the main controller 1, while the product data is encoded into the sample as a bar code. It is recorded in. The product data of the sample is read by the reading device 4, and the inspection condition data is set by the terminal control device 10 from this product data. The inspection condition data is also coded by the terminal control device 10, recorded by the recording device 5, and attached to the sample. The samples are subdivided, and each of the automatic inspection devices 31 to 38 operates under the control of the terminal control devices 11 to 18 according to the inspection condition data to inspect a plurality of inspection items in parallel. From the terminal control device 10, product data and inspection condition data, and each automatic inspection device 31-
Inspection data corresponding to each inspection condition data is transferred to the main control device 1 from each of the terminal control devices 11 to 18 connected to 38. Therefore, each inspection data can be collectively processed by the main controller 1. The main control unit 1 stores or displays these inspection data in accordance with a conventional method, makes a judgment by comparison with a quality standard, and records the data for artificial judgment.

[0008]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. 1 and 2 are block diagrams of an embodiment of an automatic powder product inspection apparatus to which the present invention is applied, which are continuous.
The powder product automatic inspection apparatus of this embodiment is for inspecting the quality of a vinyl chloride resin powder as a powder product. Items to be inspected are the particle size distribution of the powder, the number of foreign substances mixed in, the bulk specific gravity when the static electricity of the powder is removed, the dry flow property (flow characteristics) when the same is removed, and the bulk specific gravity when the same is not removed. Similarly, it is the dry flow property when the charge is not removed, the average degree of polymerization, the amount of volatile components, the plasticizer (dioctyl phthalate: DOP) absorbency, and the amount of residual monomers.

In the entire apparatus, a host computer 1 and terminal computers 10 to 18 and 20 constituting a control system are connected by a local area network (LAN) 2. The host computer 1 controls the communication system of the LAN 2 as a whole, and data communication between the host computer 1 and each terminal computer 10-18 and 20 and data communication between each terminal computer 10-18 and 20 are possible. It is like this. Further, the host computer 1 has a function of managing the number of the powder sample to be inspected and collectively managing the data measured by each measuring device described later through the LAN 2. Terminal computer 10
A bar code reader 4 and a bar code printer 5 are connected to the device so that the bar code label can be read and recorded.

A particle size distribution measuring device 31, a sequencer 51, a robot 61 and a bar code reader 41 are connected to the terminal computer 11. Bar code reader 4
A conveyor 81 is arranged in the immediate vicinity of 1. A foreign matter detection / measurement device 32, a sequencer 52, a robot 62, a static eliminator 92, and a bar code reader 42 are connected to the terminal computer 12. A conveyor 82 is arranged in the immediate vicinity of the barcode reader 42. A bulk specific gravity measuring device 33, a sequencer 53, a robot 63, an agitating device 93 for static elimination, and a bar code reader 43 are connected to the terminal computer 13. A conveyor 83 is arranged in the immediate vicinity of the barcode reader 43. A bulk specific gravity measuring device 34, a sequencer 54, a robot 64 and a bar code reader 44 are connected to the terminal computer 14. A conveyor 84 is arranged in the immediate vicinity of the barcode reader 44. A precision sorting device 40, a sequencer 60, a robot 70, and a barcode reader 50 are connected to the terminal computer 20. Barcode reader 50
A conveyor 80 is arranged in the immediate vicinity of. The terminal computer 15 includes a polymerization degree measuring device 35 and a sequencer 55.
And the robot 65 is connected. A volatile matter measuring device 36, a sequencer 56 and a robot 66 are connected to the terminal computer 16. Terminal computer 1
A DOP absorption measuring device 37, a sequencer 57 and a robot 67 are connected to 7. The terminal computer 18 includes a residual monomer measuring device 38 and a sequencer 58.
And the robot 68 is connected. Further, a conveyor 90 is arranged in the immediate vicinity of the robots 70 to 68.

An outline of the operation sequence of each of the above-mentioned components will be described below with reference to FIG. The vinyl chloride resin powder produced in the factory is set aside in a very small amount as a sample for quality inspection. As shown in FIG. 3, the powder sample is put in a sample bottle 6 and carried into the place where the powder product automatic inspection apparatus of the present invention is provided. The sample bottle 6 contains the product name, product type,
The bar code label 7 recorded at the production factory as the product data of the production factory, the manufacturing date, the production lot, and the shipping destination is attached.

When the sample is loaded, the product data of the bar code label 7 is read by the bar code reader 4, and the inspection number, essential inspection items and inspection conditions are set by the terminal computer 10 from the product data. At this time, deletion and correction of essential inspection items and inspection conditions, addition of optional inspection items, and setting of special inspection conditions can be entered from the keyboard. The inspection condition data such as these inspection items is sent from the terminal computer 10 to the LA together with the product data.
Input to the host computer 1 via N2. The inspection condition data is converted into bar code data by the terminal computer 10 and recorded on another bar code label 8 by the bar code printer 5. The sample bottle 6 is provided with a barcode label 7 for product data and a barcode label 8 for inspection condition data. Further, the bar code printer 5 uses the bar code labels 8a to 8d of the inspection condition data.
Print 8e.

The sample in the sample bottle 6 is piled up in constant volume sample bottles 9a to 9e fitted on the table 88, and the surface thereof is ground with a scraping rod 3 to be quantitatively collected. Bar code labels 8a-8e on each bottle 9a-9e, respectively
Is pasted. The sample subdivided into the sample bottle 9a is used for particle size distribution measurement. The sample subdivided into the sample bottle 9b is used for foreign matter detection measurement. The sample subdivided into the sample bottle 9c is subjected to bulk specific gravity measurement and flow characteristic measurement when the charge is removed. The sample subdivided into the sample bottle 9d is subjected to bulk specific gravity measurement and flow characteristic measurement when the charge is not removed. The sample subdivided into the sample bottle 9e is provided for precision sorting. Since it is necessary to precisely weigh the sample in advance for the measurement of the degree of polymerization, the measurement of the volatile content, the measurement of the DOP absorption, and the measurement of the residual monomer, a precisely sampled sample is used. The sample subdivided by the above,
According to the block diagrams of FIGS. 1 and 2, measurement and sorting are performed as follows.

[Measurement of Particle Size Distribution] The terminal computer 11 controls the measurement of particle size distribution. The subdivided sample in the sample bottle 9a conveyed by the conveyor 81 is the sequencer 51.
The robot 61 is moved to the particle size distribution measuring device 31 by the drive control of the above. At that time, the bar code label 8a of the inspection condition data attached to the sample is read by the bar code reader 41 and taken into the terminal computer 11. The particle size distribution measuring device 31 is, for example, a particle size distribution measuring device manufactured by Nikkiso Co., Ltd. The operating principle is that the particle size is obtained from the intensity of the diffracted light and the scattering angle when the beam is diffracted and scattered when the particle is irradiated with the laser beam.
The smaller the particle size, the smaller the intensity of diffracted light per unit area and the larger the scattering angle. Based on this, the particle size distribution of the powder particles is calculated. The measured particle size distribution is loaded into the terminal computer 11 and transferred to the host computer 1 via the LAN 2 together with the inspection condition data previously loaded.

[Foreign Object Detection / Measurement] The terminal computer 12 controls the detection of foreign objects mixed and the measurement of the number of foreign objects. The subdivided samples in the sample bottle 9b conveyed by the conveyor 82 are transferred to the static eliminator 92 by the robot 62 operated by the drive control of the sequencer 52. Bar code label 8 of inspection condition data attached to the sample at that time
b is read by the barcode reader 42 and taken into the terminal computer 12. The static eliminator 92 has a configuration in which a stirrer is inserted in the container. When the sequencer 52 detects that the powder sample has been placed in the container, the static eliminator solution (for example, a mixed solution of ethylene glycol and ethyl alcohol) is gradually poured while rotating the stirrer to completely mix the powder sample and the static eliminator solution. And remove the charge. After rotating the stirrer for a certain time, the robot 62 removes the static electricity
The static-eliminated powder sample is transferred from the second container to the foreign matter detection and measurement device 32. The foreign matter detection / measurement device 32 is, for example, a foreign matter inspection device FF-4000 manufactured by Haji Sangyo Co., Ltd. The powder sample that has been uniformly spread is magnified by a high resolution CCD television camera, processed as a two-dimensional signal such as a detected black dot, and its size is calculated, and the number is calculated for each size range. The size and quantity of the measured foreign matter are taken into the terminal computer 12, and transferred to the host computer 1 via the LAN 2 together with the inspection condition data previously taken in.

[Measurement of Bulk Specific Gravity and Measurement of Flow Characteristics when Charge is Removed] The terminal computer 13 controls the measurement of bulk specific gravity when the charge is removed. The subdivided samples in the sample bottle 9c conveyed by the conveyor 83 are transferred to the bulk specific gravity measuring device 33 by the robot 63 which operates under the drive control of the sequencer 53. At that time, the barcode label 8c of the inspection condition data attached to the sample is read by the barcode reader 43 and taken into the terminal computer 13. The bulk specific gravity measuring device 33 is a device conforming to JIS K-6721,
There is a funnel at the top and a constant volume container at the bottom. An electronic weighing scale is placed in the immediate vicinity of it. A damper is attached to the lower outlet of the funnel so that it can be inserted and removed. Further, as a peculiarity to the bulk specific gravity measuring device 33, a stirrer 93 for static elimination is arranged above the upper opening of the funnel. The stirring device 93 is a container in which a screw stirring rod is inserted into a container having a discharge port that can be opened and closed at the bottom. When the lower discharge port of the container of the agitation device 93 for static elimination is closed and the powder sample is put in the container and the sequencer 53 detects this, the static elimination solution (for example, a methanol solution of a cationic surfactant) is rotated while rotating the screw stirring rod. Is gradually poured, and the powder sample and the static elimination solution are thoroughly mixed to eliminate static electricity. Then, when the lower outlet of the container is opened, the powder sample from which the charge has been removed is supplied to the funnel in which the damper of the bulk specific gravity measuring device 33 is inserted. In this state, the powder sample is dropped for a certain period of time and then the damper is removed, and the powder sample falls into the lower volume container. The constant volume container is ground and weighed by an electronic weighing machine, and the weighed value is input to the terminal computer 13, where the bulk specific gravity is calculated. This bulk specific gravity is taken into the terminal computer 13 as the bulk specific gravity when the electricity is removed, and is transferred to the host computer 1 via the LAN 2 together with the inspection condition data previously taken in. Further, a photoelectric detection device is attached between the discharge port of the funnel of the bulk specific gravity measuring device 33 and the constant volume container, and the terminal computer 13 is timed by measuring the time from the start of the drop of the discharged powder sample to the end thereof. It is possible to calculate the flow characteristics of the powder sample that has been subjected to static elimination. This flow characteristic is also transferred to the host computer 1 via the LAN 2.

[Measurement of Bulk Specific Gravity and Measurement of Flow Characteristic without Static Elimination] The terminal computer 14 controls the measurement of bulk specific gravity without static elimination. The subdivided sample in the sample bottle 9d conveyed by the conveyor 84 is transferred to the bulk specific gravity measuring device 34 by the robot 64 operated by the drive control of the sequencer 54. At that time, the bar code label 8d of the inspection condition data attached to the sample is read by the bar code reader 44 and taken into the terminal computer 14. The bulk specific gravity measuring device 34 is a device conforming to JIS K-6721, and has a funnel in the upper part and a constant volume container in the lower part. An electronic weighing scale is placed in the immediate vicinity of it. A damper is attached to the lower outlet of the funnel so that it can be inserted and removed. Insert the funnel damper and insert the powder sample from the top opening. The damper is then removed and the powder sample falls into the lower volume container. The constant volume container is ground and then weighed by an electronic weigher, and the measured value is input to the terminal computer 14, where the bulk specific gravity is calculated. This bulk specific gravity is taken into the terminal computer 14 as a bulk specific gravity without static elimination, and is transferred to the host computer 1 via the LAN 2 together with the inspection condition data previously taken in. Further, a photoelectric detection device is provided between the discharge port of the funnel of the bulk specific gravity measuring device 34 and the constant volume container, and the time from the start of the dropping of the powder sample without static elimination to the end thereof is measured, whereby the terminal computer At 14, the flow characteristics of the powder sample without static elimination can be calculated. This flow characteristic is also transferred to the host computer 1 via the LAN 2.

[Precision collection of sample] The terminal computer 20 controls the precise preparation of the powder sample. The subdivided sample in the sample bottle 9e conveyed by the conveyor 80 is operated by the robot 70 controlled by the sequencer 60.
Is transferred to the precision sorting device 40. At that time, the bar code label 8e of the inspection condition data attached to the sample is read by the bar code reader 50 and the terminal computer 20
Is taken into. The precision sorting device 40 includes a hopper for loading a sample, a feeder with a mechanism for checking the weight of the sample opened from the hopper (for example, a magnetic feeder with a loss-in-way method load cell), and an electronic weighing scale. Consists of. Precision sorting containers are arranged at the bottom of the feeder so as to be fed in order. The robot 70 loads the entire sample from the sample bottle 9e into the hopper of the feeder. Then, the feeder operates to stop the feeder when a predetermined amount of sample is placed in the first precision collection container. In this way, the precision collection container containing the sample is carried by the robot 70 to the electronic weighing scale and precisely weighed. The robot 70 places the precisely weighed sample in the precision collection container on the conveyor 90. When the first precision sorting container is carried out from the feeder, the next precision sorting container flows to the lower part of the feeder and the same precision sorting is performed. In this example, four precision sortings are performed. The quantitative precision preparative samples contained in the four precision preparative containers are sequentially placed on the conveyor 90 by the robot 70, and the next step, polymerization degree measurement, volatile matter measurement,
Transferred to DOP absorption measurement, residual monomer measurement. On the other hand, the inspection condition data of the precisely sampled sample is transferred to the terminal computers 15 to 18 corresponding to these measurements.
Transferred via N2.

[Polymerization degree measurement] The terminal computer 15 controls the polymerization degree measurement. The precision sampled sample conveyed by the conveyor 90 is transferred to the polymerization degree measuring device 35 by the robot 65 which operates under the drive control of the sequencer 55. The inspection condition data attached to the sample is sent from the terminal computer 20 via the LAN 2 to the terminal computer 15
Then, the polymerization degree is measured under the conditions. The polymerization degree measuring device 35 is a device based on JISK-6721. For example, automatic polymerization degree measuring device (VM
R-052) can be used. A fixed quantity of the sample is dissolved in nitrobenzene, the viscosity of the solution is measured, and the degree of polymerization is calculated from the viscosity by the terminal computer 15.
This degree of polymerization is transferred from the terminal computer 15 to the host computer 1 via the LAN 2 together with the inspection condition data previously fetched.

[Measurement of Volatile Content] The terminal computer 16 controls the measurement of volatile matter. The precision separated sample conveyed by the conveyor 90 is transferred to the volatile content measuring device 36 by the robot 66 which operates under the drive control of the sequencer 56. The inspection condition data attached to the sample is sent from the terminal computer 20 via the LAN 2 to the terminal computer 16
Enter the value in, and the volatile matter is measured under the conditions. The volatile matter measuring device 36 is a device conforming to JIS K-6721. A fixed quantity of the sample is dried, weighed again, and the volatile matter is calculated from the reduced amount. This volatile is
The inspection condition data previously fetched is transferred from the terminal computer 16 to the host computer 1 via the LAN 2.

[Measurement of plasticizer absorption] Terminal computer 1
7 controls the plasticizer absorbency measurement. Plasticizers whose absorption properties are measured include, for example, dioctyl phthalate (DOP)
Is. The precision preparative sample carried on the conveyor 90 is driven by the robot 6 controlled by the sequencer 57.
7 is transferred to the DOP absorption measuring device 37. The inspection condition data attached to the sample is input from the terminal computer 20 to the terminal computer 17 via the LAN 2,
The DOP absorption amount is measured under the conditions. The DOP absorption measuring device 37 is composed of a centrifuge, a DOP injector, and an electronic weigher. A fixed amount of D for quantitative preparative sample
After injecting OP and leaving it for a predetermined period of time, centrifugation is performed under certain conditions. Then, the sample weight after centrifugation is transferred to an electronic weighing machine and precisely weighed. The weight of this sample is compared with the weight of the precision-prepared sample, and the DOP absorption rate is calculated from the increased amount, that is, the amount of DOP absorbed. The calculated DOP absorption rate is transferred to the host computer 1 from the terminal computer 17 via the LAN 2 together with the inspection condition data previously fetched.

[Measurement of residual monomer] Terminal computer 1
8 controls residual monomer measurement. The precision-prepared sample conveyed by the conveyor 90 is transferred to the residual monomer measuring device 38 by the robot 68 operated by the drive control of the sequencer 58 after being automatically cab. The inspection condition data attached to the sample is input to the terminal computer 18, and the residual monomer is measured under the conditions. The residual monomer measuring device 38 is, for example, a head space gas chromatograph (SIGMA-2) manufactured by Perkin Elmer.
000), an automatic headspace sampler (HS-100) and a data processor. The amount of residual monomer thus measured is transferred from the terminal computer 18 to the host computer 1 via the LAN 2 together with the inspection condition data previously fetched.

[0023]

As described above in detail, according to the powdery product automatic inspection apparatus of the present invention, each inspection data can be centrally processed at one time, and each inspection data can be stored in accordance with a conventional method. It can be used for artificial judgment by displaying, collating with quality standards, judging, and recording. Inspectors can select inspection items for each sample,
There is no need to manually sort out the samples. Further, in the inspection process, the manual work of the inspector is eliminated, which is useful for labor saving.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of an automatic powder product inspection apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

2 is a block diagram of an embodiment of an automatic powder product inspection apparatus to which the present invention is applied, which is continuous with FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the operation sequence of the powdery product automatic inspection apparatus of the present invention.

[Explanation of Codes] 1 is a main controller, 2 is a communication line, 3 is a scouring rod, 4 ...
41 to 44.50 are bar code readers, 5 are bar code printers, 6.9a to 9e are sample bottles, 7.8 are bar code labels, 10 to 18 and 20 are terminal control devices, 31 is a particle size distribution measuring device, 32 is a foreign matter detection measuring device,
Is a bulk specific gravity measuring device, 35 is a degree of polymerization measuring device, 36 is a volatile matter measuring device, 37 is a DOP absorption measuring device, 38 is a residual monomer measuring device, 40 is a precision fractionating device, 51-58.
60 is a sequencer, 61 to 68/70 are robots, 80
84 to 90 are conveyors, and 88 is a table.

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Mikio Kitai             No. 1 Towada, Kazasu-machi, Kashima-gun, Ibaraki             Ochi Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A product in which a main control unit and a plurality of terminal control units are connected by a communication line, and one of the plurality of terminal control units is recorded in a sample under the control of the terminal control unit. A device for reading data and a device for setting inspection condition data from the read product data by the terminal control device and recording it in the sample are connected to each other. For each of the rest,
An automatic inspection device for inspecting a subdivided sample taken from the sample in parallel for a plurality of inspection items under the control of each terminal control device is connected, and the product data and the inspection condition data from the one terminal control device are connected. , And each inspection data is transferred from each terminal control device connected to each automatic inspection device to the main control device via a communication line. 2. An automatic inspecting apparatus for powder products, wherein the automatic inspecting apparatus for inspecting a plurality of inspection items in parallel according to claim 1 includes at least a particle size distribution measuring apparatus and a bulk specific gravity measuring apparatus. 3. An automatic inspection device for inspecting a plurality of inspection items according to claim 1 in parallel is a residual monomer measuring device,
An automatic powder product inspection device characterized by being a polymerization degree measuring device, a volatile matter measuring device, a plasticizer absorption measuring device, a particle size distribution measuring device, a foreign matter detecting measuring device, and a bulk specific gravity measuring device. 4. The automatic powder product inspection, wherein the automatic inspection devices for inspecting a plurality of inspection items according to claim 1 in parallel are a particle size distribution measuring device, a foreign matter detecting measuring device, and a bulk specific gravity measuring device. apparatus. 5. The automatic powder product inspection, wherein the automatic inspection devices for inspecting a plurality of inspection items in parallel according to claim 1 are a polymerization degree measuring device, a particle size distribution measuring device and a bulk specific gravity measuring device. apparatus. 6. The automatic inspection device for inspecting a plurality of inspection items according to claim 1 in parallel is a polymerization degree measurement device, a particle size distribution measurement device, a foreign matter detection measurement device, and a bulk specific gravity measurement device. Automatic powder product inspection device. 7. A bar code reader, a sorting device, a conveyor for transporting the subdivided samples, a robot and a precision sorting device are attached to each of the inspection devices. Claim 3, Claim 4, and Claim 5
Alternatively, the automatic powder product inspection method and apparatus according to claim 6.