JPS636403A - Method and device for measuring penetration degree and tension degree - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily measure the degree of penetration with high accuracy by detecting contacting of a measuring stylus with the surface of a sample to be measured from the relaxation of flexible yarn which holds the measuring stylus, making the measuring stylus fall freely and intrude into the sample to be measured, and measuring the quantity of the penetration. CONSTITUTION:A sample table 14 is elevated by a motor 22 while a strain gauge 5 is set at the position where a 1st limit switch 11 operates. When the penetration measuring stylus 2 contacts the surface of the sample 15 to be measured, the flexible yarn is relaxed 5, and the relaxation is detected by the gauge 6 to stop the motor 22. Then, a stylus holder 4 is fixed by an anchor part 31 to detect the position of the stylus 2 by a differential transformer 25 and then the gauge 6 is lowered by the motor 9 until a 2nd limit switch 12 operates to relax the yarn 5. Then the stylus holder 4 is released from the anchor part 31 for a specific time to make the stylus 2 falls freely into the sample 15 to be measured, and the position of the stylus 2 is detected by the differential transformer 25 and compared with the last position to calculate the degree of penetration.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention provides a penetration or consistency measuring method and measuring device for measuring the penetration of a paste-like substance such as petroleum asphalt or the consistency of grease, etc. Regarding.

[Background technology and its problems]

Penetration is the amount of penetration of the penetration measuring needle into the measurement sample when the needle with a constant load is allowed to fall freely for a certain period of time into the measurement sample kept at a constant temperature in a constant temperature bath. be. For measuring the penetration of petroleum asphalt, for example, JIS
There is a standard in -2207. Furthermore, in the case of materials softer than petroleum asphalt, such as grease, the hardness of the grease, that is, the consistency, is measured using a similar device using a measuring needle of a different shape from that used for penetration. Regarding the measurement of the consistency of this grease, JIS-2220
Furthermore, the measurement of penetration and consistency of petroleum wax is stipulated in JIS-2235.

When measuring hardness such as penetration, it is first necessary to bring the tip of a needle for measuring penetration or consistency into contact with the sample to be measured so as not to damage the surface of the sample. However, in conventional measurement methods, the height of the sample stage must be adjusted by holding up an electric light to cast the shadow of the measuring needle tip onto the surface of the measuring sample, or by looking at the measuring needle tip in a mirror. I had to. Therefore, the measurement operation requires skill, the measurement results tend to vary from person to person, and it is not always easy to obtain accurate measurement results.

Furthermore, after the tip of the measuring needle comes into contact with the surface of the measuring sample, it is necessary to advance the measuring needle into the measuring sample for a certain period of time, but this operation is usually completed in a short time of about a few seconds. There must be.

Therefore, in this case as well, skill is required to perform measurements, and measurement results tend to vary from person to person.

Therefore, as a way to overcome these difficulties, a device that automatically measures penetration has already been proposed (Special Publications Publication No. 4).
9-31677). In this device, the needle for measuring penetration was suspended from the dial gauge via an elastic thread, but there were cases where the resistance of the gear when moving the dial gauge could not be ignored. In other words, unlike standards such as JIS, it is difficult to say that measurements are performed by letting the penetration measuring needle fall freely; In some cases, it is necessary to change the approach time or introduce a correction formula, and from these points of view it is not always sufficient.

[Purpose of the invention]

The object of the present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and provides a method and apparatus for measuring penetration or consistency that does not require special skill (and can easily obtain highly accurate measurement results). It is about providing.

[Means and effects for solving the problem] In order to achieve the above object, the first invention provides a method for measuring penetration or consistency under a constant load from a flexible thread connected to a strain gauge. When the measuring needles are suspended toward the sample and the measuring needles and the measuring sample gradually approach each other, the measuring needles and the measuring sample surface come into contact with each other due to the contact between the measuring needles and the measuring sample surface. Detection is performed by the output signal of the strain gauge that changes based on the relaxation of the flexible thread, and then, with the flexible thread relaxed, a measuring needle is introduced into the measurement sample for a certain period of time, and the measurement at that time is performed. The present invention is characterized in that the amount of penetration of the measuring needle into the measurement sample is determined from the output signal of a linear displacement detector connected to the measuring needle.

Further, the second invention provides a needle portion having a needle for measuring penetration or consistency and having a constant weight as a whole, a flexible thread hanging from the needle portion, and a needle portion of the flexible thread. a strain gauge connected to the other end side; a measurement sample disposed below the measurement needle; a moving means for adjusting the positional relationship in the extension direction of the measurement needle and the measurement sample; The present invention is characterized in that it is provided with a linear direction displacement detector that detects the amount of displacement of the measuring needle when the measuring needle is allowed to fall freely into the measuring sample for a certain period of time due to the weight of the needle portion.

In the method and device for measuring penetration or consistency according to the present invention, the contact between the measuring needle and the surface of the measuring sample can be detected with high precision by using a strain gauge, and the contact between the measuring needle and the measuring sample surface can be detected with high precision. The amount of intrusion into the measurement sample can also be detected with high precision by using a linear displacement detector.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an overall configuration diagram of an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a penetration measuring device. In the figure, a needle portion 1 is composed of a penetration measuring needle 2, a weight 3, and a needle holder 4. The tip of the penetration measuring needle 2 is directed vertically downward, and the needle portion 1 is adjusted by a weight 3 so as to have a constant weight as a whole, for example, IQOgr.

The needle part 1 is suspended from the strainer via a flexible thread 5. This flexible thread 5 is used to sensitively sense the initial contact between the tip of the needle 2 for measuring penetration and the sample surface, and is made of nylon, other synthetic fibers, or silk thread with appropriate elasticity and strength. A flexible thread is used. Further, the strain gauge used has a structure in which a normal thin film gauge body is fixed to a support.

A rack 7 is fixed to the support of the strainer, a pinion 8 is meshed with the rack 7, and the pinion 8 is attached to the output shaft of the first motor 9. Therefore, the strainer is connected to the output shaft of the first motor 9. As it rotates, it is moved vertically up and down. Further, a first limit switch 11 and a second limit switch 12 are arranged at a predetermined interval in the vertical direction of the rack 7, and the upper and lower limit positions of the rack 7, and thus the strainer, in the vertical direction are detected. It looks like this.

Below the penetration measuring needle 2, a measurement sample 15 housed in a container-shaped sample stand 14 is placed. A constant temperature medium circulation path 16 and a circulation pump 17 are attached to the sample stage 14, and the constant temperature medium in the constant temperature chamber 18 is circulated to the sample stage 14 by the pump 17, so that the measurement sample 15 is maintained at a constant temperature. It has become. Further, a rack 19 is fixed to the sample stage 14, and a pinion 21 is engaged with the rack 19.
is attached to the output shaft of the second motor 22, and the second
The sample stage 14 is moved up and down by the motor 22 along the insertion direction of the penetration measuring needle 2 (that is, the vertical up-down direction).

The amount of penetration (penetration) of the penetration measuring needle 2 into the measurement sample 15 is detected by a differential transformer 25 as a linear displacement detector provided at the upper end of the needle holder 4. It has become. The differential transformer 25 has a coil 26, and the needle holder 4 also serves as an iron core that is displaced within the coil 26. At this time, instead of using the needle holder 4 as an iron core, the needle holder 4
The core of a normal differential transformer may be fixed to the upper end, and the lower end of the flexible thread 5 may be connected to this core.

Further, the needle holder 4 can be held at any vertical position by the clasp 31.

The clasp portion 31 is shown enlarged in FIGS. 2 and 3. In these figures, the clasp portion 31 includes a pair of gripping members 33 that hold the needle holder 4 therebetween. - The pair of gripping members 33 are rotated about a rotation shaft 34 at one end of each, and are connected to each other so as to sandwich the needle holder 4 by a spring 35 provided at the other end.

Further, the distance between the pair of gripping members 33 is widened by the actuating member 36 having an acute-angled tip against the biasing force of the spring 35, and at this time the needle holder 4 is released from the clasp portion 31. becomes. The actuation member 36 is connected to the drive shaft 3 through a link 37, and the drive shaft 38 moves horizontally depending on the energization state of the solenoid 39, and the movement is transmitted to the actuation member 36 through the link 37. It has become. Furthermore, the -pair of gripping members 33 and links 37 are attached to the support body 40.
Supported by

FIG. 4 shows the control system of this embodiment.

In the figure, to the CPU 41, the output signals of the strain filter and the differential transformer 25 are inputted via A/D converters 42 and 43, respectively, and the signals from the first limit switch 11 and the second limit switch 12 are also inputted. It is now possible to do so. Moreover, the CPU 41
, the second motor 9.degree. 22, the circulation pump 17, and the solenoid 39, and also sends data signals to a recording section 44 such as a recorder or printer, and a display 45. Furthermore, CPU41
A memory 46 is connected to.

Next, a method for measuring penetration according to this embodiment will be explained.

When measuring the penetration, first, (1) set the initial position of the penetration measurement needle 2 by bringing the penetration measurement needle 2 into contact with the surface of the measurement sample 15, and then (2) ) Penetration measurement needle 2
It is necessary to detect the degree of penetration of the sample into the measurement sample 15.

(1) Method of contact between the penetration measuring needle 2 and the surface of the measurement sample 15.

With the Φ needle holder 4 released from the clasp part 31, the needle part 1 is allowed to hang down from the strainer.

At this time, since the weight of the needle portion 1 is applied to the strainer, a predetermined voltage is output.

(2) The strainer is driven upward by the first motor 9 and stopped at the position where the first limit switch 11 is not activated.

(2) The sample stage 14 is driven by the second motor 22 and raised.

(2) When the sample stage 14 rises and the penetration measuring needle 2 comes into contact with the surface of the measurement sample 15, the flexible thread 5 of the strainer is relaxed. The output signal (pressure) of the strainer at this time is as shown in FIG. 5, and although it was initially at a predetermined voltage, the output voltage gradually decreased as the flexible thread 5 relaxed due to the contact. change so that The point in time when the change value of the output signal of the strainer reaches a preset value is defined as the position where the penetration measuring needle 2 and the surface of the measurement sample 15 come into contact.

(2) This position is detected by the CPU 41, the second motor 22 is stopped, and the sample stage 14 is stopped.

(2) Measuring the penetration of the penetration measuring needle 2 into the measurement sample 15.

■After the second motor 22 stops, the needle holder 4 is fixed by the clasp, and the position of the needle 2 (needle holder 4) for measuring penetration at this time is detected by the differential transformer 25, and the initial It is stored in the memory 46 as a position.

(2) Drive the first motor 9 to lower the strainer to the position where the second limit switch 12 is activated. This allows the flexible thread 5 to relax by the necessary and sufficient amount.

■ Release the needle holder 4 from the clasp 31. At this time, since the elastic thread 5 has already been relaxed by a sufficient amount by the operation (2) above, the penetration measuring needle 2 is in a state where it can freely enter from the sample surface of the measurement sample 15.

(2) Allow the penetration measuring needle 2 to fall freely into the measurement sample 15 for a predetermined period of time (for example, 5 seconds).

■After a predetermined period of time has passed, operate the clasp 31 to remove the needle holder 4.
is fixed, and the penetration of the penetration measuring needle 2 into the measurement sample 15 is stopped.

■The position of the penetration measuring needle 2 when the needle 2 is stopped is detected by the differential transformer 25, and the detected value obtained at this time is compared with the initial position. The amount of penetration of the needle 2 for measuring the degree of penetration, that is, the degree of penetration is calculated. This calculated value is recorded in the recording section 44 and displayed on the display 45.

According to this embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.

For example, in the conventional method, contact between the penetration measuring needle 2 and the sample surface of the measurement sample 15 can be detected with high precision. It was difficult to detect contact. On the other hand, according to this embodiment, the penetration measuring needle 2 is attached to the measurement sample 1.
Contact between the penetration measuring needle 2 and the surface of the measurement sample 15 can be detected even if the needle 2 penetrates into the surface of the sample 15 by about 0.1 mm. Moreover, no skill is required for the measuring machine.

In addition, when detecting the penetration of the penetration measuring needle 2 using a dial gauge, in order to comply with standards such as JIS, it is necessary to change the entry time of the penetration measuring needle 2 or use a correction method. had to be introduced. However, in this embodiment, the penetration measuring needle 2 is introduced into the measurement sample 15 in the same condition as the JTS standard, so there is no need to change the entry time or introduce a correction formula. be.

6 and 7 show other embodiments of the clasp portion. In these figures, the clasp part 61 has a support block 62, and the support block 62 has a cylinder hole 6.
3, and a piston 64 is slidably held in the cylinder hole 63. Through holes 65 and 66 are formed in the support block 62 and the piston 64, respectively. Further, the needle holder 4 is loosely passed through the through holes 65 and 66.

A spring 67 is arranged at the bottom of the cylinder hole 63,
As the piston 64 is urged toward the outside of the cylinder hole 63 by the spring 67, the centers of both prize passage holes 65 and 66 are shifted, and the needle holder 4 is locked to the support block 62. . However, the actuating member 36 is connected to the piston 64, and the actuating member 36 is connected to the spring 64.
When the piston 64 is moved to the bottom side of the cylinder hole 63 by a predetermined amount against the biasing force of 7, the center of both prize passage holes 65 and 66 is moved in a direction where the needle holder 4 is moved toward the support block 62. It is freed from this and can move up and down freely.

Even in an embodiment using such a clasp portion 61, the same effects as in the above-mentioned embodiment using the clasp portion 31 can be achieved.

Although the present invention has been described above with reference to an example in which the present invention is applicable to penetration measurement, the present invention is not limited to this, and by appropriately changing the shape of the measuring needle 2, JTS- The measurement of the penetration of grease based on NI-2220 can be performed using the same structure outside the measuring needle base as in the above embodiment, and the penetration and penetration of petroleum wax can also be measured in the same manner. In this way, penetration and consistency both measure the hardness of a substance, and there is no substantial difference in their names.

Moreover, although the linear direction displacement detector is the differential transformer 26, it is not limited to the differential transformer 26, and a linear direction encoder such as a capacitive type, an optical type, an electromagnetic type, etc. may be used.

Furthermore, the moving means for adjusting the vertical positional relationship between the penetration measuring needle 2 and the measurement sample 15 is the second
Although the sample stage 14 was configured to be movable up and down by the motor 22, the sample stage 14 may be fixed.
Contact between the penetration measuring needle 2 and the measurement sample 15 and loosening of the flexible thread 5 may be carried out using only the motor 9 of the ,
A structure may be used in which the parts including the first motor 9, the differential transformer 25, the clasp part 31, etc. can be moved together toward the sample stage 14, but it is better to move the sample stage 14 side to move the needle part 1. This is advantageous because it reduces the possibility of imparting vibrations or the like to the flexible thread 5.

Moreover, the weight 3 of the needle part 1 is not fixed, and when the needle 2 for measuring penetration is brought into contact with the sample surface, the load on the needle part 1 by the weight 3 can be released. The detection sensitivity of the contact by the white may be particularly improved. In this case, the weight 3 is held in a separate holding mechanism, and when measuring penetration, it is transferred to the needle part 1 and inserted with a predetermined weight. be able to measure degrees.

Furthermore, the operating procedure may be fully automated by being programmed in the memory 46, or may be a combination of manual operations.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a method and a measuring device for measuring penetration or consistency, which can easily obtain highly accurate measurement results without requiring special skill.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing the overall configuration of an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a penetration measuring device, and FIGS. 2 and 3 are a plan view and front view showing an enlarged clasp portion of the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the control system of the embodiment, FIG. 5 is a diagram showing changes in the output signal of the strain gauge in the embodiment, and FIGS. 6 and 7 are diagrams showing changes in the output signal of the strain gauge in the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a plan view and a partially sectional front view showing the clasp part. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Needle part, 2... Needle for measuring penetration, 3... Weight, 4... Needle holder, 5... Flexible thread, 6... Strain gauge, 7 ...Rack, 8...Pinion, 9.
・・First motor, 11.12・・Limit switch,
14... Sample stand, 15... Measurement sample, 16... Constant temperature medium circulation path, 17... Circulation pump, 1st... Constant temperature chamber, 19... Rank, 21... Pinion, 22・
...Second motor, 25...Differential transformer as a linear displacement detector, 26...Coil, 31.61...
Clasp portion, 33... Gripping member, 34... Rotating shaft, 35
... Spring, 36 ... Operating member, 37 ... Link, 38 ... Drive shaft, 39 ... Solenoid, 4
0...Support, 41...CPU, 42.43...
A/D converter, 44... Recording unit, 45... Display, 46... Memory, 62... Support block, 6
3... Cylinder hole, 64... Piston, 65.66
...Through hole, 67...Spring.

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) When a needle for measuring penetration or consistency with a constant load is suspended from a flexible thread connected to a strain gauge toward a measurement sample, and these measurement needles and the measurement sample are gradually brought closer to each other. The contact between the measurement needle and the surface of the measurement sample is detected by the output signal of the strain gauge that changes based on the relaxation of the flexible thread caused by the contact between the measurement needle and the surface of the measurement sample. The measuring needle is allowed to enter the measuring sample for a certain period of time with the flexible thread relaxed, and the amount of penetration of the measuring needle into the measuring sample at that time is related to the measuring needle and the linear direction displacement detector outputs it. A method for measuring penetration or consistency characterized by determining it from a signal. (2) A needle portion having a needle for measuring penetration or consistency and having a constant weight as a whole, a flexible thread hanging from this needle portion, and connected to the other end of the flexible thread. a strain gauge, a measurement sample disposed below the measurement needle, a moving means for adjusting the vertical positional relationship between the measurement needle and the measurement sample, and a moving means for adjusting the vertical positional relationship between the measurement needle and the measurement sample; a linear displacement detector that detects the amount of displacement of the measuring needle when it is allowed to fall freely into the measuring sample for a certain period of time according to the weight of the measuring needle;
A penetration or consistency measuring device characterized by having: (3) The device for measuring penetration or consistency according to claim 2, wherein the linear displacement detector is configured with a differential transformer.