JPH1035848A - Transfer equipment for pellet - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve the productivity by preventing breakage of pellets on a measurement line, and reducing the labor in cleaning the broken pellets on the measurement line. SOLUTION: In a transfer device 10 provided with a transfer claw 1, a transfer claw fitting plate 2, an elevating/lowering mechanism 5, and a horizontally moving mechanism 9, a carrying direction overload protective device 19 comprising a straight moving guide 6 to guide the transfer claw 1 in the horizontal direction and a spring to press the transfer claw 1 in the carrying direction of the pellet 16 is provided. Because the carrying force to be applied to the pellet 16 by the transfer claw 1 is limited to the compression force of the spring, breakage of the pellet 16 on the measurement line is prevented.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pellet for inspecting whether or not the pellet is finished to a predetermined shape and size and a weight after forming, sintering and grinding the pellet in a process of manufacturing a fuel pellet for a nuclear reactor. The present invention relates to a transfer device for transferring pellets on a measurement line of an outer diameter density measuring device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Since pellets are usually produced in large quantities at one time, they are continuously conveyed on a production line in a line. In order to measure the height, outer diameter, and weight of pellets on a production line, it is necessary to separate continuously transported pellets one by one at regular intervals and transport them intermittently. For this purpose, a transfer mechanism for providing a separation mechanism for separating the pellets at regular intervals and transferring the separated pellets intermittently to the measurement position is required.

FIG. 6 is a front view of a conventional transfer device. The measuring line is a height measuring device 11, a rotating roller 1
2, an outer diameter measuring device 13, a weight measuring device 14, and a V table 15. The height measuring device 11 includes a pellet 16
The height of the pellet 16 is measured by a laser measuring machine while rotating the rotating roller 12. The outer diameter measuring device 13 rotates the pellet 16 with the rotating roller 12 and measures the outer diameter of the pellet 16 at multiple points by a laser measuring machine while feeding the pellet 16 at a constant speed by a separate pellet feeder. Weight measuring device 1
Reference numeral 4 denotes a single V table provided by cutting out a part of a V table 15 for transporting the pellets 16, the pellets are placed on the single V table, and the pellets 1 are placed on an electronic balance using the V table as a weighing table.
6 is measured. V for the pellet measurement line
Between the measuring devices, there is a connecting portion of the pellets in which the pellets move from the V table 15 having the groove of the mold to the rotating roller 12, from the rotating roller 12 to the V table 15, and from the V table 15 to the V table 15.

The transfer device 10 is located above these measuring devices and sends out the pellets 16 to the next inspection step. The transfer device 10 includes a transfer claw 1 that pushes and conveys a pellet, a transfer claw mounting plate 2 in which a plurality of transfer claws 1 are arranged at regular intervals,
Plate 2 consisting of air cylinder 3 and linear drive guide 4
And a horizontal moving mechanism 9 comprising a linear drive guide 6, a ball screw 7, and a drive motor 8 for moving the transfer claw mounting plate 2 forward in the transport direction.

[0005] The operation of the transfer device 10 will be described.
The pellets 16 are separated at regular intervals by a separation mechanism (not shown), and are waiting in advance at an initial position on the upstream side. The pellet 16 is being transported to a predetermined position on the left end on the V base 15 in FIG.
Descends to the upstream side of the pellet 16. Next, when the horizontal moving mechanism 9 of the transfer device 10 moves by a predetermined stroke, the pellet 16 is pushed by the transfer claw 1 and moves to the measuring position of the height measuring device 11. After the transfer device 10 moves by a predetermined stroke, the elevating mechanism 5 moves up and the transfer claw mounting plate 2 moves up. Thereafter, the horizontal moving mechanism 9 drives the transfer mounting plate 2, and the transfer device 10 moves to the initial position.
At this time, the next pellet 16 separated by a separation mechanism (not shown) is transported to a predetermined position 17 on the left end of the V table 15. The transfer device 10 is lowered by the elevating mechanism 5 and then moved by a predetermined stroke by the horizontal moving mechanism 9 to send the pellets 16 to the height measuring device 11. The pellet 16 that was in the height measuring device 11 at that time
Is transported to the measurement position of the outer diameter measuring device 13. The pellet 16 is further sent from the position of the outer diameter measuring device 13 to the measuring position of the weight measuring device 14. By repeating the above operation, the transfer device 10 transfers the pellet 16 to the height measuring device 11, the outer diameter measuring device 13, and the weight measuring device 1.
4 is sequentially conveyed to the measurement position.

[0006]

In the pellet outer diameter density measuring apparatus thus configured, when the transfer device 10 transports the pellet 16 in the transport direction, the V table 1
5 to measuring devices 11, 13, 14; V stage 15 to V stage 1
5, the pellet 16 is caught, and the pellet 16 is damaged, or the transfer claw 1 accidentally descends on the pellet 16 to prevent the pellet 16 from being transferred.
Is damaged. In addition, there is a problem that a lot of time is spent for collecting pieces of the broken pellets 16 and powder.

The present invention provides a transfer apparatus which solves the above problems, prevents breakage of pellets on a measurement line, and reduces the time and effort required for cleaning broken pellets, thereby improving the productivity of the measurement line. The task is to

[0008]

According to the present invention, a transfer claw, a transfer claw mounting plate, and a lifting and lowering device are provided so that pellets separated at a predetermined interval by a pellet separation device are intermittently conveyed on a measurement line. Mechanism, a transfer device provided with a horizontal movement mechanism, in the transfer direction overload protection device comprising a linear drive guide for guiding the transfer claw in the horizontal direction, and a spring for pressing the transfer claw in the pellet transfer direction. By providing, when the pellets are transported by the transfer device, if the pellets get caught in the connecting portion of the measurement line, the horizontal moving mechanism stops operating by the signal from the transport direction overload protection device, and the transfer claw is It is slid on the linear guide in the direction to compress the spring and transmitted from the horizontal movement mechanism. Conveying force, since it is stopped until the compression force of the spring, it is possible to prevent damage to the pellets.

In addition, a linear drive guide for guiding the transfer claw in the vertical direction and a downward overload protection device comprising a spring for pressing the transfer claw downward are provided.
If the transfer claw hits the pellet while the transfer claw is moving down, the elevating mechanism stops operating due to the signal from the descent direction overload protection device, and the transfer claw moves on the linear guide vertically in the direction to compress the spring. And the descending force transmitted from the elevating mechanism is stopped by the compression force of the spring, so that the pellet can be prevented from being damaged.

An overload detection sensor for detecting an overload in the transport direction and an overload detection sensor for detecting an overload in the downward direction are attached to the overload protection device in the transport direction and the overload protection device in the downward direction. When detecting the overload by the detection sensor, the signal from the overload detection sensor stops the operation of the horizontal movement mechanism of the transfer device, or stops the operation of the lifting mechanism,
It is possible to prevent the pellet from being overloaded and prevent the pellet from being damaged.

Further, when an overload is detected by the overload detection sensor, the operation of the horizontal movement mechanism is stopped by a signal from the overload detection sensor, and then the horizontal movement mechanism is operated in the reverse direction, so that the overload is detected. Move the transfer device in the reverse direction of the transport direction to a position where is no longer detected, or after stopping the operation of the elevating mechanism by a signal from the overload detection sensor, actuate the elevating mechanism in the reverse direction, Since the transfer device is moved vertically upward to a position where overload is no longer detected,
It is possible to prevent the pellet from being overloaded by preventing the pellet from being overloaded, thereby shortening the maintenance time and improving the productivity of the measuring line.

[0012]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Embodiment 1 FIG. 1 is a front view showing an embodiment of a transfer apparatus 10 having a transport direction overload protection device 19 according to the present invention. 1, the same parts as those in FIG. 6 are denoted by the same reference numerals. The transfer device 10 includes a transfer claw 1 that pushes and transports the pellet 16, a transfer claw mounting plate 2 in which a plurality of the transfer claw 1 are arranged at regular intervals,
Plate 2 consisting of air cylinder 3 and linear drive guide 4
And a horizontal moving mechanism 9 comprising a linear drive guide 6, a ball screw 7, and a drive motor 8 for moving the transfer claw mounting plate 2 forward and backward in the transport direction. The example of FIG.
0 is provided with a transport direction overload protection device 19. FIG. 2 shows FIG.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of the transport direction overload protection device 19 of FIG. The right arrow in FIG. 2 indicates the pellet transport direction. The transport direction overload protection device 19 includes a linear drive guide 24 for guiding the transfer claw 1 in the horizontal direction and a spring 18 for pressing the transfer claw 1 in the pellet transport direction.

Next, the operation of the transfer apparatus 10 shown in FIG. 1 will be described. The pellets 16 are separated at regular intervals by a separation mechanism (not shown), and are waiting in advance at a predetermined position on the upstream side. When the pellet 16 is transported to a predetermined position 17 on the left end on the V base 15, the lifting mechanism 5 descends, and the transfer claw 1 descends to the upstream side of the pellet 16. Next, when the horizontal moving mechanism 9 of the transfer device 10 moves by a predetermined stroke, the pellet 16 is pushed by the transfer claw 1 and moves to the measuring position of the height measuring device 11. After the transfer device 10 moves a predetermined stroke,
The lifting / lowering mechanism 5 is operated and the transfer claw mounting plate 2
Rises. Thereafter, the horizontal moving mechanism 9 drives the transfer claw mounting plate 2, and the transfer device 10 is sent to the initial position. At this time, the next pellet 16 separated by a separation mechanism (not shown) is transported to a predetermined position 17 on the left end of the V table 15. The transfer device 10 is lowered by the elevating mechanism 5 and then moved by a predetermined stroke by the horizontal moving mechanism 9 to send the pellets to the height measuring device 11. At this time, the pellets 16 in the height measuring device 11 are transported to the measuring position of the outer diameter measuring device 13.
Further, the pellet 16 at the measuring position of the outer diameter measuring device 13 is sent to the measuring position of the weight measuring device 14. By repeating the above operation, the transfer device 10
The pellet 16 is connected to the height measuring device 11 and the outer diameter measuring device 1.
3. Conveyed sequentially to the measuring position of the weight measuring device 14.

The transport direction overload protection device 19 includes a linear drive guide 24 for guiding the transfer claw 1 in the horizontal direction,
And a spring 18 for compressing the transfer claw 1 in the transport direction. The force of the transfer claw 1 pushing the pellet 16 in the transport direction is transmitted by the compression reaction force of the spring 18. When the pellet 16 is caught on the connecting portion of the V table 15, the horizontal moving mechanism 9 stops operating by the signal from the transport direction overload protection device 19, and the transfer claw 1 moves the linear drive guide 24 in the direction of compressing the spring 18. By sliding upward, the conveying force transmitted by the horizontal moving mechanism 9 of the transfer device 10 is stopped by the compressive force of the spring 18, so that the pellet 1 on the measuring line
6 can be prevented from being damaged. As a result, there is no need to clean broken pellets, and the productivity of the measurement line is improved.

Embodiment 2 FIG. 3 is a front view of a transfer apparatus 10 having a downward overload protection device 20 according to the present invention. In FIG.
The lifting mechanism 5 and the horizontal moving mechanism 9 are the same as those in FIG. In the example of FIG. 3, a downward direction overload protection device 20 is provided in addition to the transport direction overload protection device 19. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the transport direction overload protection device 19 and the descent direction overload protection device 20 of FIG. The right arrow in FIG. 4 indicates the pellet conveying direction, and the downward arrow indicates the claw descending direction. The descending overload protection device 20 includes the transfer claw 1.
And a spring 25 for pressing the transfer claw 1 downward. When the transfer claw 1 descends on the pellet 16, the elevating mechanism 5 stops operating according to a signal from the descent direction overload protection device 20, and the transfer claw 1 slides in a direction to compress the spring 25, thereby causing the transfer device to move. Since the descending force by the lifting mechanism 5 of 10 is stopped by the compression force of the spring 25, breakage of the pellet 16 on the measurement line can be prevented. As a result, there is no need to clean broken pellets, and the productivity of the measurement line is improved.

Embodiment 3 FIG. 5 is a front view of an overload protection device having an overload detection sensor according to the present invention. In FIG. 5, in addition to the transport direction overload protection device 19 and the descending direction overload protection device 20, a transport direction overload detection sensor 21 for detecting an overload of the transfer claw 1 in the transport direction and an overload of the transfer claw 1 in the downward direction. Is provided. When the transfer claw 1 compresses the springs 18 and 25 (at the time of overload), the dog attached to the transfer claw 1 shields the overload detection sensor 21 or 22 from light at a position where the transfer claw 1 is overloaded. It is configured to detect overload. The operation of the horizontal movement mechanism 9 is stopped when the signal is transmitted from the conveyance direction overload detection sensor 21 that detects the overload in the conveyance direction, and when the signal is transmitted from the descending direction overload detection sensor 22 that detects the downward overload. The operation of the lifting mechanism 5 is stopped. As a result, overload of the pellet 16 by the transfer device 10 can be avoided, so that damage of the pellet 16 by the transfer claw 1 on the measurement line can be prevented. In addition, there is no need to clean the broken pellets 16, and the productivity of the measurement line is improved.

Embodiment 4 In the transfer apparatus 10 provided with the transport direction overload protection device 19 and the downward direction overload protection device 20 having the overload detection sensor shown in FIG. 5, an overload detection for detecting an overload in the transport direction is performed. When the sensor 21 detects an overload, the transfer device 1 receives a signal from the overload detection sensor 21.
After the operation of the horizontal moving mechanism 9 is stopped, the horizontal moving mechanism 9 is operated in the reverse direction to move the transfer device 10 in the direction opposite to the transport direction to a position where overload is no longer detected, or move down. When the overload detection sensor 22 that detects the overload in the direction detects the overload, the operation of the elevating mechanism 5 of the transfer device 10 is stopped by the signal from the overload detecting sensor 22, and then the elevating mechanism 5 is moved in the reverse direction. Transfer device 1 up to the position where overload is eliminated by operating
0 was moved vertically upward. In this way, it is possible to prevent the transfer claw 1 from overloading the pellet 16 and prevent the pellet from being damaged on the measurement line. In addition, there is no need to clean broken pellets, thereby improving the productivity of the measurement line.

[0018]

According to the present invention, the transport direction overload protection device comprising the linear drive guide for guiding the transfer claw in the horizontal direction and the spring for pressing the transfer claw in the transport direction of the pellet is provided. When it is caught on the connecting line of the measurement line, the horizontal movement mechanism stops operating by the signal from the overload protection device in the transport direction, and the transport force is stopped by the compression force of the spring. Can be prevented. Therefore, cleaning of the broken pellet is eliminated, and the productivity of the measuring line is improved.

Further, since a downward directional overload protection device comprising a linear drive guide for guiding the transfer claw in the vertical direction and a spring for pressing the transfer claw downward is provided, when the transfer claw is lowered on the pellet, it is lowered. The elevating mechanism stops operating according to a signal from the directional overload protection device, and the descending force transmitted from the elevating mechanism is stopped by the compression force of the spring, thereby preventing breakage of the pellet on the measurement line. Therefore, cleaning of the broken pellet is eliminated, and the productivity of the measuring line is improved.

According to the invention, an overload detection sensor is attached to the transport-direction overload protection device and the descent-direction overload protection device, and a signal from the overload detection sensor is used to control the horizontal movement mechanism or the elevating mechanism of the transfer device. Since the operation is stopped, the pellet is not overloaded, and the pellet can be prevented from being damaged on the measurement line. Therefore, cleaning of the broken pellet is eliminated, and the productivity of the measuring line is improved.

Further, according to the present invention, after the operation of the horizontal moving mechanism is stopped by the signal from the overload detecting sensor in the transport direction, the horizontal moving mechanism is operated in the reverse direction until the overload is no longer detected. Move the transfer device in the reverse direction of the transport direction, or stop the operation of the elevating mechanism by the signal from the overload detection sensor in the descending direction, and then operate the elevating mechanism in the reverse direction to stop overload detection. Since the transfer device is moved vertically upward, the pellet is not overloaded and breakage of the pellet on the measurement line can be prevented. Therefore, cleaning of the broken pellet is eliminated, and the productivity of the measuring line is improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a transfer device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the transport direction overload protection device of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a front view of a transfer device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the transport-direction overload protection device and the descent-direction overload protection device of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a front view of a transfer device according to a third embodiment and a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a front view of a conventional transfer device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Transfer claw 2 Transfer claw mounting plate 3 Air cylinder 4 Linear drive guide 5 Elevating mechanism 6 Linear drive guide 7 Ball screw 8 Drive motor 9 Horizontal movement mechanism 10 Transfer device 16 Pellet 18 Spring 19 Transport direction overload protection device 20 Downward excess Load protection device 21 Transport direction overload detection sensor 22 Descending direction overload detection sensor 23 Linear drive guide 24 Linear drive guide 25 Spring

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A transfer claw, a transfer claw mounting plate, a lifting / lowering mechanism, and a horizontal movement mechanism for intermittently transporting pellets separated by a pellet separation device on a measurement line on a measurement line. The transfer device, wherein a transfer direction overload protection device including a linear drive guide that guides the transfer claw in the horizontal direction and a spring that presses the transfer claw in the transfer direction of the pellet is provided. Transfer device. 2. A pellet transfer device according to claim 1, further comprising a linear overdrive guide for vertically guiding the transfer claw, and a downward overload protection device comprising a spring for pressing the transfer claw downward. A pellet transfer device. 3. The transfer apparatus for pellets according to claim 2, wherein the overload protection device in the transport direction and the overload protection device in the downward direction detect an overload in the transport direction and an overload in the downward direction. When an overload is detected by the overload detection sensor, the operation of the horizontal movement mechanism of the transfer device is stopped or the operation of the elevating mechanism is stopped by a signal from the overload detection sensor. A pellet transfer device characterized by stopping. 4. The pellet transfer device according to claim 3, wherein when an overload is detected by an overload detection sensor, the operation of the horizontal moving mechanism is stopped by a signal from the overload detection sensor, and then the horizontal movement is stopped. After moving the transfer mechanism in the reverse direction and moving the transfer device in the reverse direction of the transport direction to a position where overload is no longer detected, or after stopping the operation of the elevating mechanism by a signal from the overload detection sensor The pellet transfer device, wherein the lifting mechanism is operated in the reverse direction to move the transfer device vertically upward to a position where overload is no longer detected.