JPH07280543A - Method and apparatus for measuring dimensions of article - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a measuring technology which enables the measuring of dimensions with a high accuracy for work positioned securely such as that in the course of rolling in rolling work. CONSTITUTION:In the measuring of dimensions of work W positioned securely, a pair of measuring elements 2 and 3 opposed to each other made movable on the same shaft with an air cylinder 4 and one measuring device 5 for measuring a relatively moving value of the measuring elements 2 and 3 are used. Firstly, both the measuring elements are made to abut each other to determine a measuring reference value of the measuring device 5. Thereafter, the first measuring element 2 is made to abut one side of the work W and subsequently, the second measuring element 3 is made to abut the other side of the work W. Then, relatively moving values of both the measuring elements 2 and 3 are computed with the measuring device 5 from the measuring reference value to calculate the dimensions of the work W.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an article size measuring method and size measuring apparatus. More specifically, in the rolling process for forming plates and shapes, and the drawing process for forming wires and pipes, etc., improved measurement technology for measuring the external dimensions of materials such as materials to be measured and molded products. Regarding

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in a rolling process for forming a flat steel material or the like, the outer dimensions of a formed article are measured during the rolling process to determine whether or not the measured dimensions are within a predetermined tolerance. However, the conventional dimension measuring device used for this kind of measurement is generally configured as shown in FIG.

That is, in this dimension measuring device, a pair of cylinder devices a and b are fixedly arranged on both sides of a conveyance path of an article (hereinafter referred to as a work) W as an object to be measured. a and b piston rods c and d
Is capable of projecting and retracting in the dimension direction of the workpiece W to be measured (left and right arrow A direction in the figure), and its tip e,
f is a measuring element. In addition, each cylinder device a, b
The cylinder body is provided with measuring devices g and h for detecting the protruding and retracting amounts of the piston rods c and d, respectively.

First, as shown in FIG. 5 (a),
By projecting both piston rods c and d,
The measuring elements e and f are brought into contact with each other to determine (reset) the measurement reference values of the measuring instruments g and h.

Then, the measuring elements e and f are retracted to the position shown by the chain double-dashed line in FIG. 5 (a), and the work W is awaited to be conveyed to the measuring position.

When the work W is conveyed to the measuring position,
The work W is accurately positioned and fixed at this position.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5 (b), both of the measuring elements e and f are brought into contact with both side surfaces of the work W by projecting the piston rods c and d again. The moving amounts of both piston rods c and d at this time are measured by measuring devices g and h.
Then, the dimension T of the work W is measured by detecting and adding each.

By the way, recently, the dimensional accuracy required for articles formed by plastic working such as rolling is very high as in other technical fields. The structure of the device is no longer able to meet this demand, and improvements have been demanded.

That is, when the dimension of the work W in the middle of rolling is temporarily stopped and measured in a working process such as rolling, the work W is always fixedly positioned at a fixed position with respect to the dimension measuring device. Therefore, since it is necessary to ensure a precise contact state between the both measuring elements e and f and the work W, these both measuring elements e and f are driven by cylinder devices a and b which are independent of each other as shown in the drawing. ,
Two measuring instruments g and h are also required.

In this case, even if the measuring accuracy of both measuring devices g and h is exactly the same, assuming that the measuring error (measuring accuracy) of each measuring device is ± ε mm, the measuring error of the entire device will be However, the measurement error of each of these measuring devices is accumulated and decreases to a maximum of ± 2εmm, and it is not possible to satisfy the high measurement accuracy required recently.

[0011]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and has a high accuracy for a fixedly positioned work such as a work in the middle of rolling in a rolling process. An object of the present invention is to provide a dimension measuring method and a dimension measuring device capable of measuring dimensions.

[0012]

A dimension measuring method according to the present invention comprises a pair of measuring elements which are coaxially movable and are opposed to each other, and a measuring means which measures a relative movement amount of these measuring elements. By measuring the dimension of a workpiece that is fixedly positioned, by abutting the both measuring elements, to determine the measurement reference value of the measuring means, and one measuring element The step of moving and contacting one side surface of the work, and the other side of the measuring element is moved relatively to the one side of the workpiece, so that the side opposite to the side surface on which the one side of the measuring element abuts. And a step of calculating the relative size of the work by calculating the relative movement amount of the both measuring elements from the measurement reference value by the measuring means.

Further, the dimension measuring apparatus of the present invention is for carrying out the above-mentioned measuring method, and comprises an apparatus body which is movable in a dimension direction of a workpiece to be measured, and which is attached to the apparatus body. A pair of tracing stylus provided so as to be movable in the dimension direction of the work to be measured and facing each other, a driving means for moving the tracing stylus in the dimension direction of the work to be measured, and a relative of the both stylus. And a measuring unit that measures the amount of static movement.

[0014]

In the present invention, when measuring the dimension of a fixedly positioned work piece, a pair of measuring elements which are coaxially movable and are opposed to each other and a relative movement amount of these measuring elements are calculated. First, by using a measuring instrument for measuring, the both measuring elements are brought into contact with each other to determine a measurement reference value of the measuring instrument.

After that, one of the measuring heads is moved so as to abut against one side surface of the work, and then the other measuring head is moved relative to the one of the measuring heads. The side surface on which the probe contacts is brought into contact with the other side surface.

Then, the measuring device calculates the relative movement amount of the both measuring elements from the measurement reference value to calculate the dimension of the work.

In this case, by mounting the pair of measuring elements on the apparatus main body which is movable in the dimension direction of the workpiece to be measured, one measuring instrument can measure the relative movement amount of both measuring elements. Can be measured, and the accumulation of measurement errors when using two measuring instruments can be prevented.

Even when using a pair of measuring devices for independently measuring the amount of movement of each tracing stylus, a predetermined measurement operation is performed a plurality of times while moving and adjusting the apparatus body, and then the measurement result is obtained. By averaging, the measurement error between the two measuring devices can be reduced as much as possible.

[0019]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to such embodiments.

Example 1 A dimension measuring apparatus according to Example 1 of the present invention is shown in FIG. 1. Specifically, this dimension measuring apparatus comprises a device body 1 and
A pair of tracing stylus 2, 3 mounted on the main body of the apparatus and a driving device (driving means) 4 for moving and operating the tracing stylus 2, 3
And a measuring device (measuring means) 5 for measuring the relative movement amount of the tracing stylus 2, 3.

The apparatus main body 1 has a substantially C-shape or a U-shape as shown in the drawing, and can be moved in the dimension direction of the work W to be measured (the left and right arrow A direction in the drawing) by a guide structure (not shown). It is said that.

At the base end of the apparatus body 1, the first
The measuring element 2 is attached so as to be movable in the dimensional direction A through the drive unit 4, and the second measuring element 3 is fixedly and integrally formed at the tip portion. As shown in the drawing, the axes of the two measuring elements 2 and 3 are coaxial with each other and are arranged so as to face each other.

The drive device 4 is specifically in the form of an air cylinder. The air cylinder 4 is integrally provided at the base end portion of the device body 1, and the piston rod 6 thereof has the dimension A. It is possible to move in and out. The tip of the piston rod 6 serves as the first probe 2. Although not shown, the pressure chambers 7a and 7b of the cylinder body 7 in the air cylinder 4 are connected to an air supply source via an air supply passage.

The pressure chamber 7 of the air cylinder 7
By controlling the supply of compressed air to the a and 7b, the piston rod 6 is projected and retracted, and the first probe 2 and the air cylinder 7 itself move, so that the second probe 3 is moved. As will be described later, the work W is moved in the arrow A direction.

Specifically, the measuring device 5 has a structure for detecting the amount of protrusion / retraction of the piston rod 6, and is integrally provided at the rear end of the cylinder body 7 of the air cylinder 4. The measuring device 5 may have any configuration as long as it can measure the linear movement amount of the piston rod 6, and for example, a magnetic sensor, a linear encoder, a linear scale, or the like is preferably used. In, a magnetic sensor is used.

Then, the measuring device 5 measures the linear movement amount of the piston rod 6 in the direction of the arrow A from the measurement reference value (described later), and based on this measurement value, both of the measuring elements 2 and 3 are measured. The relative movement amount is calculated.

Next, a method of measuring the work W using the dimension measuring device configured as described above will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1 (a), the air cylinder 4
When the piston rod 6 of the No. 2 protrudes, the first probe 2 at the tip of the piston rod 6 advances to the left and contacts the second probe 3, and the measured value of the measuring instrument 5 at this time is the measurement reference. Set (reset) as a value.

When the piston rod 6 of the air cylinder 4 retracts, the first probe 2 retreats to the right again, and both probes 2 and 3 convey the work W (see the two-dot chain line frame). ) Evacuate to the outside, and in this open state, wait for the work W to be measured to be conveyed to a predetermined measurement position (see the position indicated by the chain double-dashed line).

As shown in FIG. 1 (b), when the workpiece W to be measured is positioned and fixed at the measuring position (see the solid line position), the piston rod 6 projects again,
The first tracing stylus 2 advances to the left and contacts one side surface Wa of the work W.

Further, when the piston rod 6 projects, the first measuring element 2 comes into contact with the fixed work W and does not move to the left anymore, so this time the first measuring element 2 is fixedly supported. As a member, the cylinder body 7 and the device body 1 integrated with the cylinder body 7 move to the right.

Due to this movement, the second probe 3 fixed to the apparatus main body 1 also advances to the right and abuts against the other side surface Wb of the work W, whereby the work W is moved to both probe 2 , 3 is sandwiched from both sides.

The measuring device 5 measures the linear movement amount of the piston rod 6 from the measurement reference value, and based on this measurement value, the relative movement amount of both of the tracing heads 2 and 3 is calculated, The required size T of the work W is calculated.

As described above, according to the first embodiment, the relative movement amount of the pair of tracing styluses 2 and 3 is measured by the single measuring device 5, so that the two measuring devices can be used as in the conventional case. Accumulation of measurement errors when using a measuring instrument can be prevented, the measurement accuracy can be improved, and the measurement time can be shortened.

Example 2 A dimension measuring apparatus according to Example 2 of the present invention is shown in FIG. 2. This dimension measuring apparatus is specifically a pair of measuring elements 1.
Driving devices (driving means) 14A and 14B and measuring devices (measuring means) 15A and 15 which are independent of each other
B is provided.

Similar to the first embodiment, the apparatus main body 11 has a substantially C-shaped or U-shaped shape, and has a guide structure (not shown) to measure the dimension A of the workpiece W to be measured.
It is possible to move to.

At both ends of the apparatus main body 11, first and second tracing styluses 12 and 13 are provided on the driving devices 14A and 14A, respectively.
14B, each of which is attached so as to be movable in the dimension direction A, and both of these measuring elements 12, 13 are attached.
As shown in the figure, their axes are coaxial with each other and are arranged so as to face each other.

The specific structure of the driving devices 14A and 14B and the specific mounting structure of both the tracing styluses 12 and 13 are the same as those in the first embodiment. 16A and 16B are piston rods of the driving devices 14A and 14B, 17A and 17B are cylinder bodies of the driving devices 14A and 14B, respectively, and 17a and 17b are pressure chambers of the cylinder bodies 17A and 17B, respectively.

The measuring instruments 15A and 15B have basically the same structure as the measuring instrument 5 of the first embodiment, and detect the amount of protrusion and retreat of the piston rods 16A and 16B, respectively.

Then, the piston rod 16 from the measurement reference value (described later) is measured by these measuring devices 15A and 15B.
The amount of linear movement of A and 16B in the direction of arrow A is measured, and the relative amount of movement of both of the tracing heads 12 and 13 is calculated by a controller (not shown) based on the measured value.

Next, a method of measuring the work W using the dimension measuring device configured as described above will be described.

I) As shown in FIG. 2 (a), the piston rods 16A and 16B of the air cylinders 14A and 14B are projected so that the first and second measuring elements 1 at the tips thereof are protruded.
The reference numerals 2 and 13 move forward and come into contact with each other, and the measurement values of the measuring instruments 15A and 15B at this time are set (reset) as measurement reference values.

Ii) When the piston rods 16A and 16B of the air cylinders 14A and 14B are retracted, both of the tracing styluses 12 and 13 are retracted again to the outside of the conveying path of the work W (see the chain double-dashed line frame). Evacuate and leave this open state,
It waits for the work W to be measured to be conveyed to a predetermined measurement position (see the position indicated by the chain double-dashed line).

Iii) As shown in FIG. 2 (b), when the workpiece W to be measured is positioned and fixed at the measurement position (see the position indicated by the solid line), the piston rods 16A and 16B project again, and the two The tracing styluses 12 and 13 move forward and come into contact with both side surfaces Wa and Wb of the work W, respectively, and the work W is sandwiched from both sides.

Iv) The linear movement amounts of the piston rods 16A and 16B from the measurement reference value are measured by the measuring instruments 15A and 15B, respectively, and the relative movements of the probe heads 12 and 13 are measured based on these measured values. The target movement amount is calculated and calculated as a provisionally determined value of the dimension T of the work W to be obtained.

V) When one of the above steps i) to iv) is executed and one sampling is completed, the piston rods 16A and 16B project and retract in this state, and the apparatus main body 1 is moved to either the left or right side. The measurement values of the measuring devices 15A and 15B at this time are set (reset) as new measurement reference values.

Vi) After that, the above steps i) to v) are sequentially repeated, and after a predetermined number of samplings are completed, the calculation results (the tentatively determined values) in the plurality of samplings are averaged and the average thereof is calculated. The value is calculated as the final value of the dimension T of the work W.

As described above, in the second embodiment, the relative movement amount of the pair of tracing styluses 12 and 13 is set to the two measuring devices 15.
In the case of using two measuring devices as in the conventional example, as in the first embodiment, the measurement is performed by A and 15B, and the average value is calculated as the final value by repeating this measurement a plurality of times. Accumulation of measurement errors can be prevented as much as possible, and measurement accuracy is improved.

Since the measurement accuracy can be appropriately changed by increasing or decreasing the number of times of sampling, it becomes possible to set the optimum measurement condition for the required measurement level, and the efficient dimension measurement is realized.

Example 3 A dimension measuring apparatus according to this example is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, and this dimension measuring apparatus is a further embodiment of the configuration of Example 1 and is used in the rolling process for forming a flat steel material. Is what is used.

In this dimension measuring device, as shown in the figure, the measuring direction, that is, the dimension direction A of the workpiece W to be measured is the vertical direction, and the device body 1 mounted on the base 100 is The air cylinder 4 can be moved up and down in the vertical direction A, and the piston rod 6 of the air cylinder 4 can be similarly projected and retracted in the vertical direction A.

Specifically, on the side surface of the base 100,
A linear rail 101 is provided extending in the vertical direction, and linear guides 102, 102 mounted and fixed on the linear reel 101 are reciprocally movable in the vertical direction A.

As shown in the drawing, the apparatus main body 1 is of a [block-shaped body and has a structure in which it descends due to its own weight. In relation to this, the base 100 is provided with a positioning stopper 103 that defines the most lowered position of the apparatus body 1.

The first tracing stylus 2 corresponds to the piston rod 6
It is screwed and fixed to the tip of the, and its lower surface 2a
Is a contact surface formed of a horizontal surface. On the other hand, the second probe 3 is integrally formed on the upper surface of the lower end of the apparatus main body 1, and the upper surface 3a is a contact surface formed of a horizontal plane, and the contact surface 2a of the first probe 2 is also formed. It is located opposite to and parallel to.

Reference numeral 104 denotes a moving caster attached to the lower end of the leg portion of the base 100, which has a structure capable of moving the dimension measuring device.

Thus, in the dimension measuring apparatus configured as described above, the measuring method of the first embodiment described above is executed, but in this case, the apparatus body 1 in its initial state has a positioning stopper due to its own weight. It descends on 103 and is in the highest descent position.

In this state, the work W to be measured is successively carried out sequentially from the above steps, and is conveyed in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface of the drawing, and its measurement position (see the two-dot chain line position). ) Is positioned and fixed (Fig. 1)
In the state (b), the above steps are performed.

At this time, when the piston rod 6 projects downward, the projecting force of the piston rod 6 causes the apparatus main body 1 to rise upward against its own weight, and the second tracing stylus 3 is placed on the workpiece W. It abuts the lower side surface Wb, so that the work W is sandwiched by both the measuring elements 2 and 3 from above and below.

Finally, when the piston rod 6 is retracted after the above process is completed and the dimension T of the work W is calculated, first, the second probe 3 is moved by the self-weight of the apparatus body 1. After returning to the lowest position (the position shown in the figure), the first probe 2 subsequently moves up.

With such a configuration, the second tracing stylus 3 is always at the most lowered position in its initial state, and this is also the reset position for setting the above-mentioned measurement reference value. Setting operation (previous process)
Is required only once, and the subsequent measurement cycle time is shortened.

The first to third embodiments described above are merely preferred embodiments for explaining the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to this, and various designs are possible within the scope of the present invention. It can be changed.

For example, the concrete constituent parts of the dimension measuring device can adopt a structure different from that of the illustrated embodiment as long as it has the same function.

As an example, in the illustrated embodiment, an air cylinder is used as the cylinder device constituting the drive device 4, but a hydraulic cylinder may be used,
Further, instead of the cylinder device, it is also possible to use a drive device having another linear movement mechanism such as a ball screw device.

Further, in the dimension measuring apparatus of the third embodiment,
It is also possible to set the measurement direction, that is, the dimensional direction A to be measured of the work W to the horizontal direction. In this case, instead of the function of returning the initial position by the weight of the apparatus body 1, the apparatus body 1 can be moved in the horizontal direction. A biasing unit that uses a spring or the like that constantly biases toward the initial position is provided.

[0065]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention,
Using a pair of stylus arranged to be movable coaxially and facing each other, and a measuring means for measuring the relative movement amount of these stylus, first, contact the both stylus, After determining the measurement reference value of the measuring means, one of the measuring elements is moved to be brought into contact with one side surface of the work, and the other measuring element is moved relative to the one measuring element. , Abutting on the other side surface opposite to the side surface with which one of the contact points is in contact, in this state, the measuring means calculates the relative movement amount of both of the contact points from the measurement reference value,
Since the dimension of the work is calculated, it is possible to measure the dimension of the work fixedly positioned such as the work being rolled in the rolling process with high accuracy.

That is, by mounting the pair of measuring elements on the apparatus main body which is movable in the dimension direction of the workpiece to be measured, the relative moving amount of both measuring elements can be measured by a single measuring means. It becomes possible to measure. This allows
Accumulation of measurement errors when using two conventional measurement means can be prevented, the measurement accuracy can be improved, and the measurement time can be shortened, and high-accuracy and quick measurement can be realized.

On the other hand, even when using a pair of measuring means for independently measuring the moving amount of each tracing stylus, after performing a predetermined measurement operation (sampling) a plurality of times while adjusting the movement of the apparatus body. By averaging the measurement results, the measurement error between the two measuring means can be reduced as much as possible, and the measurement accuracy is improved as compared with the conventional measurement technique.

Moreover, since the measurement accuracy can be appropriately changed by increasing or decreasing the number of samplings, it becomes possible to set the optimum measurement conditions for the required measurement level, and to realize efficient dimension measurement. Becomes

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram for explaining a configuration of an article dimension measuring apparatus and a dimension measuring method according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram for explaining a configuration of an article dimension measuring apparatus and a dimension measuring method according to Example 2 of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a front view showing in partial cross section the configuration of an article size measuring apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view showing a configuration of a main part of the same dimension measuring device.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram for explaining a configuration of a conventional article dimension measuring apparatus and a dimension measuring method thereof.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1, 11 Device body 2, 12 First measuring element 3, 13 Second measuring element 4, 14A, 14B Air cylinder (driving means) 5, 15A, 15B Measuring instrument (measuring means) 6, 16A, 16B Air cylinder Piston rod W Workpiece (measurement object) A Workpiece dimension to be measured

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. An article fixedly positioned by using a pair of stylus movably arranged coaxially and facing each other and a measuring means for measuring the relative movement amount of these stylus. A method of measuring dimensions, comprising the steps of bringing the two measuring elements into contact with each other and determining the measurement reference value of the measuring means, and moving one of the measuring elements to contact one side surface of the article. And a step of moving the other measuring element relative to the one measuring element so as to abut on the other side surface opposite to the side surface on which the one measuring element abuts,
And a step of calculating a relative movement amount of both of the tracing stylus from a measurement reference value by the measuring unit to calculate a dimension of the article. 2. One of the measuring means is used, and one measuring element is fixed to the measuring means and the other measuring element is relatively movable. The method for measuring the size of an article according to claim 1. 3. The two measuring means are used, and the stylus is movable relative to both of these measuring means, and after repeating a series of steps of a plurality of times, The method for measuring the size of an article according to claim 1, wherein the results of the calculation are averaged to calculate the size of the article. 4. An apparatus main body that is movable in the dimension direction of an article to be measured, and a pair of device bodies that are attached to the apparatus body and that are movable in the dimension direction of the article and that are opposed to each other. Dimension of an article, comprising a measuring element, a driving means for moving the measuring element in a dimension direction of the article to be measured, and a measuring means for measuring a relative movement amount of the both measuring elements. measuring device. 5. The drive means is composed of a single cylinder device provided in the main body of the device, and a piston rod of the cylinder device is capable of projecting and retracting in a dimension direction of the article to be measured. , A first probe is provided at its tip, a second probe is fixedly provided on the apparatus body so as to face the first probe, and the measurement means is configured to project the piston rod. The article size measuring apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the dimension measuring apparatus is configured to detect a retreat amount. 6. The driving means is composed of a pair of cylinder devices provided in the main body of the device, and piston rods of the cylinder devices are capable of projecting and retracting in the dimension direction of the article to be measured, 5. The article according to claim 4, wherein first and second gauge heads are respectively provided at the tips thereof, and the measuring means is configured to detect the amount of protrusion / retraction of the piston rod. Measuring device.